Rage and Will

[maryperk73703]

Set in the Bending to Her Will verse, directly after Stolen Will.  Spike reminisces about something that made him mad.

One shot

 

(Set directly after Stolen Will in the Bending to Her Will verse)

 

The mention of the Watchers during Spike’s meeting with Giles about the stolen Slayer made the vampire remember his return to Sunnydale the year before.  The rage he felt at the time for what the Watchers had done to <I>his</I> Slayer made him see red.  Literally!  The red of their blood would be the only thing to appease his rage over Buffy’s treatment at the hands of the Watchers.

 

Spike smirked to himself.  Buffy had persuaded him not to go after Travers, but he had the time to wait to enact his retribution.  When his Slayer was dead and gone, he would have his revenge.  Spike just hoped that when he made the Thames bleed red that the Council would remember why.

 

Spike leaned his head back against the couch while he thought about how Buffy delayed the inevitable.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

 

January 19^th, 1999

 

Spike roared into town, knocking over the ‘Welcome to Sunnydale’ sign with his black Desoto.  It had taken him too many bloody months to find a demon willing to take on the care of his insane sire.    Finally a chaos demon stepped up to the plate, and Spike was able to return to the love of his unlife.

 

Spike pulled up outside Buffy’s house on Revello Drive.  Inside he could hear six separate heartbeats.  Listening carefully, he was able discern that Buffy was holding a Scooby meeting without her Watcher present.  He swaggered up to the front door, and he poised his fist to knock.

 

“What do you mean Gwendolyn didn’t seem all that concerned?  You almost got staked by your own stake?  Did you tell her that?”

 

“She told me to rest for the next forty-eight hours,” Buffy said.  “Do you think it has something to do with my eighteenth birthday?  It’s tomorrow you know.  I sure wish Giles would get back from his retreat.”

 

Spike growled when he heard what Buffy said.  He knew exactly what was going on.  The Wankers were trying to make his Slayer go through the Cruciamentum.  If the Wankers -- one Wanker specifically -- hurt Buffy in any way, there would be hell to pay.  The Council may never recover from his vengeance.

 

Spike decided he wasn’t going to be polite enough to knock.  He needed to be inside his Slayer’s house.   Spike shoved his way into the house.   His invite was still there.  Buffy hadn’t gotten mad at him for his delay in returning to her.  It was just another reason why he was glad he had fallen in love with the spunky Slayer and left his sire.

 

Buffy stood in the living room doorway.  When the front door burst open, she turned to confront the intruder.  When she saw that it was Spike, her heart lurched in her chest.  He had returned to her.  She hadn’t given up hope no matter how many times Angel had tried to convince her otherwise.  <I>Stupid jealous vampire. </I>

 

“Buffy, who is it?”   Joyce came to the doorway.  If she was surprised to see the vampire she met just a couple of times before – once with an axe that she laid upside his head – she didn’t act like it.

 

A smile brightened Buffy’s face.  “Spike!”   She rushed over to the vampire, and she threw her arms around him.  “I’m so glad you’re back.  I’ve missed you so much.”

 

“She really has.”  Jesse joined Joyce in the hallway to observe the reunion.  He was the one that had advised Buffy not to fall for Angel’s line of cryptic bull.  He had also been the one to see the Slayer’s marked interest in a completely different vampire.  “What took you so long, dude?”

 

“Had to find someone to take Dru off my hands.”  Spike tightened his arms around Buffy.   He looked down into her face, and rage threatened to overtake him.  “I couldn’t help overhearin’ your little problem.  I know what’s wrong.”

 

“Tell us.”  Joyce waved Spike into the living room.  She went ahead and introduced her guests despite the fact that she was sure that Spike knew most of them.   “You know everyone here except Anya.  She just joined our group recently.  The others are Jesse, Xander, Oz, and Amy, of course.”

