The night was supposed to be about having a little fun, releasing a little tension, and maybe getting in a good punch or two. Such goals were hard to attain though when your sparring partner was less than enthusiastic about fighting you.
"Come on," Beth cajoled the antlered demon (wearing a snazzy three-piece, much to her absolute surprise and delight). "You can do better than this." Apparently not, since he clumsily blocked her attack again, not even moving to retaliate.
She huffed. This was supposed to be a good night for her. Her father had declined her offer that she go with him when he went out to do some slaying, saying he'd feel better having her indoors until Buffy sorted out the whole identity issue currently surrounding their newest vampire in town. She'd huffed and puffed and he'd blown down any argument she'd brought up, a new personal best for him (she'd even pulled out the sad eyes). Why'd he have to go and grow a spine now of all times?
She'd snuck out though, mainly because Willow was the only adult in the house and because she was often out with Esme, no one had bothered to inform her that Beth couldn't go out slaying on her own. She knew about Luther-James, but that was about it. So, by sneaking out, she meant she told Willow she was going out slaying and walked right out the front door.
"Give me something," she pleaded with the demon.
"But I'm a pacifist," he insisted.
"You're a demon! You're not allowed to be a pacifist!" she protested.
"Hey! That's specie-ist," he told her in return.
Figuring this was as good as a fight as he was going to give (read: none at all), she stopped attacking him with a heavy sigh. "Then what are you doing in a graveyard?" she asked.
"Um, I figured this was the best place to start," he explained, looking somewhat nervous. She was getting the impression that he was a nervous guy. "I'm looking for someone, you see."
"And you think this person would be in a graveyard?" she asked and he nodded. "Is this person dead?"
"Well, er, yes?" he replied. "He's a vampire."
Beth's eyebrows rose. A demon looking for a vampire? Demons didn't normally like vampires, as vampires were considered a "tainted species." Then again, this wasn't exactly a normal demon (pft, pacifist).
"And you think he'd be in a graveyard?" she inquired and he nodded again. "Where the dead people are? Not an actual food supply?"
The antlered demon paused, giving her statement some thought. "I didn't think about that, actually."
"What does he look like then?" she inquired. Since she didn't really have much else to do tonight, she might as well help the poor guy out. If something else found him, she didn't think him claiming to be a pacifist would help him out a lot.
"I don't know," he admitted sheepishly. "I'm looking for him for someone else."
She sighed. "Is he supposed to be really powerful?" It was possible he was looking for the Master Vampire here in town, not like she could be much help, seeing as they didn't have a clue as to where he was residing.
"I don't know," he answered, sounding more discouraged. "She didn't tell me a lot about him at all. She just told me to go find him. Her 'dark prince'."
Beth couldn't help it. She laughed. "Dark prince?" She repeated between giggles. "What kind of guy goes by that name? He sounds like an absolute prick. Dark prince. Bring me this Prince of Darkness, I'll kick his ass. Let me guess, does she go by Dark Princess?"
"Uh no," he told her. "She's calls herself his mommy."
"Oh, ew," she replied, making a face. "I didn't need to know that. Why did you think I needed to know that?"
"I need to find him before she gets here," he continued. "If I don't find her, she's says she's going to be very cross. And that it'll make her 'dollies' upset."
"Dollies? How old is this vampiress?"
He shrugged. "You can't tell with vampires, you know? She looks like she was pretty young when she was turned, but I don't know how long she's been a vampire. She wears old clothes, though and she's pretty strong. But she doesn't make a lot of sense, you know? She says the stars talk to her."
The smile dropped off of Beth's face. "The stars, they…talk to her?" she asked, her heart picking up its pace. "What do you mean by that?"
He shrugged helplessly. "That's what she says. I think she gets visions, you know? And she always talks in such nonsense, but I watch out for her, because she doesn't seem to have a firm grip on reality. She sometimes behaves like a child. She's got a doll named Edith and everything."
"Why is she coming?" she demanded suddenly. "Did she tell you?"
"I told you," he replied. "She wants to find her 'Dark Prince,' whoever that guy i—hey! Where are you going? I thought you were helping me find this guy!"
She ignored the demon, taking off at a sprint across the graveyard and toward her house. Thankfully she hadn't gotten far before she'd run into the demon.
She busted in through the front door, startlingly Willow. "My goddesses!" Willow gasped, eyes wide. "What's got you in a fuss?"
"Did Dad come back?" she asked quickly, yanking her phone out of her pocket.
"Er, no, he said he was going to be out for a while," Willow replied, walking over to Beth. "What's a matter? Is it about James?"
"No," she said, dialing her father's number. She heard it ring, followed by an even fainter ring coming from the kitchen. "Ergh, he left his phone here again!" Frustrated, she ended the call, resisting the urge to throw her phone across the room.
"What's going on?" Willow asked again. "Why do you need to talk to your dad?"
"I think Drusilla's in town," she answered, watching Willow's face morph into an expression of shock.
"Did you see her?" Willow demanded.
She shook her head. "No, but I ran into a demon who was looking for this vampire's 'Dark Prince' and he kind of described Drusilla to a T."
Willow stepped back, biting her lip. "She did call him that sometimes, I think," she said. "Do you know if she's here yet?"
"The demon said she was coming soon," Beth answered. "You don't think she wants to hurt him, do you? She doesn't know he's human and isn't she prone to jealousy? Wouldn't we have 'stolen' him from her?"
"I don't know what she could want," Willow admitted. "But we do need to find him, to warn him at least, and do it before she finds him." She rushed into her room, grabbing her car keys and a jacket. "Come on, we're going to go find him. He told me he was planning on checking out a recently condemned building outside of town, to make sure no one was moving in. He should still be there if we hurry."
