jesterladyfic (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jesterladyfic) wrote2008-11-07 03:13 pm
jesterladyfic) wrote2008-11-07 03:13 pm
Role Reversal: Chapter Ten
Warning: There's major character death in this chapter. If you want to avoid that, skip to the alternate version of this chapter which I shall post after.
Chapter Ten: In Which Do You Really Think I’m Going to Give Away the Ending?
Willow sighed as she flipped through the book on her bed. Trying to research something no one had ever written about was hard. She had decided that for sure. So far during this whole Ascension thing her main concern had been for Buffy and how they were going to deal with Faith. It hadn’t really occurred to her that maybe high school was going to end, not with a big speech and a 4.0 GPA, but in death and blood and horror and maybe her life would be over. That wasn’t something Willow looked forward to.
Oz sat at her computer flipping through websites that might be of help. There weren’t any.
“There’s nothing here,” she said and slammed the book shut. “Unless we want to communicate with ferns.”
“Our lives are different than other people’s,” Oz observed, turning around to face her.
A wave of frustration swept over Willow. Oz was a person she admired and largely because of his calm
demeanor and ability to keep a level head. But right now, when she was feeling panicked, his lack of concern was
ticking her off.
“Aren’t you scared even just a little bit?” she asked wildly. “Our lives could end tomorrow and you don’t even
look like it matters at all. There are so many things I want to do. There’re so many things I wanted to share with
you. All the books I’ve never read. And now I might be dead and never able to do them and you just sit there like it
doesn’t matter.”
“Would it help you if I panicked?” he asked.
“Yes!” she exclaimed. “I just want to know I’m not alone!”
Oz sat for a moment and seemed to wonder how he could show her that she wasn’t alone and that he was just
as concerned about dying as she was. Then he lunged forward and she found out.
***
The Mayor had them take the video equipment out of his office and called all his vampires in.
“Today is the day,” he told them with a bright smile. Though Faith was lost to him for the moment, his
Ascension would carry on, on schedule, and he would kill every last person who had ever hurt her.
“Now you boys will be around mostly for perimeter upkeep,” he told them. “Feeding is essential in the first few
moments after the transformation so you need to keep the kids from running off. No snacking though or it’s a trip to
the woodshed for you.” He laughed a little. “Wood shed. Do you get it?” The vampires stared at him. The Mayor
just shook his head and added his last guideline, “And, fellas, let’s watch the language.”
The vampires looked at each other, obviously mystified, and they all raised their hands to ask questions. The
Mayor sighed, looked like he was going to be there for awhile.
***
I called everyone to the library. We needed to have a plan before Graduation Day. Oh yeah, which was tomorrow.
Willow and Oz arrived, acting way more lovey dovey than usual. Well, Willow was. It’s hard to tell when Oz is doing anything more than usual. And considering that Willow is usually gushy over Oz, her renewed energy devoted to that particular cause was saying something.
Xander and Cordelia arrived, she was snapping at him and he was staring at her chest. Typical.
Spike and Drusilla arrived, probably fresh from some sort of evil activity that I did not want to know about.
Drusilla looked quite well to my eyes and their PDA had apparently reached an all time high. I’m at the point where
I’m going to order everyone who knows me to be single for the rest of their lives.
Wesley and Giles were already there all poised and with British reserve. I was thankful for them and their
stoicism at that moment.
It must have been the stress of the last few weeks, but I’d turned into a completely different person and I didn’t
like it. I wanted my carefree, lollipop sucking days back. Secretly, I thought this is why Slayers die before their
eighteenth birthday. So they don’t turn into absolute, stone cold, emotionless zombies.
Shocked silence greeted my plan. But I was used to that.
“Uh, Buff?” Xander asked. “That’s kinda wild.”
“Can you get the stuff?” I asked him.
“Oh yeah, that’s no biggie,” he said. “But I’m more concerned about the whole craziness of the execution part.”
“Do you have anything better to suggest?” I asked.
“No,” he admitted.
“Look, guys,” I said, preparing for my big speech part of the apocalypse. Actually I was up all night. You don’t
think I’m this long-winded naturally, do you? “I know this sounds ridiculous. But I know what I’m doing. This is the
only way we can possibly defeat the Mayor. It will be dangerous and I’m not saying that there won’t be losses. But
if that’s what it takes than we have to do it. This is the only way I can see for us to survive. And I want to get
through high school and defeat the Mayor just as much as you do. It’s my job to protect you guys and I know that
sometimes it doesn’t seem like I’ll make it, but I’m doing my best. I’m asking you once more to put your trust in
me. Faith told me how this would work and I think it will.”
“Was that before or after you put her in a coma?” Willow asked hesitantly.
“After,” I explained in my best rational voice.
“Oh.” Willow sat back in her chair.
“Cause taking advice from a psycho, evil girl in a coma is always the sanest course of action,” Cordelia
commented.
“If you guys don’t like the plan then I think you should go, you should leave town. I want you to be safe.”
“We’re staying, Buffy,” Willow assured me.
“All of us,” Xander said.
Cordelia glared at him, but sighed in assent.
“So how do those who explode in sunlight fit into the little plan, Slayer?” Spike spoke up.
At least he was asking a legitimate question and not bothering me for the heck of it.
“Well, I don’t really know,” I admitted, squirming a little.
“I believe we can help with that,” Wesley said, preening a bit.
The guy’s got a little ways to go still.
“What’s that then?” Spike asked, putting his feet on the table whereupon Giles frowned deeply.
“The Books of Ascension do mention that at the time of the transformation, darkness will cover the land and evil
ones will be able to run free without fear of cost and they will be drawn to the power of the true demon. We believe
that an eclipse of the sun will occur, allowing you and Drusilla, Spike, to be quite helpful.”
“Cheers all around,” Spike said sarcastically.
I ignored him and spoke to everyone else.
“Do you all know what to do then?”
“We got it already,” Cordelia said.
“Then go do it,” I said.
And the work began.
***
I was in the library with Giles doing a lot of packing up. He turned to me and almost started pouting.
“Buffy, are you absolutely certain that we can’t take it all?”
“Sorry, Giles, but in this case, not everything must go.”
“It’s just rather ironic, this whole situation, isn’t it?” he continued. I nodded, the man had a point. “Wesley
should be back soon,” he said. “We can carry on from there. You should go home and rest, spend some time with
your mother.”
“I will,” I agreed. “But I wanted to tell you something first, Giles.”
“Yes?” he asked. I stopped working and leant against the wooden railings.
“I’m not going to work for the Council anymore,” I told him, not looking at him. After all this might be the
equivalent of telling him I hated all his kind.
“I can’t say I’m much surprised,” he said.
I looked at him, me surprised.
“Why not? I mean, aren’t you always telling me it’s my sacred duty and all and that the rules are there for my
protection?”
“The Council has betrayed your trust on several points this year alone,” Giles admitted. “Even those closest to
you were involved. I do not blame you at all for not wanting anything to do with them. And speaking, so to say, from
the other side, not working for the Council is rather exhilarating.”
He smiled at me and I smiled back.
“I’ll let you know how it works out,” I said then looked away. “It’s just, Giles, they’re supposed to be my guides
and then they poison me and set me up and then they stand there willing to let me die. I can’t deal with that
anymore.”
“Yes, well, as I said, I do not blame you. Though Wesley will be crushed.”
I laughed.
“Yes, poor Wes. You know when he came here, I mostly accepted him because I was still upset with you.”
“Yes, I know.”
“But he grows on you and while I think he’s really way too prissy for words, I believe a lot of it has to do with
situation and now that he’s away from the mother influence he’s gonna get better.”
“I do concur,” Giles agreed. “I happen to know a lot of his background, from years in the Council as well as the
check I ran on him upon his arrival, and, Buffy, it is quite likely I am more like him than I care to admit and that only
circumstances have saved me from his current state.”
“Well, I think that on the whole I’ve been rather lucky with my Watchers,” I said. “Way more so than Faith
anyway.”
“Quite.” Giles chuckled. “Now you run on home and get some rest before tomorrow.”
“I will,” I said. “Goodnight, Giles.”
“Goodnight, Buffy.”
