"No, Cerberus! You stay!"

The vampdog stood there, staring at the red-headed witch, his head tilted. **Honestly, I don't speak only French or something, woman, I can understand you perfectly well…**

Willow ran a hand through her hair, feeling sheepish. "Oh, right, sorry, Cerberus … But I mean it, they don't allow dogs in the theatre, I'm sorry!"

The dog whine and bowed his head, tail down.

"Oh, look at him Willow! Can't we pretend I'm blind and bring him with?"

Cerberus wagged his tail. He loved this girl.

"To the movies, Dawn?"

"Blind people still go to movies! They can hear, ya know!"

Willow looked a bit stumped at that, and turned to Tara for help. The golden-haired witch just shrugged.

"C'mon, we're gonna be late, love!" Spike dragged Buffy past the girls, to the door.

"But I don't understand why we have to see a vampire movie! I get enough of vampires in real life!"

Spike stopped, Buffy halting between Willow and Dawn, interrupting their conversation. Spike gave her a hurt look.

"Tired of vampires, are you then?"

Buffy hurriedly apologised. "No! No, it's just that, well I mean, don't you think it's kind of degrading, watching vampire movies? I mean, how can you keep from rolling your eyes at another inane portrayal of yourself?" She hung on his arm, hoping he wouldn't doubt her affection.

Tara spoke up before he could reply. "Oh, no, Buffy, the n-new Vampire Hunter d-D is really a b-beautiful film! I'm s-sure you'll both love it!"

Spike looked a little skeptical. Tara and Willow had been the ones to suggest they see it-they'd seen it once already, and seemed eager to see it again. He was especially mistrustful of Tara's stutter-she only did that when she was nervous these days. Spike wondered why they were so keen on him and Buffy going. Hell, with a subtitle like "Bloodbath", he wondered why they had gone to see it in the first place. Still, it was an excuse for him to spend some time with Buffy in a dark place, so it wouldn't be a total loss. It wasn't exactly a date, with the Wiccas and the Nibblet coming along, but it was a start.

"We better get going, or we're gonna miss the previews!" Willow reminded them, herding them out the door.

In the hustle, Dawn forgot about trying to bring Cerberus with. When the door closed behind them, the vampdog sat there for a minute, staring at it, dejected. Then he got up and went to the computer that had been set up in the basement, which he now shared with Spike as their new habitat.

Funny that Willow had made this special set-up, with a keyboard and switches that Cerberus could operate, yet still spoke to him in babytalk. He turned the computer on, got online, and checked his email. With the large keys of his special keyboard, he was able to reply to his various pen-pals and join in on conversations on message boards and in chat rooms. Of course, no one knew he was a dog or a vampire, except for Nicky, the vampire bunny.

Nicky was online! Cerberus instant-messaged his friend, and received a prompt reply. Cerberus told his friend how left out he was feeling. Spike was spending all his time with Buffy, which Cerberus totally understood-he liked Buffy himself. But he just wasn't that close to the others, except maybe Dawn, and tonight even she was gone. Cerberus was starting to feel how he had when he was a stray-lonely.

I know how you feel, Nicky told him. Lydia spends most of her time with Oz now. When I was just an ordinary bunny, it didn't matter so much-I didn't really understand things like "time". But since her and I are bonded, I share her human thought process now. I know what I was missing before, what I didn't even realise I was missing-and am starting to miss again. And you're going through the same thing with Spike-you understand that you are being left out, and you remember the hurt even when he comes back.

Yes! Cerberus typed. That's exactly it! Before, when he came back from being gone, I didn't dwell on the fact that he'd been away, and I didn't fear that he might leave again! I just was happy he was with me. But now I can't escape this idea that I will be alone most of the time, and that even when I am with him, he's still really more with Buffy! And then I feel terrible for being jealous, because I really do like her!

What we need is a way to spend time together, you and I, when our bond-mates are spending time with others, the rabbit replied.

Cerberus thought a moment, then started to type again, Willow has developed some sort of traveling spell, using something she wears on her arm. But I don't know how to work it …

The rabbit was considerably more enthusiastic.If it's a magical object, and not just a focal point for her own magic, we might be able to figure it out!

Well, it was worth a shot. Ok, I'll see if I can find it. Back in a few … And the dog logged off.

Most of the theatre's other patrons were sitting further back, and those that weren't also weren't sitting that close to the odd couple. Buffy brought out the candy she had stashed in her coat-she felt guilty enough spending money on the movie, without having to pay theatre prices for the food, too. Spike happily dug into the m&ms. It made Buffy smile, seeing him like a little kid.

"Oh look, luv," Spike whispered while the previews ran, "a GREEN one." He gave her a wicked smile and put it on his tongue, then leaned in for a kiss.

