![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
laniew1Unto each generation one is born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires
One boy in all the world
Chapter 1
TITLE: Warrior of Light; Warrior of Dark
AUTHOR: Melanie
PAIRINGS: William/Buffy, William/Dru, Buffy/Angelus
RATING: R, for language, violence and sexual situations.
SUMMARY: Prophecies are tricky beasts.
SPOILERS: Pretty much if you’ve seen up through Buffy Season 6 you’re good, just replace Buffy with William.
Warrior of Light; Warrior of Dark – Chapter 2
Will paced the length of the Magic Box. Over a month had passed since Buffy’s disappearance.
The longest 37 days of his entire life as they frantically searched out any leads that would ultimately discern where Buffy had hidden herself.
Both Giles and Dru insisted that they were running out of time. And as the days continued to pass with no sign of Buffy returning to Sunnydale under her own power there was an underlying current of dawning horror.
What if she had already been eliminated and the search was all for naught?
Of course that way of thinking led to a valley of depression that seemed ever growing, as fear that he had never felt before washed over him. The last words that he had spoken to her had been angry bitter ones. Had she left this world hating him?
And if she had he had to wonder why he cared. Why did he care that there was a possibility that she had been dusted? Why did he care what he had said to her?
“She has not been dusted,” Dru said softly, her eyes rising but never actually meeting his. He was actually thankful that this seemed as awkward for her as it did for him. He was kind of scared of what he would see in her eyes. Would he see anger over his choices? Sadness… love?
“What?”
“She’s not been dusted… I would know if she was,” she stated then turned away, turning her attention back to the phone currently pressed to her ear.
Will turned away from her now, focusing his attention on the rest of the newly formed team consisting of members of the Scooby Gang and Dru’s gang.
Cordelia and Xander bickering amongst themselves. Anya at the register keeping one jealous eye trained on her fiancée and his ex-girlfriend. Giles and Wesley hunched over papers spread out on the counter.
Sighing he returned his attention to Dru, finding that she now had the phone gripped firmly between her shoulder and ear intently listening to whoever was speaking to her from the other end, scribbling periodically on a pad of paper in front of her.
Crossing his arms over his chest he studied her. She looked the same.
Would always look the same.
But when had the feelings of indescribable love that he had felt for her turned into a vague feeling of like? She didn’t stir the same feelings in him that she used to. He used to look at her and see home. See the person that he wanted to spend the rest of his probably short life with. Now he looked and all he saw was his past.
Giles came to stand beside him as she hung up the phone. Avoiding their eyes she studied her notes, tapping her pen in a steady staccato rhythm against the desk. When she finally raised her head to them her eyes were disturbed and to Will’s surprise somewhat sad.
“You didn’t find her,” Giles stated softly.
“My informants are quite clear… she’s not returned to any of her old haunts. Although…” she trailed off glancing back down at the paper in front of her with a frown.
“Although what?” Will asked his voice more than a little annoyed at the fact that she was continuing to play the cryptic when they were steadily running out of time.
“They… my informants… they say that Angelus has set up shop in Chicago… that he’s tracking his ‘mate’…”
“Mate? You mean Buffy right?” Will asked with a frown. “He left her though… you know after the whole tying us up together for Valentine’s Day fiasco she engineered.”
“I know,” Dru said with a puzzled expression. “Plus the last I heard he was running with Darla, so it doesn’t make any sense.”
“Unless Angelus has the same information that we do,” Giles said, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket he removed his glasses cleaning them with an absentminded thoroughness that Will had come to expect from his Watcher. “He knows that Buffy has her own prophecy… probably knows what the prophecy says and is going to try and lure her to the other side.”
“There is another scenario,” Dru said softly her hooded eyes meeting Will’s.
“What’s that?” Will asked, tempted to remove the question when he realized that he might not want the answer to it.
“Angelus is quite possessive in nature, of his people, of his belongings. Add in the fact that he turned Buffy, that they were constant companions for over a hundred years… if he were to find out about the two of you…”
“You don’t think his trying to find her has anything to do with the prophecies… do you?” Will’s eyes narrowed as realization dawned on him. “You think he found out about our… whatever and is making a move to take her back.”
“Yes.”
“The two could still be tied,” Giles interjected. “He might be trying to locate Buffy for both reasons which means if he hasn’t already found her than we need to move quickly.”
“How long has he been in Chicago?”
“Five days, he hasn’t moved since he got there so…”
“So Buffy could be in Chicago… any clue as to why she would go there?”
“She has a solicitor that handles some of her affairs there I believe. He’s a vampire; Angelus probably figured that she would go there for money eventually.”
“Wait a minute…” Xander moved up to stand next to Will. “You’re saying that Buffy had money this whole time?”
