The assembled group soon arrived outside the foreboding mansion. The night had assumed an air of gloominess; an air of mystery. They stood across the street watching the chilling castle, hidden by some of California's tropical foliage.

Spike glanced at his lover standing next to him. He dreaded the fact that Raksha could die. And that surprised him. It was rare for a demon to feel strong affection. He did. And for two women at that. One who was insane, even by vampire standards. One who was sane but haunted by the hardships of being a demon with a soul.

He turned to Raksha. "See you when the dust settles?" Spike asked.

Raksha smiled slightly and nodded. Spike leaned down and captured her mouth in a gentle kiss. He pulled away reluctantly and reached inside his coat. He grabbed a cigarette and lit it with his Zippo. "Time to go meet my maker," Spike grinned. "Literally."

Raksha watched him walk away wistfully. Raksha pulled her attention away from Spike. "Give him a minute, then we'll get to it," Raksha told Buffy. "We'll go down one side, then come up the other. Then we'll go inside. There probably will be several vampires in there, but nothing we can't handle. Angelus, like I told you, has been draining his minions for power and hasn't made that many fledglings. He's been distracted by you."

Buffy smiled sadly. "Thanks ever so."

They stood still, waiting and anticipating. After five minutes or eternity, Buffy didn't know which one, she grabbed a stake and handed one to Raksha. Raksha slipped the stake into her jacket.

"Let's slay," Buffy said. Together Raksha and Buffy moved stealthily toward the mansion.

"Daddy," Drusilla whined, stamping her foot, loudly. "You said you were going to go look for Spike tonight."

Angelus sighed. He was used to Drusilla's whining and everything else by now. Angelus had no intention of ever searching for Spike, but he needed to say something to shut Drusilla up. "Honey, it's not safe for me to go out and look for Spike. I'll do it tomorrow."

"No need to do that," Spike commented coming out of the shadows. Then he added scornfully, "Daddy."

Drusilla sashayed over to Spike. The skirts of her dress swished seductively around her body making her look voluptuous. "Where have you been, lovey?" she asked him. "You've been a very naughty boy staying away all this time." She reached out to touch him on his face.

He stepped away, to avoid her caress. Drusilla's face twisted into a pout, but Spike ignored it, just as he was ignoring the looks Angelus was giving him. "No need to worry about me. I can take care of my self." Spike went over to a wall and leaned against it. "I can take care of myself so well, in fact, that I've decided that's it's time to leave home and experience the *big bad* world on my own."

Buffy and Raksha had already taken out two guards. Angelus' wits surely did not get passed on to his 'children.' Both of the sentinels were dumber than the plot of an Adam Sandler flick and were quickly dusted.

Raksha's mood was quickly becoming dark. The demon inside of her was feeding on the violence she was partaking in. It wasn't becoming a threat to her control, which she had had five thousand years to perfect, but it definitely was coming out to play.

Buffy and Raksha silently rounded the first corner of the house, coming around to the rear. Raksha quickly assessed the situation. Angelus had only posted one guard. That was very, very sloppy. Apparently he thought he had nothing to fear in his own abode. How wrong he was.

Raksha snuck up behind the male sentry. She reached around the vampire and ripped out his Adam's apple. Tainted blood spurted out from the guard's neck, covering his body in the dark fluid. The vampire turned around to face his attacker. Raksha slipped her stake out of her jacket. Raksha kicked him in the head and staked him in one fluent movement.

The Slayerettes and the Watcher stood silently watching the house. They all shook with anticipation and fear. There were so many things that could go wrong. They didn't even begin to trust Spike.

Hell, they didn't even completely trust Raksha. They couldn't. They had learned the hard way that people were often not what they seemed to be. It was too dangerous to someone who was admittedly a demon.

All they could do was hope. And wait.

"So Spike's finally decided to be a big boy and go out on his own?" Angelus asked sardonically. He moved over and wrapped his arms around the pouty Drusilla. "We'll miss you, but who are we to hold you back from what you want?" Angelus ran his hands possessively around Drusilla's body. Drusilla arched into his hands and purred deep in her throat.

Spike smirked at Angelus' display. In the past it would have irked him to no end, but now he simply saw through Angelus. He was nothing more than an overgrown bully with no depth and frankly no class.

"I'm glad you feel that way, mate," Spike told him finally. "I haven't been back to China, since... Right after you turned into *soul boy.* I've always wanted to go back, now is my chance."

Angelus stared at Spike with astonishment. He had suspected that Spike didn't really want to leave. At least he had expected to get a fight out of him for having his hands all over Drusilla. Maybe Spike had finally realized that Drusilla was his and he never would have had her if he hadn't gotten his dreadful soul back. "So when are you leaving?"

Buffy was shocked at Raksha's brutality. The last vampire she had staked it had been done quickly and painlessly. Buffy pulled on Raksha's arm, turning Raksha around to face her to see if she was okay. She looked up into Raksha's eyes and her gaze was met with one coming from red eyes. Buffy gasped.

Raksha realized what she was seeing. "It's just my demon showing itself," Raksha explained, her voice bearly audible to Buffy. You would have had to have enhanced hearing and be in close proximity to hear her expose.

Buffy nodded in understanding. She had almost forgotten the fact that Raksha was a demon. She quickly composed herself, regaining her inner balance. She jerked her head, indicating to Raksha she was ready to go.

"I'm leaving as soon as I can," Spike responded Angelus' question.

"The sooner the better," Angelus said with a smirk.

"But why Spike?" Drusilla whined, stepping out of Angelus' embrace. She went to Spike. "Why are you breaking up our happy family?"

"Um, Drusilla, I hate to break this to you but the three of us *never* were a happy family. It's time for me to move on."

Drusilla came close to Spike. "To the arms of the bloody hunter?" she spat nastily into his ear. Drusilla could not imagine Spike wanting to leave her. He must be under some spell of the hunter's. Spike loved her. He would not want to leave her unless he was enchanted.

Spike had to fake revoltion at the thought of him and Raksha together. He put and disgusted look on his face and snorted. "I'd rather be floating in the breeze. It's nauseating to think of."

"Drusilla," Angelus said to calm her. "Why would anyone want her? She's nothing compared to you."

Drusilla smiled at the thought. "Yes, I'm a princess. Nobody could want her, when they see me."

< Too bad Raksha's not here yet, > Spike thought. < She would have gutted them both for saying that. >

Raksha and Buffy had finished off the last of the watchmen. They slipped around the house to a concealed spot where the others could see them. Raksha signaled for their companions to join them. Giles and the others slipped through the shadows silently, joining the in a mere minute.

"Buffy and I am going to go in and slay the other vampires and incapacitate Angelus. Then we'll call for you all to come in. Then I'll perform the spell. In the meantime, stay here. Be as quiet as possible," Raksha ordered them.

"Ready?" Buffy asked Raksha.

Raksha took a deep breath. "Ready."