Part 1

Willow and Buffy were walking through the graveyard, on patrol. Ever since
Willow discovered she was immortal, she had been joining Buffy on her nightly
patrols of the hot spots of Sunnydale.

"Ya know, I'm glad I have someone to patrol with. Someone who can look after
themselves, I mean," Buffy was saying to Willow.

"You mean someone you can palm the patrolling off to while you and Khalil go
out, don't you?" Willow teased Buffy with a smile.

"That too. It's good to have someone I can trust to look after things. Gives me
a chance to be a normal person every once in a while." Buffy noted.

"Buffy, I don't think spending time with your immortal, 1500 year old boyfriend
counts as normal. OK, the romantic dinners count as normal, but not the rest.
Not many other girls would call learning exotic weapons a fun date." Willow
pointed out.

Buffy nodded in agreement, "True. But it works for us."

As they were talking they heard a loud crash from behind a mausoleum. Running to
see what the noise was, they came across a surprising scene. There was a group of
vampires surrounding a dark haired woman, preparing to strike. The woman was
facing away from the two, but did not appear to be worried about being surrounded
by vampires.

The woman turned around and looked at Buffy and Willow. It was The Morrigan.She
winked at them and addressed the vampires, "You really don't want to get to close
boys, you'll get burned."

The lead vampire sneered at her, "What are you going to do, scream?"

"I'm not going to do anything. I don't have to. You're all going to die, that is
certain, but I will allow you to die with dignity if you choose." The Morrigan
explained. She flicked her hand and a celtic short spear appeared.

"Oooh, a witch. How frightening." The leader taunted, having no idea of the
trouble he was in.

The Morrigan did not bother to correct him, instead thrusting the spear
through his heart. He exploded into a cloud of dust with a shocked look on his
face. As she was killing the leader, one of the others sprung up and grabbed her
shoulder. As soon as he touched her, he screamed and smoke and flame burst from
his hand. He ran screaming off, but didn't get far before he went up like he'd
been doused in petrol, then finally died in a puff of dust like his leader. The
Morrigan made quick work of the other two, killing them in a matter of seconds.

She walked over to Willow and Buffy, brushing the dust off her hands on her
way. "Willow. Buffy. How lovely to see you again. How are you?" She asked as
she made the spear disappear back to wherever it came from.

Willow smiled, "We're fine. You?"

"Oh, doing well. Those were sent by Geraldus, incidently." She said indicating
the piles of ash that were all that remained of the vampires. With a gesture
a wind rose and blew the piles away. "They were here to kill you. Geraldus
didn't really expect them to succeed. They were more like an opening salvo."

"Why did that one scream and burst in to flames when he grabbed you? Was it a
spell?" Willow asked.

"Ooh, I know this one." Buffy crowed. "We know vampires don't like holy symbols.
Well, The Morrigan is kind of like a holy symbol. Right?"

The Morrigan nodded, "Very good Buffy. That is exactly what happened. It is my
Divinity that affects a vampire, through my holy symbols. It works the same way,
just more directly. Of course I could have just destroyed them all by expanding
my divine aura, but I prefer to get 'up close and personal'. More fun that
way." She said with a girlish grin.

Willow nodded, understanding why a Goddess of War would prefer combat. As Willow
was drawing breath to ask a question of the Goddess, a shot rang out. Willow
was flung back by the impact of a large caliber bullet hitting her chest, right
above the heart. A fatal shot for a mortal, an annoying distraction for Willow,
as the bullet ripped a large hole in her shirt.

"Fuck. What is it with the bad guys and my clothes. This keeps up and I'll have
no clothes left." Willow said as she stuck her finger through the rip in
her top. "Anyone see where that shot came from?"

Buffy and The Morrigan shook their heads. Neither of them had been able to
tell the direction, and as there was only the one shot, they had no way of
working it out.

The Morrigan looked at the tear in the shirt, "Allow me." With a flick of her
finger, the hole was gone, as if it had never been there.

"Thanks. I like this top. Should teach me not to wear clothes I like on patrol,
I suppose." Willow said with a self-effacing smile.

The Morrigan smiled at Willow, "Don't mention it. Consider it a fringe benefit
of being my champion." Noticing the look on Buffy's face, The Morrigan said,
"No, I'm not going to do it all the time. You want new clothes, get Khalil to
buy them for you, like a boyfriend should."

Buffy grinned, liking the idea. "I know what you mean Will. I used to have no
end of trouble explaining to Mum why I needed new clothes all the time. Now
I wear clothes even the Salvation Army knock back."

"I know, but what about when you go patrolling?" Willow asked with a wry smile.

"Ha, ha, very funny. You'll get yours girly." Buffy retorted.

"Before this gets physical, shall we finish the patrol?" The Morrigan asked.

The rest of the patrol was uneventful, the vampires staying away. As soon as
any vampires got within one hundred metres, they got a really and feeling and
headed back to their lair. The Morrigan did not mention to Willow and Buffy
that she was extending her aura so that they would not be bothered. After the
patrol, the trio headed back to the Magic Box.

Opening the back door, Buffy walked in and called out "We're back."

Giles looked up from the book he was reading, "Very good. How was the patrol?"
Khalil and Spike stood up and hugged their girlfriends hello.

"Fairly quiet. We dusted two and The Morrigan got four." Buffy told Giles.

"Please, call me Moire. The Morrigan is so formal." Moire instructed them.

