Am I Evil?
By Kylia
Willow sat on her bed and let her mind wander. It always wandered to the same place. She was alone. Truly alone. Oz had left. He had said it was for the best, but that had been an excuse. He just didn’t want to be with her anymore. He didn’t find her as exciting as the she-wolf. A part of her was fine with that, or so she had thought. But the idea that she had been passed over by the only person who had ever shown her any interest ate at her. It consumed her.
She heard a knock at the door. "Come in." She said. She wasn’t really in the mood for company.
The door opened and Spike walked in. She jumped off of the bed. "Spike." She watched as he strolled around the room.
"What do you want? A spell? I… I can do that." She knew that wasn’t what he wanted, but she hoped to prolong her life for just a little bit longer, although to be honest, she wasn’t sure why.
Forgetting for a second her desire to end the pain, she rushed towards the door, hoping to escape. Spike caught her and through her back towards the bed. She felt her body hit the end table next to the bed. She straightened up and watched him warily.
"I’ll give you a choice." Spike told her as he stalked towards her slowly.
"Now I’m gonna kill you, no choice in that. But… I can let you stay dead or… I can bring you back, to be like me."
Willow watched as he stalked towards her. She couldn’t help but noticed how sexy he was, stalking towards her like an animal seeking out its prey. For a moment, she let herself notice how well his clothes clung to his form. She saw him suck in his bottom lip slightly as he spoke. She was mesmerized. She couldn’t ignore the desire she felt watching him, as his demon face took over his human features. She wondered, for just a moment, what it would be like if she surrendered. If she allowed him to bite her, allowed him to end her pain.
She heard herself respond, although she wasn’t really sure what made her speak. "I’ll scream."
Spike grinned. "Bonus"
She watched as he bent his head towards her neck, and felt his fangs pierce her flesh. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She could feel her blood being drained from her body, her life slowly giving way, to something else, something new, something powerful. She was vaguely aware of something being pressed against her lips. In the back of her mind she heard him telling her to drink. She complied, without really knowing why she was doing as he asked. She should be fighting him, begging him to let her die. But she knew she didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to be weak.
She felt the thick liquid slide down her throat, the metallic taste heavy in her mouth. She knew that she should be disgusted by what she was becoming, what she was allowing him to make her. She wasn’t. That was her last thought before the darkness claimed her.
Spike watched her sleep. It would be several hours before she woke. He had given her more blood than was needed to embrace her, but he had wanted her to be strong, powerful, an equal.
He had come to her room looking for the Slayer, but he was pleased that he had found Red alone instead. She intrigued him. He had thought of her often since he had kidnapped her the previous year. If he had been smart, he would have turned her then, and left Dru to rot. But no, he had to go running back to Brazil, like a lost puppy. Well, no more. He was through playing second fiddle to his blasted sire. Red was his, and only his. She would make a magnificent vampire; he could just sense that about her.
For all her innocence, there was something dark just under the surface. Something waiting to be unleashed. He couldn’t wait to see the damage she would cause.
A noise outside drew Spike’s attention away from Willow. He looked out the window and saw several of those commandos’s he had escaped from. He turned back to Willow’s sleeping form and cursed. He needed to get her away. She wasn’t ready for a fight. She needed to get used to her new life.
He picked her up and carried her out of the dorm and away from the campus. He placed her gingerly in his car and left Sunnydale behind. There would be plenty of time to return. Plenty of time to seek his revenge on the Slayer and those military guys. With Red by his side, nothing could stop them.
Buffy sighed heavily against the door to her dorm. She closed her eyes tightly. She couldn’t believe what had almost happened. She’d had another run in with those commandos. She didn’t know what they were doing in the dorms. They seemed to be searching for something, or someone.
She let her body sink to the ground in exhaustion. She sat like that for several minutes before she realized how quiet the room was. She opened her eyes, half expecting to see Willow asleep in her bed. She wasn’t.
Buffy took a look around the room. Everything seemed to be in order. The bed seemed to be a bit ruffled, but other than that, everything was fine. She shrugged. Willow had probably gone out. Maybe she was visiting Xander, or Giles. She put in concern she may have felt to the back of her mind as she changed her clothes and climbed into bed. She was asleep in a matter of seconds.
Willow opened her eyes carefully. She looked around the small room. It was dark, but she could still see clearly. She appeared to be in a cabin of some sort. She could feel the ground vibrating under her feet. They were moving. They were on a train. She smiled. The sunrise was still several hours away. The hunger, which filled her dead body, drove her forwards, demanding to be sated.
Willow made her way over to the curtain and took a look out, allowing her demon to come to the fore, increasing her eyesight. She made her way her way down the hallway. All was quiet except for the sounds of even breathing of her fellow passengers. She pulled open a curtain several yards away from her own cabin. There was a couple asleep in the small compartment, blissfully unaware of the fate that awaited them. She could hear their heartbeats pounding inside her head. Their blood drove her closer. She bent over the still bodies and tried to decide whom she would choose first. She grinned evilly as she pulled the man from his position of slumber.
Her fangs descended on his neck, digging into his coarse flesh. Before he could even utter words of shock and horror, he had passed out from fear and blood loss. Willow sucked the stolen blood into her mouth, enjoying the feel of the warm liquid as it slid down her throat. She tossed his body harshly to the floor and turned to look at the woman. Golden eyes met tearful brown. The woman had watched as Willow killed her husband. Too frozen in fear to move, or to even cry out.
