"Spike…" Buffy eyed the vampire warily as she took another hesitant step back.

"Poor, poor Slayer." He continued to drone, stalking towards her with a wicked grin on his face.

She frowned, stopping as her back pressed up against the wall. Her eyes narrowed at him as he stopped in front of her, bring his face close to hers. "I'll kill you…" She muttered.

"Not if I kill you first." He retorted, grinning. In one quick movement, he backhanded her, sending her reeling to the side. Her head snapped back and her eyes locked with his. She looked horrified, pissed off, and scared, all at the same time. He was about to comment on the tears forming in the corners of her eyes when she lunged at him, fists flailing.

The Slayer's thoughts raced as she pounded a fist into the vampire's face, sending him stumbling backwards. He came back at her quickly enough, landing a hard kick to her stomach. She doubled over and barely caught his arm and he went to smash her in the face. Twisting her body, she pulled him down slightly and placed herself behind him, twisting his arm behind his back. "Spike, stop it before I do something…"

"What? Something you'll regret?" He question with a sneer, pulling from her grasp and spinning back around to face her. He smirked. "Wha's a'matter, pet. Hurt your feelin's, did I?"

Buffy clenched her teeth together, trying to block out the vampire's spiteful words and Dru's insane giggling. Her eyes went wide. Dru. Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, she found the vampiress staring at the two of them, grinning madly. Her new 'pet' was lying beside her; it's massive head resting in its paws. Her eyes shot back to Spike, the fear in them replaced by determination. "Let's do this."

"My pleasure." He said in the same tone before coming at her again. The pair exchanged violent blows, sending each other reeling. Buffy ducked a kick to the head and grabbed the vampire's foot, pulling and sending him falling to the ground. His back slammed into the cement and he growled, shifting into his game face.

"Come on, Spike. I thought you were going to kill me?" She taunted, stepping back towards the main chamber of the mansion as he climbed to his feet. She continued to walk backwards down the hall, her eyes staying on his as he followed. There was no longer any comprehension there, only pure animalistic desire. A desire to kill. "Spike?" She asked, hoping that maybe she could grasp what little humanity was left in him. He simply growled. She just shrugged. "That'll make this a little easier." She suddenly leapt backwards, snatching up the iron poker from alongside the fireplace.

Spike continued to circle around her, his yellow eyes glowing eerily. She held her weapon like a bat, clenching it tightly between her fists. With another throaty growl, the vampire leapt towards her, clawing for her face like an animal. She swung, slamming the heavy metal across his stomach. He fell to the ground like an anvil, doubled over. Muttering a small apology, she pulled the iron bar back and swung again, smashing it into the side of his skull.

"Buffy!"

The Slayer looked up as Willow and Dawn rushed through the door and out of the storm, dripping wet. Willow eyed Spike's unconscious form nervously before looking back up at Buffy. "What happened?"

Buffy lowered her weapon a bit, running a hand through her hair. "That dog thing worked its mojo on him…"

Dawn looked worried. "Will he be alright?"

Buffy swallowed, her eyes still locked on his prone form. "Only one way to find out." She muttered before looking back up at Willow. "You finish the spell?"

"Here." Dawn pulled the small pouch from her pocket and handed it to her sister. "It should block its powers, weaken it a bit…"

"Thanks…" She mumbled, opening the pouch. It was full of a thin white powder.

"That's sorta the downside, you have to get close enough to throw it on it." Willow said, making a face. A deep growl sounded behind them and they all spun around.

"That shouldn't be a problem…" Buffy muttered, eyeing the snarling dog in the doorway. Drusilla stood at its side, looking upset.

"You hurt my baby." She said softly, running her hands over the dog's black fur absently.

"Guys, get back." Buffy instructed, holding the poker defensively in one hand and clutching the pouch in the other.

----------

Hope's tennis shoes splashed against the pavement as she ran, sending sprays of water into the air. Rounding the corner of the deserted Sunnydale street, her shoes skidded along the wet pavement and she slid to her knees, dropping the large axe she had been carrying. "Bloody fucking…" She grumbled, pulling herself back up quickly. She nearly went back down just as fast as a dizzy spell came over her, causing her surroundings to spin wildly. Clenching her eyes shut and shaking it off, she took a few more uneasy steps forward.

Steadying herself against a building, she rested her head against the wet bricks, closing her eyes. She was shaking, partially from exhaustion and partially from the fact that it was freezing. Peeling her eyes open, she looked down the dark street, watching the lightning dance along the horizon. She stood there for a few moments, frozen, rain pouring over her.