"You're sure? I mean, calling a Goddess by her first name, isn't that sacrilege
or something?" Willow asked.

"Not if it comes as a command. In fact, if you want to look at it this way,
failing to obey the command is sacrilege. OK?"

Willow smiled, feeling honoured, "OK. It just feels weird for a mere mortal to
be on first name terms with a God."

"Two things, Willow. Firstly, you're not mortal, and secondly, there is nothing
mere about you, isn't that right Spike?" asked Moire.

"True, very true. Willow, even before you became immortal, you were special. Why
else do you think I fell in love with you?" Spike said as he held Willow.

Willow turned around, so that Spike was behind her, his arms still around her
waist. She did not say anything, just leant back against Spike, feeling the love
emanating from him.

Khalil sat down and Buffy sat on his lap. Khalil asked Buffy, "Anything else
happen on patrol?"

"Nope. Quiet night all round. Unless you count the sniper that shot at Willow."
Buffy said with a straight face.

Spike tightened his hold on Willow, "You OK luv? You weren't hit?"

"Oh I was hit all right. Bastard got me right in the heart. Tore a bloody great
hole in my shirt." Willow said, not realising she was starting to pick up some
of Spike's mannerisms.

"Would you like me to fix the shirt, Willow?" Khalil offered.

Moire answered first, "Already taken care of."

"Oh! Well, remind me to teach you a spell for repairing clothes. Saves your
wardrobe." Khalil told Willow.

Willow looked at The Morrigan, "You said the vampires you were fighting were
sent by Geraldus for me? You think the sniper was too?"

"I don't think so. It's not his style. Far too impersonal. Geraldus will want
to kill you personally. He will want to be there to see the light leave your
eyes. Of course he probably doesn't know you're immortal." Moire smirked
wryly.

"Well, I've got no idea who it was then. I don't have any enemies. At least none
that I know about." Willow said. Turning to Spike, she cheerfully said "Spike,
honey, shall we call it a night?"

Spike nodded, "Yep. Slayer, we all still on for lunch tomorrow?"

Buffy looked at Khalil, "I hadn't had a chance to mention it. You feel like having
lunch with Willow, Spike, Giles and Miranda?" Looking at The Morrigan, Buffy
asked "You're welcome as well Moire."

Moire smiled warmly, "I'd love too."

Khalil looked at Buffy sternly, "Well I very well can't refuse now, can I?" The
twinkle in his eye belied his stern tone, showing he was joking.

Buffy looked at everyone, "Lunch it is then. 1PM tomorrow. See you all then."
Khalil summoned his portal and he and Buffy left for the night.

Willow looked at Spike, who nodded, and said to Giles and The Morrigan, "That's
our cue to leave as well. 'Night."

"I will bid you good even, too. Fare well." Moire said as she blinked out.

Giles let Willow and Spike out and followed them, locking the door behind him.
 

Part 2

Willow and Spike were at their favorite lunch spot. It was an indication
just how strange a couple they were, that their favorite spot was the lawn in
the middle of a cemetery. Willow was lying on the ground, her head resting in
Spike's lap.

"Spike, I've been thinking," Willow suddenly announced.

"Should I be worried?" Spike asked cheekily. He knew what Willow's mind was like.

"Shut up, or I won't tell you how I've come up with a way to unchip you."
Willow taunted Spike.

"OK luv, you've got my attention now. What's been going on in that lovely little
head of yours?" he enquired.

"All sorts of nasty thoughts involving you and whipped cream." Willow said slyly.

"Mental note, get some whipped cream on the way home," Spike said with a smile.

"Seriously, though, I think I may have a way to get rid of the chip. Khalil's
been teaching me some pretty high level magic. Most of it is just concentrating
the will and convincing the universe to follow along. I think I have the spell
worked out, but there's no way of testing it. Do you want to risk it?" She
asked un-necessarily.

"Fuck yeah. Do you even need to ask? When do we start?" Spike asked.

"Right now if you want. Lie down and hold perfectly still." Willow instructed.

Spike lay back and held still, which being dead was very still indeed.

Willow sat cross-legged and put her hands on either side of Spike's head. She
then threw her head back and started to chant,
"Goddess Morrigan,
by the mark I wear,
I call upon you
to answer my plea.
Remove from this man,
that which should not be."

As Willow chanted, a light started to form between her hands. The light grew
brighter until it was as bright as the Sun. Then it disappeared as if a switch
had been thrown. Spike looked at Willow with a question in his eye.

She looked down at him with love, "You can get up now. How do you feel?"

"Well I still have all my faculties. I don't feel any different though," he told
her.

"Did you feel any different when the chip was put in though?" Willow asked.

"No. Now that you mention it, I didn't. Well, I guess there is only one way to
find out." Without warning, Spike punched Willow in the face.

Willow was knocked back, but the training she had been getting from Spike allowed
her to stay standing. "Owww. What was that for? Hey, you didn't grab your head.
Didn't it hurt?"

"No, it didn't. This is good. Don't tell anyone though, I want to have some fun."
Spike said with an evil grin.

"Why don't I like that look?" Willow muttered to herself as she followed Spike
across the cemetery, back towards the Magic Box.

When they got back to Giles' shop, they entered the back to see Buffy training.
Spike walked up to her and said, "Buffy, could I just try something?"

"Sure Spike. What's up?" Buffy asked warily. She had known Spike to long to trust
him.

