LIVING A NIGHMARE
BY DAVID ANAKIN
DISCLAIMER: The characters in this story belong to Joss Whedon & The WB.
Xander Harris wondered though the dark woods. It wasn't a pleasure stroll he was looking for Anya. They had just finished having sex in the back of his ice cream van, when Xander decided he wanted a snack instead of cuddling. Anya got mad and ran off. Now Xander, finishing the last of his Nutty Buddy, was looking for her. He heard movement in the darkness, and jumped back when someone came out of the shadows.
"Oh hi." He said, "What brings you out here? Me? Oh I'm looking for Anya, she's nuts I tell you. She should know better then to be in the woods alone at night. I know I was alone until you got here, but that's different because I'm a guy. She has two moods, horny and pissed off! You're right; I should just leave her out here. But it's my fault she ran out, so I should keep looking. Oh. Ahha getting friendly now. I don't think this is a good idea. What if Anya sees? Wait a minute! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
That night, Xander Harris became the first meal for a newly born vampire.
That afternoon, the gang sat in Giles' living room. They had just come back from the funeral and were wearing black suits and dresses. They were all there, but Anya. She was at the funeral, crying as much as Mrs. Harris. When Giles tried to comfort her she pushed him away screaming she never wanted to be touched again. She ran off before the service was finished. They planned to stop by her house, but no one knew where she lived. Buffy was on the phone with her mother.
"Yeah Mom. It's okay don't worry. Things happen. Yeah, we're just going to hang out here for a while. I'll came by later. Love you too, bye."
"Why wasn't she there?" Willow asked from a chair. Tara was sitting on the armrest with her arm around Will's shoulders.
"She was going to but there was some crates that got lost during shipping. The buyers were on their way in so she had to find them. Then they got into an argument over payment, by the time it was done, the funeral was over." Buffy answered sitting on the couch next to Reilly.
"It was a lovely service." Giles remarked.
"I've never seen Mr. Harris cry before. And all those nice things he said about Xander. Too bad Xander couldn't have been alive to hear them." Willow sounded bitter. They all knew Xander didn't get along well with his parents.
"Well," Giles said changing the subject, "We'll have to be ready for night."
No one had to voice why. Xander had been killed by a vampire, so odds were that he would become one tonight. If a body had been found in any other town in the condition Xander's had been in, it would have been at least a week before it was buried. But in Sunnydale things moved quickly. Police were quick to give answers and grieving parents were quick to accept them. Buffy couldn't blame them, she didn't believe in the supernatural until she became the Chosen One.
"Is that necessary?" Willow asked. "I mean I still have the spell that give Angel his soul back. It wouldn't take long to get everything together, we could do the same for Xander."
"Out of the question." Giles said, "That spell was written specifically for Angel, there's no way to predict what would happen if it was used on someone else."
"Besides," Tara added, "You shouldn't cast spells when you'll emotionally involved. Those are the ones that backfire the most. Maybe he won't change, the report said Xander died of internal injures, not blood loss."
"And Angel's told me that there are times when he wishes he had died instead of living like he is. You wouldn't wish that on Xander would you?" Buffy asked.
"What makes you think it wasn't Angel?" asked a new voice. Everyone turned to the door. Anya stood there, still in her black dress. It had small cuts here and there, like she had been running in the woods. After a few minutes of silence she asked the question again.
"Angel's a good vampire now. Remember?" Willow said.
"Yea well, maybe he got that one moment of happiness and decided to share it with the rest of us." Anya said coming into the living room.
"Why would Angel want to kill Xander?" Buffy asked standing.
"You know."
"No. I don't."
"Look." Anya said, "Xander told me about you two. He said that you wanted him but he just thought of you as a friend. And Angel was always worried he'd change his mind about you."
Buffy would have been angry at Xander for saying that if he were alive, but she saw no reason to destroy Anya's image of the man she loved. "Well. Angel got over that. He was never much of the jealous type." She saw the look on Reilly face. She'll have to explain later.
"He still could've done it." Anya insisted.
