Brave New World

Even though they had retreated to the library, Kendra was wishing she could have stayed in the car. The presence of so many people in the house had been making her very uncomfortable. She had kept her eyes turned downward, as it seemed to her that every boy had been starin her her.
Her Watcher, Mr. Wyndham-Price, was engaged in a quiet talk with the woman who claimed to be married to Mr. Giles and the boy who had been out with Mr. Giles. He had just told how they had been separated when a group of vampires had interrupted a rescue.
"I don't understand," said Wesley. "Why are the vampires shipping people here?"
"It's for the Master's factory," said Jenny.
Wesley looked blank. "What factory?"
"His blood draining factory, duh," said Harmony with a sigh of exasperation. She had attached herself to Mitch and refused to leave his side when they had moved to the library. Still no recognition.
"My husband has made report after report to the council, and you don't know anything about it." Jenny's voice, though low, was so full anger that Kendra was instantly on alert and ready to defend her Watcher from an attack.
Wesley nervously adjusted his tie, "Well, I'm sure the council has just held off informing us because there has been so much happening everywhere. I...I realize that is of little comfort but-"
He was interrupted when a sudden commotion came from the front. A few seconds later and Oz pushed into the room. He was filthy, covered with muck and smelled of sewage. Jenny stood and looked at him, fear and worry clearly evident on her face. Oz grimaced, hating what he was about to tell her.
"They've got Giles."

"Is there a phone here that I can use?" asked Giles suddenly. "I should let my wife know that I am...er... safe," he said gingerly touching the bandage on his neck wound.
"Um. Sorry, but Spike has the cell phone," Buffy told him.
"Spike, yes, hmm. Quite an unusual name..." he trailed off looking at Buffy.
Buffy looked at Giles and sighed. "If you want information, Jeeves, just ask me. I don't like it when people try to trick it out of me," she said in a tired voice. *He's going to find out sooner or later anyway,* she thought to herself. "Spike's probably listed in a few of the Watcher Histories. Try looking under William the Bloody. He claims to have killed a couple of Slayers in the past."
Giles' eyes widened in surprise at this bit of information, "I...I see. Yes, hum, well. You say that Spike intends to kill the Master...but, after he does this, then what is he going to do?"
Buffy smirked, "Disneyland? Look, I don't even know for sure if we're gonna survive. Truth is, I've pondered that question a couple of long nights myself, and it's still unanswered. Spike is...different, from any vampire I have met, and, believe me, I've met quite a few of them during the last eight months. Spike is not interested in the Hellmouth or leading an 'Army of Darkness'. In f he he could have done that and attacked the Master two months ago when he came up from LA. Instead, he rescued me and began to train me for when he challenges the Master publicly. He hasn't ordered me into his bed as, I might point out, is completely within his rights according to vampire tradition. The fact is he's unique. He is a killer and he makes no apologies when he tells me that he will kill humans again, if the mood strikes him, but for the last few months that I have known him, he hasn't. His goal of humiliation and destruction of the Master takes precedence over everything else.”
"Hardly a recommendation for me to trust him," said Giles.
"No," sighed Buffy, looking down and shaking her head, "I suppose it isn't." She looked up again, "But do you think you can trust me?" She paused momentarily before adding, "Feel free to say 'no' if you don't. I will completely understand."
Giles blinked for a moment as he thought about all she had told him tonight. "It is with no small amount of surprise that I find myself saying 'I do trust you'." After thinking for a moment longer, he added, "Of course, it could just be that my blood loss is affecting my thinking."

"We have to rescue him now. What if they decide to turn him? He's in danger," Mitch shouted at Wesley as he and (the others) stormed out of the library.
"Yes, I understand your concern, but you are not thinking straight. You are reacting in an extremely emotional manner, and that is no way to go into a battle. Of any kind!" Wesley yelled back as all but Kendra, Oz and Jenny left the library to go get weapons. He turned back towards Jenny, "Please, Mrs. Giles, I know you want your husband back alive and well, but to let these children go like this...against vampires, an angry mob mentality just does not work."
Jenny looked up, her eyes blazing, "What would you have us do Mr. Wyndham-Pryce. Take a number, sit, and wait patiently for your council to send you a report on his disappearance."
"Now that is hardly fair!" Wesley protested.
"I don't give a damn what you think is f" J" Jenny snapped back at him. "Three years ago when my husband first came here, there was a slaughter at a local club called the Bronze. My husband advised the Council then that the Slayer was needed here. But she did not come. Things got worse. Still, the Slayer did not come. There was always bigger trouble elsewhere, we were told. So we began to band together and fought back. But it is really hard to kill the demons when they are wearing the faces of friends we have known, or family members we have loved."
