Part 5:

~

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

As the hailstorm of "clicks" erupted onto her bedroom window, Buffy groaned and rolled out of bed. She yawned and glanced over at her clock.

2:23 a.m.

"Whoever it is had better have a damned good explanation." Buffy grumbled to herself as she used all of her sleep induced strength to lift open the said window, which was still making the clicking sounds. Leaning out and looking around, Buffy saw nothing but darkness.

"Okay..." She began to close her window, when the moon suddenly caught a pale glimmer below, under the tall oak tree. She smiled despite herself, when Spike emerged from the shadows, holding a small pile of pebbles in his left hand.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, much more gently than she had intended. Spike cocked his head and opened his mouth to reply, but found himself powerless, as he stared up at her natural beauty. Then he remembered why he had come.

"Grab your coat and get down here. There's something we gotta take care of." He said brusquely. Buffy crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"No time to explain, luv. Let's go. Grab a weapon while you're at it."

"But, why?" Spike outwardly growled in frustration.

"Why do you have to be so bloody stubborn all the time? There's two chits that could be in real danger and you're wasting time asking silly questions that could be answered, if you just got your arse down here." Buffy retreated abruptly from her window, taken aback by Spike's sudden attitude.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered, looking at her hands. Spike sighed and looked to his side. He hadn't meant to yell at her.

"So am I, pet. Just, come down, alright? I'll tell you what's going on as we walk. Or run, depending on how long it takes you to get ready." Spike not-so-subtly hinted. In a matter of minutes, Buffy hopped down beside Spike from a low branch.

"Hey there, stranger." He remarked, a small smile playing on his lips, unconsciously. She returned the smile and they began pacing themselves towards another, somewhat unfamiliar neighborhood. They walked in silence, despite Spike's promise to explain, but Buffy was grateful for this. She liked being able to pretend that it wasn't always all about work when she took midnight (or 2:35 a.m.) strolls. Finally, they stopped in the front of the Cape Cod.

"Brace yourself." Spike warned as he slowly opened the unlocked door. Buffy looked inside and felt a pang of nausea overtake her.

"Oh, oh my God."

~

'Roark laughed.'

Giles read the sentence, sipping his tea. Willow had recommended the book, called The Fountainhead, by some American political nutcase.

'Roark laughed.' He read again, determined to move onto the second sentence.

Alas, this was not to be.

Giles irately yanked the blaring tapioca phone handle and smashed it (rather hard) against his ear.

"Ow. Yes, what is it?" He snapped into the phone. He was not in the mood for more Council rubbish. It was not the Council, however.

"Oh, Buffy, hello. Is everything-? What? Buffy, slow down. Yes, I'm certain whatever you saw was.err."nasty" as you put it, but- Hold on. I can't understand a word of what you are saying, you must slow down. Yes. Alright, now what happened? Mmm-hmm, Yes...right, yes.he took you there and then." Giles felt the color drain from his face as he listened to the description of the scene. "Oh, dear. The intestines, they were...the one victim was hung by his intestines? What? He was hung by the * woman's * intestines? And the man? He, he, was what? How on earth was he defaced? No, no, tell Spike a regular knife could never have ripped off a man's entire face, especially if it included parts of the muscle..." Giles felt color return to his face, but unfortunately, it was not its usual color. "I'll call Willow and get everyone over here in order to begin extensive research on this, whatever did this. Yes. Alright. Do be careful. Goodbye."

Hanging up the phone, he immediately snatched it back up and punched in Willow's number.

"Willow? Giles. Gather up everyone, we've got a most awful crisis on our hands. I'll explain everything when you get here. Goodbye."

~

Abby sat in stony silence as she watched Spike search the house. Normally, when something bad happened, she carried on for hours, screaming, crying, pouting...and that was just when she couldn't eat Oreos for breakfast. But at that moment, after getting over the initial shock of seeing her entire family.like that, she felt nothing. Not fear, not pain...she did not even feel anger.

Nothing.

From behind her, she heard a playful growl. She twisted her neck around to see Beck, her miniature schnauzer, playing and chewing on one of his newest toys. At least someone's happy, she thought, looking around herself. Spike and Buffy had shooed her upstairs, as if her being around the bodies any longer would traumatize her more than they already had.

"C'mere Beck, lemme in on the fun." She said, her voice weak from exhaustion. Beck trotted over, holding his long, pink toy in his mouth. Abby leaned down and took it from his mouth.

"What's this supposed to be?" She wondered aloud, flopping it around. It was soft, but cold, and it was crusting up along the edges. She looked at the opposite end when she noticed what looked like a rip. She looked inside the tear to see oozing white pus and a thousand tiny, blue squiggles. It was then that she noticed the tiny white dots all along the "toy's" ridged center. Screaming silently into her hand, she dropped it and ran into her room. Grabbing her trashcan, Abby let out all of the disgust she felt from touching, hell, even seeing something like that. Beck had chewed on it. He had chewed on her father's.

