Buffy walked down the street, bored out of her mind.
"Look at it this way." Xander's thought's echoed through her mind. "At least you have someone to talk to."
"Would you not do that?" Faith ordered. "My sister. Stay out."
"Guy's, no fighting." Buffy pleaded. "Especially not in my brain."
"Sorry." They mumbled. Buffy shook her head. She didn't understand why Faith was having so much difficulty with this Protector thing. All right, maybe she could understand, but still, there was plenty of Buffy to go around.
"Not enough." Faith muttered. Buffy sighed, frustrated. She didn't realise Faith would get so jealous.
"Well, well." That familiar British voice grated across her nerves. "This must be my lucky night." Buffy turned to face Spike. Hanging off his arm was a darkhaired woman.
"She's glowing." The woman tittered madly. "Like a bright star. So pretty."
"You must be Dru." Buffy concluded. "Angel said you were mad, but he didn't say how bad it was. He really must have done a number on you." Dru giggled.
"He hurt me." She said. "But then he made it all better. Like Spike's going to do to you. So much blood." Another mad fit of giggles. "So much chaos. So much fun. Ms Edith will like you." Buffy stared at her. She really was insane.
"So what now?" Buffy asked. "Do we fight, or are you just trying to make me feel sorry for your girlfriend over there?" Dru giggled again.
"She's funny." She whispered, just loud enough for Buffy to hear. "I say we take her now. While she's all alone." The mad vampire giggled.
"Right you are pet." Spike said, signalling. A gang of vampires came out of the shadows, surrounding her.
"Are you scared of me or something, Spike?" Buffy asked. "'Cause you seem to be using others to do your dirty work." She reached under her jacket and pulled out her lightsaber, igniting its purple blade.
"Oh." Dru breathed. "Pretty."
"I don't usually use this on vamps." She said as Spike's minions started to close in. "You guys should feel privileged." She glanced around. They're too many for her to take. Time to even the odds, she thought, embracing the Force.
She held her hand out, sending half of them flying. She turned to face the others, lightsaber ready. She charged forward, slicing necks and chest.
"So powerful." Dru whispered. "She will bring Daddy back to us. Then we'll be one big, happy family, like we were supposed to be. The Soul Eater will be the event that brings us together."
"That's all I needed to hear." Spike said, signalling again. The vampires backed off, melting back into the shadows.
"Do we finally get to dance, Spike?" Buffy sneered. "That's one fight I'm really looking forward to."
"You an' me both, luv." Spike said. "'Cause that's the fight that's goin' to make you mine." With that, he and Dru walked off. Buffy took a breath, dousing her lightsaber. She pulled her comlink out.
"Giles, you awake?"
"Of course." The watchers voice crackled over the link. "Is something wrong?"
"What do we know about a soul eater?"
The Watcher sat in the bushes. None of them had realised how different this one really was, and her sister would probably be the same. He waited for Buffy to leave before leaving his hiding place. Mr Travers would want to know about this.
"Going somewhere?" A voice asked. The Watcher turned, only to have a blade slice against his throat. "I won't let you interfere."
"Dru?" Spike's voice rang out. "Where are you, luv?" Dru dropped the knife and walked out of the bushes.
"Thought I saw something." She said dizzily. "Just a stinky little rat."
"Never mind, luv." Spike said. "Soon, we'll have everything you ever wanted." Spike didn't see the smile that spread across his Sire's face. Yes, she thought. Soon.
"Anything?" Buffy asked as she walked into the Library.
"Uh, no." Giles said. "Not yet. It would help if you had something else."
"Sorry." Buffy said. "What we got came from Dru's insanity, so might not be anything."
"You saw Dru?" Angel asked. Buffy looked over at him. He still gave her the creeps, especially now she'd seen Dru.
"You really put that girl through the ringer, didn't you?" She accused.
"Angelus did." Angel corrected her.
"Angelus, Angel, what's the difference?" Buffy demanded.
"Easy, Buff." Xander whispered in her mind. "Remember, he's one of the good guys." Buffy took a breath. Right.
"Sorry." Buffy apologised. "I just saw what had happened to her, and…"
"I understand." Angel said. "Not one of my proudest moments. Just don't write her insane utterings off entirely. Remember, she's a seer. She may have seen something."
"Okay then." Faith said, stepping in. "We'll look into this 'Soul Eater' thing." Buffy nodded. An idea occurred to her.
"Angel, see if you can corner Dru alone." She suggested. "From what I heard, there are three reasons she's going ahead with all this. One; she can 'see' the carnage I'd cause as a vamp and thinks it'll be fun," No one said a word at that, but it was by silent agreement that no one would let that happens. "two; she's completely insane…"
"No arguments there." Angel muttered sadly.
