Disclaimer/Summery: See Part 1
MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS
Drusilla looked up at Buffy, and smiled, baring her fangs; they were slick with Faith's blood. She kept her hand on Faith's belly, her fingernails tracing little half-moon patterns there. Drusilla's nails were long, and painted red. Buffy knew they were sharp enough to slit Faith open.
"The moon will conquer the sun," Drusilla snarled.
The cafe's sign across the street filled the dark little room with a languid yellow light. Buffy could see the sign from where she was standing, a hazy blob of yellow in the rain that came down in sheets now. Only part of the sign was working. The neon crescent moon was bright, but the rayed sun was dark. Drusilla glanced at the window, then back at Buffy, her fangs still dripping with Faith's blood.
"I saw it, all those years ago, in my closet," Drusilla said. "And I saw your mummy, too. I saw myself, in this faraway place, on this very night, tearing her throat out. Taking her life inside me."
"Let Faith go or I'll fucking kill you," Buffy said.
Drusilla chuckled.
"No," Drusilla said.
Buffy and Drusilla watched each other, like two predators, circling.
Caught between them, Faith felt like she was hovering...like part of her was still there, in the room, but the rest of her was going away. The room was gray, and dark, and blurry, and full of floating black spots. It smelled like blood, and roses, and jasmine. The rain beating down against the window sounded like bubble wrap popping. Drusilla kept rocking back and forth in the chair; it made a little creaking sound, like one of those old horror movies where the squeaky old door slowly opens to reveal the monster lurking in the shadows.
Faith heard herself breathing. She had to concentrate on it; she had to remind herself to breathe. Whenever she forgot to breathe, she stopped breathing. But she didn't feel like she was suffocating. She didn't feel panicky. She felt like she could choose to breathe, or not; it was up to her. As long as she kept making herself breathe, she could stay in the world. If she stopped breathing, she would have to go...she would have to stop holding on, and let herself float away.
She wanted to float away. She thought that was why she had to keep reminding herself to breathe; her body wanted to let go. It wanted to stop breathing. It was telling her that it was time to die now.
Faith kept thinking about the painting in the hallway, the one that looked like Rebecca, walking along the seashore. Faith thought that if she floated away, maybe she could be with Rebecca, walking along the seashore.
"Joyce tasted so sweet, Buffy," Drusilla whispered, and licked her bloody lips. "She tasted like honey. You took my Daddy, so I took your mummy."
Drusilla leaned down, and gave Faith a kiss, gently parting Faith's lips with her tongue; a lover penetrating her. Faith moaned again. Drusilla kept her eyes on Buffy when she kissed Faith.
"But your lover tastes even sweeter," Drusilla whispered. "You bewitched my Spike, you got into his eyes, made him desire you. Took him inside you. Now I've taken Faith inside me. She's in my eyes."
Drusilla smiled again, a wolf's leer.
"And I'll never let her go," Drusilla snarled.
Buffy felt something in her stomach. It was cold and hard and sharp. She felt her blood exploding though her. Her legs quivered with it; the lion in her wanted to spring.
Buffy controlled herself.
Buffy was fast but she knew Drusilla could tear Faith's throat out before she could ever reach her. She knew she would have to think her way out of this...
She let her senses reach out.
Faith's scent came to her. Faith smelled the way she had the night Buffy had taken her, in her motel room: aroused, and afraid.
She heard Faith's breathing, and her heartbeat.
Her breathing was shallow, and rapid. Her heartbeat was weak.
Faith's face was as pale as a corpse, and her hands were trembling. She looked cold.
More than anything that she had ever wanted in her life, Buffy wanted to be holding Faith now, and keeping her warm. But she couldn't. Drusilla had taken her away...
And Buffy knew Faith was dying...
"Baby..." Buffy whispered, as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You keep talking about thinking tactically," Buffy said, as she laid naked with Faith on the couch, not paying attention to the movie they had rented; all her senses were focused on Faith. They always were, now.
It was a Friday afternoon, and her mother would be working late at the gallery, so they had the house to themselves for awhile. Faith laid curled up in Buffy's arms, with her head resting against Buffys breasts, and Buffy held her, and listened to her heartbeat, and her breathing, and took in her scent: like peaches, with a hint of muskiness underneath. Buffy missed that scent when Faith wasn't with her. She wanted Faith's scent around her all the time, now. Faith held on tight to her, and kissed her breasts, as Buffy caressed her hair.
It was a violation of the rules, being naked together like this; they had come up with their rules only a couple of weeks before but already the rules were fraying at the edges, and they both knew they would make love eventually. So Buffy ignored this particular rules violation, which wasn't the first and would by no means be the last, partly because she knew it was inevitable that they would make love eventually...
...But mostly, because she knew she was falling in love with Faith.
