"Did I ever mention that I really hate this place?" Buffy whispered to Riley as they crept through the hedges around the familiar old mansion, Spike, Willow and Giles following closely behind.
"Only a time or two," Riley replied evenly. The area surrounding the mansion had not been maintained for some time, and the thick debris, paint peelings, assorted trash, and other various degrees of decay that had been left on the grounds over time greeted them.

"Apparently Drusilla didn't hire a cleaning crew," Willow mumbled as she brushed some flecks of paint from her dark jeans as they stopped on the other side of the hedges.

"You'd be surprised how few landscapers a vampire generally knows," Spike answered wryly. Giles came up behind Willow and gave the deteriorated structure a curious eye.

"Are we sure where they'll be hiding?" he asked Spike, and the vamp nodded in affirmation.

"In the old hall," he replied to the former Watcher, as he pointed to a set of great windows to their left. "They're sure to be having some sort of posh celebration, and the kids are likely to be in the basement, unless Dru invited them to the party," he added. Giles nodded his understanding as Spike glanced over to Riley, who nodded back to him.

"Okay, stay here," Riley ordered the others, the soldier in him taking over. "I'll check it out." He gave Buffy's shoulder a quick squeeze and silently headed to the window, the others losing sight of his movements. Buffy tried to look in the general direction of the window in an effort to find her husband to no avail.

"This is the part that's less fun," Willow mused quietly as they waited for Riley to finish his reconnaissance.

"I thoroughly agree," Giles answered from behind her. "This is far from my idea of how to spend a marvelous night in Sunnydale, or anywhere else for that matter," he finished.

"Dru sure knows how to pick a hideout," Spike added as he looked on. "Fond memories, murders, and mayhem. That's our girl all right," he finished with a grim smile.

"Just get us in there when we ask you to," Buffy hissed as she turned to face him.

"Hey, I want the juniors out of there as much as you do, Slayer," Spike assured her. "We aren't exactly playing tag here you know."

"We just have to be patient," Giles intoned to both of them, still keeping any eye on the ever-present window that had all their attention at the moment. From the right, Riley rejoined the group as quietly and quietly as he had left. "Did you see them?" Giles asked quickly.

"They're all in there," Riley confirmed. "Dru, about half a dozen of her lackeys, and the kids. They looked scared," he said grimly.

"Then we'll give them a reason not to be," Willow spoke up with as much hope as she could muster. Spike nodded, stepping closer to the group to be heard.

"Okay, then, we all head into the hall. We'll go in through the side door I showed you. After that, there'll be a hallway. Red, you and Rupes will go left." Willow and Giles nodded, accepting their instructions. "You'll end up on the far side of the hall, behind Dru and her merry buggers. Slayer, you, Soldier Boy and I go right, and we'll end up at the entrance in the front. Now, either way, they'll be a few guards at both doors, but not enough to get your skivvies bunched up about, and they shouldn't be expecting us to use that hallway, so we'll gain a little surprise while we're at it. The three of us come in, confront Dru and her lot, and Red and Rupert will come behind to make sure that Mike and Neil are okay and back us up. And with any luck, the kids'll join us in all the bloody fun," he finished. Buffy and Riley nodded, already fingering their chosen weapons.

"Lead on," Buffy replied softly. Spike gave a quick look to Giles.

"You have the extra weapons, right, mate?" Giles nodded. "Then make sure the juniors get them as soon as you get in. Dru isn't going to play any games here, got that?"

"Yes," Giles answered softly.

"Then let's go," Spike declared, heading off towards the far side of the mansion, the others close behind. They approached the door, and Spike knelt down, using a small pick to work the lock. After a few moments, he was rewarded with a soft click and tested the knob, which gave easily. "We're in," he whispered, then stepped back, keeping his fingers edged on the door's knob. Buffy and Riley stood in front, aiming their crossbows at the entrance. Once they were ready, Spike gave a quick nod and opened the door.

"Tell me again what we're celebrating," Mike whispered to Neil as they watched the merriment around them. Both were sitting in a chair side by side, a minion directly behind either of them, neither of their guards paying much attention to their quiet chatter.

"I think it's supposed to be for us, to celebrate our last night as humans," Neil replied dryly. "Drusilla wants us to go out with a bang, I guess," he added.

"Oh, yea us," Mike said sarcastically. "So this is the vampire version of a happy funeral, with us being the guests of honor."

"Sort of. Any last requests for the condemned," He offered. Mike shook her head.

"None I'd care to tell a vampire. You?"