"And three;" Buffy continued. "she's under the impression that I will, somehow, bring her 'Daddy' back to her. You, right?" Angel nodded, slightly taken aback by that comment. "She thinks your Gods gift to vampires, so maybe you can get some info out of her."
"Most vampires feel some kind of loyalty to their Sire." Angel explained. "Dru always took it to the extreme, though."
"Nothing's changed." Buffy said. "Funny thing is she seemed to want me to hear some of that." Angel looked at her strangely.
"Careful, B." Faith said. "She could be leading you into a trap."
"I know, Faith." Buffy said. "I'm not going in there alone, once we figure out what's going on." Giles moved into the office to answer the ringing phone as the conversation continued. No one deserved to go through this, especially not those children. He vowed to make sure they wouldn't, ever, have to go through any tests for the Council.
"Hello?"
"Rupert, it's Joyce." Her voice sounded slightly worried. "Has anything happened to Buffy tonight?"
"Well, she had a run in with Spike and his paramour, but nothing dangerous." Giles assured her.
"Don't be so sure." She said. "Doyle just got a message from the Powers. Something's going down, some kind of robbery at the museum. She gets seriously injured trying to stop it."
"Did he see what gets stolen?" Giles asked. "It may be important."
"A long box of some sort." He was told.
"I'll let her know to be careful, but she'll still get involved."
"I know, just take care of her."
"I will." Giles hung up and walked out of the office. "Where's Buffy?"
"She's going by Xander's house, then heading home." Faith said. "Problem?"
"Quite…" He stopped as his eyes fell on an open book. "Oh dear God."
"Uh oh." Willow said. "Major problems."
"And getting more major by the second." Faith said. "Giles, what gives?"
"Your mother called." Giles said, grabbing his coat. "Apparently, Buffy's going to get seriously injured in a fight at the museum. Someone stealing some kind of box. Unfortunately, it matches this." He threw the book down in front of them.
"The Judge?" Faith asked. She read a passage. "Soul Eater." She said. Angel and Willow got into gear and the four of them left soon after.
Xander sat looking out the front window. Buffy was coming over for a little while. A good thing on any night, but her run in with Spike and Dru had her really up tight. Xander was hoping he could…
He stiffened in his chair as a feeling of dread washed over him. His Slayer was in trouble. He looked around for his mother before getting to his feet and sneaking out of the house. Buffy was in trouble and he had to help her.
Buffy walked along, thinking. One of the things her mom had taught her was the ability to read people, and what she read of Dru wasn't insanity. At least, not total insanity.
"It's you." Buffy spun to face Dru, on her own. Spike was nowhere in sight. "I knew you'd be here."
"Drop the act." Buffy said. "I don't buy it. You're nowhere as insane as you act." Dru's face took a sharpness of mind that better suited her.
"You are good." The vampire said, no hint of her supposed insanity. "I knew you were special, but this…not even Spike, or Angelus for that matter, saw past my act."
"You really were giving me hints." Buffy said. Dru nodded.
"You're special." Dru said again. "And important. You're the only way Angel and I are going to be together the way we're supposed to be, not the way we were, or the way Spike believes. All this was a means to an end, and that end is coming. Beware the Judge."
"The what?" Buffy asked.
"You'll see." The vampire said cryptically. "But be careful. You're in danger, tonight especially. If you survive tonight, and I'm sure you will, everything else will fall into place." She turned and began to walk away. "Tell no one what happened here. I want to keep this a secret as long as possible." Before Buffy could answer, Dru was gone.
"I won't tell anyone." Buffy muttered. "Just don't you cross me."
As Buffy made her way past the museum, she noticed a truck parked at the alley at the back. She made her way carefully around the truck to find several vampires loading a long box into the truck. "Since when have vamps been interested in history?" She asked, getting her attention. She had a really bad feeling about this.
"I've been waiting for you." A figure stepped out of the shadows.
"Well, well. Spike's butt cleaner." Buffy quipped, recognising the shooter from her and Spike's first meeting. "What a surprise. Spike isn't exactly known for his kindness, especially when you fail him."
"I got a second chance." Finn said. "I deliver the box, I get immortality. You'll just be the icing on the cake."
"You actually want to be a vampire?" Buffy asked disgustedly. "Sick, sad and totally disgusting. You need to get a life."
"Or an unlife." Finn said, signalling the vamps to attack. Buffy dropped into a fighting stance. There were more than she thought. Definitely in over my head, she thought. Then she felt it. A strange, yet familiar, rush.
"Stay away from her." Xander growled, leaping down from on top of the truck.
"Xander?" Buffy asked incredulously. "You're walking? How?"
"You need me, I'm there." Her Protector said. "No matter what."