But they were still afraid to make love...afraid to give in to the Slayers inside them. So for now, they kissed, and they laid naked together, and Buffy held Faith in her arms, and they ignored the movie. It was a Clint Eastwood movie; something about a secret service agent. Faith rubbed her feet against Buffy's, and sucked on her nipples. Buffy kissed her cheek.
"It's what Becca always told me, what she always drummed into my head," Faith said. "You always gotta think tactically. You always gotta think three steps ahead of the bad guys."
"Yeah, but like, how do you do it?" Buffy said. "Whenever we practice the aikido together you talk about it, but...what is it, exactly? What does it mean in an actual fight? When I'm out there fighting vamps, I just sort of...I don't know. Make it up as I go, I guess. But the way you talk about it, Rebecca made it seem like...I don't know, like a chess game or something."
Faith took Buffy's hand, and moved it to her stomach.
"You want me to rub your tummy, baby?" Buffy whispered.
Faith nodded. Buffy started rubbing her belly. Faith closed her eyes, and purred like a cat.
"My baby likes when I do this, huh?" Buffy whispered.
"Kinda love it," Faith whispered back.
"Me too," Buffy whispered, and kissed her cheek again.
They were quiet, for awhile.
"So...thinking tactically," Faith said.
"Thinking tactically," Buffy said.
"You're right, Becca explained it kinda like a chess game. You gotta see the whole board. In the middle of a fight it's easy to let adrenaline take over, let instinct take over. And when you're as fast and strong as us, that works most of the time. But there's gonna be times when you're in over your head...when smart matters more than fast, when smart matters more than strong. That's when you gotta look at the whole board, see all the moves as if you've already played through 'em."
"So give me an example, tactics girl. Like...okay, say you walk into a situation where you could be like, over your head. Or even just an unfamiliar situation. Something you haven't really dealt with before. What would you do? What would Rebecca say you should do?"
"Okay. First thing. Take everything in. Not just who you're up against. Your environment too. Be aware of everything and everyone around you, and how you could maybe use them to your advantage."
"Makes sense."
"Yeah. Second thing. Know your enemy. You can't always know your enemy, sometimes you'll get taken by surprise by some new asshole? But if you can, do your homework, know who you're fighting. Get in their heads. What do they want? What's important to them? Who do they love? What are they afraid of? How can you use it all to your advantage? Turn it around, see it from the other side. Look at things from the bad guy's perspective, try to think like them. How do they see the situation? What will they do? We got in K's head when we fought him, remember? We knew he'd come out to that warehouse, walk right into our trap, because he wanted to kill me himself and he wouldn't just leave me to Trick. Because we got inside his head, we were able to kill him. And you might think you don't know this stuff? But you do know it. That wasn't my plan that killed K, it was our plan. We did it together, Buffy."
"Together," Buffy said, and tilted Faith's chin up, and looked into her big brown eyes, and kissed her. "I like the sound of that."
"Faith!" Buffy shouted. "Stay with me, baby! Don't you leave me now. Don't you leave me!"
Buffy's scent came to her: jasmine.
"Bu...Buffy...?" Faith whispered.
Faith focused on Buffy's scent; it anchored her.
Buffy wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I'm right here, baby," Buffy said. "I love you. I'm gonna get you out of this, okay? Just hold on. Just hold on for me."
"I love you, Buffy," Faith whispered.
"I love you too, baby," Buffy said. "With all my heart. Just hold on, okay? Just hold on for me."
"I miss Becca," Faith whispered, and started to cry again. "I want Becca."
Drusilla covered Faith's mouth, and looked down into her eyes, frowning.
"You need to learn manners, daughter," Drusilla snarled. "Go back to sleep."
"TAKE YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF HER!" Buffy screamed. Buffy was growling now; a low rumble was coming from her stomach, and she was showing Drusilla her teeth.
Faith's eyes fluttered closed again, and her body went limp in Drusilla's lap. Buffy felt her heart leap into her stomach.
"Baby...?!" Buffy shouted, her voice breaking. Faith didn't respond.
Buffy forced herself to be calm, forced herself to think. She focused all her senses on Faith...
And then Buffy felt like she could breathe again. Faith was alive, but unconscious. Her breathing was very shallow now. Her heartbeat was growing steadily weaker.
"You were always rude," Drusilla said, looking back at Buffy now, and snarling softly. "I never liked you. So you don't get any pound cake."
Buffy wanted to spring at her. She felt her blood shooting through her veins; she felt her hairs standing on end. But she controlled herself; she knew she had no choice. She knew she had to keep herself together...she knew she needed to think tactically.
Or Faith would be dead...
"What the hell are you doing here?" Buffy hissed. "What do you want with Faith? Why did you..."
Buffy felt her tears, trying to come again. She stopped them. She'd cry later. Right now, she needed to be strong.
She knew Drusilla was a talker. And she needed to get Drusilla talking... she needed time to think, to come up with a plan...
"Why did you...kill my mother?" Buffy said.
"I killed her because I was meant to," Drusilla said. "Because I saw it. When I see something, it has to happen. It always happens."
