TITLE: Amateur Magic [Part 1/9]
AUTHOR: Virtual Void
GENRE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
RATING: PG-13 for non-graphic violence, mild language, and adult situations.
SUMMARY: Buffy needs Spike’s and Dawn’s help to save the world--she just doesn’t know it.
SETTING: Season Seven-ish
PAIRINGS: Spike/Dawn
DISCLAIMER: Some of the characters and ideas in this story were taken directly from the television series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (BTVS), which is owned, copyrighted and trademarked by Twentieth Century Fox, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB Television Network, and/or their related entities. No profit is being made from this story, and no copyright infringement is intended. The copyright owners of BTVS have not endorsed or authorized this story, and the author of this story is not affiliated with the copyright owners of BTVS. This story itself is copyright 2003 by Virtual Void. All rights reserved. Enjoy.
ARCHIVE: Please ask first.
FEEDBACK: Feedback, criticism, and MiSTing are welcome. “Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich staerker.“
* * * * *
Dawn kicked the sandal off her foot. It hit the wall, barely missing Buffy.
"Sulk all you want," Buffy said, "but you are not coming on patrol with me."
Dawn was slumped in the couch, facing the television, but oblivious to the giggly sitcom being shown. Why did everyone keep treating her like some little kid. She was older now than Buffy was when she started her career as the Slayer. No one cared about the fact that she had destroyed bunches of vampires herself in the past few years. Well, a few vampires, anyway. It wasn't like she was incapable of dusting vamps. She knew darned well how to fight.
"But, everyone else is going to the movies," Dawn said, struggling not to sound whiny. "You're going to be out there on patrol alone. No backup. Don't you remember what Giles says about fighting vampires with no backup?"
Buffy picked up the sandal and tossed it into Dawn's lap. "So I bend a few rules now and then. I've earned that right." She sat down on the couch. "Look, Dawn, I'm sorry I can't take you with me. Maybe if there were more people coming along it would be okay. But if it's just you and me, I'd be spending all my time worrying about you instead of focusing on the baddies. You're my responsibility, and I take that very, very seriously. You understand?"
Dawn pulled at the strap of the sandal, as if trying to snap it in two. "You make it sound like I'm some kind of goose egg that's going to get smashed the minute you turn your back."
"I know you're not an egg," Buffy said, massaging Dawn's neck with one hand. "You're more like a roasted peanut in terms of crackability. You know, ..."
Don't you dare call me 'Sweetie', Dawn thought.
"...everybody in the gang loves you and respects you. Just the other day, Giles was talking about how much potential you've got."
Do not call me 'Sweetie'.
"Someday real soon, you're going to be out there with us every night. You'll be wasting monsters and demons as easy as if you were playing Pokemon."
Pokemon!?
"You just need to give yourself a little time to grow into it, Sweetie."
Dawn jumped up from the couch, screaming through clenched teeth. "Stop treating me like a baby, damn it! Just stop!"
Buffy blinked, but kept her smile. "Whatever." She got up, grabbed a knife and a stake, and opened the door to leave. "Now, be a good little adult and wash the dishes while I'm gone."
Screaming again, Dawn slammed her sandal against the closing door.
* * * * *
Buffy amused herself practicing stake twirling as she strolled through the cemetery. Things had been unusually quiet now for several weeks. No wonder Willow, Xander, and Anya had opted for a movie tonight. Even a good set of previews would be a welcome break from the boredom of these patrols lately.
The stake slipped out of her grasp and flopped to the ground. When she knelt to pick it up, she felt a familiar tingle at the nape of her neck. She stood and turned to face a freshly risen vampire, who was just moving his lips to speak. With a quick stab, Buffy turned him to dust before he could make a sound.
"Yeah, I know. 'Prepare to die, Slayer'. Heard it a million times."
Buffy regretted killing the vampire so quickly. After all, that was probably going to turn out to be the high point of the evening. She should have at least used the opportunity to get in a little kickboxing stretch.
With a sigh, Buffy continued her stroll down the path. Kicking at the gravel, she thought about Dawn. Maybe her sister was right. Maybe she really was ready to come along on patrol more often. She had some good fighting moves, and she'd picked them up quickly. It seemed unbelievable that she was in high school already. Buffy winced at the implications that had about her own age.
To her left, three shabby vampires walked boldly out of the bushes and made straight for Buffy.
With a smile, Buffy went to work. Staggering one vampire with a kick, she dusted another and rolled to avoid the third. The second kill came easily enough, but this third vamp must have had some martial arts training in life. He had an annoying ability to dodge Buffy's strikes.
As Buffy was squaring up, looking for an opening, she heard a rustle from behind her. Whirling around she saw-- yipes! Four more vamps! Puffing out a deep breath, Buffy considered invoking the "Live to fight another day" clause. But, what the heck. She'd wanted some excitement, and here it was.
The fight was brutal, but in the end, Buffy had bought seven vampires at a cost of only a bruised cheek, some scraped knuckles, and a bloody elbow. She was inspecting her elbow gingerly when she heard-- oh, no-- a rustle in the leaves. She spun around, stake ready at waist level, and Spike grabbed her wrist.
"A bit jumpy tonight, aren't we?" He checked her over. "Then again, looks like you might have reason. Somebody rub you the wrong way against a cheese grater?"
Buffy jerked away from Spike's touch. "I just destroyed seven vampires. Give me one good reason I shouldn't make it eight."
"I'm clever, good looking, and just the sort of bad boy you want to knock the Scrabble board off your bed at night."
"I said one good reason-- not three bad jokes." She set off down the path, but Spike tagged along beside her.
"So, how come you're out here saving the world all by your lonesome?"
"Everybody went to the movies," Buffy said. "Something about nasty, carnivorous monsters that only come out when there's an eclipse or something."
"Blimey, what a reach. Sounds like somebody in Hollywood's been chonging it."
Buffy stopped and motioned Spike to be quiet. They stood listening for a moment, but the only sound was the distant swish of city traffic. The silence abruptly turned to an uproar when three vampires charged at them from a thicket of sumac.
In terminating the lead attacker, Buffy left herself open to the other two. Spike's face wrinkled into a vampiric snarl. He pulled away one of the vampires, leaving it off-balance, and then he uncoiled a vicious kick-twirl that flattened the beast. With the odds back to even, Buffy easily dispatched the vampire still grappling with her. Then she dusted the one Spike had stunned, ending the fight.
"I don't get it," she said. "There's like no vampires for a month, and tonight they all crawl up like worms in the rain."
When Spike didn't answer, Buffy turned to him. His face was still vampirish.
"Welcome to the Feast of Purgatory," Spike said. He bared his teeth and attacked.
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