9. Wait a buggering minute!
 

Faith feinted forward, aiming high at Spike in a sweeping back-kick, preparing for a more lethal blow with her stake. He spun with the blow, coming around and slashing an arm at her head. She ducked, taking the shot with her stake, and he kicked forward, knocking her backwards before she could do more than start to attack him. "Oh, come on!" Snapped Spike. "That was a cheap shot. You can do better than that."

"Thanks for the pointer." She said drily, rolling to her feet.

"You're headed away from Sunnydale." He pointed out. She frowned.

"Yeah? So?"

"So? So? So what happened to contrition, redemption, regaining trust, helping the people you've harmed?" Demanded Spike. "What happened to making amends? I thought you were supposed to be a reformed person!"

She blinked. "Wait a minute-you're the vampire. The one I, uh... the one with the chip."

"Sort of gone, now." He offered gently. "Now, what d'you think you're doing, heading that way?" He pointed east. "Come on, and this better be good. Cuz, you know, they could really use your help back that way." He pointed west, back towards Sunnydale.

"Since when do you vampires give Slayers advice?" Inquired Faith politely, shooting forward and slashing the stake in her hand towards his chest.

Quick as lightning he kicked the stake out of her hand, punching at her hard. She blocked with her forearm, and he grinned.

"Now, that's more like it!" He crowed, shooting forward at her with a series of kicks and punchs that she struggled to block. "And for your information, I give advice to the other Slayer quite often! And lots more besides." He leered at her.

"Now I know you're lying." She observed.

"Am not!"

"Jeez, unimaginative much? I mean, I know she had a thing with a vampire. But that was the vamp with a soul."

"I have a soul." He observed, blocking her roundhouse kick and shoving her away.

"Ha! You look nothing like Angel! Try a little credibility next time!"

"Never claimed to be the Poofter. Just to have a soul." Spike observed. "Just because he was the first bloody vampire to get one, everybody thinks he's the only one-stop dropping your guard like that! What'd you do, spend the last two years not practicing!"

"They kind of frown on that in prison." Said Faith drily. "And, yeah, I did! I came back here to atone and all that crap! But, what, B's gonna need me stepping on her toes, reminding her of everything I've cost her?"

Spike snorted. "Matter of fact, yeah. She does. Need you. I mean, for starters, her kid sis is being hunted by some of the nastiest nastyies under creation-and would you stop dropping your guard!" Spike punched her easily in the face. "Shit, woman, you trying to get killed here? Do you even have any idea what you're facing? I mean, are you looking to be my third Slayer or what?"

"Third...oh, shit. You're the shit that killed Kendra, and you killed B."

"Uh, no. Close. My girlfriend killed Kendra. Uh, that is, my girlfriend at the time. And B's still alive and -unf!"

"Kicking." Finished Faith, her little demonstration of her own kicking abilities over. "Yeah? Then when'd you get your two?"

"Boxer rebellion. Eighties." He groused. "Didn't your Watcher teach you anything? Spike? William the Bloody? Slayer of Slayers? Ring a bell, here?" He pulled himself to his feet. "Only now I've got a soul, so I'm all reformed."

Faith snorted. "You're reformed. Right." She charged forward.

He grabbed her wrists, spinning her around and lifting her so she couldn't get leverage to twist away from him, and pressed his fangs against her throat. "Yep." He said cheerfully against her neck, then pushed her away. "Totally reformed. What the hell was that? Charging all out, no style, no weapons-just plain stupid. Your Watcher would have a bloody FIT if he saw that."

She touched her neck, staring at him. "I bet he would." She said faintly. "But, then, he'd have a fit if he saw you."

"Shut up." Groused Spike. "Look, you want a ride, or what? I don't have all night to waste here."

Faith scooped up her stake. "You're offering me a ride still? What the hell is up with you?"