"This!" And Spike slapped her. Not too hard, but hard enough that the chip would
have kicked in.

"Shit. What was that for? And why aren't you squealing like a girl?" Buffy was
confused.

Spike was indignant, "I do not squeal like a girl. That's Xander's job."

Xander, who was sitting in the corner eating his lunch with Anya, stood up,
"Hey! I don't squeal like a girl either. Do I hun?"

Anya humoured Xander, "Of course not dear. Now sit down and finish your lunch,
or I'll get Spike to bitch slap you, too." She said with a smile, getting a dig
in on Spike.

Willow giggled, stopping when Spike glared at her. Buffy looked at the two lovers
and asked, "OK what gives. Willow, what have you been up to?"

"I unchipped Spike," Willow proudly announced.

"Is that a good idea? He could go all psycho on us. Which would be a bad thing,
what with him being sunproofed now." Xander pointed out.

"I don't think that's likely. After all it's been over a week since he last had
any blood, hasn't it Spike?" Willow pointed out to the group.

"I suppose it has. I haven't felt like any blood, not with all the food I've
been eating when we go out. Come to think about it, it's been a while since I
had any craving for blood. I guess I've just been drinking it out of habit.
I'll stop drinking blood for a while and see if the cravings come back. Well,
Khalil did warn me that drinking from you would change me." Spike said with
a loving smile for Willow.

Khalil walked in from the front of the shop, "Did I hear my name being
mentioned?"

Buffy walked over and hugged him, explaining "Spike was just commenting that you
had warned him that drinking from Willow would change him, and it has. He hasn't
drunk any blood fro over a week. He's going to see how long he can go before
he craves it. Oh and Willow removed the chip from him, so he can hit people
again."

"Really? Willow how did you do it?" Khalil asked Willow. She explained the
spell she used and the reasoning behind it. Khalil nodded and agreed with
her reasoning. The fact that Spike could hit people seemed to be proof that
the spell had worked.

Miranda walked in to the back of the shop. Willow explained to her what all
the noise was about. Miranda looked at Spike and said, "Spike, could you
come over here please, I want to check something."

Spike nodded and asked, "What's up?"

"I just have a theory I want to test. I want you to stand still and close
your eyes." Miranda explained. Spike did as he was bid, standing perfectly
still with his eyes closed. When Miranda was certain he was not peeking, she
drew a cross out from her bag and placed it on the back of Spikes hand.
Willow hissed, getting out of her chair and preparing to run to help Spike,
when she realised that Spike was not swearing.

Willow looked at Miranda with a quizzical glance. Miranda smiled and nodded,
indicating Willow should approach. Willow did so, picking up the cross from
Spike's hand. She said, "Spike, you can open your eyes now."

The first thing Spike saw when he opened his eyes was the cross, barely a few
inches from his face. He swore, "Fuck" and brought his hands up to block out
the view of the cross.

Willow giggled and pressed it against his cheek, "It can't hurt you, silly."

Spike, realising there wasn't any pain, put his hands down. He then gave Willow
a dirty glare and took the cross from her hand, "Well fuck me! You sure this
thing ain't broken, Red?"

"Spike, it's a cross. They don't get broken. Looks like another side effect of
my blood." Willow said with a grin. She then hugged Spike. "Can I stake you
to see if that still works?" she asked impishly.

"No. Let's just leave that one a mystery for now. OK?" Spike scolded her.

"I was only joking, you know that." Willow said coquettishly, giggling in to
Spikes shoulder.

*******

Later that evening.
 

Willow was talking to Spike. "I've got an idea for patrolling tonight. We
each patrol alone. First one to get five kills gets to be on top," Willow
suggested cheekily. "You go north and I'll go south.

Buffy looked at the immortal and the unique vampire and said, "I'll be in on
that. Except the being on top part, that is. I so do not want to go there.
I'll go east. Anyone want west?"

Khalil looked at the trio, "I'll take west. First one back here after killing
five vampires, right?"

Willow answered, "That's the game. First to five, or whoever gets the most
by midnight. Everyone ready?" As soon as Spike, Buffy and Khalil had nodded,
Willow said, "Then go." and ran out the door.

"Shit! That's cheating." swore Buffy and took off after her.

Spike looked at Khalil, sighed and said, "The things we do for the women we
love." and walked sedately out the door. Khalil followed, waving goodbye to
Giles, Miranda, Xander and Anya.

Willow ran for a couple of blocks south then slowed down to go on the hunt.
She called out softly, "Here I am. A poor little waif, all on her own, just
asking to be eaten." Waiting a couple of minutes without seeing any vampires,
Willow muttered to herself, "Fucking typical. Can't swing a cat without
hitting a vampire until you want one. Then there's not one to be seen anywhere.
This town hates me, I'm sure." Willow then spotted something down an alley
between two buildings. Normally she would not go down a dark alley alone,
as this was prime vampire territory, being dark and secluded. Tonight however
that was exactly what she wanted. Kicking boxes and making enough noise to
wake the dead, which was the aim after all, she started singing, "Come out,
come out, where ever you are."

A voice called out from the dark, "Don't you know you shouldn't walk in dark
alleys alone, little girl? Something might eat you."

Willow looked up at the sky, "Finally, I thought I was going to have to put
up a sign saying 'free eats this way'." Looking at the soon-to-be-dust vampire
she said, "Well what kept you?"

