Part 4 - Truths Revealed
Buffy reached into the freezer and pulled out an ice pack. She
held it to her shoulder to ease the pain and returned to the living
room, where her friends were waiting. She sat on the couch between
Xander and Willow.
"So, who's the new Big Bad?" Dawn asked from her perch across the
room.
"Yeah, Buff. It's been a while since we've seen you limp around,"
Xander commented.
Buffy nodded, "I think we have a new master vampire in town."
"New vampire?" Willow asked.
"Yep. She was tough, too. I haven't fought a vamp that strong
in... gosh, years."
"You couldn't kill her?"
Buffy shook her head, "No."
Anya spoke, "Well, it's obvious that this vampire is far older than
most of the ones that live around here."
"I got that impression too. Also, before she took off, she said
something that was majorly weird."
"What?" Xander asked.
"She told me that I caused her brother great pain and now she'll
cause some to me."
"Well...that's odd," Anya said.
"Yeah, how many vampires out there are brother and sister?"
"Not many, that's for sure," Willow said.
"Do you know anything else about her?" Dawn asked.
"She said her name was Elizabeth... Oh, and she had a British
accent. That's about it."
"Well, I think we can safely that she's out for blood. Namely,
yours," Xander said.
Buffy sighed, "That's nothing new."
"But, you're going to take care of her, right, Buffy?" Dawn asked.
"You bet... Assuming I see her again..." She trails off, thinking.
"Guys, can you do me a favor? Can you dig out the old Watcher's
Diaries and check to see if there's any mention of her?"
"Sure, Buffy, but what are you getting at?" Xander asked.
"I don't know exactly. I can't help but think that she's caused
havoc in the past...Call it intuition...whatever."
"Okay. Do you want us to check with Spike, too? See if he's heard
anything?" Xander asked.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him in three days."
"You don't think anything bad has happened to him, do you?" Dawn
asked worriedly.
Buffy shook her head, "No... He's Spike. I'm sure he's fine. You
know, maybe he's finally come to his senses and skipped town."
"Spike wouldn't do that."
Buffy sighed. Dawn was right. Buffy knew Spike wouldn't leave town.
"Okay. We'll look for him, too. But I don't think anything too bad,
if anything, has happened to him. He is Spike, after all."
"Aaah!"
Lizzy grinned as she poured the holy water down Spike's chest. Fresh
burns appeared over the old ones.
"Lizzy, please," Spike whimpered. He hated himself for being so weak.
She lifted his chin off his chest to look at him, "Please, what?"
"Lil' Bit-"
Anger overtook her and she punched him in the face. His face swung to
the side with the impact.
"Don't call me that. Little Bit died a long time ago. Remember? You
let her die."
Spike spit the blood out of his mouth. "Lizzy, what are you talking
about?"
She laughed harshly and raked her nails across his chest, irritating
the burns. Spike gasped in pain.
"My apologies, dear brother. I have forgotten how age affects memory.
Perhaps I should jog that feeble memory of yours." She jabbed a finger
into one of his many sword wounds, causing him to clench his jaw,
desperate now to scream. "What do you say?"
*****
Elizabeth sat alone in the cozy study of her home. She was cuddled up
in a huge chair in front of the fireplace with a book. She had escaped
the party downstairs. It was being held in her honor. Her husband,
Robert, insisted that they go all out for her birthday. Invite everyone
she knew. He didn't understand her aversion to such get-togethers. No
one did. No one but William and he was dead. Has been for five years.
She hated the path her life had taken since that night.
She remembered in vivid detail when she and her mother found out about
William's death. She was devastated. She felt as if part of her died
with him. He was her brother and her only true friend. With William
gone, she closed herself off to others. But her mother took the news
even worse. Having lost her husband only one year before, the death of
her son soon took its toll. She grew ill and passed away nine months
after William. With no more immediate family left, poor seventeen-year-
old Elizabeth was shipped off to Essex to live with her great-Aunt
Gertrude. Aunt Gertrude pitied the unfortunate young girl and took her
into her loving home and treated her as if she were one of her own.
Elizabeth grew to love this woman whom she had never met before. Never
even knew existed.
But no matter how much she loved Aunt Gertrude, she longed for her former
life in London with her brother and her parents. But she knew she had to
move on. They were gone. Nothing could change that.
When she was nineteen, almost twenty, Aunt Gertrude introduced her to
Robert. The two connected instantly and were wed within a year. But soon,
after she and Robert exchanged their wedding vows, Aunt Gertrude passed
away. How could one girl suffer so much loss in so little time. If Robert
hadn't been there for her, she was sure that she would have gone over the
edge.