She ran out into the garage with Willow right behind her and hopped into the passenger's seat. Willow started the car, pealing out of the garage and zooming down the street. They had a long drive before they reached Spike, and while Drusilla couldn't move faster than a car, they were still anxious to get there.
Half an hour later and Willow saw the building out in the distance. It had been built away from most of the population, as it had been used for waste processing. It had been abandoned rather recently for a new facility that had been built on the other side of town. Now, it was the perfect little hidey-hole for demons and vampires alike and likely a good place to get some ass kicking in. As they pulled up, they could see Spike's car parked out front, some few hundred yards from the building. He wasn't it in though and they didn't see any movement around the building.
Willow brought the car to a stop, and Beth jumped out, calling out for Spike.
"Dad!" she shouted, hearing her voice echo around her. No one replied though and she grew anxious. Was it possible that Drusilla had already been in town? After all, she could see the future so it wasn't odd to think she would be playing around with Beth and sending the demon out on a bit of a wild goose-chase.
"Dad!" she tried again, making her voice as loud as she could. She thought she felt some of that old sire-childe tie that hadn't entirely faded after he shanshued, but she couldn't be sure. She'd been a child when that happened and it did sort of feel like Angel would be lurking around, since the link was so weak.
"I think he might be inside," she said, leaning down to talk to Willow through the window. "I'm going to go in and look for him, alright?"
"I don't know," Willow replied nervously. "Drusilla can be pretty dangerous when she wants to be. I don't think it's a good idea that you go in there alone."
"I know, but I think he's in there," she replied. "For all we know, he's busy fighting right now and can't hear us over the noise. Besides, I think I can feel a bit of our old link. It feels distant, like Angel's does."
"So you can feel him in there?" Willow asked.
She nodded. "Yes," she decided. "I can."
"Be quick then," Willow told her. "I'll be waiting here in the car."
Willow watched as she ran off, disappearing into the building. She turned off the car's engine, sitting in silence as she waited for Beth to come back out with her dad.
As the minutes stretched on, she grew even more worried, even though she knew the likelihood was that there had been a fight going on inside and now Beth was joining in. But just because she could come up with a logical conclusion didn't mean she wasn't worried.
Ten minutes passed without anyone coming out of the building and Willow decided it was best she went in to make sure everything was going fine. As soon as she reached for the door, a loud boom filled the area and a bright, fiery light eclipsed the building. Willow ducked down as the sonic boom shattered her windows, throwing glass everywhere. She felt the stinging on her arms and a sweltering heat envelope her.
She waited a moment before slowing sitting back up. In front of her, the building was gone, rubble only left in its place.
For a moment, Willow didn't even move. There was a ringing in her ears as she sat, almost comatose, her eyes blankly staring at the remnants of the building. The area was still burning from the explosion and she could feel heat creeping over her body.
Everything snapped into focus as her brain caught up with what she was seeing. Beth. Beth had been in that building. The building that had just exploded. She scrambled to get out of the car, ignoring how heated the metal had become. She stumbled out onto the dirt, unable to take her eyes away from the destruction. She brushed her hair out of her face, her breath growing labored.
"Beth," she called out, quietly. The ringing had receded some and her voice sounded muffled and far too quiet for her own ears. "Beth!" she called out again, louder this time.
There wasn't a sound, beside the crackling of the fires and of the building settling. "Beth!" she cried out, her voice becoming thick. This was not happening. The building hadn't been scheduled for demolition for another week and they weren't planning on doing it at night anyway.
"Elizabeth!" Willow screamed, walking closer and closer to the building. The heat tried to force her back, but she kept moving until she was at the edge of it. She reached out to rest against what was still standing of the brick wall, feeling more tired than she ever had before. She didn't remember the last time she had felt so weak, so empty. She let out a pained cry as her hand touched the brick, jerking the limb back. Of course, everything was still hot. She knew she shouldn't be this close, but she didn't know what else to do. Beth was in there, somewhere, and she knew she had to try. She'd never forgive herself if she did.
"Beth!"
-.-
The oddly timed explosion caught both Spike and the demon off guard. He had found the little big-horned, hairy bugger hiding out in the old building and had given the thing chase when it bolted. It'd taken him a while to catch up with it—maybe a mile or two—before he was able to tackle it long enough to engage in a fight. The beast hadn't tried running again, thankfully, instead turning to fight.
The explosion rattled them both though. He looked over his shoulder and through the line of trees to see a dot of orange from where they had run. He made a face. Hopefully he'd parked his car far enough away from it. He hadn't known they were detonating tonight.
"Right then," he huffed, now anxious to get this over with so he could go and check on his car. He hadn't been joking when he'd called it his second child. Maybe his actual child might have made a face and rolled her eyes, but he was damn serious. Precious, that car was to him.
He slugged the demon as hard as he could, sending it tumbling to the ground. He saw his axe where he had left it—buried in the trunk of a tree—and ambled over to get it. The demon had lost quite a bit of blood by now and it wasn't very smart, so defensive tactics weren't its best. It swayed on its feet, huffing as it did so.
Spike pulled the axe out of the tree with a good yank, turning to look at the demon. "Was thinkin' of keepin' at it a bit longer," he told the demon, even though he knew it couldn't understand him. "Get some anger out, thas all. But got other things to worry 'bout now, so I'll make this right quick." He lunged at the demon, tackling it, and driving the axe right through the demon's throat, nearly decapitating it.
The demon choked and made a gurgling noise, its eyes wide in panic before its head slumped to the side, dead. He finished severing the head, knowing that was the only way to ensure the thing was actually dead.
Once he finished, he stood back up, stepping back to see his work. Gross, maybe, but still, he'd taken down something three times his size and if he wasn't allowed to be proud of that, that person could go screw themselves.
He quickly wiped his axe off in the grass, trying to get all the gross demon blood off it (Buffy'd have a fit if she smelled it in his car ever) before setting off at a leisurely jog back to the now detonated building.
