Pairing: Aus/S/W
Summary: Drusilla has been killed by none other then Willow. What will Angelus and Spike do when they find out?
Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, own none of the characters; they belong to Joss and Co. I'm just borrowing them for my sick and twisted pleasure. The title was taken from the song 'Flesh Into Gear' by CKY (Camp Kill Yourself), along with the lyrics.
Distribution: If I posted it to your list.well then I guess you can have it. Otherwise, just drop me a line.I'm sure to say yes.
Feedback: But of course. I tend to really, really like the stuff. It's almost an obsession. ghoztstarz@yahoo.com
A/N: Thanks to Gabrielle for yet another wonderful challenge and for all of the input for this fic. You are the best! The title was taken from the song 'Flesh Into Gear' by CKY (Camp Kill Yourself), along with the lyrics.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 1~
Spike walked aimlessly through the mansion, seeing and remembering when the walls had echoed with her voice. The soft swaying of her hips seemed to mimic the swaying of trees in the wind perfectly. Her dark desires were always his. She was his. Was. He'd shed his tears for her in private. His Dark Goddess was no more.
When the minion had come, it had been a bad time, to say the least. The Slayer was more than likely on her way and the ritual for awakening Acathala had begun. They hadn't known until it was all over. Until she was gone forever. But, she'd saved them before she was taken from them forever. Her second sight, or the stars, or that bloody doll had told her what the outcome of this fight would be if they didn't take measures to stop it.
And take measures they did. Angelus, after hearing that the little witch, Willow, was going to attempt to re-ensoul him was, needless to say, pissed off. Orders spewed from his mouth as fast as he could think of them. Angelus sent Drusilla and a few minions to stop the witch from performing the spell at all costs. Spike was sent to find any demon or witch that would be able to help them with the Slayer. Drusilla's warning that the Slayer would send him to hell by way of Acathala was another bit of news that only served to fire his passion to destroy her.
Everything had been going so well that neither Spike nor Angelus had noticed when Drusilla didn't return. They were focused on the ensuing fight. Spike had been busy helping the L'tcuk demon set up the illusion. It would seem to everyone present that Acathala had awoken. That way, if something went wrong and Angelus did not kill Buffy like he planned, the illusion would suck Angelus in, just as the statue would have. Only Angelus would not be going to hell. Instead, he would appear in his room, whole and intact. Steve, the L'tcuk demon, had made sure of all of this, even testing it.
The stage had been set, Buffy had come as they'd expected. Spike had stayed out of the way as per Angelus' orders. He watched from the shadows.watched as Buffy pierced Angelus' heart with the sword. Spike couldn't help but smile, at not only at the illusion, but also at the fact that Buffy had nearly gotten one up on the almighty Angelus.
I
can't expect you to see
me
when i'm not around
and
my voice is destroyed
by
confinement of sound
---------
Earlier at the school
Drusilla danced through the empty dark hallways of the Sunnydale High School. She'd been sent on a mission.to find the Witch and kill her, keep her from doing the nasty spell that would take her Daddy away. The stars sang tunes only she could hear, and she danced steps so old they were forgotten by all but her and the stars which guided her steps. The minions that had been sent with her waited in the hallway for her.
"Stay here, I want to play," she said to them. They nodded and watched as she stopped dancing and walked up to the door of the library.
With a flourish, Drusilla opened the doors and walked through. Five teenage faces turned to her in astonishment and fright. She smiled at them, knowing she was the cause of their fear. The smell of it wafted to her and she inhaled it with relish.
Kendra was the first to move, stake in hand, while Willow and the others continued with the spell. Willow knew she had to do this, and needed concentration, but she couldn't help but peek every now and then. What she saw a few moments into the spell almost broke her concentration. Drusilla sliced neatly through Kendra's throat with her nails, and then those dark, haunted eyes turned on Willow. She could feel a lump forming in her throat as she tried to chant around it.
Oz and Cordelia had stopped their parts in the spell and stepped in front of Willow as she redoubled her efforts. She heard more than saw her two friends being tossed to the sides. The next thing she heard was Drusilla's voice.
"Naughty little witch," Drusilla said, tisking and wagging one long finger back and forth.
Willow sat atop the table looking directly at one of the most dangerous vampires in Sunnydale, and quite possibly the world. The longer she looked at Drusilla, the more Willow felt a sinking feeling within her. It was strange and she felt as if she should just let it take her down, that she would be safe there. The image of a swaying Kendra flashed in her mind and she looked away from Drusilla's eyes with much difficulty.
Drusilla watched as Willow began to go under her spell. This was her conquest and the reason she came here, to stop this witch. She watched as Willow's will overcame hers and she was surprised, but didn't show it. Drusilla stared into those defiant eyes, and saw her own death. It didn't scare her though, she knew she must do this to save her 'Daddy', and if her death was the price, so be it.
"Daddy doesn't want that dirty soul back," Drusilla said with a hiss, and laid her hands on the table to either side of Willow. She leaned in close to whisper in Willow's ear. "The tree would grow stronger.if she were dead." With that, Drusilla bit Willow's neck and began to drink.
Willow reeled from the pain and the swift pull at her neck. She could feel Drusilla's fangs and lips pulling at her, but she hung on. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on Kendra's dropped stake. She felt her mind grab a hold of it and she clung to it like a lifeline. It floated slowly towards Drusilla, who was still taking in Willow's life essence, her blood. The stake wavered in the air as Willow's life threatened to end. It seemed to Willow to take forever for the stake to reach them. Finally, the stake plunged into Drusilla's back.
Pulling back, Drusilla's face slipped back to normal, a surprised look crossing her features. "Naughty little tree," she said before turning to dust.
Willow, swooning from blood loss, collapsed into unconsciousness atop the table.
i'm
a human machine
laced
with hidden disease
if
the future is bleak
then
you're connected to me
----------
The stench of fear floated off the unlucky minion as he nervously watched Angelus pace. Spike's utter stillness was no comfort to him either. Both vampires were legends, each in their own right, and they were ruthless beyond comprehension. Jack didn't want to do this, he wanted instead to flee and leave someone else the unfortunate task of telling these two that the crazy, dark-haired vampiress was dead. However, there was no one else to tell the tale. Angelus had seen to that by killing the other four minions, leaving just Jack. He swallowed thickly as Angelus stopped his pacing and turned those cold, dead eyes on him.
"What the hell happened?" Angelus asked through gritted teeth.
"I-" Jack started to say, but was cut off by Spike.
"You were supposed to protect her!" he yelled, stepping closer to the minion who was now fidgeting. "You were sent to be her backup. So, why the bloody hell didn't you help her?!"
"I- Well, we.she told us to wait in the hall." Jack tried to explain. He really, really wanted to leave. He took a tentative step backwards until Angelus growled, low, and deep.
"So, what happened?" Angelus asked, coming up close to the minion.
"Well, see, I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't sodding know? You were there!" Spike yelled. He came to stand next to Angelus.
Jack trembled. He didn't know what to say now. They didn't like the truth and that was all he had. He wasn't a bright person alive, and death hadn't improved anything.
"Like I said.we, we stayed out in the hall. By the time we went in after her, it was all over." he said trailing off.
Spike roared, picked up the minion, and threw him against the far wall. He was pissed. His Dark Goddess was gone and no one could tell him how it happened. Angelus laid a firm hand on Spike's shoulder, silently telling him to reign in his temper.
"Now," Angelus said softly, walking over to the collapsed minion, "what did you see when you finally took your sorry ass into the library?"
"There, there wasn't much. A few dead and.and her.her ashes," Jack said quietly, knowing this news would be the death of him. He figured if he was going to get dusted anyways, he might as well just get the story out of the way. "There was a dark-haired girl with her throat slit laying next to the counter, a redhead bleeding on the table, and two other teenagers slumped next to the table. I, we, well, we didn't stick around after we saw.saw the ashes. We left, came back here."
Angelus and Spike were silent, neither one looking at anything. The room had gone still and Jack thought he could hear his words reverberating off the walls, teasing and taunting him. Jack shifted nervously from foot to foot. He pondered just fleeing while they were deep in thought, possibly they wouldn't notice him go. Taking a hesitant step towards the door, Jack watched them closely. Neither Spike nor Angleus seemed to notice the movement. Finally, Jack broke out into a run. He was nearly to the door when something grabbed him from behind.
"Going somewhere?" Angelus asked. The minion shook his head no.
"Not what it looked like," Spike said coming to stand in front of the minion. He tossed a stake that he held in his hand, his eyes never leaving the minion. "You do know why, don't you?"
Jack knew, of course he knew. He'd fucked up, royally. He hadn't protected Drusilla, their woman, and now he had to pay. His last thought before he turned to dust was a fervent wish that he had gone into the library.
~Part: 2~
The minion had not given Spike or Angelus any useful information. They still didn't know who had finally gotten Drusilla, nor did they know who had survived, if anyone had. Therefore, they decided to pay the Scoobies a little visit. From what the minion had said, there had been two teenagers who could be alive.
They walked through Sunnydale in silence, each one lost in their own thoughts. Angelus wanted a confrontation with whoever had killed his Childe. 'It wasn't supposed to happen like that,' he thought. 'I'm her Sire. I'm the only one that is allowed to remove her from this world. She was my creation, my Childe, mine. How dare they think they can dust her and not think there would be repercussions?' Angelus continued to fume as the approached the school.
Spike, like Angelus, was lost in his thoughts. He still couldn't accept that she was gone. He expected to see her come dancing into a room in one of her beautiful flowing gowns and singing one of those old Victorian songs that never made sense to him, but which he loved just the same. He would miss those moments of blinding clarity whenever her eyes fell on him. 'She didn't bloody well deserve it,' Spike thought. "They didn't have the right to take her from me. She was my Dark Goddess, my Love, my Sire.' He wanted to kill them all, everyone in Sunnydale. He felt that no one deserved to live if he had to live without her.
flesh
into gear
myself
appears dissected and pretentious
a
simple sound a heavy side
----------
For the next few days, Spike and Angelus spied on the group from behind the stacks. They learned that Drusilla had killed Kendra, her first and last Slayer, and had knocked Oz and Cordelia unconscious while trying to get to Willow and stop her from continuing with the spell that would restore Angel's soul. They also found out that Drusilla had drunk from Willow, sending her to the hospital, near death. What pleased them the most was when they found out that Buffy had disappeared right after her fight with Angelus. No one knew where she'd gone or when she'd come back, and that was just fine with them. They also heard that Willow would be released from the hospital in three days and she would fill everyone in then.
Spike and Angelus wouldn't miss that for the world. After hearing everything they'd needed, they left in silence. Once outside they'd decided to go on a hunt. With no Slayer around, they had free reign in Sunnydale, and they took every advantage of it.
----------
Yelling, pacing, and constant fighting, along with the nightly hunts, was all that made up those three long day and nights for the two vampires. They were impatient to hear what Willow had to say about the night of Drusilla's death.
Angelus was curious as to how she'd survived. He'd taught Drusilla to be ruthless and vicious, and she reveled in it. He also knew that, during those awful years he'd been cursed with the soul, she and Spike wreaked their own havoc on the world. At times Spike and Drusilla's exploits had come close to matching those of him and Darla. 'So how,' Angelus thought, 'had little Willow cheated death?' He couldn't remember her being much more then a bookworm and a computer genius. There had to be something, though. Something else behind the fluffy clothes, long red hair, and innocent eyes.
He vowed to find out what it was, no matter the details of her story. He would find out what was special about her, what let her survive his Childe.
Spike, however, was going crazy waiting and he was driving everyone else crazy too. He hunted constantly at night, never bothering to clean up after a particularly brutal kill. He went to bed, blood drying in his hair, on his face, and on his clothes. He was filthy. Finally, on the second night, Angelus had had enough.
"Stop," Angelus said to Spike from the chair by the fireplace.
"'M not doing nothing, wanker," Spike slurred. He was drunk again with whiskey on his breath and on his clothes, mixing unpleasantly with the dried blood.
"That's right, you're not. That's the problem."
"'S not a problem. Where's the bloody problem? I'll tell you. She's gone. That's the fucking problem. Nothing but dust in the wind. 'S not right, not fair. Was mine, she was. Your Childe, too. And you just sittin' there night after night reading your poncy books like some bloody magnificent Pouf. Like you don't care. Probably don't, d'you. No, only thing upsets you is you lost your fuck, that's 'sall." Collapsing in a chair, Spike sighed and watched the flames. He was so drunk he'd lost his train of thought.
Angelus knew Spike loved like no other. Hell, he'd used it to exploit the younger vampire more then once. And punished him for it, as well. But torture wasn't what Spike needed right now, no matter how much Angelus would enjoy chaining him up and teaching him some respect. Instead, he closed his book and turned to Spike.
"She was my Childe, my creation. I molded her, broke herr, then remade her into the Drusilla you loved," Angelus said, steepling his hands. "This is where we differ. While you decide to wallow in sickening grief and self-pity, I plan. Who ever did this will not get off lightly. They will not die quickly, but rather suffer slowly. We will bathe in their blood, their pain, and their suffering. This is as much my revenge as it is yours. So, why don't you crawl out of your hole of self-pity, clean up, sober up, then join me tomorrow night so we can find out who did this and make them pay. If not, then leave and go moan and whine somewhere else. I'm sick of it."
Angelus watched Spike watch the fire for a minute before he got up and left the room. Spike would snap out of it, he was sure of it. Then, when he was back.then the fun would begin. Spike was a master at revenge, having been taught by Angelus and by the life he had as a mortal.
could
win the whole world over
you
live in fear of being someone that you didn't want to
i
realize your insecurity will get the best of you
----------
Finally, the night of Willow's release from the hospital had come. Angelus hadn't seen Spike since he'd left the room after his speech. He decided that his plans would go on, with or without Spike.
