His Slayer
By: Skyz
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns all Btvs and Ats
A/N: Hi all. This idea came to me and it took a while for it to come out as this. This takes place a little after Lover's Walk in S3 and becomes AU from there. So beware Angel is in this story and B/A will be implied.
~*~
Chapter One:
The lively discussion Giles was currently having with himself as he explained the differences between a Poglra demon and their cousins Grotsa demon's was one none of the Scoobies felt inclined to pay much attention to.
But Buffy had been trying her best to listen because one she was the Slayer and if she came upon one of these demons it would be helpful to know a little about it. And second because she was certain Giles would give her a little quiz on it when they patrolled tonight and she had neither the time nor patience to listen to him lecture her once more on her calling.
She knew exactly what that calling was; hell she'd died for said calling. She'd killed Angel for that calling. She knew what it meant thank you very much!
Her head rested on her hand as she stared intently at the library table and tried to pay attention.
Blinking she felt her eyes droop shut, her breathing become breathy and her heart began to pound.
Slayer.
The voice in her head would have caused her on any other day to immediately jerk awake and alert Giles to this odd development.
But as she was almost in a trance like state she did nothing.
The voice came again.
Thin and weak calling her name.
Slayer.
"Do you see?" the new voice seemed to be right in her ear and abruptly Buffy found herself in a small dark room, her Slayer senses going haywire and turning abruptly already in a defensive stance she attacked the vampire at her side.
Only to be stopped mid blow. She stared in shock at Drusilla who held her hand in a grip that threatened to break bones if she resisted.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Buffy demanded angrily trying to jerk free from Dru but having little success.
Dru dropped Buffy's hand abruptly and turned to face a door that had suddenly appeared to their left.
"Follow me Slayer," Dru said her voice devoid of the usual gleefulness that came with her craziness.
It caused chills of dread to slither down Buffy's spine even as she found herself moving to follow Dru, who was already at the door, reaching for it and opening it.
"What's going on?" Buffy asked then, her voice confused, and her thoughts blurry. She was feeling more and more disconcerted by the minute. "You must see," was all Dru said as she beckoned Buffy to follow her through the open door.
Buffy's gasp was the only sound heard as she stepped over the threshold. The sight meeting her eyes terrified and sickened her.
Her eyes widened and she choked as she looked around, trying to take in everything she could. Not believing what she was seeing though.
"W-what is this?' she gasped out.
"Do you see?" Dru asked then grabbing Buffy's arm and jerking her to her.
Buffy saw.
Although she had no idea why she had to see this, why she needed to be subjected to the sick mind that was Spike's.
"I see," she muttered grimly.
Dru turned to her and looked into her eyes, and Buffy tried to look away, but it was useless as she felt the pull as Dru began to speak.
"Do you see that you're all that's left?" she whispered sadly gesturing around them.
Buffy's face became a grimace of distaste as she nodded, her eyes taking in the sight of herself and Spike, the images that replayed themselves over, and over before her very eyes.
The first time Spike had seen her, their fight in the school, the church, helping her defeat Angelus and on it went.
Every moment they'd ever spent in eachother's presence was playing out like a Broadway show minus the sound. It was a silent movie, scene after scene and on and on.
"You're all that's left Slayer," Dru was speaking then.
Buffy turned slightly to look at her, frowning not understanding.
"What do you mean?" she demanded.
"Come," Dru requested moving out of the room and back into the dark.
Buffy took one last look around the room and hurried after Dru. She was beyond freaked out and staying in there a minute longer wasn't something she wanted to do.
Dru snapped her fingers and a dim light lit the room and Buffy looked around. They were in another room except that it wasn't empty. Doors lined the walls, the ceiling, they were everywhere.
Buffy reached out to open one and as soon as her hand touched the doorknob a shock went through her, sending her flying and she landed with a thud.
Groaning Buffy rubbed the back of her head, where she'd cracked it against the ground.
"Silly Slayer," Dru chastised as she offered a hand.
Buffy stared at it as if it was a poisonous snake, ready to strike.
How weird was this? She wondered as she hesitantly took the offered hand, and rose to her feet eyeing Dru suspiciously.
"Who are you and what have you done with vapid skanky Drusilla?" she asked through gritted teeth. She just knew this couldn't be Drusilla. "How'd you get in my head?! And what the hell was that back there? Hey I'm talking to y—"
Buffy reached out and grabbed Dru's arm only to be thrown backward into a door, with enough force Buffy knew didn't belong to Dru.
