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 9

“Ahh!” Buffy shrieked in fright and vanished in a puff of black smoke.

Spike fell face forward on the couch. Pushing himself up he smirked.

“Well that answers that question. Guess she did get Drac’s magic tricks!” He glared over at the two figures, which stood in the doorway. “Who are you and why shouldn’t I kill you?”

The shorter of the two unwanted guests stepped forward. “She gonna be making a reappearance any time soon?”

Spike shrugged nonchalantly; he rubbed his hands through his hair and tried not to glance up at the gallery where Buffy had re-appeared a second after her disappearance.

“You smell like a demon,” he stated shortly and vamped out.

“Easy there, big boy!” Whistler jumped back as Spike lunged to his feet.

“Spike, wait!” Buffy called as she straightened from behind the banisters. “I know him, and her…but I don’t understand. You’re supposed to be dead!”

“Well, we all are. Except for him,” Kendra pointed at Whistler. Her stern features lightened slightly as she flashed a brief smile at Buffy, who had hesitantly walked down the stairs and sat down beside Spike. She took his hand and squeezed it hard.

“Hullo Buffy, long time no see…” she waved at her fellow slayer.

“Ke…Kendra, what are you doing here? Or more to the point, how?” Buffy stared suspiciously at the unusually silent Whistler.

“Who’s the bint?” Spike asked curiously.

“I am dee Slayer Drucilla killed, you know the one that you thought it was a ‘good on her’ for murdering?” Kendra crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Spike. A tiny smile tickled the corner of her mouth at the sight of Spike’s jaw dropping and the sheepish expression on his face.

“Uh…sorry pet…” he glanced over at Buffy and then down at their linked hands. His scarred brow shot up at the sight of their fingers entwined. He squeezed her hand gently and smiled shyly at her.

“Nice trick with the poofing, luv,” he whispered with a proud look on his face.

“So we all know each other? Great. Can we get down to business.” Whistler interrupted. “Kendra asked to come here to help Buffy out with her transition and I’m here to fill you in on the sitch. That’s if you two have finished batting eyelashes at each other?”

“Button it, short round!” Spike glared at the irritating demon.

“Spike…let him talk,” Buffy interjected. She looked over at Kendra and tried to smile.

“I warned you de vampires are trouble…but this one seems to be alright.” Kendra sat down on the coffee table opposite Buffy and put a reassuring hand on her sister Slayer’s knee. “Even if he has funny coloured hair,” she added with a grin.

Spike snorted at her comment. A gleam in his eyes belying his aggravation, he reached over and tugged at a braid. “Like the Bo Derek look, Slayer.” He smirked at the expression of surprise on Kendra’s face.

She flicked her braids over her shoulder.

“You know if I wasn’t dead and you weren’t a friend of Buffy’s, you’d be drawing back a bloody nub instead of your hand.”

“Enough with the posturing, kiddies.” Whistler sank down into an armchair and sighed tiredly. “There’s a lot to go through here.”

“Why are you here and do I need to rip your ribcage out for anything?” Buffy glared at Whistler.

“As I said last time we met, white flag already. I’m here to help!” Whistler leant forward and stared at Buffy.

Buffy shifted uneasily and glanced over at Kendra and Spike. “Stop staring at me!”

“Sorry, but you kinda threw us for a loop…as usual.” Whistler glanced over at Kendra.

“She’s like that, always wrong footing the lot of us,” Spike reached over with his free hand and ran his index finger over Buffy’s cheek.

“Yeah, but so did you!” Whistler added. “The Powers didn’t expect you to step into the mix, but they’re glad you did!” He nodded in appreciation.

“Yeah…right, not like I could leave her there with the Tranny git!” Spike snorted.

“Very true,” Kendra nodded. “He deserves to die for what he has done.”

Buffy paled and huddled against Spike, she tried to suppress the images that flooded her mind and failed. Tears filled her eyes.

“I’m real sorry kid, it wasn’t supposed to go down the way it did.” Whistler sighed.