 

Spike dipped his head to the Slayer’s friends.  They were humans.  Beneath his notice except that, yeah, they were his Slayer’s chosen friends.  For her he’d be as civil as an evil vampire could possibly be.    

 

“Tell us,” Joyce repeated.

 

Spike looked around at the Scoobies before he dipped his head down to gaze into Buffy’s eyes.  “Did this Watcher bitch tell you that you need to meditate more?”

 

Buffy bit her lip before she gave a slow nod.  She hated when she had to listen to Gwendolyn Post.  She wanted Giles to come back from his Watcher retreat sooner rather than later.

 

“She drugged you while you were under,” Spike snarled.   “Have you been patrolling alone?”

 

Buffy shook her head, but it was Jesse who spoke up.

 

“The island girl you met before died.  There’s a new Slayer.”  The boy sneered.  It was quite apparent he didn’t have much respect for the new girl.  “Her and deadboy are the best of buds.”

 

“Yeah, they’ve been patrolling for Buffy.”  Xander grimaced.  “And doing other things besides hunting for baddies.  We ran across them on the way home from the Bronze one night.”

 

“It was a full moon,” Oz said.

 

“At least you didn’t morph,” Amy giggled.

 

Anya tilted her head to the side.  “Cordelia wasn’t happy.  That’s how I ended up here.”

 

Spike gave Buffy a curious look.

 

“Vengeance demon,” Buffy answered the unasked question.

 

“Ex-vengeance demon,” Anya muttered.  “Mr. Giles broke my power source.”

 

“So, you’ve told us a bazillion times, Anya,” Xander complained.  He didn’t really like the ex-demon.

 

“Shut up, Harris.”  Jesse smacked the back of his friend’s head.

 

“Let’s get back on track here,” Joyce prodded.  She wanted to know what was wrong with her daughter.

 

“The Wankers ‘test’ the Slayers on their eighteenth birthdays.”

 

“What?  How?”  Buffy’s voice became hard and cold.

 

Spike cupped Buffy’s face with one hand.  “They take the Slayers’ strength, and they see if she can kill a vamp.”

 

“That’s just insane.”  Xander jumped to his feet.

 

“That’s the bloody Council for you.”  Spike’s eyes flashed yellow.  “When I’m done with those wankers, they’ll regret messin’ with my Slayer.”

 

Buffy felt a thrill go through her at Spike’s words.  She liked the thought of being his, but she couldn’t stand by and let him kill humans no matter who they were or how much they deserved it.  Buffy cupped Spike’s face while she tried to reassure him of her safety.  “I’ll be fine.  If we stick together nothing will happen to me.”

 

Famous last words!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

 

“Buffy’s disappeared,” Amy hissed into the phone.  She glanced around, always on the look out for Snyder.  “I was two minutes behind her going into the bathroom.  She’s gone.”

 

“Bloody Hell,” Spike snarled.  He thought that Buffy would be safe in broad daylight at school.  Here he was trapped at her house while his Slayer was being kidnapped from under the Scoobies’ noses.

 

Amy glanced around again.  “My tracking spell said it was humans.  I’m guessing the Watchers.”

 

Spike growled, and his eyes flashed yellow.  “Get the others out of there.”

 

“They’re not after us.  We’ll be okay.  Just find Buffy.”   Amy replaced the phone, and with one last quick check for Snyder, she went to break the bad news to the Scoobies.

 

Spike dressed in a hurry.  Grabbing one of Joyce’s heaviest quilts, he dashed to his Desoto.  His car took off with a roar and squealing tires, and he drove straight to Willy’s.  If anyone knew what was going on in good old Sunnyhell, it’d be the demons that frequented the demon bar.

 

Spike stormed into the bar in full game face.  He wasn’t playing around.  So, he made sure everyone knew he meant business.  Spike looked around at the few early afternoon patrons before he roared, “Where are the Watchers held up?  They’re usually British and wear a bunch of tweed.”    

