/
/
/
Drusilla was lying on the street, writhing in pain. Then the pain stopped. She was free of all burden and responsibility.
"Sweetie, are you alright?" a woman asked, "Do you want me to call 911?"
Drusilla suddenly shot up, revealing her vampire-face to the woman.
"You should," Drusilla advised
Then Drusilla sunk her fangs into the woman's neck, sucking out her blood at an incredible rate. It had been years since she had fed from a human, and she was incredibly thirsty. Once the woman was dead, Drusilla let her fall to the ground.
"But they won't get here in time."
Drusilla licked her lips.
"Very sweet. Like clover."
/
The Summers' House…
/
Spike walked in through the kitchen door, finding Joyce cooking breakfast.
"Hey Spike," she said
"Hey mum."
Spike walked to the cupboard, and took out a box of cereal. He poured it directly into his mouth from the box and chased it with milk.
"So, what did you get up to last night?" Joyce asked
Spike swallowed his cereal.
"Had dinner with Drusilla, then slept over at Oz's," Spike recited his planned deception
"That's nice," Joyce decided to believe the lie
"Yeah…"
Spike began to leave the room, but then stopped.
"No, I don't want to lie," Spike said, "Truth is, I slept over at Drusilla's."
"Did you…?"
"We have done, just not last night."
"Oh," Joyce wasn't comfortable with the subject, "How long has…it…been going on?"
"That night I defeated the Master. We were both glad that I was alive."
"Ah…I guess that's a good reason," was the only thing Joyce could think of to say
"Yeah. But the thing is, we're not just two people having sex. I love her. I know a lot of people my age say that, but I really do. I love her."
Joyce saw the expression on Spike's face, one of happiness and optimism. Joyce had been afraid that she would never see that look again.
"I see...Spike, although I'm not thrilled about it…I'm glad you have the right attitude."
/
The warehouse…
/
Angelus was sweeping the warehouse floor, cleaning up after the party.
"You know, you could help me out a bit!" Angelus barked at the Judge
"I am preparing myself," the Judge informed
"Whatever…"
Angelus looked over to Buffy, who was struggling to get her wheelchair down the stairs. He tried not to laugh.
"That was some night," Angelus said, "Sorry I slaughtered all those guests, but you know, I get so caught up in the moment."
Buffy finally got down the stairs, and wheeled over to her lover.
"It's alright," she lied, "I had a great time."
Angelus heard the warehouse doors open.
"You're late!" he yelled, "Party finished hours ago!"
"Well I suppose the fairies will make quite a fuss about this little endeavor…"
Drusilla revealed herself, gliding out from behind a stack of crates. Angelus immediately sensed her lack of soul, and dropped the broom in shock.
"Lucifer be praised…" he gasped
Drusilla laughed, and advanced towards him.
"The King of Cups expects a picnic, but it is not his birthday," she teased
Buffy wheeled herself next to Angelus.
"How do we know she's not faking it?" Buffy asked skeptically
Drusilla strolled up to Buffy and grabbed her by the side of her wheelchair, tipping her over. Buffy fell out of the chair and onto the floor, thoroughly hurt and humiliated.
"It's definitely her," Angelus grinned
Drusilla and her sire embraced, holding each other tightly. Angelus didn't bother to help Buffy up.
"How did this happen?" Angelus asked, eagerly
"After eating too many of the magic sweets, I saw the entire universe," Drusilla said, "It made my brain fizzle and crackle. And I became me again."
Angelus kissed her.
"I cannot tell you how much I missed that," he said, referring to Dru's crazy-talk
"Yes, we must do some catching up," Drusilla replied
Angelus and Drusilla started up the stairs to Angelus' room, ignoring Buffy's struggles.
/
School…
/
"So you just fell asleep together?" Cordelia asked, "That's…kind of nice."
Cordelia and Spike were standing outside the gym, smoking.
"Yeah, it was," Spike agreed
"But why wasn't she there in the morning?" Cordelia asked
"She does that some times," Spike explained, "Goes on a kind of walkabout. Usually turns up in an abandoned church or an antique store."
"She's messed up," Cordelia said, "No offense, but really, she is."
"Yeah," Spike nodded, "But the thing is, so am I, really. We sort of...fit."
"I wish Oz and I could have been like that," Cordelia regretted
Spike noticed her use of past tense.
"You two are over?"
"Not officially, but it's safe to say we've both given up," Cordelia admitted
"Oh."
Cordelia waited for Spike to ask why. He didn't.
"We're just too different," she explained, "No chemistry."
Spike extinguished his cigarette.
"Got anyone in mind for your next boyfriend?" Spike asked
"I don't know," Cordelia admitted
"Too many to choose?"