Willow took a step closer to the frightened woman, relishing in her fear. It would make the blood that much sweeter, she realized. She picked the woman's stiff body up and brought her mouth to her tender throat. She licked at the place above her pulse point, delighting in the salty taste and the frantic beating of her heart. Sinking her fangs deeply into the fearful woman's neck, she slowly drew the blood into her mouth.
She heard her victim gasp at the pain and then groan as Willow continued to suck her life away, savoring the kill. Once she felt the woman's heart stop beating, she pouted. The woman had had a heart attack from fear. She let the body drop to the floor as she heard the curtain pulled back. She felt his presence before she saw him. She turned around, her golden eyes meeting the blue eyes of her sire. She smiled as her human features returned.
Spike noticed the dead bodies and grinned. "Feel better, pet?" He held a hand out for her to take and led her out of the compartment and back to their own cabin.
"Yes much." She smiled. "Where are we going?"
"Anywhere you want, luv. But first, I have some business to attend to in Brazil."
Willow nodded her understanding and then stopped, suddenly remembering that they had left Sunnydale.
"You didn't kill the Slayer?" She pouted. "I wanted to play."
Spike chuckled. He had been right about her. She would be his equal. "No, Red, I didn't kill the Slayer."
"Can we go back?" Her eyes sparkled at the thought of what she would if they returned to her former home.
"Yes, but not now. You're not ready yet. But soon." He flopped down on the make shift bed in the cabin, exhausted.
He hadn't slept in what seemed like days. Not since he had awoken in that underground lab. He closed his eyes, only to open them in surprise when Willow's cold lips were crushed his, her tongue delving inside, fighting him for dominance. Their kiss seemed endless, neither needing to breathe. Finally Spike pulled away and looked into her mischievous eyes.
"Kitten wants to play?" He flipped them over until she was under him and then stood up, divesting himself of his clothes.
Willow's eyes raked over his body hungrily. Her desire for this man, her sire, was unparalleled. Her feelings for Oz seemed like a distant memory. Someone else's life. It was. She wasn't the same person anymore. Hell, she wasn't even a person anymore. She was a creature, like the one before her now. They were the same, eternal.
She tore her clothes of her own body, eagerly anticipating the union that was sure to follow. She was achieving something in death that she had dreamt about in life. She was whole now, complete, without the burden of life to weigh her down.
She growled at her sire as he bit down on her breast harshly. She reveled in the pain and pleasure his act gave her. Digging her nails in his cool flesh, she pressed his body closer to hers as the smell of his blood assaulted her.
They attacked each other hungrily, a mass of arms and legs, their passion growing with each passing second. Their demons coming to the surface as they each succumbed to their desire, each claiming the other in a blinding fury.
Willow pulled her fangs away from her mate's neck as he did the same. The feel of his blood in her mouth while he drank of hers had brought on the most forceful orgasm she ever had the pleasure of experiencing. She had milked him dry with a forcefulness she didn't know she possessed. It only made him cum harder. She groaned as she felt another orgasm peaking as he started thrusting inside her once again. She matched him in his frantic rhythm. Her vaginal walls clenched violently around him as he bit into her breast once again, sending her over the edge. She came screaming his name.
Their golden eyes met, briefly before both resumed their human masks. Spike kissed her deeply, tasting his blood on her lips. He cock sprang to life inside her. Willow pulled her lips away and grinned wickedly.
"You up for another round, old man?"
Buffy slumped on Giles couch. "She's gone. Oh god, what if she's dead, or worse?"
"I'm sure she's fine. She probably just needed some time alone." Giles reassured his Slayer.
Buffy nodded and then gasped as another thought came to her. "What if those guys got her? The commando's from the dorm the other night?"
"Buffy, you said you that they left. Didn't even get close to your room. I'm sure its fine. Maybe she's at her parents house?"
Buffy relaxed and nodded once again. "Yeah, maybe." She didn't want to believe that anything had happened to her friend. She didn't want to face the fact that she might have failed.
"Now what about Spike?" Giles asked, hoping to change the subject.
"What about him?" Buffy asked absently.
"Xander said he was back in town. Have you seen him?"
Buffy shook her head. "No, and neither has Xander. Harmony told him that he was back, but I don't trust her. She probably made it up. Spike wouldn't be stupid enough to come back here, not after the last time I kicked his ass."
"No, I suppose not." Giles agreed, hoping that Harmony had made it up. With Buffy concerned over Willow's apparent disappearance, she didn't need the distraction.
He wasn't concerned. It hadn't been that long since Spike had left Sunnydale after the fiasco with the ring of Amarra. He had no doubt that Spike would be back, but he didn't think it would be so soon, especially if he had heard about the group of commandos roaming around at night, do God knew what. And as for Willow's disappearance, he believed they would find her at her parent's house, drowning herself in self-pity.
He did feel bad for the girl, but her constant depression had started to grate on everyone's nerves. It would be better for everyone if she just got over it and moved on. But if she couldn't do that, it would be better for her to be depressed away from Buffy. It was dragging the Slayer down. And with the unknown threat these commando's placed, she needed to be completely alert, and ready for anything.
Part 3
Canada 2009
Willow gripped the girls' throat firmly, her nails digging into the tender flesh there. She pushed her hard against the tree and watched her head fall forward as she lapsed into unconsciousness. She dropped the body to the ground and turned the vampire that was standing just behind her.
"Take her." She nodded towards the fallen girl. "Bring her to the master." She eyed the vampire carefully. "I wish to know if she speaks the truth."
Christian nodded. "Yes, mistress."
