Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy!

Xander glanced up when he heard the door opening. For the last few days, or at least he thought it was days, it was so hard to tell time down in their basement hell, they had been left alone. The door only opened when it was dinner time. He glanced at the remains of their dinner. His sandwich was gone, but Buffy had only managed a few bites of hers before she started throwing up. He finished most of her sandwich knowing it was going to be up to him to get them out of here and knowing he'd need to keep his strength up. He left just a few bites for her. He hoped she would eat them but wasn't holding out much hope. He was giving her more than her fair share of the water though, only taking a few sips each time.

"She's getting sicker," Kestrel said, kneeling in front of the bars.

"I wonder why," Xander said sarcastically. "She needs medicine and a hospital."

"Why hasn't the Slayer stepped in yet?" Kestrel asked himself as he stared at the girl.

"I told you, she's retired," Xander exclaimed for the hundredth time. "Buffy hasn't been the Slayer for a long time." Kestrel ignored him and started muttering to himself, pacing back and forth in front of the bars. Xander sighed and looked at the girl in his arms.

The earlier lethargy quickly turned into a fever which was getting higher and higher every time he checked. Xander knew exactly what was going on. Ben had warned them what would happen if she ever stopped taking her medicine. In fact, they had glimpses of it while he was trying to get the right mixture. Her body was treating her new kidney like an invader and attacking. She was essentially making herself sick and there was nothing that Xander could do to help.

"The Slayer has to awaken," Kestrel concluded. "How else can she be strong enough to resist." He stopped pacing and Xander looked at him. Kestrel was staring at the computer screen, getting off on watching her forced encounters.

"She's pretty strong on her own," Xander said, not even sparing the screen any thought as he watched Buffy whimper in his arms. He held the bottle up to her lips, trying to get her to take another sip.

"She's important to you," Kestrel said as he watched them. Xander looked up, noticing the latest recording hadn't yet reached its peak. The detective's attention had always been on the screen during these times. The fact that he was watching them instead was unusual. Not to mention disturbing.

"Don't hurt her," Xander said, immediately moving in front of her. Kestrel smiled at them before leaving. He returned a few minutes later with both his lackeys.

"Watch!" he commanded, pointing to the screen. His men both moved to the computer, staring at the screen intently. "Feel."

"Please don't," Xander begged as his minions immersed themselves in the pornography. They started moaning and stroking themselves through their pants. He knew they were starting to get aroused. "I'll do anything. Just please don't rape her."

"I'm not going to rape her," he chuckled slightly, "I like to watch. But my boys…" He left the threat unspoken.

"Perfect henchmen," Xander said in disgust. "Where'd you find them? Villains R Us?"

"My boss actually provided them. Of course, they're not exactly sane. They hear his voice fine though. And I haven't even gotten to their best feature."

"They do whatever you say?" Xander guessed. Kestrel laughed.

"They're disposable." Xander stared at the detective.

"You had Tara shot," he accused.

"I needed a way in," he said, not even denying the accusation, "and at the same time I needed you to lower your guard with me. People will tell me things they won't tell God if it helps catch a friend's killer." He got thoughtful. "I needed that absolute trust. When the girl didn't die it set my plans back weeks."

"I'm sorry your plans were disrupted by her untimely life," Xander scoffed. "My heart bleeds."

"No matter," he waved away his concern, "we still got here. And it might have turned out better than I thought." He pointed at Buffy. "I thought I was going to have to break her and become her new Master, but you might have done that already."

"She's nobody's property," Xander growled.

"We'll see," he smirked, moving back from the bars and turning to his minions. "Do it."

"What?" Xander asked in a panic. The men nodded. One grabbed a bucket Xander didn't notice them bring in and headed toward the cell which the other one was opening. Water was sloshing around the bucket. Xander had just enough time to throw himself on top of Buffy before being drenched in icy water. Buffy woke up with a gasp, her eyes wide and panicked. Even though Xander tried to shield her, some of the water still managed to hit its target. "Shit!" Xander cursed, momentarily shocked by the cold water. That was all Kestrel needed to force a gag in his mouth. He tried fighting but quickly realized his arms weren't working quite right. It took him a minute to understand. He was being pulled to the other side of the cell by the chains wrapped around his wrists.

"Now then," Kestrel said, approaching the soaking wet blankets carefully. Buffy looked around in confusion before focusing on him. He rolled up his sleeves slowly, revealing the tattoo he recently acquired. The mark of a Master. He smirked when Buffy's eyes were drawn to it. "Pleasure my men." He motioned to his first minion, who followed him into the cell. The other one was securing Xander's chains so he couldn't help.

"Don't do it!" Xander tried to yell through his gag, though he doubted Buffy heard anything more than his muffled voice. It was enough to bring her attention to him though. He shook he head emphatically. Buffy was shivering completely: whether from being sick, cold, or afraid Xander didn't know, but he was never more proud then when she faced the detective and shook her head.

