Chapter 1
"Spike! Put me down! Zoey, help me!"
Lena Roberts laughed as her boyfriend spun her around in circles. It was a normal Friday night at the Bronze, and Lena, her twin sister Zoey, and their friends were relaxing after a long day at school. Zoey smiled and leaned against the bar, drinking her root beer float. As Spike set Lena down, their friends Buffy, Alton, Giles, Anya, and Xander came over to join them. Giles' real name was Rupert Giles, but most people called him Giles. Except for Lena.
"Ripper!" Lena squealed, running over to the punk British man. She hugged him and giggled. As she and Ripper walked am in arm toward the bar, Spike clenched his jaw and his fists. Alton put his hand on the platinum blonde's shoulder, trying to calm him.
"Remember Spike, she's still yours, despite her flirtin' with Ripper," the red head said, watching the raven-haired girl flirt with the older British man. Spike growled and bared his teeth, until Alton tightened his grip.
"Look, I don't care if Lena knows about our…condition. But the last thing we need is the Slayer knowing what me and you are. She already knows about Ripper; so what? If that crazy fuck wants to get staked, so be it," Alton said menacingly, before loosening his grip on Spike's shoulder.
"Look you stupid ponce," Spike threatened, turning to face his friend. "I don't want the Slayer to know either, right? But I'll be damned if I let Lena get hurt."
"Hey Captain Peroxide, I wouldn't look now, but you girl just ran off with Psycho," Xander piped up, pointing toward the door. Spike swirled around and saw a black leather duster before the door closed. Cursing loudly, Spike ran out of the Bronze, quickly scanning the street. He sniffed the air briefly, than ran toward downtown Sunnydale after catching Lena's scent. He ran, brushing past the people on the street, ignoring their protests. Soon after, he caught a glimpse of Lena and Ripper, the later leading the unsuspecting girl into a dark alleyway.
"Come on luv, no one'll catch us. Not even William," Ripper whispered into Lena's hair. Lena smiled, her expression an odd one for her. Only two people knew that Lena was under a spell, and one of them was about to kill the other.
"Get your hands offa her right now Ripper!" Spike yelled, ramming his fist into the brunette man's face. Blood streaming down his lips, Ripper turned and shoved Spike away, wiping his bloody nose.
"Aw, is the little git angry? Poor little Willy," Ripper mocked Spike, using his old name. He hit the blonde in the stomach, causing Spike to double over. Lena, who was standing in the corner of the alley, shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. When the spell had somewhat worn off, she looked over at the pair, and gasped.
"Spikey! Ripper, what did you do? Leave him alone! Oh my god! Spike, are you alright?" she asked, shoving Ripper away as she tended to her lover. Tears in her eyes, Lena wrapped her arms around Spike, holding him close.
"I'm so sorry baby, I was just sitting at the bar with him, and he gave me a drink, and next I know I'm here. I'm so sorry Spike," she said, helping the bleach blonde stand. As Lena and Spike walked out of the alley toward the crying girl's home, Ripper stood rooted to the spot, a maniacal grin on his face.
"Bye love! 'Hope your blonde gets better!" he said as the couple disappeared around the corner.
While Lena and her British boys were fighting, the rest of their group was having a blast.
"Hey Ahn, let's go dance! I got my boogie shoes on and I'm ready to par-tay!" Xander said, doing a little disco move before taking his fiancé's hand. As Xander and the ex-vengeance demon danced, Alton, Zoey, and Buffy played pool. After having won the previous round, Alton racked the balls while Zoey prepared to take aim.
"You know, I never thought 9-ball was an actual game. It's pretty fun though," the brunette said, brushing her shoulder-blade length hair behind her ear. As she lined up her shot, there was a soft popping noise. Alton turned around and was instantly mugged by a red haired female.
"Hey Alton!" the female said, wrapping her arms around the boy's neck. "Miss me?" Placing a kiss on the female's lips, Alton replied, "Of course Willow, I always miss you when you leave me!"
"Hey, when you guys are done being all lovey-dovey, can we get back to the game?" Buffy asked, placing her hands on her hips. Willow frowned and gave the blonde a dirty look.
"Fine!" Willow snapped, crossing her arms and turning her back on the Slayer. Alton hugged Willow, trying to comfort the white witch. Zoey sighed and walked over to Willow as well.
"Hey Will, just ignore her. She's being an ass again; so what? Just ignore her and concentrate on your friends," the brunette Wicca said. Willow smiled and picked up a pool cue. Taking aim, se hit the cue ball, breaking the balls apart. As the watched, the 9-ball was pocketed. Smiling, Willow turned and held up the rack.
"New game?" she asked.
Later that night, after Alton and Willow had driven her home, Zoey walked up to her room.
