Chapter Seven


* * * * * * *

As the sun began to set, Buffy looked out the window. Her hands and feet were eager to get some vampire work done. The rendezvous with Riley was three days ago. Their meetings were always sweet, but afterwards; it always left her anxious and dissatisfied. Joyce Summers knew the restless look on her face, only too well.

"I don't know how long this will take. Mom, can I be excused?" Buffy stood up so that her chair creaked in response. Her mother nodded, and Buffy took her dishes out to the sink.

"Joyce, I'm afraid I must join her." Giles said reluctantly.

"You don't have to go." Buffy assured, "Giles, I can do this. All you'll be doing is the watching thing. And I'll do the slayer-y stuff. And you'll be with the polishing glasses, and the sighing, and the instructions. While I'm kicking butt and telling you to shut—"

"Alright, I know the drill. I'll come out when I've finished. How does that sound?"

"Good!" Buffy replied cheekily. "Tell Willow to come out as soon as possible. I think she's spending some quality time with Tara in their room." She turned on one foot, and went out the door. Giles blanched.

"Joyce, do me a favor and get the girls, would you?" She laughed.

"Nope, you're the boss."


* * *



Buffy reached the train tracks when the sun was completely gone. She opened the compartment doors as wide as they could go, to unnerve the creatures. She then ran towards the bunker to check her supply of tranquilizers. She had a nagging feeling that there weren't enough. Which was kind of bad.



* * * * * * *



"Ahhhhh!" Drusilla screamed, "It burns...it BURNS!!!"

"Dru...DRU!" Spike shouted, "It's just a bloody sunset. The worst you might get is a little tan."

"It's not the sunset, it's the—"

"Shut her up Spike! I won't have her spoil my fun!" Angelus roared. "The slayer's up to something."

"The pixies told me that she fares us no good will! The slayer, she is. And come to hurt us deeply." She touched Spike's face, "Poor Spike, you've been burned the worst by her."

"I know, Dru, but the wounds have healed and now I'm itching for some payback." He said under his breath.

"You won't win. You'll never win." And she stretched her arms out into the air, "Why is she here?" She looked directly at Darla, "You were NEVER supposed to come back!"

Darla raised one eyebrow, and then sauntered closer to the raven haired woman.

"What do you mean, not come back?" She whispered darkly.

"Died thrice. And now, you're awake... but this time, with fangs. Oh mummy, I so wanted to go back to Africa." She looked at Spike, "But that's where he got his burning spark!"

Darla turned to Spike, who looked at Drusilla as if she had grown three brand new heads. The blond vampire shrugged, and then pivoted on one foot to kick her in the head, knocking her to the floor. Angelus chuckled. Spike leapt up and tackled Darla to the ground. Angelus then reached down to pull the youngest vampire up by the scruff of his neck, and punch him solidly in the jaw. Spike retaliated and threw his entire weight onto the older vampire, knocking him down.

But when Drusilla started to laugh, the three stopped their wrestling to stare wide eyed at the dark haired creature of the night.

"All of these memories. Like little parasites in my mind... eating the real ones. Devouring them in their big fat bellies." She giggled. "And my dearest boy still defends me, but if he knew... what he was willing to do for her... would it break his parasitic heart?"

Drusilla bent down to face Spike, with only centimeters between them.

"YOU DIED FOR HER!" She screamed. "THIS PLACE IS YOUR GRAVE!"

"What the hell is going on with her?" Angelus questioned calmly, getting up from the floor. "She's getting batty in her old age."

"Dru... listen to me... please."

"With all this talk of 'her' I do believe she is jealous, which means that you've been doing something with Darla." Angelus punched Spike again, "What have you been doing?"

"I haven't done a bloody thing!"

"Let's play with her." Darla smiled, "What do you say, Angelus? Let's make her tell all she knows."

"You will not TOUCH her!" Spike shouted.

"Let's touch them both." Darla smirked.

"Yum... yum... yum... Oh, and the stars shine darkly tonight. None of you are the same. None. And I am the only one who stands dead. William and Daddy burn with sparklers in their hearts. Mummy is deader than I!"

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" Darla mused, "I really can't tell."

Buffy's face finally appeared. "Oh good, you softened them up for me."


* * *

Drusilla began to laugh.

"What's going on with her? I could hear her from the caboose." Buffy inquired. "Does she need to be staked?"