About a year has passed since then and she was now twenty-one. Today was
also one of her hardest days. Today William should have become thirty-one...
She would soon make her customary trek to London, to the cemetery where
her family was buried. And she would pay her respects. It was always
hard on her. Extremely hard. Most times, hell, all times, she would
find herself collapsing before their graves, overcome with emotion, tearing
flowing down her cheeks like a river. But this year... this year Robert
would be with her. To comfort her. To share in her grief.
"Elizabeth?"
She glanced up from the book she wasn't reading to look at her husband.
"What are you doing up here all alone?" he asked, kneeling before her,
his eyes expressing the worry he felt.
"Oh, I just needed some time alone," she responded quietly.
He nodded, understanding. Elizabeth loved him for being so patient and
supportive about her life and pain.
"And, besides, you know how I hate these parties," she tried to smile,
but it turned into a grimace and the tears came. Robert gathered her
in his arms and tried to comfort her.
"I miss them so much, Robert," she lamented.
"Shh. I know you do, dear. I know," he whispered in her ear.
She pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being here with me. I know I'm not the easiest person to live
with."
He shook his head, "Rubbish."
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too," he whispered back. The two shared a kiss. He
lifted her to her feet. "Now, let's say you and I skip this celebration
and go for a walk."
She grinned and nodded.
Elizabeth and Robert walked along the street, his arm around her shoulders
and her head leaning against him. Neither spoke. No words needed to be
spoken. The evening was lovely. Perfect. A beautiful moon dominated the
night sky. The stars shone brightly. The nightingales chirped wildly.
Nothing could ruin the evening...
Almost nothing, that is. Unbeknownst to the couple, they were being
hunted. Four pairs of hungry eyes followed their every move. The
youngest of the hunters felt a spark of recognition and familiarity at
the sight of the woman. But he dismissed it, knowing it couldn't be.
The four hunters, without words, agreed it was time. They stepped out
of the shadows in front of the couple.
Startled, the couple stopped, but relaxed, feeling that they weren't in
any danger.
"Sirs. Madams," Robert greeted.
Elizabeth studied the face of the youngest. "William?"
The one she called her brother's name looked at her, confusion on his face.
Robert looked at his wife, "Elizabeth, you know he cannot be your brother,
no matter how much you want him to be."
She nodded, "You're right. I know."
Robert looked at the quartet, "Excuse us."
They tried to walk past them but the dark haired man and the two women
stepped in front of them.
"Where do you think you're going?" the blonde asked, an ominous smile on
her face.
"I'm sorry?" Robert asked.
The faces of the three distorted. Their eyes grew yellow and their teeth
sharp.
Elizabeth shrieked and hid behind Robert. The trio laughed.
"He can't save you, milady," the man said. He spoke with a waning Irish
accent. "No one can."
"So, Angelus, hungry?" the lady vampire asked, licking her lips.
"I could go for something to eat, Darla," Angelus looked at the brunette
beside him "What about you, Dru?"
"The pixies in my head have spoken to me," she crooned.
Angelus smiled, "And what do they say?"
"She and my William are bound by love and hate."
"So....I take that as a 'yes'," Darla muttered.
The three vampires returned their attention to the frightened couple.
Simultaneously, they charged Robert. Elizabeth screamed in terror as
she watched helplessly as the three monsters tore into Robert's throat.
Blood spurted from his veins, splattering across Elizabeth's tear streaked
face.
Robert's corpse was drained quickly and unceremoniously dropped to the
ground. Elizabeth whimpered as she looked at the face of her husband,
forever frozen in fear.
"So, shall I take her or shall you?" Angelus asked Darla, looking at
Elizabeth.
"You can have her," she responded.
He smiled dangerously and approached her.
Elizabeth looked at Angelus then at the other man behind him. The man
she called 'William.' The man she was still determined was her brother.
But he wasn't. He couldn't be. She returned her eyes to Angelus.
Fearful, she tried to run away. But he caught her quickly.
"Nah-uh-uh. We can't have you running off, now can we?" he taunted.
She struggled against him, though all attempts at escaping were futile.
Desperate, she cried out to the one person she believed would help her.
"William! Help me, please!"
Angelus clamped his hand over her mouth, preventing her from screaming
any further. His fangs dug into the tender bare flesh of her throat.
'William' stood still, watching the even before him unfold. He studied
the woman's face. It seemed familiar. Where had he seen it before?
As he watched Angelus sire her, realization struck.
"Lil' Bit?"