“Yes… her solicitor wouldn’t tell just anyone where she was but I could probably convince him to at least let us know if she has contacted him recently.”
“Do it,” Will said sharply.
“If she had money why the hell was she living in a crypt?” Xander asked, looking between the three when he received no response. “Hello?”
“It’ll be easier to talk to him in person; he’ll just lie to me if I call him. He knows that Buffy and I aren’t on the best of terms. If I go in person I can persuade him to give us the information we need… I can leave for Chicago at sunset,” Dru said quietly her eyes focused on Will.
“I’ll go with you…”
“I’ll go to,” Xander said sharply his eyes moving between the two. Noting the unspoken communication that was occurring. “Don’t need no Druscilla making a surprise guest appearance.”
“Joy,” Dru scowled. “Rupert?”
“I’ll stay here with the others on the slim chance that Buffy decides to return to Sunnydale on her own… besides Wesley and I would like to go over the texts again.”
“Are you looking for something in particular?”
“Not really… some of passages that were translated by the Council disturbed us. We just want to double check the translations… make sure nothing was left out. Besides the text was so damaged that some passages were unreadable. We’re going to make use of our combined talents and see if we can’t pull the rest of the information out of it.”
“Good… then we all have something to do,” Will nodded. “You’ll keep an eye on Dawn?” he asked Giles his glancing over to where Willow and Tara had their heads bent over books at the round table.
“Of course… but Willow…”
“I’d feel better if you were watching over her,” Will said softly not quite meeting his Watchers curious eyes. They hadn’t shared Willow’s magic addiction problem with the others yet. If Will had his way they wouldn’t either. But Dawn still wasn’t all that comfortable with Willow and Will shuddered to think what shape both girls would be in if he left them alone together.
**********************************************************
Will sighed as he stared at the scenery whizzing by. He’d offered to drive but in a moment of camaraderie both Dru and Xander had shot that idea down. Of course that camaraderie hadn’t lasted long of course. The bickering had resumed almost moments after Dru took the wheel.
Thankfully they were nearing Chicago because he didn’t think he could stand the steadily growing levels of animosity between Dru and Xander, he might just lose it and kill one of them.
Right now all was quiet though. Xander was sleeping sprawled out in the backseat and Dru was silently driving. If he focused on her he would probably see her brooding and he didn’t think he could handle that.
It was bad enough that he couldn’t figure out what exactly it was that he felt for Buffy, but throwing his feelings for Dru into that mess could only make it all worse.
“So… you and Buffy…” Dru started awkwardly after checking the rear view mirror to make sure Xander was still asleep.
“Yeah…”
“She’s an… interesting choice…”
Will turned his head to look at her. She was relaxed in the seat, didn’t seem tense.
“What do you mean?”
“Well… she’s a vampire…”
“Yeah I’d noticed that, what with the fangs and the constant need for blood and destruction.”
“She’s a soulless vampire, a demon held back by a piece of technology.”
“Christ do you and Xander have the same speech writer or something?” Will muttered. Gripping the door handle tightly he glared at her. “Besides what right do you have to say anything? You broke up with me remember? Any right that you might have had to tell me who I could and couldn’t fuck you gave up the moment you left me! I mean god… you must remember the speech. God knows it’s imprinted in my memory forever… Depressing breakup speech in the sewer right before the prom? You leaving so I could have a normal life and all that… that crap… Guess what Dru… I’m the Slayer; I don’t get to have a normal life.”
“I know I have no right,” Dru said softly. “I know I’ve made bad choices… But Buffy?… what the hell were you thinking?”
“Wasn’t really much about thinking, more about doing.”
“You don’t think that the moment she gets that chip out of her head that she won’t come after you? She’s tried to kill you how many times and now that’s the only thing holding her back. She’s nothing but a leashed killer and sooner or later that leash is going to break. I just don’t want to see you get hurt when it finally does.”
“Too late,” he whispered turning away, staring out the window, not seeing anything as he tried to decide if he should tell Dru the truth about the chip.
“What do you mean?”
“Her chip doesn’t work on me anymore,” he admitted softly. “It hasn’t for a while now.”
“What?” Dru asked startled her gaze flying to him.
“Road!” he barked hands flying to the dashboard to brace himself as the car swerved violently into the other lane.
“What do you mean the chip doesn’t work on you?” she asked once she’d regained control of the car and pulled it back into the appropriate lane.
“It doesn’t work on me, she can hit me, kill me, torture me, whatever and the chip won’t go off.”
“What…? How long?”
“Since I got back… Tara said it had something to do with the spell they used. It changed me, changed the way the chip identifies me just enough that it doesn’t see me as human.”
