One Wild Ride

Chapter 7.1 - Why?

The interior of the roadhouse was acrid with the stench of blood and the gun smoke which hung heavy in the air. Splintered tables and ash, mixed with rags and feathers from riddled upholstery some of it burning from gun flash littered the floor.

Buffy stood alone, her left arm hung limp at her side, from the pain that emanated from a wound in her bicep she figured her arm was broken by the bullet that had struck her there. The shotgun she had used to dust Pike was held loosely in her right hand pointed at the floor, a floor at which she tried not to look.

Amy was back near the door, Xander a few feet further in they had died in the first volley. Angel had been killed in a mad rush of machete armed bandits, she had seen Seth spun round by bullets seconds later. The fate of the others she didn't know it had all gone red after that as she went into a killing frenzy in which she hadn't even noticed her own wounds.

She knew that at her feet lay Harmony the girl had a gunshot wound to the side of her head, she was coated in blood and ashes a battered Stetson lay beside her, Pike had made sure Buffy would feel absolutely no sense of victory even as he died.

"What the hell was this all for?" she shouted, "Why did they all have to die God, WHY!?"

She began to look round frantically for her friends.

"B-Buffy is, is that you?" a weak voice coming from behind her, but a voice she recognized.

"Giles", she spun round to see the Englishman stood by the club bar, leaning on it heavily, a bloody hand clenched to his stomach. "Oh my god Giles, stay there I'll get you to a hospital, I just have to find Willow first".

Then an apparition arose from behind the bar a shotgun in its hands, Wesley, blood matted his hair and was drying on one side of his face but Buffy could still read his murderous expression and screamed, "Noooooooo".

Frantically she brought her own weapon up even as Wesley pulled the trigger firing straight into Giles back. The librarian's hands flew up as mouth gaping wide he crumpled to the ground.

"FUCKING BASTARD!", Buffy screamed as she pulled the trigger on her own weapon, even fired one handed the shot would have killed the Watcher but unfortunately she had used her last round on Pike. The hard click made by the firing pin did however draw Wesley's attention back to her.

"Dear Buffy, I'm so pleased to see you alive", Wesley ejected the spent cartridge from his gun and aimed the loaded weapon at his ward he laughed crazily then he calmly added. "Behave yourself as a Slayer should to her Watcher and you'll stay that way. Throw down your gun and any other weapons you have and we'll be off on our travels".

Wesley felt the world spin a little, he felt strange but he could see that both the Buffys he could see were attempting one handed to reload their shotguns, "It won't do you any good little girl, give up before I kill you".

"Fuck you", Buffy managed to get the shell loaded when the shotgun slipped and she dropped it, she looked up to see Wesley aiming at her she knew now he had totally lost it.

"Have it your own way", the Watcher smiled. "I'll see how I get on with the next girl".

Loss of blood and despair overcame Buffy and she closed her eyes waiting for the buckshot to strike.

The shot was loud but Buffy felt no pain, no force of impact. She looked across at Wesley who was looking puzzled about a black hole that had appeared in his white shirts front, a hole that began to spurt red as his damaged heart continued too vainly pump.

"Good gracious", he murmured then crumpled forward onto the bar.

"Yeah chalk me up an asshole", a familiar voice said from behind Buffy, "I'm gonna miss him, not".

Looking round Buffy saw Faith behind her theatrically blowing smoke from the barrel of Seth's .44. She held the weapon in leather gloved hands she was smiling as she looked round the room, there wasn't a mark on her.

"I must say B you were an inspiration out there, I watched in awe". Picking up a chair Faith sat and leaning forward rested her arms on her legs, the pistol was held easily in her right hand but pointed in Buffys direction. "But all your little friends are gone now, poor Xander and the G. I'll miss them both". With her left hand she dabbed at a fake tear.

"What about Willow and Spike?" Buffy was beginning to feel faint her arm was hurting more and more as the shock of the bullets impact wore off.

"Willow's dead", Faith said it with a smile on her face, she'd hated the red haired witch almost as much as Buffy. "I found her alive but shot up real bad, so I put her out of her misery", Buffy's appalled expression almost made Faith laugh. "As for your latest vampiric honey, guess the bastard ran out on you. Poor B how many guys does that make who've let you down?"

"No", Buffy hooked her foot under the shotgun preparing to flick it up and kill her fellow Slayer. "I guess he just had the sense to know he'd die here, just like you".

The cocked pistol came up aimed at Buffy's head, "I don't think so, I think your the only one who dies here".

