"Willow! Come here," Nareia held out her hand to the redhead. "We have to get you out of here."
"Yes, getting out of here is a bloody good idea. Let's go," Spike turned to leave.
"No!" Nareia grabbed his arm.
"What?"
"You have to stay with Angel. We'll meet up later. I'm sure you can handle it," Nareia looked into Spike's deep eyes intensely for a long moment.
Spike sighed. "Ok, pet. See you soon. And be careful," he added softly.
Nareia smiled weakly back at him, and led Willow away, all the while Buffy and Angel were facing off, and Giles standing behind the Slayer, watching intently.
Spike walked up to stand beside his sire. "Well, pop, looks like we're in it deep this time."
"You could say that," Angel returned shortly, as Buffy lunged at him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"What is going on, Nareia? Will you please tell me?" Willow panted as the vampire dragged her along.
"I don't have time to tell you now. Where is Xander going to be, we have to get him?"
Willow shot a confused look at Nareia, but took the lead, saying, "I'll take you to him, it's this way."
She led them to a small, white bungalow. Nareia charged in front of the witch, and banged on the door. Soon, a flustered Xander answered. "Yeah, what do you want?"
"You."
Xander looked surprised, and stammered, "Well, that's great, but I have a girlfriend and she…"
"Her too. Come on, we don't have much time," Nareia grabbed Xander and pulled him out of the door, letting Willow exchange a bewildered look with Anya before they followed her.
The vampire led them to an abandoned church. She shoved open a door, and beckoned them into the darkness.
Xander and Willow exchanged worried looks. "Is this a good idea, following a vampire into a dark church? Isn't this against all our principles?"
Willow shook her head. "I don't know what's going on, but I think we can still trust her. Come on," and she led the way behind Nareia.
Nareia was waiting for them at the bottom of some stairs. Candles and lamps were lit, showing the cosy environment. "This is Spike's place. Come on, do you want a drink?"
"No thanks, we don't drink blood," Xander answered.
Nareia smiled back at him, "I was actually going to offer you some lemonade, but if you don't want that…"
"Oh, ok, that'd be nice," Xander looked round. "It's quite a place, nice and dare I say, romantic?"
"Yeah, not what you'd expect from a vampire, especially a male one," Anya added.
Nareia handed them their drinks, and smiled softly, "Spike isn't exactly your ordinary vampire. There's more to him than most."
Willow nodded, "I think I know what you mean." She put her glass down. "But tell us what is going on, Nareia. What's happening, why are we here?"
Nareia sighed, and sat down on the sofa. "I think you should sit down." She waited until they had done so, and began, "It's quite simple really. Buffy and Giles are dead."
"But I saw them, they can't be dead," Willow protested. Then realisation dawned on her face as Nareia looked at her meaningfully. "You mean they are…"
"Vampires?" Xander shouted.
When Nareia nodded sadly, Willow, wide-eyed, quietly asked, "How could that have happened? We have to get them back, there has to be a way to get them back."
"I would guess that that bloody demon cursed them. In which case, there may be a chance of returning them to normal. I hope," the brunette vampire answered.
"How do you know that they weren't turned by another vampire?" Xander asked.
"Because Buffy's the Slayer, she wouldn't get turned, she'd stake them," Willow pointed out faithfully, and making a staking movement with her hand.
"And she and Giles didn't have any bite marks," Nareia added.
"How did you notice that?" Xander wondered.
"Us vampires notice things like that. It helps keep us out of trouble," Spike answered, coming down the stairs. His face was badly cut, and his left arm was hanging loosely. Angel was behind him, also badly bruised, and limping.
Nareia got up and strode over to them with haste. "Bloody hell. You two are really cut up. We have to sort you out. Willow, can you help me undress them? Anya, there's a kettle over there, boil up some water. Xander, there should be some towels around here somewhere. Try that cupboard there."
The two male vampires sat down gingerly, and let themselves be coddled. "It's a good job you're vampires, that's all I can say," Nareia said shortly.
"If we weren't, we'd be dead by now," Spike grunted. "A vampire Vampire Slayer is a little too strong for my liking."
Angel looked grim, "She's very powerful. She's still got her Slayer powers, and being a vampire enforces them. Giles isn't all sweetness and light either. He makes an excellent vampire."
"Tell me about it," Spike groaned as Nareia applied a wet cloth to his back. "Bloody librarian."
"So wait a minute. Let me get this straight. Buffy and Giles are vampires, cursed by this chaos demon?" Xander asked, handing Willow a bandage.
The three vampires nodded. "Can't we just reverse the curse?" Xander asked.
Nareia grimaced, "It isn't as simple as that. This demon is seriously up on his cursing, and some curses are irreversible. If it isn't an irreversible curse, there are still hundreds of ways that it could have been done, and we'd have to find the correct spell. It could take weeks."
