FanFiction Archive

Bonds of Soul and Demon - Darkest Before The Dawn

Willow had found herself left out by her friends. Buffy and Xander were furious with her over the affair they thought she was having with Spike, despite her insistance that she wasn't having any sort of affair with the blond vampire. They were positive that she was having sex with Spike, that she would so easily betray her friends just because a cute, well okay, a sexy and dangerous vampire had talked to her. They didn't want to hang out with her, and kept making little comments about her doing nasty things with the evil one.

Oz and Cordelia both seemed to have decide that she was some sort of dreadful person. Cordelia was sniping at her, making as many hurtful little comments as she could, although there was so much less that she could say about her clothing these days. Oz simply avoided her, looking at her silently, his eyes filled with hurt.

It hurt that her friends were treating her like this. She had told them repeatedly that she was not sleeping with Spike. They had apparently decided that she was guilty before even hearing her side, and seemed to want nothing to do with her anymore. She had nobody at school now. She went and visited Jenny at the hospital, but there had been no change. She was still in a coma, with no signs of waking up.

The only consolations she had were her dreams and her vampires. Spike would call her on the phone, as well as having internet access and sending her instant messages during the day. He had decided that since she was his new mum, he should try to be supportive for her. In her dreams, she talked with the Master, and sometimes with Darla, learn ing about the history of her new family, learning what it was like to have parents that cared about her. She was fairly certain that she had briefly met Darla, throwing a jar of Holy water on her at the Harvest. They had become like parents to her, even if only their ghosts, visiting in her dreams.

She was going for walks now with Angelus. They would meander along the paths just outside of town, talking about little things, holding hands and kissing under the light of the moon. She would ask him to tell her about some of the places he'd been, the history he'd seen. They had been growing closer, learning more about each other, and kissing and touching.

She knew that he wanted more, that he wanted to posess her body in passionate ways that she could only imagine - he had told her so one evening. She was torn between eagar anticipation and nervousness, and certainly not ready for that just yet. He was taking his time, wooing her to him. When they were finally together, it would be something special. Willow wanted things between them to always be amazing and perfect.

As for his reasoning, Angelus didn't want to rush Willow. He wanted her by his side for the rest of eternity. That meant he had to go carefully. He was building a foundation for their future, gaining her trust, and her heart. He knew that if things got to the point where Willow gave herself to him, of her own will, she would be his forever. She would not leave him if she gave him her heart, the only thing that could make her go would be an outside force or a concerted effort of stupidity from him. Something like what the Slayer and her followers were doing.

He was still a bit baffled by the fact that they thought Willow was sleeping with Spike. He knew that Spike had Dru, loved her with all his undead heart, doted on her every whim. Spike would never betray Dru like that. He would have also thought that her 'friends' would have more faith in Willow's integrity than that. There was also the fact that he had made it clear that Willow was now his. She talked with Spike, but he knew that Spike had not made any moves towards her romantically or sexually. Willow had also had several talks with Dalton, finding common ground with the book loving vampire.

It didn't truly matter. Their foolishness was driving a wedge between them and Willow. She would still probably try to save one of them if she saw them in danger, but she wasn't choosing to give her time to them anymore. Willow was spending more of her time with his family. She was also loosing her fears about his intentions, becoming less certain that they had no future. Things were working wonderfully. Spike thought she was bloody amazing, his minions had come to adore her, Dalton thought she was wonderful... the only possible complication was Dru.

Dru couldn't seem to understand why he wasn't sleeping with her. He was Angelus, the soul was gone, so she thought that everything should be as it was all those years before. She wanted him to take her, to give her days of pain and pleasure, to have Spike competing fiercely for her time. It wasn't going to happen. Things changed over time, and he no longer felt the need to torment Spike by taking his lover simply because he could. He didn't burn for dark hair and clouded eyes anymore, he wanted eyes of green and hair of brilliant red.

But Dru kept babling about bad trees taking her daddy away from her. She would twirl around, her skirts flaring around her, swearing that once the tree was gone, all would be as it should again. Daddy would be hers again, and the stars would sing red songs once more. He was worried about her, fearing that she would harm Willow in her efforts to reclaim him as her lover.

~

Drusilla was not happy. Her daddy was ignoring her to spend his time with the little tree. The little tree wasn't even playing naughty games with her daddy, and he would rather spend his time with her than his princess. It made her angry. Her Spikey kept trying to distract her from thinking about the tree, but it wasn't enough.

It wasn't enough that her Spikey was devoted to her. She wanted her daddy back, and if he wouldn't leave the tree, then she would have to take matters into her own hands and fix it. The moon was whispering that the darts of cupid were in play, and that change would be coming soon. She could also hear the beginnings of a new voice. His voice was deep, and she couldn't make out his words yet, but she could feel his power in the air. He was powerful, and strong, and he could rid her of the little tree forever.

All she had to do was find him, and learn his secrets. She walked out into the night, listening to the whisper on the wind, a faint hint of an ancient evil. The thought of what consequences her actions might have never crossed her mind. The only thing she was worried about was eliminating the little tree, once and for all.

Unaware that Dru was seeking some evil power, Angelus and Willow were walking through the park. He was holding her hand, his thumb rubbing over the back of her hand. She was pointing out some of the constellations, naming them and telling a bit of the history behind their names. He didn't mind Willow talking about the stars. Her words made sense, and she didn't claim that the stars talked to her. Angelus frowned, an odd feeling had passed through him, something he was certain he should recognize. Shrugging slightly, he kept walking with Willow. If it was important, he'd figure it out later.

Neither of them noticed the blond walking across the meadow, on her way to the Lady of Rest cemetary. They didn't noice the minion attack her, and be dusted by the Slayer. As Buffy stood up fromthe pile of dust left by the minion, she saw a couple walking on the other side of the park. There was something familiar about that man....

Willow had to admit to herself that she was falling for Angelus. It had been exciting to have a secret admirer, although it had also been a bit nerve wracking. Now, she knew who was leaving her gifts and pictures. She knew who it was that wanted her to be his. Angelus... handsome, confident, powerful Angelus wanted her. It was a heady thought, thrilling her and making her feel lightheaded with emotions. Amazment, surprise, a desire to learn everything he knew about passion and make certain that if he was hers, he would stay hers forever... Willow wasn't certain how she was supposed to react.