As he drew closer, he could hear someone yelling and he stopped, frowning. It sounded like a woman, but it was still too far away to make out the words. They were calling something out, over and over, and he began to run again, picking up his pace.
The closer he got, the better he could make out the words—or word, that is—and realized he knew the voice of the person shouting.
"Beth!"
He was sprinting now, his arms pumping as he broke through the line of trees and into the clearing.
He felt the heat immediately, the fire bright against the night sky. He could see his car, looking no worse for wear, but there was Willow's car parked closer, with the windows blown out.
"Beth!"
The desperate cry caught his attention and he saw Willow in the rumble, digging around. He ran over to her, ignoring the wall of heat as he tried to pull her back from the collapsed building.
"Willow!" he shouted as she tried to fight him. "You can' be in here! S'not safe!"
"Spike?" she whispered hoarsely, turning around. Her face was dirty and streaked with tears and he could see small lacerations on her arms. Her hands were red and burnt and he wondered if she'd been trying to dig through the debris from the start.
"You shouldn' be here," he said, trying to pull her away. Although she now knew it was him who had been trying to drag her away, she didn't budge.
"No!" she shouted, jerking back from him. "I-I have to find her! S-she's in here somewhere and I have to find her…" she trailed off, her eyes roving over the destroyed building.
A weight settled down in his stomach. "Who's in here?" he asked her, although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer. She looked at him again, his eyes begging her to say something else, to lie, whatever it would take to make reality go away.
"Beth," she got out, her head dropping.
Spike didn't move immediately, his body still. When he did though, he let out a hoarse cry, punching his fist into the wall beside him. It fell immediately, unstable from the explosion.
"Tell me you're lying," he demanded through gritted teeth, turning to look at her.
Willow could only look at him with the same broken expression he had found her in, her mouth half-open.
He sucked in a hissing breath, his hand clenching and unclenching.
"I'm sorry," she whispered in a raspy voice. "We were coming to talk to you and she thought you were in the building. She ran in, and then—and then, it-it-it—Spike. I'm sorry."
"Come on," he directed gruffly, grabbing her arm and trying to tug her out of the rubble.
"But wait—" she gasped, her other hand reaching out toward the destruction. "Beth is in—"
"I know!" he shouted. She halted and watched as he took several breaths to try and even out his emotions. "I know," he repeated, this time in a much calmer tone. "An' there's no point in diggin' 'round the whole place. You got mojo, don't you, Red?"
She nodded numbly. "I don't have anything with me though," she told him.
"Call up your bird then," he told her and she finally let him pull her away from the explosion. She looked over her shoulder at the smoldering mess and her throat closed up.
When they were at what Spike thought to be a safe distance from the destroyed building, he immediately let go if her hand, taking several deep, shuddering breaths. Beth was strong; she was a slayer, and not only that, but half-vampire. But she wasn't invincible. Here they had been, worried about some possible eons old vampire, and an old, abandoned building turns out to be the culprit. She wasn't indestructible, not in the slightest. What would they find after the locator spell? Could it even locate a dea—he jammed his fists into his eyes. He wasn't going to think about it. Nope. He couldn't.
God, what was he going to tell Buffy?
Willow took a deep breath, wiping her eyes before walking some distance away from the cars and from the grieving father. He looked like he was about to fall over, judging from the way the slight breeze made him sway. He stayed on his feet though, his head hanging.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket, taking another deep breath before dialing. She held the phone up to her ear, the mechanic ringing almost too faint to hear.
"Willow?"
"Hey, Esme," she replied, hoping she didn't sound as icky as she felt. "I need your help right now."
"Willow?" Esme repeated, her voice sounding urgent and concerned. "What's wrong? You sound upset."
Willow looked back toward the building, swallowing heavily. "Something bad has happened."
-.-
It was past midnight by the time the faint thrum of an engine could be heard. Soon, headlights were bobbing along the road, growing brighter and bigger the closer they got. Willow twisted the hem of the shirt in her sweaty hands, biting her lip. Spike stood stock still, dead eyes focused on the car.
"Spike," she began, her voice still sounding scratchy. She'd stopped crying maybe ten minutes ago, but she still felt like she had a rock lodged in her throat and she was pretty sure the only reason she stopped crying was because she'd run out of tears. "There's something I should tell you."
The car pulled up into the empty lot, kicking up dirt as it went. He finally caught sight of the vehicle and an actual emotion besides absolute, complete devastation crossed his face. He was frowning. He'd know that car anywhere…
"Red," he started slowly as the car came to a stop next to Spike's car. He turned to look at her, so if she thought about lying, she wouldn't get past him. "Who did you call?"
"I called Esme," she assured, "but I forgot Esme was out of town, so…"
The driver's door of the car flung open and Zack immediately raced out, running around to the trunk to get the supplies his aunt had listed for him. He knew it was for a locating spell the moment she started talking, but he didn't know why. Seeing Willow and Spike standing in front of a destroyed building didn't make the hole in his stomach any smaller. Not to mention that he was pretty sure Spike had been crying, not exactly a settling realization.
"What did you do?" he hissed, turning around to face her. "You called him?"
"He's good with magic," she replied. "He can help us. Spike, I'm no good when I'm emotional. I'll need all the help I can get." She walked over to Zack, helping him pull the supplies out of his car.
"Should I even ask?" he inquired, looking solemnly between Willow and the still burning building.
She swallowed heavily, not quite sure how to explain the situation. She'd gone and dragged him into this, Beth's friend, and she didn't know how to tell him she was somewhere in that mess, alive until they uncovered the body (worse Schrodinger's cat ever).
"Somebody was in there when the building went up," Willow explained quietly, her head drooping.
