Replacement by sus

Author: sus
Summary: They were meant to be. The council thought they knew better than The Powers, as well as her friends. An enemy from the future changes the past.
Author's Note:
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations


Chapter 29: Replacement

Buffy pressed the handle down, to open the door, almost walking into it. She knocked on the door. "Mom, are you in there?" Had they ignored what she told them? Had Angelus killed her mom? Did her spell not work? The door suddenly opened, Buffy fell into Merrick’s arms.

"She’s okay. Your spell did it." Buffy spotted Joyce behind Merrick. She rushed to her, hugged her tight. "Are you okay, mom?" Buffy pulled away from her, still holding onto her arms, looked her over.

"I’m okay, Buffy. Angel was here but he couldn’t get in. I even invited him in. He got so angry when it didn’t work." She formed a hand around Buffy’s jaw. "Merrick told me it’s thanks to you. Thank you."

"It was nothing. Just a precaution, if they didn’t listen." Buffy hugged her again. "I had to make sure you were safe in your own home."

Merrick had locked the door. Buffy and Joyce went into the kitchen, arms around each other.

Buffy nodded in greetings to Giles and Willow.

"I’ll make you a cocoa."

"Thanks, mom." She took a seat beside Merrick. "What’s going on? With the meeting and the locked door," Buffy asked, looking around at each face. It seemed Giles and Willow didn’t want to look at her. Merrick looked a bit smug.

"Hmm, ahh. I don’t think I succeeded in relaying the gravity of what would happen if Cordelia slept with Angel," Giles got out, with difficulty while polishing his glasses.

"You are saying, that Angelus is out there?"

"I’m afraid so," Giles confirmed.

Buffy sighed. "Is Cordelia alive?"

"Yes, she’s in the hospital."

"What did he do to her?" Buffy got up from her seat.

"He just knocked her around a bit. Her jaw is wired together. She’ll be okay with time." Giles looked after Buffy as she went into the hallway, where she pulled out drawers and took out several stakes she hid on her body.

"I’m sorry, mom. I can’t stay." Buffy moved to look at Giles and Willow. "Maybe it would be best if you stayed the night here!" She turned to Merrick. "Will you meet me at my house?" Abruptly she turned back to Giles. "Where is Kendra?"

Giles pulled his glasses off again. "She’s out there somewhere."

Buffy nodded. "I’ll look for her."

Merrick had joined Buffy. "Do you have a stake for me?"

"In the drawer."

He took one for each pocket and one to hold.

Buffy hugged her mother.

"Promise me, you’ll be careful," Joyce pleaded.

"I promise." Buffy gave her a last tight hug, before she opened the door and disappeared into the dark of the night.

When Buffy knew she was far enough from the house, so the noises from the house wouldn’t disturb her, she closed her eyes and turned on the spot trying to hear or feel Kendra. If she was alive, she was too far away from Buffy, she couldn’t hear or feel her.

Buffy walked into a cemetery, where she found a tall mausoleum. She jumped on top of it, sat down and crossed her legs. She stayed there for some time. What was impossible to see, was that she cast a spell, without saying the words out loud.

After a moment, she opened her fist and looked smiling at the little white flame on her palm. She whispered to it: "Show me the way to the slayer Kendra."

The flame turned red, a sign that Kendra was alive. It started to move to the right, but stayed in her palm.

Buffy jumped to the ground, followed the move of the flame. She started to run, jumping over the tombstones. Now she could hear Kendra fighting up ahead. Buffy watched as Kendra battled a Chaos demon, while scanning the area.

After she decapitated the demon, Kendra turned smiling to Buffy. "Wanna help a girl out?" She gestured to the demon.

"Sure." Buffy kept on looking around.

"Is there something wrong?" Kendra asked.

"Angelus is out there, could be watching us right now."

Kendra instantly pulled her stake, scanning the surroundings. "How is this possible?"

"Cordelia and Angel thought they knew better," Buffy calmly explained. "Let's get this over with, and get you home."

"No, I have to find and kill Angelus." Kendra bent to take the demon's legs.

"He’ll kill you. If he doesn't, Drusilla will," Buffy stated. "I’ll take you home."

"I’m the slayer. I have to do my job."

"Yes, you're the slayer, but you don’t have to be stupid." Buffy placed her hands on Kendra’s shoulders. "Trust me, when I say you can’t take them. I know for sure." She kept looking into her eyes.

"Tha.. that’s how...I died," Kendra stated, with tears in her eyes. "Who did it?"

"You don’t have to know, it wont happen this time. Come on let's get moving." Buffy replaced the lid on the manhole.

They walked in a rash tempo to Revello Drive.

"I’ll take a look in on Angelus. See if I can find out what he’s up to. If it’s the same as the last time, we’ll have to destroy a statue." Buffy started to walk away from the house when Kendra was being let in. She turned around. "Take care of them."

Before Kendra could answer, she was gone.

At the factory where she knew Spike and Dru lived, she stopped. She calmed down and observed the place, before going in.

This time Spike wouldn’t be in a wheelchair, maybe he was still with Drusilla. She shook her head to clear it, wiped away the tears that came with that thought.