***
Faith lay in the hospital bed with machines whirring and beeping all around, the only indication that she was still alive. The Mayor watched her from the doorway. The doctors had just told him that it was unlikely that she would ever wake up. Only her sheer force of will could do that and seeing as how her will was unconscious that opportunity seemed doomed to never appear.
“But my girl’s a fighter,” he whispered to himself and then to her. “Faith, I know you can wake up. I know you
have the willpower and strength to do it. In my mind, Faith, you’re like one of the Titans. A little on the shady side
sure, but full of strength and fight and sheer determination. Maybe the other side can chain you to a hospital bed,
but there are no chains that you can’t break. I’m going to Ascend soon and no matter how long it takes there’ll
always be a place for you at my side. I will eat every person in this town, but this hospital will stand, solely for my
little girl.”
The Mayor leaned down and kissed Faith on the forehead.
***
I walked into my house. My mom wasn’t home, which I liked. I’d rather not have to explain what I was doing until it was over. I walked up to her bedroom and stared for a moment at the picture hanging in the hallway. It was of me and her lying on my bed. We looked so happy and carefree together. I loved that picture. But at the moment I felt about eighty years old. Too old. I took it down and brought it into her room where I got out a suitcase and started pulling out her stuff to pack it.
Just my luck she walked in when I was halfway through. She stopped in the doorway and adjusted her earring
while asking quirkily,
“If you’re planning on running away, shouldn’t you be packing your things?”
“I’m not running away, Mom,” I assured her dryly. “But you are.”
“And what did I do this time?” she asked coming into the room and stopping my packing.
“Mom, tomorrow is going to be huge. And I don’t know if I can stop it or not. I have to know that you’ll be safe,
so I want you to leave Sunnydale until I come and get you.”
“Buffy! Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t miss your graduation! What on earth are you talking about?”
I sighed. I knew this would be hard. I told her a little bit about the Mayor and what was supposed to happen.
Her eyes grew wide, but her chin firmed into an expression of stubbornness. Like mother, like daughter.
“Buffy, if something bad is going to happen then I want to stay here with you. What if something happened to
you?”
“You can’t save me,” I told her. “And the best thing you can do for me is be far away. I love you, Mom. And I
can’t fight my best knowing that you could be in danger. Please do this for me.”
“But I worry about you,” she said.
I walked over to her and hugged her.
“I worry about you too. That’s why I’m doing this. Mom, my life is supposed to be dangerous but that doesn’t
mean yours should be too.”
“I’m not sure that makes sense,” she said and hugged me tightly.
I reciprocated and we stood that way for a little while.
“I want your solemn word that you’ll get a hold of me the minute you know you’re safe,” she said.
“I promise you I will,” I said.
“Then scat and let me finish my own packing,” she told me, smiling.
I grinned at her and tossed a picture of a certain mask onto the suitcase that I’d found while packing her stuff.
“Don’t forget to take your zombie mask with you,” I teased.
“Get out of here!” She tossed a pillow at me and I went to my room, smiling for one of the few times I had in the
last while.
***
Dawn: Graduation Day.
Willow woke up in the circle of Oz’s arms and relaxed for awhile, knowing she might not know this peace ever again. Here she was safe and whole and here she wanted to stay.
Oz tightened his grip on her, willing the moment to never end. He knew only that Willow was everything to him and that she was his main reason for holding onto his humanity.
Cordelia jerked awake, wondering why there was something sticking into her back. Looking back she saw that
it was the gearshift of her car and then she remembered that she and Xander had driven to the point to watch the sun set. They must have fallen asleep, but now the sun’s rays were just hovering over the horizon. She turned to wake up Xander, but she couldn’t do it. He looked so peaceful lying there with the sun playing over his face. She laid down again cuddling his chest and he unconsciously put his arm around her. Cordelia watched the sun rise.
Wesley jerked awake from a frightening dream. His heart racing, he sat up in bed and gulped down some
water. With slow realization he remembered he was in Sunnydale about to face the most terrifying day of his life and
knowing that, for once, he was doing it on his own and he was right where he was supposed to be.
Giles turned off the teakettle and put down the book he had been perusing. There were many to choose from
as he gazed at the various piles scattered all around his apartment. He spotted one of his favorites and settled down
for a quick read with a pot of his favorite tea before the adventures of the day began.
The Mayor straightened up from the night vigil he’d held at Faith’s hospital bed. He had to leave her now. It
was the biggest day of his life and he had to leave the one person he wanted to share it with lying in the hospital.
But he would do it for her and know that she would be with him again. He just knew it.
Spike broke the necks of about ten teenagers he’d brought for his and Drusilla’s breakfast. He wanted to make
sure they were both up to speed and that Drusilla had all the strength she would need for the upcoming battle. She
came into the room and clapped her hands when she saw all the bodies, but she bypassed them and came up to
Spike and whispered in his ear.
“Remember my kiss, William?”
“Every day,” he whispered back.
***
I woke up and stared at the ceiling. Today was the day. Getting out of bed, I noticed a small parcel on my dresser. My mom must have put it there. I smiled. Sly thing, she never said a word. I opened it and saw it contained a cell phone. Sure, she probably just wanted to get a hold of me on patrol, but it was really shiny looking!
I met everyone in the library. There were a few last minute chores we needed to accomplish before the big finish. I
sent Willow, Oz, Jonathan and Larry to go unload Oz’s van full of the stuff Xander had acquired the night before.
Xander was out talking to people and looking at the weaponry we had. I kept Cordelia, Wesley and Giles
setting up stuff in the library. Spike and Drusilla were hiding out in Giles’ office, probably doing gross things I never
want to think about.
***
I was sitting in my assigned seat and I was listening to the Mayor drone on and on, thinking that he might just be the most evil thing in the universe to make us listen to him like this, but, thankfully, before he finished, something happened.
The sun grew dark. The Mayor started to squirm and groan and I enjoyed that part. But then his skin split
open and a giant snake thing grew out of the remains. That part was less fun.
Principal Snyder started screaming about how this was his school and he did not tolerate that kind of behavior.
The Mayor Snake ate him. For a moment I almost contemplated letting him eat some other people before I killed
him, but that wouldn’t be a good thing to do so I didn’t. Good triumphs yet again. I looked at Xander across the
platform and nodded, he nodded back and jumped onto his chair, shouting,
“Now!”
All across the platform students ripped off their gowns and revealed a pretty dang cool arsenal hiding on their
person. We may not be friends, but we sure as heck aren’t going to let this snake thing ruin our graduation and then
eat us to boot!
Larry and I wielded flamethrowers in the front while countless arrows rained over our heads at the Mayor
Snake. I could hear Xander shouting orders. Dimly, I heard Oz shout something about vampires in the rear.
Risking a glimpse behind me I saw vampires coming up to keep the students from running, but I also saw
behind them Spike, Drusilla, Wesley and more students to keep them from running. I grinned. So far the plan was
working great. Oz and his part of the student body shot flaming arrows into the oncoming vampires. Willow and
Cordelia handled the left side of the graduating class and Xander the right.
But the Mayor Snake was freaking huge and hungry and there was no way we could hold our ground for long.
To my right I saw Larry being whipped out from under himself and I heard the sickening crack as he fell. I looked to
Xander again and nodded once more.
I threw down my flamethrower and heard him yell,
“Hand to hand, everyone.”
The students grabbed stakes and knives and axes out of their belts and turned to face the oncoming vampires
who were already battling Spike’s team.
“Buffy.” Willow grabbed my hand from behind.
“Willow, go!” I shouted.
She took off, but I heard her call back to me.
“Good luck, Buffy. Be careful!”
Xander jumped down off the chair and ran with the rest and then it was just me and the Mayor Snake.
Funny how it always comes down to the two of us, me and the Big Bad.
“Hey!” I shouted and held up the knife I’d used to gut Faith. “Remember me? I’m the one who coma-fied your
little psycho. With this knife in fact, slid into her like butter. You want it, come and get it.”
And I ran.
***
The battle between the students and the vampires raged on. Spike saw students go down left and right, but even
more vampires were exploding into dust everywhere he looked.
