Cretian Escape

November 4, 2005

Her first night on Crete, Buffy rested up, trying to conquer her jet lag. She spent the next day taking a couple of tours from a taxi driver the hotel recommended. In Cleveland, both she and Giles had already decided that the clan was more than likely keeping tabs on their resident slayer and her watcher, so wanting to keep a low profile, Buffy didn’t contacted Gen. Besides the ones agreed on with Giles, Buffy also had her own reasons. If she did find out that the vampire was Spike, she wanted their meeting to be them alone, and if he didn’t turn out to be Spike, she didn’t want Gen to witness her agony that was sure to come after staking the fake. But she and Giles did use Gen’s watcher reports and decided to focus Buffy’s attention on the largest city, Irakleio, and the cabbie claimed to be an expert of the city and surrounding area. So tours it was that first day.

The first tour was around and about the city. Just the thought of trying to find someone through Irakleio’s twisting and turning streets made her head spin, especially finding a particular vampire that didn’t want to be found. Luckily the town wasn’t huge, but a map and a small flashlight to read the map at night were on Buffy’s “must have” list she was compiling.

The afternoon was spent looking over the ruins in the surrounding countryside, including the Palace of Kronos and the Minoan Cemetery. During the tour at the palace, she did have to stop in a ladies room for a good cry. Before Sunnydale collapsed, whenever she went to a new city, she found herself wondering if Spike had been there during his long unlife. She wished he was the one showing her around. It didn’t matter that he would have been with Drusilla; all she wanted was to share in his memories, see the ruins through his striking blue eyes. She could feel him pulling her into dark corners to kiss her breathless. She would gladly go without breathing to be kissed in exotic places by him. Like a fool, she had put off showing her love for him until after the defeat of the First Evil. Spike would be there. Of course Spike would be there. She couldn’t get rid of him. Nobody had succeeded in killing him. But him. He had taken himself out. So no smirks, no unwanted honesty, no support, no unwavering caring, and no kisses to be had anymore. Buffy ended up in the restroom crying her eyes out.

Later, back in slayer mode, Buffy looked around the ruins again, and she figured out what the vampires liked about this island. The ruins made a perfect playground for demons of the night with so many nooks and crannies to hide out, or carry on their nefarious activities without being seen.

After she returned to her hotel, while eating her dinner, she made plans to find what she insisted calling the impostor, refusing to let herself think of the vampire as the real Spike. Her hopes of his resurrection had been crushed into dust too many times before.

The nearby ruins and cemeteries would be relatively easy to search. She would be able to feel any vampires close by, especially the vigilante vamp, who would be out hunting instead of hiding in some dark corner. Now inside the city was going to be more of a challenge. There was a tiny gnat sized chance that she would run into the fake Spike in what she now thought of as the Irakleio maze. Falling back on logic, (wouldn’t Giles be shocked about that) she decided to look for him where she would expect to find vampires on the prowl in a city.

Before she headed out that night, she bought a map and list of night clubs and bars from the front desk. The first club was small. Her choice of small was on purpose because it would be good for getting her feet wet in this new and very different city. By the time she finished her coke, she had looked over the club and only found one vampire who she staked in the dark, deserted hall that led to the restrooms. The second club was very much the same.

In Erotokritos, the third bar that Buffy searched, she glimpsed a blonde male. However, when she made her way over, her slayer senses told her that he wasn’t even a vampire. No tinglies. The next club was the largest she had been in so far, packed with a throbbing mass of people dancing, drinking, and having a good time. Considering her short height, this place was going to be more of a challenge to search, but her senses to discern vampires went off like a fire alarm going off in her head picking up signals from several directions. As she prowled, she noted three fledglings but decided to introduce them to her stake later outside. Buffy tried to stifle her hope when she spotted a blonde vampire. He was a little too short, his hair was pale but more golden than platinum, but she knew for sure that it wasn’t Spike when she saw this vampire’s face. His eyes weren’t a beautiful blue and his left eyebrow didn’t have the scar that she oh so wished to get the opportunity to stroke again. No, not her vampire but a vampire. She lured the vampire into a dark corner and walked away brushing dust off of her clothes.