Before she could finish her thought, she felt a deep pain swipe into her back. She turned around and came face to face with something she didn't recognize. Her body wasn't registering the pain. She tried with everything she had to ask what was going on, but it didn't come out. It wouldn't come out. The thing reached into her deep wound, maximizing the pain to excruciating amounts. It grabbed a hold of something hard within her back, and she couldn't move, not that she wanted to, with the pain that was pounding into her every cell.

It laughed down at the girl and tightened its grip on her vertebrae. Then, with a quick, but hardly painless yank, it ripped out every bone in her spinal column. It would've laughed, if it had known how. Instead, it disappeared, ready to move on through the night.

~

Buffy felt tears slowly build up in her eyes as she knelt down next to Abby's body. She had died right above her. She had died when Buffy could have stopped it. She wiped away the stray tear and then the next one. She began to sob, just barely, though, knowing she couldn't for long. She felt a cool hand on her back. She leaned softly into his touch and soon she felt strong arms around her.

"Shh...it's okay." Buffy felt a prick of confusion. Spike had a British accent. Buffy slowly disentangled herself and stared up into the face of...

"Angel." She croaked out.

"Spike let me in." He said softly, mesmerized by her beauty, even with tear stains streaking her features. She always looked beautiful to him. He gently cupped her face with his hand. By the time she knew what she was doing, Angel's lips were on hers. She moved her mouth along his and inserted her tongue between his teeth. He tightened his grip on her back and gently brought her in close to him. Buffy's fingers moved in slow circles on the nape of his neck, and then they moved in and out through the crevasses of his hair .

SLAM!

Buffy jumped back from Angel's embrace and looked out the window, where all she saw was Spike, violently running from the house, his shoulder's tensed in obvious anger.

"Shit!" She yelled, bolting to the front door.

"Buffy! Buffy, wait." Angel grabbed her arm and looked down into her eyes, "What just happened here?"

"I don't know, I don't know. But I have to go after Spike, I just- he's, I.I need him to help me figure out what killed this family." Buffy lamely replied, not even kidding herself. Or Angel. This isn't how it was supposed to go, Angel thought, pain touching his heart. She wasn't supposed to fall for my grandchilde.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go." Buffy said. Angel nodded, not ready to give up. He may have lost a battle to Spike, but he sure as hell wouldn't lose the war. Spike would be gone from Buffy's life by June.

Buffy leaned up and softly kissed Angel's cheek. Then, she ran out the door.

tbc.

Part 6:

~

Spike ripped open the door of his newly bought apartment and braced the anger-filled growl that was threatening to emerge from him. He slammed his eyelids shut, hoping it would make his anger go away. But it just came back to him, washing over him like a bad dream. Buffy kissing Angel. Kissing that pounce with bad hair, even when she knew that he, Spike, existed. It was bloody unfair was what it was. He was right back at square one, with Buffy loving Angel with all of her damned soul and him just being...convenient. Shaking violently, Spike pulled out his fags. He lit one and breathed in the sweet nicotine. He felt instantly calmer, but not any less pissed off.

"You must be sure that they do not become involved with one another. That is of greatest importance. He must move to the City of Angels before the 6th day of the 6th month." Spike remembered the words that The Chooser's had spoken to him, just days ago. It felt like months, hell, even years. But he knew that he had to keep Buffy and Angel away from one another.

< Easier said mates. > He thought, directing his gaze to the sky.

"Spike? Spike, are you up here?" He heard the familiar feminine voice creep up his back.

"Buffy?" He stuck his head out of his door, genuinely confused, "What are you doing here? I thought you'd still be snogging Nancy-boy." Buffy looked down sharply and then back up at him. She felt remorse flood her eyes as she willed something to come out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry." She croaked out, meeting his eyes. They softened for a moment before become steely grates of blue granite.

"What for, luv? So you've got a thing for the Brooding One. Not like it makes you a necrophiliac or anything." He replied, ignoring the screaming voice inside his head. He was not going to just give into her like he did in the old days. He needed to be * sure * that she cared about him. < 'Sides, getting Buffy is not my main priority. It's figgerin this baddie out. >

"Necrophiliac?"

"Person who performs "sexual activities" on dead bodies. Which, by the way, I really would advise against on * that * corpse. It'll just lead to this whole big mess."

"Corpse? What the hell are you talking about? * You're * the corpse, not Angel." Spike blinked. Angel hadn't told her?

"Buffy, luv, Angel is a vampire." The color drained from her face.

"You're lying."

