Chapter 15: School Hard (Part 1 of 3)

A vampire with a goatee came to stand before the Anointed one. "The Master is dead. Someone has to take his place."

Another vampire broke in, "As long as the Slayer's alive, whoever takes his place will be sharing his grave."

"Then let the soul who kills her wear his mantle," said the first.

"Can you do it?" asked the Anointed One.

"Yes," the first vampire replied. "This weekend, the night of St. Vigeous, our power shall be at its peak. When I kill her, it'll be the greatest event since the crucifixion. And I should know. I was there."

"Now that is what I call hyperbole," said a new voice with an Irish brogue "After all, ye have to figure, a Slayer dies, what every five years or so. But the crucifixion was a one time event."

The new arrival casually strolled into the main part of the factory. The stranger was well dressed, as if he was a person of importance who moved freely among human society. Unlike these other vampires who lurked around the edges. He wore a black silk button down shirt, with a black blazer and matching slacks that had obviously been tailored for him.

"I oughta rip your throat out," challenged the first vampire.

"Not that I haven't been guilty of an exaggeration or two me-self," said the new arrival, turning his back on the others. "But I think ye'd agree that stretching of the truth is the least of me sins."

The vampire who had challenged him rushed him from behind. Without even looking, the Irish vampire swung his fist, knocking the other vampire out.

"Who are you?" asked the Anointed One, intrigued.

"Ye don't know who I am? I'm hurt. To be forgotten by yer own family. I'm Angelus, lad. And you must be the Anointed One. I remember Darla mentioning something about it in one of the Master's beloved prophecies. Fat lot of good they did him, eh?"

"Bite your tongue," demanded the Anointed One.

"Now, now. That's no way to be speaking to yer elders, lad. But I'm not here because of any of that rot. Would I be wrong in guessing that it was this Slayer that killed me poor Darla?"

"Her and the traitor Spike."

"Spike is here?" Angelus demanded.

"No, but he comes back, clipity-clop clipity-clop to catch the bird that's flown the nest," came a woman's voice.

Angelus sighed in exasperation. "Drusilla, I thought I told you to wait outside."

"Look at all the people. Are these nice people?" she asked.

"We're making friends right enough," Angelus told her.

She stared at the boy vampire, "This one has power. I could feel it from the outside." She walked over to the boy. "Do you like daisies? Hmm? I plant them, but they always die. Everything I put in the ground withers and dies." Her eyes lost focus for a minute as she stared into space. "Daddy? I'm cold."

"That's because ye're dead Dru." Angelus turned his attention away from the whimpering vampiress and back to the Anointed. "I'll tell you what. Seeing as how your Slayer offed me Sire, I'll do ye a favor and take care of her for ye.

"Can you?"

"Aye, that I can. Not twenty years ago I got rid of one in New York. This one should be no problem."

*************************

Angelus watched as the Slayer and a redheaded girl sat at a table in the Bronze pouring over a French book.

"La vache... doit me... touche... de la... jeudi." The Slayer looked at her friend. "Was it wrong? Should I use the plural?"

"No. But you said, 'The cow should touch me from Thursday.'"

"Maybe that's what I was feeling," Buffy said, defensively.

"And you said it wrong."

"Oh, je stink."

"You're just not focused. It's Spike missage."

"Yeah, I just wish I knew if he were safe, or what part of the world he was in, or something."

Just then a boy approached the table from the dance floor.

"Guys, I'm all alone out there. Somebody has to dance with me," he pleaded.

"Well, we are studying," the red-head insisted.

"C'mon, one dance. You've been studying nearly twelve minutes."

"No wonder my brain's fried," the Slayer said as she got up.

The other girl started to protest, but the Slayer and boy drug her along with them. None of them noticed the vampire watching them.

Angelus watched them all with mild fascination. He was so intent on watching her, he didn't notice the young black man watching him.

What a silly creature the Slayer seemed. As if she didn't take her duty seriously. Still, he had to know how dangerous she was, so he went over to the bar where the vampire who had been bragging earlier stood.

"Why don't you get yerself something nice and young to eat."

Angelus waited a few minutes before walking to a group of people near the Slayer, and said loudly in his most regular American accent, "Where's the phone? I need to call the police. There's some big guy out there trying to bite somebody,"

The Slayer overheard him and ran for the door. Giving her just a moments head start he followed. He got outside just as the other vampire rolled to his feet.

"Slayer!" cried the vampire.

"Slayee!"

She spun around and kicked him in the face. To his credit, the vampire only flinched a bit. He swung at her but she sidestepped the blow. As she swung at him, he grabbed her arm and threw her into a warehouse loading door. She fell to the ground, but quickly got up again. He swung again and hit the metal door with his fist when she ducked.

At that moment the boy and girl she'd been dancing with arrived. The Slayer blocked the vampire's punch and held on to his arm. She looked behind herself at the others.

"Get her out of here!" She told her friends.

Then she began to punch the vampire repeatedly in the face.

As the young red-head grabbed the near victim and pulled her out of the way, the Slayer yelled over her shoulder, "And a STAKE would be NICE!"

The goofy looking boy ran inside.

Angelus was torn between being impressed by her skill, and thinking her stupid for rushing outside without a weapon. 'She obviously depends on her friends,' he thought. That could be used against her.

The vampire pulled free from her grasp and punched her in the face hard enough to send her spinning to the ground.

Then the fool loomed over her and said, "I don't need to wait for St. Vigeous. You're mine."

'Idiot,' Angelus thought. 'If he'd just snapped her neck, or bit her, she wouldn't have had time to recover. But instead he had to hear himself talk.'

The vampire bent down to get her, and she kicked him in the face. He staggered backward as she got to her feet.

"Angelus! Gimme a hand!" he cried.

At that point Angelus had half a mind to stake the vampire himself. To his dismay, the Slayer followed the vampire's gaze and saw him in the shadows.

The boy had returned with a stake. "Buffy!" he yelled as he tossed the stake to her.

She turned to catch it, and Angelus used that opportunity to leave, he'd already seen everything he'd needed to.

Chapter 16: School Hard (Part 2 of 3)

Drusilla picked up one of her dolls and turned it so that it faced the wall of the room she and Angelus had settled into.

"Miss Edith speaks out of turn. She's a bad example, and will have no cakes today. Shhhh."

Angelus entered the room, dragging a bound and gagged girl behind him.

"I brought you something to eat," he said.

"I'm not hungry. I miss Prague," she pouted.

"Ye nearly died in Prague. But this town, well, it's got potential. We get rid of the Slayer and then the Hellmouth will restore ye, put color in yer cheeks, metaphorically speaking, and in a few week's time..."

"The stars will align, and smile down on us." Suddenly her eyes went wide.

"What do ye see, Dru?"

"He's coming back. Soon, no waiting. He's come to save her. No waiting for St. Vigeous. You must strike now."

"Well, now. I hadn't planned on that, but that idiot did gave away our plans. Aye, an earlier attack is the way to go."

************************

Buffy and Willow hovered nervously around the parent teacher night punch bowl. Despite Willow's best efforts, Principle Snyder and Buffy's mom had met. Now all Buffy could do was wait for her impending doom.

After what seemed an eternity, her mom and Principle Snyder returned to the lounge.

"In the car, now," her angry mother said.

Willow gave her a concerned look. With no other choice, Buffy followed her mom. She turned to look back at Snyder, who was going around turning off the lights. Her mother waited for Buffy to join her, and they walked out of the room.

