The Moonlight Series
By Sunfire
Part 22a: In a New Light
As Spike and Angelus entered the apartment panic
gripped Willow. *Oh goddess,
this is such a bad idea! What if Spike thinks I look
like a slut in this, or what if he thinks I
look ugly!* Willow looked down at the outfit. She
tugged desperately at the short top,
but it refused to come within an inch of her
bellybutton.
Faith watched the hacker as she looked franticly
between her and the door as the
two vampires stepped into the apartment and closed the
door. "Relax Red, ya look great,
one look at you in that and he will be seeing you in a
whole new light, if you know what I
mean," the brunette whispered as she patted her on
the back and headed into the other
room.
Willow considered running for the bedroom,
unfortunately she was standing
directly across from where Spike happened to be
standing. Spike looked up before she
had a chance to turn around, "Will?!"
*Oh Goddess, he's seen me. It's too late to run for
it now! Shit shit shit shit!*
*She looks.....by the gods, she's beautiful.* His
eyes traveled along her body;
starting at the boots, to the short leather mini that
showed her long legs. Then to the
croptop whose deep red color brought out her pale
skin, making it almost glow; past the
jean jacket, to her face. A blush tinted her cheeks
and the eyeliner made her wide eyes
seem huge.
Spike and Willow stood staring at each other
oblivious to the two other people in
the room (well, one other vampire, and a slayer).
Silently, Faith and Angelus watched the
wordless exchange untill the brunette slayer's voice
broke them out of their reverie.
"Well, um, it's getting pretty late, so we should
probably get going."
Willow looked over towards her new found friend, then
at the 'man' who was once
her friend, then her feared enemy, to later become her
friend again. *What does that make
him now?* She recalled how Faith had talked of the
once again soulless vampire earlier,
how she said he could be gentle and sweet. She looked
at them and took in how he held
her; his arms around her waist from behind, Faith
resting against him, her head on his
shoulder. She saw how Angelus looked at the other
slayer, a slight smile forming on his
lips, his eyes shining as she looked back at him and
smiled. *He's not Angel, but he
doesn't act anything like the Angelus that tried to
kill us last year. Maybe I should give
him a chance. He hasn't tried to kill me at all,
which definitely earns him points. Of
course, he did want to turn me, and I guess that
should scare me, but it doesn't. It's
actually flattering. I mean, he thought enough of me
to want me around for several
hundred years. It can really boosts a girl's self
esteem when you think about it. Plus he
does have the whole 'he is sexy as hell' thing going
for him. He's not quite as yummy as
Spike, but damn, he's hot!*
"You're right, you should probably get going," Spike
said, not letting his eyes
leave Willow.
Faith and Angelus opened the door and walked down
the stars and out the front
door of the apartment complex with Willow and Spike
behind them.
"I guess I'll be seein' ya mate." Spike said, looking
at Angelus.
"You can count on it, my boy." Angelus smirked as he
hit Spike on the shoulder.
* * *
Buffy and Xander watched from across the street as
the two vampires said good-
by. "What is Willlow wearing?! What she wore to
school was bad enough, but she looks
like, like, I don't even know!"
"Hey Buff? Does that outfit look familiar to you
too?"
"Yeah, it kinda does. That looks like what Faith was
wearing the other day!!!!"
* * *
Willow walked over to Faith. "Thanks for sticking up
for me earlier. You know
with Buffy and all."
"No prob. Red. Thanks for sticking up for me too."
As she gave the hacker a hug
she whispered in her ear, "Don't forget the dare.
You've got to kiss him, with tongue."
Willow blushed a little as she thought about the dare.
Faith only smiled, "If you've got to
do it you might as well make it worth while." The
slayer laughed as her blush darkened.
"Don't forget yours either. I want all the details."
Willow reminded her in a
whisper so the guys couldn't hear. Both girls started
giggling as they thought of the
conversation they would be having the next day.
"I wonder what those two are talking about." Spike
commented to his sire as they
watched the girls. Faith and Willow glanced over at
them and started to laugh harder.
The guys exchanged looks. "That can't be a good sign
mate." Angelus shook his head in
agreement. "If you two are about finished?"
After they had stopped laughing they gave each other
another hug and said
goodbye before Faith gave Spike a hug as well. Then
Spike and Angelus clapped each
other on the back. Angelus walked up to Willow and
looked at her. *She sure has
changed since I last saw her.* He thought. Willow
shifted nervously from foot to foot
under his gaze and pulled the jean jacked closed .
*Still shy though.*
Willow looked at the vampire. "You going to stand
there staring or what?" She
clipped.
*She's spunky too!* He thought with amusement.
"Sorry, didn't mean to stare
Red." *I wonder what she would do if I gave her a
hug?* "Spike here's been telling me a
lot about you. Maybe sometime we could have a chat or
something. It seems I've got
quite a bit to learn about you; you're not exactly
what I thought you were."
"Yeah, well, I'm full of surprises. Unfortunately
not very many people think I'm
me at all; they have this idea I'm possessed or
something. I mean, why else would I be
living with Spike, friends with Faith, or talking to
you?"
