The Monster's Loose
Duality In Motion

Two days and three nights.

She'd kept track, but she was no closer to finding the thing that had taken one of her best friends. Between them Buffy and Angel had almost turned Sunnydale upside down looking for them.

They'd found all sorts of things. The least strange of which was a poker tournament where the chits were live kittens. Buffy didn't know what the winner was going to do with them, and didn't want to. Thankfully Angel hadn't told her.

They'd just finished another useless hunt and Buffy just wanted to call it a night. The problem with that was her mother.

Mom had figured out something was wrong and while good old Sunnydale denial was in full force she wasn't completely blind to what was going on. Buffy needed to come up with something and soon.

Opening the door Buffy didn't need to look to see her mother was waiting for her. "You're late."

For a moment Buffy wanted to apologise, but she knew it was pointless. "Yes, I am." She admitted.

"Buffy, I don't expect you to tell me everything, just the important things. What's going on? Is there a boy?"

"Kinda..." Buffy sighed before realising shat she had said. "Not like that Mom! It's, it's Xander."

"Xander?" Mom asked, shocked. "I didn't expect that."

"No, not like that!" Buffy objected quickly. "Something's happened to him. I'm just trying to find out where he's gone."

Mom was on her feet, "He's missing, or ran away?" She asked, worried. Like Buffy she knew Xander's home life wasn't the best. Just like she knew how useless Sunnydale's police could be.

"I guess you could call it that." She winced. "It happened during Halloween. I can't explain it, but I've got..." She trailed off. Some sixth, or eighth sense kicked in and Buffy looked to the window.

Standing so close the glass she was almost inside was the last person Buffy expected. "Oh my God!" Buffy's mother jumped in shock. "What...?"

Buffy knew with crystal clarity what she had to do. "Mom, stay here. This won't take long." Grabbing the stake she had hidden at the small of her back she went to the door.

"Buffy?"

"Don't worry." She said in a deadly quiet voice before stepping outside.

"Hello Buffy." The Vampire said the flicker of a smile on her pale features.

"Drusilla"

Giles unlocked his door and took off his coat. He hadn't been home in days. Not unheard of but this time he was drained. He dropped his glasses on the table and sat down. Rubbing his eyes he felt the chair creak as it took his weight.

It was no wonder Xander had missed a lot of important points to the mythology he'd so innocently aped. Tens of thousands of years, most clouded with the decay of a collapsing Empire on a scale he hadn't even imagined. Worse still the creators of this dark fantasy had left holes. Deliberately, of course, the whole point was to provide a framework for the players without too much control.

That didn't help very much when a genetically engineered Demi-god stepped out of said framework into the real world and took flight. Quite literally.

With a sigh he turned on his desk light. Hoping to unwind with a whiskey and some classic music. Instead he almost jumped out of his seat. Standing in the corner of the room was said Demi-god. "Good evening." They said. You'd have thought his voice a deep bellow, instead it was almost musical. Thrumming with sheathed power and the boundless confidence of a man who knew every word commanded respect.

"Wha... how?" Giles stammered.

"While not as stealthy as some of my brothers I do have some talent." He said modesty. "Rupert Giles, I find myself in need of council. As a Watcher I believe you have the training needed to help."

"Council?" Giles gaped. "What could I possibly help you with?" As before he was struck by the shear presence of the winged giant. It was like sharing a room with a caged star. Blinding, but he was unable to tear his attention away. It made his act of stealth that much more impressive.

"I am not sure how much you have been able to discover, so I hope it is not too much of a surprise when I reveal that I have a limited ability to discern the future."

Giles reached for his drink. "There was a vague mention." He admitted, struggling to pour a single measure. His hands were starting to shake with nerves.

Sanguinius was gracious enough to let him take a sip before continuing. "What you may not know is how fragile this foresight can be. Even the glimpse of a possible outcome can irrecoverably change it. Worse still often the brightest future can only come through suffering and the reverse is also true."

"The easiest path seldom leads to the best outcome."

"Precisely. The challenge in my case is not only choosing what path, but if the destination is desired."

A terrible thought came to Giles, "Path for yourself, or others."

"And so we reach my concern." Sanguinius nodded, as if pleased Giles had made the leap. "It is within my power to raise this world, to shape it into a perfect utopia of my choosing. Or I could raze it, burn it to sand and glass. A bitter broken monument to a people's hubris. Who is to say which is better. Who is to say they are not the same thing?"

Giles longed to throw the rest of his drink down his throat, followed by the rest of the bottle. "And we could do nothing to stop you?"

