Kendra stood watching the stunned Scoobies and the grieving Summers woman. She was torn between offering her sympathy and going in to the still sobbing Xander and knocking him out.

Giles stood and walked out of the room. His office door slammed shut.

Joyce winced at the sound of something being thrown against the wall and Giles’s muffled curses.

Dawn wrapped her fingers around her mother’s and clung on tight. Her blue eyes filled with tears, which then streamed down her face unchecked.

Willow and Tara sat side by side unmoving. Willow’s heart broke as she heard Whistler describe Xander’s actions. She was frozen in shock- the red headed girl had never imagined that Xander would ever do something so horrible. Her mind reeled at the images of what Buffy might have gone through.

Tara could feel Willow’s tension and horror and tried to soothe her by leaning against her love’s rigid form.

Anya stared at Whistler with her mouth open. The usually verbose ex-demon was silent.

Eventually Joyce broke the stunned silence. “Did Xander really throw my baby to the lions? I mean, I know what he said, but I thought maybe it was something Dracula might have inserted into his head to divide us all. To be…to be caught unawares…”

Whistler nodded “Yes, I’m sorry… but the boy really did do this to Buffy…” he shuffled to his feet and stared at Joyce with compassion filled eyes.

“No…” Willow’s whispered denial was filled with horror and utter sadness. “Xander loves Buffy…he saved her life when she drowned, no…no…no! He wouldn’t… he couldn’t…” With that, Willow stood and ran into the training room. She was closely followed by the others.

Xander lay curled up on a training mat facing the wall he was chained too. He ignored the clatter of feet and curled up even tighter.

“Look at me, Alexander Harris…” Willow’s voice echoed loudly in the darkened room. Her voice was magically enhanced, its rasping tone sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

“Willow, honey, calm down…” Tara begged. Her skin was crawling from the dark magicks that were pouring off her lover. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms trying to stave off their insidious touch.

“Xander, stand up!” Willow ordered, and with a snap of her fingers Xander was wrenched to his feet.

“I’m sorry…so sorry…” Xander whimpered, as the chains that held his arms and legs were pulled taut. “Wills, don’t, you’re hurting me…”

Willow floated up and hovered a few feet from the floor.“And you didn’t hurt Buffy when you handed her over to that animal?”

With a flick of her left hand Willow sent the others backwards and out of the room. The door slammed shut. She ignored the shouts coming from the other side.

“So you turned your best friend over to Drac for what? What did you want?” Willow demanded.

“I can’t tell you, it’s…” Xander trailed off as Willow’s hands clamped down on either side of his head. His eyes rolled back in his head and Xander slumped in her grip.

Willow’s eyes turned black as she read his thoughts and finally discovered Xander’s secret.

********

On the other side of the door…

“I can’t get it open!” Kendra grunted as she slammed her body against it. They had resorted to brute force when Tara and Whistler had failed to magically open it.

Giles had looked out of his office and then disappeared again – after calling for Joyce and Dawn.

Anya and Tara stood next to Whistler watching Kendra slam into the door again. They clutched at each other in terror.

“We need to get in there. Willow might hurt Xander!” Anya exclaimed. She paused for a moment, “but then again, she is performing vengeance on him…” she stomped her foot angrily. “Oh! I hate being human, cos I know what she is doing is wrong…but at the same time I can understand her need for vengeance…”

Whistler looked over at Anya and tried not to smile despite the seriousness of the situation.

A few minutes later the office door slammed open and Ripper stepped out, followed by Joyce and Dawn.

“Tara, can you take care of Dawn for a minute?” Joyce gently pushed the unresisting teen over to the silent Wiccan. Dawn slid into Tara’s welcoming arms.

“Kendra, if you could move aside I believe I may have the answer…” Giles stepped forward followed closely by Joyce.

Before either of them could move a shrill scream of pain emanated from the training room.

“Quickly, Rupert…before she does something terrible…” Joyce yelled.

*********

Black veins traced across Willow’s face as she stood back and glared at Xander. Her jaw dropped with shock. “Xander,” she whispered.

“I know, Wills…” Xander tried to smile and failed.

“But you hate vampires…why?” Willow’s eyes gradually turned back to their usual colour and her hair faded back to red.

“She never saw me! Only Angel…Why not me? I love her…”

Willow shuddered. “Xander, you’re her friend- her best friend. Buffy loved you, just not in the way you wanted!”

“I know, but I guess deep down I always wondered maybe if I were a vamp she might look at me different…Lame, I know, but…” Xander’s eyes filled with tears and he hung his head in shame.

“This is stupid! I can’t believe that after all this time you thought Buffy would be interested in you…I don’t understand…” Willow floated down to the floor as confusion filled her.

“It’s just when my Master called for me to work for him and I saw how he had all these women falling at his feet…and all the feelings and thoughts I had came back and I thought, if I was turned then maybe Buffy might, you know…”

Willow shook her head. “Xander, no…she loved Angel for who he was, not what he was…”

“Yeah, Deadboy…” Jealousy and hatred poured out of Xander.

