Title: The Game
Author: Sweetness
Rating: pg so far
Pairing: Xander & Drusilla
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Joss Whedon and Co.
Distribution: BTVS Inspiration, otherwise ask.
Notes: Sequel to "Donuts"
Set in BTVS Season 4, after Spike has received the chip from the
Initiative.
Feedback: Yes Please.

Part One

Drusilla was back in that god-forsaken place called
Sunnydale. She hated it there and she hated the fact that she had to
sneak around because Spike was in town. But she couldn't have her
childe finding her, not when she was here for someone else. That
would just make Spike jealous and he might hurt or maim or even kill
the object of her desire. She still didn't know his name; she just
knew that he was the beautiful dark hair boy who hung around the
Slayer and that other nasty brunette. She was happy when she found
out that her Sire had left Sunnydale since it made things easier for
her. She was going to have her dark boy and nothing was going to stop
her. If Spike got in the way, she would stake him first. And if that
nasty Slayer tried to stop her, she would kill her too. Nothing would
stop her this time from getting what she wanted. But she had decided
to have some fun before she took him and turned him. After all it was
a serious matter turning a mortal into a vampire, and she wanted to
make sure that he was worthy of such a gift first. As much as she
loved Spike, she realized her error in her rash behaviour in turning
him so quickly and had decided that maybe Angelus had things right in
toying with an intended victim. After all look at her, he had toyed
with her first and she turned out to be a beautiful creature of the
night, and not something that would turn to the Slayer because she
was jealous. That was what Spike had done, he had been her mate for
almost a hundred years, and when Angelus had returned, Spike couldn't
handle it, so he turned to the Slayer to help him get rid of Angelus.
And then he wondered why she had lost respect for him.

Xander was walking to Giles's apartment for the nightly
meeting of the Scoobies. He couldn't figure out why Buffy thought
that she still needed them all to be there. She had Willow who was
becoming a powerful witch and her former Watcher, so why would she
need Xander? It wasn't as if he was really talented when it came to
the supernatural world. Furthermore, it wasn't as if he could be
spending his time better. But who was he kidding, he was unemployed,
wasn't attending college with the girls, so what else could he do.
There was only so much of Anya's chatter that a man could put up
with, and although the former vengeance demon meant well, her chatter
could grate on his nerves. So he went to the meetings, even though he
felt useless at them. Buffy rarely took him on patrol anymore, so he
had been regulated to making snack food runs and sharpening her
stakes for her. Once again, Xander was lost in his thoughts, and not
really paying attention. One of the reasons for his not paying
attention was the simple fact that he was feeling like none of it
mattered. After all the big bads only went after him when he was
close to Willow or Buffy, otherwise they left him alone, making him
feel all the more worthless. Once again, he didn't hear the person
following him down the street.
Drusilla had found him, and once again he was oblivious to
her. She was not very happy about that; after all didn't the silly
boy know that he lived in a very dangerous place. Not only did the
Slayer live here, but also all other sorts of nasties lived in
Sunnydale due to its proximity to the Hellmouth. She reached out and
grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Naughty boy, you should pay more attention." She scolded the shocked
Xander.
"Drusilla? What are you doing in Sunnydale?" Xander looked terrified,
he had remembered how close he had come to death the last time that
he had run into the brunette.
"How is it that you know my name, naughty boy but I don't know
yours?" She asked, ignoring his question.
"Uhm, my name? You want to know my name? It's Xander, does this mean
you will let me go."
"Oh you really are a silly boy, aren't you my lovely Xander?"
"I guess that means you aren't going to let me go."
"Oh I have every intention of letting you go."
"Really that's great, I will just be on my way then. Nice talking
with you, Drusilla."
"Not so fast." Drusilla grabbed Xander by the arm and stopped him
from leaving.
"Uh, that kinda hurts."
"I know it does. I have a little challenge for you Xander, my sweet."
"A challenge?"
"Yes a challenge. I am going to turn you, Xander, and make you
immortal. Isn't that sweet?"
"Uh no not really. I kinda like life and not being killed by my
friends."
"Be quiet! You don't have a choice in this matter. I will make you
immortal but first I have a game for you. In order to save your
friends, I will give you challenges and you will have to fulfill
them. If you don't, then I kill your friends, each time you fail."
"Uh, what makes you think Buffy won't find out and kill you first?"
"Do you think that the Slayer will be able to kill me? You saw me
kill another Slayer, didn't you? And if she finds out, you will
suffer all the more for it."
"Wouldn't you rather be happy with Spike? I mean he's already
immortal and all. And no associations with a Slayer." Xander asked.
"That fool? He makes me ill. There's no way that I would return to
him, especially since I want you. You suit me better than he does.
Now you've made angry. I will let you go now, but I will be back for
your answer tomorrow night." Drusilla let go of Xander's arm and
pushed him from her. She walked off into the night humming some
little tune that Xander couldn't place.
"Good going Harris, you now have the undead wanting to make you the
undead, and they want to play games. What else could go wrong?"
Xander picked himself up and finished walking to Giles's apartment.
He decided to not mention it to his friends; after all he doubted
that they would believe him in the first place.

The meeting at Giles's went exactly how Xander had expected
it to go, Buffy and Giles made the plans, and Spike gave them more
information on who had put the chip in his head. And Willow did more
research, which left Xander the job of getting snack food, while
Buffy patrolled. Afterwards, he went home and talked to Anya on the
phone, and then went to bed. When he woke up in the morning, he had a
job interview to attend so he rushed around and got ready. He opened
the door and found the surprise that Drusilla had left him. If he had
thought that the vampire would get bored and leave Sunnydale again,
he had been wrong, especially since there was proof on his doorstep
that she was deadly serious. Emphasis on the deadly part; Xander
found two bodies artistically draped on his doorstep. One was a teen
boy who had dark hair and bore a resemblance to him, but it was the
other body that worried him more. It was a body of a teen girl with
red hair and looked similar enough to Willow. He knew that Drusilla
had left him a message with the two bodies, if he said no, it
wouldn't only be his life that was forfeit, Willow would also suffer
the consequences if he said no. If he played by Drusilla's rules then
perhaps Willow and the others would live, even if he didn't. He
wouldn't have trusted Angelus or even Spike, but Drusilla for some
reason seemed more honest than the other two master vampires. After
all she had kept her word the last time he had seen her, and he
guessed that she was just fulfilling her promise back then. Xander
walked back into the house and called the Sunnydale Police Department
and told them what he had found on his doorstep. Normally he would
have called Buffy and Giles, but he knew that these two were dead
that Drusilla had not sired them. And if he told Buffy or Giles, it
would only cause more problems. Drusilla had laid out the rules, and
all he could do was follow them and hope for the best. Maybe Buffy
would find out on her own and put an end to Drusilla, but until then,
Xander had to play the game.


Part Two


Xander sat in his basement apartment thinking about how lame his life
had turned out. He thought that he could blame it on his association
with the Slayer, but then again, if she hadn't arrived in Sunnydale,
there was a good chance that not only would Jesse be a vampire but
also Willow and himself. And he liked being a flesh and blood human.
He had no desire to be sadistic, evil or drink blood, and to Xander
that's what it meant to be a vampire. He remembered when the vampire
version of Willow had shown up in town and he didn't like her. And
now here he was, out of work, not attending college, living in his
parents' basement, and having a deranged vampire wanting to play
games with him in order to preserve his friends' lives before turning
him into a vampire. The worst part was what would happen if he said
no. The Sunnydale Police had been at his apartment recently and had
removed the bodies. Nothing was said about it; to the Police it was
just another mysterious occurrence on the Hellmouth. If they actually
thought about it, they wouldn't be too surprised over the occurrence,
after all Xander hung around with Buffy, and she was known to local
officials. They just denied what they saw when they saw the petit
blonde beating up on some huge and ugly demon. So the Police had made
their notes, and then had the corner's office remove the bodies.

Xander knew it would be the last he would hear about it from them,
but not from Drusilla. He could only hope one of two things, Buffy or
Spike would find Drusilla and take care of her for him, or that she
would grow bored and leave Sunnydale. However, he knew in his heart
that the chances of that happening were slim and none. So he sat in
his basement apartment waiting for her to show up for her answer.
Dusk fell quietly on Sunnydale like it always did. The
monsters came out to play and the Slayer came out to referee. And all
the smart humans went home to their nice homes or stayed in well
light and well-populated areas. Drusilla sighed as she walked the
streets of Sunnydale; she figured that after she played her little
game with Xander and turned him, the two of them could return to
Prague. She had always wanted to go back but Spike had always denied
her. She didn't know what it was but the last few months had seen her
able to think a little more clearly than normal. Perhaps it was the
affect of her Xander, but she really didn't know. It was if one of
the several veils that shrouded her mind had been lifted and she
could think more clearly. She knew that when she was around Angelus
and Spike that she was quite often insane and rarely had lucid
moments, but right now she was very lucid and not necessarily in full
command of her mind but she was more sane than she had been in such a
long time. She liked having that control, she hated when she would
ramble and prattle on about things that made no sense. She knew that
it was all because of Angelus and the visions. Maybe it was because
she hadn't a vision in a while that had made her so lucid. She hadn't
needed her minions to take care of her like she had needed Spike to
take care of her. And she was happy for it, she thought briefly about
leaving Sunnydale and just enjoying this time while she had, but she
wanted her dark hair boy too much to leave now. So she started
walking to his house, wondering if he liked the little gift she had
left for him.