"No," Spike replied, but with less fervor than usual. "She just doesn't like it here."

"Thanks for the speculation." Buffy's response was filled with sarcasm. "Now, I want all of you in the training room. Pronto." She hit the button on the side of the single cage. One side lifted open.

Darla went first and Angelus followed. Drusilla, still laughing, danced into the next room, while Spike stood there and watched her. All three were in the other section when Spike questioned Buffy.

"What is this for?"

But Buffy didn't answer. She hit the button again, and Spike dashed for the other compartment as the cage hit the ground with an obnoxious bang. He made it only just, as his head was the last appendage to go through, and a few hairs were pulled off his head. Pinched between the metal wall and the floor.

"Don't question me Spike. I'm not in the mood."

In one swift motion, she had pulled out a pencil and wrapped her hair in a long bun, without rubber ties or thongs. One hand held four necklaces and the other held a stake, and in her pocket, she had a Taser. Black tee shirt and blue jeans.

The room was entirely covered with padding. Four lines of yellow tape ran across the corners of the floors. The room was twice as long as it was wide, and Buffy was the last person in. The four demons knew this room well and they could smell their dried blood on the light brown walls.

Willow and Tara walked in nervously. Angelus wet his lips at the prospect of the two lovers, while Darla dreamed of fresh blood. Drusilla was off in her own world, watching Tara in a way that unnerved Willow, while Spike licked his wounds. Literally.

"Buffy..." Willow said warily, as she kept her eye on Drusilla.

"Don't worry; just hit the yellow tape if anything happens. It's heat sensory and the Holy Water will come down through the sprinklers."

"Okay."

"Now." Buffy said, facing the vampires on the other side of the compartment. Here's the plan. You put these on or you get staked. Suggestions? Comments? Questions?"

"Buffy," Angelus smirked, "You didn't have to buy me jewelry. You knew that I would have come around eventually." Buffy threw him the necklace, and he twirled it around his finger. "What's the catch?"

"You put this on, and you will be able to go outside. Tonight. That's the deal."

"Well. In that case..." Angelus took the necklace and threw it around Drusilla's neck before Spike could move an inch. Willow and Tara held hands.

"Iuxta desiderium meum corripiam eos congregabuntur super eos populi com corripientur propter duas iniquitates suas."

"Hosea 10:10," Darla mused.

"You FUCKWIT!" Spike hollered before shoving Angelus against the padded wall, "You tossing bloody ARSEWIPE!"

"Now, now, William." Angelus giggled, "You can still play with her. Only this time, you can add magnets."

"Slayer," he growled, turning back to Buffy, "What the bloody fucking hell did you do to her?"

"It's a control. She can't take it off, and I don't have to worry about where she is anymore." Buffy smiled, "It's a win/win situation!"

"There's no way you're putting that on me," Darla sniffed. "It smells like electricity."

Buffy round house kicked Angelus, pushed Spike out of the way, punched Darla in the stomach and pushed her against the wall with her wooden stake. One necklace whipped around her neck, and attached while Willow and Tara said the Latin words.

When they were done, Angelus ran head first towards Buffy in a kick, but she caught his leg and stopped him. Angelus fell, sliding underneath Buffy's legs. Buffy stopped him by catching his chin with the silver chain and locking the necklace in place. The third chant was finished with a strangled tone, because Spike had Tara by the throat.

"Now, slayer, if you take one more move towards me, I will break this lovely girl's neck in two." Tara's eyes were impossibly wide, and painfully expressive. "Undo Drusilla's collar and we can talk about what I want."

"Fulgur!" Willow screamed, and her hair turned into a deep black color. A bubbling bright consistency floated over the palm of her right hand. Her eyes, once a beautiful green, turned dark with rage. "Get off of her you sniveling idiot. Effervo!"

Buffy punched Willow, and the enraged witch turned on her.

"What was that for? You weak pussy!"

"Willow! Get a hold on yourself NOW!" Buffy cried, and latched on to Willow's arm.

"Oh please!" She snorted, "I eat slayers for breakfast."

"Sorry, but there's only one." Buffy retorted, and punched the black haired witch.

"And you BELIEVE these memories? Oh Goddess, what kind of gullible are you? Vulnero!" She threw the bolt at Buffy. It hit her stomach, and threw her against the wall.