Suddenly Buffy heard a crashing from behind her. She turned to look back into the room, and saw that two vampires had come crashing through the windows. Several more vampires followed, and they stormed into the room. The people began to panic.

Forgetting her mom, Buffy ran back into the room. Just in time to see their leader calmly step through a window.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," he said. "I'm Angelus, and ye're dead."

Then he attacked. Buffy grabbed a chair and threw it at him, tripping him up. 'Mom!' she thought, and ran out of the room to grab her mother's hand. Several other parents followed her. She pulled her stunned mother down the hall and around to the right, but more vampires were coming in that way, so she ran in the other direction, her mom in tow.

Behind her she could hear the man ordering the other vampires. "Nobody gets out! Especially the girl!"

"Everybody, this way! C'mon! C'mon!" Buffy yelled.

Snyder and several others ran past her as she shoved a cleaning cart into two vampires who were chasing them. Willow and Cordelia came out of the lounge nearly tripping over them, then they ran the other way.

They turned into the hall outside the library, just as Giles, Ms. Calendar and Xander came running out.

"What the hell?" Giles asked.

"Angelus and an army! Look out!" Buffy warned them.

They looked behind them and saw a vampire. Ms. Calendar screamed.

"Back!" Giles ordered as the three of them ran back into the library and held the door shut.

Hoping that those three could take care of themselves, Buffy opened the door to the science classroom and gestured for the people with her to follow.

"In here! Now!" she told them.

The people all ran into the room. Buffy followed them in and closed the door just as the two vampires came running into the hall. They began to bang on the door. Snyder and another man maneuvered a storage cabinet in front of the door. Buffy ran over to the other door and closed and locked it. Just then the power went out.

"Who are those people, and what do they want?" asked the man who'd helped Snyder.

"I didn't get much of a look, but is there something wrong with their faces? I..." Buffy's mom said.

"Yes! PCP! It's a gang on PCP! We've gotta get out of here," Snyder insisted.

He grabbed a desk, set it in front of a window and started climbing.

"You can't go outside! They'll kill you!" Buffy insisted.

"You don't tell me! I tell you!" said the now panicked Snyder.

Buffy pulled him down off the desk. "They will kill everybody in this room. Nobody goes out, nobody comes in until I say so. Do you hear me?"

"Who do you think you are?" the Principle demanded.

"I'm the one that knows how to stop them," Buffy said sighing. At times like this a secret identity was a real pain.

She looked up and walked across the room, trying to find a way into the ceiling. Now that her mother and the others were safely locked in, she needed a way out. She didn't think that the door to the science room would hold until sunrise. Besides, who knew how many other people were still in the school.

Her mother grabbed her by the shoulders. "Buffy, are you crazy? Look, I know you've been accused of fighting and other things, but those guys are serious. You can't go out there."

"I know. That's why I'm going up there," she said pointing at the celling.

She grabbed a stool, set it on a lab table, climbed up and pushed a ceiling panel aside. She looked down at her mom.

"Don't worry, Mom."

She lifted herself up into the ceiling.

As she began to make her way through the duct work, she could hear Angelus calling her. "Now what kind of Slayer runs and hides and leaves the innocents to die? Come out, come out where ever ye are."

She could hear a crashing sound as he kicked a door in.

"Angelus. Listen..." said one of the other vampires.

"It looks like we have a vermin problem," he said.

Buffy cringed, but as long as they were focused on her, her mother and the others were safer. She made her way through the ducts to the library. She broke through the celling and dropped to the library floor.

Giles lifted his axe. "Buffy!" He lowered the weapon. "You're all right!"

"How are the others?" Ms. Calendar asked.

"Principal Snyder, my mother and four others are locked in the science room across the hall. Willow and Cordelia ran the other way. I don't know if they're..."

Ms. Calendar started to help Buffy put crosses and stakes into a bag.

"I'm gonna take the vamps out in the hall," she told them. "After that you get my mother and the others out the same way."

"Let me help you," Giles offered.

"Giles, my mother's in that room. If I don't make it out of here, I know you'll make sure she does."

"Bloody right, I will. Fair enough. What's your plan?"

"Well, they split up to hold us here, so I'm gonna take 'em one on one. Set 'em up and knock 'em down."

She grabbed a stool and positioned it under the hole in the ceiling. She got up on the stool and pulled herself back up.

"Watch your back," Giles called after her.

Buffy began crawling back through the ceiling toward the hallway in front of the science room.

Below her she could hear chopping sounds. Then one vampire told another, "Hey! Guard the door! I'm almost finished!"

Buffy broke through the ceiling to end up behind the vampire chopping down the door. Before he had a chance to turn around, Buffy had a stake in him.

She looked in through the hole he had chopped in the door.

Her mother called out, "Buffy! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, mom," she tried to reassure her.

"Buffy, look, uh, get out of here, okay? We'll be alright," her mom insisted.

"Look, just hang on for one more minute until I tell you to open the door."

Quietly Buffy made her way to the other hall, stake in hand. She peeked around the corner and saw the other vampire standing there with his back to her. Then she heard a noise behind her and looked.

"Sheila! Where've you been?" she asked the other teenager. It was bad enough that Buffy had had to worry about vampires and getting expelled. It would have been nice if the other trouble student had actually helped her with parent teacher night, instead of disappearing.

"Sorry I'm late. There's some really weird guys outside."

"Shh! Yeah, I know. They're trying to kill us," Buffy told the girl.

Sheila picked up the axe the vampire had used to chop the door and smiled. "This should be fun."

Buffy slowly headed back to the other hall.

As she and Sheila were about to round the corner, she whispered, "Stay behind me."

She went into the other hall and quietly made her way to the vampire, holding her stake up and ready.

Then Giles, who was looking out the library window cried, "Buffy! Look out!"

She spun around and grabbed the axe from Sheila in mid-swing. Seeing Sheila's vamped face, she decided that maybe the other girl had a good excuse for bailing on her. Being dead.

She swung the axe around and hit Sheila in the jaw with the butt of the handle. The other vampire that she'd been about to stake, attacked. He ducked as Buffy swung the axe at him. The axe was buried in the wall.

The vampire smiled as he straightened back up, thinking he had avoided her blow. Then he looked down at the stake protruding from his chest. He collapsed to the floor and burst into ashes.

Her feign having worked, Buffy looked over at Sheila and watched her run from the hall, then Buffy rushed back to the classroom door.

"Mom, now!" she yelled.

Her mother opened the door and called to the others. "Okay, come on, let's go!"

Everyone rushed out of the classroom and into the library.

"C'mon! Hurry!" Joyce urged them on.

Buffy turned to Giles who was holding the door open. "Get them out."

"You're coming too!" her mother insisted.

"In a minute! Go!" she said as she rushed off back into the school halls.

"Buffy!" her mother called behind her.

Buffy went back to retrieve the axe. Then she went in the direction that she last knew Angelus to be. If he was the leader, getting rid of him might get the others to leave.

She saw him standing alone down one of the school hallways.

"There ye are. I was beginning to think that this town didn't have a Slayer after all."

"You shouldn'ta come here," she told him.

"Is that so? I'm thinking you're the one who doesn't belong."

At that moment several other vampires appeared both in front of and behind Buffy. Inwardly she gulped. This was not good. She cautiously glanced over her shoulder, wondering if she could break through the undead there. Even if she couldn't stake them - if she could get past them - at least she wouldn't be surrounded.