"Weeks which we don't have," Angel said. "Buffy's after me at the moment, and I can't keep evading her forever, and, if I faced her alone, I'd be dust. She's too powerful even for me. After I'm done with, she'd probably go after you. And then, who knows? She has to be stopped."
"Angel's right, although I hate to admit it," Spike put in. "Even Giles is a nasty piece of work, and both of them together is a bloody disaster."
"If we can't find a spell that works, we'll have to dust them," Nareia said thoughtfully.
"What? Kill Buffy and Giles? You can't do that," Willow shouted. "There has to something else," she appealed in a small voice.
Nareia sighed, "As a last resort, we may have to. We can't afford to let those two loose on the world."
Angel looked tired, "She's right. Buffy and Giles aren't our only concern. There's another thing. You three shouldn't go back home. She may be looking for you, and I don't think she wants to drop in for cosy chat."
"You're best staying here," Nareia added.
"Hey, wait a bloody minute, this is my place," Spike protested.
"Precisely. Buffy doesn't know where you live, so she won't be able to find us here," Nareia pointed out.
Spike grunted, and kept silent, but he shot sulky looks at the female vampire as he sat opposite her.
"So, the only thing that stands between a nasty Slayer and Watcher and us dying a horrible death is three vampires?" Anya asked.
"That's about right," Angel nodded.
"Well, how ironic is that? Vampires protecting us from our friends," Willow said with a wry smile.
"You lot should get some rest," Nareia said, fetching some extra blankets. "You two as well," and she shooed the male vampires onto the bed, ignoring their protests.
"I'm not letting him sleep in my bloody bed," Spike vowed.
"Spike, you have no choice. Just think of it as old times," Nareia grinned at him and winked.
"It had better not bloody well be, or else you'll be less one vampire in the morning," Spike threatened.
Angel barked a short laugh, but didn't say anything, instead climbing onto the bed, ignoring the hostile look from Spike.
"Good. Now you be good little boys, and rest. I'm going to study," Nareia turned and left them glaring at each other. Soon they were fast asleep on the bed, and the humans were sleeping on the two sofas that Spike had procured from somewhere.
Nareia set herself down at the desk, and fetched out some of Spike's books. Fortunately, the blond vampire enjoyed reading, and had a wide variety of books, a lot concerning magic and demons, and Nareia began desperately searching for a way to cure the Slayer and her Watcher.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy wandered around Giles' wrecked apartment restlessly. "I don't see why we can't go after them."
Giles looked up from his perusal of his weaponry, "Because we aren't ready for them yet. I know you're the Slayer, but not even you and I could fight them all on our own, without weapons," he pointed out, waving a crossbow at her.
Buffy crossed her arms sulkily, "Hmmph!"
"Plus, it's going to be light soon, we'd best get going," Giles got a bag and filled it with weapons. He handed it to Buffy on his way past her, himself carrying an axe and a crossbow.
"Where are we going?" the Slayer asked, as she followed her Watcher out his apartment door.
"Back to where we came from," he replied.
"Oh, of course," Buffy looked puzzled.
They made their way back towards the church where Buffy had discovered the cylinder. They entered the church confidently, and went down into the crypt.
"Ah, you're here at last," a hollow voice came from a stone statue.
"Who are you?" Buffy asked.
"He's a manifestation of Onet," Giles answered, looking around the crypt. It was lit with candles, but there was no sign of anyone.
"Quite right, Ripper. Now, here's what I want you to do…" a rustle came from a corner of the crypt, and Buffy's head turned to it quickly, "Ah, but first, how about dinner?"
A whimper echoed round the stone walls. Giles leapt forward, and dragged forward a bedraggled couple who had been huddling in the corner.
Buffy licked her lips. "Ymmmm!"
Giles shoved the man to her. She caught him, and, giving Giles one last look, bent her head.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Nareia woke sometime later, Willow's hand on her shoulder. "Hey," the redhead said softly.
Nareia smiled back at her, "Hey, how you holding up?"
Willow shrugged, "Oh, good, you know. I think this is something we'll get out of, I mean we face stuff like this every day, right?"
The female vampire just smiled weakly back at her. "You want to help?" she asked, as she was passing a book over.
"Yeah, sure," Willow took it, and sat down beside her.
There was silence for a while, as the two women studied. Spike and Angel stirred on the bed, and Nareia looked over at them, making sure they were all right.
Willow noticed her look, "Listen, I hope you don't mind, but, can I ask you…"
Nareia smiled warmly, "Go ahead, Willow."
"Well, what's the story with this thing between you and Spike?"
Nareia looked up at her, "You mean, the thought thing?"
Willow nodded slightly.
