“ Jonathan!”

Jonathan wheeled rather quickly, curious as to who would call out his name. His eyes met the baby blues of the blonde at the end of the hall. He grinned.

“ Aspen!” They met halfway, the blonde pulling him into a headlock and delivering a friendly noogie to his brown haired head.

“ How’ve you been?” she asked as she let him go.

Jonathan’s voice grew hushed. “ It’s hard. Always hard. But I’m getting by,” he replied.

Aspen hugged him again, gently that time. “ I’m sorry I’m couldn’t save you...”

“ Don’t worry about me,” he told her. “ I have to go to class.”

Jonathan, his heart racing, walked down the hall toward English. Something was going to happen, he knew. Something always did when his sister was in town. She was trouble-bait.

“ WHERE IS SHE?!?!” came the roar as he burst through the library doors. The group around the table, who had been expecting a quiet night, jumped about ten feet each.

“ Who the fuck are you?” Faith snarled, the first to recover from the ambush. She leaped to her feet, stake in hand.

Buffy rushed between the other Slayer and the vampire. “ Hold on a minute!” she screamed to both parties. Then she turned to the vampire. “ What are you doing here Spike?”

Spike’s pale, horrid vampire face was tear-streaked. “ Where is she?” he sobbed. “ You must know...”

“ Where’s who?” Buffy asked, worried.

“ That blonde bitch who killed my Dru!” he screamed in anguish.

Jonathan twitched slightly when he heard the doorknob turn.

“ Relax,” Aspen said as she entered, “ it’s me.”

“ Asp... So,” he began, “ what brings you to Sunnydale.”

The lean blonde sighed, tossing a bag onto the couch beside him, and she proceeded to untie her boots. “ On the run,” she replied simply.

“ From who?” Jonathan asked.

His sister’s face grew solemn, and he knew this answer wouldn’t be quite as simple.

“ I was chasing down a chaos demon not too long ago. He had a girlfriend, a vampire. I killed him one night when he was going to meet the crazy bitch; he wasn’t that hard. Gave me a beauty on my chest though,” she added, pulling her T-shirt down so he could see the long pink scar above her breasts. “ Afterward I was still under it, ya know, still feeling the Beast pumping in me... And I decided to take her out too. I got to their meeting place and hid in the bushes behind her...”

Jonathan gave her a moment before urging her on.

“ He was there. She called him Spike. He was a vampire, I knew that right away. He was pleading with her; well, more wrestling than pleading really, but he was trying to get her to take him back... And I snapped...” Aspen broke down and began to sob.

“ You killed her? And he’s chasing you?” Jonathan asked, wrapping his arms around her.

“ Yes... but... It’s not just that.”

“ What is it then Asp?”

“ The Beast... It plays with us. It tries to control us Jon... And usually when our adrenaline is at a high point.” Aspen tried to regain composure.

“ Well, yeah, I know that. What’s wrong this time?” Jonathan questioned, growing worried.

“ And then you also know that the stronger our emotions are, the more control the Beast has over us.”

“ Yes.”

“ It took over. Completely.”

“ What?! Why?!”

“ Think Jon. What’s the strongest emotion you know of?”

They could tell that Spike would be of no help. His platinum blonde head was laying atop a table soaked with his tears. Oz sat back in his chair, watching the depressed vampire with what could only be described as Ozian interest. Giles, Buffy, Willow, Xander, Faith, and Cirrus where huddled in the office, trying to decide what to do with him.

“ Do you really think we can trust him?” Faith asked seriously, lifting herself to sit on the edge of a nearby counter.

Buffy shot her a look. “ We can trust him. I know this guy.”

“ The question is,” Giles corrected, clearing his throat, “ what are we going to do with him.”

“ Why do anything with him at all, if you say we can trust him,” Cirrus pointed out.

“ No, we can trust him not to hurt us, but he has this tendency to destroy other things. Especially when he’s emotional,” Willow replied. “ Maybe we could keep him in the cage.”

“ I’m afraid that wouldn’t work. This IS a library during daylight hours,” Giles reminded them.

Cirrus opened her mouth.

“ Do you really want an audience?” Faith asked her lover quickly.

Cirrus closed her mouth.

“ Why not leave him in Willy’s cage?” the dark haired Slayer suggested.

“ Sunlight...” Buffy responded. “ Not to mention alot of vengeful vampires who would love to beat him to a bloody pulp.”

“ Why don’t you let me take him?”

