Ms Hunter Ash's Lair: November 2022

In Thrall, Part 5

Red Moon Rising, Book 4

Author: Ms. Hunter Ash

Feedback welcome!!

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. The storyline, however, is the sole property of the author. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright notices.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship between people of the same gender and may even include 3 at the same time <G>.

Spoilers: up to New Moon Rising

Rating: NC-17 (US) 18 (UK) R (Aus)

Pairings: B/W/T, An/X, A/C, G/J

Author's Note: A Special "Thank You" to Joan the English Chick (pisces@englishchick.com) for her transcripts

Buffy vs Dracula Written

by Marti Noxon, directed by David Solomon.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Giles found Tara working over Willow’s laptop the next morning as he entered the kitchen for morning tea.

“Everyone else asleep?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Tara answered with a frown. “Willow, I-I kinda expected her to sleep late but I-I found Buffy in her bed last night?”

“I’m sorry,” Giles asked, confused.

“We-we went to bed t-together,” Tara tried to explain. “When I woke up, Buffy wasn’t t-there. I found her alone in her room.”

Giles added his frown to hers.

“Any idea why?” he asked.

“Sometimes she does t-that,” Tara said slowly. “When she’s restless and c-can’t sleep but I t-thought she was sleeping fine last n-night.”

“Maybe she woke up in the middle of the night,” Giles suggested.

“We didn’t go to bed until the middle of the night,” Tara grumbled and Giles had to smile.

“Yes, well, anything on the research?”

“Yes, a lot on both the r-real Dracula and the v-vampire,” she answered with a smile.

“Good,” Giles smiled, he always felt better when they had research and information when facing an enemy. “Let’s get everyone awake and over here and plan our next move.”

Within an hour everyone was awake, taking turns in the shower and having breakfast. Buffy had appeared puzzled being in her bed when Tara woke her up but accepted the explanation she was probably restless and tired.

Willow was grumpy and hard to wake up and took up Tara’s attention as the blonde witch worked at getting her lover coherent and upright. Tara didn’t notice Buffy feeling her neck with a frown.

Buffy grabbed clothes and headed for the shower as Willow sat up yawning.

Tara watched Willow carefully and was ready when the hacker witch’s eyes widened with memory. Tara quickly sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around Willow’s shoulders.

“What do you remember?” Tara asked.

“Everything I think,” Willow said softly. “Outside, confusion, Dracula, fighting back and getting bit. The rest is a blur.”

“Not bad,” Tara grinned at the short description. “You went into a trance to answer Giles’ questions about the attack and fell asleep.”

“Where’s Buffy?” Willow looked around, confused. She was certain the Slayer would have wanted to be there when Willow woke up after a vampire attack, especially an attack from Dracula, Prince of Darkness.

“In the shower,” Tara answered softly. “She didn’t sleep well after you were attacked.”

“Oh,” Willow answered softly.

“Let’s g-get some f-food and orange juice in you, you d-did lose a little b-blood last night,” Tara suggested.

“Okay,” Willow said agreeably.

Buffy came down shortly to join them for breakfast and for Tara to head for the shower, the Slayer wearing a turtleneck sweater and jeans.

Another hour and everyone was gathered in the living room, including Detective Brad Santiago, another member of the Scooby Gang.

Willow curled up on the sofa with Buffy between her legs on the floor and Tara sitting on the back of the sofa behind her. She blushed a bright red as Giles and Buffy described the attack on the witch the night before to Xander, Anya and Brad.

Xander, paced restlessly, licking at his donut behind the sofa.

“Well,” Willow said, trying to shake off the feeling everyone was looking at her and possibly judging her for getting bitten by the Prince of Vampires. Carson especially seemed to be watching her closely. “I think we have Dracula factoids.”

“Like anything would be enough to fight the Dark Master,” Xander mumbled and Anya looked at him strangely.

“A lot of it we already knew from Sunnydale Living 101. Major turnoffs: wood, fire, crosses, garlic. Turn ons: cool clothes, minions…. Uh, long slow bites that last for days….”

“Yeah, well, that bastard hasn’t done much for us, has he?” a voice demanded from the doorway and they all turned to find Spike watching them. “Goddamn glory hound’s done more harm than any Slayer. Gets himself in a book and suddenly everyone knows our weaknesses.”

Willow smiled as Spike walked in and threw himself into a chair.

“Glad to see you back,” Willow said softly as Buffy growled at him.

Spike took in Carson with an even glare.

“You must be the new pet around here?” Spike taunted.

“At least I still have my teeth, boy,” Carson growled back.

“Who’re you calling ‘boy?’” Spike demanded. “How old are you, punk?”

“Older than your sire,” Carson said easily and Spike shifted in his seat, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

“Well, Red says you’re okay,” Spike grumbled.

“You two quite done?” Giles demanded, silencing both vampires. “Spike, what do you know about Dracula?”

“Bloody poof owes me 12 pounds,” he complained.

“What about his special powers?” Brad asked, taking notes. Ever since becoming involved in the affairs of the Slayer, the detective had done a lot of research on his own.

“Nothing but showy gypsy stuff,” Spike complained.

“Fog, bats? Mental control?” Buffy snapped.

“Okay, okay,” Spike griped. “He had something special from the start if the rumors are true. He was a bastard in real life, you know that, right?”

“Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler,” Willow nodded. “Known for his brutality and his ability to inspire fear throughout several countries. One of the few Slavs who could actually turn the Turks back. He’s considered a hero in Romania to this day.”

“Right, an entire forest of stakes planted in the ground and at least one or two bodies on each stake,” Spike described. “He either was so bloody evil before he was turned, or his demon was so powerful, it gave him special stuff.”

“So what’s special about him?” Tara asked.

“Besides the fact your girlfriend has fang marks in her neck and I can sense him all over her?” Spike taunted. “Thought you didn’t go for the boys anymore.”

Tara tightened her arms around Willow as the witch looked away, ashamed and Buffy growled.

“And what about you, Slayer?” Spike demanded. “He loves Slayers, has he moved on you already?”

“Yes,” Buffy snapped. “Willow wouldn’t let him in and got bitten for it!”

“Enough!” Giles shouted. “Now, Spike, what can you tell us that would be helpful or should I pour those five bags of blood in the refrigerator out?”

“No! Uh, well you’re not going to catch him napping in a crypt. Dracula has to have his luxury estate, bug eaters, protectors, brides and special dirt, don’t he?”

“Meaning we should check out mansions, that sort of thing?” Brad asked.

“No, you should go home to your wife and kids and the Slayer should get out of town,” Spike said seriously. “Willow’s been bit and you’re all over your heads with this one.”

“You’re welcome to leave, Spike,” Buffy growled. “Why did you come back, anyway?”

Spike snarled, flashing his fangs. “Like I care about any of you, I just like the free blood.”

“Well, grab a bag and take a hike if you’re not going to help,” Anya quipped.

“Hey, I didn’t say I wasn’t in,” Spike protested.

“What about you, Carson?” Giles asked. “What do you know of him?”

“Only that as a human he was a monster, as a vampire he was a nightmare even for us,” Carson confirmed. “Those titles of King of Vampires, Prince of Darkness and all were earned.”

Spike snorted but everyone ignored him.

“He makes a Master Vampire look like a Sunday school teacher,” Carson advised. “Useful stuff, he likes to live in style. Which means you can rule out the usual dumps vampires haunt.”

“Will you stand with us?” Willow asked softly and Carson shook his head, looking away from her eyes.

“I won’t be able to reach any vampires while he’s in town, they’ll be at his beck and call,” Carson said slowly. “I…I don’t know if I could stand against his call. I’m leaving town for a while, probably to LA. I won’t be of any use to you and could be used against you.”

Willow got up and knelt down in front of the vampire. She took both his hands in hers as he looked up, an expression of misery on his face.

“I understand,” she said softly. “It’s the reason I ran away, remember?”

Carson smiled slightly. “Yeah, danke.”

“Bitte,” she said softly and kissed his forehead.

“Well, Dracula’s smart enough to figure that we probably know his habits and he’s lying low,” Xander suggested.

Willow returned to the sofa and climbed over Buffy, back to her original position. “Actually, my research backs Carson and Spike up; he’s not the lay-low type of guy.”

“So we start checking out the nicer places,” Giles suggested. “Right, Buffy?”

Buffy blinked and looked up, confused. “Huh? Sorry, guess I’m tired.”

Xander continues to pace nervously, tapping his fingers.

“It’s okay,” Giles frowned. “What else, Tara?”

“Well, his modus operandi is different from other vampires. He will kill to feed but he’d rather have a connection with his victims. Those damned mental powers to draw them in.”

Tara tightened her arms around Willow, trying to reassure her lover.

“He…we know he can control minds, appear in dreams, or make you think it’s a dream when it’s really real life,” Willow rambled with a frown. “And that stare. He just kinda…looked right through you. Did you feel it, Buffy?”

“No,” Buffy said firmly and stood up. “No, I didn’t.”

Tara managed to look confused and Willow slightly hurt.

“See,” Xander said eagerly. “Buffy didn’t feel it. I think you’re drawing a lot of crazy conclusions about the Unholy Prince.”

Anya turned to stare at her boyfriend and Xander quickly glanced away.

“Well,” Giles said slowly, chewing on an earpiece of his glasses. “The point is, though he goes through the motions of an intimate seduction, the end result is the same. He turns his selected victims into vampires.”

Buffy stopped her own pacing, appearing to be startled.

“Wow, that is intimate,” Xander said in a quick voice. “Dracula’s gifting these ladies with his own blood, and blood is the life.”

Xander noticed the strange looks everyone seemed to be giving him and shrugged. “Well, according to vampires!” he corrected.

When everyone turned back to Giles for answers, Xander’s hand shot out onto Buffy’s bookshelves, grabbing a spider and stuffing it in his mouth.

“Well, we must be aware that he, well, he tends to form a relationship with his prey. It’s not enough for Dracula to take them; she has to want to be taken. The victim must…burn for him.”

“Meaning he’s going to try and seduce me again?” Willow squeaked.

“Yes, pet,” Spike nodded. “Unlike the rest of us, he doesn’t just grab someone, drain them and decide whether to turn them or not. He picks his ‘brides’ carefully and he adores Slayers. You also seemed to have gotten his attention and gotten him all randy for you.”

“Spike!” Carson growled.

“What, just cause you have the hots for her?”

Carson and Spike were on their feet in a flash and Willow shot out her hands. Both vampires snarled and struggled but found they couldn’t move.

Giles almost fell out of his chair as he took in the sight of Willow’s black eyes and the energy dancing from her hands.

“Sit down,” she hissed. “Both of you!”

The vampires found they could back up but not move forward. They reluctantly sat back down and Willow dropped her hands and collapsed back into Tara’s arms.

“Will?” Buffy asked softly.

“Drained,” Willow panted.

“What?” Joyce demanded.

“That burst of magickal energy just drained her,” Giles explained. “She shouldn’t have done that after losing that blood last night.”

“I’m okay, just weak,” Willow whispered and struggled to sit up. “Stop it, both of you. Carson cares for me but understands I am Buffy and Tara’s, no questions. Spike, on the other hand, has it bad for Buffy but won’t admit it. Now, both of you leave it alone. Dracula said he wanted me and Buffy,” Willow admitted. “Because she’s the Slayer and because I’ve dealt with dark magick. He’s not getting me and he’s not getting Buffy.”

“Not if all three of us stick together,” Tara said firmly. “Our love and light conquers any darkness each of us has.”

“I’m going to find him and kill him now,” Buffy said in an irritated voice.

“I don’t think you should go by yourself, Dracula is a serious threat,” Giles protested.

“Don’t worry, it’s daytime and I’ll be fine,” she said as she opened the door. Spike yelled in surprise and dived out of his chair as sunlight hit it.

Tara somehow extracted herself from around Willow and dashed out the door behind Buffy, catching her lover at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey,” Tara said. “What’s with the turtleneck?”

“Nothing, why?” Buffy frowned, her hand rubbing her neck.

“Something’s off,” Tara frowned as well. “Part of you is shielded. You fell under Dracula’s thrall!”

“I am not under Dracula’s thrall!” Buffy protested.

“Then show me your neck, Buffy,” Tara insisted, holding Buffy’s arm.

“This is ridiculous,” Buffy snapped and tried to pull out of Tara’s grip but the witch muttered something in Latin and Buffy couldn’t move her hand. “What? Let go of me!”

Tara could hear the others coming out of the house, watching them closely. The blonde witch could feel Willow’s confusion, fear and growing suspicion most of all.

Tara, saying a quick prayer to several Goddesses, ripped at Buffy’s turtleneck, tearing the neck away, revealing fang marks to everyone.