She wanted to see the world with him. To explore the future, and learn all that she could. He would not desert her because she did something new, or tell her that something she wanted to try 'just wasn't Willowy' like Buffy or Xander occasionally had done. He wouldn't believe that she was having an affair based solely on the idea that someone had seen her talking to someone. He made her feel special, desired and protected. She felt as if she had a family now.

Angelus delighted in his time with Willow. She knew that he was a vampire, knew that he had left a wake of destruction and bloodshed behind him. It wouldn't be quite accurate to say that it didn't matter to her, because he knew that she had found the sheer excesive violence of it shocking and frightening. Instead, she accepted that it had happened, that it was a part of his past. Willow never tried to pretend that he wasn't a vampire. She didn't pretend that he was just a normal guy.

She didn't even panic when his features changed when they were kissing. Oh, it startled her sometimes, and he could tell that it sometimes made her nervous. Her heart would speed up, and he could smell the faint hints of apprehension. It didn't send her away from him. She had reasoned that all relationships carried risks, all people had a dangerous element to them, somewhere. His was just a bit more discernable, more easily summarized than some peoples. Xander's father was violent when he drank, her parents didn't care about her, Angelus was a vampire. It left him constantly astonished at her caring spirit, her generosity and compassion. The more he learned about her, the more he cared for her. The more he wanted to know about her, to have her in his future.

Angelus forgot to consider the fact that other people would have a hand in shaping the future as well.

~

The only one of the people that was even close to a friend that would still talk to Willow was Amy Madison. They hadn't been the closest before, but they could say they were friends. Right now, Amy was trying to figure out what was going on. Something had changed, and now Xander and the other people that hung out with Buffy weren't talking to Willow. She couldn't understand it, so she decided to sit by Willow at lunchtime and try to learn what was going on.

She dropped down beside Willow, seeing the redhead tense slightly before realizing that the someone sitting beside her was Amy. She relaxed, and offered a tenative smile and a soft "Hi Amy."

"So, what's going on with everyone? They seem to have decided that they don't want to talk to you anymore... Brownie?" Amy offered Willow a piece of brownie, bits of walnut visible along the top, a slight bribe to spill her troubles.

Willow accepted the brownie, and tried to think of a way to explain that wouldn't involve bringing up the whole vampire issue in the middle of school. "Umm, you remember Angel, the gorgeous older guy that Buffy was seeing? They.. broke up, and Buffy's taking it badly, and now she thinks I'm having an affair with Angel's...cousin Spike, and I'm NOT but the wouldn't believe me, and Spike already has a girlfriend that he's devoted to so he's taken. So Xander saw me talking to Spike, and now they think I have to be sleeping with him, and Xander's dating Cordelia of all the people in the world, but I'm not dating Spike or anything naughty with him because I'm seeing.... umm someone else."

Amy listened as the words spilled out in a frantic babble, which died off at the end. She interpreted it easily, including some of what hadn't been said. Willow was seeing somoene else, and she didn't want Buffy and the others to know who it was. She might be friends with Spike, but Amy knew that Willow wouldn't go for a guy that was already involved. Amy frowned, suddenly thinking. She had learned that Buffy was the Slayer. She had learned that vampires were real, and had met several. Could Willow's someone be....

"Willow? Does your 'someone else' tan?" Amy didn't want to say the v word in the lunchroom either. She could tell by Willow's expression that she knew what Amy was really asking.

"No, my guy doesn't tan. Causes cancer and sunburn you know... Spike doesn't tan either. Burns his english complexion. umm that's part of the whole reason they think I'd..they don't trust people that don't tan. I guess... they don't really trust me either, or they would know that I wouldn't..." Willow's voice trailed off, and she sighed.

Amy nodded, understanding exactly what Willow meant. If the others had trusted her, they would have believed her that she wasn't involved with Spike. "Soo.. does this mean you have free time after school?"

Willow smiled, although there was a faint hint of tears in her eyes. "Yeah. Whole afternoon's free, although I have a movie night planned with my guy starting about ninish... want to come over? My parents are gone again.."

Amy couldn't believe how often Willow's parents just left, leaving Willow all alone in her house. Willow had to take care of the bills, although her parents left a checkbook for her to use, take care of herself and the house entirely... If something bad happened to Willow, would anyone even be able to contact her family? It had to be hard on Willow. "Sure, Sounds great. We can make brownies and talk about stuff."

After school, they walked over to Willow's house, talking about how Amy had been coping with everything about her mother. That naturally enough led to them talking about magic and the proper way to use it. Amy had been a bit impressed with the potion used to test for the identity of the witch, and asked Willow who had brewed it up.

Willow had explained that she had, because Giles had been very busy trying to find a way to reverse everything that had been done to all the people that Catherine had put spells on. Willow had described the potion-making as 'like chemistry, but with more newt.' After that, they had both giggled, and Amy had managed to convince Willow to try a little simple magic. They had moved a few small objects, and Willow had managed to levitate the salt shaker for a few moments before it fell over.

Amy was convinced that Willow had great magical potential. She wanted to help her learn how to use it. They were deep in a discussion about the importance of having a clear focus when casting when there was a knock at the door.

Willow went to the door, and smiled to see Angelus and Spike. "Hey guys. I wasn't expecting Spike to join us for movies, but that won't be a problem. Come on in, I have popcorn."

Amy looked up to see just who Willow was letting into her house. She recognized Angel, but there was something different about him. He seemed... more dangerous, and more confident. He also had a very strong vampire feeling to him. He smiled at Willow, and kissed her hello. Accompanying him was the most breathtaking guy that Amy had ever seen. Intense blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, pale blond hair...yum. So that was Spike. She wouldn't mind having him..wait, hadn't Wilow said he had a girlfriend? Drat, the cute ones were always taken.

Amy watched as Willow put in the first movie, and ended up sitting on Angel's lap while he sat in the chair. Something was seriously going on there, and Amy had no idea how it had started. Hadn't Angel been involved with Buffy? But why would a Slayer be with a vampire in the first place? None of this was making any sense. She decided to go into the kitchen to get the popcorn.

She moved into the kitchen, findind the popcorn and the bowls, She turned around to get the salt and there was Spike. "Oh! You startled me.."

He grinned slightly, not the least bit repetant for startling her. "So, Red still has a friend, hmm? Relax a bit, not gonna bite you. Red needs all the friends she can get."

"okay.... umm what's going on out there? I mean, wasn't he with Buffy? And why do they think she's involved with you?" Amy wasn't certain that she could trust Spike's reassurances. At the very least, she might as well try to get some idea what was going on.