After Christian had taken the girls body away, Willow turned towards Melanie. She had taken her out hunting tonight. It was the first time in a long time they had come out without Spike or Trevor, Melanie's mate and Willow's second childe. This girl had interrupted their hunt. She spoke of the Slayer, and how her members had dwindled. How the Slayer was made weak and now was the time to take over the Hellmouth. The girl was a servant to a demon who wished to open the portal to the demon dimension. Would they never learn?
"Mellie, I think it may be time to return home. Would you like that?" She took the vampire's hand and grinned. “There is such evil there. You can feel it in the air. And the Slayer? Her blood will be ours. Her pain tangible." She giggled. "Come, let's find you something young to eat."
She led Melanie through the trees to the center of the part. The people in this part of Canada were so trusting. They wandered the streets at night, fearing nothing. They allowed their children free reign in the park after dark. Oh well, they would soon learn. Willow watched her childe as she inhaled deeply smelling the innocence of youth, reveling in the death that was yet to come.
As Melanie left the shadows and found her dinner, Willow thought back to what she had learned. She didn't know if the servant girl spoke the truth, but if she did, it was time to return home. To go back to the mouth of Hell. They had stayed away for far too long as it was, and if the rumors were true, if the Slayer had allied herself with the vermin who had hunted their numbers for their own insidious purpose, then she was no longer a slayer. She was no longer a worthy opponent. No longer worth the hunt. No, if the rumors were true, the Slayer would suffer an eternity of pain, alongside those she had climbed into bed with.
She turned slightly as she heard someone approaching the park from behind her. Sniffing the air, she sighed. Human. Probably the children's mother. She turned around and hid herself in the sagging leaves of the tree. When a young woman came walking by, crunching her feet on the leaves as she went, Willow reached out and grabbed the woman, wrapping an arm around her and covering her mouth with her hand. The woman bit down on Willow's palm, drawing blood.
Willow laughed as she pulled the woman closer to her. She gripped her shoulder firmly with her other hand while she lifted the wounded palm up, tilting it so she could see in the light of the moon. She licked her blood away from her hand. When she turned back to the woman, she noticed she was staring at her with a mix of revulsion and terror etched across her features. Willow smiled broadly, letting her fangs show menacingly.
"Trust me, you're better off this way." She spoke soothingly as she placed one hand along her tender throat. She caressed the woman's head lightly with her other hand, bringing it to rest on the back of her head. In once swift motion she snapped her neck and let her body fall to the floor. She looked sadly as the woman for a second before speaking softly.
"You wouldn't have wanted to bury your children." She whispered as she turned back towards the children's play area.
All was silent now. Nothing moved, save for the graceful moves of Melanie as she made her way back through the trees, cloaked in darkness. Willow had to laugh. She had taught her childe well. She wasn't very old. Barely three, but she was strong, and intelligent. Two things Willow had insisted on. She had made her for Trevor. She was to be his mate.
Willow had hoped Melanie would temper Trevor. He was brash and impulsive, obnoxious and impatient. Not unlike Spike, but without Spike's years of experience. Without Spike's sense of things. In time Trevor would learn all of that.
"Mum?" Melanie called softly from behind her. "You ready?"
Willow smiled at Melanie. "Yes lets." She clasped the younger vampire's hand and the two walked off into the night, towards home.
Buffy slumped into the couch wearily. She looked up when Riley entered the room. She smiled slightly but he could tell her heart wasn't in it. She was exhausted, and she had only patrolled for less than an hour. It really wasn't necessary anymore for her to go on nightly patrols.
Riley and the other member's of the initiative kept a tight rain on the general demon population. She didn't know exactly what they did with the creatures they captured and she did really want to know. It was enough for her that they disappeared and she never had to deal with them again.
Honestly, she was only really needed as the slayer if some major baddie came to town, looking to destroy the world, or if some prophecy surfaced. She enjoyed her semblance of a semi-normal life. She had two children with Riley and they didn't need to know what went bump in the night. She was content to pretend she was just your average normal person.
And it worked, for the most part, but every once in awhile she would remember how things used to be…before. Before Angel had left. Before the Initiative. Before Willow had disappeared. That had been the worst. She was there one moment, and gone the next.
Buffy had never seen her again after the first night she had run into the Initiative. There had been some sort of scuffle with Riley and his commandos at her dorm. Although she didn't know it was Riley at the time. But by the time she had returned home, Willow was gone, never to be seen or heard from again.
At first everyone was kind of relieved to be free of her constant whining over Oz's departure, but relief soon gave way to fear that she had been killed, or worse, captured by the Initiative. When it was clear that hadn't happened, the fear gave way to anger that she had just left. She had apparently run away without a goodbye. Without a second thought.
They knew she wasn't dead because they hadn't found a body, and the threat that she was a vampire quickly became an implausibility when they realized that had she been turned she would have been there, taunting them, as Angelus had done. But since she was simply…gone, they realized she had just run away, like a coward, unwilling to deal with her pain.
All that remained of their feelings for her was anger at her cowardice. But her departure had weakened the group. They no longer had cohesion. Buffy had thrown herself into the Initiative as soon as she had learned about them. Their fight was the same as hers. She enjoyed the feeling of having military backup. Xander and Anya were still around, but not as much. Anya was extremely uncomfortable around the Initiative, which was something Buffy could never understand. You'd think she'd be grateful to know someone was keeping the streets safe for their children.
Giles was still around. He was still the constant in her universe. He had entered into a relationship with Maggie Walsh. At first they clashed on everything, but eventually they had reached an understanding. Giles was fascinated by her work with demons. So much so that he probably knew more about what happened to them once they were captured than the Slayer did. It didn't really matter, so long as the streets of Sunnydale were safe. And they were.
Buffy sighed and wondered absently when she would stop dwelling on the past. It was over and done with. Nothing could be changed, and nothing that had happened then could affect the future.
