Rating: PG-13
Distribution: The SFA, Slay This!, Buffy's Passion, the BAFFA, anybody else, ask first.
Disclaimer: I don't own "Buffy" or "Angel". It's owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Twentieth Century Fox. No copyright infringement is intended by this story.
Summary: It's a few years after Silent Night. Drusilla returns to Sunnydale.

Shadow for a day is light,
But turn back the day,
For world to save.
The Chosen and the Fallen One shall unite,
Through their union there shall be a child.
Dark of hair and light of skin,
Vampyres child yet Slayer's kin.
-The Pergamum Codex: The Chosen Phoenix, Dhampir's Stanza

Buffy:

I never expected to be a mother. I expected to die young at the claws or fangs of some lucky demon, but never this. Yet here I am. Feeding my child apple sauce. Gerbers. And getting splattered in the process.

"Come on! Just swallow it! Pearl..."

My daughter burbled happily, waving her hands. "God." I groaned. "I am not cut out for motherhood."

"One thousand seventy-three." said Willow unsympathetically. I glared at her. "You're no help."

Willow grinned. I'm so tempted to jam the spoon up her nose, but I manage to restrain myself. Must be the patience I cultivated with Spike.

"You try feeding her!" I told her, shoving the container at her. She shrugged. "No thanks. I think it's more fun as a spectator sport."

"There's a reason I never baby-sitted." I muttered. With a sigh, I tried to feed Pearl again. Sploot.

Willow-

I really should help her out. But I'm having too much fun watching her try to feed Pearl.

She finally managed to get some applesauce into Pearl. As she was cleaning up the mess that Pearl had made, I kicked back.

I'm busy studying right now. I've got books on various programming languages spread out around me on my bed. When we opted for bunks, I got the top. Buffy needs to be able to get to Pearl fast. Fast does not include falling from the top bunk onto the floor in her haste to get to her daughter.

Things have changed a lot the last few years. Giles got a new job at the Sunnydale Museum, and hired Xander as an assistant. Xander moved out of his parents basement, and bought a loft with the money he made. Anya moved in with him.

Spike lives in Angel's old apartment. He helps out with the slaying as much as he can. The commando guys have tried to grab him more than once, but he manages to get away every time.

We haven't heard anything out of LA in a while. About a half a year ago, we heard that the Scourge had been destroyed thanks to Angel. That's the last thing we heard of them.

Buffy's been working around town as a security guard. I make some money off of computer consulting jobs. We bought an apartment in a new apartment building that went up downtown.

Anyway, it's a living. Activity on the Hellmouth has calmed down a bit. So Buffy gets to be a mother to Pearl, and I get to play fairy godmother.

Well, not fairy godmother, but hey... Okay, I'm babbling again. Things have been going perfectly. And nothing's going to change that.

Nothing.

Druscilla-

My Spikey's here. I can feel it. The moon sings sometimes at night. Hunters are creeping around in the bushes, hunting for me. I know how to evade them, like a rat slipping into the shadows.

The stars have told me what to do. They've all been cast into dust. I'm to raise them from it. And the Slayer will scream.

She took my Angel from me. The Slayer, and that witch with hair the color of blood. We were going to dance on their graves in Hell. Now my Angel is sick. Sick because of that meddling witch. We'll see how she likes it, to be one of us. Make her scream and shatter.

But we'll make him better again. We'll make them all better again. And I will be a princess at His side...

Doyle-

Damn.

It hit me out of the blue. They usually do, thanks to the bloody Powers That Be. Can't they just send me the vision in a taco or something?

A face. A baby girl is screaming. An insane vampiress is dust, then I see it. A blonde girl, in a long white dress, sword held high above her head. Flames surround her, engulf her.

It's Angel's Slayer.

Delia supported me as I wobbled to my feet. Angel's watching me. "An insane vampire." I ground out. "A circle of blood and fire. A baby's face." I took a deep breath. "The Slayer in a circle of flames and blood."

Angel looked both bewildered and worried. "Sunnydale?" he asked.

"Yeah." I said. Delia passed me a glass of water and an asprin. "Looked like some sort of ritual."

"Then, we're going to Sunnydale." said Cordelia.

Angel stared at her. I smirked. That's my Delia.

"We are not lurking!" snapped Delia. "Remember what happened last time you lurked around Sunnydale?"

Angel flinched. "Um, Delia?" I said. "Let's not get into that right now."