"I thought I made that point pretty clear already. Me. Have. Soul." He snapped through ground teeth. "You can hold a stake at my heart the whole way if it makes you feel better, Slayer. But not if you're going to stake me for breaking the speed limit." He amended.

"Okay." Faith's eyes were still mistrustful. "Why are you leaving Sunnydale if you're so concerned with the other Slayer's wellbeing?"

Spike shrugged. "Because my being in Sunnydale isn't good for the Slayer's wellbeing. Geez, you want the whole story, you're gonna have to come with me. It's kind of a long one."

"Where were you planning on stopping?" She asked him.

"Tonight? First rundown old abandoned house I can find. Ultimately? I may never stop. You coming, or what?"

"Well, at least for tonight."

**************

Giles glanced at his watch. Five in the morning. He sighed, glancing back at Buffy's door, hearing the noises of a recently awakened Slayer shambling to the door behind it.

He knew it was unwise to disturb a Slayer so early. In addition to irregular hours, this Slayer had a bit of a temper that was always aroused by being awakened early. And between her fighting skills and her Slayer strength, pissing off a Slayer wasn't the best way to start a day.

A Slayer, he reminded himself, still chilled from his conversation with Quentin Travers. Not THE Slayer, A Slayer.

Buffy opened the door. "Whaa?" She croaked.

"I heard back from the council." He said seriously. "Bad news all around, I'm afraid."

She blinked twice before replying. "Come in."

She got Dawn up, and they both showered and dressed before coming down to talk. It was six before they came down, and Giles chafed at the waste of time. But he said nothing.

"Well?" Asked Dawn, when they were all gathered together.

"Well, first of all, it appears that the Demon Hunters were in fact correct about the lawyers. I had a long talk with the Council about that. It appears that Wesley-you remember Wesley?-has been sending regular reports on these lawyers. That, er, stopped recently. They're based in LA. They sound seriously bad, Buffy. The wizard, well, ...wizards are a dime a dozen, if you'll pardon the cliche."

"Yeah. Okay. Got it. Lawyers bad, wizard lame." Said Buffy. "That's not enough to wake us up this early."

"Well, as for the Demon Hunters themselves-the Council cooperates with them from time to time. They're a good sort. Except, that, uh, they're both murderers. I mean, they've murdered humans. They're both wanted by the law. But the Council seems to trust them."

"Oh, god." Moaned Dawn. "We're harboring criminals!" Giles jumped.

"They're here?" He gasped.

"No." Said Buffy. "They're at the Magic Box." Giles relaxed.

"Oh. Anyway, one final thing; Faith was given an early release from prison. For good behavior."

"Oh." Said Buffy blankly.

"She was last seen heading towards Sunnydale."

*******************

Faith stared at the vampire lying in the shadows. He glanced up at her. "Why were you so close to Sunnydale?" He asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

She glanced around the rundown barn. "I was going to go back...try to help B. But, well,...too much water under the bridge, I guess. I chickened right outside SunnyD, and headed out. East."

Spike nodded. "And I bet you want to hear my story now, huh?"

"Would be nice. Especially if we're going to be all trusty and playing nice." She replied, carefully keeping her emotions out of her voice.

"Well...it's a long story."

"You fell in love with the Slayer?"

"Okay, maybe not so long."

Faith chuckled. "Wow. Stab in the dark, there."

"Really? You weren't speaking from personal experience, were you?" He asked, glancing at her with an odd look on his face.

"No. I was just thinking about Angel. You know, the obvious, soul, love the Slayer thing."

"Let's not bring Angel into this." Said Spike flatly. "Yeah, I fell for the Slayer. I had a chip in my head, so I was sort of stuck helping her, trapped into being a part of her world-and I liked. I liked a lot. I fell for her hard. And then...then I hurt her. I wasn't worthy of her, I was a monster. So I set out to make myself worthy. So I got a soul."

"And then, bam. That's not enough. You're not saved just cause of a soul." Observed Faith. "Hell, Spike, I could have told you that."

