Spike had said she looked more beautiful as a vampire then she ever had before. In truth, she had no way of knowing. It surprised her the first time she’d looked into a mirror and saw what was behind her instead of her own reflection. All she knew was that she felt more beautiful. She felt strong. She kissed his bare shoulder sweetly, and watched his eyelids begin to flutter. Recognition was instant, and he smiled drowsily. She slid back into his embrace, nuzzling his throat and whispering his name.
It was nearly dusk, and soon it would be time to leave, she knew. Denying reality for a moment, she pressed her lips to his with a shyness that only she could maintain at this point. "We don’t have that much time," she reported, taking a look at the watch she’d left on the table.
"As much as I’d like to stay, you’re right," he acquiesced, pulling her up with him. Their clothes were scattered all over the place. A shiver ran through her as she slipped on the long white dress. Automatically, she grabbed Buffy’s pink sweater from the floor and buttoned it over the silk. She felt strange. Some foreign energy seemed to be running through the warm folds of material, as if it was an object of magical significance. Instantly, she knew. They were coming. Soon.
Willow ripped open the door and felt the cool night air rush towards her. The wind struck her hard, but it was not unwelcome. Her claustrophobia had been quick to set in on her, especially with the oppressive realization weighing her down. She felt Spike close behind her as they cautiously stole across the large open field. The landscape swelled and buckled, and they sped over it, seriousness removing all other considerations.
She wanted nothing more to return to the warehouse. The airy hall was where she felt the safest these days. It was her vampiric womb, and held a mystical power of reassurance. They were coming. The knowledge became more and more real as she walked the way a sound becomes louder. They were closer. Closer still, as if they were sharks closing upon her ordered world. Sharks of the past, out for blood. She couldn’t seem to run fast enough, yet Spike was struggling to keep up with her. A dark terror seized her heart; pounced upon her, as if just seeing them might freeze time. They were here, she thought, seconds before a tall male plowed into her, apparently in the midst of some sort of race. One shoulder knocked her down, and he nearly crushed her with his weight.
It was Angelus, she knew, without looking up. When she finally did, she almost doubted her senses. He looked gaunt and tired. The evil pleasure in his eyes had flown, and only raw terror and survival instincts remained. She waited to meet his eyes, but he picked himself up and sped off as if he’d tripped on a rock or some other inanimate object. Spike looked stunned behind her, his eyes wide in amazement as he watched the vampire’s retreating back. Moments later, he grabbed Willow around the waist. Before she had time to protest, he dragged her into a bush near the high school. Willow tried to speak, but he silenced her and gestured with his eyes towards the spot where they’d been standing. The slayer had just rushed into the clearing, breathing heavily. Her figure brought back a plethora of ingrained memories, but something was very wrong. Buffy wore simple, almost rustic looking clothes. A plain white shirt and dark pants that were frayed at the bottom hung upon her as if she were merely a sack of bones. Her eyes were tired, but what determination! Buffy was businesslike, certainly, but she almost looked bored.
"Get your sorry ass out here, Angelus." Silence followed, and Willow gulped. The slayer was not big on patience, apparently, even less so than usual. She took off in the direction Angelus had gone, and it was only when the slayer was a good 30 feet away, and heading further from them that Spike released his grip on her.
"We’ve got to get back to the warehouse," Willow urged, not sure why the words were coming from her.
"But, why? Let the slayer work out her own problems with Angel. We don’t have any quarrel with her."
"We need… You need to find out," she whispered nervously, "what happened to Dru."
The racket was deafening as they got to the warehouse. Willow heard two voices, the sound of fists making contact, and then a loud crash. As the metal door creaked open echoes of shouting assaulted her. Before she’d blinked, a body flew across the room, and the slayer stepped into the center floor.
"I can’t believe you bothered to come all the way over here to let me kill you. You could have at least saved me for the travel expense." She planted a swift kick to his stomach. Willow had trouble following her lightning-fast moves, and wondered where she’d learned to fight like that. Certainly never in the library.
A stake was high in the air in an instant, and Willow crashed into the room suddenly, a surge of emotions overtaking her. "WAIT!" She screamed as the stake began its descent. Buffy looked up almost simultaneously and her eyes popped open in horror at seeing her friend as a vampire for the first time. Angel took full advantage, popping her in the jaw fiercely. She fell to the ground with a grunt.