"She didn't...she never did anything to you. She wasn't part of this."
Drusilla cocked her head, and looked into Buffy's eyes, and read what she saw there.
"Don't bother trying the hypnotism crap on me," Buffy said. "It doesn't work on me anymore. You can't affect me anymore."
"Can't I?" Drusilla said, and smiled, and caressed Faith's cheek.
"You didn't have to kill my mother. You didn't."
"She's not paying attention, Daddy. Is she slow? Is she dimwitted? No... no, she's scheming, she's playing a game with us. She wants to kill us, she does. Put out our eyes, before they can trap her too. Beat us, whip us, lock us in a closet. Bury us beneath a cherry tree. But we've already seen the game, we know how the game plays out."
You gotta see the whole board.
Know your enemy.
"No..." Drusilla said, and cocked her head on one side, and looked into Buffy's eyes again. "But he flew away, didn't he? Bad daddy. He never locked you in a closet. He never loved you. Do you look pretty in red?"
"You're saying you saw this...all of this," Buffy said. "You saw me and Faith, in a vision?"
"I saw," Drusilla said. "I always see. I saw the moon and the sun. I saw your dead mummy. I saw my new daughter, who will be with me forever, hunting by my side. How come you haven't cried? How come you haven't cried for your mummy? I cried for my mummy. I didn't let Daddy see; I did it in secret. But I still cried."
"I'll cry later. So in your vision, you...turn Faith into a vampire?"
"Oh my, yes. She's my daughter. She'll look so pretty in red."
"And what happens to me?"
"You wouldn't believe me. You'd think I'm telling tales out of school."
"Tell me what happens."
"You think you can resist my eyes. But you can't. The wolf is stalking you. Circling, circling...She has her eyes on you."
"Already told you. Been there, done that. It won't work on me this time."
"Perhaps, and perhaps not. But I won't need to take you into my eyes... when I can take you in my mouth instead."
"Sorry, already got a girlfriend. Dru...okay, so you've seen this in a vision. That doesn't mean everything in the vision has to come true. You saw yourself turning Faith, right?"
"Mmm-hmm, and then I'm going to make her pound cake, and we're going to play checkers."
"And your visions always come true? Always, every time?"
"Oh yes, daughter, they do. Every time. I've seen how the game ends, I've played through. But red robin wants to cheat. She wants to call down a pretty fairy from the sky, and ask for a do-over. But then the new king will arrive, and he'll sit at the head of all tables, because Kakistos wanted a son. It's all so terribly confusing...two worlds, and which one shall we choose? Red robin certainly won't be getting any pound cake. Daddy should lock her in a closet again."
Drusilla smiled.
"And he still might," she said. "Daddy, he wants to be with me. He might bring me a present."
Buffy kept part of herself with Faith. Her senses remained locked on her. Faith's heartbeat was so faint Buffy almost couldn't hear it.
"Tell me what happens," Buffy said. "In your vision. First you turn Faith, and then what?"
"No, first I killed your mummy, then I turned Faith," Drusilla said.
Buffy felt a rumble welling up in her stomach. It was turning into a growl. It was all she could do to keep herself from springing at Drusilla.
"And then what?" Buffy said.
"You won't believe me," Drusilla said.
"Tell me anyway."
"You're sad, after your lover dies...you're a songbird without a song. But then I whisper a lovely secret in your ear."
"What's the secret?"
"That you can still be with your love...that you can be with her forever. If you let me be your mummy too. And you do."
Buffy felt something then, in her stomach...it was the strangest feeling.
She'd felt it only once before: the day Giles and Angel had told her she was destined to face the Master, and die. They had told her she couldn't change that destiny...
When she heard her destiny, written centuries before and read aloud for her that day, Buffy had the strangest feeling in her stomach...like someone had just stepped on her grave.
She felt it again now.
"You mean...I let you...turn me?" Buffy whispered.
"After I become her mummy, it's the only way you can be with your love," Drusilla said. "And in this lovely new world, it's the only way you can live. And this way, you can come to all my tea parties. Mummy will buy you a pretty green dress. Miss Edith doesn't like you, but she'll come around."
"Drusilla, exactly how fucking batshit insane are you? You haven't turned Faith yet, and yeah, kind of a standoff here? But there's no way you're gonna turn her. Because at the end of the day you and I both know I'm a better fighter than you are. Without your hypnotism trick you don't have a chance against me and you know it. You try taking another drop of Faith's blood and you're one dead psycho."
Drusilla chuckled again.
"Am I?" she said. "Is that what you think of me? That I'm a loon? Oh, if only you could see the things I've seen, daughter...if only you could hear the voices, and the perfectly terrible things they whisper to me."
"You had the visions before Angelus turned you," Buffy said. "Did you see him turning you? Did you know it was gonna happen?"