"Why would I lie? Bloody hell, Slayer, he's my grandsire." Buffy felt herself shake. Angel and Spike were * both * vampires? < This is so not happening. >

"Does he have a soul?" Spike snorted.

"He got the biggest one in the damned lot. Spends all his time mopin' about how bad and evil he was, 'stead of doin' anything about it. Waste of time is what it is."

"There's a lot?" Buffy was vaguely aware that this may have been a dumb comment, but the numbing shock she felt was more than enough to make her disregard it. Despite his better judgement, Spike reached out and touched her arm.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I'm sure Angel will give me a beatin' of a lifetime for telling you instead of lettin' him. Or he'll at least imagine it."

"It doesn't matter. I don't want Angel. I mean, I do, but I don't, ya know?" She looked up at him. Spike bit back the urge to kiss her and cleared his throat.

"Well, pet, you're the one who'd better know. Sides, I just came here to get a book, " Spike lied swiftly, grabbing History of Demonology from off of his bed,

"I'm hopin' this'll give some info on whatever did that." Straining his face into a fake smile, he walked past a greatly confused Buffy.

~

"Ew." Willow snarled the edge of her lip in revulsion.

"I second that." Xander retorted, staring uneasily at Giles.

"Did you say his * intestines *? That's pretty sick." Jesse replied, glancing over at Dawn, who seemed unconcerned. He raised his eyebrows and kicked her leg gently.

"Isn't this grossing you out?" Dawn smiled and waved her hand.

"Oh, I've heard of and seen * way * worse. There was this one time that this guy whose insides were filled with bugs-" Jesse raised his right hand to stop Dawn.

"Forget I asked."

"Jesse has a paranoia of any sort of creepy crawly." Willow teased, jabbing Jesse in the ribs.

"Ow. Hey, you don't have to announce it to the world, Rosenberg."

"I think it's sort of sweet." Dawn remarked, smiling at Jesse. Jesse blinked his brown eyes and smiled back, looking into Dawn's green ones.

"If we are all done with the flirtatious mind-games, may we please go back to focusing on the problem at hand?" Giles deadpanned, glaring pointedly at Dawn and Jesse. < The last thing our little, er, research group needs is sexual tension... >

"Sorry, Giles." Dawn replied, blushing to a light pink. Willow cleared her throat and opened the first book.

"So, ah, did Spike or, or Buffy see anything that might hint at, um, what this demon thing looked like?"

"No, not yet. It's possible he has invisibility powers though." Buffy said, as she and Spike stormed into the library.

"What makes you say that?" Dawn said, leaning backward in her chair and looking up toward her sister.

"Well, Spike checked the whole damned house and yet the Abby girl ended up dead, anyway."

"Dead, you say?" Giles asked, perking up slightly.

"Dead-girl-in-the-locker dead."

"I'm gonna make a wild guess and say this isn't a good thing." Xander said, looking up at Spike, wryly.

"Nice. Maybe you are good for something." Spike bit his tongue after saying that. He had promised Buffy he'd be nice to Xander. < But not in this world. Huh. Maybe there * are * some advantages to not being with Buffy. >

"Well, maybe you're just, you're just weird." Xander finished triumphantly.

"Are you talking?"

"Shut up, you guys." Dawn said, giving an extra warning glance to Spike, who responded with a smart-ass "What?" look. Dawn rolled her eyes and walked over to Buffy, who was describing the scene quietly to Willow and Giles.

"Um, Buffy? Can I talk to you a minute, outside?"

"Yeah, sure." Buffy jerked her head back in surprise. They walked out and shut the double doors behind them softly. Buffy turned to Dawn and crossed her arms.

"What's up?"

"It's about Cordelia. She's been...spreading some shit about you lately. Like that you're in a gang and all Hell's-Angels-y and stuff."

"I figured." Buffy replied, not caring at all. "It's better than her telling everyone the truth."

"Well, yeah, but...I just wanted you to know that I don't have anything to do with it. I consider you a friend. I really didn't say anything like that."

"I figured." Buffy said again, only this time, smiling with her eyes. "And I do, too."

"What?"

"Consider you a friend." Dawn fought back tears that threatened to unleash. She hugged Buffy tightly.

"Whoa! Jeez! You're one emotional girl, aren't ya?" Buffy joked, freeing herself from Dawn's grasp.

"I'm sorry, it's just, it's been a weird week for me." Dawn understated.

"I know what you mean." Buffy's eyes met Dawn's identical ones. Buffy remembered noticing that.

"You're eyes...they're just like-" Buffy started to say, until Dawn abruptly cut her off.

"We should really head in. Figure out what did all that. Let's go." Dawn walked quickly back in, leaving Buffy staring after her. There was something weird about Dawn, and Spike. Something the two of them weren't telling her. It didn't take a Vampire Slayer to see that. Or maybe it did, Buffy didn't really know. All she knew was that she was going to figure it out, whatever it was.