“Angel left because he knew that he and Buffy would never work. He knew that Buffy needed more than a vampire…he loved her enough to let her go and now you have taken everything from her. All because of a stupid crush!” Willow hissed.

Xander pulled against his taut chains and screamed at Willow. “It’s not a crush. I love her! I love Buffy…”

“What about Anya? I thought you loved her?” Willow snarled angrily.

“Ahn…yeah, I do. Just, it’s not the same as Buffy, though...”

Willow’s eyes filled with tears. “Xander, I thought I knew you, but now…I just don’t think I ever did…”

“Wills, don’t say that. We’ve been friends forever, you are my best friend ever since kindergarten…” Xander smiled at the memory of their first meeting. “Remember the yellow crayon?”

“Yeah I do, but Xander, do you understand what you’ve done?” Willow turned her back and began to walk away from her childhood.

“Willow, don’t go… please… let me out of these chains and we can talk.” Xander begged.

Willow paused and turned, her eyes filled with hope.

Then they narrowed as she read Xander’s mind. Her hair turned black and she lunged forwards. “You think I’ll let you go so you can go back to Dracula? That’s sick!” She yelled and floated back towards Xander.

“Wills, please! Lemme go and I can go back… Dracula will turn me and I can help Buffy…” Xander’s madness was complete.

His mind had broken once he had realised that Buffy had been turned as a result of his petty actions. Now all he had to cling to was the release of his soul when he was turned.

Maybe then it wouldn’t hurt so much…

“If you’re so eager for death, I can arrange it!” Willow made a gesture with her hands and crude stitches appeared across Xander’s mouth sealing it shut. With another gesture his shirt ripped open, exposing his chest to Willow’s angry gaze.

With a flick of her wrist a dagger that hung on the wall flew into her hand. Willow tossed it into the air and it hovered above her palm. “I think I’ll make it go in real slow…” With that the dagger moved towards Xander’s chest.

Willow was lost in the power of the dark magicks she had channelled and was focused on getting revenge for Buffy – no matter the cost to her. Willow didn’t see Xander anymore - only a man who had essentially murdered Buffy and let her be defiled.

“Halt.” Willow’s voice boomed as the dagger pierced Xander’s chest. It stilled and a trickle of blood oozed out and down Xander’s heaving chest. His eyes pleaded for mercy as his mouth worked against the thread holding his lips shut. Xander shook his head, his eyes begging for mercy.

Willow tilted her head and considered the bound form of her Xander-shaped friend.

“Maybe I should just skin you alive?” she hissed angrily.

*********

The door slammed open and Giles stepped through. His eyes were filled with amazement at the tableau before him. “Bind!”

A green glow enveloped Willow’s arms and her head dropped back.

Joyce peered over his shoulder and gasped. She pushed past Giles and ran to Willow and Xander.

Gingerly she reached over and pulled the dagger from Xander’s chest. Throwing it to the floor she ripped part of Xander’s shirt off and stemmed the flow of blood.

Giles walked over to Willow and ran his hand over the now unconscious Wiccan’s face. “Willow, what have you done?” he whispered sadly.

“Giles, we need to get Xander to a hospital!” Joyce hissed.

“Mom?” Dawn called through the door.

“No! Dawn, stay out of here; you don’t want to see this!” Joyce called over her shoulder, but she was too late, her daughter’s scream of horror filled the entire shop.

“Tara…Anya, get her out of here and take her home now!” Joyce ordered. She didn’t want either of the young women to witness the macabre scene in the room. Her motherly instincts kicked in and she wanted to protect the two women from the horrors inflicted on Xander by Willow.

Giles rushed over to Dawn and lead her out of the room and slammed the door shut. He tried to calm the now hysterical teen.

“Here, let me take her.” Anya stepped over and pulled Dawn into her arms. She looked over at Tara who was frozen in place. “Come on, we’re going…it’s better if you don’t see this…” Anya’s mouth quivered as she tried to push away the brief glimpse of Xander’s tortured form from her mind.

Tara nodded woodenly and the three of them left without another word.

Whistler stepped up next to Giles. “Nice bit of mojo there – didn’t know you had it in you…”

Giles whipped off his glasses and began to clean them. “Not mine, I just borrowed them from a friend…”

“When?” Kendra asked quietly.

“I called someone I know in Devon – she agreed to let me use the coven’s powers.” Giles sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. “I could sense the magicks Willow was channelling and made the call…”

“A good call, Watcher.” Whistler patted Giles on the shoulder.

“Now what do we do?” Kendra glanced over at the shut door.

“I need to call Althania, she and the others will teleport Willow over to the coven…they’ll be able to help her. Xander…I don’t know…”

Whistler adjusted his hat and walked over to the door. “That’s where we come in…”

Kendra took Giles’s arm and gently lead him after Whistler.