“Oh,” Dru gripped the steering wheel. “Oh boy…”
“She won’t hurt me Dru… she…”
“She what? Loves you? Cares about you?” Dru asked sarcastically.
“She does… Love me…”
“In case you couldn’t tell that was my sarcastic voice Will. Buffy can’t love, she’s a vampire, a demon with no soul, she’s incapable of love.”
“Are you that blind Dru? You think just because she doesn’t have a soul that she can’t love? She loved Angelus, she was devoted to him…”
“Sire, childe relationship… it’s a bond created by blood not love.”
“It was love, and Angelus loved her too, hell he loved you. He left her for you… how is what she feels for me any different from that…”
“It just is…”
“Great cryptic answer there Dru,” he glared at her again. God she could infuriate him so much at times. “She did… does love me… I know she does… that’s why…” he turned his gaze away, hoping that she wouldn’t see the shame he knew was in his eyes. He was not proud of the way that he’d used Buffy. He’d known that she loved him and he used that against her. She’d willingly let him do whatever he wanted, let him treat her the way he had because she was so desperate to have him in her unlife in one way or another.
“Oh my god,” Dru focused her undivided attention on the road as she pulled the car off onto the shoulder. Turning in her seat she faced him her face almost… angry… at him. “She hasn’t been using you at all… has she? You’ve been using her, and she’s been letting you.”
“I…”
“Why’d she leave Will? The real reason this time, not that evasive bullshit that you spouted off to Rupert about her just up and leaving.”
“We had a fight…”
“A fight… What kind of fight?”
“A bad one,” he admitted rubbing at the leg of his jeans avoiding Dru’s intense gaze.
“How bad? What did you do to her?”
“Nothing, I didn’t lift a finger to her,” he murmured. At least not then a tiny voice in the back of his reminded him. A picture of her beaten, bloody body as she’d tried to stop him from turning himself in for Katrina’s murder flashed through his mind.
He’d left her there then. Hadn’t even gone back to check and make sure she was okay, check to make sure she’d gotten back to her crypt safely. Hadn’t cared so steeped in denial he was he couldn’t see anything besides his own pain.
“Okay… What did you say to her then? Why did she leave Sunnydale?”
“It’s personal.”
“Yeah well your personal could send the world to hell pretty damn quickly,” Dru muttered. When Will refused to meet her eyes instead focusing all his attention on his hands she sighed. “Fine… just tell me this… was whatever you said to her, was it bad enough that if she ran into Angelus that she might go back to him?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. “Maybe.”
“Great,” Dru stated in frustration. “Just great. So now we don’t just only have to worry about protecting her from assassins, now we might need to protect her from Angelus. That’s just great…”
“She won’t…”
“You don’t know what she’ll do, if what you said to her is as bad as I think it is Angelus will be able to sense her pain. He’ll use that to draw her in… we can only hope that we get there before he manages to locate her…”
“Dru…”
“Don’t… we need to get to Chicago soon… I don’t think we have much time.”
“There’s something else going on here isn’t there…” Will studied her, the way her hands were tightly wrapped around the steering wheel, her stiff features. “There’s something else in the prophecy isn’t there? Something that you haven’t told us…”
“We don’t have time Will… After we have her safely back in Sunnydale, I’ll tell you everything. Okay?”
Will hesitated for a moment. His desire to know the truth warring with his desire to not be any more involved than he already was.
“Okay.”
**********************************************************
Buffy stood at the edge of the docks. A faint shell of her former self she had changed her outward appearance to throw off those who might be searching for her. Her once long, curly bleached blond hair, her pride and joy was now gone. She’d had it cut short to her shoulders, had it straightened and returned to her true hair color. The mousy brown that she’d spent her entire life hating. No one would recognize her in her current state.
Although that didn’t stop her from hoping that they might search for her.
She didn’t hold high hopes though that William would though. The angry words, the truths that he had finally spoken to her… it seemed that she was destined forever to walk the Earth alone. Hearing those words spat at her, the words that she’d only heard in her nightmares but never dreamed would ever be uttered from her Slayer’s lips had almost broken her.
A replacement.
He considered her a replacement for Druscilla.
“Hello my love,” she heard the silky voice of her former love before she even sensed his presence. Mentally berating herself for her distraction she turned her head slightly, gazing up at his once beloved face.
At one time Angelus had been her entire world. She had thought the moon rose and set on his shoulders. She would have done anything for him, she would have been anything for him.
But like her Slayer it had been forced home that she was nothing but a replacement for that which he truly wanted.
His Sire.
“Angelus,” her voice came out as a whisper as she returned her gaze to the water. Searching for… hell she had no clue what she was searching for.
“I thought I might find you here,” he said softly. “You used to love the water,” he whispered so close to her ear. When had he gotten that close?