"I told you Slayer," Dru dryly stated, "You are all that's left. These doors, they no longer exist. They've been erased. You are all that remains. It is up to you, we need—"
"We?" Buffy echoed as she slowly got to her feet, wondering how she could get her ass kicked in her own dream or whatever this was.
"We need your help," Dru repeated looking at Buffy, her voice smooth and calm.
Buffy tried to remain unaffected as she gave a nonchalant shrug and shook her head.
"And I would care because…?" she drawled out mockingly.
"You are all that's left," Dru whispered as she began to fade away.
"Hey, wait! What happened to Spike? Why am I all that's left? How am I going to help you?! Hey wait a min—"
Buffy's head hit the table with a thud, and her eyes snapped open as pain shot through her head.
She looked around wildly, taking in the Scoobs who were looking at her in surprise and concern.
"Buffy what have I told you about fallin-"Giles began to scold her.
"I'm sorry Giles. I just had a dream that gave me the wiggins," Buffy shuddered recalling it.
"Was it a Slayer dream?" Giles demanded slipping into Watcher mode, he grabbed his notebook, and pen ready to write it down.
Buffy hesitated.
It hadn't felt like a Slayer dream. She didn't know how to describe it, but it was more than a dream, and yet it wasn't a portent.
"No," she found herself saying shaking her head. "No it was just a...nightmare," she quickly assured him.
Giles peered at her a moment longer before he gave a sigh, and placed his pen and paper back down.
"Very well then where was I?" he asked.
Buffy frowned to herself, her thoughts back on Spike and Dru, thinking about Dru's' words. They needed help and Dru expected her to help them.
As if, she thought with a snort. They could burn to death for all she cared. There was no way she would help either of them, no way in hell.
~*~
"So…does Dru have any type of thrall thingy?" Buffy asked Angel while on patrol a few nights later.
Angel sent her a surprised look.
"She didn't try it on you?" he asked vaguely surprised by that fact. He had been certain Drusilla would have tried to get into Buffy's head last year.
Buffy shook her head.
"Nope," she answered shrugging. "So how does that work?"
"Why?" Angel asked not understanding why Buffy would want to know, especially when Dru was long gone, and unlikely to come back.
"I'm curious I was doing some reading—"
"Reading?" Angel echoed incredulously. He couldn't believe it!
"I can read!" She exclaimed. "I just don't like to is all. Anyway I was reading up on thralls because Giles's thought it would be helpful," Buffy lied easily.
She glanced up at him waiting for him to respond, hoping he wouldn't ask more about why Giles insisted she research thralls.
"Well what do you want to know Buffy?" he asked finally.
Buffy smothered a relieved sigh. She'd read about thralls specifically, because she wasn't sure how or why, but Dru kept coming to her in her dreams.
Repeating the same thing.
Frankly Buffy was beyond fed up.
"Can it work long distance?" she blurted out.
It had to be that, she reasoned. Because she'd been all over Sunnydale looking for the crazy vampiress, and had seen nothing of her.
As far as she'd known Dru had left Spike for a Chaos demon and now-
"Yes and no," Angel was saying. "For a thrall to work efficiently and effectively you have to be in direct contact with the victim, and that's Dru's specialty. 'Be in me' is what she uses. You look into her eyes and she can control you, weaken you and kill you. That's how I suspect she killed Kendra. Anyway, then there's the distance thrall which isn't a thrall. It's more like reaching out and connecting. She doesn't have control of you, but if you're susceptible she can put you in a trance like state."
"She had visions right?" Buffy asked then, taking in what he'd just said.
Angel nodded.
"She can't um...she can't send them to people can she?" she asked hesitantly hating having to ask this. But she had to understand what was going on.
Angel looked at her strangely.
"Why all these questions about Dru?" he asked turning to face her fully.
Buffy shrugged.
"Curious," was her vague reply and she was relieved when two fledglings decided to attack, and Angel's attention was diverted.
~*~
Buffy took a seat near the window and settled in.
She barely glanced up as she felt some one take the seat next to her, and stare at her a moment.
"Where're you headed?" a man's voice asked from her side, and rolling her eyes she turned. And resisted the urge to glare at the man when she realized he was old enough to be her grandfather.
"London," was Buffy's clipped reply.
She turned her back to the curious old man, and stared out the window absently.
She wondered again for the millionth time why she was doing this, why she couldn't ignore Dru, and let her handle whatever the hell Spike had gotten himself into.
But there was something about Dru's lack of craziness that tugged at her. In fact she reminded her of Spike, when he'd first come to town to cure Dru.