Zack swallowed, looking heavenward as he blinked his eyes rapidly. "You're not gonna tell me next—"
"We need to move quickly," she told him and he let out a shaky breath before nodding.
"Right. Yeah. We can do this on the hood of my car, I don't care," he responded. He stopped short then, nearly making Willow collide into him. He turned around quickly, a stoic look on his face. "I should tell you when my beebee Esme called, she sounded very distressed and so I ended up bringing someone else along for help."
"Wha—" Willow started, finally noticing there was someone else in the car. She couldn't see through the tinted glass, but judging from their size, it wasn't Nadja.
The car door finally opened and a figure rose from the car. Spike took notice, going still once more.
"Phuro," Zack started, and the old man turned his head to look away from the building and toward his grandson. "Beth's somewhere in that building and we need to find her, quickly."
He only nodded, slamming the car door and walking to the front of the car. He looked over at Spike, who averted his gaze, studying the man closely before turning away.
"I hope you brought everything then," he commented as Willow and Zack laid down the supplies on the hood of the car. "It's best we act quickly then, hm? I suppose you're her father?"
Spike looked over to see the grandfather eyeing him again, an unreadable expression on his face.
"Yeah," he responded gruffly, stalking over to the car. He stopped beside Zack, who hesitated a moment as he was laying out the map before getting back to work.
"Don't mess up," Spike growled at him.
"I won't," Zack responded shortly, for once looking at Spike without any hint of fear in his eyes. "Maybe I'm not family, but that doesn't mean I don't care about her."
Spike's jaw set and he looked away, his hand going into his pocket to finger his phone, which wasn't there. He sighed, knowing he'd have to call Buffy. The longer he waited, the worse it would get for all of them. He thought about waiting until after he could confirm anything, but he knew that Buffy would be even more upset knowing he hadn't told her immediately. It was daytime in Italy and she would be awake.
But he didn't want to tell her anything if he couldn't confirm it.
He sighed, watching as they set up the location spell, trying to ignore the crackling of the fire going on behind him. His thoughts kept drifting back to Beth, in there, somewhere, under the fire and the stone an—
"Almost done," Zack announced, cutting through Spike's thoughts. "Do we need something of hers or—" He looked at his grandfather, a tense look on the boy's face.
"We should be fine," his grandfather assured with a nod.
"Thought this spell only found people," Spike grunted and he heard Zack take in a sharp inhale. Beside him, Willow made a small whimpering sound, as she stepped out of her work phase and back into reality, remembering why exactly they were doing this.
"It does," Zack said tersely. "Which is good because we're finding a person."
"Maybe," Spike mumbled, his throat closing up on him.
Unexpectedly, Zack whirled on him, looking angrier than Spike had ever seen him (not much competition, considering the boy was near always wetting his pants around him, but…). "Are you really already giving up on her?" he snapped, furious.
"I'm not livin' with false hope," he returned solemnly.
Zack stalked up to him, fury written across his features. "Beth's stronger than this. She was made to be stronger. You know that. You made her that way."
"A bloody building exploded," he growled, glaring at the kid. It was hard to hold his ground when he was several inches shorter, but this was his daughter and he wasn't going to live in denial. It would only hurt more if he was wrong. "If the blast didn' kill her, the thing collapsin' on her sure did."
"I can't believe you!" Zack shouted. "You're already giving up on her, the one person she tells me has always has her back."
"Zack, Spike," Willow began, coming over with arms raised. "We need to calm down. Fighting isn't going to solve anything right now."
"I do! I always did!" Spike burst out, talking right over Willow, who was still trying to defuse the situation. She reached out for Spike's arm, but he jerked it out of her hold. "She's my girl, my only girl, an' I wasn't even supposed to have her. An' now I let this happen."
"Yeah, she's your only kid, so why are you giving up on her?" Zack retorted. "She's alive, you have to believe that."
"I don't need any more blind hope in my life," Spike told him. "I can't live with that, hopin' an' prayin' an' then getting' nothin' from it! Never done me any good!"
"The both of you, please, stop!" Willow pleaded, looking back and forth between Spike and Zack. They ignored her though, still spitting at one another.
By the car, the grandfather sighed. He had heard about the rift between his grandson and Beth's father, but he hadn't expected them to engage in a fight to cover their grief. Then again, Spike was known for his aggression, so maybe it wasn't all that surprising that this happened. He tuned out the rest of their argument though, knowing it was pointless words thrown at one another.
"You can't just give up like this!" Zack yelled. "This is Beth. She's going to be okay."
"You tryin' to convince me or yourself?" Spike snapped. "You think she's gone too. You know it. Slayers, they're not invincible. Beth, she—she was somethin', but now—" His voice trailed off and he rubbed his eyes, crying in front of the boy being the last thing he wanted to do.
"She's alive," Zack affirmed again, though his voice was shaky too. "She's alive. I know it. She's not dead. She can't be. Not like this."
"D—"
"Finished," the grandfather called out, his authoritative voice cutting through the air and cutting off Spike before he could even get a word out. Everyone's head turned to look at him, standing beside the car, hands folded.
"Finished?" Zack repeated, confused.
"Done," his grandfather reiterated, motioning toward the map. "We're here, correct?" He pointed to a particular position on the map. Willow stepped back over to the car, peering down at it. She frowned, blinking repeatedly.
"Er, yes, we are," she stated, her eyebrows furrowing.
"What?" Zack asked quickly. "What's the matter? Is there a problem with the spell?"
Willow and his grandfather exchanged look. "Um, no?" she said.
"No? Then what are we standin' 'round here for?" Spike shouted, jumping toward the rubble of the building. "Let's get movin'!"
"Well, um, you see," Willow began, not quite sure how to explain this. What exactly was going on?
Spike's stomach dropped. He knew it. There wasn't a little green light on the map. The spell had worked, but there hadn't been anyone to find. He knew it, but that didn't mean it didn't kill him.