Giles stood and went to the phone and dialed. "Hello." He said into the receiver, "Yes it is me Cordelia. Fine, fine. Look there's no easy way to say this…. But Xander's dead. A vampire. Really? Well that's good news anyway. No, of course not. Yes I know. All right. Good bye Cordelia."
Giles hung up turning to the others, "Cordelia says Angel still has his soul. And she was a little cross at us for thinking he had killed Xander. But she wanted me to tell you she was sorry."
"Cordelia's changed. There was a time when she only cared about things that inconvenienced her." Buffy commented.
"That doesn't prove anything." Anya said, "Maybe she's a vampire too. Or maybe she's still mad about getting dumped. Or maybe-"
"Or maybe," Willow interrupted, "you're trying to find someone to blame beside yourself."
Anya just looked at Willow with her hard eyes, then her lower lip trembled and she collapsed in a chair crying. "All he wanted was some ice cream. I could've waited two minutes, maybe had some too. Why did I have to get mad and leave? It IS my fault!"
Buffy put her arms around Anya, this time she didn't push away. "It isn't. You didn't know what would happen, a vampire killed Xander. And I swear, when I find him, I'll do worst than steak him."
The rest of the evening was spent telling stories about Xander. Will talked about playing doctor as children and had to explain to Anya and Tara that she was playing a REAL doctor. They took turns remembering all the funny thing he said and did. Even Anya joined in, telling them about the first time they had sex. She went into pornographic detail, but on one stopped her. But they all took a cold shower later.
The sun had set hours ago, but Xander hadn't risen. Buffy and Reilly looked on in silence. Not all the victims of vampires became one themselves. The more time passed the more Buffy thought Xander may be one of the lucky ones, as lucky as a dead person can be anyway. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could stand. This was even worst then when she had to wait for her high school sweetheart to come back from the dead. She did what she had to then, and she would do so now.
"So ahh, how long does it usually take?" Reilly asked.
"It varies." Buffy answered, "But if they don't rise by mid-night, they're down for the count. Maybe Will was right. This is so fucked up! I'm wishing a friend won't come back to life. And even if he does, I'll have to kill him all over again. The wonderful life of a Slayer."
Buffy felt her eyes well up and fought the tears back down. Reilly put his arm around her, "It wouldn't really be Xander. It would be some THING using his body. It would know how you felt about him and used your emotions as a weapon to try and kill you. Is that how Xander would have wanted to live?"
"You're right. I know you're right, but I'm not a former GI. It's harder to bottle up my feelings." She was remembering times she'd killed other friends who had become vampires, at the time it was easy. Stake, puff, dust. But after, when the adrenaline wore off, she felt like dying herself. "Are you sure you want a life with me?"
"More sure then I've ever been in my life." Reilly answered giving her a light kiss on the forehead. A sound in the darkness caught their attention, putting all of Buffy's senses in combat mode.
"Is it the vampire that attacked Xander, coming by to pick him up maybe?" Reilly asked trying to see into the darkness.
"Maybe. Sometimes vampires come looking for the ones they turn." Buffy moved away form him.
"Wait." Reilly grabbed her shoulder, "We should go in together."
"Reilly." Buffy said, "I can handle it. Besides, we don't know how many there are."
"That's my point."
"I want you to stay here. Make sure Xander doesn't rise. He'll be too weak to defend himself. I can take of whoever's out there. Besides, if he's the one that killed Xander I want him all to myself." Buffy ran off before Reilly could stop again. There was nothing to say anyway. They both knew Buffy was stronger, and if she did need help she would yell.
Buffy's eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, picking out movement. Her ears were tuned to the sounds of the night. She had her stake out, Mr. Pointy, ready to strike. Then she saw it a second before it pounced. Her high kick landed square in the vampire's face. He fell back stunned, but recovered quickly. He jumped to his feet and pounced again. He got in a few good hits, sending Buffy into a tree. But like a badly scripted wrestling match, he took too long to press his advantage. Buffy charged the creature, shoving her stake into his chest. There was a scream and the vampire exploded into dust. Buffy quickly realized the scream didn't come form the vampire, but the graveyard. She ran back to where she left Reilly fearing the worst. She found Reilly's body, almost every bone broken and blood everywhere. A broken off bit of a gravestone had been used to bash in his skull. Buffy sank to her knees and cried out Reilly's name. There was no sign of what did this, Buffy checked Xander's grave. It was undisturbed, he was still dead, and now Reilly had joined him. Could the other vampire have been a decoy? Somehow that didn't feel right, but at the moment Buffy was beyond feelings.