Spike shuddered at the memories of the souled version of Angelus and the Slayer together. "It's a bit complicated, ducks. Let's see if I can get a short version.. hmm. Vampires are demons, when we're turned our souls leave to go off wherever souls go. However, there's always a complication. His arrogance in there had a gypsy for dinner one night, and her family got all bent out of shape and cursed him with a soul. He went all broody and 'woe is me, I'm so bad' and the next thing I knew, he was here, dating the Slayer. Somehow, the spell got broke, the soul went away, and he's back to himself, Angelus. He decided that there were better people to get involved with than Fluffy, like Willow. So, he started courting her, It was somewhere between sweet and sickening to watch. Confused Red all to when she found out it was him, and I ended up having a little chat with her one night. Turns out the whelp, Xapper or something like, saw us, and now they think Red and me are shagging."

Amy's eyes had gotten wider and wider as Spike gave his condensed explanation. "ohhh... That had to have been a really strong spell. So, the souled version was Angel, and involved with Buffy, but now that he's soulless, he can't stand Buffy and wants Willow? Who was surprised and probably couldn't see why he'd want her, and now they think because you were talking to her your..... this all sounds like some sort of really weird soap opera." Amy's comments trailed off as she absorbed all of it. "And now I'm starting to babble. I've officially spent to much time with Willow now... let's go watch the movie."

While Amy and Spike were in the kitchen, Angelus had taken the opportunity to kiss Willow a few times. Then, he remembered the serious reason why he needed to talk to her. "Willow, sweet? I think we may have a problem. Dru's dissappeared. I'm worried that she might try to hurt you. Spike's not very happy, and I'm hoping he doesn't do anything rash. Promise me you'll try to be careful?"

~

Dru was excited. She had found an old house, with a little balcony and the decoration along the edges just like she liked. Granted that it was old, the paint had peeled away long ago, leaving he sides silvered wood, and the floors creaked, but it was perfect. She had aquired some minions, and had them put heavy cloth over all the shuttered windows to keep out the sunlight.

She had also converted the basement to a play room. There were manacles on the wall, and a pair of support pillars in the middle that she had fitted with chains. She had managed to get a few whips, and some little knives, and now she had a nice private place to play, or to punish the minions when they were bad. They were bad quite often, the naughty boys.

She was trying to find the voice, the strong one who whispered into the air, promising death and fire and the destruction of the tree. She knew that when she found him, he would make everything better. She also knew that she was getting very close to finding the one who whispered to her.

Angelus didn't know what Dru was up to. All he knew was that she had vanished, along with some of her dresses, and her dolls. Some of the minions were also gone. He could only guess that they had followed Dru. Spike was terribly upset over Dru's dissapearance. He had ofered her everything and anything, and it hadn't been enough for her. He was heartbroken, and spending a lot of time with Willow, and her friend Amy. The would listen to him reminince about things, and he wouldn't look at them and be reminded as strongly of how Dru had always compared him to Angelus.

They had gone out, the two girls and Spike, sometimes all four, himself and Spike and Amy and Willow. They went to the beach, or on long walks to nowhere. He suspected that Amy had at the very least a soft spot for Spike. Her eyes would follow him, as if she were drinking in the sight of him. She would give a little sigh when he left the room. Amy had lost her fear of them after seeing how they were with Willow.

She had also mentioned to Angelus that Buffy and Xander were still convinced that Willow was having an affair with Spike. That he was somehow using her as part of a devious plan to hurt Buffy. She had gone on for a bit about the way they had been insulting her, how they were saying that anyone involved with Willow had to have some motive for it, something they hoped to gain from it beyond Willow's company. Amy might not have noticed, but Angelus was certain there was a bit of jealosy in her voice when she spoke of the alleged affair.

Angelus suspected that Amy was leaving out some of the details, but it was enough. He was seriously considering planning the Slayer's demise. He had taken down Slayers before, but those had been purely a matter of business. If he ended up killing Buffy, it would be personal. Spike would probably be willing to help him.

Willow was not happy at school anymore. She still loved to learn, and she was finding teaching unexpectedly interesting, but..she had nobody but Amy. Not only that, but people were mean to her. Not everyone, but.. Cordelia and her flock had decided to make it their mission to torment her, and Buffy and Xander.. they were horrible now. They were so convinced that she was having an affair with Spike. They insulted her, insisted that she was some sort of slut or vampire junkie, insisted that there was no way Spike could ever seriously desire her, so not only was she a traitorous slut, but a foolish one as well. She couldn't understand how they could believe that of her, and it hurt.

She pretty much hated going to school now. The best parts of her life were away from it now. Jenny was still in the hospitol, still comatose. The injuries to her body were healed, or nearly so in the case of the broken ribs. Willow visited her twice a week, telling her about everything going on at school. She also told her how happy Angelus was making her, how he took care of her, how she was part of his family now.

Barring Amy, her friends had turned against her. The very people she was once happy to see, she now tried to avoid. She dreaded seeing Xander or Buffy now. Cordelia had gone from almost a friend back to the spiteful princess she had been before. Oz still didn't speak to her, simply glaring at her with sullen eyes, which Willow really didn't get. Giles was still polite to her, but Willow thought that Buffy and Xander were wearing him down. It was miserable.

Life would be intolerable if not for Angelus and his family. Spike was almost like a brother to her now, even if he insisted on calling her 'Mum'. The minions adored her, thought that she was just delightful. Dalton was becoming a friend as well. She also had the support and guidance of Darla and the Master in her dreams. They assured her that it was normal to be set apart from ones previous life when you joined a clan of vampires, assured her that she would always belong with them, always have a place.

~

Willow didn't know how much longer things could go on as they were. She was falling in love with Angelus, she knew it. His clan had accepted her, she finally had a place where she belonged, was welcomed. Amy had become a good friend. School was a torment five days of the week. Things had falen into a miserable pattern. It had to break soon. If she'd had any idea how that pattern would break, she might have wished for things to go differently.

Dru had finally found the source of the whispers of delightful words of fire and destruction. Some naughty people had tried to hide him from her, taking him to the museum and putting him into a box. She had had the minions carry the box into her house, sitting it inthe front room. She had taken the privilage of opening it herself, shattering the box into splinters that she'd ordered the minions to carry away. Sitting inside was what appeared to be a large statue of something vaugely manlike, with a misshapen face, lips shaped as if sucking in air. There was a sword embedded in the statue, the leather wrapping the hilt cracked and aged.

