"Scaring the Big Bad"

Author: Skylar (supecrow@bellatlantic.net)
Disclaimer: Joss and company own everything.
AN: Eighth story in my Reasoning series.
Summary: It's Halloween with the Scoobs, and Spike's hating every minute
of it.
Spoilers: My first series (youd really have to read those stories to
understand all of these).
Rating: Probably PG-13, if even that.
Distribution: Want it- take it. Just let me know where its going.
Feedback: As always, greatly appreciated.




"The young girl fled mindlessly through the dark, heedless of the scrub
in her path or the sharp spikes of branches that tore at her hair and
scraped at her face and body as she blundered through the tangled trees.
Her breath rasped in her throat, her heart was a hammer of thunder in
her chest, her whimpers caught behind clenched teeth as she ran, eyes
glazed with the horror she had witnessed, remembering the terror that
stalked her through the night's shadows-"

" 'Terror that stalked her through the night's shadows' ? Please&" Buffy
scoffs, smiling as she sees her daughter gurgle in agreement to her
criticism.

"Hey!! Who's the one who was there? Now where was I? Oh yeah- She ran.
Not knowing where she was headed, hardly feeling the vicious sting of
thorns and the tug of foliage that caught at her clothing and spiked
maliciously at her face, heeding nothing, knowing nothing...except that
she must run. Or die."

"Talk about a lame build-up..." Anya laughs aloud, earning a loud groan
from the story's teller.

"Would you shut up, you twit! As I was saying...she had to escape. She
cast one terrified glance across her shoulder, sure that she would catch
a glimpse of gleaming fangs and glowing eyes in the shadows behind her.
Her momentary inattention cost her dearly. She tripped on a fallen
branch, went sprawling headlong, rolling over and over down the sudden
steep embankment that met her. She ended up flat on her back in the
middle of a dim, deserted street with a thump that knocked the breath
from her throat in a harsh, startled whoosh-"

"Hold it..."

"What? What now??"

With a heavy, frustrated sigh, Spike finds his story being interrupted
for the tenth time since he began telling it. At present moment, it was
Angel who took the liberty of pointing out a mistake in his childe's
account of one of their evenings spent in London.

"As I recall, *you* were the one who tripped over a branch and went
flying down that hill."

"Well...never mind that, alright? Can I continue? Winded, she simply lay
there for a moment and then panic and instinct sent her scrambling
painfully to her feet. She glanced around her wildly, her only thought
that in the glare of the burning lamps around her she was an easy target
for what came ravaging after her in the night-"

"When was the last time you went 'ravaging' after anything?" Dawn lets
out a small giggle, her attentions somewhat focused on opening the
wrapper to her candy bar.

"Alright, you know what? Tell your own damn ghost stories 'round here! I
quit!"

"Oh come on!" Xander stands to hold him back. "Sit back down! We're sorry."

"Yeah&" Cordy sighs. "We asked you to tell us a story, so we promise we
won't interrupt you anymore, okay?"

"Fine&" With a groan he sits back down, hoping to salvage some peace
from the evening. "She turned around, a shriek clawing its way into the
air from her throat as I stepped soundlessly out from the cloaking fog,
and-"

"Trick or treat!!"

"That's it! I give up!" Watching as Angel leads the others in their
retreat from where he'd been telling his story, laughter and smile upon
their faces as they scatter throughout the house, Spike throws an angry
glare to the knocking coming from behind the front door. By eight
o'clock Halloween evening, he was fed up with the stupid, pointless
holiday.

All week he'd listened to the others making their preparations. All day
yesterday he'd had to put up with Dawn going on and on about her stupid
Halloween party. And now, for the past few hours, he'd been serving as
host for a bunch of grimy little kids with their grubby hands prodding
him for candy.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah&" he mumbles, grabbing one of the candy bowls, heading
for the door. "Bloody holiday&ought to be outlawed." He pulls back the
door, eyeing the young trick-or-treaters with a disgusted look.

"Trick or treat!"

"I heard you the first time, alright?!" he snaps, tossing a few pieces
of candy into their bags. "So&what're you supposed to be?" he asks the
young girl.

"I'm a clown," she smiles back.

"And your mother must be so proud," Spike jeers. "How 'bout you?" he
turns to the older boy holding her hand. "What're you supposed to be?"

"I'm a vampire," he replies, proudly bearing his plastic fangs in turn.
Never one to lose out on a good scare, Spike inches closer to the two, a
huge beam breaking out across his face underneath the porch lights.
"Really? Well&" he leans towards the young girl, "&that's not a
vampire&" Without a moment's hesitation, he quickly shifts into game
face, standing back a bit so that both of them could get a full view. "
*This* is a vampire."

