Part: (2/4)

Author: Jessa (jessa_88@hotmail.com)

Disclaimer: The character's aren't mine. The story is.

Spoilers: up to 'The Body'

Distribution: my site, Trish's site, anyone else just email me and tell me where it's going

Feedback: Yes yes yes! I thrive on it.

Acknowledgements: Dedicated to Trish for being such an awesome help in beta-ing and just because she's awesome ;)

Part 3

Spike heard the scream almost before it reached his ears. It could have been the enhanced hearing that he as a vampire possessed or that he sensed it in his toes probably at the same time as it was vibrating her voice box. He really didn't have time to contemplate it because he knew that scream even better than his own, especially because he was not the screaming type. Of course neither was she, which was what scared him more than anything.
So, the second after the sound had permeated his brain, his feet were already moving in the direction they knew instinctively to be hers.
Maybe if he had been thinking rationally Spike would have been more careful in his pursuit of the Slayer's attacker but rationality wasn't his top concern at that moment. All he felt was a blood hot rage coursing through his veins, clouding any little sense he had left.
The Slayer had been through enough lately so whoever was causing her pain would be brought to a new definition of it tonight, by Spike's hand.
He had known it was too quiet. The moment the last chord of his song had dissolved into the night, the silence pierced his skull once again. Through his 120 or so years he had learned, maybe better than anyone, that quiet usually walked hand in hand with chaos. How had he not seen the connection here?
The question was left unanswered because even as all these thoughts were swarming through his brain he was hardly aware of their presence. Beneath the hazy anger and fear his only thought was of his Slayer.
And that they always died young.

Buffy awoke to consciousness being dragged by her arms through the graveyard. By the similarity of the ground she knew as well as her own backyard Buffy could sense she was close to the place she had been attacked.
‘I must have been out for less than minute' she thought. A rock cut into her shoulder from the ground and she built up her strength to struggle against her attacker. She tried to rip her arms free from his grasp but the position she was in made it nearly impossible. The person holding her stopped and she heard a surprised voice.
"She's awake." Then another.
"Well what did you expect from a Slayer?"
Buffy was trying desperately to figure out where she had heard that voice before and how it obviously knew her but she was torn from her thoughts by a large crashing sound coming through the trees at her right.
Her captors turned in surprise to see the peroxide blond vampire barrelling towards them, game face on and ready to kill. Buffy knew logically she should have been upset that he was there, and from the looks of it, trying to avenge her capture, but she wasn't even surprised. Spike always seemed to be there right when she needed help. Before now she had thought it was just because he and trouble walked hand in hand but now she realized maybe it was a type of fate. There was a rightness to it and Buffy sensed the first smile she'd felt in days tug at her lips.

Spike was angry. He was more than angry, he was seething. The Slayer lay on the ground being held by one of the thugs. She had dirt on her face and he noticed blood seeping through her shirt. The only thing that calmed him slightly was the look on her face. It could only have been described as ennui.
‘She's such a fighter' Spike thought, his first coherent one since he'd heard her scream. His face returned to normal because at least now he knew she was alright but the sight and smell of her blood had left him vengeful and he moved in to teach the clods just how stupid it was to mess with his Slayer.
Stepping forward, Spike realized something. The men were human. He stopped and was half angry that he couldn't kill them and half relieved that he hadn't tried to attack them right out. There was only two of them so Spike figured he could play it cool and intimidate them enough to let the Slayer go.
Reaching the guy holding Buffy, Spike smirked at him with a predator's ease. Flicking the guy on the forehead with his middle finger he stared him down with an icy blue glare.
"Hey, mate. Nice tattoo. What‘d you lose a bet?" The guy didn't answer but he looked over at the other chap and they exchanged an uneasy glance both looking towards the woods as if expecting an army of rescuers to come save them.
"I hate to tell you this, but you're going to lose something else too if you don't unhand the girl." Spike told him, his gaze never wavering.
"Um. . . hello? The ‘girl' has a name." Buffy protested as she managed to get out from the guys grasp and take a stance next to Spike. He glanced at her a moment and saw her surprise when she saw the face of her attacker. Spike looked back at him but he couldn't place either of the men.

"Well, well, well." Buffy remarked in her usual cocky Slayer tone. She had been expecting some vamps or maybe another demon of some kind but not these idiots. "If it isn't the Knights who say Ni."
Buffy heard Spike snort beside her in amusement. She was somewhat amazed because she didn't know vampires watched Monty Python but considering this was coming from the same vamp who watched Passions religiously, she shouldn't have been surprised. Looking back at the guy she was satisfied by the annoyance that flashed across his face. The other ‘knight' simply stood behind him nervously looking around.
"We are the Knights of Byzantium" the first one countered, "Yield immediately and give us the key or you will regret it."
This time Spike laughed in earnest and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is that so?" he said before looking at Buffy and exchanging a smile. "All-" he looked between the men, "two of you? Well, look at that. One Slayer and vampire versus two Musketeer wannabe's. Bloody hell Slayer I think the odds are against us." Spike remarked sarcastically.
Buffy knew he was probably hoping the knights would run scared before they found out he was really helpless against humans. His statement was right though, even if full of lame humour. The odds from the knights standpoint should have been completely on her and Spike's side, if only because she had beaten three of them singlehandedly before.
Spike seemed as sure of himself as ever but something the knight had said last time she fought him kept nagging at her brain. "Kill us, and let legions follow." At the time she had thought the guy was simply trying to get away alive by striking fear into her but now she wasn't so sure. She had an uneasy feeling. If they knew she could beat three of them then why would there only be two this time? Something wasn't right but before she could even debate further her internal questions were answered by the sounds of clanking metal. Her and Spike watched in horror as almost a dozen knights surrounding them from through the trees.
‘Oh. This is so not good!' Buffy thought as they closed in, and for the first time since he'd gotten it, Buffy really wished Spike didn't have that chip in his skull.