He was magnificent. So powerful, and delightfully wicked. She could hear his voice so much more easily now. He promised fire and torment and destruction. He promised that if she would only set him free, he would make certain the tree never troubled her again.. and she would be his very own. He promised that she would be his own, and he would give her an eternity of blood and screams. Dru shivered in anticipation. She could hardly wait.

She had also sent a small group of minions off on a special mission. They would find the little tree, with her hair like fire and grass eyes, and they would bring her back here. They had been ordered not to play with her yet, and to hurt her no more than necesarry, as that was a privilage Dru wanted for herself. She would make the little tree suffer for taking her Daddy, then she would let loose her new dark prince to make the whole world suffer and scream.

Willow was walking towards Angelus' home. She had spent the day with Amy, talking about astral projection, and the theory of higher powers that could take interest in the lives of people. They had also bought a few candles that were supposed to have soothing and relaxing scents. Now, she wanted to spend time with her honey, the man that held her heart in his hands. She wasn't expecting trouble, this area was controlled by Angelus and his family, and the minions wouldn't dream of hurting her.

That very confidence in her safety meant that she was unprepared for the group of vampires that surrounded her. Willow didn't recognize any of them, and their expressions were full of anticipation, and menace.

"We found her. All we have to do now is take her back to the lair." The apparent leader, a large vampire with broad shoulders and short brown hair streaked with green, spoke. He also had tatoos all over his arms, images of bones and flames and feral wolves.

They moved in, and Willow knew they were trouble. She did her best to fight them, but her stregnth was only human. She managed to stake one, a solid fellow that looked almost familiar, had he been on the Sunnydale football team perhaps? She had also managed a small puff of flame that had burned two of the vampires, although not fatally. Despite her scream and struggles, they managed to subdue her, and she found herself handcuffed and gagged. She was then flung over the shoulder of green hair, and they left quickly, not wanting to be spotted by any of the minions of Angel.

They hadn't noticed Sarah. She had been close enough that when Willow screamed, she had gone to investigate. She had watched with wide eyes as the group of six vampires swarmed Willow, capturing her and preparing to take her away. This could only be bad. She knew that she wsn't strong enough to rescue Willow alone, so she folllowed them, hoping to find where they were taking Red, and who they worked for.

She found herself praying that whoever took Willow needed her for some plan that required her alive and intact and took place several days from now. Something that would take long enough that she could get help for Willow before it was to late. Carefully, she followed them across Sunnydale, past the high school and to the edge of town. They took Willow into a large decrepit mansion, with the broken pieces of a large wooden box next to the street. One fragment read 'Property of Sunny... Natural Scie...' with the last portion of both lines broken off. There was a scrap of red velvet clinging to one shard, and she carefully pulled it loose to take with her. It smelled of perfume, something like old flowers and powder.

She hurried back to tell Angelus and Spike the bad news. Hoepefully, they wouldn't kill her for being the messenger. She had been certain that the perfume smelled familar. Maybe it would help tell them who had ordered Willow taken. She had the feeling that time was short.

~

When the group of vampires carried Willow into the mansion, she was nervous, afraid of what would happen next, and frantically trying to learn what was going on. The house was large, but it had been neglected. The inside was also a bit on the decaying side, and the room had only a few old looking chairs, and what at first looked to be a very big ugly statue. Looking at it, Willow saw a sword sticking from it's chest, and could almost taste the feeling of power and evil that flowed from the stone thing. This could only be bad.

"Oh, you found the little tree! Very good, Princess will have to reward you later. Take her to the play room and chain her to the pillars." Drusilla stood there, in a gown of deep red velvet. Her hair was pulled back with a matching bow, and her eyes sparkled maddly.

Willow's eyes widened, and she could feel her heartbeat speed up. Nothing that she'd heard about Dru inspired any thoughts of safety, especially not the words 'play room' and the mention of chains. Willow began to pray, hoping that Dru didn't turn her, that Angelus knew she wouldn't stand him up by choice... that someone cared that she was gone. While she was at it, she prayed that whatever power filled the stone shape in the other room stayed confined.

She was taken into the basement, and chained between a pair of pillars. The manacles were cold and heavy on her wrists, and she could taste fear, sour and heavy in her mouth. On the wall across from her were several whips, and a tray of several things that glinted silvery. She figured that her best, safest posibility would be to be forgotten in here lone enough to die of nelect, before Drusilla could come down and use any of the whips or knives on her.

Meanwhile, Sarah was racing back to the house being used as a lair by Spike and Angelus. This was very bad news indeed. Willow was being held by someone that had sent minions into Angelus and Spike's territory to get her. They had known exactly when and where to be, which meant they had information about either Willow, or Spike and Angelus, neither of which was a comforting thought. There had been the remains of the large crate, and while she didn't know what had been inside of it, she had a bad feeling about it.

Finally, she entered the building, her expression frantic, still clutching the scrap of crimson velvet in one hand. She made her way to the room where masters Spike and Angelus were sitting. Neither of them looked happy, and they were both pacing and scowling.

"Willow's been kidnapped!" Sarah's exclamation immediately caused them both to focus their full attention on her. It wasn't a particularly pleasant feeling, and she fought the urge to cower away.

"I was out hunting earlier. I heard screams, and thought there was something familiar, although I wasn't certain what. I went to see what was happening." She paused to compose her words carefully. She didn't want them to decide it was her fault Willow had been taken. "There were six minions, also some dust that might have been another minion. They were all big males, none of them were very old. They... grabbed Willow. They put a gag on her, and tied her up and carried her away. I followed them, and I know where they took her, but I don't know who their master is. Outside the house... there was the remains of a broken box... I think it came from the museum. This was caught on one of the pieces." She held the peice of velvet out towards them, her hand trembling slightly.

Spike and Angelus focused on the scrap of velvet. Spike walked over, and inhaled, and his expression immediately paled even farther. He then gestured for Sarah to sit down, and they immediately began a rapid interrogation, demanding details on the house, the minions that had grabbed Willow, everything she had seen or suspected.

"Excellent memory, Sarah. We might be able to save Wilow because of it. Spike, you have them start searching for any rumor of a larger something, there had to have been something powerful in that box. Also, I want some of the minions to begin getting ready to go rescue Willow. Choose the ones you think will do best for each task. Sarah, your choice - help Dalton try to research what's going on or help the rescue mission. I have a phone call to make." Angelus began giving orders. His tone made it clear that this was serious, and gave Sarah a hint of how much Willow had come to mean to Angelus.