Buffy looked as if she had been punched and left dazed. She sat down slowly on the stairs and put her head in her hands, beginning to cry.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Giles asked softly.

“She didn’t want to worry us,” Xander suggested quickly. “Just scratches, right, Buffster?”

“Right, two deep, puncture type scratches that look just like mine,” Willow said bitterly.

Buffy sought out Tara and Willow’s eyes. “I’m not sure why I tried to hide it. It…uh…there was just this voice, telling me to cover it.”

“Thrall,” Tara said firmly.

“You’re saying that Dracula has some sort of freaky mind control over her?” Xander demanded. “No other vampire can do that and she’s even faced a Master. You’re watching too many Creature Features, man.”

“But,” Buffy said slowly. “It does seem like he has this…control over me, I…even though a major part of me is resisting.”

Xander, unseen by anyone else, saw a fly on a nearby hanging plant and grabbed it. It followed the spider into his mouth and down his throat.

Tara frowned as Willow walked over to her and Buffy.

“I swear to you both that I am yours! I am your girl and I’m going to stay that way!” Buffy said firmly and almost desperately.

Tara sighed and wrapped her arms around both Willow and Buffy.

“It’s just not easy,” she said softly, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Both my loves bitten by the same vampire. Neither of you are getting near him again!”

“Tara is right,” Giles nodded. “You should, you should both stay out of sight. The rest of us will look for Dracula.”

“We can’t stay here, he already got inside once,” Buffy protested.

“You can stay with us,” Xander volunteered. “I’ll make sure they stay put and protect them.”

“Good, excellent idea,” Giles agreed.

“I’m going back to my place and grab my stuff,” Carson said softly as they walked back into the Summers’ house where Spike and Carson waited. “I’m outta here at dusk.”

“Think I might go with you, mate,” Spike said and shrugged at the surprised look on everyone’s face. “With this damned chip in my head, Dracula will just brush me aside. Bad for the reputation, right?”

“Or he’d kill you for being against the natural order of vampires?” Carson suggested and Spike’s eyes flashed.

“Alright, let’s plan,” Anya suggested and everyone gathered around the family table.

“Tara, you do a protection spell on the house to prevent him getting back in,” Giles instructed and Tara nodded.

“How did he get in?” Joyce demanded.

“Well,” Giles hesitated and glanced at Willow. He removed his glasses and began cleaning them.

“Me?” she squeaked. “I did not! I remember saying no!”

“Mind control,” Brad reminded them from his notes. “You said he can make real life seem like it was a dream. Maybe he told you not to remember, like he told Buffy to hide her bite.”

Willow was horrified and it showed. “I don’t remember? What don’t I remember? This is so not cool!”

“Will!” Tara said sharply. “We’ll handle it! We…we’ll keep you both safe until w-we track him down in the d-daylight and kill him.”

“Buffy and Willow will go to Xander’s,” Giles continued. “Before you go, Willow, can you research on the web what parts of town he might take up residence in? We can mark the most likely places on the map.”

“I can do that,” Willow said, her eyebrow furrowed in ‘resolve’ face. “I can be useful.”

“Brad, Tara, Anya and I will look for Dracula,” Giles continued. “Joyce will drive Carson and Spike out of town shortly, in the trunk. I don’t want him getting his hands on them at dusk.”

“I am not leaving town, Rupert!” Joyce protested. “Not with everyone in danger! My daughter and Willow were bitten by Dracula!”

Giles nodded and walked up to his fiancé. “I know, but they’ll be safe with Xander. A vampire can’t enter a place unless invited and Dracula is very, well, he doesn’t bite males often.”

“Thank you!” Xander exclaimed, shuddering at the thought. “I am so not gay!”

He noticed the glare he was suddenly getting from his best friend, the Slayer and their other girlfriend. “Uh, not that there’s anything wrong with it!” he tried to backtrack. “Especially women! Women together is so cool! Just not me! Not that some guys aren’t kinda cute, not that I would notice, of course.”

“Xander!” Anya shouted. “Shut up.”

“Yes, dear,” he answered softly.

Joyce looked at Willow and Buffy, questioning.

“Its okay, Mom,” Buffy said softly. “I’d feel better if you were out of town. I don’t know if I can handle him.”

“We’ll handle him,” Tara said firmly, and leaned between Buffy and Willow, wrapping her arms around their shoulders. Both Slayer and Witch leaned into her.

* * *

Willow shuffled her feet as Joyce backed the family car as close to the house as she could get. The station wagon was loaded with thick blankets and the back windows had been blackened out with black trash bags. Brad thought it was subtle enough that Joyce might not get pulled over for the dark windows as long as the back window and windshield was clear.

Carson tried to smile and raised Willow’s chin.

“I have to leave,” he said softly.

“You could help,” Willow said softly, her eyes filling with tears.

“No,” the former Father Karnstein shook his head. “The others won’t admit it and the thrall won’t let you see it, but you are Dracula’s already, Scarlet.”

“No,” Willow whimpered, quickly glancing around to see if the others were listening but everyone was moving around. They were either packing Carson’s things they had retrieved from his crypt, or Spike’s stuff in the car, or hovering over maps of the city.

“Ja,” Carson insisted. “Dracula can call me to him with that magick of his and I would rather die than hurt you and the others.”

“I fought back last night!” Willow hissed, trying to keep her voice down. “I know I did!”

“Yes, and that makes you even more intriguing to him,” Carson said ruefully. “Willow, my friend, Dracula is going to grab you again, use that magick of his and bring out that dark side we’ve been fighting against. He will do exactly what An... that other vampire did to my Siobhan and I can’t go through that again.”

Willow’s head dropped.

“I won’t betray Buffy and Tara,” Willow whispered.

“You won’t have a choice, Scarlet,” Carson said softly, pulling her into his arms and holding her. “He’s too powerful, even for a Slayer and two witches.”

“You believe I’m damned,” Willow whimpered, tears soaking his shirt.

“You knew that would come when you called that spell. You may not believe that a vampire can pray,” Carson said softly. “But I will be praying for you and the others.”

Abruptly Carson released her and was gone into the kitchen.

Willow, knowing that was as far as he could go to get away from the conversation without actually stepping into the sun, dashed up the stairs to her room.

Tara and Giles watched Willow run up the stairs, Carson dash into the kitchen and Buffy sitting in the shadows, frowning and both were worried more than they were saying aloud.

Willow didn’t come back down to say goodbye to Carson, Spike and Joyce.

* * *

With Joyce, Carson and Spike gone, the remainder of the gang sat down in the living room for a moment.

Giles, watching from the kitchen doorway, noticed Buffy and Willow sitting in separate chairs, both looking miserable. He looked over and saw Tara watching her two lovers closely, the worry apparent on her face.

Brad and Anya were looking over the city maps and circling potential Dracula sites and Xander paced restlessly.

Giles motioned for Tara to join him.

“Okay, I’ve never seen those two looking so miserable,” he commented. “Not even when Buffy was bitten by Oz. What’s going on inside with them?”

“I don’t know,” Tara admitted. “Their shields are up and they won’t let me in or each other.”

“We’ve never entered a fight this fragmented and shaky,” the ex-Watcher muttered, sipping his tea.

“You don’t think we can win,” Tara said, her voice flat.

“I…I’m not sure, truthfully,” Giles admitted. “The three of you are becoming so powerful that it’s frightening and we’ve formed a fantastic team. But look at it, two sides of your triangle have been bitten and are possibly under control of the most powerful vampire we’ve ever seen.”

“I-I think they are under his t-total control, even if they d-don’t realize it,” Tara agreed.

“Why?”

“What I g-get from t-their thoughts and emotions are s-so jumbled,” Tara tried to explain. “Willow is f-feeling hopeless and Buffy isn’t thinking, she’s in a daze.”

“What did Carson say to her?” Giles asked.

“I don’t know, she won’t say,” Tara complained.

“Let’s get started,” he said finally, setting his half finished cup of tea down. The ex-Watcher hated having sent Joyce out of town but felt a lot better knowing she was out of reach from Dracula and the fight. “Xander, why don’t you walk Willow to your place and then Buffy?”

“Why not both together?” Anya asked.

“Well,” Giles hesitated. “I…uh…”

“He’s afraid we’ll run off and Xander won’t be able to stop both of us,” Willow said bitterly.

Giles looked defensive. “Actually, that’s correct. I have to figure out how to protect all of you with Dracula already having his fangs in two of you.”

Buffy’s eyes flashed angrily, finally showing some sign of life and coherent thought.

“I understand, Giles,” Willow said wearily. “It’s okay.”

Buffy frowned, watching Willow stand up and grab a backpack of her things. “Will?”

Willow bent down and kissed Buffy’s forehead gently.

“I love you, Buffy,” she said softly. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Tara whimpered and drew Willow into a tight hug.

“Please, Willow, let me in,” she begged.

“I…I can’t,” Willow whined, her eyes filling with tears again. “Come to Xander’s tonight after searching, we’ll try.”

“Okay,” Tara nodded. “I love you, Willow.”

“I love you, so much,” Willow whispered and turned to Xander. “Let’s go, Xan.”

Giles continued frowning.

“Let’s go and find the Dark Prince,” Anya said enthusiastically to Brad. The detective shook his head.

* * *

Willow was tired. The mental stress and the blood loss from the night before was getting to her and she basically ignored Xander’s ramblings as they got close to the apartment he shared with Anya.

The witch was also worried; she truly couldn’t remember inviting Dracula in. If she couldn’t remember that, what else wasn’t she remembering?

“Willow,” Xander’s voice cut into her thoughts and she looked up at her friend.

She didn’t see his fist crashing into her jaw.

“Master wants you,” Xander muttered, dragging her into an alley where a car was waiting.

* * *

Buffy began pacing after an hour and Giles was looking at his watch every two minutes.

“Anya, please call your place and confirm that they got there,” Giles requested and Anya quickly dialed the phone.

Anya listened for several moments and then hung up the phone almost violently.

“No answer!” she snapped. “If he’s out partying with some other female, I will rip his testicles off!”

“Anya!” Giles snapped and Buffy grabbed up her bag of Slaying items. “Where are you going?”

“Something’s wrong, Willow and Xan are missing,” Buffy snapped back. “Where do you think I’m going?”

“Do you even have a clue?” Brad demanded. “I’ll drive Tara over there and we’ll see if they even got there. If they didn’t, then we’ll back-track and see if we can find out anything on the street.”

“Okay,” Buffy agreed reluctantly. She was an action type person, she wanted to be doing something but the Slayer also knew she wasn’t thinking clearly.

“We’ll stay here and keep trying to call them,” Giles said.

Buffy looked out the window as Tara hugged her from behind.

“Why didn’t she call if she’s in trouble?” Buffy asked softly.

“Maybe he’s blocking her again,” Tara suggested.

“But he can’t come out in the daytime,” Buffy protested.

“He has… what did Willow call them, minions,” Giles reminded them.

“But would they be able to stop Willow’s mental calls?” Buffy asked and Giles frowned.

Buffy turned to kiss Tara before she left with Brad.

“We’ll find them, Buffy,” Giles said firmly.

“Not if Dracula has her,” Buffy whispered, touching her neck.

* * *

Willow moaned and wiggled her jaw. “I am so tired of being hit, kidnapped and…and…”

Willow frowned as she looked at the fur-lined leather cuffs around each wrist. A padlock connected each cuff to a length of chain and the chains led to metal rings embedded in the stone walls.

Stone walls? Willow thought she had been transported through time or space and was in some medieval castle. The bed was large with a canopy of dark burgundy velvet. The coverlet on the bed matched the canopy and Willow was pretty certain the sheets she was between were silk. Black silk. Willow looked down and discovered she was in a dark green silk nightgown.

The witch pulled, tugged and struggled against the leather cuffs and growled in frustration.

“Alright, goddamnit! I’m awake!” she shouted, her werewolf senses hearing someone moving in the hallway.

The door opened and Dracula walked in.

The vampire Prince was dressed in a burgundy silk shirt, black trousers and vest, without the cloak this time. He looked just as he had the night before.

Willow’s eyes flared with anger.

“I’m not yours!” she shouted.

“You are as much as I can hope for at this point,” he said calmly. The Dark Prince crossed the room gracefully and sat on the edge of the bed. “You are stronger than I had thought.”

“Glad to surprise you!” she snapped and tried to move away from the hand reaching out to touch her legs through the sheet and blanket. “What now? You… you bite me again, t-turn me and send me after my f-friends? Gotta remind you t-that I’m a werewolf, you know, natural enemy of vampires. Don’t get along type thing.”