End Part 4
Buffy reached into the freezer and pulled out an ice pack. She
held it to her shoulder to ease the pain and returned to the living
room, where her friends were waiting. She sat on the couch between
Xander and Willow.
"So, who's the new Big Bad?" Dawn asked from her perch across the
room.
"Yeah, Buff. It's been a while since we've seen you limp around,"
Xander commented.
Buffy nodded, "I think we have a new master vampire in town."
"New vampire?" Willow asked.
"Yep. She was tough, too. I haven't fought a vamp that strong
in... gosh, years."
"You couldn't kill her?"
Buffy shook her head, "No."
Anya spoke, "Well, it's obvious that this vampire is far older than
most of the ones that live around here."
"I got that impression too. Also, before she took off, she said
something that was majorly weird."
"What?" Xander asked.
"She told me that I caused her brother great pain and now she'll
cause some to me."
"Well...that's odd," Anya said.
"Yeah, how many vampires out there are brother and sister?"
"Not many, that's for sure," Willow said.
"Do you know anything else about her?" Dawn asked.
"She said her name was Elizabeth... Oh, and she had a British
accent. That's about it."
"Well, I think we can safely that she's out for blood. Namely,
yours," Xander said.
Buffy sighed, "That's nothing new."
"But, you're going to take care of her, right, Buffy?" Dawn asked.
"You bet... Assuming I see her again..." She trails off, thinking.
"Guys, can you do me a favor? Can you dig out the old Watcher's
Diaries and check to see if there's any mention of her?"
"Sure, Buffy, but what are you getting at?" Xander asked.
"I don't know exactly. I can't help but think that she's caused
havoc in the past...Call it intuition...whatever."
"Okay. Do you want us to check with Spike, too? See if he's heard
anything?" Xander asked.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him in three days."
"You don't think anything bad has happened to him, do you?" Dawn
asked worriedly.
Buffy shook her head, "No... He's Spike. I'm sure he's fine. You
know, maybe he's finally come to his senses and skipped town."
"Spike wouldn't do that."
Buffy sighed. Dawn was right. Buffy knew Spike wouldn't leave town.
"Okay. We'll look for him, too. But I don't think anything too bad,
if anything, has happened to him. He is Spike, after all."
"Aaah!"
Lizzy grinned as she poured the holy water down Spike's chest. Fresh
burns appeared over the old ones.
"Lizzy, please," Spike whimpered. He hated himself for being so weak.
She lifted his chin off his chest to look at him, "Please, what?"
"Lil' Bit-"
Anger overtook her and she punched him in the face. His face swung to
the side with the impact.
"Don't call me that. Little Bit died a long time ago. Remember? You
let her die."
Spike spit the blood out of his mouth. "Lizzy, what are you talking
about?"
She laughed harshly and raked her nails across his chest, irritating
the burns. Spike gasped in pain.
"My apologies, dear brother. I have forgotten how age affects memory.
Perhaps I should jog that feeble memory of yours." She jabbed a finger
into one of his many sword wounds, causing him to clench his jaw,
desperate now to scream. "What do you say?"
*****
Elizabeth sat alone in the cozy study of her home. She was cuddled up
in a huge chair in front of the fireplace with a book. She had escaped
the party downstairs. It was being held in her honor. Her husband,
Robert, insisted that they go all out for her birthday. Invite everyone
she knew. He didn't understand her aversion to such get-togethers. No
one did. No one but William and he was dead. Has been for five years.
She hated the path her life had taken since that night.
She remembered in vivid detail when she and her mother found out about
William's death. She was devastated. She felt as if part of her died
with him. He was her brother and her only true friend. With William
gone, she closed herself off to others. But her mother took the news
even worse. Having lost her husband only one year before, the death of
her son soon took its toll. She grew ill and passed away nine months
after William. With no more immediate family left, poor seventeen-year-
old Elizabeth was shipped off to Essex to live with her great-Aunt
Gertrude. Aunt Gertrude pitied the unfortunate young girl and took her
into her loving home and treated her as if she were one of her own.
Elizabeth grew to love this woman whom she had never met before. Never
even knew existed.
But no matter how much she loved Aunt Gertrude, she longed for her former
life in London with her brother and her parents. But she knew she had to
move on. They were gone. Nothing could change that.
When she was nineteen, almost twenty, Aunt Gertrude introduced her to
Robert. The two connected instantly and were wed within a year. But soon,
after she and Robert exchanged their wedding vows, Aunt Gertrude passed
away. How could one girl suffer so much loss in so little time. If Robert
hadn't been there for her, she was sure that she would have gone over the
edge.
