"Dru, honey, you'd best stay away from the shades. We don't want anyone to know we're back in town just yet." Spike said, embracing Drusilla.
"But I want to watch for her. You promised we'd take care of it this time." she replied. "And I'm hungry."
"I'm gonna go out and get you something, but you need to stay here until I get back, alright? This factory should be safe. As far as the Scoobies are concerned, this place is worthless, and it needs to stay that way for a couple more nights. Be good for Daddy, pet." With that, he kissed her and headed out the door.
Drusilla went to her dolls and checked Miss Edith's hair. "I think someone's been naughty. Miss Edith, did you go through Mummy's things again? I warned you about that." Looking for a container, she took an empty tequila bottle of Spike's and broke it in half, filled up the bottom half with some of his beer, and put Miss Edith into it headfirst. "Now you stay there until you can beha…ooooo, she's coming after Spike. And she'll kill him, she will. I could go warn him, but he said to stay here. He would be very cross if I didn't listen. Oh, that's what you want me to do? Yes, that would please him. I'll go right now." Drusilla glided out the door, intent on finding the one who would threaten her Spike, the one who called herself the Slayer.
As soon as Spike left the magick shop, he could sense the presence watching him. It was one he was quite familiar with. So he decided to change his route. He didn't want to leave Drusilla alone too long. And he needed to get her some food before he came back, which he couldn't do while he was being followed…he had to take care of this fast. He got into his car and drove to the old mansion. When he got there and setup his trap, he could tell he was right. This was his stalker's residence, it was…"It's always good to see old friends." Angel said.
"It would be if we were still friends. But things have changed, haven't they? I mean look at you, a pathetic poof who is making small talk with someone who's in your house, when I remember a time you would have killed them without hesitation. Nice place too…I see you've already got chains installed. Bet you and Slutty the Vampire's Layer use them when you've got an itch you can't scratch. Oh wait, that's right, you being all noble and housebroken, that one moment of happiness makes you all cranky, and can't have that, can we?"
"Oh, I can still manage to be cranky when the situation needs it. So where's Drusilla? I take it she couldn't stand to be around you anymore after we last saw each other. Unless she felt pity for you. She always did have a soft streak I could never manage to get rid of, no matter what I did to her."
"Yeah, well let's see what I can do to you." Spike grabbed a glass orb and threw it at Angel's feet. "Desiite insquequo diluculo(Stop til dawn)!" A yellow gas erupted from the broken orb and surrounded Angel before disappearing. He tried to move, but his feet wouldn't go anywhere. "Oh the poor dog can't move, can he?" Spike punched Angel in the stomach.
"I can still move the rest of me." Angel said as he grabbed Spike by the throat and threw him across the room.
"I can sense you, my pet, can you sense me?" Drusilla asked as she waited in the graveyard for Buffy to make her nightly rounds. She had gotten a few vamps who were all to willingly to take on the Slayer. They would distract her long enough. She was strong, but five vampires would be a problem.
"She comes…but don't forget what Mummy told you all…once you overpower her, she's my toy." The vampires she had assembled all showed marks of not listening to her orders the first time.
Buffy strolled through the cemetery with the usual stake and cross. Giles had been worried, due to some warnings of a brand spanking new evil arising in town. Willow and Xander had done research with them looking for what it specifically could be, but no luck so far. So she and Faith were stepping up patrol, doing every place twice at least. Just then she heard a twig snap. She tightened her grip on her stake. "Who's there? Show yourself!"
"That wasn't polite. You should always ask if you want something. You need to have better manners." Drusilla said as she stepped out onto the freshly cut grass of the cemetery.
"Drusilla…" Buffy almost dropped her stake. "You're back…"
"Yes, Spike promised me a party once he killed you. He'd do it this time too, my knight has been practicing and learning. But you have something he doesn't, you have my daddy. Angelus went away and it's all your fault. But I know how to fix that."
Buffy grabbed her cross tighter and shoved it in Drusilla's direction. She hissed and then five vampires came out of nowhere and one of them knocked the cross out of her hand. She managed to stake two of them before the remaining three got to her. They dragged her to a tree and bound her.
"It's time to atone for what you've done, you bad girl." Drusilla said. She brought up her hand to Buffy's eyes. "Look at me…"
Angel was worried. Not about Spike, he could handle him until dawn. But Buffy…she would have checked in on him by now. His thoughts were interrupted by a kick from Spike…he doubled over. He could feel the bruises on his body already.
"Come on Angel, you can fight better than this even without your feet." he taunted his former mentor. When he came at Angel again, the souled vampire blocked his punch and tossed him into the wall again.
"You know what you've done, don't you?" Buffy asked Drusilla, as she picked herself up off the ground. "You've sealed his fate. And that of countless others."
"You know where he is, go be a good girl and make things right again." Drusilla told her, but she didn't even get the first word out before the Slayer ran off into the fading night.
"It's almost dawn, Spike. What do you think I'll do to you then?" Angel asked.
"Oh, pretty much what I'm gonna do to you now." Spike put on a pair of leather gloves and grabbed a cross from his supplies he got at the magick shop. "Let's see how much your skin can burn before it falls off, why don't we?" He was halfway to Angel when the cross was kicked out of his hand. He looked to see who it was. "Bloody Hell!"