She turned to assess Kendra for the first time. "I know why they say the Slayer must work alone. It's to prevent the hesitation you might experience if you were to have to kill someone you know and love because they have been turned. I don't want to have to kill my husband should he come hunting me and our child."
Kendra looked Jenny straight in the eye and with a heavy Jamaican accent told her, "On my honor, you won't."
Jenny nodded took a deep breath, "OK then." She looked back at Wesley. "What is your *suggested* course of action?" she asked pointedly.
"I suggest that you allow the Slayer alone to take care of this. It is, after all, what she has trained for," Wesley pointed out.
"Unacceptable," said Oz suddenly. He looked at Jenny, "As surprising as it may sound, I agree with Mitch. There's a certain safety in numbers." He looked back at Wesley, "Despite what you may think, this *is* our job."
"A Slayer must work alone," Kendra said. "It is one of the first rules I was taught."
Oz looked at Kendra and said, "I have the utmost respect for you, for what you do, and for what you can do. But I also know that Slayers can die too. I saw the last one get killed. She saved my life, but that didn't stop the Master from draining her. The vampiress who took Giles was no ordinary vamp. I couldn't see everything clearly, but she dusted five vampires in just a few seconds, before proceeding to *beat* the remaining two to death for having snacked on him."
"Alright," Wesley spoke up, "Fine, how about a compromise? A select few will go with Kendra as a rear-guard support. Kendra will be our main assault force into the house, while the remainder of our group shall surround the house to ensure that there are no escapees."
"It's a big house," Oz countered.
Wesley looked at the determined young man. "You won't be satisfied unless you're in on the assault, will you?"
"Nope," said Oz bluntly.
Wesley sighed and closed his eyes. *American's. Always trying to play John Wayne.* He turned to leave the room, and Kendra followed close behind.
Oz was startled when Jenny suddenly embraced him. "Bring him back to me, Oz. And keep yourself safe as well."
Oz pulled back and looked at her solemnly. He could see in her eyes the tears, which she had been holding back, were finally beginning to escape. "We'll be back," he told her. "I won't lose him like I did Larry."
"Oz, please, you know you couldn't have done anything about that," Jenny said sympathetically.
"Just like I couldn't have done anything earlier this evening, when they took him right in front of me," he grow ang angry at having been in such a helpless position yet again. "This time, it'll be different."
"Oz," she said warningly. "Don't do anything foolish. You're my family too, you know."
Giving her shoulder a squeeze he nodded. "Keep the kettle on," he told Jenny. "He'll want his tea warm."

After the Master had finished explaining about the Sisterhood, he left Spike saying that he needed to finish his earlier discussion with Luke. Spike strolled back into the main room, snagged a bottle of Cuervo from the bar, and sat near the back wall. He took a long swig from the bottle and watched the other vamps as they engaged in random acts of violence and torment against the wretched human captives. And wondered why it didn't affect him.
He was starting to wonder about himself. He knew he had become besotted with Buffy, but that perfectly normal considering what a gloriously powerful vampiress she was becoming. But the rest of it. While he knew that Drusilla's death *had* changed him, he was beginning to wonder if his close isolation with Buffy was affecting him. Softening him. Certainly, his allowing her to save that human this evening was causing him to do a considerable amount of self-evaluation. Why hadn't he just killed the man? Why hadn't he taken Buffy there in the street? *He* was the Master vampire who owned *her*, and he could command her into his bed. Yet, he had this...this...compulsion to wait for her to invite him to her bed...like a lover. *Oh Bloody Hell! I have gone soft.*
It was only a few more weeks until the Gathering where he would finally bring this charade to an end and kill the Master. But afterwards... Buffy would no doubt embark on a 'Save the Humans' Campaign as Whistler had put it. Use what he had taught her against other demons and vampires, and ask him to follow *her* on a fool's crusade. Embark on the fight against 'Evil', even if he wanted to continue being *evil* to humans.
Spike's musings were interrupted when Darla slid up next to him. "So, I hear you've taken up with 'Child'. I must say, I am surprised. I met her back in March, you know. Well, played with her a bit, I should say. Luke enjoyed her for most of the day. But I would not have thought you would be interested in her for more than a week."
Had he been human, there would have been no way for Darla to miss the rage that flushed through Spike at her comments. She continued on, "She seemed quite weak and soft. Not at all like Drusilla."
"Why do you care who I'm with, Darla?" Spike asked while stifling an urge to growl.