"Illyiana Romanov," Kestrel insisted sternly, grabbing her chin and forcing her to acknowledge him. "I am your Master. I order you to pleasure these men." He released her with a hard shove and stepped back authoritatively. Buffy glanced between him, Xander, and the obviously aroused man in front of her. She took a deep breath, preparing for what came next.

"Nyet," she said in a strong but unused voice. She continued on, telling him something that Xander's Russian couldn't keep up with, but there was strength in her voice and a glint in her eyes that he understood completely. Despite everything that was going on, Xander realized this was the first time she had truly spoken aloud and Xander was honored to be the first person to hear it. That honor turned to fear when he saw the satisfied smirk in Kestrel's eyes.

"Fine," Kestrel said, never taking his eyes off Buffy. He motioned to his minion who pulled out a huge hunting knife. Buffy's eye widened in fear, but the minion turned towards Xander. Xander tried to fight, but he was backed up against the bars, his arms stretched out painfully behind him. He tried to kick but realized too late the second minion had grabbed his legs and held them tightly to the bars. Completely helpless, he did the only thing he could. He caught Buffy's eyes, trying to reassure her that what was about to happen was not her fault.

"It's okay," he tried to speak, but again the gag kept getting in the way. "It's okay. It's not your fault. It's okay."

"Only you can help him," Kestrel told Buffy when the knife was placed against his neck. Xander winced when he felt the cold metal break skin, but then it stopped. Only a shallow cut had been made, just enough to get a trickle of blood down his neck. "Take off your clothes and perform for my men or he dies."

"No," Xander screamed as he began struggling again. He felt the knife sink deeper but we wasn't concerned about himself anymore. He would do anything to keep his friend from the hell that she lived, even give his own life. Buffy looked between him and Kestrel, torn until she made a decision. She closed her eyes and started to undress. Xander closed his eyes too before struggling even harder, continually shouting for her not to do this. Her hands were shaking so bad she could barely get her shirt off.

"I knew it," Kestrel said triumphantly once Buffy's shirt was off. She was working on her pants, but her hands were trembling so badly Xander knew it was unlikely she would get them off without help. But Kestrel had lost interest. He motioned for his minions to leave. It took Xander a second to realize his chains had slack again. He was across the cell and gathering Buffy in his arms again before they had even left the cell. He ripped the gag out of his mouth.

"It's okay," he whispered over and over. "It's okay. You can stop now. You saved me. It's okay." Buffy was still trying to get out of her pants until Xander grabbed both her hands in his. She looked up in fear until she recognized him. Then she collapsed, sobbing, into his chest. "It's okay. It's okay. You're okay." He glared when Kestrel entered the cell again, but he simply grabbed the wet blankets and dragged them out. He put fresh blankets in a pile near the door, along with a bag that looked like it had fresh clothes on top of it, before closing the door and leaving the room.

"Base, this is Charlie One," Nate reported in a bored manner.

"Base. Go ahead Charlie One."

"Be advised target one has just exited the premises," he told them. "Charlie two is following. Charlie one is staying at location one with target two."

"Copy that. Stay safe. Base out." Nate snorted.

"Stay safe? We're surrounding the crypt of a vampire in the middle of the day. I don't know any way to stay safer."

"Isn't this supposed to be some super vamp?" Versa asked. She was the newest member of the team and only had a few missions under her belt. "I mean, that girl Faith came and did some practice drills with us and she wiped the floor with us. And that didn't even come close to the butt kicking she handed you when you sparred."

"I let her win," Nate snarled, flushing red in embarrassment. "It's the polite thing to do. I could have taken her if I wanted."

"Just keep telling yourself that boss," Versa smirked before turning serious again. "Didn't you do some missions with her in Cleveland?" Nate shook his head.

"Finn did, but I was still going through training the first time she called," he explained. "My wife just had our second son the second time she called. And the situation was handled before we could get out there the third time."

"If she's so tough, why does she need help at all?" Versa asked as she adjusted her position to check on the crypt.

"Maybe she's not as tough as they like to think," Nate scoffed. "Of course not, if she was she wouldn't need demons to come help. Like they'll help anyway."

"We would never ask for demons to help," Versa said, frowning slightly. She thought she saw movement down by the crypt. She raised her rifle to get a better look.

"What?" Nate asked, instantly alert. He grabbed his binoculars and focused on the crypt.

"False alarm," Versa told him, lowering her scope. "I thought I saw the door move, but I think it was just a shadow."

"Right," Nate agreed, lowering his binoculars. "Watching a vampire in the middle of the day is a waste of time anyway. Not that I think she can actually do anything to us."

"Are you sure about that?" Buffy asked from behind them. They froze, turning to look behind them slowly. She smiled slowly before proceeding to throw the pair twenty-five feet in opposite directions. "Now which one shall I choose? Eenie, meenie, minie, mo." Versa smacked her head on a gravestone and went limp, while Nate just hit the ground hard. He had the breath knocked out of him for a minute, but quickly got his wits when he saw the vampire trying to decide who to go for. He ran as fast as he could into a patch of sunlight.