"Let me guess, would those people be the human vacuum
cleaner known as
Xander, the slayer with a skull thicker than the
Codex, and the only person in the U.S.
whose entire wardrobe consists of tweed?"
Willow broke into uncontrollable laughter, dispelling
any tension between the
vampire and the hacker.
* * *
"Is she talking to him?" Buffy asked in bewilderment
as she watched them.
"Now she's laughing! Why is she laughing at him?!"
Xander's voice was so high
pitched he was almost sqwelling.
* * *
Willow finally gained control and whipped the tears
from her eyes as she stopped
laughing. "You made a joke! Angel never made jokes.
He was too busy brooding or
playing Crytic Guy! You may be a soulless demon that
has tried to kill me numerous
times, but you've got one hell of a sense of humor I
must say."
"Why thank you. Anyway, we must be going now. I'll
see you around Red." He
gave her a quick hug, and walked over to Faith. *He's
not too bad.* Thought the hacker.
Spike glared at his sire, and had to hold down a
growl as he hugged the red-head.
"I'll talk to ya tomorrow Red, and don't forget;
before sunrise." Faith called as she
walked off with Angelus towards the mansion. She
could see a deep blush forming on the
red head's cheeks and laughed. "Have fun Blondie!"
She called over her shoulder.
* * *
"She... She...She..." Xander stuttered.
"She...hugged...him." Buffy finished wide eyed.
They looked at each other with
white faces; their mouths hanging open. "We gotta
call Giles."
* * *
Part 22b: In a New Light
Willow and Spike made their way back into their apartment and as Spike shut the door she sat on the couch, staring at her hands that she was clasping and unclasping nervously. "So..." Spike sat down on the couch and looked at Willow, who was still blushing furiously and wouldn't look up at him. "So...what was Faith talking about back there pet?" He noticed she blushed even more at his question, and quickly changed the subject. "How did things go with Angelus? What did you guys talk about?" *He had to ask didn't he? I'm probably beet red by now.* "We, um, well, we beat the crap out off each other. Then we talked; resolved some issues." *Talked. Right. More like yelled and screamed for about an hour, fought some more, then talked.* "So, you guys made up?" Willow asked. "Yeah, I guess we did luv." *Did she sound hopeful when she asked that or was it just me?* "So, ducks, were you gonna tell me what Faith was talking 'bout?" "What kinds of thing did you guys talk about?" Willow asked, dodging the question once again. *Why does she keep avoiding the question? Must be something she doesn't want me to know about. All the more incentive for me to find out. You can't avoid it forever my little vixen.* "Well, we both had some issues to get off our chests I guess." "Really, like what?" "Well...there was the whole him takin' Dru from me, shaggin' her within ear shot of my bedroom, and then flaunting it every chance he got. Then the fact that when he got his soul he abandoned Dru an' me, like we was his dirty laundry. Even when he lost his soul last time he ignored us, too focused on the damn slayer to give a shit about us." *Why does she look so upset?* *Dru. Should have known. Of course that's what it was. Dru was the love of his unlife, probably still is. I don't know why I'm surprised. Or why I'm so upset for that matter. Spike is my friend, nothing more, no matter how much I wish it were more than that. I can't kiss him now. He'll probably be disgusted by me. And then I'll lose the best friend I have. The only person who really knows and accepts me.* "But we talked it out, had a nice dose of violence and the air's all clear," *What is goin' on in that pretty little head of hers? She looks on the verge of tears.* He scooted over on the sofa towards her. He put a hand on her shoulder lightly. "What's wrong luv? Are you all right?" Concern filled his voice as he watched a tear fall down her cheek. Willow flinched as he put his arm around her shoulder. To Spike it was a slap in the face, and he quickly took his arm away. They sat on the couch for several minutes; Willow berating herself for ever thinking she had a chance with Spike, while identical thoughts went through the blond vampire's head. Then the phone rang, shattering the silence that hung heavy in the apartment and Willow jumped up and went over and picked up the phone. "Yeah?" "Wow, a little anxious there Red." Faith's amused voice came over the line. "Faith!" The hacker exclaimed, relief pouring through her. "Yeah, you OK? You sound a little weird." "Yeah, 'course, why not?" She replied with an uneasy laugh. "You sound like you've been crying. What happened? Why were you crying?" "N...Nothing." Willow said, as another sob escaped. "Don't give me nothing. What happened?" Worry could be heard plainly in the brunette's voice.
Spike watched from the couch as Willow went from relieved at talking to Faith, to crying again. *Why won't you tell me what's wrong Will?* He ran a hand through his hair warily.
