Spike

History In life Spike, then known as William, was a timid poet (and a bad one at that) who couldn't quite attract the attentions of Cecily, the girl of his dreams. When confronted by the woman, he found that his love was one-sided and was then mortified when his bad poetry about her was mocked by his peers. One peer even went so far as to say that "it sounds like driving a railroad spike through my head", thus earning him his demonic name.

Sired by Drusilla, who had been sired by Angel, Spike began a depraved vampiric existence by earning himself the name "William the Bloody" for his cruel and graphic exploits. Spending the better part of a hundred years in depravity, Spike killed two Slayers, a feat worthy of any vampire who wished to be feared and respected by the underworld. The first Slayer to fall prey to his cruelty was a Chinese girl during the Boxer rebellion. Finding the taste of slayer blood an addicting aphrodesiac, Spike made it his mission in un-life to kill as many Slayers as possible, as often as possible. The second Slayer to fall was a Brooklyn Slayer with a son. Taking from her the black leather duster that would become his signiture jacket, Spike became the unknowing target of hatred by that Slayer's young son.

Moving to Sunnydale after Drusilla had an almost-fatal run-in with a mob in Prague, Spike found himself the target of the Slayer's homicidal attentions. Only for the fact that Angel was needed to restore Drucilla to full strength, Spike would have been more than willing to set up a depraved home elsewhere. Drusilla eventually returned to full health at the cost of Spike's paralysis, and Angel and Drusilla subsequently began flirting around and scheming between them, often leaving Spike in the lurch. Eventually, Spike, who had recovered from his paralysis, temporarily teamed up with Buffy, and helped end Angel's plans to awaken Acathla and to end the world. He left Sunnydale with Drusilla.

Dumped by Drusilla for his act of weakness and lust for such an opposing force, Spike returned to Sunnydale only to be enslaved by the Initiative, a division of the U.S. Army established to study and eliminate supernatural beings. Breaking out of the Initiative's holding cell, Spike quickly found that he was unable to attack living humans on penalty of blinding and debilitating pain when he tried to attack the Buffy's friend Willow. With nowhere to hide and no allies left alive, Spike turned to the very humans he had hoped to kill, offering them information and muscle in exchange for money, protection, and food. Living first with Giles, then with Xander, Spike sank deeper and deeper into the lives of the Scooby Gang until he was an integral part of their existence.

After the death of Buffy, Spike watched over her sister in a twisted sense of duty to the one he had lusted for. When she was resurrected, he found himself entangled in the love life of a Slayer whose soul had been pulled out of the most divine and happy resting place, her aching spirit longing to feel anything, even the self-destructive pleasure of Spike's touch. Revelling in the attention he knew was nothing more than physical, Spike was devistated when Buffy pulled herself out of the relationship. Enraged by her sudden and complete rejection of him and everything he stood for, Spike went on a journey to infuse himself with his soul again. Enduring pain and torment untold, Spike regained his soul and his sacrifice was pivotal to bringing down the Hellmouth in Sunnydale as the champion Buffy needed during the final battle against the First Evil. While he was being engulfed by flames, Buffy told him, "I love you", to which Spike replied with, "No you don't, but thanks anyway".

He later reappeared in Los Angeles where his old acquintance Angel was working in Wolfram & Hart.

Friends

Buffy Summers

After his ensoulment, Spike became more t han an ally to Buffy, becoming a true friend in the wake of all that he had inflicted upon her without a soul.

Drusilla

Lover and sire to Spike, Drusilla was an insane and powerfully clarvoient vampire who revelled in the attention and devotion Spike offered. Sadistic on the highest order, Drusilla and Spike shared an undead love and lust that was all-encompassing. For more than a hundred years, this pair inflicted pain and torture upon unsuspecting masses.

Anya

Spike and Anya often connected, as they both occasionally felt like outsiders. When Xander leaves Anya at the altar at their wedding, Spike and Anya have sex but are caught by the rest of the Scooby Gang.

The Scooby Gang

Though he was allies with the rest of the Scooby Gang when his chip was implanted inside his head, he was often not trusted. However, in most cases though not all (see below), they started to come around when Spike regained his soul.

Enemies

Rupert Giles

Giles, Buffy's watcher, agreed to allow Spike to live with him until better accommodations could be arranged when they had learnt the Initiative implanted a chip instead Spike's head. Finding Spike to be an unbearable house guest, Giles eventually shoved him into someone else's care. Even when Spike regained his soul, Giles was still vehemently against having Spike as an ally and tried to dispose of Buffy behind her back, though unsuccessfully.

Xander Harris

Xander reviled Spike from the start, longing for nothing more than to kill the vampire, but knowing he was too valuable, for a time, to kill outright. Luckily for Spike, Xander had too much respect for Buffy's wishes to kill him during his unwelcome stay in Xander's abode.Like Giles, Xander did not trust Spike after the vampire had his soul back.