"Maybe. But it does make it easier." He observed.

"So, now what? I mean, an out of shape Slayer, a vampire looking for redemption...seems to be a couple of obvious things we could do."

"You mean, like kill those little buggers that go bump in the dark?" Said Spike with a grin.

"More or less."

"Just a question; I'm not the only one here looking for redemption, am I?" Asked Spike, sitting up and peering at her. "This is more to you than just teaming up with another fighter to kill the things that go bump in the dark?"

"Yeah, I guess it is." She admitted.

"Well, then what you're proposing, teaming up like this, and all it implies, you've got to really mean it. You've got to really be looking for it, because if you're not, you'll just slow me down. I'm looking, I want it bad."

She thought about it for a second. "Okay, yeah, I'd like to stick with you for a while."

"Now, be honest; coming with me cause you're suspicious I'll kill humans, or hoping I'll kill demons?"

"A little of both." She hedged. "But I gotta tell you, if you start doing cliched things, like, say, warning me of incoming apocalypse's with enigmatic hints or using too much hair gel..."

Spike snorted. "I'm never gonna escape the Angel comparisons, am I?"

"Well, duh. Vamp with a soul, anybody? Oops. Only two. How do the comparisons not arise? Lot's of comparisons arise."

"Yeah, yeah. Go to sleep."

"Sleep the day away, fight vamps at night? I need food, you know."

"I gave the last of my money to the whelp."

"The whelp? Who..?"

"Xander."

"Oh. Xander." There was a long silence. "How's everybody doing?"

"Big sis is finally doing okay again, after coming back to life. Again."

"Oh? She died again?"

"Yeah...Wait a buggering minute!!"

*************

Giles read through Spike's note quickly.

'Giles.

'Well, I'll bet you're happier with me gone. You have the number if you ever need me.

'And just for the record, I'm running because it's the right thing to do, not because I'm scared. I still love Buffy, and I still have a soul, even if I 'lost' the chip. Please try to understand my position.

'And watch Nibblet. These guys after her scare me.'

It was unsigned, a fact that caused Giles a moment's distress. Had there been another page? But, no, the note was too short. There could have been more; there should have been more. This left him with questions.

It was very much like Spike, come to think of it.

He glanced up at Buffy. "Well, it seems that your old nemesis has departed."

"Yeah, he's done that." Muttered Buffy. "Giles, I've been thinking. If Faith got called-when I died, I mean-no, Kendra got called. Argh! It's so confusing. And I was there." She was silent for a second. "If Kendra got called when I died, and Faith got called when Kendra died-shouldn't another Slayer have been summoned when I died? The second time I mean?"

For a moment Giles was so silent that Buffy began to wonder whether he'd heard her. "You're right." He said suddenly. "There's two possible explanations. One, the line passed from you when you died the first time, and now only Faith's death can call another Slayer. Two...there is a third Slayer, and the Council is hiding her from me. From us."

"Oh." Said Buffy. "So, you can ask them?"

"I'm persona non grata in their eyes. Mostly because of you, and even more because I supported you. I mean, in your move to break away from the Council."

Dawn frowned. "Okay..." Said Dawn slowly. "Spike killed two Slayers, right? And he came right to Sunnydale to find Buffy-he knows a lot about Slayers is my point." She said off Buffy's impatient look. "We can ask him."

"I don't know, Dawnie-it's kind of a long shot."

"Hey, it's the best we've got. Unless you think Clem might know whether there's a third Slayer."

********************

"You have a lot of demon connections." Pointed out Faith. "Why don't you ask around?"

"I lost my demon connections." Replied Spike glumly. "I mean, a vampire who helped out the Slayer? They'd stake first, answer questions later. No, we haven't a prayer of finding out about any third Slayer. I'll have to ask the Watcher."

"You think he'll know?"

"No, but those wankers on the Council might. He'll call them up."

