At The End of the Day- Part 10 of 100 yrs of Solitude (Races condemed to 100 yrs of solitude do not get a second opportunity on earth)

by: Isabelle

-Disclaimers: Title belongs entirely to Gabriel Garcia Marquez--just borrowing it for the sake of the story. Buffy, Spike, Whistler and all the memories belong to Joss and his crew. All other characters are entirely mine. Lyrics belong to Eminem and Dr.Dre, Bi*** please and are used without permission.

-Summary: Series set 100 yrs after "The Gift," Season five finale. This is part AU and futuristic. Spike has been alive for 100 hundred years after Buffy's death. Whistler comes to him to let him know that Buffy has been summoned to fight a new evil. Therefore she will be brought back to life and needs a "guide". When Buffy wakes she finds that the only one to cling to is the only person left from her past. This is a B/S fiction.

-Rating: Overall rating of series is R. (Language and Violence)

-Spoilers: I will mention everything that has happened through "The Gift".

-Distribution: The only people that have permission to post these series are those who already archive my fic and have asked me for permission. If you want to post it please ask me. I'll be happy to let you. I just want to know where my fic goes.

-Author's Note: I adore Feedback, so please let me know what you think of the story so far! bih80@yahoo.com

-Special Thanks: Trish, Nmissi, and Wendy for BETA reading this and their awesome feedback, Karla for listening to me rant, and One Good Day group--may you be blessed with many chocolate covered naked Spikes! Thanks for all the reviews!

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And you really

Don't wanna fuck with me

Only nigga that I trust is me

Fuck around and make

Me bust this heat

That's tha devil

They always wanna dance

Spike walked away trembling with confusion and desire. This was NOT the way things were meant to be. He was supposed to be indifferent, uncaring, sliding away from this torturous situation with no problem. But it was of course classic Buffy behavior mucked up his plans. She had gone and completely turned the tables on him.

He was pissed that he was not going to be able to walk away so easily this time. He was excited at the way she was looking at him tonight. What was it with that woman? She always made everything more complicated than it already was.

Roughly taking a glass of white wine from the bartender, he walked back to where his golden girl was--waiting for him like deadly poison. He stopped short as the music cut abruptly off and the crowd started murmuring instead of laughing. His instincts alerted; within seconds he dipped into the shadows, sliding through the building unnoticed.

Then he felt them. Experience told him there were about twenty vampires surrounding the human crowd. He smelled their bloodlust in the air. His hand stole to his leg, as he reached for the small 35 mm pistol he always carried. Then he made his way to where his slayer was. It was time to play nice.

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And you really

Don't wanna fuck with me

Only nigga that I trust is me

Fuck around and make

Me bust this heat

That's tha devil

They always wanna dance

Buffy took one second to realize that the small child who was being held at gun point was Val’s little sister and another second to hear Val cry out ‘NO!!’ Instantly she grabbed the younger woman around the waist, pressing a hand over her mouth. Val struggled against the fierce grip but slayer strength won out. “Shut Up!” Buffy hissed into her ear. When the dark woman stopped struggling Buffy let go of her.

"Coward," Val spit out.

Buffy ignored her, as her eyes searched the room. “You listen to me. I need stakes. Lots of stakes. And a distraction.”

Val studied the blonde. “That’s my baby sister down there; I’d rather die than see her get hurt.”

Buffy gave her a reassuring smile. “I know how you feel.”

"Where’s Spike?" Val asked.

"Shhhh," Buffy quieted her, sensing vampires approaching the balcony.

"Come with me," Val said, leading Buffy to the shadows. She presented a small window that led to lead to a vacant room. Once inside Buffy found a wooden chair and broke it into serviceable, stake-size pieces. She handed one to the brunette as she secreted the rest on her body. "Time to slay," She whispered.