Sarah and Spike both left to begin preparations. Everyone was upset once they learned that Willow had been kidnapped. The whole lair was outraged, even those that had been less than delighted about having Willow remain mortal were upset, their territory had been breached, and someone known to be under their protection had been taken. It was an insult.

It was Drusilla.

Meanwhile, Angelus retreated to a room to make his phone call. It was a number he had not had any cause to use since he'd come back. He was going to call Rupert Giles. He was good at learning the source of trouble, and Angelus suspected that the box had contained very big trouble. Giles also cared about Willow, and knew that he and Willow had something between them, although he doubted that the Watcher had any idea of the extent of Willow's involvement with his family.

"Giles? We have a problem, and on this, it is definately WE. Dru's kidnapped Willow, and she had her minions take something in a large box from the Sunnydale musueum. Whatever it is, it has to be trouble. See if you can find out what she's doing before she summons some dreadful thing up. We're going after Willow, I plan to get her back." Angelus had barely permitted the Watcher to stammer much more than a hello. He certainly didn't wait for questions.

Willow was in danger.

~

Dalton had organized some of the minions to help him research. Master Angelus had informed him that there was a strong chance that there would be a man joining them, a mortal named Rupert Giles, who had been a friend of Willow's. If he did show up, it would be to help research what had been in the box, and they were to keep their human faces on as much as possible.

They had pulled out all of the books that might help them find out about a large object that could be used for something terrible and powerful. Unfortunately, that still totaled a large number of books. They had allready started searching through them, not certain exactly what they needed to find, but aware that there might not be much time to find it in.

Meanwhile, Angelus and Spike were preparing to go rescue Willow. They had no intention of letting her stay in Dru's clutches any longer than possible. Sarah had insisted on going with them, feeling responsible for the minions getting away with Willow, despite the fact that there had been nothing she could have done to prevent it.

They were preparing for war, with weapons, and durable leather clothing, and in a few cases items that might or might not have some magical enhancement or luck benefits. Angelus didn't know if the items were real or nothing more than a strange looking object to give confidence, like the 'magic' feather in that disney movie with the flying elephant, but now wasn't the time to worry about it. He didn't care right now, if his minions would feel more confident going into battle naked and painted blue, fine, he'd let them as long as they could get that way quickly.

As it happened, none of them opted for that method of battle dress. They moved towards the house Dru had claimed, eyes gleaming golden, furious and deadly. The fact that some of them might not come back from this was entirely beside the point. They would fight, seeking to destroy the ones who had challenged their clan, the ones who had taken Willow.

As the angry vampires moved towards Dru's lair, prepared for battle, a Giles rushed across Sunnydale in his old car. He had found a picture in the Sunnydale paper of a statue stolen from the basement of the musueum, and it had seemd oddly familiar in a dread inspiring way. Then, he'd gotten the call from Angelus. He had never expected Angelus to call him, but he had, and he'd given a very short message: Dru had kidnapped Willow, and there was a large broken box from the Sunnydale Musuen of Natural History in front of Dru's lair.

Giles had imediately known that Dru had been responsible for the museum theft. He had also felt in his bones that this was trouble, deep scary terrible trouble, and it was also incredibly bad that Drusilla had Willow. He didn't think he could help with the rescue efforts. Which was why he was currently on his way to a vampire's lair to help a group of vampires research this statue to find out why an insane vampire had stolen it and what danger it held. oh dear.

He pulled into the driveway of the house, noting that it was large and seemed to be well maintained. Giles moved quickly, not quite running to the door, and rapped on the door, a bit harder than a polite knock, but not quite pounding. There was the sound of footsteps, and the door was opened by a woman with short dark hair. She looked human at a casual glance, but she was slightly to still, her eyes a bit to remote, and she wasn't breathing.

"I'm Rupert Giles. Angelus called me, I think I have a photograph of what Drusilla had stolen from the library." Giles spoke quickly, clearly not comfortable with this situation.

The vampiress' eyes widened. "You have a picture...Oh! That will make things so much easier..." She siezed his hand and began to pull him behind her into the house. "Dalton! That Giles person is here and he said he has a picture!"

Giles was slightly releived that she didn't seem to be pulling him along in a hostile way, merely impatient. It seemed that he wasn't the only one with a feeling of doom rushing in on them. He was pulled into a room with about a half dozen peopl bent over stacks of old books. He could recognize some of the books from the spines and familiar titles. Books of demons, cursed objects... all told, it looked almost like a group of watchers searching through the archives. The person in charge was a smallish man with spectacles, dressed in a suit.

"You have a picture? We need to know what she has if we're going to have any hope of finding how to stop it." The man spoke, and he even sounded trather like a watcher.

Giles pulled the slightly crumpled page from his pocket. He'd simply ripped it from the newspaper, not taking he time for caution. He walked ntot he room, making temporary use of a stack of books to smooth out the paper. "This was in today's paper, a report of a statue stolen from the museum. I think I've seen a drawing of it somewhere, and I'm positive that it's dangerous."

The spectacled vampire, obviously Dalton, looked at the picture of the statue. A tremor passed over him, and Giles thought that he could almost see the vampire features pressing forth. Dalton shook off the feeling, and pulled the paper over to an open book, flipping back a few pages. He then placed the torn newspaper opposite an etching, and compared the two. Only then did he speak. "Shit. She's got Acathala the Swallower."

For a moment, the room feel silent. Then, one of the vampires, a young looking man with long sandy hair flopping in his eyes frowned slightly. "What's Acathala, and what does he swallow?"

Dalton looked up, his expression troubled. "Acathla is a demon. A very very dangerous demon, and as for what does he swallow...he wan't to swallow everything... to suck the whole world into hell. And Dru's going to make it so that he can."

~

Willow had been kidnapped. She'd been kidnapped by the insane, obsessive childe of her vampire almost lover. The insane vampiress wanted to punish Willow for taking her daddy away. Willow knew that her situation wasn't good, and would only get worse. She began trying to think of anything she could possibly do to get out of this mess.

Nothing came to mind.

As Willow was attempting yet again to use her newly discovered magical abilities to open the manacles, succeeding only in learning exactly how manacle locks look, she heard the sound of imminent pain. Actually, it was a deceptively ordinary sound, the slight creak of a door being opened. The fact that it meant that Dru was coming into the basement made it a terrible noise.

Dru came into Willow's sight, her face shifted into her vampire form. Her golden eyes gleamed with madness and fury, as well as anticipation. She studied Willow for a moment, tapping one dainty claw against her lip as he pondered. Then, she moved to the wall and selected what looked to be a riding crop, slightly stained with a reddish brown substance. "It's time for the punishment to begin."