"See, we're here, but the dot's not," Willow said, pointing to where the grandfather had.
"No," Zack murmured, taking a step back as his legs weakened.
"It's there." Willow's finger moved across the map to another location.
"What?" Zack and Spike said simultaneously.
"You did this right?" Willow asked hesitantly, looking up from the map.
The grandfather frowned at her. "I've been practicing magic much longer than you've been alive. Don't question me."
"He doesn't mess up," Zack promised, racing over to the map. "Not ever—but look, yeah. The light is several miles southeast of us. That's near the distribution center for a lot of the tech companies here. But why would—"
"How long was she in that building before it exploded?" Spike cut in, coming over to see the map himself. Sure enough, the little green light was where Zack had said it was, glowing brightly and definitely nowhere near the collapsed building.
"A while," Willow responded. "Oh! We were looking for you to tell you something and we saw your car and Beth said she felt you in the building—"
"Felt you?" Zack interrupted, looking over at Spike.
"Residual sire line," he mumbled, glancing over at the grandfather, whose expression hadn't changed. He actually looked interested in what Willow had been saying.
"—and so she went in and then the building went up," Willow finished. "I know it's different because you're, um…"
"Human," the grandfather finished, knowing they were sidestepping words because of him. "I hadn't realized something would be left over. Of course, a vampire becoming human isn't a common occurrence, is it?"
"No, s'not," Spike muttered, looking back at the map. He didn't get it. Why had Beth felt him in the building? He had been several miles away, fighting a demon. At that distance, she shouldn't have been able to feel anything at all.
Willow bit her lip, just as confused. Her head was still a jumbled mess from all that had happened and the map wasn't helping her sort out her thoughts. If only Spike had remembered to bring his phone with him, so they wouldn't be in this mess and all they would have to have done was call him and tell him—
Willow froze, breath catching. "Spike," she began slowly, a new terrible feeling growing in her stomach. "You could sometimes tell where Angel was, right?"
"Yeah," he replied. "Why?"
"Beth said she felt someone in the building an—"
"You think Angel was here?" Spike asked, dubious. Not like the great lout to come into town and not tell him. That would just be plain rude.
"We were coming to tell you something," Willow stated harshly, not happy he was interrupting her. "Drusilla's in town."
An already pale and emotionally drained Spike became even paler and more emotionally drained. "What?" he hissed, as soon as his brain worked out that yes, Willow had in fact just said that.
"What?" Zack yelped. "Have a family reunion, why don't you?"
"She felt someone in that building," Willow whispered.
There was a beat before Spike snapped into action, shoving everything off the hood of the car and dragging Zack to the driver's side of the car by his collar. "Get in," he commanded. "We're goin'. Now. Distribution, you say? Get drivin'."
-.-
Beth really did not appreciate being jumped in a dark building. She really didn't. Blindsiding someone was just so—so…cheaty.
When she had entered the abandoned building, she could still feel the presence of her father, but the closer she got, the weirder it became. It was stronger than she was used to, and that was odd. But before she could really figure out what it meant, a shadow had stepped in front of her, the words, "be in me" uttered and after that, well, the rest was kinda fuzzy. She remembered big, dark eyes and then nothing else. She had come to a moment ago, tied to chair in a different building. It was dark, but she could make out the tall shelves and could see boxes upon boxes stacked on them. A storage unit maybe?
She twisted her wrists, but whoever had tied her up had done one dandy job and she could almost commend them for that. They had actually prepared this time, using reinforced ropes. Someone had done their research.
She let out a tired breath, blowing the loose strands of hair out of her face. Gods, she was dead, wasn't she? Not like dead by way of villain, but by way of father when he found out she had gone out patrolling when she wasn't supposed to and had then gone and gotten herself kidnapped. Again. God, she really was a Daphne, wasn't she? Making a habit of this.
Her keen ears detected the sound of shoes tapping against the concrete, getting closer. Good, at least she'd be able to see her kidnapper's look of shock when she finally loosened the restraints and kicked his-or-her's ass.
"Hello again." She twisted her head around to see the same antler demon from before, looking at her sheepishly as he smoothed down the shirt he was wearing, suspicious red marring the fabric.
"You!" she gasped angrily. "You said you were a pacifist!"
"I am!" he assured, throwing up his hands. "You hit your head when you fell in the trance and I had to carry you. I'm sorry! She didn't tell me what we were going to do! After you ran off, she showed up and told me she'd found her vampire guy and that we had to go meet him up at this building. And then you were there and she did her mind-control thing and I didn't know what to do, but she told me the building was going up and so I got you out of there and th—"
"I don't wanna hear it!" she shouted, cutting him off sharply. "You are not a pacifist."
"Yes I am," he said hotly. "I got a draft exemption and everything!"
She let out a bark of laughter. "You're a demon. They weren't going to draft you anyway."
A peal of laughter echoed through the warehouse and her snarky attitude dropped off the map. She realized she could feel it again, the Aurelian bloodline, this one much stronger than it had been before. It didn't compare to how it had felt like with her father, back before he become human, but that had been so long ago it might as well have felt the same.
She turned her head around, watching as something moved gracefully through the shadows. She had heard about Drusilla, but not enough to make her anything more than apprehensive about this whole encounter.
"I thought you wanted to talk to Spike," she stated slowly as Drusilla stepped into the light. She was dressed like she was depicted, in a red dress with a high waistline, her eyes big and innocent. Her hair slithered off her shoulders and around her arms and despite the growing pit of despair in Beth's stomach, she didn't feel afraid. She knew Drusilla was dangerous, but she knew that she felt the connection just like Beth did. Seems like that cat was out of the bag then.