Cordelia ran past him and plunged her stake into a vamp’s heart and then was in danger of getting killed as she exalted over the fact, but Xander jumped down the steps and tackled the vamp sneaking up on her.
Willow and Oz were fighting back to back, and Spike didn’t think they’d be in any trouble. He was more
worried about Drusilla, but as he looked at her he saw that the breakfast he’d gotten for her was doing its job and
she’d be able to last until the end. Wesley had been knocked down twice, but he was still fighting.
A blonde girl went down to one side of him and a scrawny, nerdy looking boy jumped onto the vamp chewing on
her neck.
“Anytime now, Slayer,” Spike said, bored already.
***
I ran into the school, past the lounge, past the cafeteria, past Mr. Gregson’s old science classroom, past the bathroom, past the gym, past Snyder’s office, past the vending machines and into the library.
I could hear walls smashing and roofs tumbling behind me. I leapt over the wooden railings and through the
stacks and out the exit, landing beside Giles in the bushes in an ungraceful heap. Um, I mean graceful heap.
“Now,” I told him unnecessarily.
Giles depressed the plunger and one of the biggest explosions I’d ever seen encompassed Sunnydale High.
The palm trees outside the school incinerated as they caught fire from the plumes of flames that rolled out over the
school in waves. Funny how that happens when you put flammable explosives inside the school library.
“It’s over,” Giles breathed out beside me.
“Yup,” I agreed. “I graduated and with only one expulsion too.”
“I’m very proud of you,” Giles said and handed me my diploma. “I took the liberty of extracting yours and the
others’ before the ceremony.”
“Thank you, Giles,” I said, deeply moved. I mean, only Giles would’ve thought of protecting proof of academia in
such a situation.
***
Giles and I met everybody at the front of the former Sunnydale High where Wesley was being loaded into an ambulance. He was the only one of our group who had sustained any serious damage and that damage was only a mild concussion and sprained wrist. Willow has some pretty scary looking cuts on her face and Xander and Cordelia looked pretty bruised but they were going to be okay. Neither Spike nor Drusilla nor I had a mark on us. Oh, the benefits of preternatural strength and quick healing.
Wesley insisted between squeals of agony that he would be fine and home in the morning and the EMT working
on him agreed.
Giles went with him to the hospital and Spike and Drusilla quickly disappeared before the sun came back, after
we had told them we would be at the mansion that evening to cure Drusilla.
Willow, Oz, Xander, Cordelia and I sat on a bench and watched the school finish its last day as the fire slowly
burned out and the weakened timbers collapsed. We survived Sunnydale High. I’m thinking of getting a t-shirt made.
***
Giles sat beside Wesley in his hospital room.
“I am getting to be quite tired of this place, actually,” Wesley admitted.
“Yes, I am as well,” Giles agreed. “I have many distasteful memories here.”
“I’m sure that you have,” Wesley said. “In just my short stay here so many vile and unprecedented things have
happened that I cannot imagine what a longer space of time would hold.”
“You’ve been given an interesting view on the world, Wesley,” Giles told him. “One that not many Watchers are
allowed.”
“I have been realizing that,” Wesley said dryly. “Life isn’t what I was told it was.”
“I wouldn’t forget that if I were you,” Giles said. Wesley smiled and a comfortable silence enveloped them
before Giles spoke up, a tad hesitantly. “I need to tell you something, Wesley, that you may not like.”
“Buffy wants to fire me, doesn’t she?” Wesley said in saddened but accepting-of-the-inevitable tone.
“No, Buffy is not unhappy with you, but with the Council in general,” Giles explained. “And she is not prepared
to work for them any longer. Therefore, she will not be needing a Watcher, at least in an official capacity at any rate.”
“I’ve been sacked, but not because of my actions,” Wesley put together, seemingly not wholly unpleased with
such a premise.
“Exactly,” Giles said. “I know this presents some difficulties for you.”
“Quite,” Wesley said, looking like he was giving himself a headache trying to think what he was going to do now.
“I want you to come and work with me,” Giles told him and held up his hand at Wesley’s exclamation of
surprise. “I don’t quite know what I’m going to be doing with my life, but my own employment has been terminated
today and I thought we could come up with something together. I’m not really doing this out of pity either, you’ve
proven yourself almost perfectly capable and no one has ever been in doubt of your scholarly capabilities. I believe
you will be a valuable asset.”
“Thank you, Mr. Giles,” Wesley said, sounding a little shock shook. “I believe I will accept your generous offer.”
“It is simply Giles from now on,” Giles told him. “Or Rupert if you like, but I don’t like being compared to some
old sod sitting around in England.”
“All right,” Wesley agreed. “I’ll never compare you to an old sod. Just perhaps a youngish one.”
Giles shot him a glance and Wesley smiled at him, which Giles soon returned. They were off to a good start.
***
It felt very weird and eerie and yet strangely cool and mystical as we converged upon the mansion that night. The last time such a ritual had been performed in there was that day with Acathla. Don’t like to think about that so much though, so let’s forget it. But the mansion did seem to play its part of evil ritual location to perfection with the stone tiles laid on the floor and the marble carvings of the walls. I felt like we should be in a horror film, but then it occurred to me that my life is a horror film. A cheesy one sometimes, but horror nonetheless.
“Took you long enough, Slayer,” Spike drawled as he and Drusilla got up from the couches where they’d been
lounging. Whoever said there was no rest for the wicked obviously didn’t know Spike.
“Well, seems like Giles blew up his last supply of essence of toad,” I explained. “And we all knew how
important this ritual is,” I added sarcastically.
“Buffy,” Giles asked me in sotto, “are we sure we want to enable Drusilla to go back to her murdering ways?”
“No, we’re not,” I said. “But I made a deal and I won’t go back on it.”
“Nice choice, pet,” Spike said, obviously hearing everything.
Nothing’s a secret around the undead.
“I did make sure that only you and I were here though, didn’t I?” I asked Giles. “If something happens we can
work it out.”
“Something always happens,” Drusilla said to herself in glee.
I flinched a little but tossed the toad bag to Giles.
“Let’s just do the spell, okay?”
“I will set it up,” Giles said.
Spike, Drusilla and I stood around in silence for awhile. I mean, how do you make casual small talk with a
vampire who’s crazy and who wants to kill you? It’s just not done, trust me.
Giles marked out a space on the floor for Drusilla to stand and placed several candles at strategic points
around the room to better convey energy or something like that.
Spike and I moved all the couches out of the way and we waited a bit, because the ritual had to start at
midnight in order for it to work properly.
Giles started the incense flowing at about 11:45, and, boy, was it smelly. I could hardly breathe. Spike just
stood there with his smug, not needing to breathe-ness! Stupid vampire. Anyway, Drusilla stood in her appointed
spot dressed in the Goth version of Vogue’s latest fashion.
Giles opened the cauldron where gross things had been stirring for the past several days. He added the toad
and an evil smell started pouring out of it.
He started muttering something in what must be Gypsy-ese because I sure didn’t understand it. Drusilla
started to tremble and Spike to twitch.
“Choice has been made,” Giles intoned seriously. I wanted to giggle, but restrained myself. “Blood has been
paid. What was taken now be received.”
Drusilla put out her hands.
Giles poured the evil looking contents into the eviler looking shrunken head and spoke some more things I
didn’t understand. Honestly, evil rituals are boring, I don’t see the intrigue.
“Blood of the Childe to renew the Sire.”
Spike stepped forward. Giles took the silver stick thing and spiked his proffered wrist with it. I thought that was
incredibly ironic myself. Blood gushed out of the wound and into the shrunken head.
Giles mixed it with some complex mixing pattern described in one of his books, but to be honest he just looked
like one of the chefs on TV with the boring food prep shows.
Spike stepped back dealing with his wound. Giles stepped up to Drusilla who could barely contain herself at
this point. He dipped his finger in the moisture and placed some on her forehead. It seemed to melt into her skin.
Then he placed some on her right hand and it too dissipated into her. Then he spoke again.
“May the hold be broken and the blood be thickened and may the teeth know their joy in payment of debt, now
and forever.”