"Luscious." Angelus licked his lips, "Darling girl, would you mind—"

"Shut up low-life. Tell William the Bloody opportunist here to let go of the girl." She looked around the room and rolled her eyes. "You may like it here, but I sure as hell don't."

Spike slowly stepped away from Tara, who watched, wide eyed at her lover's transformation.

"Listen, witch. We will get out of here. It's only a matter of time before we can return to the demonic half of this world," Darla replied, with a calculating glare.

"Ooooh, I like you." The black witch smirked, and then winked at the blond vampire. "You're deliciously saucy. What do you say we meet over mayhem sometime?"

"Sorry, I take penis over cunt." A saccharine smile then crossed her lips, "But if you get me out... I may reconsider my preference."

"Sorry, dear. But I don't fuck sexually confused straight women. And anyways, you're not alive."

"Did you JUST figure that out?" Darla snapped.

Drusilla started to laugh again.

"Hello, crazy," Dark Willow remarked with an off kilter grin.

"You know the stars in their correct alignments."

"That's one way of saying it. Talk less, mean more."

"No one else does, and I'm afraid I don't remember everything. It's eating my insides." She looked at the dark witch, "He remembers, but he misses his mistress and doesn't say a word."

Angelus backhanded Drusilla, but she didn't sway.

"Take me with you."

"It would take too long. Like I said, I don't like it here. It's too segregated and Sunnydale is the only place where the two sides converge." Willow's black hair started to fade, "And if the other doesn't remember, then he won't leave." The red-headed girl fainted on the floor, just below Tara's astonished feet.

Buffy grabbed Spike by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

"Did you THINK that was funny?" She punched him, "Because I thought it was absolutely hilarious!"

"Tara! Do it NOW!" Buffy snapped, and Tara shakily went through the Latin spell. His collar was in place.

"I'm going to take her back to Giles."

"Good. And if any of you try that again, I will not only stake you, but I will banish you to a heavenly dimension where you can spend the rest of your days in an eternal boredom. I will make sure that you clean halos for the rest of your unlives!"

She took out her Taser and jabbed Spike for a good minute, then threw him outside.

"All of you MOVE!"


* * * * * * * *

"This is an invisible fence. If you cross this, your head will explode. It goes a hundred feet down, and as far up as you can possibly see. You will die if you attempt to escape. And if you survive the fence, your necklaces will send a shock so big that it will revive even YOUR hearts. Then again, you would be a pile of dust anyways, because it would set fire to your intestines."

Buffy touched the wooden fencing around the pasture. About an acre's worth of land. It was placed next to the train for easier cow herding, but Buffy spent much of the afternoon tinkering with its abilities.

"The bird's bluffing," Spike snapped.

"No she is not." Drusilla said dreamily. "My head will be like twigs, and go snap in the night."

"I'm working on your cages tonight." She locked the gate, "Let's hope I don't forget you in the morning."

* * *

Drusilla seemed elated to be out in the field. Her screams quieted down to small murmurs of confused chatter, and for this short night, she could truly see the stars. Darla and Angelus were never too private about their sex, but they took the opportunity to fuck away from the other pair.

Spike, on the other hand could not get the smell of the slayer's blood from his nose, or the words of the dark witch out of his brain.

What the bloody hell was she talking about?

Memories over memories, other universes, Darla's death, and Sunnydale being the only place where the two worlds merged? Well, the last made sense. Out of both the Americas, it is said that California is the only that has any magic life, because of World War III. But why would someone tinker with memories?

And why did the Slayer's blood smell so rich?


* * *

Buffy collapsed against the padded wall, and took off her shirt covered in blood. It didn't make any sense. Willow had conquered her darkness, but somehow it had returned once they hit Sunnydale again. Willow hadn't started using magic until her eighteenth year, when Buffy desperately needed backup. Only once, did she go black, and it was during the last battle before they all left. It was the moment when Buffy had almost drowned. But Willow had conquered the black magic on the road, with Tara, and tapped into a beautiful white essence instead.

However, today, she reverted back to her dark state and hit Buffy with a blast of pure black energy.

The blonde had finished wrapping her sides, when she thought of the dark witch's words. Buffy realized that the magic stemmed from the demonic side of the world. And yes, Willow had magic throughout the rest of the country, but that was weaker and white. So why the change? Was it because they were in Sunnydale, the converging points of all magic? Or was it that Willow was losing control?

Would Buffy have to kill her best friend?