All of a sudden, one of the minions burst into dust. His companion turned, confused. At the far end of the hall stood a young black man, reloading his crossbow.

The man had a shaved head. He wore jeans, a white t-shirt, and a leather biker's jacket.

"I see ye brought friends. What's the matter Slayer, afraid to fight vampires on yer own?" Angelus taunted her.

"Actually, no idea who he is. But you know. Really not complaining."

The two vampires next to Angelus, leapt at her, while the one behind her turned on the man with the crossbow.

Buffy swung her axe, trying to keep the vampires from closing with her. She was worried about the strange guy, whoever he was, but she had enough to deal with on her own. After only a moment, Angelus joined his minions in attacking her.

Buffy ducked a punch he sent her way, then she butted one of the minions with the axe. He fell to the floor, but the other one grabbed the handle of the axe, and she found herself struggling against him. Angelus used that to blind side her.

She went sprawling to the floor and lost her grip on the axe. The vampire who'd fought her for it, stumbled back a step. But he regained his footing sooner than she did. He raised the axe above his head and Buffy prepared to roll out of the way of his blow.

Except it never came. Instead she heard a roar, and the vampire with the axe went sprawling to the floor a leather clad bleach blond figure on top of him.

Buffy got to her feet. Inside her stomach was doing somersaults. Spike! He was back. He was here, and really timely too. But she didn't have the luxury to think about that. There were still two other vampires to worry about.

From behind her she heard an unfamiliar voice yell, "Duck!"

Not one to question, she did so. A crossbow bolt flew over her head straight for Angelus' heart. To her dismay he caught it in his bare hands. Still, it gave her a chance to sweep his feet out from under him, before the other vampire tried to tackle her.

Angelus hit the floor hard.

"Ye know, this was a private party, and I'm sure all of ye were not on the invite list. I'll send Dru yer regards," he said, as he took off down the hall.

The vampire she was fighting noticed his leader's retreat, and paused, unsure of what to do. That moment was all she needed to stake him.

When the dust had cleared, Buffy found herself completely alone in the school hall. There was no sign of Spike, or the strange young man who had shown up.

Chapter 17: School Hard (Part 3 of 3)

Having finished talking to the police, Giles was headed to his car, when he thought he heard a familiar British voice yelling.

He quickly headed in the direction of Spike's voice, thinking perhaps the vampire was in trouble. Buffy had been reticent about talking about why the souled vampire had left town. But if he was back, he could once again be a valuable ally.

He rounded the corner of the school and saw Spike, his back turned, talking angrily to a young black man.

"Are you bloody insane? What the hell do you think you're doing going after Angelus?"

"What you're too scared to do. Avenge my mother."

"Scared? You think what? That I should've gone after him right after your mum died? And who would have looked after you? Do you think your mother would give a damn about whether or not Angelus lives? She'd want you to be safe."

"No, I can't let that monster live. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

The young man tried to push Spike out of his way but he didn't budge an inch. Then Spike purposely moved out of his way and watched him go.

"I didn't realize Nikki had a son," Giles said once the young man had left. "What's his name?"

"Robin," Spike's voice was husky, and Giles almost thought he saw tears glittering the vampire's eyes.

"Don't worry, Buffy will take care of this Angelus, and we'll make sure the boy is safe."

"Thanks Rupert. I just hope she can before. . ."

Giles put his hand on the other man's shoulder, in a sign of solidarity. He never would have imagined having a vampire as a friend, but over and over Spike surprised him.

Giles had begun to think of Buffy more and more as a child he had never had, even though he knew he should keep a greater emotional distance between the two of them. Even knowing how strong and capable she was, it was hard sending her out night after night. Leaving her to confront the dark things of the world. He wished he could protect her from them, just as he was sure Spike was trying to protect Robin. Therefore Giles would do whatever he could to ensure the young man's safety.

**************

The sun was just coming up and a little of it streamed in the high window of the factory, lighting the ceiling.

Angelus stood by a cage that hung from the ceiling. Drusilla walked around it to him.

"Daddy, did she hurt you?"

"Nothin' too serious, my dear. She wouldn't have so much as laid a hand on me, if yer wayward boy hadn't shown up."

"He's a very bad dog. We should take away all his toys."

"Aye, that we will, my dear. That we will." She came over and laid her head against his chest. "And how is the young Master?" he asked.

Drusilla frowned. "He doesn't wanna play."

"Well, we'll see if we can't do something about that."

He walked over to the boy vampire and knelt before him.

"You failed," the Anointed One said.

"I offer penance," Angelus said, his head bowed to hide his smirk.

"Penance?! You should lay down your life," demanded one of the other vampires, "Our numbers are depleted, the feast of St. Vigeous has been ruined by your impatience!"

"What can I say, I've little more use for rituals in this life than I did in me last." He stood up. "Of course that isn't to say I don't believe in a bit o'the old ways. Like respecting yer elders."

With that he scooped the boy up by the waist and carried him like a sack of potatoes to the cage.

"No!" the boy yelled.

One of the other vampires started to help, but Drusilla stood in the way. Weakened as she was, the crazy vampiress's gaze was still enough to unnerve the others.

He threw the boy vamp in the cage, and locked the door. Then he started to pull on the chain, and hoist the cage up into the air.

"From now on, we're going to do things sensibly around here. None of this extraneous ritual crap. Just the hunt and the kill."

The cage moved into the sunlight and the boy screamed. Drusilla smiled at Angelus. He smiled back.

"And we're going to start with the Slayer. Come now Dru." He put his arm around her and she snuggled into his embrace, purring.

"We'll throw a great party, and watch them all burn," she said delightedly.

"That we will, my sweet. That we will."

*************

Buffy lay in her bed, unable to sleep. Her mind was in turmoil. She had seen Spike, she was sure she had. But then he'd disappeared, he hadn't even said a word to her.

She turned over in bed, and there, outside the window, was Spike, watching her.

She leapt up, opened the window, and threw herself at the vampire, embracing him. As she buried her face in his chest, she breathed in the familiar smell of cigarettes and leather. She'd never realized how safe that smell made her feel. His arms wrapped around her, and he held her tightly.

"It's you, it's really you. You're back." She pulled back from his hug, to look him in the eye. "You are back aren't you?"

He didn't say anything at first, he just cupped her cheek in his hand, and looked at her. His gaze was so intense, so full of love, that she felt she was trembling.

"You're cold," he said.

Then he pushed her back inside through the window, and followed her into the room. He wrapped his duster around her, and sat her on the bed.

"I'm here for a while. As long as Angelus is."

"So what? Same deal as before, stick around till the big bad dies, then take off?" Buffy was angry. She didn't want to be, she just wanted to be kissing him. But she was so scared of losing him again. None of this felt quite real.

"No, it's different this time. If Angelus dies, I can stay. Look, remember when I told you I had family to attend to?" Buffy nodded. "It's my son, Robin, you saw him tonight, Fellow with the crossbow."

"I see the resemblance, just didn't know that mysterious appearances and disappearances was genetic," she said sarcastically.

"His mother was NIkki. After Angelus killed her, I took care of him."

"And now he's here on a vengeance kick," she finished for him. "I didn't know Slayers ever had kids."

"I don't suppose most do. And yeah, I left here to go for his graduation. From Stanford," he added with pride.

It was a weird moment for Buffy. She'd always known he was older than her, and for most of that time she'd known that he was over a century. Finding out he had raised a kid who was older than her was much much different. It was almost like she was dating one of her friends' dads.