"Fine." said Angel. "Get packed. We're leaving when the sun sets."

Buffy-

Patrol is boring. Willow's watching Pearl tonight, so I'm out, looking for le creatures of the night.

No joy. Oh sure, every once in a while a vampire wanders through, stirs up things for a bit. Then I dust it.

Giles has spent the better part of two months trying to translate the Pergamum Codex. Ugh. That's all I need, another prophecy to dodge.

The moon is full tonight. It makes me think of Oz. I wonder where he is. Every once in a while, something reminds Willow of him, and she'll spend the week moping around.

I ought to talk. I was a wreck after...

With a shake of my head, I shoved those thoughts away. I do not need to think about him tonight, or what happened between us. It just hurts too much.

A twig snapped. My entire body tensed on pure reflex, a stake sliding butt first into the palm of my hand.

Sometimes I can almost sense them. Barely. Like shadows on the edge of my vision. Giles was concerned about me after I channelled the sorceressses power. He thought it might change me. Maybe it has.

But all of this is shelved away. There's something out there, watching me. But it isn't going to attack. Not now.

Shaking my head, I continued on patrol, warily watching the shadows.

Cordelia-

God, he's brooding again. We got back to his apartment building around sunset. And it's been all brood, brood, brood.

I've got to admit, though, I still love his convertible. Doyle and me are curled up in the back right now. The wind is going to play hell with my hair, but for now I'm enjoying it. A little taste of the old times, when all I had to do was smile at someone and get a ride.

Those days are over, but I'm still enjoying myself. I usually don't get to come with Doyle and Angel on investigations. I usually stay back at the building, and play receptionist. The last time I got to ride in the convertible was when we had to drag a demon back with us. Angel burned it in the sewers. The smoke was green. At least it didn't smell. Much.

We're a couple miles away from Sunnydale. I wonder how it's changed? Is Giles still a bum? What happened to Oz? Good old Oz. It was fun having him in LA. Even if Angel got tortured and all.

This is going to be just like old times, fighting Spike and Druscilla. Except I get to ride in a cool car, and Doyle's here. Oh, and Spike can't bite anybody. So it's kind of like old times. Just different. Riley- All the technology that Walsh and her scientists have come up with, and we still wear these scratchy ski masks.

Figures.

Oh well. It's not like I have a hot date. Buffy wasn't really that interested in the first place. Then she found out that she was pregnant. With her rotten luck, it's probably Parker's. Just what she needs. At least he isn't bugging her. It was grimly satisfying when he was turned. At least I got to kill the bastard.

Sunnydale has been really slow in demonic activity since the incident with the voices of the town. Walsh and her boys are still going nuts trying to figure out what happened.

It's probably demonic in origin. Gad. Now I'm thinking like Walsh talks.

Better get my mind back to demon hunting.

Spike-

It's another one of those bloody nights.

No demons, no vampires. No taunting the Slayer while on patrol with her. At this point I'd welcome one of those commando boys.

Instead, I'm sitting in the poofs old apartment getting drunk on cheap whiskey. "So this is the mighty William the Bloody." I muttered. "Reduced to brooding like Angelus."

I've been having dreams 'bout Dru lately. I used to get them all the time before I came back here. Then they began to go away. As much as I hate to admit it, it's rather entertaining being one of the White Hats. Anyanka's a bloody riot. Still can't see what she sees in the whelp, but ah, well. Her business.

Another shot of whiskey. I think I'll drink myself under the table. Maybe then the dreams about Dru won't come.

Xander-

Anya has a new obsession. No, not sex again. She's learning how to paint. And she's good at it.

Too good.

Her most recent masterpiece shows a huge snake demon vaguely resembling what the Mayor looked like after his ascension. It's all in black and white. Nothing else, just the demon. Oh yeah, and a half-eaten peasant.

Anya's first landscape is hanging over the couch. It's stark mountains, with a dark river running through it. There's no sun, no moon, just twilight. It looks almost normal, unless you look closely.

When I first saw it, I told her it was a beautiful place, wherever on Earth it was.

She informed me it was the Valley of Death in Hell. And the river is blood.

Still, it's one of the normalest black and white's she's done. So it hangs over the couch, scaring the crap out of all of our visitors. Predictably, Spike loved it.

Anyway, it's been a long day at the museum. Giles got a sword from an anonymous source. He's going to have Willow check it out, cleanse it. Stuff like that.

