Hey, guys! I'm so sorry that I waited so long to update! I just had so much homework and play rehearsals. On top of that, I just finished midterms. I'm on winter break now, so I should be able to write more, now.

Anyway, on with the story! I think you'll like this story.

I wait up all night. All night and nobody comes to the door. Buffy's mom is freaking out.

"What if she's with a guy? What if she's with a guy she never told me about? What if she's not making good decisions? What if she's in a gang? What if she's doing drugs? What if-"

"Ms. Summers, she's fine." I say as I walk into the room.

"Ivy! Where's Buffy?"

"She had last minute plans. Willow's helping her study for an upcoming history exam." It's a lie, but what can I tell her? 'Oh, by the way, your daughter is off killing vampires with her hot boyfriend!'

"She is?"

"Yeah. She asked me to tell you in case you were freaking out."

"All right." She calms down almost instantly.

All night, and nobody enters the Summer's residence.

All night, and I've begun to suspect the worst.

It isn't until midday when Buffy returns. She seems distant and sad.

"Buffy? Where were you? I had to cover for you! We've been so worried!"

"Sorry. Have you guys seen Angel?"

I pause for a moment. She and Angel have been gone all night… no. "No. He hasn't turned up. Why?"

"I… um… I couldn't find him."

A stuttering Buffy? What's going on?

Before I can ask, Giles beats me to it. "Did you find the Judge?"

"Yes."

"And? How much progress do they have?" He insisted.

"They're done. He's assembled."

"What?" Giles is shocked. He hadn't thought they'd gotten this far along in their plan.

I'm waiting for different information. "And?"

"It's them. But on the bright side, your brother's in a big comfy wheelchair."

I smile sadly. "Always knew he'd be handicapped."

"What?" Buffy's still disoriented.

I smirk. "I'm psychic." I joke.

She almost smiles.

Willow and I sit with our legs curled up on her couch. I'm hanging out at her place after school, and we're both equally worried about Buffy.

"Why was she so worried?"

"I don't know. It probably has something to do with last night. She didn't come home."

"She didn't?"

"She was with Angel. Do you think?..."

"Buffy? No. She's smarter than that, right?"

We exchange a worried glance. "I hope you're right. I just hope that if you're not, he didn't break her heart or break up with her after." I don't say what I'm thinking. I hope he still has his soul.

"Ivy, maybe you should patrol without Buffy tonight. She's not okay."

"I know, but we need two Slayers. With the Judge fully assembled, we need all units functioning, feelings aside."

"I'm just worried about her."

"Me too. Tell you what, I'll check it out. I'll be in and out before they can notice. Maybe see just how potent this thing is."

"What about the whole 'no mortal weapon can kill it' thing?" She sounds worried.

"You know people back then. They love to exaggerate."

Then I walk out the door, hoping for my life that I'm right.

I rushed through the doors, hoping desperately to find somebody here. They said she lived here, right? The house couldn't be rebuilt so she got a new one.

"Mom! Mom?" I screeched at the top of my lungs, hoping he didn't get to her first.

"Mom!"

I kept calling, but the only answer I got was silence. I rushed into the parlor. The sofa, the chairs, the piano, everything was still intact. Nobody was there. I was about to turn away when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Lying next to the fireplace was a pile of ash. I rushed to it and picked some up in my hands.

Vampire ash.

He got to her first, just not the way I'd expected. He turned our mother into a vampire and killed her. He went to far. Much to far.

'Ev, don't go.'

'Come on, Will, he's just a guy.'

'What if he's a vampire?'

'Then I'll slay him.'

I could still here his words, trying to convince me not to see Angelus. If only I'd listened.

'Ivy, what's wrong?'

'It's nothing.'

'Was he a vampire? Did you slay him?'

'Yes, he was a vampire.'

'And?'

'I couldn't. He was too strong. I think he'll come back.'

'Back? What should we do?'

'Run.'

I followed my own advice and fled the building. I rushed away, hoping to get away from this nightmare. I wished that my job hadn't torn up my family like this.