The vampire looked at Willow, perplexedly, "What the fuck? You do know you're
in trouble, right?"

Willow replied, "Trouble? Yeah right. I'm not the one in trouble here." She
then reached in to her back pocket and pulled out a stake. Flipping it over
in her hand, she looked at the vampire, raised and eyebrow in question and
threw the stake.

The vampire had the grace to look chagrined as he exploded in a puff of dust.

"Right. One down, four to go." Willow counted to herself.

A couple of blocks away, Khalil was trying to find his first vampire of the
night. Feeling in a light hearted mood, he called out, "Hey vampires, come
and get me."

>From behind him he heard a voice, "You wish has been granted. I didn't realise
food was so easy to get around here. I heard the Hellmouth was a tough place."

Khalil turned around and looked at the vampire, stupid even by vampire standards,
"You heard correctly, moron." He then summoned his staff and thrust it through
the vampires' heart, turning him to dust. He then walked off down the street,
looking for the next loser of the night.

After a couple of hours midnight was getting close. All four of the players had
dusted four vampires and were all looking for the fifth one, so they could win
the contest. Most of the vampires had left the streets, sensing it was not a
good night to be on the prowl. One poor hapless fool had decided that with all
the other vampires staying in, he would have the choice pickings for the night.
Walking down a street, he spied Willow coming the other way.

When Willow saw the vampire, she smiled. It looked like she was going to win
after all, she thought to herself. She grinned evilly and increased her pace
towards the vampire. Looking down the street, she started to run towards him.

The vampire grinned to himself, thinking he had an easy meal. He was confused,
however, when Willow ran right past him and ran up to the person sneaking up
behind him.

As Willow ran up to Buffy, she called out, "Piss off. I saw him first."

Buffy, realising she had lost the element of surprise, replied, "You may have
seen him, but I'm going to stake him." Leaning towards the vampire with her
stake, Buffy drew her arm back, getting ready for the kill. As she struck, the
stake bounced off a garbage can lid that Spike had put in front of the vampire.

"Sorry Slayer, but this ones mine." Spike then thrust his elbow back, hitting
the vampire in the nose, breaking it and knocking him down. Reaching forward
to get a good grip so he could break the vampire's neck, Spike had his hand hit
by a staff. Khalil was standing on the other side of the vampire.

"I am terribly sorry, dear boy, but this ones taken," quipped Khalil jauntilly.

Willow spoke up, "Yeah, by me. I saw him first."

"No you didn't, he's mine," Buffy retorted.

"Bollocks he is. I call dibs on 'im," put in Spike.

The vampire looked up from his position on the ground, wondering what the hell
was going on. There were four, very dangerous people, fighting over who got
to kill him. As un-obtrusively as he could, the vampire tried to sneak away.

Noticing the vampire trying to escape, Spike kicked out, breaking the prone
vampire's leg, "Who said you could leave?" Spike told him.

Realising just how silly they were being, Willow said "OK guys, what say we call
it a draw and go home?"

Buffy and Khalil nodded. The three of them looked at Spike.

"Oh, all right. But I still reckon I saw him first." Spike whined like a little
child.

"In your dreams maybe. He was mine." Buffy snorted at Spike.

"I saw him before any of you, but that doesn't matter. It's late and I'm tired.
Let's just kill him and go home. Spike, you can do the honours if you want."
Willow told Spike.

Spike got his stake out of his pocket and put the vampire out of all of their
misery.

As they were turning to walk back to the Magic Box, they heard a voice, "My, my,
how the mighty are fallen." It was Darla, with Drusilla standing next to her.
 

Part 3

The quartet looked at Darla and Drusilla standing in a pool of light from the
street lamp overhead. With the two women were three men. One had the look of
a street heavy from London's Southside, the second seemed Indian in origin,
and the third had the olive tan of someone from the Mediterranean.  Darla
walked forward, obviously the one in charge. "Well, Spike. Don't you have
anything to say? No hello? No, how have you been? Didn't I teach you any
manners?" Darla taunted Spike.

Drusilla looked at Spike and said, "You're not mine any more. I don't know what
you are. The stars say they can't see you any more, you've gone back in to
the sun."

Darla looked at Spike and noticed his tan, "Spike, how did you get a tan?"

"I go for a walk every day. Want to join me tomorrow?  I'm sure we can find a
bag to bring you home in." Spike taunted back at Darla.

"Spike, don't give me that shit. Vampires don't get to go out in the sun. It's a
rule." scolded Darla.

"Since when did I ever care about rules? And it's true. I have lunch with my Red
every day in the sun. I'm not a demon any more. Here, I'll show you." and Spike
pulled a cross out of his pocket and shoved it in Darla's face.

Darla screamed as the cross burned in to the skin on her cheek. She staggered
back from Spike, "Why doesn't the cross burn you, you prick?"

"It's amazing what the love of a good woman will do for you," Spike said and
put his arm around Willow.

"Then I guess we'll just have to take her from you, won't we." spat Darla as
she clicked her fingers at the Mediterranean man. He waved his hand and a cloud
of darkness billowed forth and covered them all.

Buffy had been trained by Giles to fight while blindfolded, so she ran forward
to attack. Spike had preternatural senses from having been a vampire, so he
could 'see' with his ears almost as well as he could with his eyes. Khalil had
1500 years of experience to draw on, so he attacked as well, summoning a
scimitar of fire as he called out an ancient bedouin battle cry. Willow stepped
to her left, trying to get out of the way of the warriors attacking.
Unfortunately that was exactly what Darla had planned, as Willow stepped right
in to the waiting arms of Drusilla.

