Title: Shades Of Grey
Author: ComfyChair
Rating: Probably as per the show itself, but there will be swearing.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places from the BtVS
Spoilers: Up to and including Season 5. MAJOR SPOILERS FOR NON-UK SKY VIEWERS.
Summary:
Feedback: Yes please, good bad or constructive. - comfychair35@hotmail.com
Notes: Buffy's suicide leap into the vortex had saved the world and the entity she called her sister. The realities were now safe from the demon realms beyond. But, what of those left behind? Giles, who had murdered to prevent Glory from returning. Willow, who had resorted to dark magic to aid her friends. Dawn, whose existance had been brought about to protect the Key from being discovered - the danger of which no longer existed. And, what of Spike? Murder, dark magic and the desire for redemption had been used to
Prologue (c3.5 years ago):
It was night and Buffy stood by a grave that had been recently filled. Giles was by her side, lending support to his student.
"Nothing's ever simple anymore," she spoke quietly. "I'm constantly trying to work it out: Who to love or hate, who to trust. It's just like I think the more I know, the more confused I get."
"I believe that's called growing up," Giles offered as an explanation.
"I'd like to stop then, ok?" She responded knowing that it was a useless plea.
"I know the feeling."
"Does it ever get easy?"
At that moment the grave's occupant burst through the freshly laid soil. Without moving from the spot she stood, Buffy met the vampire on the end of the stake she held up. It vanished into a cloud of dust, it's demon life extinguished before it could utter a word.
"You mean life?" Giles asked to Buffy's previous question.
"Yea, does it get easy?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"Lie to me."
Giles took a deep breath before replying. He smiled sadly. "Yes, it's terribly simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after."
Chapter One:
Buffy was dead.
Part of a Watcher's training was to expect the death of his or her slayer. The majority of Watchers assigned a slayer outlived their charges. Though some diaries catalogued the method of death, they never depicted the Watcher's feelings at the loss. Buffy had once refused to read the diaries, citing they deified slayers without revealing their personalities or those of their guides.
Giles was thus unprepared for the feelings he was experiencing. He had spent his whole life dreading one moment of inevitability and suddenly it had arrived.
"So, you're really leaving us," Willow said, her tone part disbelief and part accusation. "And England. You couldn't have picked a farther place?"
Giles stopped cramming clothes into his suitcase and paused for thought before turning to the young woman standing behind him. He sensed her judging him, and when he turned to face her, felt his thoughts confirmed by her expression. "It's been a long time."
"You went there a few months ago to consult with the Council."
"I meant..."
"You meant that there's nothing to keep you here anymore. What about the rest of us? Did you not think we would appreciate your knowledge? There are more things out there than trapped gods."
"If the Council still consider this a risk area they will send the next slayer here... with her Watcher." He faltered at the end.
Willow suddenly appreciated the fact that Giles' job was over. With Buffy dead he had no role. "What about staying for friendship's sake?" She offered.
"I've made my decision, Willow."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel walked in to the jail's compound, through the large imposing gates that were designed to create a sense of foreboding, of justice being severe and frightening. The sun was hidden behind clouds appropriate for his mood and fortunate for a being normally unable to visit so early. He approached the reception desk and announced his wish to visit Faith.
"Sorry, sir, not today," the guard instructed. "She's in solitary with no visitor rights."
Angel asked him why Faith was being punished. "She flipped a couple of days ago. Pity really since she had been a model prisoner since her arrival. I wasn't on duty, but apparently she went berserk one night shouting out 'she's dead' and 'there can be only one' and such like."
Angel was shocked. Faith must have sensed Buffy's passing. What was she feeling at this moment? "When can I see her?" He asked.
"No idea. Apparently she's being moved soon to another jail. Don't ask me why or where as we're all being kept in the dark."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xander stood by the window of his wonderful apartment. It was a status symbol he relished; a testament to his better half's negotiating skill. He still spent long moments in disbelief at the good fortune that blessed his adult life: a good job, a showcase apartment and a girl he loved. He hadn't been home for months and had no plans to do so. His old life and the Xander that had existed with it were gone, consigned to history, his parents with it. He couldn't quite draw a complete line under that former existence, however; the thought of a petite blonde he had once loved plagued his conscience still.
Anya wrapped her arms round his waist. He hadn't noticed her approach. They had spent the evening making love; lost in a desperate passion that wiped clear all thoughts except the person they held. Although he loved Anya with a strength that far outweighed what he had ever felt for Buffy, he still found it difficult to live a life without her in it. But, he relished his love for his ex-vengeance demon and he rejoiced in his successes, damning his parents' claims that he would never make anything of his life.
"Come back to bed," Anya said simply. She knew how he felt; she was human enough to sense the loss her lover felt.
"I love you, you know that, don't you?" Xander said again, echoing the same question he had asked several times before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Moon shone brighter in the desert; no lights competed with its brilliance. It cast shadows of rocks and the occasional tree that eked out a precarious existence in the searing heat of day and the shivering cold of night. Buffy was kept warm by a large bush that burned biblically before her. She observed her friends in its flickering flames.
A dark skinned figure emerged from the far side of the fire, her face marked with white paint. Her movements toward Buffy were almost choreographed in their appearance; her body bent forward, her arms and fingers outstretched, her feet barely making indentations in the sand.
"Are they ok?" Buffy pleaded, referring to the visions that still lay in the flames. "Will they recover?"
"No friends!" The First Slayer intoned. She brushed an arm through the flames and the pictures within disappeared. "We fight alone."
Buffy lashed out but hit air only as the aboriginal woman disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the fire, dancing her dance as though mocking Buffy.
"I never fought alone!" Buffy shouted through the orange glow of the fire. It flickered as though flinching from the verbal attack. "I never fought alone," she repeated, but this time to herself more quietly. "And!" She directed at the First, "Couldn't you have been more precise? I mean, 'death is your gift'! I've heard more sense from a backward talking dwarf. I very nearly didn't cotton on until the end."
The ancient figure faded without responding.
"Save your energy, Buffy. You're going to need it," a new voice added.
Buffy would recognise the voice anywhere. She hadn't heard that accent for a long time. She shouldn't have been surprised, however, to hear it there. Where else, after all, would you find a dead slayer but in the afterlife? She turned round to face her companion in the night.
"It's good to see you again, Kendra."
"I wish I could say the same. I thought you would last longer."
"I saw an opening to get out of the business and jumped at it." Buffy smiled but stopped when her attempt at humour elicited no response. "If you'd been there, you would think that funny."
"You never had the time to teach me a sense of humour."
