Written as a Long Stand Alone (Was written so it can be read with out reading the first story).

Sequel to Dream Once More (Archived at the Sand lot)

Author: T. Claybourne  (t.claybourne@yahoo.com)

AU And Crossover

Rating: Rated R most chapters for violence and Language, some are NC-17 for sexual content

A/N I'd like to thank my Beta Reader Hawera And muses Michelle Branch, Robbie Williams and Evanescence

Afterglow Chapter 24 The Big Day Part 3

Spike, still sitting in the center of the group, changed to his demon face, stood and let out a growl. Most of the students screamed, scattered and ran towards Mia who gave her head a shake, letting her demon confront them. Andrew climbed up the bleachers to join Dawn and Buffy, a grin on his face. He hadn't known this was going to happen, but unlike the other students, he wasn't running scared.

Spike and Mia corralled the terrified students between them on the floor while Faith and Wood blocked them from fleeing up the bleachers.

Mia stayed in full demon face and announced. "Ladies and Gentleman, may I introduce, Spike, aka William the Bloody."

Spike and she slipped back into their human faces.

Mia said forcefully to the still frightened students. "Go and sit down. Vampires with souls here ... we aren't planning on a buffet."

The students crept slowly to their seats keeping their eyes on the two in front of the class.

"I know that there have been rumors that I am a vampire, so now you know for sure. I was a Slayer. I was drained and turned into a vampire by Drusilla, and then I had a soul placed in me the day I rose. Today, we will have a couple of demonstrations as planned, then there will be a question-and-answer session. I'll answer all your questions then. First, Robin Wood and I are going to demonstrate how a normal non-super-powered human might face a vampire. He does this on the Hellmouth in Cleveland every night with his Slayer, Faith."

Mia handed Robin a stake as they went to the center of the mats. "I'd appreciate it if you would refrain from actually driving it home."

"But that would certainly show the kids something."

"That might cause you a teensy problem with Spike and Xander. Besides, haven't you heard I'm the big gun, secret weapon. Blah blah blah."

They began exchanging blows, each blocking the other.

Robin landed a good shot to Mia's jaw.

She cocked her head to the side. "Nice."

"Thank you."

Mia let him get the upper hand and force her to the ground. Wood put the stake to her chest and saw a small thin scar. "That the scar from..."

"That's a long story involving Angel, an arrow and me not wanting any Spike dust on my training room floor."

The next time they fought Mia opened up just a little more. She made Wood struggle. At one point he pulled out his stake and charged. Mia grabbed the hand holding the stake and whipped it behind his back, making him drop it. She immobilized him, stretched his neck, and going into her demon face she mimicked an attack. Mia heard a gasp in the bleachers. She let him go.

"You know what he did wrong? He lost the use of his weapon. The battle between a vampire and you is about who holds the power. I have power. I also have my weapon, it's always hidden right there below the surface. You need to use all your knowledge, skill, instinct, and your weapon to take that power away. You may have noticed though how he was able to take me the first time. Mr. Wood has proved that he has plenty of knowledge, skill, and instinct, and the experience to take the power and take down a vampire. I want you all to keep in mind that he has no super-slayer strength."

"That, and you held back." Whispered Robin.

"Things like Spike's nose happen when I don't," Mia smiled, as they walked back toward the bleachers.

Before Mia sat down she announced, "Next is going to be a vampire versus Slayer demonstration."

Faith and Spike came out on the mat. They circled each other. Mia was probably the only one who could hear their conversation.

"So, vampire, are you going to hit me or are we going to play ring-a-roses?"

"No," said Spike, "I thought I'd start with a kick." He swung down low, Faith jumped, but he circled around and landed one to her chest.

"Well then, if you want to play like that." Faith threw a round- house that caught his jaw.

They parried back and forth with words and quips, along with punches and kicks.

Spike had Faith pinned on the mat.

"Awfully nice of your ex to give that coat you used to wear to Robin."

Spike glanced Mia's direction. Mia had heard and looked away just as Faith's fist hit him smack in his nose.