"I saw, I always see. I saw Daddy and his awful games. I tried to tell them, but they wouldn't listen, and now they're all gone. Daddy and Darla ate them. And I was so sad, so sad, in my closet. Miss Edith cried with me, every single day. But we're happy now. We're a happy family now."
"Drusilla. The stuff Angelus did to you, you couldn't stop it. But you have a choice about this. Don't you get it? Your visions don't have to come true. You don't have to turn Faith!"
"Ah, but I've seen it, daughter, it happens, it has to happen. I have no choice."
"You do have a choice! Your family was taken away from you, and you were raped and murdered. You had no choice in that. But you have a choice in this. You don't have to do this! You were a good person before Darla and Angelus got their claws in you. You sacrificed yourself to save Cassie! Please, you don't have to do this!"
Drusilla stopped smiling.
"What do you know about Cassie?" she snarled.
"I know she was your little sister and you loved her," Buffy said. "I know you did everything you could to protect her."
"I killed her. I put a bullet through her head. She talks to me now, sometimes. She's very sad because there's no one to play checkers with."
"You're in control of your own life, Drusilla. You have a choice, your visions don't own you. You can prove it, by letting Faith go. Let her go, and I'll let you go. You killed my mother. But I'll let that pass, if you just spare Faith. I won't come after you, I promise. You can leave town, go wherever you want. Just...just let Faith live."
Drusilla looked down at Faith, and caressed her hair. Faith's eyes were moving behind her eyelids.
"And if I don't?" Drusilla said.
"Then I'll kill you," Buffy said. "You know I will. You know you won't be able to stop me."
"Oh, my poor, blind daughter," Drusilla said, and giggled. "I haven't told you the rest of the vision. I'm not the one who stops you."
A new scent came to Buffy.
Rotten meat...
She heard heavy footsteps, coming up the stairs. They sounded like boots.
"When I see things, they always happen, daughter," Drusilla said. "You'll learn that, in time. After we kill you."
The footsteps were coming closer. They were in the hallway. And Buffy recognized the scent, now. She'd smelled it before...
"Well, well," a voice said, coming from behind her. "Looks like we've got ourselves a party."
It was a man's voice. It had a British accent.
Buffy turned...
And saw Spike standing behind her.
"Hello, love," he said.
"You're absolutely certain they came through here?" Giles said.
"Yeah," Angel said.
They were standing in a crypt in King's Park Cemetery. The room was dark; it was nearly pitch-black. They had left the crypt door open behind them but Giles still couldn't see a thing. Angel looked around, and let his senses reach out. The room smelled like sandalwood. Somewhere, a cockroach skittered across the floor. Angel could see a little; the crypt was small and cramped, with only a handful of sarcophagi scattered around the floor and in compartments built into the moss-grown limestone walls. There was an unlit torch in a wall sconce near the door.
"You got a match in there somewhere?" Angel said.
"I have the little pilot light on my flamethrower," Giles said, his voice echoing in the dark room.
"Give it here," Angel said. Giles took the flamethrower off his back, and handed it to him.
"Be careful," Giles said. "The button for the ignition system is--"
"I know how to use these," Angel said. "Buffy and I used them when we cleared out that Suvolte demon nest last year." Angel activated the flamethrower's igniter, locating it by feel in the dark, while making sure not to touch the trigger, and very carefully lit the torch in the wall sconce. He turned off the igniter, handed the flamethrower back to Giles, and took the torch from the wall.
Giles put the flamethrower on his back and looked around. The room was dusty, and there were old, dried-up blood stains on the floor.
"And you're certain the trail ends here," Giles said. "They didn't bring her in here and then back out somewhere else? Because I can't help but notice that this is a dead end."
Angel handed him the torch, and concentrated on his senses. "Some of these cemeteries have catacombs running underneath. This is where Buffy fought the Saint Vigeous guys the first time. She said she fought about a hundred of them and she thinks they have a hideout underground..."
He smelled sandalwood. It was the torch; it was sandalwood. But he smelled it coming from the other end of the crypt too.
Angel walked to the other end of the crypt, sniffing the air. He stopped in front of an old marble sarcophagus. It was decorated with bas reliefs depicting moments in the life of Jesus Christ, but the bas reliefs had been defaced; it looked like someone had hacked at them with a screwdriver. The sandalwood smell was coming from the sarcophagus...specifically, from beneath it. Angel grabbed the sarcophagus from one end and tossed it aside; it skidded across the crypt like a hockey puck. Angel crouched down, and carefully examined the floor beneath it. He could see fine grooves cut into the floor.
"What do you see?" Giles said, crouching down next to Angel now.
"The welcome mat," Angel said, and moved his fingers along the grooves.
A second later, he lifted up a trap door. Beneath it was a drop into darkness.
Giles aimed his torch down through the door. The floor was about ten feet down; he couldn't be sure, but it looked like cobblestones.
"Catacombs," Angel said. "I smell vamps, but they're not close by. Problem is we don't know how many there are. If we're lucky most of these Saint Vigeous guys are out topside living it up but for all we know there might still be a whole bunch of them down there."