Not taking her eyes for a second of Buffy, Faith reached into her jacket pocket with her left hand and produced a small plastic bag full of white powder. "Lookie what I got here, what I blew my allowance on, or rather the money I've been saving from dusted vampires. Cocaine B, what will Mommie dearest say when they find this on your corpse. What will she say when they tell her you were killed by a bullet from a known murderers gun? What will your friends parents say when they hear how their kids died?"

"Goodbye B", Faiths eyes narrowed as she prepared to squeeze the trigger.

Buffy kicked the shotgun up and grabbed for it right handed, the world exploded...

She awoke with a start, her hands went to her face and felt a wetness there in the place where Faiths bullets would have struck. Then she realized what it was, tears she had been crying in her sleep so intense had been the dream.

Taking a tissue from the night stand beside her she dabbed her eyes, but for what remained of the night no matter how hard she tried she could not get back too sleep, afraid perhaps of what she might see.

Chapter 7.2 - Por Favor

It was a very tired Buffy who made her way into the library the next morning, her sleep had been disturbed by violent dreams and the thought of what might happen to her friends, and the fact that there were two people in her own camp she couldn't trust had preyed on her. She knew her dreams weren't always literally prophetic and she did not truly consider either Wesley or Faith capable of deliberate murder, yet the images she had seen worried her as did the knowledge of how little trust she could really place on her inside vamp, Spike.

As soon as she had gotten home the night before she had rung Giles, disturbing his sleep once more, to tell him about the new crisis. He had taken on the job of telling Wesley whilst Buffy had as early that morning as she decently could rung the Scooby gang to tell them that their Molotov cocktail party was canceled. She kept her dream to herself however, she would try to find a way to stop it coming true.

The library was quiet, hardly surprising as its only occupant was slumped forward on the reading table sound asleep, Giles must have come straight here after getting off the phone to Wesley to do the research thing. Under him were blueprints of the roadhouse as originally built and details of the declared alterations Trick's human front man had submitted to the town council, all the documents had naturally been removed from their correct websites by a red-haired hacker.

As she drew nearer Buffy smiled to see the ex-Watchers mouth half open and a damp patch on one of the plans directly beneath him, he was well away. She sat down quietly and watched him, *Let him sleep, he's gonna need it tonight*.

*For all the harm she did, not telling about the curse in time its tragic that Jenny died when she did, leaving Giles to face all this alone*. Her jaw set determinedly, *I'll keep Karen alive for him if its the last thing I do and I'll try to find a way to open his eyes to make him see he doesn't need to be by himself anymore*.

So Buffy sat there watching over her friend waiting for him to wake.

At the roadhouse, 76 vampires with varying degrees of interest studied one 18-year-old mortal girl, one vampire in particular did so from the shadows in which he lurked keeping as far away from her as he possibly could. Spike was trying not to be noticed, he didn't want future nights at the Bronze with Buffy disturbed by Harmony suddenly appearing police in tow to point him out as, "one of them".

They hadn't harmed her yet, but as the chloroform wore off she was seeing things she hadn't seen before, or living in Sunnydale as she did if she'd seen them she hadn't noticed. Now she had no choice surrounded as she was by game faced vampires, Spike was surprised she hadn't started screaming yet, he didn't expect to have to wait too long for it to happen.

Angel was sat across from the girl, a bottle of whiskey in his hand, occasionally he offered her the bottle but she looked away from his ridged forehead and yellow eyes in horror. Finally he lost his game face and said to her, "Senorita drink with me, I'm tired of drinking alone".

Harmony had watched fascinated as the claws vanished from his fingers, now she looked up into his face a handsome one at that dark eyes seeming to look into her soul. He smiled at her without showing any fangs his teeth pearl white though his lips and skin where still unnaturally pale. "Drink with me, por favor".

"What the hell are you people supposed to be?" Harmony was scared but some of her usual arrogance was still there. "How did you do that thing with your face, is it just some trick with a light?"

Swapping from game to human face a couple of times Angel watched Harmony's horrified face and the true fear that entered her eyes, then he replied laughing. "No Senorita, we are vampires, you are surrounded by the demon inhabited bodies of the dead".

"Bullshit", Harmony gasped out through a mouth and throat suddenly dry. "Vampires don't..."

"Exist!" Angel howled with laughter, "Ah Senorita stop with the jokes before I hurt my ribs, look around you what do you think this is a Bela Lugosi convention? We are vampires and if your lucky, that is what you'll soon be".

"Are you gonna kill me?" Harmony's lip was quivering now, "Please don't, I'll do whatever you say".

