Part One - Gaining Strength

"Damn him!"

Glory stomped around her apartment, furious.

"How could he dare! How could he dare lying to me! The nerve!" she screeched, throwing a marvelous vase against the far wall. Her minions hovered around her, trying to calm the goddess they all feared.

"He was nothing, most pleasant one," one of them managed to say. Only to follow the vase.

"And you let him get away!" Her finger shot out, pointing at Jinx. He ducked, smiling desperately. "I should kill you for this insult! Right now, he's probably in some alley drinking off a human!" The enraged goddess was blazing with anger.

"Most unlikely, oh glorious one," Jinx croaked as she grabbed him by his cowl. "There is something inside his head that prevents him from doing harm…" His voice trailed off, and she tossed him aside. After a few steps forward, she turned, and looked at him.

"Inside his head?"

"Yes!" he panted. "A chip. Whenever the vampire attacks a mortal being, pain is caused instantly, oh... wonderful one," he ended lamely.

But Glory didn't notice. Her eyes had started to glimmer. "A chip," she whispered, a broad smile appearing on her lips. She might be weak in this world, but she still had some powers. As long as she knew exactly where to look… She turned to the high windows, and concentrated. His pathetic crypt was over there…

She sensed the vampire. He was not moving, that made it easier for her. She concentrated. As much as she loved ordering her brainless little fools around, some things you just had to do by yourself.

"What about a little experiment, precious?" she whispered, and snapped her fingers. Inside the chip, electricity found new ways to flow.

Glory giggled.

***

Spike was lying on his sarcophagus. He hadn't moved much since the Slayer's last visit, which had in fact been only a few hours ago. Now night had fallen, but the vampire lay still. He missed his robot. If he wanted blood now, he'd have to go and get it himself. One disadvantage among other things he missed about it. Taking care of him was another.

He sighed. The wounds would heal, if only slowly. Still, he wouldn't have minded if somebody had fixed them. Some blood was what he needed right now. Then he would lie back, and let his vampiric healing work its way.

The vampire stood up, and staggered over to his fridge, taking up a leather-bound book along the way. He needed some diversion from the pain. Damn the bloody Slayer and her baby sister, he thought. Should've killed them long ago. Less trouble by now. A sharp pain inside his head made him flinch. Great. Now the headache started.

***

Sunnydale hadn't changed much. In fact, it hadn't changed at all. He didn't know why that surprised him so much. Perhaps because so many things in his life had become different that he wondered why the world took no notice. The only thing that seemed to rise people's interest was the army uniform he was still wearing.

Riley sighed as he walked the familiar streets in the early Californian night. He had seen the first stars rise as the helicopter had landed outside the town. Graham had been there. 'Are you sure about this?' he had asked. And Agent Riley Finn had answered with a clear 'Yes".

He had lied. He wasn't sure about anything. Back in the jungle, it had been different. When they had eliminated those demons. His return to the convenient black-and-white pattern that had been his life since the Initiative. Perhaps even earlier. He didn't need to think about vampires then, neither the one he distasted nor those he needed. Or even consider the idea of demons living along with humans. It had been so easy then. But somehow, it hadn't been enough. So Riley had come back. And the only thing he was sure of now was that he missed her.

He didn't know how Buffy would take his return, though. She hadn't come for him the night he left, so probably she didn't want him around anymore. The memory of that disgusted look on her face when he had last seen her made him wince.

But he was going to try. He was not going to give Buffy up so easily. She was a girl worth fighting for. His someone special. But maybe he would have to stake Spike first. That guy tended to get in the way.

A clear, soft laughter made him turn. And there she stood. She was beautiful, in a strange way. Dark hair flowed across her shoulders. Thin, pale face, eyes like a child. A vampire. Clad in a tight black dress that made her dainty figure seem even more fragile.

His hand reached for the stake inside his pocket, but she waved a finger in front of his face.

"Ah, now, my little soldier boy, you don't want to do that."

Her lulling voice made him relax his grip on the wood.

"That's a good boy." She smiled at him, and leant forward to caress his cheek with her cold, delicate hand. He couldn't move, lost in the depths of those dark eyes. She brought her mouth close to his ear.

"I can see her," she whispered. "The Slayer. Burning inside your head like little pixies burning in a flame, screaming and dancing in beautiful patterns." Her head bowed down, cold lips touching his neck ever so lightly. Everything inside him screamed for escape, but he wouldn't move. He couldn't.

"And my naughty Spike. You hate him, poor little boy. He snatched your love away from you. You want to punish him."

Riley closed his eyes as the familiar painful sensation of sharp fangs breaking through skin swept over him. Then everything was new, as blackness never known to him flooded his mind, filled every last pore of his very being. A small sigh escaped his lips as his body went limp, slowly sinking down, following him into the all-embracing darkness.

Drusilla let go of the body, and with a thump, it hit the floor. She took a step back, and looked at the figure to her feet, a cruel little smile playing around her lips.

"Wake up, little soldier boy. You and me are going to play a little game."