Walking silently through the stacks in the rear of the library, Angelus got in place for the show. He was early and no one but Xander and Cordelia was there. Angelus figured that Oz and Giles had gone to pick up Willow.
"Did I miss anything?" a familiar voice spoke sofly from behind him.
Angelus smiled to himself. Spike had cleaned up and made it, just as he knew Spike would. "Not a thing," Angelus said.
Spike nodded and took his place next to Angelus.
They both watched and listened as the doors to the library opened. Giles and Oz, each one taking an arm, escorted Willow in and to a chair. Spike and Angelus noticed the bandage that now adorned the right side of Willow's neck. They smiled to each other, recognizing Drusilla's mark on the witch. Xander, Oz, and Giles tried to make Willow comfortable, asking her if they could get her anything. Finally, after they'd stopped fawning over her, Giles asked the question the vampires had been waiting for.
"Willow, uh, would you mind telling us what exactly happened that night?" Giles asked.
Willow inhaled deeply, unconsciously placing a hand over her bandage and began. She started out telling them about watching Kendra be killed, and Drusilla tossing Oz and Cordelia to the side.
"Then, she told me I was a 'Naughty little witch' for doing the spell and that her 'Daddy' didn't want his soul back," Willow said, recalling Drusilla's words. She'd gone over the events repeatedly during her stay in the hospital. When she slept, she slept fitfully, having constant nightmares. Sometimes they would be about Kendra's death, or the eerie way she swayed under Drusilla's gaze. The worst nightmares were those where she saw nothing but those hauntingly dark eyes boring into her. When she had those dreams, she would wake up in a cold sweat and feeling woozy, like Drusilla was still pulling her blood from her neck, but she never told her friends. She assumed the bad dreams would eventually go away.
"I tried to keep chanting," Willow continued after taking a deep breath. "She then whispered something in my ear. Next think I knew she'd bit me. I'd remembered Kendra dropping her stake, so I concentrated on it. I don't know how I did it. I've only floated pencils before, and a stake is so much heavier, but somehow, I did it. I got the stake to float and I sent it towards her back. Then.poof. Dust. Then, then I think I passed out I guess."
Everyone looked at Willow sympathetically. Oz reached over and took her hand in his to reassure her and Xander put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it affectionately.
"How far into the spell had you gone?" Giles asked.
"Um, I'm not sure. Why?" Willow asked confused.
"Well, it would stand to reason that had you been sufficiently immersed in the spell, it would have infused you with more magic then you would use to float a mere pencil, therefore you'd be able to float a heavier object, say a stake for instance."
"Oh, well. Yeah, I guess. I never thought about that."
----------
Angelus and Spike had heard enough and they left before their rage could cause them to act rashly and give away their positions. Walking in silence, they soon separated, each going off to think in their own way.
Angelus walked back to the mansion and sat in front of the fireplace. 'So, it'd been Willow,' he thought. 'Such an unlikely person, but also intriguing.' She just hadn't seemed like much when he'd known her as Angel. Nevertheless, there had to be something. Angelus wanted to pick her apart and find out what made her tick. What gave Willow the strength to defeat his Dark Childe, Drusilla?
----------
Spike couldn't believe it. It'd been that mousy, quiet little redhead. 'How dare she take away my Dru!' Spike thought. He didn't know what to do, and he still wasn't entirely sure that Willow had been the one to dust her. However, one thing continued to bother him. Drusilla had marked and claimed Willow. Not just bitten her, but also claimed her. Drusilla's unique scent had found its way up to Spike in the stacks. 'Why had she marked the witch?' he asked himself. Spike realized that he would have to put off his retribution until he found out.
After a quick kill, Spike made his way back to the mansion to talk with Angelus and learn his thoughts about what they'd overheard.
----------
"So, what do you think, mate?" Spike asked, walking to the fireplace and taking a seat.
"Willow, of all people," Angelus said shaking his head.
Spike scoffed then nodded. "Blows your mind, doesn't it?"
"Yes, but how? How did she do it?"
"Don't know that, but I do know Dru claimed her."
Angelus finally turned to look at Spike and said, "Oh really?"
"Yeah, didn't you smell it? The witch reeked of Dru. I think she did it on purpose, marked the witch," Spike said. After pausing to think he asked, "Think she knew?"
"Drusilla? I wouldn't doubt it. But if she knew she was going to die, then why didn't she tell us when she told us about everything else?"
"Haven't a clue. You never could bloody tell with our Dru," Spike said. "But, what are we going to do about the little witch?"
"Well," Angelus said, drawing the word out and smiling. "Drusilla claimed her, right?
"Right," Spike said, following Angelus' train of thought and smiling along with him.
"Since she was my Childe, and your Sire.what was hers is now ours."
~Part: 3~
It was just another night of research in the school library. They were missing someone though.Buffy. She'd taken off right after the fight with Angelus. There'd been no note, no message on anyone's machine saying where she went, or even why. But they knew, or at least thought they did.
Buffy may have killed Angelus and sent him to hell, but he still wore the face of her lover, her soulmate.or so she thought. No matter what she told herself or heard everyone else tell her, she'd still held on to the hope that Angel was under there somewhere. Now, she would never know. So, she left.
Buffy left Giles, Xander, Oz, Cordelia, and Willow to look after the Hellmouth. The empty space left by her was felt by the entire gang. Giles was beside himself with worry, and was essentially of no use to anyone. He followed after wild leads and even wilder hopes in his quest to find Buffy. Willow and the others did nightly patrols, watching each other's backs and killing whatever they could.and running away from what they couldn't. They couldn't just sit back and do nothing, Slayer or no Slayer; they knew what was out there now and each did the best that they could.
The other night while on patrol the four of them had come across.something. They weren't sure what it was, hence the reason the four bleary-eyed teenagers were at the library well after midnight. The only thing they had on whatever it was they saw was that it was a sickly yellow, scaly, and really fast.
"Xander," Willow said with a yawn, "hand me one of those books by your arm." When she received no answer, Willow looked up. She couldn't tell if Xander was asleep or really engrossed in the book. She was betting on asleep.
"Xander," she said again and flung an empty Twinkie wrapper at him.
"Huh, wha?" Xander asked, rubbing his eyes. "What was that for?"
"Hand me one of those books," Willow said, pointing to a rather large stack next to his elbow. She wished that she'd have been able to find something online, but she didn't find a thing on the computer.
"Been through them," Xander said. He set the book he had been sleeping on back on top of the pile and laid his head down.
Willow sighed loudly and looked towards Oz. He just shrugged and laid down his book as well. Cordelia was sleeping in the chair next to Xander, snoring softly. They'd gone through all of the regular books that listed the more common visitors to the Hellmouth. So, logically, they were looking for something that didn't normally seek out warm, sunny weather and direct access to hell.
Getting up, Willow stretched and yawned widely before making her way to Giles' door. The door was open slightly and Willow heard the unmistakable sound of Giles snoring and caught a whiff of scotch. She was torn between wanting to go in and tell Giles to snap out of it, and feeling sorry for him. She decided to just go look for herself. Willow knew that he kept most of his rare occult books back in the stacks. If they still couldn't find anything in those, she would have to wake Giles up and ask him to get the rest of his books from home, the ones he didn't dare keep in the school.
Walking towards the stacks, Willow stopped next to the sleeping Oz and placed a small kiss on his forehead. She smiled as she walked to the back.
Her smile faltered when the light became dimmer. She'd forgotten how dark it was back here. Squinting, Willow titled her head to read some of the titles. Most of the titles were in other languages and some of them in demon languages. She wasn't sure exactly which ones to get, especially if she couldn't read what the title was. Shrugging, she started to reach for a book when she noticed something move out of the corner of her eye.
Quickly, Willow turned around to face whatever it might be. What she saw wasn't what she'd been expecting. She thought maybe it was the yellow demon, or Xander, or Oz. Even a vampire wouldn't have surprised her as much as this did. It was unexpected and well, impossible. He just couldn't be there.
"Angel?" Willow asked softly. She was afraid if she spoke any louder the illusion would fade like smoke. It was so dark that Willow was almost sure that all she saw was a floating head. Looking closer she could see the outline of him, but only barely.
The pained look on his face made Willow want to cry for him. She was cautious though, she had experienced Angelus first hand. Searching his face she couldn't see a trace of the cold killer that had stalked them for months. It was Angel, and she didn't know what to do, or what to say.
"What did you do to me?"
a
traitor's embrace
how
foolish how wrong
contained
in one place
anxiety
spawns
Willow didn't know what to say. She was rooted to the spot, just staring at him. He looked so hurt, not only physically, but emotionally as well. She could see the pain etched on his face in clear lines. Slowly his head lowered and he looked at the front of his shirt. She followed his gaze.
At first, she didn't know what she was supposed to be looking at. The shirt was something that Angel would wear. Dark blue and pressed. Then she noticed it. A large wet spot on the front and a tear in the shirt right where his heart would be. Tentatively Willow reached out to touch it. It was sticky, thick, and cold. She yanked her hand back like she'd been burned and looked questioningly at Angel before looking down at her hand.
Willow gasped in surprise. It was blood, Angel's blood she now had on her hand. Her mind reeled. 'How?' she asked herself. Looking back up to ask Angel, Willow found herself alone in the stacks. No one was there. She looked around wildly for any sign of Angel. He'd been there; the blood on her hand was proof. Wasn't it?
She couldn't think. Her mind was a whirl of images, blood, and possibilities. Had Angel really been there, or was she just tired and seeing things? But that didn't explain the blood on her hands. It was too much, too soon after Angelus' death and Buffy's disappearance. Willow felt faint and sick to her stomach. She looked back down at her hand hoping that the blood would disappear like Angel did, but no, it was still there, drying on her hand. She had to get it off.
Running, Willow passed the sleeping occupants of the library and made her way to the bathroom. Turning the tap to hot, Willow stuck her hand under the scalding water. She grabbed soap with her other hand and washed furiously, scrubbing more then necessary. The blood was long gone, down the drain. And still she scrubbed. She could still feel it, the stickiness.
Finally she stopped scrubbing and turned off the faucet. Breathing deeply Willow closed her eyes. She could still see the haunted, pained look in Angel's eyes and felt a tear slip out. It had all just been an illusion though. Right? It couldn't possibly have been Angel.
Willow felt suddenly alone and cold in the school restroom and she didn't want to be alone after that. It had shaken her to the bone to see Angel. Making her way back to the library Willow quickly convinced herself that she was just tired and needed some sleep. She decided to leave a note for Giles and wake everyone up to go home.
----------
Angelus watched Willow's reaction to the blood from the cover of shadows. He'd moved just in time to perfectly simulate the effect of him disappearing. She'd truly believed that he was Angel, and that was just fine with him. It would work well for them, Spike and Angelus.
He watched with anticipation as she went through the different stages of disbelief, acceptance, and horror. He watched as her face blanched and sweat broke out on her forehead. He listened to her heart race in her chest and smiled as she bolted out of the library. Yes, it would work well for them.
Making his way out of the library, Angelus smiled to himself again and went to go see Spike about the other plans they had for their Willow.
----------
Willow made her way home alone after separating from the rest of the group to head down her street. She hadn't told anyone about Angel or the blood on her hand. Besides, what would she tell them? 'Oh, by the way, while you guys were sleeping, I went back to find some books and may or may not have seen Angel. And, he may or may not have been real. The best part is he had a hole in his chest. I touched it and my hand came back bloody. So, am I crazy?' Willow knew it wouldn't go over well. They would be afraid for her and start hovering over her again. She just recently had gotten them to stop.
Willow stopped walking, thinking she heard something. It had sounded like the flick of a lighter. 'Stop being paranoid.' She told herself. Still, she grabbed the cross that she now carried everywhere with her and began to walk again.
Footsteps sounded loudly behind her. Willow spun around, searching the darkness with her eyes. There was nothing but black night stretched out beyond the small circle of light coming from the light pole. She strained her ears, listening for the footsteps but they either had stopped or had been a figment of her imagination. Turning towards her house, Willow saw she was almost there and started walking quickly. The footsteps picked up again as soon as she started walking. They kept time with her, keeping up, following her.
This time she knew for sure she wasn't imagining them. Glancing back she watched as a pair of black scratched boots skirted around a circle of light. Whoever it was wanted her to know she was being followed but didn't want her to know who they were.
Her mind flashed onto the apparition of Angel and wondered if she was being haunted. It was Sunnydale after all, so being haunted by a dead, souled vampire just didn't seem that farfetched anymore.
Finally, she was at the driveway to her house. Willow ran up to the door, digging in her pockets for her keys. Pulling them out she fumbled, dropping them.
"Come on," she whispered. Getting the correct key in the lock, Willow burst through her door, shutting and locking it quickly behind her.
After calming a bit, taking a deep breath, and telling herself she was safe in her house, Willow became curious as to whoever or whatever was following her. She wondered if they were still out there, so she went to the kitchen window. She kept the lights off to reduce the glare and keep herself hidden, and looked outside. Someone or something was standing by the large tree in her front yard. She went to turn on the front porch light, and then came back to the window.
Whoever it was had positioned himself so that he was completely in the shadows. He was smoking a cigarette and the embers glowed brightly enough to show the outline of a face, but not enough for Willow to make out whose face it was. Whoever it was reached his arm out into the light and waved, then motioned for her to come out.