"Hide until I tell you—I’ll create a distraction," Val said, and with that pushed her neckline down and raised her already-short skirt. Buffy smiled. She had to admit, the girl used her figure to advantage. Val went ahead of her out of the room. Buffy stayed slightly behind, using the shadows for cover.

"Please, Senor, don’t hurt her!" Risa cried out. Her youngest child sobbed in the arms of the vampire in full demonic form. He pressed the gun close to the little girl’s head.

“Three seconds. If in three seconds I have no slayer, then you have no girl.”

The crowd muttered indistinctly as they all wondered, ‘Where is the Slayer? Why doesn’t she come?’ It began to part, as a woman moved through it and came into view.

She stood defiantly before the vamp holding the child.

"And who might you be?" he asked.

"Well, querido, I’m the slayer."

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Now let me cut these niggas up

And show'em where

Tha f*** I'm comin' from

I get tha party crackin'

Wit tha sh*t that I be spittin' son

Hit and run

Get it done

Get the funds

Split and run.

Got about 50 guns

Spike felt nauseated. He watched in horror as Val walked up to the creature and claimed to be the slayer. He knew he had only seconds to do something. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the real slayer move into attack position, glaring at her adversaries. He implemented techniques Willow had taught him long ago. Staring at Buffy, he felt for the presence of her aura. She responded sharply to the mental touch, finding him in the shadows just as she was. They communicated through simple movements and began advancing upon the vampires.

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"You’re the slayer?" the vampire asked skeptically.

"Are you hard of hearing? What type of an impotent vampire are you?" she glared at him.

"Fine," The male said, smirking. "Bind her." The surrounding vamps reached out for the brunette.

"Valeria!!" Risa cried, as she watched in horror. But Sammy held her back and scanned the crowd for the two warriors.

Once bound and gagged, they lifted Val to take her to a white van.

"Thank you for the souvenirs. You lovely people continue to enjoy the party," The leader said as he shoved the little girl into the arms of her waiting mother.

"Please no," Felipe despaired, as he saw his sister being placed inside the van. As the engine turned over, a shadow jumped onto the roof, denting it.

The vampires looked around ready for a fight. Three silent seconds passed between the dented roof and the moment when the True Slayer dusted three vamps with one bowstrike.

"The slayer!!" the leader cried out, as he pointed to the blonde in the dress.

As five more minions advanced on her, Spike jumped down from the roof and busted the doors of the van open. Val was knocked out and three vampires were protecting their claim.

"’'ello there, boys. Don’t fancy to share?" he sneered.

They recognized him in an instant and started backing up.

"Now that’s just sad—none of you cocky? Wanna challenge me? Because if I just say ‘Boo’ and you all run off then it’s just……boring," he said, as he brought out a piece of wood.

"It’s him!!" one of them cried.

And you really

Don't wanna f*** wit me

Only nigga that I trust is me

F*** around and make

Me bust this heat

That's tha devil

They always wanna dance

Before they could say anything else, the master vampire dusted two of them quickly, leaving the last one for painful questioning.

"Please don’t hurt me," the fledging cried as Spike approached him.

"Oh, I’m not gonna hurt you. Just kill you. Got over the torture bit long ago." He brought out his gun and shot the fledging in the leg.

The vampire cried out in pain. Then another bullet hit his stomach. "You said you wouldn’t hurt me."

"Damn, I forgot, we don’t die with bullets," Spike said, sarcastically.

“Stop, please!!” the creature said writhing on the floor.

“Who sent you?” he asked coming closer.

“Please, don’t hurt me,” He answered.

“Too late.” The elder vampire answered and placed his boot-clad foot on top of the wounded leg. The vampire cried out in pain. “Who sent you?” Spike repeated.

“I can’t say.”

“Wrong answer.” Another shot sang out as blood gushed from his shoulder.

“Please!!”

“Do I have to repeat myself or are you going to cooperate?” the blond vampire asked, lifting his boot from the leg. He squatted down before the wounded one.

“He’ll kill me! Please don’t make me say it.”