"If I'd known Drusilla..." Buffy stated, guilt at Kendra's death still present.
"No worries," Kendra smiled this time.
"It is good to see you."
"And you."
"Now, tell me what I'm doing here."
Chapter Two:
"Death is on your heels, baby and sooner or later it's gonna catch you. Part of you wants it: the only way to stop the fear and uncertainty. 'Cos you're just a little bit in love with it. Death is your art. You make it with your hands, day after day. That final gasp, that look of peace. Part of you is desperate to know what's it like, where does it lead you...? Every slayer has a death wish. Even you... sooner or later you're gonna want it."
Spike's words, uttered seemingly an age ago, echoed in Buffy's mind. Dear Spike. He had spent all that night boasting of how he had killed two slayers, and had ended it sitting on her veranda trying to comfort the bane of his death, after her mother had revealed her illness. Dear sweet Spike.
She would have laughed at the memory, at the enigma that was a vampire with a chip, but Buffy was angry. From her vantage point on a raised outcrop of rocks, she stared out at the desert below her. The barren landscape stretched for miles offering nothing to grab her attention. Thus her anger was allowed free reign. Unfortunately she had no one nearby to rail at and nothing to throw or break. She went over the previous day in her mind; at least she assumed it had been yesterday - other realms had a nasty way of playing with time. It could have a week for all she knew.
"Why am I here?" She had asked Kendra on their reunion.
"To fight for your freedom."
"I'm dead, Kendra. I'm done with the fighting. Just show me the Pearly Gates or whatever, or is this it?" She had stretched out her arm to show she meant their present surroundings. "I must say; if I have to stay here it's a shitty reward for dieing to save the world."
"That's the problem. You didn't die, you killed yourself."
"What! I closed the portal and saved the World!"
"The Key was there for that."
"She was my sister!"
"She was a ball of light in the form of non-existent girl."
Buffy thought back to the night on the platform. She remembered seeing her sister, blood pouring through her fingers.
"What do I have to fight for?" She asked, deciding not to argue the point. "Freedom from what?"
"Freedom to choose. Life and the continuance of your duty or death."
"What or who do I have to fight?"
"Your predecessors. You will have to fight the other slayers to earn the right to choose."
Back in the present, Buffy stood on the rocky outcrop. Her anger was on the verge of transforming into despair when Kendra approached her again. The cool evening's breeze slightly lifted her hair. She wore it long and without the band holding it in place as she had when she was alive.
"You are still angry," she stated rather than asked.
"Yes, damn it! And I'll stay angry. That savage wants me to cry, I know it, but I won't. I've cried rivers in the last five years, enough for two lifetimes, so this desert will have to remain dry on my anger instead."
"Tears and anger, but no laughter?"
"I deserve my death, Kendra," she added, allowing a note of despair to sound. "I've earned it. I can't kill past slayers. I can't kill you."
"You won't kill them and they won't feel any pain. They're already dead. You, however, will feel every blow they inflict on you. And," she added, "We won't fight each other. I came after you, remember."
"Suppose I just choose life and resume my duties?"
"You will still have to fight for that choice."
"And, if I let myself be beaten?"
"That would be suicide again. Buffy, you have to fight. Fight to win, to earn the right to choose your fate. There is no easy way out of being a slayer"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...This is my quest, to follow that star,
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far...
...that a man, scorned and covered with scars,
Should fight, with his last ounce of courage,
To reach the unreachable star!
(Man of La Mancha)
Spike was drunk. He swayed about his tomb, a bottle of Jack Daniels precariously gripped in his right hand. He was a picture of demented self-pity that had morphed from his earlier anguish.
"I am the sun... and the air," he sang out loud, his words slurred. "I am demon and I need to be loved, just like everyone else does." He flung his arms wide in a dramatic pose, but this only caused him to stagger backwards ungainly. He managed to remain standing, though. "I've already taken too long, and all my... fucking patience is gone," he shouted out in anger at the last line and threw the empty bottle against the far wall.
He rejoiced at the shattering glass and turned from the show to see a figure standing in the doorway. He focused his eyes and realised it was Dawn. He immediately sobered up and was contrite and ashamed in equal measure. "Dawn, pet. What are you doing here?" He asked affectionately.
"That was a good show," the entity known as Dawn stated. "If I knew you watched Charmed I'd have joined you each week. Buffy was never a fan."
It had been a week since Buffy's sacrificial leap into the void. Everyone had reacted in his or her own, quite different ways. For Spike it was immersing himself in the parallel world that only alcohol could transport a person: a demon confronting demons. Xander, of course had his very own ex-demon, and he chose passion to forget. No one knew what Willow was thinking. She seemed self occupied, lost in her own thoughts behind a wall that not even Tara could breach. Giles immersed himself in the role of guide and mentor, but he had the tragic look of a teacher who had lost his favourite pupil. Dawn seemed calm, as though the innocence of a child extended to the acceptance of death.
"What're you doing here?" Spike repeated. "The others will be worried." The whole gang had taken it upon themselves to be guardians, with Giles as the front-person where school and other authorities were concerned. Dawn's father had not been traced so far.
"I sent them a text message," Dawn replied showing the vampire her mobile phone.
"Then why..."
"I felt like coming. People I love have the habit of dying when I'm around, so I thought I'd come here seeing as you're already dead and all."
"Good sense. It's good to see that in someone so young."
Dawn entered Spike's home and stood in the centre as though lost for what to do next. "I haven't seen you since the funeral... I've missed you."
"You and no-one else, I'm sure. I'm not everyone's favourite crusader against the darkness, living the wrong side of sunset."
"That's not fair. You helped just as much last week as the others."
"I know that, but I think they see me as being too close to the dark they fear, besides, I've a fair bit of bad history to live down."
"That's crap. You're more twilight than dark. Besides, Angelus was far worse than you..."
"Hey! You take that back... although, thank you for the sentiment."
Dawn laughed. Spike thought he caught a glimpse of her sister in her eyes. He turned away from the young girl.
"You really loved her, didn't you?" She pursued.
"For all my many sins yes... in the end I think I did. Pathetic, huh? And sick and disgusting..."
"Why...? Spike, it was sweet and... I think she understood at the end."
"So do I. Come on, I'll take you home."
They threaded their way through the scattered graves that surrounded Spike's address. Buffy's own grave was elsewhere as this was one of Sunnydale's older resting places.
"I dreamt of her last night," Dawn broke the silence of the journey. "She was fighting. It seemed so real. Why is it she has to always fight?" She looked up at her companion.
"I don't know, pet. Was she winning?"
"Yes, but more opponents kept coming and she... she was sad and angry and... it wasn't a nice dream."
