~Part 8~ Captives

"You bitch!" Willow screamed as she walked in the door to her dorm-room. Buffy stood from the bed, only to go flying back against the wall as
Willow's fist connected with her face.

"Nice shot, Luv." Spike said as he came in after her.

"Thanks. Where's the rope?" The vampire handed the red head the rope as she tied her room-mate up. "This is for lying to me, Slayer." She growled at her old friend, then hauled her out of the room, ignoring the looks from a group of boys down the hall. Spike smirked at them as he closed the door after exiting.

"Let's go pay a visit to Dru, Ducks." He called up in front of him. <They aren't getting out of this so easily.>

*^*^*

Drusilla was now being watched over by Anya, Sprite and Elita in the mansion, chained to the wall after being kidnapped by them in England and brought back over. She growled in frustration after many attempts to get free. "Honey, we're home!" Spike called as he entered the room with Buffy slung over his shoulder. Willow walked in behind them, taunting the slayer.

"Look, *Buff*, Spike's alive. Cool, huh? Oh, hi Drusilla! How are you? Gee, not to happy in those chains, are we? Hey, Spike, where's Angel and Faith? Shouldn't they be here for the party?" The hacker asked cheerily.

Angel and Faith walked into the room. "You're a bitch, B. A real bitch." Faith ground out.

Buffy tried to mumble something from under the duck tape covering her mouth. "What's wrong, Slayer? Cat got your tongue?" Spike asked, dumping
her a few metres away from Drusilla.

"Not yet." Willow said casually. The girl bent down to her friend. "Let me help you with that." She ripped the tape away, leaving a red mark where it was as Buffy grunted in pain.

"Who's a bitch, Faith? I didn't give up my friends and side with the mayor!" Buffy spat at the other slayer.

"Yeah, you pushed your friends away and sided with an *older* *nutcase*." She replied, walking in front of her. "I loved him like my father. What's your excuse?"

Before the blond could reply there was a loud clank. "'Ey! Be careful with those!" Spike ordered as Sprite picked up the railroad spike again.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The girl replied, mock saluting him.

"Spike... you're not going to..." Angel began, looking at the spikes then his childe, "are you?" His childe just grinned at him.

"Good an' rusted too." Answered the blond. "Now, where should this one go?" He asked as Sprite handed him a spike.

"Spike." Angel warned.

The younger vampire looked up innocently. "Yes, Peaches?"

"One... you will not use railroad spikes on Buffy. Two... don't call me Peaches."

"Sure, Paingel. Whatever you say."

Willow smirked from a few feet away. "Hey, Spike, he never said you couldn't use the spikes on Dru."

Angel's mouth dropped. "Willow!"

"Hey, you hang around with a psycho, you pick up a few habits." Faith stated.

The brunette vampire stepped foward, taking the spike from his childe, not seeing the pout form on his face. "No spikes."

"Well, there goes the fun." Spike sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets while Willow pouted with him.

The hacker stepped towards Buffy. "What's that game you told me Angelus used to play, Spike?" She asked, glancing back at him. "Truth or blood?"
Her claws came out.

"Willow!" Angel said again. This time, Faith held him back.

"Don't like it. Don't watch." The slayer told her boss.

Angel's eyes closed for a moment before re-opening to see Buffy looking up at him pleadingly. "I can't do it." He turned around.

"I'm all for it. On with the show!" Anya said as she sat up on the table in the room, swinging her legs back and forth.

"Wait!" Sprite yelled. Everyone turned to her. "The popcorn isn't ready yet!" She said with a frown. There was a high pitched ding from nearby.
"Back in a minute." She said, running into the kitchen where they'd put the new kitchen appliances. A few minutes later she returned with two
steaming bowls of popcorn, handing one to Faith then setting the other one in Anya's lap. "Okay, go on." She said, crunching down on the
popcorn, waving Spike and Willow on.

With a roll of their eyes Willow and Spike turned back to their captives, only to find Drusilla missing. "Where is she?" Spike shouted.

Buffy smirked from her spot. "Oh dear. Looks like Dru's gone. Poor you."

"Where's Elita?" Anya asked, her brow furrowing.

