Chapter Seven

Buffy was gone.

Her best friend was gone, and Willow didn't know what to do. She went to school and hoped that Buffy would mysteriously show up and brush it off as a joke. It had to be a joke. There was no way Buffy was dead.

Everyone at school thought she was. People didn't get attacked by a vampire and live to tell the tale. And according to the witnesses at the party, Buffy had been struck by several of them. It didn't take long for the rumors to circle Sunnydale High. Willow didn't know which story was worse, the "Buffy Summers' head was chopped off by a vampire at Kyle's party" rumor or "vampires took turns drinking her blood before taking her body" one.

Willow didn't believe any of that. She had hope. There had to be a reason those vampires had taken Buffy instead of killing her and leaving her body. If Willow had to guess, she'd say Spike had something to do with her missing best friend.

And Mr. Giles had agreed with her when she barged into the library a few days later to tell him what had happened to her missing best friend. Buffy had trusted him with the information on Spike weeks before; maybe he could help find her.

"Buffy was kidnapped by vampires?" Giles asked, viciously cleaning his glasses.

"Yes," Willow nodded. "We need to find her! I can't sit around and do nothing when she could still be alive!"

"I thought a vampire chopped off Buffy's head?" Xander shrugged while sharpening a stake with a knife. "Sounds to me like she's as good as dead."

"H-how can you say that?" Willow yelled at her old best friend and then turned pleading eyes to Giles. "What about this Spike guy? Did you find anything out about him? Maybe he's the one who took her?"

"Willow, I would like to apologize for Xander's rude behavior," Giles turned disapproving eyes towards Xander, and then looked back at Willow. "I promise you I'll do everything in my power to find Buffy."

Willow wiped the tears falling down her cheeks. "Okay. That's good. W-where do we start?"

"It would make sense if this Spike did indeed take Buffy. She sounded quite frantic about the situation when she talked to us a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find him in the vampire diaries," Giles sighed. "He had to have gone by a different name in times past. If I could find out what that name is, I could figure out what he wants, specifically with Buffy."

"And how do we figure that out?" Xander asked. "We don't know anything about him. We don't know his age, what he looks like, nothing. Nada. Unless you know someone who might have information on the guy, we're screwed."

Giles face lit up. "Of course! How could I be so bloody stupid?" Giles said, grabbing his coat off the chair and rushing towards the library doors.

Willow rushed after him. "Wait! Where are we going?"

Giles stopped abruptly. "We'renot going anywhere. You must stay here. I'm afraid the place I'm going to is far too dangerous for you to be around."

"Giles," Willow started. "Buffy is my friend and– "

"No," Giles said sternly. "I'm sorry, Willow. I know you want to help your friend. And I want to find her too, but I'll be able to find out what I need much quicker if I go alone."

Willow's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Okay fine."

"If you want to help, you could stay here with Xander and go through my books and try to find this Spike. Maybe you can find something that I might've missed."

Willow nodded in agreement. Giles turned around and continued walking towards the doors.

"Oh! And Giles?"

Giles stopped midway through the doors. "Yes?"

"Be careful."

Giles smiled. "Thank you, Willow. I will be." And with that, he was gone.

Giles walked up to the abandoned building and tore off the "do not enter" sign on the door. He slowly stepped inside and inspected his surroundings. The room was cold and dark, much like the man he was looking for.

There were Halloween costumes everywhere. So, this is what he came to Sunnydale for? To run a Halloween shop? That didn't sound like the man Giles used to know… something wasn't right.

Giles spotted a back door and moved to open it, but before he could, he felt something hit the back of his head, and he fell to the ground as everything went dark.

Giles groaned as he awakened. Everything was blurry, and his head was pounding. He tried to recall what had happened before… he was looking for someone... at a shop, with Halloween costumes, and noticed a back door; when he went to open it, that's when everything went blank.

The only thing he couldn't recall is who he'd been looking for.

"Well, look who's awake."

As his vision began to clear, his eyes focused on the man in the center of the room.

Ethan Rayne.

"Ethan," Giles croaked. "W-why did you hit me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ethan asked, "Because you're going to try to stop my plan! Well, that just can't be done, can it?"

"What?" Giles asked confusedly, "I can assure you I don't know what plan you are referring too."

"Oh." Ethan frowned. "So, you're not here to stop me… interesting. Why are you here, then?"

"T-to ask you information regarding a vampire," Giles replied. "Now, will you please untie these ropes"?

"Huh," Ethan said, surprised, and grabbed a knife. "I must say I wasn't expecting that, Rupert."

Ethan cut away the ropes tying Giles's hands together. As soon as his hands were free, Giles punched Ethan in the face.

Ethan laughed, rubbing his bruised cheek. "What? No hug?... Aren't you pleased to see your old mate, Rupert? How did you know I was in Sunnydale anyway?"

"I saw you at the mall," Giles said.

"Oh," Ethan replied. "Well, it's always nice to see an old friend."

"We are not friends, Ethan," Giles said harshly.

"Why? Because you've turned all good and are collaborating with the Watcher's Council?" Ethan scoffed. "It's quite a nice act you've got going on there, old man. Pretending to be the champion of innocence and all things pure and good."

"It's no act… It's who I am."

"And who are you exactly? A Watcher? Oh, that's right. You're not. You haven't been elected one."

"I will be once the next Slayer is chosen. That's why I was sent to Sunnydale," Giles replied.

"And then what?" Ethan asked, walking over and pouring brandy into a glass. "You become a Slayer's sniveling tweed-clad guardian? I think not… I know who you are, Rupert, and I know what you're capable of. But they don't, do they? That little group of high schoolers you associate yourself with now. They have no idea where you come from."