Blushing a little, she indulged herself in his chocolaty-sweet mouth. When the show started, she snuggled against him, and he leaned his head against hers. She hoped he didn't hear her heart racing. Why was she so nervous? Sure, she hadn't been on a date in quite a while, but it wasn't like her and Spike hadn't kissed plenty of times already. In fact, she was a bit frustrated that they hadn't done anything else. She couldn't imagine he had been this much of a gentleman with Dru, and certainly not with Harmony. Maybe this was just another measure of how he had changed.

She put thoughts of his ex-girlfriends out of her mind-she didn't want to taint their night with thoughts of what had been. She had enough reminders like that when Xander was around. She knew from when she was dead that Spike's love was genuine, as was his change of heart about his role in life. She wanted to enjoy being with the man he was now.

She focused her attention on the screen, and quickly forgot her troubled heart. Having seen Pokemon when Dawn was watching it, she hadn't come to think much of anime. This was something totally different. It was dark and haunting, fluid and faerytale-like.The gothic dark was her world-she lived it every night. Yet she had never really seen it as beautiful before.

And then Meier came on the screen.

"Spike?" she whispered.

"Yeah, luv?"

"No, I mean … he looks like you!"

Spike laughed softly. "Yeah, I suppose there is a superficial resemblance."

As the story wound on, they found the similarities to be far more than superficial. Meier was supposedly evil, but Buffy refused to believe it. She wondered if it was because she refused to believe it of Spike, and was projecting too much. And the relationship between D and the girl vampire hunter, Layla-it reminded her a bit of both her former relationship with Angel and her new one with Spike. She was relieved when it was revealed that the human girl, Charlotte really did love Meier, and he truly loved her in return. She cried when he was burned, cried when she thought he had died, cried when Charlotte fell, and bawled at their final scene.

And so did Spike. And he also wept over the Layla's funeral. He didn't make a sound as he wept, but Buffy knew what she was seeing was just a pale reflection of how he had grieved for her when she had died. Seeing that the girl in the movie had lived a long, happy life had left her with an odd sense of peace, one that was disturbed by Spike's reaction. She suddenly realised something she hadn't considered before. Spike would watch her grow old-and die all over again. She felt a pang of fear-would he distance himself from her, the way D had done with his slayer? Or would he stay with her forever, even after her death, the way Meier had done?

She reached up and stroked his cheek, causing him to look her in the eye. There was so much pain and fear there, it broke her heart. She didn't fear death-she knew what it was like-but she feared what it would do to him. Alive or dead, there had to be a way they could face eternity together.

She wiped away his tears, and whispered so only he could hear, "It's just a story, Spike. There are far more stories, and endings, in the world. I'm not just some fragile, mortal girl. She wasn't a real Slayer. I promise you, right now, that I will always be with you-and I will never let you leave me. One way or another, we will always be together. Besides, I died twice already-I'm not that easy to get rid of," she purred, and kissed him.

He laughed through the kiss, a laugh of both sadness and joy. She started to laugh too. He ran his fingers through her hair and drew her close, holding her tight. She snuggled against his shoulder, her embrace just as fierce. "I'll never let you go," he whispered.

"Jeez, you too, will you get a room?"

Spike looked up into the eyes of a disgusted teenager, eyes that said she was secretly pleased, but fulfilling her adolescent duty to be obnoxious.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, Platelet. Time to go. But when we get home, if you don't like what you see, you can always go to your room." He winked.

Dawn stuck out her tongue. "Or you can go to yours …"

"DAWN!" Buffy chided, her face red with more embarrassment than anger, but her sister was already running up the ramp out of the theatre.

Are you sure you wanna try this? Cerberus typed.

Everything will be fine, dog, stop your worrying!

Cerberus huffed in frustration. They had discussed this back and forth for a couple of hours, looking at the various books on magic each of them had lying around, living with witches like they did. Nicky had come to the conclusion that Willow had created a magical object that could let someone teleport, not used an object to simply enhance her power.

Well, it wasn't like he was going to use the portal. If the bunny had a death wish, then it was no fur off his snout. He didn't want to admit he cared about the little ball of fur, and didn't want to see him end up a crispy critter.

Resigned to his course, the dog shoved his nose into Willow's magic gauntlet. He concentrated on the image Nicky had put on the screen of Lydia's room, via the webcam. His nose started to tingle, and he fought back a sneeze. He wasn't successful.

When he sneezed, the fabric of space before him ripped open, and the gauntlet flew off his nose. In the tear, he could see the same image he'd seen on the computer. Nicky hopped through, and the tear closed up behind him.

**It worked!** The rabbit did a little dance around the astonished dog. **So what do we do now, huh?**

Cerberus was still staring where the portal had been. He had done that? He had worked magic?