"It'll definitely be bloody for you if you don't reverse the spell on Angel right now." Buffy said as she grabbed him by the throat.
"It'll be over at dawn, you'll just have to wait til then." he told her.
"NOW, Spike…unless you don't want me telling you where Drusilla is."
"What…what did you do to her?!" Spike had paled even more than he already was.
"Let Angel go and I'll tell you."
"Fine…libera!" he exclaimed.
As soon as she saw Angel move his feet, she dropped Spike. "She's at the factory, but I'd get there as fast I can if I were you. She didn't look too good."
As Spike took off for the factory, Buffy took Angel to his bed, then went to go get some bandages and started nursing him. "I'm sorry I didn't get here in time, I ran into Drusilla, and…I wasn't sure if I'd even find you alive." Buffy was quite pale and distraught.
"Hey, it's ok Buffy. I'm fine. I've survived worse, we both have." He tried to comfort the love of his un-life. He gathered her in his arms as best he could without aggravating his bruised muscles.
"I know, it's just that…I can't lose you again…not now…not ever." She broke then, sobbing.
Angel didn't know how else to comfort her, so he kissed her. Buffy reacted more than he thought she would. Before either of them knew it, they were both undressed. When he stopped his affections on her, she looked at him. "Buffy, you know we can't."
"Angel please…I need to feel safe again, and the only time I felt that was in your arms. We know what to do this time, can't we just deal with tomorrow when it comes? Please…love me." She started to cry again, and he capitulated.
It was night again before they both woke. Buffy woke up first and watched her lover sleeping. Soon enough they could start planning their future together. He stirred, and she smiled as he turned to face her.
"You really love screwing vampires, don't you?" Angelus asked as he got his game face on and pinned her to the bed.
"Only as much as you do." she replied and flung him onto the floor.
He got up and faced his opponent, then backed off in surprise.
"So who should we eat for fun around here?" Buffy asked, licking her fangs. "I'm rather hungry."
"Buffy?" Angelus asked.
She got off the bed and without bothering to cover herself with anything, knocking Angelus back down to the floor and straddling him. "In the living flesh. Or rather undead flesh. Whatever. Drusilla wanted her family back, and we all knew the only way to make you part of the family again was for you to get in my pants. And that would never happen unless I was one of you. Got to say, I'm liking it so far."
Angelus shoved Buffy off of him and threw her across the room. "You're not one of us. And there is no family anymore, not without Darla."
Buffy stood up and threw herself at Angelus, pinning him to the ground again. "You killed her, remember? For me…now I'm gonna return the favor."
He got on top of her again and put his hands on her throat. "There's no way you could suffer enough for the loss of Darla. And there's no one for you to kill."
Buffy smiled at him. "You're mad. That's good. You're hurting me. That's better. I know you can do better though. Show me what you're really…"
"Buffy! Get off of her, Overbite!" Xander, searching to see what kept Buffy from school along with the rest of the gang, had decided to check the mansion. He kicked Angelus off his friend, then shoved a cross in his face, causing the vampire to back off. "Buff, are you ok?"
"Oh I'm better than ok, Xander. Put that away, it's rude."
Sensing a change in his friend's tone, he turned to look at her and was horrified at what he saw. "Oh Buffy no…" Xander said as he dropped the cross. Willow came in just then, following Xander.
"What's…" Willow also stopped midsentence in shock.
Buffy smiled at them. "Oh yes my dear friends, now I'm really the stuff nightmares are made of. You see Angelus, this town is wide open, especially since no one knows our little secret." She grabbed Willow by the neck when she tried to flee, as Angelus knocked Xander to the ground. "Everyone thinks I'm the Protector of all that's good and innocent. They trust me. Now I believe I said I was hungry. There should be enough for us to share since there's two of them, lover." With that she sunk her fangs into Willow's neck, reveling in the scent and taste of blood as much as Willow's screams. She wasn't the only one screaming though.
"BUFFY NO!" Xander's shout was music to Angelus' ears. It was filled with such anguish. When he started to struggle against the hold, Angelus threw him into the wall, knocking Xander out.
Buffy lifted her head up from Willow's neck. "If you don't want him, share with me. It's good quality." She tossed Willow to him.
Angelus smiled and they both drank the life out of Willow Rosenberg, while they were caressing each other. Once drained, they tossed her body on the floor like so much trash, then he and Buffy came together with a savage passion unlike anything Angelus remembered since his first years with Darla. It was the next night before either of them were sated.
They got dressed then looked at Willow and Xander's bodies.
"We'll take care of them soon enough." Angelus said. "I know just what to do."
Buffy smiled. "So do I. Why didn't you drink Xander dry though? He sure deserved it."
"Because simple death is too good for him. What he deserves is something special."
Buffy smiled again. "Willow's death was a good start. That alone will make him suffer."
"Yes, but not enough. Why did you drink her so fast?"
"She was a decent friend and deserved a quick death, if not a painless one. And she's not the one I want to be one of us."