"That's an interesting offer and one you might regret", Angel looked at her at the tears that were beginning to flow. "You're our hostage, so that is why you still live. Once Buffy and her amigos are dead however we won't need you anymore, you'll be a meal for one of us, but if your nice to me then you'll have what you gringos might call the ultimate cosmetic surgery. How do you feel about looking the way you do now forever?" Angel leaned in closer. "Tell me Senorita, can you believe that your looking into the eyes of a being 110 years old".

"Please". Harmony sobbed. "Please don't kill me".

Angel sighed and filled one of the two shot glasses he had brought from the bar, he placed it in front of the girl. "Drink with me por favor, if you can find some way to make yourself useful I might change my mind, let you live after Buffy's dead."

"Buffy? What has this got to do with her?" Realizing what she had to do Harmony picked up the glass and sipped the whiskey, she pulled a face as the spirits burned her mouth. "I just want to go home".

"Don't be such a cry baby", Angel was a patient vampire, but this!, "Buffy is the Vampire Slayer, it's her job to come save you, it would be dishonorable to kill you before she tries, that's why you're still alive".

"She won't try, she hates me". Harmony took a little more whiskey as she reflected on how little reason Buffy had to care about her.

And from where he was listening intently Spike wished he could have a stiff drink as well, he'd been asked to find someone the Slayer knew, not specifically a friend, but all the same he wished in a moment of stupidity that he hadn't left his .45 in the DeSoto's trunk if Angel got pissed he'd like to take a few with him.

Angel however just considered Harmony's response in silence for awhile, "It will be a thing of honor to her, a thing of duty, don't worry Senorita she will come for you".

Refilling Harmony's glass he asked suddenly, "Tell me Senorita, have you ever fucked a vampire?" he was delighted when the girl blushed scarlet and looked away from him. "Of course not, you're a good girl I can tell, unlike some I've heard about in this town".

*The effing bastard, I told him that in confidence* an outraged Spike prepared to uphold his Lady's honor, then paused, *No he'll get his soon enough, I don't want to miss out on the fun on account of being dead*.

Harmony just sat there sipping at the whiskey, not looking at the handsome Mexicans face, he was as cute as the devil was sometimes alleged to be and a combination of fear and whiskey was having some effect she began to flush from more that the drink.

Angel began to detect a faint scent in the air and smiled as he pressed home his advantage. "Tell me Senorita, have you ever been fucked by a man?"

Harmony reflected on a love life that consisted of the scrapings from Cordelia's table, she'd never gone 'all the way' with any of them, now here was a handsome scary undead guy right in her face, she shook her head answering his question.

"Poor Senorita Bonita", Angel sighed and gently put his hands on hers. "To die a virgin, I cannot allow this, por favor Senorita, let me fuck you".

"Leave me alone", Harmony half heartedly tried to pull her hands clear, Angel just slightly tightened his grip.

"I've never forced myself on a woman, but look around you", Angel pointed round a room filled with vampires quite a few of whom still stared at the girl. "How would you like your first time to be with a dozen of them rather that just me?"

"Please no", she gripped his hand, sending him a signal.

He moved so he was whispering directly into her ear, "Por favor Senorita, por favor".

When he kissed her she found she could not resist, the kiss was strong and like nothing she had experienced before, her hands crept up over his chest to his shoulders and pulled him nearer.

*Fuck*, was all Spike could think as he watched, *Wonder if she'll come out of it before she realizes she's about to be shagged in front of a room full of people?* The Mexican began to unzip her dress even as she tentatively pulled at his gunbelt's buckle. *No I guess she wont*.

From another table Dutch watched the developing floorshow with an increasing degree of envy, first he had Pike sat opposite him with a near naked Vampiress in his lap now Angel was about to fuck a nice warm mortal girl. As soon as matters were settled with the Slayers, he was going to town to raise his own kind of hell.

"Please Sugar Daddy, can I have her?" Joy purred in Pikes ear. Then licked it slowly all the time squirming against his rapidly returning erection.

"Now girl you have your own toys", Pike stroked her breasts absentmindedly nodding his head towards the thoroughly cowed minions Joy had been torturing, "Leave Angel to play with his girlfriend, if you ask him nicely in a few days he might share her".

*Talks to her like she's a fucking child*, Dutch thought disgustedly, it was always a danger turning the young they tended to lose most of their own personality, giving their demons more control and resulting in a tendency to be sulky little bastards prone to jealousy.

As Dutch sulked jealously Pike prepared to disappear off into the back room, but Dutch had a question he had wanted to ask since Angel and his bandito childer had brought back the girl. Now seemed as good a time as any.

"Do you remember Mapache?" It was delivered loudly and broke straight through Pike's lustful thoughts.

"Of course I fucking do, his men killed us didn't they?" Pike scowled at his companero of many years. "Why are you asking me a damned fool question like that?"