Gasping, Willow ducked away from the window. 'They knew I was watching,' she thought. The figure had appeared to be a male and the arm had been covered by a leather coat. The one white finger that had beckoned her outside had chipped, black polish in it's fingernail. 'Definitely not Angel,' she thought. 'But who then?'
Willow wracked her brain to try to come up with anyone who matched what she'd seen. However, she couldn't think of anyone, nor did she know why she'd have a stalker. Willow was not the sort of person who got stalked. She desperately wished Buffy were here. That's what she needed right now, a Slayer.
Peeking outside to get another look at her stalker, Willow tried again to see who it was.
----------
Spike decided now was the time and he stepped into the beam of light from the porch. He smirked as Willow gasped, placing a hand over her mouth. Laughing softly, Spike nonchalantly leaned against the tree and lit another cigarette. She just sat there at the window staring at him. Again, he motioned for her to come outside. Naturally, she shook her head no, just as he'd expected her to. He laughed again and continued smoking and watching Willow.
----------
unopened
reowned
what's
needed upscaled
digested
inhaled
unwilling
unwound
Willow was stunned. Her stalker was Spike, of all people.or vampires. Willow didn't understand why though. 'Why me?' she asked herself. Then she remembered the night she killed Drusilla. Her hand drifted to her neck, where a vampire bite was healing. Apparently Spike had seen this because he nodded, then smiled again. 'He wants to kill me for killing Drusilla,' Willow thought.
Backing up from the window, Willow went to get something to drink. Her mouth had suddenly gone dry and it hurt to swallow. She hadn't thought when she'd tried to save herself that night that it would end up being the death of her.just at a later date. Bringing the water up to her mouth, her hands shook violently.
"I'm safe here. I'm in my house," Willow chanted to herself. "He can't come in without an invitation. He'll be gone by morning. I'm safe in my house."
Taking a deep breath, she downed the water and went upstairs to her room. Willow felt dirty, and she could still feel the blood on her hand as she wiped it on her pants. She needed a shower, something hot and cleansing. Walking over to her dresser she pulled out her pajamas and set them on her desk chair, then looked in the mirror. She looked disheveled and just a little spooked, which was to be expected. The mark on her neck looked angry and red, and it itched. This was good. That meant it was healing. Seeing the bite, she was reminded of why she looked so spooked. Immediately her heart began to race as she edged her way to the window to look outside and see if Spike was still there.
Slowly, Willow pulled back on the curtain and looked down to the tree where she'd last seen him. He was still there and still smoking. Only, now he was looking up at her. Willow squeaked and moved quickly away from the window. She had to chant 'I'm safe in my house. He can't come in without an invitation.' Again and again to calm herself down. Taking a deep breath, Willow pulled herself together.
She went and grabbed her clothes and headed for the shower. Being stalked and faced with the threat of death didn't mean she had to go to bed feeling dirty and close to death already, so she took a long, hot, relaxing shower. 'Hopefully, he'll realize that I'm not going outside, so he'll be gone by the time I get out of the bathroom,' Willow thought.
The shower had helped to boost her confidence, helped along by the fact that when she went back to her room and looked out the window again, Spike was nowhere to be seen. For right now, she was safe. Tomorrow she would tell Giles about Angel in the stacks and Spike stalking her.
~Part: 4~
"So?" Angelus asked Spike when he walked into Angelus' room. He'd wanted to go with Spike and stalk Willow, taunting her and frightening her; but right now, she thought he was Angel back from the dead, or his ghost. Thinking back, that meeting with Willow couldn't have gone any better. She'd been surprised, confused, and very scared.
"So, it went well," Spike said evasively. He wanted to key Angelus up for this, prime him for the story.
"Well? That's all you have to say.it went well?" Angelus asked incredulously.
"It went bloody wonderfully," Spike said smugly.
"Do tell."
And tell Spike did. He described vividly every look that had crossed Willow's face, ever beat of her heart, and every hitch of her breath. Spike was enjoying the retelling almost as much as he'd enjoyed the actual events of that night. He watched as Angelus' smile grew with every detail until he was smiling as big as the Cheshire cat, and just as deviously. As Spike finished his story, the room was left buzzing. You could feel the excitement flowing through them.
Finally, after a few moments of reflection, Angelus said, "Well, my boy, this calls for a celebration. There's a few hours of darkness left. Let's go see what trouble we can get ourselves into."
----------
Willow's alarm went off, loud and shrill, next to her bed. Groaning, she hit the snooze button and rolled over. She hadn't gotten a good nights sleep, and what little sleep she had gotten had been riddled with nightmares of Drusilla's haunting eyes, Spike asking her to come outside so he could kill her, and Angel's blood covering her.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, a phone was ringing. Breaking through the fog in her sleep-muddled mind, Willow realized it was her phone that was ringing. Reaching over to the nightstand by her bed, Willow fumbled for the phone.
"Hello?" Willow asked groggily. Her eyes didn't want to focus when she opened them, so she just kept them closed.
"Willow?" a British voice asked. For a moment, Willow's heart froze and she flashed on an image of Spike before she recognized Giles' voice.
"Giles? What's wrong? Why are you calling me so early?"
"Willow, dear, it's after noon. Are you not feeling well?" Giles asked, concerned. Xander had come to him earlier telling him that Willow hadn't been in class. He'd told Xander not to worry and that he'd give her a call. Giles had reminded Xander that they'd had a late night the other night and Willow had been the only one not to take a nap.
"What?!" Willow screeched, sitting bolt upright. "Noon?" She looked over to the clock and saw that Giles was right, it was just after noon and she'd slept half the school day away, missing most of her classes.
"Are you alright?" Giles asked again.
"Yeah, I mean, I couldn't sleep last night, but I didn't mean to sleep this late. I'll be up at the school in a half hour."
"Will-" Giles tried to say, but Willow had hung up on him. He felt a bit better having called her. He wouldn't admit it to the others, but he'd been worried about her. Willow had been quiet, more so than usual, since she'd come back from the hospital.
After hanging up the phone, Willow quickly got dressed, ran downstairs grabbing her book bag, and practically ran the entire way to school. All the while, she berated herself for sleeping in. Then she remembered why she hadn't slept well, Spike, the nightmares, and Angel's bloody ghost. She'd had a busy week.
Finally, Willow made it to school just as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period. She walked into the school and spotted Oz, Xander, and Cordelia walking down the hall in front of her. She smiled to herself and walked faster to catch up. After her grueling night, she wanted and needed the easy, uncomplicated chatter of her friends. She had missed Oz too. Coming up behind them, she caught part of their conversation.
"I talked to Giles. He said he'd call Willow at lunch," Xander said.
"I stopped by her house this morning.," Oz said, trailing off and shrugging his shoulders.
"Something's up with Willow. She's been different since she got back from the hospital," Xander said. "Then, last night, she looked kind of spooked. Think Drusilla did something to her? Other then the bite I mean?"
Dropping back, Willow had heard enough. She didn't feel like being interrogated or hovered over right now. She still hadn't decided what to tell them yet. She wasn't even sure what she thought about it all herself yet. If she was being haunted by Angel's ghost, then why? Worse yet, if he was not a ghost, how did he get his soul, and how did he get out of hell? Then there was the question of why Spike was following her. Was he seeking retribution for her killing of Drusilla? Was he playing with his food before he ate it? Or was there another reason?
Willow was startled out of her thoughts by the bell, and ran to her next class.
flesh into gear
myself appears dissected and pretentious
a simple sound a heavy side
----------
During her classes, Willow had been unable to concentrate. She had tried to put all of her thoughts in order and figure out what to do about.well, everything. Now she was sitting in the library, attempting to listen to Giles as he laid out their plans for patrol later that evening. She noticed that Giles seemed distracted and she briefly wondered if Angel had paid him a visit like the one he had her. Somehow, she didn't think so; Willow figured, instead, that he had another lead on Buffy. She wondered where he would take off this time. She also felt bad for him. Each one of his supposed tips had led nowhere and it was taking its toll on Giles.
Giles had finished organizing the patrol groups and their cemetery assignments, and then told them to meet back at the library when they were done. Finally, Willow would be able to speak to Giles and find out what she should do about Spike.
"Alright," Xander said grabbing a stake and going to stand next to Cordelia. "Let's go do that slaying thing with the stakes and the creepy graveyards."
Willow walked up to Oz and gave him a hug then said, "Go on ahead. I have to talk to Giles. I'll catch up to you in a minute."
"Are you ok?" Oz asked concerned. "You've been distant lately." Gently he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, kissing her forehead.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Willow said smiling. "I'm just worried about Giles. I think he has another tip on Buffy and I want to talk to him about it."
Oz nodded and kissed her, then went to follow Xander and Cordelia. After Oz left, Willow sighed. She didn't like lying to Oz, but she wasn't really lying, just leaving out a detail or two. She was truly worried about Giles. She would tell her friends about Spike after she got Giles' opinion.
Sitting at the table in the middle of the library, Giles looked up from the piece of paper as Willow walked up to him.
"Willow," Giles said surprised. "Aren't you going to patrol with the others?"
"Yes," Willow said. She fidgeted with the back of the chair, deciding to stand instead to say this. "It's just, well, did you get another lead?" Willow was stalling and she knew it. She just didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to explain to Giles the nightmares or the fact that Spike was stalking her.
"What? Oh, yes. I'm checking up on it," Giles said folding the paper as he caught Willow glancing at it.
Awkward silence descended on them. Both Willow and Giles knew he was becoming obsessed but neither of them wanted to voice it aloud. Somehow it felt as if saying that would make the fact that Buffy was gone, all that more obvious. Like if they said it out loud, it would somehow jinx all of Giles' efforts and Buffy would never come back.
Willow opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Something had caught her eye behind Giles. A figure stood just inside the shadows by the stacks. A lump formed in her throat. 'It couldn't be,' she thought. Willow closed her eyes and counted to five hoping the outline of Angel would be gone when she opened them. However, he wasn't. Angel had moved so that he was clearly visible in the light. He wore the same blue shirt with the same bloodstain on the front. Looking into his eyes, Willow saw again the sorrow and pain. Her vision blurred as tears threatened to fall. She watched as Angel mouthed the word 'Why?' Willow shook her head no, backing up slowly.
"Willow?" Giles asked, breaking through her fright. "What's wrong?"
"I - I," Willow stuttered, pointing behind Giles. However, Angel was gone when Giles turned around to look. Willow hadn't seen Angel leave. He was simply there one minute and gone the next, just like last time. Giles was looking at her with concern. "I thought I saw something," she said, covering up for her stutter and state of shock.
"Dear girl, you've been through too much," Giles said walking up to her and guiding her out of the library. "Why don't I take you home? You shouldn't go on patrol tonight."
Willow nodded absently. She was too busy thinking about Angel to pay Giles much attention. There was so much about him and his visits that she didn't understand. First and foremost was, why her? She hadn't been the one to kill Angel and send him to hell, so why visit her all bloodied? Was Angel trying, somehow, to reach out to her for help?
Willow barely registered being placed into Giles' old Citreon and him driving her home. All she could think about was Angel. He'd mouthed the word 'Why'. But, why what? Earlier he had asked her what she had done to him. Willow didn't know. Thinking, she couldn't place anything that she could have done to affect him in any way. True, she had tried to re-ensoul him, but she hadn't been able to finish the spell. Drusilla had seen to that. Then, Willow remembered what Giles had asked her a week ago about how far she'd gone in the spell. 'Could that be it?' Willow wondered. 'Did I mess something up by only doing half the spell? Is Angel stuck in some sort of limbo?' Willow thought that was the most likely reason for Angel to haunt her. If it was because he died and went to hell, then naturally he would be haunting Buffy, wherever she was.
"Well, here we are," Giles said, bringing Willow out of her thoughts.
"Oh," Willow said looking up at her house. She took a quick look around, paying special attention to the tree Spike had stood under the other night. Seeing that Spike was nowhere in sight she thanked Giles for the ride and opened the door to get out.
Giles placed a hand on Willow's arm and said, "Get some sleep."
Nodding, Willow stepped out of the car and shut the door behind her. She waved to Giles as he pulled away and began walking up to her door.
"Miss me, Pet?" a low, husky voice said from behind her.
could win the whole world over
you live in fear of being someone that you
didn't want to
i realize your insecurity will get the best
of you
Willow spun around quickly and reached for the cross in her bag, but her bag wasn't there. She'd forgotten it at the library. Willow had been too preoccupied with the ghost of Angel to remember and now she was alone without protection and facing a deadly vampire, again.
"Spike," Willow said softly. She didn't know what to do. Looking back, she tried to calculate if she could make it to her door.
"You can try," Spike said, noticing her look at the front door. "I'd like the chase."
"What do you want, Spike?" Willow asked.
Spike took a step towards Willow and she took a step backwards. Smiling he took the time to look her up and down, from her sneakers to the yellow tights she wore. His eyes lingered on the hem of her skirt that stopped just above the knees, then moved up to her yellow sweater. Finally, he looked at Drusilla's mark on her neck. Spike stepped quickly up to willow before she could back away and reached to touch the angry red flesh. The dolls and the clothes Drusilla had left behind meant nothing compared to the mark he looked at now. Spike extended his fingers just a hair's breadth away from Willow's flesh, not touching her, but desperately wanting to.
Willow was rooted to the spot, unmoving and speechless. Spike was practically caressing her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She thought the look on his face was one of loving or longing.possibly hunger. Willow just wasn't sure. The bite mark tingled, almost as if it wanted Spike to touch her. Breaking out of her stupor, Willow stepped back.
They looked at each other for a long moment. Willow was sure this would be the night she died, but she was determined not to make it easy for him. Willow took another tentative stop backwards.