Angelus smiled back, knowing who Buffy meant.
"Oh and we should go get Spike and Drusilla. This mansion is big enough for all of us."
"I'll do that while you go make a new friend, but first we have something else to take care of…" They both turned towards the lifeless and unconscious bodies on the floor.
Once that was accomplished, Angelus and Buffy parted ways for a few short hours, off to do their separate tasks.
She heard a knock on her hotel room door and loudly exclaimed it was open. When they knocked again, she got up and looked cautiously out the peephole. Breathing a sigh of relief, she opened the door.
"Hey Faith, mind if I come in?"
She waved Buffy inside. "Yeah sure come on in…where ya been, B? Everyone's freakin out, trying to find you. Giles is worried about that prophecy…the new evil power rising is a vampire. Wesley's getting all whiny too, big surprise there." Faith sat down on her bed and turned the TV on. "You can call him if you want." She nodded towards the phone on the nightstand.
"That's not what I had in mind." Buffy steps inside, then turns and locks the door.
"B, wha…" Faith didn't even have a chance to grab the stake under her pillow before Buffy had her up against the wall.
"You're gonna be all pretty now. And then we'll all play…you, me, Angelus, Spike, Drusilla. Sunnydale is ours, now and forever." With that, she brought her fangs to Faith's neck and when she tasted the richness of Slayer blood, she knew why countless vampires had sought it. It was different than Willow's blood. There was power in it, raw and free, and now it was hers for the drinking.
Xander woke up, and didn't know where he was at first, or why his neck was so sore. He went to rub it, but felt something cold on his shoulder. He turned to see what it was and stared into the blank eyes of his beloved friend's corpse. He jerked away and her body fell into his lap. He touched her face disbelievingly, then it all came back to him. Angel evil again, Buffy a vampire, and Willow her first victim. He started crying then, his tears falling on Willow's lifeless corpse.
"God Will, I'm so sorry." He kissed her on the cheek. "You're safe now." He tried to get up to kill Angelus and Buffy, when noticed he was chained to the wall. "Dammit!" he swore. He struggled for a few minutes until the chain cuffs started making his wrists bleed. He heard footsteps coming and stood up, ready to fight them as well as he could, but sobbed again, this time in relief, when he heard their voices.
"Xander?" Cordelia shouted.
"They're in here, I smell Willow's blood." Oz said
They stopped cold when they entered the room.
"Oh God..." Cordelia breathed.
"Willow!" Oz ran to her and felt her neck for a pulse then grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Willow?" Cordelia and Xander both fell silent when they saw Oz about to cry. His eyes filled up with tears, but none of them fell. He turned to Xander. "Who did this?" he demanded, his voice almost coming out a growl.
"It was Buffy. We found her and Angel together, only he's evil again and she's a vampire. She killed Willow, and he knocked me out…I couldn't stop them. Get me out of these chains. We need to get to the library for weapons." Xander said.
"Oh I don't think that'd be the right way to play this." Angelus said. Oz and Cordelia spun around to face him, Spike, and Drusilla.
Oz snarled and went for Angelus. He moved out of Oz's way, then grabbed him and snapped his neck, tossing his body next to Willow's. Cordelia screamed. "Well that was fun…who's next?" Angelus asked.
"Having fun without me?" Buffy trounced on in, and saw Cordelia reaching for a fireplace poker. "Oh no honey, that won't work." Buffy leapt on her and drained Cordelia in seconds, not even giving her a chance to scream.
"Well it looks like you got yourself a match made in SunnyHell, Angel." Spike said, lighting a cigarette. "And here I thought this place was gonna be nothing but a poofter's paradise this time around."
"Are you pleased with me Daddy?" Drusilla asked Angelus. "Did you like your present?"
"You outdid yourself this time, Dru." he replied.
"So can we get rid of the bodies now? They don't go with the color scheme." Buffy said. "Faith is taking care of the library for us."
"Faith too? Oh God…" Xander said.
"Oh you silly…God has nothing to do with this, Xander." Buffy replied. "And you're coming with us." She unchained him and they headed for the library.
Faith walked into the library. "Giles? Wesley? Anybody here?"
Wesley stuck his head out the office. "Ah good, you're here, Faith. Is Buffy with you? We've been calling everywhere. You know you need to check in."
"No she's not with me but she's on her way." Faith replied as she walked into the office.
"What…do I have something on my neck?" he asked, noticing her fixation.
"Not yet." Faith locked the door behind her.
Buffy and Angelus parted company with Spike and Drusilla at the high school.
"You know what to do, right?" Buffy asked.
"We're gonna play with Xander." Drusilla replied.
"And if your Watcher shows up, we don't get to kill him, just hold him until you show up. Yeah we get the boring guard duty." Spike added.
"Right." Buffy smiled. "Let's go, lover." She took Angelus' hand and headed off.
Joyce was putting dinner away when she heard screaming.
"MOM! MOM OPEN THE DOOR!" Buffy's frightened voice sent through chills through her mother, and she instantly ran to the front door and opened it.
Buffy was being chased by Angel. Apparently he had gone bad again. Joyce could never keep track of who was good and evil.