 

A floppy skinned demon raised a reluctant hand.  “I was looking for kittens when I saw a bunch of guys at the old abandoned boarding house.  They had accents I think.”

 

“Where is this boarding house?” Spike growled.

 

“It’s over on Elm Street.”

 

“Thanks, mate.”  Spike stormed back out of the bar.

 

“That’s gonna be a blood bath,” one of the demons observed.

 

“Only for the Watchers,” his partner replied, never looking up from his drink.  “I heard old Spike’s gone soft wantin’ to fuck the Slayer.”

 

“Doesn’t look soft to me.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

 

At the Sunnydale Arms, Buffy woke up slowly.  The last thing she remembered was entering that girls’ bathroom at school.  She put a hand on her forehead before she sat up.  She wrinkled her nose when she saw the dusty, derelict room she was in.

 

Insane laughter filled the air, and Buffy realized she wasn’t alone.  She sat up to look around.  Beside her laid a note that she immediately grabbed.

 

“’Kill the vampire or die trying’,” she muttered the words on the paper.  “Just peachy.  Someone is so gonna pay for this.”

 

The insane laughter sounded again.  It was a little closer to Buffy’s location this time.  “Mother, where are you?”

 

Buffy eased her way to her feet.  She slipped as quietly as possible to the window, but once there she could tell it was nailed shut.  Without her strength, there was no way she could force it open.  Buffy looked around to see if there was anything she could use to break the window.

 

“Hide and seek.”  The doorknob rattled.   

 

The panic rose in Buffy’s breast, but she took a quick breath.  It wouldn’t do for her to lose her head now.  There was plenty of time for that when the vampire got into the room.  She looked around frantically.

 

The door groaned when a heavy object impacted with the wood.

 

Buffy hurried her search of the room, but there were no wooden or heavy objects she could use on either the window or the invading vampire.    There was a hole though into the next room, and Buffy thought she might be able to press through it.  She rushed to the crack in the wall.

 

The door, old and filled with dry rot, buckled under the vampire’s onslaught.  He entered the room with a roar.

 

Buffy squeezed through the hole in the wall, taking pieces of drywall with her.  She was almost on the other side when the vampire grabbed her ankle.  She let out a small gasp before she kicked at his hand with her other foot.   

 

“Why did you come to the dark of the woods?” the vampire hissed.  “Did you bring some sweets for grandmother?”

 

Buffy looked around for a weapon.  This room was as barren as the last.  The vampire jerked her towards him, and she felt the cross necklace she always wore.  Buffy pulled it off before she hissed, “You’re not a grandmother.”  She pressed the cross into the flesh of the hand on her ankle.

 

The vampire inhaled sharply.  When he spoke, his voice was filled with ecstasy.  “Oh, yes.  Yes.”  His gasp turned into a moan.  “Thank you very much.”

 

Buffy wrinkled her nose.  She knew vamps were depraved, but this one actually enjoy the feel of a cross burning into his flesh?  She used the vampire’s distraction to again kick his hand again.  This time he let go, and Buffy was able to scramble away.  She was on her feet in a matter of moments.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

 

Spike parked a block away from the boarding house.  If there were any Watchers on guard duty, he wanted to have an even bigger advantage over them.    As he got closer he could hear a man talking.

 

“Thank you, Gwendolyn,” the man said.  “You did exactly as you were instructed.  The Slayer is now taking her test.”

 

“I hope the little bitch dies,” Gwendolyn snarled.  “She introduced my Slayer to that… that creature Angelus.  Now all she wants to do is fornicate with it.”

 

“Now, now, Ms. Post,” another male voice said.  “Your Slayer’s kill ratio has doubled exponentially since she started to associate with Angelus.”

 

Gwendolyn glared at the young man.  “Shut up, Pryce.  You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.  There’s a reason why Slayers don’t have family, friends, or lovers.  They get in the way of the mission.”