"About two months ago, he found out where Angelus was and took off. I've been following him ever since. Funny thing was neither of us knew Angelus was headed here."

"Two months? Talk about taking the scenic route."

"Vampires can't fly, too much risk of sunlight coming through the windows, so we usually take ships."

"So if I kill Angelus, you don't have to worry about Robin. And you can stay right?"

"Yeah, pet. Then I can stay."

Buffy was ecstatic. If all that was standing between her and her boyfriend was one vampire. . . Well she was the Slayer, and she'd killed the Master hadn't she? How tough could this Angelus be?

She shoved her fears and worries aside, and kissed him, using her tongue to take out the last of her aggression on him. It wasn't enough though. After so long a separation, she felt like she needed to be closer to him, and the way they were sitting on the bed didn't allow that, so she rolled onto her back, pulling him along with her.

One of his legs ended up between hers, and as he tried to shift his weight it rubbed against her sending sparks through her body. Instinctually she pressed herself against his leg, and he stopped to push it against her.

She broke off their kissing to moan as her hips lifted off the bed to press herself even harder against him. He gently put his hand over her mouth to muffle the sound, and his mouth moved to kiss her neck. Her hands moved to grip his shoulders while her mouth parted slightly to allow her tongue to lick his palm.

As the tip of her tongue traced the creases in his palm she could feel a growing hardness against her stomach. Suddenly Spike pulled back from her.

"I should be going," he said.

She nodded. Although part of her wanted nothing more than for him to stay, another part of her wasn't too sure about her self-control, and she knew she wasn't yet ready to go as far as those parts of her wanted to.

Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and turned. "Angelus isn't like other vampires. He won't fight you one on one. He's not even likely to fight you directly again, unless you force him to. Instead he'll go after the people close to you."

With that he was gone. Buffy sighed. Looked like things were pretty much back to normal.

Chapter 18: Inca Mummy Girl

A/N nothing really to do with the episode Inca Mummy Girl, except for a brief talk about what it means to be chosen at the end. Also, I may not be able to update for a while. The other night my laptop broke. I only have this chapter to post becuase I was able to get at the copies my beta’s sent back to me.

"So you and Spike are back together?" Willow asked as they walked through the halls of Sunnydale high.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, who knows where he's been, what he's been doing, and with whom," Xander interjected, as he pushed open the doors to the library.

"Ah, it's good that you're all here," Giles said as he saw them. "First of all, Buffy, I should tell you that Spike is back."

"Way ahead of you, Giles. He came to see me last night, not to mention the whole,-‘showing up just in the nick of time’ trick he pulled during the fight last night," Buffy said.

"And did he talk to you about Angelus?" Giles asked.

"Just a brief, cryptic warning. You know, the usual. Something about how he won't fight me, he'll just go after my friends."

"And you wait till now to tell us this?" Xander asked.

"Sorry," Buffy said, looking sheepish.

"Yes, well. I hope now you'll start to take the threat of Angelus a little more seriously," said Giles. "I've been doing my research and Spike's right, he won't come at you directly. He'll try to goad you into making mistakes."

"So, no goading for me. Just call me cool as a cucumber Buffy."

"It's not that simple, Buffy," Giles insisted. "We all have to be on our guard, that goes for you two as well," he nodded toward Xander and Willow. "You'll need to train, Buffy. Be on your guard at all times, ever vigilant. Alway-"

"You know, Giles, you're right," Buffy interrupted. "I do need to train. In fact, I should go find Spike right now, and get the low down on this Angelus, and start our training again."

Before anyone could say a word, Buffy had taken off.

"Wow, did she just use our lives being in danger as an excuse to mack on the undead?" Xander asked, staring at the place she'd been.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Buffy knocked on the door to Spike's old apartment, hoping he'd returned there. No one answered. She was just about to leave when the door swung open to reveal a sleepy looking Spike wearing only his jeans.

'Yum,' thought Buffy as she looked at shirtless Spike.

"Did I wake you?" she asked. "Sorry."

"No problem, luv," he said while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "I was going to get up in an hour or so anyway."

"Cause you're a vampire and have daylight issues, which makes my house warming gift really lame," said Buffy, looking down at the small potted cactus she was carrying. What had she been thinking?

He chuckled and stood aside to allow her in. He closed the door behind her, and much to her disappointment went to put on a shirt.

"So what brings you by? Shouldn't you be off doing. . . whatever it is you do?"

"Can't a girl just stop by to see her. . . friend?" Buffy had been all confidence when she'd left school. Now suddenly, she wasn't sure. Her relationship with Spike was far from normal.

"Friend?" said Spike moving in on her in a predatory manner. "I thought we were more than that."

Buffy squealed as he scooped her up, sat in the armchair in front of the TV, and pulled her onto his lap. She settled herself against him, resting her cheek against his chest. She really wished now that he hadn't put his shirt on.

Spike put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up to look at him.

"You do know I love you?" he asked.

Her breath caught. Sure, there had been hints, strong suggestions, but he'd never come out and said it so bluntly before.

"I love you too," she whispered.

Then his mouth was on hers. Eagerly, she opened herself to him as his tongue began to explore her mouth. He cradled her in his arms and held her tightly as he kissed her.

Everything melted away around them; her whole world became Spike. Time didn't so much stop, as go away. She ran her hands up his chest to his silken hair. Because he'd just gotten up, he hadn't slicked it back yet, and her fingers played in his curls.

After a while she became bolder, and her hands moved around her back, and under her own shirt. Her fingers found the clasp of her bra, and she undid it. Then she wriggled the straps down off her shoulders and tossed it to the floor.

She broke off the kissing to look in his eyes as she took one of his hands in her own, slipped it under her shirt, and around her breast. His thumb and index finger caught her nipple, and she gasped as he gave it a tiny squeeze. The sensation ran all the way from her nipple to the growing wetness between her legs.

"Buffy," he said reverently as he looked deep in her eyes.

It scared her a little to see how much love, how much want was reflected there. His other hand moved up under her shirt to begin teasing her other breast and she began kissing him again. This time the kisses were shorter because Buffy found herself needing to use her mouth to gasp and moan.

Without thinking, she shifted her position so that she was now straddling him. As she slid herself down in front of him, she felt the hard point in his jeans press up against her sex. Now it was his turn to moan.

She pulled her head back a little so that she could look at him, and experimentally ground herself against him. She was rewarded by a deeper moan and him calling her name.

They moved against each other as their eyes locked. The passion that now burned in those blue orbs sent shivers down her spine.

One of his hands moved around, down her back. The tips of his fingers slipped under the waist of her jeans, but made no attempt to go any further. Still, he used that hand to pull her close against him, as he began kissing her neck.

"Spike," she called out as she pushed herself harder and harder against him. Each time he rose up against her, the seam of her jeans pressed against her in the most wonderful way.

"Can I see you? Can I kiss you?" he asked as the hand that was fondling her breast squeezed it to make clear his meaning.

Part of her wanted to rip off her top, but another part of her was too embarrassed of what he might think of her. What if he saw her breasts and didn't like them. What if they weren't big enough? But what if she didn't? Would he think she was just a scared little girl?

She hated this part of their relationship. The part where she became aware how much older and more experienced he was than her. It sounded romantic, the idea of him being her first. But she hated not knowing what to do. Not knowing how to touch him.

"Maybe I want. . . you. . . to take your shirt off. . . and kiss. . . you? Did you ever think. . . about that?"

