Rating: PG, just general Buffy-ish type things a-happenin'
Feedback: I'd like that very much, thank you.
Spoilers: If you know about Tara and Spike's Chip, you're good to go.
Distribution: Here. If you're interested, please let me know.
Summary: Willow's magic has backfired again, and this time she's so upset she decides it would be better if she leaves Sunnydale.
Author's Note: Set sometime during Season 4.
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Mutant Enemy (Joss Whedon), a wonderfully creative company whose charcters I have borrowed for a completely profit-free flight of fancy. Kindly do not sue me, please, as I am terrified of you. Thank you.
Dedication: For Joe, who is going to have a great future ahead of him.
Chapter 2
When the wind finally died down, the two women were standing in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the town. Without warning, a dark haired woman danced out of the shadows in the room, her blue eyes sparkling with insane joy. Willow immediately grabbed hold of Jenny and attempted to pull her away from the approaching vampire, but her hand went right through the dead woman's arm. She had no physical substance.
"That's, that's, that's," Willow stuttered uncontrollably, "that's Drusilla!"
"Don't worry, she can't see us or hear us."
The vampire proceeded to walk directly through the pair of them.
"See? Nothing," Jenny replied.
However, Drusilla suddenly came to an abrupt halt, turned around, and peered in their direction as though trying to see through a mist.
"I feel eyes, and it's not the stars this time. There are visitors here. They fade in and out like vapor. Not from around this time, are you? Why can't I see you? Are you made of starlight?" she asked dreamily.
Jenny and Willow exchanged freaked out looks.
"Don't ask me. That's not in the rules. I don't think she knows what's really going on, though. Chalk it up to the insanity factor."
Swallowing her panic, Willow made a mental note that if she ever had the misfortune to run into Drusilla again, she'd pay a lot more attention to her seemingly pointless ramblings. It wasn't until now that Willow noticed that the room held yet another occupant. He was sitting in a chair facing away from her, but the top of his blond head was clearly visible over its back.
"See? Things are kind of better without me already. Spike and Dru are back together and probably really happy… even though that may not qualify as a good for the rest of the world."
"Keep watching."
"Did you miss me, my sweet? I've been out hunting and brought you back a treat," she intoned in a child-like, teasing singsong.
Drusilla approached the chair and took out what was probably the single most disgusting thing Willow had ever seen from the full sleeve of her red velvet dress: a human heart. The deceptively fragile-looking vampire offered it to the man in the chair, who finally turned in order to take the dainty Drusilla was offering.
"That's not Spike," Willow said in confusion. "It almost looks like… Oh goddess! It can't be!"
She gaped open mouthed as Xander grabbed the heart with one hand and wrapped the other around Drusilla's tiny waist, drawing her into his lap. One swift movement changed his face into a collection of ridges and bumps as his demon came forth. With an animal's ravenous hunger he drained the heart in an instant, then proceeded to kiss the female vampire with at least equal vigor.
"But, he's a vampire! And he's kissing Drusilla! And he's drinking blood!" she paused in stupefied shock for a moment, then added, "And also, he's blond. What happened?"
"Drusilla turned him a little over a year ago. They're quite an item."
"But why?" Willow's eyes were filled with tears as she hovered close to her childhood friend, horrified.
"She was lonely and wanted a playmate. She kept saying something about the fiery colors of the tropics…"
"I knew those Hawaiian shirts would get him into trouble eventually. But why didn't Buffy stop her?"
"Xander and Buffy never became friends. You introduced the two of them, remember? Xander had exactly the same risk level as any other resident in Sunnydale of ending up as a late night snack, and, as you know, those aren't good odds."
Willow couldn't take her eyes off Xander's face. Sweet, good, wacky Xander was now one of the undead. She just couldn't get her mind around the fact. Also…
"Okay, I understand the whole 'he was turned' thing, but about the hair?"
"What can I say? Drusilla likes her men blond."
"Speaking of which, why hasn't Spike staked Xander yet? I mean, you know, demon now, chip won't stand in his way."
"Because it's hard for a pile of dust to stake somebody. When Spike escaped from the Initiative and showed up at Giles's house, you weren't there to tell Buffy that he couldn't bite anymore. She threw him out into the sunlight."
"And Anya?"
"You never kissed Xander, so Cordelia never made the wish that brought her here. She's still a vengeance demon."
"Look, you can take me back to the bus stop now, and I'll turn around like a good little girl and march straight back home. Just please make everything better again," she half-whimpered at her former computer teacher. "Please?"
"Sorry Willow, but a bargain is a bargain. You're stuck with this reality until you've seen everything there is to see."
