Title: The Assistant, part 63
Author: Sweetdoggie (stirling_summer@yahoo.com)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: R
Summary: Merrick didn’t die. AU
Spoilers: season 4
Disclaimer: No permission has been granted to use the characters.. They are owned by their creator, Joss Whedon, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB, and Mutant Enemy. This story is non-profit and is intended solely as entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended.
Buffy had gradually eased back into patrolling, much to Giles' dismay. He hated that she had to do it, but realized that the necessity of living on the Hellmouth took precedence over his desire for her safety. She kept Spike near her most evenings and he actually proved to be quite an asset, guarding her back with a great deal of enthusiasm.
One night, they saw strange lights coming from a deserted warehouse and crept closer to check out the phenomenon. Inside the building, three men dressed in monks' robes stood in a circle, chanting. Buffy exchanged a glance with the vampire. “What do you think?”
He shrugged. “It's Latin. Some sort of prayer, I think.” He listened closely for a few more minutes. “Something along the lines of 'Great Powers, aid us in this our task. Protect the Key and halt the Beast.”
“Doesn't sound bad.”
“Not on the face of it,” he agreed.
They had settled down to watch the men for a while longer when the door to the room slammed back, ripped off the hinges and a very irritated blonde woman stood there looking at the monks.
“OK, where's my Key? I'm asking nice.”
The monks all looked terrified, but kept chanting, perhaps assuming that they were safe inside their circle. The woman soon disabused them of that idea by stepping forward and simply ripping one of the men out of the ring.
“You look smart. Where's my Key?”
“Ignore the beast!” cautioned one of the other men. “Continue the chant.”
She picked up the first man and heaved him effortlessly through the cement wall. Buffy winced as his brains spread out upon the slump block in a halo effect. Looking at Spike, the Slayer gave a nod to the irritated blonde. “Looks like we need to do some work here.”
He nodded and they dove head-first through the window. By the time they cleared the frame, Blondie had decapitated a second monk and was beating the third one in a seriously pissed sort of way. Every few blows, she would stop and ask the man where her Key was.
Buffy and Spike's entrance was enough to distract her for a moment and she dropped the monk to turn her attention to the new threat. In seconds, the three of them were involved in a destructive brawl that threatened to bring down the roof. In a very few more moments, it became plain to Buffy that they could not win against this new and powerful adversary. Thinking quickly, she waited until the blonde menace was occupied with dusting the floor with Spike before standing up, sweeping the battered monk under her arm and running out of the building.
She ran for several blocks, hoping that Spike was keeping the blonde occupied. When she thought it was marginally safe, she sat the man down and tried to get some information from him.
“Are you OK? What's going on? Who is that blonde chick?”
The man groaned weakly and gasped. “You are the Slayer. You must guard the Key. We sent it to you. She is the beast and must never get the Key.”
“Um, OK, but what Key. I don't have any new keys. And while we're at it, key to what?”
“Protect the Key. You must protect the Key. Energy, enough to open a portal, essence, mystical, purified vessel. We took an empty vessel and poured the Key into it. Changed its nature,” he gasped and slumped over sideways.
Buffy felt for a pulse but knew instinctively that he was gone. “Damn.” She looked up as she heard running footsteps echoing in the street. Spike was hotfooting it down the road towards her.
She stood up leaving the dead man laying against the wall. There was nothing she could do for him anyway. “Spike?”
“C'mon, Slayer. I don't want that blonde bitch catching us.”
They ran together down the street until they were sure they had evaded pursuit.
“She was strong! Stronger than me, and you too,” the vampire told her when they stopped to change directions.
“I know. I have a feeling that we have a serious problem,” Buffy panted. “Giles will know what to do. I think you'd better come so you can tell him the Latin bits.”
“All right.”
They kept to the shadows till they reached the house. Buffy invited Spike in and they told everyone their story.
Rupert and Merrick looked disturbed. This was serious stuff, whatever it was. You didn't generally run across strange monks chanting about beasts and keys everyday, even in Sunnydale.
“I fear we need to research this,” Giles said with a deep frown. “Are you all right? Not injured at all?” he asked his wife.
She waved her hand dismissively. “Yeah, I'm fine. Spike took the worst of it. I just grabbed monk-boy and ran. Too bad he died anyhow.”
Merrick brushed his hand over his mustache while he thought. “Were there any distinguishing characteristics of this blonde creature?”
“She wasn't bad-looking, in a seriously crazed sort of way,” Buffy said. “Dressed in a fancy outfit—looked expensive. I hate it when the bad guys dress better than me.”
Merrick flashed her a look. “Yes, I'm sure that should be our primary concern.”
She rolled her eyes. “OK, so maybe that isn't a priority, but it still bites.”
Merrick looked down to disguise his grin. After all this time, his Buffy could still make him laugh.
Spike watched the byplay with disgust. That psycho bitch had nearly ripped him in half. He didn't think it was funny. “She was very strong.”
Everyone turned to look at the vampire. Merrick let his eyebrow creep up. “Oh, yes?” he said politely.
“Stronger'n me. Stronger'n the Slayer too. I barely got away from her.”
They looked to Buffy and she nodded her confirmation of the vampire's remark. “Yeah. She was real strong.”
“Was she alone?” Giles asked.
Buffy looked at Spike. “Seemed to be. I didn't see anybody following her around. Doesn't mean that there isn't, I guess.”
Spike nodded. “Yeah. Anybody that powerful, she's gonna have followers.”
“Could you sense any magic around her?” Rupert spoke slowly, thinking.
“She set my spidey senses off big time—but not in an undead sort-of-way.”
“What do you mean?” Merrick questioned her.
“Well, she wasn't a vamp. She didn't have that feel, but she's something. I mean, not just a human on steroids.”
Spike agreed with her. “Not a vampire, but definitely not human.”
Merrick and Giles exchanged meaningful looks. “And she wanted the Key, whatever that is.” Merrick rubbed his chin. “You got no hint whatsoever what the Key might be?”
“They said they sent it to me to protect. That it was energy and mystical essence. They poured it into an empty vessel. Whatever that means.” Buffy shrugged. “I don't have any new keys. I checked.”
“Perhaps it isn't a physical Key at all. Perhaps it's some sort of mystical item that unlocks...something.” Giles looked frustrated at their lack of information.
“Whatever it unlocks must be bad,” Buffy speculated. “I got the idea that she was real serious about finding it. And the dead monk did say she was the beast.”
“The beast or a beast?” Merrick asked.
Buffy looked at Spike for confirmation. “The Beast. Capital letters and everything.”
Spike nodded. “No question.”
“I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that this isn't good,” Buffy told them with a sigh. “First, let's find out about this Key thingy, then we find out as much about Blondie as we can.”
Merrick nodded. “A sound plan. Let's hit the books.”
“I can help with that,” Spike told them diffidently. “When I was a man, I was quite good at scholarly pursuits.”
“And you wish to help us, why?” Wesley asked him pointedly.
“I don't know. I just know that I'm changing. I feel like I need to help.”
Everyone except Buffy looked at him skeptically. Surprisingly, she stepped forward. “Give him a chance, guys.”
The handsome vampire looked at her. “Thanks, Slayer. I won't let you down.”
She shrugged. “If you do, you know what will happen.”
“I know,” he nodded.
Giles handed him one of the heavy tomes and the vampire settled down to help research. He stayed till nearly dawn. “I have to be heading out, Slayer.”
She looked at the clock. “Yeah. See if you can scout out any information tonight. Try Willie's. Keep your ear to the ground. Somebody, somewhere knows something.”
“I'll swing by here if I find anything out,” he promised.