**C'mon, Cerbie, what do you do for fun around here?**

Cerberus finally looked at the bunny. **Don't call me Cerbie.**

Lydia gasped and stopped, right before the exit, causing the people behind her to mutter and grumble as they piled up, then moved around her.

"What is it, Lydia?"

She looked at Oz, her eyes wide as saucers. "Nicky! He's … he's gone!"

"Oz? Lydia? What are you two doing here?"

Oz looked over Lydia's shoulder and found Spike standing there. Buffy was on the vamp's arm. Not missing a beat, Oz asked her, "Are you a ghost, a zombie, a vampire, or resurrected?"

Lydia turned to see whom Oz was talking to. She didn't waste a moment when she saw Spike. "Can you still feel Cerberus?"

"Um, cloned, actually," Buffy answered Oz. Then she asked Lydia, "Do we know you?"

"I can, but faintly," Spike told Lydia "We had to come a bit of a ways from Sunnydale to get here, and he had to stay-" he stopped abruptly, his eyes suddenly wide and his mouth agape in horror. "He's GONE!"

"Who's gone?" came a voice from over his shoulder. "OZ!" Willow cried, when she spied whom the bleach-blond vamp was talking to.

Lydia saw movement beside Willow. "Tara?!"

"Lydia?!? Oh my gods!" Tara squealed with glee, and swept her friend up in a fierce hug. She sensed something was wrong, and pulled back, her hands gripping the girl's shoulders. "Sweetie, what is it?"

"Get your paws off my girl!" Oz pulled Tara away.

"Hey, leave Tara alone, Oz, I told you it's over between us!"

Oz's face started to shift, and he snarled at her. "Not you! Lydia!"

Willow stepped back, a little hurt to have her old lover threaten her so. Then she noticed the girl he was with, and realised retroactively that Tara had hugged the girl. She had been so focused on the shock of seeing him, she hadn't paid attention, but now she felt a surge of jealousy. The only problem was that she wasn't sure if she was feeling that way because Oz was with her or because Tara seemed to know her.

Wait a minute. She knew this girl too!

"You … you were at the club that night … with the bunny, and the-the GRRRR at Angel's later …" She made claws with her hands for emphasis. And she suddenly understood. "You're the werewolf girl."

"No, she's not Veruca-"

"I know, Oz. We saw Lydia transform at Angel's, the night we met her."

He looked at Lydia in confusion. "Angel knew you were … and he never said anything? Lorne didn't say anything?"

Lydia sighed. "If they had told you, you would have ignored me. You weren't exactly accepting of your nature at the time … Look, can we talk about this later? Something's happened to Nicky and Cerberus!"

"Okay, where was Nicky when you last felt him?" Spike asked her, obviously upset himself.

"Back at our place… and then suddenly the bond felt a lot fainter … in fact, it felt like it was in a different direction! And then it was gone entirely!"

Spike grabbed her shoulders. "What direction?!"

"I-I don't know, it happened so fast, I …" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She lifted her hand and suddenly pointed. "That way. I think …" She lowered her hand, obviously not so certain.

Spike looked in the direction she pointed in. "Sunnydale …" he whispered.

"Hey, what's going on?" Dawn asked, having just come out of the bathroom. She noticed Oz, and said "Hiya, wolfboy! Long time no see!"

Oz looked at her a moment in confusion. Then he suddenly smiled. "Hiya, kiddo!"

Spike had watched the exchange, and felt a pang for Dawn. He knew what had just happened, but no one else had likely even noticed. The spell that had made Dawn had just kicked in, giving Oz new memories, ones that included the girl-that-never-was. Spike prayed she never noticed that herself.

"OOOWOOOOoooooooOOOO!!!!!!!!"

Cerberus snapped at the bulldog's stub of a tail, eliciting shrieks of terror from the beast. Nicky raced ahead of it, growling in his own bunny fashion. The dog backpedaled, looking something like a cartoon character, Cerberus thought. It stopped when it came nose-to-nose with him, panting in terror.

**Boo.**

The dog yowled, and leapt over the bunny, racing for its life into the night. Cerberus and Nicky flipped onto their backs, rolling about in animal laughter. **Did you see the look on it's face?** Cerberus mindspoke, sending an undercurrent of laughter with the words.

**Heh, that's one scaredy-cat!**

Cerberus felt good. He felt empowered. He'd just kicked the tail of a bad-ass dog that had made his life miserable when he was a mortal stray. Revenge was a dish best served to the cold.

**So now what?** Nicky asked, kicking his legs in a bunny's dance of joy.

Cerberus thought for a moment.

**That wasn't much of a challenge. Let's go after some bigger bullies!**

On to Part 2 ...