Xander was waiting for the knock on the door when it came, he
didn't even bother going to the door before stating, "Come in." He
wasn't expecting any other vampires, and even if for some reason it
was Spike, the bleached blond vampire already had an invitation and
never really knocked. So that meant it was either some other vampire,
one of the Scoobies, or most likely Drusilla. Xander never even
bothered to look up when the person at the door entered, he knew that
he was probably signing his own death warrant if it was a vampire,
but he figured that if that was the case, then he wouldn't have to
worry about this stupid game of Drusilla's or putting his friends in
danger.
"Are you ignoring me, silly boy? I don't like being ignored."
Drusilla whined at him.
"I was kind of counting on that." Xander still refused to look at the
beautiful vampire.
"Do you have an answer for me?" Drusilla asked, refusing to rise to
the bait.
"Yeah. I guess the answer is yes, because if I say no you're gonna
take it out on my friends, aren't you?"
"That would be the fun thing to do. So we have an agreement?"
"Yeah."
"Look at me, my Xander. I want you to tell me your answer when you're
looking at me."
"Fine, the answer is yes." Xander looked up at Drusilla who had her
vampire visage showing. He couldn't help but notice that as awful as
that face looked on other vampires, Drusilla still remained
beautiful.
"Very well then. I have decided what your first challenge will be."
"Who is at risk?"
"That girl who comes here all the time, the one with a delicious
streak of evil and darkness in her. The one I can smell on you all
the time now. I don't like that because you're mine."
"You mean Anya. What do I have to do to prevent you from eating her?"
"Oh silly boy, I wouldn't eat her. I would torture her and let one my
minions eat her."
"Just get to the point, ok?" Xander asked impatiently.
"Fine be grumpy. Maybe I should come back tomorrow to make sure that
you are sure that this is what you want to do."
"NO!!" Xander shouted worried what the vampire might do if she had
another night to wait for an answer from him.
"Alright, no need to be rude to me. I think you should apologize to
me." Drusilla turned so that her back was facing Xander.
"Drusilla, I am so sorry that I shouted at you. I am just a little
tense about all of this." Xander stood up and put his hand on her
shoulder. Drusilla turned around and smiled at him, her face having
gone back to human.
"Oh pet, that's so sweet of you." She smiled and looked vague at him.
"Drusilla?" Xander asked.
"Hmmm… I can hear the stars singing to me Xander, They sound so
lovely, and I wish you could hear them."
"Stars singing? Drusilla are you ok?" Xander was starting to get
worried about the vampire.
"Hmmmm, you should hear what they say about you and me, it's so
beautiful." Drusilla started dancing around the apartment. Xander
didn't know what to do, so he let her dance and hum her little tune
while the stars were supposedly singing to her. After a while, she
calmed down and she looked at him.
"Xander, my beautiful dark prince. You should have heard the stars.
They said such lovely things about us."
"What did they say?" Xander was curious about what she claimed the
stars had said to her.
"That would be cheating my lovely."
"Alright, can you tell me what you want?"
"I want you." Drusilla moved closer to Xander. "Hold me, sweet boy."
Xander held out his arms for her, he figured if she was that
determined to kill him, she was going to do with or without his
consent.
"If you want this Anya girl to live, and I think that you do, I want
you to get me into the Watcher's apartment." Drusilla told him, while
he held her.
"Why do you want in Giles's apartment."
"Hmm… I knew you would ask." Drusilla snuggled closer to Xander. "Can
we sit down while you hold me?"
"Sure." The two moved to his couch where they sat down.
"I want to kiss the Watcher. When Angelus had kidnapped him, it was
divine kissing him." Drusilla told Xander who stiffened up at her
words.
"You want to kiss Giles?"
"Are you jealous?"
"It has nothing to do with jealousy, you're a blood thirsty evil
woman. Why would I be jealous?"
"I think you are. But I just want to kiss him." Drusilla pouted.
"Ok fine, fine, you wanna kiss Giles. Fine, whatever. But how am I
supposed to get you in there so you can kiss him? Are you trying to
make this impossible for me?"
"Just get me in his apartment Xander, and I will take care of the
rest, my sweet little pet."
"Fine. I will do it tomorrow night, is that ok with you?"
"Of course it is. Can I stay a while longer?"
"Sure."
The two remained on Xander's couch for quite sometime. Xander
continued to hold Drusilla in his arms, and she remained snuggled
into his warmth. Each was lost in their own thoughts. Xander about
how he was going to manage something like that, and Drusilla about
what the stars had sung to her.

** The Next Day **

Xander started the day off horribly; the only good thing
about it was that there were no dead bodies on his doorstep. First of
all, Anya came over to his place. Although he had been falling in
love with the former demon, he had decided that he had to turn his
feelings off for her. If he cared about her, she would always remain
a risk. It was obvious that Drusilla was jealous of her, especially
if she had promised that a minion would kill Anya after she was
tortured. Xander had decided that the only way he could protect any
of his friends was to distance him from them. They wouldn't
understand but he had the perfect excuse with the girls going to
college and he was looking for work. But first of all, he had to
break things off with Anya. He knew it was going to be painful for
the both of them, but he knew that if he didn't it would be more
painful for Anya in the long run. Their conversation had been brief
with Anya ending up in tears, which had hurt Xander more than he
wanted to admit. But once it was done, he sent her on her way. The
next thing he had to do was visit the bank. He had some money still
saved up so he decided to withdraw it all. The bank wasn't very happy
about it and had tried to charge him for it, but he was having none
of that. Once he had withdrawn all of his money, which sadly wasn't
too much, he went to a liquor store, where he purchased a very
expensive bottle of scotch. He sighed a breath of relief, that the
older clerk hadn't bothered to id him for the purchase. He didn't
know what he would have done if the clerk had. Then he went back to
the basement and waited for dusk to fall. When the day was finally
over he took his bottle of scotch and went to Giles's apartment for
the nightly Scooby meeting, which went painfully slow. Once Willow
and Buffy left, Xander then brought out the bottle of scotch.

"Hey Giles, I found this in my parent's basement when I was cleaning
up down there. Normally I would have just given it to my parents, but
I figured that this was pretty good stuff and should be appreciated."
Xander offered the bottle to Giles.
"Xander, I think that you should give this to your parents, this is
very good and expensive."
"Aw, Giles, its not as if my parents will miss it. Plus I think
someone who actually cares about what they drink should have. My dad
will drink swill and think its good. Please G-man?"
"Please don't call me that. And I guess I will take it."
"Why don't you try some of it now?" Xander suggested.
"Well, I don't know."
"Aw come on Giles."
"Fine." Giles took the bottle and poured himself a glass of the amber
liquid. Xander then started the next phase of his plan. He started
talking to Giles about the past, and finally Jenny, which predictably
had Giles drinking a bit more. In fact, Xander felt that he shouldn't
have brought up the gypsy because the past in general seemed to have
been enough for the former Watcher. It was about one in the morning
when there was a knock on the door, and Giles was more than drunk.
"Xander would you get that for me, please?"
Xander walked to the door and opened it. Drusilla stood on the
threshold and looked at Xander, waiting to be invited in.
"Uh Giles, should I let this friend of Buffy's in?"
"Oh sure, come in. Is there some sort of problem?" Giles asked as
Drusilla stepped in.
"Not really, Watcher." Xander stepped out as Drusilla replied. He
couldn't be there as it was bad enough that he was betraying his
friends. After a short while, a delighted Drusilla came out.
"You can go in now, I think he needs help to go to bed." She told him
as she smiled a wicked smile at him.
"I don't want to hear about what you did to him. Just get out of here
Drusilla, I did what you told me to do so you had better leave Anya
alone now." Xander glared at her.
"Are you threatening me? You had better not being doing that. Just go
in there and take care of him. I will see you tomorrow night."
Drusilla stalked off in the night, angry over Xander's reaction.
Xander walked back in the apartment and found Giles sprawled out on
the couch. He looked fine to Xander, just drowsy.
"Hey Giles, are you ok?" Xander asked.
"Xander, is that you? I just had the strangest dream that Buffy was
here and she was kissing me." Giles sighed.
"Buffy?"
"Oh never mind, you wouldn't understand. I think I should go to bed."
Giles tried to stand up but almost fell. Xander caught him and helped
him to stand up.
"Whoa, how about we get you to bed G-man?"

