Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own all the characters contained within. I hold no claim on them.
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Set during Buffy versus Dracula and then goes seriously AU after that! Buffy is missing and Spike is the only one who has noticed. Where is Buffy and why is Spike the only one who is worried? Will the peroxide vampire be able to find her before it's too late? What has happened to the Scoobies and will they save Xander before he really becomes Dracula's butt monkey?

Chapter 3

Spike stood frozen at the sight of Buffy's sharp fangs and pale lavender eyes. 'Christ, she's even more entrancing.' The smitten vampire blinked at his traitorous train of thought. 'She's your enemy, you ponce! Remember that!' Spike continued his inner diatribe, unaware that his presence and search for the forgotten Slayer negated all his pep talks to himself. He shook his hand and then clenched it into a fist at his side before shoving it into his duster pocket.

Spike was furious. Buffy being turned into something she fought was wrong…

Dracula watched the Aurelian Master Vampire closely; he was intrigued as to why Spike had come to his home visiting. He had his suspicions, and if he were correct, then it would work to his benefit and also discharge a debt to the Aurelian Vampire. To test the peroxide vampire, the Transylvanian Master allowed his hand to slid downwards and cup the turned Slayer's full backside and pulled her unresisting body against his.

Spike's eyes flashed gold for a brief second at the sight of the gypsy vampire openly fondling the diminutive blonde's soft curves and cradling her body against him. 'Don't react . Keep cool, if the bastard realises you're interested, then the game moves to a different level.' Spike reached over and grabbed the bottle of wine that was on the long table; he consciously steadied himself, trying not to let his hand shake. Pulling the cork with his teeth, the fuming vampire took a long pull on bottle. "Nice pet you've got there. Bit on the silent side, though. How’d you manage that? Usually she yaps away, driving a bloke demented!" Spike smirked as he flopped back into his seat and propped his Doc Martin clad feet on the highly polished surface of the table. "May I?" With that, Spike snagged the vampiress that had served him earlier and pulled her giggling form onto his lap.

Dracula watched his old friend's hands as they trailed all over the body of his still giggling Bride. His eyes narrowed as Spike pulled her in for a kiss. Spike released his not so reluctant conquest and gestured for her to seat herself at the side of his chair. "Spike, that’s one of my favourites," the longhaired vampire warned good-naturedly as he re-took his seat.

Both of the male vampires were aware of the undercurrent of tension and chose to ignore it, covering their true feelings with bravado and banter.

Spike pulled away from the purring female's neck and focused on Dracula's amused face. The few seconds of kissing and holding the willing female had allowed Spike to regroup and calm down. All he could see, though, was Buffy's lifeless eyes and the horror filled eyes of Joyce when he told her of her daughter's turning. Well, if she remembered she had one, that was.

"Sorry, mate, but you have to admit she is rather cute!" Spike pressed a sloppy kiss on her forehead before taking another pull on the bottle he held in his free hand. His blue eyes narrowed as he watched Buffy rest her cheek against Drac's leather clad thigh and watch him impassively. "So, how'd you get your mitts on that one?" Spike gestured carelessly with the bottle at Buffy. "Looks pretty funny, that stuck up bint on her knees at your feet!" Spike added with a laugh that belied the anger at seeing the usually vibrant Slayer completely submissive and controlled by one that she hunted.

"It was simple, she was gifted to me," Dracula drawled as he reached down and pulled Buffy's limp arm to his mouth and then, to Spike’s barely contained anger, he sank his teeth into her skin and began to drink. Dracula tried not to grimace at the taste of his captive's blood, he could taste her anger and hatred, and the images that he saw filled him with fear. Pulling back, he licked his lips. "Delicious."

Spike's eyes narrowed as he honed in on one word. "Gifted?" He arched his scarred brow in question.

"Oh yes, it was quite simple. The fool who crawled out of here just now brought her to me." Dracula threw back his head and roared with laughter. "It was truly a pleasant surprise. I was not expecting the twitching idiot to bring me such a luscious gift, in the hope that I would turn him."