When the police came, Buffy told them she and Reilly had been walking when someone ran by and grabbed her purse. Reilly took off after him, and later she found Reilly in the graveyard. She had hid her purse in the woods, planning to get it tomorrow. The coroner came out to take away the body and clean up the mess. Buffy's mom picked her up at the station. Joyce was going to take Buffy to her house, but Buffy insisted on going back to the Dorm.
Buffy went in first and saw Willow wasn't home, must be with Tara. She saw her mother hovering near the door.
"Would you like to be alone Dear?" Joyce asked, "Since you didn't want to go home, I thought you might."
"No Mom. It's okay. You can stay for awhile."
She came in and Buffy got them a couple of sodas. They talked about what Buffy was doing in school and what Joyce was doing in the shop.
"I'm so sorry." Joyce finally said, "I 'm sorry I never had the chance to know Reilly as well as you did. Well, not AS well, but- You know what I mean."
Buffy couldn't help but smile at her Mother's awkwardness; she still had trouble talking about sex. "I know Mom. Thanks. I think I'm going to try to get some sleep now."
"Yea. It's almost four in the morning. Okay, good night sweetheart." Joyce said. She then insisted on tucking Buffy in, and even kissed her on the forehead like when she was little. "I don't suppose you want a bedtime story?"
Buffy smiled, "That's okay. I've kept you up long enough. Goodnight Mom."
Joyce turned off the light and locked the door when she left.
Willow's study date with Tara turned into an all-nighter, so it wasn't until lunch that Buffy was able to tell her what happened to Reilly.
"It wasn't…" Willow couldn't bring herself to even think it.
"No." Buffy answered anyway, "It wasn't Xander. Guess you were right about him not rising. I can't even be sure it was a vampire. I've never known a vampire to be so vicious. But something tells me it was."
"Another demon?" Willow asked, "But why? Was anything missing?"
"Not that I could tell. I didn't even see it. I think it sent another vampire to keep me busy while it killed Reilly. He wanted to come with me, but I told him not to. If I'd let him, he'd be alive now. Why did I leave him alone? Now I know how Anya feels."
Willow decided to change to subject, "When's the funeral?"
"It won't be here. Reilly's body is going to be flown back to his hometown. That's what he wanted."
"Are you going?" Willow asked.
"I want to. But I have to track down a certain vampire or two, and maybe a demon to track down. The funeral won't be for a few days, so maybe I'll make it."
"Do you think it was a relative of one of the demons Reilly caught while he was with the Initiative?"
"That's the only thing I can think of right now. If it was a demon, they sometimes have kin. But if it was, how did he get a vampire to help?" Buffy said answering a question with a question.
"It could have been a coincidence. Or maybe they learned to work together form Adam."
"I just don't know. Both Xander and Reilly being killed in the same week. I just feel there's more to it. If only I could see it."
Willow went on with the rest of the day in a daze. The same daze she'd been in since Xander was killed. Death had been a part of her life since she first meet Buffy. It wasn't Buffy's fault she was the Slayer. That's just the way it was. The up side was they did manage to save a lot of people, and even the whole world from time to time. Too bad Xander and Reilly couldn't be part of that anymore. Her afternoon classes were a welcome distraction from her gloom, but they were over too quickly and the gloom was waiting for her. She went back to her Dorm to ready for her date with Tara. She had found a spell in an old book the might help them find the thing that killed their friends. Last night they tried a séance to call Xander's sprit. It didn't work, how come the spells she really wanted to work either backfired or didn't work at all. She was going to make this one work. It had to, for Buffy. It took Willow a couple of hours to put together the right outfit. She was about to take a shower when the phone rang.
"Hello."
"Hi Will." It was Buffy's Mom, "How are you?"