Spike didn't move to stop Willow's slow progression to the safety of her house. Instead he watched her, studied her. Something had clicked for him in that moment when they'd looked at each other. He wanted her. He smiled as she took two more steps backwards.
Breaking the silence, Spike said, "Why don't we go inside." He walked up to her and laughed softly at her look of utter disbelief.
Willow backed up another step and said, "I'm not inviting you into my house, Spike." Willow wished once more that Buffy was here, or Xander and Oz or even Giles, but none of the cemeteries they had planned to patrol was anywhere near her house. Silently, Willow cursed her luck. She dug in her pockets for her keys and took out the house key. Walking backwards she slowly made her way to her door with Spike following just a step away.
Just as she turned the key, Spike grabbed a hold of her. "Not going in without me, are you?" he asked. Spike took the opportunity and inhaled deeply. He could smell Willow, her fear, and just below those was Drusilla's scent. Spike licked his lips and inhaled again.
"Let go of me, Spike," Willow said through clenched teeth. She tried to pull out of his hands, but he gripped her harder, hurting her.
"Why must you make this difficult, Pet?" Spike asked pulling her flush with him so that she had to look up into his face. Her warm body pressed against him was a distraction. He wanted to moan and buck into her, but he controlled himself and pushed her back so that she was no longer touching him.
Spike could see that she wasn't going to let him in. Nevertheless, he didn't way to stay outside where the watcher or one of her other friends could come by and ruin this time he had with her.
"Look, you can always bloody uninvite me in the morning," Spike said shrugging. "'Sides, I'm not going to kill you if that's what you're worried about."
Willow face formed a scowl, "And I should believe you, why?" she asked.
"Got plans for you yet, Luv," Spike said, smiling, and opened the door to her house.
~Part: 5~
Willow looked back and forth between Spike and the open door behind her that led to her safety. She didn’t think she’d be able to get out of his grasp and it was highly unlikely any of her friends would be by her house until the morning. She had an image in her mind of Oz and Xander finding her cold, dead body on her front porch. The image sent chills down her spine that were colder then Spike’s hands on her arms. She didn’t like her options.
“You promise not to kill me?” Willow asked. She waited patiently for some opening so that she could get away.
Spike grinned widely and said, “Scouts honor,” then held up two fingers.
Willow noticed his grip loosen on her arm, figuring that she was giving in and going to let him in. She held her breath, and then dove for the threshold. Willow barely had time to put her hands out to catch her fall and pull her legs in towards her. Her head hit the floor and the only indication she had that she’d made it was the loud roar that ripped from Spike’s throat.
Putting her hand to her head, Willow sat up. She saw Spike leaning on the door jam and his face was twisted in a grimace. Finally, Willow let out the breath that she had been holding. She’d made it safely inside her house.
“You’ll pay for that one Pet,” Spike said, tsking.
They stared at each other through the invisible barrier. It was all that stood between Willow’s safety and everything that Spike had in store for her. Her head pounded painfully, and her palms and knees hurt as well, but she was safe.
Standing up, Willow went to close the door. Spike’s eyes bored into hers. This wasn’t how he had wanted tonight to go. He was learning more about her at every meeting though. He studied her as she went to close the door. Dark circles ringed her eyes, showing fatigue and weariness.
“Not sleeping well?” Spike asked, smiling.
The door slamming in his face was her only response. He’d expected it, but he wondered how much longer it would be before she broke, before she lay down and gave up. Smiling still, Spike walked back to his spot under the tree and lit up a cigarette. He watched as lights came on upstairs, and then went off. He waved as Willow peeked out her bedroom window. Spike wanted Willow to know that he was there and that he wasn’t giving up. He wanted her to keep him in her thoughts, to watch for him in every shadow.
I can't expect you to see
me when i'm not around
and my voice is destroyed
by confinement of sound
----------
Willow collapsed on her bed, exhausted. Every nerve in her body was tingling and the adrenaline from earlier was dissipating, leaving her tired and lethargic. The past two days had been stressful. She didn’t even know when her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.
----------
Spike listened as Willow slept. She had gotten away from him. He wondered idly how long Angelus would continue with this cat and mouse game before they finally made her theirs. Granted it was fun, but the fun only lasted as long as the fear did. If this kept up much longer Willow would not fear him as much, assuming as she would, that he wouldn’t hurt her. But he would, eventually. Spike wanted to hear her cries of pain, taste her blood, and hear her beg for him to stop…or for more.
Convinced Willow was tucked safely away in her bed; Spike went back to the mansion. He was still on edge from touching Willow and having her that close to him, yet doing nothing.
Bursting through the front door to the mansion, Spike went in search of Angelus. He’d never told Spike exactly what plans he had for Willow, and Spike was getting impatient. He was forming plans of his own for the little redhead.
Finally, Spike found Angelus in his room pacing. He’d been waiting for Spike to come back so he could find out what Willow’s state of mind was. Angelus was trying to carefully break Willow. While Angelus had been careless with Drusilla, he’d learned his lesson and would mold Willow differently, better. Angelus heard Spike coming and stopped his pacing when he came through the door.
“How is our Willow this evening?” Angelus asked.
“What are you planning for her?” Spike asked, ignoring Angelus’ question.
“Answer my question,” Angelus said, walking up to stand in front of Spike. Angelus didn’t understand what Spike’s problem was tonight but he would not let it get in the way of his getting Willow.
“No, I want to know what you bloody well have planned for her. You’ve kept me in the dark long enough, now tell me,” Spike said. He wasn’t going to put up with Angelus’ posturing anymore. He stood his ground and looked defiantly into Angelus’ eyes.
“Don’t defy me boy,” Angelus warned, his voice low and quiet.
“I’m not your ‘boy’ anymore, wanker,” Spike said shoving Angelus back a step. “Or did you forget those hundred years you spent with that poncy soul, all moping, and grieving?”
“Don’t you dare bring that up,” Angelus said, slipping into his true face and grabbing Spike by the lapels of his coat.
“Still a little sore ‘bout that, are we?” Spike asked, smiling. He knew he was goading Angelus and that was just fine. He wanted a fight, needed a fight.
“Keep it up Spike, and we’ll see who’s sore about what,” Angelus said, speaking low, his lips close to Spike’s face. He shoved Spike down into the chair and watched the fury build in Spike’s eyes. If it was a fight Spike was looking for, then Angelus was more the happy to oblige.
i'm
a human machine
laced
with hidden disease
if
the future is bleak
then
you're connected to me
Spike stood up slowly, showing his defiance, and said once again, “What do you have planned for the little witch?” He didn’t mind playing a few mind games on the chit, but he wanted to know how far Angelus planned to go with this. He was known for going to excess with everything from killing, to fucking, to torture. Drusilla was the result of his going above and beyond what was needed to simply break her, and Spike didn’t want the witch to end up the same way. Granted, he had loved Drusilla, but it was also a sad sight to see a vampire who had been reduced to such a childlike state. Angelus had done wrong by Drusilla, and Spike didn’t want to see it happen again.
“Developing a soft spot for her?” Angelus asked, teasing the younger vampire. He was sure Spike was falling for her. The young Willow was just his type, or so he thought.
“No, I’m not. Like your one to talk about developing a soft spot.”
Angelus pulled back and punched Spike in the jaw, causing him to stumble slightly. He was sick and tired of Spike’s smart mouth and sharp tongue. He was going to put Spike in his place. He threw another punch, this time sending Spike to the floor.
Standing up, Spike wiped the blood from his lip and licked it off. Then, he laughed, much to Angelus’ dismay. Smiling, Spike threw a right hook of his own, catching Angelus off guard. He stumbled into a chair, falling down into it.
“Just bloody tell me what we are going to do to the chit. I want to know. Last thing we need is another Drusilla,” Spike said.
Angelus sat there for a few moments, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He wasn’t entirely sure if Spike was telling the truth or not. Angelus had tried before, in the years before he had his soul, to teach Spike the proper way to break a human and get them to bend to your will, but the young and arrogant William hadn’t the patience for that type of thing. Spike, it seemed, had not changed.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Angelus asked incredulously. Spike scoffed and Angelus shot him a look of death before continuing. “She will not end up like our Drusilla was. I’ve learned my lesson on that score. Besides, Willow is much stronger then Drusilla was even before I broke her. All I want is for Willow to be ours. It doesn’t have to being willingly. But we can mold her far better then I did Drusilla”
Spike smiled at this along with Angelus. For most of the night, the two vampires planned and plotted what they would do to their Willow. They wanted her to know that she was theirs, and they wouldn’t stop until she surrendered herself to them.
Spike was amazed and excited about their plans for the witch and he listened intently to what Angelus had to say.
Pleased that Spike was back in the game, Angelus laid out exactly what they would do and how they would do it. Their plans were finalized a few hours before dawn and they decided to carry out the next part of their scheme the following evening.
~Part: 6~
Waking up slowly, Willow was amazed to find herself lying atop her bedcovers in the clothes she had worn yesterday. The events of last night, coupled with everything else, had worn her down to the point where she had crashed…and hard. Thankfully, no nightmares were visited on her while she slept and because of that, she felt better that morning then she had in a while.
Willow made her way out of bed and went to the bathroom to get ready for school. Removing her shirt, Willow saw the angry discolored bruises that had formed on her upper arms from where Spike had grabbed her last night. Willow decided then and there to stop keeping secrets and just tell everyone about spike stalking her. She could no longer safely walk home alone after dark, and she knew her friends would help her. Willow was still unsure, however, if she should tell them about Angel’s ghost. It wasn’t as if they could, or would, do anything to help him. The taunting and death Angelus had bestowed upon them were etched in their minds and Willow doubted they would forgive him, let alone help his wandering spirit. In addition, honestly, she couldn’t blame them. Therefore, Angel’s ghost would remain a secret…for now, but she had to do something about Spike – and soon. The bruises on her arms reminded her once again of just how close she had come to death.
Finally, Willow was ready for school and headed out. Along the way, she met up with Xander and they walked together. This was what she needed, this normalcy after such a long period of stress and unease.
“You feeling alright, Wills?” Xander asked. He was worried about his best friend. Willow smiled at him and was glad he showed concern. “Giles said he took you home last night because you weren’t feeling well.”
“I’m fine, Xander,” Willow said, reassuring him. “I finally got a decent night’s sleep and now I’m back to my normal Willow-y self.”
“Good,” Xander said, smiling.
They continued their walk to school, chatting idly about classes and up coming tests. Xander asked for help, as always, on his homework and Willow agreed. She felt better now that she’d decided to tell them, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
flesh into gear
myself appears dissected and pretentious
a simple sound a heavy side
----------
Everyone was gathered in the library, chatting and waiting for patrol assignments. Willow had decided to tell everyone about Spike after they had been handed out. Sitting at the computer going through the different demon websites, Willow was preoccupied. While, during the school day, she had planned to inform everyone of Spike’s new interest…her; she now felt uneasy about it. Willow thought the worst now. That they would condemn her for not saying something sooner or that they would say that it was her fault somehow. She wouldn’t be able to handle it if that were to happen. Her nerves were getting the better of her and the more she thought about it, the more she didn’t want to tell them about her nightly visitor.
Finally, Giles handed out their night patrol areas and asked Willow to stay behind and help with research since he, and everyone else, felt she could use one more night off.
Willow was torn. She was glad not to be going out where Spike could follow her, but the library was where Angel’s ghost had appeared twice already. She couldn’t decide, but thought seeing a ghost would be preferable to her life being threatened by a very real and very dangerous vampire.
“You be careful,” Willow said, as she walked up to Oz and gave him a hug. He nodded, smiling, and kissed her sweetly on the lips before walking out with Xander and Cordelia.
“Willow,” Giles said, walking up to her, “have you found anything on that demon you saw a few days ago?”
“What? Oh, uh, not much,” Willow said. She felt a little guilty for having forgotten all about the demon. That had been the night she’d first seen Angel’s ghost and so many things had happened since then that it had just slipped her mind. Sitting down at the computer, she ran a search, retrieving the same useless results as last time. A picture of a yellowish-green demon came on the screen, and Willow read off what little information the site contained.
“It’s a L’tuck demon, not usually found in the Western Hemisphere,” Willow said, reading from the screen. “Apparently they specialize in illusions, and that makes them hard to kill.”
“Well, I’m actually more interested in why it was here in the first place,” Giles said, looking over Willow’s shoulder. “Does it say anything about what type of illusions?”
Reading further, Willow said, “No, it doesn’t.”
“Well, cross reference this L’tuck demon with any recent anomalies in the past few weeks, and let me know what you come up with,” Giles said, standing up and cleaning his glasses. “I’ll be in my office if you come across anything of importance.”
“Giles,” Willow said, turning in her chair to look at him. “She’ll come back.”
Giles just nodded. They looked at each other for a long moment before he walked off.
Willow wished she had something better to say to Giles about Buffy, but there really was nothing to say. They all knew that Buffy would come back when she had worked through all of her issues…at least they hoped so. Until then, however, Giles, Willow, Xander, Oz, and Cordelia would risk their lives to keep Sunnydale safe…for the most part. The longer Buffy was gone, the more her absence was felt by the entire group.
The search for the L’tuck demon was not going well. There had been no significant events in the last few weeks, that Willow could think of, nothing at least that suggested the need for a L’tuck demon’s presence. ‘Well,’ she had to admit to herself, ‘Buffy’s disappearance is a significant event.’ Entering the parameters, the search was turning up nothing and Willow was becoming dismayed. She wanted some other reason for Buffy to have left. That would make it easier on them then thinking she left of her own free will, left them knowing what she was leaving them to deal with.