She sneaked soundless closer to the building. There were two guards at the entrance, she could feel more inside. Carefully, she sneaked a peak inside, there were guards every few meters, maybe Angelus was expecting her or Kendra.

Slowly, she worked her way around the building. She had never been on the backside of the building.

A fire escape, she smiled satisfied, just what she needed. As all fire escapes it was very noisy. She had to be extra careful.

She looked through the dirty windows as she went up. The first room was crowded with minions playing cards, watching TV and sleeping. Under the stairs was another window. She polished a small circle clean to look through the dirt, and peaked in.

Buffy pulled back from her peephole. That wasn’t something she needed to see. Angelus and Dru going at it like dogs. She made a face as if she had tasted something bad.

She moved a floor up without making any noise. The next room was empty, covered in dust. She pushed the handle down, it was stuck. Still holding the handle, she placed her shoulder against the frame and pushed.

The door frame had rusted, hadn’t been opened for years. With two tries the door opened with a squeal. She stood still, waiting for a long time. Buffy let out the breath she had held, and moved into the room, letting the door stay open as an extra escape route.

Buffy pressed her ear to the door out off the room, before she opened it. She had a bad feeling inside, it was too quiet. Had they been up to something, or would they be waiting for her?

She stepped back into the room, leaned against the door. With her eyes closed, she started breathing heavy, to get her feelings together. Calm again, Buffy stepped through of the door.

Slowly, she edged her way down the corridor. Stopped at each door listening for movement. There was no one in sight, it was making her edgy. No one came out of a room, nothing happened. She squeezed the stake in her hand.

She stopped at the end of the corridor, where the stairs were. She carefully glanced down. Step by step, she sneaked down. Praying the steps wouldn’t betray her by creaking.

At the foot of the stairs, she knelt down, her back against the wall. When she had calmed down, stopped her heart's racing, she peaked around the wall.

The blood on the floor was the first thing she registered. She followed the bloody trail to feet encased in black boots. Her heart started racing again.

Her eyes trailed upwards. Black jeans, a back that looked more like a piece of raw meat.

Tears blurred her sight when she saw the platinum blonde hair.

Buffy held her breath when she heard steps getting closer. Buffy knew when it was wise to keep quiet.

There was a rattling. She dared a peak. Angelus was moving Spike around, his back to the wall, he screamed when the wall connected with his back.

"It’s time to end this charade, Willy boy." Angelus pulled a stake out, and staked Spike before Buffy could react.

Tears were now running down her face. She couldn’t move, frozen to the place where she was.

Angelus laughed nasty, before he left.

Spike still hanging from the chains, unconscious.

Not dust, not dust, not dust, she chanted as she moved closer. Looking around for Angelus.

Wiping her eyes, she looked at Spike. She touched his cheek. Looked at the stake, still in Spike's heart.

Buffy couldn’t help herself. She touched the stake, and touched it again not believing what she felt.

Plastic, she looked around the room and listened for any danger. She looked into Spike’s face, he was out. She wrapped her hand around the stake. She prayed to The Powers and pulled.

Buffy sighed in relief. She rushed to place the stake on the table, before she pulled her blouse off, pressed it against the wound in his chest.

Buffy pressed the fabric a bit into the wound, before she had to let go and search for the key. She almost yelled in happiness, when she immediately found the key on the table among the torture devices.

With the key in her hand, she rushed back to Spike. First she unlocked the chains on his feet, she then wrapped an arm around Spike’s front to hold him, while she released him from the last restrains.

He slumped into her arm’s, waking up. He opened his mouth to scream out his pain.

Buffy hurried to cover his mouth, fangs and all. "Shh."

Spike’s golden eyes blinked in surprise. He shook his head, tried to get rid of his demon face.

Buffy kept looking around while she got Spike on his feet, his arm over her shoulder. She took a firm hold of his wrist and an arm around his waist.

Spike had stopped trying to get his demon to retract, for now. He was in too much pain.

With how Spike was hanging from her shoulders, Buffy doubted she could get him up the stairs. She knew for sure he couldn’t get down the fire escape.

They had to use the front door. It was their only chance of getting out of there alive. Buffy popped Spike up against the wall by the small hallway, that led out of the house. She whispered to him to be quiet before she moved to take out the guards.

There were four guards. One just inside the hallway. The second in the middle. The last two at the door.

The two at the door talked together, the one in the middle tried to listen in. Buffy took a coin out of her pocket and went to stand beside Spike, stake ready. She let the coin roll into the room where they were. The first guard looked after the coin, out of pure reflect he moved to pick it up. With a hand over his mouth Buffy pulled him out of sight, before she staked him.

The hallway was illuminated by torches, some parts of it was laying in darkness. Now that the guard closest to her was gone, she could make use of that darkness to get closer to the second guard.

When the other two at the door were in a heated discussion, she made her move. The guard didn’t know what happened. One second he laughed at the others, the next he was in hell, only leaving dust in the hallway.

The two left at the door, Buffy had to take out at the same time. She was smiling as she walked up to them. They were too stunned to react, they had expected her to come from outside, not from the inside. From each hand, a stake found its target.