They all turned to see Angel leaning in the doorway.

“ Angel... Do you think you can handle him?” Buffy asked.

“ I’ve got the chains if I need them,” he persuaded.

“ If you’re going to move him, now’s the time,” Oz told them as he walked in. “ He’s passed out.”

Angelus lifted Spike up and took him away, grinning to himself.

Nothing could keep Aspen down for long. The blonde had decided a hunt would raise her moral, and she crept stealthily around outside the mansion. There were vamps there, she could feel them. Then Aspen froze.

The silence of the night was pierced by a roar.

She knew the roar. Images of running, footsteps and that same sound following her, flashed through her mind. It was his roar. But this time it was different. The emotion fueling the cry was pain, not rage. He was being hurt. Aspen’s blood boiled.

Peering through the window she saw his gorgeous form. Over him, two others, male and female, stood. Fire, crosses, and what could only be holy water were carefully brandished with glee. Wisps of smoke rose from his glorious chest as the items were brought into contact with it.

The smashing of the window glass was the last thing she heard. Then her mind transformed into a massive red blur.

“ You hear that?” Cirrus asked, her ears perking to better catch the sounds of battle.

Faith shifted quickly into Slayer mode. “ Yeah. Let’s go.”

Cirrus lead her Slayer to the source of the noise, the mansion. Kicking the door down, they beheld the scene with momentary shock. Angel on the floor wrestling with a rabid blonde, Spike chained to a tabletop, struggling, and, most shocking of all, Cordelia. The preppy girl had been missing for nearly a month.

“ Cordy...” Faith gasped.

Cirrus let out a low growl as she sniffed. “ There’s not a single human in this room Faith,” she said, springing into fray.

The werewolf deposited her massive furry fists in the guts of both Angel and blonde, separating them. She tackled the blonde, pinning her the floor with her superior strength. The stranger’s eyes flashed brightly with an electric blue light, then, as she realized she couldn’t get loose, the glow faded and her mind returned to her own control. A thud sounded next to them as Faith was thrown off by Angelus, who fled with Cordelia.

“ Dammit!!” she screamed. Cirrus stopped her when she got ready charge at them again.

“ Let them go. We can handle that later. Get Spike outta those chains and help me get her into ‘em!” she ordered. Faith did as she was told.

“ Bloody hell...” Spike muttered as the Slayer helped him up and into a nearby armchair.

“ You don’t have to chain me,” the blonde hissed.

“ I’m sure as hell not gonna just let you go,” Cirrus replied. She held her jaws poised threateningly over the girl’s throat while Faith secured the shackles.

“ Now,” the Slayer began, “ who the hell are you?”

She opened her mouth, but was cut off by the platinum blonde vampire.

“ That’s the bitch that killed my Dru...”

“ My name is Aspen. I’m a demon hunter.”

The situation was a bit overwhelming. Only minutes before she had been doing her thing, fighting. It was easy and she was used to it. Now she was tied up in a school library, that seemed to be more of an HQ by night, surrounded by... what? She felt their auras. Two Slayers. Two werewolves. Three humans. And HIM... Spike...

“ And why kill Angel?” Buffy asked.

“ Or better yet, what about Dru?” the bitter blonde vampire spat.

“ Drusilla? A bystander. One I thought I should wipe out. Two evils with one stake,” Aspen answered shrugging.

“ You cold little...” Spike grumbled.

“ She didn’t deserve you,” the girl stated simply.

“ IT DOESN’T BLOODY MATTER!!” Spike roared. “ I LOVED HER!!!”

“ And Aspen loves you.”

“ Jonathan?” Aspen called to the new voice, struggling to see him at the door from her position bound to a chair at the library table.

The others simply gawked as he crossed the room, a look and aura of confidence about him and his voice carrying a wisdom that they weren’t really ready for.

Buffy was the first to speak to him. “ How...?” she asked.

“ ... Did I get mixed up in this? I’m her brother. You could say I sniffed her out.”

“ Well, that still doesn’t explain why she was trying to kill Angel,” Willow pointed out. “ And weren’t we originally trying to find that out?”

“ Angel?” Jonathan asked, shooting a questioning glance at his sister.

“ He was killing Spike,” Aspen growled.

“ No...” Buffy protested.

“ He was, and Cordelia was with him,” Cirrus explained.

“ Yeah, they had Spikey chained and were tryin’ to have a bonfire,” Faith added, pulling up Spike’s shirt and showing the burn marks from crosses, matches, and holy water.