“What do you mean?” Buffy whispered as she dashed the tears from her face with her free hand.

Spike remained silent, his eyes turning gold as his demon was close to the surface. All he could hear over and over was it wasn’t meant to go down like this. ‘Sodding Powers…’ a growl erupted from his chest. Unable to keep quiet, “what do you mean?”

Kendra shifted uneasily. “Buffy was supposed to meet Dracula much later and defeat him. Xander’s actions were not expected,” she told them as she turned to Buffy. “You’ll have to face him eventually…”

Spike frowned. “You mean, this wasn’t supposed to happen?” He reached over and pulled Buffy onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

“No, the Powers didn’t see this coming and had to move heaven and earth to make sure Buffy kept her soul...and to make the transition easier on you both.” Whistler turned to Buffy. “I’m really sorry that you were turned, if I had known I would’ve tried to stop it.” Genuine concern coloured his features.

Buffy gave him a watery smile. “Thanks, I think…” She snuggled into Spike’s arms, drawing strength from him.

“How did you make the transition easier,” Spike asked suspiciously. “Don’t like the idea of anyone else meddling with my noggin…”

“Well, we sorta made sure you both would rely on each other more readily, nothing more I swear.” Whistler held his hands up. “The feelings were already there, they just kinda nudged it along a bit.”

“So you mean…we…us…” Buffy trailed off, uncertain as to what she was trying to say.

“There was a spark there already, even if neither of you were ready to admit it.” Kendra interjected, trying to save Buffy any more discomfort.

Spike smirked. “So, Slayer had a yen for the Big Bad?” he teased, trying to lighten the situation.

Buffy rolled her eyes at him, “So, the Big Bad had a yen for the Slayer,” she mocked with a grin.

Kendra and Whistler groaned at their antics.

“Look, save the smushy stuff till later, okay?” Whistler teased.

“Sorry! Continue on the expositiony stuff, please.” Buffy looked over at Whistler expectantly.

“As I said, you weren’t supposed to die, so the boys upstairs intervened,” Whistler replied.

“Just like that?” Spike eyed the two representatives of the Powers suspiciously. There had to be more to this than ‘oh we decided to intervene’.

Buffy kept quiet and watched the other three as they avoided looking at each other. Kendra’s attention was focused on her, the dead Slayer’s face was stern as usual, but there was also a hint of compassion in her eyes.

Spikes’ grip tightened around Buffy as Whistler sat in silence. He was either unwilling or unable to answer. The blond vampire was starting to get pissed off with the small demon; the muscles in his jaw began to tick as he ground his teeth.

“Hey, I don’t make the rules here- just a messenger, Spike- so don’t shoot or bite me, okay?” Whistler was getting tired and wanted to get them on track and leave before either of the vampire’s ripped his rib cage out.

“Stop skirting around it an spit it out, you git!” Spike snarled.

“Okay, so Buffy getting turned? Not on the cards. Powers decided to help as best they could, hence the soul! You getting her out? Not something we expected, there was a chance and presto you stepped up to the plate. Kudos to you, William the Bloody…”

Spike growled before Whistler could reveal his deepest gitty secret.

“Spike, stop with the growlies and let him talk.” Buffy wapped him on the chest and then turned back to Whistler. “Continue,” she regally waved a hand.

“Okay, so you’re a vamp with a soul, FYI it’s secure, so don’t worry about that.” Whistler added.

Buffy and Kendra both winced at the memory of Angelus’s last appearance. Kendra’s hand shot to her throat as she felt Dru’s talons slitting through her skin again.

“Powers need you as a Champion, there is stuff coming up and no one else can handle it. But I guess now there are two of you to handle it?” Whistler asked slyly.

Spike jerked in his seat. “I’ll protect her with my unlife…even if that means working for the good guys.” He looked down at Buffy, “she’s my Childe and I’ll protect her till I’m dust.”

