Note: To any of you who are interested, *grin* Dezerey
Rose was born December 23rd at 11:00 in the evening...
a beautiful, 6 lb. 19 inch baby girl!!!! *dances with
joy* I'm a great aunt!!!! =O)
Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it!!!!!
*~*~*~*
Looking forward, not behind,
Everybody's got to cross that line
"Life of My Own"
-3DoorsDown-
*~*~*~*
Three weeks later...
*~ "What're we researching tonight?" Xander asked, his
voice not quite as cheerful as it used to be. He
looked longingly at the chair Willow usually occupied
and tried to tell himself that he was never going to
see his best friend. It was the not knowing that got
to him the most. Yeah, it would hurt like hell to know
she was dead, or a vampire, but this not knowing what
happened to her was cruel, the hope was worse than the
knoweledge.
*~ "Actually, we..." Giles was interrupted by a
familiar, cocky voice.
*~ "Actually, I have someone I want you to meet."
Everyone in the room sprang to their feet and was
ready for battle when Angelus stepped out of the
shadows of the bookshelves. Spike, Drucilla, and
another anonomous figure were just behind him. There
was no sign of anyone else.
*~ "Whoever it is, we'd rather not," Faith qipped,
rocking forward on her heels, her fingers hooked in
her belt-loops. "On second thought, bring them on, so
we can kick their ass."
*~ "You of all people should be dying to meet her,"
Angelus said, his lips curving crookedly.
*~*~*~
*~ Willow had been told she was going to see her
killer, her betrayer, before they'd even started out
for the library. But as soon as she'd stepped into the
library, she'd *known*. She'd kept her hood up and her
face down as Angelus had instructed, but as soon as
she'd *heard* her voice, her eyes had shot to the very
face she saw in her nightmares.
*~ She could feel all awareness but the dark haired
slayer fall away until there was nothing left but her.
She went deaf and blind to everything but the dancing
dark eyes and cruel mouth. She didn't hear or see
Angelus move and pull her forward, didn't feel the
hood being drawn back, didn't hear the gasps of shock
and pain as her face was revealed, didn't register
anything but her own screams echoing in her mind, and
the cruel laughter as the knife had peirced her skin
over and over again. All of a sudden, she was drowning
again, her lungs filling with her own blood, the
pain... And then there was nothing but blackness and
hate.
*~ Everyone watched in amazement as the redhead
doubled over as if in pain. Xander started to rush
over, but was stopped by Buffy's restraining hand.
"She's not your friend anymore, Xand," she said
softly, tears starting to flow down her face.
*~ Surprisingly, Angelus held her gently, holding her
upright when it looked like she couldn't stand on her
own. Then she was pulling away from him, straightening
until she was standing ram-rod straight. Her strange
eyes bored straight into Faith, hate-filled and angry.
*~ There was a moment of suspended time, then she was
flying towards the dark haired slayer, knocking them
both to the ground, her hands clawing at her throat,
drawing blood, a wild, inhuman keening sound coming
from the back of her throat.
*~ Angelus stood back along with Spike and Drucillia,
watching and letting the dark haired slayer have a
taste of what she'd created. But when Buffy recovered
enough to start helping, Angelus was the one to go in
and retrieve his little witch. She resisted, screaming
wordlessly and fighting his hold with all her
considerable strength. Finally, it took all three of
the vampires to pull her off.
*~ And then, Spike had to take her out of the library
and out of hearing or seeing range of the slayer. The
Scooby Gang, with the exception of Faith, who was
still on the ground, gasping for breath, was standing
back away from the two master vampires, in awe of the
spectacle they'd just witnessed.
*~ "W-what h-happened to her?" Giles was the first to
speak. What they'd just seen wasn't a vampire.
Whatever Willow had turned into was stronger than a
vampire, and much, much deadlier.
*~ "Ask the Slayer," Angelus spat, glaring at Faith
through half-amber eyes. His demon was peeking
through, though he wasn't in full 'game face'. "She
knows. She's the cause."
*~ "We need to leave now, Daddy," Drucillia said
softly, her voice not quite its normal sweet tone. "It
won't be good to give away the game before it's really
begun. They'll figure it out soon enough. But we need
to get back to our Blossom before she hurts our
Spikey."
*~ "You're right, lover," Angelus said, kissing her
quickly and deliberately, another jab at the still
reeling blonde slayer. But before she could react,
they were gone, going after the bleached vampire and
their newest family member.
*~*~*~*~
*~ "What did he mean, you should know?" Buffy turned
angry, suspicious eyes on the other slayer. She'd
never really trusted the other girl, and this time she
had a bad feeling...
*~ Faith had long since gotten to her feet and was
allowing Giles to clean and bandage the deep scrapes
on her throat. She glared over at Buffy. "How the fuck
should I know, B? He's the fucking vampire."
*~ "She's right Buffy," Giles said quietly, "He will
say anything, do anything to hurt you... hurt us...
and make us weaker. And Willow is the best way to do
that."
*~ Buffy sat down heavily at the large table, her
small shoulders deflating with a deep sigh. They were
right. But it didn't mean something else wasn't up.