“Other and lesser vampires perhaps,” Dracula smiled at the witch. “All those that walk in the darkness serve me. You included wolf-witch.”

“No!” Willow shouted and struggled against the bindings.

Dracula merely smiled and placed a palm in the center of Willow’s chest. The witch’s body jerked as if hit by lightning and her eyes snapped open black.

“Oh Goddess,” she whispered, her body trembling. “What?”

The vampire smiled and laid his hand on her chest again. Willow’s body writhed and twisted. When Dracula removed his hand the witch was breathing heavily and staring through black eyes.

It took a full five minutes before Willow could focus on the vampire.

“Goddess, what…what?” she panted.

“A taste of what you’ve been denying yourself,” Dracula said. “Magick without restriction.”

“You were a witch before you were turned,” Willow whispered.

The vampire smiled. “No, I was a sorcerer before I became this, but something more. I wasn’t…turned. I was nearly killed during a battle and by sheer will alone I became what you see.”

“I…what?”

“I wasn’t turned by a vampire, I simply turned myself so I could continue to exist,” Dracula explained. “Now, I can show you how to have that much power.”

Willow looked and felt confused. “No, no dark-side, bad Jedi stuff.”

“You will,” Dracula promised as he bent his head to her neck.

Willow cried out and her body jerked as his fangs sank into her neck again. “Please don’t,” Willow whimpered and tried to struggle until she was light-headed. The witch no longer fought back when she tasted Dracula’s blood at her mouth.

Willow wasn’t sure but she was sure she heard Xander’s voice.

“Is she okay,” his voice was demanding. “Did you gift her with your immortality?”

“No, she will be useful as a human for awhile,” Dracula’s voice drifted to her. “Her magickal ability is astounding and she’s half way there.”

“Uh, Master, and me?”

“In time, strange one,” Dracula answered. “All of those close to the Slayer will be mine.”

//Tara! Help me!// Willow screamed mentally.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In Thrall

Part 6

Red Moon Rising, Book 4

Rating: R (US) 15 (UK) MA (Aus)

Author's Note: Pairings: B/W/T, X/An, G/J

Author's Note: A Special "Thank You" to Joan the English Chick (pisces@englishchick.com) for her transcripts

Buffy vs Dracula Written

by Marti Noxon, directed by David Solomon.

* * *

“Damnit! Where is she?” Buffy shouted as she paced in Giles’ living room.

Anya, Giles and Buffy looked up as Tara and Brad entered the condo.

“Dracula has her,” Tara answered the question. “I had a flash from Willow shortly after the sun went down.”

“Is she okay?” Buffy demanded, touching her neck. “What about Xander?”

“I don’t know,” Tara said softly, pulling Buffy into an embrace. The blonde witch felt the Slayer finally relaxing in her arms. “She was scared and screaming for help.”

“God, how could I just let him waltz into my room and bite me?” Buffy demanded, beginning to pace again.

“Buffy, we know that he could just walk in the door and you’d probably stand there and bare your neck to him,” Anya said bitterly. “Now my Xander is missing.”

“Enough!” Giles snapped. “We’re not going to get anything done tonight; I suggest we start bright and early tomorrow searching for him.”

“What about keeping him away from Buffy?” Tara demanded. “He’s bitten her once and he was able to block Willow’s thoughts. He called Willow to him before even biting her.”

Giles frowned as he thought about it.

“Hey, I’m sitting here!” Buffy protested.

“Sorry, but I think Tara is correct,” Giles said thoughtfully.

“How about the crypt?” Brad suggested and Giles raised his eyebrows in surprise and then smiled.

“You mean Will’s crypt? Lock me up at night?” Buffy asked with a frown.

“Yes, it’s perfect,” Tara said slowly. “We can change the combination on the lock so Dracula can’t force her to open it and we stand guard over her.”

“This is so not productive!” Buffy complained. “I’m the Slayer, I can’t slay if I’m locked up at night.”

“You can’t slay if you’re in thrall to Dracula,” Giles countered and Buffy glared at all of her friends and lover. “Buffy, what are you thinking?” Giles asked softly.

“No, don’t like the idea,” Buffy snapped, getting up to pace again. “Can’t be locked up.”

“Why not?” Giles pressed.

“Waiting, I’m waiting,” Buffy growled.

“For what?” Giles demanded and Buffy suddenly looked confused and looked around at her friends but stopped when her eyes met Tara’s.

“Tara?” Buffy whimpered. Tara jumped up and grabbed Buffy into a tight hug. “I’m waiting for him,” Buffy admitted in a whisper.

“We’ll fight him, Buffy,” Tara promised.

“Okay, Brad and I are going to take Buffy to the crypt, the rest of you stay here,” Giles said.

“What about my Xander?” Anya demanded. “He is missing too!”

“Well, I don’t think Xander is dead, I…I think it’s likely that Dracula is, well, going to try and use Xander against us,” Giles hesitated. “Willow said he likes minions, tomorrow night Dracula will probably have Xander under his spell too.”

“Yes, that makes sense,” Anya agreed. “Dracula always wanted several humans around him for protection during the daytime. Disgusting humans, always eating bugs and rodents and stuff.”

“Bugs?” Tara asked in a horrified voice.

“Yeah, collecting lives, that kind of thing,” Anya explained.

“Renfield,” Giles nodded, remembering his Bram Stoker.

“Yes, it was always a rip off though,” Anya said calmly. “He always promised them eternal life for devoted service.”

“How would that be a rip off?” Tara questioned.

“Well, they could never please him so he always found an excuse to kill them before turning them into vampires,” Anya responded. “See, he picks those he can control and he usually picks males, a bit of a sexist pig. Dracula doesn’t want male vampires close to him so he won’t turn his servants.”

“But he wants female vampires around him?” Giles asked.

“Of course, makes him look good,” Anya shrugged.

“Let’s get moving then!” Brad snapped.

“Right, we’ll get Buffy safe and start tracking him down in the morning,” Giles said firmly.

* * *

Willow coughed and tried to refuse the orange juice being offered but with her arms tied it was difficult. The witch finally swallowed as much as she could without throwing it back up.

She heard soothing voices and a cool cloth wiped her face and forehead tenderly.

“Easy, red one,” a female voice said softly.

Willow tried to focus and then tried to comprehend that three women were sitting on the bed with her, one on each side and one at the foot of the bed. Willow, remembering Keanu Reeves in a similar position with three female vampires, whimpered and pulled at her bindings.

“Shhh, you lost a little bit of blood and it makes the stomach rather upset,” the first voice said. Willow placed the accent as upper class British.

“Yes, drink as much as you can, sister,” the vampire on her right instructed. “Prince Vlad doesn’t wish you to die too soon, so we must keep you healthy.”

“Why? Why doesn’t he just kill me?” Willow demanded.

“You have power,” the third answered. “Power he hasn’t seen since he first crossed. He wants you and the Slayer totally, heart, soul and bodies.”

“No, I won’t!” Willow protested and felt her breathing increasing as the women drew closer. “Don’t, please,” she begged.

“Oh, we won’t drink from you, Sister,” the first one cooed. “Not yet!”

* * *

“Buffy! Giles! Help me!”

“Xander?” Giles called out as Brad kept a hand on Buffy’s shoulder. They spotted a blood-soaked Xander stumble out from behind a crypt, falling to the ground to his hands and knees.

The small group ran forward as he continued to fall forward onto the grass.

Giles knelt beside the young man and rolled him over carefully as Buffy gasped.

Xander’s nose looked broken and both eyes were blackened. The front of his shirt was covered with blood and he looked only semi-conscious.

“Xander, what happened?” Giles demanded. “Where’s Willow?”

Xander’s eyes snapped open and his hand flew upwards, first hitting Brad with the pipe concealed along his baggy trouser leg and then arching back to hit Giles on the temple. Both men fell without a sound.

Buffy stood looking at Xander and the two older adults with a confused expression.

“Excellent, Strange One!” a voice said loudly in approval.

Buffy turned but didn’t react as Dracula walked out of the shadows. The vampire Prince extended his hand and Buffy moved forward to accept it. Xander scrambled to his feet and followed the vampire and Slayer like a puppy dog.

“Did I do good, Master?” he asked rapidly.

“Yes, very well,” Dracula nodded and Xander rubbed his hands together gleefully. “Leave us now, go back to the castle and watch over the scarlet one.”

“Yes, Master!”

Buffy frowned as Xander ran off, jumping over the graveyard wall easily. She turned back to the vampire with a frown.

“You hurt my friends,” she said softly.

“They wished to interfere with us,” Dracula shrugged. “Come to me,” he instructed her.

Buffy moved closer to him and pulled her hair aside.

“This isn’t…right…why am I doing this?” she asked.

“Darkness cannot resist darkness,” Dracula smiled.

“I’m not dark, I’m the Slayer, the good guy,” Buffy protested.

“Your power is rooted in darkness, in killing and blood,” Dracula countered. “You enjoy the hunt, you relish the kill and you fight for the blood.”

Buffy frowned and looked thoughtful.

“Accept your destiny,” Dracula urged, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“My destiny is the Slayer,” Buffy argued.

“And the destiny of each Slayer is to fall to a vampire, to die,” Dracula said firmly. “Why wait to fall to someone unworthy? You can be the Queen of Vampires at my side, embracing the very blood that your fight for now. You go on, getting older, getting slower, eventually a pack of vampires surrounds you one night and take you. Is that what you want? I can give you immortality without turning you into those lesser vampires that you fight.”

“You mean without losing my soul?” Buffy was definitely confused.

“What is a soul?” Dracula growled. “No, I am like no other vampire you have ever seen before and my gift of immortality is special. Come to me and accept it.”

Buffy tried to think and fight back.

“Why do you want my consent so badly? You have me and I can’t fight back, damnit! Why don’t you just take it?”

“I want my gift accepted willingly,” Dracula explained with a smile. “I can show you what your power truly is, like I am showing your mate.”

“Willow,” Buffy said softly.

“Yes, she is amazing,” Dracula admitted. “She will soon totally accept the darkness. The magick is very seductive and she has tasted the darkness. I am surprised however at your other mate.”

“Tara, what about Tara?” Buffy continued to frown.

“She is such one with the light, it is painful,” Dracula growled. “The fact that the three of you are mated together and it works is unusual for humans, especially Slayers. That two who have been touched by the dark are so attracted to one with the light, is surprising.”

“Willow accepted that darkness to save me from a werewolf bite,” Buffy protested. “It was a good deed thing.”

“Yes, but it opened a door to something none of you wished,” Dracula smirked. “Follow her through that door.”

“No, no dark stuff, I’m a good guy,” Buffy protested.

“You think you know what you are but you don’t,” Dracula said softly. “You, whose powers are so close to ours, fighting against what is to come, what is inevitable. Reject Tara, the lover of light, and follow me to your other mate, the one in darkness. Together we will be fantastic and will rule the vampires.”

“Tara?” Buffy whispered and shook her head. “No, not Tara,” she muttered. “Won’t let go of Tara.”

///Buffy?///

///Tara? Help me! He has me!/// Buffy screamed mentally. ///I can’t fight!///

///Yes you can!/// Tara’s voice insisted. ///Find the light in you and hold onto it!///

“Enough!” Dracula suddenly shouted, backing handing Buffy several yards away. The Slayer tried to sit up and screamed as Dracula landed on her, sinking his fangs in her throat.

Buffy fought but was quickly weakened until she couldn’t move.

Her blue eyes looked up at Dracula standing over her.

“You will submit, Slayer,” he growled. “Your kind always does.”

Buffy tried to struggle but couldn’t as he held a bleeding wrist to her mouth. Buffy wondered if she was dying.

* * *

Buffy moaned and felt someone placing a cold cloth on her forehead.

“It’s okay, baby,” someone said softly.

Buffy tried to smile when she opened her eyes and saw Tara looking at her and holding her hand.

“Hurts,” Buffy whispered, touching her throat.

“Apparently it does when he takes it by force,” Tara said softly.

“I’m sorry, Tara, I’m so sorry,” Buffy whimpered and broke down as Tara wrapped her arms around the Slayer.

“I know, I’m trying to understand,” Tara cried along with her lover.

“He has Willow and is trying to seduce her to dark magick,” Buffy said when she pulled back after a few minutes of crying.

“What else, Buffy?” Giles’ voice brought the Slayer’s head around and she saw Giles sitting on a stool near the end of her bed.

Bed, strange bed – beige blanket, white sheets, tubes, machines = hospital. Tubes running from her arms to clear IV bags and one containing blood. Buffy turned pale at the sight of it and fought back the urge to retch.

“Its okay, Buffy,” Tara said again.

“How bad?” she asked.