Cordelia screamed as she bolted upright in bed. She was panting heavily and gasping for breath. Her mind was lost in the sea of images left over from her vision. She kept shaking her head, willing what she had seen to go away. Praying that just this once, the vision was wrong.
She felt cool hands take her gently into strong arms. Angel pressed her back against his naked chest, soothing her. He ran a hand through her hair tenderly.
"What is it, Delia? What did you see?" His voice was quiet and soothing, helping her to relax.
"Willow" She whispered. "And Spike." She tilted her head up to look into her lover's eyes. "They're coming home."
Cordelia watched Angel as he finished his breakfast and washed his mug out. She waited for him to join her at the dining room table before she broached the subject she knew had been on both their minds since her vision earlier that evening.
"So, we go to Sunnydale?" She asked quietly.
Angel looked up at her, his face expressionless, but his eyes held a hint of sadness. "Yes.
"Why do you think they've come back?" Cordelia asked, wondering what could bring the vampire couple back to Sunnydale after all these years.
Angel shrugged. "I'd like to think it's just a coincidence. That they haven't come back for…" He trailed off not wanting to voice his concerns.
"For revenge?" Cordelia asked. She shook her head. "They don't have any reason.
Angel placed a cool hand over one of her warm ones. 'Delia, they're vampires. They don't need a reason." He reminded her softly.
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I know that mister states-the-obvious, but if that was the reason, why wait so long? Why come home now?"
Angel furrowed his brows in thought. She had a point. "So, why do you think they've come back?"
Cordelia thought about the question, and what might have happened to bring the couple back. "Something's changed." She stood up. "We should get going." She turned back to her lover. "I assume you want to be there before them?"
Angel laughed as the amused expression on her face. She knew him too well. "Yes, Love, get packed. I'll call for a flight."
Cordelia left him alone in the dining area as she went to go back a couple of bags
for their trip. It would be a long trip and an even longer visit in Sunnydale.
The couple hadn't been back there in nearly seven years, not since they had
moved from Los Angeles to New York.
They had moved their business from one city of lost souls to another. Their mission hadn't changed, just the scenery. They still saved lost souls. Angel still worked for redemption, and she still suffered skull-splitting vision headaches. Not much had changed.
She wondered what would happen when they arrived in Sunnydale. Angel hadn't wanted anyone to know the truth. He hadn't wanted to hurt them with the knowledge of what Willow had become. He let them believe what they wanted. That she had run away, fled Sunnydale like a lost child.
He didn't tell them that she had died. That she had became a vampire, a creature of the night. That she hunted with a passion Angel himself had not seen in over a century. That she killed without thought, without mercy, without remorse. That had sired three children of her own. In essence he lied. No not lied, omitted. It was a decision he had not regretted, not once in the past decade, but one he knew he would be forced to explain.
It is said that everything comes full circle. If that's true, this was their moment.
Willow stepped out of the car and took a look at the house. It was large, and secluded, covered on all sides by heavy vines, which would keep the sunlight out. She opened the front door and took a step inside. She could feel the night's breeze as it wafted through the house. She noticed one wall was filled with an incredibly cheery mural, covered in bright, sunny flowers. She turned around and faced Spike who was watching her for a reaction of their new home.
She smiled. "Home Sweet Home." She nodded to Christian, who was standing just behind Spike, awaiting instructions. "I want the wall repainted. Now." She pointed to the offending mural.
Christian nodded and headed up the large staircase. "I'll check the other rooms."
Spike chuckled. "That's what I like about him. Always thinking ahead."
Willow laughed. "Well, after that time in Calgary, he doesn't like to make the Mistress cranky."
She pushed Spike violently against the staircase banister and devoured his lips with her own. When she pulled away she had a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Shall we christen the place?"
Before Spike could reply, Melanie entered the room. "Mum."
Willow turned around, her eyes glowing gold at the intrusion.
"Sorry." Melanie apologized, but Willow could tell from the look in her eyes she wasn't.
"What is it?" Willow asked impatiently.
"Grandfather called," she told them somewhat nervously.
Willow waved her hand away dismissing Melanie and then turned to Spike. "He'll be coming." She whispered. "Delia would have told him we were coming home."
Spike nodded. "You sent her the vision?"
Willow grinned. "Well what's a family reunion without all of the family?"
Malvicon paced angrily in his cave. His servant had disappeared. It had been several days since he'd heard anything from her, and he feared she had died. Her death didn't bother him as much as the concern of whom may have killed her, and whether or not she had told anyone of his plans.
She was a special breed, and very few people could have accomplished her death, without him finding out about it. That fact alone bothered him more than any other. If she was in fact dead, and had died after revealing his plans, would he have to deal with her killers? Or had she simply run away? Or worse still, had she been taken from him? Her gifts stolen by her would-be killers? In any case, he didn't have the luxury of speculation. He needed to do what he came for and leave. Sunnydale was no longer safe for creatures of the night. The Slayer and her cohorts had seen to that.
But soon, it wouldn't matter. They would all be dead, and evil would rule the night once again.
Part 5
Willow walked into the seedy bar and sniffed the air. It smelled of stale liquor and had the stench of the sewer. Not much had changed she noticed. A few of the patrons turned to look at her, but just as quickly turned away, returning to whatever it was they were doing before she entered. The bartender hadn't looked up from the counter his was scrubbing ferociously. She could smell the slight with of some noxious secretions. If she had to guess, she would say one of his patrons had vomited all over the bar.
She stepped directly in front of the bartender, blocking the dim light he was using to see. Willie looked up at Willow and froze.