"Do we have a plan for getting her out of here?" Giles said. "Even if we reach her without being spotted we'll still have to fight our way out. And if she's important enough to kidnap they must have her under some sort of guard."
"Hopefully she can help. She can throw fireballs now, and she can do that energy shield thing. But basically the plan is, we find her and then run like hell back to the car."
"That doesn't exactly inspire my confidence, Angel."
Angel nodded, and concentrated on his senses. He looked down into the catacombs, and considered his options.
"Shouldn't we be going?" Giles said.
"Yeah," Angel said. "But there's been a change of plans. I'm going, you're staying here."
"What? What are you talking about? You'll need all the help you can get down there!"
"It will take time to find Willow in that maze down there and those vamps will smell you before we do. And these Saint Vigeous guys have a better sense of smell than even regular vampires. I can blend in, I'll just smell like another vampire to them. You'll smell like prey and you'll lead them right to us. I have to go down there alone."
"What if there are too many of them for you to handle alone?"
"If there are a whole bunch of them I'll need to be able to sneak around and stay out of sight and I can't do that with your scent leading them right to me. But if there aren't too many of them I can take them all down on my own. Either way the best play is for me to go down there alone. Doesn't mean we're not gonna need you. I can be all cloak and dagger for awhile but once I grab Willow they'll be after us. I need you to cover our retreat. Once we come up you'll need to be here with the car ready. Maybe that flamethrower too."
"I don't like this."
"I'm pretty sure Willow won't either. Can't be helped. Stay away from this trap door, I don't want them smelling you. Get the car ready."
"Perhaps you should take the flamethrower."
"Got my battle axe and a sword. I want to play this quiet. Besides, if vamps come after you up here I want you to have the flamethrower. I already got Xander killed. I don't want to get you killed too."
Giles touched Angel's arm.
"You didn't get Xander killed," Giles said. "Lord knows I have my issues with you, Angel, and yes, you've put us all through the wringer. But Xander made the decision to leave, and it was the wrong decision. It wasn't your fault. You didn't get him killed."
Angel looked down into the catacombs.
Willow was down there somewhere, alone...maybe dead.
"Yes I did," Angel said, softly.
Then he leapt down into the darkness.
Angel landed gracefully and with hardly a sound. He found himself in a long, dark, narrow corridor.
"Good luck," he heard Giles whisper. He looked up. He saw Giles looking down through the trap door, framed by the flickering torchlight.
"Thanks," Angel whispered back.
"Find her," Giles whispered. "I'll be waiting."
And then the torchlight was gone, and Angel was alone.
He looked around. There were sandalwood torches along the walls at intervals, about every fifty feet; most were unlit but enough of them were lit to give a shadowy hint of his surroundings. The floor was brown cobblestones. The ceiling looked to be limestone; parts of it were crumbling. It had started raining a little while before, and water dripped from the ceiling down to the floor in places now, making puddles. The walls were a patchwork of old, crumbling stone of various types, set in long panels; they looked to have been repaired often.
Angel ran his fingers along one of the walls. Willow's scent was heading in that direction. He followed it, careful to move quietly; he made no noise whatsoever.
After a moment, Angel stopped in front of one of the stone panels in the wall. It was granite, and it didn't match the stone around it.
He felt around it, at the edges, and then pushed at it. Suddenly the entire panel slid aside, revealing a dark passage behind it. He stepped through the wall, to the corridor on the other side. It was identical to the corridor he had just been in, except it branched off only a few feet away from where he was. He stopped at the intersection, and cocked his head. He smelled vampires, and they were close...heading in his direction.
Angel turned to the right, and began walking again. The corridor he found himself in now was pitch-black; there were no torches along the walls. Angel didn't mind that. He was a predator; he liked experiencing the world through his nose. When he held his arms out at his sides he found the corridor was even narrower than the others he had been in; there was hardly room for two people to walk abreast. The roof was lower here too, he was able to touch it with his hands. The stone that made up the walls seemed older, and it was all the same material; moss-grown limestone.
The air smelled stale. But he didn't have to breathe.
Willow's scent was strong, heading up the long corridor. He followed it, until he reached another intersection. This one was well-lit; there were torches along the walls again, around the corner.
And there were three vampires, heading in his direction from the left: he smelled them. He knew they could smell him too, but he wasn't worried; they would think he was one of them.
Angel stepped back around the corner, and waited. He knew he would have the advantage in every encounter as long as the vampires didn't realize he wasn't on their side. Which meant that if he was going to kill some of them, he would have to do it quickly and quietly.
Angel readied his battle axe, and the katana.
"Who is that, skulking about?" one of the vampires said, his guttural growl echoing down the corridor toward Angel. "Don't you know the ceremony is starting soon?"
"I'm on my way there now. But I found something up above that you should see first," Angel said.