Drusilla took the head from him and drank the rest of the potion. I resisted the urge to heave. I mean, talk
about ewwwww.
There was a flash of light and an orange glow appeared around Drusilla and pulsed, brighter and brighter until it
gave a pop and vanished in a ray of sparks.
“So mote it be,” Giles said, I believe, effectively, ending the ritual.
I took out a stake, just in case.
Spike sprang to Drusilla and anxiously took her hands.
“Are you all right, love? Ready to resume carnage?”
“Oh yes, Spike,” Drusilla said, lifting up her head and flashing her exotically mesmerizing eyes my way. “We
shall break light’s hold and you will be mine forever!”
“I’ve always been yours,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “Always will be.”
“Do you remember your promise?” she asked.
He straightened up and turned to me. I braced myself.
“I remember, pet.” He sauntered toward me and I brought my stake up but he just laughed at me. Stupid
vampire again. “The truce, it’s over,” he said.
“Kinda figured,” I answered. “Giles, get out of here.”
“Oh, no need to worry, Slayer,” Spike said. “We’re not going to fight now. I’m going to take Drusilla out for
awhile, but next time I see you, tomorrow or ten years from now, I will kill you like I promised her.”
“Whatever, Spike,” I said. “I think you should leave town now.”
“Don’t worry, my little ray of sunshine,” he said. “Don’t want to hang around this bloody popsicle stand. We’ll
be gone and you’ll be dead.”
“Come on, Giles,” I said and we left.
I walked him home. I wanted everybody in their vampire free houses till whatever Spike had planned had gone
down. I had a feeling he would come after me though, even if it was just to not do what Angel had done. I had
already had Willow revoke his invitation to my house.
“Giles,” I asked after some time, “what did you mean when you said all that about choices being made and
blood paid?”
“Well,” Giles said, “it’s part of the ritual, but I believe that from what I read and what I could discern from Spike
about the cursing that Drusilla might have done this to herself.”
“What?” I asked. “I mean, I know she’s crazy, but this seems too border line even for her!”
“I am aware of that but I am almost positive as to that being the facts of the situation. The why would be
something only she could answer and even then…”
“Answers only lead to more questions,” I finished.
We reached Giles’ apartment and I watched him go inside and then went home myself. I had called my mom
earlier and she said she would be home soon. I wanted her to stay away until after the Spike-Buffy showdown and
she said she would. Now I could sleep, but not without having to worry about something else. A Slayer’s life is not
boring, let’s say.
***
Maybe it wasn’t the wisest choice I ever made but I was poking around in the ruins of the school after dark. Mayor meat still lay smoking and the smell was disgusting. But I was looking for Mr. Pointy; I think I left him in my locker. Another bad choice on my part. I was really racking them up.
I heard a noise from behind me. Noises from behind me late at night really didn’t scare me anymore. This
noise was not a creepy stalking through bushes noise though; it was an old car screeching to a stop noise. I turned
around.
A DeSoto was parking across the street just on top of the old sign denoting the location of Sunnydale High.
Figures Spike doesn’t know how to brake properly. British punk music poured out of the window and then he
stepped outside, cigarette glowing in his mouth. Drusilla’s giggle could be heard from inside.
“Hello, cutie,” he said with the smoke pouring out of his mouth.
Oh, he was going for effect all over the place. I sighed and whipped out my stake from my belt band.
“You couldn’t just leave, could you?” I asked him.
Spike stalked toward me slowly, ditching the cigarette along the way.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Why don’t you just let me stake you and get it over with?” I asked, advancing toward him.
“Because today I’m going to have me a real good day,” he answered. “Let’s dance, Slayer.”
And he lunged toward me.
I’d like to say that I side stepped him and plunged the stake through his heart on his way past me, but that
didn’t happen.
Instead we fought. As epic battles go, it probably wasn’t very exhilarating. As strategy goes, we probably
weren’t very brilliant. As far as skill and strength goes, we were pretty evenly matched. We’d both fought for a long
time and had time to hone ourselves and we’d fought each other enough to be aware of some weaknesses that could be exploited.
But it was fun in a way. I was tired of fighting and I wanted nothing better than to run away to my house and
stop caring about being the Slayer. I could see what it did to people. You either died and the darkness won or the
darkness overcame you and it won as in Faith’s case, or like me you made deals with it to stay away from you or
you fell in love with it or you simply would not lay down and die. I had reasons to live and that’s why I kept fighting.
But that never meant I wasn’t tired to death.
Which made fighting with Spike so fun. Because with him, it was almost more like sparring, or as he put it,
like dancing. We barely ever touched each other as we pranced our way around the ruins covering the literal mouth
of Hell.
“Why can’t you kill me, Spike?” I ground out, blocking his attack. “You keep on trying and failing miserably.”
Spike grinned a little and grabbed my wrist before it smashed into his nose.
“If we’re gonna talk about failures, pet, how come you’ve never dusted me so I don’t come back and try to kill
you?”
I glared at him and renewed my attack. I was going to kill him this time, dang it!
Spike circled away for a minute and I caught my breath and then I swung out my arm which he blocked and
then he punched at me and I grabbed his arm, he grabbed my other one in return and turned us both underneath our attached arms and kneed me in the stomach. Struggling for my breath I caught his leg and pushed it away from me, but using that momentum, he spun around and used that same leg to kick me in the back. I flipped backwards and obliged him with the same and then used my other leg to kick his front. He caught my leg though and threw me on my back, but on my way down, I jerked his leg down too. We fell and I rolled to get away from him. But instead of rolling away himself, he rolled with me and when I got back to my knees his teeth were in my neck.
I cried out in pain and shock as his arms gripped mine to keep me from moving, though I struggled for a few
minutes until the sensations rolling over me stopped me from doing anything but focusing on them. The sucking and
pulling hurt so much that I couldn’t stand it, but at the same time there was such a relieving feeling as I gave of
myself and knew it would be the last thing I would ever do so. Here I would rest. Here I would never have to worry
again and here, I wanted to stay. The sensations stopped and I closed my eyes as much from loss as relief. I
opened them again to see Spike, the demon, looking down at me with immense satisfaction on his face.
“You-you did it,” I said.
He grinned.
“By a hair, luv, by a hair. Hat’s off to you though, pet. The greatest Slayer of my acquaintance.”
“Means nothing coming from you,” I murmured, drowsy with blood loss. Spike smiled again. I liked his
smile. It was so, so fun.
“Anything you wanna say, last chance, Slayer.”
“I-I love th-“
***
Spike watched Buffy’s eyes close and knew they would not open again. He could feel her heart slowing and he lowered his face to her neck and tasted again the sweet abundance of her blood that would be gone when he was finished.
For once in his unlife, Spike kept something from Drusilla and did not leave any blood for her. Buffy was his
and he wanted to wholly consume her. There would be nothing left for any other evil to say that they had a part of
her. Even those who had shared in her previously, they would have nothing. Spike took it all.
Gently, he gathered Buffy’s lifeless body in his arms and carried her back to the car. He would drop her off at
her house and let her friends find her there, looking as peaceful as he could contrive. He knew Buffy at least as well
as they did and he knew she wasn’t really sorry this had happened. It was high time someone had let the girl rest.
And now Spike was truly the Slayer of Slayers, he had kept his honor and pride and title and he had proven his love
for his wicked Princess.
“At last the light has gone out and my own is all mine,” Drusilla said in an awestruck tone upon viewing the
body. “I knew how it would be and all the pain that poured in will now belong to others. Spike, we’ll be one forever.”
“Even so, love,” he agreed, laying Buffy down in the backseat.
Drusilla joined him and he closed his arms about her tightly.
“Spike,” Drusilla said, “you know it was only right to do it.”
“I’ve no qualms about killing the Slayer, Dru,” Spike said. “I never have.”
“But you would have, someday,” she answered. “I could see her. She wanted to float all over you and take you
away from me.”
“But she can never do it. You’re all I’ll ever bloody want or need,” Spike reassured her.
Drusilla nodded knowingly.
“The moon told me how and I obeyed. Now we’ll be one forever.”
Spike didn’t quite know what to make of that, but he was all for the last sentence.
“Let’s go ravage the world, Dru!” Spike said in an excited tone.