"Hey Lena, I'm home," she said, opening her sister's door as she walked past. When she heard no answer, she peered around the doorframe.
"Lena?" she asked, looking around. Zoey stood in the doorframe, and pulled the covers off of her sister's bed. She gasped, and dropped the Invader Zim blanket. There, curled up amongst the Zim sheets, Lena and Spike slept. They were holding each other protectively, as though trying to keep themselves from losing each other. Spike had one arm around Lena's body, while his other held his stomach. Lena, on the other hand, had one arm over him and one against her chest. Zoey peered closer, trying to determine what the object her twin held was. She smiled a knowing smile as she glanced at the picture of their father. The day he had left them, he had given each of them a small dagger, to "keep his favorite girls safe". Zoey's had a cat's head on the hilt, while Lena's had a skull. Every night, they had slept with their daggers close to them, afraid of what lay in the darkness. They had seen what had taken their mother, and they were afraid that it would come back for them. Once Zoey had started using the magicks, she had stopped holding her dagger while she slept. Lena had done the same, since she had learned how to street fight from Spike. It was rare for either of the sisters to be seen with their daggers in their grasp while they slept. In fact, they only held them when they were terrified.
Zoey had no idea why her sister would choose now, of all times, to start sleeping with her dagger again, especially when she had Spike staying over. Normally, the brunette would have let her raven-haired sister sleep, but given the circumstances, this was not a time to be kind.
"Lena," Zoey whispered, shaking her sister's shoulder. "Wake up."
Lena rolled over and placed her dagger at her twin's throat. When she could see better, she pulled the blade back.
"Zoey! Oh my god, don't do that! I almost slit your neck!" she said, untangling herself from Spike and the sheets. She sat up and covered the still sleeping blonde with the blanket.
"What do you want?" she asked, leading the Wicca out into the hall. Pulling the door closed behind her, Lena glared at her sister.
"Why are you sleeping with your dagger again? I thought you didn't do that unless you were terrified. What's going on?" Zoey asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Lena sighed, and then shuddered slightly.
"Well, Ripper took me into an alleyway tonight, I have no idea why. And then Spike came to rescue me and Ripper started beating the pulp outta him! We came back her, and I took care of his wounds, and then we fell asleep. I was worried Ripper would try to kill Spike in his sleep," the younger twin said. Zoey's eyes widened, and then she hugged her sister.
"Sorry hon. I thought that it was something apocalyptic. Know what I mean?" the brunette apologized as they walked downstairs. Lena nodded, and pulled out a can of Mt. Dew from the fridge. Zoey raised her eyebrow at her twin, questioning her choice of drink. Lena opened the can and took a long gulp, She knew that she wouldn't be getting much sleep that night, so why bother?
"Lena?"
Spike's questioning voice met their ears, followed by the frantic thumping of his feet on the floor above and the stairs. As he ran down the stairs two at a time, he almost crashed into the wall as he ran into the kitchen. Upon seeing the punk girl, he sighed, and then wrapped his arms around her possessively. He glared at Zoey, who flipped him the bird.
"Why didn't you wake me up luv?" he asked, pulling her back so he could look into her eyes.
"Because you were sleeping, and you need your rest if you want that bruise to get healed," Lena replied, tugging on the bottom of his shirt as a reminder. The blonde growled, and hugged her again.
"Just don't scare me like that again, ok?" he said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Nodding, Lena pulled out a mug from the fridge.
"Thirsty?" she asked, holding the mug towards the British vampire. He nodded, and then watched as Lena heated up the blood for him.
"I can do that myself, you know," Spike said, wrapping his arms around her waist. Lena giggled, and turned around to face him. She smiled coyly, and lightly kissed him on the lips. He replied with a stronger kiss, demanding more from the gothic girl. Lena answered his demands, receiving a jab from her sister.
"Hey you guys, not in the kitchen," Zoey said, pulling a bag of chips from the cupboard and a soda from the fridge before heading upstairs to her room once more.
"Fine. Oh, Zoey, I had a question. Can I move my room to the basement? Please?" the younger twin asked, running over to her sister. Zoey shook her head, and proceeded to remind her why she wouldn't be moving her room to he basement. Hadn't she already let her paint her room? Hadn't she let Spike sleep in her baby sister's room with her more than a few times? Didn't she know that there was no way in hell she would let Lena and Spike sleep in the basement, where she couldn't hear them? What did Lena think she was, crazy? Lena tuned out her sister's lecture, and turned back to Spike.
"I guess that's a no," she said, grabbing some strawberries and her soda before returning to her own room with Spike. As they walked up the stairs, Lena and Spike gently kissed each other on the cheek. It had been a stressful day, and they were both glad that it was over.
The following day, Saturday, the gang went to the mall, Tara, Zoey, Lena, and Willow were wandering around when Lena squealed and ran to a store window.