"And you think they'll tell him? I mean, I only spent a little time around them, only saw their interactions with the Council breifly-but they don't like each other. B, Giles, they hate the other Watchers. And, uh, the feelings mutual. Unless a lot has changed since I've been gone..."

"It hasn't." Said Spike dully. "But they might tell him."

"Well, will he tell us?"

"I hope. Best lead we've got. Unless you think Angel might know whether there's a third Slayer."

********************

Ivan stretched, glancing at Anya. "Thanks for letting us stay here."

"Uh, yeah." Said Nick, stretching his arm. "How'm I gonna fight with a cast?" He demanded.

"About as well as you normally do." Rumbled Ivan. He glanced at Anya, frowning. "Is something wrong?"

"There's a man standing outside the shop watching us. It's one of the men Buffy and Spike beat up earlier." Said Anya carefully, putting a protective hand on top of the cash register.

Ivan stretched again, this time rotating his head a hunded and eighty degrees, and then back. "Yep." He said grimly. "All alone, too. Nick, we're going."

Nick grunted, unsheathing his sword and holding it clumsily in his left hand. They stalked out of the shop.

The soldier saw them coming and made a funny sound in his throat, grabbing a gun out of his pocket and firing.

There was a blur of metal, and a sound like another gunshot, and then Ivan had moved-his left arm was now across his body, sword held lengthwise in front of him. Anya hadn't seen him move. Ivan just grunted and staggered, then continued forward.

Before the soldier could run the two Demon Hunters were on him. "Initative scum. Where's your leader?" Demanded Ivan.

"Doesn't matter...he's here. Negotiations are over." Gasped the soldier. "Surrender the Key! He plays for keeps!"

Ivan frowned. "That's the worst load of bull I've ever heard. You're talking about the Wizard, right?" The soldier nodded in fear. "All right. He and I will have words. We have before, we will again." Ivan lifted the soldier off the ground, and Nick carefully disarmed the soldier. "I want to talk to your leader. No! Better yet. Have him talk to the Slayer. We can...reach an arrangement. If you're so scared of this damn Wizard."

He dropped the Soldier, who scurryed away. Ivan sighed. "Time to hit the demon underworld. You stay here, Nick."

***************

Giles and Buffy both glanced at Dawn when the knock on the door came. "Upstairs." Said Buffy shortly. She glanced at Giles. "No, wait. Second thoughts here. You two stay here, out of sight. Arm yourselves. Listen in."

Then she got up and opened the door.

The man behind it was the exact opposite of what she'd been expecting. He was tall, with light brown hair falling into his eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless coat that descended like a cloak to his knees. His wrists were wrapped in leather bands, and his knee-high boots looked business-like.

"Buffy Anne Summers?" He asked. She tensed up, ready for combat. "My name in Jean-Michel Luc Gissard. Otherwise known as the Wizard. I'm here to inquire about the Key." Buffy grabbed an axe hanging beside the door, and he raised a brow. "My employers have authorized me to offer eighty thousand dollars for it." He added.

"You want to BUY the Key?" Demanded Buffy.

"Well, yes." He replied, a slight smile creasing his face. His accent was very slight, and hard to place. Like an overlaying of several foreign accents, a slight English accent predominant. "My employers are private collectors of artifacts. They wish to use the dimensional powers of the Key to, well, make money." His smile widened, flashing white teeth. "I'm not exactly sure as to the how. May I come in?"

Buffy replaced the axe, put off by his manner. "Uh, sure. Come in." She glanced at Giles and Dawn, who both hurriedly hid their own weapons. The Wizard glanced at them, smiling.

"Hello." He greeted.

"The Wizard. Quite a, um, claiming name." Noted Giles.

"Well, I used to be quite an egotist." Replied the Wizard easily. "It used to be very easy for me to make the assumption that I was the only wizard worth mentioning. Now, how much is the Key worth to you?"

"I'm not interested in selling it." Said Buffy tightly.