She wasn't sure how she managed to say so much and she was embarrassed the moment the words left her mouth.

He pulled back from her, and she was sure that all this nice kissing and. . . stuff, was about to end. But then she saw the smile on his face.

"Go ahead," he said in a husky voice.

Trying to look confidant - like she did this sort of thing all the time and it was nothing - she slipped her fingers under the hem of his shirt. The trembling in her fingers as she touched his bare stomach gave her away. But she couldn't stop. It was as if her hands were stuck to his skin. She could do nothing but run them up to his chest, lifting his shirt as she went.

Then it was off, and once again she was greeted to the sight of his chest. She noticed that his nipples were hard now, and without thinking she reached up to pinch one in the same way he had done to her.

His hips surged up underneath her as he drove himself against her and cried out, "Yes, Buffy, luv, kiss me there."

Urged on by his pleading, she moved her face closer to his other nipple. He moaned as her breath touched it. Hesitantly, she stuck out her tongue, and ran it over the top of his nipple.

"That's it, baby," he urged her on.

Underneath her own shirt, his thumb began to circle her own nipple. She took the hint and traced his with her tongue. She wasn't sure what excited her more. His response to her, or the idea of him doing the same to her.

Deciding she wanted the latter, she gave him one last sweep with her tongue, and pulled back, her hands above her head, a shy smile on her face.

He wasted no time pulling her shirt up off over her head. When his gaze fell on her bare breasts, evaluating her, she felt embarrassed again, and started to cross her arms to cover herself up.

He caught her wrists, though.

"Please don't. You're so beautiful. So perfect, nothing to be ashamed of."

There was just a hint of question in his voice. And she knew by the supportive look on his face, that he would understand if this was too much. If she wanted to stop.

The fact that he was so easy going about the whole thing, that he'd made it clear to her before he left that he didn't want to push things faster than she was comfortable with, made her embarrassed all over again. This time for trying to hide herself from him.

She moved her arms away and let Spike looked at her. He smiled at her encouragingly before taking in the sight of her. His hands slid down her arms, and around her shoulders. Then he bent his mouth to her chest, and began to circle her breast with kisses.

His tongue snaked out and he began to tease her nipple. She curled her fingers through his hair, and held him close to her. Then he sucked her nipple into his mouth.

Her legs tightened about him. She felt the barest brush of his teeth, and it set her whole body trembling in anticipation.

There was a single knock on the door, which opened suddenly as Robin stepped in, "Dad I-" he didn't finish. Instead Buffy could hear the door slam shut behind her.

She squealed in embarrassment as she scrambled off of Spike's lap. Her hands covered her chest, as she looked for her shirt. Thankfully, Robin had gone back into the hall.

Spike was cursing as he got up, grabbed his shirt, and headed out the door. Buffy found her shirt and bra. As she was putting them on, she could hear angry voices coming from the hallway, although she couldn't understand the words.

Despite wanting to crawl under the bed and die from humiliation, once she was dressed she opened the door and stepped outside.

As soon as he saw her, an angry Robin turned on her and said, "Shouldn't you be out killing vampires or something?"

Buffy had been ready to apologize, but Robin's harsh tone drove all thoughts of that from her head.

"If you haven't noticed, the sun's still out. We professionals don't consider it the best time for vampire hunting."

"Professional what?" Robin shot back at her.

Spike snarled; his features shifted to his demonic aspect, and he raised his hand. He never struck. Instead, both he and Robin froze. Gold eyes turned back into shame filled blue ones.

"I'm sorry," Spike whispered in a horse voice, "I'd never. . ." he took off down the hall toward the basement of the building, and the access to the sewers, leaving Buffy and Robin alone in the hall.

"Look, I'm sorry. It didn't occur to me that you were living with Spike. It should have, but. . . " Buffy tried to make peace.

"I'm not. I just came by to- It's none of your business." And uncomfortable silence stretched between the two of them. "He's old enough to be your father you know."

"Yeah, he's old enough to be my grandfather's father. It's weird, I know, and not just because of the age thing. But I love him, and I figure I should be in love while I can. I'm the Slayer, the one chosen not to have long term plans. If I don't live in the now, I don't really get a chance to live."

"And while you're making out with my dad, who's making sure everyone else has a chance to live?"

"Hey! I do my job. And it is MY job. What are you doing here anyway? Angelus killed your mother, I know that, and I'll take care of it. You have a life. I mean you just graduated from college right? Shouldn't you be looking for a job or something? Not hunting demons."

"You may be the Slayer, Buffy," he said her name with disdain. "But you don't know anything about me, or my mother. I will finish this thing with Angelus, even if-"

"It gets you killed?" Buffy asked. Then she softened her voice. "Look, you're right, I don't know what it's like to lose your mother, and I don't know you. But I do know Slayers. I know what it's like to be a teenage girl and be told that you're going to spend the rest of your life in graveyards fighting just to see one more day. I know what it's like to think you'll be lucky if you make it to eighteen. I know what it's like to have some British guy show up one day and tell you that you don't have a future anymore. And I bet your mom, whenever she looked at you, thought she had a future again, thought that you could have all the things she was never going to have. It's not fair to her, or to you that she died, but don't you think she'd rather have you live your life, then throw it away for revenge."

"You're wrong," he said, while backing away from her. "You don't know us. You don't know anything." He took off, leaving her all alone.
 

Chapter 19: Reptile Boy (Part 1 of 3)

A loud, obnoxious and obviously fake laugh rang down the halls of Sunnydale High.

"See?" Cordelia told her friend. "Dr. Debi says when a man is speaking you make serious eye contact, and you really, really listen, and you laugh at everything he says." She forced herself to laugh again.

Just then, Willow and Buffy came down the stairs and passed her.

"You dreamed about Spike again?" Willow asked.

"Third night in a row," Buffy confirmed.

"What did he do in the dream?"

"Stuff," Buffy answered coyly.

Willow smiled widely. "Oh! Stuff!" Buffy smiled back. "Was it one of those vivid dreams where you could feel his lips and smell his hair?"

"It had surround sound. I'm just thinking about him so much lately. We've been keeping kind of formal, since my run in with Robin."

"I guess it must be weird for him, but you two are so right for each other. Except for the, uh. . ."

"Vampire thing," Buffy volunteered.

"That doesn't make him a bad person. Necessarily."

"It just makes things confusing."

"What's confusing?" Xander asked them as he exited his class and saw them.

"My life, but what else is new?" Buffy said.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

School had just ended for the day, and Buffy was sitting on the railing of the stairs next to the street. Xander and Willow walked toward her talking.

"Boy, what a long day," Xander said.

"And you skipped three classes," Willow pointed out.

"Yeah, and of course, THEY flew by. Buffy!" he greeted her.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing your homework in the library?" Willow asked.

"I'm dawdling," she said as she took Xander's arm. "With my friends."

"Works for me," Xander said.

Cordelia walked by and bumped into Willow. She continued down the stairs without so much as an acknowledgment.

"You okay?" Buffy asked Willow.

"Jeez," was all Willow said.

They all watched Cordelia as she approached a black BMW with tinted windows that had pulled up. Deciding as one that worrying about Cordelia's lack of manners was a waste of time, they went about with their dawdling.

"Okay, so tonight," Xander continued. "Channel fifty-nine, Indian TV, sex, lies, incomprehensible story lines. I'll bring the betel nuts."