"Nope. I'd just as soon get it over with and pray someone stakes me quickly," Neil told her calmly. The look in his eyes told a different story, his glance tinged with fear

"God, we are morbid," she scoffed, pushing a few strands of her long hair from her face, attempting to seem as casual as possible.

"We were raised on a Hellmouth. There's a difference," Neil corrected her.

"Have you ever wondered what you'd be like? As a vampire?" Mike whispered to him, her face full of open apprehension.

"Okay, now you're morbid," he answered. Mike shook her head.

"I'm serious, Neil. Do you think … that our parent's would be in danger? Or… or our friends?" Neil know that it was times like this that Mike had displayed the old Giles habit of stuttering, so he had expected it. He kept listening. "I … I mean, what would we do to them?" She hated to ask it, but she knew the possibilities. They both did. Neil gave her hand a quick squeeze.

"Don't think about that, Mike. We are not going to be vampires, ever," he assured her, squeezing her hand for reassurance. "I'm sure of it."

"I'm just … scared is all," Mike replied, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Can you let me know when it's okay to wake up," she added wryly.

"Sure, baby," he whispered back into her ear. As Mike began to close her eyes, Drusilla walked up to them, humming some indistinguishable tune.

"The stars say it's time, dearies," she cooed. "You're going to be one of us." She took Mike gently by the chin. "You'll be so strong," Dru said softly. "You'll cause so much destruction!" Dru mused happily. "The whole city will cry out in pain because of you!"

"Don't do this," Mike offered weakly, but still remained calm as Dru gestured for her to stand, and she obeyed, but she kept a tentative hand in Neil's.

"Oh, but I've already begun! You'll so enjoy your party. But first," Drusilla's feature began to change, the vampire within unleashing itself. In full game face, she finished the thought. "You must die."

"No!" Neil yelled as Drusilla began to pull Mike from his grasp. "Let her go!" He had begun to sit up, only to have the strong minion behind him forcibly sit him back down.

"You'll wait your turn like a good little boy," Drusilla admonished him, as she stood in front of Mike and began to finger her throat. Mike closed her eyes and silently began to pray to whoever would listen, a silent prayer for her soul. Dru began to move her long red hair back, exposing her neck fully. She was closing in on Mike's neck when a commotion caught her attention. The minion holding Neil was struck with a crossbow bolt, falling into dust before her eyes.

"Sorry we're late, but I'm sure our invitations must have gotten lost in the mail," Buffy quipped as she began to aim for Dru. Riley stood to Buffy's right, holding another crossbow, also aiming for Dru. Spike was to Buffy's left, his own crossbow trained on one of the half a dozen or so minions left around the room.

"Mom!" Neil cried. Mike took advantage of the momentary distraction to give Dru a sharp elbow to the vampire's gut, forcing the vampire to double over, then she gave her a quick knee to the stomach for good measure, backing away from her would be killer. From behind them, another bolt shot through the air, hitting a guard that was headed towards Buffy, the one that had been watching Mike. Mike and Neil twirled around to see her parents standing a few feet behind them, both armed, Giles deftly reloading his own crossbow.

"Hi honey," Willow greeted Mike brightly.

"Great timing as always, Mom," she returned.

"Well, we would have been earlier, but your father…"

"Could we do this later, Willow," Giles cut her off, quickly tossing a stake to Mike, then another to Neil, both catching their weapons.

"Sure," Willow answered, firing her crossbow and hitting another minion as Riley took our a fourth.

"No! This is all wrong!" Drusilla cried, flailing her arms in a tantrum. She quickly reached for Neil's wrist, batting the stake out of his hand, and then she was suddenly holding him to her. "I can't abide by this!" Buffy began to rush towards them, but was knocked back by a large minion, who was quickly subdued by Riley.

"Oh, you don't want to do that," Mike hissed, raising her stake. "Get your hands off my boyfriend." Her voice was hard and grim as she gave the order, but she emphasized her threat by pushing the tip of the stake to Drusilla's chest.

"He'll be gone before you can hurt me," Dru mused, placing her hands around Neil's neck as if to break it.

"Then you won't live to regret it," Mike returned, her voice seeping with the promise of her intent. Dru shrieked, pushing Neil towards Mike, knocking both roughly to the floor, while her remaining minions scrambled towards the intruders with perfect timing, and Drusilla disappeared out the near door in the ensuing chaos. There were two minions left, who were quickly taken out by Spike and Willow as the others headed over to attend to Mike and Neil.

"That was not my idea of fun," Neil announced sarcastically as Buffy and Riley helped him up from the floor.

"Sure it was, Finn. I say we do it again," Mike said as she brushed off her pants, Giles standing behind her. She looked over to Buffy and Riley. "So are you still officially mad at us?"



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