All characters belong to Joss Whedon, The WB Network, and 20th Century Fox. I am just a fan.

Three months had gone by and things were finallly becoming normal. Or at least decent... since the words normal and Buffy have no business being in the same sentence together. She was now situated with Willow in her apartment and Xander, Anya, and little Callie always stopped by and visited. Things sure had changed since the five years she had been gone. She saw little or no Spike, and when she did, he was distant and reserved. And for some reason, she didn't like the feeling. It was like he hated her now. Sometimes she felt like she deserved it, for being so cruel to him all those years, but how was she supposed to act? He was a vampire, she was the Slayer. That's just how things were. And now he was being all spiteful and Buffy didn't like it in the least. Giles had kept in touch by calling from time to time, but so far he hadn't found anything on what this new 'evil' was that she was so readily returned to Earth to fight. She missed Dawn terribly and even Tara. Willow never mentioned her name and Buffy often wondered what had happened between the two witches. But, she never felt it was appropriate to ask.

So there she was sitting in front of the TV with her best friend, eating cookie dough ice cream, just like old times. It felt good.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it, Will."

Buffy strode from off the couch and answered it. She was surprised to see Spike standing there holding a newspaper.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice void of any emotion.

"You by any chance notice the front page of the mornin' paper?"

Buffy narrowed her eyebrows and snatched the paper from his hands. She read the headline.

"The Newlywed Disappearances," she read aloud.

Willow joined the two at the front door.

"What's up?" she asked.

Buffy shook her head and kept on reading.

"Police are still on the lookout for a vast amount of young adults who had just tied the knot. Over twelve couples have gone missing. No information, as of yet, as to how or why the sudden dissappearances are occurring. A close relative to one of the families reports that the couple was last seen at The Sunset Inn, a recently built hotel in Grasslake, which is situated near the small town of Sunnydale. Any news regarding that has not been released."

She paused for a moment to glance up at Spike.

"Your Watcher called me. He couldn't reach your line --"

"Oh!" Willow interrupted. "I left the Internet on... damnit!" She then scurried out of the room to disconnect her account.

"What did he say?" Buffy asked, returning her attention to Spike.

He sighed.

"Said he's got some info on the baddies you're 'sposed to fight."

"And?"

"And that's all he would say. He told me to give you a look at the paper and have you call 'im right away."

Buffy nodded.

"Alright, I'm on it. But, do - do you actually think this has something to do with my big prophecy or whatever?"

"Not sure. If you want, I could, you know, take you over there to check out the flat."

Spike scolded himself for offerring to do anything for her. He owed her nothing.

"Yeah, thanks," she said before heading towards the phone.

She dialed the number Giles had left for her and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Giles, it's me."

"Oh, good, Buffy. I have some news for you," he told her.

"Spill."

"I may have come across the reason for your return. Did Spike show you the paper?"

"Yeah, some pretty wiggy stuff. What's with the married couples?"

"Well, you see, after much research and decoding, I've discovered a new breed of demon. The only thing, is that these creatures camoflage themselves using human identities. You may notice some unique attributes that separate their species from that of actual humans, but otherwise you couldn't tell the difference. And there seems to be a sudden increased number of them. Now here's the interesting part. Are you listening?"

"All ears."

"Good. Well, this race of demons don't populate by the common mating ritual. Now, I'm not quite certain yet as to what they're doing, but it looks as if they somehow transform human beings into that of their own kind."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"So they've got it out for the newlyweds?"

"I think that fact is irrevelant. If you're not aware, the paper speaks of a new hotel located in Grasslake."

"Right. Sunshine Inn or something?"

"The Sunset Inn. It's a rather high-scale place where many of the recently married go on their honeymoon."

"So you're saying these demon things own the place and attack the people in their sleep?"

"I'm not sure. But it sounds plausible. And like I said before, I'm not at all certain as to how they infect the humans, but it seems that these creatures could very well own this hotel, they speak of. Then that would explain why most of the missing people are newlyweds."

"So that fact is relevant."

"Well, it certainly points us in the right direction, but that's not these demons' primary interest. They don't care what kind of human they, er... well, change."

"Hmm... so they're kind of like vampires?"

"I don't think it's human blood their after."

"I know, but they're disguised as humans and they go around transforming them into their species."

"Correct. So, I guess their character traits are similar, but Buffy."