"I saw you," Drusilla began, coming closer to Beth, arm outstretched. She didn't dare move as Drusilla touched her, running her hand down along her cheek. "The shadow. You called out to me and I saw you through the haze of the light."
"I didn't call for you," Beth told her, never taking her eyes off the vampire, not even as she pulled back and flitted around the chair. The antler demon watched with concern, but more of that of a nurse watching a mental patient in the middle of one of their delusions than that of someone with actual fear. Not that far off, Beth supposed, since the demon seemed to be more of Drusilla's carer, than anything else.
"Oh, but you did, my little one," Drusilla crooned happily, even giving a little twirl just to express how "happy" she was.
"But what about Spike?" she asked again, hoping that if she could derail Drusilla from her, she would stand a better chance of getting out of this whole interaction alive. "Your friend here—the 'pacifist'—said you were looking for him."
Drusilla giggled, an honest to God giggle. "Naughty boy my Spike has been," she said. "Gone off without me, his mummy."
"You're not his 'mummy' anymore, Drusilla," Beth told her. "He's, uh, different now."
"I know," she said solemnly. "I felt him go." Right. Sire ties. Drusilla would have felt it the moment Spike was no longer a vampire, but usually that meant the childe was dead, not human. Then again, this was Drusilla. "My Dark Prince off dancing in the sunlight again, where mummy can't go."
"You know, he's not going to be happy with you," Beth told her, switching tactics. "Spike, that is. He's going to be very cross with you because you took me."
Drusilla actually looked chastised. She ducked her head, fiddling with a loose thread on her sleeve. Any shame she felt vanished quickly though, as her head snapped up and she looked at Beth indignantly. "He's been a naughty dog and ought to be punished! Gone into the sunlight and left me all alone! My sweet, dark prince, taken by that nasty slayer!"
"Drusilla," the antler demon began in a placating voice. "We need to remain calm, don't we? This girl didn't do anything."
Drusilla did actually calm down, nodding her head in agreement. "Yes, help mummy keep her head on straight. It likes to roll around in the grass." She came back around again, kneeling down in front of Beth's legs. She reached out and curled a strand of Beth's hair around her finger and Beth did her best not to scream. A volatile vampire prone to mad outbursts was not someone you wanted to startle. Gods only knew that sort of episode that would kick off.
"Such a pretty shadow," Drusilla murmured, her eyes drawn to the blonde hair around her finger. "Just like her own mummy. My Spike always did like the best."
"Drusilla," Beth began.
"Can't blame a grandmummy, now can you?" she asked, but Beth didn't believe the question was aimed at her though. "I heard you through the skies and stars, such a little mess you are. Neither one nor the other. Tell me, does it hurt?"
"What hurt?" Beth asked, half-expecting Drusilla to lash out at her.
"Everything," Drusilla explained with wide eyes. "I had humanity once and it burned."
"I'm not an ensouled vampire," she explained to her softly. "I'm alive. Always have been."
"Such a clouded mess," Drusilla murmured, finally letting go of Beth's hair. It fell to her shoulder, Drusilla watching every movement. She looked up from the hair, catching Beth's eyes, who hadn't looked away from the vampire for even a second. "My fault," she claimed. "You were never meant to be alive. I think I heard you across time, but I'm not sure. I'm never sure. Did you hear me?"
"I felt you," she responded. "In the factory. I may not be a true vampire, but I'm still a part of the bloodline. I'm sure the Master would have had a cow if he'd still been alive."
Drusilla laughed, sounding a little off-kilter. At least she was happy though, rather than filled with murderous rage. She didn't seem to be very happy with Beth's parents, after all.
"How about you untie me and we really get to know each other?" Beth asked. "I mean, you make it sound like you came all this way for me."
Drusilla paused for a moment, studying Beth closely, trying to see if she could detect a lie. Or maybe the stars were talking to her, who knew? Whatever they told her worked in Beth's favor though, as Drusilla motioned for the demon to come over and untie her.
"Alright," the antlered demon said, although he didn't sound so sure. He untied her legs first, Drusilla stepping back to watch. Then he went around the chair for her hands. As soon as she felt the rope slacken, she jumped out of the chair, knocking the demon to the ground as she ran past him.
"Hey!" he called out, indignant. "That was rude!"
Beth didn't get very far though, not before Drusilla appeared in front of her, lashing out her hand and sending Beth sprawling across the ground. Geesh, she hadn't expected her to be so strong.
She stood up quickly, but not before Drusilla was upon her again, raking her nails along Beth's cheek. It stung, but didn't hurt enough that she wasn't able to knock the vampire back with a well-delivered punch to the gut.
"Naughty girl!" Drusilla growled as she pressed a hand to her stomach. "Naughty girl lying to her grandmummy!"
"What can I say?" Beth asked. "I've always been a bit of a problem child."
"I'm going to have to punish you," Drusilla told her, a grin forming on her face. "Naughty girls like you don't get cake."
"I didn't want your cake anyway," she retorted, kicking out at Drusilla. She jumped back, barely avoiding the blow. Drusilla had never been much of a fighter, but that didn't mean she wasn't quick. Beth did her best to avoid letting Drusilla get too close or to make eye contact, well aware of the trance state the vampire could put her in. If she got ahold of Beth, it'd be a gruesome end for her.
She continued to strike blows at Drusilla, all of which were either blocked or evaded. Drusilla never landed any solid blows either though, most times her hands catching it Beth's hair. She didn't seem to mind though, even giggling occasionally.
"Ooh, such like her daddy," Drusilla crooned after one of Beth's high kicks got temptingly close to her face. "Except she's gone and been a slayer. Tsk tsk."
"Yeah, well, got to take after my mum a little bit, right?" she asked in return. Drusilla seemed to find that funny, as she made a small humming noise of amusement. Beth's foot finally got its target and Drusilla let out a whimper as she fell to the ground.