Anya wandered out of her studio, holding a pad of paper. "What did you draw?" I asked her. She sat down on the couch, curling her feet under herself daintily. "A dream." she replied. Then she looked up at me. "I never dreamed when I was a demon." She handed the pad of paper to me.

Buffy stood in a circle of flames, sword held high above her head. The detail work showed two wounds on her wrists. I gasped.

"The dream wasn't pleasant." murmured Anya. "I saw a lot of endings. Look at the other sketches."

Pearl lay dead in the middle of a circle, in the same cave the previous drawing had been set in. Druscilla stood over her, holding a dripping knife.

Another drawing showed them all dead, except for Buffy, who knelt over a pile of ashes, her face reflecting insanity and utter horror.

"Do you think it means anything?" asked Anya. I was shaking by now. "Anya, have you ever seen a vampire called Druscilla?"

Anya frowned. "No." she said.

"We've got to find Giles."

Willow-

Buffy just got back from patrolling about ten minutes ago. Giles was just leaving as she came in the door. They exchanged murmured greetings, Giles showed her the sword, and they sat down to talk shop. I got bored, so now I'm out here, wandering aimlessly.

In the last few years, I haven't dated anyone. There's been plenty of boys and men interested in dating me, but I've just never been that interested. It's kind of sad, how I'm still waiting for Oz after all this time. I guess me and Buffy are doomed to be old maids.

It gets lonely, sure. But I have faith that Oz will return someday. He promised.

Gah. I didn't want to think about Oz. Not right now.

I let my mind wander to the sword. Buffy had seemed entranced by it somehow, and also a little sad. She seemed to recognize it, which worries me. The last time she used a sword, things didn't turn out very well.

She hasn't dreamed in a while. As the Hellmouth seemed to tone down the pour of energy, fewer and fewer demons came to Sunnydale. The dreams slowly stopped coming to her. Giles thinks that with the threats to Sunnydale decreasing rapidly, the need for the dreams is also gone.

I think it's creepy. Buffy changed after the incident with Torethia. It was slow. But there's sometimes when she'll seem like she's waiting for something. She'll tense, and turn around, and when she sees that no one's there, she'll look sad.

Buffy hasn't gone to the beach in a while. Last time she did, she stared at the waves as if she desperately was searching for something. Answers? I don't know. Then Pearl was born, and she seemed almost normal Buffy. Mother to a child, not a haunted young woman.

Pearl... Buffy told me that the child was probably Parker's. But I know she's lying. Something happened to her Thanksgiving weekend, when she went to LA. Pearl can't be Angel's, though. It's impossible. Buffy told me that vampires can't have children.

They can't, right?

Angel-

Driving back into Sunnydale was the last thing I wanted to do. I wish I could stay away, but I can't. She's luring me home. I could have just called Giles and told him about Doyle's vision. But I know that something's changed. Something big.

Giles is still living in his old apartment. Cordelia's muttering about it right now in the back seat. Typical. I'm going to deliver this information, and leave. I won't see Buffy.

I can't. Because if I see her, I'll have to stay.

Xander-

Anya and me were waiting for Giles in his living room when someone knocked on the door. I opened it. "Deadboy."

"Where's Giles, Xander?" said Angel. He did not look happy.

"He's over at Willow's." I said, glaring at him. Anya stood up and came to stand behind me, looking at Angel in curiousity.

"Fine." said Angel. He left. Good riddance.

Buffy-

The sword was beautiful. It was a plain sword, but it was perfect. As if it had been forged to fit my hand.

"It's curious. The sword seems to be fairly simple. There was a rhyme with it..."

"Rhyme? Oh, right." I jerked my attention back to Giles. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, and unfolded it, clearing his throat. "By her blood the world is saved, The circle of flames must be braved."

"Weird." I muttered. Pearl burbled from the crib. I went to pick her up. "Daddy." she said.

I froze. Pearl knew other words, but she stared at me with almost frightening calmness. "Come on, darling. Go back to sleep."

"Daddy!" she said vehemently, squirming. Startled, I put her down. She walked a few steps, then sat down. I bent down, and picked her up. "Walk." she said. "Daddy. Mommy."

Someone knocked on the door. It startled both of us. I went to the door, and opened it. Angel. The world blurred around me. I was aware of Pearl saying something happily before I hit the ground.

