"Well, well, look who finally woke up?" Footsteps came from above her head. The sound was echoed a hundred times louder in her head. "Are well feeling okay?" A familiar woman's voice continued to speak but she couldn't pinpoint whose. Ignoring the pain, Buffy moved her head to face this woman. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "Tongue-tied?" Drusilla stood like a redwood above Buffy's face. She looked down at her badly beaten body and laughed. Seeing the remains of the slayer was a real joy. After what Buffy had done, Drusilla thought that a slow, pain-filled death was the least she could do. The thought sent shivers up her spine. The pain that still remained in her dark heart was more than anything she had ever suffered. "Don't worry, you're not going to die. I'm not going to let you. You've got a lot of suffering ahead of you." Through her swollen eyes, Buffy could have sworn she saw a tear fall from Drusilla's eye. The tall figure left the slayer to freeze on the cold floor of the warehouse.
"What did I do?" Buffy thought hard despite the pain it caused her. She couldn't remember anything. She attempted to break the chains the bound her, but she knew she couldn't succeed. Even at her full slayer strength, the chains were too strong.
"Don't do that," a quiet voice came from her left. Buffy snapped her head to the side and then cried out in pain. Willow was chained to a beam across the room. Her face was cut and her clothes torn. She wasn't sure if she really was there. Buffy knew very well that her mind was in no condition to be clear. She tried to respond but she still couldn't speak. "It's okay, don't talk. Save your strength.
Buffy tried to mouth the words, "What happened," but she couldn't understand her.
"It must hurt to see your friend like that," a quiet voice came from behind. Xander walked up to the cage and looked down at Buffy. He could see the fear in her eyes as Buffy looked at her vampire friend.
"Xander?" Buffy managed to get out.
"Yeah, I think this vampire look makes me more attractive. Don't you? Oh, wait, that's right, you never found me attractive." Buffy's faced faded to sorrow as she saw the anger in his expression. "That's okay though. Cause now, I can have all the women I want. And eat them too!" Xander laughed as he walked over to Willow who remained chained to the beam. "Even you." Willow cried out for help but no one could save her. Xander sunk his teeth into her neck as a frightened Buffy could only watched. Willow sunk to the ground and Xander removed the chains that bound her. He slit open one of his wrists and tilting her head back, let the blood drizzle down her throat. He stopped and she fell into his arms. "Now how does it feel to see your friend like this?"
Tears pooled up in Buffy's eyes and she cried herself to sleep.
"You will let me know if you hear anything? Okay, fine." Giles slammed the phone down. Buffy, Xander and Willow had been missing for over a week. "Damit. This is all my fault." He went to the back room and gathered several weapons. As he walked out of the library, he stopped and looked back at the empty room. "I'm so sorry Buffy."
"Rise and Shine!" Xander cried out to Buffy who was healing but still in terrible shape. He lifted the top of the cage and stepped in. "Get up!" He kicked her in the side and she cried out in pain. "Oh, I'm sorry, did that hurt?"
"That's enough," Drusilla said as she entered the main room followed by an anxious Willow. "She needs to be conscious to learn."
"Huh. I always thought unconsciousness was a great learning experience."
Drusilla smiled at his comment and then indicated for him to get her to sit up. "Get up!" He kicked her again, this time in the chest.
"I can't," Buffy spoke faintly.
"Oh, yeah, that's right. Poor little slayer is hurt." He undid the chains and saw the bloody wounds that they left on her wrists and ankles. Standing over her he grabbed both of her shoulders and pulled her up to lean against the bars. She screamed as her wounds sent pain surging through her body. "I bet that hurt," Xander laughed and Willow joined him.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Buffy's feeling of innocence was clear but Drusilla knew the truth. "What did I do?" Buffy yelled hoarsely, her voice still sore. Xander exited the cage and closed the lid again. They all sat down on three chairs placed in front of Buffy. "What did I do?" Buffy cried out a final time.
"You...you...you killed Spike!" Drusilla was furious and still disturbed by the events that had occurred. The fear in Buffy was obvious. She didn't know what to say or do. She searched through her mind to recall the situation, but nothing came to mind.
Suddenly, flashes of the fight filled her mind. He was charging at her, she dropped to the ground and threw him against a wall with her feet. As he came down to the ground, she could hear his moaning. She rushed to his side and plunged a railroad spike into his chest.
"What do you have to say for yourself, slayer?" Willow tried to keep up with the action. She had only been a vampire for a few days and was still getting used to it. Buffy had nothing to say to any of them. She just knew that she had to get out of the situation she was in. Still, there were many unanswered questions that plagued her thoughts. Where was Angel? How did Drusilla catch her?
