A/N: At last, I have fallen victim to the affliction that seizes so many Spuffy fans, it would seem – the writing bug! Yep, I couldn’t help but add my own little Spuffy fic to the multitudes out there. A few of things are worth mentioning, I think. One is that I am not very familiar with BtVS comic canon (nor do I care to be). So, if something in my fic is inconsistent with canon as you know it, please forgive me. The other is that first-person, italicized sentences indicate internal dialogue. Lastly, although the challenge states that the past events transpire in season 4, I have set them in season 5 since it wasn’t until then that Dawn made her appearance. (I did contact the author for clarification, but haven’t received a response as yet).

I will be posting on a weekly basis – that’s the best I can do at the moment, I’m afraid. Also, I welcome constructive criticism.

Thank you for reading, and thank you to slaymesoftly for being such a wonderful and timely beta!

A HUGE thank you and lotsa hugs to Always_jbj for making such an awesome banner for this fic.

~*~

Scotland, 2009 – Slayer Command Central

The dark-haired, diminutive man chuckled quietly to himself as he shuffled along the corridors of the school. The irony was not lost on him. He needed the Key to use the Key. If Jeffery were a patient man, such would not have been the case. A patient man would have stayed the course and mastered the magics needed to accomplish his mission. What Jeffery lacked in patience, however, he made up for in ingenuity. Of course, most would see it less as ingenious and more as a crazy, downright thanatotic venture and they would not be far from the truth. Jeffery was also not a man in possession of all his mental faculties, and as such, was neither equipped nor prone to considering the vagaries of his fractured mind. All Jeffery knew was that it had to be done and that he was the one to do it. From the moment he had learned of Glorificus he had just known. With an alacrity that would have surprised his teachers, he had set upon his task to restore Glorificus to her rightful place. For that he needed a touch of magic…and the blood of the Key.

He halted outside the door and cast a furtive glance around him to ensure that the coast was clear. He knew the witch was not to return until the next day, but was understandably still nervous that he could be caught pillaging her supplies. He whispered the incantation to unseal her quarters and entered cautiously, his eyes peering into the darkness inside. Once certain that he was alone, he closed the door behind him and turned on the light. He worked quickly, locating all the ingredients he needed, and placing them in the satchel he carried. Once he was sure he had everything, he turned off the light, and made sure that the corridor was still empty before he exited the room.

His next stop was but a couple of floors away. His plan was simple. He would first silence the girl and then incapacitate her so that he might draw the blood he needed. He was loath to kill her, despite the risk leaving her alive might pose to his survival, for he was unsure whether killing the source would render the magical properties of her blood void. The girl’s sister, the only threat to him besides the witch, was currently busy training the latest batch of slayers that had arrived at the school. Thoughts of what vengeance the slayer would seek upon him were she to catch him spurred Jeffery to hasten his pace.

In the end, getting the blood was fairly anticlimactic. The girl was caught off-guard and easily subdued. He clutched the vial of blood and raced to the abandoned classroom in which he had chosen to carry out spell.

The calmness he employed while casting the spell to open the portal deserted him when at last it soundlessly appeared before him, beckoning him to his destiny. The blood thundered through his veins as he muttered the words that would focus the portal on the event of his choice. So lost in concentration was he, that he had but a moment to register that he had been found out. He took one look at the enraged slayer practically flying towards him and leapt into the portal whilst still performing the incantation that would close it behind him. Unfortunately for him, the slayer had managed to latch on to his arm and they both landed on the ground in a heap. Jeffery struggled to escape her vise-like grip and was surprised when all at once her body went rigid as she let out an agonized, almost feral scream. Her grip on him loosened and he scrambled away from her, running for all he was worth, never once stopping until he was sure he was in the clear.

~*~

Buffy lay on the ground, dazed and curled in the foetal position. The pain was blinding and she could hardly breathe from its stranglehold on her chest. Her mind grasped frantically for any trace of the bond, but to no avail. The claim is gone. I am alone. Those were her last thoughts before she blacked out.