Disclaimer: Only the plot/story line belong to me
Chapter 29
‘And you say this demon just dropped it in front of you and disappeared?’ Giles sounded disbelieving.
Buffy didn’t blame him; even she thought it was totally out of the ordinary. On her own, she would have had a hard time convincing him of it but the other three backed her up.
‘Yeah, G-man,’ Xander was slumped comfortably on the couch ion the living room. ‘It was right up there on the things-that-are-weird scale, you know, along with the fact that vampires actually do exist and all.’
Giles ignored him and turned to Buffy. She smiled slightly. ‘In a round about way he’s right,’ she offered. ‘The demon- who wore the tackiest silver cloak by the way- just literally dropped the ring at our feet then poofed out of there. It was way weird.’
‘Hmmm,’ Giles studied the ring closely. His eyes seemed to light up and Buffy knew he’d realised something. ‘Of course,’ he murmured as he stood from his chair.
‘Of course, what Watcher-mine?’ she asked lightly.
Giles pulled a book from the expansive bookcase and leafed through the volume. Buffy watched interestedly as he found what he was looking for. He turned to the group and held up the most likely ancient tome. ‘The Gem of Amara,’ he revealed with a flourish.
They all stared blankly at him. Buffy grinned as he clucked disapprovingly at their lack of knowledge. It’s not their fault they weren’t walking textbooks with arms, unlike him.
‘The Gem of Amara,’ he recited. ‘A ring forged over a thousand years ago by an unknown tribe of… I thought it wasn’t real, the equivalent of the vampire’s Holy Grail.’
‘So, this ring is for vampires?’ Buffy asked, getting excited. She could give it to Angel. ‘What does it do?’
‘The ring basically renders a vampire near indestructible. While wearing it, a vampire will become immune to such things as daylight, holy water and will not be felled by staking or daylight.’
‘Angel could walk in the daylight?’ Buffy asked eagerly.
‘Potentially yes but Buffy you cannot give this ring to Angel,’ Giles informed her.
‘What? Why not?’ Buffy asked with a frown on her face.
‘Because Buffy,’ Willow was the one to answer her. ‘If anyone ever found out Angel had the ring, he’d become a target.’
‘Yeah, Buffy,’ Xander joined in. ‘We wouldn’t want deadboy to become a target. He could die,’ he said in mock concern.
Buffy glared at him. ‘Well, what do we do with it then, genius?’ she crossed her arms and continued to glare at him.
He remained unfazed. ‘Can the ring only be sued on vampires?’ the boy asked Giles. ‘‘Cause if not, the Buffster could use it. An invincible Slayer; the vamps would never see it coming.’
Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘No, Xander, the ring does not work on Slayers. Even if it did, I would not let Buffy use it under any circumstances.’
‘What? But I don’t see why not,’ Xander argued.
‘For the same reason they won’t let Angel wear it, Xander,’ Buffy said patiently. ‘I’d become an even bigger target than I already am.’
‘Oh yeah, right,’ he sat back in his chair, seemingly content to let the conversation happen around him.
‘So, we don’t give it to Angel and Buffy can’t use it. Why exactly were we given it then?’ Willow asked the room.
‘It obviously has its purpose,’ Giles said as he slipped his polished glasses back on his face. ‘I shall keep it safe until that purpose is clear.’
Buffy gave the pretty ring one last look as Giles locked it away. ‘Other than that, did you notice anything else while you were out?’ he asked them when he was done.
Buffy shook her head. ‘Nope.’
‘Right then,’ Giles seated himself on the couch. ‘It’s almost dusk, so I expect you to patrol. If anything out of the ordinary happens, let me know immediately.’
The group left for patrol feeling more than a little let down.
*********************************
Buffy sneezed as the vampire exploded in her face. She rubbed her nose furiously to get rid of the dust.
‘Watch it, Buff,’ Xander said idly as the other three teens sat watching her.
It was just after dusk, night hadn’t even completely fallen and already Buffy had staked two vamps. Not out of the ordinary, she knew, just odd because they both happened within five minutes of each other and were unconnected.
With a frown on her face she brushed the dust off her clothes and joined her friends. The teens were impossibly quiet for a small length of time.
‘Anyone wanna go for pizza?’ Xander broke the silence loudly.
Buffy considered the offer. Pizza did sound really good at that moment. She was about to answer him when the answer was taken from her.
‘Slayer,’ a harsh voice said from the shadows.
Buffy stood instantly and placed herself in front of her friends. The whatever-it-was stood out from the shadows hands crossed behind its back. As the thing stepped into the light, Buffy realised it was a man. No, not a man… a vampire.
