Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Since I have already stolen Drogyn and hopefully given him a better death than Joss did; you won’t be all that surprised that I am playing with the Angel timeline. I’m just borrowing one more character. But I promise to give him back in the same condition I got him in.
 
Dialog taken from “No Place Like Home” by Doug Petrie. Dialog taken from Triangle, written by Jane Espenson
 
Many thanks to my beta No_Promises. The wonderful banner is by 3hours.

---

---

“I cannot continue like this! We must perform the ritual. I should be able to control all my subjects with barely a thought. Instead I am weakened from tonight’s activities.”

“All is ready my Queen. After the ritual the shell you inhabit shall cease to exist, you will be returned to your former glory.”

The ritual was ready to begin when Kaledena arrived at the hellmouth. A ring of ten worshippers surrounded the glowing circle. Every other one held a dagger in their hand, mother of pearl handles with intricate designs on the blades. On the actual seal were five trussed up homeless men and women each sitting on a point of the star. As Kaledena made her way into the basement room two of those standing parted slightly to allow her to place herself on the goat head in the middle of the seal. Once Kaledena was in place the followers holding the ceremonial daggers stepped forward and slit the throats of those tied up. The chanting started with the first cut. “Tuaforma formam capere. Tua voluntas fiat. Sit quae magna res est factus totum semel iterum. Hi offerimus supplex ad potestatem Kaledena.” 

A darkness began to seep out of the seal. It surrounded Kaledena as the life blood of the sacrifices drained onto the seal. It seemed to soak up the blood, absorb it until there was no trace of it left. The bodies of those killed in the ritual slowly dried out until nothing was left but ash. When the darkness faded Kaledena stood in all her glory. Tall almost six feet tall, with long blond hair, skin the color of almonds with dark brown eyes. “Now that is much better! That human body wasn’t strong enough. We have work to do.” Kaledena led the way out of the high school basement her worshippers following her every command.

                                                                                                                                               §
Spike put the car in park but didn’t shut off the engine. “Run in and get the watcher pet. I don’t want to stay in one place too long.” Buffy nodded and got out of the car. She returned a few minutes later with a disgruntled Giles.

As soon as both of them were in the car Spike took off again. “What is going on Buffy?”

“I went to talk to Spike like you said. When I got to his crypt Riley was there. He had staked Spike with a plastic stake.” Buffy ignored Giles shocked “What?” and continued on with her story. “I guess the pain from the wish knocked him out. We took him to his apartment and Graham was there. Riley is in trouble with his bosses and Graham said he would take care of him so we left. But not before he told me that the surveillance has been pulled from Sunnydale. I told Spike about Dawn. As we were driving we almost ran over this woman. Only there was something freaky about her. All these other really weird people showed up and it looked like the woman was possessed. She told the others to grab us so we ran and came here to tell you.”

"Breathe Buffy, calm down and tell me what happened again from the beginning." Buffy took Giles advice and retold him of the nights events.

“Bint said somethin’ about grabbing the slayer to find out what Drogyn had told her.”

“Drogyn? Who’s that?”

“That’s the battlebrand slayer. Didn’t your watcher teach you anything? He guards the Deeper Well. Givin’ eternal youth to guard the bodies of the last pure demons to roam the earth.”

“Right well. We will have to investigate this. Now that Spike knows that Dawn is the key to banishing this woman we need to make a plan to keep her safe until we figure out how to banish her. From what Graham told you it appears that the council exerted their influence over the military. Everyone is removing the cameras the military placed. Xander went to your house to take care of the ones there.”

“How is he going to explain that to mom?”

“I think he was going to tell her that Riley was jealous especially after the incident with Dracula and used his military training to spy on you. But he plans on telling her that you found out and broke up with him because of it. He won’t tell her the real reason for the cameras.”

“Wait a minute the Nibblet has the power to banish this chick? How?”

“We have no idea at this point Spike. It will require a lot of research.” “The council shall be arriving at 10 am tomorrow. I wouldn’t put it past them to arrive earlier. There will be no mention of the fact that we know of the whereabouts of the key. Despite their assistance with the military I do not trust them with the knowledge at this point.”