"Buffy, come in here quick!" Joyce cried out to her daughter.
Buffy ran inside the house, and Joyce slammed the door behind her.
"Buffy, what happened? Are you hurt?" They both heard Angelus pounding on the door and yelling to be let in. Joyce held her daughter to her.
"I'm fine now." Buffy replied.
"Where have you been? I've been worried sick."
"Slaying got really intense. I'm glad to see you again." Buffy hugged her mother.
"I better call Giles. He's been worried too." Joyce picked up the phone.
"Oh you don't need to do that, Mom. I sent Faith to the library." Buffy sniffed the air then smiled. "Do I smell your famous chicken casserole?"
"Yes, I made some for dinner. Do you want some?" Joyce put down the phone.
"Of course!"
Joyce led her daughter into the kitchen. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Never better. But you know, Kralik was wrong."
"What?" Joyce was quite startled to hear that name.
"You weren't the first thing I ate. But you will be one of the many." Buffy replied.
"Come on in, Angelus." Buffy said as she licked her lips.
"Why didn't you just kill her?" Angelus asked.
Buffy gave Angelus a condescending look. "Becaaaause if she died as a human, she'd go to heaven. This way, after she rises and I dust her, she'll be damned to Hell. I hope Giles didn't lie to me about that." Buffy tilted her head and looked at her lover. "What's Hell like anyway? I sent you there, but you never shared, you bad..." Buffy stepped up to Angelus and kissed him hungrily. "…bad man you."
Angelus looked down at Buffy. He wasn't quite sure what to expect from this vampiric Slayer. She was impressive when it came to bloodlust, there was no doubt about that. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to spend eternity with her yet. But until he made up his mind, he'd play along with her games. "Hell was actually quite boring. Same old torture, every day, every day."
"Torture…that reminds me…we have to check in at the library, see if Giles has shown up. I wanna find out everything about the Council. After all, they gave me such a nice birthday present this year, I feel it's my duty to repay the favor and give them each a special gift too." Buffy smiled.
When they arrived at the library, Faith was sitting on the counter looking at some books, and Wesley was lying prone on the floor, the bite marks evident on his exposed neck.
"It's about time you got here. I was getting bored stiff. Nothing but old books to keep me company. Oh, he'll be fine once he rises." Faith says when Buffy and Angelus look down at Wesley's body when she mentions the word stiff. "Well some part of him can still be stiff I hope."
"So Giles hasn't shown?" Buffy asked.
"Nope, but I called him and he should be here any minute."
"Where are Spike and Drusilla?"
"They went to the cafeteria to try the janitor. Should be back by…" Faith stopped mid-sentence as Spike and Drusilla walked in. "now. So what's the plan, B?"
"Well…" Buffy smiled.
Giles hurried to his car with some books from his personal collection. Faith had told him that Buffy had some information that would help with the research. He was so relieved to know that Buffy was alive and well that he had forgotten to ask to speak with Wesley. The man was annoying, but he could have given Giles some clue as to which books to bring to explain Buffy's new information. He was driving towards the high school when he saw Willow walking oddly in the same direction. He called out to her but she didn't respond. He switched his attention to his car for a moment to stop it and offer Willow a lift, but when he looked back to the sidewalk, she was gone. Puzzled, he started his car again and continued on his way. He had the same odd experiences with Oz, Xander, and Cordelia. Maybe it was related to the latest evil doings in Sunnydale, so he concentrated on getting to the high school. He zoomed into the parking lot, and hurriedly parked. Giles grabbed his books and half-ran to the library.
"Buffy, there's something very strang…" Giles paused when he noticed everyone around the table, apparently having been studying. All of them…Willow, Cordelia, Oz, Xander, Angel, Wesley, Buffy, and Faith. They apparently had all fallen asleep, for they were all slumped over on the table. "What…" Giles started to walk towards them when he almost slipped on something. He moved his shoe and saw a dark smudged spot on the floor. He squatted down to investigate it.
"But this is…"
"Blood I hope?" A familiar voice said from behind him.
Giles had just started to look up when he felt a whoosh! of movement and then blackness came.
"You know Mom, it wasn't going to be totally personal when I dusted you, but now it is. You ruined my surprise for Giles! You weren't suppose to rise yet." Buffy sent Joyce flying, then leaped on her and shoved the stake into her heart. "All my preparation is gone! Having Spike and Drusilla use glamours into making Giles think he saw them…" Buffy gestured to the bodies of her former friends. "It's not fair! I was hoping we could take our act to Vegas and now it's all ruined!" Buffy kicked Giles' motionless body. "Now I have to think of some other way, and it won't be all fun!" She kicked Giles some more, taking care not to kill him, then turned to her new "family".
"Ok, new plan. Spike, Drusilla, take him to the mansion." They came out of hiding and Spike grabbed Giles and tossed him over his shoulder, while Drusilla grabbed Giles' glasses and they left.
Faith stood up from the table while Angelus just put his head up and smirked at Buffy's reaction to the unplanned interruption.
"What are we supposed to do in the meantime? I mean the Bronze is open now isn't it? And it's night out. Why don't we go party?" Faith suggested. "
"You can go if you want. Angelus and I will be at the mansion." Buffy gestured for her lover to join her.