"Now, miss Summers, be reasonable." He said smoothly. "I know for a fact that the hell-lawyers are already here, as are the rogue soldiers known as the Initative. You know very well that these people aren't going to ask, but are going to try to take the Key. I assure you it will be well-guarded with my employers, and will certainly not be used for evil. How much is the Key worth? Surely not enough to fight for?"

Giles watched him carefully while Buffy replied. "The Key is worth the fight to me."

The Wizard smiled tightly. "Perhaps. However, I'm afraid if you can't be persuaded to part with it for money, I've also been authorized to take it by force." His words filled the air with tension. "Now, I hardly want to fight the Slayer. But I assure you, I am confident that I can win." His smile vanished. "Now, I will give you time to think this over. I'm going to give you twelve hours. Tonight, at ten o clock, I will start looking for you. And, depending on your answer, you will either be richer, or else we will have to fight. Good day, miss Summers." He gave a strange half bow, turned, and walked away.

"Oh my god." Said Dawn.

***************

Ivan walked between the inhabitants of the bar and sat down on a stool, examining the bartender. "Willie." He said, testing the name on his tongue.

The bartender turned, smiling. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to know some things." Ivan slid a hundred dollar bill across the bar. "The Wizard, the Initative, Wolfram and Hart. And anything you think I might need to know."

Willie leaned forward. "The Wizard just hit town. He's going to be talking to the Slayer soon. Soldier-boys are wigged out. The lawyers? Who can tell. But that's all small potato's. Another vampire is in town."

"Vampire's? Old news."

"This one older than most. A master! He's here to kill the Slayer, end the world."

Ivan frowned. "Oh, geez." Then a smile began to curve his mouth. "A laugh a minute. I LOVE the Hellmouth!"

********************

Xander finished the walk to Giles' house and glanced at the blue sky, a smile hovering around his lips. It was a beautiful day. The blue sky was wonderful, little wisps of white cloud hovering over Sunnydale.

He knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he let himself in with his key, looking around. The light was on in Willows room, so he knocked once and went in.

She was sitting on her bed, her face drawn into a scowl. In front of her was a book; Xander couldn't make out the title. "Hey, Wills!" He greeted her.

She glanced at him, her face pensive. "What?" She asked, an edge to her voice.

"I have something for you."

She took the offered note from him, and began to read.

'Willow.

'I'm such an idiot for not seeing it right off. I bet Giles saw it, right? Or did Xander? Or has anyone seen through you yet?

'They're all forgiving and loving, and all so "oh, you lost Tara, how bad for you." I bet they don't even realize what's happening with you.

'Guilt. A wonderful emotion, isn't it? We've killed, you and I. In cold blood. Sucked the life out, tortured, you name it, we've done it.

'We're killers. That's what we are.

'And it's burning you up inside.

'Guilt..and lust. You want to do it again, don't you? You'd love it. You'd never come back from that. But still, you burn inside with the lust to taste blood again, don't you? Not literally, the way I do, but metaphorically. You want to kill.

'And you can't live with that.

'Well, tough rocks, Red. I'm damned, you're damned, so what? If you want redemption or forgiveness, you'll have to get off your ass and earn it! Let's start easy. Go bake a meal for someone. Now.

'And if you hurt Buffy again, you'll never have the chance to use magic again. Hm. That's one of those vague disclaimers; and a vague disclaimer is nobodies friend. Allow me to rephrase that. Hurt Buffy, die.'

Willow looked up at Xander. "Spike wrote this." She said flatly. Xander nodded. "He's a thing." Spat Willow. "With or without a soul. What difference does a soul make? He's killed. Anything that's killed deserves to die."

Xander watched her, his face unchanging. "Who are we talking about, Will?"

"Spike!" She spat. "Vampire! Evil! KILLER!" She screamed the last word.

"Oh, really? For a moment I thought we were talking about you."