"Will, tell me what happened, so I know whether I need to come over there and kick the shit out of Spike." "NO! I mean, you don't have to do that, really. It's not his fault, it's me. I'm such an idiot" Several sobs came unbidden as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
With his vampiric hearing Spike listened in on the conversation across the room. *What is she talking about? What's not whose fault?*
"You're not an idiot. Why would you think that?" Faith questioned. "I was so stupid, to think I had a chance with him." "A chance? Oh, a chance with Spike you mean?" "Yeah." "You do. Why would you think you didn't. Of course you do, he likes you, a lot, trust me, I can tell. Even Angelus says so." "Well, you're wrong. 'Cause he doesn't." More tears fell from her eyes and she whipped them away angrily. "I'm telling you he does. Do you know what they talked about tonight?" Faith asked the red-head. "Yeah. Dru." She spat out the last word as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.
*A chance? A chance with who? Who doesn't what? Dru? What does Dru have to do with this?* The questions swam around in his head as he tried to figure out what Willow was talking about.
"Will, hold on a sec." Faith said. Willow heard static as if the receiver were being covered; then a muffled "Angelus! Come in here." "Faith! Faith what are you doing?!" Willow practically yelled into the phone. "Bring the portable in here, we need to clear something up." Faith instructed the dark haired vampire. Willow could hear another phone being picked up and Angelus' unmistakable voice on the other line. "Will here doesn't believe me that Spikey has the hoots for her." "Faith!" Willow's voice cracked and she was flooded with embarrassment. "Spike, have the hots for Willow?!" Angelus laughed. "To put it lightly." "Really?!" Disbelief and hope could be heard in the hacker's voice. "Really. He likes you a lot Red. He just won't show it. He's shy, as strange as that sounds. He's always been different than any vampire I've known." Pride and affection colored the older vampire's words. "Now that we have that cleared up, me an' Angelus were wondering if you and Spike might want to get together with us for a movie or something tomorrow night." Faith asked. "Sure that'd be great." Willow answered, enthusiastically. "Good. We'll come by a little after sunset, 'kay?" "Ok, thanks. Bye Angelus, bye Faith, I'll see you guys tomorrow." Willow said, a smile hovering on her lips. "Bye Red, remember, before sunrise." With that, all three disconnected.
Part 22c: In a New Light
Willow looked from the phone to Spike and back again,
and started blushing.
*Man, how many times am I going to do that today?*
Willow woundered.
Spike watched as Willow wrapped up the conversation.
*What would be great?
Angelus? Why is she talking to him? Now she's
smiling. What did he say to her? Now
she's blushing! I'm am going to tare the wanker
apart!*
Willow hung up the phone, and Spike motioned for her
to come over. "I'm going
to go wash my face, I'll be right back." *Great, now
he wants to talk. Maybe I can still
tell Faith I never had the opportunity to fulfill the
dare. But if Spike talks to Angelus and
Angelus talks to Faith, she'll know I'm lying. Shit,
shit shit!* When she came out of the
bathroom her thoughts were a little more organized.
*You can do this, you can, you have
to. Just kiss him, that's all you have to do. You've
kissed guys before, you can do it. Of
course they weren't Spike, your sexy roommate, but
still. You can do it. You can do it.*
She went into the kitchen, where she got two sodas out
of the fridge.
As she brought the sodas over to the couch Spike
forgot why he was so upset as
he looked at his small room mate. Her face was red
from crying and the blush still
lingered on her cheeks. She had taken off all the
heavy make-up and the boots. She had
painted her toe nails a couple of days ago while they
had watched movies and the dark
bl*ue stood out against her porcelain skin. She still
wore the black leather mini skirt, deep
red spaghetti strap crop top that despite the jean
jacket, gave a full view of her flat
stomach. She had pulled her hair into a pony tail,
leaving her long neck bare. *She looks
like a goddess.* He thought. She gathered her feet
under her as she sat on the couch next
to him and set the sodas on the coffee table.
"So, what was that about?" Spike asked, desperately
wanting to know what she
was so upset about.
"No one. I mean nothing. Yep. Nothing. Nothing at
all. And not vampires or
anything. Definitely not vampires. No vampires in
that conversation. Well, except
Angelus; cause we were talking to him. But no other
vampires. Of course I don't know
any other vampires, besides Angelus. Well, I know
you, but we weren't talking about you.
Most definitely not talking about you. Not at all.
Nope. And I'm babbling, so I'll shut up
now." Willow's face was bright red, and she avoided
looking at the blond sitting across
from her.
Spike's mind was going a mile a minute. He had
gotten fairly good at
understanding what he had dubbed 'Willow speach', and
he was sorting through what she
had been going on about when something clicked; namely
her fervent denial of talking
about vampires, in particularly, him. *Why does she
want me to think that she wasn't
talking about me?* He replayed everything that had
happened that day, starting with
when Willow had first gotten upset.
*When we got back to the apartment after Faith and
Angelus left she was blushing
and acted really nervous. She asked what me an'
Angelus talked about, and when I told
her she started to look like she was gonna cry. Then
when I touched her she got even
more upset. When Faith called she seemed better, then
was cryin' again, saying ''it wasn't
his fault'' and that she was ''stupid to think she had
a chance with him.'' She told Faith she
was wrong about something and that ''he'' didn't
something. Next she was talkin' about
Dru, with venom in 'er voice.* Spike stole a glance
at the object of his thoughts. The
hacker, still blushing, was looking intently at the
soda can she was holding in her lap.