Hours ticked by slowly as Willow grew weary. She may have slept well the night before, but now sleep was calling her once more. Willow looked longingly at the clock noticing that is was close to midnight. Oz, Xander, and Cordelia would be back soon from their patrol, then she could go home.
Willow mentally kicked herself. She had forgotten that Oz was going to leave for home directly after the patrol and upon looking in on Giles, she found he was fast asleep with an open bottle of Scotch sitting on his desk. Willow debated waking him up, but decided against it. Giles was too intoxicated to drive home, and besides, he looked almost peaceful lying with his head atop his books. Silently she backed out of the room, closing the door behind her, and went to get ready to leave. She figured she could ask Xander to walk her home. It wasn’t an unusual request and she would feel better. While packing her bag, Willow added a stake and grabbed a vial of holy water from the weapons closet, putting it in her pocket. Willow didn’t want to be caught unprepared again.
“Did you see that?” Xander’s voice echoed excitedly through the hall, making its way to Willow. She smiled thinking she would get to hear all about it…whatever it was. Her friends’ chatter continued when they walked into the library.
“It was great,” Xander said smiling, and then turned to Willow. “You missed it. I dusted two vamps!”
“Yes, we know already,” Cordelia said with a huff.
“You’re just jealous I got to yours before you could,” Xander said to her, teasing.
“Yes, because having dust flung all over me from a dead vamp was exactly what I wanted to do tonight,” Cordelia said, rolling her eyes.
“Hey, Xander,” Willow said. “Would you mind walking me home?”
“Well,” Xander said, looking between Willow and Cordelia, “Cordy was going to give me a ride…,”
“Fine,” Cordelia said. “Let’s go. I’m not staying around here any longer then I have to. There is just something wrong about hanging out at the school after the day is over.”
Smiling, Willow followed them out of the library. Getting a ride was much better then walking. Hopefully Spike wouldn’t have a chance tonight to get to her. Willow watched as Cordelia’s hand slipped into Xander’s. Willow missed Oz at that moment. She hadn’t spent much time with him lately and she was regretting it. She decided to see what he was doing this weekend. Maybe they could plan something away from the school, the library, and cemeteries.
“Crap,” Cordelia said. “Be right back, I forgot my purse.” She walked back to the library, leaving Willow and Xander in the hallway.
“So,” Willow said, “tell me all about the two vamps you dusted. I can’t believe you got two.”
Xander smiled and proudly told Willow about his ferocious battle for his life, using extravagant sounds and making sure Willow knew every move he made. He was enthusiastic and it infected Willow as well, so that by the end of the story, Willow felt as if she had been there. The tale had taken some time to tell, what with Xander going into every detail about every heartbeat.
“She’s taking a long time,” Willow said nervously. She remembered vividly the haunting by Angel and worried that Cordelia had encountered him. “Maybe we should go check on her.”
“Yeah,” Xander said distractedly, already making his way to the library.
‘Please don’t let anything have happened to her,’ Willow thought. ‘Angel is supposed to be haunting me, not Cordelia. Maybe she’s just putting on makeup or something. I hope.’
Willow followed Xander who had already made his way into the library. It was empty, though Cordelia’s purse lay on the floor open with the contents spilled out. That sight alone chilled Willow to the bone. Quickly she went to Giles’ office to check on him. He lay slumped over his desk, just as she’d left him.
“Xander?” Willow called, looking around. She found him just inside the shadows of the stacks, hunched over something.
“Xander, what is it?” Willow asked, coming up behind him.
Slowly, Xander stood up and faced her. His skin had turned a sickly white and he held a yellowed piece of paper in his shaking hands. Willow looked around Xander to see what he had been kneeling over.
At first, nothing registered. It looked like a life-sized doll. The eyes were huge and black, and she thought they looked like glass. Brown ringlets of hair framed the porcelain-like face, the rest of the hair having been gathered up so that it formed an intricate waterfall of curls down the back of the neck. The dress looked vintage, almost Victorian, with crushed black velvet and highlights of blood red satin. The doll had been set down so that the legs stretched out in front of it and the feet, which were adorned in the older style slipper and matched the dress, were pointing at opposite angles. The hands laid neatly folded in her lap, as if it were sitting there patiently waiting for something…or someone. The doll looked familiar, but not. It almost looked like a life size version of Drusilla, but it couldn’t have been her, Willow had dusted her over a week ago.
Finally, Willow took in the whole of the picture. It was Cordelia. It was her cold, dead eyes staring into nothingness, not the glass eyes of a doll.
could win the whole world over
you live in fear of being someone that you
didn't want to
i realize your insecurity will get the best
of you
Bile rose in Willow’s throat, choking her. She had to turn quickly and retch next to a bookcase. Tears formed quickly, and spilled over in a rush, overwhelming her. This was so much worse then any other dead body she had ever seen. She knew this dead body; it had been a friend of her’s, her best friend’s girlfriend. Willow gagged again, but she held back. She couldn’t believe it was Cordelia sitting there, dressed up like some Victorian doll…or Drusilla.
Xander stared maliciously at Willow, clutching the paper in his hands. Tears brimmed his eyes, his mouth set in a thin firm line.
“Xander?” Willow asked quietly and indicated the paper he was holding.
“It’s for you,” Xander said scathingly, shoving the old yellowed paper into her hands. She’d seen this type of paper before…with a sketch of Buffy’s sleeping face on it.
The note was addressed to her in heavy black ink. The words were extravagantly written, full of loops and elongated letters. The word elegant came to Willow’s mind before she read it.
Willow had to re-read the note three times to comprehend what it said. Everything clicked at once. Cordelia had purposely been dressed up to look like Drusilla…and like one of her dolls.
“No, it can’t be,” Willow whispered.
“You knew about this? About him?” Xander asked hotly. He felt betrayed somehow and he wanted answers. His girlfriend lay dead on the floor behind him and his best friend knew about Angelus.
“I – I,” Willow said, floundering. “I didn’t know. I thought. I…Angel’s ghost. I thought I was seeing Angel’s ghost. I had no idea…”
“Ghost? What ghost?” Xander asked, his voice tight with emotion.
“I saw Angel’s ghost, or what I thought to be his ghost twice…here in the library. I didn’t think he was real, I mean the blood was real. And I thought that since Spike was around, and following me that if Angelus was here, he’d say something…I guess,” Willow said softly. She knew how this looked to Xander and she deeply regretted not telling him sooner.
“Spike’s been following you? How could you not tell us? Not tell me?” Xander asked his voice rising with his temper.
“I wanted to! Really, I was going to tonight, but…I was afraid, afraid of how you would take it…,” Willow said trailing off.
“Not only should we have know for our own safety, but for yours as well!” He took a deep breath and said in softer tones, “I can’t do this, just…just leave me alone Willow.”
“But-,” Willow tried to protest, but he cut her off.
“No, just go…out of my sight.” Xander’s voice had dropped to barely a whisper, breaking Willow’s heart.
Turning, Willow ran. She ran past a confused and barely awake Giles. She ran out of the library, through the front doors and into the night. Willow ran from it all, from the dead body of Cordelia made up to look like Drusilla, from the hauntingly real ghost of Angel that she now knew to be Angelus, from Spike’s piercing eyes and echoing footsteps, and most of all, from herself. Nowhere seemed far enough. This had been her fault. She may not have killed Cordelia with her bare hands, but she had killed her all the same with her silence. If she had said something, even if it was just about Spike, they would have been more cautious. Cordelia wouldn’t have gone back alone to get her purse and she would still be alive right now.
Finally, Willow came to rest on a park bench, somewhere, she didn’t know where. At that point, she didn’t care.
----------
“Should we go up and say hi?” Spike asked, watching Willow weep from the cover of darkness just a few paces away. Angelus’ plan had worked better then expected. Spike wanted to take her now, while she was alone and in pain.
“Patience,” Angelus said, never taking his eyes off Willow.
The two vampires watched as Willow made her way home slowly. They followed her, making sure to protect what was theirs.
~Part: 7~
It had all gone wrong, so horribly wrong. None of it was supposed to have happened. Angelus wasn’t supposed to be alive, let alone here in Sunnydale. He was supposed to be in some Hell dimension, roasting nicely in the fires of damnation. Instead, he killed Cordelia, dressed her up like a doll, and left her there for Willow to find. Only Willow hadn’t been the one to find her, Xander had.
Willow wiped her eyes again with her already soaked shirtsleeve. She understood Xander’s reaction, but that didn’t make the pain in her chest go away. Willow chided herself once more for not telling him, or the others, sooner. If she had, Cordelia’s life wouldn’t have been cut short like that, never like that.
After a while, Willow pulled herself together and began her walk home. When she’d run, she hadn’t thought of her safety, but now, when she was alone on the dimly lit streets, she regretted it. Willow stayed alert, listening for footsteps, or anything that would tell her that her nightly stalker was near. She kept one hand in her pocket, grasping the vial of holy water, just in case.
There was one thing Willow didn’t know…were the two vampires, Angelus and Spike, working together? Alternatively, was each of them working with a separate agenda? Moreover, if all of this was because of what she had done to Drusilla, then why hadn’t they killed her yet? Angelus, she knew, loved his mind games. That might explain why she wasn’t dead yet, at least by his hands. However, Spike, well, from what she’d read, he just killed his victims, no toying with them first or anything like that. And Willow had the odd feeling that they were, indeed, in on this together. That, however, was in no way reassuring.
As Willow neared her house, she once again heard the eerie echo of footsteps behind her. This time, she didn’t turn around or look over her shoulder. Instead, she reached in her other pocket and removed the stake, holding it ready in her hand. Willow picked up her pace, almost running, and dug in the pocket that contained the holy water for her key. She had to get inside.
Coming up to the door, Willow shoved her key in, turned the lock, and rushed inside. Once over the protected threshold, she turned around to look outside. Much to her surprise, she saw Angelus and Spike casually walking up the street to her house, in plain sight. Her first instinct was to shut the door and hide in a closet until the nightmare was over, but she knew she wasn’t dreaming, so she squared her shoulders and prepared to talk to Spike and Angelus, if for no other reason, then to find out their motives.
They took their time getting up to her front porch, talking quietly to each other, but never taking their eyes off Willow. Their casual demeanor and the lazy smiles they wore were unsettling to Willow because no matter how relaxed they appeared, the cold piecing gaze they kept on her told her their intentions were anything but casual. Angelus walked up as close to the barrier as he could get, causing Willow to inhale quickly and take a step back. Spike leaned against the doorjamb, smoking and wearing a lascivious grin.
“Hello Willow,” Angelus said.
Looking at Angelus, Willow could see none of the emotion she had seen when he’d acted the part of Angel’s ghost. The fact that he could fool her so completely scared her more then she wanted him to know. Angelus was dressed to kill, literally. He wore skintight black leather pants and a silk shirt open down to the middle of his chest. The fabric moved in the wind, showing off the pale muscular form underneath.
“What do you want?” Willow asked. Her voice was even and firm and nothing like her insides, which were turning to jell-o. She had to lock her knees so they wouldn’t shake. Her hands were at her sides, each hand fisted to keep her from fidgeting. Willow's back was ramrod straight.
“You know what we want, Pet,” Spike said flicking his cigarette off the porch, not once looking away from her.
“Me? You want me because I killed Drusilla?” she asked. Their laughter caught her off guard, causing her to jump in alarm. She didn’t know what to make of them laughing at her. She’d thought they wanted to kill her, and the tauntings had just been part of the revenge. Now, she was not sure. She was confused and just wanted a straight answer for once.
The two vampires, still chuckling, turned back to look at her. Angelus placed his hands carefully on the invisible barrier and looked at Willow, seemingly into her.
“Sure you won’t let us in?” Angelus asked, grinning. Willow just shook her head no, unable to speak. “You are ours, Willow. Remember that.”
Willow looked away first. She couldn’t stand to look at those cold, calculating eyes. When she looked back up, they were gone. Willow stood in her open doorway, stunned and silent, before she closed the door and trudged up to her bedroom. She flung herself on her bed and cried. She cried for Cordelia, for herself, for Buffy, for everyone.
a traitor's embrace
how foolish how wrong
contained in one place
anxiety spawns
----------
The sun shone brightly through Willow’s window, blinding her as she stared blankly at her ceiling. She had not slept at all that night. She just couldn’t. They’d killed Cordelia, all because of her. That is what Angelus and Spike had wanted her to know by leaving that note and dressing her up like a large Drusilla-like doll. Willow couldn’t get that picture out of her head. She’d never seen anything more disturbing. She thought it wrong, on so many levels. She had spent hours of the night in the shower, still clothed, under scalding hot water. Willow had felt so cold after Spike and Angelus had left.
Lethargy held Willow firmly to her bed. The phone rang, and then stopped. The doorbell sang its inappropriately merry tune, and then stopped. The insistent pounding on the door didn’t last long, either. There was just too much for her to mourn for. But right now, she had to think of what to do next, and try not to think of what might happen to her and the others.
But despite her best efforts, the previous night’s events would not leave her thoughts. Her mind formed apology after apology to Cordelia and to Xander and Giles. Willow wished she could turn back time; tell them sooner about Spike and Angelus. Let them know somehow so they could prevent Cordelia’s death. Just…turn it all back.
----------
“She didn’t answer the door, or her phone,” Oz said, walking into the library.
Xander was pacing, glancing at the place Cordelia’s body had lain, dead and cold, before the coroner had taken it away. He still couldn’t believe that Willow hadn’t told them, or him. He felt she betrayed him as a friend, and his girlfriend had paid the price; the very steep, very high, very deadly price.