“Um Giles? That guy said something else just before he died. He said they built our memories of Dawn. Then he said you must protect her. You and the vampire.”

“Me? Whoa that’s a boat load of manly responsibility to come flying out of nowhere.”

“Yes I quite agree, are you sure you heard him correctly Buffy? Why didn’t you mention this before?”

“Yes Giles I’m sure. He said me and Spike have to protect Dawn. I was still wigged about my boyfriend spying on me okay!” “Then there was the thing with one of my best friends turning my sister and other best friend into rabbits.”

Giles removes his glasses and starts to polish them. “Yes well. I suggest we keep the information of Dawn’s true nature to ourselves. If this woman already has followers here in town it would behoove us to be careful who we speak in front of.” Tucking his handkerchief in his pocket and placing his glasses back on Giles continued as Spike drove around Sunnydale. “I have been informed that Quentin Travers has made the trip and they plan on testing your abilities. They also wish to interview everyone you associate with who helps with your calling. Including your mother, Dawn and Spike.”

“Hold up just a minute. Why does the soddin wanker’s council want to talk to me?”

“They all remember what happened the last time Buffy allowed a vampire to assist her.” Giles stopped speaking when he heard Buffy’s mumbled sorry. “Buffy my dear, please you have nothing to apologize for.”

“Soddin’ Angelus does though. Stupid pillock, 100 years and he never bothered to find out what was what with that curse. Only the poof would get perfect happiness from shagging a young virginal warrior for good. Made the demon damn happy and Liam just as happy.” At the shocked looks from the passengers in the car Spike started talking again. “You mean you didn’t know? Liam was a drunk and womanizer who liked shagging the help willing or no’. Got quite a few of them up the duff or diseased before he was turned. Angelus liked virgins, the saintlier the better. It’s why he went after Dru. She was joining the convent when he got to her. She’d had visions since she was as big as the bit. They made her an outcast, her family felt she would do better with the nun’s and Dru was always pious girl so it seemed like a perfect place for her. He stalked her for weeks before hand terrorizing her and her family, killing them until there was no one left but her. She thought she was safe when she got to the nun’s. He slaughtered them all in front of her before he turned her.”

“Stop the car.” Spike pulled over to the side of the road at Buffy’s request. As soon as the car stopped she opened the door and proceeded to get sick on the curb.

“Sorry slayer. I thought your watcher here would have told you all about him. It’s in all the books.”

It took a few minutes for Buffy to finish empting the contents of her stomach. Once she was done Spike drove her home. After Buffy got out of the car Giles got in the front seat as Spike began the drive to his apartment. “S’rry watcher thought she knew.”

“Yes well, she has always had a blind spot when it comes to Angel. She started reading one of the watchers diaries concerning Angelus once; she shut the book and never opened it again when it started describing the methods he employed.”

“Sadistic bastard. Called it the ‘Art of Killing’. He got off on their emotional pain as much as the physical.” Spike pulled up in front of Giles apartment as he finished speaking.

“Spike it looks like we will need your help fighting this new threat. Plus with the council arriving tomorrow and the fallout from Riley’s actions, on top of Joyce’s illness Buffy is going to be stressed. Please do not add to it.”

“Got no fight with you or the witches, even demon girl’s a bit of an all right. The Whelp and the Slayer? That’s a whole different story. You tell ‘em to keep their fists and comments to themselves an’ we’ll all get along just fine.” “I can play nice, question is can they? I like the Nibblet and Joyce. Do what I can to protect them, but I won’t be treated like you lot have been. I’ve been around a while eh? Seen and heard of things you never have. Did that ever occur to any of you lot? Nope. Instead I get hit and threatened instead of asked. Demon girl gets treated pretty much the same way. Got a thousand years on all of us. Think she don’t know things? The whelp constantly tellin’ her to shut up. They’re not gonna last long he keeps it up.”

“Yes, well when you put it like that. I will speak to the children.” Giles said good night to Spike and made his way to his apartment.