Angel-

She opened the door, and stared at me. Her knees buckled. I reached out, and caught the child in my arms. The baby stared at me, then smiled and said "Daddy!"

I stared at her. She giggled. Giles came into the hallway, and stared. "Bloody hell." he said. I handed him the baby, and carefully picked up Buffy. We went into the living room, and I set her down on the couch

"What..." I began. Giles just glared at me irritably, and went into the kitchen. He came back with smelling salts, and waved them under Buffy's nose.

"Urrrggh." she muttered. "That smells vile."

Giles handed Pearl to me. I stared at the grinning baby with a feeling of trepidation.

Buffy-

I sat up. Angel was sitting in the armchair, holding Pearl in his arms. Pearl looked extremely happy. Angel looked so uncomfortable holding Pearl.

Giles cleared his throat. "Err. Angel, why are you here?"

"Doyle had a vision." replied Angel. Somehow the grimness in his voice sounded ridiculous when he was holding Pearl.

I held out my arms. Angel handed Pearl to me, and I settled her on my knee. "What was the vision?" I asked. Pearl burbled.

"You were in a circle of flames." replied Angel. "Doyle said that a baby girl was screaming."

My arms tightened around Pearl. I opened my mouth to respond. The phone rang.

Giles picked it up. "Hello?" he said. "Xander. What's going on?" He listened, and his face was grim. "I see." he said. "No, that's not necessary. I'll be there in a few minutes." He hung up the phone, and turned to face us.

"I have to go. Xander and Anya have something important. Thank you for telling us about Doyle's vision, Angel. We'll see if we can determine what exactly is going on."

"Right. Bye." I said. I watched him go, and turned to face Angel.

He looked extremely uncomfortable. "I'll just..." he began.

"Stop." I said. Pearl yawned, and I glanced down at her. "Just a second."

I went into the bedroom, and put Pearl in her crib. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

"She's your daughter." Angel said softly from the doorway. I hunched my shoulders. "Yes. She is." I said softly.

"Who..." He couldn't bring himself to say it.

I looked at him sadly, and shook my head. "Let's go into the kitchen." I said. He nodded, and followed me.

The kitchen was pretty small. I sat down at the island, and he sat down across from me. "I have to..." he trailed off again, and looked away.

"You'll just what?" I replied, looking at him coldly. He shifted under my scrutiny.

"What the Hell are you doing here, Angel?" I said. Cold anger bloomed inside of me. "You could have just called Giles. Why come back?"

He looked miserable, and lost. "The vision..."

"Tell me the truth."

"I wanted to see you." he said.

"Why now?" I snapped. All the anger and loneliness that I had been holding back spilled out. "You left me alone for almost two years. Do you know what the Hell you put me through? Damn you!"

"I wanted to come back!" he snapped, looking angry. His control was fraying. I was far to angry to care anymore.

"THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU LEAVE?" I screamed at him, tears pouring down my face. "You bastard!"

"I left to give you a normal life!" he protested.

"Normal? I'm the freaking Slayer, Angel. Normal is something that other people have. You think that you can leave and I won't be the Slayer anymore? That I won't be wading through sewer sludge and staking vampires seven days a week?"

Willow-

I watched them go into the kitchen, then went into the bedroom, and put Pearl in a carrying sack. "Come on, Pearl." I said. "You don't need to hear this."

She barely stirred. As I hurried out the front door, I heard the beginnings of the argument. I winced, and hurried towards the elevator.

Buffy-

I wanted to stake him then. Didn't he even care what he had done to me? I flew at him in a rage, fury adding strength to the punch. He caught me and restrained me. I closed my eyes, and felt him let go.

Strong arms encircled me. I sobbed against his chest, not caring that a few seconds ago I had tried to kill him.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." he whispered. I could hear the agony in his voice.

We managed to get out to the living room, and we sat down on the couch. I fell asleep curled up against his chest.

Anya-

What's with Xander, anyway? I can't believe him. It's been almost two years since Angel left, and he still can't get over his jealousy. It had better not be the whole vampire thing. Then I'd really have to kill him. And that would be bad.

Giles is hemming and hawing over the pictures I gave him. Angel's two assistants are sitting on the couch. The girl, Cordelia, is glaring at me. I glared back. After all, the dumb girl is responsible for me losing my necklace.

"So you've been having dreams?" said Giles, examining the drawings. "And you've never seen Druscilla."