She wasted no time in settling on the vampire, stake pulled out from her boot. Drusilla's eyes went wide at the presence of the piece of wood as Beth lifted it up to strike the blow.
Just as the wood was about to pierce her chest, Drusilla asked, in such a small and clear voice, "Am I going home?"
Beth halted her movements, surprised at the rawness in her tone. She looked up to see Drusilla, her large brown eyes clear and very vulnerable.
"What?" she whispered.
"Am I going home now?" Drusilla asked again.
She blinked slowly, trying to form the words she needed to reply. "Yeah," she said finally. "You're going home Dru."
"Oh, mummy and daddy will be most cross with me," Drusilla lamented, looking thoroughly devastated.
Beth didn't know what it was that made her go lax. Maybe it was the deep gut feeling that Drusilla had never been this unhaunted since Angelus first laid eyes on her. "No, they're not," she soothed, her voice low and comforting. "They've missed you."
"Have they been waiting for me?" Drusilla asked hopefully, her eyes lighting up just a bit.
"All this time," she promised. "Are you ready to go home?"
Drusilla nodded, laying down on the ground, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Elizabeth?" she murmured. "You're going to save the world."
Beth stepped back as the cloud of dust settled in the dark warehouse, holding her stake firmly in her hand. She glanced around, but she didn't see the other demon. She snorted. Figures he'd run out in the middle of a battle.
She took one last, long look at the pile of dust, sitting innocuously on the ground. The workers, when they found it, would likely be curious about what had happened here, but would then only sweep it up and throw it out. They might think vampire, but they wouldn't know anything beyond that.
Beth eventually found the door to the warehouse, yanking it open with a loud, metallic screech. She stepped outside, looking around, having not a clue as to where Drusilla had taken her. There wasn't anything else around, save a few more warehouses. She did hear an approaching car engine though and she wondered if Drusilla had maybe set off some kind of alarm when she had broken in.
A car whipped around the corner and the headlights nearly blinded her. She threw her hand up over her eyes as the car rolled to a stop.
"Beth?" someone called out, sounding breathless—Zack? That didn't make any sense, they didn't have plans until Wedn—her thought was cut off as she was taken into a tight hug by her father. She wasn't sure what his intentions were, but she wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to use pressure to meld them together, like a metamorphic rock.
"Hi Dad," she greeted, not sure how to break anything to him. "So, um, Drusilla was in town."
"I know, I know," he murmured, still hugging her. She could see that over his shoulder, Zack standing by the car, looking weirded out, but also relieved. Her shoulder felt wet, so maybe it was Spike's crying that had gotten him so bewildered.
"Oh, gosh, Bethie, I'm so happy you're alright!" Willow gushed, coming over and making it a group hug.
"Breathing. Necessary," Beth gasped out and Willow let go with a "sorry!" Her dad was a bit more reluctant, but he finally did release his iron-clad hold, opting for just caressing her hair.
"I was so worried when the building exploded," Willow told her. "I thought you were still in there."
"Wait," Beth asked. "The building exploded? Like Action movie style?" Her aunt nodded. "Drusilla blew up a building?"
"So it was Dru," Spike growled. "Knew she'd be trouble. Gettin' visions an' making a muck of things!"
"Is she still here? What happened?" Willow asked anxiously.
"She wanted to meet me," Beth explained. "Said she 'heard' me calling out to her or something. The connection of the bloodline, I'm assuming, and that Washington is a lot easier to get to than Scotland. No ocean or anything."
"She hurt you though," Spike noticed, turning Beth's head to see the scratch marks.
"She got angry when I made a break for it. We fought." She took a deep breath, not sure how Spike would take what she was going to say next. She knew he still cared for Drusilla, and even Beth knew she couldn't blame the vampire. After all, she had never asked for any of this. "She's gone now, Dad. And I don't mean that she left town. I—she—"
"Shh, s'alright," he murmured, bringing her in for a hug again. "You're not dead an' thas all I care about right now."
She hugged him back, burying her head in his shoulder. Even if the connection she had with Drusilla had felt stronger, the presence of her father was always more comforting than any stupid bloodline.
-.-
Beth stood out on the porch, admiring the rising sun. The night had been far too long for her preference and she was happy the day was finally coming up, even if it did mean she'd likely not be seeing her bed for hours to come. She'd escaped the armed confines of both her aunt and father, seeking refuge out on the porch. She could only imagine what had first crossed Willow's mind when she had sent the building go up in some huge fireball, but Beth was still alive and they could all see that, so why did they still feel the need to have her within arm's reach?
"How are you feeling?" Beth turned to see Zack coming out of the door, shutting it behind him. Both he and his grandfather had chosen to stick around, his grandfather likely having some stern questions about Spike. Her father hadn't looked all that happy when the old man had turned his hard gaze of him, but Spike could be respectful when he wanted to.
"Everyone keeps asking me that," she sighed as he came to stand beside her. "It's not like she drugged me or anything. She used her thrall and then tied me up. Feels a little invasive, but it'll be nothing but a memory in a few hours."
"Sorry," he apologized, looking chastised. "It's just—"
"You were all worried," she finished. "I know."
"No, I don't think you really do," he told her somewhat harshly. "Beth, we thought you were dead. I didn't want to think about that then, even now still considering it might as well be a knife through my gut. Your dad was crying, Beth. Actual tears coming out of his eyes. It was…disturbing to say the least."
She laughed. "You may think so, but I have seen my dad cry more than I've seen my mum cry. Those soaps of his really do hit him where it hurts, you know."
"Just know that you almost destroyed a lot of people's worlds today with your almost death," he told her solemnly. "It wasn't just worry. It was something a bit more soul-crushing."
"Zack," she began.