‘Can I help you?’ she asked in a falsely bright tone. She studied him from head to toe. He looks like Angel, she noticed with shock. ‘Who are you?’
‘Now, do you really want to engage in small talk or do you want to fight?’ the vampire asked her cheekily.
Buffy clenched her fists. Something was off with this vamp. ‘Personally,’ she said, keeping the brightness in her voice. ‘I wanna fight.’
‘Very well, then.’
The vampire lunged at her instantly. She ran forward and intercepted it. She knocked it back a step with a powerful punch to the jaw. It grinned at her. She scowled and turned quickly, delivering a roundhouse kick to his midsection.
As soon as the blow landed, the vamp grabbed her ankle and twisted, throwing her off balance. She fell to the soft ground with a dull thud. She didn’t remain there long. Flipping up, she kicked him again then turned and punched in the same place. He let out a soft ‘oomph’ sound and she smiled satisfactorily.
The vamp took that moment of hesitation and lashed out and backhanded her, splitting her lip. She probed the wound with her tongue, tasting the copper tang of her blood. It enraged her.
She drew out the small knife from her boot and charged him. He blocked her attack but left himself open for a different attack. She kneed him in the groin and smirked as he fell to the ground.
To her shock he recovered quickly, almost too quickly. With super-human speed he sprang up, catching her off guard. His arms wrapped around her, pinning her to him with bone-crunching force.
She immediately relaxed in his punishing grip, intent on slipping free but as she wriggled she found she was unable to move. His hold on her was too great and she couldn’t break it.
She reared back attempting to head butt him but he crushed her thin frame harder. There was only one thing left she could try. The vamp was no ordinary vamp, she knew, it would take a little extra effort to take him down. Unfortunately she was a little short of the effort.
His arms tightened around her like steel clamps, bruising her skin and crushing her chest. Breathing became difficult quickly and Buffy was soon gasping for air.
The vamp was all of a sudden wrenched from her and she fell to the ground, black spots dancing in her eyes. She held a hand to her chest, struggling to draw breath.
‘What the bloody hell are you doing here, mate?’ the hated voice rang through Buffy’s head. What the hell was Spike doing here?
‘This is none of you business, Spike,’ the other vampire spat, the sound made Buffy’s head thump harder.
She struggled to a kneeling position but was stopped as Spike put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Stay down, luv,’ he advised as he lightly pushed her back. ‘Unfortunately for you, mate,’ Spike said unconcernedly, ‘I already got dibs on her. My Dru wants a piece of the lovely Slayer and who am I to deny her?’
‘Last I heard, she was Angelus’ Slayer,’ the other vampire said smugly. Buffy- against Spike’s advice- was on her feet and glaring at the offending vamp. 'He was or is to kill her.'
‘Angelus doesn’t exist anymore, moron,’ she said weakly.
It was a major struggle just to stand, let alone carry a conversation right now. She was recovering quickly though. Sometimes she felt the urge to kneel down and pray her thanks to the powers that be for the extra strength and healing powers… that was until she realised that without the Slayer package, she wouldn’t be doing any of this to start with. So it was partly their fault.
‘What do you mean Angelus is no more?’ the other vampire seemed less sure of himself. ‘You’re lying.’
Buffy snorted. ‘Yeah, sure, I’m lying. Duh!’
The tall vampire snarled and Buffy blinked in confusion as Spike stepped protectively in front of her. Either she was hallucinating or something weird was going on.
‘Angelus would never fall,’ the vampire had regained his confident stance. ‘He is here somewhere. I will find him.’
‘No, Penn, you won’t,’ Spike said amicably. ‘The bint’s right. The poof’s no more. Got gifted a damn soul.’
‘A soul?’ Penn was intrigued.
Buffy wanted to slap him. This vampire just waltzed into her town and proceeded to beat her up just because he was after Angelus. Wait until she told Angel. How did Angel know this guy anyway?
‘What did it do to him?’ the other vampire asked curiously.
Buffy opened her mouth to tell him off but Spike got in first.
‘Turned him into a pansy,’ Spike laughed. ‘Bloody peaches… always has to be different from the rest of the crowd. Doesn’t hunt, doesn’t kill and feels guilty about those he already did in.’
Penn rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘Where is he now?’
‘Los Angeles, The city of Angels. Fitting for the ponce, innit?’ Spike laughed again.
Buffy scowled, ready to stake both vampires. This was just too much. Why was she even here? She turned to leave but immediately found herself on the ground.
She looked around, disconcerted and watched as Spike straightened back up. ‘Don’t be going anywhere now, luv,’ he winked at her.
Keeping an eye on both vampires, she flipped to her feet and remained behind Spike. At least he didn’t seem ready to kill her yet. What the hell had happened to their deal? If he was reneging on their deal, she was so gonna stake his sorry white ass.