"Aw frell." Sprite grumbled, jumping up and running towards the opened door to the left.

Spike's face dropped, turning to Willow. "She's out there." He whispered softly as a loud clap of thunder sounded before rain began falling down on the mansion.
 

~Part 9~ Things Can Only Get Worse

Sprite stopped out on the road outside the mansion, looking left and right. "Li!" She yelled.

Willow and Spike ran up beside her as well as Angel coming behind them. "Any sign?" The older vampire asked.

"I'm not a sniffer dog!" The nymph growled back, stepping away from the vampire. "'Lita!" She yelled again.

A tiny spark flickered across the road. All ran over to find Elita lying in the mud, a fiery substance running from her neck as her own fire escape the wound in the form of sparks. "Where am I?"

"You helped Dru escape." Willow said, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Pet, we don't know that. Dru does mind tricks you know. Come on, get 'er inside. We'll search for Dru when we have some answers." Angel picked up the broken form of the imp and carried her back inside with the others following.

*^*^*

"Well? What happened?" Anya asked.

"Don't know yet. Look, I'm going to go out and try and find Dru." Spike said, turning around to go to the door after watching Angel set Elita down.

"I'm coming too." Angel added, walking after the blond.

"No you bloody well aren't."

"Who's the sire here?" Angel asked, passing the other vampire.

Spike went to respond but ended up grumbling instead as he followed.

*^*^*

"They've been gone an hour."

"I *know* how long they've been gone." Willow grumbled.

"Don't you think we should find them?" Anya asked.

"No." She replied with a sigh. "He wanted to go alone. Besides, he'd probably get back here and find everyone gone."

Faith walked back into the room with a bottle of water and a straw, sitting down next to Buffy and holding the straw to her mouth. "They're big boys... and it's not like they don't know the way to get back."

"But what if something's happened? What if they can't get to shelter before the sun rises?" Anya protested.

Willow's mouth curved into a frown. "Yeah."

Faith shook her head. "Red, it's 6 hours 'til sunrise. I think they have enough time."

"Awwwww... poor little witch lost her vampire." Buffy muttered with fake sympathy. "I'll place a bet Dru runs off with her little Spikey. Or better yet, stakes him for being such a bad, bad boy."

Willow's lips tightened as she tried to hold back her anger. "You forget, Buffy, you're pretty tied up right now and Angelus left all his equipment behind."

"What? You're going to torture me? You don't have it in you."

"But I can always borrow some from Faith." She walked over, looking at the brunette slayer.

"And I'm always ready to share." Faith mumbled back, a tiny smile threatening to form on her mouth. "What d'you say, B? Draw a little blood?"

"I'd say... Angel thinks you're a good girl now. I'd also say killing his one-true love would break his undead-heart."

"Really? You say too much." The other slayer backhanded the blond, making her fall to the side, blood seeping from the cut Faith's ring left on her mouth.

Buffy started to shake, as if she was having a seizure. Faith stepped back and both Anya and Willow's eyes went wide. "She's done this before." Willow muttered. "She had a slayer-vision."

"They're dying." Buffy blurted out in a haze of pain.

"Who?" Anya asked.

"Angel. Spike." She mumbled before passing out.

Faith shook her head in protest. "She's lying." She growled.

Willow's eyes started filling with tears. "She can't when she's in pain from the vision. It's like a-a-a truth serum. Faith..." She said, turning to the brunette.

"Ellie can help with that." Sprite piped up, looking over at them, away from her friend. "She's good at finding things. Especially dying things."

"Oh. Ew." Anya stated, cringing slightly.

"She's half-dead herself! Besides, they're already dead." Faith snapped.

"Vampires are her specialty. And besides, demons have special healing powers." Sprite replied, putting a hand to the side of Elita's head. "Come on, Li-Li. Wake up. We need your help." She blew out a breath over the girls face, a light mist falling over the dragon-girl's features.

"It won't work!" Willow wailed. "She's the one that got them in this mess by helping Dru escape!"

"Then help me. If you want Spike alive... you have to help her."

Willow looked down at the injured girl, thinking over her options as if her life depended on it. It was basically her life depending on it... because if Spike died, again, she doubted she'd be able to survive.
 

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