Then she walked back through the library doors.

. tbc.

Part 7:

~

Willow flipped a time-worn page in the book.

Nothing.

Not a darn thing about gross, intestinal-happy demons. She pouted her lip and sat back. She pictured the scenario Buffy and Spike had painted, for the eightieth time.

Spike found two girls in the graveyard, Abby and Emily. Spike brought them home. Abby screamed. Spike looked inside, saw the bodies. He told Abby to invite him in, who did. He searched the house. He examined the bodies. He told Abby he'd be back. He got Buffy. Buffy saw the same things. Buffy heard a scream. Buffy saw Abby on the floor dead, her spine ripped out.

. There had to be a hole. There was always a hole. Willow had an inkling that she was missing something...something obvious. She pictured the scenario again.

Spike found two girls in the graveyard, Abby and Emily. Spike brought them home. Abby screamed. Spike looked inside, saw the bodies. He told Abby to invite him in, who did. He searched the house -

Of course!

"The hole!" Willow exclaimed looking around to the weary faces of the group, "I found the hole!"

"What?" Xander asked, his face a question mark.

"Spike, you, you said there were two girls you found, right? Abby and Emily?"

"Yeah.?"

"Emily! Where did she go?" Spike cocked his head in thought and then shrugged.

"I figured she scurried off as soon as she saw it."

"It couldn't be that simple. It never is." Buffy said, the new discovery perking the Slayer within.

"So Emily is now a suspect." Dawn stated, signing onto the Internet for Willow.

"Hold on," Jesse remarked, "these girls were best friends. Why would someone kill not only their best friend, but also their best friend's family?"

"They probably weren't as good of friends as that Abby girl thought. Will, is there any way you could find out information on this girl? See if there were any...what's the word they use in the movies?" Xander looked to Willow for help.

"Angles?"

"That's it! Yes! See of there were any angles to why Emily would want Abby gone." Xander smiled despite the situation. He was helping. Witness him help.

"Spike!" Willow said sharply, getting his attention.

"Yeah."

"Do you know Emily's last name?"

"No damned clue, pet." He gave her a look of remorse. It wasn't like him to ask people's full names.

"Could you describe her?"

"Bottle blonde, natural brunette, around 5'4, brown eyes. Nothing really particular. She had a one of those moles above her lip, like that Marilyn Monroe chit." Willow was rapidly punching in all of the descriptions Spike supplied her with. No one knew exactly where or how Willow got her information. She always did, though.

"I got two Emilys that match the description of Brunette, 5'4, brown eyes. And one's blonde now and has the mole." Willow clapped her hands together giddily. She felt like Velma.

"Emily Smithison. She's a freshman at Sunnydale. I've never seen her." She mentioned to Xander.

"I have." Jesse said darkly, "If I had known it was her, I could've told you who our bad guy was from the beginning. That girl's psycho." Buffy shook her blonde hair back and raised her eyebrows in expectance.

"She's always walking through the halls, talking to herself. Clutching her books, looking all out scared pissed. From what I heard, she talks to this guy, Dave, who she thinks is her brother. Of course, she doesn't actually have a brother, that I know of. In fact, the only time she seemed okay was when she hung out with this brunette. Really young looking, but popular, especially with the Freshman guys."

"Abby." Buffy said, feeling guilt tug at her. She had become so wrapped up her so-called "feelings" for two men she barely knew that she had nearly forgotten about the poor girl that she found dead.

"Guess so. Anyway, Abby seemed to bring her out of her shell. She was happier, wittier, she talked more. but she always seemed a little off. And not just in an uncomfortable way."

"In a homicidal-maniac sort of way?" Xander jibed, glancing at the absorbent faces of everyone else. Spike shakes his head.

"If she was so evil, why did she let me bring them home? She's got to have heard of me."

"Egotistical much?" Buffy snapped, rolling her eyes at the vampire, "I think we've more than likely got our guy...or girl...or thing." Willow nodded and printed out all of Emily's personal info.

"It wasn't me." Giles felt himself tense up when he heard an unfamiliar, young voice. Everyone followed suit as they turned around to face Emily.

"How did you get in here?" Dawn asked, reaching for a weapon.

"I followed Spike. Don't hurt me. Please. It wasn't me, I didn't kill Abby's family. Or Abby. Please, it was Dave." She wringed her hands and darted her head around, searching desperately for a friendly face. Jesse sneered and let out a gloomy laugh.

"Dave? Your imaginary brother?"

"He's not my brother. And he's definitely not imaginary." Emily said, biting her bottom lip. Willow looked up from the pages she had printed out.

Mother: Deceased. Father: Deceased.

"Your parents died." Willow said, walking closer to Emily.