Drusilla’s eyes lit up and she started to dance. Spike laughed as he watched her. And then they left Sunnydale
behind together.
Chapter Ten: In Which Do You Really Think I’m Going to Give Away the Ending?
Willow sighed as she flipped through the book on her bed. Trying to research something no one had ever written about was hard. She had decided that for sure. So far during this whole Ascension thing her main concern had been for Buffy and how they were going to deal with Faith. It hadn’t really occurred to her that maybe high school was going to end, not with a big speech and a 4.0 GPA, but in death and blood and horror and maybe her life would be over. That wasn’t something Willow looked forward to.
Oz sat at her computer flipping through websites that might be of help. There weren’t any.
“There’s nothing here,” she said and slammed the book shut. “Unless we want to communicate with ferns.”
“Our lives are different than other people’s,” Oz observed, turning around to face her.
A wave of frustration swept over Willow. Oz was a person she admired and largely because of his calm
demeanor and ability to keep a level head. But right now, when she was feeling panicked, his lack of concern was
ticking her off.
“Aren’t you scared even just a little bit?” she asked wildly. “Our lives could end tomorrow and you don’t even
look like it matters at all. There are so many things I want to do. There’re so many things I wanted to share with
you. All the books I’ve never read. And now I might be dead and never able to do them and you just sit there like it
doesn’t matter.”
“Would it help you if I panicked?” he asked.
“Yes!” she exclaimed. “I just want to know I’m not alone!”
Oz sat for a moment and seemed to wonder how he could show her that she wasn’t alone and that he was just
as concerned about dying as she was. Then he lunged forward and she found out.
***
The Mayor had them take the video equipment out of his office and called all his vampires in.
“Today is the day,” he told them with a bright smile. Though Faith was lost to him for the moment, his
Ascension would carry on, on schedule, and he would kill every last person who had ever hurt her.
“Now you boys will be around mostly for perimeter upkeep,” he told them. “Feeding is essential in the first few
moments after the transformation so you need to keep the kids from running off. No snacking though or it’s a trip to
the woodshed for you.” He laughed a little. “Wood shed. Do you get it?” The vampires stared at him. The Mayor
just shook his head and added his last guideline, “And, fellas, let’s watch the language.”
The vampires looked at each other, obviously mystified, and they all raised their hands to ask questions. The
Mayor sighed, looked like he was going to be there for awhile.
***
I called everyone to the library. We needed to have a plan before Graduation Day. Oh yeah, which was tomorrow.
Willow and Oz arrived, acting way more lovey dovey than usual. Well, Willow was. It’s hard to tell when Oz is doing anything more than usual. And considering that Willow is usually gushy over Oz, her renewed energy devoted to that particular cause was saying something.
Xander and Cordelia arrived, she was snapping at him and he was staring at her chest. Typical.
Spike and Drusilla arrived, probably fresh from some sort of evil activity that I did not want to know about.
Drusilla looked quite well to my eyes and their PDA had apparently reached an all time high. I’m at the point where
I’m going to order everyone who knows me to be single for the rest of their lives.
Wesley and Giles were already there all poised and with British reserve. I was thankful for them and their
stoicism at that moment.
It must have been the stress of the last few weeks, but I’d turned into a completely different person and I didn’t
like it. I wanted my carefree, lollipop sucking days back. Secretly, I thought this is why Slayers die before their
eighteenth birthday. So they don’t turn into absolute, stone cold, emotionless zombies.
Shocked silence greeted my plan. But I was used to that.
“Uh, Buff?” Xander asked. “That’s kinda wild.”
“Can you get the stuff?” I asked him.
“Oh yeah, that’s no biggie,” he said. “But I’m more concerned about the whole craziness of the execution part.”
“Do you have anything better to suggest?” I asked.
“No,” he admitted.
“Look, guys,” I said, preparing for my big speech part of the apocalypse. Actually I was up all night. You don’t
think I’m this long-winded naturally, do you? “I know this sounds ridiculous. But I know what I’m doing. This is the
only way we can possibly defeat the Mayor. It will be dangerous and I’m not saying that there won’t be losses. But
if that’s what it takes than we have to do it. This is the only way I can see for us to survive. And I want to get
through high school and defeat the Mayor just as much as you do. It’s my job to protect you guys and I know that
sometimes it doesn’t seem like I’ll make it, but I’m doing my best. I’m asking you once more to put your trust in
me. Faith told me how this would work and I think it will.”
“Was that before or after you put her in a coma?” Willow asked hesitantly.
“After,” I explained in my best rational voice.
“Oh.” Willow sat back in her chair.
“Cause taking advice from a psycho, evil girl in a coma is always the sanest course of action,” Cordelia
commented.
“If you guys don’t like the plan then I think you should go, you should leave town. I want you to be safe.”
“We’re staying, Buffy,” Willow assured me.
“All of us,” Xander said.
Cordelia glared at him, but sighed in assent.
“So how do those who explode in sunlight fit into the little plan, Slayer?” Spike spoke up.
At least he was asking a legitimate question and not bothering me for the heck of it.
“Well, I don’t really know,” I admitted, squirming a little.
“I believe we can help with that,” Wesley said, preening a bit.
The guy’s got a little ways to go still.
“What’s that then?” Spike asked, putting his feet on the table whereupon Giles frowned deeply.
“The Books of Ascension do mention that at the time of the transformation, darkness will cover the land and evil
ones will be able to run free without fear of cost and they will be drawn to the power of the true demon. We believe
that an eclipse of the sun will occur, allowing you and Drusilla, Spike, to be quite helpful.”
“Cheers all around,” Spike said sarcastically.
I ignored him and spoke to everyone else.
“Do you all know what to do then?”
“We got it already,” Cordelia said.
“Then go do it,” I said.
And the work began.
***
I was in the library with Giles doing a lot of packing up. He turned to me and almost started pouting.
“Buffy, are you absolutely certain that we can’t take it all?”
“Sorry, Giles, but in this case, not everything must go.”
“It’s just rather ironic, this whole situation, isn’t it?” he continued. I nodded, the man had a point. “Wesley
should be back soon,” he said. “We can carry on from there. You should go home and rest, spend some time with
your mother.”
“I will,” I agreed. “But I wanted to tell you something first, Giles.”
“Yes?” he asked. I stopped working and leant against the wooden railings.
“I’m not going to work for the Council anymore,” I told him, not looking at him. After all this might be the
equivalent of telling him I hated all his kind.
“I can’t say I’m much surprised,” he said.
I looked at him, me surprised.
“Why not? I mean, aren’t you always telling me it’s my sacred duty and all and that the rules are there for my
protection?”
“The Council has betrayed your trust on several points this year alone,” Giles admitted. “Even those closest to
you were involved. I do not blame you at all for not wanting anything to do with them. And speaking, so to say, from
the other side, not working for the Council is rather exhilarating.”
He smiled at me and I smiled back.
“I’ll let you know how it works out,” I said then looked away. “It’s just, Giles, they’re supposed to be my guides
and then they poison me and set me up and then they stand there willing to let me die. I can’t deal with that
anymore.”
“Yes, well, as I said, I do not blame you. Though Wesley will be crushed.”
I laughed.
“Yes, poor Wes. You know when he came here, I mostly accepted him because I was still upset with you.”
“Yes, I know.”
“But he grows on you and while I think he’s really way too prissy for words, I believe a lot of it has to do with
situation and now that he’s away from the mother influence he’s gonna get better.”
“I do concur,” Giles agreed. “I happen to know a lot of his background, from years in the Council as well as the
check I ran on him upon his arrival, and, Buffy, it is quite likely I am more like him than I care to admit and that only
circumstances have saved me from his current state.”
“Well, I think that on the whole I’ve been rather lucky with my Watchers,” I said. “Way more so than Faith
anyway.”
“Quite.” Giles chuckled. “Now you run on home and get some rest before tomorrow.”
“I will,” I said. “Goodnight, Giles.”
“Goodnight, Buffy.”