Angelus stood up and started to walk over to Buffy, pausing near Faith, giving her some suggestive glances that he knew Buffy would see. "I don't know…maybe the Bronze would be worth some laughs."
"Giles will give you plenty of laughs, and we can visit the Bronze any time." Buffy said tightly, grabbing Angelus and leading him out the door.
Faith looked down at Wesley's body. "Man I hope you rise before the night is over. I don't wanna be the only one partying by myself. Let's go, deadweight." She picked him up and headed out as well. She noticed Giles' car in the parking lot and went over to check it out. The keys were still in the ignition, and the doors were unlocked.
"Wicked. Good thing I'm undead so I don't have to worry about not knowing how to drive." Faith commented as she put Wesley in the passenger seat, then went over and got into the driver's seat. Faith sent the car screeching out of the parking lot as fast as it would go. "Man, Giles really should have better taste in cars." She glanced over at Wesley. "You better have some." They got to the Bronze in under five minutes with the protests of more than one irate driver.
Faith went in the side entrance and propped Wesley up on the second floor to make it look like he was surveying the crowd, taking care to hide his bite marks, and went to get a drink for herself. When she got back, she noticed some signs of life in Wesley. Or rather, un-life. She smiled and stood next to him, watching all free food just walking around, totally unaware of what would happen once her project woke up.
"Damn, I just realized we're gonna have to get you a better name. Wesley is a wussy name. What should your new name be?" Faith thought back to all her previous flings and what names she could remember. "Nothing too macho, that would just be pathetic. I know…Trent. You never forget your first biker, not when it's at a Nine Inch Nails concert. Yeah…Trent works."
As if in approval to the change, her companion stirred more. Faith was sure he would rise any time in the next few minutes, so she looked around for someone to take his first hunger edge off. She saw just the right person. She hurried down the stairs and walked over to the girl.
"Harmony right? You're Cordy's friend?" Faith asked.
"The homeless shelter is two blocks down." Harmony said, giving Faith a scathing glance before turning back to friends to laugh.
"Hey, I asked you a question, Blondie." Faith raised her voice slightly, and put an edge on it.
Harmony turned around. "Excuse me, I only talk to people with manners and at least a gold credit card."
"Yeah well you see that guy up there?" Faith pointed to Trent. "He came to town looking for a blonde to star in his next film opposite Antonio Banderas. He just arrived so he's kinda tired."
At the mention of Antonio Banderas, Harmony perked up. "Oh, well why didn't you say so? I always knew someone would recognize my star quality someday." Harmony went over to the stairs, Faith following her. When they got to the top of the stairs, Trent had come to and was obviously disoriented. He kept making weird facial expressions, and touching himself as if unsure about something.
"Are you sure about this? He doesn't look like a casting agent to me." Harmony said.
"Oh, you know casting agent types." Faith flippantly replied.
"Of course I do." Harmony wasn't going to let on that she didn't.
"Hey Trent, is this what you were looking for?" Faith shoved Harmony towards him.
"Hey, this outfit is one of a kind!" Harmony protested the touching of her by someone who obviously wouldn't know a designer label if it hit her.
Harmony collided with Trent's chest and he put his arms around her to steady her. "Now just so you know, I'm still in school so any filming will have to be scheduled arou…hello?" Harmony looked up and noticed Trent was looking at the girl that brought her up here.
Faith smiled at Trent. "Just go with it."
Something in the other girl's tone caused Harmony to turn her head, which exposed her neck. The sight of that exposed skin excited Trent, and he felt something happen to his face. He instinctively tightened his grip, which caused Harmony to cry out and turn her attention back to him.
"Hey you're hurti…" Harmony saw his face and opened her mouth wider to scream when Faith shot forward and clamped her hand around her mouth. Faith positioned herself so she hid Harmony from view of anyone below. She then re-exposed Harmony's neck for Trent, and his instincts took over. He buried himself in her neck, her blood rejuvenating him and clearing his mind. He was only mildly aware of Faith's hands on him, and her saying something about being reborn, and when he looked around again, they were naked in Giles' car out in the woods somewhere. He had his hand on her breast and her hands were on his waist, pulling him towards him.
Faith groaned. "Why'd you stop? We were just getting onto round three."
"What's happened?"
"You mean you don't know or remember? Some Watcher you were." Faith shook her head.
"You…I…we…no…" Trent's memory of the last few hours was coming back to him.
"I did, you did too, 2 times so far, and yes you are."
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? Trent, look around. Actually no, look at me. We're forever now. Not just you and me, but the rest of us. Spike, Buffy, Angelus, Drusilla. It's about power. We have it. We're the top of the food chain now. This town is ours. No more rules and regulations. From now on, there are only three words that should be in your vocabulary. Want. Take. Have. I wanted you, I took you, I have you. You wanted Harmony, you took her, you had her. It made you feel stronger, didn't it? Better?"