*I wonder why she sounded so pissed when she
mentioned Dru? The only time
we've talked about Dru lately is when I was tellin'
'er about why I was mad a Angelus.
Wait, that's when she first started to get really
upset. But what would bother her about
how the ninny fucked and flaunted Dru in front of me?
And who is the 'him' she kept
talkin' about? The one she didn't have a chance with?
Could she be talkin' about that wolf
of her's? No, she'd said she was over him, and I
believe her. So who? Xander, no, not
him. Who does that leave? Come on mate, there aren't
that many men in her life. It
couldn't be Angelus, or his nancy boy counter-part,
she hadn't acted upset until I started
tellin' her about the fact that I was mad at the sod
about the way he used my love for Dru
to hurt me. That only leaves the watcher, who is
definitely out of the question; an' me.*
Spike froze as the thought hit him. It seemed too
good to be true; that the small
witch returned his feelings. Then it started coming
together, all the pieces falling into
place. Her reaction to his talk of how jealous he'd
been of Angelus and Dru. *Could she
have been jealous?* Then he thought of how she had
been so adamant that she hadn't
been talking about him to Faith on the phone.
*Could I be the one she thought she didn't have a
chance with? But what was she
telling Faith she was wrong about? If I'm the guy she
was talking about, she had said that
I didn't something and Faith must have disagreed.
That's when Angelus got on the phone
and told her something that made her all happy. But
what would dear ol' dad have told
her? Basically all we talked about was why we wanted
to stake each other, then we went
back to the appartment. On the way we discussed the
slayer he's shaggin' and he asked me
what I thought...that's it. He asked me what I
thought of Will, and I told him how much I
fancied her. I wonder if that's what he told her that
cheered her up so much?*
Spike thought about all the possibilities, but the
more he thought about it the more
everything fit; what he'd told his sire, and Willow's
change in mood after talking to him.
Even with all the information, the blonde was still
reluctant to make any moves. *What if
I'm wrong? I don't want to ruin our friendship.* But
then there was that little voice that
shouted *Who else could she possible have been talking
about? You know you want her,
just go for it already!* He looked at his room mate
again, letting his eyes wander over her
body; paying special attention to her slender neck,
the tops of her round creamy breasts,
the flat, hard muscles of her stomach, and her long
legs. He felt himself harden at the
vision before him, and decided to throw caution to the
wind. *It's now or never. Damn,
talk about a cliche. Oh well. Now, I just have to
make a move.*
"Luv?" His voice was low and deeper than she had
ever heard it before; and it sent
shivers up her spine. Willow looked up and their eyes
looked. As he gazed into the
emerald pools of her eyes he saw something in there
depths he had dreamed of seeing for
months, desire; for him. He wasn't sure what else he
saw there, whether it was love or
lust, he didn't know, but it was more than enough. He
softly placed his hand on her face,
running hi thumb along her damp cheek. He leaned
forward slowly, never releasing her
eyes. He almost groaned aloud when he felt her hot
breath on his face. When their lips
met, hardly any pressure; just a whisper of a touch,
it was as if dozens of fireworks
exploded. As Spike added a little more pressure to
her lips; his hand finding its way into
her silky tresses. Willow's hand soon began to gently
massage the back of his neck as she
ran her fingers through the short hair she found
there.
They pulled apart slowly, pale blue meeting dark
green; for the first time
recognizing and accepting the feelings reflected
there. "Better?" The question was almost
a whisper, but it seemed to echo throughout the entire
room. She gave him a small,
uncertain smile. "You wanna tell me what made my
littl' pixie cry?" He asked.
"It was nothing." She tried to look away, but his
gently turned her face back
towards his. "I, well, um, I feel so stupid."
"You could never be stupid Will."
"It's just, when you were talking about Dru, well, I
just, I mean, no one's ever
talked about me like that before. I don't know. I
guess hearing you, I mean about Dru,
and not, well, not me, I guess I was a little, um,
jealous." The beginnings of a blush
stained her pale features and Spike felt like there
was a melting pot inside; pouring lava
into every vein in his body.
"Of what pet? Jealous of what?" If his lungs
actually worked he would have been
holding his breath.
It took his advanced hearing to catch what she said
next. "Dru." The lava turned
into scalding fire as it spread through him. He
brought her mouth to his and kissed her
before she could take a breath. When he let go, she
was gasping for air.
"Oh Will, sweet, sweet Willow. My sweet, wonderful
Willow." The vampire and
the witch smiled as if they had just won the lottery.
But the smile faded from her face as
she saw the clock. "What's wrong?"
"It's, um, it's almost 5:00."
"So?"
"Well, um, 5:00 is sunrise."
"Oh, right, didn't Faith say something about sunrise.
Like, you had to do
something before sunrise?" He was eager to know what
it was the girls had been talking
about that she didn't want him to know about.
