"Spike, why'd you bring her hear?"

"A gift for you, pet, and I thought it best to get her out of the way fast."

Just then a ball of light formed between Zoë and Spike. Each jumped back not knowing what to expect.

"What the bloody hell! What are you doing?"

"It's not me. I haven't done any magic since I turned."

The ball of light turned into a slip of paper and its glow disappeared. Spike picked up the paper cautiously.

"Well, what do ya know?"

"What?"

"It's a bleedin' invite. I am officially invited to the Vampire's Ball. Well, good news travels fast."

"What does it mean?"

"Means the Big Bad is back, and he's a bloody animal!" Spike grabbed Zoë and threw her over his shoulder. Zoë squealed happily as Spike carried her to the bedroom and threw her down. Then he pounced on her.

The Scoobies were having a somber meeting. Grief weighed heavy on them all. It had been two days since they found Tara and Willow's bodies on Giles' doorstep. Dawn still hadn't stopped crying. No one knew what to say, although they were determined to find out who did this to their friends. It was obviously vampires, but it must be vampires that knew Buffy and her gang, otherwise they would have just left the bodies where they laid. Buffy had never been more terrified in her life. Someone was targeting her friends.

"Perhaps we should all sleep together tonight, but not in a sexual way, in a protection way. Now is no time for an orgy," said Anya.

"Has anyone heard anything from Spike or Zoë?" asked a frustrated Buffy. No one wanted to say it, but everyone was thinking it. Whoever killed Tara and Willow probably killed Spike and Zoë, too.

"No Buffy. I visited his crypt and knocked, but no one answered. I tried the door, but I'm afraid I couldn't open it," answered Giles.

"I visited Zoë's dorm, but no one had seen her even before . . . well . . . before. . ." Xander was too choked up to continue. He still couldn't believe Willow was gone. He'd known her since kindergarten and she was gone. Xander fought back tears, while Dawn let them flow.

"Do you think it got them too? Whoever did this? Do you think they killed Spike and Zoë, too?" asked a tearful Dawn.

"I don't know Dawn, but let's not jump to conclusions yet," said Buffy.

"Let's not cling to false hope either," said Giles. Buffy shot Giles a look. "I'm sorry Buffy, but we must be realistic."

"Who are our suspects? Who would do this?"

"God, more like who wouldn't. With the Vampire's Ball in town, any powerful vampire could have decided to take on the Slayer," said Buffy.

"Or perhaps it's someone we know, Dracula, Drusilla, Angelus even," said Giles.

"No," said Buffy, "Angelus would want me to know he was doing the killing, and despite the crazy, I don't think Drusilla would hurt Spike."

"Umm . . . Has anyone thought maybe Spike had something to do with this? I mean he disappeared the same time Zoë did and then all of a sudden Willow and Tara. . ."

"Spike wouldn't do that!" said Dawn.

"Even if Spike wanted to do this, he couldn't. He's still chipped," said Buffy.

"Also Spike traditionally likes to brag about his atrocities. He wouldn't just disappear after doing them," said Giles.

"So then what? No one pays for this? We just sit here while whoever did this is out there laughing at us?" said Xander.

"We'll find them Xander," said Buffy.

"That's not good enough! Willow and Tara are dead and we're sitting here doing nothing!" shouted Xander.

"What do you want us to do Xander! What are we supposed to do! You think I don't want to get out there and make with the violence! You think I don't want to smash some heads! Something is out there targeting my friends. You think I don't want to stop it? You think I'm not angry. You think I'm not ashamed. If I had been there . . . if I had known. . ."

"It's not your fault, Buffy," said Dawn. Buffy and Xander both dissolved into tears. Dawn had already been crying. Anya looked at Giles for some sort of cue. Giles could only stare at the floor.

Dawn knew if Buffy caught her sneaking out she would be in major trouble. Everyone was at Buffy's house. It was midnight, and Dawn knew she shouldn't be out alone, but she had to find Spike. If he was still alive, he could help them, also it wasn't safe for him to be alone. Dawn went straight to Spike's crypt, but she knew another entrance the others didn't. Spike showed it to her once. It was a sewer entrance. Dawn would emerge near Spike's bedroom. When Dawn arrived she was disappointed to find that Spike wasn't there. She was going to turn around when she heard something coming up through the entrance she'd entered. She recognized Spike's laughter and waited happily for him to show himself. When Spike did appear she threw her arms around him while he said in surprise, "Niblet? What are you doing here?"

"I thought you were dead," cried Dawn.

"I am, technically speaking."

"I thought you were the dusty kind of dead."

"Well, I'm not. What are you doing here? Does Buffy know where you are?"

"No. Spike, where have you been? It's been so terrible, Willow and Tara are dead," said Dawn through tears.

"What?" said Spike in feigned surprise.

Zoë was unhappy with being ignored and cleared her throat rather loudly. No one noticed. Dawn was too busy clinging to Spike and telling him the events of the past two days. Spike was paying attention to Dawn's story, making sure the Slayer couldn't connect him to the deaths. He didn't want her to find out until he could tell her himself and laugh in her face about it. However Spike and Dawn's repartee would be cut short as Zoë hit dawn across the head with a candle stick holder. There was no blood but Dawn was out cold.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing!" asked Spike holding up Dawn's limp body.

"You said I could torture the next one. Torture doesn't include chatting it up with you."

"Not this one," growled Spike.

"Why not?"

"'Cause I've got high hopes for her."

"What does that mean? And how did she even get in here? That new spell stuck that door closed to anyone and everyone but us."

"She came in the same way we did."

"How does she know about it?"

"I told her a while ago."

"Do you think she told her big sister?" asked Zoë.

"No, I told her it was secret."

"Yeah, and we all know how good teenage girls are at keeping secrets."

"She kept it; otherwise Buffy would have used it by now."

"Fine, so are we going to eat her or what?"

"Chain her to the wall."

"So we are going to torture her?"

"No, we're going to torture the Slayer, and I have the perfect idea how."