"He killed them, too. He told me that it was a good idea. That by killing them, he could love me more. That I'd be able to love him more. It was true, I did. For awhile. Then I met Abby and she loved me without asking any questions. It was like she was a real sister. Dave got real mad and he started threatening Abby and her family and I never thought he'd go through with it or I would've stopped hanging out with her, I swear. I loved Abby. Please." Buffy looked up at Giles, who nodded her into his private office.

"I believe her." Buffy finally spoke.

"As do I."

"So, what do we do?"

"We need to find out who Dave is." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Or what Dave is." She replied, leaning on his desk, by the palms of her hands. She looked down at them and felt a question bite the tip of her tongue. It was not the time to ask him, yet, she needed to.

"Giles, what are the Choosers?" She widened her eyes and waited patiently for his reply.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The Choosers. What are they?"

"Well, ah...if memory serves me correctly, they are the ancient "destiny- choosers," more commonly known as Fates. What does that have to do with Dave and Emily?" Buffy nodded, taking this in. Fates. Why would she be getting all déjà vu-ey about the Fates? It seemed appropriate, but nothing fit quite together.

"Nothing. They have nothing to do with Dave and Emily."

"Then I would suggest focusing on the problem at hand." He said, a slight reprimand entering his voice. He did not have the time for silly questions. Buffy took what he said and inwardly agreed. Getting weird feelings about words and people and places were not a reason to stray from her work. She mentally placed her feelings about the Choosers, and not to mention her feelings for Spike and Angel, to the back of her mind.

She would not think about them again.

Ever.

~

tbc...

Part 8:

~

"So, this Dave guy, when did you, uh, "meet" him?" Xander said, breaking the silence, which hung over the room like a wet blanket. Emily looked up from her daze and opened her mouth to speak. Her tongue felt like a roll of cotton. She shrugged clumsily and looked back down. Spike sighed and bent down next to her.

"Emily." She ripped her gaze from her feet and placed it into Spike's eyes.

"Yeah?" She croaked out.

"Do you want this Dave character gone?"

"More than anything." Spike nodded and propped himself up onto the table.

"Then you're gonna hafta tell us everything you know. I know it ain't easy, to let your demons out...no pun intended. But ya gotta do it sometimes. And this is one of those times, luv." Emily sighed heavily, the sound of her own breath breaking.

"Dave showed up for the first time when I was eight. He...he acted like he was born into my family. I think that for awhile he had me under some sort of spell, so that I would see things, as Dave wanted me to, no matter what was actually happening. Things were going normally until one day I woke up in a hospital. I was given drugs for schizophrenia, everything I knew was fake." Spike clenched his jaw at this. He remembered when Buffy had...

< Focus, mate. >

"Go on." Jesse prompted, laying his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"My parents started crying when I recognized them. I had dreamed about them the way they were, but I guess they weren't really dreams. They were breaks from the world that Dave created for me. He, he had manipulated me for years. I didn't know this, of course, until I got home and there he was. Boy, was he pissed. He didn't let it show, at first. He started sweet- talking me, telling me that I was his big sister and that he loved me so much. I was drawn to him. He went everywhere I went. I told him everything. He told me everything. He hated "our" parents. He said that they were trying to keep us, me and Dave, I mean, apart. That they refused to acknowledge our eternal sibling love. Only more in a more poetic way, naturally. Then, through this elaborate persuasiveness that he has, he convinced me that him killing them, my parents, was a good idea. And he did. Soon after I became friends with Abby, and I ignored him. Abby showed me what real sisterly, or sibling, whatever the case may be, love. If you think what my parents did got him angry, you should've seen how he was when I told him I never wanted to speak to him again. And I didn't. I missed him, sometimes, but I never spoke to him. Ever. I refused to, because I knew what treasures the real world had in store, as corny as that sounds. He was always around though. Screaming insults, screaming threats. He swore that he would kill Abby's family and then kill Abby, after she saw her entire family dead after torture, so she would die in more pain than any boil or knife could ever hope to provide. I never thought he'd actually do it, though." She ended her speech meekly, feeling a fresh batch of tears sting against her eyelids.

Giles looked down at his notes. A manipulative, time-altering, torturous being with the ability to inflict any sort of torture imaginable, and would, that went by the form of not only a human, but a trustworthy human and part of a family.

There was no doubt in Giles' mind as to what sort of creature they were dealing with.

~

"A Moo-Herbie demon?" Buffy asked incredulously, looking at Giles and Spike's worried faces with mounting amusement. Giles rolled his eyes indignantly.

"A M'Haruby demon. Besides, it does not matter what it is called, all that matters is what it can do." He snapped. This was no time for Buffy's antics.