Shaking her head slightly, she leaned away from the support of the wall and pulled her sweatshirt over her head, tossing it angrily to the ground. It was completely saturated, weighing her down. Everything was weighing her down, physically and mentally. She had to fight the urge to lie down right there and curl up in the street, in the rain, and sleep. She continued to glare at her sweatshirt, hot tears mixing with the freezing rain running down her face.

In her mind, this was all Spike's fault. He had dragged her here, it was his crazy ex-girlfriend who had summoned the demon and made her hate him. It was all his fault and deep down she really did hate him. She hated him for everything he had ever done.

But she wouldn't let it end like this. No, she wouldn't let him down, not after everything he had done for her. Sniffling a bit, she bent down, grabbing the axe before she turned and resumed her run towards the mansion.

----------

Buffy eyed the massive demon as it circled around her, growling. She held her ground as it began to inch towards her, snapping its jaws threateningly.

"Buffy!" Dawn squealed, alarmed by the fact that her sister was allowing the creature to get so close to her.

"Buffy, the charm!" Willow shouted, pointing at the charm around the beast's neck. It was glowing an eerie green color.

"I don't think so." The Slayer growled, throwing the pouch at the canine. It hit with a soft thud on the creature's forehead, covering its face in the white powder. It shook its head furiously as the glow began to fade. Buffy used the opportunity to lunge at it, swinging her weapon. It smacked against the thing's head with a loud thump, but the creature didn't waver. Instead, it growled and swiped a hefty paw at the Slayer, catching her across her middle and hurling her backwards through the air. She slammed into to wall, dropping her weapon and falling to the floor.

"You broke my new toy." Dru muttered, walking slowly towards the Slayer as she climbed to her feet. "My poor puppy…"

"Poor puppy my ass."

Everyone in the room turned towards the door at the sound of the voice. Hope stood there, illuminated by the raging lightning behind her. She was breathing heavily, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, one clutching an axe. The canine growled, taking a step towards her.

"Hope!" Buffy scrambled to her feet, wincing.

Hope didn't move. She just narrowed her eyes as the dog stopped in front of her. "I've always been a cat person." She said simply as she opened her fist. A blinding, bright blue light filled the room. She quickly pulled the hand holding the axe over her eyes, blocking her eyes from the light. After a moment, the light faded and she warily pulled her arm down.

"No!!"

The teen ignored Dru's crying, tossed the now dull crystal she had held to the floor and hefted the axe up. No longer was she staring at a canine that towered over her. No, now she was staring down at a creature no bigger than a house cat. A really confused housecat at that. The now miniature demon was looking up at everyone, confused at it's sudden change in stature. "I hate dogs…" Hope grumbled, bringing the axe down. The mini canine narrowly avoided the blow, jumping to the side before making a beeline down one of the halls. Hefting the axe back up, Hope slowly turned her head towards Willow and Dawn. "It'll only last about fifteen minutes…"

Both girls gave her a slightly confused look.

Hope swallowed. "Kill it."

Dawn looked over to her sister, who nodded as she stood. Not needing to be told twice, the two girls headed off in the direction the dog had taken off in.

Hope's dark eyes went up to the now crying vampiress, narrowing threateningly. Shifting the axe to her other hand, she began to stalk towards her, looking even deader than Dru did. Her pale face was accented by her slightly blue lips and the dark rings around her eyes, and her hair and clothes were soaked, hanging limply over her thin form. "Bitch…" She growled, her voice coming out in a raspy breath.

"Hope, no. I'll take care of this." Buffy winced slightly as she grabbed the girl by the shoulder, holding her back. She was obviously in no condition to fight.

Wrong.

The next thing Buffy knew, she was on the ground, one well placed kick from the teen sending her down. "Hope!" She managed a strangled scream as she climbed to her feet, watching the girl charge towards Drusilla.

"Don't think so, luv." Spike growled, wrapping an arm around the Slayer's neck from behind and gripping her in a chokehold.

"Hope!" Buffy screamed again, struggling to get free from the vampire's grasp. Her eyes watched frantically as Hope continued to swing the massive axe at Dru. She was weakening. Her swings were slow, giving the vampiress plenty of time to dodge them. "Spike, she's going to kill her!"

"Pity, ain't it?" He said flatly, spinning and tossing her roughly to the ground. "She's so young too." He added, kicking the slayer roughly in the side. He watched as she climbed to her hands and knees and began to stand before landing another rough kick to her ribcage. She let out a small whimper as she slid to her side again. He just clucked his tongue, grinning as he picked up the iron poker she had dropped. "Off your game a bit, Slayer?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes at him as she climbed slowly back to her feet, cringing at the sharp pain in her side. "That's enough, Spike." She managed, clenching her teeth.

