Chapter Seven
Are You Ready?


3.1.2113 4:44 PM

'Make a wish...' I thought, as I glanced over at my night-glo watch. Suddenly, Nick stretched beside me.

"What time is it?" he asked sleepily.

"4:44..." I sighed and nestled back into Nick's arms. I grinned at the realization of the feeling I had waited my entire life for. Now...I'd found it.

"Well, no sense in wishing now, is there, Ray?" he nuzzled my neck gingerly and pulled me closer to his body.

"Of course there is. There's always something to wish for...even if you have everything you've ever wanted." I grinned and kissed the man before me.

Nick broke off the kiss reluctantly. "Well, what would you wish for then?"

"I wish..." I paused, unsure if I should wish aloud or not. "That all of us could emerge from this fight unharmed...alive...but it's not destined to happen, so I'm just wastin' my breath...I know."

"Well, I would wish the same, then, seeing as how I already have you..."

I grinned as we snuggled closer and drifted off to sleep for a few more minutes.

...


"Well, I guess those two are gonna sleep all day." Isabelle murmured as she walked away from the wooden door betwen her and the lovers inside.

"Who? Rayvin and Nick?" Shalimar asked, busy stocking up her magickal supplies and tweaking her radio to the point that she could interrupt transmissions from those on the other side of the battle line.

"No..." Isabelle narrowed her eyes at her fellow Wiccan. "Buffy and Spike...Wait. Rayvin and...NICK? What? WHEN?!"

"A couple of hours ago." Shalimar replied nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders as she continued squinting at the twin wires she'd been toying with for the last two hours.

"REALLY?! Why didn't she tell us? I mean...me?"

"Don't feel bad, she didn't tell me either." Shalimar picked up an old copper wire from the crate she was using as a table and used it to join a red one and a blue together.

Isabelle sat crosslegged on a rusty and worn wrought iron bench and watched Shalimar intently. "What do you mean she didn't tell you either? If she didn't tell you...then how do you know?"

"I saw her and Nick go into that room over there..." Shalimar pointed to the wooden door directly to her left, not looking up from her task. "...and they haven't come out...yet..."

Shalimar secured the wires back into place and replaced the front half of the shell of the high-powered radio. She took the miniature phillips head screwdriver to her right, and manipulated the screws back into place. Isabelle watched silently as Shalimar switched on the radio and tuned through every channel on the transmitting device. On channel 9, she stopped dead.

"Edward, we'll need your help to take out the Slayer, if what you say is true and they do have her on their side. Chastity is one hell of a warrior." The radio buzzed with static for a moment before another voice came over the airwaves.

"No. It's not Chastity."

Static.

"Then who is it?"

More static.

"Um...Jakob...you're not going to like this."

"Just say it Edward!" There was a long, static-filled pause.

"It's...THE Slayer. The one of legends, Jakob." Yet another pause. "It's Buffy Summers..."

Shalimar looked up, a fearful look on their normally placid features. "Oh Goddess...Isabelle..."

Isabelle looked up from her hands, panic drawn across her features.

"...They know."

...


Nick and I were awakened by a pounding on the door.

"Rayvin! RAYVIN! WAKE UP! WE'VE GOT TROUBLE!" Came Shalimar's panicked voice from the other side of the door.

Nick stirred beside me as I sprang into a sitting position.

"What's going on, Ray?" he asked sleepily and I held up a hand to halt him from speaking.

"Good question..." I listened intently before springing to my feet and getting dressed.

"What is it?" Nick propped himself up on his elbows and I turned to him.

"I think our secret's out...about the Slayer..." I said, before walking out the door.

...


"Shit...Spike's gonna kill me...I can't wake him up..." Shalimar mumbled to herself, pacing before the door that has keeping her from the Slayer and the vampire.

"BOO!" Shalimar BARELY concealed a scream and flung herself around to face the culprit. Rayvin. Shalimar's eyes grew wide with rage.

"DAMNIT RAYVIN!" she forced through gritted teeth. "How could you DO THAT to me?!"

Rayvin doubled over in giggles. "Sorry...couldn't resist...you were SO open to it..."

Shalimar punched her friend in the shoulder. "You'd better not do that again, you hear me?!" Shalimar laughed as well, and Rayvin nodded.

"Deal. Now...what's the problem?"

"Edward obviously did a spell or we have a leak in our midst, Rayvin."

Rayvin grew serious. "That is a problem."

"I was about to wake Spike, but..."