 

“That’s Wyndam-Pryce to you, Gwen dear.”  Pryce adjusted his glasses.  “I’ve been studying Ms. Summers and her tactics since she was Chosen.  They are by far superior to those of most of her predecessors.”

 

Gwendolyn narrowed her eyes, and she said in an uptight, snooty voice, “You’re one of those bleeding heart liberals aren’t you?”

 

“You said I was too American, Gwen.”  Giles stepped out of the shadows with a cold look on his face.  He nodded to Pryce.  “Wesley, how are you?”  Then he turned to the other man.  “Always a displeasure, Quentin.  Now tell me what you’ve done to my Slayer?”

 

Spike growled deep in his throat. 

 

At the sound Giles looked at the place where Spike was standing.  With a smirk reminiscent of his old Ripper persona, he continued to speak, “I’m not the only one that’s upset.  Her mother, her friends, and mostly the infamous vampire that loves her are not at all pleased.”

 

“Angelus…” Gwendolyn started to say.

 

“Angelus is ensouled now.  You wouldn’t have to worry about him.”  Giles shook his head.  He wasn’t happy about Buffy’s choice in boyfriends, but he admitted to himself that Spike was better than the alternative.   “William, on the other hand, is a completely different story.”

 

“The name’s Spike,” the bleached blond vamp sneered.  He stepped out of the shadows still in full game face.  “Which one of you wankers do I get to kill first?”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

 

Kralik caught the Slayer quite easily.  “Like taking candy from a baby,” he cooed into her ear.

 

“You better leave me alone,” Buffy said bravely.  “Otherwise, my boyfriend will be very unhappy with you.”

 

“Why should I be scared of some puny little human boy?”  Kralik licked his lips.  “I’ll just eat him all up just like I am going to do to you.”

 

Buffy struggled against the more powerful vampire.  “Who said he was human?  You’ll regret ever messing with me.”  She brought her foot down on Kralik’s foot, and she twisted her low heel into the tender flesh.  When he dropped her to the floor she scooted away.  “You’ll get to learn how he got the moniker Spike.”

 

“Spike?  William the Bloody is your boyfriend?”  Kralik let out a laugh.  “And they say I’m insane.”

 

“Let me go, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t come after you.”  Buffy hoped the threat would mean something, but even if it didn’t she was buying herself a bit more time to come up with a plan.

 

Kralik turned his head as if he was thinking about it.  “Uh, no.  I don’t think so.  Got all this yummy Slayer blood here for the taking.”

 

“It’s your funeral.”

 

Kralik’s head exploded with pain.  He clutched at his hair, pressing hard in the hopes that the pain would go away.   “My pills.  Where are my pills?”

 

Buffy looked around.  She saw the pills and a glass of water on the nearby table.  An inspiration hit her, and she scrambled towards the bottle.  Grabbing the pills, she tossed them behind the vampire who did his own version of scrambling to get the container.  While the vampire’s attention was occupied, she dumped the water as quietly as possible on the floor.  Then, she poured the holy water she had found in her coat pocket into the glass.

 

Kralik clutched the bottle of pills.  He struggled to open it, removed two pills, and looked around for something to drink them down with.  The Slayer was standing beside the water, but Kralik knew she had no weapons, and she was weak.  He had nothing to worry about from her.

 

Buffy watched with indifference as Kralik gulped down the water.  She raised one cool eyebrow when he turned to talk to her.  It’d only be a matter of time.

 

“You don’t seem to understand your place in this.”  Kralik pointed at the Slayer.  He took a step towards her, and he was surprised by her lack of concern.  Then he felt something odd.  “Oh my.”

 

“Feeling funny there, sport?”

 

“What did you do to me?”  Kralik started to shake when he felt his stomach start to burn.  He stared at the Slayer in astonishment. 

 

Buffy pulled the empty holy water bottle out of her pocket.  She shook it at the vampire with a cool smirk on her face.