Drusilla then made the biggest mistake she could possibly have made and bit
in to Willows neck, intending to drain her before her friends had realised what
was happening. AS the vibrant, immortal blood surged down her throat, Drusilla
realised something was not right. She had never tasted blood this alive before.

The blood tasted like nectar of the gods to Drusilla. As she was gulping it
down, she realised all was not right. Pulling her fangs from Willow's neck she
pushed Willow away and straightened, gripping her throat. The change started
coming over her as Willow's immortal blood reacted with the vampire blood in
Drusilla's veins. Drusilla staggered back and let out an unholy scream.

Darla called out, "What's happening. Juan drop the darkness."

The inky blackness disappeared as if a switch had been thrown, bathing everyone
in the street light again. Darla could see Drusilla kneeling on the ground,
trying to vomit up the blood that was ravaging her system.

Looking at Willow Darla spat out, "What did you do to her? Stop it now or I'll
peel your skin like a grape. I'll make you beg for death."

Spike grabbed Darla from behind, "Why don't you try a threat that actually means
something? Red, what happened?" enquired Spike.

"Dru grabbed me and tried to drain me. Her mistake." Willow told him with a big
grin. "Let Darla go, I've got something for her."

Spike released Darla, not knowing what Willow had in mind, but knowing it would
be something good.

Willow summoned her staff of fire, disguised to look like wood, as Khalil had
shown her. "Here you go Darla. Catch!" and Willow threw the staff to Darla.

Darla caught the staff and instantly knew she was in trouble. As her hands
grasped the staff, they burst in to flames. Darla quickly lit up like an oil
soaked rag. Burning to ash before she even had a chance to scream. Then
Willow summoned a wind and blew the ashes of Darla to oblivion.

While Willow was dispatching Darla, Buffy and Khalil were fighting the other
three vampires. Buffy kicked the knee of the South London heavy, breaking it
with a sickening pop. As the vampire dropped to the ground screaming in pain,
Buffy rammed a stake in to his chest, hitting the heart square on. Buffy was
stunned when the vampire did not turn to dust as she was accustomed to
vampires doing when they had been staked. Instead, he just lay there and
bled from the wound in his chest. Buffy stabbed him again.

"Dammit, why don't you go poof. That's what vampires do when I stake them,
they go poof. What gives?" Buffy asked quizzically.

"These aren't the same type of vampires you're used to fighting, my love,"
Khalil explained. "These are Kindred. The ones you normally fight are the
demon-kin. Staking them only immobilises them, as long as the stake stays
in their heart then they can't move."

Buffy looked at Khalil, "Oh! Are they evil?" she asked as she staked the
heavy again, this time leaving the stake in his chest.

"No. Well no more or less than any one is. Some of them are monsters. But
then so are some people. Now, duck," Khalil told Buffy calmly.

Buffy dropped to the ground as the vampire sneaking up behind her leapt
through the space she had just occupied. As the vampire landed, Khalil lashed
out with his foot, catching the vampire in the jaw. The vampire flew back
the way he came, Buffy jumping up and staking him before he had a chance to
realise what had happened. This time Buffy remembered to leave the stake
in his chest, immobilising him. Khalil drew a scimitar and sliced his head
from his shoulders in one clean sweep. He then walked over to the other
immobilised vampire and beheaded him as well. This just left the
Mediterranean vampire, who chose discretion over valour. He bowed to Buffy
and Khalil and stepped backwards in to a shadow, disappearing as he did so.

Buffy looked at Khalil, asking "What was he? Vampires can't do that."

"He is Kindred. A different type of vampire to the ones you are used to.
They have thirteen clans, each with their own unique powers. The one that
just left us was from Clan Lasombra. They have control over shadows." Khalil
explained to Buffy. They then moved over to where Willow and Spike were standing
over Drusilla.

"Hey Wills, where's Darla? She chicken out?" Buffy asked Willow.

"Nope. She's that pile of dust there on the ground. With a bit of luck, she'll
stay dead this time. Could you give Spike a hand with Dru? She bit me and she's
changing. I want to study the changes as they happen. It'll give me a better
idea of the process, so we can make sure Angel is safe when he goes through
it." Willow explained.

Buffy nodded as she picked up Drusilla, "Always thinking of others, that's
our Willow." Draping Drusilla over her shoulder, Buffy started walking back
towards the Magic Box.
 

Part 4

The Magic Box

Willow was sitting cross legged on the table in the Magic Box, watching Dru.
Drusilla had not moved since the previous night when she had bitten Willow.
Willow studied the vampire, looking for some sigh of the changes Dru was going
through. All Willow could see was a very slight glow appearing to come from
deep within Dru's skin.

Willow had a theory about the changes the vampires went through when they
ingested undying blood and wanted to see if Dru held to the theory. So far
it was looking good.

"Hello, beautiful. How's she doing?" Spike asked as he walked in from the
front of the shop.

"If my theory's correct, she should be coming out of it soon." Willow
answered.

"And what theory is that?" Khalil asked as he entered, having overheard
Willow and Spike talking.