"You can't touch me here, bitch!" he yelled triumphantly as he turned back. He frowned, his jubilation turning to fear when he couldn't see the vampire anywhere.

"Wanna bet," Buffy asked from behind him again, "bitch!" She backhanded him straight into a mausoleum wall.

"How?" he asked, the illusion of safety the sunlight brought was gone.

"I have powerful friends," she grinned, "and stupid enemies." She raked her fingers down his chest, her claws ripping through the cloth and into his skin. He screamed when she bent down and licked the bloody wounds. "Now, I had a chat with your boss earlier, but apparently my message didn't get through. We're tired of these silly little teams following us wherever we go. It was fun at first, but now it's just boring. I warned Riley what would happen if he didn't stop, and yet, here you are. So I think he needs a visual demonstration." She stood up straight and her vampire visage was out. "I'm thinking entrails. But should I tie you up with your own entrails or just tie them in a bow? Hmmm. Maybe if I stretch them I could do both." Buffy reached down. He screamed again as she cut directly into his abdomen. "Bet you'd like some demons to come to your rescue now, huh? Too bad they won't help you."

"You're wrong about that," another voice said. Something barreled into the vampire, causing her to release her grip as they went rolling away. Without her there to hold him up, Nate felt himself collapse, powerless to do anything to help himself. He watched them fight as he waited to die.

"Nate! Nate! Stay with me!" He blinked heavily. When did Riley get here? He felt a prick on his arm and immediately he got more focused.

"Riley?" he asked. Riley nodded as he began pulling out field dressings to place over his wound. While Riley was doing that Nate looked over to see his rescuer. "Spike?"

"He's keeping her busy but we don't have much time," Riley said, wrapping the bandage around Nate's stomach. He looked over to where Versa was only to see Graham pulling her into a fireman's carry. "We've got to move!" Nate nodded and tried to get to his feet. Riley helped them and together they hobbled out of the graveyard.

"Spike!" Buffy whined. "You're letting my toy get away."

"Sorry luv," he smirked at her. "What say you and me have a little fun?" With that he launched himself at her.

"How are you not burning up right now?" she asked when she pushed him into the same puddle of light Nate thought would protect him. Spike hissed and backed out, but just enough to get out of the direct sunlight.

"You think I don't know my own backyard?" he asked as they started circling each other. "I know all the places you can stand and not get caught in the sun. I know how the wind affects the leaves, which areas will be safe and which will become brighter that a spotlight. Plus," he added when he pounced on her, "I know how to fight through a little pain." He tackled her to the ground. They traded a few blows before she was able to push him away with her feet.

"A little pain?" she asked as she flipped back to her feet. "How about a whole hell of a lot of pain?" She flicked her hands and suddenly a gale blew through the graveyard. All the leaves were gone, leaving the whole area flooded in light. Spike snarled, but instead of running he simply pulled his duster tighter around his body and charged her again. "Oh, I see," the vampire remarked as they started trading blows again. "You have armor."

"And you have a cute magic trick," Spike replied as his backhand sent her flying. "How'd you survive the sun?" Buffy rolled onto her back and showed him her hand.

"Sunscreen," she said, the ring glinting in the light.

"The Ring of Amara?" Spike asked, taken back for a moment. Buffy rolled into him, taking out his legs then climbing onto him when he was down. "Had one of those myself, once."

"Yeah, I remember," she said, straddling him. "I also remember how I ripped it off your finger during the fight." She lifted her hand up, showing him the ring. "Go on. Try it." Spike frowned but lifted his hand to hers. He gave the ring a gentle tug, not surprised at all when it didn't budge.

"I always thought you destroyed the ring," he said, not releasing her hand. In fact, he intertwined their fingers.

"I did," she confirmed. "This isn't the original. It's a remake. Will made it for me. It's lacking a few things, like the invincibility, but it keeps the sun away. At least until the charge dies."

"Sounds like she really loves you," Spike commented.

"Always trying to protect me," she confirmed, leaning closer to him. He wasn't surprised when he felt her lips brush his, but he was shocked when she started grinding on him. "I went looking for you, you know. Before, when everything was bad but in a good way. I remembered how you used to follow me around like a love sick puppy and thought now that we were both demons we could give it a whirl."

"And what did you find?" Spike asked, his voice higher than usual as his body was responding to her movements.

"I never found you," she shrugged. "I thought when I came home you would be there, but you weren't. Don't know if you ran when the world went to hell or if you died, but you weren't there." She stopped moving suddenly, looking at him with a frown. "Maybe I should have asked some of the gang before I killed them? We could have been unstoppable."

"One small problem luv," he said, finally getting enough leverage to push her away. "I could never love someone who killed my family." He sprang to his feet, but instead of charging her again he turned and ran. Snarling, she chased after him.