Xander was visibly shaken at the mention of Cordelia’s name. “ Cordy?”

“ She’s a vamp. My guess is she was sired by that Angel guy.” Cirrus gave him a sympathetic shoulder pat. Xander quickly excused himself and jogged out of the room.

“ Dammit...” Buffy muttered.

“ Dammit is right lover,” Angelus cried as he came crashing through the window.

“ Always knew how to make an entrance,” Spike growled, readying himself for battle.

The Slayers drew weapons, and Oz and Cirrus shifted into werewolves. At that point, Jonathan decided to untie his sister. She bolted for the doors, but he stopped her. “ We have to help them.”

His sister hissed.

“ You gonna let Spike get hurt?”

That got her to turn. From the window, an army of other vampires had come to their leader’s aid, the Slayers, even with the aid of werewolf and human and Spike, looked like they might lose. Aspen submerged. The red haze covered her, the Beast moved her body. Knives, from their hidden places in her sleeves and boots, sprang to her hand and from hand they went into undead chests. Ripping, shredding, sometimes staking.

Meanwhile, Angelus had singled out his little Slayer, and escorted her and their battle to a dark corner.

“ You know about my prize, so I guess there’s no need to hide from you anymore my love,” he said coolly as they fought.

She threw him back. “ When? When did this happen?”

He smirked. “ When I tasted her and found out she was sweeter than you.”

Jonathan watched as the two sides wrestled before him.

Together, Giles and Willow took out two. Spike, one. Oz and Cirrus, five, rhythmically punching their talons into hearts and severing heads with their teeth. Faith would later crow about beating her previous record, with seven under her belt that night. But that left seven remaining, and Aspen was trying to take them all on. Jonathan felt his temperature rise, and knew he only had a few seconds to make a decision.

He stopped repressing and flew into the brawl.

When all was done in front, they burst into Buffy’s private party in back, the blood from scratches and shallow bites they had received making them look even more menacing, partially silhouetted in the aisle the bookshelves created. Angelus fled, diving through another window to the street.

Then Aspen went to her brother who lay on the floor, unconscious it seemed. “ Jon?” she asked, concern in her voice.

He opened his eyes in a moment. “ I... I let it take me. The Beast.”

“ And you survived,” Aspen stated, smiling. She helped him up.

“ Okay, and what exactly is going on with you two?” Oz asked, shifting back into human form.

Jonathan slumped into a chair and tried to catch his breath.

“ If it’s too hard for you... I can...” Aspen offered.

“ No, it’s time I faced what happened,” he told her. Then he began the story. “ About eight years ago, our family was vacationing in Florida. We were out driving late one night, and we stopped at this creepy little town for a break. It was deserted. That’s when they attacked, two demons... It hurts to remember them... They killed our parents. And bit us...”

“ We were poisoned then. Almost like possession,” Aspen continued. “ When our emotions flare it tries to take over. We found our own way out, and told no one about what happened. We survived for years, and once Jonathan was settled I left. I went to hunt them.”

“ We chose Sunnydale because, as part demon, we were drawn to it. We hoped maybe our demons would be too. Aspen learned to use her Beast, while I was afraid of it. I never had real life, I was scared that I might get too worked up one day...” Jonathan finished.

“ And ever since you’ve been hunting them down for revenge?” Cirrus asked.

“ Revenge and, well, we were hoping the poison might be neutralized by their deaths,” Aspen replied.

“ What are you going to do now?” asked Giles. “ Will you be staying in Sunnydale?”

“ No,” Aspen replied. “ I have to keep hunting.”

“ ... I’m coming with you.”

They were all surprised by Spike’s declaration.

“ I have to figure this thing out,” he told them. “ And I can’t do that without her.”

“ Mind if I tag along?” Jonathan asked them.

His sister nodded. “ Get packed.”

Xander sat alone in his room, trying to grasp what he had been told. He stretched out on his bed and covered his head with his pillow to drown out the sounds from downstairs. His parents screaming. In a second he removed the pillow. The sounds of their fight below seemed more comforting than the voices he heard when in silence. Her voice and his voice. Quarreling. Sweetly quarreling. He missed it. He missed...

“ Cordy...” he whispered, choking.

“ Aw, miss me Xander?” she asked innocently from his open window.

He practically dove to the floor. She smirked as his face grew deathly pale.

“ Hey Xander? Wanna live forever?”