“Do you think she is in the house?” Giles asked. He was concerned for Willow. He had passed out last night while Willow was searching the L’tuck demon. The only thing that had roused him was Xander’s yelling. He was ashamed that he’d been in the room while those bastards had killed Cordelia, not three feet away, and he hadn’t heard a thing.
“Who cares?” Xander asked venomously. He didn’t care, not right now. It was Willow’s fault, after all, and if she wanted to hide out in shame that was fine with him. She knew they were here in town, and following her no less, but she had not told them, thus putting them all in danger. What pissed him off more was that Giles and Oz were worried about her!
“I do,” Oz said. He understood where Xander was coming from, but at the same time, he thought Xander would pull it together by now and look at the bigger picture. The picture being that there were two highly dangerous vampires after Willow and they were obviously willing to kill anyone she cared for…including them. Oz thought he would have seen that by now.
“As do I,” Giles said, stepping into Xander’s path. They stared at each other, neither one standing down. Giles admired the young man, but he needed to pull him out of his rut if they were to help Willow.
Giles had seen the tear-streaked face of Willow as she had run out of the library last night. Even not having known what was going on at the time; Giles’ heart had sunk from the look on her face alone.
Xander’s shoulders slumped, and all he could say was, “She should have told us.”
“Yes, but that is done and we must move on. Xander, we must help Willow before she is next,” Giles said, placing a firm hand on his shoulder for support.
“I, I can’t talk to her right now,” Xander said, stepping away from Giles. “I don’t think I can forgive her for this. You two go on and do whatever it is you want to do for her, I just can’t be a part of it.”
Giles nodded solemnly, then turned to Oz, and they left to make sure Willow was all right. They stayed silent on the drive there, neither one wanting to talk and each lost in their thoughts.
Oz was worried for his girlfriend. Not only for her physical safety, but her mental stability as well. From what he had gathered from Xander, Oz was dismayed to find out that Willow was being followed not only by Angelus, who had appeared to her disguised as Angel’s ghost, but the deadly Spike as well. It hurt him to think that she didn’t trust him with that information, but he wanted to hear her side before he decided if she had betrayed his trust or not. There were just too many factors involved in this situation for Oz to judge anything just yet.
As they drove to Willow’s house, Giles fretted. His children were hurting, in need of his help, and he felt helpless. He hated feeling like that. He hated that he was not able to find his Slayer. He hated that Willow was being tormented in front of his eyes and he had been too self-involved to notice, and he hated that because of his selfishness and inattention to anything around him, Cordelia had been killed. Her death was another thing that chilled Giles to the bone. Xander had told him that he and Willow had only waited out in the hall for fifteen minutes before they’d gone in after Cordelia. In that short space of time, the vampires had made her up to look like a doll. That suggested to Giles that they had planned this out. He found no physical marks on her, save for the broken neck, but they had fixed her up so that she looked perfect, too perfect.
Finally, they pulled into Willow’s driveway. Oz and Giles looked at each other, both obviously not knowing what to do. Willow might not answer the door, or she might not want to see them. All they wanted to do was make sure she was all right.
unopened reowned
what's needed upscaled
digested inhaled
unwilling unwound
----------
Willow vaguely heard the knocking on her door. She wanted it to go away, leave her alone. The silence was peaceful, and if she concentrated on it, the images wouldn’t come. They wouldn’t haunt her if only she could concentrate. The banging wouldn’t stop though, she could feel it pounding through the house into her, pounding through her. Willow had the feeling that she should answer the door, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t think. She wasn’t sure she’d know how to open the door.
Hearing glass break didn’t make her move, nor did hearing the front door open. Someone had rudely broken into her house. She knew she should get up, go investigate, but moving…well, it hurt. Not in her muscles, but somewhere deeper where the ache was constant. She could only imagine how Xander felt.
“Willow,” a voice asked. The voice slowly registered to Willow.
“Oz?” Willow asked. She turned her head to face the direction his voice had come from. She saw Oz and Giles standing solemnly in the doorway to her room. Willow tried to offer them a smile…something, but there was nothing. She was drained.
“Let us get her downstairs. Have her eat and drink some water,” Giles said to Oz.
Willow watched as the two of them came up to beside her and helped her sit up.
“Do you think you can stand?” Giles asked. Willow wasn’t sure, but nodded anyways.
Together, Giles and Oz helped her to her feet. Willow teetered for a moment before finding her balance. Every muscle in her body began a tingling protest to the movement. Soon, it started to hurt, not painfully at first, but quickly it felt like her whole body was a giant pincushion. Her muscles had fallen asleep while she had lain motionless on the bed. Willow stood very still until it passed.
“Sorry,” Willow said hoarsely. Her throat was sore and dry from all of the crying she’d done last night. “Can we get that water now?”
“Yes, of course,” Giles said, flustered. He stepped aside as Oz took Willow’s arm and led her carefully downstairs. Giles had been frightened when Willow didn’t answer her door. Oz had told him that Willow was ok when Giles had started to panic. Nevertheless, werewolf or not, Giles wanted to see for himself. He had to make sure. Therefore, he’d broken the window by the door, forcing his way in. Willow was alright though, for the most part. Drained, tired, but alright…and alive. Giles followed Willow and Oz to the kitchen and watched as Oz made Willow comfortable before he went to the refrigerator to make her something to eat.
“Hey, Giles man,” Oz said, breaking Giles away from this thoughts. “Make some tea, or something…for her throat.”
“What? Oh, yes. Sorry,” Giles said. Moving to the sink, he grabbed the teakettle that sat on the stove.
“There’s tea in the cupboard up to your left,” Willow said.
Thanking her, Giles turned and looked. He found nothing but those dreaded little tea bags, though he did find Chamomile and Earl Grey. Giles filled the teapot and put it on the stove to boil. Looking around the kitchen, Giles smiled. He was glad to have them here, alive and well.
----------
Watching from the open door of her house, Willow waved as Oz and Giles climbed back into Oz’s van and drove off. She was glad to be alone again. While their intentions had been good, Willow just wasn’t in the mood for company, or the topic of the conversation. Apparently, Xander had told them all about Angel’s supposed ghost and about Spike following her, not that she thought he wouldn’t tell them. Oz stayed quiet the entire time, only asking questions every now and then. Giles, however, had made it very clear that she could tell him anything, anytime and he wouldn’t judge her. When they’d left Giles had hugged her tightly, making her promise to call him the minute she needed help. Oz on the other hand had remained somewhat distant and had only given her a perfunctory hug, as if it was a chore expected of him. Willow was too lost in her thoughts to notice, though. She was too busy thinking about something Giles had said during their conversation.
Willow had asked Giles if there was anything she could do to change things, make them better. To which he answered, “Well, short of actually going back in time…no, Willow. I’m afraid not.”
She had asked him to explain and asked if that was even possible. Giles said that almost anything was possible with magick. He also told her that he had several volumes at the library that contained a few spells that could alter time and reality, along with spells to summon a few demons with such power. He cautioned her that such magicks were best avoided due to how dangerous they were, especially when they were used in the wrong way. It made their results unpredictable and uncertain. Willow could tell by the fact that Giles had opened up to her that he was happy to see her up and moving around, gladly telling her anything to keep talking to her, reassuring himself that she was alright.
Shutting the front door, Willow made her way to the bathroom, wanting to take a proper shower. When she got out, she wrote out a note to Xander, apologizing for not telling him and asking him to forgive her. She would deliver it on the way to the school, later today.
Willow had to fix this. She now knew what she had to do. She would find a spell to go back in time and tell everyone about Spike and Angelus, thus saving Cordelia from being killed. All she had to do was find the spell.
~Part: 8~
Calling the school library, Willow made sure Giles was not there. She had gone online earlier to search for time-travel spells, but only came up with names of books and a few key ingredients needed in most time spells. However, there was nothing she could actually use. Willow needed the entire spell, not just bits and pieces; she knew that much about magick at least. One of the books listed online, she remembered seeing in Giles' restricted collection. It was hidden in a locked cabinet in his office at the school.
After making sure Giles was not staying late at the library, Willow grabbed the note to Xander, her bag, and some money, then left her house, locking up behind her. Even though it was still light out, Willow listened for anyone who might be following her. She had read in another of Giles' off-limits books that vampires have been known to hire humans to carry out certain duties that could only be done during the day. Therefore, she stayed cautious and alert.
Willow hoped that she had allowed herself enough time to find the spell, get the ingredients, and get home before nightfall. Mentally, she went over everything she had read about time-altering spells. Some of them could make it seem as if you had never left once the spell was ended, while in others, time continued to pass even though you were in another time. She hoped the spell Giles had would be the former sort of spell. Willow didn't want to end the spell, come back somewhere other than her house, and be caught out after dark by Spike and Angelus.
Pulling the note for Xander out of her pocket, Willow walked to his basement door. She had to choke back a sob as she remembered Xander's harsh words. Looking around the yard, pleasant memories came back to her of camping outside during the hot summer nights, and days spent playing hide-n-seek. The nostalgia hung thick and palpable in the air. Clutching the note to her, Willow walked slowly to the door, and then slipped the envelope in-between the door and the jamb.
----------
flesh into gear
myself appears dissected and pretentious
a simple sound a heavy side
The hallways of the school were empty and quiet, the squeaking of her sneakers the only sound. Willow wasn't sure, but she thought it was Friday. She had planned to spend time with Oz, but that could wait until after the spell. This was something that she had to do, and it couldn't wait. Willow knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until this was done. Her conscience would hound her until it was completed.
This breaking and entering was not Willow's forte by a long shot. Every small noise made her jump in fright, afraid of being caught. It was different when the entire Scooby gang was there. Eventually, though, she made it to the library. It seemed empty and cold without the chatter of the rest of them, or even the soft snores of the tired researchers.
Making her way through the library, Willow opened the door to Giles' office, walked in, and closed the door behind her. The last time she had been in here without Giles' knowledge was when she and Buffy wanted to look up Angel's history as Angelus. She remembered reading the horrors and it made Willow's situation all the more real and frightening.
Putting those thoughts away for the moment, Willow pulled out the piece of paper she had listed the books on. She looked through Giles' restricted collection. Willow was amazed to find the lock on the cabinet was open. She was also pleased, picking locks not being one of her specialties. This would save her some valuable time. Also, she realized that she hadn't thought about how she would get into the cabinet if it were locked.
Grabbing a few of the books, she read the titles off to herself. Many of the books were old Watcher's diaries, some dating back to the early sixteen hundreds. Giles, she noticed, had some very rare books as well; a few first editions of well-known and widely read novels, as well as a few books written, in what looked to be demon languages. Finally, she came to the spell books. Willow found that Giles actually owned two of the books on her list. Carefully, Willow took them out of the cabinet, laid them on his desk, and settled down to read. She brought out a pad of paper and a pencil to make any notes she might need.
The first book Willow looked at was old, though to Giles' credit, it was in excellent condition. The book was titled Witchcraft for study and use. It looked to be written in an Old English style, which made it hard to read, but Willow would not be dissuaded. She pored over it carefully, and found the spell. It was indeed a spell to go back in time, but it said that when you went, it was only as an invisible observer, able to affect nothing. That, unfortunately, would do her no good. Willow needed to tell Xander, Oz, and Giles about Angelus and Spike. She needed them to know so they could prevent Cordelia's death. That was the whole point of doing the time- travel spell.
The second book, Ad Peregrinatoris, was much older then the other and written in Latin. Willow knew a bit of Latin, reading the title as 'Time Travels', but not enough to read the entire book without some help. She would have to finish it at home.
Flipping through the book carefully, Willow saw that Giles had made a few translations on loose-leaf paper, including a spell for time travel. He hadn't translated word-for-word so much as he had written a brief overview. She read his notes quickly. Giles hadn't gone into much detail, but it looked like this would be the spell she would use. It, thankfully, didn't contain an invisibility restriction like the last one.
Willow skimmed through, looking for the spell and its ingredients. She wanted to stop by the magick shop before she went home. After about fifteen minutes, she found what looked like the ingredients for the spell. The few she had listed from online were also listed in the spell along with a clear quartz crystal, hellebore, and some sage.
With the ingredients list tucked away in her pocket, Willow carefully put back the books she had removed and placed the book she needed into her bag. She looked over the room, making sure it was just as she found it. After she finished with the spell, she promised herself that she would bring the book back.
----------
The woman at the magic shop had been helpful, but Willow got the impression that the owner knew what she was up to. Unfortunately, some of the herbs needed for the spell were extinct and the owner had helped her select suitable replacements, all the while explaining the various uses and magickal properties of everything she bought.
As Willow sat down at her computer, night fell outside. She had, thankfully, made it home before dark. The translation was slow and tedious, only because of how seemingly complex the book made the spell seem. Frequently the author reminded the reader of just how dangerous a spell like this could be. While Willow had her doubts about doing the spell, she pressed on, remembering the porcelain-like appearance of Cordelia's face as it had stared blankly at nothing. That thought along reinforced her resolve to do doing this spell and pressed her to move forward with it.
Hours had flown by while Willow diligently worked on the translation. She did indeed have all the proper ingredients needed. Finally, when it was all copied out, Willow sat back and sighed. Her eyes hurt from the constant reading, her back hurt from sitting hunched over the book.it all hurt; heart, body, and soul alike. But, she hoped to remedy that by going back and warning the others before it was too late.
The spell had called for a precise time and date based on star alignment and the old lunar calendar. Those calculations alone had taken most of the night, but she had made them. Everything she needed was all gathered and waiting for her. The chant she would memorize while she took a bath to cleanse not only her body, but her mind and her intentions as well.
