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84 Contentions
 
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Chapter 84 - Contentions

“Why is there a vampire here?”

There was an odd silence.

Buffy wasn’t sure what her face looked like. Was it surprised or guilty?

Giles looked perplexed. Willow looked worried.

Xander looked indulgent. “Ahn, what are you talking about?”

“Him, obviously,” she said, pointing at Spike. “He’s a vampire. He looks like a vampire.”

Xander hopped off the back of the couch. “Ahn, honey, remember how we talked about snap judgments? Like the man at the store who you said was a disturbing foreigner?”

“I may be recently human, but I’m also recently American. And he was a disturbing foreigner; he was foreign and disturbing me,” she said matter-of-factly. She pointed again. “And he’s a vampire. You don’t get to be a thousand without being able to spot vampires.”

Buffy twitched. There was that silence again.

“Hey, Buff, feel free to jump in with the denial any minute now.”

“I— It’s—”

“Good Lord. It’s true?”

“You mean he is a vampire?” Xander’s voice came out in a yelp. “Anya, run!”

Anya stayed where she was, wary, but clearly unimpressed.

“Buffy,” Giles said, “Do please explain.”

“He’s—he’s been helping me,” she said. “I do know how bad this looks. And this is not the way I was going to—I had this speech all in my head, and a nice planned talk—and—and—”

Willow watched as Buffy rambled. In all the shock and confusion, no one had noticed that she wasn’t shocked. And Oz never looked shocked, even when he was.

“We should let you talk,” Willow jumped in.

Giles arched a brow at her. She wondered if he suspected that she’d already known. However, he said, “That is an excellent idea, Willow. Everyone outside for a moment.”

Buffy thought Giles was rather eager to get them alone. Probably afraid Spike would start snacking on someone. But she shrugged, watching as Willow herded Xander out, Oz and Anya following behind them. It would be easier without everyone here at once, at least.

Xander said something.

“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Willow hissed.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” he asked Anya.

“I saw him at the Bronze once, but I see lots of vampires. Hello, this is the Hellmouth. But I never knew he was with Buffy. You know we haven’t been out with them as much since we’ve been staying home at night having—”

The door shut behind them.

Buffy turned back to Giles, who was standing by the edge of the couch, near the far wall.

He’d pulled a crossbow out from somewhere.

“You really don’t need that,” she said.

“I’m not quite sure what I need right now.”

“Will you just give me a chance to explain?”

“Please do. Explain why a Slayer is associating with a vampire.”

“Should I wait outside, too?” Spike spoke up for the first time. He leaned against the kitchen archway.

“Absolutely not,” Giles said.

“Doesn’t look like you need me for this,” he continued. “I could hang out with the witch.”

“Shut up, Spike,” Buffy hissed. Really, while she was surprised that this was the first time he’d said anything, he could go back to being silent for all the good it was doing. “Giles—”

Giles looked like he was having some sort of fit.

“Spike? Spike?” he spat. “Your ‘Will’ is William the Bloody? Not only is he a vampire, he’s one of the most notorious vampires in recorded history?”

“Yes?” Buffy said quietly.

“How can you stand there with him?”

She stepped forward. “For one, he saved my life. Remember?”

“Good Lord, Buffy, everything else besides—he’s been murdering girls. Those bodies you found in the park?”

“That was Angelus. He did it because of Spike. Because of me.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Buffy crossed her arms. “Well, I was with Spike all night, so it couldn’t have been him.”

Giles leveled the crossbow squarely at Spike. “I should just finish this now.”

Gem or not, Buffy didn’t think Spike was just going to stand there and let himself be shot. She needed to end this. Before Giles could do anything, she jumped forward and wrenched the crossbow from his hand.

Buffy disabled it and threw it in the direction of the table. It landed with a clunk on the floor.

“You’re going to listen to me,” she said.

Giles lowered his arms to his sides, fists clenched. He glared daggers at Spike, who was sinking onto the end of the couch. It seemed to irritate Giles even more that Spike was clearly not worried about anything. He looked at her again. “I really don’t know what to say, Buffy. There have been few times in my life when I’ve actually been rendered speechless, when not only could I not find the correct words, but the correct words didn’t even exist. And I don’t know what you could possibly say to change this. Furthermore, I don’t know why I should believe a word you say.”

“Well, I’m going to say it anyway. Are you going to sit?”

“I rather doubt it.”

“Fine.”

Spike slumped coolly on the couch, Buffy stood near the other end, and Giles remained in place by the bookshelf.

“Like I said,” she started, “I know how bad this looks. Especially after what happened with Faith. Because of what happened with Faith. Because of who Spike is. I know this was like an enormous secret. I know how bad this looks—and I’m repeating myself now.

“Spike is helping me. He’s been sparring with me, patrolling with me. And he hasn’t been killing. He hasn’t,” Buffy repeated firmly, as she saw Giles about to open his mouth. “It was part of our agreement when I came.”

“You’ve been deceptive since you arrived, then.”

Only about this. I’m not a bad Slayer. I don’t think I’m a bad person. But you didn’t know me, didn’t know anything about me. What would have happened if I’d just come out and said it when I got here? Yeah, that would have gone over so well. ‘Hi, I’m Buffy. I’m your new Slayer. And this is my vampire.’” She shot Giles a look.

“Not your vampire,” Spike mumbled. “Unless you’re my Slayer.”

“Your what, third Slayer?” Giles snapped.

“Hey, now.”

“Like you never considered it.”

Spike sat up. “You are one step away—”

“Shut up, both of you!” Buffy commanded, spreading her arms. “You, stay there,” she said, pushing Spike back. “Giles, sit. We’re going to have a nice conversation like friendly people.” She glared at him with a purposely forced smile.

Giles stared at her a moment before he grudgingly sank into the corner chair. Buffy sat down on the other end of the couch.

Giles cleared his throat. “So I’m to understand and believe that the Slayer somehow just convinced William the Bloody that it would be a lark to work with her against his own relations?”

“What?” Spike asked. “Not in your records that we didn’t get along? And I already killed Darla.”

“Spike saved my life,” Buffy said. “Carried me back here bleeding after Angelus attacked me. Do you remember that?”

“You’re actually involved with him,” Giles echoed, like his brain was still processing it all. He honestly looked like he’d been given pieces to separate puzzles and was desperately trying to put them together. “And you have been.”

“Since before I met you. Since before I came to Sunnydale, even. I knew Spike when I wasn’t the Slayer.”

Giles looked amazed. “And he let you live?”

“There were…circumstances.” She wasn’t sure what to bring up when.

“Her old man paid me a lot of money to help out with a problem he was having,” Spike said. “It was business.”

“You’re in business now?” Giles asked cynically.

“I’m an entrepreneur.”

“Working for humans.”

“For whoever,” Spike said. “Happen to be human—sure, why not? Money’s the same.”

“I refuse to believe a vampire is running a legitimate business.”

Spike smiled. “Well, I wouldn’t call it legitimate.”

Giles paused, as if he couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. “And why shouldn’t you just take the money and kill them anyway?”

“Lots of other people on the planet.” He shrugged. “Don’t bite the hand that pays you. Also, it’s fun.”

“You’re a mercenary.”

Spike looked at Buffy. “Now that has nice ring to it.”

“He’s not a mercenary,” Buffy quickly said, though she had a feeling that mercenary was as good a word as any. But ‘mercenary’ brought up images of some guy with a machine gun doing reconnaissance in the jungle.

Giles took off his glasses. “Do you know what a mercenary is, Buffy?”

Buffy paused, unsure of where Giles was going with this, or if it was some sort of trick question. “Someone who works for money?” she ventured.

“More precisely, someone whose loyalties can be bought.”

So that’s where it was going.

“That’s not what this is about,” she said.

“You said you had an agreement. Insane as that is, that’s what you said.”

“We did. Do. Both,” she finally said. “We were involved before I was the Slayer. Then we weren’t when I was called. I realized he was killing, and he hated the fact that I was the Slayer. But it turns out that the Slaying gig isn’t quite as easy as Wesley made it out to be. Sorry, but I didn’t want to die in a year. Which seemed sort of likely, given everything that a Slayer does, not to mention the fact that there were these horrible vamps overrunning the town here. So I paid Spike. Because I knew he would do it and because I wanted to live. I paid him to watch my back and help me fight.

“I didn’t tell you because like I already said, Faith. And you didn’t know me. Why would you accept my word on something? Also, it wasn’t going to be forever. Spike was going to leave, so why make waves with something that wasn’t going to matter long term? But…it kind of turned long term. And you know what? After Spike and I got things worked out, I was going to tell you. But then you did that Watchers’ ritual to me, which didn’t really put me in a confiding sort of mood. And so here we are.”

Giles tapped his other hand against the arm of his chair. “And you still have an agreement? You’re still paying him to help you?”

“Not…exactly. Like I said, we’re together. Things changed. Spike…” Buffy glanced at Spike out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t sure how much she should say, or what he wanted her to say. Also, she didn’t like talking about him like he wasn’t in the room. But she continued. “…he cares for me. That’s why he’s still here. And I care for him. And that’s not going to go away.”

Giles was silent. He didn’t look pleased by any means, but he looked slightly less upset. Or maybe he just didn’t look shocked anymore.

Buffy went on. “He taught me to fight, Giles. That’s why I’m good. He’s been there for me. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without him. Yeah, he’s a vampire. And believe me, that caused plenty of problems. Part of me paying him to help me was paying him not to kill—”

“And you can live with that?” Giles interrupted.

“No, I couldn’t,” she said. “Which is why I thought it was going to end—until he said he would stop. That he would stop for me. And Spike hasn’t done anything since he got here; you have to believe me on that. First because of our deal, and now for me. And I know how crazy this all sounds, how there’s no way this should work—a vampire and a Slayer. But we’re…more than that. When I met him, I didn’t even know he was a vampire, and I wasn’t the Slayer.”

Giles draped his arm over the arm of the chair, glasses dangling from his hand. He leaned back. “And how did you meet, exactly?”

“Someone was trying to kidnap me. Spike was hired to stop that. Actually, Wesley knows all about it. And about Spike’s, uh, business. It’s really sort of coincidental that we met, and he was sort of the…instigator. You know, if you want to talk to him.”

Giles frowned. “Wesley knew?”

“Not so much that Spike came here,” Buffy said. “But other stuff, yeah. I told you he was doing quite a bit of editing about what he wanted to share.”

“And he knew of Spike’s…business?”

“He sort of dealt with him.”

“Then I have no desire to speak to Wesley at present, since it appears that he’s gone quite mad.” Giles rubbed his temple. “By all rights, I should report this to the Council.” He paused. “Do you know what they tried to do to Faith, Buffy, for taking up with a vampire?”

“Angelus was evil. Spike’s not doing anything.”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t make the distinction,” he said.

“Wesley said their team was gone.”

He looked up. “Wesley is out of the loop, as it were. That was almost a year ago.”

“What are you going to do?”

Giles sighed. “I really haven’t the faintest idea.”

“Giles, please. You know me now. Besides this—and I’m very much with the realizing of how huge this is—besides this, what have I done to make you question my judgment?”

“Yes, well, ‘this’ is really quite a large thing,” he retorted.

“I patrol. I fight. I slay. I’m not a bad Slayer.”

Giles looked at Spike, who was watching the whole thing play out, once again expressionless. Then Giles looked at her straight on.

“You trust him.” It wasn’t a question. It was resigned, displeased. You trust him.

“Absolutely,” Buffy said.

He sighed again. “I can’t deny what I’ve witnessed. I can’t deny that he brought you here when you were injured, that he displayed a grave concern for you. I also can’t deny that he was openly threatening the second time I saw him, though in light of recent revelations, perhaps it’s notable that that’s all he was. But I also can’t deny what I’ve read and what I know.”

“It’s in the past.”

“Is it?”

“Yes,” she said firmly.

Just then, the front door cracked open, and Willow stuck her head in. “So, is it, uh, safe to come in?” She said ‘safe’ like she’d known it was safe all along.

Giles stood. “It appears.”

Buffy turned to Spike while Giles was distracted with the others filing back in. “Thank you,” she whispered, “for being quiet. Mostly quiet.”

Spike shrugged. “Not like he’s gonna believe what I say anyway.”

Willow and Oz moved to share the chair that Giles had been sitting in. Willow grinned encouragingly in their direction.

Oz looked at Spike and gave a small wave. “Werewolf.”

Spike nodded. “Vampire.”

Anya, who hadn’t really seemed that bothered by the whole thing, walked over. “I used to be evil, too,” she informed Spike. “I was a vengeance demon.”

“Ah.”

Xander pulled Anya back a bit. He regarded Spike. “Willow said you saved her life.”

“Kept somethin’ from eating her, I guess,” Spike said, clearly a bit bewildered that he’d been described as saving someone.

Xander made a non-committal noise, but continued to scowl.

Buffy looked at Giles. “So?”

“I hardly think we’re done discussing this.”

“Well, I’ve got more bad news, then,” she told him. “I actually don’t have time for this right now. In fact, I considered not telling you until tomorrow anyway, but I thought the whole railroad spike thing sort of needed addressing. And even with that, I was wavering. But it’s out now. Not like I would have liked, but it is. You can talk, lecture, whatever all you want about Spike tomorrow. We can sit down and have an intervention for all I care. But tonight—” she took a breath “—we’re going to kill Angelus.”

Her declaration was met with silence. Then there were several voices talking at once. Giles’s was the loudest.

“You most certainly are not—”

“What?” she interrupted. “Going to do my job?”

Giles pointed at Spike. “Going to face Angelus with just him.”

“You think Spike is going to betray me?”

“I don’t know what to think!” he snapped.

“Well, I don’t have time to think about this anymore. He’s leaving me bodies in the park. What’s next?”

“If Angelus is truly trying to get your attention, you’re walking into a trap.”

She stood. “A trap it’s too late to avoid, Giles. I know he’s waiting. But I don’t have a choice. He’s leaving me ‘invitations.’ And it was always going to come to something like this. I have to go in. He’s not going to come out. Sure, there was the chance I would fight him while patrolling and it would go down. But all Angelus has to do to win is not lose. I can’t win as long as he’s in Sunnydale. I wasn’t ready to confront him before, but I am now. And it’s time to. Spike and I talked about it last night. I can’t let things get any worse.”

“Then I’m coming with you,” Giles said.

“And so are we,” Willow said.

“What?” Buffy asked. “No, it’s too dangerous.”

“We’ve been dealing with Angelus since before you got here,” she replied. “If he’s going down, we want to help. And hey, Sunnydale, it’s not like we don’t have danger.”

“As much as I hate to say it, Willow’s right,” Xander said. “We all patrolled after Faith disappeared. We’re in it now.”

“I’m not asking anyone to come,” Buffy said. “No one has to. It’s supposed to be my fight. Slayer stuff.”

“Then think of us as moral support,” Xander said. “With weapons.”

Buffy looked at Giles. “Don’t think this would be a convenient way to take care of a problem. I’m serious, Giles. I can’t worry about watching our backs, too. We’re only going there to kill vampires that aren’t in this room.”

“Whether or not he goes,” Giles said, gesturing to Spike. “I’m coming with you.”

“We all are,” Willow agreed.

“I’m not,” Anya said. “I have no desire to go anywhere near Angelus. Once was enough. I’m staying here.”

“The rest of us,” Willow said.

Buffy glanced down at Spike. He shrugged.

“Okay.” Buffy exhaled. “But Spike and I are the only ones going anywhere near Angelus or Drusilla. Everyone else is strictly background. Keep any other vampires from interfering. We’re doing it in a few hours. If you’re all coming, we need to figure out a plan.”

“At nightfall?” Giles asked, shock on his face. “I thought by ‘tonight’ you were speaking in general. We should attack at sunrise.”

“No,” Spike said. “Go during the day, and you’ve got all the minions inside as well. But they’ll be leavin’ first thing after sunset to hunt. Angelus wouldn’t go out till nine or ten. We go in between. That’s our striking time.”

“Yes, you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” Giles said.

“Guess I would.”

Giles turned to her. “Buffy, you won’t have any line of retreat if you attack at night.”

“We’re not retreating,” she stated. Buffy looked around the room. “This is it.”

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They had spent the remaining time planning and preparing. Willow had hacked into something and gotten the blueprints of the mansion. Buffy and Giles decided where everyone needed to be.

An hour after everyone left Giles’s, they met nearly two blocks away from the mansion, on the side yard of an abandoned and ramshackle two-story house. The sun had only been down long enough for the sky to be fully dark. Buffy and Spike were already standing at the meeting place when Giles pulled up in his car with everyone else inside. After a quick weapons check and strategy review, they all started walking

The plan was simple enough. Willow and Oz were taking the perimeter, catching any vampires who came out or any who came back. Both were armed with stakes; Willow had an additional crossbow, and Oz had actually shown up with hairspray and a lighter.

They both stopped at the agreed point as the rest of the group went closer.

Xander was covering the mansion’s main exit. Giles was going in the back with a crossbow, and intended to begin securing the rest of the interior, dusting any vampires he found before they could assist in the fight or leave. He hadn’t immediately agreed to this part, but Buffy had been adamant that only she and Spike were facing Angelus. She didn’t really think there was a large chance of Giles trying anything, but more importantly, she couldn’t be worrying about anyone else while fighting. They couldn’t afford any distractions.

Buffy and Spike entered the house by themselves. Not a word had been spoken by anyone since they had left Giles’s car.

The entryway was dark, but a set of double doors was thrown open in obvious invitation. Light was coming from the large room beyond.

Spike stood by Buffy’s side in the silence. He could hear her heart beating. Any other vampires could, too. It was as good as a beacon saying that they were here.

Buffy was calm and focused, closed down to everything but the matter at hand. If she was nervous, she’d shut it away. She was nothing but in control. That was good.

Spike tightened his grip on the axe he held. He didn’t feel the way he remembered feeling before a good fight. He wasn’t standing in eager anticipation, wasn’t excited at the prospect of unpredictable violence. He just wanted it finished. He wanted to kill and be done with it. There was no time here for gleeful abandon or the thrill of barely missed blows.

He wasn’t the only one at risk. Losing the dance had consequences worse than a death in battle.

Spike looked at Buffy. She raised her sword and nodded.

They cautiously entered the room.

Angelus was lounging by the unlit fireplace. Electric lights blazed overhead. The furniture had been pushed to the walls. Spike caught sight of Drusilla in the corner. She looked giddy.

Angelus gestured welcomingly. “Now now, don’t be shy. Come on in. I invited you, after all.”

The plan had been simple. Buffy was to take Angelus. Spike was to keep Dru out of the way however he had to.

Angelus smiled and picked up something off the floor, twirling it around as he walked forward. “I’m glad you could make it,” he said casually. “You have something I want.”

He was holding a scythe.

Angelus suddenly lunged, and the entire plan changed.

Buffy might as well have been invisible. They both jumped to the side, and when Angelus turned, he went for Spike. He slashed low to the ground.

“Cut out the sunshine, cut out the sunshine!” Drusilla was screaming. “Cut out his sunshine!!

Spike leapt back again; Angelus had a feral grin as he advanced.

“Dru says you’ve got something hidden away.” Angelus took another swipe at Spike’s left foot.

Spike jumped to avoid it. He suddenly realized what the scythe was for.
 
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