Buffy pressed a small kiss to the underside of his jaw. “Thank you.” She was stunned at the way Spike had agreed so easily to help her, but her mother hadn’t raised a fool, so not looking the gift horse in the mouth here!

“What’s coming?” Spike asked after he recovered from the surprise at Buffy’s little kiss and the wealth of gratitude and relief in her eyes as she gazed up at him.

“Best we can tell, there is a major badass coming to Sunnydale, looking for something to help it get home.” Whistler pulled off his hat and fiddled with the rim. “The Powers can’t sense anything else, it’s as if it’s shielded somehow. They get bursts of info and then nothing…really weird. But before you start squawking, anything turns up I will come straight to you, okay?”

“Really? Cos usually you and the, what did you call em? Powers? Never heard of them!” Buffy shrugged and continued, “you guys usually leave me fighting blind and alone.”

“You can thank her for the change in attitude,” Whistler pointed at Kendra.

“Huh?” Buffy glanced over at the silent Slayer.

“I’ve been talking to dem, making dem see they need to help more,” Kendra shrugged.

Whistler laughed. “Yeah right, more like yelled at them continuously for the last few years, till they gave in! She has been amazing!”

Buffy leant over and grabbed Kendra’s hand. “Thank you…”

“After I saw how you worked with others, I realised a Slayer didn’t need to be alone. When I died, I figured that the Powers should be more friendly.”

“And she kept at em till they gave in!” Whistler shook his head at the memories of Kendra facing off with his bosses.

“Good on you, pet.” Spike nodded his thanks. “Let’s hope they keep helpin’ out.”

“Dey will, I promise.” Kendra nodded firmly.

“So there’s a bad ass coming to town, but what about Dracula? I want to kill him for what he’s done to me.” Buffy vamped out to illustrate her point.

Kendra eyed the fangs and lavender eyes. “Pretty…though I never thought a vampire could be…”

“Isn’t she, just?” Spike interjected proudly.

“Okay, mutual adoration society, focus. Drac is difficult to kill, you need to stake him when he’s at his most vunerable, which from what we can tell is when he disappears into the ether. Something you can do as well now, Buffy. Once he’s staked, his dust will reappear and then you need to bury it on consecrated ground at all four points of the compass.” Whistler leant back in the armchair.

“That’s it? How do we get round the thrall?” Spike asked dryly.

“Dat’s where I come in.” Kendra reached for Spike and Buffy’s hands. “Before I go, I want you to know I’ll watch over you Buffy, and you too Spike, to make sure you do right by her.”

“What are you gonna do, Kendra?” Buffy slipped her fingers through her fellow Slayer’s.

“I got dem to give me a leetle bit of sumthin to make you immune to all magicks and glamours, it’ll help you fight that vampire on a fair playing field.” With that Kendra began to glow, the white light channelled through her hands and illuminated Buffy and Spike. As the power transferred, Kendra vanished.

A white light glowed in both Buffy and Spike’s eyes and they fell back on the sofa, both gasping for breath.

“Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it?” Whistler watched them as they tried to regain control of their muscles.

“Ouch!” Buffy rubbed her stomach and huddled against Spike.

“Bloody bint, what did she do?” Spike groaned.

“Made you immune to magical influence, thralls and any other mystical mumbo jumbo anyone or thing tries to throw at you. Pretty cool, huh?” Whistler rubbed his stomach as he remembered when the Powers had infused him with the same talisman.

“Oookay…” Buffy whimpered.

Whistler stood. “Well, I better be going. Slayer, your Ma and your friends know you are okay. I popped over and told her not to worry and that you’d be back in a few days. Figured you needed some time to adjust and, whatever else you have in mind…” Whistler smirked at the two figures on the sofa. “So don’t do anything I wouldn’t, I’ll be around if you need me.” Whistler stood and adjusted his hat.

“Oh, and Buffy? Try and remember that you have already received your gift, so don’t do anything suicidal…” With that cryptic remark, he saluted and disappeared.