"Yeah, you see, before you and Angelus got here, we
were, you know, doing girl
stuff, and we um, were playing truth or dare, and
Faith, she, um, dared me to...to...to do
this." With a sudden burst of courage Willow leaned
over, pulled him to her, and pushed
her lips to his. Her bravado increased when he
started to kiss her back, so she let her
tongue run along his lips; asking for permission into
his mouth. When he opened his
mouth her tongue began to tentatively explore.
Spike was in heaven. Or as close as a vampire could
get. When he felt her ask
entrance and his lips parted, allowing her hot tongue
inside he felt electric shocks go
through him. His tongue joined hers, and began it's
own exploration of her hot cavern as a
moan escaped; from who, neither knew. Nor did they
care.
The lack of oxygen forced them to reluctantly
separate. "I think you and Faith
should get together more often, pet. And you two
should definitely play truth or dare, a
lot more often if that's what's gonna happen."
"Maybe you should tell her that tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah, when we were on the phone Faith asked if we
wanted to get together with
her and Angelus for movie, or something. I told her
that sounded like fun. So, she said
they'd be here a little after sunset."
"Ok. But, sunset's quite a ways away, so what do you
say we think about that
latter, and find another way to entertain ourselves
until then?" He smiled as he added
huskily, "Now, where were we?" Willow's heart rate
increased as he leaned down,
capturing her mouth.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Over nine thousand miles away, the moonlight shone down on a lone figure standing in a clearing. Her child-like voice rang through the clear night. "Miss Edith, I have a secret, Daddy's home. It's time for his princess to go see her daddy." Laughter echoed off of nearby trees as the woman began to dance beneath the stars.
Part 23a: Come to Daddy
A long sigh escaped the hacker's lips as she stared into the bathroom mirror. However, instead of sighing in exaustion, anger, or sadness as before; this time Willow sighed from utter happiness. Spike stood in the doorway, watching as Willow brushed her hair, a content smile on her face. He made his way over to the sink and stood behind her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. Willow's smile grew as he began massaging her shoulders, and she leanded against his chest; her head resting in the crock of his neck. The blonde vampire smiled when Willow leaned into his embraced, loving the feel of her small frame against his own. Similar thoughts ran through the red head's mind as she recalled how they had spent the night before; in each other's arms. She could almost feel his lips on her again. Just one touch from the man behind her could congure feelings she had never experienced before. With Oz it was sweet, comforting, safe; almost boring. But with Spike it was exciting, and passionate. When he looked at her it felt like her insides were melting. And when he touched her it was as if she were being consumed by a blazing inferno. Her knees went week and every nerve in her body tingled. Spike leaned forward and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek, before softly whispering in her ear, "Ready sweet? Faith and Angelus should be here any minute." "I've just got to finish my hair real quick." Willow ran the brush through her hair one more time before pulling half of it up into a twist, and clipping it into place. Next she touched up the black eyeliner she applyed ithinly around her eyes earlier and added a little bronze shadow and a small amount of the maroon lipgloss Faith had left for her to use. Spike watched her walk into the front room with a smile. She was wearing a pair of brown leather pants and one inch heeled brown boots, with a scoop neck white sleeveless top with straps that went aroung her neck, leaving her shoulders bare, along with most of her back considering the back of the tank top didn't start until just below her shoulder blades. A loud knock on the door forced Spike to pull his eyes off of his small roommate as she leaned over to pick up her purse. He walked over and opened the door. As soon as the door was open a very pissed Faith stormed into the apartment. "We've got a problem." The brunette slayer announced. "What's wrong luv?" Spike asked. "Why don't you come see for yourself. Maybe you can do something. Nothing me or Angelus have tried is working; so Angelus said to come get you." Faith said as they left the apartment and headed towards the mansion. "He said you might have better luck." She explained, looking at the blond vampire. Willow watched her new friend as she ground her teeth and clenched her fists in anger and frustration. "What happened?" The hacker questioned. "Well, we were getting ready to come get you guys when we heard something out in the garden, so we go outside to check and there she is. It wasn't two seconds before she was all over him. I was gonna stake her right then but Angelus wouldn't let me. After about twenty minutes of trying to get rid of her, Angelus sent me to go get you, saying something about you having more experience with her or something. If I had my way the whore would be dead by now." The hate in her voice was strong and her face showed her anger as the slayer lead the roommates the last few blocks to the mansion. "I don't care what you do but get that crazy bitch off _my_ Angelus! If I hear one more word about her 'daddy' I don't care what Angelus says, she's dust," the slayer practically hissed as she opened the large doors. "Wait a second, Dru? Dru's back? She's here?" Spike almost yelled. He practically ran the rest of the way into the main room of the mansion, the two girls right behind him. When they made it into the room