Chapter 5

“Hurry.” Buffy scanned the darkened street, shifting nervously from one foot to the other as the Scoobies set up the spell on her front lawn. Tara and Willow poured blue sand in a circle about four feet in diameter, while Xander set up large cylindrical candles around the perimeter. Anya followed behind him with Spike’s Zippo lighter.

Spike pulled out the two charms they’d made at the magic shop, each one with a gem – two halves of the same translucent green stone – fastened to a leather cord so it could be tied around the bearer’s neck. Handing one to Buffy and putting the other on himself, he caught her anxious glance. “You all right, Slayer?”

Buffy was silent for a moment, studiously rubbing at the dirt with her toe. She seemed about to answer that she was fine, but then she sighed, defeated. “I froze. Before.”

“The boy?”

Buffy looked up at him in surprise, then she nodded.

“You can’t save everyone.” He knew it wouldn’t placate her, but he said it anyway.

She shook her head. “You don’t understand. It was me, Spike. I killed him. I watched myself -”

“No, you didn’t. A demon killed him. A demon who looked like you, yeah, but it wasn’t you, Buffy.”

“But it could be.” She turned to walk away, then spun back to him. “You don’t know what it’s like. To be faced with – to know that evil is inside of you.”

Spike smiled ever so slightly. “I know a little about that, pet.”

She fell silent, watching the Scoobies as they prepared the spell.

“Buffy…”

“If it happened again – If it was one of my friends or – or Dawn –” Her voice broke. “I’d never forgive myself.”

“They’ll be safe inside.”

“But what if I –”

“You won’t.”

There was a quiet intensity to his voice, and when she met his eyes, she found it echoed there. He held her in his gaze until Angel came sprinting up the street. “She’s nearby,” Angel said.

Buffy looked away from Spike. “Everybody inside. Giles, we’re ready.”

The others headed into the house as Buffy and Spike stepped into the sand circle. Giles handed Willow a book, already opened to the right page. As she and Tara started to chant simultaneously in Latin, Buffy and Spike each held up their right hand and clasped them together, their fingers intertwining. They locked eyes again, this time reaching deep into the other, as their strength began flowing back and forth through their joined hands. Spike allowed Buffy to pull the strength slowly out of him, storing it up in her own body.

“All right, release your hands.” Giles coached them from the open living room window as Willow and Tara continued chanting.

As soon as Spike let go, he could start to feel the connection breaking. “Concentrate!” Giles barked, and Spike focused on Buffy, blocking out everything else. He felt the energy building a second time, and the flowing thing started up again, this time without the physical contact.

“Buffy,” said Giles, “remember your training. Focus inward. Draw in your strength. Now step out of the circle.”

Buffy carefully stepped backward until she was completely outside the circle. Spike gritted his teeth, trying to keep the connection together as they separated.

“Good,” Giles told them. “Now just –”

“And what do we have here?” Buffy’s voice snarked from the street. “Yoga class?”

At the sound of her own voice, the real Buffy spun around to face her double.

“Man, you kids just never quit, do you?” Vamp Buffy glanced up at the house with a grin that sent shivers down Buffy’s spine. “I guess you’re just gonna keep bothering me until I kill you all. Like gnats. Like tiny. Annoying. Defenseless. Bugs.” She matched her steps to each word as she approached the slayer. She stopped directly in front of Buffy. “Squish.”

Her hand shot out, faster than any of them could see, backhanding Buffy and knocking her to the ground. Spike grunted as she fell, feeling her pain right along with her. He concentrated hard, pushing her up, back to her feet, and then she was fighting back, matching her vampire double blow for blow.

“Goldilocks learned a few tricks, huh? Your vampire can’t last forever. Then what are you gonna do?” She managed to slip past Buffy’s defenses and landed a kick that sent her reeling into a parked car. Buffy bounced off the hood and fell to the ground again, smacking the crown of her head on the asphalt.

“Buffy!” Angel strained to get out the front door, anxious to help, but Xander and Anya held him back. He was no match for Vamp Buffy, and their firm grip – one on each arm – was the only thing preventing him from getting himself killed.

Spike balled his fists and clenched his teeth as Buffy fought to stay conscious. He could feel pressure building in his head, felt the sharp pain where she’d hit as well as a throbbing in his temples and forehead. Neither one of them had been at their full strength when they started the spell, and it was all they could do now to hold on.