********

“It’s okay, Riley. You need to be in class; we’ll manage here.” Willow hung up the phone with a guilty expression on her face. She turned to face the others, who sat in various places around the Magic Box.

‘How could I ever think that Riley and I were the ones to protect Sunnydale? How could I forget Buffy…after everything she has done for me? Saving me from Darla’s minions all those years ago. Saving me from Moloch. Being there when Oz left…’ Memories of Buffy and her hanging out, becoming friends when no-one else at school had even spared her a glance, except to pick on her. It had all changed when Buffy had asked for her help to study. After that they became friends and then Willow entered into Buffy’s world of demons, vampires and magic. Magic that had given her confidence and allowed her to find her path. ‘All because of Buffy and her friendship.’

Willow’s eyes filled with tears; she bit her lower lip attempting to contain the sobs that tried to escape her mouth. ‘I have to be strong for Buffy…I need to get her back and help her. Then when she’s strong, we’ll destroy Dracula. I swear by Hecate, he and anyone else who hurt Buffy will pay.’

“Sweetie, you know we can’t risk taking him in there with us.” Tara came over and wrapped her arms around her distraught and upset girlfriend, her reassuring words pulling Willow away from her self-recriminations and back to the present.

Willow nodded and wrapped her arms around Tara, drawing strength and peace from her gentle lover. The guilt subsided for a brief moment. “We don’t know what’d happen if one of the Brides got their fangs into him.” Tara shuddered at the thought.

“Indeed, however we are limited in our resources. Buffy is, well…”

“Coming back,” Joyce interrupted Giles and glared angrily at him. “You will not write my baby girl off! Or Spike.” She gazed levelly at Giles, daring him to say anything derogatory about Spike. Since Whistler had visited her, Joyce had become Spike’s number one defender- well, after Dawn. Despite anything the Scoobies said, Joyce knew Spike would look after Buffy. He had been the only one to notice Buffy’ absence, for that Joyce was grateful and determined to support Spike against his detractors.

Giles nodded. “Right, sorry…but we are down our strongest fighters and going up against that infernal vampire is going to be a hard task.”

“But we have Willow and Tara, surely that will be a help?” Anya stepped over and wrapped her thin fingers around Giles’ arm, anxiety colouring her face.

“We’ll do everything we can,” Tara promised. Willow nodded furiously in agreement.

“What do we do?” Joyce asked.

“Well I suggest we find Dracula’s lair and watch and wait.” Giles reached over and grabbed the ropes and axe he had left on the table.

“Should we get a net?” Anya eyed the weapons on the table.

“A net?” Joyce frowned at Anya, completely perplexed.

“You know to catch him? Like the cartoons?” Anya explained. Completely unaware that the others were staring at her as if she were insane. She was used to the looks and ignored them as usual.

“Right, well. After that worrying insight into Anya’s mind I think we should get going.” Giles gave Anya a worried look and began to herd the others out of the shop.

Willow paused and watched as the others left. She was riddled with guilt and worry over Buffy. ‘I’m a bad friend...I never realised that anything was wrong. All the while we carried on as normal and Buffy was suffering. I need to fix this…’

*********

“Can you see anything?” Anya hissed. She crawled over to Tara. Peering over her shoulder, the ex-demonness squinted at the map and the dowsing crystal.

Tara sighed. “No! Let me concentrate, please Anya.” The usually patient Wiccan was beginning to lose her temper.

“Let me, I have the closest relationship with Xander. Our parts interlock often.” Anya snatched the crystal from Tara and began to swing it over the map.

“Anya, I don’t think that you can do this, it’s not like you’re magically…” Willow trailed off at the sight of the crystal dropping to the map, as if magnetised. “Oh…well, that’s good…” Willow glanced over at Tara in surprise.

Anya rolled her eyes and folded her arms crossly over her chest. “Honestly, I sometimes think you all forget I was a powerful demon for over a 1000 years! Of course I can do magicks, I just chose not to rely on them for everyday things,” she added pointedly.