the younger vampire stoped short causing Willow to run into him. Willow looked curiously over his shoulder trying to she what made the blonde stop so suddenly. What she saw made the red head's eyes go wide and left her mouth hanging open. Angelus stood in the middle of the room, with the dark haired vampress firmly attached to his arm. Angelus let out a loud sigh as she refused to losen her grip. Faith stood in the doorway, bairly restrained furry showing in her pose. "Drusilla! Get. Off. Of. Me!" Angelus growled, the elder vampire's frustration evident as he looked towards the new arrivals, with an expresion that said 'help me or you'll regret it.' Spike approached the vampires hesitantly, speaking soflty, "Dru, ducks, why don't we go over and sit down on the couch and we can have a right nice family chat." "Spikey, Daddy's been naughty. He's with the bad slayer. He doesn't want his princess anymore." As Spike coaxed Drusilla over to the couch, Willow and Faith remained just outside of the room. "I don't see why I can't just stake her," Faith said, venom in her voice as she watched the three vampires. "Why the hell is she suddenly back here again anyway? Wasn't she in Brazil or something?" "Yeah, but she is kinda clingy. When her and Spike first came to town she still tried to get back together with Angel." "Is that because he's her sire? Spike doesn't act anything like that, and neither do any of the other vampires he's made." Faith wondered. "I think it has something to do with the way he made her a vampire. Before she was turned he destroyed her mind. Afterwards she retreated into a time in her life when she felt safe; her childhood. So when he turned her she was more dependant on him." "So what you're saying is that the reason she is so obsessed is because she's nuts? Why couldn't she be like a normal vamp, then we wouldn't have this problem." When the brunette said this an idea began to form in the young witch's mind, a smile slowly forming on her face. "Faith, do you have a phone I could use? I've got an idea." Her mind swormed with ideas, a plan forming as the slayer lead her into another room.
23b: Come to Daddy
"I'll meet you guys at the apartment in twenty minutes. Don't forget the book. Thanks. Bye Amy. Bye Anya." Willow hung up the phone and headed towards the door, Faith on her heels. "I'll go to the apartment and get everything ready, you tell the guys to bring Drusilla over in half an hour." "Sure. Thanks Red." "No prob. See you in 30 minutes."
Twenty-five minutes later Willow, Anya, and Amy were sitting in the library in the apartment the witch and vampire shared, going through Amy's spell book. "So, basically you think if we take the basic principles from the two spells and combine them it should work?" Willow asked. "In theroy, yes." Amy began to copy the spells onto another piece of paper as Anya gathered the ingredients from what they had brought, and what Willow had in her bedroom. "It's going to take all of us, though, to even attempt the spell. I can't garantee it will do anything; but it's worth a try." The three witches continued to work out the details of combining the existing spells to form one that would do what they wanted when someone knocked on the door. Willow answered it to find an irate slayer with three vampires behind her. "Faith. You guys are early." "Sorry Red. Looney toons was gettin on my nerves." "So you thought you'd bring her over here?" Willow questioned as everyone took a seet int he living room. "Gee thanks." "Thought you'd appriciate it. Anyway, what is this plan you were tellin' me about earlier?" The hacker led her into the library where Anya was setting up candles in a circle in the middle of the hard wood floor. "Over at the mansion I got to thinking when we were talking about why Drusilla was so...devoted...to Angelus. So I called Anya and asked her if she had ever heard of any ways to restore a person's, or in this case, a demon's sanity. I thought I remembered reading in one of Giles' book about something similar. So Amy looked through her books and Anya went through her stuff and we came up with two somewhat simple spells that if we combine them properly should help restore Drusilla to her mental state before she met Angelus; or pretty close. Basically it's a spell that creates balance within her mind. Which is pretty easy to do; however sense Dru's a vampire her mind is a little more complex, considering a demon inhabits her body. Because of this we decided to take a more hands on approach. Two of us will cast the spell and focus the energy, directing it towards the third, who will enter Drusilla's mind scape. Kind of like astral projection, only a little more complex. Once there, they will try to reconstruct her energy patterns with the energy the other two have raised. This part of the spell will be kind of like a healing spell, only with mental energy." When the red head had finished her explanation of what they would do she began to help Amy put together the wording of the spell they would be using. "Isn't Dru's insanity 'cause of what Angelus did? You gonna get rid of those memorys or somethin'?" Faith asked. It was Anya who answered her question, having finished assembling everything they would use. "Her mental status is a direct result of his actions, yes. But we can't just delete her memorys, that takes more time and energy than the three of us can raise. What we will do is manipulate them. The person who goes into her mindscape will shape her memory of the affect his actions had on her at the time; thus altering his affect on her now. They'll make her reactions less intense and his actions less tramatic on her psyche." "Whose gonna take the trip into psyco's mind?" "That would be Anya." Willow said from the table. "She has the most experience, and knows more about demons."
