Potential

It's night, and Vi and Rona are walking through the cemetery, cautious, stakes in hand. Vi is holding hers with =both= hands. They look nervous.

There's a rustling off to the side, and they turn to look. Before they can move, something comes flying at them and knocks Rona into a gravestone. It's Spike, in gameface. He grabs Vi, who looks terrified, and, after a dramatic pause, leans in as though to bite her. He stops a couple of inches from actually touching her, but she screams anyway. He holds the pose for a second, morphs back to human, then looks up. "These two are dead," he says. "Why?" Buffy, Kennedy and Molly are watching the exercise.

Rona, struggling to her feet, mutters, "Because the black girl always gets it first?" Clearly unhappy.

Spike squeezes, making Vi say, "ow!"

"What was that, Rona?" Buffy asks, in that annoying I-heard-that teacher way.

Rona sighs. "Because he's a vampire." Buffy gives her a look, like, "is that all?" She goes on. "I don't have Slayer strength, Slayer speed. It wasn't a fair fight."

"Vi," Spike, still holding onto her, "Do you think I care if it's a fair fight?"

Her eyes get big. "N...no. No. No...Sir." She cuts her eyes back over her shoulder, trying to see if she's getting it right, and goes on, as though by rote, "You don't play by the rules, and I have learned a valuable lesson." Her confidence in her answer is suddenly gone. "Of some sort." Spike squeezes again. "Ow...," Vi says, in the tone of someone registering a protest she doesn't expect to make any difference.

"Okay, Spike," Buffy says, and he lets Vi go. She lectures the girls on trusting their instincts, asks Rona what her instincts were telling her. Rona tries to bluff, but Buffy calls her on it, and Rona admits that her instincts were telling her to run. Vi agrees, and says that her instincts are still kinda telling her to run.

Buffy tells them they need to listen to their instincts and make the fight their own.

"Spike," she says, "What did your instincts tell you to do just then?"

"Hunt," he says, shifting his weight. "Kill."

"Come at me," she says. "Full speed." They exchange a look, a faint nod, and she turns back to the SiTs. "He needs to kill to live," she tells them. "That tells you everything you need to know." He vamps out and charges before she finishes talking. She doesn't even turn around, just ducks out of his way, and he crashes into a gravestone. It knocks him to the ground, and she's on him immediately, straddling him with her stake ready to strike. But she turns to look at the SiTs. "Instinct," she says. "=Understand= his, but trust yours. You were Chosen for a reason."

She shifts her weight as she speaks, and Spike inhales sharply. When she turns back to him, he's back in human face, and looks acutely uncomfortable. Maybe in pain and trying not to show it. She's immediately concerned.

"A...are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he says, but it's plain he's not. He tries to sit up. "Couple of ribs ain't quite set right since..." He's trying to get up. "I'm fine."

"Let me see," she says, and drops the stake to push his shirt up.

"No," he says, trying to stop her, "It's..." But she ignores him, rucks the shirt up, feels along his left side. We don't see much skin, but it's clear that the markings the Bringers cut into his flesh are healed. He reaches up, takes hold of her hand under his shirt, gently pulls it away. He looks up at her, gives her a reassuring flash of smile. "I'm gonna be okay," he says, but it's obvious he's still in pain.

She's worried, and looks at him as though to say, "Are you sure?"

Rona, leaning against a tombstone, says, drily, "That's hot." Buffy shoots her a killing look. She's still got her hand in Spike's.

Molly, still taking notes, says, "So, we're, supposed to, like...make out with him or something?"

"Careful, Buffy," Vi says, nursing her wrist, "Just when you think it's part of the lesson, he'll... Hurt your arm."

Buffy gives the lot of them quelling looks, then pulls her hand out of Spike's and gets off him. She reaches down to help him up, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, and he stands, grimacing a little. "Molly, Kennedy," Buffy says, all business. "Let's go. You're up. Next lesson..." As the girls come forward, she looks at Spike, to check that they're on the same page. Then she looks down, but her eyes are drawn back to Spike, and she gives him a brief, self-conscious glance before she looks away again and steps forward to get the session started.

The whole speech to Amada about wanting to pick on boys you like is classic Buffy-when-she's-trying-to-deny-the truth. <VBG> Especially, the "absolutely, seriously, definitely over!" part.

The SiTs are in the kitchen, choosing weapons. Buffy comes in, Andrew following after her, whining. He wants to go on the field trip. Buffy tells him no, and he pouts. "You don't want me coming along because you think I'm evil."

"He doesn't seem evil," one of the SiTs says.

"Exactly," Buffy says. "He's not evil, but when he gets close to it, he picks up its flavor like a mushroom or something."

Andrew whines some more about how he's changed now.

"Still not coming," Buffy says.

"It's not fair!" Andrew says. "Spike just killed people, and =he= gets to go." More pouting.

"Spike didn't have free will," Buffy points out, not at all sympathetic. "You did."

Andrew slumps against the counter. "I hate my free will," he mutters.

Spike comes in. "This where you're all hiding?" he says.

There's a chorus of "Hi, Spike!" from the girls.

"We ready to go, or what?" he says.

Buffy tells the girls to grab weapons, and she, they and Spike leave.

It takes the girls a few minutes to realize they're in a demon bar.

"It's like a gay bar, only with demons!" Vi says.

A big, ugly demon at the bar sees Spike. "Spike!" it says, getting up. Spike comes toward it. "Long time. Nice of you to bring snacks."

"Touch them and lose your privates," Spike says, and the demon turns away without another word.

"I didn't like him," Vi says.

"Nice job of blending in, girls," Spike says. But he's sort of smiling.

"We're fifteen-year-old girls in a demon bar," Rona says. "How much blending did you think we were gonna do?" She's trying not to laugh.

"Look, it's okay," Buffy says. "Usually you come to a place like this, you wanna be seen. You want to scare someone, or make contact..."

"Or have a strong drink?" Molly interjects.

"Not usually that," Buffy says.

"You don't drink?" It's Kennedy, and it's a definite challenge.

"Sure I do," Buffy says without thinking, then, reconsidering, "I mean, no. That'd be wrong."

"Do they card?" Vi asks.

"Nope," Buffy says. Maybe a change of tactics is in order... "Go ahead. Down all the yak urine shots or pig's blood spritzers you like." She looks at Spike, and they share a knowing smile.

The girls, of course, think the drinks sound gross.

"You got that right," Spike says. "Prices they charge, you should get human blood straight from the body." Molly and Vi get wide-eyed at that. "Vampire," Spike reminds them, restraining himself from an eye-roll.

"Look," Buffy says, "If I come here, it's because I gotta wring information out of something large, scary..." She looks around the room. "Drunk... And with a roomful of friends that don't care very much for the Slayer. Remember that. Not a being in here that wouldn't gladly rip your throat out."

Right on cue, we hear Clem, practically squealing in glee. "Buffy?"

More Spikefeed to come... (check back later)

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Dori

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