"Hey, you're the Slayer's friend." As he spoke he noticed something odd about her and a chill went down his spine. "Only you're not, are you?" Willow raised an eyebrow. "Not the Slayer's friend, I mean. But you are the girl? The hacker?"
"I was." Willow's voice held a steel edge to it, making Willie extremely nervous.
Willie looked around the bar and noticed that with the exception of two vampires he had never seen before, the room was empty. The two new vampires were blocking the two exits.
Willie gulped. "What… what do you want?"
Willow smiled. "We're new in town." She spoke softly, but her eyes belied any kind of sincerity. "I've heard that there are some… people…in town, that don't belong here." She spat the word people as if it was venom in her mouth.
Willie didn't even pretend to misunderstand. He didn't know this vampire, but he had the distinct impression that the wrong answer would get him very dead very quickly. "The Initiative?" He asked.
Willow nodded. Willie took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. It had been a long time since he had feared any of the vampires or demons to come into his place. With the Initiative here, gone were the days where he had to fear the few demons that had remained in Sunnydale. All of the dangerous ones had left town.
"Where are they?" She asked calmly. When Willie hesitated Willow reached over the bar and grabbed him around the throat, pulling him completely over the bar.
"I believe the lady asked you a question."
Willow turned around to face the intruder. He looked human, but he wasn't. She could smell the demon in him. Judging from his complete lack of taste in wardrobe, she had a fair idea who he was.
"You have the answers I seek, or are you merely here for the show?" She asked as she dropped Willie to the ground. She walked over to Whistler.
"It's my curse,” he muttered. “Nobody…"
"Understands you. Yes I know." Willow interrupted. "I don't need to understand you. I just need to know." She took a step closer to the demon. "Where is the Initiative?"
Whistler shrugged. "It's not my concern."
"What is then?" She asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Willow saw Willie get up and start to scramble away. Without out taking her eyes off of Whistler, she reached her left hand out and squeezed it into a fist. Willie stopped his movement and grabbed at his throat, gasping for breath. "I didn't tell you that you could leave." She unclenched her hand and Willie started to suck in some much-needed oxygen.
Whistler raised an eyebrow. "Impressive." She nodded, and waited for him to continue.
"My boy will be here soon. What he," he nodded towards Willie, "can't tell you, they will be able to."
Whistler turned around and headed towards the door and the vampire he had incapacitated to get in. He stopped and turned around. "Welcome Home."
Buffy paused in the hall as the incessant banging continued. She wiped her hands on her apron and went to the front door. She peeked through the chain and widened her eyes in surprise.
"Brian? What are you doing here?" She asked the vampire as she unlatched the chain.
Brian burst into the room. "Where's Finn?" He looked around nervously.
"He's patrolling with Graham tonight. What's wrong?" She asked concerned.
Brian was a sort of informant for the Initiative. He kept his ear tot he ground in the seedier parts of town and would tell them anytime anyone new came to town, but she had never seen him so agitated. He usually just phoned in his information and had only been to there house a small handful of times and usually only to collect his payment. The people backing The Initiative didn't sanction the work he did for them so Riley and Buffy paid him themselves. Unorthodox, yes, but his information had been invaluable.
Brian walked around the living room nervously. "There was a vampire, at Willie's. A woman. Powerful."
Buffy nodded. So far, it didn't sound too dangerous.
"When I left, I heard some of the others talking. They say she came here with a master." He looked up at Buffy. "They say it was William the Bloody"
Buffy froze at the name. The wooden spoon she was holding dropped to the floor. "Are you sure?" She asked, not wanting to believe that Spike was back.
Brian nodded. "Look, I'm gonna go, get out of town. If he's back, I'm not sticking around for the fireworks."
Buffy nodded her understanding. "Thanks." She whispered as the vampire ran out the door.
Buffy flopped down on her couch, not wanting to believe that it was true. Spike had come back. She had known eventually that he would. But as the years had gone by, Buffy had grown complacent. She had started to believe that wherever Spike was, he had been staked. But now she realized that hadn't happened. She wondered what had brought him back. Most of the vamps that showed up in Sunnydale these days were either too young or too stupid to realize that the town had been taken over by the Initiative. They never lasted long.
But Spike was neither. If he was back, there was a reason. She picked up the phone hesitatingly. She didn't want to make the phone call, but she needed to. She dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Just as she was about to hang up, she heard a vaguely familiar British voice on the other end.
"Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless." The voice spoke clearly into the line.
"Wesley?" Buffy asked, surprised. She didn't know that Wesley still worked with Angel and Cordelia. She had thought he stayed in Los Angeles when they moved to New York.
"Buffy?" He asked, equally surprised. He knew the Slayer never called the office. Never spoke to any of them really. If there was some demon-related business to attend to, it was always Giles who called. But even that was very rare. Only three times since the move to New York.
"Yes." Buffy shook her head, trying to remember why she had called. "Is Angel there?"
Wesley paused. "No. Can I help you with something?" He knew that Angel and Cordelia had left for Sunnydale, but he also knew that they didn't alert anyone to their imminent arrival.
"No, I guess not. Do you know when he'll be back? I can maybe call back." She knew she was pleading, but her fear was starting to grip her like a vice. She didn't know if she could handle dealing with Spike, and despite the manpower, and resources at the Initiatives disposal, she didn't think they were ready for him either. Not to mention this woman Brian spoke of. It was probably Drusilla, but that knowledge only made her more nervous. She knew that Angel still kept in contact with his errant childe, and may be able to shed some light on his reappearance in Sunnydale, or perhaps tell her what she longed to hear. That Spike wasn't back, and Brian had been mistaken.