"I wish I'd never been made the Slayer."

Then I heard a raspy voice behind me. A voice that said one word. "Done."

I really should have thought this through. I was just caught up in the whole 'save the Buffy the trouble' thing. Maybe I should go back. All of these thoughts go through my head as I silently slip into the warehouse. I'm tempted, but I stay on track. I can only imagine Willow's face if I turned back now.

I tread lightly as I crouch down, moving forward. I can hear a conversation on the level below me.

"Well, he moves to New York to try and fulfill his Broadway dream. It's tough sledding, but one day he's working in the chorus when the big star twists her ankle."

I can see now. Angel's there, talking to Spike and Drusilla.

"You don't give up, do you?" Spike asks, agitated.

"As long as there's injustice in the world, as long as scum like you is walking… well, rolling the streets… I'll be around. Look over your shoulder. I'll be there." He sounds almost… mocking?

"Uh, yeah. Angel, um… look over your shoulder." Angel turns to see the Judge standing behind him. To my horror, it reaches out places its' palm on his chest.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Spike asks, gleeful.

"Well, you know, it kinda itches a little." Oh, no. No, please no. She didn't.

"Don't just stand there! Burn him!" Spike shouts, impatient, at the Judge.

"Gee, maybe he's broken." Angel says sarcastically.

"What the hell is going on?" Spike practically spits.

"This one cannot be burnt. He is clean." The Judge says, his deep voice echoing throughout the room.

"Clean? You mean he's…"

"There's no humanity in him."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Angelus says with a smirk.

"Angel?" Drusilla asks, pleased.

"That's right baby. I'm back." I can barely hold back tears. "Speaking of being back," He continues, "I can smell, Ivy, and I've been longing for your blood for a hundred years."

"No." I whisper. I scramble back, but a vampire beats me to it. Before I can turn away, it has my arms and throws me off the balcony onto the cold, hard ground by Angelus's feet. I catch my breath and am about to jump up when Angelus grabs my shoulder and pulls me up.

"How nice of you to join us."

I punch him in the face and spin out of his way. "I only came for the free food." I reply.

He smirks. "You're a bit more confident now. Feisty. I like that." I throw another punch. He grabs my fist and pulls my back to his chest, trapping me with his arms. I try in vain to struggle away.

"I'm afraid I don't have much time to chat." He whispers, his lips brushing my ear.

"She is full of humanity." The Judge says. He begins to move to me.

"No." Angelus stops him. I freeze. "Let me take care of that." I struggle harder.

"Normally, I'd love to dance, but I don't really have that option right now." He says, his voice low. "However, I'd love to draw this out, and what can I say? The more willing the better. Dru?"

No. I won't do it. Drusilla moves over gleefully and leans down. She lifts two perfectly manicured nails, drawing my eyes unwilling to them. Once my gaze is captured, she lowers them, bringing my sight to her eyes. I find myself staring into them. They're so deep. My mind goes blank. I feel distant, as if watching somebody else. An unspoken message enters my mind. Sleep. My eyelids grow heavy and I collapse into the arms of Angelus.

I blink, temporarily blinded by the sunlight streaming in through the cracks in the windows. I squint until eventually my vision returns. I'm looking into the smiling face of Angelus. I automatically flinch back as the memories come back to me.

"Sleeping Beauty, awoken by true loves kiss." He says smirking. My arms are dangling beside me, chained to the wall.

"Come on, Angie, what happened to the whole torture thing? I thought you were going to drive me crazy." I taunt to hide the fact that I'm ready to curl up in a ball and hide.

"No, I'm saving that for later." He replies easily with a smirk.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you the whole chain thing isn't really a turn-on."

"Really? I always thought it was for you."

"No. Not really. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it is for some girls, but you want to hear a secret?" I ask. "They can't hold me." I kick his chest. Then, faster than Buffy could, I yank down, breaking the chains.

"You sound like Buffy."