Faith grabbed Trent's hand and put it on her own exposed neck, and felt his reaction. "Now if you want me, take me and have me." She took her nail and slightly cut her neck, causing a bit of blood to appear and run down her naked body. When he groaned at the sight of her blood, Faith brought his head down to where the blood had pooled on her waist. He slowly licked his way up to her neck, and deftly entered her as he sucked her tender neck. Faith groaned loudly and wrapped her legs around Trent, flexing them to push him further into her. She also applied pressure to his head, causing him to bite her deeper. He lifted his head up and smiled at her as he moved his own legs to restrain her movements. She briefly struggled to regain control, but when he withdrew from her, Faith stilled.
"That's better." Trent resumed his welcome assault on Faith. He took her hand and put it on his penis. "Do you want this then?"
A growl was the only answer Faith could muster. Trent smiled and rearranged their positions so Faith was on top. "What do we say?" he asked.
"Please?" Faith was so worked up that her reply was near begging.
Trent's eyes gleamed at her pleading tone, but he didn't smile. Instead he put himself back on top. "Let's try this again." He bent down and bit her left breast, licking up the blood that welled out. "If we want something, what do we do?" He paused just before entering her again.
"Take!" The word burst out of a very frustrated Faith.
"So you want me to take you? So I shall." With that, Trent finished subjecting his sire to a unique brand of torture. When he was done, Faith went limp in his arms with a blissful expression on her face, and she murmured something about resting.
"Ah, we can't have that now. The night is still young." Trent said and positioned himself to go another round with her.
"Anything if don't." Faith said quietly, her voice hoarse by all her screaming.
"Anything?" A smile crept onto his face, and he paused his motions, instead choosing to rest his head on her chest. "Well in that case…why Trent?"
Faith managed a smile. "Well, it was either that or Percy. OW!"
"Wake up, sleepyhead!" Buffy chirped.
Giles came to, aware of pain in his chest, and something wet on his face. When he started blinking his eyes to clear his vision, he felt his glasses being put back on his face.
"That better, Daddy?" Buffy mocked him.
"Buffy, what's going on?" Giles felt that he was chained to a wall.
"Ummm, well I was kinda hoping you'd know."
Giles' vision cleared enough for him to see Buffy's new face. "My God…"
"Oh Daddy, don't be silly." Buffy said in a childish voice and jumped onto Giles' lap and put her arms around his neck. "It's like I told Xander, God has nothing to do with this."
"I…I'm sorry, Buffy." The realization of what happened to the young Slayer while under his care cut Giles to the core, and a few tears sparkled in his eyes.
"Oh don't be sorry. Be afraid. Be screaming in pain, but don't be sorry. It'll ruin the mood. It's playtime!"
Giles then noticed Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla in room, watching himself and Buffy. "What do you want of me?"
"Well see, now that's better. I would like to gouge out your eyeballs, but it'll pass. I'm just so happy to see you again." Buffy hugged Giles hard enough to crack a couple of his ribs, and smiled at the sound. "Now, there's so much we have to catch up on…like…oh, I dunno…things that would bring the entire Council to Sunnydale?"
Xander awoke to an intense pain in his neck. His memories of the events surrounding the reason for that pain came flooding back. He shot up and looked around at the dead bodies of his friends, so carefully arranged at the library. His hatred of Angel he had half-heartedly tried to hide for Buffy's sake and to avoid Willow's displeasure went into overdrive. He needed a weapon. He couldn't fight the vampires, at least not single-handedly by himself. He hurried over to the phone and dialed Giles' number. After two rings he slammed the receiver down.
"Dammit there's not time…maybe I can get to his apartment before it's too late." Xander rushed out the door.
When he got to Giles' apartment, he pounded on the door with both fists and yelled out his name. Another tenant looked out to see what the commotion was.
"Mr. Giles isn't here, young man. He left a bit ago, in quite a hurry I might add. Took some books with him." The old lady informed Xander, then went back inside her apartment. Xander thought for a moment then took off running again.
He rang Buffy's doorbell impatiently. The lights were still on, someone had to be there. He got tired of waiting and went around back and noticed the kitchen door was open. His mind drew a blank until he saw some drops of blood on the kitchen floor. Then he ran into the living room.
"Buffy! Mrs. Summers!" Xander called out. Hearing no reply, he ran up to Buffy's room. She had once told him and Willow where she hid her Slaying supplies. He grabbed one of her pillowcases, and started shoving holy water, crosses, and stakes in it. He then grabbed her phone and dialed a number.
"Hey Larry, are you busy tonight?"
Giles could barely see anymore, and for that he was glad. Then he didn't have to see the traces of blood on Buffy's fangs, or Angelus smirking. He only wished everyone else would leave him alone. Buffy had rambled on about killing everyone, but he kept seeing Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia walking around him. Sometimes they were vampires too, sometimes they weren't. They never said anything, only shooting him looks of sadness and accusation. He wanted to call out to them, tell them it wasn't his fault, but he wasn't sure it would be the truth. He felt a sudden pain and involuntarily cried out.
"What was that? I couldn't hear you." Buffy said. Giles could almost hear her smile.
"Make them stop." Giles whispered.
"Make who stop? It's just you and me, Daddy. I just want to know what you…" Buffy jabbed her finger into Giles' breastplate. "know about the Council."