Suddenly Cordelia came back toward them, and reached for Buffy's arm. "Come on. Richard and his fraternity brother wanna meet you."

"Well, I don't really wanna meet any fraternity boys," Buffy said looking at the two college-age guys that Cordelia had been talking to.

Cordelia pulled her toward them, "And if there was a God, don't you think he'd keep it that way?"

"Uh, I-I believe we were dawdling here!" Xander said annoyed by the interruption.

Cordelia continued to pull Buffy up toward the car.

"Hi, sweetheart," the driver said. "I'm Richard. And you are?"

"SO not interested," Buffy said as she tried to leave.

Cordelia grabbed Buffy's hand. "Heh, she's such a little comedienne."

"What, she likes to play hard to get?" asked the driver.

"No, Richard. I think you're playing easy to resist," his friend said.

Buffy started to leave again, but Richard's friend headed her off. "Ah, feel free to ignore him. I do all the time." Buffy stopped to let him speak. "I'm Tom Warner. I'm a senior at Crestwood College, and I. . . and I just feel like a complete dolt meeting you this way, so. . ." He crossed his arms. "Here I stand in all my doltishness."

"I'm Buffy Summers," she introduced. It couldn't hurt to be nice to him, since he didn't seem to be as much a jerk as his friend Richard. Besides, he was kind of cute.

"Oh, nice to meet you. Are you a senior here?"

"Junior."

"Oh, me, too. Except that I'm a senior and I'm in college. So we have that in common, and. . . I major in history."

"Mm. History stumps me. I have a hard enough time remembering what happened last week."

"No, nothin' happened last week, don't worry, I was there. So, uh, my friend invited your friend to a party we're having this weekend."

Behind them they could hear Cordelia doing her fake laugh loudly for Richard.

"You know," Tom said, looking over at Richard and Cordelia. "Actually he's not even really my friend. I only joined the fraternity because my father and grandpa were in it before me. Y'know, it meant a lot to them. Oh, I know, I talk too much anyway. They're really dull parties full of really dull people, so. . . would you like to come and save me from a really dull fate?"

"Oh, I wish I could, but I'm sort of involved."

He really was kind of charming. But he wasn't Spike.

"Well, sure, of course you are. Well, thanks for letting me ramble," Tom said.

"Y'know, people underestimate the value of a good ramble."

Out of no where Giles suddenly called her name. "Buffy!"

She turned to look and saw him pointing at his watch and walk off to the library.

"Oh, I gotta go," Buffy reluctantly said. "It was nice to meet you."

"Oh. Same here," he said as she grabbed her bag and ran off to the library.

He really was a nice guy. Not to mention normal. For a moment Buffy wished she wasn't involved with Spike, so that she could be a little more normal. But only a moment. The thought of Spike kissing and touching her drove those thoughts away. Besides, Tom wasn't half the hottie that Spike was.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Buffy was strolling through the cemetery, keeping a careful watch. She spotted a bracelet on the ground and bent down to pick it up. Spike suddenly appeared behind her.

"There's blood on it," he said matter of factly.

Startled she got up and faced him.

"Hi. It's nice to. . . Blood?"

"I can smell it."

"Oh." She examined it more closely. "It's pretty thin. It probably belonged to a girl."

"Probably."

"So anyway, I'm really sorry about the other night," Buffy said, changing the subject away from blood and death.

"It's not your fault, Robin's just been. . ." Spike paused, searching for a way to explain the relationship between him and his son. "It didn't used to be like this. We always got along, we were close. Even when he was a . . . until he went to college."

"But now he's got a major independant streak?"

Spike snorted as if he didn't quite agree, but couldn't quite figure out how to refute her statement.

"Look, I know why you don't want him out hunting vampires, but. . . it must be hard. Knowing the thing that killed your mom is still out there, still killing."

"He's going to get himself killed."

"No, he's not. Cause I'm going to get this Angelus guy first. If only he'd I don't know, show up for his staking."

"Angelus is patient. He'll show when he's ready, and not a moment before."

"Patient bad guys. Where's the fun in that?" Buffy sighed.

Chapter 20 Reptile Boy (Part 2 of 3)

Buffy was gathering her stuff together after class when Cordelia came into the room.

"Buffy! Did you lose weight? And your hair... All right, I respect you too much to be dishonest. The hair's a little... Well, that really isn't the point here, is it? The Zeta Kappas have to have a certain balance at their party, and Richard explained it all to me, but I was so busy really listening that I didn't hear much. Anyway, the deal is they need you to go. And, if you don't go, I can't. And I'm talking about Richard Anderson, okay? As in Anderson Farms, Anderson Aeronautics," she was becoming really excited. "And Anderson Cosmetics." She sobbed. "Well, you see why I HAVE to go. Buffy, these men are rich. And I am NOT being shallow. Think of all the poor people I could help with all my money!"

"Cordelia, I can't go. I have duty responsibility, a boyfriend. . ."

"So? I won't tell anyone you were out in public with me."

"Gee, thanks. Look, I'd like to, well actually I wouldn't."

"But-"

"No."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Giles came out of his office into the main part of the library carrying a sword behind his back and looked around. Seeing there was no one there he started practicing a few thrusts to his front and back. He spun around and thrust again.

"Will you be ready if a vampire's behind you?" He said to an imaginary Buffy.

He thrust the sword behind him, pretending he just jabbed one. He raised the sword above his head to stab his pretend fallen victim. He didn't see Buffy, Willow and Xander come in through the door until he heard it close.

Upon noticing them, he tried to make it look like he hadn't been doing anything.

"I didn't see you three... creeping about."

He tossed the sword through the open cage door and kicked the door shut.

"Um, how did it go last night?" Giles asked Buffy.

"Found this," she said, handing him the bracelet.

Giles peered at the inscription. "E-N-T."

"I've seen something like that before," Willow said, scrunching her brow in thought.

"It's broken in two. I don't know what the rest of the letters might have spelled. And there's blood on it," Buffy pointed out.

"Uh, I didn't see any," Giles said, looking closer.

"Spike showed up. He could smell it."

"The blood?" said Xander making his gross face. "There's a guy you wanna party with."

"Blood," Giles commented absentmindedly.

"In Sunnydale. What a surprise," said Willow.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," suggested Xander. "She should probably make the rounds again tonight, and we should try to figure out who that bracelet belongs to."

"Yes, good idea," Giles agreed. "Yes. She'll patrol, and, and we'll reconvene..."

"Uh, hello? She's standing right here? And what if I weren't available?" Buffy said, grabbing the others attention.

"Why wouldn't you be?" Giles, asked confused.

"Well, for instance. . . Cordelia invited me to a frat party, what if I wanted to go?"

"Buffy, I think this is more important than a college party," Giles said annoyed.

"That's not the point. The point is you assume that I have nothing to do. That I have no life."

"You're the Slayer, which comes with-"

"Certain responsibilities. I know Giles, I just wish, I wish that maybe you would entertain the idea that I might have something better to do than spend my night in graveyards. "

"Maybe you could get Spike to help, after all he was the one who knew about the blood," suggested Willow, trying to mollify her friend.

Buffy jumped on the suggestion at once. "Good idea. I'll see what Spike knows, you guys research the bracelet. Bye," she said as she went out the door of the library.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Buffy forced herself to walk slowly to Spike's apartment. It was still light out, so he probably wouldn't be up, and she felt bad about waking him. She'd even stopped by a convenience store on the way, to satisfy her sweet tooth by grabbing a lollipop. But that hadn't killed much time, or done anything for her Spike jones.