Part Three


Xander was still shell-shocked about the recent events, even though
he had helped Drusilla kiss Giles, he still couldn't believe that he
had done that. He kept asking himself what type of person was he;
after all he had betrayed Buffy and Giles, two people who had always
been there for him, no matter what he had done, or how stupid it was.
And he had done quite a few stupid things. Yet, he didn't think that
any of the things he had done in the past quite topped what he had
helped Drusilla do last week. He could argue that he had done what he
had done because of the fact that she had threatened his life and
possibly Willow's but he knew when it came down to it, if Willow or
anyone else had been in the same situation they would have told Buffy
immediately. And the other thing he couldn't comprehend was the
feelings that Drusilla made him feel. He kept telling himself that
she was an insane and murderous vampire, and all of that made her
evil and soulless. And after all he had said about Angel, who had a
soul, he was ashamed of what he felt for Drusilla, she had no soul
and she had no conscience or even sanity. She did the things that she
did because they felt good to her, and for no other reason. And here
he was involved in a game with her, and the end result of the game
would be that she would turn him into a vampire. And the game would
become meaningless, he knew that there was a darkness in his soul and
that if she manipulated it and turned him into a vampire, he knew
that there would probably be nothing that could prevent him from
destroying his friends. And he was afraid of what would happen, and
the fact that he couldn't really resist the beautiful vampire even
though he knew that he should. He didn't want Buffy to destroy
Drusilla; he didn't want Buffy to even know that she was in
Sunnydale, much less alive. So he avoided Buffy and the other
Scoobies as much as he could, he used the excuse that he had broken
up with Anya and now had a job in a local bar, and thankfully ever
since the incident where Buffy had become a cave girl due to poisoned
beer, she avoided bars.

Drusilla had avoided Xander since the night he had tricked the
Watcher, she was proud of what he had done, but ever since that night
she had been falling into more trances and it worried her. The night
would pass her by so quickly because she had been in some trance or
another, listening to the stars or the wind or whatever would
communicate with her. She was afraid that she was losing what
lucidity she had had when she arrived in Sunnydale. But after a week,
the spell had passed and she was feeling better. Perhaps the stars
and the wind had been right to attract her attention, after all they
had kept whispering to her about the danger of running into Spike.
The last time she had seen the blond vampire, the stars had told her
that he had a different path to follow now; one that included the
Slayer, and it had horrified her. She could not take him back, even
if she had wanted to. Any path that involved a vampire and a Slayer
should result in one of their deaths, preferably the Slayer's, and
not what she had heard about Spike and the Slayer. His humanity had
almost become an unbearable stench upon him, and although she knew
that she was very human for a vampire, she was not that human. Maybe
the stars were watching over her, and had warned her that the last
week had been dangerous for her, that the chances of her running into
her former lover were too high. Whatever the reasons, she wasn't
going to question them. She had decided that the next person Xander
would have to save would be the Watcher. She had toyed with the idea
about making the Watcher the second to last person, but she wanted
him out of the way, one way or another. She knew that the most
important mortals to Xander were the red head witch and the blond
Slayer. Just like she knew that even if Xander fell when it came to
saving the witch, she wouldn't kill her. The stars had whispered to
her of a darkness in the witch, and it had intrigued her. But the
next challenge she had for Xander was an easy one, one of her minions
had told her about a fair that was coming to a nearby town and she
wanted him to take her to it. So she made her way to Xander's little
basement apartment, to tell him of her next challenge.

Xander was sitting in his basement, listening to music; he had a
feeling that Drusilla would come to him tonight. He had been happy
that she hadn't visited him in a week and for that whole week he had
been able to have a normal life. Well normal for someone who
associated with the Slayer and lived in Sunnydale. Spike had been
more annoying than ever, and Xander had wanted to punch the bleached
blond. What really worried him the most, was part of the reason he
found Spike so annoying was his connection and past relationship with
Drusilla. Xander didn't want to be jealous of Spike because if he
were it would mean that he was developing feelings for the vampire.
And he had to avoid that, because if he had feelings for her then he
would not be able to stop her. And he knew he had to stop her, even
though she had told him that the game they were playing would save
the lives of his friends, nothing would save them if she made him a
vampire. And he knew that if he was a vampire, the first person the
demon would want to kill would be either Willow or Buffy. When he had
become possessed with the spirit of a hyena, he had tormented Willow
and had wanted Buffy. He didn't think that these things would change
if he became a vampire. However, he was worried that it would be
Buffy he would want to torment and Willow that he would want. He had
seen her vampiric alter ego and had been entranced by her, despite
knowing that she was evil and cruel.

Xander decided to leave his basement; he didn't want to sit there
waiting for Drusilla to show up and to torment him more. Nor did he
want to know whom's life depended on him. Just as he was leaving, he
bumped into Drusilla who had been about to open the door.
"Hello my pretty." Drusilla cooed at him.
"Hi Drusilla, what do you want?"
"You don't sound happy to see me."
"Oh yeah I am so delighted to see you. It just means that one of my
friends might end up dead, or I will have to trick one of them."
Xander glared at the brunette.
"Xander, we made an agreement. Are you trying to get out of it?"
Drusilla pouted.
"Nah I am just bitter about it, because it's not really an agreement
to me when my friends are on the line. But whatever, what's your
challenge for me?"
"Fine if that's the way you feel, maybe I should just kill them all
now and then I should turn you. Despite the fact that you are being
very ungrateful, I am offering you a gift that many people don't get
a chance for." Drusilla continued to pout and started to turn towards
the door.
"No don't leave. You're right I made an agreement with you. I am just
upset right now. I am sorry Drusilla. What do you want me to do for
you?" Xander pulled the reluctant vampire into his arms.
"I wanted to go to the fair and have fun. I thought that if you were
to do that for me that the Watcher could go on watching."
"That's all?" Xander was shocked he had been expecting something more
difficult to pull off.
"Yes that's all."
"Well if that's all you want, I am sure we could do that. I just
don't like deceiving my friends Drusilla."
"Fine I won't make you deceive your friends again. Let's go to the
fair." Drusilla started to pull Xander to the door.
"Wait, Drusilla. You can't go like that." Xander looked at the
vampire who was dressed in her normal Victorian style.
"Don't you like my dress? I wore it especially for you." Drusilla
started to pout once more.
"No its not that I don't like it. You look beautiful in it, but it's
not what people wear to the fair. And if I were to take you there
tonight, you would look very unusual and would stand out. And Buffy
might hear about it and then she would start getting Willow to put
two and two together. And well we don't want that. How about I get
you some clothes to wear and I take you there tomorrow night?"
"Fine." Drusilla sighed and turned to leave.
"Are you leaving?" Xander asked.
"Yes, there's no point in staying and I am hungry. I will be back
tomorrow." Drusilla left and Xander let her. He knew that she would
never understand that her little game in the long run meant he had to
deceive his friends, but at least he wouldn't have to pull a stunt
like he had with Giles. He sighed and worried about what he would get
Drusilla to wear for the next night.

