Thudding. Regular and deep, booming hollowly in the distance. The feel of earth and grass under her skin, wetness soaking through her clothes. Pale warmth on her face, light prickling gently at her closed eyelids………

Buffy woke with a gasp, jerking into an upright position, gazing at the sun as it made its first appearance of the day. Her hand went involuntarily to her neck, feeling for the punctures that were still tacky with her blood. Bewildered, she looked round at the empty cemetery, seeing nothing but the rows of tombstones and graves, a few of the grander mausoleums, grey stone muted in the early light.

She pieced together what had happened, things coming back, slowly fitting the events together in her mind. Spike, the fight, the attack. Drusilla. The appearance of Dru had stunned Spike, made him release his hold on her, stop drinking. He'd meant for her to turn, to become a demon like them. Buffy shuddered at the thought of her nightmare made flesh. Then, Drusilla, lunging for the discarded stake, raising her hand, sobbing as she brought her arm down…………

Afterwards, she'd looked at Buffy, the insanity in her eyes clear. "He was never meant for you. My lovely Spike," she'd whispered brokenly. "You killed him, Slayer. My baby. My child. My Spike. His blood is on your hands. If you hadn't come, if he hadn't loved you like a human, he'd still be mine." She'd moved away then, turning to look round. She giggled, an odd sound in the otherwise silent cemetery. "This is a……bad place. Princess…doesn't like it here," she'd murmured, turning to wave a finger at Buffy. "No following Princess, now, Slayer! Princess doesn't want to play with you anymore. Princess is going to find her Spike. Naughty boy is hiding from her." She'd wandered away through the graves, calling softly for Spike to come out of hiding, while Buffy had gazed at her in stunned horror, unable even to get up, frozen in place. The next thing she remembered had been waking, and remembering……… the look of shock, of horror and then relief on his face, followed by nothing, as he was gone. Just dust, drifting on the still air, settling to the ground in a pathetic heap of grey. Settling onto her.

Later, she went to Giles in the library, to begin her training. If he noticed the scarf wrapped firmly round her neck, he said nothing, just handed her a polished quarterstaff. After their clash, he leaned against his staff, panting, a light sheen of sweat glinting on his forehead.

"Any trouble last night? With Spike?" he asked quietly.

Buffy shook her head and stared at the floor. "No………no. Nothing I couldn't handle." Troubled, she raised her eyes then and looked at Giles. "Spike's dead, Giles. He tried…tried to make me like them, or something. I don't know, it was weird. He said he …… he said he loved me. Then Drusilla came from nowhere, I don't …… she staked him. Didn't give him a chance to fight. Just pouf! and gone. She caught him by surprise, but she left me. She's looking for him now, I - she doesn't seem to know what she did. She's totally wigged, Giles. I mean, she was never stable, but now? We'd better hope she leaves Sunnydale. For good." She paused, hand unconsciously touching the scarf at her neck. "I just……I feel…… it's strange that Spike's gone, you know? And Drusilla doing it, well, it's ……it's like it was with Angel. When I had ……had to," her voice trailed into silence, eyes filling with tears. Giles moved forward, gently folding her into his arms, murmuring soft reassurances. Buffy wiped a hand across her face, unsteadily, then stepped back from him.

* * * *

Drusilla knelt in the crypt, swaying backwards and forwards, watching the deadly sunlight creep across the floor towards her. She was almost hypnotised by the golden light, the dust motes dancing in it, nearly able to feel the warmth. Directly in its path as it streamed through a broken panel in the roof. "My Spike. Why did you leave me? My lovely Spike……… nothing without you. Gone. Left me... Oh, my beautiful, deadly Spike…… All alone. Spike? Where are you? Come back to Princess……………," she whispered. "You couldn't love the Slayer. She was weak. Only I loved you. A vampire's love. Not human. You need me. Forever………"

The light flared white hot as it reached her, burning instantly. It left nothing behind, not even ashes drifting on the air. Just the empty, dark crypt, with only the echo of her voice to break the quiet………

"Forever……my Spike……………"