"Well, Spike and I were sired on the same day, at the same time, it turns out. It's because of this that we have this connection. We were drawn to each other before the feeding. That was probably the reason I bit him, it's not something I would have done normally," Nareia sat, looking thoughtful. "I guess we are sort of twins, in a weird, non-related way."
Willow had an interested look on her face, "Well, that's really cool, I think. I guess sharing thoughts with a vampire might not be the height of coolness, but still."
Nareia shrugged, "You get used to it. If something happened to Spike, I don't know what I'd do, it'd be like a part of me had been torn out."
"Thanks, pet, I always knew you loved me," Spike came up behind her, and put his hand on her shoulder.
Nareia turned and glared at him, "I never said I loved you, you pillock!"
Spike just grinned at her, picked up a book, and sat down at the table. The images he was getting from Nareia told a different story than her look.
Angel got up not long after, and Spike shifted in his chair, uncomfortable with the older vampire's presence. Spike grimaced inwardly at the pain that shot through him. Nareia jumped slightly, her mind suddenly feeling his pain. She set her dark eyes on him. "Spike, take your shirt off," her voice was commanding.
"Why, Nareia, in front of these mortals, I didn't think you were that sort."
Nareia growled at him, "Just take your bloody shirt off." She turned to Angel, who was trying not to smirk in the background. "You, too." She hid the smile on her face at the dark vampire's shocked look.
Willow stared at Nareia, unbelieving. The female vampire, catching her look, grinned, "What? I can't indulge in a little ménage-a-trios?" As she said this, she got up and stood behind Spike, her hands on his bare chest.
Willow's eyes went wide, and she stammered slightly. Nareia grinned again, "Don't worry, I'll leave you the souled one," and she winked. Willow went bright red, and she shot Angel a sidelong glance. He was standing there with a small smile on his face, his shirt in his hand. Willow had to admit to herself that the vampire wasn't lacking in the looks department. That thought caused her further embarrassment.
Nareia laughed a tinkling laugh, "Sorry, Willow, just kidding. Their wounds need tending. Could you find some healing herbs, I'm sure there are some around here, in that cupboard, I think." She directed her to a small cupboard near the sink. Sure enough, housed inside were numerous herbs. There was definitely more to the blond vampire than met the eye.
Willow carried the useful ones back to the table. Spike had stood up, and Nareia was growling at him. "You're too bloody tall to stand up. Lay down on the sofa, NOW!"
Spike grinned down at the petite vampire, but moved towards the sofa. "That's better." Her gaze moved onto the silent vampire standing beside her. "You, on the other one." Angel didn't bother to protest.
Nareia walked up to Willow and rolled her eyes, "Men!" Willow smiled in agreement. "Right, Willow, you tend to Angel, I don't want Spike accidentally hurting you."
"Right, ok," Willow walked towards Angel, nervous about the proximity of his muscled torso. She berated herself harshly, and steeled herself. Angel sensed her discomfort, and smiled warmly up at her. Willow found herself smiling back, and suddenly she was at ease.
Nareia was massaging Spike's back softly, and it was all he could do to stop himself from turning over and grabbing her. Nareia gritted her teeth. She knew what he was thinking, and the images flashing through her head were not all his.
"Right!" Nareia stood up quickly to relieve the sexual tension in the air. "You're done. Let's wake up the sleepyheads." She walked over to where Xander and Anya were sleeping, Anya's head resting on Xander's head. She shook them awake.
"Right, you guys, go and have showers or wash or whatever, then we'll talk," Nareia instructed them.
Spike muttered at her, "This is my place, remember that."
"Spike, will you please shut up, for now?" Nareia looked at him, exasperated.
Spike shrugged his shoulders, feeling the tension that had been in them earlier gone from Nareia's excellent massage. Thoughts of what he was going to do to the vampire to get her back for that went through his mind, and Nareia felt them skittering through hers as well. She gave him an evil eye, but then winked as she walked off, back to her books.
Spike groaned, and went to put on a new shirt. That girl was definitely under his skin.
Nareia turned to Angel, "You'd better put a shirt on too, before something else bad happens." Spike started to growl, but stopped when he caught the thought that was passing through Nareia's mind.
Soon, everyone was sitting round the table. "You lot have to go back to Giles' and get weapons, books, anything that you think might be useful. Food would probably be a good idea as well, and some of your clothes, things like that. You're going to be staying for a while, I think," Nareia told the humans bluntly.
She turned to the redhead, "Willow, I want you to be in charge of getting the books, you probably have the best idea of what we might need. Xander, weapons are your department. Anya, help on both counts. Your demon knowledge could be invaluable."
"Are you sure about this, Nareia?" Willow asked.
Nareia nodded, and Angel put in, "Go, now, we don't have that much time."
The three humans left the church quickly, and the vampires were left standing there, looking grimly at each other. A lot rided on Willow finding the right book.