Ten minutes later, she started picking up on a powerful vampire. Using the strong feelings she was receiving, Buffy glimpsed on the opposite side of the club a second blonde vampire moving along the edge of the crowd, but she was unluckily distracted when she noticed that the other three vampires she noticed earlier were leaving with human girls. ‘Damn, would you like a little salt to go with your human entrées?’ She smirked. The stronger vampire was pushed aside for later. Trying to make her way through the dancers towards the door, she got trapped behind a large group of what appeared to be tourists. Once she freed herself up and was approaching the door, she saw the blonde vampire pass through the exit ahead of her, and turn right. Even though she only caught a glimpse of this vampire again, her heart began to race. He wasn’t wearing a leather coat or wasn’t even wearing black. However, there was more right than wrong. This was probably the vigilante vampire. His hair was the right color, a white blonde, he was the right height, he was a vampire, and he appeared to be following the other vampires with their intended food. When she cleared the door, there was no sign of the blonde, but she could see the three vampires and their victims ahead before the pair turned left on a side street. Unfortunately, she then lost sight of the couples after making a few false turns, but suddenly the victims were running back towards her. When Buffy stopped them, all the girls could tell her was that a blonde man had suddenly appeared and told them to leave, which they had. Buffy followed the direction the girls had pointed and found three piles of dust but no sign of the white blonde savior. Buffy’s only consolation was that she had caught her first glimpse of the vigilante vampire.

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An hour before sunrise, Spike found himself at his favorite spot on Crete, the moonlit beach adjacent to a more modern hotel, to ponder the twists and turns in both life and unlife. Not the most original of place, but nonetheless soothing. The rhythmic sound of the waves relaxed him, making it possible for him to focus.

The first of the evenings topics of thought was always the same. Buffy. Where was she at that precise moment? What was she doing (sex excluded from that thought)? Was she well? How was slaying going for her? Was she safe? Was she happy?... The questions went on and on but always ended with the same question. Why wasn’t she in his arms? He knew the answer, but he loved to pretend that if just for a moment that his time back on earth had all been a mistake. She was with him instead of the big browed one.

This night the second subject of his thos des demanded focus. In the same respect, this same subject also made it hard to relax and focus his thoughts. The subject? Slayers in general. One of the main subjects of his whole unlife. The watchers council had been smart after all, and the second slayer had arrived. Arrived alright. Instead of sensing her close by to him, she had sensed him first. Major faux pas which he couldn’t believe he had made. His only excuse was that he had been using his senses to track the vampires and their midnight snacks. Funny thing though, when he did pick up that tingling feeling that signaled a slayer, the signal was strong, which usually meant close. When he looked down from the roofs, expecting to catch a glimpse of her, he saw nothing. The second time he spared a glance, he could see a distant movement. ‘Bloody hell, if I can feel the bird at this far distance, she is strong. The council’s not fucking around any more, and right they are. A bloke can’t hardly walk down a street here without passing a fangy one. But this chit was no fresh out of slayer school just getting her knickers wet, or a slayer who was just past the novice level.’

When he had finished with the three fledgling numb skulls, he could feel the tingling from the second slayer growing. Not wanting a little tête-à-tête, he high-tailed it from the scene just as fast as the slayer was approaching.

Waves in and out. Waves in and out. He blew out smoke that was lost in the rays of the moon. Waves in and out. Spike felt his muscles relax. After thinking and replaying the evening in his mind, he came back to the feeling of power he picked up off the new slayer. This one had strength, enough strength to put a large dent in the vamp population problem, he’d wager a pound or two. Her strength also told him that he should to keep a good distance. ‘Even though I am a white hat, I’m still a vamp, which means I’m still a target for a slayer’s little, wooden dart.’

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Five stories up on a hotel’s balcony, Buffy looked out over the beautiful Krytiko Pelagos waters. Unbeknownst to Buffy, her thoughts mirrored those of the blonde vampire below, on the beach. She was replaying her experiences from earlier. The vampire she had tailed had been swift, powerful, and smart. She had been able to feel him from a distance both in the club and also during the chase. She knew without a doubt that the vigilante was a strong, master vampire.

So the vigilante was a master vampire, not just some crack pot vamp with warped visions of grandeur. No, this vampire knew what he was doing. Buffy could feel her hopes rising again. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but it had felt like a particular vampire she had known. It felt like Spike. ‘Damn, if only I could have caught him. I could have either staked him or held on tight…I would have held on tight.’ For the first time in a long time, she was actually looking forward to hunting a vampire.