"Fine. I'm getting ready to go out. Buffy's not here, I think she's at Giles's." Willow said. Do I sound rude? She thought, she didn't mean to be.
"Of course. If she isn't there, she'll be with Giles, right? I'll try him, and Will, try to have fun. Life's too short." Ms. Summers said and hung up.
Willow thought that was an odd thing to say, but maybe she was being supportive. She finished getting ready and looked herself over in the mirror.
"Not bad." She told her reflection. Willow thought about how much she had changed over just tow years. She didn't look like an awkward computer nerd anymore, not in a tight red top and tighter jeans.
It was some of Buffy's influence, but mostly it was Oz. What would have happened if he never became a werewolf? No. Don't think about that, I'm love Tara now. But there were times…. It was a little after seven and the sun was going down. She got her things together and locked the door behind her. The hallway was empty, people would be in their rooms studying with their radios blasting, or getting ready to go out to get blasted. Oz liked parties, but he never got drunk. He didn't like not being in control. She thought that's what he hated most about being a werewolf. She was glad he learned some control over it, but that control depended on staying away form each other. She felt terrible the first time he left, and the second wasn't easier. Was that why she was dating Tara? NO! They loved each other. Still. As she walked she began to realize her footsteps sounded funny. She stopped suddenly and heard an extra set of steps. Someone was following her! She reached into her purse and found her pepper spray; it was on a key ring, which also had a cross on it. They were at the bottom, why was everything she needed in a hurry always at the bottom! Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind and pushed into the wall. She dropped her books and purse as she hit it. She was then thrown to the opposite wall. Willow fell to the floor and looked up at her attacker. She would have screamed if she hadn't been so shocked. It was a vampire, but one she knew. Willow tried to stand, but the vampire kicked her in the stomach and sent her into the wall again. She slid to the floor gasping for breath with a dislocated shoulder. With the wind knocked out of her, she couldn't call for help, not that anyone would have heard with the music so loud. She tried to crawl, only to be grabbed by the hair and drugged across the floor. As they passed a door, Willow pounded on it with her hands and feet. The vampire picks her up and ran to the end of the hall. Willow never knew if anyone came out that door because a second later she was thrown out a window. On the way down she finally decided who she loved more.
Buffy had spent most of the day sparring with Giles. It hadn't been a good week for the Scooby Gang. They hadn't even gotten over Xander's death before they lost Reilly. Buffy still couldn't get over the feeling the deaths were related. Buffy found it hard to believe that even after all this time, Giles still held back. Of course, she didn't mind. Reilly held back too, even when he said he wasn't. Still, a part of her wished the former librarian would stop treating her like a child. When the work out was over, Giles made them tea. Well, Giles had tea, Buffy had a diet Coke.
"It may be just a coincidence." Giles was saying as he sat on the couch, "Reilly no doubt made a lot of demon enemies. Once they found out about the Initiative closing, it may have been only a matter of time before some of them came after him. You couldn't have protected him forever."
Buffy stood and looked at the clock. They had lost track of time, the sun had set hours ago.
"Time I got out there." She said. They heard someone knocking at the door. Buffy went over and opened it.
"Oh, Hi Dear." It was Joyce, "Willow told me you were here. Am I interrupting? You two aren't in the middle of Slayer stuff are you?"
"No." Giles answered getting up. "We finished hours ago, come on in. What do you have there?"
Joyce was holding a small plastic box. She was clinging to it like a lifeline, a sure sign Buffy thought, that her mother had bad news. "Brownies. I was going to stop at the dorm and give some to Willow before coming over here. When I called, she said she was going out so I wasn't sure I'd catch her in time. I thought they might cheer her up. Your Grandma always made something for friends when a loved one died."
Buffy hadn't sat yet she knew something was wrong. "Mom, what happened?"
"I'm so sorry. When I got to your room, there were all these police. I asked one of them what happened and he said a girl was thrown out a window." Joyce said looking down as she spoke, then she looked into Buffy's eyes, "I'm sorry. It was Willow."
Buffy's knees give out; she would have fallen if Giles hadn't caught her in time. He led her to a chair, but as soon as he let go she was on her feet again. "No. It couldn't have been Will. Not her. A lot of girls around campus look like Willow. It just can't be!"