Spike put his arm round her as they made their way to Giles'.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giles was still in Sunnydale. His suitcase was still packed from the week before, but when he had recourse to take things from it, he always replaced them when washed and ironed again.
Willow had talked him into staying for a couple more days after she had found him packing. She said his presence was needed to ensure everyone bonded in mutual mourning, rather than knee-jerk react by leaving.
No slayer meant no superhero to defend the forces of light, and the forces of light were suffering an identity crisis. The presence of Buffy, the slayer, had always instilled confidence in the gang that couldn't throw straight, but Buffy the friend had also held them together emotionally. Tara and Anya were not looked upon as being integral - not being part of the original combo. Willow disliked Anya's attitude and no one had an opinion on Tara. If he stretched it further, Giles confessed to himself that Xander drove him crazy, and as for Spike...
The vampire attacks started after the first week.
Chapter Three:
In the spring
The full moon shines for the warrior
Who has lost his way.
Xander wished they wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. It only made him feel worse; that he couldn't conjure up any emotions beyond a faint sense of regret and a guilty feeling of relief. It wasn't as though he really loved his parents.
The first raid by the new vamps in town, made confident by the presence of a Hell mouth sans a slayer, had been on one of Sunnydale's more fashionable restaurants. In truth, it was the only fashionable one in town. Mr and Mrs Harris dined there regularly, to be seen. It was the only public place they never argued, saving that joy until they got home afterwards.
The attack had been vicious and brazen; such was the demons' confidence. Everyone was killed with no conversions. It was as though the gang regarded Sunnydale's high society with contempt. The rich and influential died as easily as anyone else, and would stay dead.
"Are you ok?" Tara asked, finding Xander leaning on his parents' veranda staring at the sunset. She felt uneasy, lonely even. Willow had been strangely remote that evening and she did not have the courage to strike up a conversation with any of the others.
"Yes, fine. I'm just having a Dawson Creek moment; staring at the sun in moody silence," he smiled for her benefit.
"Is it working?"
"Not really. It's not the same without a soundtrack. Sarah McLachlan would be good."
"Or Counting Crows."
"They would work, yea." He looked over Tara's shoulder to see Giles approaching. "I'm going hunting tonight, Giles. I need to kill something."
"Is that wise?" The Watcher asked, his voice neutral, careful not to sound disapproving or encouraging.
"Probably not," Xander smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that night Willow emerged from a lock up garage. She took great care in ensuring it was secured properly. Turning round to leave, she staggered slightly and used the garage door to hold herself steady. A spot of blood hit her jeans, its tendrils spread through the cotton fabric virus like. She cursed the stain it would make and stemmed further drops by placing a finger under her nose. With her free hand she took out a tissue from a pocket and used it to soak up the thick red liquid, successfully halting the flow.
Willow felt weak at the knees and concerned she would not make it back to her and Tara's rooms. She conjured up energy from a whispered incantation. Her eyes went black and she stood bolt upright as a surge of energy coursed her veins. Reinvigorated, she shook her head to clear earlier cobwebs of fatigue. Her eyes returned to their natural colour and Willow set out on her journey, her resolve outweighing any fear she may have had at the need to resort to magic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xander saw Spike standing under a tree up ahead, along the route he was taking to the nearest of Sunnydale's many cemeteries. He still had mixed feelings about his former nemesis. Unlike the others he was not so easily convinced of the vampire's good intentions. Like a rat in a laboratory, Spike was being conditioned to be good by the chip embedded in his skull: be bad and experience pain, be good and win the trust of the slayer and all her friends. He still enjoyed violence too much for Xander's liking. It was just inflicted on his own kind now. That last thought made Xander feel uneasy, since what else was he out this late for, if not to kill Spike's kind.
"Why, it's Xander, Xander, Xander of the jungle," Spike teased. "I thought I'd join you. Keep you company so to speak," the vampire stated when the human was within earshot. "It can be dangerous fighting alone without superpowers."
"Why? Why would you want to help me?" Xander asked almost belligerently. "Why would you even want to kill your own kind?" He echoed his earlier thoughts.
Spike shrugged. "Perhaps I'm looking for my own redemption of sorts. Why do you do it?"
"Nothing so noble, I can assure you. I just enjoy the kill."
"I know a crypt with some new occupants," Spike revealed
"Ok," Xander responded trying to keep a level head. "I guess you can come along then." Spike picked up the pace. "Redemption?" Xander queried the vampire's earlier comment, his tone cynical.
"What can I say, I enjoy tilting at windmills."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willow made her way home along a street lined with shops closed for the night. That part of town tended to be empty after closing time. An occasional car passed her, its headlights revealing shop doorways and adding form to trashcans and free magazine holders. To cure the boredom of the journey she counted her steps between each streetlight and watched as her shadow overtook her as she passed under the glare of each lamp. So lost was she in her game that she didn't hear the approach of the demon from behind.
It grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her back. Two more vampires appeared from the other side of the road and walked up to face the small redhead. One gripped her jaw with one hand and forced her head to one side. He sneered at their intended victim and released his grip. "Barely enough for one of us, let alone three."
"Let me go!" Willow shouted vainly as she struggled to break free from the arm hold of the monster behind her. The one who had spoken slapped her hard across the face, holding back nothing. Willow tasted blood from the corner of her mouth and her ear rang with force of the impact. Her head hung down.
The vampire grabbed her jaw again and forced her head back up. He stepped back suddenly when he saw the colour of her eyes; pitch black and staring straight at him. He knew what he was facing and his own eyes betrayed him. "Let her go!" He shouted to his colleague: terror by now taking hold.
The vampire behind released Willow's arms and stepped back. The fear on the other's face, an emotion he had never seen, filled his own lifeless body with dread. The former hostage flung her right arm out straight, her fingers apart and extended. The vampire that had struck her before went flying backwards and off the ground. It collided with a street sign and slid to the floor.
The other demon in front of her flew back in similar fashion as she pushed her left arm forward. The first recovered and pulled himself up to a standing position. Willow gestured to her right and he went flying into the plate glass window of the nearest shop. The second adversary bravely charged the witch but hit a wall of air, which held him on invisible strings.
Willow caused a fragment of glass from the broken window to rise and sent it at the trapped demon. It embedded in his neck. He pulled it out and flung it aside only to find another hit his leg. He took that shard out as well, but found another impale his side. More shards of glass pierced him and he stepped back screaming, his arms flailing desperately but unsuccessfully to avoid the onslaught.