It had been two days since Mia had hit him, but his nose was still bruised and very tender. His demon emerged and he roared, rolling away and bouncing to his toes. The fight intensified then. Spike was stronger with his demon in the forefront. There were no more quips. Punches and kicks flew. Faith was able to throw Spike against the entrance arch column and yelled, "Stake!"

Wood threw her his.

Faith was on the arc down when she felt the air move in front of her. And then as she sank the stake, Mia was standing there. The stake stuck out of the middle of Mia's chest and Faith gasped.

Mia staggered a little with the stake sticking out. The young vampire walked to the bleachers where Robin sat. She pulled him up and looked at him. "I thought we talked about this."

She lifted him several feet off the ground before she threw him at the opposite wall across the training room where he crumpled.

Faith looked at Spike and then from Mia to Wood, to Mia, and back to Spike. Spike motioned her to go to Wood.

Spike clenched his jaw and sauntered over to Mia. His mind flashed to the day she had stepped in front of the arrow that Angel had thrust at his heart.

In a calm voice that betrayed none of the emotion he felt, he said, "You know you keep doing this,it might actually take."

"Could you go and get me a towel? I remember that these things bleed when you take them out."

By the time Spike got back several people had formed a circle around her: they were obviously concerned.

"Bloody hell, are you all bleeding idiots? You are crowding an injured vampire there, bet no one can guess what her instincts are telling her to do."

Everyone drifted back to their seats.

"You know a bloke could really start feeling like a nancy boy around you. First last night, and now this. If you knew the thing was plastic, then why not let me take it?"

"Shut up." She punctuated her statement by pulling the stake out. It made a slurping sound.

"My class, my stake, my chest. Damn, you and Angel never said how badly it hurts." She put the towel to her chest.

She walked in front of the class with blood dripping from the wound and the towel.

"You're sodding well going to finish class?"

"You would."

Spike nodded. He had to focus on this class because if he started thinking about a hole in her chest he'd be in trouble.

"Sorry for the little interruption. But actually this is a good opportunity for you to learn a few things first hand. Remember I talked about Slayer instinct: that was a perfect example. For the first part of the fight they were playing, joking, but then instincts kicked in. It got intense. Faith and Spike actually like each other. She knows that he has a soul and she saw what he did to close the Hellmouth in Sunnydale. They had a beer together just last night. But Faith saw his demon and her instinct made her react. Faith called for a stake: that was instinct, and the fact she knew there was one near by, that was instinct too.

Now as vampires we have several instincts. From the minute we rise out of the grave our instinct is to seek blood. Mia held up her blood-filled hand and licked it, then passed it to Spike. He glanced at her and then back and took a long lick, making a big show of it.

Sounds of disgust were heard.

"Our next instinct is to keep living. We have only the sun, stake, decapitation and a Slayer to stop us. If you beat the hell out of us, knock us down, or stab us with a plastic stake we get back up. We don't like pain, but we just get on with it. Pain won't stop us as it would you humans. If you don't make us dust the first time out, we will be back the next night looking for you. Spike and I are a little different from your average vampire because we each have a soul and that makes draining a human not worth the guilt. OK, I'm going to leave Spike here to answer questions while I go and get cleaned up."

Mia had started to heal enough to stop the bleeding and she changed into a spare tank top. She sat down a moment in her desk chair after changing her bloody shirt. Faith rushed in. "Faith, is he OK?"

"He's fine. Well, maybe a broken rib or two but... What about you? I totally don't know what happened."

"Not dust, just fine. You got swept up in the fight. Spike had his demon out and your instinct took over. You called for a stake, Wood threw you one."

"Then you were there, and now I'm looking at you ... not dust."

"Plastic stake."

"You knew?"

Mia shrugged. "I suspected and I didn't want to take a chance. Spike has saved a lot of people. I know it doesn't make up for Nikki, but he's trying ..."

"No arguments from me. Thank you for the plastic stake, if I had.... shit can't even think about it."

"Faith, you didn't slip up."

"What?"

"Spike he told me once, about how you and he talked, and you know, but you didn't slip up. You were just a Slayer with a vampire. It was nature."

"Xander said something about you being wicked smart, I think..."

"Don't say it."

"You don't want to be... what I'm not saying out loud."