"I think I know how the vampires change and what type of change they go
through. I think the change is dictated by the psychological makeup of
the vampire. So someone like Spike, who was always more human than most
vampires, changes to become more like a human in body as well as mind. Now
Dru has always described herself as a princess, so I expect she will take
on the form of what a princess is in her mind. Of course, I could be
completely wrong," Willow finished with a smile.

"Yeah, Red. But I also described her as my dark angel, so what if that is
how she thinks of herself?" Spike enquired.

"I hadn't thought about that. Guess my theory needs work then, doesn't it?"
Willow smiled self-depraciatingly.

As Willow was saying this, she felt a tingle on her face, as the mark of
The Morrigan appeared. Willow looked around just in time
to see the Morrigan herself appear, "Hello Willow, Spike, Khalil.
How are we this morning?"

"I'm fine. You?" Willow asked politely, not taking her eyes off Dru.

"Doing well. Has Dru completed her change yet?" queried Moire.

"No. She should be coming out of it soon, though. In fact I believe
she is waking now." Willow noted as Dru's eyes opened.

As her eyes opened, Drusilla took a deep breath, inhaling as if to scream.
As she took the breath, The Morrigan stepped up and placed her hand on
Dru's forehead. Drusilla calmed down immediately. The Morrigan then passed
her hand over Dru's body and a cocoon formed, covering Dru completely.

"Dru needs a little more time before the change is complete." Explained
Moire to the three watching her with surprised expressions on their faces.

Turning back to the cocoon, Moire waited. After about a minute a light
started to emanate from deep with in the cocoon. The light grew steadily
stronger, until the light was as bright as the Sun. Eventually the light
dimmed and finally disappeared completely. The group stood there blinking,
waiting until their sight returned. Willow was the first to regain her
sight and what she saw stunned her. Spike was the next to be able to see
and he was rendered as speechless as Willow.

Drusilla was standing before the group, but it was a Drusilla like nothing
they had ever seen. Sprouting from Drusilla's back was a large pair of
ravens' wings, giving her the appearance of a angel.

Spike quipped, "Well, I always called you my Dark Angel. Looks like this was
truer than I realised."

Dru smiled, clearly sane now. She placed a hand fondly on Spike's cheek,
"I loved you once. But no longer I am afraid. Can you forgive me for the
things I did to you?"

Spike smiled back, "Of course I can. We are both so different people now.
What do you remember?"

"I remember everything I did as a vampire, but dimly. Like it was a long
time ago and in another place. What happened to Darla?" Dru asked.

Willow spoke up, "I did. She's dead."

"That's probably for the best. I dread to think how she would have
changed." She said sadly. Looking at The Morrigan, Dru asked "Who are you?
I feel I should know you."

The Morrigan answered, "I am The Morrigan. The Triple Goddess. Celtic
Goddess of Battle. Will you be my champion? Become MY Dark Angel?"

Dru considered for a moment, then replied, "I would be honoured. I can
thus atone for the evil I did as a vampire."

Willow spoke up, hesitantly, a hurt tome in her voice, "But...but aren't I
your champion?" Willow sniffed back a tear.

Moire stepped over to Willow, taking her in to a hug, "But of course you are.
I'm allowed three champions. One for each of my aspects. You're the champion
of my aspect as the Maiden. Drusilla is my champion in my aspect as the
Mother. I have yet to take a champion of the Crone."

Willow smiled, glad she had not been put aside, "I'm sorry. I thought you
didn't want me anymore."

Moire looked down at Willow, "You won't get rid of me that easily. You
are my champion, and I love you. But this doesn't mean that I stopped
loving my children..."

Willow perked up at that, "You have children?"

Moire smiled with motherly love, "Yes. My husband and I have two. The
Goddess Brigit and the God Aengus. Which reminds me. Dru, darling, please
come over here. As you and Willow are both my champions, you are sisters."

Dru looked at Willow and hugged her, "Hello my sister. I'm sorry for all
the trouble I caused. Can you forgive me too?"

Willow hugged Dru back, "Of course I can. I've never had a sister before."

Spike looked at the two sisters with a look of horror, "Great my
ex-girlfriend and my current girlfriend are sisters. Next they'll be swapping
stories about me."

Dru chuckled, "Well, since he brought it up, does he still leave his wet
towels on the floor of the bedroom?"

Willow smirked at Spike, "Yep. I keep trying to stop him, but he never learns."

Dru replied, "I know. I think I may have damaged him when I had Angel turn him."

"That's OK. I only want him for his body anyway." Willow answered Dru getting
a dig in on Spike.

While the three trading insults goodnaturedly, Buffy walked in to the room,
eyes only for Khalil. She moved up to him and put her arms around his shoulders
and gave him a deep kiss hello. She then realised there were a couple of other
people in the room, including Dru. She noticed Dru's wings and cried out in
surprise.

Giles and Miranda came running in from the front of the shop, stopping when
they saw Dru.

"Good lord!" exclaimed Giles confusedly.

"Oh my!" put in Miranda eloquently.

Willow stepped out of Dru's embrace, "Giles, Miranda, Buffy. Please let me
introduce my sister Drusilla."

"Sister?" enquired Giles.

"Yes. We are both champions of The Morrigan. This makes us closer than blood."
Dru explained. She then seemed to think for a moment, "Can you contact Angel?
I can't feel him any more and he probably can't feel me. He'll be worried
something bad has happened."

Spike called out, "I'll call him." Spike walked over to the phone and pushed
the speed dial button for Angel's office in L.A. The group could only
hear Spikes side of the conversation.