After five minutes of final preperations and revisions they were ready to preform the spell. Spike convinced Drusilla to come into the library and they sat her in the center of the circle. "Dru, we're gonna do a spell, but we need your help." "A spell? Oh how fun." "Yes a spell, and we can't do it without you. What I need you to do is sit here, and let Anya into your mind, and share your memorys. Can you do that for us?" Willow's voice was soft and comforting. She simplified the instructions and spoke to her like a friend. The raven haired vampress shock her head and held onto her doll. She turned to Angelus and gave him a pleading look. Now that she was no longer clinging to him, the vampire was nicer to her. "What's the matter Dru?" "I don't know her. I like the little tree. I want to do the spell with the little tree. She's nice. My Spikey likes the little tree too." Spike looked over at Willow, and the red head looked between him and Drusilla. The vampress' eyes were almost pleading with her to agree. The three witches exchanged glances. "Alright." The hacker consented, "I'll do it."
23c: Come to Daddy
The candles were lit and Amy put the various ingredients into the bowl on the floor, with Anya circling Willow and Drusilla with a stick of burning incence; chanting softly along with the blonde witch. While her friends called the quarters and asked the assistance of the God and Goddess, Willow lead Drusilla into a trance like state. The hacker went through her meditation exercises and when she was relaxed she let her body become limp. She pictured Drusilla's face and reached out with her mind until she felt the presence of the vampire's own mind. She allowed herself to be drawn by that presence. All of a sudden Willow found she was no longer in the library. Instead when she looked around she saw what appeared to be a vast fog that completely surrounded her. Different colors blended together in the mist. There was black and grey, deep green and dark red. Royal blue intertwined with the other colors. Images could be seen amongst the pallet of hues. She saw herself, Amy, Anya, Spike, Faith and Angelus in the appartment not half an hour ago. She took several steps and was met with an image of Drusilla with Spike and Angelus in the mansion when she had come out of the office with Faith. *These must be her memorys.* Willow relised as she continued farther into the dense fog. Voices drifted past her as she made her way through the vampire's mind. After a while she saw Drusilla standing with Spike in the factory assembling the Judge. She keep walking; journeying deeper into the dark haired vampire's memorys. The young witch could feel the moisture in the air and it was cold against her skin. More voices could be heard somewhere in the mist. Willow recognized both Spike and Angelus' voices but few others. Most of the sounds were distorted mumblings that couldn't be understood. Some were screams, while others resembled singing. It felt as if she had been walking for over an hour when she saw Angelus teaching Drusilla to hunt. The hacker had barely taken twenty steps when she caught sight of an image surronded by deep red and green. It was Angelus in full game face standing over the body of a yound women in a nun's habit; completly covered in blood. Willow could hear pleas and crys for help float past her. *Goddess, that's her being turned! I just have to find when they first met and I can get started.* The red head took slow steps as she made her way through Drusilla's memories of Angelus' courtship. She saw how a still human Drusilla walked into her home to find the dead bodies of her parents. The colors around her were now large bloches of impenatrable black, midnight blue and blood red. Emotions bombarded the small witch as she forced herself to continue through the flood of emotions. First came the confusion, then the dispare, and the utter loneliness. Willow was suddenly overcome with a wave of paralizing fear as a shrill cry pierced the surronding clouds. Viloent winds blew, and the petite red head had to struggle to remain standing. Stroms raged around her and she had trouble seeing as she tried to continue. Things began to calm down but the confusion continued to hang heavily in the air as Willow saw strange pictures floating around her. She saw a cave collapsing, rocks falling on several men and heard their screams. Then a distraught Drusilla reading a newspaper article on a cave-in. Something pulled at her memory. Something she had read in the watcher diarys. She was about to take a step when a voice drifted towards her from behind. It was Angelus, that she knew. When she turned around she saw Drusilla in a confesional. That's when she noticed that the dark haired woman's encounters with the vampire began after that. *They met for the first time in a confesional?* Bits of the conversation drifted to her. 'I had another vision Father'...'Please forgive me'...'You're a span of Satan'...'Give in, be evil child'...'No, please no'...'Let me repent' *A vision, that must be why Angelus was attracted to her in the first place.* She shook off the feelings that surronded her and began to consentrate, trying to find the energy Amy and Anya were suposed to be directing towards her subconcious in the library. She closed her eyes and called upon the energy. "Goddess grant me this request, to aid your daughter and set her free, with harm to none, so mote it be." When she had a hold on it she set to work, sending it out into the dark clouds surronding her. The white light cut through the dense fog around the image of Angelus and Drusilla's first meeting. Willow mixed the positive energy with the air of fear around her, breaking it up and making the greys lighter, and the blues brighter. She made her way back into the tempestuous winds that tore through the memories before Angelus turned Drusilla. As she directed the light throughout the area Willow watched as the storms calmed and broke appart. Howling winds changed to the occational murmering gust. Dark tones turned less intense and the hacker could almost see through some spots. As dismal shades fell away pastels and light hues shown through. The blood curdling screams present with certain images quieted and the invading sensations of fear and horror lessened. *Carefull, you don't want to change it too much, drastic memory changes could affect her severly.* The pictures hovering around her remained unchanged but their lingering impressions in the female vampire's memory would be significantly dulled. As she came to pictures depicting Drusilla's early life as a vampire Willow stopped. *I need to get going, I have no idea how long I've been here.* But before she left she gave in to the knawing curisostiy and walked further back. Several minutes of walking found the red head surrounded by bright colors with the faint sounds of laughing and soft, comforting voices. Everywhere she looked visions of smiling faces greeted her. Willow saw a young girl, in a long lace dress with an empire waist grining as she sat on a plush sofa with several boys, of approximately, her age, dressed in the same period style clothing. Two middle aged people; a woman and a man stood off to the side holding hands and gazing at the playing childeren with affection. *That must be Drusilla as a little girl with her family. They look so happy.* However as much as Willow enjoyed looking at the images of a childhood so different from her own and feeling the happiness and chidlike joy that acompainied the moments she felt herself growing week. *I see why she chose to revert to her childhood.* Her eyes beagan to feel heavy and her knees tried to buckle, demanding that she pay attention to her current exaugsted state. *I should probably go back now.* With one more look at the beauty around her, Willow let her mind surrender to the pull of her earthly body.
