"Where to now?" Xander wanted to know.

Buffy's frown intensified as she struggled to think. "When we came here, we assumed we were looking for some new threat, but now we know that's not the case. If Giles knows this vampire from the states, we know her."

Anya shrugged. "Well, there's Harmony, but personally I always spent all of my time trying to avoid her. And that was when she was still a human."

"Yeah," Willow chimed in, "and we know that Darla's not around anymore, seeing that she went 'poof' with the self-stakage and all."

"Darla would have been a better guess, since she spent so much time here in England with Ang..." Buffy drifted off. "Oh my god!"

The group looked from one to another, realization hitting at the same moment.

"Drusilla." The name jumped out of all of them at once.

Dawn was confused. "What? What's the big about Drusilla? All I know is that she's Spike's ex-whatever..."

Xander looked like he'd just bitten into a bad Doublemeat Burger. "Dawn, she's insane. And she can hypnotize people. She helped Angel..." he stopped to glance at Buffy, "er, Angelus torture Giles. She's also killed a Slayer."

"Oh."

Starting strong, Willow's voice dwindled down to a whisper, "This explains why Giles didn't mention the vampire he was hunting by name.  This explains why he would hunt a nest of vampires alone.  Drusilla used Giles' memory of Jenny, his love for her, to torture him."

Suddenly Buffy was all business. "Come on. We're going to get some information one way or the other."

"Where are we going now?" Anya inquired, "Because I wore my Ferragamo boots, and frankly they're beginning to pinch."

Buffy just kept walking. "We are going to confront the Watcher's Council. They must know something."

*****

The group crowded into the entryway of the tall, elegant brownstone. Buffy strode to the desk and didn't wait for the matronly woman sitting there to speak. "I need to see Quentin Travers. Now."

The woman raised a condescending brow. "I'm sorry. Mr. Travers only sees individuals who have an appointment." She looked at a ledger. "There is no entry today for a rude American."

Buffy slammed her hand on the desk. Her hand sinking into the hard wood just enough to form small cracks, "I am not just any rude American. I am The Rude Slayer, and anger is riding piggy-back on rude right now."  Buffy glanced down at the cracks in the top of the desk and pushed until the wood groaned under the pressure.

"I'll buzz Mr. Travers now."

"Thank you."

*****

Twenty minutes later, Buffy's ire was continuing to grow.  Twenty minutes and Quentin Travers had offered no help.  He didn't intend to offer any help. In order to stave off the impending explosion from Buffy, Xander placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back a few steps. Willow stepped forward uncertainly. "Mr. Travers, I... I don't understand why you aren't more concerned about the disappearance of one of your Watchers. Don't you want us to find him?"

Travers leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers together across his bulging waistline.  "You are one of the Slayer's little witch friends, aren't you? I see no reason to answer to you, but if it will clear you all out of my office I will explain."

He sat forward with his elbows on the desk and his fingertips steepled together. His face held profound disinterest. "The role of Slayer in our world, while necessary, is inherently temporary. The girls usually expire every two to three years and are immediately replaced. That is the way it works. Watchers are even more expendable. For every Slayer the Council has many potential Watchers. We simply provide the one who is most convenient. Since Miss Summers has outgrown her need for a Watcher, we can't really be overly concerned that she has misplaced hers."

"Misplaced?" Buffy surged out of Xander's grasp and leaned over into Travers' face. "I'll give you misplaced, you arrogant gas bag.  Giles was worth more that the entire group of you, you overstuffed..." Buffy paused, rage and frustration at war inside her.  "WANKER!"

Buffy turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. The others paused uncertainly inside the office, unsure of what to do next.

Willow glanced at Tara and noticed her little smile. "What Tara?" She inquired softly.

"I can't believe she just called him a 'wanker'." The two wiccas giggled, not noticing Xander's look of confusion. Anya leaned over to offer the meaning of the insult to Xander.  He turned bright red and burst out laughing. He glanced back at Travers' outraged expression, then laughed even harder.

"We'd better go." He was still snickering as he held the door for Anya.

Willow smiled too. Standing in the door Willow turned to Quentin. "You should know that Drusilla is loose in your city.  She took Giles.  If we don't stop her that reservoir of expendable Watchers is so going to run dry.  Bye, now."