"Oh my god, lookit that shirt! I love it!" the raven-haired girl said as she jumped about in joy. As her sister and friends followed her into the store, they immediately regretted it. Lena smiled an evil smile, and walked around the store loading her arms with things.
"Great, we had to walk past Hot Topic, didn't we? Nice going guys," Zoey said, her irritation evident. Lena put all the stuff she wanted to purchase on the counter, and pulled out her wallet.
"How much?" she asked, opening the Emily the Strange wallet.
"$289.26," the sleepy eyed cashier said, bagging Lena's purchases. Lena paid the woman, and then ran to the bathroom in the mall to reapply her makeup. When she had achieved the desired look, she walked out, startling Tara. The brunette Wicca shrieked briefly and dropped the bags she was carrying.
"Oh wow Lena, don't do that. You seriously scared me. I almost used a spell on you," Tara said, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. Zoey wrapped the older girl in her arms, comforting her lover.
"It's ok Tara, I would never let anyone hurt you," Zoey said, kissing the Wicca on the forehead. Tara leaned against Zoey, until Willow and Lena pulled them apart. They dragged them onward, until the two pulled away and walked behind them. Tara and Zoey whispered to each other as they walked, their whispers interrupted only by the sounds of giggles or kisses. Suddenly, Lena and Willow stopped, causing the other two to walk into them.
"Why'd you guys stop so suddenly?" Zoey asked irritatedly, checking Tara for injuries.
"Take a look at that!" Lena said quietly, pointing to the store in front of her. The brunettes turned, and they too gapped in awe at what they saw. A store, most likely the size of the average Younker's, stood in front of them. This wasn't just any kind of store though. It was a magick shop. Not a "card trick" type of magic shop either, oh no, this was truly a magick shop. The four girls wandered slowly into the store, the two Wiccas and the white witch pulling out their credit cards. Lena pulled a slip of paper from her back pocket, and then walked up to the counter.
"I need to know, do you have all the items on this list?" she asked, handing the slip to the cashier.
"Sure we do, just follow me love," he said, from beneath the long cloak he wore.
"I recognize that voice," Willow said, running up to the man. She threw back the hood of the cloak, revealing the man's face.
"I knew it!" she said. "Ethan Rayne!"
Lena and Zoey gasped, and Tara glared at the brunette British man. The twin's had never me Ethan before this moment, but Tara and Willow had. They remembered the things that he had done to all of them, including turning Ripper into a demon. Lena cautiously walked closer to him, and started poking him in the arm. He glared down at her, and she returned his glare 10-fold.
"Why the bloody hell are you poking me?" he asked as Lena started pulling up his shirtsleeve. He tried desperately to stop her, but she proved stronger. She stared in awe at the tattoo he had, as if she were in a trance.
"The Mark of Eyghon," she whispered.
"Yes, Ripper has one too, in case you didn't know," Ethan replied, pulling his sleeve down and yanking his arm away.
"I know," Lena replied, circling Ethan like a vulture.
"Why are you in town Ethan? Didn't you learn your lesson last time?" Willow asked, her arms crossed. Ethan lanced around quickly, and then led the girls into the storage room.
"I heard a rumor that Ripper is a vampire now. Is it true?" he whispered anxiously. Lena nodded, then proceeded to tell Ethan the whole story.
"See, Spike was being held hostage at Ripper's house, and Tara and Zoey were doing a spell. But it messed up and for 4 days Spike and Ripper were in love. Made me jealous. Then Spike got too…" Lena glanced at Willow.
"Would you say excited?" she asked. Willow nodded.
"Excited," Lena continued. "So, on the fourth night, spike turned him. But then, Tara and Zoey fixed the spell. Then Ripper was Ripper and not icky Giles."
Zoey snickered slightly at her sister's way of telling stories. Suddenly, Lena hugged Ethan in the same way she hugged Ripper. Tara, Zoey, and Willow gasped, and Ethan squirmed.
"Why is she hugging me?" he asked. The girls shrugged, and Lena looked up at Ethan fondly.
"I like you," Lena said, "I want you to come with us. Please Ethan?" Tara, Willow, and Zoey looked at Lena as though she was crazy. The British warlock looked down at the shorter girl and shrugged.
"Ok. If it's alright with them," he said, glancing at the others apprehensively. Zoey looked at Willow and sighed. "You know she's gonna beg us until we let her bring him home. Just like she did with the last pet we let her have."
"Whatever," Willow said, crossing her arms and frowning. Lena walked over and whispered in the red head's ear. "I can give you some good toys to play with Alton tonight." The white witch smiled gleefully at the suggestion, and held out her hands. Lena laughed and grabbed Ethan's hand.
"This better not be a set up," he said as he locked up the store. Clinging to his arm, Lena walked toward the exit with her friends.