Finally, she stood in front of his door, unsure of what to do. She didn't want him to start getting annoyed at her for constantly waking him up. On the other hand, if he was sleeping, she might catch him shirtless again. Not that there was anything wrong with dressed Spike, just meant she could undress him.

Buffy blushed at her own thoughts and the spreading dampness between her legs. She realized that she kind of wanted to undress him all the way. She sucked hard on her lollipop and tried to divert her curious mind away from thoughts of naked Spike.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"If we hit them during the day, you, me, the Slayer-"

"I turn into a pile of ash, remember, I'm a vampire too," Spike told Robin impatiently.

To Spike's dismay Robin was only getting more and more stubborn in his desire to kill Angelus. Not that Spike wouldn't love to see Angelus on the end of something wooden and pointy. However, if Angelus found out about Robin, god only knew what he'd do to him, just to hurt Spike.

Now Robin had found the old factory where Angelus was staying and wanted to assault it. Even if Angelus did have a good twenty or so minions around. Not to mention the possibility that he'd brought Drusilla with him.

He should have kept a closer eye on Robin the other night, but instead he's gone to see Buffy. It had been about a week since Robin had walked in on them, and he hadn't seen her since. It had been driving him nuts.

Suddenly Spike noticed a second heart beat, just outside his apartment door. Then the scent hit him, Buffy, and not just Buffy. A Buffy who was very eager to see him. On the one hand, he was delighted that she was so close, on the other he didn't want there to be another confrontation with Robin.

Even so, he opened the door, idly wondering why she was just standing there. As he opened the door, she jumped back startled. The moment he saw her, he felt his cock start to harden. Not only did she smell absolutely delicious, but she was sucking on a lollipop, her cheeks caved in.

'Oh, god,' he thought. 'Was she thinking about. . . Did she come here to. . ?' he wouldn't let himself complete that thought, knowing he'd be completely lost if he did.

Swallowing hard he said, "Come on in, pet."

She took the lollipop out to smile at him. Then she saw Robin and frowned.

"Hey," she said as she came in. Then her tongue came out to lick the base of her lollipop.

Spike quickly moved aside to let her in, and to lean against the armchair so as to hide his growing erection. Not even Robin's presence could interfere with the direction his blood was flowing.

"You come by here rather often I see," Robin said aggressively.

"Well, yeah, Spike and I work and train together and stuff." She put the lollipop back in her mouth and sucked it in and out.

Spike didn't think he could take much more. Then he realized that he wasn't the only one being effected by Buffy's show. Robin's scent told him that his son's mind was moving along similar lines.

Spike almost leapt across the room to toss Robin out.

'How dare he think of MY Buffy that way,' Spike thought. He managed to keep his temper under control. Instead he opened the door.

"Work which doesn't concern you," he said through gritted teeth. Both Buffy and Robin were looking at him strangely. "Out!"

To his surprise Robin didn't argue, just grabbed his coat and left. Spike slammed the door behind him, and then turned on Buffy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, snatching the lollipop away from her.

"What? Do I get a lecture on tooth decay now, DAD?" Buffy said, but under her anger Spike could hear the hurt, and she looked almost as if she was going to cry.

"I'm sorry, pet, I didn't mean to yell at you," he said softening.

"So why don't you get rid of the bumpies, then?" Buffy asked softly.

Surprised, Spike suddenly realized that he must have vamped when he yelled at Robin. He couldn't remember the last time he'd unintentionally vamped. So much for self control. He concentrated until his face reverted back.

"What did I do anyway? And what's your problem with my sugar addiction?" she asked, trying to cover her hurt with a joke.

He laughed, not at her, but at himself. He so often forgot how young and innocent she was. He gave her back her sweet.

"Nothing. You didn't do anything. It's me. Forget about it."

"Like that's going to happen. Tell me. I want, correction, I need to know what got you so upset that you went all grr," Buffy insisted. "Were you fighting with Robin again?" she asked concerned.

"Yeah, it was Robin. He. . . Never knew anyone I loved could piss me off so much."

"Well, I know just the thing. Patrolling. If we're lucky we'll find some vamps to beat up. Besides, I told Giles I'd look for more clues about that necklace."

"Sun won't be down for another half hour. We'll have to find some way to occupy ourselves," he said, moving closer to her.

She ran one hand up his chest and behind his neck, kissing him gently on the lips. Then she realized that she was still holding the lollipop.

"What a choice," she joked. "Sugar or Spike."

She looked around for somewhere to dispose of the candy, but Spike stopped her.

"Why not have both?" he asked as he picked her up and carried her over to the armchair.

He sat down settling Buffy into his lap. Then he began to kiss her neck and caress her back.

"Go ahead love," he encouraged looking at the lollipop.

She put it in her mouth and sucked it for a second. Then she took it back out and looked at him.

"This is silly. Wouldn't you rather have me kissing you instead of sucking on. . ." comprehension dawned on her face. "Oh."

"Does it bother you?" he asked cautiously. He had no idea how she would react to his thoughts.

"No, I mean I never thought of. . . Does that mean you want me to. . ?"

"Not now, you're not ready, I can tell. I don't want you doing anything you're not comfortable with. But later, yeah. That would be. . . nice."

"Nice?" she giggled. "Well, in the mean time I guess I should just take advantage of being allowed to indulge all my desires." She blushed at her own words, but she snuggled more into his lap allowing his erection to dig into her buttocks.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, and began nuzzling her again as she went back to sucking on her treat.

Just as Buffy began licking the base of the sucker again, the phone rang.

"Bollocks!" cursed Spike.

"Think it's important?" Buffy asked, equally annoyed.

"Well, it's either about switching my long distance service or someone's life is in peril. No one really calls me about much else."

"If it's the phone company, someone's life may still be in danger," Buffy teased as she got up.

He smiled at her, and got up to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Yes, Spike. It's Giles. Willow and I found out something interesting about that bracelet you and Buffy found. The girl it belonged to disappeared, and other girls have been disappearing every year at the same time for quite some time now. Most likely it's some sort of anniversary for the killer. We should examine the place where you found it for more clues."

"Right, well, that'll have to wait a bit, seeing how it's still bright and sunny out, but Buffy and I can meet you at the cemetery once the sun is down."

"Yes, right. We'll see you then."

Spike hung up the phone and turned back to Buffy.

"So where were we?" he asked.

Chapter 21 Reptile Boy (Part 3 of 3)

A/N Thanks to everyone who's written reviews. It was good to know that people liked the lollipop, also made me realized something I hadn't explained yet. Thanks again.

"This is the place," Buffy announced to the others.

They spread out around the area where Buffy had found the necklace, looking for clues.

"Those super vampire senses of yours picking anything up?" asked Xander as his flashlight traced the cemetery lawn.

"Nothing but some god awful racket from some party," Spike said.

"It's probably the fraternity house, the college is just over the south wall," Willow said.

"The fraternity house?" Buffy asked, her eyes going wide. "You mean the one with the party that Cordelia invited me to?"

Willow gulped. "Yeah, that one."

"And if history has taught us anything," Xander said authoritatively, "It's that monster's always try and eat Cordelia."

"Except for the praying-mantis lady," said Willow.

"Or the Mummy," added Buffy.

"Right, okay, so monsters go after me too."

"And there was the big robot that dug Willow," Buffy continued.