*****

"Well, that was helpful, not." Dawn snorted. "What now?"

Everyone looked at Buffy. Tired, exasperated Buffy. "Oh, god." she groaned. "I don't know. Let's go back to the house and talk with Olivia. She must know something."

Olivia greeted them kindly, but could offer no help. She offered to make them supper.

Buffy was frustrated. "SUPPER!" she snorted. "Look, someone put Giles in that painting.  I," she caught the glances of Xander, of Willow, "we, need to know who. And we need to know now!"

Olivia erupted. "You really believe I would do something like that?!! Let some monster or vampire or demon take him?! Or, dear God, send him off to some horrible place where he would suffer God knows what kind of torment! What kind of a woman would do that to a man she loved?!"

The artist looked around the room. Xander was looking intently at the floor. Willow had a worried stare, fixed, not at her, but at Buffy. The Slayer's rage had suddenly disappeared.

Buffy sighed, turned her head. Gently, she said, "No, I don't think you're the kind of woman who would do that."

The Slayer and the Painter regarded each other coolly. "But what about these pictures?  I thought you didn't believe in monsters, but there are five canvases right here that seem to deny that."

"I, I don't know what to tell you. I don't paint or sketch because I want to; I do it because I have to. If I don't, I feel incomplete, not, well, not whole. Do you have any idea what that's like?" The withering stare gave her an answer. "Yes, I guess you do..."

"My painting, the sketches are a way of connecting to Rupert. His work is so important to him; he nearly eats, sleeps and breathes demon lore."

Buffy smiled in spite of herself. "You do know him, don't you?" she said, and Olivia tried to smile back.

"When he describes these, these monsters, I see them, I can put them to paper, to canvas. It helps him with his research, him and his, um, allies I guess you would call them, the Council. Getting him to sit for that," she started weeping, "for that water-color, was so hard, and now it's gone, corrupted, it's sick."

Olivia sat heavily and buried her face in her hands. Buffy took a step toward her, then hesitated, unsure of what to do. Tara rescued her. Sitting down next to Olivia, she gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze and offered her a handkerchief. "Don't worry. We'll find him. It's what we do." Tara looked up at Buffy. "Right?"

"Absolutely," said Buffy, hoping it sounded more convincing than it felt.

Olivia dried her eyes. "That's what he always said about you. About all of you. You never give up, no matter what the odds."

"Never say die," said Buffy, "That's the Scooby motto."

"We never say die," said Xander, and gave Buffy a big Xander grin. "One of us does it occasionally, but we never say it."

Buffy grinned back. "Thanks. Any ideas on what we do now?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Xander. "Drusilla."

Anya rolled her eyes. "Are we back to that again?"

"I never left." Even when speaking to her, he couldn't look at his ex-fiancée.

"But Drusilla is just a vampire," said Willow.  "She's not a witch or a sorcerer. She doesn't cast spells."

"Do I have to remind you that Drusilla is no ordinary vampire? She can see the future, hypnotize people, get inside their minds. She's been set on fire, had a church fall on her, not to mention living with Spike for 100 years. Plus the fact that she's insane!  There's no telling what she's capable of."

"We do have all of Giles notes and maps and things," said Willow. "He thought she was feeding in one East End neighborhood. He was planning to stake it out when he, ahh... well, you know."

"We have his weapons. I say we saddle up."

Buffy considered, then decided. "It's the only lead we have. If we can find her, maybe we can get something out of her."

"Too bad Spike's not here," said Dawn. "She might talk to him."

Buffy grimaced. "We can't worry about that now. You stay with Olivia. No arguments." Dawn pouted, but didn't object. "We may be out all night.  If Dru's the one who cursed Giles, she'd better be ready. She's gonna get more than she asked for."

*****

Buffy, Willow, Tara, Anya, and Xander slowly made their way down the dark, narrow sidewalk of an empty looking street in the Whitechapel district, a street marked by boarded-up windows and empty storefronts. All carried weapons, scanning the street and surrounding buildings as they walked.

"Trust Drusilla to hunt in Jack the Ripper's old neighborhood," said Willow.

Xander replied. "Give her that much. She's a traditionalist."

