Chapter 3 – When Youth Attacks


Sunnydale, 2000


“So, what did you find out for me?” Tessa asked as Harmony walked into the mansion she was staying in, coincidentally the same one Drusilla and Spike had shared with Angelus years before. She had felt strangely drawn to it when she arrived in town. “Did you see him?”

“I think he has a thing for Buffy,” Harmony muttered, wiping off her cheeks as more tears threatened to spill over. “He said something about having a dream about her after we… you know. And you should’ve seen them talking! I could feel the tension between them, and I was a few feet away – I think there’s something there.”

“Ah yes, Buffy Summers, one of the Slayers,” Tessa replied, smiling. “He has always fallen for women that he can’t have… and settles for whatever he can get, it seems.”

“What?” Harmony asked, not understanding what she meant.

“Nothing,” Tessa said dismissively, waving it off. “You believe he’s pining for the Slayer?”

“How gross is that?” Harmony’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “She’s not even that pretty!”

“How much do you know about her?” Tessa asked curiously, tilting her head in a way that was reminiscent of what Spike often did.

“Well, she was a loser in high school,” Harmony said, sitting on a worn-down chair across from where Tessa was seated. “You should’ve seen what she used to wear – she was one of the biggest fashion victims, second only to her friend Willow. Actually, Xander was pretty bad, too – maybe they’re good friends because they all dress awfully.”

“These friends of hers,” Tessa began, standing up. “Do any of them pose a threat?”

“Are you kidding?” Harmony asked, giggling. “Xander fights like a girl – I could break him without any trouble.”

“Why haven’t you, then?”

“I… don’t know,” Harmony answered, frowning. “Willow’s a witch – she could be a problem.”

“I’ve come up against witches before,” Tessa said. “I’m not concerned.”

“Then there’s Buffy’s Watcher, but he’s old,” Harmony replied. “I doubt he’d be too hard to kill. Xander’s girlfriend Anya used to be a vengeance demon, but she doesn’t have any power now, and Willow has a girlfriend who is a witch, too. The only other person in Buffy’s life that could be potentially helpful on her team is her boyfriend Riley. He used to be a soldier until Buffy and her friends somehow managed to shut down the Initiative.”

“The Initiative?” Tessa asked, thinking for a moment. “I think I’ve heard about it but only in passing.”

“Yeah, it was a pretty scary place, I’ve been told,” Harmony said. “They captured demons and vampires and did experiments on them. That’s where Spike got his chip.”

“Wait, excuse me?” Tessa asked. “What chip?”

“He told me it’s a behavior-modification chip,” Harmony said, carefully pronouncing the bigger words. “It won’t let him harm humans in any way. He can’t hit them, bite them-”

“He can’t bite humans?” Tessa asked, her eyes widening when Harmony shook her head. “Can he fight other vampires?”

“Yeah,” Harmony said, shrugging. “He can fight anything that’s not fully human.”

“Interesting.” Tessa began slowly pacing, her mind racing as she thought about the new information. “Very interesting.”

“We tried to get his chip taken out, but Buffy messed up our plans,” Harmony said. “The doctor who looked at the chip didn’t seem to think it could be taken out, something about it being too complicated.”

“That doesn’t mean it can’t ever be removed, does it?”

“I don’t really know.” Harmony got up and headed to the door.

“Is there anything else I should know about Buffy or her friends?” Tessa asked, watching the other vampire

“Well, I guess if anything major happened, Angel would probably come running back to Sunnydale to help,” Harmony answered.

“Angel?” Tessa tensed, looking down as memories of her time with Angelus flooded her head.

“Yeah, Angel,” Harmony said. “He was dating Buffy a couple of years ago, and Spike told me that he lost his soul when he had sex with her. Something about a curse and true happiness – I’m not too sure about the details. But he left after the high school blew up and moved to Los Angeles.”