"The Whelp brought her?" Spike bit the side of his mouth to restrain his anger; he could feel the Initiative chip sending warning tingles through his cerebellum at the images of his skinning Harris alive for his betrayal of the Slayer. He covered his growing anger and agitation with a snort of laughter. "How did a nit like that manage to bring her to you?"

Dracula had sensed the gamut of emotions that the peroxide blond vampire had run through, and his interest was peaked. However, although he was still unwilling to end the game they were playing, he had found a way out of the predicament he was in. "Simple. He knocked her out and carried her here." He ran his fingers through Buffy's long hair in a smooth rhythm, soothing himself.

'Of course the soddin’ bint wasn't gonna suspect one of her best friends.’ Spike thought sadly. He had always considered the Scoobies to be a millstone around her neck ‘Her trust and blind faith in her Scoobies had been her downfall in the end.' Spike sat watching Drac's hand; trying to remind himself he needed to get Buffy out of here. Before he cut the offending appendage off and shoved it up the show off's arse. Spike tried to ignore the pain that was amplifying in his head, due to the various elaborate and gruesome ideas he was developing to pay back the Whelp's betrayal. His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of Buffy's small form again. 'Need to get her out of here! Free and clear of the git and his mind tricks.'

"Did you hear me, Spike?" Drac leant forward and rested his chin on one hand.

"Yeah, I did, mate. So, one of her own brought her to you? Use your mind whammy on him to do so?" Spike drawled, his affected brogue dropping as a result of the depth of his emotions. Emotions, that in the space of a few minutes the vampire had accepted and decided not to fight against. He’d do some navel examining later once they were both safe.

He cared for the Slayer and, more importantly, he cared for Buffy. He wanted... no, needed to get her out of this pit of vipers and hopefully save her.

"No. He brought her of his own volition and, well, how could I resist?" Drac grinned wickedly.

"So, the Slayer pressie wasn't enough to earn him a turning?" Spike asked, his curiosity peaked.

Dracula shuddered elegantly. "Hardly! I mean, would you want that around for all eternity?" He waved a hand in the direction of the door, which Xander had exited.

"Hard enough putting up with him now." Spike laughed. He was frantically reviewing his dwindling options.

"True, but it is useful having a pet that can walk in daylight, so I will keep him around for a while." Dracula shrugged. "So, why are you really here?" The Transylvanian had bored with their verbal jousting and wanted to bring the meeting to a close.

"Umm." Spike's eyes flickered to Buffy's form for a second before settling on Drac's amused face.

"Come now, William. We both know you want my pet, the question is what shall I get in return?" Dracula threw down the verbal gauntlet and time froze.

*********

Joyce rolled over with a groan and pushed herself to her knees. Rising unsteadily, she rubbed her face and wondered why she had passed out in the spare room.

Tiredly, she trudged down the hallway and into the Master bedroom, mechanically going through the motions of preparing for bed. Joyce removed her makeup and earrings, placing the latter in a small glass dish on her dressing table, then pulled open a drawer, locating her hairbrush and beginning to pull it through her hair. Looking up in the mirror, Joyce gasped, a slim, blonde haired girl sat on her bed with a sad expression on her face.

The older woman turned around and looked over at her empty bed before turning back to the mirror and the young woman she could see in it.

"Mom? Mommy?" The small blonde's mouth moved and Joyce could hear her plaintive cries in her head.

"Oh. Sweetie." Joyce reached up and touched the image in her mirror and began to sob as the sad face faded away. "No! Come back. Please! I want…"

*********

Giles sat in his apartment, a glass of whiskey in one hand and a book in the other. The classical music he had selected echoed through the empty apartment. The tired man took a sip of the amber liquid and scanned the page, a familiar word leaping out at him.

Slayer.

Giles sat up and peered at the cramped text. A flash of long blonde hair and a soaked formal white dress filled his mind for a brief moment.

*********

Riley counted off his hundredth sit up and then stood. Reaching for a towel, he dried his torso and disappeared into his bathroom. The sound of the shower filled the room for a few minutes before the tall, ex-soldier reappeared and quickly dressed.