23d: Come to Daddy
The first thing she noticed was that her head hurt. The second was that it was bright. And the third was that she was laying sprawled on a very hard surface. "Ugh. Ahh. My head." "Willow?" It took a moment for the voice to register. "Spike?" "Will! You're awake!" She heard shuffling as if someone was trying to move towards her. "Spike, wait, we need to close the circle." *That was Anya.* Willow thought as she heard the the two other witches give thanks to the Goddess and close the quarters, then release the cirle. As soon as they had finished speaking Willow felt herself being held tightly by a pair of strong arms. "Will, are you alright sweet? Can you stand?" As Spike helped Willow over to a chair she looked around the library, taking in the worried faces of Amy and Anya. "How long was I out?" The red head's voice shook as she fought against the dizzyness and neausa trying to overtake her weary body. "It's been over an hour. Are you ok? What happened? What took so long?" Spike asked as he searched for injures or any other sign that his rommate had been hurt. "Over an hour? It felt more like three." "How are you feeling?" "I'm fine, just a little wozy," She reasured the blonde. "You're still weak. Transfering powers takes a lot of an individual's own energy." The strong, even voice stated from the other side of the room. The occupants of the library turned to find themselves face to face with a fully aleart Drusilla. The fact that the female vampire's comment for the first time in over 100 years, made perfect sense, didn't escape their attention. Something else the friends noticed was that Drusilla sat straight in the chair, a completely serious look on her face The hacker stood on shaky legs and started to make her way, slowly, over to Drusilla. "Will, you need to rest, you're still weak." Spike softly repremanded as he supported her with his arm, guiding her to the now concious form of his past love. "Spike is correct. You need to lay down and allow yourself time to recover from the spell. Due to the complexity of the spell and the immensity of the powers used; you'll need at least a couple of hours to heal." There was no longer any trace of the child like innocence, previously apparent in the female vampire's voice. When Spike's eyes locked with the vampress he was startled by what he saw. For as long as he had known her, Drusilla's eyes would seem to be looking at nothing in particular. However, now she looked directly at him, her eyes focused. But that wasn't the only thing that the blonde noticed; her dark brown orbs no longer appeared glazed and cloudy, but were clear, and her intelligence shone in them as it never had before. "It worked." Spike's voice was heavy with suprise and happiness. Willow glanced back and forth between Drusilla and Spike before stopping on Drusilla. As she looked closely at her, the red head saw the same things Spike had seen. A huge smile formed on her face and she turned to her fellow witches. "It worked! We did it!" Willow, Amy and Anya shared an enthusiastic embrace and their faces glowed with pride and excitement. Angelus' voice interupted the three girl's squells of delight. "How are you feeling Dru?" The red haired witch turned and looked at the older vampire. The sound of his voice brought back what she had seen in Drusilla's memories. Images of him standing over Dru's broken and bloodied form; his lazy smirk as he mercilessly taunted a horrifed Drusilla before he turned her. Before the memories had a chance to return full force she shook her head, as if trying to force herself to forget. *All that pain, he caused it. Everything I felt and saw in her mind was because of him.* As her vision cleared she found herself looking into the same eyes she had seen in the memories, but this time they were different. As she took in Angelus' face she recognized something in those chocolate deepths; concern. She could tell he was trying to hide it behind his usuall mask of smug bravado, but it was there. "I'm fine. It's as if a veil has been lifted from over my eyes." She smiled at her dark haired sire; the first genuine smile the hacker had ever seen on the female vampire. Angelus broke eye contact with Willow, but not before she saw some of the concern fade out and be replaced by hope. That same mixture of worry and hope was reflected in the hacker's eyes, along with confusion. The conflicting emtions and images bombarded her as she tried to sort through what she had seen in the female vampire's mind, and what she had seen in Angelus' eyes seconds before. *I can figure this out later, There are more important things to think about right now.* Pushing her mental debate over Angelus to the back of her mind, she looked back over to Drusilla. Just as she was about to inquire further as to the effects of the spell, the door to the appartment was thrown opened and Buffy came in, cross bow in hand with Xander and Giles behind her; both armed to the teeth with stakes, crosses, and holy water.
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