“He almost drained you enough to kill you,” Giles answered. “Xander gave me a pretty good headache and he broke Brad’s jaw.”

“Oh God, Xan,” Buffy cried, “He’s totally under Dracula’s control.”

“Figured that after he hit me with a pipe,” Giles growled. “What happened, Buffy?”

Buffy lowered her head and wouldn’t meet their eyes.

“Xander whacked you two and Dracula came out of the shadows,” Buffy tried to explain.

“You knew he was there,” Giles said, almost accusing.

“Yes, I sensed him but I couldn’t say a word,” Buffy admitted.

“Why are the fang marks torn at the edges and why did he just leave you?” Giles asked.

“He was mad at me,” Buffy said softly.

“Why?” Tara asked softly, encouraging her lover to talk.

“He wants me to accept him and become a vampire,” Buffy explained. “Dracula wants me to beg him and not force it. To do that I have to reject my bonding with Tara.”

“Me? What about me?” Tara asked. “I-I’m not powerful.”

“Yes you are,” Giles said thoughtfully. “I think I understand. Dracula needs Buffy and Willow to accept his darkness for some reason and you represent the light in their lives.”

“No, I-I’m just me,” Tara protested. “They’re the ones that are powerful, not me.”

Buffy smiled slightly. “Honey, you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You’re the one that saved Will when she tried to kill herself with that silver knife.”

Tara frowned, looking at Giles with a confused expression.

“Buffy is the Slayer and Willow is the powerful witch, not me,” she insisted.

“You are the stabilizing power in their lives,” Giles countered. “Willow invited darkness into her through magick and Buffy deals with darkness every day and night of her life.”

“Dracula said my power is rooted in darkness,” Buffy commented with a frown.

“I don’t believe that,” Giles shook his head. “You fight against evil; I don’t believe the powers of the Slayer can come from evil to fight evil.”

“And where do Slayers end up?” Buffy demanded, raising her head abruptly.

“What do you mean?” Giles hedged.

“We either end up dead at a very young age or we become the very thing that we spend our lives fighting against,” Buffy said bitterly. “Ironic, huh?”

“Why does he want them to submit willingly?” Tara asked, trying to change the focus back to the original questions.

“I’m not sure unless it’s an ego thing,” Giles admitted.

“Dracula said that he’s not like any other vampire that I’ve ever met and that his gift of immortality is different,” Buffy said, remembering the conversation. “I wouldn’t reject Tara and he threw me across the graveyard and attacked me.”

“Did you drink his blood?” Giles asked seriously.

“Yes, I think I did,” Buffy whispered, dropping her head again as Tara wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Shhh, it’ll be okay,” Tara urged. “You were able to call out to me, that’s a good sign.”

“Yes, you actually fought back and resisted him, Buffy,” Giles pointed out. “We have got to kill him soon though.”

“Soon?” Buffy asked.

“He’s bitten you twice and you’ve drank his blood,” Giles said wearily, touching the bandage wrapped around his head like a headband. “If the legends and stories are true, then he can call you to him easily now and he already has Willow.”

“She’s fighting back,” Tara protested. “I can feel it.”

“Willow doesn’t have the two of you there to help,” Giles shook his head. “For some reason he needs both of you to submit before he turns you…. Maybe it has to do with the amount of self realization left to the victim.”

“Giles?” Tara asked as he muttered to himself.

“Dracula’s brides are described as typical vampires,” Giles said, a little more eagerly. “Blood thirsty, no soul, no compassion and little intelligence or self motivation.”

“Like a low level minion in Sunnydale,” Buffy added and Giles nodded.

“Exactly, in the book ‘Dracula,’ the brides were almost mindless except for their lust for blood and one would assume they were at least a few years old as vampires.”

“Unless they submit and embrace the darkness, they turn out to be morons?” Buffy ventured.

“Well, I’m not sure I’d describe the process in that manner, but probably,” Giles responded.

“What’s the difference between holding someone in a thrall and turning them or willingly submitting?” Tara demanded, losing her stutter in her anger.

“I’m not sure,” Giles grumbled, “this is all theory with little to go on. He seems to be holding Willow and Buffy in thrall until they agree to what he’s offering. Dracula doesn’t play fair, I’m not saying that. He’s willing to kidnap, drain them of blood and energy to keep them off balance and enthrall them until they do submit.”

“Sorta like holding someone’s arm behind their back until they agree to what you want,” Buffy suggested as a comparison and Tara grinned.

“Yes, exactly,” Giles managed to smile. Leave it to his Slayer to turn to a violent image for comparison. “If Buffy can continue to deny him, we might have a chance.”

“How so?” Tara asked.

“Well, it’ll give us time to search and find Dracula and then destroy him,” Giles said calmly. “The longer Buffy holds out, the longer he has to keep trying.”

“And Will?” Tara demanded and Giles turned his eyes away.

“Dracula has total access,” Buffy said softly as Tara turned to glare at her as well. Buffy felt her cheeks flaming with a blush of embarrassment. “I can say truthfully that I wouldn’t last two days and nights with him.”

“She is not lost to the darkness!” Tara protested. “Willow is strong!”

Neither Giles nor Buffy would agree with her and Tara ran out of the room crying.

* * *

Willow screamed as her body arched on the bed of silk and velvet. She could feel her fangs ripping at her lips as she fell back, totally exhausted.

“Master,” Xander’s voice reached her through the haze. “That looks like fantastic sex but you’re not touching her except on the forehead? That’s a really weird erogenous zone!”

“Silence, rat-boy,” Dracula’s voice commanded and Willow felt the waves building again and whimpered.

“No please, no more,” she begged, opening her black filled eyes as Dracula smiled at her.

“Enjoy, Scarlet One,” he urged and Willow cried out as the magickal energy hit her system again. The only thing better was being loved by Buffy or Tara.

Willow had no idea how long she was riding the waves or how long she had been screaming in pleasure that was bordering on intense pain.

“Master?”

“She still resists accepting the total darkness but it won’t be long,” Dracula said confidently. “Release her bonds and walk her around a bit, there is food in the kitchen, make her eat with you. I want you both healthy.”

“Why don’t you turn her, Master?” Xander asked as he hurried to unlock Willow’s bindings.

“I wish her alive, especially until after I have the Slayer,” Dracula said calmly. “Once she accepts the darkness then that magickal power will be at my command and there is no fiercer protector than a werewolf.”

“I can protect you, Master!” Xander protested.

“Not like a werewolf,” Dracula countered. “Put the laundry out for pick up as well.”

“Yes, Master,” Xander agreed quickly as he lifted Willow into a sitting position. Seeing his best friend’s eyes totally black was a little unnerving, Xander thought. But then again, eating bugs hadn’t been in his life plans either. Asking Anya to marry him had been the plan, not serving Dracula and eating bugs.

The young man frowned as he pulled Willow to her feet; the witch seemed barely coherent enough to keep her feet under her.

Xander continued frowning. This wasn’t what he wanted for his friend. Will was his best friend since pre-school. Never mind that Barbie Doll incident, or when he was possessed by the spirit of a hyena. Willow was always there for him.

* * *

//Tara?//

///Willow?/// “Willow?” Tara asked, sitting up from leaning on Buffy’s shoulder in the hospital. ///Where are you, Will?///

//Don’t know….hurts….fuzzy….help me.//

///Will, how can I find you?/// Tara asked as Buffy and Giles watched the blonde witch carefully.

//I’m lost…darkness…pleasure.//

///Will, focus!/// Tara screamed mentally. //Send me a line!//

Tara could feel Willow frowning and trying to concentrate. The witch sat up quickly, her eyes distant, as if looking at a TV across a large room.

“Giles, follow me,” she said softly and stood up.

“Tara?” Buffy whispered.

“Willow is screaming for help, she’s lost,” Tara said softly.

“It could be another trap,” Giles complained.

“No, it’s not,” Tara said firmly and walked out the door.

“Giles!” Buffy yelled.

“I’ll take care of her!” he promised as he rushed after the witch.

//Tara, help me!//

///I’m coming, lover!///

//Gotta focus…not let….him in…Goddess, it hurts inside…//

///Stay with me, Will!///

Giles followed Tara out of the hospital, trying not to let his concussion interfere.

It was a maddening hour of trying to find the witch. The psychic beacon wasn’t direct or strong as they made several wrong turns and had to back track many times. Tara was getting frantic as the sun sank lower in the sky and Willow began to weaken.

Finally, Tara looked confident and rushed into a downtown alley. She stopped at several doors and a loading dock as Giles caught up with her. The witch concentrated for a moment and pointed to the loading dock.

She rushed up the stairs and moved inside what appeared to be an industrial laundry cleaning service. Giles, muttering about being killed for trespassing, followed her.

He found Tara tearing through several industrial size laundry bins, the kind with wheels for transporting goods back and forth. Giles moved closer, watching at the same time for workers or security guards.

Tara whimpered and Giles glanced in a basket and saw familiar red hair mixed among the dark sheets. The blonde witch turned the basket onto its side and Willow tumbled out into her arms.

“Oh my God,” Giles muttered as they saw her black filled eyes, barely half open.

“Will?”

The red-haired witch was shaking all over and seemed incoherent. Tara frowned, taking in Willow’s trembling body and raggedly cut hair.

“Willow?” she asked softly.

“Let’s get her out of here!” Giles insisted.

“She’s needs an ambulance,” Tara urged, showing the ex-Watcher the fang marks on Willow’s neck.

“No, they can’t help,” Giles shook his head and grabbed Willow’s feet.

“What’s wrong with her?” Tara demanded.

“Her eyes, oh God. I don’t know how but Dracula has been feeding her pure magickal energy,” Giles muttered as they carried Willow onto the loading dock. “Wait here, we’ll put her on my shoulder.”

The Englishman moved down the short flight of stairs and stood in front of Willow and Tara. The blonde witch gently helped him place the non-coherent red-head over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry.

“What do you mean?” Tara demanded as they began to walk towards Giles’ car.

“Some magickal energy, if it isn’t used and grounded properly it feels like a drug in the system,” Giles explained. “You’ve felt some of that. When you feel like you can take on the world after a good ritual working.”

“Yes,” Tara nodded in agreement.

“This is worse, Dracula was sending the energy through Willow and back and through,” Giles tried to explain. “It’s like the two of you were on the same level as marijuana and she moved onto cocaine after doing that werewolf spell. Now Dracula has been feeding her the magickal equivalent of pure heroin.”

“Are you saying she’s a magick junkie?”

“It’s quite possible,” Giles panted. “It is possible to become addicted to almost anything within the first few tries. Right now she’s hitting withdrawals.”

“But he only had her for a night and a day!” Tara protested.

“Doesn’t take much,” Giles grumbled. “Given the fact she escaped and called for you is a good sign, which means she didn’t give in totally.”

“Oh Goddess, Willow!” Tara whispered as she opened Giles’ door.

* * *

Buffy’s blue eyes flashed brilliantly when she walked slowly into Willow’s bedroom and found her tied to the bed by her wrists. The Slayer spun on Giles, her face enraged.

“What?” she demanded.

“Buffy, she’s detoxing off some major magickal energy and is under Dracula’s control,” he tried to explain. “We can’t take the chance.”

“Are you going to tie me down to my bed tonight or do Willow and I get the share the same bed and the same ropes?” she demanded, shouting.

“Enough!” Giles snapped. “I’m supposed to figure out how to protect all of you and I’ve failed!”

The Englishman’s anger faded quickly and he sank into a chair as Willow thrashed and whimpered on the bed, sweat covering her body.

“He anticipated everything, Buffy,” Giles said softly, trying not to let the tears filling his eyes escape. “He took Xander before we even thought of protecting ourselves. He got to you and Willow the very first night. Dracula used Xander to find out where we would take you and he was waiting for us. The only thing he didn’t plan on was Willow escaping, I think.”

“Has she said anything?” Buffy asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed and stroking Willow’s now shaggy red hair.

“No, just cries and whimpers,” Giles muttered.

“Tara is downstairs fixing everyone breakfast,” Buffy said, crying as she watched Willow struggling. The witch whimpered and pulled at her bindings and Buffy’s whimper matched Willow’s when the witch opened her eyes. There still wasn’t anything but black showing.

“Oh God,” Giles muttered.

“I’ll be right back!” Buffy muttered and scampered out the door and down the stairs.

Tara looked up with a surprised expression as Buffy skidded to a stop in the kitchen.

“Buffy! What is it? Willow?”

“No, she’s okay, I mean, she’s the same,” Buffy stammered. “Still miserable and out of it.”

“What is it?”

“I got an idea,” Buffy said. “Giles says you’re the light in this mess. Can you lend me strength when I face Dracula again?”