"So what * does * he do?" Dawn asked, reaching for a reference book which more than likely contained the information. < Next to Mmm Cookies guy... >

"The M'Haruby demon came into existence only a few decades after the world became civilized, by a powerful spell. They were used to manipulate the minds of young, impressionable girls for the sole purpose of ruining their entire existence. Emily described the epitome of the M'Haruby actions. They often force their victims into falling in love, or loving them as they would a sibling or parent, and then using this distinct advantage to get their way."

"Sounds like an asshole." Buffy huffed, crossing her arms. Spike raised his eyebrows in agreement.

"Well, yes."

"So, what do we do?"

Giles looked gravely over at Buffy. There was no easy way to say this.

"You must kill Emily."

When they head this strangely familiar cliffhanger, Dawn and Spike shared an incredulous look. Dawn shook her head, trying to seem ultra-concerned, but was plagued with a nagging question inside her mind...

< Do we always have to kill people to save the world? >

tbc...

Part 9:

~

Buffy's eyes bulged in disbelief.

"Are you joking?" She whispered harshly at Giles, who stood solemnly staring at a book, "I can't kill a girl...an innocent."

"What, one innocent? It wouldn't hurt you. Just kill her." Giles stared straight ahead at Buffy, speaking easily. "Then Dave will be gone for good. In the end, you'll be doing her a favor. She'll be freed and Dave will wither in the pits of hell."

Buffy narrowed her eyes incredulously.

"Giles, I can't do that."

"Dammit, Buffy! You have to! Just kill the damned girl and then it will be over!"

Spike stared at Giles. There was something wrong with this...

< Giles would never say that. Everyone knows that Giles would never say something like that. >

Except that they didn't...

Spike's mind ran in backward circles as he realized that everyone in the room, except for him and Dawn, barely knew Giles. They didn't know his mannerisms. They didn't know the way he thought. They didn't even really know his moral code...

Spike clenched his hands into fists and sent daggers towards the Watcher.

"Well, well. Dave has finally decided to make himself known."

With that "Giles" simply smiled.

"The vampire is more observant than I would've wagered. Not as keen as he could be, however, as I've been inhabiting this body for since that idiotic girl pranced in here. I really hated it, almost hoped one of you * would * figure it out. Can you imagine, me? A M'Haruby demon, pretending to be some do-gooder? Sickening, really. But I was very convincing, if I do say so myself."

Buffy's green eyes widened with mounting anger as she reached for a weapon, any weapon. Dawn shot her hand out and stopped her.

"You can't kill him. It's still Giles' body." Buffy slowly retracted her hand, but continued glaring at Dave. She then abruptly shook her head.

"You can't be who you say you are. You were alone with me, you helped research, you told me about those Fate things, you revealed what sort of demon it was."

"Yes, I know, and it all comes down to my given genius. I needed you to trust me. I needed you, and everyone, to believe that I was on your side. That I was still Mr. Rupert Giles. What kind of name is that anyway, Rupert? Beats me. Anyway, I was planning on continuing with the façade, but Spike here figured me out. This is a minor setback, I must concur, but I'll surmount it. I always surmount it." He laughed maliciously and sneered at the small Slayer. "My powers are far greater than anything you could possibly imagine Slayer, let alone what you yourself could possess. I could make you love me, Buffy. I could make you need me so badly, that you would kill anything that got in the way of the two of us being together." Buffy felt her heart rate weaken, she was falling slowly... "Almost as powerful as the love you feel for your sister."

"I don't have a sister..." Buffy murmured, her eyelids cement. Dave directed his glare sharply to Dawn. He smiled again and blinked, never faltering in his gaze towards Dawn.

"My mistake."

Buffy felt herself float through the air, ecstasy running through her body. It was greater than anything she could ever imagine...

Spike discreetly clutched a large text, one that could easily knock out Giles.

"I'd think twice before doing that, vampire." Dave snarled, using his true voice. Spike backed away from the book. This was going to tougher than he thought.

"Right then, look, Davie. As much as fun as I'm having listen to you carry on about your powers like some pounce, I'd rather get to fighting. But you have such an obvious disadvantage being in Giles' body, that I'd feel almost * bad * about fighting you in that condition. So, be a good boy and go to your true form." Spike smirked at the demon, whose eyes had narrowed so much that they were practically closed.

"How true." With a burst of energy, he screamed. Dawn watched in morbid amazement as blood exuded from every opening in Giles' body and as it flowed out into a puddle. Slowly, a figure rose from the blood, swirling and cackling with thunder and sparks. (Xander had fainted at this point). Then, in a matter of seconds, Dawn watched as a demon walked slowly towards Spike. It was an odd looking demon, much like a mixture of every Ghost of Christmas Future she had ever seen in any movie, only less endearing. She felt her head get faint and her knees wobble. The creature moved its (what she guessed was) head and nodded slowly.