"How touching." Finn said, signalling the vamps forward. Buffy couldn't stop the grin spreading across her face.
"Shall we?" She asked.
"Let's." The duo charged forwards in a combination of martial arts and Force waves, slicing through the vampires like they were nothing as the true power of the Slayer and her Protector was finally realized. To the mystically inclined, the glow around the two became blinding. When it was over, only Finn remained.
"What the hell?" He muttered as he ran. "I don't know how those two got that strong, but Spike's going to want to know."
"Chicken." Buffy muttered.
"Totally." Xander said from behind her, wrapping his arms around her. Buffy leaned back into him.
"I still can't believe you're up." She said. "When I saw you earlier, you still had ages to go. What happened?"
"I don't know." Xander admitted. "I just had this feeling you were in trouble, so I got up. It didn't occur to me that I shouldn't be able to, it just happened."
"No complaints from me." Buffy said. Her eyes were drawn to the box. "Wonder what's inside."
"Let's find out." The two bent over the box, broke the lock and lifted the lid.
"Oh, gross. Eww much?" Buffy groaned. Inside the box was an arm. "And did I say yuck?"
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Xander muttered.
"You too?" Buffy asked, slightly surprised. "This deal keeps getting better." She looked back at the truck. "Faith's coming. I'm guessing they found something." Xander grinned.
"There's serious potential in this scenario." He said as Faith and the others rounded the corner.
"Behave." Buffy ordered.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Buffy, are you…" Faith stopped when she saw Xander bending over her sister's shoulder. "Xander?"
"'Buffy are you Xander'?" The Protector quipped. "That's just weird, Faith." Buffy turned and gave Xander The Look. "Sorry."
"Xander…how…" Willow tried to ask, but even babble mode was failing her. Xander grinned, understanding.
"Buffy needed me." He said with a shrug. "Not snow, nor sleet, nor broken back will stop me from helping my Slayer."
"And besides that, I needed a gross out partner." Buffy gestured to the box. The Giles, Angel, Willow and Faith had a look.
"Oh…" Willow turned away, trying to stop her dinner from coming up.
"Holy shit." Faith muttered.
"Oh my…" Giles agreed. Angel stood there, looking at the limb.
"The Judge." He muttered.
"Yeah." Faith agreed, remembering the book she had read quickly. "Or part of, at least. Not good."
"What's this judge thing?" Buffy asked, remembering Dru's warning.
"That Soul Eater you heard about." Faith told her. Buffy stiffened.
"The Soul Eater will be the event that brings us together."
"This is what Dru was talking about?" Buffy said. "An arm? Are we sure this isn't just the utterings of the insane?" She kept her face completely straight. The less people knew about Dru, the better. At least until Buffy figured out how far she could be trusted.
"I'm afraid it's a bit worse than that." Giles said. "If Spike and Dru can assemble all five pieces…"
"Game Over?" Xander asked.
"Well, yes." Giles nodded. "Basically. The Judge is unlike anything we've face before. It cannot be killed by any means. The only way it was defeated last time was total disembodiment."
"The whole 'limb in a box' thing?" Faith asked.
"Yes." Giles answered. "If the five limbs can be reassembled, the Judge will rise."
"Alright, we need to get rid of this." Buffy said with a sigh. "So much for our birthday, huh, Faith?"
"Bummer." Faith said. "I was hoping for a night off."
"You still would have had to deal with the Council's test." Giles reminded them. "Besides, we still have two weeks."
"Two weeks to stop them from ending the world?" Buffy said. "Well, we've had less time than that. It shouldn't be too hard."
"Um, no offence, Buff, but don't you have to take that drug so Giles doesn't lose his job?" Xander reminded them, still fuming at the lengths his Slayer had to go to protect her sister, while at the same time wondering exactly when she became 'his Slayer'.
"I know." Buffy said. "Wills is working on that. Right, Willow?" The red head nodded.
"I think I've found something on those discs." The red head said. "If I'm right, we may be able to find what we need to counter act the drug on the night."
"Besides, we're not exactly powerless." Faith reminded him.
"And you'll be there, right?" Buffy asked. Xander nodded.
"Like hell I'm letting you go in alone." He said.
"We still have the Judge to deal with." Angel reminded them.
"Don't worry." Buffy said. "I have an idea."
Dru watched the group walk off, the Judge's arm in their possession. They were skilled; there were no doubts about that. Resourceful too. What they lacked in experience and power they more than made up for in teamwork. But that power lack would end soon. Dru looked at Angel, taking the rear with Buffy's Protector, Xander. "Soon." She whispered.
Well, that answers the question about Xander and his mum, but what's with Dru?
Stay tuned.
Doc.