"What can I say? I've picked up on some tricks. I grab one of the chains and swing it, waiting for him to make the next move. He laughs cockily.

"You're good. Better than you used to be." His hand lashes forward, grabbing a chain and pulling me close. "You still got a lot to learn, kiddo. Even for a super-Slayer like yourself, you're unbelievably easy to beat."

"Then why haven't you yet?" I ask him, despite the fact that he has both of my arms pinned to him.

Instead of answering, he leans down and kisses me. I gasp. Why… I can't think straight. I want to push away. I hate him with every fiber of my being. This isn't right, we're mortal enemies. I pull away… as much as I can. No matter how much I struggle, he won't release my arms. He grins.

"Because I'm not ready to beat you just yet. It's more fun to just dance. But just wait. Sooner than you think, you'll see me again." Then he releases my arms. I watch him suspiciously for a moment before turning and running away. Drusilla isn't there and I ignore my brother in the wheelchair in the corner.

All I can hear is Angelus's laughter.

When I get there, it's dark. I run into the school, nearly breaking the doors as I slam open. "Buffy! Willow! Xander! It's Angel! He's…"

I skid to a halt when I see Angelus there, holding Willow. For a minute I think she's dead. Then I see her shaking.

"Bad." I finish.

Ms. Calendar is facing him, and Buffy and Xander are there too, trying to find a way out of this.

"Nice of you to join us." Angelus says, throwing Willow roughly to the ground. I wince as I hear a bone snap. He chuckles and turns to me. "I heard you were a bit held up."

"Oh, you'd know all about that."

"I would, wouldn't I?" He grins and takes another step. I hadn't noticed that we'd been moving slowly closer to each other.

"Be careful. You better watch your step." He whispers before pulling me roughly into his arms. He forces his lips on mine before he throws me against the wall, breaking the plaster. "Because things are about to get very interesting."

There's a flash of light and she's gone. I look around, prepared to find her, but she's just disappeared.

"Hello?" I run back to the house. It's the same as before. Empty. I hold back a scream and kick the wall. Normally my foot would go through, but now it doesn't dent it. My foot begins to throb painfully and I realize what's wrong.

I don't feel strong anymore. My strength is gone. I'm not the Slayer anymore. I wished that I wasn't the Slayer. I got my wish. And it didn't change a thing. My brother is still a vampire. My mother is still dead. All that happened was that I can't defend myself.

I sleep in my old room that night, or try to. I can't close my eyes.

It's midnight when I hear the door downstairs creek open. I'm about to reach for my weapon when I realize that I'm not strong anymore. I know how to avoid their blows, though. I open the door and stealthily move down the stairs. In the living room, Spike is…

I gag. I don't care that they hear me. That is the grossest thing I've ever seen.

Spike was snogging someone. I have to remind myself that it's not my Will, but God! He gives me that smile that he used to. "Hey, Sis."

"William." I say coldly. I can't even fake a smile.

"Is this your sister?"

"Yeah. This is her."

"She doesn't seem like much."

I can't stop from rolling my eyes.

"Really, Will, I knew you were a vampire, but even for a soulless fiend, that's appalling. I never thought I'd walk in on you snogging a girl.

She giggles and I glare at her.

"You… You know." He seems surprised. He internally shakes himself off before he grins cockily. "Well at least I can skip the tedious bits." Faster then my newly unenhanced senses can register, he has me pinned against the wall.

"Are you going to kill me?" I ask.

"No. I'll make you like me."

"Like hell you will." I knee him where it hurts. Sure, I don't have the strength I used to, but I think anyone can paralyze anyone for at least a few seconds by doing that. He drops me and I duck under his arm and sprint out the door. Why can't I be fast anymore?

I need to get my powers back. If not-

I've only gotten a few yards before I slam into a very firm chest. I stumble back and manage to regain my balance. I look up and find a grinning Angelus less than a foot from my face.

"Well, if isn't Ivy." He moves closer to me. "And trust me, you're not getting away this time."

"Damn."