"Hey there Mom. Can I speak with my poofy sire?"

"OK He's not a poof. It's going to take me a week to get that image out of
my mind"

"Hey Dad. Can you come down to SunnyHell as soon as you can. There is
something you have to see."

"No, I'd rather not say over the phone."

"OK see you when you get here," He said as he hung up the phone.

Turning back to the assembled group, Spike said, "Angel is going to get
Faith to drive him down straight away. He should be here in an hour."

The group then and started to talk. Willow looked at The Morrigan and asked,
"Moire, Can I ask a question?"

"Willow. You shouldn't be so forward with a Goddess. It's almost sacrilege
to speak to her that way," Dru admonished Willow, shocked that Willow would
be so forward.

Moire soothed Drusilla, "It's alright dear. I insisted that Willow call me
Moire. The Morrigan is so formal. The same applies to you as well. I don't
stand on formality. Except when using MY name to cast of course. Then it's
appropriate."

"OK, if you insist. It will take a bit of getting used to though." Dru
commented.

Moire grinned, "It's OK. Willow had the same problem. Willow, in answer to
your question, yes you can ask a question. Or rather, yes you can ask
ANOTHER question."

"Thanks. Why am I the champion of the Maiden and Dru is the champion of the
Mother?" Willow asked.

"It's very simple. Drusilla has a child and you don't. The Maiden takes a
champion from a girl or woman who has yet to give birth. Dru has not given
birth, but she did sire Darla, which counts. So she is the champion of the
Mother. She's too young to be the champion of the Crone. The champion of
the Crone is a woman who no longer has the ability to bear children. This
means that the Crone very rarely takes a champion as most of the time a
woman who is old enough to be a champion is no longer strong enough."

"Oh! Thanks for explaining that. It makes sense now." Said Willow
 

Part 5

Dru, Willow and Moire sat around the table, getting acquainted. While Willow was
familiar with Dru-the-vampire, she wanted to get to know her sister for who
she really was, not the perceptions Willow had formed in her mind based on the
Watcher diaries.

"I know Dru was a vampire, but what is she now?" Willow asked Moire awkwardly.

"She is my Dark Angel. Which is why her wings are Raven's wings, rather than
the doves wings you normally see on an angel." The Morrigan explained to Willow.
Turning to Dru, Moire said, "Now my dear, I have a gift for you." Moire then
opened her hand and nestled within her palm was an intricate circular amulet,
about 2 inches across, covered in engraved ravens.

Leaning forward, Dru picked up the amulet and looked at it, holding it up so
the light reflected off the amulet. Moire smiled and, taking the amulet back,
placed it over Drusilla's head so that it rested between her breasts. Dru lifted
it and looked at it again. "It feels warm." the dark haired Dark Angel cooed.

"I had my husband make this for you. It will protect you from the sun. Shall
we go outside?" The Morrigan asked coyly.

Dru was up and at the door with superhuman speed, showing she still retained
some of her vampiric abilities. She then stopped at the door, a look of
trepidation on her face.

Willow walked up to her sister and asked her "What is it?"

Dru spoke softly, "I'm afraid. It's been so long since I saw the sun. Do I
deserve to see it again?"

The Morrigan spoke forcefully, "Are you questioning MY judgment Drusilla?"

Dru's head shot up, "Of course not." She stated fearfully, but firmly.

"I chose you as MY champion. Do you think I would have chosen you if you
were not worthy? Of course not. Now lets go outside, so you can enjoy what
is left of the day." With the order, The Morrigan opened the door and pushed
Dru out into the sunlight.

At first she cowered, 150 years of habit being hard to break. Then when she
realised she was not combusting, Dru straightened and threw her arms out to
absorb as much of the warm sunshine as she could. A sense of wonder was clear
on her face, as she greeted her first day since her turning.

Willow stuck her head back in to the Magic Box, "Spike, get your ass out here
right now."

Spike walked out of the Magic Box to see the look of sheer joy on Dru's face.
"Did I look that rapt when I got the sun back too?" He asked Willow.

"No. You were worse." Willow joked cheekily.

Ignoring Willow's not-too-subtle dig, Spike walked up to Dru, "Come on.
Lets show you the sights of dear old SunnyHell during the day." Taking
her hand, Spike led Dru out to the street in front of the Magic Box.

For the next half hour, the family of Moire the mother, Willow and
Dru the sisters and Spike the lover walked around Sunnydale. Their
circuitous journey finally bringing them back to the Magic Box. As they
were entering, they saw Angels car pull up, the convertable roof up to
protect Angel from the sun. Faith got out of the car and walked around to
open the door, shooing the quartet out of the way. As she opened the door
Angel lept from the car in to Giles' store. Faith ran after him, neither of
them noticing Dru or the changes she had gone through.

Entering the store, Willow glared at Spike, "You behave yourself. Don't
antagonise Angel. That's Faith's job" Willow said the last as they stopped
in front of Faith and Angel.

Faith hugged Willow and smacked Spike on the arm. "So what's up? What was so
urgent we had to drop everything and come back to this shit hole of a town?"

Angel chided Faith, "Come on Faith, Sunnydale isn't that bad. Is it?"

"Sorry dear. It's just...there's too many bad memories of what I did when
I was here." Faith explained sadly.

Angel took Faith in his arms, "But you're atoning for all that now. You've
paid your debt to society and you fight for the Light now."

"I know. It's just..." Faith started to say.