With that simple statement, Dru lashed out with the whip, catching Willow across the stomach. She spent a few moments whipping Wilow's stomach and lower ribs, watching the blood well up, seeing the shirt shred and catch in the wounds. Smiling, she moved aroung to the back of Willow, and began all over, the whole time ranting about how her Daddy would never belong to the tree, and that she would make her bleed in punishment.

Willow felt each blow, sending agony through her body. She tried to rember..what had Amy said? Astral Projection, where the spirit leaves to body. She said that if you did it right, you had little to no idea what was happening to your body, so it was best to be laying down to project. Leave her body... yes, that sounded very good right about now.

She tried to gather her willpower, and flung her 'self' away from her body, forwards and out. For a bare moment, she could see her body hanging there, with Drusilla beating her back, sending droplets of blood over the floor. She moved out and up, leaving the basement, passing through te walls as if they were made of water and shadow.

Outside, Angelus and his angry vampires were on their way to the lair. Their passing was noted by Buffy, who wondered what the large group of vampires could be up to. She saw Angelus, her currently evil love, and Spike, the evil vampire that had seduced Willow away from them. There could only be trouble from such a large group of vampires going somewhere so purposefully. Maybe she'd best follow and try to make sure they didn't do anything terrible.

Much as the thought pained her, Buffy also had to consider that her boyfriend might be up to no good. He was, in fact, probably up to something, and it was probably something bad. He was probably plotting something to gain power, or bring up something to use against her. It wasn't as if he had forgotten her, how could he possibly forget her?

Buffy followed Angelus, rationalizing to herself that it was really the responsible thing to do, the best thing for the Slayer to be doing. Follow the large group of vampires to make sure they didn't do someting terrible. She followed them to a large house on the edge of town, where they commenced fighting with another large group of vampires. Possibly some sort of territorial dispute? She hadn't realized ther were quite so many vampires here, things looked very crowded.

She watched the fighting for a few moments, seeing the savagry the vampires were displaying. This was why there had to be a Slayer. Maybe she'd better find out what was inside the house? After all, why would the minions here stay unless there was something to defend? With that thought in mind, Buffy crept carefully past the battling vampires and entered the building. There was a large, ugly statue int he main room, with an old sword stuck into it's chest, like some sort of evil sword in the stone comparison. Somehow, she doubted that 'whosoever pulleth this sword is the rightborn king of England'.

As she entered the building, Dru sensed her presence, feeling the hated Slayer that had had her nasty hands all over her daddy. "Ohh, the Slayer, all sweet and stickly like taffy. She had my daddy, put her hands on what wasn't hers. You just stay right here little tree, I'll finish you later. I have a Slayer to kill."

She had to make certain the Slayer didn't prevent her from unleashing her dark prince. He'd promised such lovely things, wouldn't be right to not let him come play. She'd always wanted to kill a slayer.

~

Dalton and the small group of minions that had chosen to research had a direction now, thanks to Giles. They had a name for the danger that Dru probably intended to release, Acathala the Swallower. All they had to do now was find out what had to be done to unleash Acathala, and how to stop it from happening. They had found multiple references to Acathala, the demon that would suck the whole world into hell, causing fire and destruction, and the end of life as they knew it. None of them wanted that, not even the youngest minion, whose vampire features kept flickering into visibility every time he found a reference to another world destroying demon.

Giles had seemed a bit surprised by that. The Watcher's council had given him the impression that all vampires sought to cause as much destruction and violence as possible. Using that logic, shouldn't the end of the world be a normal ambition?

Dalton had chuckled a bit at Giles' expression, knowing just what the mortal was thinking. "Damn Council, never could deal with vampires of a straight basis. Yes, many vampires enjoy the excessive violence and bloodshed that the Council tries to claim all vampires indulge in. That isn't true. Yes, all vampires drink blood, but not all vampires go for big, theatrical displays of violence. Some prefer centuries of political manipulation of mortals, or they play in vampire politics. Some vampires become highly successful assassins, discretely eliminating inconveinient people. Others become experts in various fields. However, all sane vampires know that this the the world we exist on. If this world is destroyed, we go with it. If the world is sucked into hell, assuming that it doesn't destroy us, what would we eat?"

"Sir? I think I found something. At least, if I'm translating this passage right, my Latin's shaky. This passage reads 'With the blood of the Worthy, the blade may be drawn, the portal grows? not certain of that word. umm As the blood of the Worthy lets him draw breath, it may renew his sleep. May the eater? stay buried a thousand years.' or something close, I think." The speaker was a fairly well dressed man that looked like he should be a lawyer or a businessman of some sort.

Dalton and Giles then inspected the text, finding that for the most part, his translation was fairly accurate. They had argued for a few moments about the exact translation of the word for what the portal would do, was it open, or blossom, or draw..before one of the others pointed out that as long as they knew what it did, perhaps they should get the information to the attack party, then they could argue the translation later, assuming that there was a later?

Giles and Dalton both looked a bit chagrined to realize they were arguing about the exact meaning of a word when they needed to inform someone of the situation. "Ahh, yes, quite right. How do you intend to let them know?"

The minion that had pointed out that they could argue later pulled up a cell phone, with a triumphant smile. "I know Sarah has a cell phone, she's number 3 on my speed dial. We can try to call her and get the word to Angelus or Spike."

Somehow, the phone ended up with Giles, leaving him to be the one to explain their findings. He glared around, not quite certain how he'd got the phone, but clearly less than thrilled.

"Ahh yes, I presume this is Sarah? We found something about what we think Du's planning. The box..it held the demon Acathala. There should be a sword stuck into the demon..if someone cuts themself on the sword, they can pull it out and awaken the demon..." Giles was apparently cut off by the person on the other end.

"Of course that would be bad you twit! Why do you think it was rendered dormant in the first place! It wants to suck the whole bloody world into hell! If someone pulls the damn sword, cut them with a blade and stick the bloody blade back into the demon before it's to late! Make certain Angelus and Spike know how to stop him." Giles was scowling by the time he hung up the phone.

"I'd ask if there was some chance that Drusilla wouldn't be foolish enough to release Acathala, but..considering everything in the Watcher's journals about her.." Giles was thinking out loud, hoping that Willow would be alive, that she could be rescued.

