Hi, guys and girls, it has been a very long time. This is my first fanfiction in what has to be three years now. I had a lot going on and sort of hit a wall in my writing. But, I've had this idea in my head for a while and decided to put this up.

So, first story in three years, see what you think.

They're human.

That was all that was running through Buffy's head as she laid on the white floor her cell, vision blurred and body stiff. A white surgery gown was all she wore, her clothes having been taken from her.

They're human. Humans are doing this to me. Not demons, not vampires. Humans.

The Initiative had brought her into this place over a week ago. She had not made it easy in any sense of the word. When Riley, the guy supposedly interested in seeing her, had taken her out for a 'date' it had all been for the purpose capturing her. It had taken his whole squad of fifteen men, seven of which had been seriously injured by the Slayer in the attempt, to subdue and bring her to the cell that she currently lay in.

Across from her in the other cells were various demons, some that she knew for a fact, were harmless. Every day two would leave the cells, but one would come back and the one that returned always looked terrible and Buffy knew why. She had been on the receiving end of the Initiative hospitality for the whole time she had been here.

Riley had informed her they wanted to know what she was: there was no way a human could be as strong, as fast and as deadly as her, he had said. When she told him she was a Slayer, his question was "what kind of demon is that?" to which she had replied that she was not a demon. He had not believed her and as a result, she had been subjected to various 'tests.' She shuddered just thinking about them. They had been pumping her full various kinds of drugs, sapping her strength and leaving her too weak to fight back. As a result, she was in complete agony from the experiments.

They constantly tested her resilience, her pain threshold, what levels of temperatures she could operate in amongst others. And without her Slayer healing, she was not recovering from the continued abuse. Even the demons, looked at her with pity now, some actually wanting to help her. But they were just as powerless as she was.

And that was worst part of all this.

She was being held against her will, and tortured; by the humans she had spent most of her adult life protecting. Humans had souls, so they were good, right? Is that not what the Watcher's Council had always told her? Giles had always stressed, anything without a soul was evil. So, why humans, the supposed good guys, do this to her? It did not matter how many times she told them she was as human as they were, they did not listen and caused her more pain. Why was she protecting them from demons when they did so terrible things to themselves?

Buffy swallowed painfully, her body hurting and her mind racing from all the questions, when the door to her cell opened. Through the haze that was her vision, she saw two men coming towards her. Despite her best efforts, all she could do was shuffle away as they came at her and grabbed hold of her legs and arms. She tried valiantly to shake them off, but they were too strong for her as they carried her from the cell.

"It's your luck day, Hostile 16." One of the men drawled a horrid smirk on his face. "We have something special in mind for you today." Buffy felt tears build up in her eyes at their tone of voice as they hauled her through the facility. She was terrified and she hated it, hating not knowing was coming and the fact she could not fight back. Somewhere in the journey towards her hell, she caught a glimpse of something. Whilst her vision was still hazy from the drugs in her system, she could have sworn she saw a flash of white hair, along with a pair of electric blue eyes, eyes that seemed so familiar to her. She tried to desperately to say something, to ask for help but just as soon as they were there, they were gone.

They came to door which they backed through. She let out a whimper as they dropped her on the floor, in front of a third man who was grinning sadistically. She groaned, trying to pull herself up

"Professor Walsh has placed me in charge of the procedures today." He leered as Buffy tried to move away, but the other men quickly grabbed her. "So, we are going to try something new in order to properly gauge your pain threshold." As he spoke, he pulled a combat knife from his belt and nodded to his soldiers, who held her arms down. "If you're a demon, you shouldn't feel a thing."

No, no!

Buffy fought against the two soldiers grip, kicking against the third soldier, who simply grabbed her foot and twisted. She cried out in pain as he pinned his leg down, kneeling in front of her. The sound of fabric ripping echoed through the room as he sliced the white gown in half, leaving her bare to his gaze. He leered, groping her left breast roughly as he reached from his belt, the other men laughing at her attempts to fight back. In sheer desperation, Buffy turned her head and bit down hard on one man's hand. He yowled in pain, the bite actually drawing blood.