“Don’t worry,” Vamp Buffy said, flipping herself over the hood of the car to land in front of Buffy. “I won’t kill you. I’ll make you like me.”

“Evil psycho vamp? No thanks.”

Buffy used the car to pull herself back upright, but Vamp Buffy was on her before she could get to her feet. She yanked her up by the throat and slammed her against the car again, breaking the windshield.

“There’s no one more suited to be a vampire than us. We’re already killers.”

Buffy flinched at the word, but kicked the vampire in the stomach and gained a few seconds as her double reeled backwards. She reached down inside herself, as far as she could go, pulling strength inward from the charm that was magically linking her to Spike. “I’m not a killer. I’m a slayer.”

She leapt off the car and charged again, this time backhanding her vampire double and following it with a roundhouse kick. She spun around and jumped into ready position, preparing for Vamp Buffy’s next attack. She ducked a punch, then used her forearms to block several jabs, but stumbled as a kick to her temple seemed to come out of nowhere.

“Is there a difference?” Her vampire doppelganger kept up the conversation with ease, even as Buffy was panting with exertion as they exchanged fierce blows. “Just because you kill demons? You’re still a killer. You’ll always be a killer. But that’s the beauty of being a vampire. You can kill whoever you want without that pesky conscience.”

The vampire punched Buffy hard enough to snap her head back, and then hit her with an off-center kick that forced her to spin to keep her balance. Before she knew what had happened, Vamp Buffy had her, one arm twisted painfully behind her back, her head jerked to the side to expose the tender flesh of her neck. Vamp Buffy pulled her flush against her body, vamping out for the kill. “It’s no less than Spikey would’ve done for you.”

“No!” Angel broke free of his mortal restraints and rushed out of the house, throwing himself at the pair of Buffys. The distraction was enough for Buffy to get free, as Vamp Buffy went after Angel. Within moments, she had snapped his left arm and left a large gash across his face, from his ear to his chin. He cried out in pain as she kicked his kneecap, knocking it out of joint. Angel tumbled to the ground, unable to put weight on his leg.

“Aww, poor Angel,” she purred. “So valiant. So – sentimental.” She jammed the heel of her boot into his groin for good measure, causing him to curl up in the fetal position with an anguished moan, then turned back to Buffy with an eye-roll.

“God! He’s a disgrace to the species. Now there” – she pointed to Spike, her eyes revealing a shade of lust – “is a fine specimen. Pure, beautiful evil. Glorious violence.” She cocked one eyebrow thoughtfully. “Though he’s looking a little peaked at the moment.”

Buffy, having recovered slightly during the brief respite, came flying at her double, swinging the mailbox she’d uprooted from the foot of the walkway. It shattered into pieces against Vamp Buffy’s head and shoulder, but the vampire stayed on her feet. Buffy tried to stake her with the remnants of the mailbox’s wooden post, but Vamp Buffy landed a hard blow on her wrist and the makeshift stake clattered on the walkway.

“Let me end this. Save your vampire. You’re sapping his strength. I can give you new strength.”

“I’m strong enough, thanks.”

Buffy followed up with a series of karate kicks, most of which Vamp Buffy managed to block. Vamp Buffy threw a punch, but Buffy caught it before it reached her face and used the momentum to thrust her enemy backwards, knocking her to the ground. Buffy leapt on top of the vampire, and the two of them wrestled on the grass.

They rolled over a couple times, until Vamp Buffy ended up on top. She pressed her hands against Buffy’s throat, cutting off her air. “Are you? Are you strong enough?” Buffy kicked and struggled helplessly, trying without success to pry the vampire’s hands away.

Spike gasped, falling to his knees. He kept feeding Buffy his energy, until his entire body ached all over, like he’d worked every single muscle past its breaking point. Blood began pouring out his nose while Buffy struggled to get free. He could feel them both losing consciousness as it became harder and harder for her to breathe. He could feel it coming, washing over him, no matter how hard he tried to fight it. He felt the connection slipping away…

Then, suddenly – “Dawnie, no!”

He didn’t know who screamed it, but the next instant he felt her grab his hand in her tiny one. With her other hand she clasped the charm around Spike’s neck. Power surged through her and into Spike, and it felt like he’d stuck his finger in an electric socket. A searing pain engulfed his head, as though his skull were exploding, and bursts of color swam before his eyes. Then he collapsed in the middle of the circle, unconscious.