"Long Mary Sue story. Now I should go answer some questions before Spike gets too impatient with them and decides to break his human blood fast."

5:38pm

"Any more questions?"

A hand went up.

"Asia."

"How did you become a vampire? I know about the siring thing, I mean how did it actually end up happening to you?"

Buffy spoke up. "That's a very personal question."

Mia answered, "It's alright, I promised I'd answer any questions, but this will be the last. We have some things to go over before I let you go for today.

Spike sat on the second bleacher bench up. Mia looked at him. It was surreal she was having to tell this story with an actual hole in her heart.

She started."I was trying to save, well um there was this warehouse and..." Mia looked away from Spike and centered on Robin of all people.

"I was part of a group of people including Buffy, Mr. Giles, Miss Rosenberg, Spike and others you wouldn't know. "Mr. Giles," she looked up at him, "Did you record what happened; will they be able to read the account?" He nodded.

"Well, Angel, the oldest living Aurelian, had been infected by some Aurelian followers who were trying to bring forth the Master of the bloodline in him. I went into the nest alone to inject him with the anti-serum. I had the advantage because he thought he had killed me. That was a small misunderstanding, because I was very much alive. I managed to inject him, but when I emerged into an outer warehouse there were flames and vampires everywhere: everyone was fighting these vamps. I was trying to make my way to help and I saw Spike. I've already told you that a lifetime ago we had been more than friends, actually we had been in love."

Mia took a deep breath and swallowed, but continued looking only at Robin.

"It was then that I saw a vampire stake Spike: there was an explosion of dust and no Spike. It was in that instant that I gave up. I thought 'I cured Angel, Spike's gone, so who cares now.' That's when Drusilla grabbed me. I didn't even really fight. I started to struggle only when I heard Spike's voice. I found out later that he had been staked, but not fatally, and he had disappeared because he'd fallen through a trapdoor in the floor. Drusilla said she wanted him back and that she wanted to turn me so we could be a family. I remember the sharp, horrible pain in my neck, and then it was black until I woke up starving, starving for blood."

Mia closed her eyes and opened them slowly. "For the rest of the story you can do what real Watchers would do, and read about it in Mr. Giles's report."

Spike got up and walked toward the office.

"Well, now on to other business. Some of you may have noticed that treadmills and free weight sets have been sent to your houses. I had this done because, along with techniques taught in class, you are going to need to be fit and have the muscle to back up that training. I have special equipment and we will be keeping track of your progress by measuring your muscle..."

Vincent in a low voice probably only heard by those around him and Mia with her vampire hearing, said. "I have a muscle for you to measure."

She heard a few hushed laughs.

"Mr. Llewellyn, please gather your things and leave my class."

Spike came back, carrying one of the metal baskets full of stakes. He put it next to the entrance column and sat back down."

"What?" Asked Vince.

"I said, get out of my class and you are not invited to return."

"This is ridiculous, why?"

"You know exactly why, if you've done your studies you know we vampires possess excellent hearing. I'm through with your kind of sexist talk and actions. They border on sexual harassment and I won't have them in my class."

"You can't be serious, I've had no warning."

"You don't get any warning in the field. I believe the entire class will agree that I have been extremely patient, especially in the light of my... true... nature. You might as well know, both the headmaster and Mr. Giles will receive a letter recommending your immediate removal from the Watcher program. You have a problem with women; I don't want you near any of the Slayers."

Vince stood, "You can't do this, you are nothing. You are the very scum the Watchers' Council has sworn to fight against. My father, his father and all my family's fathers before have been a part of this Council. My father will see that you are dealt with."

"Well, that might be true if this was still the original Watchers' Council, but today's Watchers no longer just watch. And by the way, the original Watchers' Council never fought against anything, It sat on its butt while the Slayer fought against the vampires and the evil. So, regardless of what they call themselves now, they are really the Slayers' Council. As for your father, I don't think he'll be supportive of your desire for retribution. He knows this Council now is all about the Slayers and I don't think you'll sway him. Your father and I have agreed that you may seek to stay within the group as an operative, although clearing that with Mr. Giles will be up to you."

Vince walked toward the entrance.