"No, pet, I really don't think it is." He replied simply, swinging the iron bar at her middle. She moved backwards, barely avoiding the blow, but by the time she steadied herself, he swung again, smashing it into the side of her head. She was thrown off her feet, falling with a harsh thud to the floor.

Spike continued to grin wildly as he stalked over to her fallen form, crouching down beside her. She was slowly coming out of her daze, her hands gripping tightly at the sides of her skull. He grabbed the hair on the back of her head, yanking it back so she was looking up at him. There was blood running from her nose and one of her ears, which only made him smile wider. "Poor slayer." He said, false sympathy dripping from his words as he pressed the pointed tip of the iron bar against her neck.

"Hey Spike."

The vampire spun his head around upon hearing his name, momentarily forgetting about the Slayer in his grasp.

Hope stood at the other end of the room, staring at him coldly. Dru was on her knees in front of her, facing him. The teen had her head pulled back by her hair, much like Spike was holding Buffy, her other hand digging the sharp axe into her neck. Small streams of blood had begun to pour down the vampiress' neck, deep red torrents against her white skin.

"Let 'er go..." Spike growled, snarling menacingly.

"After you." Hope replied flatly, pressing the blade further into Dru's neck. A strangled whimper escaped her lips as she squirmed. Hope yanked her hair sharply, making her hold still.

Spike's cold eyes drifted back down to Buffy. She swallowed against the point digging into her neck, glaring at him. He held her harsh gaze for a moment, before releasing her hair and standing, his eyes shooting back over to Hope.

She raised an eyebrow and smirked, her expression holding an eerie likeness to the platinum blonde vampire's trademark sneer. Pulling the axe away, she shoved Dru forward.

"I've spent the last two days afraid of you, of what you could do to me. I was scared of you, Spike…" The small blonde said, her voice barely audible.

"And what, you want a cookie?" He snapped back, grinning. "Sorry princess, doesn't work like that. You see, I'm a vampire, you're a Slayer. That means I kill you."

"No, it means I kill you." She replied, her voice flat.

"S'that so?" He retorted, quirking an eyebrow at her.

She shrugged. "Guess so…"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Hate to break it t'ya, kiddo, but you can barely stand. M'not too sure how you plan on fightin' me."

"You know what, Spike? You're right, I wouldn't stand a chance against you, but I already knew that."

"Then why all the big talk, then? Tryin' to sound tough?" He questioned, sneering.

"No, just distracting you long enough for her to do that." Hope replied calmly, pointing behind him. Buffy was back on her feet, one arm around Dru's neck, the other holding a stake against her chest.

"Hey honey." The elder Slayer said coldly before thrusting the stake through the vampiress' heart.

"Dru!!" Spike's scream came out strangled as he watched his sire explode into a cloud of dust. Hope fell to the ground behind him, her body going limp like a marionette who's strings had been cut. The looked disoriented for a moment, but regained himself quickly. Cold fury lit up in his eyes and his face shifted. "Bloody fucking bitch…"

Buffy had no time to react. He was on her almost instantaneously, clawing and biting and thrashing about. She felt the iron bar he held slam into her stomach a few times, but a hazy numbness had come over her body, nulling the pain.

"You killed her, you fucking bitch! You killed her!" The vampire shouted as he continued to smash the iron bar against the slayer's bruised flesh. She continued to stumble backwards, unable to return the blows.

Hope whimpered slightly as she looked up, trying to clear her vision. She could hear fighting. And Spike, cursing up a storm because Buffy had killed Dru. Wait? Dru. Dru was dead, no more dreams. No more creepy Spike. She smiled slightly, but quickly reprimanded herself. Buffy. Buffy killed Dru. Spike was pissed. Opening her eyes back up, she searched the room for the pair.

She instantly regretted it.

Spike had Buffy backed into a corner and was mercilessly pounding the iron bar against her, his raging screams now incoherent. Buffy looked about ready to pass out, but the constant blows and the support of the wall behind her kept her on her feet.

"Buffy!!"

Hope's head snapped around to find Dawn and Willow standing in the doorway, looking horrified. On the plus side, they were both covered in purple goo and there was no more dog creature chasing after them, so at least they didn't have to worry about that. Obviously the two had managed to take care of the creature.

Shaking her head, Hope scrambled back up to her feet. "Spike!!"

The vampire abruptly stopped swinging at the sound of her voice. He stood there for a moment, staring blankly at the beaten Slayer in front of him. She was supporting herself fully on the wall, shaking from trying too keep herself up. Her eyes were locked with his, defiant. His face shifted back to its human form, and for a brief moment, she thought he was himself again. Her eyes softened a bit. "Spike?"

Then, in one quick movement, he drove the iron bar through her stomach.