"Bitch!" He drew his fist back and slammed on the crown of her head. With crack, the back of her skill crashed back into the hard floor, her vision swimming more than before and her head pounding. Too woozy from the blow combined with the drugs in her system, she could do nothing as the man who had cut open her gown hooked his arms under her knees, his pants now unzipped. She did what she could to brace herself for the pain that was sure to follow.

Suddenly, the door to the room crashed, the door itself slamming into the wall behind the three men as they glanced up in shock at the figure in the doorway. Buffy, in her delirium, could only make out muffled shouts of surprise and then, a yell of horror.

"Hostile 17 is loose!" After that all she could make out was a roar, a terrible bloodcurdling roar that drowned out everything for moment. The grips on her arms and legs suddenly vanished and she curled into a ball as a best she could, listening to sounds above her as she did so.

Whilst it seemed like an eternity to her, it was over in a matter of seconds. There were screams of pain, pleas for mercy, snarls, growls and roars that were all accompanied by the sounds of tearing flesh, bodies crashing against surfaces and snapping bones. Then, all of sudden, silence apart from heaving snarled breathing. She heard the tell-tales signs of bones shifting back from a demonic visage and then the thumps of heavy boots on the floor. Then there was a strange sensation of being lifted from the ground, gently, slowly and tenderly.

Cool skin touched her own, soothing her burning nerves as she felt herself being wrapped in something that felt oddly like leather. Then she felt as if she was floating, the air rushing around her as she was carried out the room and into the hallway. There were sounds of battle, demons screeching, humans yelling and guns firing. Slowly but surely, the noises began to fade as if she were being carried away.

Buffy felt her senses return to her fully for a moment, her body bouncing little as the person carrying her was running. She blinked deliriously, her sight swimming in and out of focus as she finally laid her eyes on the one who saved her. High and sharp cheek bones, bleached white hair and blue eyes that shone with over a century of well-deserved arrogance that could only belong to one person, one vampire.

"Spike…" she whispered his name, like a prayer. He stopped, his face turning to her. She could see the small streaks of blood on his lips as well as splatters over his handsome face. Any other time, that would have sickened her, but all she felt was relief. He opened his mouth to speak, but she heard nothing as she slipped back into welcome slumber

…

It was the steady rumble of a car engine that roused Buffy the second time. She breathed deeply, eyes fluttering open as her head bobbed lightly against a soft leather seat. A car seat to be precise as her vision swam a little before focusing on the man beside her, driving the car. Spike was watching the road, his face now clean but his jaw still clenched, eyes flicking to the rear-view mirror every so often. Never in her life had Buffy thought the sight of the Slayer of Slayers would bring her such relief.

"Spike…" He turned to her, eyes wide at the sight of her awake. His gaze softened as he took her in, still wrapped up tightly in his duster. She was pale, no doubt concussed at the very least and clearly very weak. Her eyes were only half-open, but their emerald depths were warm for now.

"Easy, Buffy." He said softly, returning his attention to the road. His deep, British accent soothed her nerves somewhat. "You've probably got a concussion on top of whatever else they did to you in there." She felt panic rise in her for a moment, her mind acknowledging it but her body too sluggish to respond.

"Did they…?"

"No!" He responded fiercely, his eyes flashing amber for a moment as a snarl slurred his words. "It didn't get that far. I made sure of that." She smiled, relieved beyond measure as her lolled against the seat once more. The subtle suggestion in his voice sent a thrill through her knowing the men were dead or dying. Once, that would have disgusted her.

"Where are we going?" she whispered. He glanced at her for a moment as she felt herself slip back into slumber, but the words she caught as she did so warmed her heart immensely.

"Somewhere safe, pet. Somewhere safe."

Just a quick note, I have six chapters, including this one already written. So I will be updating once I finish a new chapter so I have five saved in case I hit another wall. I'm balancing this alongside writing what I'm hoping is going to be my first novel, so I will try and get chapters finished every week or so.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed.

Reviews fuel the muse.