FIC: Heroes and Lovers (11/?) FRM/R

["another_soul_lost" <anotherlostsoul@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Heroes and Lovers
Author's Name: anotherlostsoul
Author's Email and URL:
anotherlostsoul@...,http://www.hopelessdreams.com
Pairing: W/Buffy
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and a lot of other people own
the show and all the characters. The plot and the story are mine.
This cannot be sold or used for profit in any way, shape or form.
Please don't sue me, because I really don't have anything to take.
Rating: R, but may vary by chapter.
Spoilers: Set in season 4 of Buffy, so anything before that is fair game.
Summary: Spike escapes the Initiative without being chipped. How
will this effect the Scooby gang?

Author's Note:  As always my thanks to the wonderful folks who help me
beta this:  KallieRose, Angie Smith, and Filip Janik.

Chapter 11  An Unpleasant Encounter

Drusilla smiled as she lifted the ancient tome from the open
sarcophagus.  Holding it close, she closed her eyes and listened to
the sounds outside the crypt.  The noise of the Slayer and the Witch
as they fought against her minions was strangely soothing.  She
drifted across the crypt to the doorway, observing the mayhem outside
without being seen.  She wasn't quite ready to join the party yet. 
But it was almost time.

Her blood sang to her as she watched the humans fight.  Even severely
outnumbered, the two girls never faltered and never hesitated.  She
savored each of the sharp pinpricks of pain that came from the death
of her servants.  The stars whispered once more, and with a wicked
grin, Drusilla strode out of the crypt.

* * * * *

Buffy ducked under a vampire's punch and struck out with her stake. 
The creature exploded, showering her with dust.  She spun quickly and
lashed out with a vicious roundhouse kick that connected forcefully
with the jaw of another minion as it rushed at her, sending it
crashing into a nearby tombstone.  Trusting her instincts, she rolled
forward, narrowly avoiding being grabbed by yet another vamp.

Springing to her feet, Buffy shot a glance at Willow.  Her heart
skipped a beat as the other girl staggered back a step after being
punched by one of the vampires.  `This is getting bad,' she thought
abruptly as she turned away, side-stepping yet another attack and
staking her assailant.  Nearly a dozen minions remained and someone,
or something, else was still inside the crypt these guys were guarding.

A sudden chill ran down Buffy's spine and she turned, just in time to
watch Drusilla emerge from the crypt clutching an old book tightly in
her hands.   The insane vampiress quickly surveyed the scene before
her and smiled wickedly when her eyes met Buffy's.  

In that moment, Buffy realized her mistake as a strange dizziness
assaulted her and a sound like dozens of voices whispering rose in her
ears.  She struggled for a few moments against the voices, trying to
shut them out, to ignore them as they urged her to let go and submit
to Drusilla and give herself over to the vampire's will.  She found
herself unable to move, incapable of forcing her eyes away.  Even her
voice betrayed her, refusing to let her call out for Willow.

She couldn't even shudder as she watched Drusilla coming toward her. 
`No,' she thought desperately as she struggled against Drusilla's
power.  `It can't end like this.  I will not die without a fight.' 
She concentrated, focusing herself with one of the techniques that
Giles had taught them to help Willow control her powers.  She pushed
back against the voices, trying once more to ignore them and regain
control, but it wasn't enough, she couldn't overcome Drusilla's hold
on her.  `I'm sorry Willow.  I'm so sorry,' she thought as Drusilla
reached out for her.

* * * * *

`I'm sorry Willow.  I'm so sorry.'

Buffy's voice rang out in Willow's mind and the redhead spun instantly
toward the Slayer.  Her eyes went wide in horror as she watched
Drusilla reach for her frozen lover.  Willow spoke a single word and
fueled it with all her power, "Solari!"  Instantly, she and Buffy were
surrounded by dazzling auras of pure sunlight.

With a horrible screech, Drusilla jerked back from the searing light
that now protected the Slayer and turned to Willow.  Their eyes met
and Drusilla smiled slyly.  Willow frowned slightly as she felt Dru's
power reach out for her, but she easily shrugged off the vampire's
attempt to control her.  

Suddenly free from Drusilla's influence, Buffy lashed out at the
dark-haired demon with a brutal spinning kick aimed at the vampire's
midsection.  Drusilla dodged around it, shoving one of her minions
into the Slayer hard enough to drive the blonde to the ground.  The
minion let out a horrible screech as the Slayer's shroud of sunlight
quickly reduced it to ash.

Drusilla looked back at Willow with an evil grin and blew the redhead
a kiss before she turned and strode away into the darkness, followed
by the remaining minions.  Willow glanced at Buffy and sighed in
relief as she saw the blonde roll back to her feet.  `Thank the
Goddess, she's all right,' Willow thought as she slumped into
unconsciousness, completely exhausted by the spell that had saved
Buffy's life.

* * * * * 

Buffy rolled quickly to her feet, fully prepared to chase Drusilla and
her minions.  She paused only long enough to look over at Willow.  All
thoughts of pursuit fled and ice-cold fear clenched in Buffy's stomach
as she watched Willow crumple bonelessly to the ground.  "Willow!" she
cried out with a shout.  