"I can't imagine a world without you in it," he cut in, his vision fixed out on his car parked by the curb. "I've only known you as a person for a few years now, but I don't think I can just go back to a world where you're not around. You're amazing like that."
She ducked her head, not sure how to respond. Her fingers trailed across the wood of the porch railing. Great, now she was doing Zack's arm thing. "I think the feeling's mutual," she finally admitted, and the burning started again. "You going all the way to Massachusetts really sucks."
He grinned at her. "I'm glad to know I'm missed."
She glared at him, smacking him on the arm.
"Ow," he hissed, rubbing the smarting appendage. "What was that for?"
"Being glad that I miss you," she told him, adding a muttered, "jerk," to the end.
"Just means I'm happy to know I matter to someone," he explained calmly. "No need to get with the physicality. Is anyone going to tell your mom?"
She snorted. "Now that my dad's over the fear of telling her I'm dead, he's now afraid of what she'll say if he lets her in on what happened. She'll no doubt blame him and I don't think he wants that."
"So ixnay of your eath day?" he asked and she nodded. "I'm wondering if I should tell this to Nadja. Think she'll freak?"
"Nah, she'd probably think it's cool since I lived and all," she decided. "Let me tell her. That way we can skip over the heart attacks you all had when you saw the building explode."
"Good idea," he concluded.
The front door opened and both turned to see Zack's grandfather stepping out of the house, Willow holding open the door. Beth couldn't see her father, and Willow's expression wasn't that easy to read. She met her aunt's eyes and Willow gave her a relieved look, but Beth didn't know if that was relief from her not-actual-death or from the grandfather not whipping up some major mojo on them for hiding Spike from him.
"Zack," his grandfather began, looking over at the boy. "Go get the car started, will you? I'd like to have a word with your friend for a moment."
"Oh, uh, started?" he floundered, looking nervous. "Are you sure—"
"Go," he said, throwing a stern look at his grandson.
He nodded, throwing an apologetic look at Beth before turning on his heel and hurrying toward the car. She shot a panicked look at his backside before turning back to look at the old man. She had expected the grandfather would want to talk to her, but she had hoped maybe she could skip out on it now and just never visit Zack or Nadja ever again.
"Um, hello," she began, sounding meek. "I'm Zack's friend, And Nadja's."
"I know," he told her with a nod.
"They explained the whole Shanshu thing?" she asked and he nodded. She cringed, adding, "and about me?" He nodded again.
She deflated, the ominous feeling looming over her. This was it. This was the death of everything. And she hadn't even been able to say goodbye to Zack properly. Now she was never going to ever see either him nor Nadja again without possibly risking the wrath of the Kalder patriarch.
"I'm sorry," she said, unsure of what else to say, and only hoping to get ahead.
He gave her an almost perplexed look. "What possibly for?"
"For me. For being here. I promise I won't go near Zack or Nadja ever again," she vowed, the words cutting her. Well, at least she still had Daniel who knew about her and didn't care. Still, the idea of losing Zack and Nadja left one heck of a crater in her heart.
To Beth's absolute shock, the old man laughed. Like, belly-full-of-jello type laughter. She gaped at him, not sure how to respond. She'd heard many a scornful laugh in her life and this was not it. This was amusement, plain and simple. And—if she wasn't mistaken—she detected just a hint of "oh, you silly girl" in it.
"This is why I wanted to have a word with you," he finally told her after his laughter subsided. "I always sense something dark about you and it wasn't until your aunt explained it in full to me, did I finally find a word for it."
"Vampire?" she guessed.
"No," he responded. "Hatred. For yourself. A complete lack of confidence, if you don't mind me saying. I had a strong feeling that after the discussion about your father you'd assume the worst. Seems I wasn't wrong."
"No, you weren't," she huffed, feeling like the butt of a joke. Not a nice feeling; she would know.
"You think I would punish not only you, but my own grandchildren because of what you are?" he asked.
"Well," she started, floundering., "I know the history of our families. I was there when you told the story, remember? I don't have any pretenses about what I must mean to you. I know what I am."
"What you areis of no consequence," he told her. "You came into this world in one of the most spectacular ways. You had no say in what you got to be. And who am I to punish you for your father's mistakes? May he suffer for them alone. It doesn't matter what you are, but who you are. That is what you will be judged on. I don't hate Angelus because he is a vampire. I hate him for what he did to my family."
"So, you mean…," she trailed off, not wanting to get her hopes up.
"I do hope there won't be any ill-feelings growing between us," he finished. "After all, both Zack and Nadja do seem rather fond of you and I would hate to see such love and friendship go to waste. Besides, I do believe both have become better people knowing you. I don't think I've seen such conviction behind Zack's eyes when he stood up to your father last night."
"Zack stood up to him?" she asked, bug-eyed and shocked.
"Oh yes, something I never would have ever expected either," he said, agreeing with her shock. "He always cowered from the stories about vampires and while he might have said such tough things about what he would do if he ever met one of the Scourge, I knew those words were as hollow as a reed. He was quite a chicken as a child."
She couldn't help but laugh. "You should have seen him when he found out," she told him. "I thought he was going to faint."
The grandfather chuckled along with her. "Oh, I'm sure it must have been a sight. Whatever it is you are doing to him and Nadja, I suggest you keep at it. Now, it you don't mind, it's grown so late it's early and I'm afraid that in my old age, I won't bounce back as quickly as you young ones. I should return home and rest. Good day Beth and stay away from old buildings, hm?"
"Bye," she echoed, watching as the grandfather walked toward Zack's car. She met Zack's eyes and he gave her a panicked look, but she returned with a comforting smile and she saw him relax. He waved goodbye as they drove off and she watched them go before heading inside, figuring she was due for a nap after such a trying day.
A/N: Sorry, couldn't help but bring Drusilla into the story. I thought she'd be a fun little side adventure with her premonitions and "sight."