"Llewellyn, take a stake. I wouldn't want you to go about unprotected," added Mia.

Vince picked up a stake and with venom in his voice, he said, "What's to stop me from using this on you right now?"

Mia turned and was behind him so fast that anyone who had not been watching closely would have missed it. She stretched his neck to the side and put her human teeth to it.

The fear she smelled in his blood was almost overpowering, but she held her human face in place. "You could try, but really I suggest you might think of waiting until I'm in a coma."

Mia smelled urine and let him go. She stepped back to avoid any more confrontation. Vincent hung his head and left the building.

"Alright everyone, pick up a stake on your way out. As for your questions, we'll cover any more on Monday: my evaluators await. And Monday, come ready to kick some butt."

6:10pm

Spike stood next to Mia. The students had left and the Watcher instructors formed a line to talk with them. Some congratulated them and some acted impressed. Two of the older Watchers overtly avoided shaking Spike's hand, which only made him grin. The consensus was the demonstration would most likely motivate the students in all their studies. It was seeing Giles, Buffy and Dawn that made Mia's forced smile real.

"How's the chest?" asked Dawn

"Healing. I'll be good as new tomorrow."

"Some of us had a hard time watching that sort of thing happen again," said Buffy

Mia didn't look at Spike, but she watched Buffy examining his face.

All he said was, "Less blood this time, although I enjoyed what there was."

"That is so totally gross, Spike. I thought I was going to retch right there in class," commented Dawn.

Mia smiled. "Got the point across. Fictional authors and their vampires always make it seem so erotic. The truth is, it's not too pretty, up close and personal."

"That's not how I find it, I actually find it very ..."

"Shut up, Spike," chorused Mia and Buffy together.

"Although it was a disturbing experience to watch, I feel its effectiveness merited its use. I found the whole demonstration, other than your accidental impaling and its consequences, as in Mr. Wood's injuries, something of a coup. It gives merit to our affiliation with the two of you I do worry about Vincent Llewellyn, though. His father could make trouble for us."

"Oh, that won't happen. I let his father know my plans, and the minute I heard the suggestion of a threat from the senior Llewellyn I told him that I might have to call the police in to investigate the very public displays of his overtures. I hinted that there had been something akin to sexual assault, enough to warrant a police investigation. Mr. Llewellyn understood my point of view after that."

"Although I do not advocate coercion, in this instance it may have been merited. What made you decide to go that route instead of...?"

"Very Los Angeles, wasn't it? Well, to be exact, Wolfram and Hart. I remember seeing a whole clan of demons taken out with a swoop of a pen. I thought the less hands-on involved here, the better."

Spike rolled his eyes. "A lesson in life from lawyers to the evil."

"In this instance it worked, and you were right about it being a new Council but we still have centuries of the old Council's way of doing things to erase. The Council I originally worked for wasn't above blackmail; in fact I was on the sharp end of the old Council's use of it. However, in this instance I think it was necessary for the survival of what we have so recently established. The situations bear no comparison."

"Giles, you have to understand that I didn't do this for the Council or its new direction, but for the Slayer he would have been assigned to."

"Yes, I do understand that. On the another hand, it works in our favor that Mia never revealed her true strength and power. Although there were the two examples of her speed, no one here would know that she is not a normal vampire."

"The old 'keep your cards close to your chest' trick?" asked Mia.

"Yes."

"I know that trick; I've played cards with Spike," she commented.

"You're right, Mia. He loves to cheat," added Buffy.

"Is that how come I could never win even when I had killer hands?" asked Dawn

"Oi, bloody standing right here."

"Mia, let's go sit in your office. I have something to discuss."

"Sitting out here is better Giles; I sort of had one of my chairs go missing."

Spike snorted. Giles was opening his brief case when Willow came rushing in.

"I got it. I hate to admit it but I actually had to cast a reveal spell to find the way in. Those Dutch police have a really fantastically secure computer system."

Giles took the paper. "It's exactly as I thought. Twice in the last few weeks decapitated bodies were found by the Amsterdam Police. No specifics were released, so Willow had to do some searching."

Buffy asked, "What would some sicko Dahmer type have to do with us?"