The two future therapy patients couldn't run from the porch fast enough,
their screams drawing the attention of the surrounding children and
parents going door to door- just as Spike had hoped. Reaching into the
bowl, he grabs a huge handful of candy, chucking the various treats at
the terrified young children. "And keep runnin'! That's right- get off
my property! All of ya!"

"Spike&" comes Willow's voice from inside, bringing him to a sudden
stop. "This isn't your house."

"Oh&right&" Ignoring the fact for the moment, he grabs another handful
of candy, continuing his rampage on the neighborhood children. "You'd
all better run before the real big bad decides to chase after ya!"

"Spike!!" Xander comes running out from the kitchen, Anya right behind
him as he races over to where his precious candy was being tossed. "Are
you crazy! Stop it!...Those are Snickers!! Don't throw the good stuff!
Here&" he hands him a few bags of M&M's, "&throw these instead."

"Xander!" Anya smacks her husband across his neck, effectively stopping
both his and the vampire's display. "You two have been spending way too
much time together. I thought you liked Halloween?"

"Well&it's gotten too commercial&" he smiles, leading her by the hand
over to one of the free armchairs.

"Oh please&" Willow's quick to disagree. "You're just upset that you
can't go trick-or-treating anymore."

Tossing the candy bowl onto the side table, Spike settles himself back
down on his chair across from the two wiccans sitting on the couch.
"I'll tell ya- it sure feels like this is my house, since all I've been
doing is playing doorman for a bunch of snotty kids!"

"Spike-" Cordy emerges from the kitchen, a bowl of popcorn in each hand,
letting out a frustrated sigh. "No one said you had to stay."

"Just why are you here, anyway?" Tara asks. "Don't the others need you
in LA on their case?"

"They've already wrapped things up. One of Gunn's friends talked him
into throwing some party at the Hyperion. I didnt really want to stick
around to watch him and Fred making googly eyes at each other dressed up
as Romeo and Juliet."

"So you'd rather watch Buffy and Angel making googly eyes at each
other?" Willow guesses.

"Well at least they're not in costume," Spike argues. "Though in their
case, it could only be an improvement."

"So&getting back to my question&" Cordy draws his attention, "&just why
did you decide to spend the night torturing us with your presence?"

"Well&I&I didn't have anything else to do, alright?! Though after the
past hour or so, I think I'd rather be doing nothing in my crypt than
giving out candy."

Before he can grumble any more complaints, the faint sounds of Dawn and
Buffy's latest argument come trickling down the stairway in the Summers
home. The bleach-blonde vampire gets his first laugh of the evening as
he listens to the slayer going overprotective on a less than thrilled
Dawn. "Now you're gonna be careful, right?"

"Yes&"

"You gave me the number didn't you?"

"Buffy- the party's at Janice's. You've had her number for *how* long now?"

"Okay, okay," the young mother raises a hand in defeat. "Sorry&I guess I
slip a little more into worried-mode now that we have Quinn."

"A *little*?" Dawn eyes her questioningly before breaking out into a
succession of laughter. "Please- if you're this bad now, I can't wait
until she starts dating."

"And who says I'm gonna let some wild teenage hoodlum come anywhere near
my daughter?" Angel's voice joins them on the steps, the topic of their
conversation resting contentedly in his arms.

"I swear, Quinn," Dawn sighs, giving her niece a quick kiss before
heading for the door, "I'll take you out to enjoy a *normal* life when
you're all grown up."

"Buffy&" Angel follows his wife over to the window, watching as Dawn
gives them a final wave before getting into his car. "Are you sure we
should've let her take my car?"

"Janice only lives a few blocks away," Buffy smiles.

"Couldn't she have walked?"

"Oh let 'er go, Peaches!" Spike yells from his seat. "Let the bit have
some fun!"

"Spike&" Angel lets out a sigh as he takes a seat across from him on the
couch, "why don't you head over to your crypt and let Clem enjoy your
narrating skills? I mean, why did you even decide to tell this story?
You sound as if it's something you're proud of."

"Hey- just because *some* of us have gone soft over the years with our
precious lil' soul and humanity doesn't mean others can't relive the
good ol' days."

"If they can even *remember* the good old days&" Angel mumbles.

"And just what are you implying?"

"Well for starters, *I* was the one chasing down the girl while *you*
were trailing far behind, tripping over every branch and twig in the woods."

"Oh really? Well that's not the way I remember it. But I suppose *you*
could tell it better?" Seeing him beam widely in return, Spike makes a
gesture for Angel to take a seat beside him. "Be my guest."

******

"&She screamed again and whirled for the trees, her mind too overloaded
with images of horror all at once to comprehend anything. Once more
running for her life, she blundered blindly through the trees and the
darkness, until she found her sanctuary."