***
Faith lay in the hospital bed with machines whirring and beeping all around, the only indication that she was still alive. The Mayor watched her from the doorway. The doctors had just told him that it was unlikely that she would ever wake up. Only her sheer force of will could do that and seeing as how her will was unconscious that opportunity seemed doomed to never appear.
“But my girl’s a fighter,” he whispered to himself and then to her. “Faith, I know you can wake up. I know you
have the willpower and strength to do it. In my mind, Faith, you’re like one of the Titans. A little on the shady side
sure, but full of strength and fight and sheer determination. Maybe the other side can chain you to a hospital bed,
but there are no chains that you can’t break. I’m going to Ascend soon and no matter how long it takes there’ll
always be a place for you at my side. I will eat every person in this town, but this hospital will stand, solely for my
little girl.”
The Mayor leaned down and kissed Faith on the forehead.
***
I walked into my house. My mom wasn’t home, which I liked. I’d rather not have to explain what I was doing until it was over. I walked up to her bedroom and stared for a moment at the picture hanging in the hallway. It was of me and her lying on my bed. We looked so happy and carefree together. I loved that picture. But at the moment I felt about eighty years old. Too old. I took it down and brought it into her room where I got out a suitcase and started pulling out her stuff to pack it.
Just my luck she walked in when I was halfway through. She stopped in the doorway and adjusted her earring
while asking quirkily,
“If you’re planning on running away, shouldn’t you be packing your things?”
“I’m not running away, Mom,” I assured her dryly. “But you are.”
“And what did I do this time?” she asked coming into the room and stopping my packing.
“Mom, tomorrow is going to be huge. And I don’t know if I can stop it or not. I have to know that you’ll be safe,
so I want you to leave Sunnydale until I come and get you.”
“Buffy! Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t miss your graduation! What on earth are you talking about?”
I sighed. I knew this would be hard. I told her a little bit about the Mayor and what was supposed to happen.
Her eyes grew wide, but her chin firmed into an expression of stubbornness. Like mother, like daughter.
“Buffy, if something bad is going to happen then I want to stay here with you. What if something happened to
you?”
“You can’t save me,” I told her. “And the best thing you can do for me is be far away. I love you, Mom. And I
can’t fight my best knowing that you could be in danger. Please do this for me.”
“But I worry about you,” she said.
I walked over to her and hugged her.
“I worry about you too. That’s why I’m doing this. Mom, my life is supposed to be dangerous but that doesn’t
mean yours should be too.”
“I’m not sure that makes sense,” she said and hugged me tightly.
I reciprocated and we stood that way for a little while.
“I want your solemn word that you’ll get a hold of me the minute you know you’re safe,” she said.
“I promise you I will,” I said.
“Then scat and let me finish my own packing,” she told me, smiling.
I grinned at her and tossed a picture of a certain mask onto the suitcase that I’d found while packing her stuff.
“Don’t forget to take your zombie mask with you,” I teased.
“Get out of here!” She tossed a pillow at me and I went to my room, smiling for one of the few times I had in the
last while.
***
Dawn: Graduation Day.
Willow woke up in the circle of Oz’s arms and relaxed for awhile, knowing she might not know this peace ever again. Here she was safe and whole and here she wanted to stay.
Oz tightened his grip on her, willing the moment to never end. He knew only that Willow was everything to him and that she was his main reason for holding onto his humanity.
Cordelia jerked awake, wondering why there was something sticking into her back. Looking back she saw that
it was the gearshift of her car and then she remembered that she and Xander had driven to the point to watch the sun set. They must have fallen asleep, but now the sun’s rays were just hovering over the horizon. She turned to wake up Xander, but she couldn’t do it. He looked so peaceful lying there with the sun playing over his face. She laid down again cuddling his chest and he unconsciously put his arm around her. Cordelia watched the sun rise.
Wesley jerked awake from a frightening dream. His heart racing, he sat up in bed and gulped down some
water. With slow realization he remembered he was in Sunnydale about to face the most terrifying day of his life and
knowing that, for once, he was doing it on his own and he was right where he was supposed to be.
Giles turned off the teakettle and put down the book he had been perusing. There were many to choose from
as he gazed at the various piles scattered all around his apartment. He spotted one of his favorites and settled down
for a quick read with a pot of his favorite tea before the adventures of the day began.
The Mayor straightened up from the night vigil he’d held at Faith’s hospital bed. He had to leave her now. It
was the biggest day of his life and he had to leave the one person he wanted to share it with lying in the hospital.
But he would do it for her and know that she would be with him again. He just knew it.
Spike broke the necks of about ten teenagers he’d brought for his and Drusilla’s breakfast. He wanted to make
sure they were both up to speed and that Drusilla had all the strength she would need for the upcoming battle. She
came into the room and clapped her hands when she saw all the bodies, but she bypassed them and came up to
Spike and whispered in his ear.
“Remember my kiss, William?”
“Every day,” he whispered back.
***
I woke up and stared at the ceiling. Today was the day. Getting out of bed, I noticed a small parcel on my dresser. My mom must have put it there. I smiled. Sly thing, she never said a word. I opened it and saw it contained a cell phone. Sure, she probably just wanted to get a hold of me on patrol, but it was really shiny looking!
I met everyone in the library. There were a few last minute chores we needed to accomplish before the big finish. I
sent Willow, Oz, Jonathan and Larry to go unload Oz’s van full of the stuff Xander had acquired the night before.
Xander was out talking to people and looking at the weaponry we had. I kept Cordelia, Wesley and Giles
setting up stuff in the library. Spike and Drusilla were hiding out in Giles’ office, probably doing gross things I never
want to think about.
***
I was sitting in my assigned seat and I was listening to the Mayor drone on and on, thinking that he might just be the most evil thing in the universe to make us listen to him like this, but, thankfully, before he finished, something happened.
The sun grew dark. The Mayor started to squirm and groan and I enjoyed that part. But then his skin split
open and a giant snake thing grew out of the remains. That part was less fun.
Principal Snyder started screaming about how this was his school and he did not tolerate that kind of behavior.
The Mayor Snake ate him. For a moment I almost contemplated letting him eat some other people before I killed
him, but that wouldn’t be a good thing to do so I didn’t. Good triumphs yet again. I looked at Xander across the
platform and nodded, he nodded back and jumped onto his chair, shouting,
“Now!”
All across the platform students ripped off their gowns and revealed a pretty dang cool arsenal hiding on their
person. We may not be friends, but we sure as heck aren’t going to let this snake thing ruin our graduation and then
eat us to boot!
Larry and I wielded flamethrowers in the front while countless arrows rained over our heads at the Mayor
Snake. I could hear Xander shouting orders. Dimly, I heard Oz shout something about vampires in the rear.
Risking a glimpse behind me I saw vampires coming up to keep the students from running, but I also saw
behind them Spike, Drusilla, Wesley and more students to keep them from running. I grinned. So far the plan was
working great. Oz and his part of the student body shot flaming arrows into the oncoming vampires. Willow and
Cordelia handled the left side of the graduating class and Xander the right.
But the Mayor Snake was freaking huge and hungry and there was no way we could hold our ground for long.
To my right I saw Larry being whipped out from under himself and I heard the sickening crack as he fell. I looked to
Xander again and nodded once more.
I threw down my flamethrower and heard him yell,
“Hand to hand, everyone.”
The students grabbed stakes and knives and axes out of their belts and turned to face the oncoming vampires
who were already battling Spike’s team.
“Buffy.” Willow grabbed my hand from behind.
“Willow, go!” I shouted.
She took off, but I heard her call back to me.
“Good luck, Buffy. Be careful!”
Xander jumped down off the chair and ran with the rest and then it was just me and the Mayor Snake.
Funny how it always comes down to the two of us, me and the Big Bad.
“Hey!” I shouted and held up the knife I’d used to gut Faith. “Remember me? I’m the one who coma-fied your
little psycho. With this knife in fact, slid into her like butter. You want it, come and get it.”
And I ran.
***
The battle between the students and the vampires raged on. Spike saw students go down left and right, but even
more vampires were exploding into dust everywhere he looked.
Cordelia ran past him and plunged her stake into a vamp’s heart and then was in danger of getting killed as she exalted over the fact, but Xander jumped down the steps and tackled the vamp sneaking up on her.