The vampire behind Willow grabbed her again, this time wrapping his arms round her body thinking to squeeze the air from her lungs. Her arms still free, though, Willow was able to summon a six-inch strip of glass to her hand. She gripped it; ignoring the cuts it made to her palm, and backward stabbed it into the vampire's side. It released its grip. Willow pulled the glass out, twisted round and drove it into the demon's heart. She turned round again before the dust settled to confront the one who had hit her earlier. The shop front was empty; the vampire had fled.
Willow's eyes lost their dark hue and she collapsed in exhaustion. Seconds later a man knelt on the ground in front of her. "Are you ok, miss?" He asked concerned, resting a hand on her shoulder.
Willow came awake instantly and on impulse threw the Samaritan backwards. He hit the windscreen of an oncoming car and rolled on to the road. The car stopped in time and the driver emerged in shock to check on the victim. Willow stood up terrified at what she had done. Taking just enough time to see that man was still alive, she ran from the scene.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several vampires started to emerge from the crypt following several insults from Xander and Spike. Xander stood determined to face down the enemy. Spike had a demented grin that betrayed his lust for violence. One vampire charged the human. When it was barely inches from its target Xander bent down. The demon collided with him and found itself gripped by the waist and tossed over the boy. It landed hard on the ground behind. Xander charged the next one down. He landed on top of it and wasted no time in staking his victim. He stood up and confronted the first vampire who had recovered. It was taken from behind, however, by Spike, who broke its neck with one clinical twist. The blonde vampire then staked it for good measure.
Xander was grabbed from behind. He wanted to scream out loud at the pain inflicted on his ribs by the bear hug. Instead he leant his full weight backwards causing his attacker to stumble. It released its arms to break its fall. Xander spun round and stabbed the vampire's heart and dust was all that reached the ground.
The fight continued for several minutes. It was not all one sided, however as the element of surprise soon wore off and the forces for good found it increasingly hard to take down each demon. Just as it looked as though they were about to be overwhelmed a vampire appeared from the darkness of the surrounding trees. He shouted something to his colleagues that neither Xander nor Spike caught. It must have been important as they found themselves without a target to enact their justice upon.
Xander fell to his knees exhausted. Spike ran to the edge of the clearing and shouted colourful abuse at the fleeing enemy, concentrating on their dubious parentage and their poor choice of supporting something called Arsenal that was lost on Xander.
"How do you feel now?" Spike asked the still kneeling Xander.
The boy wiped tears from his eyes and sat down on the battlefield. "A little sick," he eventually managed to say. "I... I feel I have a calling now. Tonight was... ok, I confess that tonight was butchery for the sake of revenge, but there's something clean and pure in protecting what is worth protecting. The World is too precious to let it be sacrificed when it can so easily be saved."
"God help us, he's become a crusader," Spike commented bleakly. "I really thought there was hope for you, boy. If the World knew what you did for it, the best you'd get is a ten-minute slot on Jerry Springer."
The vampire started to walk away from the scene.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willow looked out of the window. The clouds parted and she was shocked to see that a full moon shone that night. She had long since stopped ticking her calendar for each month's appearance. The full shaped disc seemed pure; a perfectly formed beacon. She heard a noise in the room behind her. "Oz?" She whispered into the darkness. She made out Tara's form and her perfume. "Hello," she welcomed her lover simply.
Willow walked over to a low height cupboard and lit four candles that stood spaced out on the top. Tara's face appeared in the glow that they and the moon projected.
"How are you?" Willow asked.
"You said Oz," the other Wicca responded.
"I didn't."
"Excuse me, but you certainly did too."
"It must have been the Moon then, triggering memories. I apologise."
"Do you miss him?"
"I miss the times... simpler times. Don't look like that, Tara," Willow felt irritated by her partner's mood.
"Where were you tonight?"
"It's late, we best get some sleep," Willow stated, ignoring the question.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xander lay in bed with his fiancé. His joints ached from the night's fighting. Part of him felt it was a clean fatigue brought on by honest labour, but he remembered Spike's admonishment. He put it to back of his mind. "Nothing is more comforting," he said to Anya, "than cuddling up to your sweetheart naked under the covers."
Anya stirred. "I guess this is not a good time to say my arm has gone dead, and I'm getting a stiff neck from you breathing on it," she said innocently.
Xander smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following night, after spending the evening watching television together, Spike escorted Dawn back to Giles' apartment.
"So, it's like an extended family then?" Dawn added.
They had been going through the order of siring: Darla to Angel to Drusilla to Spike.
"Yea, if you don't mind a psychopath for a mother and a ponce for a father."
"But, there's always Darla for a grandmother," Dawn skipped ahead and slowly walked backwards facing Spike. "It must be tough wanting to shag your gran."
"Dawn!"
"Oh, ewww! I just remembered; you've all slept with each other. No wonder you're all damned."
"Hey! I only slept with Dru."
"Your mother," Dawn pointed out with a smile, warming to the game of baiting the indignant vampire.
"Ok, can we stop playing analogies now."
"Hold on, I think I can hear something," Dawn struck a theatrical pose of listening out for a sound.
"What?"
"I think it's duelling banjos," she giggled.
"You're way too smart for a ball of light."
"Yea, but you love me just... Spike, what's up?" She asked noticing her companion's sudden look of fear. She turned round to see what had taken his concentration. The floor ahead was strewn with corpses, their throats concealed by blood. Around them stood a dozen vampires.
"Damn!" Spike cursed. "I've walked us into a trap like an unbitten virgin." He looked at his young charge, his eyes remorseful. "Dawn, I'm sorry... I can't take them all."
"I'm not scared," she reassured him, shocking herself with her own calm. "Really I'm not, but could you... I mean I'd rather not be taken by them." She tilted her head slightly and lowered the collar of her t-shirt to leave her neck clear.
Spike stood back in horror at what she was suggesting.
The spell of resignation and horror was broken by the sound of fighting. They both turned to see three vampires dusted in quick succession. It took Spike several seconds before he joined the fight, such was the shock he felt. The battle was over in just a few minutes. Spike brushed dust from his coat and stood staring at their saviour.
"Hello, Spike. Miss me? And, is that Dawn there? What are you doing up so late? It's a school night. I hope you've done your homework."
"Buffy?" Spike managed to utter.
Chapter Four:
The likeness was uncanny. The boy who had created her should be working for a leading electronics firm earning a high salary, either that or hanging by his neck from the highest branch. Opinion amongst the group assembled at the Magic Shop was mixed.
"Does she have to be so damn cheerful all the time?" Anya added to the assemblage. "I mean Buffy was never that cheerful. She cried a lot if I recall."
"It's unnerving, I grant you," Xander agreed.
