-----
Sunnydale, California.
November 21, 1998
The
head cheerleader looked over the results of her Scholastic Aptitude
Tests, and sighed in boredom. All around Cordelia, the Cordettes giggled
and compared notes, as they then started the constant gossiping about
who had done what when.
But it
was a fact that such things didn’t much interest the leader of the pack
now, after her eyes had been opened to the true nature of the Hellmouth.
Harmony and the sheep just didn’t...fulfil her anymore.
So
quietly ditching her entourage, Cordy joined the Scooby gang as they
started talking about their SAT scores.
Willow
exclaimed, “740? Verbal?! I’m – I’m...pathetic! Illiterate! I’m Cletus,
the slack-jawed yokel!”
Oz
tried to persuade her otherwise. “I’m thinking not.”
The
redhead just looked at him, “Well, you’re my boyfriend. You’re supposed
to say that!” Then Willow spotted Cordelia, and handed her the report
card. “What do you think, Cordelia?”
The
17-year-old girl looked at it and shrugged. “You did amazing, Willow. As
usual.”
Willow
looked hopeful then. “Really?”
“I
think it, I say it...” Cordy said simply.
Buffy
handed over her card too. “What do ya think of mine?”
But
before Miss Chase could even take a look, Willow said excitedly, “Oh,
Buffy got 1430! She totally kicked ass!” Then upon seeing the looks she
received, the girl calmed down. “Okay, so academic achievement gets me a
little excited...”
Whatever Cordelia had meant to say in reply to that was lost, as she was
suddenly distracted by the sudden appearance of her former childhood
nemesis – Xander.
Walking along with his new buddies from the swim team and Larry the
ex-football player, the guy was also laughing and carrying on about the
SATs – but for some reason, what really got Cordy’s blood pressure
soaring was seeing that skanky ho Faith hanging off her ex’s arm like
that.
Standing beside her, Willow was just as unhappy with the situation.
At
first the redhead had been hopeful that Faith, not having been involved
with what had happened that night months ago, would be able to talk
Xander into rejoining the group. And she had no doubts that initially,
the brunette Slayer had tried to do just that.
But
then Miss Rosenberg had started to get suspicious.
Having
seen how hungry and horny Faith got post-Slayage, how she had started
referring to Xander as “stud” and “boy toy” around the gang, how she was
spending every available moment around the guy...
Well,
it was pretty obvious to the amateur Wicca that Faith and Xander were
sleeping together – that her old crush may as well have had a neon sign
over his head saying, ‘I AM CONSTANTLY GETTING LAID!!’.
And it
was equally obvious that the brunette girl wanted to keep him entirely
to herself, so the Scooby reconciliation topic was as dead as a dodo.
Even
though Willow was perfectly happy with Oz, she had cried alone in the
girls’ rest room for nearly an hour, when she realized that she had lost
Xander forever.
~~~~~~
At the
same moment the gang was talking about SAT scores, the vampires known as
Spike and Drusilla finally arrived back home in Sunnydale.
It was
a fact that Dru had changed a lot, ever since receiving that outburst
from the First. The madness was still present of course, but it
was...subdued. Instead, there was now purpose. Focus.
Spike
had certainly noticed the change, that was unavoidable; but, too, he had
been enjoying the break from her constant raving (about the moon or the
stars or whatnot) far too much to complain or question it.
While
they’d been hiding in South America, his sire had inevitably learned
about Spike’s future with the blonde Slayer; but this time around she’d
decided to just ignore Buffy’s laughing presence around her beloved, and
concentrate on fulfilling the First’s desires when the time was right.
But as
she and her childe entered the domain of the Hellmouth once more,
something incredible happened; Spike’s aura was suddenly cleansed of the
Chosen One’s influence.
Dru
gasped, “It’s gone!”
Spike
glanced at her from behind the wheel. “What’s gone – my ripe, precious
plum?”
The
female vampire smiled. “The Slayer. I don’t see her no more...”
Her
blonde-haired consort smiled, misunderstanding what she meant. “We get
to kill Betty while we’re 'ere then, pet? Well now, share all the little
details with Daddy...”
The
great-grandchilde of the Master shook her head. “No, no, no! First we
take care of business...”
And
so, after returning to the burnt-out factory that had been their lair in
the good old pre-Angelus days, they started staking out their targets.
Looking for the best moment to strike.
To
strike against Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris.
Spike
didn’t know why Dru was so insistent on getting rid of these two,
instead of Buffy and Angel – and what the hell, if he had known,
he probably wouldn’t have gone along with this plan to help the First
Evil destroy the world.
But
Drusilla knew that – just as she knew Spike would have betrayed Angelus
to the Slayer that day, had she herself not intervened – and so he was
kept safely in the dark about her real designs.
An
unwitting pawn, as the world moved closer and closer towards Armageddon.
~~~~~~
A
short while later, Willow woke up with a huge headache. Then she started
with horror, as the redhead realized that Spike and Dru had kidnapped
her.
She
looked around, and saw an unconscious Xander lying on the ground. Then
the apprentice witch spied the two vamps, and screamed.
Spike
just grinned. “Sorry luv, but I guess this is a ‘scream-all-you-want’
kind of scenario 'ere...”
Willow
said fearfully, “What do you want? Why have you-”
Drusilla purred in her English accent, “Shhh...that’s a good kitten.
Now, there’s just somethin’ you need to do for me...”
The
redhead stared at her, “What?”