Rayvin nodded and laid a hand on Shalimar's shoulder as she stepped around the Wiccan. "Let me. I know you value your life. Plus...we need ya...in one piece." Rayvin half-heartedly chuckled.

Shalimar gave one last glance at her friend before walking away. She knew Rayvin was putting on a front...she was as afraid as the rest of the company...was it only Shalimar that could tell?? Or would Spike realize it before it was too late?

...


I turned and glanced at Shal as she walked away. I could tell that she knew I was scared out of my wits. But I got the feeling that she thought I was fearing for myself. Truth be told, I was scared for Nick.

I'd just found him...and I did NOT want to lose him in some Gods-forsaken war...

I knocked on the door, quietly at first. When I received no answer, I rapped a bit louder.

"Bloody hell..." I heard Spike mumble. "WHAT IS IT?!"

"Spike...I don't know any other way to say this...We have a problem..."

The door was snatched open and Spike stuck his head out. "What...'problem'."

He was ticked...as was I, but I knew he needed to know the situation.

"All I know is, they know that we have Buffy on our side."

Spike snarled. "HOW...?" He drawled it out so slow and so venomously that I took a step back.

"I...we don't know, Spike. It may have been a spell that Edward used on us, or..." I gulped. "An information leak...But again, Spike. We have no clue..."

Spike's scowl grew bigger and surned into an all-out snarl.

"DAMNIT!" Spike rammed his fist against the wall, causing a gaping hole about six inches in diameter to form next to the doorframe. He pulled his hand out of the wall and gazed at it curiously. "Bloody hell..." he murmured, flexing his fist to make sure no bones were broken.

"You all right, Spike?" I asked quietly, glancing at his hand.

He nodded. "Fine."

I sighed. "We'll be waiting for you down by the rails, Spike."

He nodded again and turned back to Buffy. "We've got problems, Slayer. Get dressed."

Buffy didn't ask questions, she simply did as she was told and put on the jumpsuit and my flack jacket and followed me down to the rails.

"Rayvin, what's going on?"

"The humans know about you, Buffy. They're gonna try and find us if we don't find them first..." I sighed. "Here. I found these in a store room." I handed the Slayer a pair of black leather pants and a black midriff. "Thought they might suit you a bit better. There's some undergarments in there too...maybe they'll make you a bit more comfortable."

Buffy looked at me gratefully. "Thank you, Rayvin. Thank you so much!"

I laughed as she ran off to an enclosed room just as Spike walked up.

"Where's she off to?"Spike barked out and everyone silenced at once.

"She's gone to change, Spike. I found some clothes a bit more her style and she was eager to get into them..."

Spike nodded, seemingly understanding her need to get a bit more comfortable. He then turned to the rest of the company that had gathered around and glared at everyone.

"It's come to my attention," he began, searching all of the eyes that he could for guilt. "That we could possibly have a traitor in our midst. Somehow, some bloody way, those wankers on the other side of this battle know about our little secret, and I want to know how it got out. NOW!" Spike roared and everyone within hearing vicinity flinched.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned. Buffy. I took her hand in mine as she stood beside me, trembling. Spike looked over to where Buffy and I stood, a glare on his face. As soon as he saw his Slayer trembling like a frightened cat, his gaze softened. He walked over and embraced her before turning to me, a pleading look on his face. I nodded and took over for him.

"Look, people. If you know that someone's pullin' double-duty on us - AGAINST us - PLEASE tell me, if you won't tell Spike. I'll deal with the problem meself if I have to. A'ight? Now get back to work. Prep yourselves. The battle of the millennium is upon us!" I clapped my hands and the crowd dispersed.

"Rayvin..." A voice whispered and Spike's head snapped up as I turned to face Isabelle. I walked over to the Wiccan warily.

"What is it, Isa?"

"That guy, in the far corner. Who is that?"

I squinted. "Uh...Jake Connor, why?"

"I've never seen him before. With us..."

"He's communications...why do you...?" I cut myself off as it sank in.

Communications. Meaning he had the skills to tap into ANY frequency known to the world. Meaning he could communicate with the other side if he so pleased. Isabelle glared at the boy who could've been no more than nineteen. I sniffed the air and examined the aura around him. "Vampire..." I snarled. "Spike!"

Spike released Buffy and the two of them walked over to us cautiously. "Wha' is it, Rayvin...?"

I pointed at the vampire and we watched as he glanced to either side of him, and then pulled out a portable radio well-known to be the sort the humans used for their communications.

"Rayvin! Spike!" Shalimar came running over to us. "We've got comms!" She stopped in between Spike and I and held out her radio at arm's length.

