"No." Willow whimpered.

It was like a nightmare. Buffy had lost. Buffy, the Slayer, the one girl in all the world, chosen to protect humanity. She lost.

And Willow doesn't want to believe it because Buffy is supposed to be her hero. It wasn't just because Buffy rescued her that first night. It wasn't just because Buffy was the strongest person she knew. It wasn't even that Buffy was her new best friend. The only female she'd ever really felt close to. It was that Buffy made everything better. Suddenly Willow wasn't just some geek with a crush on her best friend. Suddenly she could really help people, humanity, just by helping Buffy. Every fledging she helped Buffy slay was countless lives saved years down the line.

It was a way to impress Xander and spend time with him, even though he had a crush on Buffy. Willow could see the writing on the wall. Xander liked strong women. Jean Grey from the X-men, Hawkgirl from the Justice League. Wonder Woman, bat girl, even Harley Quinn. Willow would never quite be Buffy strong, but she figured fighting evil would make her strong enough eventually.

And of course she would fight.

It was a way to make a difference, to really matter. Even if it was just in relation to Buffy. It was more than Willow had ever had before. It was a whole new world, full of horror and so much possibility. Sure it was scary. But it was magical too. And she would have never had it if not for Buffy.

But then she went and lost; to Cordelia. Cordelia Chase. The pretty, popular girl. The girl that got possessed and somehow decided to claim Xander. The girl who already had everything. The one who had tortured her through middle school, and continued the practice into high school. The girl that ruling the school wasn't enough for anymore, now she wanted everything Willow held dear too.

"NO!" She shouted.

She just couldn't deal with it. Willow had never handled bad dreams well. She stormed out of the library. She needed to leave, she needed it not to be true. She needed to process.

Giles watched her go. Just as stupefied by the altercation. He just couldn't quite wrap his mind around it.

Buffy lost. The slayer that had defeated a Master Vampire on her own had been bested by a girl with merely the possession of a spirit.

It seemed so impossible. For all that the archives detailed the Primals power, it had always been assumed that the Slayer was stronger. The Slayer spirit had protected humanity for millennium. The idea that some Primal spirit was stronger seems preposterous. Or rather it had been.

"Are you going to turn me now?" Amy asked eagerly in the ensuing silence.

She didn't mean to sound too eager, but she couldn't help herself. She's not ungrateful. She knows Buffy saved her from her mother, she knows that she owes the other girl her life. But knowing that she is going to become even stronger than the girl that saved her is gratifying. Empowering.

"Why not?" Cordelia flashed her an indulging smile."Is anyone going to stop me?"

Xander and Giles stayed silent. There was no point in confronting her now, especially as Amy clearly wanted it. Exactly what Amy was getting however,was even more of a mystery than before.

Cordelia gathered her light. She reached out to Amy, grabbing her arm and drawing the other girl close. She grabed Amy's chin, tilting her head for better access and bit deep into her throat. Right at her pulse point.

She met resistance.

There was magic inside of Amy's veins. The magic was strong, twisted and barbed. It caught her by surprise. But Cordelia was nothing if not stubborn. She pushed through. Coaxed the light of Amy's spirit into one like her own.

Cordelia pulled her mouth away from Amy's neck. Licked the blood from her lips, "It's done."

Amy looked dazed, swaying where she stood. Her eyes glowed gold.

"Freaky." Xander said. Silent just wasn't his natural state.

Cordelia herded Amy towards the door.

"You won't think so once you're part of the pack." She assured him and they disappeared out of the door.

Xander swallowed past the lump in his throat. He thinks about staying in the library. Running away, or finding a hiding place. But it's just not his style. Xander doesn't know what drives him to do it, bravery, or stupidity, but he went after Cordelia.

x

"You aren't going to be turning me." Her mate declared.

Cordelia frowned, good mood dispersing at the announcement."Yes, I will."

"No You won't." Xander said, and he sounded sure."I don't want you to do to me what you did to Amy. I don't want to be yours. I didn't even want you to beat Buffy. I don't want you to turn me."

Cordelia doesn't see the rage coming. But it's sudden and strong, rushing through her until it's hard to think straight."You don't understand. This isn't a game. Every day you stay human is another day you're too weak to defend yourself!"

"So yeah, being human makes me weak, it's of the bad. I get it! But it's my choice to make! And you don't get to take that from me just because you decided I'm your mate." Xander shouted back.

Cordelia growled out her frustration. She didn't understand why he was being so stubborn about this. She was offering him power, protection, even sex. There was no part of her offer he should be taking exception to, except that he did. For a moment the animal in her broke free. She found her hand wrapped around Xander's neck as she pinned him to the wall. Teeth at his throat. It took everything she had not to bite down. To claim what was rightfully hers.

But she had been human first. She knew better. She was better, she wouldn't be forcing herself on anyone, not even her stupid mate. No matter how much she longed and ached to dominate him. But that didn't mean she was giving up.

"You're mine." She whispered into his ear instead."You'll see. And you're gonna start to like it."

x

Buffy woke up to the tail end of a headache.

For a moment she's confused, and then, sudden as a lightning strike, she remembered.

Cordelia Chase.

She was not going to stay beaten by Cordelia Chase of all people. She barely registered Giles trying to talk to her. She had a score to settle.