Gathering her robe, oils, and paper with the chant written on it, Willow went into the bathroom and prepared her bath. The patchoulli oil was a different scent for her and it took her a minute to get used to the smell. However, not only the book, but the magick shopkeeper recommended it as well. Willow wanted to get this right, needed to get it right. Cordelia's life depended on it as did Willow's sanity.
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could win the whole world over
you live in fear of being someone that you
didn't want to
i realize your insecurity will get the best
of you
"What do you suppose the chit is up to in there?" Spike asked Angelus. They had hoped to catch Willow outside the safety of her house and talk to her, find out how she was holding up. Angelus said he needed to know her state of mind so he could judge their next move, but Willow was not playing by the rules.
"I don't know," Angelus said, distractedly. He was trying to listen for Willow, but he had heard nothing after the water shut off.
The two vampires had stopped by the library first, after dark, expecting to find all of the little White Hats in a meeting about them. They'd wanted to make a cameo appearance, but those plans had been thwarted by the fact that the library was empty. They had expected outrage, death threats, and tears over the death of the self-centered cheerleader. Angelus and Spike were disappointed at the deserted library, so they decided to come by and see what their hacker was up to.
"Think we should knock, all right and proper-like, and let her know we're here?" Spike asked. He wasn't sure what they were doing here. Spike didn't know if Angelus had expected their girl to actually be outside after dark, and if he had, then Angelus definitely had a lot to learn about the chit.
"No, let's wait and see what Willow is up to."
-----------
The bath had helped Willow relax and wake up a bit. She felt more aware and confident. Once in her room, Willow removed her robe, gathered the ingredients, and sat in a clear space on the floor. The spell had called for the caster to be skyclad, or nude, for added potency. She had read that for some spells, clothes could be a hindrance and however embarrassing this was to her, she wanted nothing to go wrong. This spell had to work, so skyclad she would be.
Willow set out the candles first, putting one at each point on the compass. The black candle, which sat at the southern point behind her, was for protection during the spell. The white one, which sat at the eastern corner, was for purity of intent. The purple candle was for the projection of her body through the astral plane; it sat in the west, and in front of her sat the blue candle. Its focus was for time and concentration.
After the candles were in place, Willow took the cap off the salt and walked a nine-foot circle, making sure that before she closed it, both sher and any other items she needed were inside. Once the sacred circle was closed, nothing and noone could pass the perimeter.
As soon as Willow closed the circle, she felt the air within grow immediately heavy, making it hard to breathe. Tentatively, she reached out to the edge of the circle and was amazed to meet resistance. She thought it comparable to the invisible barrier that kept her safe in her house and prevented vampires from entering uninvited.
Pleased with the results of the circle, her confidence secure, Willow began the spell. She lit the candles, starting with the blue one at north and made her way clockwise. With each candle she lit, the heavier the air within the circle became. Willow tried not to think about how constricting it felt; afraid she might panic and not finish the spell. So, she concentrated on the next step.
Willow pulled the stone bowl closer to her and added the Sage, Hellebore, Lavender, and a few drops of patchoulli. Then, she took the inch-long, clear quartz crystal she had attached to a leather string, and held it over the bowl. Then she grabbed the paper with her time calculations written on it in the other hand and lit it from one of the candles, placing the burning paper into the bowl with the herbs. Those too caught fire and she began to chant.
"With pure intent,
Time I wish to navigate,
Back, before, time gone by,
Move me now,
I have laid the time."
The world around Willow began to close in on her, slowly at first before picking up speed. All she saw was fleeting darkness as images blurred past her, too fast to see. The chanting continued and the crystal began to glow a faint white at first before blinding her. Still she chanted.
Everything came abruptly to a complete halt, knocking Willow backwards and breaking the circle. She lay dazed on the floor of her bedroom.
----------
Spike and Angelus stood outside Willow's house, listening and watching. She was doing a spell, and that infuriated them. It could be anything, including the restoration of Angel's soul, and that didn't sit well with them. They had to shield their eyes when a blinding white light shot out of the windows, then the room went dark.
"Bloody hell," Spike said.
"She'll pay for that," Angelus said. He had just the present for her, too. She was all picked out and waiting for him to present her to Willow.
----------
Willow wasn't sure if the spell had worked. Looking around her room, it all looked the same. Unable to stand just yet, Willow crawled to her computer at her desk and checked the date.
She'd done it. Willow had gone back a little over a day. It was nine-thirty pm, and she had time yet, plenty of time before Cordelia's death. Steadying herself with her chair, Willow stood up and went about getting dressed so she could go inform the guys about Angelus and Spike.
~Part: 9~
Still somewhat dazed from her trip back in time, Willow dressed, and then went into the bathroom to splash some water on her face. She felt nauseated and slightly dizzy. Sitting on the closed toilet, Willow placed her head on her knees and breathed deeply a few times. She hadn't realized how draining the spell would be. If she had, Willow might have calculated enough time for a nap. Realizing that she needed to get moving, and soon, she made her way out of the bathroom and downstairs to the kitchen to get a piece of bread, hoping that it would settle her stomach.
Willow was about to walk out the front door when she remembered she had forgotten to grab any sort of protection. While she assumed that Spike and Angelus would be busy, doing whatever it was they had done before they killed Cordelia, there were still other vampires that would be a threat to her. Going back up to her room, she grabbed a stake, a cross, and the crystal, looping the straps around her neck and tying them. Then she headed out for the first of three cemeteries Willow had remembered Giles assigning for that night.
The first cemetery, Sunnydale Memorial, had come up empty with no sign of Xander, Oz, or Cordelia. Willow still had two others to check. She hadn't known in which order they'd gone, so not finding them here was not that big a surprise. She just hoped she didn't miss them while they moved onto another cemetery.
The next one on the list was Five Oaks Cemetery. The name briefly baffled Willow, as there was not even one oak tree in there, let alone five. She was brought out of her musings by the distant chatter of her friends.
'Finally,' she thought. 'Now all I have to do is go tell them about Spike and Angelus, then go back to my time, and Cordelia will never have been killed.'
Running to meet her friends, Willow caught sight of them in the distance, about to call out to them, when she tripped and fell hard on the ground. The leather strap with the crystal on it fell off her neck and landed a few feet away. As she reached out for it, a leather boot-clad foot stepped in front of her.
'No,' Willow thought. 'Not here, not now.' Slowly, she lifted her eyes and saw Spike grinning down at her.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" Spike asked. He squatted down and smiled at her. "Shouldn't be out after dark, Red. Evil things might get you."
Willow couldn't believe her bad luck. Spike, here, of all places. She had to get away somehow, get to her stake or cross. Slowly, Willow lifted herself off the ground, wincing at the sharp pain that shot its way quickly through her knee. Spike stood up with her, watching her. Looking down, Willow saw that her pants were ripped and her knee was bleeding. 'This is so not good,' Willow thought.
Spike inhaled deeply as the scent of Willow's pure blood wafted through the air. The demon in him wanted to tear into her flesh, drink her up, and devour her right then and there, but he held onto his control. He raked his piercing blue eyes, now tinged with gold, up and down Willow's body, soaking it all in. Breathing in again, the taste of her fear settled itself in the back of his throat, making him swallow involuntarily, imagining it to be her blood.
Taking a step backwards, Willow winced again at the pain. She could barely walk, let along run away. Even had she been at full strength, she knew she'd never be able to out run Spike. Not only that, but he was standing in front of her crystal. Willow needed to get to it. It was her ticket back home, back to her time.
"Spike," Angelus called from a few paces away, walking towards them. "What the hell are you.?" His voice trailed off when Willow came into view, a smile formed on his lips. He hadn't expected to see her out, let alone without her friends. It was too good to be true.
"Seems our Red here fancied herself a stoll through the cemetery," Spike said.
Slowly, Willow's eyes made their way to Angelus, holding his gaze for only a moment before looking away. Her hand clutched at her throat where a lump had formed, her heart felt as if it would burst at any moment. The other hand was slowly reaching towards her back pocket, hoping she could reach it before they noticed.
"You can try, Pet," Spike said, nodding to her wandering hand.
"What do you have hiding back there, Willow?" Angelus asked, stalking around her. Willow turned with him, not showing her back. "Don't want to share?"
Willow didn't know what to do now. She was limping, her knee screaming out in pain. She needed to sit, to rest. Her plans had all gone to hell, and desperation was setting in. Panic and fear coursed through her veins, causing all coherent thought to stop. Then she heard her friends just a few yards away, talking cheerily. As she opened her mouth to call out, one of the vampires came from behind and put his hand over her mouth, effectively stifling her yell.
"Shh," Spike said, practically purring in her ear. "'S not the way we play this game, Pet." Spike held onto her with one arm and dug into her back pockets. He tossed the stake to Angelus who looked it over before throwing it into the woods, tsking at Willow and shaking his head in disappointment. Spike hissed when his hand encountered the cross. Gritting his teeth in pain, Spike took the cross and tossed it off into the distance.
"That hurts, Pet. Didn't you want to see us?" Spike asked mockingly, whispering in her ear.
Shivers ran through Willow's body. She listened to Spike as he held her close to his hard, cold body. Her green eyes stayed fixed on Angelus as he slowly moved closer. The look in his eyes frightened her and raised goose bumps on her arms and the hairs on the back of her neck. Willow's body screamed at her to run and get away. She struggled against Spike's grip, but the harder she fought, the tighter and more painful his hold on her became.
"Mmm.Wiggle a little to the left," Spike said, teasing her.
Willow noticed the effect of her struggles when he bucked his hips, pressing the evidence of his arousal firmly against her bottom. She felt a blush creep, unwanted, over her skin, turning her, she was sure, a bright red. Her eyes went wide as she watched Angelus walk up to her, almost into her. Their bodies were so close to touching, and Willow had to look up just to see his face.
No one said anything. The only sounds that were audible in the night were the sounds of the trees rustling softly in the breeze and Willow's ragged breaths. She thought for sure they would kill her now. Drain her dry and leave her body dressed up like some extravagant doll. Tears brimmed in her eyes but she refused to let them fall, refused to give them that satisfaction. Instead, she put on her resolve face, lifted her chin, and looked defiantly into Angelus' cold eyes.
"Fiery little one, isn't she?" Angelus asked Spike.
"Warm and soft," Spike said, grinding into her again and running his tongue along her pulse point. He chuckled at her sharp inhalation of breath.
Willow felt toyed with, played with as if this were some sick and twisted game for their amusement. 'Well,' she thought, 'they'll just have to learn I don't play by their rules.' A plan had formed in Willow's mind. She just needed to keep their attention on her and not their surroundings, otherwise it wouldn't work.
"So, w-what do you have planned?" Willow asked, cursing the scared stutter that had slipped out. The smile Angelus gave her was feral, primal, and she could feel the grin Spike wore as his lips pulled into it on the side of her neck.
"Well, since we were surprised to see you out and about," Angelus said, closing what little distance there was left between him and Willow, "I thought we would surprise you, too."
"Oh, well, I-I'm not one for surprises," Willow said babbling, trying to concentrate on something else. "Nope, don't like them. They are all.surprise-y and stuff. Nothing good ever came from a surprise."
"Oh, I don't know, Pet," Spike purred from behind her. "We think you'll like this one."
"I appreciate the effort, but, but really, you don't have to," Willow said distractedly. 'Just a little further,' she thought.
Suddenly Angelus spun around grabbing the stick that had been headed for his back. He snapped it in half, flinging the pieces to the ground. Willow was caught off-guard by the laughter that erupted from Angelus, causing her to jump and squeak. Spike, too, joined in before silence quickly fell and Angelus turned his cold eyes back on the petite redhead.
"You really shouldn't play with magick, Little One," Angelus said.
Before Willow knew what was happening, Angelus backhanded her, busting her lower lip. The blood flowed into her mouth coppery and warm. Willow went to spit, but Angelus' hand on her chin stopped her. He held her face as he scented the air, smelling her blood. His face came close to hers and she watched in horror as his cold tongue came out and licked softly at the cut on her lip.
The crush of Angelus' lips to Willow's was sudden and took her by surprise. She opened her mouth to protest, but Angelus' tongue quickly found its way in, licking and sucking at her lip, tasting her blood, tasting all that was her. Willow felt as if he was invading her mouth, conquering it. Her mind flew in a million different directions, her thoughts scattering and not making any sense. She reeled, needing breath, and marveled at the sensation his cool mouth on hers was creating. She knew this was wrong and tried to bring her arms up to push him away, but found them restrained. She tried to pull back, but Spike was there.
Spike supported Willow as he felt her body go limp in his arms. While Angelus' hands moved up to cup her cheek and comb through her hair, Spike's hands roamed along her stomach and snaked under her shirt to splay against he warm flesh.
"Sweet, hot, Willow," Angelus said, panting with unneeded breath as he pulled away from her.
Spinning Willow around, Spike dipped to her mouth to get a taste of his own. Willow hadn't even had time to get over the dizziness of the spin before she was assaulted with a different set of lips. These were softer, but just as demanding. Opening one eye, she saw Spike. His tongue flicked lightly at the cut, begging for it to bleed more. When it did, Spike moaned, full and throaty, before opening her mouth with his tongue and delving into the heat.
Angelus moved up behind him so he was now the one holding her up, running his hands over and under her shirt. Willow jumped when one of his fingers grazed the underside of her breast.
"Hey!" Willow yelled, pulling away from them and falling to the ground when her knee gave out. She ignored Spike's growl, and tried to crawl backwards away from the two vampires. She knew what they had in mind for her and wanted no part in it.