“What I find amusing is that you think I’m not going to hurt you. Or kill you for that matter,” He said, smiling.

“Ok,…I’ll talk, but please…AHHHH!!” Spike poked his white finger into his

shoulder. “Chino,…he, he sent us. Said to kill you and bring the slayer. That’s all I know. I swear!!”

Spike retrieved his finger and studied it. “So where’s the old boy now?”

“I don’t…AHHHH!!!!”

Spike started massaging the wound on his leg. “Feel better? Throat all clear?”

The vampire nodded enthusiastically. “Downtown, near the tunnels. That’s all I know.”

“Who else is working with him?” Spike prodded still not removing his hand from the wound.

“No one…AHHHH!!”

“Sorry, mate. What did you say?” Spike asked innocently.

“A woman. She’s a bad ass. But we ain’t seen her. I swear!”

“A woman? Chino working for a woman?” Spike asked skeptically.

“We’ve only heard her voice. Never seen her. Please stop!!”

“Ok, mate. You’ve been good enough.” Spike stated, standing up and regarding the blood-clad figure.

“Thank you…”

But his words died on his mouth as a quick stake met his heart. Spike’s face hardened as he saw Val lying on the floor. She had regained consciousness and had watched the entire display. Her face was filled with horror as she looked at Spike’s bloody hands.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded. “You could have been killed.”

“They had Vanessa.” She stated and started unbinding her hands.

“The slayer should have handled it. It’s her job,” He said angrily, as he bent down and cut the rope with his fangs. She watched him carefully.

“You tortured him,” She said in awe.

“Yeah, well I am bad like that.” He stopped and looked at her. She was horrified. “What’s wrong, pet? Disappointed?”

“That’s not you,” She said quietly.

“On the contrary, darlin’. What you just saw was all me,” he said as he stood her up and jumped out of the van.

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Buffy held her balance as she dusted the last vampire on the ground. Sammy and Felipe wiped dust off themselves nearby.

Between the three of them they had taken care of the vampires. Some of the members of the party had also helped but she realized that these people knew what they were dealing with. Aside from a few scratches no one had been hurt. She had begun to worry about Spike when she heard the first gunshot, but she reminded herself that he was a 200 year old vamp—if Glory hadn’t killed him, this was not a threat.

After surveying the damage she try to recuperate her dignity, but her dress was far from fixable and she was sure everyone had seen her panties.

She saw Risa huddled, clutching Vanessa tightly as the little girl wept.

“Hey now, you’re ok,” Buffy whispered as she squatted before the duo.

“Where’s Spike?” the little girl said through her tears. Risa looked at her with pleading eyes.”

“I’ll find him. I am sure he’s alright,” Buffy said.

Risa gave her a grateful look as the slayer gave the little girl a last pat on the head and stood up to find the missing vampire.

It didn’t take her long as she saw him jump off the back of the van. He reached in, and Val gratefully slid into his arms. He carried her to where Sammy was.

Buffy felt an uncomfortable pebble at the pit of her stomach, but brushed it away. The girl had guts. Val had almost gotten herself killed. She watched as Spike gently put her down in a chair.

‘She must be hurt.’ Buffy thought and made her way to the unlikely trio.

“Careful, papa,” Val winced as her father pulled her shoe off.

“Small sprain--she should be good as new in no time.” Spike replied as he checked his gun and placed it back on his leg strap.

He sensed Buffy approaching and turned to make sure she was ok. She was a mess. Her beautiful dress was torn and tattered. Her hair was a mess, and she was panting and sweaty, but he thought she looked beautiful.

“Slayer, how was this exercise?” he asked.

“Dandy, nothing like having people’s lives in danger to speed up my metabolism.” She replied smiling.

He knew that was a ‘drop-dead-spike’ smile. So he wiped the humor form the situation. “Anyone hurt?” he asked.