"I didn't come here to discuss my past. I'm here for– "

"Information," Ethan finished, sitting down at a table. "It looks like you've come to the right place. What information do you need?"

Giles walked over and sat across from him. "You're willing to help me? That easily?"

"Oh no," Ethan replied, "it comes at a price. You will not bother me while I'm here in Sunnydale."

The deal sounded easy enough, and Giles would hopefully have the information he needed to help Buffy. Even if that meant ignoring Ethan's evil plans. Giles didn't like it, but it'd be worth it if that meant saving Buffy.

"Deal."

"Fantastic. What can I do for you?"

"I need information on a vampire that goes by the name of Spike."

Ethan's eyebrows raised. "You want information on William the Bloody? I hope you're not trying to take him on yourself, Rupert. You'll lose."

"I'm not trying to kill him; I just need to know where to find him. He has a student of mine."

"If he has a student of yours," Ethan replied. "I'd say she's as good as dead."

"Ethan," Giles warned. "I need to know everything I can about him."

"Fine," Ethan sighed. "He's a vampire, a little over a hundred years old. He's a part of the Master's bloodline."

"Oh dear lord, you mean he's sired by– "

"No, he's not. He's sired by a vampire named Drusilla, which I heard was attacked by a mob at the beginning of the year. But that's not important," Ethan took a sip of his brandy. "Anyways, Drusilla was sired by Angelus, who was sired by Darla, and she was the one sired by the Master."

"Angelus… I've heard that name before… Is he the vampire that– "

"The Master keeps locked up in his mansion? Brutally torturing him? Why, yes, it is." Ethan replied.

"Why? Why would they do that to someone of their own bloodline?" Giles asked, confused. "I thought Angelus was one of the most vicious vampires on record?"

"You see, that's the funny part. Angelus goes by the name Angel now. He was cursed in 1889 by members of the Clan Kalderash as vengeance for killing a member of their clan," Ethan said. "They returned his soul, forcing him to live eternally in guilt over the countless crimes he had committed. It's quite poetic if you ask me."

"And Spike? This William the Bloody, what about him?"

"He's known as the Slayers of Slayers, he killed two Slayers, one in China in the 1900s and another in New York, not sure of the time. He also earned the nickname 'Spike' by torturing his victims with railroad spikes."

"Oh, dear lord," Giles replied. That isn't quite the information he was hoping to hear. He'd been hoping to learn that Spike was a fledgling, someone who could easily be killed. Killing a master vampire, especially without a Slayer, was nearly impossible to do. How could he save Buffy by himself?

"Ethan, do you think– "

"No."

"You don't know what I was going to ask." Giles glared.

"You were going to ask me if I could help you fight William the Bloody, and the answer to that is no. That's a death sentence. And if I were you, I'd run as far away as possible from him. The Order of Aurelius being here is bad enough; you'd be a fool to take on Spike by yourself when two Slayers couldn't even kill him."

Giles took the bottle of brandy and poured himself a drink. "And what do you expect me to do? Let that poor girl die? You know I cannot do that."

"Why not?" Ethan shrugged. "She's probably already dead."

"No, I believe she's still alive," Giles said. Spike wouldn't save Buffy's life twice just to kill her. It didn't make sense. Buffy was still alive. He just had to find her. If only he had someone here who was more robust, quicker… someone who could fight.

He needed a Slayer.

Sunnydale needed a Slayer.

Drowning his drink, Giles stood up and patted Ethan on the shoulder. "Ethan, thank you for your help."

"Anything for an old friend," Ethan said. "Oh, and Rupert? I think there's someone else in Sunnydale too. They're not a vampire, but their presence is powerful. I've never felt anything like it before. It scares even me, which is hard to do."

Giles nodded. It was better to deal with one problem at a time. He had to find Buffy first. And if the Slayer agreed to come to Sunnydale, she could help make this town the way it was before the Master. She could help him defeat Spike, and whoever this mysterious new creature was.

"Thank you again, Ethan. And that stunt you're thinking of pulling here, just know that I'll find a way to stop you," Giles said and began walking towards the door.

"Of course, you will, Ripper," Ethan smirked.

Willow slowly trailed up the steps to Buffy's house. It was the second time she'd come to check on Joyce, and it wasn't getting any easier. There was nothing Willow could say or do to make Buffy's mother feel any better. Her daughter was gone, and Joyce wasn't naïve about the monsters in this town; she suspected what could've happened to Buffy. Willow knew it didn't make the pain lessen.

Willow didn't know if she could do this; seeing her best friend's mother in that much pain and not doing anything about it; she suddenly wished she didn't leave Xander at the library to come here.

Just as she was about to leave, the front door opened.

"Willow?" Joyce asked. "I wasn't expecting company, please come in."

Willow gave a soft smile and entered the Summers's residence. She noticed the red-shot eyes Joyce had from crying; it only made her feel worse.

"How are you doing?" Willow asked.

"Well, the police haven't been much help," Joyce sniffled. "The-they think she's dead, but I know that can't be true. Buffy's a fighter. She always has been."

Willow followed Joyce into the living room and sat down next to her on the couch.

"I know she is," Willow said, putting a comforting hand on top of Joyce's. "And I promise you that I'll do everything I can to find her."

"That's sweet of you, Willow," Joyce replied, the tears streaming down her face freely now. "But there's nothing you can do without putting yourself in danger. Buffy wouldn't want that. We just have to hope the police can find her."

Willow smiled. The police were useless when it came to… well, anything in Sunnydale. Joyce knew that, yet she still had hope. And so did Willow.

Buffy was alive, and she was going to find her.