Willow and Oz were fighting back to back, and Spike didn’t think they’d be in any trouble. He was more
worried about Drusilla, but as he looked at her he saw that the breakfast he’d gotten for her was doing its job and
she’d be able to last until the end. Wesley had been knocked down twice, but he was still fighting.
A blonde girl went down to one side of him and a scrawny, nerdy looking boy jumped onto the vamp chewing on
her neck.
“Anytime now, Slayer,” Spike said, bored already.
***
I ran into the school, past the lounge, past the cafeteria, past Mr. Gregson’s old science classroom, past the bathroom, past the gym, past Snyder’s office, past the vending machines and into the library.
I could hear walls smashing and roofs tumbling behind me. I leapt over the wooden railings and through the
stacks and out the exit, landing beside Giles in the bushes in an ungraceful heap. Um, I mean graceful heap.
“Now,” I told him unnecessarily.
Giles depressed the plunger and one of the biggest explosions I’d ever seen encompassed Sunnydale High.
The palm trees outside the school incinerated as they caught fire from the plumes of flames that rolled out over the
school in waves. Funny how that happens when you put flammable explosives inside the school library.
“It’s over,” Giles breathed out beside me.
“Yup,” I agreed. “I graduated and with only one expulsion too.”
“I’m very proud of you,” Giles said and handed me my diploma. “I took the liberty of extracting yours and the
others’ before the ceremony.”
“Thank you, Giles,” I said, deeply moved. I mean, only Giles would’ve thought of protecting proof of academia in
such a situation.
***
Giles and I met everybody at the front of the former Sunnydale High where Wesley was being loaded into an ambulance. He was the only one of our group who had sustained any serious damage and that damage was only a mild concussion and sprained wrist. Willow has some pretty scary looking cuts on her face and Xander and Cordelia looked pretty bruised but they were going to be okay. Neither Spike nor Drusilla nor I had a mark on us. Oh, the benefits of preternatural strength and quick healing.
Wesley insisted between squeals of agony that he would be fine and home in the morning and the EMT working
on him agreed.
Giles went with him to the hospital and Spike and Drusilla quickly disappeared before the sun came back, after
we had told them we would be at the mansion that evening to cure Drusilla.
Willow, Oz, Xander, Cordelia and I sat on a bench and watched the school finish its last day as the fire slowly
burned out and the weakened timbers collapsed. We survived Sunnydale High. I’m thinking of getting a t-shirt made.
***
Giles sat beside Wesley in his hospital room.
“I am getting to be quite tired of this place, actually,” Wesley admitted.
“Yes, I am as well,” Giles agreed. “I have many distasteful memories here.”
“I’m sure that you have,” Wesley said. “In just my short stay here so many vile and unprecedented things have
happened that I cannot imagine what a longer space of time would hold.”
“You’ve been given an interesting view on the world, Wesley,” Giles told him. “One that not many Watchers are
allowed.”
“I have been realizing that,” Wesley said dryly. “Life isn’t what I was told it was.”
“I wouldn’t forget that if I were you,” Giles said. Wesley smiled and a comfortable silence enveloped them
before Giles spoke up, a tad hesitantly. “I need to tell you something, Wesley, that you may not like.”
“Buffy wants to fire me, doesn’t she?” Wesley said in saddened but accepting-of-the-inevitable tone.
“No, Buffy is not unhappy with you, but with the Council in general,” Giles explained. “And she is not prepared
to work for them any longer. Therefore, she will not be needing a Watcher, at least in an official capacity at any rate.”
“I’ve been sacked, but not because of my actions,” Wesley put together, seemingly not wholly unpleased with
such a premise.
“Exactly,” Giles said. “I know this presents some difficulties for you.”
“Quite,” Wesley said, looking like he was giving himself a headache trying to think what he was going to do now.
“I want you to come and work with me,” Giles told him and held up his hand at Wesley’s exclamation of
surprise. “I don’t quite know what I’m going to be doing with my life, but my own employment has been terminated
today and I thought we could come up with something together. I’m not really doing this out of pity either, you’ve
proven yourself almost perfectly capable and no one has ever been in doubt of your scholarly capabilities. I believe
you will be a valuable asset.”
“Thank you, Mr. Giles,” Wesley said, sounding a little shock shook. “I believe I will accept your generous offer.”
“It is simply Giles from now on,” Giles told him. “Or Rupert if you like, but I don’t like being compared to some
old sod sitting around in England.”
“All right,” Wesley agreed. “I’ll never compare you to an old sod. Just perhaps a youngish one.”
Giles shot him a glance and Wesley smiled at him, which Giles soon returned. They were off to a good start.
***
It felt very weird and eerie and yet strangely cool and mystical as we converged upon the mansion that night. The last time such a ritual had been performed in there was that day with Acathla. Don’t like to think about that so much though, so let’s forget it. But the mansion did seem to play its part of evil ritual location to perfection with the stone tiles laid on the floor and the marble carvings of the walls. I felt like we should be in a horror film, but then it occurred to me that my life is a horror film. A cheesy one sometimes, but horror nonetheless.
“Took you long enough, Slayer,” Spike drawled as he and Drusilla got up from the couches where they’d been
lounging. Whoever said there was no rest for the wicked obviously didn’t know Spike.
“Well, seems like Giles blew up his last supply of essence of toad,” I explained. “And we all knew how
important this ritual is,” I added sarcastically.
“Buffy,” Giles asked me in sotto, “are we sure we want to enable Drusilla to go back to her murdering ways?”
“No, we’re not,” I said. “But I made a deal and I won’t go back on it.”
“Nice choice, pet,” Spike said, obviously hearing everything.
Nothing’s a secret around the undead.
“I did make sure that only you and I were here though, didn’t I?” I asked Giles. “If something happens we can
work it out.”
“Something always happens,” Drusilla said to herself in glee.
I flinched a little but tossed the toad bag to Giles.
“Let’s just do the spell, okay?”
“I will set it up,” Giles said.
Spike, Drusilla and I stood around in silence for awhile. I mean, how do you make casual small talk with a
vampire who’s crazy and who wants to kill you? It’s just not done, trust me.
Giles marked out a space on the floor for Drusilla to stand and placed several candles at strategic points
around the room to better convey energy or something like that.
Spike and I moved all the couches out of the way and we waited a bit, because the ritual had to start at
midnight in order for it to work properly.
Giles started the incense flowing at about 11:45, and, boy, was it smelly. I could hardly breathe. Spike just
stood there with his smug, not needing to breathe-ness! Stupid vampire. Anyway, Drusilla stood in her appointed
spot dressed in the Goth version of Vogue’s latest fashion.
Giles opened the cauldron where gross things had been stirring for the past several days. He added the toad
and an evil smell started pouring out of it.
He started muttering something in what must be Gypsy-ese because I sure didn’t understand it. Drusilla
started to tremble and Spike to twitch.
“Choice has been made,” Giles intoned seriously. I wanted to giggle, but restrained myself. “Blood has been
paid. What was taken now be received.”
Drusilla put out her hands.
Giles poured the evil looking contents into the eviler looking shrunken head and spoke some more things I
didn’t understand. Honestly, evil rituals are boring, I don’t see the intrigue.
“Blood of the Childe to renew the Sire.”
Spike stepped forward. Giles took the silver stick thing and spiked his proffered wrist with it. I thought that was
incredibly ironic myself. Blood gushed out of the wound and into the shrunken head.
Giles mixed it with some complex mixing pattern described in one of his books, but to be honest he just looked
like one of the chefs on TV with the boring food prep shows.
Spike stepped back dealing with his wound. Giles stepped up to Drusilla who could barely contain herself at
this point. He dipped his finger in the moisture and placed some on her forehead. It seemed to melt into her skin.
Then he placed some on her right hand and it too dissipated into her. Then he spoke again.
“May the hold be broken and the blood be thickened and may the teeth know their joy in payment of debt, now
and forever.”
Drusilla took the head from him and drank the rest of the potion. I resisted the urge to heave. I mean, talk
about ewwwww.
There was a flash of light and an orange glow appeared around Drusilla and pulsed, brighter and brighter until it
gave a pop and vanished in a ray of sparks.