"Sublime to the ridiculous, if you ask me."
"Yeah, well no one is asking you," Willow said unkindly.
"Willow!" Xander jumped to his partner's defence.
All the regulars were present: Giles was behind the shop counter speaking to someone on the telephone. Spike and Dawn sat together, across from Willow and a silent Tara. Spike had the appearance of bottled up anger. Tara was going over the events of the early hours of that morning. She had been asleep with Willow when the door to their room was kicked inwards off its hinges. Spike had stood there framed by the light of the hall behind.
Tara and Willow had sat up in bed, shielding their night sight from the sudden glare. Spike had crossed the threshold and started shouting something about Buffy. It had taken Tara several seconds to register that he meant the robot.
Willow's first reaction to the onslaught had been to cast a spell that caused Spike to fly backwards. The speed of flight, coupled with the short distance from where he was standing to the wall, made the impact more effective, and the intruder slumped to the floor semi-conscious. "No!" Dawn screamed. The Wiccas had not noticed her until then.
"How dare you come in here and dictate to me?" Willow had shouted, ignoring the young girl kneeling at the vampire's side. "You're nothing but a dead man walking. I'm trying to save us. Buffy can save us!"
"It's an abomination!" Spike had spat, having regained consciousness. "A beautiful creation," he added quietly, "but an abomination all the same. Buffy is dead."
Dawn helped her friend to his feet and faced the red head. "It was wrong, Willow." She turned and helped Spike to the doorway.
"I loved her," Willow said weakly.
"I know," Dawn accepted, but without turning round to face her.
The gang were now all assembled in the Magic Shop.
"I still say switch her off," Spike repeated himself, the conversation having gone in circles.
"No," Giles added as he joined the others. "As much as I don't approve of Willow reactivating it, it exists. We need the robot to fight the proliferation of vampires in Sunnydale."
"Does Dawn not get a say in this?" Spike persisted.
"No."
"It's alright, Spike," Dawn put her hand on his arm. "I couldn't choose anyway. She is like her in many ways, don't you think?" She tilted her head and regarded the facsimile that sat seemingly contented. The robot smiled back, looking completely unfazed to the fact that they were all talking about her.
"What about the next slayer, will she be sent here?" Xander asked.
"There'll be no new slayer," Giles replied. He rubbed his eyes as though the whole affair was wearing him down and he longed to be on that plane to England.
"Are you tired, Giles," the robot asked, "You shouldn't read so late into the night," it admonished motherly. Giles afforded a brief glance at her before averting his gaze.
"But, Buffy died and..."
"She died before, remember," the Watcher spoke quietly to Xander. "And Kendra was called."
"So?"
"Think about it lad," Spike added almost fatherly. "If it was that easy to call a slayer, the Council would have one permanently strapped to an operating table, flat lining her every ten minutes to create an army. A new slayer can only be called from another on one occasion."
"What about Faith?"
"We don't need her!" Willow said defiantly.
"Faith's missing," Giles replied. "That was Angel on the phone; she was removed from the prison and has not been seen since."
The news was met by silence.
"I love Angel," the robot said as though she felt it added to the conversation.
"That's it!" Spike stood up angry and made to leave.
"Spike, please don't go," Dawn pleaded.
He stood by her side. "I bet you programmed her to hate me as well," he directed bitterly at Willow.
"I could never hate you, Spike," the robot said, the new seriousness of her voice taking everyone by surprise. "You saved my life and Dawn's. I will always love you for that."
Spike sat down again. "Oh, Red, what have you done?" He cradled his face in his hands.
"See? She really isn't so different." Dawn said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her.
"She's a robot, pet. Just a robot."
"But, she looks so much like her," Dawn persisted. "Buffy always parted her hair like that and she loved to wear that sweater and... is it so wrong to want... I miss her so much."
Dawn broke down and Spike took her in his arms. He looked over at Willow. The Wicca was only able to meet his accusing gaze for a few seconds before turning her head away. Unable to bear the critical comments or stares of her friends, she stood up to leave.
"I'll come too," the robot offered. "I have to patrol to kill demons," it added as if reciting from a job description.
Tara followed them both up the short flight of steps to the door of the shop. Before they reached it, however, there was a knock from outside. Tara did the honours and stepped back in surprise at the newcomer.
"Hi everyone. I bet you didn't... Buffy! But you're supposed to be dead," the newcomer blurted out on suddenly noticing the blonde apparition before her.
"I don't like you," the robot stated. "You slept with my boyfriend and are a skanky ho'"
"What... you aren't Buffy. What's going on here, Giles?"
"Never mind that. What are you doing here? You've got a nerve showing your face again," Willow uttered ungraciously as Faith stood in the doorway.
The others at the rear of the shop stood up. "Faith, Angel told us you were missing," Giles said eventually.
"I still am to some people, I hope. I gave my captors the slip."
"Well you're not welcome here!"
"Willow!" Xander gave his friend a disapproving look. "You heard what Angel said about her; she's trying to reform so give her the benefit of the doubt."
"You're only being friendly cos' you want to sleep with her again!"
"Excuse me," Anya faced her fiancé, an ominous look to her usual 'innocent abroad' face. "You slept with her."
"It was nothing," Xander said hopefully.
"Oh, thanks for that," Faith added. "I can't say how happy I am to have you on my side, and I mean that literally."
"What I meant was, it happened so quick... although, not that quick, you understand..."
"Xander, I'd quit while you still have a chance of catching up." Giles offered. "Faith, come in."
Willow barged past the living slayer and left the shop. The robot followed her; a vacant smile revealing it registered nothing. Tara also left, affording an embarrassed glance at Faith before closing the door behind her.
"Hi everyone," Faith repeated.
"Come on over, Faith," Giles offered the young woman. "Fill in some gaps for us and we'll do the same."
Faith sat on one of the vacant chairs. She sat up straight with her hands placed on her legs, as though attending an interview. The others scraping their chairs into a semi circle facing her strengthened the analogy. She explained how she was removed from her cell and transported to a holding point. She had originally thought she was being sent to a more secure facility, as punishment for her behaviour on sensing Buffy's death. Giles showed special interest at the latter. He was unaware that such a link existed between slayers, but had to confess that he could not recall ever reading of two being alive at the same time.
"So who exactly took you then," Spike asked. Of all the gang he knew less about Faith than anyone. He had less reason to mistrust her, although he had his doubts as to her commitment to not killing him - her reputation having preceded her.
"I'm guessing the Council. They need a Slayer, after all," Xander offered.
"You kidding, they'd sooner see me dead and a fresh one called. No, it was our friendly neighbourhood lawyers who sprung me."