He slipped out of the apartment and disappeared into the night. As he walked, the soldier desperately scanned the seedy alleys of Sunnydale, searching for his girl.

*********

Willow carefully undressed, dropping her clothes on the floor. She slipped under the covers and snuggled up against Tara's soft form. Sighing happily, the redhead wrapped her arms around her lover and drifted off to sleep.

Tara frowned and mumbled in her sleep, her dreams filled with a small blonde warrior who fought tenaciously.

*********

"There you are, handsome! I've been looking all over for you."

Riley stopped and turned, a large smile across his face. "Hey, honey, I missed you." He loped over and wrapped his arms around the woman who had spoken to him.

"Missed this, more like." With that, the female vampire sank her teeth into the tall man's willing flesh.

Riley moaned and pulled her closer, his large hands cradling her head and stroking her long dark hair. He pulled the whore closer. The endorphins released into his system from her bite flooded him, filling him with a false sense of happiness and euphoria.

*********

"In return?" Spike drawled.

"Certainly, if I am to gift you this prize of a turned Slayer, I need something in return for my largesse." Dracula seized Buffy by the hair and pulled her to her feet. The mute ex-Slayer hung limply in her Sire's grasp, like a marionette that had its strings cut.

Spike winced at Dracula's handling of the Slayer, as if she were a side of meat in a butcher shop window. The words escaped from his mouth before he could compose himself. "Don't do that!" He snarled as his eyes flashed gold and his face shifted.

Dracula watched amused. "Well, William, what a surprise."

"Let her go!" Spike growled and leapt to his feet, pushing the vampiress on his lap carelessly to the floor. He stalked over to Dracula, a pale lean hand snapped around Dracula's wrist. Spike pressed hard trying to get him to let go, his other hand rested gently in the small of Buffy's back. "I…said…you…Euro trash...scum, let the lady go!"

Dracula laughed and released his hold on Buffy's hair, she fell like a stone. Spike reached down and scooped her up and held her possessively against his chest. "You know, William, I'm always surprised at your depth of feelings for the fairer sex. That insane female you carted around for decades, Drusilla right? I never understood why you didn't put her out of her misery."

Spike growled half-heartedly at the insult thrown at his mad sire, but he wasn't too bothered anymore. His senses were filled with the exquisite scents of the small woman lying limply in his arms. His happiness faded when a more putrid scent rose from the golden girl in his arms. Spike's nostrils dilated at the scent of her bastard sire's seed drying on her inner thighs. A growl rumbled from the depth of his chest, all pretence of disinterest gone, chased away with the knowledge that his Slayer had been violated by the pond scum smiling at him.

He needed to get her away from Dracula right now.

Dracula chuckled at the anger in Spike's face. "Oh, come on. I had to sample the goods at least once, and I must say she was very unresponsive…truly disappointing, hence why…"

"You’re happy to hand her over to me ’cos she was a lousy shag? Charming, turn the poor bint and then toss her aside." Spike pulled Buffy even closer, his rage at the casual cruelty of the bastard sitting in front of him was inflaming his demon.

"So, we need to come to some sort of arrangement," Dracula drawled. He was desperate to get rid of his latest Childe and get away from this godforsaken town, after a few debts were paid, of course.

Spike stepped back, trying to distance himself and the Slayer from the Vampire seated at the dining table. "Here's an idea, I take the bird, you hand over any and all claim or control you have over her to me and we call it quits."

"Quits? I think not!"

"Look. The way I see it, you owe me and you owe me big," Spike snarled.

“How so?" Dracula asked curiously.

"Eleven quid, plus interest. I worked it out mate. You owe me just under a million quid, what with the interest you agreed on with me. I have it in writing, so don't even try to weasel out of it!" Spike warned.

"So, you are willing to forget the debt if I give her to you? That is all you want, William the Bloody?"

Spike nodded. "And remove the gypsy tricks you've done on her mother, mates and Watcher," he added.

Dracula gave a sigh. "Okay." He was hesitant to mention that the magicks he had used on the Slayer’s family and friends was already wearing off.