Now it was Dru's turn and somehow she couldn't say no, couldn't help but be on this plane headed for London.
Couldn't help but find out exactly what had happened, and if she should help them or not.
One thing about this she didn't even understand herself, was her need to do this alone. She hadn't even told Giles where she was going. Hadn't asked Angel for help, or used his extensive knowledge on Dru and Spike.
This could very well be a trap.
But she knew deep down in her soul it wasn't. Dru was desperate and wouldn't have contacted her otherwise, of that she was sure.
Settling back and closing her eyes, she tried to relax and decided that as soon as she reached London, she'd call Giles and fill him in.
After she got the skinny on Dru and Spike.
~*~
It was early morning the next day when Joyce went to wake Buffy for school, when she found out her daughter was missing.
Frantic and worried she searched the house, and called Giles who in turn called an emergency Scooby meeting.
The Scoobs plus Faith met at the Summers house, and Joyce explained that she hadn't seen Buffy since early morning yesterday.
"Are you sure she hasn't been here?" Giles demanded cleaning his glasses.
"Positive," Joyce answered. "I checked her closet and some of her clothes are missing, and a suitcase is gone from the basement."
The silence that fell was uncomfortable, everyone having been reminded of last summer when Buffy had run away.
"You don't think she ran away do you?" Willow voiced their thoughts. "Again," she belatedly added.
"No," was Joyce's immediate response.
"But she took a suitcase Mrs. Summers," Xander protested.
"She could have been forced to leave," Oz tried to reason.
"Yes," Joyce agreed.
Giles rubbed his face and sighed. "I don't think that's the case here. She's the Slayer, and I can't think of anyone taking advantage of Buffy like that. Have you—did you check with Angel Joyce? Perhaps she stayed the-"
"Buffy knows better than anyone what doing something like that means! She wouldn't stay with him. She isn't there I called Angel and he said he hadn't seen her."
They were all silent again.
"I will talk to Angel myself, and see what he might be able to tell us. While I do so, please all of you think about Buffy's behavior of late. Anything out of the ordinary, anything that will help us," Giles stressed.
~*~
Tired and hungry Buffy trudged along with the other passengers off the plane. She didn't take in the vast amount of people who crowded the airport; her thoughts were on what a huge mistake this had been.
This was probably a trap designed to lure her here under false pretenses and kill her. Another Slayer for William the Bloody, she thought sourly as she finally looked around.
Her gaze was caught by the sight of a balding older man holding a sign with Slayer on it, looking around warily.
Buffy gave an exasperated sigh, hefting her suitcase and heading his direction.
"Uh...Slayer?" the man asked hesitantly.
Buffy nodded, wondering why Dru hadn't used her real name, but then shrugged. She probably didn't even know it. She'd left the tickets she'd picked up in L.A under Slayer too and now this guy here.
"Yep that'd be me. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Where are we headed?" she asked curiously as she followed the man out of the airport.
He led her to a waiting limo.
"To see Mistress Drusilla," he finally replied opening the door for her and ushering her in, before he rounded the car and took the driver's seat.
Buffy closed her eyes as he pulled from the curb.
She couldn't wait to see Dru, to finally know what the hell was going on and decide whether to help or not.
~*~
Buffy had to admit she was impressed. The house she'd been driven to was huge, a mansion, and as she walked the halls she could hardly take it all in.
She didn't have to wonder how Dru had gotten it though… Buffy shuddered thinking of the innocent people she and Spike had probably killed to take over this house.
She'd left her suitcase with one of the servants, who she had noticed seemed to be in a deep thrall too, not unlike the man who'd picked her up from the airport.
"Here we are," the maid said as she paused beside a set of double doors. "Mistress Drusilla shall be along soon. Please wait in here."
Buffy glanced at the woman who opened the door for her.
"Tell her I don't have all day to wait," Buffy said unnecessarily.
She didn't want to piss Dru off too soon, because she knew she needed a place to stay at least for tonight.
Buffy watched the maid nod and scurry away.
She slowly stepped into the room, which was dark due to the drawn curtains.
Buffy stepped further in shutting the doors behind her.
She took in the wall to wall bookshelves, the large ladders that leaned against row after row of books.
So involved she didn't notice she wasn't alone in the room, until she turned to the fireplace, and saw the man sitting in front of it.
Her mouth dropped open, and her heart began to beat wildly in her chest as she slowly advanced upon him.
"Spike?" she gasped out in horror and shock.