Part 4

Xander had spent the day getting clothes for the night out
with Drusilla, there was no way that she could go to the fair, even
if it was in another town and not Sunnydale, and not stand out in one
of her dresses. It had seemed a shame to Xander the more he had
thought about it that, she would have to look so ordinary, like
Willow or Buffy normally did, and not stand out in one of her
beautiful dresses. He had loved the dress she had been wearing the
night before, it had been red velvet and had highlighted all of her
physical attributes. He now knew why Spike had never really brought
her any other clothes but her lovely Victorian style dresses with the
high waists, in their jewel toned colours, and rich fabrics. It
seemed a sin to give her normal clothes to wear, and in a way he was
ashamed of the clothes he had picked up for her. First of all they
were second hand, and secondly they were so average and normal. In
them, Drusilla would not stand out. But that was the whole point. She
would look like a normal girl in the mauve long sleeved top, and the
blue jeans he had picked her up. And to complete the outfit, he had
found her a pair of Doc Martens that would fit and would also be so
painfully normal. But the was the whole purpose of the exercise,
Xander didn't know if Willow and Buffy were planning on going to the
fair that night with Riley. But if they did, and they saw him, he
hoped that they would leave him alone when they saw him the brunette
beauty. As soon as night fell, Drusilla turned up on his doorstep,
looking heartbreakingly beautiful in one of her dresses. This one was
the colour of warm cream, and had a blood red sash at the waist.
Xander didn't want to give Drusilla her clothes for the night,
especially in she looked as beautiful as she did, but at the same
time he didn't want her getting staked. He gave her the bag of
clothes.
"Here you go, why don't you get changed?"
"I need your help, I don't know how to put on these clothes."
Drusilla said as she looked in the bag.
"Uhm, err.. Ok, I guess." Xander was shocked, he had not expected to
have to help Drusilla put on the clothes. He was not ready to see if
her skin underneath her dress was as lovely as the rest of her. "Turn
around." Drusilla complied and turned around and waited for Xander to
start undressing her so that she could put on the more modern
clothes. She was excited, especially since Spike had never allowed to
wear clothes like this. He had always told her that she was not meant
for clothes like this. And she had always agreed, especially since
Angelus had told her the same things. But tonight she was going to
wear modern clothes instead of one of her pretty dresses. Xander took
his time, undoing the buttons at the back of her dress, hesitating at
seeing his dark angel partly naked. Knowing at the same time if he
took to long, he was putting Giles's life at risk, since tonight was
the last night of the fair. So he started to move faster and removed
her dress. He dropped the dress when he saw that her body was more
exquisite out of the dress than it was in it. The first thought that
crossed his mind was about how stupid Spike was to have let this go.
As far as Xander was concerned, Spike was the most stupid man on the
face of the planet to have sided with the Slayer because of Angelus's
plans to unleash Hell on earth, Xander would have blindly followed
Drusilla into Hell if that was what she wanted.
"Xander is something wrong?" Drusilla asked when Xander did start
helping her into the clothes he had gotten for her that night.
"Errr…" Xander felt like his tongue had fallen off when she turned to
face him.
"What is it? Is there something wrong?"
"No, not all, everything is perfect."
"Well then help me get into these clothes." Drusilla thrust the bag
at Xander.
He didn't want to cover up her loveliness in the now drab
clothes that he had bought her but at the same time, he did not want
to find Giles with his throat ripped out on his doorstep the next
morning, so he helped her into the clothes he had bought for her.
Although, Xander preferred Drusilla in the dresses she normally wore,
when she had the clothes on he, he couldn't help but notice how they
helped to call attention to her curves even more than her normal
dresses did. He just hoped that she would stick with the dresses; he
didn't want every guy to see what was hidden beneath her clothes.
Xander didn't even realize the amount of emotion he was beginning to
feel for the vampire. When only a few weeks earlier all he had felt
by her presence was a sense of dread and hatred. Now all he felt was
desire and a growing like for her. She was so fragile and in a sense
innocent. He wanted to rip out Angel's heart and then nail him up on
a wall just before sunrise for what Angelus had done to the beautiful
woman in front of him. But he knew that he couldn't, Drusilla still
loved Angel, or Angelus. Xander wasn't quite sure, but he knew that
he would need her permission to destroy her sire. And if he did
destroy him without her permission, she would destroy him. Now he
knew how Spike must have felt all the time, rage for Angel and
Angelus.
Somehow the two of them made it to the fair, he could never
remember how, all he could think about was how he wanted to torment
Angel and make love to Drusilla. The two thoughts kept running in his
mind, and when they finally arrived at the fair, Drusilla grabbed
Xander by the chin and kissed him. And then laughed and called him a
naughty boy. Xander knew that he must have driven them in his car
because he didn't think that Drusilla could drive, or would drive,
even if she could. He was thankful that they had not had an accident,
because it could have ruined his chances at torturing Angel or
continuing his relationship with Drusilla. The fair was what one
would expect, there were tons of rides, vendors, tons of games, and
the smell of grease and candy in the air. Xander was not to
impressed, after all he had been to many fairs like this one, but
Drusilla was excited. Her eyes shone with glee and excitement as she
took it all in. Xander felt his heart speed up as she grabbed his
hand and started to run towards the gates of the fair. He felt like
he was with a little kid who had never been to the fair, which in
some ways was very true with Drusilla. Xander was beginning to
realize how sheltered Angelus and Spike had kept her from the outside
world. The first thing Drusilla wanted to do was to go on all the
rides, and she loved them. Xander had never thought Drusilla would
love roller coasters or other rides but she did. She went on the
roller coaster so many times, and screamed with all the other riders.
After the rides, Drusilla spied a game where the prize was a
porcelain doll. Xander watched while other people had gone up to win
the prize but had failed. The point of the game seemed to be to hit
the three glass bottles in one shot. For a dollar, customers got
three balls to do so. Xander like everyone else before him failed.
When he failed, Drusilla walked up to the man running the game and
vamped in front of him. She hissed at him. Xander walked up beside
her and grabbed her arm, hoping to prevent Drusilla from killing the
man.
"Uhmm, maybe you should just give her the doll." Xander looked at the
man.
"Hey you didn't win, why should I just give her the doll?"
"Because if you don't, I will let you go and she will just take it
anyways." The little man looked at her, and decided that maybe losing
the doll and not his life was the better of the two options, and gave
her the doll. "Here."
Xander and Drusilla walked away from the booth with the doll
in Drusilla's hands. Xander spied Buffy and Willow a few booths away;
the two girls had not noticed him as of yet.
"Hey Drusilla, you wanna leave?" Xander asked.
"Why? I am having fun."
"Well Buffy and Willow are here, and I don't think that the girls and
you are really going to mix well."
"What are they doing here?" Drusilla pouted.
"Well I assume that they are here to have a little fun to."
"I don't like them, they are ruining all of my fun. Especially the
Slayer, she's the one who took my Spike away from me." Drusilla
stamped her foot.
"Hey Drusilla, if you were still with Spike, would he have brought
you here?"
"No. Spike never took me to fairs."
"So maybe it's a good thing that she took him away from you?" Xander
suggested, not really understanding why Drusilla felt Buffy had taken
Spike away from her.
"Oh, that's right."
"So do you wanna go?"
"Ok."
The pair left the fair not realizing that Willow had caught a
glimpse of the Xander and Drusilla. She didn't know whom Xander was
with, as all she had seen of Drusilla was her dark hair and back. She
didn't try to catch up with the pair, since she figured that perhaps
the girl Xander was with was the reason why he had broken up with
Anya. All Willow hoped was that this girl was better than the last.
She didn't mention to Buffy that she had seen their friend, because
she knew Buffy would want to chase after the two of them. And that
didn't seem fair, especially since Xander had been so distant lately.
She figured she would go over to his house the next day and ask him
about it. Buffy could be too pushy at times and she would want to
know everything and why Xander had been avoiding them as of late.
Plus Willow figured, Buffy was kind of at the fair on a date herself,
with Riley. Sure the date factor was kind of ruined because of
Willow's presence but it gave the two of them a chance to get to know
one another outside of college.