"And the Master was always after Buffy," Willow went on.

"Alright already!" said Xander. "But we're all here and safe. So therefore. . ."

"Cordelia is in mortal peril," concluded Giles.

"You were going to a frat party?" Spike said accusingly to Buffy.

"I was invited, by a cute college guy I might add," Buffy said proudly, "But I didn't go," she added hurriedly, seeing the look on Spike's face.

"But you thought about it. Buffy do you know why college guys ask out high school girls?"

"If we don't hurry, I think Cordelia's going to find out," Giles interrupted.

They made their way out of the cemetery to the frat house. In front was a red sports care with a 'QUEEN C' license plate.

"Okay, since I was invited anyway, I'll go in and look around," Buffy told the others. "You guys look around for anything suspicious."

"You're not going in there alone." Spike said firmly.

"And you don't look like you belong at a frat party. I'll be fine, I'm the Slayer, they're college guys, what are they going to do to me?"

Before Spike could protest anymore, Buffy slipped away and made her way into the party.

Inside everything looked normal. But Buffy didn't see Cordelia anywhere. Just when she was about to start some serious snooping, she ran into Tom, the guy who'd asked her out earlier.

"Hey, you made it," he said.

"Yeah, my plans changed," she said, smiling. He handed her a drink, and without thinking she took it, and took a sip. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was sweet and fruity and she liked it. "So have you seen Cordelia? I was going to say hi but I don't see her anywhere."

"Why don't you finish your drink, and I'll go find her," Tom said helpfully. "I think she went upstairs. Be right back."

Buffy smiled and took another sip. She'd really have to find out what this drink was.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Her head still spinning, Buffy came to unsure of what had happened. As she opened her eyes, she realized that she was underground and chained to a wall. Next to her was Cordelia and another girl. Probably the one the bracelet had belonged to.

As Buffy watched, the guy named Richard took a sword and walked behind a kneeling man. Richard began to carve symbol on the man's back. Buffy couldn't be sure from her position, but she thought the kneeling man was Tom.

"Buffy? Where are we?" Cordelia asked.

"In the basement, far as I can tell."

"What's happening? What did they do to us?"

"I think they drugged us. Me at least. I'm guessing you didn't just let them chain you to a wall either."

"Why? What are they gonna do to us?"

"I don't know."

Cordelia began to cry. "I wanna go home."

"No one's going home," said the other girl, her voice filled with hopelesness. "Ever. Look, one of them's different than the others," she said indicating the kneeling man. "Nicer."

"Tom," Buffy said under her breath.

Richard finished carving the new symbol. The kneeling man got up and turned to the girls. It was Tom. Two of the other frat boys helped him put on a matching brown robe.

"He's the one to watch out for," whispered the girl.

Buffy shook her chains to test them and looked up to where they were anchored. Tom looked at her.

"She's last," he said.

"Last? For what?" asked the panicked Cordelia.

Tom walked over to a well in the center of the room and picked up a bag.

"Who's first?! Answer me! Who's first?!" Cordelia insisted, growing more and more hysterical.

Tom let three stones drop out of the bag and into his hand.

"Three stones," Buffy said looking at the other girls. "Three of us."

"Buffy. . ." begged Cordelia.

Buffy tried to reassure her. "Stay calm. We'll get outta this."

Tom and the others began some long boring ritual, but Buffy's attention was elsewhere. She was trying to figure out how to break free of her chains.

"There's something down there and he's gonna throw us down there with it," Cordelia said, nodding toward the well in the center of the room. It seemed to be the center of their ritual.

"I don't think so," reasoned Buffy.

"No?" Cordelia grasped onto the slim bit of hope. "Well, that's good! That, that's. . ."

"I don't think we go to it. I think it comes to us." Buffy finished.

Cordelia moaned. "Ooohhhhhhh! No!"

Tom looked up from the well and suddenly a giant snake-man rose out of it.

Cordelia screamed, "Oh, my God!"

Buffy started to yank harder on her chains, desperate to rip them from the ceiling.

"C'mon, Buffy! Oh, my God! Oh, c'mon! Oh!" Cordelia encouraged her.

The snake-man remained stationary and spreads its arms.

"For he shall rise from the depths, and we shall tremble before him," Tom intoned. "He who is the source of all we inherit and all we possess. Machida."

"Machida," chanted the others.

Tom continued the incantation, "And if he is pleased with our offerings, then our fortune shall increase."

"Machida. Let our fortunes increase."

"And on the tenth day of the tenth month he shall be enhungered. And we shall feed him," finished Tom.

Machida gazed over at the girls.

"Feed him?" whined Cordelia.

Machida rose up before her.

"Feed him?!" Cordelia said with renewed panic. "Oh, no!"

Machida closed in on Cordelia and she screamed.

"Hey, reptile boy!" yelled Buffy, trying to distract him.

"No woman speaks to him!" said an outraged Tom.

"You don't want her," Buffy continued ignoring Tom. "Look at her. She's all skin and bones. Half an hour later you'll be hungry."

Tom approached Buffy. "I told you to shut up!" He backhanded her and held up his sword. "You speak again and I'll cut your throat."

Then two brothers unchained Cordelia and held her. From upstairs there was a sudden crashing sound as if a fight was going on.

Tom looked up, "Something's going on upstairs. Go. Go!"

Several of the frat boys rushed upstairs to see what was going on. Buffy looked up at her chains again, then back at Machida.

"Feed, Dark Lord!" Tom commanded.

Machida rose above Cordelia, then moved in to take her from the brothers' grip. She screamed loudly and struggled. Buffy yanked hard at her chains one last time, and they finally broke loose from the ceiling. She quickly stepped over to Machida and punched him in the face. He pulled back away from them, holding the side of his face. Buffy started to fight with the brothers. Tom swung at her with his sword.

The basement door flew open, and Spike hurtled down the stairs.

"You bitch! I'll serve you to him in pieces." Tom yelled, not having seen Spike appear.

Spike tackled him to the ground, allowing Buffy to turn her attention to the giant snake about to eat Cordelia. She grabbed the sword Tom dropped when Spike knocked him over. Machida was so intent of Cordelia, he didn't even see Buffy charge him with the sword until it was too late and the sword was imbedded in his chest.

The snake-man screamed and then dove down the well it had come from.

"You did it!" Cordelia yelled happily. "You saved us!" she hugged Spike tightly. "I've never been so happy to see anyone in my whole..." she let go and turned to the others, who were making their way down the basement stairs. "You guys. I just... hate you guys! The weirdest things always happen when
you're around!" Then Cordelia turned on Tom. "And you! You're going to jail for fifteen thousand years!"

Once he was free of Cordelia's grip, Spike came over to help Buffy take off her chains.

"How'd you end up in these?" he asked.

"I think they drugged me."

Spike looked at her concerned. Then he sniffed her breath.

"You've been drinking!" he reprimanded.

"No I haven't," she insisted indignantly. "I mean I drank something, with the drugs, but it was sweat and fruity, I didn't have a beer or anything."

"Buffy, are you completely daft? All that sugar and sweetness is to hide the taste of the alcohol. I can't believe you just took a drink from someone without knowing what it was. You and your bloody sweet tooth."

"I thought you liked my sweet tooth," she said softly so only he could hear.

"Yeah. . . well. . . Let's just get you out of here okay?" he said more gently as he put his arm around her.

Still, Buffy had a feeling more lectures were going to follow, and there would be no more snuggling tonight.

Next