"Michaels to base. Come in, base."

I watched as the man spoke into the radio in sync with the transmission Shalimar was picking up.

"This is base. Report, Michaels. You'd better have good news." The cold voice on the other end of the conversation spoke up.

"Well, sorry to dissapoint, Johns..."

"Damnit, Edward, talk to me!" My eyes widened. Edward?! Nick's brother was a VAMPIRE?! That would explain the brutal murders of the rest of his family...

"They know something's up. I wouldn't be surprised if they caught me right now," I chuckled. Little did he know...

"Fine. If they catch on, get your arse back to base. I'll let Jakob know of your dilemma."

"10-4. Michaels, over and out."

"10-4. Base, over and out."

The radio went dead and Spike growled venomously.

"That's it. We're gonna make a move. Rayvin, Shal'mar, Isabelle. Come up from the right. Me an' the Slayer'll come up from the left."

"Spike - he's a mage! How d'ya think you'll keep 'im down?" I asked, panic rising in my voice. There was no telling how much he already knew...

"We've got two of our own, don't we?"

Buffy shook her head. "THREE of our own Spike." She grinned proudly.

"THREE?!" Spike face took on a quizzical look.

"Duh. You've got me..." She smirked.

Spike cocked his head at the Slayer. "You? You're...not..."

"All right then. We have three mages," Spike grinned proudly, taking the Slayer's arm in his. "Now let's get 'im."

Each of us took our ordered positions, moving away from the other and walking off to engage in conversation separately.

"Rayvin?" Shalimar poked my elbow and I listened to her, keeping an eye out for movement from the perpitrator.

"Yeah?"

"How long do you think he's been in our ranks?"

I glanced at Shalimar out of the corner of my eye. She looked panicked.

I rested an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "I don't know, Shal. But we'll take care of him either now or on the battlefield." Shalimar nodded. "I trust you, Ray." I grinned as Spike nodded to me our signal to close in. I nodded my readiness and glanced from Shalimar to Isabelle and then latched my gaze onto the false 'Jake Connor.' "Connor! Can I have a talk with ya?" Edward looked panicked, but then calmed down as soon as he realized it was just

"Of course...What is it?" The vampire looked nervous, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"You've been doing one hell of a job lately, and I was just wondering if you needed any help deciphering the transmissions..."

"NO!" he cleared his throat. "I mean...no. I got it."

"Are you sure?" I motioned to Spike without Edward noticing and then to Shalimar in plain sight. "Because, I bet Shalimar and even Isabelle would love to help..."

With that, Spike grabbed Edward from behind, and held his arms tightly behind his back. Edward put up a struggle, but soon realized that he was no match for the centuries-old master vampire, and gave up his fight.

"What is it? You finally find out I'm not playing for you?" He snarled, wriggling in Spike's grasp.

"Yea...only, we're not the ones being...played." I cocked my head and looked deep into the double-timer's eyes. "You're our pawn, Edward, whether you realize it or not..."

Behind his back, Buffy was working a silent spell to track the demon in his teleportation back to his base...where I knew he'd go immediately.

"Right. Well. See you on the battlefield, SISTER." With that, Edward closed his eyes, concentrated, and in a flash, he was gone.

Spike was stunned for a moment. "Where'd the bastard go?"

"He's gone, Spike. He orbed back to his base. Shalimar, Isabelle, set up the map. Locate him so we can know the Humans' whereabouts."

Isabelle and Shalimar nodded.

"On it!" Shalimar jumped up and spread the map on the crate in front of us and began to work her magick.

After a few minutes, Shalimar and Isabelle had located the opposition's base, and Spike was preparing for an attack.

"Okay everyone! Attentions!" Spike shouted and all eyes were on him. "We're moving out!d Pack only what you can carry; we travel light. Get your ammo, your weapons, your magicks. The fight is about to begin..."

...


Within an hour, we were set up at the battlegrounds - the old Sunnydale High School. Buffy, Shalimar, and Isabelle had given some magickal assistance to dig some war trenches in case we needed them and Spike and I were going over battle rules.

"Number one : NEVER attack initially 'til I give the word. Two : If they attack first, I expect everyone to engage. No ifs, ands, or buts. Three : If someone next to you falls, you'd better take up the slack in the ranks. Take up their weapon and fight on."

"What if family takes a fall, Spike? What then?"

It was then that Spike saw the fear in my soul. His eyes flashed amber before replying with two simple words that made my being gleam.

"KILL THEM."



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