The vampire known as Spike watched his Dark Goddess, his Princess sway to unseen music. Drusilla had delivered him from mediocrity more then a century ago and he'd been her devoted slave ever since. And now she needed him more than ever, as a human mob had nearly killed her in Prague and left her severally weakened and unable to hunt on her own. And she was growing weaker as time went on, something was very wrong and he didn't know what it was.
"I'm sick, Spoike." Drusilla told him.
"What's that, love?" He asked.
"You want to know why I'm not me, I'm sick."
"You mean more than just what that bloody mob did to you is making you like this?"
"A cure."
"There's a cure for what's wrong with you? Where do we find it?"
"In the Dale of the Sun where the world is torn and great grandfather gnashes his teeth." She went back to swaying to the unheard music, leaving Spike to try to interpret her words. His Dark Goddess was a Seer, but one that had been driven mad prior to turning by Angelus, her Sire. Which made understanding her difficult at times. She had moments of lucidity and was intelligent and well educated as a human. But the insanity could make her difficult to understand.
"Dale of the Sun, what does that mean?" He asked aloud. "Great-grandfather. She called Angelus Daddy and Darla Grandmother, so great-grandfather would be the bloke that turned her. The Master, of course! But where is he? Never actually met him, I heard Darla went back to him after Angelus got himself cursed by those gypsies a century ago."
"Sunnydale." One of the minions offered. "The Master went to a place called Sunnydale in the United States in California, I think. He heard there was a Hellmouth there and wanted to open it."
"Why would he want to do something so stupid? The Hellmouth opens and all the humans get claimed by demons we can't challenge. No more Happy Meals on legs."
"He got trapped somehow and is stuck in Sunnydale." The minion told him.
"Stuck gnashing his teeth? Once again my Dark Goddess knows what she's talking about. Somewhere in Sunnydale is a cure for what ails her. Which means we're going to Sunnydale. Find us a cargo ship leaving for America!" He ordered the minion, dismissing him with a flick of his hand and turned back to Drusilla. "We'll find your cure, pet. I promise."
"Will you always take care of me, my William?" She asked.
"For all eternity." He swore and smiled as she continued to sway. "Hey, you." He pointed at another minion. "Go find her something good to eat. You know what she likes." The minion scurried off to find something young for Drusilla to enjoy.
A couple of hours later and the first minion returned.
"There's a cargo ship leaving for America in two days." The minion reported. "It'll take about a week and a half to get there. It'll be arriving in New York at the end of August."
"That's good. Start packing up our stuff, be very careful with Drusilla's things or I'll give you to her to play with." The minion scurried off to obey.
"Can you give me a hint as to what this cure is, love?" He asked Drusilla
"Secrets, shh, shh. No telling. The stars will whisper no more secrets tonight." She squealed as the second minion returned with a young child. "Oh so pretty. So innocent. You give the best presents, my William."
"Because you deserve nothing but the best, my Dark Goddess." And watched as she sunk her teeth into the throat of the young girl. When she finished he ordered the minion to remove the leftovers.
"I'm a Princess. Dance with me, my Knight."
"Whatever you want, Dru." He agreed and caught her up into a waltz.
"Secrets, shh, shh. No more secrets told tonight." She sang. Spike wondered if that meant she knew something else but couldn't or wouldn't say anything right now. Given the state of her mind, he might never know for sure. "The stars whisper their secrets, Spoike." Her accent gave his name an exotic sound. "They don't like it if I tell their secrets." She once again seemed to know what he was thinking.
"That's okay, love. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. We'll find your cure and you'll be strong again. This Hellmouth can help with that."
"So many new toys to play with, Spoike. They snarl and they bark and they chirp and they hiss. And the One Who Sees watches over them. He has a Queen."
"You're a goddess, much better than a mere Queen."
"I want to pluck out her eyes, but he guards her. A proper Knight, like you, my William."
"Someone worth challenging?"
"In time, my William, you will know all the secrets. Surprises galore!" She promised.
And the insane vampire drifted away from Spike swaying to music only she could hear. Two days later, they set out for America. Once there, Spike 'acquired' a car for them and had the minions paint the windows so he could drive during the day, as well as at night. Somewhere in Sunnydale, California there was a cure for what ailed his Dark Goddess and he was determined to find it.