"Well I hope we haven't missed all the fun." Trent's refined British voice reverberated against the cold stone of the mansion with a new confidence, announcing his and Faith's arrival.
"What happened to you guys?" Buffy noticed Faith limping into the room.
"She had some discipline problems." Trent sounded quite smug. Angelus perked up at the sound of Trent's voice, looking intently at him then at Faith.
"Oh is that what you call it?" Angelus leered at Faith, causing Buffy and Trent to frown.
"Wesley." Giles' voice was still quiet, but now a bit of hope entered into it.
"No." Trent's voice was calm, but there was an edge of anger when Giles called him by his old name. "Wesley is dead. Who am I now, Faith?" Trent asked his sire and he moved behind her.
"Trent." Faith quietly answered.
"Louder." He whispered to Faith as he made some subtle movement and Faith suddenly stiffened and bit her lip.
"Trent!" Faith exclaimed. He stepped away from her and Faith relaxed. "So what do you want out of Giles?"
"The Council." Buffy giggled. "I wanna give them presents!"
"Um, B...they fired him, remember? They wouldn't do anything for him."
"She's right. I however, am still valuable to them. I know just what to do. They'll be here tomorrow afternoon. This is one thing we'll need though." Trent said.
"What's that?" Buffy was a bit testy about forgetting Giles was no longer part of the Council, and having someone else come up with a plan.
"One of Giles' fingers."
"That works for me." And before anyone could stop him, Angelus grabbed a knife and a moment later, handed a pinky finger to Trent, who took it and walked out.
Spike grabbed a rag off the table of "toys" and tied it tightly around Giles' hand to stop the bleeding. "No one ever listens to me about how hard it is to get librarian out of the carpet."
Drusilla dabbed her fingers in the blood that had ran down Giles' arm and licked them.
"I'm bored." Buffy pouted. "Everything is spoiling my fun!" She stamped her foot.
"Oh that reminds me, got something for ya, B." Faith limped out to the driveway, and came back a moment later, tossing a bound and gagged Scott Hope on the floor.
"Oh a new toy!" Buffy smiled and clapped her hands. "Hey...speaking of presents, I can think of some more for Xander, but it'll have to wait til tomorrow night. In the meantime..." Buffy dragged Scott to the room she had claimed as her and Angelus'.
Faith noticed Spike lighting a cigarette. "Hey, mind sharing?"
Spike handed her a cigarette, then lit it for her. "Not at all. You ok?" He noticed the awkward way Faith sat down, wincing as she did so.
"Yeah, just got a few adjustments to make I guess. Never thought vampires could overdo anything."
"You'll learn. Took me a while too. Though some say I never did."
"If you want a teacher, Faith, I'd be glad to oblige." Angelus came up behind her and leaned forward to whisper into her ear. "Anytime you feel like ditching your loser and moving into the big leagues, just say the word and I'll show you things you've never dreamed of."
"And what word would that be?" Trent said quietly.
"It's rude to listen to other's people conversations." Angelus turned to face Trent with a condescending expression. "Did no one ever teach you any manners?"
Angelus didn't notice a change in Trent's calm expression that would have forewarned him to the fist coming his way. One moment he was standing eye to eye with Trent, the next he was crumpled on the floor on the other side of the room, holding his throbbing jaw.
"I could ask you the same thing." Trent replied, then turned to Faith. "Have you picked out our room yet?"
Faith took the cigarette out of her mouth and stood up. "Nope, haven't had a chance to look around yet."
"Well, then perhaps now we could look together." Trent suggested as he all but dragged Faith from the room down a dark corridor.
"He doesn't play well with Daddy. But they smile down upon him. They want him to succeed. Daddy should play well with him." Drusilla remarked.
Angelus ignored her as he got up and went into his and Buffy's room.
Spike and Drusilla looked at each other as they heard a distant door slam, followed sometime later by Faith crying out, some banging, and then a sudden silence. Moments later, Trent reappeared, still wearing a calm expression as he brushed at a dark red stain on his shirt.
"Faith needed some sleep. I'll be back with some food and supplies later." With that, he walked out into the night.
Spike and Drusilla were quite surprised when not too much later, Faith came into the main room with only a trace of a limp, and no marks on her.
"Man, If I'd known what his personal method of marking his territory was gonna be, I would have gotten a dog instead." Faith reflected upon Trent's earlier behavior. The door to what they had decided was to be their bedroom wouldn't close right unless it slammed, and after he shut it, decided they needed to try out the bed. Faith had protested since she hadn't recovered from defiling Giles' car, but Trent had promised to be gentle, and he had been, except for a brief moment where she had cried out. Some accessories had gotten broken too, but Faith hadn't really liked them anyway. She hoped Trent would get his shoulder bandaged. She hadn't meant to bite him so hard.
"Well at least it's half-furnished." Faith observed.
"Perhaps we should try the bed out." Trent suggested.
Faith opened her mouth to protest, but before she knew what happened, Trent had her beneath his naked body on the bed, and was tying her hands to the headboard, courtesy of a carved space in it.
"Trent, can't you give a girl time to recoup?"