"Just nothing. We all forgive you." Willow told Faith, showing her no-one was
holding any grudges by hugging her and letting the love flow through.

"Thanks." She said, straightening herself out. "Now back to the original
question, why are we here?" Faith asked.

"We have some news." Willow explained. Turning to Angel, she asked, "Angel
can you feel Drusilla or Darla?"

Angel looked thoughtful for a moment, then a curious look passed across
his face. "No. I can't feel either of them. The Childe-Sire bond I have
with Darla is gone, but it has been since I killed her four years ago. It
did not return with her. Because she returned as human I suppose. The
Sire-Childe bond I had with Dru is gone as well, although that feels different,
almost like she is still around, just not close."

Moire and Dru stepped in the room, having entered the store from the front
while the exchange was going on. Moire had an inscrutable look on her face,
while Dru looked apprehensive.

"Drusilla? What are you doing here? And why can't I feel you. Faith, you
getting any readings from her?" Angel asked his lover.

"She feels weird. Not vamp-weird, but still weird." Faith answered warily.
reaching for her stake as she said so.

Willow saw what Faith was doing and stepped between Faith and Dru. "No!
I won't let you hurt my sister."

"What? You don't have a sister Willow" Angel corrected Willow, confused by
her comment..

"Yes I do. Sit down and I'll explain everything." Willow indicated the research
table, taking a seat as she did so.

"Last night Darla and Dru attacked us while we were out patrolling. Darla had
three Kindred with her. They attacked and we beat them, as we always do. One
of the Kindred was a Lasombra and he controlled shadows. He made the area really
dark and I moved to what I thought was a safe spot. I fucked up and instead I
stepped right in to Dru's arms. She bit me and drank a lot of my blood. She
collapsed in to a coma. Darla went crazy and I dusted her. We killed two of
the Kindred, but the Lasombra got away. I don't think he really wanted to be
there, because he didn't fight. He just made the darkness for Darla." Willow
took a breath and let her tale sink in.

Angel looked relieved that Darla was dead and a little glad that he did not
have to kill her again. Killing your parent was bad enough once, but twice
would affect anyone badly. Faith put her arm around Angel's shoulder in support.

Seeing that Angel was OK, Willow continued, "We brought Dru back here and waited
for her to change. I've got a theory about that. I think that the change makes
a vampire into more of what they think they really are. Spike here keeps telling
us he is the big bad, but I think he was really just looking for a cause to
believe in." This time it was Willow putting her arm around Spike to show
support.

It was an indication how much Spike had changed that he did not disagree with
Willow, but just rested his head on her shoulder.

Willow continued telling Angel and Faith of the mornings events. "Dru seemed
to be having some trouble with the change. Probably because she was a few
bricks shy of a load." Willow looked at Dru to show she was only joking.

Drusilla looked back at Willow, "That's not true. I was round the twist, off
my rocker. Nutty as a fruitcake." Dru then walked over to Angel and took his
hand in hers. "I forgive you Angel. It wasn't you that did those things to
me, it was Angelus. The demon. Not you. Got it?" Angel looked up, about to
argue, when Dru cut him off, "No. Don't say it. It. Wasn't. You. I forgive
you. End of story."

Angel looked at Dru, then Willow. "She is obviously sane. What other changes
did your blood cause?"

Willow and Spike were surprised at this, thinking the change should have been
obvious. Willow was about to ask what Angel meant when Spike piped up.

"What do you mean what else? Isn't it fucking obvious? Didn't you notice the
fucking great wings?"

Willow then realised that no-one had noticed them while they were out walking
and looked at The Morrigan, "What did you do?"

Moire answered with a smile, "Not me, The Dagda. He put a fith-fath on the
amulet. Anyone who does not know better sees Dru as they expect to see her,
the beautiful woman that she is. Dru could you take the amulet off, please."

Dru did as her Goddess asked. As soon as the amulet cleared her head, Faith
shouted out, "What the fuck are those?"

"Wings. Why?" Dru asked matter of factly.

"Well, let's see. For starters, it's not exactly normal for someone to have
a fucking great pair of bird wings..."

"Raven wings actually" The Morrigan interjected.

"...OK, raven wings, sticking out of their back. I suppose you've been out
in the sun as well." Noticing the guilty look in the faces of Dru, Spike and
Willow, Faith lost it. "Fucking great. Every vampire in this fucking town
can go out in the fucking sun, but not Angel. Why the fuck not? Hasn't he
done enough? Hasn't he earned forgiveness yet?"

The Morrigan looked at Angel and Faith. She reached over and took Angels'
face in her hands and looked him in the eye. "I can forgive you, but you
must forgive yourself first. You HAVE earned forgiveness. But until you
forgive your self you will not have earned your reward. Think on that."
She then let Angel go, as Faith put her arms around him and let him feel
her love.

"I forgive you too. Can't you forgive yourself?" Faith asked, a quaver in
her voice as she showed more emotion than she had ever shown in public
before.

"You don't understand. I was the Scourge of Europe, the definition of evil
for over a hundred years. I know you say it was the demon, but I remember
everything he did. I'm not ready yet. Soon, though. Honestly." Angel told
Faith, his voice shaking.

Faith look at Angel, understanding in her eyes. She knew what it was like
to have evil to atone for. She only had a couple of years to commit her
crimes in, she had no idea of what it was like to have over 100 years of
evil to atone for.

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