Giles shook Buffy by the shoulders to calm her down. After she recovered, the three of them went to the dorm. The corner had already taken the body away, so they went to the police station. Buffy saw Willow's mother crying at a desk. She asked to see Willow's body so an officer went to see if it was okay. Ten minutes later Buffy was looking down at another friend's body. Her Mother and Giles had wanted to come in too, but Buffy told them she had to do this on her own. There were no bite marks on her neck, so at least Will won't rise. They met Willow as a vampire once, and didn't like what they saw. Later, Giles told her what the police report said. It must have been an attempted rape. That Willow must have fought back and was thrown out the window because of it. Neither Buffy nor Giles bought that story. She saw the chalk out-line, a man couldn't have thrown Willow that far. Only a vampire or demon. Her gut all but screamed vampire. All the murders took place at night, and they were all her closest friends. There was a vampire out there taking out her friends one by one, so that she would have to face him alone. She had help when she beat The Master, the Mayor, and Adam, this vampire must have been watching, and learned form their mistakes. She HAD to be right; Xander would have called it her Spidey sense.
Her dorm room was still a crime scene, so she spent the night at her Mother's house. Giles said he would break the news to Terra, and try to find Anya. Anya had become more and more withdrawed since Xander's death, mostly because she still blamed herself. Like Buffy blamed herself for Reilly's death. Buffy slipped out her bedroom window as soon as she was alone, she didn't want sleep, she wanted to kick some demonic ass. No more of her friends would die, because Buffy knew who the killer was.
Willow was laid to rest in the late afternoon. The weather mirrored Buffy's mood, dark and cold. A light drizzle stated mid-morning and was to continue into the night. Buffy stood under an umbrella with her mother; Giles and Tara were next to her sharing another umbrella. Anya was standing alone behind them wearing a slicker. Buffy's Mom was very quite; she thought it might be because Buffy had gone out without telling her. Buffy explained, but it didn't seem to help. Buffy had taken out six vampires, but none of them was the one she was after. Looking around she caught a glimpse of Spike standing some distance away. How dare he come here! She thought, I spent all night looking for you and here you are, when I can't do anything to you! As soon as Spike saw Buffy looking at him and ran into the nearby trees. You can run, but you can't hide, Buffy thought.
After the funeral, Buffy went over to Mrs. Rosenberg.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened. If there's anything I can-"
Willow's Mother interrupted by slapping her across the face, "You have no right to be here! It's your fault she's gone! Willow was living a safe life until you came along, it was probably one of those drugged out rockers you introduced her to that's reasonable for this."
She was lead away sobbing before she could say any more. Buffy just watched her go, what could she have said. It was her fault.
Buffy insisted the five of them meet at Giles' house, for some reason she always felt safer there. There was no question now, someone was after them.
"It does make sense." Giles said, "I can't think of anyone else who knows us as well."
"Of course it makes sense," Buffy said, "It can only be Spike."
"We haven't seen him since all this started." Anya pointed out.
"He was at Willow's funeral, I saw him." Buffy said, "He may have been at Xander's too. Checking out his handy work."
"He was working with Adam." Giles added, "Maybe he told Spike how to get the chip out."
"But didn't you tell me he saved you while Buffy was fighting Adam?" Joyce said.
"He must have known I'd already killed Adam. And the only thing that would stop me form killing him is if he helped you guys."
"So he could have all the fun killing us himself." Tara added. Buffy went over and sat next to her. That was the first thing she'd said since the funeral.
"How're you doing?" Buffy asked.
"Okay. I'm going to miss her. There were so many things I wanted to tell her."
"I know. We're all going to miss Willow, she was a special person." Buffy said and the rest agreed.
"Would you like to stay here tonight?" Giles asked. Tara just nodded.
"You didn't ask me if I wanted to stay here when Xander was killed." Anya said
"Well," Giles turned to her, "I asking now. And Joyce, it might be best if you stayed here too."
"What's going on? You trying to fulfill some kind of old man's fantasy?" Anya asked.