"Wolfram and Hart? Angel has told us about them." Giles paced back and forward past the bookcase.
"One and the same. They wanted me to be their pet slayer, offered me an apartment and all."
"What made you refuse?" Xander was curious.
"Been there, done that, remember. Besides, I'm 'trying to reform'."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Five:
The pseudo slayer patrolled every night, protecting Sunnydale's citizens from the unknown horrors that shared the town with them. As always they were unaware of the warrior amongst them, and were thus ignorant to the fact that there had been a transfer of responsibility from a living, breathing slayer to an electronic creation.
Several nights into the new arrangement, Buffy, Spike and Xander patrolled. The vampire and the mortal were slowly getting used to sharing their duties with the robot. In a fight they could easily forget that the real thing no longer existed.
"Demons up ahead!" Xander shouted as a dozen rushed forward.
Spike shouted a war cry, ramming one with his shoulder whilst lashing out at a second with his right arm. Xander engaged the latter, which had been knocked back by Spike's blow. Another was about to spring forward but Buffy leapt at it, her hands gripped securely around its throat. Xander slashed with his knife, taking his opponent below its rib cage and causing the ground to be drenched with the creature's blood and entrails.
Buffy swiped to her left with a stake, cutting a deep gash diagonally down one opponent's chest. She followed this by shifting her stance to her left and thrusting the weapon through a second. She did the two movements whilst still on the run, the motions only slightly halting her momentum. However, the effort of pulling the stake out of the second vampire caused her to stumble on to her back. Three demons saw her down and attacked together. Buffy kicked the first in the stomach, winding it. It fell back several feet. The second found its legs swept up by the wide swing of her arm. The remaining foe took advantage of the motion to stand on the hand that held the stake, causing Buffy to relinquish hold of it. It took pleasure in slowly lifting the sword it held, with the intention of bringing it down on the mechanical slayer. Before it could complete its manoeuvre, however, the point of a blade protruding from below its ribcage interrupted its attention. It remained alive just long enough to see it vanish back where it came from. The vampire collapsed on the spot. Buffy rolled away in time to avoid its falling sword. With it out of her field of vision, she saw Spike standing looking down at her.
"Thank you, Spike," she said with the broad grin of an innocent.
The blonde vampire went to offer her his hand to pull her up, but instead backed away. "Don't mention it," he offered reluctantly.
Buffy stood up and surveyed the scene. The battle was over and the good guys were still alive. Xander brushed death dust from his shirt. "Good fighting both of you," the robot complimented. "Let's go to the Bronze and get sweaty," she added enthusiastically.
Xander looked at Spike, his face mirroring the vampire's mixed emotions. "Is this weird or is it just me?" He voiced. "It seems eerily normal. I don't know whether to feel guilty or relieved."
"I could just as easily puke." Spike added. "But what the hell, lets get drunk," he grabbed the robot by the arm and led it in the direction of the club.
"Well, you two have fun," Xander offered. "I think I'll go rest in the arms of my vengeance demon."
"Whatever. You pick your oblivion and I'll pick mine."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three hours later Spike swayed belligerently through Sunnydale's oldest cemetery, heading towards the crypt he called home. Buffy kept up with him, the smile that annoyed him so much ever present. They had danced for hours. He had been lost in the music and heat and chaos of the dance floor and been able to wipe his mind clear. Between numbers he had downed drinks as though Prohibition was about to be announced.
"You've drunk far too much," she admonished good-humouredly.
"The night's still young," he countered, draining the bottle of Jack Daniels he held before throwing it at a nearby headstone. It shattered and he staggered sideways.
"That's disrespectful to the dead, Spike. You shouldn't do it."
"Shut up!" He swung round to face her. He walked up to his tormentor and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Shut up!" He repeated, his face inches from hers. She didn't flinch, but smiled still. "Damn you! I could hit you and you'd still mock me with that smile."
Spike stepped back. He grabbed his head with his hands and ran them through his hair manically. "Do you think or feel anything at all?"
"I think you are being silly," she replied as she walked up to him. She ran a hand down the side of his face and, raising herself on tiptoes, she kissed his lips. Then again. The first time was gentle, testing his response, and then she allowed passion to take control. Spike responded by wrapping his arms round her and answering her intensity with his own.
"Oooh, Spike you bad vampire. You've no respect for the dead," she teased as they tumbled to the soft ground in between headstones of forgotten Sunnydale residents.
Spike leapt back from the mirror vision of Buffy and stood up in horror at what he had almost done. "What's up, Spikey, do you want to go inside and do it?" Buffy smiled up at him.
"Get away from me!" He yelled down at her before he veered away from her sight and fled the scene.
The robot stood up unfazed by Spike's response. It brushed dirt from its trousers and started on its way back to Willow's lock up garage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hi, Xander," Faith teased as he walked into the shop with Anya close behind.
"Hi... everyone," he waved nervously to Faith and Tara. "Where's everyone else? Where's Giles?"
"Not here yet."
"Great. We answer the bat phone and no batman."
"I'm behind you, Xander," Giles announced as he squeezed pass the young man and his slightly older partner. "Where's Willow?" He asks casting his eyes round the shop's interior.
"She's patrolling with Buffy... with the robot, I mean. And Dawn's with Spike.
Giles appeared annoyed at the news. "Sit down everyone," he instructed ungraciously as he threw his coat over the counter and stood by the large table at the back of the shop.
The others did as they were told and all looked up at the Watcher expectantly. Giles looked tired and, to emphasise it, he removed his glasses and dragged his hand down his face. He massaged his eyes for several seconds.
"We're grownups, Giles. Spill the beans," Faith broke the silence.
"Angel called this afternoon," Giles sat down. "One of his contacts has heard that Wolfram and Hart plan to resurrect Buffy."
He was surprised that the news did not evoke a stronger response; the young people before him remained silent.
"Can they do that?" Xander asked eventually.
"Yes," Tara spoke up, which caught everyone by surprise. "The result may not be pretty, depending on what method they use. If they are successful in avoiding a zombie, she will be theirs to command."
"That's great, a video nasty or a puppet," Xander uttered. He stood up and walked to the shop counter. "Perhaps we can send our robot up against it to complete the farce!" He swiped his hand across the counter top, knocking off a display of tarot cards, causing them to scatter all around him. The Grim Reaper stared up at him from the floor.
"They resurrected Darla and she was pre-vamp... totally amoral but human with it," Faith added.
"That was a once in a lifetime event. This raising will be less... subtle, I'm sure," Giles said.
"What do we do then?" Xander asked.