“You mean like the Original Slayer spell?” Tara asked as she flipped pancakes.

“Yeah but without the spell thing, I mean just us,” Buffy stammered. “I mean channeling light stuff to me?”

Tara seemed to think for a moment.

“Yes, I think so,” Tara said slowly, absently working on breakfast. “When?”

“Tonight, I think,” Buffy mumbled and gave Tara a quick kiss and dashed back up the stairs. She skidded into Willow’s room. “Giles, what would happen if you untied Willow?”

“I’m not sure,” Giles said thoughtfully. “I seriously think she might try and get back to Dracula right now. Willow managed to call for help…but, she…she’s hurting so bad.”

“Could she make it back to him before dark?” Buffy asked, turning to look at her lover.

“I don’t know, I’m not sure she can make two blocks in that condition,” Giles muttered. “She’s so weak.”

Buffy frowned as she sat down and stroked Willow’s hair.

“Wonder why he cut it shorter?” she muttered.

“Maybe easier to care for while she was out of it,” Giles suggested.

“What about how Tara found her?” Buffy asked, feeling Tara walk in the room.

“What are you thinking, Buff?” Tara asked, going around to the other side of the bed as Willow thrashed.

“We put her in the car, she should have some kind of a reaction if we’re in the right area,” Buffy suggested.

Giles’ eyes brightened. “Yes,” he said slowly. “We have a good idea where Dracula might take up residence.”

“Will she react if we do it now? We could find him before dark,” Buffy suggested eagerly.

“And you’ll both end up in his hands!” Giles protested. “Brad is in the hospital with a broken jaw; Xander is already Dracula’s; Anya will be useless against Xander; Willow is worse than a junkie; and all Dracula has to do is snap his fingers at you!”

“I think I can help protect Buffy, channeling light to counter his darkness,” Tara said softly as Willow whimpered and twisted, her muscles contorting. “And Brad is on his way over, he’s being released. His jaw is wired and he’s upset.”

Giles became thoughtful.

“Only Anya, Brad and I will be able to fight,” he said slowly. “Tara will be busy trying to keep you balanced and we can’t count on you being able to resist him.”

“I know that but we have to try or we lose Will,” Buffy reasoned, stroking Willow’s cheek. “All he has to do is mentally tell us to invite him in tonight or tomorrow night.”

“Or he’ll pick t-the rest of us off one by one,” Tara added, “l-leaving Buffy alone.”

“Alright, let’s have breakfast,” Giles said firmly. “I want everyone in the best shape we can.”

“I’m not hungry,” Buffy muttered, watching Willow’s face contort with pain.

“You’ll eat,” Giles said flatly. “We’re not going to let you slowly fade away to his vampiric bite either.”

* * *

Giles was uncomfortable with the situation but couldn’t see any other options. The only other plan was to look for Dracula in the daytime and lose Willow and Buffy by night.

The ex-Watcher glanced over the seat at Willow in Tara’s arms. The red-haired witch still was incoherent and her suffering was getting worse. They had tied her hands together to keep her from tearing at her own skin and it broke his heart to see her thrashing against the seat.

Both Buffy and Tara had tears streaming down their cheeks.

“Drive, Giles,” Buffy said softly.

Buffy had no idea how they got through the rest of the day. It was an agonizingly slow process, even worse than when Tara had been looking for Willow. One by one they eliminated potential houses and areas until the possibilities were narrowed down.

Willow had gone into convulsions when they had reached the southern part of town and her muscle twitching had eased up when they started back north.

Everyone was at the end of their frazzled nerves. Buffy and Tara weren’t sure how much more they could take and Giles was ready to scream or drive the car at full speed into a brick wall and get it over with.

“Buffy, we need to get back,” he finally said. “It’s almost sundown, Dracula will know where we are before we know where he is.”

“He’s not awake yet, I can tell,” Buffy said absently. “He fed last night and slept heavy.”

“Any other time and I’d want to know how you know that,” he muttered. “I’m too tired and I’m turning the car around.”

Giles glanced in the rearview mirror and was reassured to see Brad’s car with Brad and Anya still following them.

“Willow?” Tara’s voice stopped the ex-Watcher and Giles pulled over to the curb so he could turn and look at the witches.

Willow’s eyes appeared to be more focused and she was attempting to sit up without much success in her weakened condition.

Buffy looked around and tugged on Giles’ sleeve.

“You know, I’ve lived in Sunnydale for awhile now,” she said, pointing up a slight hill. “You know, I’ve never seen a castle in Sunnydale before.”

“A castle?” Giles muttered and opened his car door and looked over the roof at the reality of a castle in Sunnydale. “Well, yes, that is a castle, isn’t it? Looks like something out of Rocky Horror.”

“Rocky Horror?” Buffy questioned. “You, Giles? You know Rocky Horror?”

“I was young once and that was my era, young lady,” Giles growled.

“I can’t see you in fishnet stockings!” Buffy mumbled, shaking her head. “Nope, scary visual place. I am so not seeing that in my head!”

“Buffy!” Tara’s voice brought the Slayer back to the inside of the car.

Willow was staring at the castle and clawing at the door handle.

Giles pulled out a large pocketknife and cut the leather holding her wrists together. Willow whimpered as Buffy opened the door from the outside and the red-haired witch fell to the sidewalk.

“Shouldn’t we lock her up in the car, like with handcuffs from Brad?” Buffy demanded.

“Yes, we should,” Giles agreed. “Buffy, I need you to trust me and I need to trust you, can you face him?”

Buffy started to respond immediately and then hesitated. “The sun is going down, he’s beginning to stir.”

“Can you face him and hold him off from turning you?” Giles pressed.

“Yes,” Buffy answered firmly.

“I want you and Willow to go up there,” Giles said slowly. As the ex-Watcher had expected, Tara was out of the car in a flash and holding the shaking Willow in her arms and glaring at Giles.

“No!” she shouted. “You’re not risking both of them!”

Brad and Anya trotted up from Brad’s car and stood back, watching the interaction between the lovers and their mentor.

“They’ll be the distraction, Dracula knows Willow is missing and having both of them show up will surprise him,” Giles reasoned. “He’ll have to get Willow stable and then he’ll turn his attention to Buffy, giving us time to get in, find them and kill him.”

Brad grunted and nodded his agreement to the plan as Buffy and Tara glared. Tara finally lowered her head and looked at Willow. After expending her energy getting out of the car, Willow was as weak as a newborn kitten, one hand clawing at the sidewalk to get to the castle.

“Buffy, do it,” Tara said finally. “I’ll be with you; I’ll try and stay connected.”

Buffy frowned but knelt beside the two witches. She gently stroked Tara’s cheek and kissed the blonde witch. “I love you,” she said softly and picked Willow up in her arms.

Giles held out a hand to Tara and helped her to her feet. They watched with sinking hearts as the Slayer and lover walked towards Dracula’s lair and into hell.

Giles turned and went to the trunk of the car, ignoring the fading sight of Buffy and Willow. He threw a blanket aside and handed Brad a box of bullets. The police raised his eyebrows in question, drawing his own gun and spare clips.

“Silver tipped bullets,” Giles explained. “Dracula might have more werewolves other than Willow.”

Brad nodded and emptied two of his ammo clips and replaced the bullets.

Giles handed Anya a crossbow and a quiver of wooden arrows with silver tips. Bottles of holy water and gold crosses came next. Tara received a pistol with silver bullets and a stake. Giles took an axe coated in silver, three stakes and a cross.

“Lets’ do it,” Anya said firmly. “I want my Xander back!”

Brad motioned with his hands, first together and then moving apart and around in a circle.

“Split up in teams?” Giles translated and Brad nodded. He pointed at Anya and himself and motioned to the left of the castle and then at Tara and Giles and motioned them towards the right.

“Yes, I agree,” Giles agreed.

* * *

A vampire in full game face opened the door but failed to get a reaction out of Buffy except for the Slayer to shove past him into the foyer. She quickly put Willow down on a sofa and turned to the main hall.

“Dracula!” she shouted. “Come out, damnit!”

A door opened and Buffy was surprised to see Xander rush out towards her. She cautiously held up her hands in a semi defensive position as she took in Xander’s condition.

The young man had recently been beaten. His clothes, the same he had been in for days, were filthy with grime and blood and his hair was unkempt and matted to his head. He was holding his left arm close to his body and moving as if he were hurting from his ribs to his legs.

“Buffy?” he asked softly as the vampire leaned against the front door, smirking at them. “You brought her back? Why?”

“You helped get her out, didn’t you?” it suddenly became clear to Buffy why Xander was surprised to see Willow and why he looked a mess.

“I…why did you bring her back?”

“She’s too far gone, Xander,” Buffy tried to make it sound reasonable. “She’ll die without him now.”

Xander frowned and squeaked, moving behind Buffy as they both turned to the stairs.

“Go back to your corner, Xander,” Dracula ordered. “I’m not done punishing you.”

“Please, Master,” Xander begged. “She’s back, they’re both here! Don’t hurt me again! Please!”

Buffy fought any emotions down from her face and tried to keep her mind blank.

Dracula waved Xander aside as the young man cringed and moved away, staying out of Dracula’s reach, disappearing into the shadows. The vampire Prince approached the women slowly, his blue eyes drilling into Buffy’s.

He stood over the Slayer for a moment and seemed satisfied when he reached out she moved her head to one side, baring her neck for him. Dracula glanced down at the twitching and moaning Willow.

“Help her, please,” Buffy begged.

“You came to me,” Dracula said, ignoring her plea. “I did not call.”

“Willow is hurting! Please help her!” Buffy begged, letting those emotions come through in full force.

“You are willing to join us then? Her pain will stop and she will be one of the most powerful humans on earth,” he said easily.

Buffy’s face was pained with conflicting emotions and tears fell as she looked at her lover.

“Yes, just help her,” Buffy said.

Dracula smiled and motioned to the other vampire who was at his master’s feet in a moment.

“Take her to the library,” Dracula ordered.

“Yes, Master,” the vampire said quickly and gathered Willow up in his arms.

Buffy started to follow but Dracula grabbed her and stopped the Slayer.

“First you take care of her and then we deal,” Buffy said firmly.

Dracula surprised Buffy by laughing and releasing her. “I’m glad you haven’t lost that fire, Slayer.”

“Willow!” she snapped.

“Yes, come,” he agreed and they followed the vampire into a large room.

Buffy had been expecting a medium sized room with a desk and maybe a couple of easy chairs surrounded by shelves of books. What she didn’t expect was a room the size of a small school library with shelves and rows of books. There were three desks, five easy chairs and two tables with wooden chairs surrounding them.

Willow was lying on the one sofa in the room.

Buffy and Dracula approached the witch slowly and Buffy tried to keep her heart from pounding out of her chest when Willow opened her eyes. Again they were totally black, with no color or white. The witch looked straight through Buffy but saw Dracula and tried to sit up.

When she was unable to sit up she rolled off the sofa. Buffy whimpered but Dracula held out an arm, stopping the Slayer from approaching her lover. Willow turned over and got to her hands and knees slowly. Buffy hissed in anger as her mate began to slowly crawl across the floor towards Dracula.

“Damn you!” she growled.

“Quiet! She has to want this,” Dracula growled back.

Willow reached Dracula’s boots and tried to claw up his legs.

“Please, help me!” she begged, tears streaming down her face.

“You accept the power, all of it?” he asked softly.

“Yes!” Willow hissed in answer. “Please!”

“You reject your lover, Tara, and your connection to her?” Dracula asked softly.

“Tara?” Willow whispered, frowning and hesitating.

Buffy saw that Dracula was actually surprised at her hesitation and getting angry.

“Reject her!” he ordered. “Reject her and you will feel what you felt before, incredible power that makes sex seem pale. Claim the darkness in you!”

“Tara?” Willow whispered again and Buffy struggled to keep her emotions hidden behind walls in her mind and soul. Willow looked puzzled and glanced at Buffy.

“You want this?” Dracula asked, waving a hand in front of Willow’s face and Buffy gasped at the energy shooting from his hand into her lover. Willow’s head and arms snapped back and out. It looked like she was being shocked.

It was over in a flash and Willow collapsed to the floor, shaking.

“Oh Goddess, please! Don’t stop!” she begged, reaching for the vampire again.

“You’re a witch vampire?” Buffy whispered.

“I was a sorcerer before I turned myself into a vampire by sheer will alone,” Dracula bragged. “The vampires you deal with were turned by another and lost their souls when turned. I had no soul left to lose when I was wounded and dying. I simply refused to die and became this.”

“Please!” Willow begged.

“Tara!” Dracula hissed, kneeling down on one knee in front of her. “Sever the connection!”