Part 5

Willow and Buffy had just left Xander's place, the three of
them had ended up watching a bunch of movies from their childhood, or
more appropriately Xander and Willow's childhood. The movies had
included Legend, Dark Crystal, and Willow's favourite movie
Labyrinth. Buffy and Xander had decided that since Oz had left
Willow, she needed to have some fun. It was better than her sitting
at home moping and crying all the time. Buffy hated going to the dorm
room that the two were sharing, because she never knew what type of
mood Willow was going to be in. It wasn't that Buffy didn't
understand, as she had explained to Xander, it was just that she had
met someone and she didn't want to be all depressed because of
Willow's sadness. So Xander had suggested that the two of them have
some fun. Little did he know that several times during the night,
Drusilla had peaked in the window to see what he was doing. She was
seething in anger because of his company. She had thought that she
had managed to convince Xander that his friends were not necessary in
his life anymore, and that all he really needed was her. As soon as
the two girls were a safe distance from the house, she burst into his
basement.
"What were they doing here?" Drusilla glared at him.
"They are still my friends, you know that right?" Xander glared back,
as much as he cared for the vampire, he didn't want her telling him
what to do. As long as he was human he would stay friends with Buffy
and Willow, especially when Willow needed him so much.
"But what do you need them for when you have me?"
"You? I never know when you are going to be here, or what devious
plot you have in mind for me to save the life of one of my friends."
Xander turned away from Drusilla and started cleaning up the mess
that the movie night had caused.
"You think the fair was a devious plot?" Drusilla asked with hurt in
her voice. Xander sighed, he really was starting to hate this. Part
of him was still angry with Drusilla over the whole game and
everything else, but another part of him was slowly falling in love
with the vampire. And it was all because of the kisses they had
shared at the fair. Especially those kisses that they had shared at
the top of the Ferris wheel.
"Oh Drusilla, it's just that… I don't know." Xander started but
couldn't finish.
"Why were they here?"
"Because Willow's been upset lately because her boyfriend left her.
So Buffy and I decided to help her out by watching some old movies
that Willow and I used to watch all the time as kids."
"What were these movies?" Drusilla had started pacing in the room
liked a caged panther. So Xander told her about them.
"Which one is her favourite?" Drusilla asked.
"Labyrinth is her favourite movie from when we were kids. She likes
the whole forbidden romance for some weird reason." Xander sat down
on the couch.
"I want to see it." Drusilla demanded as she sat down beside him.
"Why?" Xander got up to put the tape in the vcr.
"I want to know more about you, and one way of doing that is to find
out more about your friends. Do you like this movie also?"
"Yeah, it's funny, it has adventure, and the actress who played Sarah
was kinda cute."
As the movie started, Drusilla moved closer to Xander but as
the movie continued she moved away from him and sat up, paying close
attention to the movie. Xander was a little disturbed because he
couldn't figure out why Drusilla was so entranced by the movie, it
was just some kids' movie, after all. There was no deep meaning it,
sure Willow had always said to him that Jareth represented growing up
which Sarah was trying to resist, but he had always thought that it
was just a way for Willow to justify watching the movie past their
childhood. Finally the credits were over, and Drusilla sat in
silence. When Xander was about to stand up to turn off the vcr and
TV, and turn on the lights, Drusilla grabbed him by the wrist and
pulled him back down to the couch.
"I understand more about you now."
"What are you talking about?" Xander asked, the confusion showing on
his face.
"The movie, it's not just about the romance that your friend says it
is about. At least not to you. Jareth represents death. It's what you
fear the most, isn't it?"
"Everyone's afraid of death, I am not afraid of it anymore than the
next guy."
"No, you are more afraid of it. It's why you fell in love with Buffy,
as the Slayer she has a hold over death in your mind. It's why you
fear me and love me at the same time. To you I represent both death
and a victory over it."
"Drusilla that is the craziest thing I have heard you say." Xander
started to get up from the couch once more only to be stopped again
by Drusilla's iron grip on his wrist.
"No it makes sense, you are afraid of death. You want to conquer it,
like the girl conquered the Goblin King. Just like Buffy conquers it
every time she kills a vampire. But your fear of it, prevents you
from being able to do the same."
"No Drusilla, it's just a movie, and Buffy is just a girl."
"You know she's not just a girl. Her alliance with Spike proves that.
How many vampires have you killed, Xander?"
"A few." Xander sighed, not liking where this conversation was
heading.
"And Willow has killed more than you hasn't she?"
"Yeah I guess."
"But the both of you on patrol with your Slayer, don't you?"
"Yeah, what of it?"
"You can not conquer death, but I am giving you a chance to do so.
Quit fighting me, my dark boy."
"A chance to conquer death? Ha, ha, ha, that's so funny. Vampires
might live longer than humans do but when it comes down to it, you
are just as mortal as I am. The only difference is that a splinter in
the wrong place can kill you." Xander glared at Drusilla.
"But vampires suffer from no diseases, and we can live forever, as
long as we stay away from the Slayer or other vampire hunters we're
fine."
"Yeah I guess Slayers are your diseases. Plus you never get to go out
in the sunlight…"
"Perhaps, but what is the sun when you can live for several
lifetimes?" Drusilla asked, cutting Xander off.
"The sun is warmth and life."
"No it's not Xander, it counts down the days til your death. And then
you are gone from this place, and nothing remains of you. I am
offering you eternity. With you at my side, I know that we will have
that long."
"But you can't promise me it." Xander sighed.
"You still fight me, don't you?" Drusilla vamped out.
"Why shouldn't I, from what Angel and Giles has told us, being a
vampire still means my death. My soul will be replaced with a demon
and I will be dead."
"You shouldn't believe in everything that Angel and the Watcher tell
you. Sometimes there are reasons for them to lie to you. Do you think
Buffy would be able to slay those around her if necessary if she were
to know part of the soul remains with the person?"
"You're lying and I hate you!" Xander practically shouted the last
words at her.
"Do you, then maybe I should take your life now." Drusilla grabbed
Xander before he had a chance to run from her. Her fangs slid into
his neck, and although he had been expecting her bite to be painful,
it was the most erotic sensation he had ever felt. He could feel his
life slipping into her mouth in the form of his blood and he was
powerless to stop her. When he had finally passed out from the loss
of blood, Drusilla dropped him to the couch. She had drained him of a
lot of blood but not enough to kill him. She placed a bloody kiss on
his mouth and sighed.
"I am sorry that I had to do that but you must realize your fears or
else you will never be able to take your rightful place at my side."
Drusilla walked to the door and left, knowing that Xander's friends
would find him in the morning.

Part 6

"Willow, I don't know why you are so insistent that we see Xander
this morning. We'll miss class and that's not like you to want to
miss class." Buffy whined at Willow, who had woken her up at about
six in the morning.
"Because he's not answering his phone."
"Willow, it's six in the morning, are you surprised that he's not
answering it? Come on, let me get another hour of sleep."
"Buffy, get up now! I know something is wrong."
"He's probably just sleeping like I wanna do right now. Lucky guy."
"I know something is wrong, I can feel it in my bones."
"Fine, fine, but when we find out he's sleeping, you owe me big
time." Buffy sat up glaring at her best friend.
"Well I know he's not sleeping. Even Xander would wake up with the
number of times that I called him."
"Maybe he turned his ringer off, you know something about needing
sleep." Buffy got out of bed. "I'm going to have a shower."
"NO! We don't have time for that. Come on, let's go." Willow dragged
Buffy back into their room.
"Fine, but if this ruins my chance of getting Riley to notice me
because I smell bad. Then I will never talk to you again." Buffy
glared at her best friend.
"You know it's unethical to date your T.A., especially since he's
marking your papers."
"Willow, I don't need the lecture now. OK? Let's just get this over
with." Buffy sighed and dragged on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She
hated it when Willow put on her resolve face, since it meant that no
one could talk her out of whatever she had convinced herself had to
be done. It had gotten Willow into more trouble than anything else,
but when Willow had made up her mind then no one was able to stop
her.
The two girls left the university campus and caught a bus
that would take them close to Xander's place. They were relatively
quiet, and Buffy started to doze off. She yelped when she felt
Willow's finger jab her in the ribs signaling their stop. The two
girls got off the bus and walked silently to their destination. When
Buffy knocked on the door, and there was no response she wasn't that
worried. But when Willow pushed open the door, she started to get
worried.
"Xander?" Buffy called out questioningly, praying that her friend was
just asleep.
"Ohmigod!" Willow cried out.
"What?" Buffy followed her friend's gaze to the couch and saw Xander
lying there. "Call Giles right now!" Buffy ordered Willow and walked
over to the couch, turning on the lights as she did so. Xander had
blood on his mouth and a vampire's bite on his throat. Buffy's heart
rose into her mouth and she was paralyzed, she was afraid to touch
his body in fear that he might be dead. If he was dead, he could very
well be one of the undead.
"Giles said he would be here in a few minutes. Buffy?" Willow tugged
on Buffy's arm.
"Maybe we should wait outside." Buffy suggested, trembling in fear as
she looked at Xander.
"Why?" Willow asked as she moved towards Xander.
"Don't go near him."
"Buffy! I am just covering him up with a blanket."
"But… he might …" Buffy couldn't finish the sentence, all she could
see was Xander raising as one of the undead and killing her best
friend.
"He's still breathing. I want to keep him warm." Willow reassured the
Slayer knowing what had terrified her.
The two girls sat down on the chairs and waited for Giles to
arrive. When Giles arrived he merely looked at the two girls and then
turned his attention to Xander. Shortly after, Spike came running in
the room with a blanket over his head and smoke pouring from him. He
sniffed at the area and took one look at Xander.
"It's Drusilla." Spike stated.
"What do you mean?" Giles asked.
"Drusilla's the one who did this to him. I had no idea she was in
Sunnydale."
"Yeah sure you didn't Spike, this is your way of getting back at us
isn't it? Killing me through my friends with the help of Drusilla
since you've been neutered." Buffy started to advance towards Spike,
ready to rip him apart with her bare hands.
"Buffy! How could he? He's been chained to Giles's bathtub since we
found him." Willow tried to reason with Buffy.
"Willow's right, if Drusilla was in town and working with Spike, she
would have found him already."
"Yeah you stupid bint." Spike glared at the Slayer.
"Then help me find her and then I can stake her." Buffy told Spike.
"I think you should call Angel first. It's not as easy as that
Slayer."
"What do you mean Spike?" Giles asked the bleached blond.
"It's not as straightforward as killing Drusilla in order to protect
your friends. I think Angel would be able to tell you better than I
can."
"In the meantime, maybe we should get Xander to the hospital?" Willow
suggested.
"Yes, I will take him. Buffy and Willow go to your classes, Spike and
I will contact Angel."
"No, I will call him." Buffy replied.
"Buffy, we need his help. I don't want you alienating him right now.
I understand things have been difficult for the two of you. But we
need his help." Giles told the Slayer.
"Are you saying that hearing from me would alienate him?" Buffy asked
with tears shining in her eyes.
"Buffy, right now things are difficult for the two of you. I don't
want you being more hurt by that. I don't really care about Angel,
but I care about you as if you were my daughter. I think it's best if
you go to class right now and let me deal with it. If Spike is right,
then it might be that Angel might have to come to Sunnydale to
protect Xander."
"Fine." Buffy stormed out of the room.
"I am sorry, Giles, it's just that…" Willow started.
"I know, it's hard for her. And she can't help Xander right now. She
probably also feels like she let him down or failed to protect him."
Giles sighed.