A hand reached up to caress her cheek softly, for a moment she was taken back to happier times. Before Druscilla’s return, before he had left her telling her that she was weak, before the chip that incapacitated her… when it had been just the two of them and she had loved him more than anything else on the planet, she forgot herself and leaned into the familiar touch.
For the longest time after their separation she had craved his touch. He was her sire, her first lover, had been her mate before he had tossed her aside for Druscilla. Now she could only compare his cold soft touch to William’s warmth and felt turmoil within her. If Angelus, one of the most brutal vampires on the planet could touch her with such gentleness why couldn’t William?
If he had touched her with this reverence, with this gentleness she would never have been able to leave him. Regardless of the words he spoke. So maybe it was best that whenever she had made love to him, when he had fucked her it had been with brutal kisses and desperation. It kept her grounded to earth and had finally forced her to see what she hadn’t wanted…
He would never love her; he would never care about her. All he would ever feel for her was anger at her for being able to draw him in and anger at himself for not being able to stay away from her.
“I won’t have you thinking of him in my presence,” Angelus whispered softly in her ear, his hand tangling in her now shoulder length hair tilting her head back so that it lay on his shoulder. He pressed soft open-mouthed kisses to her neck, to her shoulder, suckling gently as she sighed the feeling was so familiar.
“And how do you plan on stopping me pet?” she murmured defiantly.
When his still blunt teeth bit into the skin on her neck she jumped, pulling away as she whirled glaring up at him.
“I plan on reclaiming my property,” he stalked a circle around her. “I’ve let you have your fun, you’ve dallied with the Slayer and I did nothing. You went against your entire nature and I said nothing. But now it’s time for you to come home.”
“Come home? Come home to what?” Buffy snarled at him, punching out at him she clipped him in the jaw. “So you can pretend that I’m her? That’s what he did, that’s what you did. I’m tired of being her substitute.”
“You belong to me,” he growled grabbing her arm he crushed her to him. One hand in her hair he yanked her head to one side baring her throat as she struggled within his grasp. “You’ll always belong to me and I’m going to remind you of that,” he muttered against her throat, her eyes widened as she felt his features shift, felt the sharp points of his fangs press into her skin.
“I’ll bet I can dust you before you even get to draw blood,” came the confident voice from behind them.
“And if he misses I won’t,” came the next one. Buffy closed her eyes as Angelus released her struggling form whirling around to glare at the intruders he hadn’t even sensed approaching.
“You okay Rena?”
“I’m fine,” she pressed a hand to her neck; drawing it away she saw that he had managed to pierce the skin with his fangs. “Did you forget ‘bout me?”
“Nah… Riley wanted to drive; it took us forever to get here.”
“Next time let Faith,” she chided gently as she stepped back.
“What is this?” Angelus snarled his eyes darting between the four, narrowing as he saw the young black man hand Buffy a stake. “Taking up with humans, again? Not really your style is it Buff?”
“There’s quite a few things you don’t know ‘bout me,” Buffy grinned slowly winking at him as she twirled the stake between her fingers. “This…” she waved her hands at the three standing ready. One with a crossbow aimed at his heart, the other two with stakes at the ready. “This is only one of the many things that have changed since we last saw each other, love.”
“Running with humans,” he snorted as he backed away. Better to admit defeat in this matter than wind up a pile of dust and no way to reclaim what was rightfully his. “They’ll betray you just like the Slayer did…”
“Maybe,” she tilted her head watching him leave. “Maybe not.”
When he was gone, her posture relaxed into a slouch of defeatedness. He had affected her more than she wanted to admit. To be that close to her lost love and to only be able to think of the Slayer was a torment she didn’t want to repeat.
“Are you okay?” Faith asked quietly moving up to her side. Her hand resting on Buffy’s shoulder as she peered into the small vampires eyes.
“I’m fine Faith…”
“You just didn’t expect it to hurt so much.” Faith murmured softly her eyes locking on Riley’s before she looked away.
“Something like that,” Buffy shook her head, clearing her mind of thoughts of William and Angelus, focusing instead on the task ahead. “We should go… we have things to do and he may come back. Besides this isn’t your battle, I don’t want you guys involved in it anymore than you already are…”
“We’re as involved as you are, he’s seen us. Seen us all together… Besides Gunn and Riley have already said that if you can’t do this that they will. There’s a lot at stake here… we can’t afford to lose,” Faith said softly.
“I know,” Buffy whispered, staring into the darkness her eyes sought out Angelus. She knew he was there, knew he was waiting. Waiting for her. But Faith was right, what they were doing, what they were up against. They couldn’t afford to lose this fight. Not now. Not ever. “I know.”
