Chapter 22

Buffy woke up with a start, glancing around at her surroundings to see that she was safe in her own room.

“Weird dream,” she mumbled to herself. Buffy usually had the habit of dreaming of her mother, but this was unlike anything she had experienced before. It was more like a nightmare. She saw tons of demons that weren’t familiar to her, and just prayed they weren’t anything she would have to face. Buffy had enough to worry about with Angelus and the others trying to suck the world into Hell.


* * * * *


Two days went by and there was no sign of the vampires.

Buffy decided that they would need extra help against them, so had Giles call in reinforcements. She entered the house to find him sitting on the couch, a glass of Scotch in his hand. “This can’t be good.”

He glanced up at her, placing the glass down and rubbing his temples. “I spoke with Wesley.”

“What did he say? Is Faith coming to help us?”

Giles shook his head, taking in a deep breath. “I’m afraid not. It appears that Faith was killed a couple of days ago.”

Buffy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She didn’t know Faith all that well, but didn’t think anything could take down the dark haired Slayer. “I guess we’re on our own, then. There’s no telling where the other Slayer would be, and we don’t exactly have time to deal with someone that’s newly Chosen. It looks like the fate of the world is up to us.”


* * * * *


“I just can’t believe this. Faith was a great fighter. She was a bit careless at times, but always knew what she was doing. To be taken out by a few fledgling vampires just doesn’t make any sense.”

Spike nodded and dodged her punch. “Maybe she was having an off day. It has been known to happen.”

Buffy supposed he was right, but really would have felt better about dealing with the end of the world if they had a Slayer on their side. “I think we should pay Maggie another visit. She’s bound to know where Angelus is, I would like to have a clear location in mind.”

He agreed and threw another hit, which she easily blocked. There was nothing Spike loved more than sparring with her, well, maybe except for the sex.

Buffy was getting frustrated, not able to stop thinking about Faith. “I just hate this. I wish we had more of a chance against them. You have that gem in your head, so that gives you a big advantage. What good am I gonna be?”

Spike lowered his guard and gave her a look, but realized that was a mistake when her leg suddenly came up and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying across the room and right into a wall.

Buffy gasped in shock. “Holy crap, are you okay?” she said in concern as she rushed to his side.

Spike let her help him up, putting on a confused expression. “I’m fine for someone that just had all the breath knocked out of him. It’s a good thing I don’t breathe.”

“How did I do that? Did you see me? I’ve never been able to do that before.”

Spike took her hand in his, giving it a light squeeze. “Well, pet, I think it’s safe to say that we don’t have to look very far for the next Slayer.”


* * * * *


“This is extraordinary,” Giles muttered for what felt like the millionth time that night.

Buffy continued to pace. “Freaky is the word I would use. How is this even possible? I can’t be the Slayer. Hello? My mom was a Slayer; it’s not exactly something that runs in the family. This has to be a mistake.”

Spike rubbed her back to try and give her some comfort.

Giles went to his weapon’s chest, pulling out a metal pipe. “Give this a try,” he said, handing it over to her.

Buffy took it with raised eyebrows, realizing after a few seconds of staring just what he wanted her to do with it. She took a deep breath, then bent the pipe with all the strength she possessed. She dropped it to the floor and gazed up at them. “Okay, so, I’m suddenly freakishly strong. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for that.” Buffy threw her hands up in the air when they remained silent. “What am I supposed to do now? This is a world of bad. Slayers don’t live for very long. I always planned on being done with demons once I got rid of Drusilla. To have that normal life my mom always wanted for me. Now, I don’t have a choice. This isn’t fair. I didn’t ask for this.”

Spike took her in his arms once he spotted the tears, his heart breaking for her.

Buffy shook her head and pulled away from him, glaring at Giles. “How did you not know about this?”

“I don’t work for the Council anymore, Buffy. They don’t tend to keep me in the loop.”

She laughed humorlessly. “So, what does this mean? Am I going to get another Watcher or something?”

He cleaned his glasses before addressing her. “I don’t know for certain. I’ll have to inform the Council of this, and perhaps convince them to let me have the responsibility. I know I’m not as young as I once was, but I still remember a thing or two. Especially when it comes to dealing with stubborn Slayers.”

That got a small smile out of Buffy. “I hope so. The last thing I need is some stuffy British guy watching my every move. It took me forever to break you in.”

Spike chuckled and cuddled her back to his side, placing a kiss on the top of her head. “Look on the bright side; at least we have a Slayer on our side now. Just like you wanted, at least you know what you’re doing.”

Buffy had to agree there, even though this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind.


* * * * *


“I want this over with now. I’m sick of waiting for them to make a move. I say we take the fight to them.”

Spike followed after her. “That won’t be as easy, love. I’m sure they know we’re on to them, they’re bound to be ready for us.”

Buffy stopped to look at him. “True, but they don’t know about me being a Slayer now, or about your gem. I’m sure Maggie knows where their new hideout is. We take them during the day; they’ll never expect an ambush then. I’m just tired of worrying about this, Spike. I want them out of the picture.”

Spike nodded as they continued the track to Maggie’s place. He grabbed a hold of her arm when something didn’t feel right.

Buffy didn’t know what was wrong, until she noticed that Maggie’s door was open. She took off in a run.

He called out to her, but she was too far gone to hear.

Buffy entered the house, the stench making her gag as she put a hand to her mouth. The place was wrecked. She moved in further and stopped at the sight of a body on the floor. Buffy felt tears form in her eyes as she knelt down by Maggie’s side, trying to feel for a pulse. She didn’t notice that Spike was right behind her, until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“She’s gone, love. Bloody Dru, she must have sensed Maggie’s power and knew that we would come here.”

Buffy hardly listened, feeling that it was all her fault. “We should have come sooner,” she whispered. “I should have stopped this. I’m the Slayer; it’s what I’m supposed to do.”

Spike grasped her shoulders and pulled her up to look at him. “There’s nothing you could have done. This wasn’t your fault; the wankers were trying to find a way to open the tomb. They won’t figure it out. The only person that knows about that besides us is…” he trailed off, his eyes widening, which quickly matched hers.

“Giles!” she claimed and ran out of the house, Spike not far behind.