“Scratches and bruises, a traumatized child and a sprained ankle. Not bad.” She wiped her hands with her dress—it was beyond repair now.

“Vanessa’s ok?” he asked worriedly.

Buffy nodded. “She wants to know where you are.”

Spike understood and reached for her arm. She looked up at him. Whatever he was going to say he meant business. “We need to talk,” he stated.

She looked at him hard and nodded. This was not some random vamp attack-this had motive and funding. Someone was after her and they were willing to go through a lot of trouble to get her.

He pulled away and walked past her to find the child.

Buffy stared after him for a while and then brought back her attention to the hurt woman. Val’s ankle was wrapped in a cold ice pack, to prevent swelling.

Buffy squatted next to her and searched the woman’s face. “What you did was dangerous.” She began. Val opened her mouth to protest but Buffy silenced her with a finger. “But incredibly brave. You did it for your sister. I would have done the exact same thing. A long time ago I did. I lost everything. So I wanted to thank you. I know we are not in the best terms, but if…if he cares for you the same way you care for him- then I hope you two are happy.”

The words caused Buffy pain, but she didn’t know why. For some reason or another she had begun to think that she and Spike had something. Now she realized they were only friends, and the past was gone-she must move forward as he had.

As she moved to stand up Val’s hand reached out and pulled her down. “I am a woman. A simple woman. Before tonight I thought I could learn to live with someone like him. He is strong and intimidating, caring and understanding. But he is also a warrior. Chosen among his kind to do the work he does,….as are you. What he did tonight, you might find acceptable. But I can’t. A man I love can’t be off nightly with a price on his head. I want a life. A normal life. And that is something he can’t give. But you. You’re like him. The existence of the world is in your hands, and together it is better. When I was little and I was told your story—I wanted to be you so bad. When I met Spike I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to have that fairy tale. So I molded myself to be you. In the end, to fill your shoes takes much more than love for a family member—it takes love for humanity and that is something I don’t think I have in me. But you do. The hero lies in you.”

Buffy was taken back by her words. Instinctively she reached out and hugged the woman whom only minutes ago she’d wanted to hurt.

“Hey! What’s this?”

Both women pulled out and turned to look at the peroxide blond who had the small child wrapped around him like a monkey. She was sucking her thumb as the tears dried her face.

“Vanessa Siomara Torro, take your fingers out of your mouth,” Val said to her younger sister.

“Oh she’ll be fine,” Buffy said, standing up and taking the little girl’s hand gently out of her mouth. The child whimpered and hid her tiny face in Spike’s neck.

“Bit shy,” he commented.

Buffy gave her a small smile. “Ready for that talk,” she said, getting back to business.

“Good. It’s going to be a long one.”

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“I still don’t understand why we have to be involved with the mafia,” Buffy protested. She had changed into more slayer-like apparel and was now ready to kick butt.

Spike had just finished telling Sammy, Felipe and Buffy the information he had gotten from the minion.

“Chino’s family, the Castillos have always been stirring up trouble for the past slayers.” Felipe explained. “When Tatiana’s body was found, she had been branded with the seal of the castle.”

“The Castle?” Buffy asked, confused.

“In English Castillo means castle, therefore she was branded as their kill. Jacobian demons tend to do this-the branding of their kill,” Sammy finished for his son.

“Ok, so basically the big bad is someone who hired a group who already held a grudge towards us slayers?” she asked from where she was sitting on top of the table.

“Right. The problem is that we don’t know of anyone bigger than Chino. I mean he’s the top banana in the human world,” Spike replied, studying his options.

“What if it’s not human? What if we are going back to the basics of demons and dragons?” Buffy asked, looking at the worried vampire.

“Demons don’t mix with humans.”

‘But Chino’s not human,” Buffy pointed out.

“Jacobian demons are descendants of Jacob, the son of Abraham as stated in the Jewish testament. They are part human and part hell-deceivers. That’s why they’re so good in the mafia. They deceive,” Sammy explained patiently and as Buffy studied him he reminded her of Giles in his know-it-all tone.