Giles did not respond straight away. He looked as though he was reluctant to reveal something, as though to do so would open a Pandora's box. He was rescued by Faith. "We resurrect her first... It's all we can do," she added quickly when Xander and Tara looked at her with horrified expressions. "A zombie on our side is better than one against us."
"How long do we have and how do we do it?" Anya asked the questions the others wanted to.
"They will attempt it on the next full moon, so we have some time. As to how; Willow and Tara should be strong enough," Giles looked to the latter for confirmation. Tara nodded her head.
"Well, if that's all the news for today, I think I'll call it a night," Xander said bitterly. "You'll excuse me, won't you?"
He made for the exit. Anya picked up her bag and stood up to leave as well. "Don't worry, he'll cheer up later. We'll have sex and I'll tell him how good he was afterwards.
The young couple left the shop. Faith watched them depart. "I like her," she referred to Anya after the door was closed. "She's such an uncomplicated person." Giles smiled despite his temperament. "Anyone for alcohol?" the Slayer offered. "I don't know about you two, but I intend to drink until I throw up."
Giles produced a bottle of malt whiskey from his office, with three mugs and did the honours. Tara knocked back her drink before the others had a chance to start and held out her mug for more. Faith laughed and poured her a second offering.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willow walked alongside Buffy. They were threading their way through a small grove of trees that stood on the edge of one of Sunnydale's parks. They came out from under the branches and set out across an open field. They reached the centre when they both heard the sound of engines revving. From up ahead Willow saw two cars heading for them. She and Buffy turned full circle to discover two more, one coming from the left, the other the right. It was too late to run.
The four cars skidded to a halt, creating deep brown trenches in the soft turf and causing wads of mud topped with grass to scatter either side of each vehicle. Four vampires emerged from each car. They approached the young woman and the robot with expressions of victory already on their faces.
Buffy wasted no time in taking the fight to the enemy and charged, a stake in each hand for the nearest driver and his passengers. Willow called upon her magic, born of darkness from the book that Giles didn't know he had in his archive. Her eyes went black and she concentrated her energy on one attacker at a time. Each adversary found itself walking through air made thick, making it harder to advance. Trapped in the unseen web, they were easy prey for Willow's second attack; each vampire exploding into dust as their hearts exploded through their ribcages.
With her attention taken up, Willow did not notice the demon behind her raise its arm, with the intention to sever her head with sword it carried. Buffy noticed, however, and levelled a kick to the back of its right leg, causing it to collapse backwards. The robot caught the vampire on its downward fall and, as it lay in her arms, she plunged a stake through its heart. She stood up quickly to avoid being blinded by dust.
Willow turned at the sound behind her. Before she could thank her good fortune or her saviour she shouted in terror in an attempt to warn Buffy. The robot raised its eyebrows curiously, and made to turn round. Before she could complete the move, however, a spear was plunged through her back. The metal reappeared through her chest.
"No!" Willow screamed.
The robot held out one hand and made to approach her friend and creator. The vampire pulled out the spear and stood back, a look of triumph on its face as Buffy collapsed into Willow's arms. The Wicca fell to her knees with the weight of supporting her friend. She hugged the lifeless machine and lifted her head to the cloudless night sky and cried out loud in sorrow.
Her eyes went dark; her body radiated an intense glow and her cry turned into a scream of rage as power surged out in an ever-widening circle around her. The circle expanded and everything that stood in its path was incinerated; vampires, cars grass and eventually the trees that bordered the open field where she still knelt with the broken facsimile of her lost friend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike sat with Dawn watching Charmed on his television. He said he only watched it to keep his young charge company, but Dawn knew he fancied Holly Marie Combs. Suddenly the air around them seemed to ripple like a desert heat haze. Spike stood up suddenly.
"Who are you?" He demanded of the young girl sitting across from him. Dawn flinched at the sudden movement and a look of confusion followed the question. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Spike demanded again.
"Spike, you're scaring me."
"How do you know my name?"
"It's me, Dawn..." she realised that he was none the wiser. She stood up and backed away. "Don't you remember... I'm Buffy's sister... the Key..."
Spike shook his head as though he were trying to dislodge a memory from inside. The air rippled again and he found himself wondering why he was standing up, and why Dawn was too, with a look of fear on her face. "Dawn, pet, what's wrong?" He asked concerned. She started to cry and he was at her side straight away. "Don't cry. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she lied through tears and sought comfort in his arms. "I just... old memories and fears, nothing more."
"Come and sit down then and I'll make us some supper."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xander placed the microwaved pizza on to a large tray and walked into the lounge. Anya had her back to him as she was aiming the remote control at the television. The ground seemed to shake for a couple of seconds, nearly causing Xander to drop the tray. His lover turned round and he backed up in shock, terror on his face. This time he did spill the pizza; pepperoni and cheese causing grease stains on the immaculate wood flooring. Instead of his girlfriend he saw demon features facing him. After several seconds Anya eventually replaced Anyanka again and Xander wiped sweat from his face.
"Xander, what's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"It's ok, honey... I was just a little light-headed. I guess I really need to eat."
"Yea? Well let's not have pizza, shall we." Anya said surveying the wreckage of the one on the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amy sat on Tara's bed, naked and shivering, her legs curled up to her chest. She shook with relief at finally being freed from her rodent existence, and with cold from the lack of clothing. Over powering both, however, was fear at the power that must have been exerted to break the spell that she had cast on herself nearly three years before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tara! Are you ok?" Giles asked as he held the Wicca in his arms. Minutes before she had stood up suddenly screaming in pain or fear or both, and covering her face with her hands. She had eventually collapsed to the floor. Giles was relieved when she finally opened her eyes and looked at him. Thin trails of blood escaped from her eyes and ears and one drop threatened to escape from one of her nose. Faith stood over them both, prone for action against some unseen foe.
"I'm fine... I think... yes, I'm fine."
"What happened?"
"Magic," she replied simply. "Powerful and dark. I was affected because I have some power and it must have reacted with it. Giles, I think it was Willow..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flames had taken hold of the wooden fence that bordered the park. They billowed in the breeze with a white intensity that no water would extinguish until they chose it to. The grass for several feet beyond was singed brown. Further in, the scorched green became earth stripped of vegetation and left off white with ash. Further in again any trees left standing were blackened sticks of charcoal that would crumble to dust on touch. Beyond the tree line the field was gone, heat blasted to molten liquid and reformed into a mockery of earth that would never grow anything again. In the centre of what revealed to be a circle of destruction sat two figures huddled together. One appeared lifeless as it hung limp in the arms of the other. The second figure rocked back and forth slowly, oblivious to the fact that she was the only living thing, human animal or vegetation that existed for a radius of half a mile from the spot she was sitting.