About a year has passed since then and she was now twenty-one. Today was
also one of her hardest days. Today William should have become thirty-one...
She would soon make her customary trek to London, to the cemetery where
her family was buried. And she would pay her respects. It was always
hard on her. Extremely hard. Most times, hell, all times, she would
find herself collapsing before their graves, overcome with emotion, tearing
flowing down her cheeks like a river. But this year... this year Robert
would be with her. To comfort her. To share in her grief.
"Elizabeth?"
She glanced up from the book she wasn't reading to look at her husband.
"What are you doing up here all alone?" he asked, kneeling before her,
his eyes expressing the worry he felt.
"Oh, I just needed some time alone," she responded quietly.
He nodded, understanding. Elizabeth loved him for being so patient and
supportive about her life and pain.
"And, besides, you know how I hate these parties," she tried to smile,
but it turned into a grimace and the tears came. Robert gathered her
in his arms and tried to comfort her.
"I miss them so much, Robert," she lamented.
"Shh. I know you do, dear. I know," he whispered in her ear.
She pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being here with me. I know I'm not the easiest person to live
with."
He shook his head, "Rubbish."
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too," he whispered back. The two shared a kiss. He
lifted her to her feet. "Now, let's say you and I skip this celebration
and go for a walk."
She grinned and nodded.
Elizabeth and Robert walked along the street, his arm around her shoulders
and her head leaning against him. Neither spoke. No words needed to be
spoken. The evening was lovely. Perfect. A beautiful moon dominated the
night sky. The stars shone brightly. The nightingales chirped wildly.
Nothing could ruin the evening...
Almost nothing, that is. Unbeknownst to the couple, they were being
hunted. Four pairs of hungry eyes followed their every move. The
youngest of the hunters felt a spark of recognition and familiarity at
the sight of the woman. But he dismissed it, knowing it couldn't be.
The four hunters, without words, agreed it was time. They stepped out
of the shadows in front of the couple.
Startled, the couple stopped, but relaxed, feeling that they weren't in
any danger.
"Sirs. Madams," Robert greeted.
Elizabeth studied the face of the youngest. "William?"
The one she called her brother's name looked at her, confusion on his face.
Robert looked at his wife, "Elizabeth, you know he cannot be your brother,
no matter how much you want him to be."
She nodded, "You're right. I know."
Robert looked at the quartet, "Excuse us."
They tried to walk past them but the dark haired man and the two women
stepped in front of them.
"Where do you think you're going?" the blonde asked, an ominous smile on
her face.
"I'm sorry?" Robert asked.
The faces of the three distorted. Their eyes grew yellow and their teeth
sharp.
Elizabeth shrieked and hid behind Robert. The trio laughed.
"He can't save you, milady," the man said. He spoke with a waning Irish
accent. "No one can."
"So, Angelus, hungry?" the lady vampire asked, licking her lips.
"I could go for something to eat, Darla," Angelus looked at the brunette
beside him "What about you, Dru?"
"The pixies in my head have spoken to me," she crooned.
Angelus smiled, "And what do they say?"
"She and my William are bound by love and hate."
"So....I take that as a 'yes'," Darla muttered.
The three vampires returned their attention to the frightened couple.
Simultaneously, they charged Robert. Elizabeth screamed in terror as
she watched helplessly as the three monsters tore into Robert's throat.
Blood spurted from his veins, splattering across Elizabeth's tear streaked
face.
Robert's corpse was drained quickly and unceremoniously dropped to the
ground. Elizabeth whimpered as she looked at the face of her husband,
forever frozen in fear.
"So, shall I take her or shall you?" Angelus asked Darla, looking at
Elizabeth.
"You can have her," she responded.
He smiled dangerously and approached her.
Elizabeth looked at Angelus then at the other man behind him. The man
she called 'William.' The man she was still determined was her brother.
But he wasn't. He couldn't be. She returned her eyes to Angelus.
Fearful, she tried to run away. But he caught her quickly.
"Nah-uh-uh. We can't have you running off, now can we?" he taunted.
She struggled against him, though all attempts at escaping were futile.
Desperate, she cried out to the one person she believed would help her.
"William! Help me, please!"
Angelus clamped his hand over her mouth, preventing her from screaming
any further. His fangs dug into the tender bare flesh of her throat.
'William' stood still, watching the even before him unfold. He studied
the woman's face. It seemed familiar. Where had he seen it before?
As he watched Angelus sire her, realization struck.
"Lil' Bit?"
End Part 4