Title: Am I Evil? (5/16)
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.

Willow walked into the seedy bar and sniffed the air. It smelled of stale liquor and had the stench of the sewer. Not much had changed she noticed. A few of the patrons turned to look at her, but just as quickly turned away, returning to whatever it was they were doing before she entered. The bartender hadn't looked up from the counter his was scrubbing ferosciously. She could smell the slight with of some noxious secretions. If she had to guess, she would say one of his patrons had vomited all over the bar.

She stepped directly in front of the bartender, blocking the dim light he was using to see. Willie looked up at Willow and froze.

"Hey, you're the Slayer's friend." As he spoke he noticed something odd about her and a chill went down his spine. "Only you're not, are you?" Willow raised an eyebrow. "Not the Slayer's friend, I mean. But you are the girl? The hacker?"

"I was." Willow's voice held a steel edge to it, making Willie extremely nervous.

Willie looked around the bar and noticed that with the exception of two vampires he had never seen before, the room was empty. The two new vampires were blocking the two exits.

Willie gulped. "What… what do you want?"

Willow smiled. "We're new in town." She spoke softly, but her eyes belied any kind of sincerity. "I've heard that there are some… people…in town, that don't belong here." She spat the word people as if it was venom in her mouth.

Willie didn't even pretend to misunderstand. He didn't know this vampire, but he had the distinct impression that the wrong answer would get him very dead very quickly. "The Initiative?" He asked.

Willow nodded. Willie took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. It had been a long time since he had feared any of the vampires or demons to come into his place. With the Initiative here, gone were the days where he had to fear the few demons that had remained in Sunnydale. All of the dangerous ones had left town.

"Where are they?" She asked calmly. When Willie hesitated Willow reached over the bar and grabbed him around the throat, pulling him completely over the bar.

"I believe the lady asked you a question."

Willow turned around to face the intruder. He looked human, but he wasn't. She could smell the demon in him. Judging from his complete lack of taste in wardrobe, she had a fair idea who he was.

"You have the answer's I seek, or are you merely here for the show?" She asked as she dropped Willie to the ground. She walked over to Whistler.

"It's my curse he muttered. Nobody…"

"Understands you. Yes I know." Willow interrupted. "I don't need to understand you. I just need to know." She took a step closer tot he demon. "Where is the Initiative?"

Whistler shrugged. "It's not my concern."

"What is then?" She asked.

Out of the corner of her eye, Willow saw Willie get up and start to scramble away. Without out taking her eyes off of Whistler, she reached her left hand out and squeezed it into a fist. Willie stopped his movement and grabbed at his throat, gasping for breath. "I didn't tell you that you could leave." She unclenched her hand and Willie started to suck in some much-needed oxygen.

Whistler raised an eyebrow. "Impressive." She nodded, and waited for him to continue. "My boy will be here soon. What he," he nodded towards Willie, "Can't tell you, they will be able to."

Whistler turned around and headed towards the door and the vampire he had incapacitated to get in. He stopped and turned around. "Welcome Home."

Buffy paused in the hall as the incessant banging continued. She wiped her hands on her apron and went to the front door. She peeked through the chain and widened her eyes in surprise.

"Brian? What are you doing here?" She asked the vampire as she unlatched the chain.

Brian burst into the room. "Where's Finn?" He looked around nervously.

"He's patrolling with Graham tonight. What's wrong?" She asked concerned.

Brian was a sort of informant for the Initiative. He kept his ear tot he ground in the seedier parts of town and would tell them anytime anyone new came to town, but she had never seen him so agitated. He usually just phoned in his information and had only been to there house a small handful of times and usually only to collect his payment. The people backing The Initiative didn't sanction the work he did for them so Riley and Buffy paid him themselves. Unorthodox, yes, but his information had been invaluable.

Brian walked around the living room nervously. "There was a vampire, at Willie's. A woman. Powerful."

Buffy nodded. So far, it didn't sound too dangerous.

"When I left, I heard some of the others talking. They say she came here with a master." He looked up at Buffy. "They say it was William the Bloody"

Buffy froze at the name. The wooden spoon she was holding dropped to the floor. "Are you sure?" She asked, not wanting to believe that Spike was back.

Brian nodded. "Look, I'm gonna go, get out of town. If he's back, I'm not sticking around for the fireworks."

Buffy nodded her understanding. "Thanks." She whispered as the vampire ran out the door.

Buffy flopped down on her couch, not wanting to believe that it was true. Spike had come back. She had known eventually that he would. But as the years had gone by, Buffy had grown complacent. She had started to believe that wherever Spike was, he had been staked. But now she realized that hadn't happened. She wondered what had brought him back. Most of the vamps that showed up in Sunnydale these days were either too young or too stupid to realize that the town had been taken over by the Initiative. They never lasted long.

But Spike was neither. If he was back, there was a reason. She picked up the phone hesitatingly. S he didn't want to make the phone call, but she needed to. She dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Just as she was about to hang up, she heard a vaguely familiar British voice on the other end.

"Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless." The voice spoke clearly into the line

"Wesley?" Buffy asked, surprised. She didn't know that Wesley still worked with Angel and Cordelia. She had thought he stayed in Los Angeles when they moved to New York.

"Buffy?" He asked, equally surprised. He knew the Slayer never called the office. Never spoke to any of them really. If there was some demon-related business to attend to, it was always Giles who called. But even that was very rare. Only three times since the move to New York.

"Yes." Buffy shook her head, trying to remember why she had called. "Is Angel there?"

Wesley paused. "No. Can I help you with something?" He knew that Angel and Cordelia had left for Sunnydale, but he also knew that they didn't alert anyone to their imminent arrival.

"No, I guess not. Do you know when he'll be back? I can maybe call back." She knew she was pleading, but her fear was starting to grip her like a vice.

She didn't know if she could handle dealing with Spike, and despite the manpower, and resources at the Initiatives disposal, she didn't think they were ready for him either. Not to mention this woman Brian spoke of. It was probably Drusilla, but that knowledge only made her more nervous.

She knew that Angel still kept in contact with his errant childe, and may be able to shed some light on his reappearance in Sunnydale, or perhaps tell her what she longed to hear. That Spike wasn't back, and Brian had been mistaken.

"I'm sorry, Buffy. I don't know when they'll be back." He was reluctant to give her any more information than was necessary. He looked up when he saw Faith enter the office, silencing her with a look.

"That's okay." Buffy hung up the phone without so much as a goodbye. She placed the phone on the receiver and waited for Riley to get home, trying to decide if she should call Giles. She decided not to. He would only suggest that the Initiative do a town-wide sweep, and she didn't think that was the smartest idea.

"What's up?" Faith asked as Wesley hung up the phone.

"Buffy. She was looking for Angel." He handed her a file. "We have a meeting at four with Mrs. Luedin. She said something about her dog barking at her neighbor, whom she thinks in a vampire."

Faith snorted as she flipped through the file. She looked around the office. "Where are the lovebirds?"

Wesley looked up at his slayer. "Sunnydale."

Faith raised her eyebrows and whistled. "How come we miss all the good stuff?"




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