"Do it now and then piss off outta Sunnyhell." Spike hesitantly held out the small bundle of Slayer in his arms. “Go on. Do the ritual,” he ordered.

Dracula stood, dismissing their silent witness. Soon, only the three of them stood in the massive dining hall, the sound of the crackling fire breaking through the tense silence.

"Do it!" Spike ordered, desperation tingeing his voice.

Dracula rose and pulled a small knife from his boot. "She has killed, you know."

Spike closed his eyes sadly and clenched his teeth. He gave a sharp nod. "I can smell it on her breath, you ninny. I’m not a complete git…How many?"

"One, and I had to order her to do it," Dracula explained as he slashed his wrist and pressed it against Buffy's open mouth. Spike flinched at the sight of Buffy's mouth suckling the blood offered to her by her Sire.

"Do what?" Spike tilted his head confused by the vampire's comment.

"Yes, only one. She has been hard to control. One could say wilful." Dracula pulled his wrist away from Buffy's bloodstained lips.

"Always has been, mate, drives me batty." Spike smiled tenderly down at the small vampire he cradled in his arms.

"And yet you want her! You Aurelians are truly odd." Dracula chuckled. He began to chant under his breath.

Several minutes passed as the ritual continued. Buffy began to stir as the hold over her mind and body began to lessen.

"Hold her still, Spike," Dracula muttered. "And give me your wrist."

"Here." Spike extended his left hand, letting Buffy's head cradle in the juncture of his elbow, her head lolling away from his chest. Dracula efficiently slashed a shallow cut and reached under Buffy's head, lifting her red stained lips to the cut on Spike's wrist.

"How long shall I let your soon to be Childe drink from you?" he asked as he rubbed Buffy's throat, encouraging her to swallow.

"As long as you can." Spike gritted out, his body hardening at the touch of her soft lips, which were strangely warm.

"You want her strong? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Do it, mate."

"Okay, your mistake, William." Dracula sighed and continued the ritual. For the next few minutes, the two male vampires only spoke when the ritual demanded it. One offering the gift of a Childe and the other accepting the gift and all it entailed. Spike's voice was strong and clear, belying the sadness inside him.

Gradually the magicks began to take their toll and Spike sank to his knees, his head dropping forward and resting on Buffy's cool shoulder. Dracula followed suit, his hand still holding the diminutive vampiress to the cut on Spike's wrist.

There was a clap of thunder and then silence.

"It's done. She is yours and her friends and family are free of my control." Dracula rose fluidly.

Spike took a deep breath, his senses reeling as he inhaled the rich scents of his Childe. He looked up at Dracula briefly and then his gaze locked back on his beautiful girl. "Thank you, mate. I never realised that I wanted her, that I…." Spike trailed off, unwilling to voice the words, words that would change the course of his unlife.

"Come now, Spike, from the moment you stormed in here, I could see you love her." Dracula clapped Spike on the shoulder. "If I had known…"

"Wot, you wouldn't have turned her? I can't see that, mate." Spike staggered to his feet, his arms tightening around Buffy's small form. The white toga-like dress she was dressed in was pristine except for a few drops of blood on the bodice.

"Of course I would've, but I wouldn't have… well…" Dracula sighed.

"I know,, but guess what? Until a few hours ago, I didn't even care what happened to her and now…" Spike looked down at the sleeping form held protectively in his arms.

"It's fate." Dracula smiled wryly.

“Yeah, right…” Spike snorted and then paused. Drac was a tricky one, but he did have the sight…maybe there was something in his comment. Were they fated to be together? Spike looked down at Buffy and frowned. A thought occurred to Spike. "Oi, what about the Judas?"

"My simpering pet? I think I may keep him for a while before releasing him." Dracula grinned wickedly. "He has his uses when I tire of female company."

"You mean…" Spike threw his head back and laughed.

"It's time for you to go, Spike, good luck." Dracula escorted Spike from his castle. As the door swung shut behind Spike's back, his vampiric hearing caught Dracula's final words.

"Good luck, my friend. You'll need it! She has her soul."

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