"No. You can temper my judgment. Help me see where I am wrong and why. Only my Father had the wisdom to rule alone. Even then he had my brothers and I, as well as close friends, to help him. I wish for you and Buffy to be my friends. To be my Sigillites"

Drusilla swayed from side to side, as if caught in a breeze only she could feel. Buffy stepped out of her house, keeping the vampire in the corner of her eye as she checked out the street.

It was just the two of them. "If this is a trap, you're doing it wrong." She pointed out.

Drusilla half dancers half glided to the tree off to one side before swinging around it. "No trap silly! I want to play the game."

"What game?"

"Hide and seek." she smiled. "We hide, you seek. It's my turn."

Buffy got her meaning. "You know where he is." She didn't need to say who.

"My Lord. The Father of Angels. Glowing like a star, more powerful by far!" The mad demon danced some more out of shear joy. "Not like Daddy. He breaks his toys when he plays with them. Leaves them shattered and empty. He'll break you one day too." She retreated into herself, shying away from something only she could see.

"Angel loves me." Buffy said definitely. "The thing that broke you is gone."

"And never coming back." She seemed to agree but there was something teasing in the tone of her voice. "Not ever, or ever!"

"What are you talking about?" Buffy challenged, reassured by the stake in her hand. This was the first time she'd ever had a conversation with Spike's mad girlfriend and so far she didn't like it.

The vampire's mind might be cracked, right down the middle, but that didn't make her harmless. Far from it.

Buffy wasn't sure if she'd ever get a better chance and inched closer, trying to make it look casual. "That's cheating." Drusilla wagged a finger, fake pouting before dancing just out of reach. "Can't read the last page before the first!"

"Buffy!" Her mother gasped, "What are you doing?"

The Slayer winced, the half raised stake not half as comfortable as it had been a heart beat earlier. "Mom, stay back!" Buffy warned as Drusilla curtsied.

"No need, silly Buffy. Mommys' don't play this game!"

Buffy still didn't trust her. "So let's play." She threatened. "Right now."

"That's not how you play." Drusilla shook her head. "I've got to give you a gift, then you try and find me and Sweet William. You catch us I tell you where to find him."

"If I don't?"

"Oh silly dolly, of course you will. That the whole point of the game!" With that the Vampire danced around the tree again. Only this time she stepped out carrying a sword.

Buffy heard her mother gasp as Drusilla spun the weapon around. The way she handled it sent shivers down Buffy's spine. She knew what she was doing and even weakened she was dangerous. Then, with a twirl, she lay the blade across her wrists and bowed. The handle pointed at Buffy.

Feeling very much like she was reaching her hand into a box with a live snake inside Buffy took the weapon. It was the same one she'd tried to use on the thing Xander had become. "How do you know I won't use this?"

"Because he promised." Drusilla said simply before jumping away. By the time Buffy had raised the sword the Vampire was running away, laughing like it was all a cosmic joke.

"Buffy, what is going on?" Her mom demanded. Buffy was left holding a stake and sword, with the feeling she'd just been set up.

"What makes you think I am worthy, that I am capable of such a thing?" Giles asked.

Sanguinius smiled ruefully and nodded. "A question that becomes its own answer." He explained. "Many are those that seek such power. Few that understand it, fewer still that deserve it. I must be confident, sure of both will and deed. I cannot allow doubt nor can I allow mistakes. A paradox, one no man alone can weather."

"No man." Giles echoed.

"Yes, you see me now as something more. This is both true and not. I am more than a man, but I am not more than the potential of mankind. A potential I must help see to fruition. The people of this world have the potential to conquer the stars. To overthrow the shackles of superstition, of ignorance, and embrace discovery. My Father's dream realised!"

Giles felt his blood run cold as the giant preached. As noble as the sentiment it still sounded like the manifesto of a dictator.

Sanguinius stopped and offered a sly smile. "And so I become the nightmare manifest. A tragedy, born out of best intentions." This is why I need you and Buffy, and Willow."

Giles could breathe a little easier, but not by much. "You'll have some difficulty trying to convince Buffy." He pointed out.

"Buffy is still headstrong, wilful and in pain at the passing of her friend. She blames me for she had no other option. My darker nature just gives her that much more of an excuse." He explained patiently. "She will see that soon enough, once she has had time to

reflect on the subject. The best way to do that is to distract her. Provide her with another outlet."

The phone rang, startling Giles.

"And there's the distraction now." Sanguinius smiled

End Duality In Motion