"Well this is bloody wonderful. I was having just a fine old time and now we get attacked by the Knights of the Round Table: the Contemporary Edition? I knew I should have just stayed in my nice warm crypt and lay in bed dreaming of the Slayer. . ." Spike muttered to himself. ‘But then she would have been trapped here alone' his thoughts protested. "Shut up Brain!" Spike replied angrily and looked down to see Buffy looking at him half annoyed, half amused.
"Uh, Spike? I realize you're in the middle of a most thrilling conversation with your anatomy and I hate to interrupt but if we don't do something fast you are going to be left with nothing but dust particles to talk to and I'll be on the one way train to ‘Sunnydale: six feet under'."
Spike smiled embarrassedly. "Sorry, luv."
The seriousness of the situation was beginning to weigh in on both of them and any last joking thought dissolved into the air. Spike had felt fear very little throughout his unlife, although this past year he had become good friends with the emotion he'd avoided for over a century. Now he felt it worse than ever and not because his life was in danger but because the Slayer's was.
Spike knew the best thing to do in any situation where the odds are 10 to 1 against you is to suck up your pride and run. Of course, they were surrounded so that plan would be harder to pull off than usual, but that didn't mean it was impossible.
Spike looked over at Buffy and the two exchanged a look they both understood although no words were spoken.

From her previous experience with them, Buffy knew that the knights didn't really want to kill her so much as destroy the key. But she also knew they had no problem with fighting and beating it's location out of her, or Spike. They might even kill the vampire just to make a statement and she didn't want that to happen. Buffy didn't know why she suddenly felt the need to protect the blond vampire but she wanted to get them out of this largely because she didn't want him getting hurt. Maybe it was because in his own way he had been trying to rescue her. It was reckless, stupid, egotistical and really, really sweet. Buffy couldn't help but notice how much it fit Spike's personality. This of course led her to puzzle over when she had become so close to the vampire that she knew his nature.
Even with these thoughts the Slayer's part of her mind was busy contemplating what they should do. Buffy knew the only real chance they had was to run, which gave them a very small window of opportunity. She hated to admit it when she couldn't beat something, even if it would be ridiculous to try against these odds.
She looked over at Spike, meeting his eyes, and through the silence they made their decision.

All Spike could see was darkness. He lived in it every day, waded through it, but this darkness was different. It seemed to hold nothing but silence. Spike was confused for a moment until the memory of the fight returned to him and he remembered why he lay where he was now. For a moment he wasn't sure if he was alive or dead as he felt no pain despite the intensity that should have been present. Instead all he could feel was her voice around him. It wasn't a voice that made a sound as there was no indication that anyone had even spoken, but he could hear her all the same. She was calling to him and as much as he wanted to answer her, his mouth would not function and allow him to say all the things he longed to.
He thought back on the events that had happened that evening. On the pain and fear and consequences. And of why he lay here, so close to being blown away by the wind.

*Flashback*
**The moment they'd come to their silent understanding Buffy had leapt forward and Spike had watched as she attacked the two knights closest to her. She'd grabbed one of their weapons and tossed it to him and then they'd taken off running through the area that was temporarily open for their escape. The movements had taken only a few seconds but the knights were able to follow almost directly behind the duo.
It should have gone smoothly from there. Buffy and Spike were both much faster than the armoured knights so they'd gained a quick lead. They'd woven their way through the trees, coming out in the cemetery with Buffy in the lead. Spike hadn't been worried. After all, even if the knights had caught up he and Buffy knew the cemetery better than anyone, so they could always have hidden. But they'd made the mistake of underestimating their opponents. And that was when everything had gone to hell.
They'd stopped for only a minute, but that was all it took. Buffy had looked over at the blond vampire with concern in her eyes, and Spike, as foolish as it was, had allowed her to convince him to take a rest. He hadn't been sure if she was actually worried about him or afraid that if caught he would have revealed the location of the key. Not that he ever would. Not that, in that moment, it even mattered.
Buffy had lead them to a cement beam and they'd sat, uneasy, at the unexpected comfort they gave each other. A cocky grin had spread across her face. "Look at it this way. Even if they catch up we have the slight advantage here. Well. . . at least I do anyway." She'd said with a hint of the Slayer wit he'd missed for so long. Just when he'd been about to retort with an equally clever comeback, the world had left his feet and his body had soared through the air before plummeting to the ground. The knight who'd thrown him there had been left seemingly snickering in his metallic gleam as he set his sights on the Slayer.
He wasn't the only one, as three more knights caught up and set after Buffy to attain their goal. She had looked at him with worry, even as she fought off the impending danger. "Spike, run!" she had shouted at him all too aware of his helplessness in the situation. He had felt sick inside at even the thought of leaving her there alone. Then he'd noticed two of the knights were attempting to hold her down as the third raised it's sword into position for what could have been the end of the Slayer. His thoughts were an incomprehensible blend of fears, hopes and cries for help.
Then through the murderous sounds of the attackers in front of him, Spike had heard the words to the song he had been singing earlier, repeating in his head.