"Better than that cunt of a witch being gutted? I doubt that," one of the vampires snarled, as they came closer. Angel felt them, as they approached; they had turned the corner. They would be at the intersection in seconds.
"See for yourself," Angel said.
"So what's so interesting that--" one of the vampires started to say, when Angel's battle axe flashed out from around the corner and beheaded him. He collapsed into dust, and Angel's sword swept out next, beheading the vampire behind that one before the third vampire had even registered what was happening.
"What...?" the third vampire said, standing in a shower of dust.
The vampire was wearing some sort of long ceremonial robe; it was red, with a black ouroboros symbol on the front; a serpent devouring its tail. The robe had a long hood that completely obscured the vampire's features.
Angel punched the vampire in the face. The vampire went flying backwards and fell to the floor. Before he could get back up, Angel grabbed him by the neck and slammed him face-first into a wall. He groaned, and snarled.
Angel slammed him face-first into the wall again. The vampire slid to the floor, unconscious.
"Spiffy robe," Angel said, and took it off the vampire, and put it on. Underneath it, the vampire had been dressed in rags.
Angel raised the hood over his head, and looked around. It cut his peripheral vision down to almost nothing but it was a good trade-off; Angel smelled like a vampire but he certainly didn't look like one of these vampires. The hood would disguise the fact that he didn't have red eyes or a snout nose.
"Thanks," Angel said, and beheaded the vampire, and walked away, as it turned to dust.
"There's my naughty little William," Drusilla said.
"In the flesh, pet," Spike said. "And you sure gave me a good chase. I've a mind to punish you."
Drusilla giggled like a little girl, and clapped her hands together.
"Ooooh, I've been bad," she snarled.
"Right, so what was that about killing me, Slayer?" Spike whispered in Buffy's ear. "You remember, back in the cemetery a couple hours ago. What was it exactly? We're gonna see each other again...and when we do, I'm gonna die. Well, you got the first part right. But as for killing me...well, it seems to me you're in a real pickle with that bit."
Spike reached out, to caress Buffy's hair...
Be aware of everything and everyone around you, and how you could maybe use them to your advantage.
"What the...bloody...FUCK!" Spike screamed, helpless on his knees in front of Buffy. He struggled against Buffy's grip, but he was completely immobilized; struggling just made his arm hurt more.
Spike's face changed to vampire form. Buffy pressed the sword against his throat, allowing it to draw blood.
"Annoy me and you're a fucking Pez dispenser," Buffy said.
"Let him go, daughter," Drusilla said, her ice-blue eyes locked on Buffy, her voice a low growl. "Let him go or you'll never see your love again."
Get in their heads. What do they want? What's important to them?
Who do they love?
Drusilla looked into Buffy's eyes...sifted through what she saw there.
"My Daddy...the first one, the one who gave me away...used to play Whist," Drusilla said. "I watched sometimes. You don't have the cards, daughter. And I have the trump."
Buffy shook her head, and looked down at Spike. "Can't she just talk like a normal person? How the hell do you ever understand what she says?"
"Bit of an art to it, I admit," Spike said. "I'm gonna kill you, Slayer. But first I'll make you watch Dru kill your girlfriend. Always had a feeling about you, y'know. Thought you might end up munching rug someday."
"Remember how I said not to annoy me?" Buffy said, and cut Spike's right ear off with her sword. Spike screamed, as blood spurted out of the hole where his ear had been.
"You fucking BITCH!" Spike shrieked, as he struggled to break Buffy's grip on his wrist. "You cut my bleedin' ear off! You cut my ear off!"
"SHUT UP!"
Drusilla stared at Buffy, her expression unchanged. Buffy looked back at her, straight into her eyes.
"Faith for Spike," Buffy said.
"No," Drusilla said. "If Spike dies Miss Edith and I will be sad, but we'll have Daddy to make us feel better. But if Faith dies you'll have nothing...nothing but ashes. Let Spike go, daughter. Faith's going to be my daughter, and then you will be, too. It's going to happen. I saw it."
"It's not gonna happen," Buffy hissed. But she was afraid now...she felt her fear, welling up through her stomach, trying to strangle her.
She was afraid, because she knew Drusilla was right. Without Faith, she would have nothing. Without Faith, she would never feel warm again. And if Drusilla was willing to let Spike die, Buffy had no other cards to play...
Buffy looked at Faith. She was asleep, but she still looked scared, and cold.
"Please...?" Buffy whispered. "Please, Drusilla? Please don't kill her? I love her. I love her so much."
Buffy started to cry again.
"I just...I just want to hold her again," Buffy whispered.
"You will, daughter," Drusilla said. "After I turn you both, you'll be together forever. And then we'll find Daddy, and the four of us will be a happy family."
"Dru!" Spike shouted. He struggled against Buffy's grip again, to no avail.
"Are you going to kill Spike now?" Drusilla said.