In a near panic, Buffy scrambled to the fallen girl's side. "No, Will,
you have to be okay," she whispered.

Acting on instinct, she scooped up her love and took off at a dead
sprint.  She could only hope that Giles would know what to do.

* * * * *

Angel and Doyle passed the drive in silence, each lost in their
thoughts and fears about the possibilities of confronting Drusilla.  

Angel was deeply afraid for Buffy.  He knew better then most just how
dangerous Dru could be.  As Angelus, she had been his greatest
creation, a work of artful depravity unrivaled by anything, or anyone,
else.  She was capricious and deadly, and her insanity only served to
make her more unpredictable.  

`Buffy will be okay,' he thought to himself, `She's faced Dru before
and survived.'  Even as he thought the words, he knew them for the lie
they were.  Buffy had never truly faced Drusilla, it had always been
Spike.  Spike and his obsession with killing Slayers had always
overshadowed his insane sire.  Drusilla was easily one of the most
dangerous foes Buffy had ever faced, and she didn't even realize it.

`Can I really kill Drusilla?' the question sprang unbidden into
Angel's mind.  `I don't know.'  The thought did not inspire any
confidence in his ability to deal with the crisis at hand.  Even with
his soul, Angel felt a strong connection to his childer, especially
Dru.  In his way, Angelus loved Drusilla, in as much as such a
creature was capable of love, and he felt a strong compulsion to try
and protect her.  

He shook his head sharply, trying to dispel his growing doubts and
concerns.  He loved Buffy.  He had slain his own sire to protect her
and if need be, he would slay his childe for the same reason.  But he
could always hope that it wouldn't come to that.

He needed something to distract himself from this train of thought, so
he seized on the first thing to come to mind.  "So Doyle, tell me how
you know Drusilla?"

The Irishman winced slightly, as though he'd clearly been hoping to
avoid this conversation.  "I, uh, had a bit of a run-in with Drusilla
a few years ago.  It was fairly unpleasant and I count myself lucky to
have gotten away in one piece."

"What did she do to you?" he asked softly, knowing what his childe was
capable of.

"Nothing that didn't heal," Doyle replied tightly.  "And nothing I
really want to discuss."

`Torture then,' Angel thought miserably, `if not worse.'  Rather than
pushing the issue, he simply nodded and focused his attention back on
the road.

* * * * *

"Giles!" Angel practically bellowed the name as he knocked forcefully
on the ex-Watcher's door. The door was flung open almost instantly and
Giles stood inside, looking somewhat the worse for wear.  

Angel didn't waste any time on pleasantries, instead choosing to barge
through the door as he demanded, "Where is she?  Where's Buffy?"

"I don't know Angel," the Englishman responded softly, as he shut the
door to the apartment, the stress he was feeling coming through
clearly in his voice. "She and Willow left here on patrol almost 3
hours ago.  There's no answer at their dorm room and Buffy's mother
hasn't seen them either."

"We need to find her, Giles&"  Angel ground out through clenched
teeth, his demon happily feeding his anger at the helplessness he was
feeling.   He turned to Doyle, "Where did you see them fighting, Doyle?"

"It was pretty dark, but it looked like a cemetery or a crypt maybe,"
the Irishman quickly answered.

"I'll start searching the cemeteries; Giles, stay here in case the
girls make it back&"  Angel was cut off as the door burst open to
reveal a panicked Buffy carrying an unconscious Willow.

For a brief moment, the three men stared slack-jawed at the Slayer's
arrival, before the raw fear in Buffy's voice galvanized them into
action.  "Giles!  Willow collapsed and she's not waking up!" 

"Put her here, on the couch," he responded instantly, moving swiftly
to check the unconscious girl.  "What happened?"  

Buffy moved wordlessly past Angel and Doyle and carefully placed the
unconscious redhead on the couch before speaking.  "We ran into
Drusilla and a bunch of minions outside a crypt in one of the older
cemeteries.  I'm not sure what she did, but it was like she got inside
my head somehow.  I couldn't move or fight& I thought she was going to
kill me, but Willow saved me.  She surrounded me in sunlight and it
broke Drusilla's spell.  She and some of the minions got away and
Willow collapsed."

As Buffy spoke, Giles examined Willow carefully.  "I think she'll be
all right Buffy," he said quietly.  "Her heartbeat and breathing seem
normal, she likely just overtaxed her powers and collapsed from the
exertion."

The Slayer relaxed visibly at his reassurance.  Leaning over, she
whispered softly, "Everything's going to be fine, Will.  I'll be right
here waiting for you when you wake up."  Then she brushed a soft kiss
across the sleeping girl's lips, smiling gently as Willow sighed and
settled into a deeper sleep.

Angel bristled visibly at the sight of his girl kissing Willow.  "What
the hell is going on here?" he ground out without thinking, his anger
coloring his voice.  "You and Willow?!  You can't be serious."

Buffy spun toward him, her face hard and anger in her eyes.  "Just who
the hell do you think you are Angel.  You left town without so much as
a good-bye, and then you have the nerve to question my love life?"  