Part 7

Angel was in shock after he hung up the phone, he couldn't
believe what Giles had just told him. It didn't sound very re-
assuring to him that Drusilla was in Sunnydale and had attacked
Xander. But there was no reason to doubt what Spike had told them.
After all if anyone would be able to recognize the scent of Drusilla,
it would surely be Spike. He wasn't also very happy to hear that
Spike had been neutered, not that he enjoyed having an evil vampire
running around causing problems for Buffy and the human population in
general. At the same time, as a vampire, he knew that it had to be
eating Spike up inside. Even with his soul, it was often hard for
Angel to resist the siren call of his demon. His demon was constantly
trying to trick him into taking an innocent victim, it would tell the
soul that the intended victim deserved to die for whatever reason.
And the demon was hard to resist at times, but to be in pain when one
tried to follow his own nature. And not even pain because of his own
doing. Spike was in a bad situation, and Angel wanted to rip apart
the people responsible for it. But at the moment he had a far larger
concern, if what he had been able to piece together from his
conversation with Giles, it didn't bode to well for Xander or anyone
else. Angel knew he had to go to Sunnydale and confirm his suspicions
but he didn't want to. He wished that he could send either Doyle or
Cordelia, but at the same time, they wouldn't know what they were
looking for. So he quickly packed a small bag and prepared himself to
see Buffy again.
The drive took to Sunnydale took longer than Angel had
expected, perhaps it was because he was reluctant to return to
Sunnydale. The place that had been his home for three years, and been
such a source of pain. It was there that he had killed his sire,
Darla, and it was also there that he had turned into Angelus again
and had almost destroyed Buffy and her friends. He didn't want to go
back, but he knew that he had to for Xander's sake. It was part of
his redemption as well. After all he was responsible for making
Drusilla into what she was. If there was anyway he could prevent what
was going to happen, then he needed to try. And if that meant going
to Sunnydale then that meant facing his fears and swallowing his
pride, and he would have to face Buffy too. When he had left
Sunnydale he had done it for her, or so he had thought. But deep down
inside, he knew that he had left because if he had stayed around her,
he would have given into his lust and love and allowed Angelus to be
released again. And he knew if that happened, Angelus would destroy
the Scoobies this time. So he had left her, and Sunnydale, taking his
broken heart and what little of his pride he had left. Now he was
returning, and once again it was all his fault. Before he knew it he
had pulled up in front of the apartment complex that Giles lived in.
He didn't want to be hear again, he remember with shame what Angelus
had done to Giles. Angelus had figured that the best way to strike
back at the Slayer was not by destroying Willow, but by destroying
her father figure, her Watcher, Giles. He raised his hand to knock at
the door, only to pause. He knew that this was going to be painful
for them all and he wished that the library was still standing. But
knowing that wishes were impossible, he knocked on the door. The door
opened, and Willow was standing there, her face extremely pale and
shadows under her eyes.
"Angel!" Willow cried before throwing herself into his arms. He had
never expected to be greeted like this, and he almost worried that
Xander was dead. "Come in, Angel." Willow told him as she stepped out
of his hug.



Part Eight

Angel sighed as he looked at everyone sitting in the hospital
lounge; they had all been here so many times before. Usually they had
all been here for Buffy, once he knew that they had all be there for
Willow, unfortunately he had no memory of that, as Buffy had had to
send him to Hell. But now they were all gathered here for Xander, who
had been bitten by his childe. He had not doubted what Willow had
told him about the event. He had been surprised that neither girl had
done much when Xander had started withdrawing from them, but when
Willow told him that she had seen him at the fair with a dark hair
girl, he could see why she had assumed that he had been pulling away
because he had met someone. The only bad thing about it was that she
had been right, but it had been Drusilla he was falling for. Angel
wasn't sure why Drusilla had been toying with him for so long and had
not turned him or killed him, rather than just draining most of his
blood. Xander would be in the hospital for at least two weeks
recovering from it. He knew that Buffy and Spike had not hunted down
Drusilla yet, and from what Willow had told him, it had taken both
Giles and Spike to hold Buffy back. Thankfully, Spike had recognized
that there might be more harm caused if Buffy simply staked the
insane vampire. Angel frowned as he looked at Buffy, he knew that she
had moved on with some military guy, but he had expected it to hurt
when he looked at her for the first time since he had left Sunnydale.
But it didn't hurt; in fact he looked at her and didn't really feel
much. All he saw was a beautiful and strong ex-girlfriend, who was
extremely pissed off. He knew that it was taking every resource of
her patience, not to get up and destroy the reason that Xander was in
the hospital.
"I need to see him."
"Why? You should be helping me kill Drusilla instead of trying to
protect her." Buffy glared at Angel.
"Buffy, please." Giles said tiredly.
"I am sure Angel knows what he's doing." Willow stated quietly.
"You never wanted to kill her, did you? You're just like Spike.
You're both willing to let him die because of that bitch." Buffy
hissed at Angel.
"You don't understand, Buffy…." Angel started.
"No, I don't understand. She did this and she deserves to die."
"Pet, just let Angel see the moron. Trust us."
"Why should I trust you? As soon as you get that chip removed you'll
kill us all."
"Please give me a bit more credit than that."
"Angel, I will take you to his room." Willow finally said, tired of
the arguing that had been going on since Xander had been taken to the
hospital.
"Thank you Willow." Angel followed Willow to the room Xander was in.
Angel took one look at the pale form of Xander and knew that
if Buffy killed Drusilla, she would pretty much destroy her friend.
He walked up to the bed and took a closer look, and breathed in deep.
Underneath the sickly sweet scent of the hospital, he could still
smell the scent of Drusilla on him. He gently removed the bandage
that covered most of his neck and saw the damage that Drusilla had
done.
"She's claimed him."
"What does that mean?" Willow asked.
"It means that if Buffy kills Drusilla, she might as well kill Xander
as well."
"What?" Willow looked at Xander and then at Angel.
"Drusilla's claimed him, she hasn't turned him yet, but she will. And
even if she never does, Xander belongs to her. If she dies, he will
go mad with grief and die shortly after she does." Angel shook his
head and put the bandage back on Xander's neck.
"So if Buffy stakes Drusilla, then she effectively has killed
Xander." Willow's eyes hardened.
"Basically."
"It means we have to protect her too, doesn't it?"
"I wouldn't necessarily go that far."
Angel and Willow walked out of the hospital room and stood
facing the rest of them. Spike only nodded at the two of them,
knowing that Angel would recognize what Drusilla had done. Angel
frowned when he saw the new addition to the group, he realized that
it must be the Riley that Willow had told him about. He didn't want
the young man here, Willow had said that he knew about demons and
that he fought them, and Angel suspected that Riley was no doubt a
part of the military group that had forced him to rescue a German
submarine in World War II. He was not impressed that he was here,
especially after it had been this man's military group that had
implanted Spike with the chip that controlled him. There had been no
love lost between the two vampires, but Angel thought it was cruel to
force him to change his habits and behaviour by a chip that caused
him pain when he so much as thought about hurting a human. Angel had
to control the urge to growl at the man, he knew that alienating him
would not help his cause.
"I think we should all go back to Giles's house, we're not going to
help Xander here."
"Are we going to even help him, by staking the bitch that did this to
him?" Buffy glared at her former lover.
"Buffy, please let's just go to Giles and hear what Angel has to
say." Anya sighed tiredly.
"Oh like you really care!"
"Buffy, stop it right now. Anya cares about Xander, and it wasn't her
who dumped him. I have a feeling that Xander did it to protect her.
Let's go, now!" Willow grabbed her best friend's wrist and started
dragging her to the exit. Angel sighed and realized that it was going
to be a lot worse than he had planned. He wondered if D'Hoffryn had
ever visited Buffy and offered her what he had offered Anya,
especially since Buffy seemed so determined for vengeance. He
wondered when she had become so hard, and hoped that he had not
helped her to become so cold.