"It is expected that you would be light-headed when face to face with my true image. Most people don't live long enough to." The demon felt a power course through him like none other. It was the second time that night that he had been in his true form and he felt amazing...connected, once again. Through his reverie, however, he felt a coquettish tap on his back. He turned around and saw the Slayer, completely lucid and pissed off.

"Unfortunately, when you changed back, you're little hypnosis changed, too." With that said, she socked him in (what she hoped was) his face. With a smooth roundhouse, he was on the floor. He pounced back up and pulled two long swords from within his robe. She easily ducked each blow, all the while punching his gut. Spike slammed into the demon and wrestled on of the swords out.

"Buffy!" He yelled. She looked up and caught the flying sword. She swung at Dave who defended himself. There was a tremendous clanking of swords and the smell of lightly grazed flesh began to fill the air.

Giles began to stir.

Buffy sent a powerful right kick into Dave who was then able to slice somewhat into her shoulder. Hissing in the pain, she swung violently, but to no avail.

Dawn rushed over to Giles who was muttering something under his breath.

They continued to spar with one another, moving harshly, the thrill of battle beginning to invoke both of them.

Giles whispered into Dawn's ear, before collapsing once again.

Dave lowered his sword, ready to cut deeply into Buffy's stomach.

"Buffy! Take off his robe! M'Harubys can't stand any sort of light in their true form!!" Dawn screamed. Buffy instantly reacted, grabbing the top seam of his robe and pulling as hard as she can. She felt a burning prod in her stomach, but it was nothing compared to the pain the M'Haruby was obviously in. It screeched like a Banshee and the Scooby Gang (minus Xander, who was still snoozing peacefully on the ground) watched in wonder as tiny red dots covered his whole body, slowly taking up everything he was until he was gone. Buffy looked over to Emily.

"Are you okay?" Emily smiled and nodded.

"The same thing happened to me when I saw him. I feel nothing but hate for that bastard." Buffy grinned warmly at the burst of confidence that seemed to fill Emily's voice all of a sudden. She then rushed to Giles and Dawn.

"Your stomach..."Dawn began to say, but Buffy just reached for Giles' neck.

"There's a pulse. Someone call 911. Get him to the hospital, he should be okay."

"You need one, too. A hospital, I mean." Willow spoke suddenly, pointing towards the wound in Buffy's stomach.

"I'll be okay. Slayers heal fast. I'll just gauze it up." Buffy forced a smile, feeling the pain for the first time. Spike walked over to her.

"So. You defeated the bad guy. How's it feel?" Buffy shrugged, trying to ignore the attraction that tugged at her. < Spike and I are just going to be friends. > She thought to herself.

"Tired and hungry." She replied with a smile. He returned the gesture and put on an air of boredom.

"Well, you're no Britney Spear's or anything..." He smiled, only to meet Buffy's confused face.

"Who's Britney Spears?" Spike froze, feeling a sick sort of confusion come over him. < Willy knew who Britney Spears was... > Then he clamped his eyes shut in anger. Willy knew something.

"I gotta go, luv. Congrats on the fight or whatever. Make sure ya wake up Harris, too." He rushed out, leaving Buffy even more bewildered than usual.

~

Spike slammed open the door to Willy's. He took the barkeep by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Don't have time for your mind-games, mate. Now what do you know?!" The man wriggled himself loose from Spike's grip.

"Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have said the Britney Spears thing. I was just trying to act like him." Spike narrowed his eyes in impatience. Willy sighed and slowly morphed in a strange looking little man with glasses and a Rat Pack hat. Spike rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Ah. I get it. Another one of those "I'm-Not-Who-You-Thought-I-Was" deals. First question, who the hell are you?" The man quirked his eyebrows in surprise.

"I could've sworn we met. Oh, well. Maybe you just don't remember or maybe I'm imagining things. Whistler's the name."

"You a demon?" Spike asked, grabbing his collar again.

"Whoa, whoa there pal. Yes, of the technical sorts. I'm here to balance out good and evil, something which is thrown way off base here."

"Excuse me?"

"You got sent here by The Choosers right? The ones who you think are all good and powerful?"

"Yeah..." Spike let go of Whistler and crossed his arms, waiting to see where this was going.

"Well, they aren't. Some of 'em are. A good few, actually. But not all of them. Some of them just can't wait to see you fail. There's two conflicting destinies at work here, one that ends with this complete and everlasting happiness for you and for your little girlfriend, and another that ends with pain and destruction of all man-slash-demonkind. I gotta make sure neither of those happen."

"Could you vague that up a bit, mate?" Spike asked, borrowing a Buffy-ism. Whistler smirked and shrugged, walking off.

"Hey, can't you at least give me a hint of what you need me to do?"