Willow screamed and curled up in a fetal position, sobbing. “No, never!”

“Fine!” Dracula growled as he stood up. “Another night and day and you’ll accept.”

“Why do you need our submission so badly?” Buffy demanded as Dracula turned to her. “You could just keep hitting her with that magick drug thing until she’s totally mindless and you could have turned me several times.”

“I need your consent for the magick to work properly,” Dracula shrugged, turning his back on the witch. Buffy struggled slightly as he wrapped an arm over her shoulders and started guiding her towards the door.

“Willow? We had a deal,” Buffy growled.

“Don’t worry, my people will make sure she lives,” Dracula said easily. “She’ll accept us tomorrow night.”

“Us?” Buffy asked softly, fear and excitement gripping her heart.

“Yes, tonight you are mine, Slayer,” Dracula nodded, smiling at her confused face. “She’ll accept your fangs tomorrow night along with the darkness. We’ll keep her alive for a few years; she has much power to mature into. Then you will take her as your mate, forever.”

“Forever, with Will?”

“Yes, I am not a fool, Slayer,” Dracula laughed as he opened the door. “I know you feel nothing for me. We will make good companions for eternity. Most royal marriages are arranges as such. I even married a King’s daughter and changed my religion to regain political power.”

“Will?” Buffy called softly, suddenly very confused and not trying to hide it.

Dracula led her to a large dining room.

“With your consent your soul blends with the demon your vampires talk about,” Dracula explained. “Your personality remains the same but you lose some of that human guilt that has held civilization back for centuries. Oh, man has progressed beyond belief over the last few centuries but he has lost something that you and I understand all too well.”

“What?”

“The killer instinct,” Dracula smiled, pouring two goblets of wine and handing one to Buffy. “The need to hunt and the thrill of the kill.”

“Children of the night comment coming at this point?” Buffy quipped.

Dracula laughed. “Yes, if there were wolves in Sunnydale. Werewolves don’t howl a lot.”

Buffy frowned, realizing she was losing her will to fight.

“What about Tara?” Buffy questioned, trying to remain focused.

“She will fight us for the Scarlet one and for your soul, she will die,” Dracula said casually and merely smiled as Buffy frowned. “She will die, Slayer!” he said firmly. “At your fangs, your Tara will die.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In Thrall, Part 7

Red Moon Rising, Book 4

Buffy vs Dracula Written

by Marti Noxon, directed by David Solomon.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tara was running for her life. She and Giles had made it in the back door with no problems. Apparently Dracula thought his security system was good enough that everyone forgot to lock the doors.

Tara wasn’t sure if the easy entrance had been a godsend as she dived over a table in the kitchen and through a door into the hallway with two werewolves right behind her.

She also had no idea where Giles was; he had disappeared through a doorway in the kitchen.

Tara had already shot two werewolves when she fell over a chair, dropping her gun. The witch had screamed and ran.

The blonde witch reached a door and dove through it, slamming it shut just as two bodies hit it on the other side. Tara quickly turned and locked it as they began to pound and kick. The door was solid but they were werewolves and Tara had no illusions that the door would hold out for long. Her eyes darted around, looking for weapons.

Tara noted that she was in a library and Willow was lying on the floor, curled up and twitching.

“Willow!” Tara cried and sank down to the wooden floor next to her lover. She drew Willow into her arms as the door began to crack.

* * *

Giles moaned and tried to raise his head but fell back onto the stone floor. He managed to finally raise his head and saw through the light coming in through the open door above that he had fallen into a cellar. The stairs had been cut away, a perfect trap in the dark.

“Damnit,” he muttered. “I read Stephen King, I should have known better.”

Giles reached for his cross and found it missing, having fallen somewhere into the shadows with his fall. The Englishman’s heart began to pound when he sensed movement all around him.

“Oh no,” he muttered but couldn’t get up. “Goddamn concussion,” he muttered.

“Oh, ladies,” he mumbled as three female vampires approached him from the right, left and at his feet. “You must be the three sisters, yes?”

Giles felt frozen in place as they began to crawl over his body, two of them kissing his cheeks and the other rubbing his chest.

“I’d heard that you were myth,” he mumbled. “That was obviously erroneous.”

The sisters ripped open his shirt, one kissing him, another running her tongue over a nipple while the third reached for his belt.

“Hey, tickles!” he protested until claws raked down his chest. He felt his belt and trousers being undone. “Oh dear God!”

* * *

Anya proved to be an excellent shot with the crossbow, taking out three vampires that attacked them before they even found a way into the castle. Brad’s silver bullets took down a werewolf and a human servant but the area was filling with bad guys as the two hunters moved back to back, moving in a circle.

* * *

Buffy spun and faced Dracula, her face firm and determined.

“Stay away from me!” she said, pulling out her favorite stake, Mr. Pointy. “I’m like so not under a thrall thing.”

“Put that down,” Dracula ordered calmly.

“Okay,” Buffy agreed and put the stake down. The Slayer looked at her hand in surprise. “Oh boy. I did that….I did that because I wanted to.”

Dracula merely smiled.

“Maybe I should rethink that thrall thing,” Buffy whimpered, looking around for any kind of help.

Dracula leaned against the mantle of the fireplace and watched the Slayer and her confusion.

“Stay away from me!” Buffy growled.

“Why?” Dracula grinned. “Afraid I’m going to bite you?” The vampire Prince moved closer to the girl. “Slayer, that’s why you came here!”

“Yes,” Buffy agreed. “No, not gonna happen again! I won’t give up Tara either.”

“Not even for Willow’s life?” Dracula countered and Buffy frowned. “You took a curse for her once, you were willing to accept that darkness. Why do you fight your fate?”

“No!” Buffy protested but she felt her control slipping further away.

“Stop me, stake me,” Dracula taunted.

“Any moment now,” Buffy countered but couldn’t reach for the stake.

“You know why you can’t?” Dracula asked.

“Because you’re famous and have my lover under your control?” Buffy guessed.

“No, because you don’t want to,” Dracula countered.

“My friends,” Buffy tried to protest.

“They are here, I can hear gunshots and screams,” he confirmed. “They will not find us. We are alone.”

Buffy glanced around anxiously.

“Always alone, Slayer,” Dracula said in a hypnotic voice. “That’s where a vampire and a slayer always end up, alone.”

Buffy frowned as he circled around her and pulled her into his arms. He could feel her breathing increase as he wrapped his arms around her and began to nuzzle her neck.

“Just think, eternity with your witch,” he promised. “Your fangs sinking into her neck just at the moment when you take her to orgasm. She is beautiful when she goes over, isn’t she?”

Buffy closed her eyes and leaned into his embrace.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Then be with her for eternity,” Dracula insisted.

* * *

Tara whimpered as the door began to crash in.

“Willow, I love you and Buffy forever,” she whispered.

Tara fell backwards onto her bottom as Willow sat upright, staring at the door. As boards began to break inward, the red-haired witch turned and looked at her lover.

Tara was stunned; it looked like Willow wasn’t weak at all.

“Willow?” Tara whispered as Willow’s eyes changed from black to wolf yellow.

“Help…Buffy…now….” Willow growled around the fangs growing in her mouth and turned to face the doorway.

Tara scrambled to her feet and ran to the back of the library. She turned back and saw a red werewolf launch itself at the two grey werewolves coming through the doorway.

“Oh sweet Goddess,” she whispered. “Please protect her.”

Tara sat down on top of one of the tables and closed her eyes, trying to send herself into a trance as screams, howls, growls and ripping sounds filled the library.

The red werewolf hit the two larger werewolves as they entered through the broken door. She had the advantage of surprise and catching them crammed in the door but it was a short-lived advantage as the three of them tumbled back into the library.

Red werewolf slashed out with fang and claw as other claws and fangs attempted to reach her. The red werewolf howled as fangs sank into a leg and she slashed down, catching the other werewolf across the left eye and cheek.

The other werewolf rammed his claws into her shoulder as she lay on the floor as they attacked. Willow wolf screamed in pain and bit at the arm, sinking her fangs into the muscles of one werewolf as she kicked out with her clawed feet, catching the other werewolf in the chest.

The werewolf hit her across the muzzle, causing her to release her hold on his arm.

All three werewolves gained their feet under them and faced each other, blood dripping from all three mouths.

Willow werewolf reached out mentally and felt Tara’s surprise but welcoming energy. The red werewolf drew in some of Tara’s humanity and thought process.

Instead of attacking outright, like a werewolf normally would, the red werewolf rolled forward in a Slayer taught move, ducking under the raking claws of one werewolf and avoiding the snapping jaws of the other.

Willow werewolf dived between the legs of one werewolf and slashed upwards as she went past. The werewolf howled a piercing howl and dropped to his knees as he grabbed for his mutilated body part. Werewolf Willow got to her knees behind him, grabbed his head from behind and ripped his throat out, silencing his howls.

The red werewolf barely dived out of the way of the second werewolf as he launched himself at her with a howl of rage.

Both stood and faced each other.

In human life, the other werewolf was a huge male and in a lycanthrope state, he had weight, height, and strength advantage and Willow was tiring quickly.

Werewolf Willow swayed on her feet and she saw the other werewolf’s eyes narrow as he judged her strength. Willow dropped her eyes and the other werewolf grinned through his muzzle in victory.

Red werewolf dropped to her knees, her arms falling to her side as she bared her neck in submission to the other wolf.

* * *

Giles blinked and tried to focus. He was still confused as Anya helped him sit up. He looked around and saw two piles of dust near him and the third female vampire hissing in the shadows, in a corner.

“Come on, Giles,” Anya growled, trying to get him to his feet. “Zip your maleness back up and let’s get out of here.”

“What?” Giles tried to ask. He continued to blink as Brad lowered a ladder into the cellar space and Anya shoved the Englishman towards it.

“Xander attacked us outside,” Anya said. “Can you believe that? He attacked us! Was ranting something about going through him to get to his dark master! He was so pathetic! And hurt, oh Giles, he was so hurt.”

“Anya!” Giles snapped. “What just happened to me?”

“Well, Brad just hit Xander once and knocked him unconscious; we killed the other vampires, werewolves and bad guys. We came in and saw Tara’s gun near the door,” Anya explained as Giles began crawling up the ladder slowly. “We looked in and saw you having sex with the three vampires.”

“I was not having sex!” Giles protested.

“It was sex,” Anya said simply and Brad nodded as Giles reached the top of the ladder. The police officer helped his friend into the kitchen with Anya following behind him. “One was riding you like a pony, one was playing with your nipples and feeding from you and the third one was feeding from your neck.”

Giles felt his neck with horror and glanced down at his abused nipple and moaned when he saw fang marks.

“Riding?” he whispered.

“You both seemed to be enjoying it,” Anya shrugged. “I was really quite impressed, actually. I thought you were going to buck her off, you were thrusting so hard.”

“Anya!” Giles shouted. “Please, no more.”

“Why? Did you not enjoy the sex with the vampires?”

“Anya!” Giles shouted once more. “Never talk about this again!”

* * *

Buffy frowned as Dracula played his fangs over her throat. She could feel her body responding to his touch and fought against it.

“There is so much I have to teach you, about your power, what your body is capable of,” he whispered. “You will have an eternity discovering yourself. Just accept and take it.”

Dracula rolled up his sleeve in front of her and slashed open his wrist with a long fingernail. “This is what you fight for, Slayer. Accept it and discover what it is.”

“I’m not hungry,” she protested.

“It goes deeper than that and so does your desire,” Dracula whispered.

The vampire raised his wrist to her lips.

“You think you know…what you are…what’s to come. You have no idea. Find your true nature in the darkness,” he urged.

Buffy took the wrist offered and began to drink. The Slayer cried out as Dracula sank his fangs into her neck again and they began to drink from each other.

* * *

The grey werewolf circled around the red werewolf kneeling at his feet, in order to approach her from behind. Clawed hands went to Willow’s shoulders as the muzzle began to lower to her neck.

Werewolf Willow closed her eyes and kept her body relaxed and submissive until she could feel his hot breath on her neck.

The red werewolf growled in anger and rammed her clawed hands upward, into the underside of his muzzle. Werewolf Willow felt his body twitching in protest and his claws digging into her shoulders. She turned and twisted, pulling him over her shoulder onto the floor in front of her, her claws still in his muzzle. Willow howled and moved before he could slash out with his claws. Werewolf Willow ripped her claws downward, reaching his throat and slashed in opposite directions. The gray werewolf twitched in death throes as the red werewolf snapped her own muzzle down and bit through what was left of his neck, severing his head.

Tara, unable to take the tension of the howls, opened her eyes and looked at the red werewolf holding the other werewolf’s head high in victory.