Part Nine

Trying to explain to Buffy that killing Drusilla would only
cause more harm to Xander was something that frustrated Spike, Angel
and Giles. Even Willow had gotten angry with her best friend. She had
yelled at her and asked her just how stupid she was, and had the
peroxide from constantly highlighting her hair actually affected her?
Angel and Spike would have burst out laughing if the situation had
not been so deadly.
"Look if you care about Xander, you will let me kill the bitch that
did this to him." Buffy told Willow.
"It's not as simple as you think it is."
"Yeah it is, I slay her, and he won't become a vampire."
"Buffy, it's not that simple. Do you really want Xander to go mad?"
"Do you want him to become a vampire like Jesse? You never saw Jesse
after he had become a vampire, Will, you couldn't even kill your
vampiric double. Do you think you could kill Xander?"
"Buffy! Please listen to me. She might not turn him into a vampire."
"Yeah and pigs might fly. There's nothing you can do to stop me."
"Buffy, before you leave, hear me out one last time." Angel said
quietly.
"What do you have to say besides the same useless crap that you said
before?"
"Xander is under Drusilla's spell, she learnt from me, and if you
kill her, you will break him far more than she could ever break him.
He will no doubt go insane, and then find any willing vampire to turn
him. Do you want an insane Xander running around Sunnydale?"
"No, so I will just stake him too."
"Buffy, you couldn't even stake me when you had to."
"Sure remind me of that, I should have staked you and your little
nest and then none of this bullshit would have happened."
"I am sorry Buffy, but the best we can hope for right now, is for
Drusilla to turn him into a vampire and then for Willow to curse him
with his soul."
"And we know how well that spell worked for you." Buffy glared at
Angel as she picked up her stake.
"I have to agree with Buffy on this one, Drusilla has to be taken
down." Riley piped up.
"Look boy, you think because you a little soldier that you know
everything? Let me tell you this, your government and your military
have used demons to fight their fights when they've had to. So why
don't you run to your higher ups and do your practices and whatever
else you do."
"Fuck off, Angel." Buffy yelled. "I am going to go out and finish
this."
"And kill one of your dearest friends while doing it? Why don't you
just go to the hospital and end it there? Be like Faith was, become
murderous, at least she was trying to find somewhere to belong, and
not trying to force everyone to do her bidding. You are not going to
do this Buffy, I still have some friends that are big bad demons, and
if you do this I will make sure that you pay." Anya calmly said.
"Everyone, please." Giles tried to calm everyone down.
"No Giles, I have had enough, I love Xander, and I know Willow does
to, as does Buffy and you too. But this is not going to solve
anything. You think you know everything Buffy? Well you don't, you
haven't seen what happens when a vampire claims a mortal, even Angel
never did that to you. But if the vampire who claims a mortal dies,
it's never a pretty sight. I have seen enough victims of that to know
it. You're not going to cause more harm to Xander. I am sure Willow
agrees with me on this one."
"Willow? Are you gonna side with her or are you gonna help me take
care of Xander?"
"Buffy, I love you and I know you're hurting but killing Drusilla is
not going to help anyone. If we let her live maybe we can find a way
to save Xander and break her spell." Willow sighed as she saw the
rage on Buffy's face.
"You're fucking betraying him! I thought you loved Xander."
"I DO!! But causing him more pain is not going to help."
"Yeah right, you always just follow the crowd don't you?"
"Buffy, you're very angry right now, you have to calm down." Riley
said.
"What you agree with them all now?"
"No, I think what you want to do is the best plan, but I think
perhaps Willow has a good idea, let's try to break this spell he's
under before staking Drusilla."
"I can't fucking believe this. What about you Giles? Are you gonna
turn against me too?"
"Buffy, we're not turning against you. I am sure that everyone in
this room wants to end Drusilla's life for what she has done, but
causing Xander more harm, is not going to help him."
"That's it I am leaving and I am going to do what I have to do."
"No Buffy, you're not."
"Yeah Will, you and what army are gonna stop me?" Buffy glared at her
best friend with hate and rage in her eyes. Willow muttered a few
words that rendered Buffy immobile with magick.
"Riley do you have access to any drugs that will knock her out?"
Willow asked.
"What?"
"She's a danger to herself and to Xander. I am not going to let her
out so she can go on a homicidal rampage and end up dead. She can't
fight like this, and Drusilla's killed one Slayer too many, she's not
going to kill Buffy."
"I have something that might work upstairs. I have it just in case
Faith ever came back." Giles said.
"Get it."
Buffy had been injected with whatever drugs that Giles had,
and it had put her to sleep. She was currently sleeping upstairs in
Giles' bed, while the rest of them were all sitting downstairs with
guilt etched on their faces. They were trying to research a way to
help Xander, but no one had their hearts in it.
"You did what you had to." Riley finally said.
"What?" Giles asked.
"Willow was right, if she had gone out like that she could have wound
up dead."
"But still, we drugged her like she was an animal."
"She was behaving like one." Anya said.
"Anya, that's not very nice."
"No it isn't Willow, but she's right. If we had let her go out she
would have killed Drusilla, herself and Xander." Spike said.
"We did what we had to." Angel said miserably.
"Will it ever stop feeling like we betrayed her?" Willow asked.
"Probably not, Willow, but they're right." Giles opened his arm for
Willow as she started to cry over what had happened.


Part Ten – A week later.

Xander's neck still hurt and he was sore all over. He had
finally been allowed to go home and he was currently over at Giles.
He was shocked to find out what had happened after Drusilla had
practically drained him; so far the insane vampire had not visited
him. He didn't know whether to be glad about it or upset about it. He
knew that Buffy was still furious about what happened to him and then
what everyone else had done to her. And he was glad that Willow and
the rest of them had prevented her from going out and getting herself
killed. He knew that she was a strong fighter but at the same time,
he knew that there was no way she would have survived a fight with
Drusilla, especially in the frame of mind she had been in. He just
hoped that when Drusilla finally came back, that she would understand
that he had decided to go with her. He still loved his friends, but
they didn't need him anymore. And he needed Drusilla more than he
needed them. He reread the passage he had found in one of the books,
and knew that nobody else could see it. It explained a why that the
claiming could be broken. He didn't want the claiming to be broken;
he wanted to be with Drusilla.
"Uh guys, this book has nothing in it."
"Oh well, just put it with the rest." Willow sighed in defeat.
"You know what I think I am gonna go home and get some rest." Xander
said as he put the book with the others.
"Want me to walk you home?" Buffy asked.
"Nah, that's ok."
"Oh ok." Buffy's face fell at his rejection.
Xander quickly left Giles' apartment and headed to his
basement suite. He wanted out of Sunnydale so badly that it hurt, he
knew his friends meant well but how could they understand what he
felt for Drusilla. Once he got home, he laid down on the bed. He was
exhausted with waiting for her to show up. He hoped that she hadn't
forgotten about him. He slowly fell asleep. He dreamt of his
Drusilla, his dark princess, and how they would live together when
she turned him.
Drusilla arrived as soon as dusk fell, she hated having to
sneak around, but she knew that Spike and that nasty Slayer were
hunting for her. Even if it wasn't to kill her, the Slayer could
still hurt her for what she had done. The Slayer still thought that
she owned Xander, Drusilla knew differently. The stars had told her
so; her dark haired boy wanted her and only her. She was coming to
get him and then they would leave this hellish town. Drusilla wasn't
going to turn him right away, no she wanted to play with her mortal
pet, and feel his warmth, before she finally brought him over.
"Wake up, my prince, its time to wake up."
"Hmmm?" Xander was reluctant to wake up from a dream of Drusilla.
"Wake up." Xander opened his eyes and was delighted to see Drusilla
leaning over him.
"Drusilla, I thought you had left me." He pulled her down to kiss her.
"Hmmm, you taste yummy."
"Do I?"
"Yes, but I have a better plan for us."
"You do?"
"Yes." Xander followed Drusilla's gaze to the corner and saw that
Riley was all tied up.
"Why is he here?" Xander asked with disgust in his voice.
"I want to play with him, break him, and make the Slayer suffer."
Drusilla purred.
"Why do you want to hurt Buffy?"
"She tried to take you away from me."
"Hmm, sounds good to me."
The two started kissing, and Xander pulled Drusilla down so
she was laying on him. Drusilla's face changed into her vampire face,
and her face excited Xander. He loved the way it looked when she
allowed her demon to show, he hated it when she had to hide it. He
moved his hands to the back of her dress and started to unbutton it.
"Hmm… naughty little boy."
"But you like it." Xander said as he undid another button.
"I want to play first."
"He's such a waste of your time."
"I know but he will hurt the Slayer."
"Drusilla, let's just forget about her." Xander undid a few more
buttons, so that Drusilla's dress was opened down to her waist.
"No! She tried to take you away from me."
"Alright." Xander stood up and moved to the couch. "But I am not
helping you."
"That's fine." Drusilla purred as she moved to where Riley was tied
up in the corner. "I want you to watch."
Riley tried to resist the vampire as she dragged him to the
bed; he couldn't believe that Xander was allowing this to happen. He
had always thought that Xander was a good guy, but here he was
allowing a demon to torture him. He looked at Xander trying to beg
the other man to get help.
"Just because I am not gonna help her doesn't mean I am gonna help
you either. You tried to kill her too." Xander told Riley.
"Let's remove his gag and see what he has to say." Drusilla removed
the gag covering Riley's mouth.
"Xander, you have to help me. You can't do this to me."
"I am not doing anything to you Riley."
"You are going to let her hurt me."
"Yeah I am, cuz you took Buffy and cuz you were gonna take Drusilla
from me. A man can only take so much, and I have had enough." Xander
passed Drusilla the knife that she had put down on the coffee table
earlier.
"But Xander, this isn't you."
"How do you know it isn't?"
"Because you're under her spell."
"Riley, I have wanted Drusilla since the first time I saw her, before
I was under her spell. So just shut up. I think you should cover his
mouth again." Drusilla pushed the gag up again, and smiled at Xander
as she started to cut off Riley's clothes.