"How did you catch me?" Buffy finally asked, hoping Drusilla would answer.
"Easy. My power has been restored to its full power. You weren't that hard to find."
"That means...Angel is dead."
"No. Angel is still alive. He left several months after he and Spike had a terrible fight. They both left with bad battle wounds and Angel had more important things to take care besides Spike."
"That's okay though. His loss is our gain." Xander was happy that he was a vampire, whether he wanted to be or not.
"How true," Drusilla added as she caressed Xander's face. Apparently, she had found a new love, someone who worshipped her more than Spike or Angel ever could.
"Then how?" Buffy's voice trembled with fear.
"Long story." Drusilla dropped her head for a brief moment while she recalled the events that brought her back to her full strength. "We have better things to do now. Willow, get her some clothes." Buffy looked down at the bloody pieces of cloth that barely covered her body.
He searched every inch of Sunnydale but found nothing. Suspecting the worst, he went to the last place he ever wanted to go. Giles got back in his car and headed off towards the warehouse. After everything that had happened there, all the people who had caused him so much pain...he stopped. "I can't do this to myself. Buffy, Willow and Xander are in trouble and I have to try and save them. If that is possible."
"Is she ready yet?" Xander cried out to Willow impatiently.
"Yes."
Buffy found herself chained to a beam, as Willow was only days ago. She couldn't stand on her own and Willow had to hold her up. Buffy knew what was to come and knew there was no way out. Drusilla entered the room and quietly walked over to Buffy. She leaned over and whispered into Buffy's ear.
"You killed my love. Now, I will kill you. You will commit horrendous acts. Kill humans, feed off their life, and enjoy it!"
"Please, don't do this." Buffy made her last attempt of mercy. She knew it would do no good."
Drusilla sank her teeth into Buffy's neck. A brief moment of de jus vu struck her before she realized she was really going to die this time. Buffy went limp in Willow's grasp. Drusilla took a small step back to admire the work. Killing a slayer was her greatest achievement and she wanted to enjoy it. Moments passed before she jolted her arm out and snapped Buffy's head backwards. Xander took Dru's other arm and cut a slit on her palm. Her blood dripped down Buffy's throat. Willow dropped Buffy to the ground and they all laughed as the lifeless slayer lay before them about to join them in their glory.
Drusilla offered her hand to Xander who eagerly finished off the meal. Drusilla wanted them both to be strong. "You two go get something to eat. I'm full. Bring something fresh back for our little ex-slayer here." Dru knew very well that she would be facing many problems now that the slayer was dead. A new one would be called. The slayer becoming a vampire would be something no one would expect. A vampire with that much experience and knowledge would prove very useful.
Giles arrived at the warehouse. He paused outside for a moment hoping that his suspicions weren't true. Quietly entering through the front door, Giles carefully examined his surroundings. As he moved into the main room, he saw Buffy chained up to a beam. All that were left of her wounds were scars. He rushed to her side and tried to awaken her. He couldn't.
"Well, well. If it isn't our favorite librarian." Willow quipped from behind him. Giles quickly got to his feet to face her but the shock of her appearance was frightening.
"Willow?"
"No, it's Xander!" Her new found life as a vampire gave her a whole new confidence.
"Who did this to you?"
"I did," Xander said from the shadows behind Giles.
"Oh God, Xander!"
"Now you're getting the hang of it."
"What did you do to Buffy," He demanded.
"They didn't do anything. I did," Drusilla came down the stairs to face Giles. He was trapped between three vampires and there was no slayer to save him.
"Buffy did some bad things. Now, she's being punished."
"How can you do this?" Giles looked for any compassion in their eyes but he knew he would find none.
"What did you do to Buffy?"
"I think I'll let her answer that for me." Giles quickly turned around to face Buffy who had broken her chains and now stood up as a vampire.
"Oh Buffy, what have I done."
"Nothing Giles. You haven't done anything. It's more of what *I'm* going to do."
"Buffy, please, don't."
"Giles, I tried that, as you can see, it doesn't work." Buffy backed Giles up against the cage that still remained in the center of the room. She grabbed him by the throat and threw him on top of it. Before he had a chance to protest, her teeth were in his neck.
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Angel!" Drusilla was shocked and stumbled backwards until she found a chair to sit in.
"I leave for a few months and look what you did." He looked around the room to see what Drusilla had done. "Xander? Willow? Oh, Dru, I didn't think you had it in you." After finishing her meal, Buffy quickly turned around to face her once lover, Angel. "Buffy? Who...what...how?"
"Do you like?" Dru questioned, searching for approval.