"Thanks," he grinned at Willow as Buffy scrambled to her feet. Again Willow noticed his gaunt face. The cheeks were hollow, and his eyes sunken in. It simply made his grin all the more revolting to look at. Anger rose within her, and with a surge of adrenaline, she rushed at Angelus before he could make his next attack. She slammed him against the wall with a strength she’d never imagined herself capable of.
"Who said I was helping you," she snarled, her face transforming. Buffy stood watching, unable to recover from the shock. Spike stood behind her, and neither of them made a move for each other. Both were too amazed to be capable of any action. They all waited for an action from Willow. "*What happened to Dru,*" she said in a low, even growl.
Angel turned away and looked at the floor, refusing to answer. With a shattering blow, she broke his jaw. Spike winced, Buffy noticed, but she continued to watch her former best friend. "WHAT HAPPENED TO DRU," she screamed at the bleeding Angel. In a cracked and faint voice he answered her. Buffy and Spike strained unsuccessfully to hear what the vampire was saying. Willow heard.
"Well, you see, It happened like this. A few months ago, we got stuck in an alley until the sun went down." He rested his head against the wall. "Drusilla kept whining about her dolls, and normally I wouldn’t mind it, but I was having a bad day…" Willow leaned in closer as his voice grew even quieter. "So I shoved her out into the street." He looked at the oblivious Spike with the best impression of a grin he could manage. Crimson liquid oozed from his lips. Then he turned back to Willow, coughing briefly on his own blood. "Oh don’t worry," he breathed, "She didn’t suffer for long." Despite his position, the snicker that followed was triumphant. With a quick lunge, she ripped a bloody hole in his face, and turned around. Moving with a speed rivaling Buffy’s, she grabbed the stake out of the slayer’s hand, and wasted no time in plunging it through the vampire’s heart. A scattering of dust tingled her skin, bringing life back into her bloody hands.
"Bastard," she whispered to the floor. She turned around and barely smiled at Buffy as her face reverted back to its human form. Buffy didn’t move. She didn’t know what to make of the situation, and almost jerked away when she felt the cold hands deliver the stake to her. Willow backed away. "Consider it an act of good faith," she shrugged, and pulled an incredulous Spike with her upstairs.
Buffy remained there for some time, staring at the stake in her hands.
A constant dripping echoing from the main floor stirred them both awake in bed. She shifted slightly, pulling the covers to her chin and pressing herself more firmly against her lover’s body. It didn’t help much. He was nearly as cold as she was. He pulled her to him in a vain attempt for warmth. It did seem to comfort her, though. She was the first to interrupt the still that had come over them. "We can leave tomorrow night."
"But for where?"
"I don’t know. Europe? It’s a little old."
"Too many of us there," he agreed. Neither one of them mentioned Buffy.
"I’ve always wanted to visit India," she revealed, smiling hopefully.
"India. It’s warm there," he answered, sharing a shiver that passed through them as if they were one body.
"Then it’s settled." There was nothing to worry about, he thought, and smiled as the image of Angelus turning to dust flashed before his eyes. She was safe. And soon they would be far off, leaving Sunnydale nothing more than a distant memory. They could put this time away in the attic and never look back. What was worth remembering? Angelus? The slayer? Drusilla...She seemed to understand almost telepathically. She caressed his jaw as she spoke.
"Do you want to know what he told me?" He was taken aback with the situation. He wasn’t used to being the one in the dark. In fact, he couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t leading Dru around by the hand. Willow lay above him now with some secret that gave her the advantage. He liked it.
"Yes," he answered, trying to remember what Drusilla looked like, and only coming up with an image of a petite redhead. Her mouth opened in what might have been a sentence, but then she stopped and seemed to consider for a moment. She slowly lay back down beside him, pulled his arm around her waist, and began speaking to the ceiling in hushed tones.
"The slayer killed her," she explained gently, "early on. It was only a few days after their arrival. Angelus didn’t see fit to come back until he was forced to." Spike nodded and tucked her head beneath his own, and they rested without moving for some time.
"Why did you stake him," he asked eventually, running his fingers through her soft curls.
"He insulted my dress."
The End
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