"He was in a situation like this, with an army of 200 around him", Dutch glanced around the room at their force, half disciplined, half rabble. "And he had a prisoner, too". Dutch looked across at Angel who had a naked Harmony bent forward over the table they had been sat at and was kneeling behind the panting girl preparing her with his tongue. "We were 4 and we killed him and nearly two thirds of his men before we died".

"What's your point?" Pike knew what it was, but he owed it to Dutch to let him have his say.

"Mr. Bishop, that girls gonna come here armed for bear", Dutch remembered the look on Buffys face, his opinion of the Slayer had changed over the hours since their encounter. "She has grit and if her friends have anywhere near the same kind of guts, not many of us will walk away from this".

Pike nodded, he had met many women over the years but never one who showed such courage. He had been amazed not expecting so small a girl to be such a warrior.

"She'll spit in your eye with her last breath". Dutch wasn't afraid but he had stayed alive along time and didn't see the point to a set piece battle when a bloody drive through town might catch their adversaries at a disadvantage. "Do you really want her in here with you, is this what we should do?"

Both vamps turned for a second as Harmony cried out as Angel thrust into her for the first time, a very faint scent of blood filled the air as Pike replied. "I wouldn't have it any other way, a man's judged by the strength of his enemies. If I defeat a Slayer that strong, this town is mine forever".

There was no pleading in his eyes as he looked down at Dutch just a long established affection, "Are you with me Mr. Engstrom?"

Dutch could only nod, "You know me, I may bitch about it but really I wouldn't have it any other way either".

Nodding Pike picked up his girl stopping only for seconds to laugh as Dutch shouted after him, "But I wish we still had that damned machine gun".

*Well mate*, Spike was trying not to be too riveted by Harmony's first time, but failing, *You really should take a look at the door whilst everyone's distracted*, but no it could keep awhile yet he reflected as post orgasm Harmony dropped to her knees in front of Angel. *Bloody hell pet, where did you learn that!*.

Drifting towards sleep a little Buffy sat there in the library quietly thinking about her friends and fellow vampire killers Willow, Xander, Oz and now increasingly Amy, she had expected them to leave her to go off to college or on the road with the band, leaving her with just Giles and her mom and if she didn't have to make him leave Seth as her only defense against Wesley and Faith.

They had stayed and where going to stay, Xander hadn't had a choice, his SAT'S left him with either minimum wage or the armed forces as a career. He'd opted for minimum wage and their own private war. Willow and Oz and Amy had surrendered far more but that didn't detract from Xander's sacrifice he could have found some other town to serve coffee in, somewhere a whole lot safer.

Trying real hard not to cry Buffy thought to herself, *They're my friends, tonight though I may lead them to their deaths, why didn't I pull the trigger while he was in front of me? If I die, they'll go off back into the real almost safe world, Willow could still go to any college in America or anywhere in Europe, instead she's probably gonna die tonight, cause I didn't kill Pike!*

She knew though that she was wrong, at night Willow would have stalked the College grounds where ever she found herself a stake in her bag looking for Vampires.

*Spike* How she hoped he wouldn't run, they had just kissed a few times last night in his car, like some first date, but a first date where death and building design were the main topics of conversation was unusual even for her. *If we live I may have gained a friend, or let an enemy get real close*.

Part of her wanted to wake Giles up to cry on his shoulder if needs be, another part wanted to run from here to the Mansion to do the same on Angel's, (but she knew there she'd be tempted to do so much more), but she did neither Giles and Angel both needed to sleep, they might as well face death well rested.

She didn't hear the door open and it was a few seconds later that she heard a shoe squeak faintly, she looked round startled to see Miss Kochanski edging towards her a large folder under her arm, the new principle smiled at her and rising one hand placed it palm outwards against the side of her face she inclined her head slightly and mouthed, "Sleeping Beauty".

Almost laughing out loud Buffy got out of there fast grabbing Karen on the way, somehow they succeeded in avoiding waking Giles, somehow.

"Hi", Buffy launched her opening gambit. "You know, Miss Kochanski, I'd like to say how cool I think you are, taking what you've found out about Sunnydale so calmly, it's real brave of you to stay".

Brown eyes sparkled as Karen replied. "Congenital insanity, it runs in the family, there's no courage involved really I seem condemned by Giles to just wave pom poms from the side lines, and Buffy your not a student here anymore so call me Karen please".

*This must be the fastest bonding ever, wow why couldn't you have been my Principal?*

"Karen, Giles is looking out for you, vampires are deadly dangerous you can't fight them unless you know what to do, we have a lot of them to fight tonight". Buffy could see no reason to lie, "A persons first sight of a vampire involves a certain degree of screaming, and in the time it took you to do that, you'd die".