"Oooo&so what happened after Elizabeth managed to get into her home?"
Cordelia, totally caught up in Angel's more enjoyable re-telling, leans
forward, anticipating the story's end. "I guess you two couldn't get in
because of the whole invitation thingy?"

"Correction-" Spike cuts in, somewhat brassed off that his sire's
account was being better received than his own. "The big poof here
couldn't get in, but *I* had the brilliance to court the poor girl a few
days before, managing to get myself invited into her lovely home. So I
had instant access-"

"Yeah&" Angel lets out a small chuckle as he pulls Buffy into a tighter
embrace, letting out a few more small laughs against her hair. "Tell 'em
what happened once you got into the house, Spike."

"Err&umm&actually&I'd better not&" The vampire's eyes quickly dart about
the room, searching for an excuse to end their story. "&might frighten
'em too much. You know how sensitive our two witches are&"

"Come on, Spike-" Angel lets out another round of laughter. "Tell them
what happened. Tell them what chased you out of the house."

"Hey!"

"Tell them what had you screaming all through the streets of London that
night-"

"I'm warnin' you&"

"Tell them about Sampson."

"Who was Sampson?" Tara raises the obvious question.

"Was that Elizabeth's father?" her lover adds.

"Willow, please&" Angel gives the redhead a smile. "Do you really think
the 'Big Bad' would be afraid of some ordinary lawyer from London? Of
course not. Sampson was Elizabeth's-"

"Come on, Quinn," Spike interrupts, rising to his feet to extract the
infant from Tara's arms. "Let's go get something to drink, hmm?"

Watching with an amused grin as Spike retreats to the kitchen, Angel
slides out from his comfy spot under Buffy's warm embrace, reaching over
to grab hold of Xander's arm. "Xander- put down the candy corn and come
with me. We're gonna have some fun."

"Whoa&wait a minute-" he sets aside his candy, eyeing Angel with a wary
glint. "Do I look like Buffy to you? And besides that, I'm happily
married. Happy happy- can't get much happier."

"Just finish stuffing your face then meet us upstairs," his smile
expands as he feels Buffy's arms wrap around his waist, tugging onto him
as she follows behind.

"Where're we going?" the slayer mumbles against his shirt as they begin
their flight up the staircase.

"To finish Spike's story for him&"

******

After a good thirty minutes or so of hiding out in the kitchen, hoping
the others had forgotten all about his and Angel's little tale, Spike
returns to the living room, Quinn balanced in one arm, a mug of blood in
the other. "So what one of these lame horror movies are we
watching&first&.?" Slowing in his pace as he sees the empty, pitch black
room in front of him, he gently sets down the small child in her crib
before investigating. "Guys? Peaches??"

He cranes his head around the stairway, letting out a yell. "What the
hell is this? Come on&" he scoffs, "&what're you tryin' to pull here?"
With an eased step, he walks backwards over to the front door. "Nice try
kiddies&but I don't scare that easily- agghh!"

As his body turned, he was startled by Dawn's return home as the teen
stood in the opened doorway, a huge smirk across her face. "Boo!"
Letting out a fit of giggles at his obvious fright, she slips off her
jacket, tossing it onto one of the chairs. "Easy Spike&I come in peace."

"What the hell are you doing here?! Sneakin' up on people like that!"

"Gee I don't know- I only live here. What're you doing in the dark
anyways?" she grins, reaching out for the lightswitch. As the lights
flicker on, Spike turns to head back down the hall, only to come face to
face with the demon that had stepped soundlessly out from behind him.
Lunging for him with a ferocious snarl, its hands, with their long,
taloned fingers, clawing at the air before him, the furry creature lets
out a forceful roar, sending the vampire in the opposite direction,
stumbling out the front door in sheer terror.

Turning slightly to watch a blur of bleach blonde hair go whirling past
her, Dawn looks back to where the creature still stood, obviously not as
affected by it's presence as the self-proclaimed big bad was. "Hey
Xander&nice costume&" she gives him a playful pat on his furry head,
brushing past him to flop back onto the couch. She reaches in to grab
the few bits of popcorn that remained in the nearby bowl as the others
emerge from upstairs, joining her in the living room. "What was up with
Spike?"

"Well&" Buffy lets out a sly smile as she takes her seat on Angel's lap,
popping a few skittles into his mouth as she begins her explanation. "It
seems Spike suffers from cynophobia."

"Really?" Dawn raises an eyebrow, turning to face Xander. "I never knew
there was such a thing as a fear of Xanders."

"You've never heard of it?" Cordy laughs. "I sufferred from it all
through highschool." Deciding to intervene before a fight could break
out between the exes, Angel's quick to clear up Dawn's confusion. "No
Dawnie&cynophobia's the fear of dogs."

"Ooohhh&" Dawn's mouth hangs open for a moment, the realization sinking
in. "Well no wonder he wouldn't take me to see Scooby Doo!"

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