**********************************************************
One boy in all the world
Chapter 1
TITLE: Warrior of Light; Warrior of Dark
AUTHOR: Melanie
PAIRINGS: William/Buffy, William/Dru, Buffy/Angelus
RATING: R, for language, violence and sexual situations.
SUMMARY: Prophecies are tricky beasts.
SPOILERS: Pretty much if you’ve seen up through Buffy Season 6 you’re good, just replace Buffy with William.
Warrior of Light; Warrior of Dark – Chapter 2
Will paced the length of the Magic Box. Over a month had passed since Buffy’s disappearance.
The longest 37 days of his entire life as they frantically searched out any leads that would ultimately discern where Buffy had hidden herself.
Both Giles and Dru insisted that they were running out of time. And as the days continued to pass with no sign of Buffy returning to Sunnydale under her own power there was an underlying current of dawning horror.
What if she had already been eliminated and the search was all for naught?
Of course that way of thinking led to a valley of depression that seemed ever growing, as fear that he had never felt before washed over him. The last words that he had spoken to her had been angry bitter ones. Had she left this world hating him?
And if she had he had to wonder why he cared. Why did he care that there was a possibility that she had been dusted? Why did he care what he had said to her?
“She has not been dusted,” Dru said softly, her eyes rising but never actually meeting his. He was actually thankful that this seemed as awkward for her as it did for him. He was kind of scared of what he would see in her eyes. Would he see anger over his choices? Sadness… love?
“What?”
“She’s not been dusted… I would know if she was,” she stated then turned away, turning her attention back to the phone currently pressed to her ear.
Will turned away from her now, focusing his attention on the rest of the newly formed team consisting of members of the Scooby Gang and Dru’s gang.
Cordelia and Xander bickering amongst themselves. Anya at the register keeping one jealous eye trained on her fiancée and his ex-girlfriend. Giles and Wesley hunched over papers spread out on the counter.
Sighing he returned his attention to Dru, finding that she now had the phone gripped firmly between her shoulder and ear intently listening to whoever was speaking to her from the other end, scribbling periodically on a pad of paper in front of her.
Crossing his arms over his chest he studied her. She looked the same.
Would always look the same.
But when had the feelings of indescribable love that he had felt for her turned into a vague feeling of like? She didn’t stir the same feelings in him that she used to. He used to look at her and see home. See the person that he wanted to spend the rest of his probably short life with. Now he looked and all he saw was his past.
Giles came to stand beside him as she hung up the phone. Avoiding their eyes she studied her notes, tapping her pen in a steady staccato rhythm against the desk. When she finally raised her head to them her eyes were disturbed and to Will’s surprise somewhat sad.
“You didn’t find her,” Giles stated softly.
“My informants are quite clear… she’s not returned to any of her old haunts. Although…” she trailed off glancing back down at the paper in front of her with a frown.
“Although what?” Will asked his voice more than a little annoyed at the fact that she was continuing to play the cryptic when they were steadily running out of time.
“They… my informants… they say that Angelus has set up shop in Chicago… that he’s tracking his ‘mate’…”
“Mate? You mean Buffy right?” Will asked with a frown. “He left her though… you know after the whole tying us up together for Valentine’s Day fiasco she engineered.”
“I know,” Dru said with a puzzled expression. “Plus the last I heard he was running with Darla, so it doesn’t make any sense.”
“Unless Angelus has the same information that we do,” Giles said, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket he removed his glasses cleaning them with an absentminded thoroughness that Will had come to expect from his Watcher. “He knows that Buffy has her own prophecy… probably knows what the prophecy says and is going to try and lure her to the other side.”
“There is another scenario,” Dru said softly her hooded eyes meeting Will’s.
“What’s that?” Will asked, tempted to remove the question when he realized that he might not want the answer to it.
“Angelus is quite possessive in nature, of his people, of his belongings. Add in the fact that he turned Buffy, that they were constant companions for over a hundred years… if he were to find out about the two of you…”
“You don’t think his trying to find her has anything to do with the prophecies… do you?” Will’s eyes narrowed as realization dawned on him. “You think he found out about our… whatever and is making a move to take her back.”
“Yes.”
“The two could still be tied,” Giles interjected. “He might be trying to locate Buffy for both reasons which means if he hasn’t already found her than we need to move quickly.”
“How long has he been in Chicago?”
“Five days, he hasn’t moved since he got there so…”
“So Buffy could be in Chicago… any clue as to why she would go there?”
“She has a solicitor that handles some of her affairs there I believe. He’s a vampire; Angelus probably figured that she would go there for money eventually.”
“Wait a minute…” Xander moved up to stand next to Will. “You’re saying that Buffy had money this whole time?”