"You said you'd do anything if I spared you in Giles' car, remember? I'll be gentle." Trent promised.
And he was. How he managed to undress her with her hands tied up, Faith had no idea. But he had her naked as well in no time. And that was the only thing that he did quickly for the remainder of their trial period of the bed.
He didn't penetrate her right away, instead choosing to work her up first.
Faith hobbled out to the main room and bummed a cigarette from Spike again. "Do all new male vampires act like coked up dogs in heat?" she asked him.
Spike smiled. "It depends on the vampire. There are quite a few impotent ones out there."
"How could a vampire be impotent?" Faith inquired.
"No! Not until my fun here is finished!" Buffy's enraged screaming drowned out Spike's response.
"Suit yourself." Angelus walked out of his and Buffy's room and headed for the door, followed by a furious and blood spattered Buffy.
"Don't you walk away me! You can't leave! You're nothing without me! It's only because of me you have your very own Hellmouth!"
"You see, that's the thing." Angelus turned around to face Buffy at his most condescending. "I don't have a Hellmouth. I'm not getting anything out of this, sweetcheeks. A couple good rolls in the sack, but other than that, you've given me nothing but talk. Torturing and murdering your friends and family is all well and good, but that doesn't give me any action, and I've got a reputation to maintain."
"Oh, I think I can give you some action." Xander said.
They all turned around to see Xander standing in the doorway, carrying a homemade torch, with bottles labeled as holy water attached to a leather strap across his chest. His army fatigues were damp, apparently having been doused with more holy water.
"Oh, look honey, it's wannabe season." Buffy said to Angelus, who just smirked in reply.
"Can we just skip the small talk and go straight to killing them?" Spike asked, letting his true face show.
"Sounds good to me." Faith said. "Do you really think you could beat us all by yourself, Xander?"
"No." Xander's smile was grim. "But I'm not alone."
A sudden noise alerted the vampires to the presence of Larry and Jonathan. They had snuck close to Giles and were about to unchain him with some bolt cutters. They both had crosses. The momentary distraction gave Xander the chance to use his torch. Buffy's hair caught fire, and while she was trying to put it out, Angelus and Faith went to prevent Giles' rescue. Xander was cornered by Spike and Drusilla. It was only because of his torch that they hadn't attacked yet. But he knew he had limited time. He grabbed a couple of his bottles of holy water and threw them on the floor. A line of fluid separated him from the vampiric couple.
"Oh that was brilliant, mate." Spike wasn't impressed by Xander's aim.
"I think it was, too." Xander put his torch to the ground where the fluid was, and it instantly caught. "I've always thought gasoline was smart."
When Spike and Drusilla stepped back to avoid being burned, Xander ran over to help Jonathan and Larry rescue Giles. He threw his torch at Angelus and Faith and dived for the bolt cutters that had been dropped on the floor so Larry and Jonathan could use their crosses. As soon as he got them in his hands, he sprang up and used them on the shackles holding Giles.
"Larry, give Jonathan your cross and help me with Giles!" Xander ordered. "Jonathan, guard our rear!"
When the trio had made it out to the driveway, they turned around. The vampires were still following them, and when they reached a paint mark just outside the doorway, Xander whipped out a knife from his sock and threw it at a rope. A torrent of holy water drenched the vampires, and when they started screaming, Jonathan ran down to the street and opened the back door to Oz's van, and Larry and Xander put Giles into the makeshift bed they had arranged. They had just closed the doors when they heard several loud pops. Searing pain shot through Xander and Larry, but Jonathan never felt anything in that moment, nor would he ever feel anything again. The three of them hit the pavement, and Trent lowered his gun.
When he saw his family screaming and the smoke rising from them, he ran up the driveway. He grabbed a hose he noticed and turned the water on, aiming it first at Faith, then the rest of them, soaking Angelus last. When the last of the holy water had been rinsed off them, he threw the hose down, took his jacket off, and put it around a shivering and badly burned Faith.
"What happened here?" Trent's voice was colder than ice.
"T…th…they came to g..g…get…Gil…Giles!" Faith managed to get out, wincing as the holy water burns on her face protested against her talking.
"And they succeeded." Trent remarked as he heard the van drive off. "Inside, all of you. The sun will be up soon."
They trudged back into the mansion, and except for Trent, they set about getting dry clothes on.
"Faith's death has called a new Slayer, and the Council has sent her, along with a new Watcher and some operatives. They'll be here in five hours. And I think we should have a surprise party waiting for them."
They looked at the carnage around them in what remained of the Bronze. "Why are we letting her live?" Spike stepped over the bodies of the Council's best and looked at the Slayer, huddled in the cage they had made for her, her body covered in bruises, and her eyes darting around the room, like an animal searching for a way out.
"Because as long as she lives, a new Slayer can not be called. And a lot can happen even during a human's lifespan." Trent smiled and passed out wineglasses filled with blood to Drusilla, Spike, Buffy, Faith, and Angelus, then lifted his own. "To a new Hellmouth!"
"To a new Hellmouth!" The new Order of Aurelius cheered, drowning out the cries of the meals they had not finished.