“Oh Goddess,” Tara whispered as Willow howled.

* * *

Buffy felt herself becoming light headed again and clung to Dracula’s arms to stay upright. The vampire bent his knees, letting both of them sink to the floor, Buffy in his arms as they both fought to continue feeding.

Buffy gasped as her body jerked.

“Don’t stop, please, don’t stop,” she begged.

* * *

Tara tried to not let her fear overwhelm her as the red werewolf turned and noticed her. The werewolf dropped the other werewolf’s head and staggered towards her. The blonde witch wasn’t sure what to do; the werewolf approaching her was Willow, her Willow. Tara knew she could never fight back against her.

Werewolf Willow sank to her knees and doubled over in pain. She threw back her head and howled in agony.

* * *

Buffy raised her head. “Will?” she asked softly and cried out as her body jerked again with pleasure.

* * *

Tara opened her eyes and saw a naked and blood covered Willow huddled on the floor. The red-head looked up and Tara’s eyes widened. Willow’s eyes were green and aware. Tara jumped off the table and ran to her lover.

“Buffy,” Willow whispered, her voice harsh. “Gotta help, Buffy.”

Willow grabbed Tara’s hands in hers and tried to sit up.

“Willow, no!” Tara protested. “You’re not strong enough.”

“Buffy!” Willow snapped, her voice still sounding like the wolf.

Tara closed her eyes and opened her shields, reaching for Buffy and Willow.

* * *

Dracula slowed his feeding, finally pulling back as the Slayer lay limp in his arms, barely coherent.

“Now is the time, Slayer,” he said softly. “Reach out and sever that tie with the white witch and join me.”

“Tara,” Buffy whispered.

“Hurry, or you die,” Dracula urged. “Another Slayer who falls to a vampire, your lifeless body left for your friends to find. Your Watcher Council will barely remember your name a year from now.”

“Tara?”

Buffy opened up her shields and found that Dracula was no longer blocking her.

The Slayer jerked as a massive wave of energy, love, and visions hit her.

Buffy was rocked out of Dracula’s arms as visions of the First Slayer filled her mind. The primitive being of the First Slayer fighting the first vampires. Then more visions of Slayers, each of them fighting with every ounce of their being against hundreds of vampires over the ages. The visions of Slayers falling to fangs, demons, or violence and always another girl stepping forward.

Then the pure energy of love hit the Slayer, jerking her body. Buffy saw the intensity of the love pouring from Tara and Willow into her and cried out as the light flooded her being. She could feel the love from Giles, Anya and Xander nearby as well and the absolute trust and friendship from Brad.

From a distance she felt Cordelia leading Angel, Carson, Spike, Wesley and Joyce in a circle, sending out their own support of love and encouragement.

Buffy wasn’t alone and nothing could compare to the light coming from Willow and Tara as they extended their love to her. Buffy felt Willow’s energy beginning to sag and slip away from them, she whimpered in pain and worry. The Slayer was surprised when she felt Carson’s energy strengthen the lines, merging with Willow’s and pulling her energy back up.

Buffy sat up slowly and reached out to the table to support her as she got to her feet. The Slayer knew she had been drained almost to the point of death but the light from her friends, family and lovers, was holding her up.

Dracula growled in confusion and stood up.

Buffy tasted his blood in her mouth and ran her tongue over her teeth.

“That was…rather gross,” she said and snapped her hands out, hitting the vampire in the center of the chest. Dracula went flying across the table. The vampire jumped to his feet.

“You are resisting!” he snapped.

“Looks like!” Buffy agreed.

Dracula, confused, held out his hand. “Come. Come here!” he ordered.

“You know,” Buffy quipped. “Looks like the thrall has gone out of our relationship. I want to thank you for opening my eyes up a little.”

Dracula was astounded and it showed.

“What is this?” he hissed.

“My true nature,” Buffy grinned. “Want a taste?”

The vampire Prince growled in anger and lunged at the Slayer only to have Buffy flip over his head. Before he could turn, she whirled around and kicked him, throwing the vampire off balance. As he tried to turn, the Slayer landed two more punches and kicked him again, this time sending him into a wall.

Dracula, regaining his balance, spun around and grabbed the Slayer by the arm. He managed to twist and fling her across the table and Buffy ended up on the table on her back.

Buffy rolled off the table as Dracula’s claws reached for her. Dracula growled and he jumped up on the table. Buffy grabbed up a chair and smashed it against his arms as he landed off the table.

Buffy rushed the vampire and they fell to the floor with Dracula on top. He managed to strike Buffy twice but the Slayer grabbed his vest and shirt and flung him over her head, following him and ending up on top. Buffy gave him back the blows he had just struck but the third punch was caught by Dracula catching Buffy’s fists and throwing her off him.

They regained their feet and both were grinning. Again they met and went to the floor, neither at an advantage until Dracula, getting a leg under the Slayer, kicked her into the wall. Both heard something crack as Buffy cried out in pain and slid to the floor.

Dracula stood up and approached the bloodied Slayer with a smile.

“I may have lost your heart but you’ll lose your soul when I turn you,” he promised.

Buffy growled and kicked out with her feet, sweeping his out from under him. The Slayer bit her lip against the pain and grabbed a torch. She spun around and slashed at him with it. The vampire barely rolling out of the way of the flames.

“A guy like you should think about going electric, seriously,” she taunted.

Dracula growled once more and disappeared into a cloud of fog. Buffy, her eyes narrowing, followed the fog as it moved across the room.

The Slayer, with her own growl, dropped the torch and jumped on the table, sliding down the length of it and grabbing Mr. Pointy along the way. Buffy hit the end of the table, rolling up onto her feet and stabbing at the air as Dracula materialized.

The vampire Prince stood for a moment and looked down at the stake in his chest with a stunned expression. His blue eyes sought out Buffy’s.

“How do you like my darkness now?” she demanded just before he exploded into dust.

Giles, Anya and Brad ran into the room as Buffy collapsed to her knees.

“Buffy!” Giles shouted, rushing to his Slayer. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, peachy,” she said softly. “Full of free will.”

“Dracula?” Anya demanded.

“Euro-trashed him,” Buffy whispered.

Everyone turned as Xander crashed into the room with a torch.

“Alright!” he shouted. “Where is he? Where’s the creep that turned me into a spider eating man-bitch?”

“He’s toast,” Buffy said softly.

“Damnit!” the young man shouted, dropping the torch into the fireplace. “You know what? I’m sick of this crap! I’m sick of being the guy who eats insects and who gets funny syphilis. As of this moment, it’s over! I’m finished being everybody’s butt-monkey.”

Everyone tried not to smile and stay serious.

“Check, no more butt monkey boy,” Buffy said softly.

“Well, at least you weren’t making time with Drac-babes like Giles,” Anya said calmly.

“I was not making time with them!” Giles protested, pulling his ripped shirt closed. “I was, uh, just about to kill those loathsome creatures when Anya and Brad interrupted me.”

“Right,” Anya smirked. “What were you going to do? Nuzzle and sex them to death?”

“Sex them?” Buffy asked, raising her eyebrows and making Giles extremely uncomfortable.

“Of course not!” he protested. “I was in control….”

“Listen, guys,” Buffy said. “Go find Tara and Willow and let’s get out of here.”

“What about you?” Xander demanded.

“I’ll wait here,” Buffy said. “I’m kinda hurt and don’t think I can walk.”

Giles looked at his Slayer and then nodded. “Alright, let’s get the rest of our family and get out of here.”

The rest of the group followed the ex-Watcher out the door as Buffy collapsed into a chair. A moment later and she was diving across the room, leaping over a small stool.

Before the fog could totally materialize again, a hand shot out with the trusty stake. Dracula gasped again and fell into dust at the front of the fireplace.

“You think I don’t watch all your movies?” Buffy demanded, rolling her eyes. “You always come back!”

The fog began to gather again.

“I’m right here!” Buffy said impatiently.

The fog dissipated and the Slayer collapsed.

* * *

Giles shook his head as Anya and Brad tried to get him to sit down in the hospital waiting room. As usual, everything happened too quickly once the paramedics had arrived. By that time Brad, Anya and Giles had finished off any stray vampire or werewolf they had missed the first time through the castle-like mansion.

They found Tara in the library with an unconscious and naked Willow in her arms, barely breathing. Buffy was also unconscious when Brad returned to check on her. They had moved Buffy into the library with Willow.

After his initial burst of energy and anger, Xander had collapsed into tears in Anya’s arms when he saw Buffy and Willow’s unconscious forms. Giles rummaged through the castle and found a closet with blankets and sheets and had covered both girls.

Then he and Brad began moving the werewolf bodies, throwing them down into the cellar where Giles had been trapped. Brad had to work at not throwing up when they removed the werewolf corpses from the library and he noticed Giles glancing over with a worried expression at Willow as the ex-Watcher picked up the severed heads and tossed them onto the blanket with their bodies. Brad empathized, sweet, young and shy Willow had ripped the heads off two very large male werewolves.

When the medics arrived, Brad waited upstairs until he saw them placing Willow, Buffy and Xander into ambulances before setting fire to the place.

The last thing they needed was werewolf and human bodies found and it also had the bonus affect of destroying Dracula’s coffins.

Once at the hospital, Xander, Buffy and Willow had been whisked away by trauma teams, leaving Giles, Brad and Anya to wait impatiently.

Anya looked up when she noticed someone in a suit approaching them and hissed. Brad glanced up and knew that the man wasn’t a police officer and didn’t think he was a government agent either but he had an arrogant air about him.

Giles followed the looks of his friends and his eyes narrowed and went flat as he took in the English suit, confident and arrogant manner of walk and the slight smirk on the man’s face.

“Watcher,” Giles muttered.

“What the hell do they want?” Anya demanded.

Giles stood up slowly, trying to keep his ripped up shirt closed and muster what little dignity he had left after the long week.

“Mr. Giles,” the man said calmly, extending his hand formally.

Giles looked down at the hand and back into the man’s brown eyes. The Watcher’s eyes flashed in anger for a moment and he withdrew his politely offered hand. “I’m Robert Etheridge, Watcher Council.”

“And what does the Watcher Council want with us?” Giles demanded.

“Well, we became aware recently that Dracula was moving his operation to the United States and followed him here three weeks ago,” Etheridge began to explain.

“Three weeks?” Giles demanded. “You knew Dracula, the most dangerous vampire in existence was here and you didn’t tell us?”

“Well, Mr. Giles,” Etheridge smirked slightly. “You and Ms. Summers did make it clear that you wished no help or contact from the Watcher Council. We were honoring those wishes.”

“You bastard,” Giles muttered, his hands clenching into fists. “What do you want?”

“To help, actually,” Etheridge shrugged. “The Council is more than impressed with your little group and your Slayer.”

“You mean disappointed?” Anya snapped. “You were hoping she’d fall to Dracula.”

“Really, Ms. Smyth,” Etheridge protested, brushing her accusation off easily. “We don’t care what Ms. Summers and Mr. Giles do as long as they don’t interfere with Council business.”

“You…”

“Anya,” Giles stopped his friend. “And how would the Council like to help now that we did the work? What could you offer us and why?”

“Well, let’s take those one at a time, shall we?” the Englishman suggested, sitting down.

Giles knew that Etheridge was attempting to defuse the situation by putting himself at the same level as the ex-Watcher and Scooby gang. Rupert Giles, feeling Ripper growling inside, debated whether to stay standing over the man. Instead he sat down and motioned for Anya to do the same.

“We would like to offer the help because there is still a danger and the Council wants to see you recover and get past it,” Etheridge began.

“Danger?” Anya questioned. “Dracula is dust, Buffy toasted him.”

“Well, he always comes back but he failed with Ms. Summers and it won’t be Sunnydale,” Etheridge said easily. “His reputation will suffer quite a blow from this.”

“Then what danger?” Anya demanded.

“Willow,” Giles said softly and Etheridge nodded.

“Exactly,” Etheridge lost his arrogant smile. “You have a very powerful witch who isn’t even 21 years old and basically untrained. Ms. Rosenberg has now been exposed and addicted to dark magick.”

“What do you want?” Giles demanded.

“What I would want would be to take her back to England immediately and train the girl properly in her powers,” Etheridge snapped. “What the Council wants is to help you through her withdrawals from the addiction and to keep an eye on all of you in the future.”

“You touch her and I won’t have to hurt you, Buffy Summers and Tara Maclay will do that for me,” Giles growled.

“I realize that, so does the Council,” Etheridge snarled. “That’s why they are offering help. They’d rather see Ms. Rosenberg handled properly as possible and they feel that means staying with all of you.”