"She'd do it. She's furious that the little tree, meaning Willow, has taken her daddy from her. If it would eliminate Willow, she'd be willing to destroy the world. Remember, I said sane vampires wouldn't want to end the world. She isn't sane." Dalton was the one that answered, his tone gloomy, almost brooding. "She wanted to assemble the Judge, why wouldn't she be willing to suck the world into hell? Either way, possible death and no food."

~

Dru entered the main hall, finding Buffy inside. She growled, feeling only seething anger and hatred for the blonde that had put her hands all over her daddy, the one that killed her kind. The blonde was her enemy, and for both reasons, she had to die. Not only that, but her cooling body would be a lovely first dinner for Dru and her new Dark Prince.

The Slayer looked furious, and grabbed a sword form the wall, charging at Dru. Dru ducked and rolled away, stopping against her dark prince, feeling worried that she didn't have a weapon.

:take the sword.:

Dru paused slightly, hearing her dark prince's voice clearly, and she stood up, a mad smile crossing her face. She grabbed the hilt with one hand, and pulled. Nothing happened, so she placed her other hand on the word as well, gripping the blade just in front of the hilt with her left hand. Wrapping both hands tightly on the sword, she pulled again, and the blade bit into her fingers, sending crimson trickles down the silver blade, where they struck the grey stone of Acathla. The sword came free, and Dru turned to fight the Slayer.

:YES!!:

Neither of the fighting women noticed the spirit of Willow hovering in the room, terrified by the swirling energy that she could see gathering in front of the demon. She could feel something happening, and she knew that the swirling energy would cause something to happen, something terrible. She began to pray to every higher power she could think of to let there be some way out of this, some way to save the world, if not herself.

Angelus and Spike burst through the door, both golden eyed and furious. Angelus had a sword as well, while Spike had an axe. They both could immediately see that Dru had a sword, the blood at the base of it's blade, the fact that the statue looked to be only stone, with no sword sticking from it anywhere. It only took a single glance for them both to know how bad it was, how they both knew what this meant.

"You can't have her back!! The tree must be punished for taking my daddy away from me! The world will be covered in fire, and the trees will burn and blacken." Dru wailed at the sight of Angelus, ignoring Spike entirely.

Buffy felt her world turn upside down and the crazed vampire's words. The tree had taken her daddy? Suddenly, it clicked for Buffy. The tree was Willow, and her daddy was.. Angel. "I'm not going to let her take you away from me! You loved ME, not her!"

Buffy's angry shout sounded much to similar to something that Dru would say for the comfort of either Spike or Angelus. Buffy began attacking Angelus, entirely ignoring the dark haired vampiress and her statue, ignoring the fact that golden sparkles were begining to form in front of the face of the demon.

Spike found himself fighting against Dru, pained by that fact. No matter how much he had loved her, no matter what he had done it hadn't been enough. He could see clearly now that he would never be enough for her, he could never be Angelus. No matter what he gave her, how cruel and violent he tried to be, he would always be Spike, and that simply wasn't going to be sufficiant for her. He could feel his heart breaking with every blow, every parry.

Unseen, the spirit of Willow watched the fighting, watched the portal beginning to find. She prayed with everything she had, wanting this to be stopped, wanting her love and her new friend Spike to be saved, wanting the world not to end. Her own life was not important compared to the fate of the whole world.

Suddenly, Willow found herself in what looked to be a white marble hall, with smooth white pillars going up into white clouds. There were two... beings... standing in front of her, a female with dark hair and a male with metallic golden hair. Their bodies were covered in swirling patterns of dark blue and metallic gold, and they were dresed in draped white fabric, with golden armbands.

Willow knew immediately that these beings were vastly powerful. They weren't human, and she didn't think they had ever been human. Could it be that her desparate pleas had caught the attention of some power strong enough to act? She tried to gather her thoughts. The only thing Willow was convinced of was that she hadn't been brought to here to gawk at them.

The two beings looked at her, and spoke in unison, their voices carrying a faint echo of drums and pipes. "Speak, lower being. What do you ask of us?"

~

Willow licked her lips, wondering briefly if she was actually physically here, and if she wasn't did she actually have lips to lick. She took a careful breath and spoke. "Drusilla's done a very bad thing. She's pulled a sword out of this demony statue and its opening a portal that's going to do something really really bad, she was talking about the world in flames. And I think Buffy's trying to kill Angelus, which I don't want to happen."

The male figure spoke to her. "Why do you care about the fate of a demon? What does the fate of Angelus matter to you?"

Willow took a deep breath, trying to still the nervous trembling she felt. She looked at them both before speaking the reason aloud for the first time. "I love him. I know he's a vampire, a demon. But... I love him."

The female looked at Willow, tilting her head thoughtfully. "the sword.. you speak of the demon Acathala. Your world will be sucked into a dimension of fire and torment if he is not returned to his slumber. There is nothing you can do to affect that. There are those who may yet prevent that... We shall see what happens."

The gleaming beings looked at each other, as if communicating in a way that Willow couldn't hear, couldn't see. The male frowned slightly, as if something was displeasing to him. He glanced briefly at Willow before locking eyes again with the female. It looked almost as if they were having some sort of contest of wills.

The female turned to look at Willow, a small smile on her face. "What would you do to save our vampire?"

Willow didn't even hesitate before she answered. "Anything." Then, Willow thought for a half moment. "Anything within my power, that is."

"Would you bind yourself to him for eternity, as long as you live? Give up your freedom?" The female spoke again, as if trying to see just how much Willow was willing to do for her vampire.

Willow looked into her eyes, and spoke with a confidence born of conviction. She felt her resolve face fall onto her features. "Yes, I'd bind myself to him for all time, I'd give up my freedom, my future for him. I love him. Without him, I don't know if I'd even have a future. Dru had me kidnapped and tortured me because he was spending time with me, and the time I'd had with him was worth it! I don't care what price you ask of me, I want him to be safe! Even.." Here Willow's voice broke, trembling with to many emotions. She took a breath to steady herself. "Even if it means I have no future, even if it means my death, I want him to be safe. Even if it means seeing him be happy with someone else, I want him to be safe, I want the world to be safe. Does that answer your question?"

The male spoke then. "It was not your death that would be the price of what you ask. No, if you are willing to pay the price for saving your vampire, it would be to bind yourself to him, soul and demon, for the rest of your existance."

Willow thought about that for a few heartbeats. "I'm willing to bind myself to Angelus to save him. I told you, I love him. That would be worth it to me for him to be safe."