Hours later she allowed Giles to lift her up and take her back to his apartment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Six:
Amy sat at the back of the Magic Shop devouring a large pizza. The fact she had an audience did not bother her. In fact, the attention was just as welcome, having spent nearly two years as a rat and only a spinning wheel to amuse her. Tara had discovered her a few hours earlier and during that time everyone had brought her up to date on events that had occurred during the lost years.
"Wow, that was like watching all 21 episodes of your favourite show in one sitting," Amy eventually said when they had finished. "And, how many cliff-hangers was that?"
"We've nearly fallen off a few of those," Xander added.
"That last one is pretty major," Amy referred to the need to raise Buffy before Wolfram and Hart.
"Do you think you can help Tara... now that Willow is... temporarily out of action?" Giles asked.
Willow was resting at Giles' apartment, with Tara watching over her. She had been distraught and scared. The loss of the robot, which she had begun to look upon as her creation, and her responsibility to use to protect her friends had almost tipped her over the edge, made worse by the use of dark magic.
"Sure, but you know the risks involved, don't you?"
"If the worse happens, we can kill it straight afterwards."
Everyone looked at Giles, but no one objected to his comment. It was as if they all knew what had to be done and Giles was their spokesman.
"Why not copy what the monks did; why not recreate her rather than resurrect?" Amy suggested.
"How do we do that?" Giles asked.
"Can we do that?" Spike added, leaning forward.
Amy relished the attention but did not relinquish her hold of the pizza. "Dawn was created from Buffy's blood. We just reverse the process... sort of."
"Again, how?" Giles asked impatiently. "We don't know how the monks got hold of Buffy's blood in the first place."
"I would have thought that was obvious... Dracula bit her, remember," Amy added when the others looked at her blankly.
"Are you saying Dracula was working for the monks?" Xander asked incredulously.
"Dracula is a character from a Victorian gothic novel."
"Excuse me, young lady," Spike objected. "I have a long history with that guy."
"And I had a crush on him last century," Anya added.
Amy regarded them all with a smile. She was enjoying the attention and felt smugly superior like a person who knows they are more intelligent than their host. "He's not real. Come on guys, how many vamps do you know that can turn into a bat or sleep in coffins? He was conjured up, and the memories put in your head, with the sole intention of gathering some blood from Buffy. It's obvious, I'm surprised you didn't figure it out yourselves."
"There were some very convincing aspects of the... of the illusion," Giles said in defence.
"Xander ate bugs," Anya contributed.
"So, are you saying you can do the same spell?" Spike asked.
"It's more of a ritual, actually, but yes... with some of Dawn's blood."
"What about the memory aspect of the ritual?" Giles enquired. "I mean, will everyone forget Buffy died?"
"That part will be harder. We don't have as much power to draw upon as the monks did. We'll be lucky to affect Sunnydale... except us, of course, since we will be performing the ritual and remain unaffected."
"Any danger?"
Amy hesitated. "...We need Willow."
Spike jumped out of his seat. "You gotta be kidding! Little black-eyes can stay at home this time."
"We'll bring her here," Giles said ignoring the vampire's objections.
Spike was not to be brushed off, however. "Wait a bloody minute," he pointed at the Watcher. "You are quick with the decisions lately, but this time I say no! She is too dangerous. She's gone over the edge with the dark stuff and could kill us with a flash of those eyes of hers."
"That's crap!" Xander stood up and faced off the vampire. "Willow made a mistake is all. Just because she checked out the wrong book from the library doesn't mean she's turned. Hell, I've got a picture of Ben Hur in my bedroom, but it doesn't mean I'm a member of the NRA."
"It might explain the weapon fixation, of course," Faith spoke for the first time. "Sit down, both of you," she uttered. "Spike, I trust Willow... God, she is about the only one I trust one hundred percent here, so put away your resentment."
Spike sat down when he realised that he was fighting a losing battle. He had to admit that Faith had it right.
"You said we'd all be part of the ritual," Giles said eventually.
"Yes, we must all link hands and think of Buffy. Remember her. The monks conjured Dawn from blood and the Key's energy. The Key already existed, just in another form. We must bring Buffy back with Dawn's blood and out memories of her."
After spending some time on the complexities of the ritual, they all made to leave. The spell would be performed the following night. Xander climbed the small flight of steps to the door of the shop. Faith attracted his attention "So, Xander," she said. "You have a picture of Ben Hur in your bedroom."
The young man looked at her awkwardly and noticed that Spike was smiling. "What? It's a poster... a movie poster," he defended. Faith raised her eyebrows. "A rare movie poster. It's an investment, damn it." He sighed and left the shop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two days after the ritual was performed, Giles found Buffy sitting on a bench. She did not look up at his approach, but rather stared ahead. "Did you ever see National Lampoon's European Vacation?" She asked still not looking up. "The part where Chevy Chase is stuck on a roundabout in England for hours because he can't manage to turn left off the road? I feel like that. As much as I try to escape, I just can't seem to be able to turn left."
"Perhaps the answer is not to try."
"Yea, that's crossed my mind. But, I can't help thinking that five more years down the line, after not trying, I'm going to find I've been suckered."
"It's good to see you," Giles offered affectionately.
"What am I doing here, Giles?" Buffy asked, finally looking up at her friend. "I..." She stopped as her voice nearly broke. She quickly rubbed her eyes. "What am I doing here?"
"That can wait. How do you feel?"
"Right now? Pissed off, quite frankly."
"You're hiding it well."
"You better believe it. Mind you, two days sitting on a park bench can be calming... or numbing at any rate."
"You could have come to the shop or my place."
"No I couldn't." She looked at her Watcher, who had sat down beside her. "I was really angry, Giles. I actually contemplated finding an obscure town up north to hide away. Alaska maybe since I always enjoyed Northern Exposure."
"Why didn't you?"
"No money, no clothes... no sense, maybe."
"Except a sense of duty, perhaps?"
Buffy stood up. She held out her hand and helped Giles lift himself from the bench. "How's Dawn? I mean... how is she coping... with my death?"
"Remarkably well actually. Better than the rest of us."
"That's good... if a little disappointing," she tailed off with a smile. Buffy walked ahead and stood waiting for Giles to make up the distance. "Don't expect too much from me, Giles," she said before they started on their journey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giles opened the door for her. Buffy walked across the shop threshold and saw her friends gathered at the back: Xander and Anya, Willow and Tara, Faith and Amy - which surprised her, and finally Dawn and Spike.
"Hi, guys," she smiled for their benefit. "Miss me?"
end.