"I'm sorry, Buffy. I don't know when they'll be back." He was reluctant to give her any more information than was necessary. He looked up when he saw Faith enter the office, silencing her with a look.
"That's okay." Buffy hung up the phone without so much as a goodbye. She placed the phone on the receiver and waited for Riley to get home, trying to decide if she should call Giles. She decided not to. He would only suggest that the Initiative do a town-wide sweep, and she didn't think that was the smartest idea.
"What's up?" Faith asked as Wesley hung up the phone.
"Buffy. She was looking for Angel." He handed her a file. "We have a meeting at four with Mrs. Luedin. She said something about her dog barking at her neighbor, whom she thinks in a vampire."
Faith snorted as she flipped through the file. She looked around the office. "Where are the lovebirds?"
Wesley looked up at his slayer. "Sunnydale."
Faith raised her eyebrows and whistled. "How come we miss all the good stuff?"
Willow walked through the vacant streets with a smile. The sleazy bartender had told her everything he knew. There was much he couldn't tell her, but she was confident that her grandsire would have those answers. He would be here shortly. She could feel it.
She wondered if Buffy knew that her old love was coming to town. She doubted it. All of her sources had reported that The Slayer had had no contact with Angel since he and his mate had moved to New York. It didn't matter; it would make Buffy's pain that much sweeter.
Willow turned down a once familiar street. All of the lights were out, save one. And it was the only one that counted. She looked up at the sign. "Harris' Hellmouth Haven". The store was a tourist trap. A place where the ignorant could go and find novelty items depicting tame versions of vampires and demons, all the while not knowing what lurked in the dark. Only Xander would have such a place, and from the small crowd that was leaving the store, it appeared it was a successful business.
She grinned evilly as she pushed opened the door.
"We're closing." Xander spoke as the chime on the front door sounded. "Maybe you can come back tomorrow?" He asked without looking up to see who had entered his store.
"Oh, but Xan, it's been so long already."
Xander froze at the voice. He hadn't heard it in nearly a decade, and was unsure he was hearing it now. It was probably his imagination. Another dream. The others had believed she had run away, but he never had. He knew something had happened to her, something horrible, something she couldn't control. And he believed he knew what it was.
"What? No hug? Have you forgotten me already?" Willow asked sweetly.
Xander looked up, his eyes raking over her form. It had been so long since he had seen her. She hadn't aged, not a single day. He looked into her eyes. They were the same green he always remembered, but there was something else in them, something he hadn't seen in a friend in twelve years. It was at that moment that he realized that what he had feared was true. His Willow was a vampire. And not the cuddly kind. Not the brooding, souled version Buffy had fallen in love with. No, she was a killer. But, she was still Willow.
"Willow." He gulped as he walked around the counter. He looked around the store to see if she had brought anyone with her. "Where's Spike?" he asked, testing a theory.
Willow raised an eyebrow and then broke out into a grin. Not a sneer, but an honest grin. "How did you know?" She asked curiously.
"I didn't, not really." He looked at her carefully as he took another step closer. "It's true though, isn't it?"
He didn't know why he wasn't running away. Why he wasn't grabbing his trusty stake and holy water, why he wasn't begging for his life. He knew that she was a vampire, and could easily kill him, but he wasn't afraid. He was so happy to see her after all these years, demon or not.
Willow closed the space between then, surprised at his lack of fear. He wasn't nervous. He seemed honestly happy to see her, even knowing what she was. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him fiercely, letting him go after a second. She took a step back and looked around the store.
"Nice place you have here. Anya's idea?" She picked up a novelty stake. The wood was sanded down to an almost marble-like smoothness, the point rounded so as not to be of any real danger.
Xander nodded. "Why are you here? Why did you come back?" He needed to know she wasn't there to kill them all.
Willow set the stake down and picked up a small vial of holy water. She opened the lid and sniffed it, a wide grin gracing her features. "Fake? Why Xander, I'm astonished."
Xander shrugged. "It's cheaper, besides who is gonna know? It's not like the people who buy that stuff would know what to do with it if they came across any of the walking dead."
Willow laughed. Xander logic. She had missed that. She hadn't thought much about him in the past ten years but standing here, in front of him, taking in his incredible lack of fear, it reminded her of why she had loved him so much. She shook her head from her thoughts and addressed his earlier question.
"The Initiative. They don't belong here." She told him simply.
Xander snorted. "So what you've come back to save Sunnydale from itself? Why do I find that hard to believe?"
Willow wrapped a hand around his wrist, pulling his body flush with hers and twisting his arm forcefully behind his back. "Don't push me. I push back."
Willow grinned as she heard his heartbeat slow after his initial shock. She inhaled the smell of his blood as she brought her lips to just under his ear. "I could kill you, right here. I could leave you for the slayer to find."
"But you won't." Xander's voice was barely above a whisper, knowing she could here him.
"Or, I could turn you. Watch as you slaughtered those you love." She continued, ignoring his comment. "Tell me Xander, how do you feel about eternal life?"
Cordelia climbed out of the rental car with a groan. "Did I tell you how much I hate these little Japanese economy cars?"
Angel quirked an eyebrow. "Four times. Once while we were waiting at the airport for the cab, once in line at the rental agency, and twice on the way here."
She grinned at him. "Just checking. You know how forgetful you can be in your old age." She smiled sweetly. She looked around the empty street. "Are you sure we're in the right place?"
Angel pointed to an old house across the street from where he had parked. "There. Can't you feel them?"