"Do you think Jack the Ripper might have been a vampire?" asked Tara.

"No," said Buffy. "I once asked Giles about it. He said the Watchers Council investigated it back then and were sure it wasn't a vampire. But he might have been a demon."

"No. Jack the Ripper was a human," said Anya

Xander turned to her.  "And you know this how?"

"I had connections. I was in the loop."

"He must have been a popular guy with the demons," said Xander. "I mean, for a human he did some pretty impressive slaughtering and maiming."

Anya shook her head. "Oh no, he was hated. Especially by vampires. He drew too much attention, made the government clean up the area, scared people away from the feeding grounds. In fact, the rumor was that the reason the police never caught him was that a vampire got him first."

"Weren't Spike and Drusilla living in England around then?" said Willow

"Great!" said Xander. "Now we're hunting the Girl Who Ate Jack the Ripper."

Buffy suddenly stopped walking and pointed across the street. "Speak of the devil."

The others looked over to see Drusilla in front of a store whose front window was gone. She turned, stared directly at the Scoobies, and smiled with delight. Beckoning to them, she called out "Red Rover, Red Rover, Let Buffy come over," and ducked into the store.

Buffy went dashing after her, the others at her heels. They found Dru in a low-ceilinged room, lit by old-style gas lanterns, the only other access was a connecting door at her back.

"Oooo, look, everyone's come to play with me."

Buffy struggled to control her rage, her desire to stake the insane vamp and be done with her. "Where is he, Dru? What did you do to Giles?"

"You've lost your Daddy, have you? Both your daddies. Just like me. Both my daddies. My second daddy killed my first one. And you, you took away my second daddy." Her voice hardened as she fixed an angry stare on Willow, who shrank back, unconsciously grabbing Tara's hand.

"So that's it, is it," said Buffy, trying to keep her voice steady."  You took him to get even. Where did you take him? Where is he?"

"I can see him," said Dru, her voice soft and dreamy again. "His friend wanted to play with him. That's where he is. He's having fun, playing with all his old friends. Just like me." She turned a glittery stare on Anya. "Don't you want to play with me, dear?"

Caught unaware, Anya took a few involuntary steps towards Dru. Xander leaped forward. His cry of "Anya!" snapped her out of it, but Dru was too quick. Jumping in front of him, she flung him back into the others. Knocking Anya unconscious, she slung her over her shoulder and fled through the rear door, breaking a lantern behind her to cover her escape.

The others scrambled to their feet, but flames already blocked the exit. Xander raced toward the doorway anyway. "Xander, wait!" cried Buffy as she dove to stop him, but he leaped past her, through the flames and was gone.

Willow turned to Tara. "Tara! Fire spell!" But Tara had already closed her eyes and begun to chant. "Avas cessio," she intoned, and an opening in the flames appeared. In an instant the three women were through the doorway and in pursuit.

They found Xander in the next room, frantically slapping at the sparks smoldering on his clothes.

"Did I get them all?" he yelled.

"You're fine, Xander. Just a little singed. Which way?"

"It had to be through there, " he said, pointing toward a far doorway. "Come on!"

Beyond that room was another. And then another. The chain of rooms led on and on. Buffy felt sure it was a trap, that Dru would be waiting for them at the end with something horrible, but she knew that Xander would go on no matter how much she might warn him. Best to deal with it once they got to it...

...Anya felt her head clearing. She looked up to see Drusilla grinning down on her.

"I'm tired of hide-and-seek," said Dru. "Are you tired of hide-and-seek?"

"Yes... yes, no more hide-and-seek."

"Good. The others will be here soon. We must have a new game ready for them. I know! We shall have a scavenger hunt." Her voice again took on the hard, angry tone. "I shall cut you apart and have your friends search for the pieces. Won't that be fun for us all?"

As she came closer, Anya closed her eyes and whispered "Xander," as if he could somehow hear her. The next voice she heard wasn't the one she'd hoped for, but it was nearly as welcome.

"Now, now, pet..." said the familiar voice from the far corner of the room. Anya opened her eyes to see a stunned Dru whirl to face the figure coming out of the shadows.

"...Is that any way to treat the tourists? They are our guests in the mother country."

"Spike?"