“Yes… her solicitor wouldn’t tell just anyone where she was but I could probably convince him to at least let us know if she has contacted him recently.”
“Do it,” Will said sharply.
“If she had money why the hell was she living in a crypt?” Xander asked, looking between the three when he received no response. “Hello?”
“It’ll be easier to talk to him in person; he’ll just lie to me if I call him. He knows that Buffy and I aren’t on the best of terms. If I go in person I can persuade him to give us the information we need… I can leave for Chicago at sunset,” Dru said quietly her eyes focused on Will.
“I’ll go with you…”
“I’ll go to,” Xander said sharply his eyes moving between the two. Noting the unspoken communication that was occurring. “Don’t need no Druscilla making a surprise guest appearance.”
“Joy,” Dru scowled. “Rupert?”
“I’ll stay here with the others on the slim chance that Buffy decides to return to Sunnydale on her own… besides Wesley and I would like to go over the texts again.”
“Are you looking for something in particular?”
“Not really… some of passages that were translated by the Council disturbed us. We just want to double check the translations… make sure nothing was left out. Besides the text was so damaged that some passages were unreadable. We’re going to make use of our combined talents and see if we can’t pull the rest of the information out of it.”
“Good… then we all have something to do,” Will nodded. “You’ll keep an eye on Dawn?” he asked Giles his glancing over to where Willow and Tara had their heads bent over books at the round table.
“Of course… but Willow…”
“I’d feel better if you were watching over her,” Will said softly not quite meeting his Watchers curious eyes. They hadn’t shared Willow’s magic addiction problem with the others yet. If Will had his way they wouldn’t either. But Dawn still wasn’t all that comfortable with Willow and Will shuddered to think what shape both girls would be in if he left them alone together.
Will sighed as he stared at the scenery whizzing by. He’d offered to drive but in a moment of camaraderie both Dru and Xander had shot that idea down. Of course that camaraderie hadn’t lasted long of course. The bickering had resumed almost moments after Dru took the wheel.
Thankfully they were nearing Chicago because he didn’t think he could stand the steadily growing levels of animosity between Dru and Xander, he might just lose it and kill one of them.
Right now all was quiet though. Xander was sleeping sprawled out in the backseat and Dru was silently driving. If he focused on her he would probably see her brooding and he didn’t think he could handle that.
It was bad enough that he couldn’t figure out what exactly it was that he felt for Buffy, but throwing his feelings for Dru into that mess could only make it all worse.
“So… you and Buffy…” Dru started awkwardly after checking the rear view mirror to make sure Xander was still asleep.
“Yeah…”
“She’s an… interesting choice…”
Will turned his head to look at her. She was relaxed in the seat, didn’t seem tense.
“What do you mean?”
“Well… she’s a vampire…”
“Yeah I’d noticed that, what with the fangs and the constant need for blood and destruction.”
“She’s a soulless vampire, a demon held back by a piece of technology.”
“Christ do you and Xander have the same speech writer or something?” Will muttered. Gripping the door handle tightly he glared at her. “Besides what right do you have to say anything? You broke up with me remember? Any right that you might have had to tell me who I could and couldn’t fuck you gave up the moment you left me! I mean god… you must remember the speech. God knows it’s imprinted in my memory forever… Depressing breakup speech in the sewer right before the prom? You leaving so I could have a normal life and all that… that crap… Guess what Dru… I’m the Slayer; I don’t get to have a normal life.”
“I know I have no right,” Dru said softly. “I know I’ve made bad choices… But Buffy?… what the hell were you thinking?”
“Wasn’t really much about thinking, more about doing.”
“You don’t think that the moment she gets that chip out of her head that she won’t come after you? She’s tried to kill you how many times and now that’s the only thing holding her back. She’s nothing but a leashed killer and sooner or later that leash is going to break. I just don’t want to see you get hurt when it finally does.”
“Too late,” he whispered turning away, staring out the window, not seeing anything as he tried to decide if he should tell Dru the truth about the chip.
“What do you mean?”
“Her chip doesn’t work on me anymore,” he admitted softly. “It hasn’t for a while now.”
“What?” Dru asked startled her gaze flying to him.
“Road!” he barked hands flying to the dashboard to brace himself as the car swerved violently into the other lane.
“What do you mean the chip doesn’t work on you?” she asked once she’d regained control of the car and pulled it back into the appropriate lane.
“It doesn’t work on me, she can hit me, kill me, torture me, whatever and the chip won’t go off.”
“What…? How long?”
“Since I got back… Tara said it had something to do with the spell they used. It changed me, changed the way the chip identifies me just enough that it doesn’t see me as human.”