 

“No!  No!”  Then, smoke started to pour out of Kralik’s clothes.

 

“If I was at full Slayer power, I’d be punning about now.”  Buffy tossed the bottle aside.  “Lesson the first, never underestimate a well hidden bottle of holy water.”

 

Kralik screamed one more time before he turned to ash from the inside out.  The dust crumbled to the floor of the boarding house, covering the Slayer’s shoes.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

 

A male scream from inside the boarding house interrupted any answer the Watchers might have given.  Upon hearing the sound, Spike ignored the humans, and he went directly towards the building.

 

“You can’t go in there,” Travers protested.  “She has to do the test alone.  Why do you think we made sure Mr. Giles was out of town?”

 

Spike turned around to give the Head Watcher a contemptuous look.  “You really think you’re man enough to take me on?”  The front door splintered under William the Bloody’s rage, and the vampire disappeared into the depths of the boarding house.

 

Within minutes, Spike led Buffy out of the building.  Giles and Wesley joined the two blonds. 

 

“Is it dead?” Travers asked Buffy.  “Or did your undead paramour here rescue you?”

 

“Oh, I killed it,” Buffy replied in a cool voice.  “Alone.  By myself.”

 

“Congratulations, you pass.”  Travers looked around calmly.   “How did you do it?”

 

“Oh, do I get a gold star?”  Buffy ignored the question.  “So glad I gave you a thrill.”  Beside her, Spike started to growl deep in his chest.

 

“I understand that you’re upset…” Travers started to say.

 

The rage that had been brewing in Buffy threatened to overflow.  “You understand nothing.  Do you think your little monster was the only vampire inside that building that had to be dusted?”

 

Travers quirked an eyebrow.  “You think test is unfair?”

 

“I think you better leave town before I get my strength back.  That’s what I think.  You put two innocent humans in there to be killed or turned.   Maybe you should ask their loved ones if the test is fair.”

 

Spike’s growling intensified.  “I have my strength, pet.  I’ll be happy to make them a footnote in history for you.”

 

Buffy laid her hand on Spike’s arm to calm him.  She didn’t want anymore blood on her hands.  “If you don’t go after the big bad Watchers, baby, I’ll give you an extra special treat.”  Buffy batted her eyelashes at her vampire. 

 

Spike growled again, but the pitch and timbre changed.  “Extra special treat?”  He glanced at the Head Wanker himself.  “Maybe a little taste of Slayer blood?”

 

“What?” Gwendolyn protested.  “You can’t do that.”

 

Giles stared at the female Watcher.  “Ms. Post, I think it’s high time you left Sunnydale.  Wesley will be more than happy to take over your Watcher duties with Ms. Lehane.”

 

Gwendolyn looked as if she was going to object again, but Giles raised a hand to interrupt her.

 

“Otherwise you’ll get to see just how American I can be, Ms. Post.”

 

Gwendolyn spluttered.  “I’m a respected Watcher.  How dare you treat me this way!”

 

“If you don’t change this attitude, Giles, you will be fired,” Travers blustered.

 

Giles looked directly at the Head Watcher.  “Not if we quit first.  Come along, Buffy.”

 

Travers watched in horror when Giles led the Slayer, her vampire, and another one of his Watchers away.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

 

Buffy leaned against Spike as they circled the Bronze dance floor.  Oz was on stage singing with his band while Jesse danced with Anya and Xander danced with Amy.

 

Buffy could feel her strength seeping back into her body with each passing hour.  It had taken a lot of persuasion on her part to convince Spike not to follow the Watchers out of town.  She wasn’t stupid though.  Some day, in the far future, she was sure that the Council would pay for what they had done to her on her birthday.  Strangely it didn’t bother her that much.  It would be after she was dead and buried.  She just hoped that when Spike went after the wankers that they’d remember why, but she was sure he’d remind the entire time he reacquainted them with why he was called Spike.

.