"Did you read the letter?" She demanded. "Screw you!"

"No, I didn't." He replied softly. "I just had an epiphen... an epophen...you know, one of those things where you figure everything out. This isn't about grief so blinding you can't recover-this is about guilt so bad you don't want to come back. You just want to collapse in on yourself and die."

"Yes!" Growled Willow. "I am an evil thing! Spike is an evil thing!"

Xander swallowed. "I forgive you, Will. Even if you can't forgive yourself, I forgive you."

"Get out!" She growled.

*************

Faith watched the vampire sleep. He was a strange one, this William the Bloody. He claimed to have searched out his soul purposely. He claimed to love the Slayer.

Yeah, if there was a normal vampire, he would be the opposite of Spike.

And there was something about Spike-something between the tough-guy persona he exuded and the lost little boy she could almost see in him, something that perplexed her. Something that intrigued her.

And she was, to tell the truth, searching for a little direction right now anyway. Prison had been easy. A therapist. A clear set of rules. A clear way to redemption. Do what the guards said, do what your therapist said, whee, you're doing the right thing, heading down the path for redemption!

And now she was on the outside, having to find her own way in a world that was unfamiliar to her. If life was an exam, she had already failed once.

And Spike represented a way back in. A purpose. Even if he turned out to be faking the soul, that was a purpose. But somehow she couldn't believe that of him. He was too convincing. She listened to him, and watched him, and beleived him. She didn't know why, but she believed him.

And that scared her just a little.

Not enough to make her run from him.

************************

Golan was a smart vampire. Smarter than the average minion. He was the vampire who had run for his life when he'd first seen Spike, come to rescue the Slayer from the Scy'thian demon. He had a highly tuned sense of self- preservation.

He was smart.

He knew a demon that would lose just on sight. There were many loser demons, demons he would look at and sigh, knowing they'd be seeing the business end of a stake soon enough.

Vampire were usually the weakest of all demons. The most pitiful, even if the most plentiful.

But masters...those vampire's lucky, smart or tough enough to live past a hundred...they were something else. As far different from an ordinary vamp as a Duthaluk Demon to a human. They'd not only shown that they had what it took to survive, but they'd also spent hundreds of years honing whatever it was that had helped them survive.

And Golan, although still young, was smart enough to know a master when he saw one. Smart enough to understand that when a master beckoned, a vampire served. When a master beckoned, even demons trembled. A pissed-off master was capable of anything.

And Golan knew at once that if he could get in this masters good graces, he would be set. Offered the protection of this master, Golan could grow old enough that others would cower at his very presence.

He smiled. "Welcome to Sunnydale, mister Chun."

Slowly the other vampire turned to face him. His features were Oriental, with a slight cast to his eyes. His lips hung in a sulk, one that was immediately recognizable. Still, his most striking feature was a circular scar surronding one eye. Chun tugged on the leash he held at his side, and the human girl attached to it moaned weakly.

"Thank you, Golan." Said Chun, with just a hint of Oriental manners. "Now, you say you're having troubles."

"Well, yes. Demon hunters, Slayers, government soldiers..."

"Well...your troubles have just begun." Said Chun with a hint of a smile. "This town will be ashes before I'm done. And it's just the start."

*********************** A/N: I hope I'm not going too fast...no, wait, I hope I am. Speed is of the good, right? And just piling the villains on...well, it makes for good fights. Tell me, what do you think Spike is going to do now? Go evil? Be good? What about Faith? I have some ideas of my own...Plus, coming up next; The Wizard vs. Buffy! Chun vs. Buffy! Wolfram and Hart vs. Buffy! The Initative vs. Buffy! One of the Demon Hunters vs ... Buffy?! Dawn vs. The Wizard! Xander vs. ...Buffy? Can we all say HUH?! What's going to happen! Xander AND the Demon Hunter turns on Buffy? Or is it Buffy who turns on them?! (don't worry, it'll all make sense)