Buffy focused on Faith. She could just barely hear Faith's heart beating. She knew she would be dead soon. She knew she couldn't possibly reach her before Drusilla finished the job.
And they had already lost, anyway...the world had ended. The sun was gone. Even if she somehow managed to get Faith out of this, how much longer would they have together? A few days?
"Some things are meant to be, Buffy," Drusilla said. "Faith's lost too much blood, given too much of herself to me. She's dying, you can't save her now. She wants to float away."
"You'll...turn me?" Buffy whispered, and looked down at the floor. "You won't...won't just kill me? You'll let me be with Faith?"
"Bloody crazy women," Spike muttered. Buffy ignored him.
Buffy looked up at Drusilla. Drusilla was smiling...it was a warm smile. Her blue eyes were beautiful.
"You'll be my daughter," Drusilla said. "And Faith and I will love you. You'll be able to hold her in your arms, and keep her warm, every night."
Buffy looked away from Drusilla, looked down at the floor again.
"She...she gets cold," Buffy said, as her tears ran down her cheeks. "She feels cold sometimes, and, and I keep her warm."
"I know," Drusilla said.
She held out her hand.
"Take my hand," Drusilla said. "Be my daughter. It's the only way, Buffy. The only way to be with your love now."
Faith woke up on the beach; there was sand in her hair, and on her cheek. She wondered how she had gotten there, and how long she had been asleep.
She stood up.
It was a cloudy day, with a strong breeze, and the air smelled like the sea. The ocean was gray, with big roiling waves crashing against the rocky shore.
"It's pretty here," Faith said.
"Yes, it is," a voice said.
Faith turned around...
Rebecca was walking toward her, and smiling.
Tears came to Faith's eyes.
"Becca?" Faith whispered.
"Hello again, darling," Rebecca said.
Faith ran to her, and threw her arms around her, and hugged her with all her strength, and cried.
"My strong Slayer," Rebecca said, and laughed, and caressed Faith's hair.
Faith giggled, and eased up on her grip, but she didn't let go. She looked up at Rebecca, with tears in her eyes.
"I love you, Becca," Faith said.
"I love you too, darling," Rebecca said.
"Can I stay with you now? Can we be together now?"
"That's up to you."
"Is this...is this Heaven?"
"Do you want it to be?"
"I just...I just wanna be with you," Faith said, and leaned her head against Rebecca's bosom, and took in her scent. "I miss you so much. I miss you all the time."
"I miss you too, darling," Rebecca said. "I miss you every moment. And if you want to be with me, you can. But first you need to see the whole board."
Rebecca turned, and pointed down the shore. There was a marble table and two marble benches on the shoreline, about a hundred yards away. A black-haired woman in a red dress sat at the table, with her back to them.
Rebecca took Faith's hand, and walked her back toward the black-haired woman.
"Who is that?" Faith said, as she walked with Rebecca, standing very close to her.
"The player on the other side," Rebecca said.
When they reached the black-haired woman a moment later, Faith saw that she was looking down at a chess board.
The game was in progress. The woman controlled the black pieces; there weren't many white pieces left. The woman concentrated on the board.
"Black's winning," Faith said.
The black-haired woman turned, and looked at Faith.
It was Drusilla.
"Hello, daughter," Drusilla said, and smiled, and showed Faith her fangs.
"I'm not your daughter," Faith said.
"We'll see," Drusilla said.
Rebecca sat down opposite Drusilla, and considered the board. Faith sat beside her, and leaned her head on her shoulder.
"Not good," Rebecca said. "She'll have us checkmated soon."
"Yes," Drusilla said. "I saw it. When I see something, it always happens."
Rebecca looked at Drusilla. Drusilla tried to hold Rebecca in her eyes...
After a moment, Drusilla blinked, and looked away.
"White's missing a piece, Faith," Rebecca said. "If we can get that piece back, we might salvage the game."
Faith looked at the board. For a moment, the board seemed to change... instead of white pieces, she saw Buffy, and Willow, and Tara, and Angel, and Giles. The white knight wore a black hooded robe, and rode a magnificent white horse.
Faith thought it was strange, that Xander wasn't there. She looked around for Xander, but she didn't see him. Then she noticed him on the table in front of Drusilla; he was one of the captured pieces.
"What piece?" Faith said. "What piece is missing? Xander?"
Rebecca shook her head.
She turned to Faith, and looked her in the eyes.
"You," Rebecca said.
Faith woke up in the dark little room, in Drusilla's lap. There was blood on her neck, and tears on her cheeks. She wondered how she had gotten there, and how long she had been asleep.
She looked around.
The room seemed indistinct, out of focus. There was a hazy light coming in from the window, and the sound of the rain pelting the window filled the room. Buffy was crouched across from her, with Spike on his knees in front of her, his hand in a wrist-lock. Buffy had her sword to his throat.
Buffy was crying, and looking down at the floor. Drusilla was holding out her hand.
"Take my hand," Drusilla said. "Be my daughter. It's the only way, Buffy. The only way to be with your love now."