“Oh,” Dru gripped the steering wheel. “Oh boy…”
“She won’t hurt me Dru… she…”
“She what? Loves you? Cares about you?” Dru asked sarcastically.
“She does… Love me…”
“In case you couldn’t tell that was my sarcastic voice Will. Buffy can’t love, she’s a vampire, a demon with no soul, she’s incapable of love.”
“Are you that blind Dru? You think just because she doesn’t have a soul that she can’t love? She loved Angelus, she was devoted to him…”
“Sire, childe relationship… it’s a bond created by blood not love.”
“It was love, and Angelus loved her too, hell he loved you. He left her for you… how is what she feels for me any different from that…”
“It just is…”
“Great cryptic answer there Dru,” he glared at her again. God she could infuriate him so much at times. “She did… does love me… I know she does… that’s why…” he turned his gaze away, hoping that she wouldn’t see the shame he knew was in his eyes. He was not proud of the way that he’d used Buffy. He’d known that she loved him and he used that against her. She’d willingly let him do whatever he wanted, let him treat her the way he had because she was so desperate to have him in her unlife in one way or another.
“Oh my god,” Dru focused her undivided attention on the road as she pulled the car off onto the shoulder. Turning in her seat she faced him her face almost… angry… at him. “She hasn’t been using you at all… has she? You’ve been using her, and she’s been letting you.”
“I…”
“Why’d she leave Will? The real reason this time, not that evasive bullshit that you spouted off to Rupert about her just up and leaving.”
“We had a fight…”
“A fight… What kind of fight?”
“A bad one,” he admitted rubbing at the leg of his jeans avoiding Dru’s intense gaze.
“How bad? What did you do to her?”
“Nothing, I didn’t lift a finger to her,” he murmured. At least not then a tiny voice in the back of his reminded him. A picture of her beaten, bloody body as she’d tried to stop him from turning himself in for Katrina’s murder flashed through his mind.
He’d left her there then. Hadn’t even gone back to check and make sure she was okay, check to make sure she’d gotten back to her crypt safely. Hadn’t cared so steeped in denial he was he couldn’t see anything besides his own pain.
“Okay… What did you say to her then? Why did she leave Sunnydale?”
“It’s personal.”
“Yeah well your personal could send the world to hell pretty damn quickly,” Dru muttered. When Will refused to meet her eyes instead focusing all his attention on his hands she sighed. “Fine… just tell me this… was whatever you said to her, was it bad enough that if she ran into Angelus that she might go back to him?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. “Maybe.”
“Great,” Dru stated in frustration. “Just great. So now we don’t just only have to worry about protecting her from assassins, now we might need to protect her from Angelus. That’s just great…”
“She won’t…”
“You don’t know what she’ll do, if what you said to her is as bad as I think it is Angelus will be able to sense her pain. He’ll use that to draw her in… we can only hope that we get there before he manages to locate her…”
“Dru…”
“Don’t… we need to get to Chicago soon… I don’t think we have much time.”
“There’s something else going on here isn’t there…” Will studied her, the way her hands were tightly wrapped around the steering wheel, her stiff features. “There’s something else in the prophecy isn’t there? Something that you haven’t told us…”
“We don’t have time Will… After we have her safely back in Sunnydale, I’ll tell you everything. Okay?”
Will hesitated for a moment. His desire to know the truth warring with his desire to not be any more involved than he already was.
“Okay.”
Buffy stood at the edge of the docks. A faint shell of her former self she had changed her outward appearance to throw off those who might be searching for her. Her once long, curly bleached blond hair, her pride and joy was now gone. She’d had it cut short to her shoulders, had it straightened and returned to her true hair color. The mousy brown that she’d spent her entire life hating. No one would recognize her in her current state.
Although that didn’t stop her from hoping that they might search for her.
She didn’t hold high hopes though that William would though. The angry words, the truths that he had finally spoken to her… it seemed that she was destined forever to walk the Earth alone. Hearing those words spat at her, the words that she’d only heard in her nightmares but never dreamed would ever be uttered from her Slayer’s lips had almost broken her.
A replacement.
He considered her a replacement for Druscilla.
“Hello my love,” she heard the silky voice of her former love before she even sensed his presence. Mentally berating herself for her distraction she turned her head slightly, gazing up at his once beloved face.
At one time Angelus had been her entire world. She had thought the moon rose and set on his shoulders. She would have done anything for him, she would have been anything for him.
But like her Slayer it had been forced home that she was nothing but a replacement for that which he truly wanted.
His Sire.
“Angelus,” her voice came out as a whisper as she returned her gaze to the water. Searching for… hell she had no clue what she was searching for.
“I thought I might find you here,” he said softly. “You used to love the water,” he whispered so close to her ear. When had he gotten that close?