* * * * * * * * *
* *
After an hour or two of blood play, Drusilla had removed her
clothes. She had alternated between cutting Riley and kissing Xander.
It was few hours to dawn, and Xander knew that the two of them were
going to have to leave; they couldn't be here in the morning when
Buffy or Willow came by. Not with all the blood on the bed or on the
walls. Riley was still alive but he had bled a lot. Drusilla had
removed the gag again and all the soldier had done was beg for his
life. Xander knew that it had been turning Drusilla on and it had
made him jealous so he had gotten up where he had been sitting and
put the gag back on. Before he had done so, Riley had begged Xander
to save him again. Xander had put the gag back on Riley, and then had
taken the knife and cut him all over his legs. Showing the other man,
that there would be no help from Xander. Whether Xander was under a
spell or not, he was acting out of his own free will.
Finally Drusilla pulled Xander down onto the bed, after she
had removed his clothes, and the two had made love in the blood of
the Slayer's boyfriend. A part of Xander was reeling in horror and
was trying to break free from the spell he was under. But the rest of
him refused to allow that part free. He wanted this, the last time he
had felt this much power, and he had been possessed by a hyena. This
time he was in love and he was not going to lose it again. Maybe if
Buffy had not rejected him, he would not being doing this. But once
again, she had rejected him for someone who was less of a man than he
was. He rubbed his hand on Riley's chest, and then placed his bloody
hand on Drusilla's pale skin. The vampire sighed as her boy was
behaving as she had wanted him to. She had been afraid that he would
fight her and fight the claiming but he wasn't.
After the two of them were finished, they went to the shower
where they cleaned up and then they dressed. Xander packed a small
bag and left with Drusilla. At the door, he turned around and faced
Riley once more.
"Wish I could say I was sorry but I am not. You were always a self-
centered prick, taking Buffy away from me and Willow. You should have
been content with taking her away and stayed away from my Drusilla."

* * * * * * * * *
* * *

Willow opened the door to Xander's basement suite, dread
filling her before she even opened the door. She knew something bad
was going to happen. She looked in the apartment and smelt the
coppery scent of blood. She looked at the bed, and saw Riley laying
in his own blood.
"Ohmigod!" Willow ran over to Riley and removed the gag. "Riley?"
"Willow…" Riley barely managed to say her name.
"Yeah it's me, I am gonna call an ambulance."
"Don't bother."
"But…"
"No, I am dying. Tell Buffy that I loved her."
"Riley let me get help."
"No, it's not worth it. I can barely even see you Willow."
"But…"
"Tell Buffy I loved her. I did this to myself Willow, and Xander had
nothing to do with this."
"What do you mean?"
"I found Drusilla's lair and I was going to kill her. She was too
fast for me."
"But, we told you…"
"Yeah I know what you told me." Riley coughed up some blood. "But I
looked at the book Xander had said there was nothing to help us in
it, and there was. I knew that he was too much under her spell to
help himself. And I thought maybe we could break the spell if she was
dead." Riley coughed again and more blood came out.
"Ohmigod, Riley, why didn't you just tell us."
"I wanted to be a hero. Guess I didn't think it through." Riley gave
her a weak smile. "Just tell Buffy that I loved her and Xander is not
to blame."
"I will, but you're gonna tell her yourself." Willow ran to the phone
and placed a call for an ambulance.
"Thanks for trying Willow, but I am so tired." Riley held onto her
hand.
"You hang in there, you hear me Riley."
"I see a light, Willow."
"No, stay with me. Buffy needs you."
"Not as much as she needs you Willow. Or as much as she needed
Xander, and I failed her."
"No you didn't."
"The light looks so inviting Willow."
"No, stay with me. Riley you have to!"
"Okay Willow." Riley breathed a few more breaths before he died.
Willow was pushed aside as the paramedic entered the room and
tried to save him. But nothing could be done for him, he had lost too
much blood and he was gone. Willow answered the questions when the
police came, and finally she was able to go to Giles's apartment
where she told him what she had seen and what Riley had told her. The
two of them found the book and sure enough found the passage that
Riley had told her about. It had involved the death of the vampire
who had staked the claim as well as the vampire's sire. Giles ripped
the page out of the book, and burnt it. They both knew that if Buffy
found it, she would kill both Drusilla and Angel if she had a chance.
After that, they sat there in shock waiting for Buffy to show up.
Neither of them knew how to call her and tell her that she had just
lost two of her friends in one night. They both knew that even if
Drusilla kept Xander human, they had lost him.


Part Eleven – Epilogue

Giles laid down the letter that he had received from the
Watcher's Council, he wished that the Council would leave him a lone
but at the same time he knew that he needed the information they had
sent to him. Apparently Xander was still a mortal, but it didn't stop
him and Drusilla from committing some of the most horrible murders in
Europe. The Council operatives had been tracking the pair for some
time and found the bodies. The few survivors always said the same
thing that the male liked to watch the female in action. The reason
why they had survived was because the two had grown bored. What was
most disturbing was what had been written in the victim's blood at a
few of the sites. One had said "Slayer I will come back for you." And
another said "I can not live for eternity without my Willow." The
final one had merely said "Soon." Then the murders had stopped. Giles
did not want to tell either Willow or Buffy about the letter but he
knew that he had to. He needed to make sure they were protected. He
was glad that Spike protected the two girls as best as he could, but
Spike was only one vampire. And Spike's loyalties were mainly tied to
Buffy; he would look after Willow only when he had the time.
Otherwise, he would patrol with Buffy and then before dawn, he would
do a sweep of the cemeteries before retiring himself. Spike had been
essential in helping Buffy stop the Initiative before Maggie Walsh
had activated her part-demon, part human, and part-machine solider.
The Initiative had left Sunnydale and not returned. The underground
compound had been filled in with cement and the Council had confirmed
that the Initiative would not be returning and Walsh's experiment had
had the plugged pull. But Spike had been influential in making sure
that Buffy had been able to stop Walsh. Furthermore, Spike had had
his chip removed but he fought side-by-side with Buffy, trying to
eradicate evil. It had surprised both Angel and Giles, but they
accepted Spike's actions as honest.
Now Giles was going to have to warn Buffy and Willow that
their former best friend might be returning to Sunnydale to destroy
the both of them. He didn't know how it was going to play out and he
didn't want to know how it was. But he had to; he was Buffy's
Watcher, even if she had grown distant and cold. Buffy had dropped
from her classes at University and merely slayed. She had become the
best example of a Slayer and she fought harder than before. If Buffy
had met Angel now, he would not have had a chance at living. Spike
was only spared because he was a useful ally, and as far as Buffy
knew he was still chipped. Willow and Giles had decided that Buffy
should be kept in ignorance about Spike's situation and he had
agreed. Now Giles knew that he had to warn her that she might have to
kill Xander and not only that, possibly Willow. Giles did not know if
Xander would attempt to turn Willow first before destroying Willow or
not. Giles also knew he would have to inform Angel and his team of
this. Just in case, Drusilla turned up in L.A. Giles sighed, this was
not how he had expected things to turn out and he knew now why the
Council had always forbidden the Slayer from having friends.

End