She stood, arms crossed as Spike and Penn talked. When they started on the “old times” she rolled her eyes. Damn vampires.
‘Can I just stake you already?’ she whined with impatience. ‘This is getting old fast.’
‘She’s right,’ Penn surprisingly agreed. ‘This is old,’ he lashed out at Spike with super human speed.
Spike blocked the blow in surprise. Buffy watched, wide eyed as the two vampires fought. ‘You know, I never really liked you?’ Spike said happily.
Buffy shook her head. She could swear Spike was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Penn got a good hold on the blonde vampire and flipped him over his back. Spike landed hard but recovered quickly.
Minutes passed and the vampires fought hard. They parted, each unable to get the upper hand. Spike was grinning and looked as cool as a cucumber; Penn breathed heavily and looked tired. It was in that moment that Buffy realised something. Not only did the vampire look like Angel, he dressed like him, breathed like him and if she got closer, he’d most likely smell like him too.
She shook her head; this had gone on long enough. Reaching behind herself, she pulled a stake out of her waistband and took a menacing step forward. Spike she could let live, but Penn died tonight.
As she approached, both vampires turned to face her, their confrontation forgotten for the moment. Both looked amused at her antics. Ignoring the looks, she strode towards Penn and brought the stake up.
The smile fell from his face. ‘So you want to play?’ he took a step towards her.
She darted in towards the vamp but was thrown back by Spike who then lunged again at Penn. ‘You don’t know what you’re doing, you bleedin’ ponce,’ he chastised the darker vampire. ‘She’s Angel's Slayer.’
Penn froze. ‘But you said...' the vamp turned and studied her. His eyes widened after a moment. 'Well that’s interesting,’ he threw Spike aside like a rag doll and stalked towards Buffy.
She stood her ground, unafraid of the Angel wannabe. He grabbed her neck and pulled her against him. He seemed to be studying her, looking for something. She figured he found what he was looking for because he proceeded to drag her out of the cemetery.
Spike popped up before they could reach the gate. He slammed Penn against a statue of a stone Angel, her head tilted towards the sky in prayer. Spike latched a hand into Penn’s hair and brought his head back, slamming it against the bottom of the statue. Buffy winced.
‘Sorry mate,’ Spike said as he viciously continued his attack. ‘You can’t have her. Made a promise to the lady, you know how it is.’
Spike knocked Penn to the ground and walked over to Buffy. He took her stake from her and returned to the injured vampire. Penn acted first. He ducked out of the way as Spike swung the stake and threw Spike up against the statue. Buffy had the odd thought that when the loving parents put that statue there, they hadn’t been expecting it to be used like this.
Penn lunged for Buffy, his gold eyes shining in the night. He never reached her. Buffy glanced around in shock. Spike was still on the ground so who- ‘It’s about time you got here,’ she said with relief.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ Angel appeared at her side and smiled.
He lent over for a kiss. She gladly obliged him. Their kiss was short and sweet. There were, after all, two evil vampires they had to take care of.
Angel touched the side of her face softly before turning towards his childe. ‘Spike, what the hell is going on?’
‘What the hell do you think ,you great poof,’ Spike scowled as he righted his clothes and brushed himself off. ‘Just takin’ care of business for you, Peaches,’ he inclined his head towards the other vamp.
Buffy saw Angel’s eyes widen. ‘Penn?’
‘Sire,’ Penn grinned, his face covered with blood from Spikes attacks.
Angel looked dispassionately at his look alike. ‘Kill him,’ he told Spike.
Buffy raised an eyebrow. That was it? After all that it was a simple “kill him”?
Spike turned to a confused looking Penn. ‘But Sire,’ he protested.
Buffy’s arms dropped in shock. ‘Sire?’ she repeated. ‘Did he just say Sire? God, Xander was right, you do get around.’
Angel glanced at her. She saw the pain in his eyes and hardened herself against it. Why was he always keeping secrets from her? All the phone conversations they’d had, the times they’d been together and he’d never told her he had more childer other than Drusilla and Spike.
Buffy heard a poofing sound and looked up as Penn’s dust floated to the ground. She stood silently as Angel watched her. Spike stood watching them both.
‘Screw this,’ he threw the stake down. ‘I’m blowing this piss ass joint.’
He left and Buffy made a move to follow. Angel held her back. ‘We need to talk,’ he said softly.
She shook off his touch. ‘I have to go,’ she walked out of the cemetery, leaving a silent Angel behind.
I won't be able to update for about a week 'cause i'm going on holiday.
I couldn't remember if there was a explanation of the Gem so i cut it off.
Please review. I love recieving them and i usually make an effort to review other peoples work
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