"You two think one of us could be next." Joyce said. Giles and Buffy looked at each other.
Buffy stood, "Not after tonight."
Buffy picked up her duffle bag and Joyce hugged her, "Be careful. If Spike doesn't have that chip anymore, he's going to be very dangerous."
"So am I." Buffy said then added to Giles, "Keep an eye on everyone."
Finding Spike wasn't as hard this time. He was at the Bronze, drinking. It was odd that vampire's drank when they couldn't actually get drunk, Buffy thought.
"Hi. Spike." Buffy said coming up behind him, "Let's go for a walk."
"Not now, can't you see I'm enjoying the ambience."
Buffy shoved his head to the counter, "It wasn't a request."
Buffy pushed the vampire along to the door. The crowd, as if sensing Buffy's mood, gave them plenty of room. Once outside, they moved to an alley. Buffy pulled out a stake.
"What's going on here?" Spike demanded.
"Just because you're good at it is on reason to play dumb." Buffy said though clenched teeth.
"Who's playing? I mean, I don't know what you're talking about. Does this have anything to do with Willow? Sorry about that by the way. She was the only one in your little Scooby gang I could half way stand."
"And now your going to tell me you have no idea who killed her. Or Xander, or Reilly."
"They're dead too? I didn't even notice. You know a lot of you humans look alike to me." Spike spoke and backed up at the same time then understanding lit up his face, "You think I killed them all?"
"Yes!" Buffy hissed, "I was too slow to stop you before, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let you kill the rest of my friends."
"Ahh, excuse me. But in case you forgot, I can't even slap a human let alone kill one." Spike said tipping his temple. "Remember the chip? And I haven't heard about anyone else claiming responsibility. Besides, if it HAD been me. I wouldn't have killed Willow; she's the only one in your pathetic little group I came close to liking. When I tried to dust myself, she was the only one who talked me out of it. I wouldn't have killed her. Hell, I would've made her into vampire. Together, we could've ruled this town!"
Buffy, ignoring what he said about her friend, went nose to nose with the vampire and back handed him into some trash cans, "You can think I'm dumb all you want, but don't talk to me like I'm dumb! You expect me to believe something's making a fool of the Slayer and not bagging about it?"
Spike jumped up with his vampire face on, "If I had gotten the bloody chip out do you think I would waste time with your stupid friends? I'd walk up to you, ask how your day was, and tear your bleeding head off!"
"My day's been a bitch." Buffy said tackling Spike and straddling him to the pavement, "But my night's looking up."
Buffy drove the stake into the vampire's chest. She was only sorry she wouldn't get the change to do more damage.
"Oh crap." Was all Spike had time to say before exploding into a pile of dust. Buffy just sat there, staring at the ground. Spike didn't put up any kind of a fight, but she felt exhausted away. Something silver caught her eye. When she picked it up she realized it was the behavior chip that kept Spike from killing. He was telling the truth after all! But he still could've paid someone else to do the killings. No. If Spike had that kind of money, he wouldn't be living tomb to tomb. And he had had enough partners turn on him not to count on anyone but himself. And as mush as she hated it, she believed what he had said about Will. Buffy didn't feel guilty for what she'd done, even if Spike was innocent of killings her friends, he had plenty of blood on his hands. It would have only been a matter of time anyway before they faced each other. Who was left? Buffy stood as she thought it over again. It was a vampire, but not Spike. Could Cordelia have been wrong about Angel? When he was Angelus, he had gone after her friends, but he hadn't hidden. He teased and taunted Buffy with every step. The last time Angel came back she could feel him. Buffy closed her eyes and tried to feel him now. Nothing. She opened her eyes and kept walking and thinking. Besides, she thought, Angelus was never this messy. So Angel was out. I'm dealing with a vampire with a passionate hatred. Whoever it was may be trying to get into Giles's house right now. Giles was tougher than he looked. He could handle himself pretty well against other humans and even vampires. Normal vampires that is, but this vampire was as far from the norm as one could get. Without a moment to spare, she jumped into her Mother's car and sped back to Giles.
