Giles found his way through a side door and crept down the dark, silent
passageway. Why had Xander asked him to meet here, he wondered as he
glanced around him. The house had been empty for weeks. Xander's note
had urgently requested him not to talk to Buffy before he'd spoken to
him, but the watcher was beginning to regret having followed the man's
wishes.

Regret turned to dread as he rounded a corner and found himself staring
at a demon in game face. Giles quickly turned to retrace his steps,
only to find another at his back. He reached for the cross in his
pocket at the same moment the demon in front of him grabbed his jacket
and pushed him back against the wall. The wind was knocked out of him,
and the cross fell to the floor with a thud. The demon kicked it out of
the way as the second approached. They grabbed the watcher's arms and
dragged him down the hallway.

"Willow?" Giles asked in disbelief as he was hauled into the vast
living room.

She turned from Spike to face him, "Hello, Giles. I'm so glad you
decided to drop by."

The watcher eyed Spike cautiously, "You're stil together."

"Surprised? You shouldn't be. How's Wesley keeping? Is he still in
Sunnydale?" she asked casually.

"He was reassigned," Giles answered.

"Oh, what a shame! I would have liked to see him again. Oh, well. It's
good to see you," she smiled.

"Willow? Where is Xander? He asked me to meet him here."

"I know," she nodded. "I'm a little surprised you'd run right over here
at his request. I thought you were wiser than that. The simple fact
that every word in his note was spelled correctly should've made you
suspicious."

"What are you saying? Where is he?" he demanded.

"Calm down. He's here. Come on, I'll take you to him," she offered.

He shook his head, "I don't know what you're playing at, but I'm not
going anywhere with the two of you."

Willow's toned turned icy, "Oh, I think you are. You agreed to meet
Xander, and you're a man of your word."

Spike nodded, and the two minions grabbed the watcher and pulled him
out of the room.
***
"Xander," Giles gasped as he twisted away from the vampires and knelt
on the floor beside the chair. "Are you all right?"

Xander nodded, "I'm sorry. They didn't give me much choice."

"It's not your fault," the watcher laid a hand on the man's shoulder.

He stood as Spike followed Willow through the doorway, "Willow, why the
hell are you doing this?"

"Because I can," she shrugged. "Because you've had it coming for years,
the both of you."

"You were part of us," he reminded her. "You belonged with us."

"Only because I was useful. Why do you think I spent all those nights
researching for you, being obedient, little Willow? Because I knew it
was the only way I'd belong. And I needed that. I needed to belong
somewhere, anywhere. I knew the minute I refused any one of you, I'd be
tossed out, left alone. I couldn't have dealt with that."

"That isn't true," he told her. "We cared about you."

"Like hell," she hissed. "I learned exactly how much you cared, or have
you forgotten? The minute I rejected your code of morality, you were
bound and determined to slap me back into line."

"You were young. You needed guidance," he argued.

"Is that how you justify it? Whatever helps you sleep at night. Doesn't
matter; we both know the truth," she told him.

"Can you really hate us so much?" Giles asked.

"You cannot begin to fathom the depth of my hatred for you," she
hissed.

"Willow," he stepped toward her and extended his hand to her.

Spike snarled and reached around his childe. His fingers encircled the
watcher's wrist and clamped down on it until Giles could feel the bones
rubbing against one another.

"You touch her, and I'll snap off your hand and feed it to the rats,"
Spike growled as the watcher groaned in pain.

He flung Giles to the floor, and the two underlings dragged him across
the room and tied him into a chair in the corner.

"This looks oddly familiar," Spike said after the vampires had finished
their task.

The watcher suddered as old memories flooded his brain.
Xander looked at Giles for a moment before turning to Willow.

"What exactly is the point of all this? You want to make us suffer?
Grovel? Beg your forgiveness? What?" he snapped.

"What I'd really like is to rip your tongue out of your head," Willow
replied. "Since you don't seem to have any useful purpose for it."

"Really? I thought you only played with his tongue, though God knows
where it's been," Xander sneered.

Willow wrapped her arm around Spike's waist as he stepped toward
Xander, "Don't, Spike."

He turned and looked at her.

"Let's leave these two to chat," she suggested. "I'm hungry."

"We can eat later, pet," he said.

"But I have a craving for pretty, young brunette," she told him.

Spike chuckled as Xander's face paled and his eyes widened.

"I never could refuse you, baby," he said as he kissed her neck.

"Have a nice talk, guys," she smiled and tugged Spike out the door.

"No!" Xander shouted after them. "Willow, please! Please, no!"

End.

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