Xander Harris was upset. He'd never been as upset as he was at that particular moment. He was staring at his best friend in the whole world....at least, the beast wearing his best friend's body. When Buffy and Angel brought her to the library to talk, he'd rushed to her to hold her. She pushed him away. That was the first odd thing. She rejected him. But he could move past that. It was the intensity of her rejection that stung. She had pushed him hard enough for him to slide away from her on the floor, until he slammed into a table. Everyone gasped at her strength.

Rupert Giles was unnerved. Angel assured him that she was human, but Willow - er, Lady Red - carried herself as a vampire. She was cautious and stayed to herself, but looked as if she were a predator watching for her prey. In the two months she'd been gone from the Scooby Gang, Spike had completely revamped who she was. It saddened him that one of his most favorite people in the world didn't exist anymore.

Buffy Summers was near hysterics. She kept threatening to kill Spike, which in turn would earn a nasty glare from Willow. She kept asking Willow how she could betray her and all that the Slayer stood for. Willow would just roll her eyes and cross her arms.

Angel was on the other side of the library from her. He didn't want to get too close to her, or he couldn't think straight. It was unnerving, seeing Willow as Lady Red, as his childe's mate. Willow was more beautiful than he'd ever seen her. She wore a short red sweater - showing her flat stomach and the navel ring she had gotten, a pair of tight black leather pants, black boots, and floor length black leather duster - just like Spike's. Her hair was pulled back into a French Braid. It was the most comfortable Angel had ever seen her in her own body. She sat with an air of confidence, and suspected that even if she had been naked, she wouldn't have minded. Then there was her scent. THAT was driving him crazy more than anything. It was his childe - his FAVORITE childe. It stirred the demon much more than the soul would ever admit.

Seeing this human woman, and seeing how much she had changed because of his childe, and smelling said childe all over her....it was the first time in the two years since Spike had returned that the souled version of Angelus wanted to resume the Sire/Childe relationship.

Faith grinned at Willow. She was proud of the girl, even if she was sleeping with a vampire. Actually, that part didn't really bother the second Slayer either - Spike WAS a hottie after all. What Faith was most in awe about was how much Willow had come out of her shell. She was almost a different person, and she wore that personality well. Faith had never seen the red head look as good as she did at that point. "Hey, Red, looking good," Faith commented.

Willow turned, focusing on Faith. She hadn't given Faith much thought in the last two months, since she hadn't been a part of the group too long, and Spike didn't really know much about her. The brunette seemed sincere...she was actually smiling, while everyone else was sad and moping. "Thank you...Faith, right?"

Faith frowned. "Yea, you know me, Red, don't you?"

"Spike didn't know much about you. I knew there was a second slayer, but we didn't interact enough for me to be sure."

"So that's it!" Buffy cried. "You have amnesia and he's taking advantage of that! All we gotta do is get your memory back, and then you will be our little Willow again!"

Rage flooded Willow's system. She stood up, her stance dangerous. "I will most certainly never been your *little Willow* again. I am Lady Red, Slayer, and if you want to continue living, you'd better remember that. As of right now, Spike isn't going to litter Sunnydale with your intestines, only because of who you once were in my life. However, as soon as I say the word, you won't make it through the night."

Buffy blinked in surprise. She'd never heard Willow's voice so strong, so cold. And oddly enough, she was scared. Not necessarily for her life, but more for the fact that if she were to die, it would be because her best friend (< No, > Buffy corrected, < ex-best friend. >) deemed it so. "So....you know me?"

"Buffy Summers, little Willow's best friend, the Slayer. You came during sophomore year. You are dating my mate's sire...." Willow turned, glaring at Angel with the same intense hate that Spike felt for the man, "....you. The great Angelus with a soul. Nancyboy." She smiled, her grin devious. "The Bloody Poof."

Angel frowned, jabbing his hands in his coat pockets.

"Willow...." Xander's soft voice came from the table.

"Lady Red, Harris. Don't call me Willow. I am not her. Not anymore."

"Lady....I..." he started. He looked down. "I miss you."