Darla leaned in towards Spike, "Because, if you were tired of her, I thought that perhaps you and I could get together after I'm done in LA. Maybe after the celebration...?" she trailed off expectantly.
"What would Luke say?" asked Spike.
"There was a time when that wouldn't have bothered you," said Darla slyly.
"Who said it does? It just seemed like he wanted to keep you on a rather short leash," Spike pointed out. Darla looked sharply at him to see if he was making fun of her. Spike, however, had an impassive look on his face that told her he was completely serious. "Let me guess," Spike continued, "since he became the Vessel for the Master, Luke is not the same fun-loving vamp that you used to know."
Darla sat back. "Yes he has changed," she admitted sullenly. She snagged the bottle from Spike and took a swig, "Everything has changed, it seems. Everyone is changing. Luke, the Master, you. Even that devious little bitch Willow. Everyone, it seems, except me." She took another drink and continued sourly, "It's not right, you know. Demons changing. Angelus was just the first, and look what happened to him. I once thought that when the Master was freed..." she stopped and shook her head. "It does not matter now. Everything is out of kilter. Perhaps it isn't so odd for you to be involved with Childe after all."
Spike was not sure how to take Darla's comments. They were vaguely treasonous, but nothing specific. He wondered briefly if she was faking this in order to get close to him. Or maybe she was another potential ally whom he could... No. It was too late in the game for that. Beside the risk of her betraying him was too great.
"*Buffy,*" he said with emphasis, "has been a good project for me. Her training is taking a little longer then I planned, but she knows her place and stays there. She's quite entertaining when she is given some free reign, and so much more energetic when given a full stomach. She's a clever little hunter too, now that she isn't starving all the time. And without a daily beating, she's not the... what's the right word? Withdrawn? Timid? Reticent vampire you've met before."
Darla looked at Spike as if he'd lost his mind, "Are you sure that's wise? After all, she was a Slayer. You do know that Slayer-Vamps have a history of turning on their masters, don't you? That's one of the reasons why the Master kept her on such a restricted diet. Even if she is insane, aren't you in the slightest concerned that with her exposure to too many privileges, she might become free willed enough to try to kill you."
"Hardly," Spike said as he waved his hand in a dismissal of such concerns. "Her insanity is what makes her manageable. She still depends on me for everything she needs. She knows that if she does cross me she will be punished. I also find that taking her doll away is a more effective punishment. She fears more for Mary than for herself. She values herself as nothing. So I don't see her getting delusions of grandeur and seeking to rule the world, which was the whole problem with those other Slayer-Vamps you mentioned."
Darla shrugged, "You know the Master was quite upset when she turned out wrong. Ironic don't you think that the flaw he sees in his Childe is the same thing that you think makes her worth keeping?"
"Well," Spike said softly, "I'd just say that it is his loss if he destroys that which could have helped him." Looking Darla directly in her eyes he then said firmly, "After all, *he* is the Master, and we are but his faithful servants, no matter what else we may desire. Aren't we?"
Darla held his gaze for a minute looking to see if she could discern what it was that he wasn't telling her. Finally she lowered her eyes. "Will I see you two in LA?"
"Possibly," said Spike. "The Master has a little job for me here in Sunnyhell that might be problematic if I don't get it done by then, though."
"You know," she began hesitantly, before plunging in. "If you were to ask the Master for me, I don't think he or Luke would really mind. It's not like I couldn't handle sharing you with Chi- ... with Buffy. I'm sure we could get along. I did enjoy her a little back in March."
Spike was surprised. It was one thing to want to have a little illicit rendezvous, but Darla was practically throwing herself at him, and she was almost 300 years his senior. Hell, she was his sire's sire. "Alright, Darla. What's up?"
Darla finished the last of the Cuervo and sighed, "You make one mistake and it haunts you forever." She glared off into the crowd. Spike glanced to see Willow strolling amongst the throng. "You know I was there the night that Bitch was turned. Thomas brought the sniveling little brat in for the Master. I brought someone as well, but on the way I got a little hungry. I didn't take much, but the Master accused me of 'treating him like a dog' and 'bringing him my table scraps'. Since then I've been the dog, and Luke has been holding my 'short leash' as you said. My reward for years of loyalty." Looking back at Spike she said, "I never minded being his servant. But I would like a reward when I come through."
Spike turned his attention to the back door as the Master and Luke emerged. "I think this conversation is over for now. Tell you what, Darla. Keep your head up. You never know how things might turn out. When I see you in LA, maybe then we'll see just how much you want to play 'Masters and Servants'."