Title: Am I Evil? (14/16)
Author: Kylia
Email: kylia_bug@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Nobody belongs to me, unfortunately. They belong to Joss & Mutant Enemy, and a few other people I don't know.
Rating: R
Spoilers: Everything up to "The Initiative". The story starts during the dorm scene from The Initiative; it's my own twisted world after that.
Category: Willow/Spike
Summary: What if Spike had never been implanted when he visited Willow in the dorms?
Distribution: Fire & Ice, WitchFanFic, Of Sire & Childe, anyone else, ask, and you shall receive
Author's Notes: having a bit of Writers Block. Hoping this will help.
Dedication: To Inell, who knows how I feel.

Giles drove into Buffy and Riley's driveway at the break of dawn. He had been concerned about what was happening. He knew Spike was back and although he didn't know why, he had a bad feeling about the vampire's return.

He noticed that their garage was opened. Riley appeared to be packing some boxes into the back of their truck. Giles frowned. Now was not the time for them to take a vacation.

"What are you doing?" Giles asked as he walked into the darkened garage.

Riley barely glanced up. "Hey Giles. We're leaving. I suggest you do the same."

"Leaving? What? Where? When?" He sputtered. Riley and Buffy were not the type to run when a threat came to Sunnydale.

Riley stopped and looked at the former watcher. He smiled slightly. He had gotten to know the man fairly well over the past decade. He would miss him. "I'm not sure where we're going. Buffy wants to visit her mother for awhile, but I don't know where we'll end up." He packed another large box into the truck and then returned to Giles. "We'll go as soon as Buffy returns."

"Returns? Where did she go?" Giles face paled. "She didn't go after Spike by herself, did she?"

Riley shook his head. "Not exactly. She went to go see Angel. She said she needed to clear some stuff up with him."

"Angel? He's here, in Sunnydale? Is that why Spike has come back?" Giles was seriously confused. Buffy had told him about Spike being back and about what had happened to Xander, but she hadn't mentioned anything about the souled vampire.

Riley sighed. He really had no idea what was going on. HE could only vaguely recall what had happened the night before, when Willow had thrown him across the room, without even touching him. He had flitted in and out of consciousness after that. It wasn't until several hours later, after listening to Buffy cry and pace that he realized that whatever vampires and demons they had faced in their tenure on the Hellmouth, it was nothing compared to what they were dealing with now.

"I don't really know that much about what Angel and Cordelia are doing here. I don't know why Spike has come back. What I do know is that Buffy's worried, and that's enough for me. I trust her. If she thinks we should leave, then we're leaving." Riley tried to explain.

"What happened last night?" Giles asked, noticing Riley's agitation.

Buffy was warned. She was given a chance to leave town before it was too late. We're taking it." Riley placed a hand on Giles' shoulder. "We have young kids to think about Rupert. We're leaving while we have the chance. I suggest you do the same."

"Warned? By whom? Spike? Did he hurt her?" Giles' confusion was giving way to fear. He had never known his Slayer or her husband to pick up and run. Something must have happened. Something they couldn't fight.

"Worse." Riley whispered. "Willow."

Giles paled at the name. He hadn't given the young girl a second thought since she had run away nearly a decade ago. Xander had believed something had happened to her, and Buffy had been concerned, for awhile. But eventually Buffy had been forced to accept what Giles had known all along. Willow had been a coward and run away from her problems. They hadn't heard from her, not once since she disappeared. To say it was a shock to hear she had been the one to warn Buffy was an understatement.

"Willow? Are you sure?" Giles asked incredulously.

"She's a vampire, Rupert. Xander was right. She didn't run away ten years ago. She died." Riley watched as Giles took in this information.

"Why is she back?" He wanted to know. Surely one vampire wouldn't pose a threat.

"She doesn't like our intrusion here. She wants to take the Hellmouth back." He held up a hand to silence Giles protest. "Before you start telling me she can't haven't, you should know, she's not like any vampire I have ever met before. She's strong, and powerful. She threw me across the room without even touching me." He paused. "She's responsible for what happened to the base."

Giles looked up, shocked. He had received a phone call during the night, telling him that the Initiative's base had been destroyed. It was now nothing more than a pile of ruble. All of their work, demolished. The demons they had captured, all dead. Nothing was left. It had been a shock, but they believed they could rebuild. But if what Riley was saying was true, that might be a tad more difficult, although not impossible.

"Look, I don't know why she has come back after all this time. Why she's willing to destroy an entire town to shut us down, I only know that she's willing to do it. I have no doubt that she will destroy everything in this town, and I for one, do not want to be around if and when it comes to that."

Giles nodded. He didn't believe that it would come to that, but he could understand Buffy's reason for leaving. They had a family to protect. "Okay. Take care of yourself." He shook Riley's hand and then returned to his car. He needed to talk to Maggie. He hadn't said anything to Riley, but he feared he knew why it was so important to Willow to destroy the Initiative, and they were too close to let that happen.

Buffy took a deep breath as she knocked on the heavy door. She knew it was dangerous to come here, especially after having seen the hate in Willow's eyes. But, she needed to speak with Angel. There was so much she didn't understand. Why He was here, apparently helping Willow to do whatever she had come home to do. Why Angel and Cordelia seemed to be so close. Had he known all these years what had happened to Willow? She didn't want to believe that was the case, but what else was she supposed to think?