“Yes, quite…well done, Anya.” Giles leant over and checked the map. “If I’m not mistaken, that’s the Dog Pound?”

Joyce nodded. “Yes. Dawn makes me go there once a week. She wants a puppy.”

“Which you’d then end up walking.” Giles winked at Joyce in a moment of adult solidarity. Joyce nodded back with a warm smile.

“Come on, stop flirting. We need to go get Xander,” Anya whined.

“What…no…” Giles pulled off his glasses and began to polish them. Joyce looked away, a faint blush colouring her cheeks.

*********

“Well, that’s a big castle!” Willow’s eyes were wide with shock. “How come no one has noticed it before?” She was positive that neither Riley nor herself had seen it when they had patrolled.

“Magic, I can smell it in the air.” Tara entwined her fingers through her lovers.

“So, do we storm it?” Anya swung her axe and bounced up and down excitedly.

“No, we wait for Xander,” Joyce explained patiently. “Where’s Giles?”

“Here.” Giles reappeared with Xander slung over his shoulder.

All four women stood and stared in surprise.

“How did you?…” Joyce’s jaw dropped in surprise.

“What happened?” Anya yelped. “Have you hurt him?”

“Oh! My Xander…” Willow reached out and ran her hand down Xander’s arm, reassuring herself that he was real. She was relieved that they had managed to get Xander back, but the relief was coloured with worry. ‘We sooo need to get Buffy back and help her get over what happened in Drac’s mansion.’

Willow shuddered at the horrible images that her over active imagination where drawing. She felt terrible. Willow knew that it hadn’t been her fault forgetting Buffy but as a result of that, god knows what had happened to her in that place. Willow’s eyes darkened slightly as she felt the tug of revenge pulling at her.

Tara glanced over at Willow and frowned slightly, she could feel dark magicks emanating from her sweet Willow, and it felt wrong…

Willow ignored the others and turned to stare up at the building, which housed Drac and silently swore revenge for all wrongs inflicted on her two best friends.

“Where did you find him?” Tara gave Giles a lop-sided grin. Trying to distract Willow from whatever was causing her to bristle with dark energy.

Tara’s voice pulled Willow’s attention away from the building and back to Xander. She ran her fingers through his mussed hair, the sensation of his soft hair soothed her.

Anya glared over at Willow and watched her hands move through Xander’s hair. “That’s my boyfriend you’re fondling intimately…Stop it please.”

Willow jerked her hand away and blinked in surprise at the fuming ex-demon, who stood with her arms folded and her foot tapping angrily. “Uh…sorry?”

“I am the only one allowed to fondle Xander,” Anya flipped her hair over her shoulder and patted Xander awkwardly on the head. “See!”

Willow nodded and turned to Giles. “So how did you find him so easily?” she echoed Tara’s ignored question.

“Well, while you were all nattering, I saw Xander come out of the side entrance, and I just hit him on the head with this.” Giles held up the axe in his free hand.

“You hit him with an axe!” Anya ran her hands over Xander’s head, checking for injuries.

“No Anya, I hit him with the blunt end. I think we should leave now before someone notices us.” Giles walked off, panting slightly at the added weight of Xander over his shoulder.

*********

“So you managed to get rid of him?”

Dracula turned to the Bride next to him. He smiled and nodded.

“Indeed! He was beginning to bore me.”

“Now what?” the vampiress asked as she wrapped her arms around her Sire.

“We wait. I am curious to see what happens next.” Dracula pulled away from her arms. “Are our guests comfortable?” He tried to ignore the sensations that were pulsing from the red headed girl, he shivered and turned to look down at his precious Bride.

The tall beautiful vampiress wrinkled her nose and nodded. “They are comfortable. I don’t understand why you want them here?”

Dracula walked over to the edge of the Minstrels gallery and watched the group of scabby brown robed demons chanting.

“Because I have a feeling the next few weeks will be quite glorious…” He threw back his head and laughed.

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