A hand reached up to caress her cheek softly, for a moment she was taken back to happier times. Before Druscilla’s return, before he had left her telling her that she was weak, before the chip that incapacitated her… when it had been just the two of them and she had loved him more than anything else on the planet, she forgot herself and leaned into the familiar touch.
For the longest time after their separation she had craved his touch. He was her sire, her first lover, had been her mate before he had tossed her aside for Druscilla. Now she could only compare his cold soft touch to William’s warmth and felt turmoil within her. If Angelus, one of the most brutal vampires on the planet could touch her with such gentleness why couldn’t William?
If he had touched her with this reverence, with this gentleness she would never have been able to leave him. Regardless of the words he spoke. So maybe it was best that whenever she had made love to him, when he had fucked her it had been with brutal kisses and desperation. It kept her grounded to earth and had finally forced her to see what she hadn’t wanted…
He would never love her; he would never care about her. All he would ever feel for her was anger at her for being able to draw him in and anger at himself for not being able to stay away from her.
“I won’t have you thinking of him in my presence,” Angelus whispered softly in her ear, his hand tangling in her now shoulder length hair tilting her head back so that it lay on his shoulder. He pressed soft open-mouthed kisses to her neck, to her shoulder, suckling gently as she sighed the feeling was so familiar.
“And how do you plan on stopping me pet?” she murmured defiantly.
When his still blunt teeth bit into the skin on her neck she jumped, pulling away as she whirled glaring up at him.
“I plan on reclaiming my property,” he stalked a circle around her. “I’ve let you have your fun, you’ve dallied with the Slayer and I did nothing. You went against your entire nature and I said nothing. But now it’s time for you to come home.”
“Come home? Come home to what?” Buffy snarled at him, punching out at him she clipped him in the jaw. “So you can pretend that I’m her? That’s what he did, that’s what you did. I’m tired of being her substitute.”
“You belong to me,” he growled grabbing her arm he crushed her to him. One hand in her hair he yanked her head to one side baring her throat as she struggled within his grasp. “You’ll always belong to me and I’m going to remind you of that,” he muttered against her throat, her eyes widened as she felt his features shift, felt the sharp points of his fangs press into her skin.
“I’ll bet I can dust you before you even get to draw blood,” came the confident voice from behind them.
“And if he misses I won’t,” came the next one. Buffy closed her eyes as Angelus released her struggling form whirling around to glare at the intruders he hadn’t even sensed approaching.
“You okay Rena?”
“I’m fine,” she pressed a hand to her neck; drawing it away she saw that he had managed to pierce the skin with his fangs. “Did you forget ‘bout me?”
“Nah… Riley wanted to drive; it took us forever to get here.”
“Next time let Faith,” she chided gently as she stepped back.
“What is this?” Angelus snarled his eyes darting between the four, narrowing as he saw the young black man hand Buffy a stake. “Taking up with humans, again? Not really your style is it Buff?”
“There’s quite a few things you don’t know ‘bout me,” Buffy grinned slowly winking at him as she twirled the stake between her fingers. “This…” she waved her hands at the three standing ready. One with a crossbow aimed at his heart, the other two with stakes at the ready. “This is only one of the many things that have changed since we last saw each other, love.”
“Running with humans,” he snorted as he backed away. Better to admit defeat in this matter than wind up a pile of dust and no way to reclaim what was rightfully his. “They’ll betray you just like the Slayer did…”
“Maybe,” she tilted her head watching him leave. “Maybe not.”
When he was gone, her posture relaxed into a slouch of defeatedness. He had affected her more than she wanted to admit. To be that close to her lost love and to only be able to think of the Slayer was a torment she didn’t want to repeat.
“Are you okay?” Faith asked quietly moving up to her side. Her hand resting on Buffy’s shoulder as she peered into the small vampires eyes.
“I’m fine Faith…”
“You just didn’t expect it to hurt so much.” Faith murmured softly her eyes locking on Riley’s before she looked away.
“Something like that,” Buffy shook her head, clearing her mind of thoughts of William and Angelus, focusing instead on the task ahead. “We should go… we have things to do and he may come back. Besides this isn’t your battle, I don’t want you guys involved in it anymore than you already are…”
“We’re as involved as you are, he’s seen us. Seen us all together… Besides Gunn and Riley have already said that if you can’t do this that they will. There’s a lot at stake here… we can’t afford to lose,” Faith said softly.
“I know,” Buffy whispered, staring into the darkness her eyes sought out Angelus. She knew he was there, knew he was waiting. Waiting for her. But Faith was right, what they were doing, what they were up against. They couldn’t afford to lose this fight. Not now. Not ever. “I know.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-06-05 02:52 am (UTC)RRaine