"Yeah?"

"Well, these demons are a lot more powerful than any vampire. And bigger, if you may. Also, if you'd like a comparison, The Mayor would fit this category quite well."

Buffy cringed.

"So we're talking Mayor big. Gotcha."

"But, obviously this is more serious, because there's more than one. In fact, at the rate these transformations are going, we could have a whole colony if it isn't stopped."

"Yowsers. I better get in Slayer mode then. Thanks for the info. I think."

"Buffy, take care of yourself. If I learn anything new about this breed, I'll give you a call. Oh, and if you need me there... er, if this is too much for you to handle, I'm on my way."

"Thanks, Giles."

"Good-bye, Buffy."

Click.

"So, what's the story?" Spike asked, now leaning against Willow's couch.

"New demony guys in town. Giles says he thinks they're the ones who own the Sunspot hotel and they're transforming the newlyweds, who go there for their honeymoon, into their species. Great stuff."

Spike couldn't help but smile at Buffy's casually response to the apocolyptic news.

"Sounds serious," Willow said, returning from the other room.

Buffy shrugged.

"Yeah, will be when the time comes to take them out. But for now I think we should take this slow. Find out all we can on these guys and play it by ear. Giles doesn't really know anything besides the fact that they're kind of like lots of little Mayors running around --"

"Mayors? As in more than one?"

"Yeah, which is definitely not a good thing. But, hey. Maybe we can just blow up the hotel and whaddya know, problem solved."

"I don't reckon it'll be that easy. I mean, I doubt you got mojo'd back 'ere, just to make with the bomb threats," Spike reasoned.

"Yeah, Buffy. I'm guessing this is gonna be a lot of harder than you think."

Buffy took that into consideration.

"Well, we won't know until we learn more about these things. You know, what's their intent, how are they doing this presto-chango thing, and well, how many we're dealing with."

"Right. Want me to bring take you over there? Maybe we can find out some stuff."

Buffy was surprised by Spike's sudden change. How can someone go from "I hate you" mode to "How can I help?" in a matter of minutes? Oh, right... this was Spike she was talking about.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," she said. "Will, do you mind staying here in case Giles calls?"

"You got it," her friend replied.

"Great."

Buffy grabbed her leather coat from off the hanger and followed Spike out to his DeSoto. Well, almost everything had changed, but not Spike's car. She hopped into the passenger's seat and Spike turned on the engine.

"You know how to get to this place, Slayer?" Spike asked her, as he pulled out of the driveway.

"Uh, sorta. Isn't Grasslake like a couple miles past the Bronze? All I remember is that it's a whole lot swankier than Sunnydale."

Spike nodded and headed towards the direction of the Bronze. He didn't know why he felt the need to be nice to her all of a sudden. He thought he had made up his mind and decided to stay away from her. But, why did he want to stay away from her? Did he really not want to be around her? Or was he afraid of all those past feelings resurfacing? Spike wasn't prepared to answer that question, so he ignored what his mind was asking him. But, there he was. Riding down the street with the woman he once loved who died and came back to life. Unlife didn't get anymore complicated.

"So, uh, how's Bianca?" Buffy suddenly asked.

Spike practically swerved off the side of the road.

He looked at the blonde girl sitting beside him, who appeared to regret asking the question.

"How do you know about her?" he asked her.

"Oh, Willow told me. I found a few of her, well, items in my closet and was curious."

A moment of silence passed before replied.

"Things just didn't work out," he told her.

"Hmm. I seem to be hearing that a lot these days."

He didn't reply, so Buffy focused her attention to all the little buttons in his car. She noticed one for the radio, AC, cigarette lighter, and... what was that one?

"What's this do?" she asked, not waiting for a reply.

She pressed big black button just as she heard Spike yell, "Don't press the big black button!"

Oops. Hot coffee came spilling out all over Spike's jeans, scalding him in areas that were not to be scalded.

"Bloody hell!" he bellowed, this time succeeding in swerving the car off the side of the road.

Buffy covered her face, both humilated and for fear of having it splattered all over the windsheild. She closed her eyes as Spike's most prized possession went veering off into the bushes. Only then did she notice the huge oak tree right behind the them.

"Shit, Spike! We're gonna hit the --"

CRASH!

"-- tree."

Beyond Surrender: Part IV
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