Cordelia concentrated on the house for a second and then looked at Angel. She had this strange expression on her face. "She isn't here." Cordelia looked around the empty neighborhood for a second before following Angel across the street towards the large house.
When they reached the door, Angel pushed it open without knocking. A snarling vamp met them. His fangs were bared and he looked ready to pounce. Angel pushed him aside before entering the main entryway. He saw the large staircase and let his eyes travel up the winding stairs. At the top stood a woman. Se appeared to be about twenty. Her dark brown hair was thick and fell in a tumble around her oval face. Her eyes were as deep and dark as his own, although he could sense a serenity about her. When she saw him she smiled broadly and bound down the stairs.
"Grandfather! What are you doing here?"
Angel embraced the young vampire. Melanie turned towards Cordelia, and equally large grin gracing her features. Cordelia held up a hand. "Don't even think about calling me grandmother. I'll stake you where you stand."
Spike chuckled from his place behind his Sire and the outspoken girl he liked to call his mate. "I see you got Red's invitation."
Angel turned around. He eyed his childe carefully. "Why are you back? It isn't safe here. For any of us."
Spike shrugged. "Red wanted to come home." He took a step closer and whispered in Angel's ear. "In case you've forgotten, saying no to her isn't an option." He stepped back and smiled mischievously at Cordelia. "Mum."
Cordelia hugged Spike. "Good to see you Blondie. Where is Willow?"
Buffy paced around her living room nervously. She had changed her mind and called Giles and told him about Brian's visit and what he had told her. Buffy had then called Riley and told him about her concern. They had decided that a town-wide sweep was probably a good idea. So they had abandoned their general patrols for a more concentrated search.
It had been several hours since she had heard from anyone, and was growing increasingly nervous about what might be happening. She had tried to call Xander and Anya at home and alert them to the possible danger so they would stay safely inside their house. But, as usual, her only response had been the answering machine. Anya wouldn't speak to Buffy or Riley, so she screened their calls in an effort to avoid them. She didn't understand what the former demon had against her. But it wasn't something she was likely to understand, and honestly she had ceased caring a long time ago.
The sound of a car pulling up brought Buffy's thought back to the present. She ran out of the house to find Riley shouting into his jeep's CB radio.
"Are you sure? When did you last hear from him?" He demanded.
Buffy couldn't understand the muffled reply but the look on Riley's face sent a wave of fear through her.
"What is it? What's wrong?" She asked as Riley slammed his jeep door.
"Forrest. He hasn't checked in."
Willow looked the struggling body into the house and threw him against one wall, enjoying the thud it made.
"Lookey what I found?" She called into the living room from the entryway.
When Spike came out and saw the slumped body he smiled. "Dinner? Luv, you shouldn't have."
"I didn't." She grinned evilly. "I would think a demon of your years could fetch his own supper." She turned to face her lover and smiled when she saw Angel standing behind him.
"Peaches! You came!!"
Angel groaned. "Will, you've been picking up some of Spike's bad habits."
Willow hugged the other vampire tightly. "Only the more annoying ones." She whispered into his ear. When she pulled back she looked around the room. "Where's Delia?"
Spike nodded towards the staircase. "Mellie insisted on giving her the grand tour."
A groan from the floor brought Willow's attention back to the uninvited guest. She stepped over his body as he struggled to regain consciousness. Pulling him to his feet, Willow allowed her demon visage to come to the fore. "Do you know who I am?" She asked.
Forrest blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to focus. When he did, he wished he hadn't. The vampire was striking, even with her vampire face showing. He didn't think he'd been this close to one in a long time, who wasn't unconscious or bound.
He nodded. "You're a hostile." He replied his voice sounding harsh despite the fear, which was starting to course through him.
Willow laughed. "I'm very hostile, and you are about to die. Any last requests?"
Buffy ran into the store and nearly tripped over Xander's body. She screamed when she saw him lying limply on the floor.
"Xander, please be okay. Oh God!" She moaned as she pulled his lifeless body into her arms. She placed a hand against his neck. Nothing. She let the sobs wrack her body as she stared into the dead eyes of her oldest friend.
Anya was placing the last of her baggage into the trunk of her car when Giles pulled into her driveway. She ignored him as she walked back into her house.
"Anne, Alex, get in the car, now." She told her seven-year-old twins as she picked up the car seat, which carried their youngest child.
"Anya? I have some rather bad news." Giles told her as she fastened the baby's seat into the passenger side.
Anya closed the door and looked up at the former watcher. "Save it." She told him as she walked around to the driver's side door. "He's gone. Nothing will change that." She opened the door and took a seat. After she rolled the window down slightly, she turned to look at watcher. "I used to like you, but you've crossed the line, and now it's time to pay the consequences." She started up the engine. "Whatever happened here tonight, is just the beginning."
Anya rolled her window back up and pulled out of her driveway, tears falling down her face.
Giles watched her drive away, not completely understanding what she had meant, or even what she was talking about. He had come to tell her that she should stay indoors until they had completed the sweep, or maybe to take her kids to their summerhouse, which was several towns over and sufficiently away from the Hellmouth. He had no idea why it was she was leaving, or even what she was talking about. Although to be honest, he rarely understood that woman, if ever.
Trevor walked the streets briskly. He wasn't hungry, haven't already had dinner, but he was in the mood to play a little game. Mother had told him what fun this town could be, and he was eager to find out. He walked through the cemetery, inhaling the lovely stench of death, which permeated the air. He had never been to a place, which had the very essence of evil, surrounding it, not like this place did.
He was so intent on the feel of the place that he failed to notice the small group of men who had begun following him. He tilted his head slightly, thinking he had heard something. The next thing he knew his body was taking over by some sort of electrical field, and then nothing. He slipped in unconsciousness.