She parked up on the curb and had the door open before she came to a complete stop. Seeing the front door of the house was ajar, she ran in ready for anything. The sight that greeted her was straight out for a nightmare. Broken furniture littered the living room, and in the middle was Giles's bloodied body. There was a gaping hole in his neck, and Buffy knew this time tomorrow he would be one of the living dead. Buffy pulled a sword out of a wall, it must have been thrown there by the attacker, and sliced though what was left of her former Watcher's neck. Even if it was sewn back on, he still wouldn't rise. She hoped. Looking around she saw a pair of legs under an overturned table. Buffy easily moved it aside and carefully rolled Tara over. Her eyes open but they didn't seem to be looking at anything.
"Tara! What happened?" Buffy asked, feeling stupid as she said it. "Where are Anya and my Mom?" There! That was a better question.
"I'm sorry. She's gone. I tried to help. Too strong. Should've know, been able to see her for what she really was." Tara said then closed her eyes. Buffy had to gently shake her until she opened them again. Tara coughed and blood bubbled out of her mouth. Her eyes were staring into Buffy's, but she had a dreamy look to them.
"Being with you has been the happiest time of my life." Tara said trying to raise her hand, but failing. "I love you so much."
Buffy knew she was seeing Willow's face now, so she said, "I love you too." Might as well make her last moment on Earth pleasant. But there were still things Buffy had to know. "Who did this? Was it Anya? Did my Mother get away?"
"There's something I never told you." Tara continued not hearing Buffy questions, "I'm half demon. I was going to tell you, but I was afraid you'd stop loving me. I've been in hiding. Others are trying to kill me. Please don't hate me." She finished with more coughing, and blood.
By this time, Buffy was too numb to be shocked. She ran her fingers though the dying girl's hair, "It's okay. It doesn't change anything."
Tara smiled and closed her eyes, this time Buffy knew they would stay closed. Buffy stood and checked the rest of the house. Both her Mother and Anya were gone. Were they still alive and hiding? Was it possible the killer was really after Tara all this time? If so, then why kill the others? No witnesses? Buffy just couldn't buy it; she had to be the target. Xander would ask if it was her ego that made her think this way. It wasn't. It was her Slayer instincts. She covered Giles's and Tara's bodies and grabbed as many stakes as she could find. Someone must have called 911 because she could hear sirens in the distance. Buffy slipped out the back door as the police came to the house. She couldn't get to her Mother's car without being seen so she "borrowed" a neighbor's truck. Thank you very much Faith! As she drove, Buffy wondered if it could be Faith. She quickly dismissed the idea. She would have called to gloat as soon as she killed Xander. Besides, she was locked up in LA. I'm reaching now, she told herself, think logically damn it! Not Faith, Angel, or Spike. It had to be someone who knew them all, and well. Buffy had a disturbing thought could Anya have gotten her powers back? Even if she did, she was a vengeance demon, so she couldn't use her powers unless someone wished it. Buffy remembered Anya crying at Xander's funeral that was real. Could this the work of some accomplices of Adam's? Buffy was sure anyone working for the demoniod was dead. Who did that leave? Only about a hundred vampires, demons, and other unholy creatures. The only thing she knew for certain was that she was alone now, at least until she found her Mother and Anya. Let them be alive, she prayed. Buffy slammed on the brakes, for some reason she'd driven to her house without even realizing it. There were lights on inside, could they have come here? That didn't make sense, this would be the first place the killer would look. But then, nothing made sense lately. Buffy pulled over and ran toward the door.
Once inside, she found Anya, sitting in a chair with her head at an imposable angle, her eyes open but staring at nothing. She heard running water coming from the kitchen. Buffy saw her mother leaning over the sink, she was wearing a bathrobe and it looked like she was cleaning something.
"Mom. Are you okay?" Buffy asked slowly stepping into the kitchen.
"Yes Dear, I'm fine. Everything is going to be fine now. I just made a bit of a mess." Joyce answered without turning.
Buffy came up beside her mother and looked in the sink. The red water smelled of bleach and next to it was a towel with bloodstains. "Mom! Are you hurt?"