“What are you offering?” Giles asked as Brad crossed his arms in front of him. The ex-Watcher could tell it was killing Brad not to be able to talk and demand his own answers.

“Full medical facilities installed in the Summers' home for Ms. Rosenberg’s recovery,” Etheridge explained. “Hospital bed, restraints, IV fluids, doctors, everything you need to get her through the next week of withdrawals and counseling with a witch counselor from the Council.”

Giles thought about it for a moment.

“You know that no hospital can manage her withdrawals,” Etheridge reasoned. “We can taper her off slowly with the help of one of our sorcerers.”

“No,” Giles said quickly. “No tapering, no magick.”

“You want her to go through cold withdrawals?” Etheridge asked in a surprised voice.

Anya turned to the ex-Watcher with a frown.

“What is he talking about, Giles?” she demanded.

“He is suggesting that we take Willow through the withdrawals slowly, feeding her enough black magic energy to keep her stable and slowly weaning her from it,” Giles explained. “I prefer that it ends all at once.”

“Cold fowl like?” Anya asked.

“Cold turkey is the term, yes,” Giles nodded.

Brad began writing as quick as he could on a pad and thrust it at Giles.

“’Why the hard way?’ Brad is asking,” Giles read. “I’ve been where Willow is. Worse, actually. I put myself there for a lot longer than three days.”

“You worked magick?” Anya asked.

“You knew that,” Giles said impatiently.

“Not that you did black stuff,” Anya explained.

“Yes, very black stuff. I was known as Ripper then,” Giles nodded. “The Council found me and decided there was hope for me. I was the son of a Watcher and destined to be a Watcher. They worked at tapering me off, slowly.”

Giles ran a hand through his unruly hair. “It worked for awhile but I wasn’t over it and I went back. A lot of people got hurt and the only way I got through it was to withdrawal completely and without tapering off.”

“Ms. Rosenberg is injured,” Etheridge protested.

“Yes, and she expended enough of her energy to almost kill herself saving Buffy,” Giles agreed. “I still say the hard way, and, yes damnit, it’s killing me to suggest this. It’s the only way.”

“I’ll leave that to your discretion, we’ll arrange her transfer from the hospital to the Summers' home as soon as she is out of surgery to repair the ripped muscles from that werewolf attack,” Etheridge said firmly and stood up.

He froze in place when Brad leaped to his feet, the barrel of his automatic pistol under Etheridge’s chin.

“Brad, what are you doing?” Giles asked softly, afraid to make any quick movements.

Brad Santiago, unable to vocalize his intentions, reached behind him and pulled out his handcuffs and snapped one end over Etheridge’s wrist and then snapped the other over his own, still holding the gun on the Watcher.

His eyes pleaded with Giles.

“You’re saying not to leave Willow alone with them?” Giles ventured and Brad nodded eagerly.

“What?” Etheridge demanded. “We’re here to help!”

“You said you would prefer Willow in England and under your control,” Giles smirked. “I don’t think Detective Santiago trusts you not to kidnap her. I think he’s showing excellent insight into the workings of the Council.”

Etheridge’s face turned crimson in anger but he held his tongue and nodded.

“Fine, one of you will be with Ms. Rosenberg at all times,” Etheridge said and Brad unlocked the handcuffs.

“Bloody Americans,” Etheridge muttered as he stalked off to make phone calls.

Two hours later Giles, Xander and Anya were relieved to see Joyce, Cordelia and Wesley walking towards them in the waiting room. Xander had his left arm in a cast and a bandage over his nose but was otherwise fairly healthy considering who he had been serving for several days.

Rupert took Joyce into his arms gratefully. After a few moments of hugs all around, Joyce stepped back and got a look at the three, just like Cordelia and Wesley were doing.

Giles’ clothes were ripped, and bloody. Xander had been given a pair of surgical scrubs, once the ER team got his filthy clothes off of him and showered him down before putting the cast on his arm. Anya’s face was dirt streaked and there were blood splatters on her clothing.

Brad walked in from the cafeteria and quickly joined in the hug fest.

“You look horrible, Rupert,” Joyce whispered. “Where’s Buffy, Tara and Willow?”

“Willow and Buffy are still unconscious,” Giles began as everyone sat down. “Tara is sitting with both of them.”

“How bad and where are they?” Joyce demanded.

“Easy, Joyce,” Giles said softly. “Buffy sustained three broken ribs on her left side and two on the right. The ribs on her left side punctured her lung and she suffered a massive blood loss from Dracula’s fangs.”

Joyce whimpered and Wesley held Cordelia’s hand as the seer flinched at the description.

“The doctors think she’ll be fine but she’ll be in the hospital for a couple of days,” Giles continued. “Willow….Willow is also unconscious. She….”

“She turned into a werewolf to protect m-me,” Tara explained as she walked into the waiting room. She tried not to cry as Joyce wrapped her arms around the young woman. They sat back down slowly. “We were in the castle and I was being chased by two werewolves and found Willow. She changed and killed them but she was hurt.”

“Wouldn’t those wounds have healed when she changed back to human?” Wesley questioned Giles.

“Normally, yes,” Giles agreed. “But she immediately went into a major trance with Tara and expended her energy to Buffy.”

Giles was surprised to see Cordelia and Wesley nodding thoughtfully.

“What?” he asked.

“Cordelia had one of her visions and knew that Buffy was against Dracula last night and she’d fail without some help from the good guys,” Wesley explained. “We did a circle and Cordelia channeled all the love and light we could send to Buffy. All of us.”

“I felt you all,” Tara nodded slowly. “Even Spike.”

“Yes, he complained but agreed quickly enough,” Wesley smiled.

“What’s wrong?” Giles asked, noticing the expressions and glances passing between Joyce, Cordelia and Wesley.

“We sent our loving energy to Buffy through Tara and Willow,” Cordelia explained.

“That’s why Willow isn’t healing quickly, she gave all her energy to Buffy,” Giles tried to explain to Joyce.

“We felt her falling,” Cordelia said softly. “We could feel Willow slipping away, Giles. She was giving everything willingly.”

“Oh God,” Giles muttered. “What happened?”

“Carson,” Wesley said softly. “He felt Willow falling and mentally caught her. He threw more of his energy into the ritual, wrapping his own energy around Willow’s, strengthening her.”

“Where is Carson?” Tara asked slowly.

“When Buffy collapsed after defeating Dracula, the ritual was broken,” Wesley continued. “Everyone was a little shook up, a bit of backlash that we weren’t ready for. Knocked us on our tails, actually. Carson was struggling to even open his eyes. Angel grabbed him and Carson opened his eyes, smiled and died whispering the name Siobhan.”

Tara slumped in her chair and Giles leaned back in his.

“Oh God, does it ever end?” he asked softly as Joyce took his hand.

“I thought so,” Tara said softly. “I felt him giving his energy to Willow and reassuring me it was his choice.”

Cordelia nodded slowly. “He took her place.”

“What do you mean he took her place?” Xander demanded.

“Willow was willing to die for Buffy and Tara last night,” Wesley explained. “She willing gave up the last of her life, her life force to feed that light to Buffy. Carson stepped forward and took her place in death.”

“Christ,” Xander muttered.

“I rather agree, Xander,” Giles mumbled and sat up to explain the developments with the Watcher Council. He and the Sunnydale gang learned that Spike and Angel were waiting at the Summers' house, out of the sunlight, pacing like restless tigers until they could see Buffy and Willow after dusk.

“They want Willow?” Tara frowned and Brad patted his shoulder holster reassuringly. Tara knew what he meant, the Watcher Council would have to get through Brad Santiago and the Scooby Gang before getting a hold on Willow.

The rest of the day was spent seeing over the transfer of Willow to the Summers' home while Joyce and Tara alternated between watching over Buffy and then over Willow until they were both exhausted.

It was early evening when Buffy opened her eyes and smiled at her Mom’s worried face.

“Mama,” the Slayer whispered as Joyce broke into tears, holding Buffy’s hand. Buffy looked around and frowned when she saw that they were alone, no Tara and no Willow.

“Willow is at home under medical supervision,” Joyce explained, knowing the question in her daughter’s eyes. “Tara is with her.”

“How bad, Will?” Buffy whispered as Joyce worked the controls to raise the bed to an inclined position.

“She’s still unconscious but the doctors think that’s from blood loss,” Joyce continued. “Giles says it’s from the wounds and expending all her energy to you during your fight with Dracula.”

“Yeah, I felt that,” Buffy said, taking a sip of the water Joyce handed her. “She’s okay mentally?”

“She was her own person,” Joyce smiled. “Willow turned into a werewolf to protect Tara.”

Buffy’s eyes widened in surprise and she grabbed at her ribs as she winced.

“You have two broken ribs on one side and three on the other and a punctured lung, that’s why the oxygen tube is in your nose,” Joyce explained quickly. “As well as numerous bruises, cuts, scrapes and massive neck wounds that almost killed you.”

“Willow changed willingly and protected Tara as a werewolf?”

“Yes,” Joyce nodded with a smile. “Then she changed back and helped Tara and some of us send light and energy your way.”

“I felt the love from all of you,” Buffy said softly, trying to smile. “I also saw something when Dracula died and I passed out.”

“What, Buffy?”

“Carson died, didn’t he?” she asked slowly. “I saw him watching me, he shoved me back towards my body and said ‘live.’”

“Oh God,” Joyce whispered.

“When can I get out of here?” Buffy demanded.

“The doctors think in a week, Rupert figures three days,” Joyce answered. “They’re going to try and get Tara to rest, she hasn’t slept yet and everyone is exhausted.”

“Dracula? He always comes back,” Buffy asked, her eyes growing heavy, her body slipping into healing mode.

“Wesley and Rupert think that he’ll move on,” Joyce said softly, lowering the bed as Buffy closed her eyes. “You wounded his pride and reputation. You and the gang beat the Prince of Darkness. He’ll leave Sunnydale and pretend that he was never here.”

“Good, I’ll toaster-cake him again,” Buffy muttered, drifting off into sleep.

Joyce wasn’t surprised to find Angel standing outside the hospital room, leaning against the wall.

“She’s sleeping if you wanted to see her,” Joyce said.

“No, that’s okay,” Angel smiled. “I’m staying here tonight. I know Dracula probably won’t come after her again but he is an arrogant bastard who just got his head handed to him by a mortal who isn’t even 21 yet.”

Joyce managed to smile at that description.

“Spike’s with Willow and Tara, I take it,” she asked.

“Yeah, he’s always had a soft spot for Willow,” Angel grinned. “He thinks he’s in love with Buffy but Willow fascinates him.”

Joyce shook her head in amazement. “Not only have I come to accept the fact that my daughter is the Slayer, she has two female lovers, her ex-boyfriend is a vampire, but also that some of our friends are vampires instead of the enemy.”

Angel, instead of being slightly offended, grinned.

“Yeah, pretty strange on our side too,” he agreed. “At least I have the excuse of having a soul again. Poor Spike has a chip in his head that prevents him from being a bad guy. Not his thoughts, his soul or his desires, but a modification chip. He hasn’t realized yet that he has changed.”

“What do you mean?” Joyce asked, genuinely curious.

“Well, Spike believes that he helps Buffy and all of you because you give him blood, a place to stay when he needs and even protect him now that he’s somewhat defanged. He thinks he’s acting because of the chip, he doesn’t know that he’s changed because he’s been around all of you.”

Joyce frowned and sat down next to Angel in the hallway.

“Spike thinks he’s being a good guy because he doesn’t have a choice, because of the chip,” Joyce pondered. “You’re saying that he’s being a good guy because he’s becoming a good guy?”

Angel laughed. “Complicated, isn’t it? Try having a soul with that one.”

The vampire stretched his long legs out in front of him.

“Yes, in a way,” he continued. “He’ll never be Xander, Spike will never be totally ‘good.’ He had a cruel and selfish streak before he was turned.”

“How will his feelings affect his friendship with Buffy and everyone?”

“Spike’ll never act on the feelings as long as Willow, Tara, and Buffy are together,” Angel said easily. “Since we know it’s a permanent kind of match, he’ll be content to keep his distance until he finds his true mate.”

“Thank you for coming back for awhile,” Joyce said sincerely.

“Not a problem,” Angel shrugged. “Gunn can handle the office and I want to keep an eye on the girls until they’re on their feet again, especially with Carson gone.”

“Willow’s going to take that hard,” Joyce predicted with a frown.

“Yup,” Angel agreed.

Vampire and mother sat quietly together, contemplating the future.

Ms Hunter Ash's Lair

Monday, November 14, 2022

BTVS: Red Moon Rising - In Thrall - parts 5, 6, 7 of 7