Willow crossed her arms. "And that's supposed to cause what reaction in me? Harris, that means nothing to me. For twelve long years, Willow Rosenberg loved you, and you wanted everyone but her. Unfortunately for you, that's one of the feelings that I have towards you...an intense anger for never noticing me. You never did. You proclaimed to the world I was your best bud, but I was never good enough to be your girl."

"You missed graduation," Giles said softly.

Willow looked at him and smiled. "Rupert. You, I like. You were the only one, the only one of all of them, that took me seriously and treated me like an adult. When it comes time for their deaths, I will spare you."

Giles frowned and shifted in his chair. "Will...er.....Lady Red, don't you care? That you missed graduation? What are you going to do with the rest of your life?"

She laughed. "Still playing daddy like always. Rupert, I am the mate of William the Bloody. This is a serious thing, not just a passing fancy for him. I will be with him forever. He will take care of me, if I need to have something taken care of. Other than that, I don't have much interest living in the human world at this point."

Giles sighed.

"Well....we aren't letting you go," Buffy said, her hands on her hips.

Willow started laughing. "You are under the impression that you are holding me here against my will?" She wiped tears of laughter away. "Oh, goddess, I wish Spike was here, he'd find that funny."

"But we are!" Buffy cried, trying to keep control of the situation.

"You are mistaken, Buffy, if you think you are keeping her here," Angel said softly. "She has control of this situation and has since she walked in the door."

"NO!" Buffy cried, turning to him. "I'm not loosing control to Willow! I won't let her take that from me! You took it from me a year ago, and I'm not loosing it again!"

Angel frowned, looking down. He hated the way things would sometimes slip out when she was angry, things about Angelus. As if he didn't feel guilty enough about everything the demon did to her. "I think it's too late."

Buffy pulled out a stake. "I will stake her, I promise you, I will."

Xander whimpered softly.

Angel stepped forward. "She's human, Buffy. You can't kill a human," he said.

"She's a vampire who just happens to have a pulse."

Faith, who had been watching the scene unravel intently, got up and grabbed Buffy's wrist. "B, she hasn't threatened you, so if you kill her, it will be homicide, and they will send you to jail."

Buffy looked at the other Slayer. "Faith..."

"B, go home. Go to bed. You need rest."

All of the sudden, Angel stiffened, and Willow sat up straighter. A frown formed on Angel's face, while Willow was beaming. "My mate is coming," she purred.

"Spike?" Faith asked. "He's coming here?"

"Yea," Angel replied, "with several minions."

"Great," Buffy said. "Just what I need to top off the night."

The door flung open. Spike grinned at everyone. He stood there with his human face on, while the seven growling vampires behind him had their game faces on. "Slayer. Peaches. Everyone else." His eyes settled on Willow, who sat there playing with her nails, looking bored. "Pet, have you been playing with the Slayer and her friends?"

She looked up at him, a grin threatening to cover her face. She managed to keep the bored look, however. "Yea, so? I just wanted to get under their skin...see what reaction I could get."

"And did you get satisfaction from this?"

"It entertained me for a few minutes. Harris won't stop whimpering."

"Humans always have mental breakdown when they realize what they've missed," Spike said. He still hadn't stepped into the library.

"Damn it, Spike," Buffy yelled, "are you going to come in here and fight like a man, or sit there all night and trade insults with your tramp?"

Everyone looked at Buffy sharply. "That's still Willow," Xander said.

"No, it isn't. That's her body, but that isn't Willow," Buffy declared.

"I'm not here to fight you, Slayer. I'm only here for my mate." Spike took out a cigarette and lit it, not caring that he shouldn't smoke in Sunnydale High School. "Come on, pet, this is boring me."

Willow stood up. "Well, everyone, it's been fun. At least, I've enjoyed it." She laughed. "See ya 'round Sunnyhell, guys." She walked to Spike.

He pulled her in his arms and kissed her hard, passionately. "Wow," Faith said. "If that isn't some kind of passion, I don't know what is."

As much as it hurt Buffy, the Slayer had to admit Faith was right. There was definitely fireworks between her former best friend and her mortal enemy. She sighed. < Can things get any worse? > she thought.