“So were are dealing with some type of half-breed? Like a vampire only wiser since they have the soul of a human and are possessed by a demon.” Buffy tried to cope. Spike nodded. “Great! I’ve had perfectly wonderful evenings. This wasn’t one of them.”.

“I’ve had worse,” Spike said sadly.

That got her attention as she looked at him. His eyes were lost for a minute and he looked so sorrow-filled that it hurt to see. “I know,” she said quietly.

“We need to research,” Sammy said, breaking the melancholy.

“Call the card players?” Felipe asked.

There was silence. The players belonged to Spike and they were called only when they had to be. The vampire slowly rose. He nodded. “This isn’t ‘bout humans, this isn’t ‘bout Jacobians or minions. Something out there is watching us. Something un-human. Something bad, mad, and smart. Guess this is it. Whistler said The Slayer would be called back to fight the great battle.” He turned to look at Buffy who was staring at him in wonder. “Guess your number’s up, luv.”

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He walked shivering to the wooden doors that led to his demise ahead.

His fate was sealed. Tonight he would die--if they took mercy on him.

Two guards stood at each side of the wooden door and glared at him like a lab rat on doomsday.

As they say him approach they moved to the side. He gulped.

The room before him lay open and ready for his advance. But the advancing was the problem, so he just stood there looking at the cryptic glow given by the burning torches and the glimmer of the armed guards. The rich red carpet beneath his feet burned his shoe-clad feet and the reality of it all struck him. What he had done for five grand.

"Are you going to keep the majesty waiting, Diego?" a voice came from the front of the room.He knew that voice--it burned with venom and deceit.

He hardened, if he was going to die--he would die with honor and pride. He just prayed that he could keep both of those in his dying hour.

He was pushed forward with a metal lance. Trying not to stumble and make a further fool out of himself, he proceeded to the throne.

Before him lay the creature. She was lying on a bed, dressed in a silk red dress, having a pedicure.

She turned to look at him and smiled. It was an unnerving smile. A smile that tells you that you are close to the end. It was a smile of death.

"Hello Precious."

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"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage"

Loa-Tzu

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"Its a cold night."

Buffy turned to look at the approaching Spike. He was tired--she could tell.

"It's always a cold night," she responded and turned back to look over the mess that was now being cleaned up.

"We'll leave tomorrow after the players are called," he stated, and started walking away.

"Why?" she wondered in a low voice, not really expecting an answer.

But he heard her and paused. "I will not put their lives in danger. They might help me out once in a while, but I will not put children's lives in the line of fire. We fight on our own."

She turned to look at him. He was studying her. "We are loners, Slayer. You know that.No matter how much family we have, no matter how many friends we have. At the end of the day it's just us. Us cheating death. No one knows how we feel. Some say we have been chosen. Sometimes I wonder if we have been cursed. Walking worlds others can only begin to imagine," he smiled.

"We few...." she said sadly. "We unlucky few."

There was an uncomfortable silence as both looked out to the night-lit city.

"Normal is no longer an option for me, is it?" she asked.

"It never was."

She looked at him. "It's over. The dream of the white picket house and the kids and the normal husband with the 9 to 5 job. It's over. I don't even want it."

He gave her an understanding smile. "Chin up, pet. The day is not done yet."

She smiled and nodded. "So, tomorrow we leave?....Where?"

"My place," he said, lighting a cigarette.

"Spain?" she asked, confused.

"No, downtown, got me a nice penthouse. No one should be able to find us there. Plus, I own the building--we'll set up camp there."

"Seems sad," she said, looking back at the house.

"What does?" he asked, curious.

"You're leaving your family behind."

"They should be safe once we're gone. It's you an' me they're after." He blew out his smoke.

She though for a second. The frightened face of Vanessa came to view, the limping Val. The worried Risa. "We should leave as soon as possible."

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