“So mote it be,” Giles said, I believe, effectively, ending the ritual.
I took out a stake, just in case.
Spike sprang to Drusilla and anxiously took her hands.
“Are you all right, love? Ready to resume carnage?”
“Oh yes, Spike,” Drusilla said, lifting up her head and flashing her exotically mesmerizing eyes my way. “We
shall break light’s hold and you will be mine forever!”
“I’ve always been yours,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “Always will be.”
“Do you remember your promise?” she asked.
He straightened up and turned to me. I braced myself.
“I remember, pet.” He sauntered toward me and I brought my stake up but he just laughed at me. Stupid
vampire again. “The truce, it’s over,” he said.
“Kinda figured,” I answered. “Giles, get out of here.”
“Oh, no need to worry, Slayer,” Spike said. “We’re not going to fight now. I’m going to take Drusilla out for
awhile, but next time I see you, tomorrow or ten years from now, I will kill you like I promised her.”
“Whatever, Spike,” I said. “I think you should leave town now.”
“Don’t worry, my little ray of sunshine,” he said. “Don’t want to hang around this bloody popsicle stand. We’ll
be gone and you’ll be dead.”
“Come on, Giles,” I said and we left.
I walked him home. I wanted everybody in their vampire free houses till whatever Spike had planned had gone
down. I had a feeling he would come after me though, even if it was just to not do what Angel had done. I had
already had Willow revoke his invitation to my house.
“Giles,” I asked after some time, “what did you mean when you said all that about choices being made and
blood paid?”
“Well,” Giles said, “it’s part of the ritual, but I believe that from what I read and what I could discern from Spike
about the cursing that Drusilla might have done this to herself.”
“What?” I asked. “I mean, I know she’s crazy, but this seems too border line even for her!”
“I am aware of that but I am almost positive as to that being the facts of the situation. The why would be
something only she could answer and even then…”
“Answers only lead to more questions,” I finished.
We reached Giles’ apartment and I watched him go inside and then went home myself. I had called my mom
earlier and she said she would be home soon. I wanted her to stay away until after the Spike-Buffy showdown and
she said she would. Now I could sleep, but not without having to worry about something else. A Slayer’s life is not
boring, let’s say.
***
Maybe it wasn’t the wisest choice I ever made but I was poking around in the ruins of the school after dark. Mayor meat still lay smoking and the smell was disgusting. But I was looking for Mr. Pointy; I think I left him in my locker. Another bad choice on my part. I was really racking them up.
I heard a noise from behind me. Noises from behind me late at night really didn’t scare me anymore. This
noise was not a creepy stalking through bushes noise though; it was an old car screeching to a stop noise. I turned
around.
A DeSoto was parking across the street just on top of the old sign denoting the location of Sunnydale High.
Figures Spike doesn’t know how to brake properly. British punk music poured out of the window and then he
stepped outside, cigarette glowing in his mouth. Drusilla’s giggle could be heard from inside.
“Hello, cutie,” he said with the smoke pouring out of his mouth.
Oh, he was going for effect all over the place. I sighed and whipped out my stake from my belt band.
“You couldn’t just leave, could you?” I asked him.
Spike stalked toward me slowly, ditching the cigarette along the way.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Why don’t you just let me stake you and get it over with?” I asked, advancing toward him.
“Because today I’m going to have me a real good day,” he answered. “Let’s dance, Slayer.”
And he lunged toward me.
I’d like to say that I side stepped him and plunged the stake through his heart on his way past me, but that
didn’t happen.
Instead we fought. As epic battles go, it probably wasn’t very exhilarating. As strategy goes, we probably
weren’t very brilliant. As far as skill and strength goes, we were pretty evenly matched. We’d both fought for a long
time and had time to hone ourselves and we’d fought each other enough to be aware of some weaknesses that could be exploited.
But it was fun in a way. I was tired of fighting and I wanted nothing better than to run away to my house and
stop caring about being the Slayer. I could see what it did to people. You either died and the darkness won or the
darkness overcame you and it won as in Faith’s case, or like me you made deals with it to stay away from you or
you fell in love with it or you simply would not lay down and die. I had reasons to live and that’s why I kept fighting.
But that never meant I wasn’t tired to death.
Which made fighting with Spike so fun. Because with him, it was almost more like sparring, or as he put it,
like dancing. We barely ever touched each other as we pranced our way around the ruins covering the literal mouth
of Hell.
“Why can’t you kill me, Spike?” I ground out, blocking his attack. “You keep on trying and failing miserably.”
Spike grinned a little and grabbed my wrist before it smashed into his nose.
“If we’re gonna talk about failures, pet, how come you’ve never dusted me so I don’t come back and try to kill
you?”
I glared at him and renewed my attack. I was going to kill him this time, dang it!
Spike circled away for a minute and I caught my breath and then I swung out my arm which he blocked and
then he punched at me and I grabbed his arm, he grabbed my other one in return and turned us both underneath our attached arms and kneed me in the stomach. Struggling for my breath I caught his leg and pushed it away from me, but using that momentum, he spun around and used that same leg to kick me in the back. I flipped backwards and obliged him with the same and then used my other leg to kick his front. He caught my leg though and threw me on my back, but on my way down, I jerked his leg down too. We fell and I rolled to get away from him. But instead of rolling away himself, he rolled with me and when I got back to my knees his teeth were in my neck.
I cried out in pain and shock as his arms gripped mine to keep me from moving, though I struggled for a few
minutes until the sensations rolling over me stopped me from doing anything but focusing on them. The sucking and
pulling hurt so much that I couldn’t stand it, but at the same time there was such a relieving feeling as I gave of
myself and knew it would be the last thing I would ever do so. Here I would rest. Here I would never have to worry
again and here, I wanted to stay. The sensations stopped and I closed my eyes as much from loss as relief. I
opened them again to see Spike, the demon, looking down at me with immense satisfaction on his face.
“You-you did it,” I said.
He grinned.
“By a hair, luv, by a hair. Hat’s off to you though, pet. The greatest Slayer of my acquaintance.”
“Means nothing coming from you,” I murmured, drowsy with blood loss. Spike smiled again. I liked his
smile. It was so, so fun.
“Anything you wanna say, last chance, Slayer.”
“I-I love th-“
***
Spike watched Buffy’s eyes close and knew they would not open again. He could feel her heart slowing and he lowered his face to her neck and tasted again the sweet abundance of her blood that would be gone when he was finished.
For once in his unlife, Spike kept something from Drusilla and did not leave any blood for her. Buffy was his
and he wanted to wholly consume her. There would be nothing left for any other evil to say that they had a part of
her. Even those who had shared in her previously, they would have nothing. Spike took it all.
Gently, he gathered Buffy’s lifeless body in his arms and carried her back to the car. He would drop her off at
her house and let her friends find her there, looking as peaceful as he could contrive. He knew Buffy at least as well
as they did and he knew she wasn’t really sorry this had happened. It was high time someone had let the girl rest.
And now Spike was truly the Slayer of Slayers, he had kept his honor and pride and title and he had proven his love
for his wicked Princess.
“At last the light has gone out and my own is all mine,” Drusilla said in an awestruck tone upon viewing the
body. “I knew how it would be and all the pain that poured in will now belong to others. Spike, we’ll be one forever.”
“Even so, love,” he agreed, laying Buffy down in the backseat.
Drusilla joined him and he closed his arms about her tightly.
“Spike,” Drusilla said, “you know it was only right to do it.”
“I’ve no qualms about killing the Slayer, Dru,” Spike said. “I never have.”
“But you would have, someday,” she answered. “I could see her. She wanted to float all over you and take you
away from me.”
“But she can never do it. You’re all I’ll ever bloody want or need,” Spike reassured her.
Drusilla nodded knowingly.
“The moon told me how and I obeyed. Now we’ll be one forever.”
Spike didn’t quite know what to make of that, but he was all for the last sentence.
“Let’s go ravage the world, Dru!” Spike said in an excited tone.
Drusilla’s eyes lit up and she started to dance. Spike laughed as he watched her. And then they left Sunnydale
behind together.