Summary: A broken Slayer befriends Clem as she starts spending more and more time at Spike’s crypt after the bleach blonde flees to Africa. Then Spike returns with dire news and the Slayer’s world is turned upside down once more.

Spoilers: Set post “Grave”

Rating: PG-13

Distribution: If ya want it, take it, just give me credit… And, if ya could, let me know where it’s going.

Feedback: You can send it to brock3005@aol.com or otownfan1520@yahoo.com.

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“Yeah…” Her reply was cautious. She wasn’t exactly sure she wanted to hear his answer. Whatever it was he was worried about, it wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill demon… This was big. He almost sounded… Afraid. Fear wasn’t typically an emotion Spike pulled to the forefront… Fear in Spike was bad… Very bad. This was big. And probably something she really didn’t feel up to dealing with at the moment…

He took a deep breath, wishing he could have taken care of things on his own... But he couldn’t. It was too powerful for him. Hell, chances were, they wouldn’t be able to take care of this together. But they had to try. His guilt over all of this was unfathomable… It was his fault they were in danger. Buffy had nothing to do with this… And still, he had to pull her into it. It wasn’t fair. It was fate.

“This soul… When the demon restored it… I don’t know exactly. I guess the energies and magicks this guy channeled to transfer my soul back into my body… It awakened something. There was something there. Buried deep within the desert sands of Africa… Scattered and disconnected. Something primal; pure evil. Without solid form. Basically it’s energy... The energy of Satan himself. Or something near enough to it. As far as I’ve heard, there’s only one way to stop it, though it can’t be destroyed… Or that‘s what they say, anyway.”

Her eyes were wide. She had been right… This was bad. Very bad. “So, how do we stop it then?” She tried her best to sound confident and dismissive, but she knew she was failing miserably. Too many apocalypses… All she wanted was a little time off. Just a little. Not even straight time off. Patrolling and staking a vamp or two was no biggie. That she could handle. But the end of the world? That was getting a bit old.

“See, that’s where we’ve got a problem. Only way to stop it is through the use of extremely powerful white magicks. Ya know, the pure stuff. Nothing black… Black magick does nothing more than feed this thing... Makes it stronger. And we’re two witches short… Only one who could’ve done it in the first place was Tara.” he explained softly. His eyes dropped slightly at the mention of her name. Poor girl had died for no reason whatsoever. A stray bullet meant for someone else... Certainly not a fair way to die.

For a brief moment, she wondered how he had known. After mere seconds, though, those questions were pushed to the back of her mind for later observation. Now certainly wasn’t the time… “What about Willow? Why was Tara the only one capable? I mean, we both know how powerful Willow is…”

“That we do…” His voice was a bit rough; his tone almost spiteful. He didn’t mean for it to sound that way. He understood why she had done it… At first. When it had just been Warren, he’d understood. Revenge was a beautiful thing... But then she had turned on Buffy. She’d gone after the woman he loved... The woman whom Willow had called her best friend for years. It hadn’t taken her long to turn her back on that friendship. She’d tried to kill Buffy… His Buffy. Not to mention Dawn. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to forgive her for that. How did he know it wouldn’t happen again?

“Spike?”

He’d drifted and he knew it… He also knew she had probably seen that brief flash of hatred for the young witch. He hadn’t meant for her to see that. Things involving Willow were probably already hard enough for her. She didn’t need him to further complicate that situation. So he dismissed it, shaking his head slightly as he tried to get back on track so he could give her an answer. Taking a deep breath, he continued. “I know she’s powerful. Very powerful… But that’s not enough. Red only knew how to deal with the black magicks… Not that, at one time, she wasn’t what you would consider a good witch… She was. But her magick wasn’t pure. What she worked with was rooted in darkness. That darkness could do nothing more than generate more power for this thing. Tara was a white witch. Ran in her bloodline. She was the only one who could’ve handled it… And even then it may not have been enough. She had a lot of power. A lot. But it was a family thing… Ya know, passed on through the generations. Most of her power, she had yet to discover. Girl had more power than Willow, to be honest.”

“How did you know she was gone?” Buffy asked suddenly, her curiosity getting the best of her. “And about Willow… How did you know?”

He chuckled slightly, but it was bitter…“News travels fast when the Slayer’s best friend goes on a vengeful rampage and ends up nearly taking the world with her… Know about the whelp, too… How he stopped her. Pretty noble thing, that. I think he loves her…”

The last part he mumbled thoughtfully, almost to himself, and it made Buffy smile. She’d thought the same thing… And then there was always Giles and Anya… Which, to be honest, was sort of a weird thought, but somehow it seemed to just make sense. Kind of like the two of them… The vampire and the Slayer… Unconventional, yet perfect.

And as soon as the thought entered her mind, she had to push it away. She would’ve loved to stay locked in dreamland, but the fact was, they had much more pressing matters to attend to… Matters that would probably lead to getting up and going to see Giles and the gang at the Magick Box… Which would probably lead to some very bad treatment Spike-wise… At least when it came to the men in the group. Xander would be especially pissed. She just hoped there would be no unnecessary stakage…

“You’re sure this is the only way to kill this thing…? There’s no other way to destroy it?” she questioned, searching for anything that could possibly make things easier.

“As far as I know, magicks are the only thing that can trap it… Hold it at bay. But then again, I don’t really know all that much about it. Nobody does. I spent at least a week askin’ around… Trying to find some kid of information that could be of use. Didn’t find much. Not anything that can do much good anyway… Considering our lack of wiccans. A year ago, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But now… It’s all just a big mess.”

“Not gonna argue with ya there.” she agreed, pulling herself up into a sitting position beside him. “This thing’s on it’s way here to Sunnydale, right?”

“As far as I can tell.” He nodded as he stood. They were on their way to the Magick Box, and he knew it. How he was going to face everyone, he wasn’t exactly sure… But he was going to have to. They were in for quite a bit of research, and it would definitely require his explaining of a few things. He’d deal… As long as nobody staked him.

“If it does make it here, how’re we gonna trap it. You said it was buried in the sands of Africa, right? And that the energy was scattered?” He nodded, and she continued. “How’re we gonna trap it here? I mean, even if we could find somewhere that could hold this thing, would it work.”

“I don’t know.” he admitted honestly. “We might have to draw it out of Sunnydale. We’re so close to the Hellmouth… The mystical energies that alone creates could be enough to free it again even if we did manage to capture it.”

“So basically, you’re telling me we’re screwed…”

“Basically…”