"No, it's just…I'm not in any hurry."
Spike had noticed the change in Cordelia's behavior, how she had distanced herself from her friends, not really showing much interest in life.
"I hate Sunnydale…" Spike muttered
/
The Warehouse…
/
Drusilla was lying on a table, staring up at the ceiling.
"What are you up to?" Angelus asked
"I'm counting all the stars," Drusilla replied
"Do you still give them all the same name?" Angelus grinned
"Oh yes. There's a terrible confusion."
Buffy made her way into the room.
"So, how do we announce your side-change to Spike?" she asked, "I say we go straight to the home turf, wait for him on the front lawn of his house."
"No, that won't work," Angelus said, "We need to make it personal, more intimate…"
Drusilla picked up a pack of Tarot cards, and flicked two of them at Angelus.
"The Tower…" Angelus read, "…and the Lovers."
He made the connection.
"Oh, that's brilliant!" he grinned
/
Later…
/
Spike was back in Drusilla's apartment, eager to see her again. He had started writing a new poem about her, and he wanted to share the rough draft. It was called "The Fable of the Dark Haired Beauty and her Brave Knight".
"Spike, is that you?" Drusilla asked
Her bedroom door opened. She stepped out, clad in only a bed-sheet.
"Hey," Spike said, "Thought I'd come see you."
Drusilla remained silent.
"I-I wrote another poem," Spike said, taking out his poetry book, "Want to hear it?"
"Must I?" Drusilla sighed
"Well, um, not if you don't want to…"
A naked Angelus walked out of Drusilla's bedroom and stood behind Druisilla, wrapping his arms around her.
"Drusilla, is this guy bothering you?" he teased
Spike was mortified. He expected Drusilla to start beating up Angelus or beg for help, but instead she slowly tilted her head, letting the man kiss her neck.
"He wants me to listen to one of his god-awful pieces of poetry," Drusilla laughed
"A poem?" Angelus repeated, mockingly, "Boy recons himself a poet?"
Before Spike could stop him, Angelus reached forward and grabbed Spike's book. He and Drusilla looked over it, sniggering at every line.
"Effulgent!" Angelus howled with laughter
"Stop…" Spike pleaded, brokenly
"Oh god, please tell me he didn't write that one about you," Angelus pointed to a page
"Afraid so," Drusilla said
Spike began to leave.
"Spike, wait," Drusilla said
Spike turned around, seeing Drusilla with a sad and almost apologetic look on her face. Then it changed back to a malevolent grin.
"Take your silly book with you," she said
Drusilla hurled the book at Spike, hitting him in the face and leaving a cut just above his left eye. At that point, Spike ran out.
/
Sunnydale High…
/
Willow was in the hallway, trying to find her way back to the library. It wasn't easy with the hallway lights off.
"Hello, Willow," Drusilla said
Willow turned to face her.
"Oh, hey," Willow said
Drusilla approached the redhead.
"I've seen the way you look at me, you naughty girl," Drusilla teased
"I…I don't know what you mean," Willow lied
"What would your parents think, Willow?" Drusilla teased, "What would your father say...what would he do if he knew of those feeling you had? The ones you choose to hide so deep…?"
"Stop that!" Willow begged
Drusilla ran a sharp fingernail down the side of Willow's head, leaving a scratch mark but not a cut.
"You have really lovely skin," Drusilla said, "I wonder what it will look like when I pull it all off of you?"
She morphed to her vampire face; at that point, Willow kicked Drusilla in the shin, and got away from her. She took out her Star of David necklace, holding it up threateningly.
"Don't make me use this!" Willow warned
"That doesn't work on vampires," Drusilla laughed
She advanced towards Willow, morphing into her vampire face. Willow responded by taking off the necklace and swinging it at Drusilla. It DID work, cutting a burn mark across her neck.
"Ah!" Drusilla screeched
The library doors opened, and Oz and Xander stepped out, hearing Willow's cries.
"Drusilla," Oz noted, "Have you seen Spike?"
"I don't think we'll be seeing William for quite some time," Drusilla informed
Oz caught on that something was up; he knew how much Spike hated being called William.
"What's going on?" Oz demanded
"She…she was threatening me," Willow said, "Said she…wanted to pull off my skin."
"I knew you were no good," Xander growled
He took out two stakes, preparing to fight. Drusilla laughed.
"Alexander, despite those fantasies you have, you're not Colonel Fury," Drusilla taunted, "You're not even Sergeant Fury."
Xander was surprised that Drusilla knew that he dreamt of being Nick Fury. Just surprised, not shocked.
"I can see into your mind," Drusilla said, "I know ten minutes ago you were trying to repress the memory of your drunken father at your seventh birthday party."