~Part: 10~
Spike loved this part about humans. The fear, the hopeful thoughts of getting away to safety; it all spoke to the predator in him. He crouched low to the ground, one hand on the earth, and the other set casually on his thigh. He watched Willow crawl backwards. He watched her watch Angelus, as if he were more dangerous than the blond grinning at her. While in the Watcher's history books, Angelus was known for the horrendous torture of innocents and the like, Spike was known for slaughter, pure killing. Here, now, stalking his prey, he was the Master. However, he'd tasted her, tasted that innocence, and wanted more. Therefore, he stayed crouched, eyeing Willow, waiting to make their next move.
She was soft, sweet, and innocent, his favorite kind of girl, and Angelus chuckled to himself to see that she was moving away from him, as if she believe she ahd a chance to escape. He knew she wouldn't get far, even if she didn't have that limp. He saw Spike, crouched there, read to pounce, but waiting for him. He could still taste her. He rolled his tongue around in his mouth, trying to get the last drops, savoring them. Willow's fear rolled off her in waves, crashing over him. The feel of Willow's warm body was still imprinted on his cool skin, but he didn't want a memory of it. He wanted her.
"There's nowhere you can run to," Angelus said, taking a step towards her. He listened as her breath came ragged and fast, causing her breasts to heave nicely against her shirt.
"You know we'll catch you, Pet," Spike said. He stood now, moving next to Angelus as they practically stalked her. "Your friends are long gone. Bet they didn't even know you were here."
Willow's knee gave out again as she tried to stand. Looking frantically around, she saw no escape. She watched the two vampires come closer. Spike lit a cigarette and she saw her crystal glint from the light of its flame. She didn't want to leave without telling her friends about Spike and Angelus, but she could see no other way. Willow had to get to the crystal and break it so that she would be sent back to her own time.
"Look, I-I'm sure we, uh, we could work something out," Willow said, trying to come up with a plan.
"Well, see, my boy and I already have something in mind, and I doubt you could persuade us to do otherwise," Angelus said, licking his lips while Spike ran his hand down his body seductively.
Shaking her head frantically, Willow stood with the aid of a nearby headstone. She needed to run, but her right leg was shaky at best, but if she could just step on the crystal, or get one of them to step on it, she would be fine.
"Oh, well, I was just thinking," Willow said, trying to distract them and give her leg enough time to steady itself, "that I, uh, could just go. No hard feelings and all?"
"Oh, there'll be hard feelings, Luv," Spike said, leering at her. He watched her, pleased as another blush erupted on her face as she got his meaning. Spike tossed his cigarette and quickly stepped up next to her before she could move. He ground himself into her hip.
"See, plenty of hard feelings. Isn't that right Angelus?"
Smiling, Angelus walked up to stand in front of Willow, pulling her flush with him. Her heat pulsed on his skin in time with her heartbeat. He dipped his head down to Willow's neck and nuzzled it, darting his tongue out to lick along Drusilla's mark.
Willow stood rooted to the spot, fear holding her there. She watched, as if outside her body, as one of her worst nightmares looked to be coming true. She vaguely remembered struggling before she found herself knocked flat on her back, looking up at Angelus as he climbed over her.
"No, please," Willow begged softly, her resolve seeming to disappear.
"You're ours, Willow," Angelus said, turning her head to face him, making sure she got his meaning. "Ours."
"No.no, no, no," Willow chanted, hoping that saying the words would make them come true. Tears streamed down her cheeks, wetting her hair before they fell to the ground.
"Shh, Pet," Spike said, coming into her line of sight. He bent down to gently kiss away a trailing tear.
Willow was confused by the odd mix of dominance and gentleness. It didn't seem right somehow and it was far from what she had expected. She watched them in silence, unsure of what they would do next.
Angelus crushed his mouth to Willow's, halting any protests she might make. He didn't care that she didn't kiss him back, didn't care that her soft, warm hands tried to push him away instead of drawing him near. He thought for sure that given time, and the right sort of persuasion, Willow would come around.
The kiss lasted for what seemed like forever, Angelus only letting her come up for air when her lungs started to burn. Willow felt him on top of her and hated it. She felt his arousal pressed firmly on her hip, grinding into her. His hands seemed to be everywhere at once, on her breasts, her thighs, her arms, and her hair. Then, she remembered Spike that was there too. Willow wanted to crawl away, inside herself, run away from the horror and humiliation of it all.
Spike lay next to Angelus and Willow, watching them. He unbuttoned his pants, releasing himself from the confines of his jeans. One hand was placed on his cool hard shaft, while the other roamed over Willow, touching her. The heat coming off her body heated his. He wondered how she would feel underneath him. Spike grabbed one of Willow's hands and brought it down to him. He fisted her hand with his and pulled languidly on his shaft, letting her get a feel for it. She yelped when she realized where her hand was and tried to pull away, but Spike kept her hand under his, continuing with the soft slow strokes.
Thinking Spike had the right idea; Angelus stood up and began to unbutton his shirt. He watched as Willow's eyes lit up with alarm. She tried to get up but Spike had grabbed her and held her firmly in his lap.
"Don't want to miss this, Luv," Spike said, nuzzling the back of her neck and grinding himself into her. He held her in place so she could watch Angelus.
It seemed to take forever for Angelus to remove his shirt. Willow couldn't ever remember seeing Angel without a shirt, and she now understood the appeal he had had for Buffy. That, however, didn't make the situation any better and Willow turned her head away, choosing to look out into the night rather than watch Angelus strip.
"Oh no you don't," Angelus said, bending down to grasp her chin and turn her head to look at him. "Watch or Spike here will make you."
Willow tried not to cry, stiffening her shoulders. She stared directly into Angelus' face, trying not to let her gaze wander down to where his hands were undoing his belt.
Angelus bend down to remove his shoes, smiling as Willow's eyes defiantly stayed locked on his. Removing his pants, Angelus had to smile again at the gasp that came from Willow as she took in the sight of him.all of him. Her eyes shot back up to his, wide and scared as she swallowed hard.
While Angelus had stripped, Spike had watched appreciatively from behind Willow's red locks. He loved the shiver that had run through Willow and reveled in the head that washed over her. Still keeping Willow pressed against him, Spike removed his leather coat, one arm at a time and laid it out next to them before picking Willow up and laying her there. He had to hold her shoulders down when she tried to sit up.
Kneeling down in front of Willow, Angelus preened as her eyes roamed over his form, stopping at the penis that was jutting out from between his legs. He watched her realize what she was seeing and chuckled when she shut her eyes tight. While she wasn't looking, Angelus crawled up along her body and stopped to hover over her. One hand snaked down along Willow's face, making her jump in surprise before it traveled down to the collar of her shirt. Hooking a finger in it, Angelus pulled down, ripping the garment in half.
Willow's eyes flew wide as the sudden rush of cool air met her heated flesh. The ripping of her shirt caught her off- guard and she tried to move her arms to cover up her exposed chest, only to find them held still by Spike. She watched fearfully as Angelus lowered his face to hers. He mind yelled at her body to do something, anything. To get up, to get away. It seemed as if her knee came up of its own volition, only to be stopped mere inches from its target.
Spike's hand gripped Willow's leg. She was bold, stupid, but bold.
"'S not very nice to kick a man there, Pet," Spike said, putting more pressure on her knee until she cried out in pain.
"Please," Willow begged, "don't do this. I-I'll do anything, just not.just let me up." She was desperate now. She knew it and they knew it. Tears formed again and she looked over once more at her crystal, her salvation.
"Lose your bauble, Pet?" Spike asked, walking over to where the crystal lay, picking it up. He held it in his hand looking it over, and then stuffed it in his pocket. He watched as Willow's face fell, crushed. Spike figured the small crystal was important to her, but he had no idea how important.
Glancing at Angelus, who nodded his approval, Spike said, "Tell you what. You do what we say and you can have your bloody precious stone back."
Willow scoffed at him, rolling her eyes. They were vampires, evil bloodsuckers, and she didn't trust them any further then she could throw them.
"Promise," Spike said when he saw her disbelief. "Cross my heart and hope to die.again," A grin of satisfaction spread across his features as Willow slowly admitted defeat before nodding somberly. Angelus smiled at Spike and waited for him to come back and join them.
Closing her eyes, Willow turned her head away from the vampires. She now knew defeat and it broke her just a little inside. Not in any increment she could measure, but she felt it, heard it in the silence of the night. Willow knew Spike and Angelus had felt it as well, as she lay before them exposed.
Slowly releasing her hands, Angelus moved his down her arms, across her shoulders, and came to hover over Willow's chest. He listened to Willow whimper and blocked her hands when she tried to cover herself.
Spike watched eagerly as Angelus hovered over Willow. He walked towards them, stripping down to nothing but his pants and went over to them. Grabbing one of Willow's hands again, Spike took it in his and resumed stroking himself, grinning at the redhead as she shut her eyes tighter. But, he wanted her to see, to watch, to know where her innocent little hands were and what they were doing. With his free hand, he turned Willow's head towards him.
"Watch," Spike growled, jerking her head a bit.
Willow eyes fluttered open to see her hand stroking the length of Spike's penis. She watched him squeeze and pull, his mouth forming a grin as she went pale.
Angelus, noticing Willow's distraction with his boy, quickly removed her bra, drawing a gasp of surprise from her. Not stopping for her to get her bearing, Angelus ripped the buttons off her pants and removed those as well. All that stood between Willow and Angelus was a tiny bit of cotton. He smiled as Willow tried to protest, pushing against him and bucking up, trying to get him off her. But that only served to fuel him on. The cotton quickly went the way of the rest of her clothes, and he took in the sight of her lying naked before him.
Willow was frantic, pushing at Angelus as he stripped her bare, leaving her exposed. She tried to pull her hand from Spike as he sped up their movement, but nothing worked. All she could do was beg them not to do this, and even that had no effect on the determined vampires.
Stopping the ministrations on himself, Spike leaned down to silence her protests by kissing her, hard and fast. He wanted to eat her up, taste her, and he tried to. Letting his true face emerge, Spike scraped Willow's tongue on one of his fangs before returning to his human visage. The blood flowed and Spike licked and sucked, trying to get it all.
While Spike was busy with Willow's mouth, Angelus ran his had down over Willow's pert breasts, giving each nipple a tight pinch before traveling further down her stomach. His hand stopped at the hair that covered her core. He took his time and traveled over her hip, down her thigh before coming back up to run a single finger through her folds. He heard Willow gasp before it was cut off by Spike.
Without warning, Angelus plunged a finger into Willow's heated core, letting his thumb roam slowly along her clit. He enjoyed watching her muscles involuntarily twitch and jump. Slowly this time, he inserted another finger and moved his other hand over his penis to mimic the movements of the hand inside of her. He inserted a third finger and readied them both for what was to come next. Imperceptibly, Angelus nodded to Spike.
Grabbing Willow's hands, Spike watched as Angelus slowly entered her. He stifled her yell of pain, devouring it the same way he took in her blood. Spike felt Willow stiffen as Angelus gave one strong thrust and broke through her maidenhead. He let go of her wrists then and sat back to watch.
Angelus had to keep a firm hold on his control as he thrust into Willow. She was a virgin, that he knew, and that made her tight, unbelievably so. The heat her body emitted burned him pleasantly and he growled low in his throat. He had to hold Willow's knee's apart to keep her open to him and he watched with delight as pleasure over took the pain in her features and her hips began moving up to meet his downward thrusts. He couldn't hold on much longer and he could tell Willow was close as well.
The orgasm that overtook Willow caught her completely by surprise. She felt herself tighten around Angelus and moaned, loud and long. The sharp pain in her breast caught her off- guard as well as she looked to see Angelus there, drinking her in. Instead of being painful, it only served to heighten her orgasm. Angelus' cry of release joined hers this time as she felt him shoot his cold, dead seed into her.
Spike watched the two of them coming together. The smell was an intoxicating mixture of Angelus' release along with Willow's and her blood. He ached with need and smiled when Angelus rolled off Willow. Quickly he removed his pants and readied himself for his turn at the lovely redhead.
Moving between Willow's legs, Spike could see she was still dazed. He maneuvered himself to her center and thrust into her, hard. Not giving up the rough, hurried pace, Spike ignored Willow's protests. He almost laughed when her cries of pain turned to moans of pleasure. Feeling his release close, Spike snaked a hand between them and began to flick and pinch her clit, driving her to release. He morphed and bit into her other breast as Willow's orgasm pushed them both over the edge.
----------
The three of them lay panting on the ground, though vampires did not need the air, on the ground. Spike and Angelus were on either side of Willow, who felt ready to pass out.
The vampires came out of their post-coital stupor and started to get dressed. Willow watched as they walked a few paces away and whispered to each other. She tried to sit up, but was met with protests of pain from her body. Soon, they came back to where she lay and looked down at her. Quickly she covered herself with Spike's coat.
"I, please, give me back my crystal now. I did what you wanted," Willow whispered. She hated the shame she showed in the shakiness of her voice. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep, shower, and vomit.not in that order.
"Oh no, not everything," Angelus said, crouching down next to her. "We want you to help us with one more thing. Then we will give you back your precious stone."
"No," Willow said, tears forming again. "I-I did what you wanted." She couldn't believe this. They wanted more from her and she wasn't sure she could give it, no matter what it was. She was feeling dizzy and nauseated.
"Not quite, Pet," Spike said, lighting a cigarette. He reached in his jeans pocket and pulled out the crystal, holding it up for her to see. "We didn't ask you for that lovely shag, though we do appreciate it. Do this one thing and you can have your bloody necklace back."