As she turned to walk back into her hotel room, her gaze caught a bright white circle moving between the beach umbrellas set up for hotel guests. She only caught one more glimpse before her vision was blocked entirely by the building. She knew the white “dot” was someone’s hair so blonde that it appeared white, but she strongly suspected that her imaginatias jas just conjuring up her dearest wish. “Hey up there. Yeah, you, the Powers That Be. Are you just teasing me or what? I want him back. I want the wise cracking, cocky, swaggering, arrogant…sympathetic, gentle, there when you need him vampire.” Buffy’s composure began to slip. Tears made trails down her face as she pictured him standing with her, looking out over the water, teaching her how to stop and notice the beauty around her, brushing away the tears streaming down her face. “…That is if he can. And listen to me, you may have needed him before, but I need him here now.”

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November 7, 2005

Buffy ate dinner early at a picturesque café over looking the water. She was one of the only le ele eating at such an early time, but it was nice and peaceful. An hour before sunset, Buffy headed back to the large club where she had been lucky the night before so that she could walk the nearby streets, memorizing the area. She had no idea if he would be there again, but what she did have was a hunch.

As before, she felt vampires all around, but she didn’t see the blonde in the club until he was already heading out the door, following two female vampires with their arms wrapped around the waists of two unsuspecting males. Buffy got a good look at the vamps, but thanks to a couple that walked by and blocked her view, she only got a glimpse of the blonde. Again, when Buffy exited the club, the blonde was nowhere to be seen, but the vampires were only a couple of blocks away.

That’s when Buffy finally got the break she needed. A piece of a tile fell off the roof of one of the building, drawing her gaze up. Jackpot. She could see the blonde vampire making his way across the roof tops, chasing the two female vampires. As Buffy scaled the building next to the club and followed with her heart was in her throat. He again wasn’t wearing a leather coat, which actually confused her. All the other imposters wore a red shirt over a black t-shirt and a replica of the trademark coat, but not this one, not either night. Instead this vampire wore an emerald green, long sleeve shirt, not what an impostor would wear. Most importantly, this vampire moved like Spike. She had seen him move across the rooftops of Sunnydale with a feline grace. Not that she would have admitted it back in the days of Sunnydale, she had loved to watch him move, and the vampire in front of her leaped and held his balance just like Spike.

Her problem was that she wasn’t use to running across tile roofs and slipped a couple of times, letting him increase his lead. Luckily, she did spot in the distance where he left the roofs and had gone to the ground. However, Buffy found three piles of dust. But her luck was still holding up. Buffy could see him up ahead. She could see the smoke of a cigarette rising above his head, and she recognized the swagger, Spike’s swagger that she had never forgotten. Buffy was finally beginning to believe that Spike had somehow made it back to unlife. Seventy percent sure now that it was her lost vampire, what she wanted to do was run calling to him at the top of her lungs and find out if it was him. Unfortunately, Spike or impostor Spike obviously didn’t want to chat with anyone from his past, so she decided on stealth. Following the feel of power he was giving off, she paced him on the curving streets, never gaining. He must have sensed her also because he picked up his pace. Accordingly, Buffy’s short patience was soon running out. With frustration evident in her voice, she called out as he turned another corner, out of view. “Damn it, Spike, would…”

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In the club, Spike felt the strong tingling feeling he had picked up the night before from the new slayer. Accordingly, he tried to stay hidden and then quickly exited to take care of the vampires and their so called datWhenWhen he staked the vamps, he still could feel the slayer coming so he left quickly. The feeling felt familiar. Not as in familiar that it was some slayer, but familiar as if he knew that slayer. The council must have sent one of the original slayers in training. More reason to avoid her, especially since he helped train those first girls.

Behind him, Buffy never got to finish her call because even slayers were not immune to clubs up against the side of their heads. Spike never heard her call or even saw Buffy take the blow, fall unconscious to the ground, and then her body quickly carried away into the night.

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TBC


I want to thank all of you here at adultfanfiction (besides my daily smut fixes : ) for all the reviews and feedback. You truly keep me going during those times that it is hard to write. You guys rock!!!

Also, If anyone that know how to get bold, italics, etc., in the files for fanfiction and don’t mind telling me, I would love to know. I have been trying to figure it out and keep screwing up. Ugh!

Thanks
Dana