The female spoke again. "We do not promise that he will be safe from all things. We can offer this assurance: If you bind yourself to him, he will not perish because of Acathala. However, his future.. is not ours to reveal, nor yours to control. He will have a future, though it might not be with you. Are you still willing to bind yourself to him, knowing that he might leave you, might choose another?"

Willow looked at the female being. "You said he might not choose me. So, if he chooses someone else... I want him to be happy. While it would be really nice if it was me that he was happy with..." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I want him to be safe and happy. That means more to me than my own happiness."

The beings exchanged looks again, and nodded. "Then so it shall be, you will be bound to him a bond between souls."

The male frowned slightly, and corrected the female. " A bond of soul and demon."

With a surge of power that seemed incandescently bright and filled Willow's senses, they shouted "LET IT BE SO!!!"

The power filled Willow, searing through her, making her feel as if she was melting, as if the impurities were being seared away, as if the rest of her might also be seared away, and then she felt the power flowing through her, going elsewhere... two elsewheres. She thought that she screamed with from the sheer power flooding through her, scorching her soul, but she couldn't be certain of anything.

For Willow Rosenberg, everything went dark.

~

The vortex was taking shape before Acathala, and there was starting to be a slight wind, from the air being pulled towards the demon. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and Angelus suddenly stiffened, his eyes momentarily glowing a brilliant white. He collapsed in a boneless heap on the the ground, drawing unnescesary breaths. He looked around him, his expression one of confusion. Carefully pulling himself to his feet, he looked around, seeing Buffy, her sleeve gone, blood running down her arm.

"You're bleeding." His voice was soft, confused and worried. He wasn't certain where he was or how he'd got here, but Buffy, his golden love was bleeding. He reached for her, his eyes full of concern, of tenderness.

Buffy's eyes widened, and she whispered "Angel? Are you really... is that you?" She was trembling, one hand reaching out to him, the other still clutching the sword. Hesitantly, she took a slow step towards Angel, looking into his eyes, searching for... something.

Behind Angel, the portal was growing larger. Angel gave a small smile of relief that Buffy was well. Surely he could figure out where he was and how he'd gotten here later. "Buffy, where are we... the last thing I remember, we were in my apartment..." Buffy could explain, she would help him understand what had happened... Something wasn't right. He could feel his demon, howling in outrage over something. There was danger...

Buffy smiled at him, tears glistening on her lashes. "Close your eyes." She leaned closer as she whispered.

As his eyes closed, she leaned in, kissing him gently on the lips. "Goodbye... Angelus." With those words, she stabbed the sword into his stomach and pushed him back with all her might, straight past Spike and Dru into the portal.

Spike saw Angelus pick himself up, but something was wrong. He didn't move the same, was acting googly over the Slayer. No, please no, not the souled poof again... A sudden slash of silver caught his attention, and he was reminded of Dru, the woman he'd offered his heart to, the woman he'd made his everything. The woman that had tried to destroy the world because her sire cared for another. Anger overwhelmed him, making him see red for a moment. He swung his axe at her, slicing through her neck and the blade of his axe caught in the stone of the statue, sinking several inches into the stone.

Dru fell into ashes at his feet, and he felt something inside fall to the floor with her. Something flashed at the edge of his vision, but at this moment, he couldn't quite bring himself to care, he'd just killed the only woman he'd ever loved, his princess, his ripe wicked plum. He'd spent over a century devoted to her... what was left for him now that he'd killed her? Spike sank to his knees, weeping into her ashes. The ashes and tears began to flow into the portal, and suddenly fell to the ground.

The portal collapsed in on itself, cutting of the expression of shock and betrayal on Angel's face as he fell into the flames. Some of the scattered ashes of Dru and Spike's tears of a broken heart had followed Angel into the portal, while those that hadn't quite made it had fallen in a path to the statue. Spike hadn't moved, remaining on the floor, curled into a huddle of broken hearted misery, weeping with broken sobs.

Buffy trembled, having just sent the man with the face of her lover to hell. Surely it had all been a trick, it couldn't have really been Angel, right? She turned, and ignoring Spike, bolted out the door. This was to much, to cruel of fate to do this to her. Bad enough that she had this duty, that she could never have a normal life. Her love had become an evil killer, leaving her alone. His childe had seduced Willow, and apparently Angelus had lusted after the redhead as well. Then, she had just sent the demon with her boyfriend's face to hell, after he had so cruelly pretended to be her Angel.

She couldn't stay here any longer. She couldn't stay in Sunnydale, she had to get away before it killed her. She went to her house, grabbing a few things, leaving a note for her mother, and caught the next bus leaving Sunnydale.

Eventually, Spike was brought out of his misery by the remaining minions entering the house. They spoke, and eventually, he had to respond. being forced to return his attention to the area around him, he noticed, for the first time, the scent of human blood in the air. Not just blood, but Willow's blood.

Spike and Sarah followed the scent, and cautiously entered the basement, uncertain what they would find. There was Willow, chained between two pillars, having fallen to her knees, held up by the chains. She was unconscious, and her back was a mass of raw welts and bleeding cuts, the source of her injury clearly a riding crop, coated in blood that had been dropped near her. Willow's shirt had been sliced to ribbons on the back and the lower front, and there were undoubtably scraps of fabric and threads in the wounds. It could only be a mercy that she wasn't awake.

They very carefully unchained her, and gingerly carried her from the house. They brought her to the Sunnydale hopital, and Sarah rushed in, looking frantic, saying that there was someone bleeding outside, could they please help her. Spike watched as the doctors and nurses took Willow inside, confident that her wounds would be tended.

Everyone else that had survived the battle returned to the lair, which enabled Giles to know that they had won. He had waited for the return of someone that could give him more details, and was most concerned when Spike and Sarah returned, both smeared with blood.

"What happened.." Giles knew that there was something wrong, something terrible. Spike was barely moving, as if everything were numb. Sarah looked frightened and skittish.

"Dru... Red... Angelus..." Spike could only whisper a few words that didn't clear much of anything up for Giles.

Sarah looked at him, her eyes flickering from brown to golden with emotions. "The sword had been pulled. Dru... was killed, and Spike is very upset. Acathala was quiet again, there's an axe stuck in him. Angelus... I don't know what happened, but he didn't come out, and he wasn't inside... Willow was in the dungeon, we had to take her to the hospital. She should recover."

Giles could only sigh, hoping that in the morning, all of this made more sense. He had a feeling that this, bad as it looked now, would only be worse when he understood it all.

On to 'Painful Decisions'

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