She heard the door unlatch and braced herself for whoever would be on the other side. Buffy sucked in a deep breath at the site that greeted her. IT was a woman. Buffy's slayer sense told her that she was a vampire, which didn't surprise her considering where she was. The woman had dark hair, and violet eyes. She was eyeing Buffy curiously.

"I'm…" Buffy started but was cut off.

"The Slayer. Yes I know. You've come to speak with Grandfather." Rhianna stepped aside, letting the Slayer enter.

Buffy looked around the large house. When she had come before she was so surprised to see Angel and Cordelia there that she hadn't taken a good look at it. She turned to the vampire. "Who are you? Another or Willow's 'creations'?" Buffy spoke with distaste at what her friend had become.

Rhianna smiled, her eyes sparkling. "I am the creation." She laughed.

Buffy didn't know what to make of the vampire, and didn't want to spend an overabundance of time analyzing her. "Is Angel here?"

"What do you want?" Cordelia asked harshly as she came down the stairs. She could feel her as soon as she had entered the house.

"Cordy." Buffy smiled. "Is Angel here?"

Rhianna looked at Cordelia and smiled. Cordelia nodded slightly, telling the vampire it was okay to go get Angel.

"You don't belong here." Cordelia told her as she stepped closer.

Buffy looked at her strangely. She was getting some strange vibes off of her. "What is with you? You're not a vampire. But you're not human either."

Cordelia snorted. "What was your first clue? Look Buffy, I don't know why you're here, what you hope to accomplish, but whatever you and he shared, its in the past."

"My relationship with Angel doesn't concern you." Buffy told her, not caring that she sounded like a child. She hadn't come here in an attempt to regain anything she had with Angel, but Cordelia's attitude was pissing her off.

"That's where you're wrong." Angel spoke from behind her. Buffy spun around as Angel continued. "Everything I am concerns her." HE walked passed Buffy to Cordelia and pulled her into his arms. He gave her a kiss and whispered in her ear. "I'll take care of this."

Cordelia nodded and left the room. She wasn't concerned. She only hoped Spike and Willow didn't come downstairs while Buffy was here. Despite the changes their lives had taken, Cordelia had no desire to see the Slayer killed, but she knew that was exactly what would happen if she pushed Willow too far. She was already lucky that she had been given a choice. If it had been anyone else, she would have killed them on sight.

After Cordelia left, Buffy turned to face Angel. "How long?" She asked, needing to know the truth.

Angel didn't pretend to misunderstand her. "Nine years."

Buffy looked shocked. "This whole time? You've known all along that she was a vampire? And you never told us?"

"What would you have me tell you? That your friend was a vampire? A killer? That's she's left a trail of corpses across Europe to rival that of Angelus? Do you really think you were ready to here that?"

Buffy shook her head, not wanted to believe his words. "We could have… I don't know... we could have helped her. Cursed her."

Angel shook his head. "And who would that have helped? You? Certainly not her! You can't even begin to comprehend the pain of guilt. I would sooner see her staked or left out for the morning sunrise than put her through that!"

Buffy looked up into his eyes. "I don't know you anymore." She said sadly.

"No you don't, Buffy." He took a deep calming breath. "What happened to you? Do you even remember what it's like to be a Slayer?"

"I am a Slayer. I'm the slayer!" She snapped.

"No, Faith is the Slayer. You're just a girl who forgot what it was like to fight the evil that surrounds her. You gave up. You allowed the evil to corrupt you." HE spoke sadly.

Buffy was about to deny what he said, when some of his words caught her attention. "What do you mean? What evil?"

Angel ran a hand through his hair. "The Initiative, Buffy. Do you even know what it is they did in that lab? Do you know what they were planning on doing? Do you even care?"

Buffy was confused. "They do research. That's all."

"No, Slayer, that's not all. They torture us. Test us. Study us. They wish to know what it is that makes us strong." Spike's voice was mocking as he entered the room.

"They planned on opening the Hellmouth. Did you know that? They want to enslave us. To make us their servants." Willow hissed as she joined her mate.

Buffy shook her head. "No, that's not true."

Spike snorted. "You have a death wish, Slayer? I'd be more than happy to fulfill it." He smirked at the horrified look that crossed her features.

Buffy couldn't believe what they were saying. They were lying. They had to be. She ran out of the house, into the sunlight, where she knew they couldn't follow.

Willow turned to Spike after the Slayer had fled. "Think she'll cause a problem?"

"We should have killed her. It's been awhile sense I've tasted a Slayer's blood."

Willow laughed, her green eyes showing a trace of humor. "Oh, I don't know. I'm sure if you were really nice, Faith would give you a little nip."

Spike laughed. "Yeah, right before her boy doused me in holy water."

Willow laughed with him. "Now, now, you should know better than to sneak up on Wesley."

Angel chuckled at the fond memory, and then grew serious. "Do you think they'll stay, and fight?"

"Not Buffy, but Giles, he'll stay." Xander told them confidently as he joined the small group. "If anyone knows what's been going on in that lab, it's him. They won't want to lose their access to the Hellmouth." He turned to Willow. "I think we're still better off with your first plan."

Willow nodded. She had told Xander all about what they were trying to accomplish. "We should rest. We have much to do tonight. Whoever hasn't left by sunrise, won't be getting out alive."




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