As the Slayer stalked toward him, Angel instinctively stepped back; he
hadn't seen Buffy this angry since before her senior prom.  

"You lost the right to say a damn thing to me about who I choose to
love the day you left Sunnydale, so get over it."

`She belongs to us,' he heard Angelus whisper from the darker recesses
of his mind.  `We claimed her; she carries our mark on her throat. 
She dares to defy us?!  Take her Angel, bury your fangs in her throat
and remind her whose property she is!'  

Angel gritted his teeth and strained against the demon's urgings.  She
was right and he knew it, but it hurt to be cast aside so soon.  A
part of him had always thought their love would last forever, but now
he saw that it truly was over between them.  Clamping down on anger,
Angel whispered just loud enough for Buffy to hear, "Do you really
love her?"

The anger in Buffy's eyes waned slightly and her face softened as she
whispered back, "Yes, and she loves me."

The words hurt him more than he could admit, even to himself.  Angel
swallowed hard against the emotions he was feeling.  A part of him
knew that this relationship was likely to be almost as hard for Buffy
as being with him had been.  The cruelty and disdain they'd face from
small-minded people would be bad enough; if he really loved her& then
he needed to support her in this and be a good friend.

"This isn't how I wanted you to find out about this, Angel," she
whispered softly.  "I didn't want to hurt you.  But you were right to
leave, and I knew it.  You told me to move on, to live my life, and I am."

"With Willow?" he asked, a trace of bitterness lacing his question.

"With someone I love more than life itself," she responded firmly.

Angel stared at her for a moment more, seeing a look of real
contentment on Buffy's face.  It was a look he hadn't seen there
before.  It reminded him of the kind of happiness that had set Angelus
free.  He nodded slowly, accepting that this was right for her. 
"You're happy," he stated simply, his tone warming finally.

"I am."

"You deserve it, Buffy," Angel said finally, letting go of his
disappointment, anger and jealousy.  

* * * * *

Giles rolled his eyes slightly as the melodramatic confrontation
between Buffy and Angel played out before him.  He had always expected
that things would be strained between the two of them when Buffy
finally moved on, but he was rather surprised by the depth of Angel's
apparent response to the situation.

Wisely, Giles kept quiet, allowing the former lovers to work this out
between themselves, unless they came to blows& in which case he would
be sorely tempted to try and `accidentally' stake brooding vampire.  

He turned away suddenly and focused his attention on Willow's
unconscious form, trying to keep his extreme distaste for Angel to
himself.  He truly hated the dark-haired vampire, and could never
forgive him for Angelus' murder of Jenny, or the torture he had
personally suffered as a `guest' of the demon.  

Finally, he heard Angel tell Buffy that she deserved to be happy, so
he returned his attention to the two champions and the seer standing
in his apartment before speaking, "Yes, well then, if Angel is
finished behaving like a petulant child," Giles couldn't pass up an
opportunity to barb the ensouled demon.  "Perhaps we can turn our
attention to the more pressing matter of Drusilla and her plans."

Buffy shot a subdued grin at Angel in response to Giles' comment,
before turning to face her ex-Watcher.  "What do we know, Giles?" she
asked, switching into Slayer mode once again, before looking abruptly
back at Angel, "And, pardon me for asking, but what exactly are you
doing here, and who's he?" she indicated Doyle.

Angel grinned slightly before answering, "This is Doyle, he works for
me in LA."  

Doyle smiled and offered his hand to Buffy, who shook it with a smile
as she listened to Angel's explanation.  

"The Powers that Be send him visions of people who need our help.  He
had a vision of you facing Drusilla, so we came as quickly as we could."

Giles jumped in at this point, "Actually, I fear there's far more at
stake here than the simple matter of Drusilla coming after Buffy.  She
has somehow raised Spike from the dead as a ghost..."

"Wait," Angel interrupted, abruptly.  "You staked Spike?" he asked
Buffy, with a startled look on his face.

"Well, he killed Willow, so I killed him," she answered tartly.

It was Doyle who piped up this time, his own confusion evident "But
isn't that Willow there on the couch?  Did he turn her?"

"He tried, but the Powers intervened," Buffy replied, a note of
frustration creeping into her voice.  "And it's really complicated. 
Can we get back to what tall, dark and insane is doing in my town and
explain the rest after we stop her?"

"Spike killed Willow?  Before or after you started dating her?"
Angel's confusion was clearly getting the better of him.

"Before," she replied with a sigh.  "Now can we focus, please?
Drusilla.  Spike.  Sense of impending apocalypse. Ring any bells?"

Giles sighed; it was going to be a long evening.








------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page
http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/RoMolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

"It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
"I kinda love you."
Buffy & Willow, 'Choices'

Community email addresses:
       Post message: buffyloveswillow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
       Subscribe:    buffyloveswillow-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
       Unsubscribe:  buffyloveswillow-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
       List owner:   buffyloveswillow-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shortcut URL to this page:
       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buffyloveswillow

Offical archive for the list:
       http://www.ikoly.com/fanfic 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buffyloveswillow/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
   buffyloveswillow-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
   http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/