A/N: THERE IS SOME VIOLENCE IN THIS CHAPTER, SO BE WARNED.

Also, thanks to slaymesoftly for all of her wonderful help.

Chapter 8: …Two Steps Back

Spike followed behind Buffy, staying a safe distance away from her. He had patrolled with her countless times in the past, but this time was different. Tonight, Buffy resembled an animal tracking its prey.

She wasn’t just patrolling; she was hunting.

Her movements were primal and threatening as she silently glided through the grass of each cemetery. The creature he was with tonight was a true warrior; a true killer, and it unnerved him. If Buffy suddenly decided to be angry with him and lash out, he didn’t know how well he could protect himself. Even without the bloody chip in his head, Buffy would still be dangerous.

She was letting the Slayer inside her completely take over. The anger, sadness, and betrayal she felt let loose, pushed to the surface and controlled her. She did only what her Slayer instincts told her to.

When three vampires came out from behind a bush, Buffy smiled sinisterly. She was searching for something to release her inner demon on, and the three nightwalkers were exactly what she needed.

“Slayer,” the tall, brawny one in the middle spat, as he stepped forward threateningly.

Buffy didn’t even grace him with a response; instead, she charged at him with lightening speed and began punching him with extreme fervor. The other two vampires came at the Slayer from the sides. She quickly dispatched the one she had been fighting with a punch in the face that caused him to step backward, giving her the time to focus on the other two vampires. To the one on the left, she delivered a powerful kick to the groin, making him double over in pain. As the vampire on her right neared, she squatted to the ground and took his legs out with a swift kick of her leg.

As the three demons recovered, Buffy stood in the middle of them in a fighting stance. She hadn’t even reached for her stake yet, and Spike knew she had had at least one obvious chance to go in for the kill.

However, the master vampire also knew how much she needed a good fight, and he was smart enough to stay out of her way, thankful he wasn’t the one she was taking her anger out on. He lit a cigarette as he stepped back to lean against a tree, watching Buffy punch and kick the vampires with a speed and brutality he had never witnessed from her before.

He stood in stunned silence as the Slayer sent Big N’ Tall flying over a headstone, then jumped up and wrapped her legs around one of his lackeys’ shoulders in order to flip him over onto his back and finally turn him to dust.

The third vampire rushed her from behind, but met the pointy end of her stake before he could do any harm.

“Should a’ learned the first time, mate,” Spike sighed, shaking his head.

Big N’ Tall was up again and circling Buffy, as if trying to find the best way to attack. Instead of moving in a circle with him, however, the Slayer stood watching him with menacing eyes, clutching her stake.

The vampire stopped, facing her, “It’s just you and me, Sweets. Do you taste as good as you look?”

“Why don’t you come find out?”

He lunged. Buffy rammed her fist in his stomach, causing him to collapse in front of her, clutching his injured area. She didn’t give him time to recover and was straddling him within seconds.

The cockiness was gone from his eyes, replaced with fear of the creature now above him. The killer of his kind had him trapped beneath her strong thighs and he knew there was no way out.

But instead of staking him, as Spike thought she would do, Buffy started pounding her small fists into the bloodsucker’s face and neck. She had his arms trapped underneath her, so there was nothing the vampire could do but take her beating.

And that’s what it was: a violent, relentless beating on a now defenseless animal.

Spike had dropped his spent fag to the ground and was now walking towards the Slayer. As he got closer, he could hear the bones of the demon’s face breaking as her powerful fists came down on him. When the beating began, his legs had struggled to find escape, but now they lay motionless in the grass.

“Slayer.”

There was no answer, so Spike knelt down beside her. Silent tears were making wet trails down her cheeks and her lip was trembling, but she was unaware of it. She was trapped in her own world of anger and pain, no longer part of her surroundings, aware only of herself and the vampire beneath her that was paying for her emotional torment.

The vampire in question was now unrecognizable, his face a mess of blood and bruises. Buffy’s hands were stained red, but she had not let up on her attack. The current punches were as brutal as her first.

“Slayer,” Spike said a little louder. There was still no response. “Buffy!” he yelled, grabbing her fists and wrapping his hands around them. She looked up at him then, eyes filled with pain and unshed tears.

“Why?” Her chin trembled as she tried to hold back her tears. The one word held so much confusion. Why was she brought back? Why couldn’t she receive the peace she so greatly deserved? Why was she Chosen to fight the creatures of darkness? Her eyes held so many questions that Spike was unable to answer.

“Oh, sweetheart.” He let go of her hands to wrap his arms around her small body and pull her off the other vampire and against his hard chest. He rocked her back and forth slowly, running his fingers through her hair and whispering comforting words to her. In his arms, she finally cried. She cried for everything that had happened to her during her young life. She cried for the loss of her innocence, for the loss of her mother, and finally for the loss of her sanctuary. She sobbed; harsh wails fell from her lips in response to all the pain she had suffered.

Spike held the Slayer, the women he loved, helpless to do anything but let her tears soak his shirt and break his heart.