"Oh", Karen seemed a little downcast so Buffy went on.

"Of course assuming we win", realizing from Karens expression that wasn't well timed at all Buffy added, "Which of course, we will. You can come kill fledglings, that's really young vamps, with me and gain a little experience, if that is you want to hang with us, and with Giles?".

Buffy blushed, shocked she'd said that last part, Karen blushed as well. "That obvious huh".

"Kinda". Buffy looked through the window into the library, "To everybody except the guy who matters most anyway".

"Do you think he's even got a clue?" Karen couldn't believe she was having this conversation with an eighteen year old, but their seemed to be such a maturity, such an understanding about Buffy, "I've tried all kinds of subtle, I think he either doesn't like me or maybe its that whole business about Jenny Calendar".

"He does like you", Buffy smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way. "Plus I think he's over Jenny, he'll always mourn her but the wounds healing, I think the problem really is how intense the vampire things been recently. First we had a vamp called Trick intent on killing us and now things are a lot worse. Maybe when this is over, I could get one of the guys to speak to him".

Karens horrified expression would have brought a sigh of relief from Xander. "No, I don't think so, if I can't get the point across myself then I'd be a poor excuse for a Principal. Therefore, I will persist, love will find a way".

"Go girl", praying that fate would give Karen a chance the Slayer asked. "What was today's plan, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Be interested in the Library", Karen opened the folder. "Color charts for a new brighter color scheme, funding for tables complete with computers and a change in magazine titles, you get the picture".

"Stuff that kids might actually want to go into a Library for", it was a concept. "You're gonna go in there and suggest completely altering his natural habitat, the destruction of his eco system might have a terrible effect, he could wither and die".

"Well he is a librarian", Karen sounded just a little defensive. "You can still use the place evenings and nights, but we're maintaining a library nobody but you guys use, do you want him to be all alone in there once the school year starts?"

"No I guess he'll have to adapt", Buffy had the prospect of new environments of her own to look forward too. "But I'd leave telling him till next week, now's not the best time".

"Ok, I'll delay my Librarian lecture till Monday", She turned to leave but added, "Good luck tonight, take care Buffy, and please take care of Rupert for me too".

"I will", was all Buffy could answer, she would try to keep all her friends alive even if it increased the risk to her own life.

"Well sleepy head I think you've had long enough," she murmured as she loudly opened the door.

Giles sat up sharply, adjusted his glasses and checked his watch, "Oh gods is it that time already", he looked at Slayer, "Buffy, I thought you said you'd be here an hour ago. We're in enough of a crisis without you being tardy to boot".

*Ok*, Buffy looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds. "Fine I'll just not show you the consideration of letting you sleep next time".

"I just dropped off for a few seconds", Giles suddenly began to wonder where three hours had gone. "You mean you've sat and watched over me for the last hour". He realized how askew his tie was and noticed the damp patch on the blue print his mouth had been pressed to. "I'm..I'm sorry I snapped, lack of sleep, I'm afraid, doesn't do the temper any good".

"It's totally cool", Buffy walked over towards him. "Let's see what we can find on these now rather, er, damp plans that might help us".

Giles smiled embarrassed. "Quite, I think I've found a few points of interest".

Together they went to work drawing up a plan.

Spike was no electrician and the mechanism of the lock on the only door leading into the roadhouse's interior was complicated. It was designed so that the press of a button would close the doors firmly from the inside. Dutch had the remote, the second Buffy and her friends where through it he would make sure they where trapped.

Well not if Spike could help it.

The vampires had a hectic rest free couple of days and most were sleeping quietly now. Even Angel had tired of his new toy and locked her in the cellar below the bar. He was sat head back on a chair in front of the door, Spike considered it rude to leave her in the dark after the good time she'd shown the vampire but at least the girl wasn't in the line of fire.

He had the panel covering the mechanism open and was rooting around inside disconnecting wires. *Red, yellow, brown, wonder what this green ones for? Doesn't matter just yank it*. The buggers would look silly when they found the Slayers had been rapidly in and out.

Through half closed eyes Angel watched him, *If this don't beat all, the gringo son of a bitch is going to set us up for that girl, that Slayer, how could I have been so stupido?*

He reflected on how hard Pike and Dutch would laugh at him when they found out he'd been had and also on how much he'd gotten to liked Spike. Then smiled as a plan formed. Slowly very slowly his hand moved to his .45 and he eased the loop of leather that held it firmly in the holster up over the hammer.

"You will pay a price for this betrayal Amigo, a price you wont like at all!"

Continued