"Just make sure Angel gets the hell outta here by June. That gives you 10 months to distract, befriend, and win over Buffy, so that he'll have no reason to stay."

Whistler then disappeared, just as the real Willy walked in.

"What can I get ya?" Spike sat down and shook his head.

"Bourbon and pig's blood."

It was going to be a long 10 months.

Part 10:

~

Hear the snow crunch See the kid's bunch This is Santa's big sce -

Buffy reached her arm across the kitchen counter and cut off the melodious sound of Bing Crosby's voice.

"Buffy, I was listening to that." Joyce crossed her arms and cast an annoyed glare her way.

"I just don't see why Mr. White Christmas' voice has to go through our house * constantly *. Without end. Ever. On and on and on. Incessantly -"

"I get your point, Buffy." Joyce shook her head and began scrubbing a dish, "I just don't understand it. You used to love Christmas."

"Bah humbug." Buffy muttered to herself, grabbing her strategically thrown coat from off the floor.

"Where are you going?" Buffy snapped her eyes shut. < She's just a concerned mother, she's just a concerned mother... >

"I told you. I'm going over to Will's to study." She lied fluidly.

"Fine. Just be back before 11."

"It might take longer than that. I'm all with the trying to understand the information. Which is not an easy task."

"12 then. And I still don't think that having a major cram session at Willow's the night before the test is the best way to go about-" But Buffy swiftly cut her off with a kiss on the cheek.

"Love you." She flipped her long, blonde hair up in a ponytail before slamming the door behind her, ready for another patrol.

~

F...R...E...D...E...R...I...

Spike lazily trailed his pale finger over the stark letters upon the grave.

C...K...B...A...L...

"So, Giles gave you a heads up about this guy, too?"

"Buffy."

"Present." She smiled. Spike smirked back and moved over, patting the grass next to him.

"So, other than waiting for..." She stole a glance towards the name, " Frederick B. Albertson to wake up, what've you been up to?" Spike shrugged and leaned back on his hands to mirror Buffy.

"Not too much. Giles has been pounding me with all these prophecies, which doesn't leave much for down time. I swear, one of them is written in Sumerian Ebonics." Buffy laughed knowingly.

"Yeah, they can be a little hard to decipher sometimes." Spike snorted at that.

"Like you know."

"I could translate if I wanted to."

"You don't know the difference between an Egyptian and a Nubian, let alone the differences in their languages." Buffy stuck her tongue out at Spike and sat back. He glanced over at her and watched her eyebrows tighten and her mouth pout. She opened her mouth, which was forming into a question...

"The Nubians lived south of Egypt during ancient times. They were eventually usurped by the Egyptian empire, yadda, yadda. You'll have to ask Giles about the differences in their languages, though." Spike intervened. She nodded, stifling a laugh. She touched his duster gently.

"Where'd you get this?" She asked, her index finger making small circles that burned into Spike's skin.

"Um, well, that's a long story, luv..." He whispered, hoarsely, trying to ignore the unmistakable tingling in his heart...which would've been pounding had he been alive.

"We've got time. Freddie here seems to be taking an extra long nap."

"During a fight in the 70's, with a slayer, when I was still evil."

"You killed her." Buffy said stonily.

"Yeah, I did." Spike felt remorse flow through his veins where the blood should've been. "I broke her neck and killed her...on a subway...and I took her coat. As a bloody token of victory. When I got my soul back, I was ready to burn it. But, ah, * someone * told me that I should keep the jacket, to remember who I was and to remember who I am now. That I use my powers for good, but in order to keep sight of that, I need to remember my past, which is the purpose of my still wearing it." Buffy reached out to touch his arm, but thought better of it.

"How long have you had your soul?" Buffy asked.

"I'm not sure." Spike replied, honestly. Time was so foreign to him now. Months felt like seconds, yet hours felt like centuries, but the centuries he had seen felt like they had never happened. And the years he had seen and were seeing again felt as though they were breathing on the nape of his neck, like secrets waiting to be revealed. He longed to tell this all to Buffy, but she wouldn't understand. Not without him revealing everything to her, which he couldn't do. Or at least, he didn't have the stones to do.

Buffy stared at Spike, who was lost in thought. She smiled sadly, her heart going out to the tortured creature. She rummaged through her handbag and grabbed the rolled up package of pop rocks.

"Pop rock?" She held it out to him, smiling happily. He stared at her for a second before bursting out into laughter. Buffy followed suit. They laughed and laughed and laughed until their sides hurt and they were physically unable to stop laughing. Neither of them knew what they were laughing at and it didn't matter. It just felt good to laugh. Buffy coughed out a few more stray laughs. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and flung her arm around Spike's shoulder.

"Spike," she quoted, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Part 11:

Part 12: