Buffy stared grimly at the scene before her from her position on her knees. Another year, another school burned to a crisp.
Time to chalk it up as one of those many things you shouldn't do in Sunnydale. Never mess with the Slayer's boyfriend. Never invite the Mayor to speak at Graduation. And now never ever start a secret demon-controlling facility under a college frat house. Don't ever inject the marines with demon blood. Avoid the Initiative.
Actually there was no Initiative. There was no group of marines either. And there was no Riley.
But there had never been a Riley. Instead there had always been that thing living inside him, wearing a human face. When they said you belonged to the Initiative, you did, in body and brain. Not in soul because that was long gone.
So here she was, again, watching the smoking ruins of U.C. Sunnydale. It was the perfect way to start yet another happy summer over the Hellmouth. Death and destruction all around.
The confrontation between the Initiative and the Scooby Gang had been inevitable. The Hellmouth wasn't big enough for both of them, and as Willow frankly put it, the Initiative had been more than slightly 'ethically challenged.' Any shadow agency that used humans cross-bred with demons was just asking for problems.
Was it a surprise that it came to this? No. The surprise was Riley, or what he was-
She shuddered, seeing the hideous face peek out from behind the human mask. Ever detail, the hooked fangs, twisted eyes, red scales, it was all there. A monster in place of the man she had thought she loved. Only there had never been a man. It had always been this monster, hiding beneath the skin, its true form holding not a single shred of humanity.
In truth she shouldn't have been caught off guard. What delusion had she been living in? A normal guy? She was Buffy, doomed to fall for demons. Maybe that made her a world record holder. Destroying two schools in two years, and killing two evil boyfriends in three. Still it hurt to see the real Riley in the end, the one that helped Adam. The one that had calmly started slaughtering the defenseless students locked in the labs.
The fight had been furious. Buffy couldn't hold anything back; it was that close. Willow and Tara had been flinging magic in all possible directions, Xander and Anya had been fighting off the (by then) insane marines with Giles, and Buffy had been on her own with Riley and Adam until she had the help from the usual unexpected source, Spike.
She could not think about him right now. Riley and the fight played back in her head. She had believed that maybe she could bring back the Riley she loved. It was a complete failure because her help was the last thing he wanted. He beat her with a club instead; she fought back, punching, kicking, and using every bit of Slayer strength that made her the Chosen One. Riley's blows had hurt, made more powerful by the demon in him. He had slammed her face into the wall when she brought him to his knees. She'd drawn her knife and stood over him, ready to end it.
Then Riley shifted into his human façade. Please, spare me, I love you, his eyes had begged her.
And she killed him. She ruthlessly without blinking used her knife to slit his throat. Green blood poured out, and he jumped at her, but she cut him down.
There was no regret. She could not regret what she had done to save herself, her friends, Sunnydale, and the world. This time she had not hesitated or flinched like she had with Angel. She could feel no remorse, for in the big scheme it didn't matter what she wanted. Riley and her were not to be; it had simply never been.
Today she survived. Tomorrow she could mourn when she let herself feel the grief. Not here though; it was too close. She couldn't stay here and let the others see her pain.
A familiar black car pulled up on the grass next to her. Someone got out. "Hello, Betty," Spike's cool voice said behind her.
Buffy rose to her feet as memories rushed over her. Spike. After Riley was dead, Adam had come to finish her off. Despite her Slayerness, Adam was bigger than her, stronger than her, faster than her. Already tired, she fought him as best she could, but she had been hopelessly outmatched. She had been at his mercy, which she knew he would show none.
That was when Spike came, her unlikely savior. Adam did not expect Spike to be there. He also had underestimated what Spike would do when the moment of decision came. Apparently classifying Spike as a possible ally, Adam had invited Spike to help him kill her. Adam failed to take into account Spike's ability to hold grudges. In this area, Adam had made a grave error he would not live to regret.
All it took was the "Hello, cutie," Spike had slipped out to tell her whose side he was on. Adrenaline surged, and they attacked Adam together, Spike with his fangs, and Buffy with the knife. First they broke the bone spears for their protection, and then the decapitation came, followed by the dismemberment and the disembowelment. It took lots of work, mixed with lots of blood. No one else would have been able to help her; there was no one else who could have done it.
Except he hadn't had to do it. The Initiative computers had been down at that point, and he had been freed from the chip which had been the bane of his undead existence. He could have left her to die, or he could have joined Adam in killing her. But he helped her, again.
In the present, her voice emotionless, "Hello, Spike."
"I figured this time I'd stay long enough for the follow-up," He grinned in reference to the time he had left her without help against Angelus.
"Buffy gets better the second time through," She shrugged carelessly.
His eyes glittered dangerously, "I promised you a confrontation. Ready for a go?"
Her tired mind barely comprehended his words. So much was going on in her head. The school was burning, Riley was dead, Adam was dead, and here was Spike ready to pick it up where they left off almost a year ago. "Could you have chosen a worse time?"
"Not really. Last I knew my timing was pretty good since I did save your sorry arse."
"And I spared yours more than once," She reminded him.
"Then we're even here. No more favors or debts. All bets are off," He patted her hair in a mockery of affection. "I've been waiting for this a long time. I'm strong here, and you're weak."
"Killing my second boyfriend does not make me weak."
"But dating him did. It made you slow to do what you had to do to him. Face it, Slayer. Your taste in men sucks."
"Not as bad as your taste in meals."
"True," He conceded. "Are we done with the chit-chat?"
"Can we fight then, you mean?" she asked wearily assuming a fighting stance.
He judged her face and position, noting the lack of energy in her. "I could come back another day." He smirked, "Just to be fair to you."
"I'm sick of all talk and no action," She said as she punched him in the face with her right fist.
He responded with an uppercut to her lower jaw. Buffy reeled back for a second, but she reversed directions to charge him, gripping his shoulders and pulling a stake. They grappled for a few minutes, he holding the stake back, and she dodging his fangs. Buffy suddenly batted him across the cheek with the stake and gave him a brutal kiss on the mouth.
They stopped struggling against each other as their anger turned into something fiery and red. With great passion, their fight shifted from one of fists to one of tongues battling for dominance. The stake dropped out of her nerveless fingers while she kissed him with all her wrath and frustration. He pulled her as close as possible to finally give into the desire to mark her as his. The single kiss broke the one remaining rule they had held to, which now found them clinging to each other.
Eventually they broke apart and stared at each other. Buffy was breathing hard in shock, and Spike looked like he had been hit over the back of the head with a board.
Various emotions played across Buffy's face as she thought hard. She had not expected to do that. Yet she wasn't very surprised. Of all the things in her tumultuous life, he was probably the most dependable thing she had encountered. Whatever the situation, she knew how he would act when the chips were on the table. He would always know what she was thinking, planning, feeling at any given moment simply because he usually felt the same way.
"I'm going now Slayer. I guess I'll leave you alive after all. I won't be coming back." Spike said, regaining his composure.
That was a lie, and she knew it. He was attracted to Sunnydale like a moth to a flame. He'd be back next fall, no matter what he said now. Spike could not stay away from Sunnydale, the Hellmouth, or her. And, she admitted to herself, she did not want to have him leave her alone here.
*Riley,* her mind whispered, accompanied by a flash of pain. She shut her eyes to force it back down. Riley was dead; she would have to accept it, even if it hurt.
She glanced up at Spike, who was slowly moving toward his car. He was a demon, an evil, evil demon, but he was one she understood. Buffy made a choice.
"Wait," she called after him.
He froze halfway in the door, hoping the Slayer had not decided to stake him. He hoped more that she'd give him a good-bye kiss, "What now, Slayer?"
Willow could sign her up for next year's classes, her friends would be fine, and her mom would understand this time. "I'm coming with you." She opened the other door and sat down.
Spike grabbed her and gave her a fierce kiss that shook them both to the core. Pushing her back, he asked, "You're sure?"
"I'm sure," she nodded, closing the door. Her choice had been made, she reflected as the car pulled back onto the road. Three demons now; third time could be the charm. And even if it wasn't, this promised to be an interesting summer.
The black car passed the burning remains of U.C. Sunnydale and the police interviewing witnesses. It drove by the 'Welcome To Sunnydale' sign and its cheerful greeting. The vampire and the slayer left town in ruins, again, heading east toward the sunrise that was hours away. They'd be back, next year.