The
female vamp said, “Look at me...” as her eyes went wide. “Be in
me...”
Soon
Willow was hypnotized, just as a vampire Slayer named Kendra had been
six months ago, and ready to do whatever Drusilla wished.
Spike
looked impatient, “Dru, pet, I hate to rush ya – but Angelus and his
little blonde bint might be here, any second?”
“Nonsense, everything’s perfect. They’ll not be 'ere in time to stop
us...”
Her
childe shrugged. “Still don’t see why we’re goin’ to all this fuss
instead of just 'aving ourselves a couple of quick snacks, luv!”
Dru
shushed him, “The naughty witch, yes. But not this precious boy,” she
suddenly growled, vamping out as her eyes went wild. “He filled my 'ead
with lies, my precious Spike. Lies, lies, lies. Lied to the Slayer too,
he did. He deserves Daddy’s old fate for all his lies...”
The
nutty vampiress then turned to Willow, and began instructing her on what
to do.
Now,
at this point in time the red-haired girl’s magical powers were still
vastly underdeveloped. And even though Drusilla knew how to unlock her
potential, Willow couldn’t open a portal to Acathla’s hell dimension –
which, for the safety of the planet, was just as well.
However, there were other possibilities.
And
the insane Dru, with her psychic knowledge, knew just where to send
Xander to make him suffer most – and at the same time, execute poetic
justice.
After
their mystical ritual was done, the interdimensional portal appeared; it
looked like a rectangular pool of black tar or slime, within the floor
of the factory. Spike then grabbed Xander and threw him through the
gateway, whereupon it vanished.
Drusilla started clapping her hands in delighted glee, whereas Spike
just headed for Willow, determined to finish this off fast and get his
loved one out of town.
~~~~~~
The
next moment was a critical one, as observed by the Powers That Be.
In the
higher realms, the ‘overseers of good’ could foresee how Spike would
soon gorge himself on the witch’s lifeblood. Draining her dry and
leaving behind only a lifeless corpse, before he and Dru disappeared.
They
could also see how there would be no chip for Spike, courtesy of the
Initiative, the following year.
No aid
for the Scooby gang from the neutered vampire, when he never became an
outcast within the demon community.
No
Spike being used by Buffy for sex, after she was torn out of Heaven.
No
Drusilla to re-vamp her grandsire Darla, and drive Angel over the edge.
No aid
from Willow in the fight against the First Evil, that under these
circumstances would eventually succeed in destroying the world.
And
so, in the best traditions of corporate middle management, the Powers
decided to do something about it.
~~~~~~
Just
as Spike was within arm’s reach of Willow, Drusilla started shrieking.
The 118-year-old male vampire looked around, “What’s wrong, ducks?”
Dru
just pointed at a black mist, which quickly coalesced into the form of
the mystical guide known only as Skip. “Hi there. Name’s Skip,” the
demon said nonchalantly.
Spike
replied belligerently, “Yeah? So what do ya want, ya big ponce?”
Skip
just shook his head sadly. “You really don’t have a clue, do you? No
idea what all this-” he gestured around vaguely, “is supposed to
accomplish...”
“KILL
HIM!!!” Drusilla shouted. “KILL HIM, SPIKE! HE’LL RUIN EVERYTHING!!”
William the Bloody immediately charged the demon, but he was no match
for someone that could even take on his grandsire on a good day. Skip
just batted him away, so the 138-year-old vampiress rushed the good guy
as well; but all that accomplished was getting herself smashed up
against a wall, and becoming unconscious.
Skip
shook his head, and turned to Willow. He placed his palm on her
forehead, and there was an incredible flash of light as the redhead
became unhypnotized. Shaking his head again sadly, the demon guide then
vanished back into black smoke that quickly disappeared.
Willow
shook her head for a moment, trying to get her bearings. Suddenly it all
came back to her, what Spike had done and Drusilla had made her do. “NOOOOO!!!”
~~~~~~
Even
though she had no idea how she did it, Willow’s eyes went completely
black as her facial expression became one of rage, ire, and hatred.
Spike
started to get up, but Willow yelled viciously, “Solvere!” as she
pointed at him, delving into dark magicks much sooner than she’d been
destined to.
The
vampire was shoved away at 50 miles per hour, and ended up going through
a thick brick wall – said act almost completely scrambling his brains.
The
witch started screaming, “I’LL GET YOU FOR THIS, SPIKE! YOU AND
THAT UNDEAD BITCH DRUSILLA! EVEN IF IT’S THE LAST THING I EVER DO,
YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU BOTH DID!!!”
Interestingly enough, Willow later made good on her threats; she staked
Dru with a pencil and cursed William the Bloody by giving him his soul
back, just like she’d done with Angelus – but that was a story for
another time.
Here
and now, as the 17-year-old girl set her sights on his beloved, Spike
said nothing – he just grabbed a rock and threw it at Willow with vamp
strength, fighting not to let his vision blur.
It
connected with her head, and the redhead became injured – down, but not
out. Looking up, Willow shouted again at the soulless demon, “Incindere!”
“Bloody hell,” Spike muttered, barely able to dodge the deadly bolt of
fire the Wicca sent his way. Smart and a survivor, after he
studied the odds and Willow’s face the British vamp just grabbed his
unconscious sire and started to get the hell outta Dodge.
If his
opponent had been uninjured, they wouldn’t have stood a chance; but
luckily for the undead duo, Willow collapsed unconscious almost as soon
as the two vamps left the building.
Chapter 6