“Sit down,” Tessa said sharply, pointing to a chair. “It seems we have a lot more to discuss.”

~~~~~~~~~~


London, 1880


“William, I feel hungry,” Tessa whined, rubbing her stomach.

“We will find someone to feed off of soon,” he replied, taking her little hand in his and squeezing it as they walked into the hotel Drusilla had led them to.

“Why is Anne not with us?” Tessa asked quietly, noticing a pained look cross his face.

“Bad William put a piece of wood through her heart and watched her ashes fall to the ground,” Drusilla said, smiling pleasantly. “She is gone from this world now.”

“I am sorry,” Tessa replied, looking up at William. “She was a nice lady.”

“Yes, she was,” he agreed, motioning for her to follow Drusilla ahead of him so that he could ensure her safety as they moved through the hotel lobby.

They arrived in front of a door a few moments later, and Drusilla let them inside of the hotel room, letting all three vampires walk in. Tessa looked around in awe, surprised by the room’s décor.

“I have never been in a room this grand,” she whispered, tugging on William’s hand.

“It is lovely,” he agreed, nodding slightly.

“Well, what have we here?” a man’s voice asked from nearby.

William and Tessa turned around to see a brunette man standing in the doorway of a room, watching them with an amused expression.

“I have two new dollies for us,” Drusilla said, grinning proudly. “Angelus, this is William, my childe.”

“You sired a man?” Angelus asked, pleased. “It will be nice to have another man with us.” He paused. “Although, I do love having two women at my side – it opens up so many possibilities for us during our leisure time.” He gave Drusilla a wicked look and turned his attention to the girl slightly hiding behind William. “And who is this precious girl?”

“Tessa is my… childe,” William answered, sneaking a glance at Drusilla to make sure he had used the word correctly.

“I have never heard of a vampire turning a human so quickly after being sired,” Angelus said, surprised. “I did not think it was possible, for that matter.”

“Everything is possible,” William replied, feeling a sense of worry wash over him as Angelus began to walk towards him.

“I love fair-haired young girls,” Angelus said, reaching out to stroke Tessa’s hair, but William pulled her back before his hand could make contact. Angelus smirked and studied William. “You have no reason to protect her – I was not going to harm her.”

“She is mine to protect,” William said. “I am her guardian now.”

“Where is Darla?” Drusilla asked, looking around. “I want her to meet them.”

“We had a fight,” Angelus answered, shrugging. “She will be back soon, I am sure. She never stays away for too long.” He looked at Tessa and delighted in the innocence that was radiating from her. “In the meanwhile, how about we become more acquainted with our new friends?”

Tessa swallowed hard and looked up at William, feeling dread course through her as she saw the nervous look on his face, knowing inwardly that perhaps he wouldn’t be able to save her all of the time… or from a vampire like Angelus.

~~~~~~~~~~


Sunnydale, 2000


“Spike, you came!” Dawn said excitedly as the vampire snuck up behind her and tugged on her hair gently to get her attention.

“Did you really think I’d miss Tara’s party?” he asked, smiling. “Where is she?”

“Dancing with Willow,” Dawn answered, motioning to the dance floor. “Feel like dancing with me?”

“Maybe later, Nibblet,” he said, looking around. “Where are the rest of the Scoobies?”

“They’re around somewhere,” she said. “Buffy’s playing pool with Xander, and Anya was talking to Tara before she started dancing.”

“No Riley?” he asked, surprised.

“I guess not,” Dawn answered. “I think Buffy and Riley had a fight or something – they haven’t been seeing each other as much as before.”

“Is that right?” he asked, biting back a grin. “I didn’t know there was trouble in paradise.”

“Well, now that he’s not as strong as he used to be, Buffy’s trying to keep him away from doing dangerous stuff,” she replied. “She doesn’t want him to get hurt.”

“That’s too bad,” he murmured. “I wouldn’t mind hurting him.”

“What was that?” Dawn asked, looking at him.

“Nothing,” he replied. “I should go say hello to the witches.”

“Then can we dance?” she asked with a hopeful look on her face.

“We’ll see, pidge,” he said, smiling. “I’m not much of a dancer.”

“Okay,” she replied, looking down.

“You’re still my girl, though,” he said, patting her hand before walking away.

Above them, Tessa leaned against the balcony’s railing, hiding in the shadows and listening to Spike’s conversation with the young girl.

“I guess some things really don’t change, do they?” she asked herself. “Young girls still fall at his feet.”

She saw the girl stand up and walk towards the bathrooms, all alone. Tessa cautiously walked down the stairs, making sure Spike was nowhere in sight and would not see her. She followed after the girl and let herself into the bathroom, watching the brunette stand in front of a mirror and run her hands through her long hair.

“Hello,” Tessa said, smiling at her.

“Hi,” Dawn said quietly, jumping slightly when she heard the girl’s voice, not expecting to see someone else around her age at the Bronze. “I haven’t seen you before. Are you from around here?”

“No, I’m actually from overseas,” Tessa answered.

“You have an accent,” Dawn replied. “You sound a lot like one of my friends.”

“Really?” Tessa asked, pretending to be surprised. “Must be a coincidence.”

“Must be,” Dawn said, trying to leave the bathroom, but Tessa blocked the door and grinned at her. “What are you doing?”

“Can’t we talk for a bit?” Tessa asked. “You know, like girls.”

“I should get back out there,” Dawn said, trying once more to move past Tessa but failing. “Let me go.”

“Sorry, can’t,” Tessa said, grabbing Dawn’s shoulders and pushing her up against a wall, happy when she heard the small gasp from the other girl. “I have plans for you, little girl.”

“W-what?” Dawn asked, stammering over the word as pain raced through her body.

“We’re about to become good friends,” Tessa said. “Don’t you want that?”

“No,” Dawn managed to get out, angry when Tessa slapped her across the face.

“That’s not the answer I was looking for,” she replied. “Bad girls always get punished.”

Tessa’s face vamped out, and as she lowered her head to Dawn’s neck, Dawn tried to scream, but Tessa covered her mouth with her hand quickly and sank her fangs into the girl’s throat, feeling power course through her as she fed off of her, noticing that her pulse slowed down drastically.

When Dawn fell out of consciousness, Tessa carefully carried the girl out of the bathroom and snuck out through a back door, walking out into the night air with the Slayer’s sister in her arms.

---

A/N Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing – I appreciate feedback! The story is going to get a lot darker in the next chapter and will remain that way for a while, but be patient – there will be Spuffyness once Riley is out of the picture.