Buffy looked down at the floor, and cried. Her grip on her sword loosened slightly.
"I'm Faith's mother now," Drusilla said. "You just have to--"
"You're not...not my mother," Faith said.
Buffy looked up. Drusilla looked at Faith, and frowned again.
"Becca's my mother," Faith said.
Faith felt like she was spread too thin...like she was fading away, becoming intangible. She felt like she had to bring herself back, retrieve herself from wherever she had gone.
She concentrated, focused all her senses inward. She knew there was a lion inside her. She just needed to find her again...
"Baby?" Buffy whispered.
Faith looked up at Buffy.
And then she found the lion inside her. She felt the lion, looking at Buffy with her.
The lion was tired, beaten, drained. But when she saw Buffy crying, the lion was angry too...
"Stop talking nonsense, daughter," Drusilla said. "Silly."
A low growl erupted from Faith's stomach.
"Fuck you, bitch," Faith said, and grabbed Drusilla's hand, and slapped it away from her stomach, and tried to sit up. It felt like she was underwater, and trying to swim to the surface...
Drusilla slapped Faith in the face, hard. The sound reverberated through the room.
Faith was grateful for the slap. It helped her focus. It helped bring her back...helped her get to the surface. She heard Buffy growl.
"Becca's gone," Drusilla said. "She's dead."
"Fuck you," Faith snarled.
"Stop it this instant!" Drusilla said. "You will learn to behave like a proper young lady or I'll--"
"FUCK YOU!" Faith screamed, and suddenly leaped out of Drusilla's lap, growling.
"Daughter!" Drusilla screamed, leaping to her feet. "Stop--"
"FUCK YOU!" Faith screamed again, and punched Drusilla in the face. Drusilla went flying into the wall.
Faith remembered the way Drusilla's hand had felt on her stomach...she remembered Drusilla's tongue in her mouth.
It made her feel dirty.
"FUCK YOU!" Faith shrieked, and leaped at Drusilla, roaring now, and grabbed her by the throat, and started smashing her head into the floor.
"FUCK YOU!" Faith shrieked, as she slammed Drusilla's head into the floor, over and over again. FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!"
"Bloody...!"
Buffy cut his head off with her sword, and he exploded into dust.
"BECCA'S my mother!" Faith screamed, crying now, as she slammed Drusilla's head into the floor. There was a pool of blood around Drusilla's head now, and the hardwood floor had a hole in it, that was getting bigger by the second. Drusilla wasn't moving; her whole body had gone limp.
"Faith!" Buffy shouted, and ran to her.
"BECCA!" Faith shrieked, as she kept smashing Drusilla's head into the floor. "BECCA! BECCA! BECCA! BECCA! BECCA! BECCAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Faith was dragging in big heaving lungfuls of air, and she was crying, and shaking.
Buffy hugged her.
"Baby," Buffy whispered. "It's me. It's me, baby."
Faith turned, and looked at her.
Faith's face was white as a sheet. Her whole body was shaking now, and her eyes were glazed over.
"Buffy..." Faith whispered. "I don't...feel good. Feel...all shaky like..."
"It's...it's okay baby," Buffy said. "We're gonna get outta here and..."
Buffy focused all her senses on Faith again. Faith's heartbeat was almost too weak to hear. Her breathing was shallow again.
"Can't...breathe and...shaky..." Faith whispered.
Faith collapsed in Buffy's arms.
"Faith?" Buffy said. "Faith?!"
She looked down, and saw Drusilla staring up at her, smiling. Buffy shuddered when she saw her.
Most of Drusilla's skull was caved in; it made her look grotesque, inhuman. Drusilla's face was covered with blood, and she was missing most of her front teeth. Part of her nasal bone was sticking out from beneath the skin of her nose, and one of her eyes was hanging out of its socket.
"Dead...she's dead," Drusilla whispered. "Fly away, fly away..."
Buffy lifted Faith up in her arms and ran out of the room. Faith's skin felt cold...she felt like a corpse now. She was barely breathing at all.
"Your precious love is dead!" she heard Drusilla shrieking, as she ran out of the house, into the rain. She heard Drusilla laughing, too. It was a ghastly sound.
Buffy found the SUV parked in front of the house, flung the door open, threw Faith in, jumped in after her, shut the door, and realized she didn't have the car keys. She fished through Faith's pockets, and finally found them. She tried starting the car; her hands shook too badly to manage it and she dropped the keys. She picked them up and tried again. This time, she managed to start the car.
"DEAD!" she heard Drusilla scream.
Buffy looked up, and saw Drusilla, a deformed, half-dead thing, cackling at her from the second-floor window. It sent a shudder through her.
Buffy ignored it, and got the car in gear. Her hands shook on the steering wheel.
"DEAD!" Buffy heard Drusilla screaming after her, as she drove away. "Faith's dead! Your love is dead! SHE'S DEAD!"