Buffy ran frantically down the street. She didn't know what she would say when
she got there. She didn't know anything any more. Her life had ceased to make
any sense. Willow had run away, Xander and Anya had grown apart; even Angel and
Cordelia had left. They had moved from Los Angeles to New York several years
ago and she could never bring herself to call them. She didn't want to be
reminded of the way her life had changed. The way that Angel was still fighting
evil, still saving souls, while she, the Slayer, sat back and watched others to
it for her.
And now, Xander was dead. Spike had killed him. She knew it had to have been him. And now she was going to hunt him down, and do what she should have done a decade ago. She was going to stake him, and watch as he turned to dust.
She turned down a small street and looked around. She had found out from Brian where the new master was supposed to be living. She looked up. There was a large house, which seemed to be looming over her in the darkness. It was surrounded on all sides by heavy vines. Perfect for keeping the sunlight away, she thought dryly.
She was about to barge in through the front door, completely oblivious to the kind of danger that kind of entrance would cause. She was halted in her steps as the front door was thrust open.
Cordelia stood there, in the doorway, her back to Buffy, as she was speaking to someone Buffy couldn't see.
"Cordy?" Buffy choked out, shocked beyond belief to see the former cheerleader standing there. She looked the same, but different. She hadn't appeared to age, which considering it had only been seven years wasn't that surprising, but there was something different about her. She couldn't quite place it.
"Buffy." Cordelia looked the slayer over carefully. "What are you doing here?" She asked casting a nervous glance behind the Slayer, searching for anybody she may have brought with her. "Are you alone?"
Buffy nodded absently. "Is… is Angel here?"
Cordelia stepped aside, allowing Buffy to see Angel who stood behind Cordelia, leaning up against the staircase banister.
"You shouldn't be here," he told her quietly. He was thankful both Spike and Willow were preoccupied with their 'guest'.
"So it's true then? Spike is back?" She asked, both needing to know, and dreading the answer.
"How did you know?" Angel asked cautiously. He knew Spike hadn't left the house since their arrival. He was waiting, although for what Angel wasn't certain.
Cordelia closed the door and moved silently around the entryway, appraising the slayer. She could sense the demon's hatred for her. It was strong. Despite the control the soul had over Angel's body, she couldn't imagine how he had dealt with the desire to kill her. Her close proximity was driving home emotions Cordelia had never felt before.
Angel could feel Cordelia in the back of his mind. It was a mixture of disgust, curiosity and fear. It was then that he realized that this was the first time the couple had been near the Slayer since before the change. They were frequently around Faith, but she was different. The demon accepted her more readily than it had ever accepted Buffy. He never stopped to question why that was, but now, feeling his demons reaction to Buffy, through his link to Cordelia reminded him of exactly how things had changed, and how much they hadn't.
He hadn't really changed. He was the same demon he had been when he had met Buffy. He was the same vampire cursed with a souled existence. Sure other things had changed, but his demon had remained the same. The fact that his demon had accepted Cordelia fully, despite her humanity, attested to how impossible a relationship with Buffy had been. He shook his head of the thoughts and memories, which seemed to be invading. So much had changed. Things he had never wanted or expected, but things that he wouldn't change.
Buffy stared at Angel carefully. It had been so long since she had seen him. So long since she had even spoken to him. Seeing him here, in what was apparently Spike's house, brought back a rush of emotions. But not the emotions she would have expected on seeing her old love after so much time.
She didn't feel that familiar ache that seeing him used to bring her. She could
remember what their love had been like, what it felt like, but it was nothing
more than a memory now. Things had changed. They had changed. Now, she found
herself wondering what it was Angel was doing back in Sunnydale and with
Cordelia as well. She knew that they worked together but she hadn't known they
were that close. She had believed Angel had felt sorry for the former
cheerleader and that was why he had let her following him to New York. But
seeing her here, with him, on what didn't appear to be a business trip, brought
a whole new slew of questions to her mind.
Her mind shuffled through all of these thoughts quickly, as she tried to answer his question. She stared at him, demanding an explanation for his arrival in Sunnydale as well as for why he was at Spike's house. "Drusilla." She spoke as calmly as she could muster under the circumstances.
"What?" Angel asked, shocked. Of all of the answers she could have given him, that was nowhere on the list.
"She's here, in Sunnydale." When he looked at her blankly, she continued. "Drusilla, she's…"
"Dead." Cordelia spoke for the first time since Buffy entered the house. Buffy looked at her oddly. "She's dead."
"What? No, someone saw her, tonight. She's alive, or at least undead." Buffy denied. She turned towards Angel. "How do you know?"
"We felt it." Cordelia spoke quietly. "She's been dead a long time. Whoever you saw, it wasn't her."
Buffy stood there in shock. She was positive it had been Drusilla. Who else could it have been? Whoever Brian had seen had come into town with Spike. If not Drusilla, then who?
A shriek from upstairs drew Angel's attention away from Buffy. Cordelia ran upstairs to see what had happened. She found Melanie huddled on the floor in the hall, sobbing blood red tears.
"Shh, Mellie, what's wrong?" Cordelia soothed as she brought the vampire into her arms.
"They took him. They're hurting him." She cried.
Cordelia didn't ask who; she had a bad feeling she knew who Melanie was talking about. "Come on, You need to rest." She took the vampire into the nearest room and lay her down on the bed. After it appeared she had drifted off to sleep, Cordelia returned down stairs. She turned Angel, ignoring the Slayer, who had started wandering into the living room.
"It's Trevor. They have him."