"You know. This is what I hate most about this whole thing. Blood is a bitch to get out. I guess that's why a lot of vampires wear black, or look like they shop at Good Will. Saves money in the long run." Joyce said giving up on the blouse and facing her daughter.
Buffy backed away shaking her head, "No. It can't be you. You're not a…."
"A vampire?" Joyce finished for her. "Yes. I would've told you sooner but I had a few things to take care of first. I thought about telling you the night Willow was killed, but you had to go running off like always. Looking after your friends, saving the world for the stupid humans."
Buffy stood with her mouth open; she could feel her eyes start to sting. She backed away trying to wake up, but knowing she wouldn't.
"Want to know how it happened?" Joyce asked, "Well about a week ago, I was locking up the shop one night, a homeless boy came over to me and said he was hungry. I lied and told him I didn't have any money, but he said that was all right. He said he didn't need money and before I could do anything, he jumped me! He pulled me into the alley, held me against the wall, and dropped me in the garbage when he was done. I died a few minutes later, and the next night I was reborn! I guess if anyone saw during the day, they thought I was homeless too and left me alone."
Buffy listened to what her mother was saying, while thinking over the last few days. About how her mother hadn't gone to Xander's funeral because she had problems at work. She must not have had time to think of a better excuse. It was sunny when Xander was buried, but cloudy when Will was buried. Even then she kept her head down. At the time, Buffy thought it was because she was sad or upset at her for taking off, but Buffy remembered behind Willow's grave there were two tombstones in the shape of crosses. At her dorm and at Giles's house Her mother waited until she was invited before coming in. All those thoughts went though Buffy mind as the thing that had once been her mother continued.
"When I got home, there were a few messages on the answering machine. All of them were people wanting to know why I hadn't opened the shop that day. No messages asking if I was sick or anything, and no messages from YOU!!! I was hungry so I went looking for a bite. I saw Xander walking and that's when I realized he and all your other friends were the reason you didn't notice I died. I also realized if I wanted you back in my life, I'd simply have to kill them all." Joyce finished her monolog and moved toward Buffy with her hand out. "It isn't so bad. We can be together forever. The way it was suppose to be. Nothing can ever hurt us again."
"As long as we stay out of sunlight." Buffy retorted. "You shouldn't have bet on me going along with this. But I guess vampires always take sucker bets."
"Oh I always knew you were clever, I didn't care what the schools said. A mother knows these things. If you love me, you'll come to me."
"It's not that I don't love you, it's just that I'd like to hang on to my soul."
"I understand. I still have my soul. Rupert only told you we don't so it would be easier for you to kill us. Look into my eyes; can't you see it? Who are you going to believe, him or your own mother?"
"If you still had a soul, you wouldn't have killed my friends." Buffy said.
"Oh. So anyone who kills doesn't have a soul. You've killed. What about your ex-boyfriend Angel? And Reilly? Faith? Rupert? Do they have souls? Sometimes a person has to kill. You think I liked it? I did it for you, for us. Look into my eyes, and you'll know what's right."
Buffy looked, and knew there was only one thing to do. She reached out and took her mother's hand.
"I love you Buffy." Joyce whispered as they drew closer.
"I love you too." Buffy said. Then she pierced the other woman's chest with Mr. Pointy.
"How could you?" Was all the vampire who was once Joyce Summers said before becoming a pile of dust. Buffy dropped the stake, and covered her mouth with both hands. I'm all alone now, she thought. Giles once told her the Slayer must stand alone, now she understood why. In her line of work friends became targets. What was she suppose to do? Go to sleep, and go to her morning classes like a normal person. But she wasn't a normal person, and no matter how hard she tried, she could never have that kind of life. There was nothing for her in Sunnydale, but she didn't have anyplace else to go. Buffy thought about her father, there wasn't much to think about. She hadn't seen him since before starting college. Being part of his life would only put him in danger. Angel? She didn't know what their relationship was now. Friends, yes, but it hurt too much to be near him and not be with him. Besides, he had his hands full keeping LA safe. There was no one. New friends would only become new targets.
Buffy walked though the house, remembering the good times. Realized they would never come again and went to the bathroom. By the time the sun rose, a new Slayer had been chosen.
THE END