Xander tried to remain strong, but he was clearly shaken.
"What the hell is with you tonight?" Oz demanded coolly
"You could say…I'm not myself," Drusilla replied, "No, actually, I'm very much myself. More than I've been in decades…"
"You've lost your soul," Oz realized
Drusilla looked disappointed.
"I was trying to do a dramatic monologue!" she yelled, "You ruined it! You…"
She tried to find something to say that would scare Oz, but it wasn't easy. Oz was very secure in who he was. Drusilla gave up probing his mind.
"I'll be seeing you all very soon," Drusilla informed, "And remember, I have invites to yours and your houses."
She left, making sure not to turn her back to the gang.
/
The Parking Lot by the Cemetery...
/
Buffy was in the backseat of a stolen car with Harmony, trying to feed off of her.
"Hold still!" Buffy yelled, slapping the girl, "You're only making it worse for yourself!"
She pierced Harmony's neck with her fangs, and began to lap up the blood. Harmony was screaming and crying.
"Please, stop!" Harmony exclaimed, "I'll do anything…!"
"Shut up or I'll gag you!" Buffy threatened
As Buffy prepared to sink her fangs back into Harmony, she noticed Spike out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting in a car parked close to Buffy's, looking depressed. To Buffy, it was like a train wreck, terrible but hard to look away from.
"Now I see you for what you truly are, an emotional wreck," Buffy muttered to herself, "I can't believe I ever…"
Then suddenly, Spike kicked his car door open, and grabbed the vampire that had just run past by the head. Spike proceeded to kick his teeth in before staking him.
"OK, now I can believe," Buffy decided
Deciding to risk it, Buffy got out of the car (which Harmony then escaped from), and walked over on crutches to Spike. It took an awkward amount of time for her to get over to Spike.
"Oh, what the hell do you want?" Spike groaned, not seeing Buffy as a threat
"I heard what Angel and Drusilla did to you," Buffy said, sounding genuinely understanding, "It was mean, even for them."
"Angel?" Spike repeated
"Oh, that's just what I call him," Buffy said quickly, hoping Spike would forget it, "Um, what I was thinking was, Angelus and Drusilla have kind of screwed us both over, so if you wanted to get back at them, I'd be up for…"
"You want us to screw?" Spike completed
"Well yeah, it'd be an act of vengeance thing."
Spike looked over to Buffy condescendingly.
"How do I defeat the Judge?" he asked, changing the subject
"If you want to know how, you're going to have to do something for me first..."
Spike kicked away her crutches, and shoved her against his Desoto.
"Tell me the Judge's weakness, or I cut open your skull and feed you your brain!" Spike growled
"Ugh! Spike, you're disgusting!"
"I'm disgusting? You're the one who drinks blood!"
"Blood is natural! It's what brings life!"
"So do body fluids, would you drink someone's…?"
"If you promise never to finish that sentence, I'll tell you how to defeat the judge!"
"Alright."
"I looked in one of Angel's…Angelus' books, and I think…I think the Judge might be easier to beat than you think."
"Go on..."
"No weapon forged can defeat him isn't a prophecy, it's a statement from a soldier who tried to kill him," Buffy explained, "Back then forged weapons just meant swords, crossbows, arrows, that stuff."
"So you think something bigger could take this bloke down?" Spike asked
"Probably. Do you have something big?"
"Uh…can of napalm?"
"That won't…you have napalm ? !" Buffy was overwhelmed
"Yeah, Willow found me a website that showed how to make it. Then she tried to get me to read her fanfiction."
"Why?"
"I dunno. Red wanted some feedback, I guess."
"I mean why did you make napalm?"
"I was saving it to use on you."
"You were?"
"Well I meant for it to be a surprise, maybe pull it out in a final showdown."
"You wanted us to have a final showdown?" Buffy was flattered
"Someday, maybe."
"So…are we enemies?" Buffy asked longingly
"You want to be enemies AND sleep together?"
"Yeah, it would be like we were married."
Buffy fluttered her eyelashes at Spike, attempting to appeal to him. He tried to fight it, and tried to think of a good excuse to leave.
"I have to go tell Giles what you said about the Judge," Spike blurted out
"Can't it wait?"
"No."
"Fine. But if you're interested, there's an abandoned house on Sixth Street that I'm going to stay in tonight. Perhaps you'll come join me?"
In an attempt to show dominance, Buffy left first. Spike watched her walk to her car. Buffy sensed he was looking at her, and cheekily hoisted up the back of her skirt and flashed Spike.
"See you later, slayer..."
/
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/
To be continued...
A/N: I know the idea of Willow having a Star of David necklace might seem like a stereotype, but I'll justify it either in the next chapter or the one after that.