"For the last time, I have never seen Druscilla." I said impatiently. Giles frowned, and peered at the picture of Buffy in the circle of flames. "Doyle, you say that this is what you saw in your vision?"

"Yeah." said Doyle. Getting bored, I pulled out my sketching pad, and idly began to sketch the clock tower where Torethia and her minions had been. I was working on the face of the clock when Willow came in, carrying Pearl.

"Where's Buffy and Angel?" asked Doyle. Willow sat down in the armchair.

"About the time I was going out the door with Pearl, Buffy was screaming at Angel. I didn't want to stick around, so I took Pearl." replied Willow. "What's going on?"

"Anya's been having dreams, one of which resembles one of Doyle's visions." replied Giles. "I doubt that it's a coincidence."

"Nothing ever is." replied Cordelia, giving me a scathing glance. If looks could kill... Well, D'hoffryn's can, but who's going to pick nits?

Giles began to dissect the various things in the picture with Doyle and Willow's help. Cordelia went back to glaring at me silently. Idly, I began to draw her as a Harpie. She looks good with wings...

Buffy-

I woke up slowly. Angel had the afghan from the back of the couch around me, and was quietly stroking my hair. I remember now.

"God, we're screwed up." I murmured.

He laughed bitterly. "Yeah." he said.

Silence fell over us again. We lay there for minutes, or maybe just hours. Then the phone rang.

Angel reached over, and picked it up. "Hello?"

A minute later he hung up the phone. "Willow took Pearl." he said. "She's at Giles house. They need us."

The moment was broken, and we came spinning back into reality. We were silent as we straightened up, and left for Giles's apartment.

Willow-

I looked up as Buffy and Angel came in. They had grave expressions on their face. Buffy took Pearl from me without saying anything, and sat down on a stool.

"Ah, Buffy." said Giles. "Anya has been having rather strange dreams which coincide with Doyle's vision. Here."

He handed Buffy the sheets of paper. I glanced over at Anya. She was sketching something. A sheet of paper lie face down next to her on the arm of the chair she's sitting in. I picked it up, and silently snickered. Anya had drawn Cordelia as a Harpie.

Buffy gasped as she reached the sheet of paper that showed Pearl dead. Giles looked horrified, and took the sheet of paper from her slack hands.

"This may not be anything serious." said Giles. "It may just be a false alarm."

"Not with Doyle's vision. Those things are usually right on the mark." said Cordelia. "They're almost never wrong."

I glared at her. "What?" she said. "I'm just pointing out that..."

The front door burst open. Spike staggered in. He looked drunk, and he had been beaten up. Angel and Buffy stared at him.

"Dru's back." he gasped. Then he keeled over on the floor.

Angel-

Spike? What the hell is Spike doing in Sunnydale? With an invitation into Giles's apartment? Something strange is going on.

"He's drunk." said Xander. "Phew. And he's been in a fight."

"What is Spike doing here?" I asked.

Buffy shook her head. "More about that later." she said.

"If Druscilla's back..." said Doyle, trailing off.

Buffy shook her head. "Willow, please take Pearl back to the apartment. She should be asleep."

Willow took Pearl from Buffy, and stuffed a cross in her pocket. "Bye." she said.

"Watch out for vampires!" Buffy shouted after her.

Buffy-

God, it's late. Even for me.

Everyone's tired by now. Anya's asleep in her armchair, Xander's sprawled out on the floor, still awake, but barely. Giles is doggedly paging through an old book which he calls a codex. Old name for old books. He gave me a lecture on the differences between them. It's been drilled into my head.

Cordelia and Doyle are curled up together on the couch, managing to keep each other awake as they look through an old book on blood rituals.

And I'm hunched over a book at Giles desk. My shoulders are stiff, my eyes ache, and I wish I could fall over and go to sleep. Right about now, the carpet's looking very comfortable.

Cool hands massaged my shoulders. I leaned back, and let Angel loosen my muscles. "Better?" he asked softly.

"Much." I murmured. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He returned to leafing through a book in a language that I can't read. I bent back over my own tome, searching for answers in the small, cramped script that some Watcher had decided was economical.

Sleepiness swept through me in a wave. I tried to surpress a loud yawn. Angel noticed. "Maybe we should take a break for some sleep." he said quietly. Gratefully, I nodded and shut the old book. Giles didn't even look up as we passed him on our way out the door.

Of course, as we were on our way back to the apartment, vampires attacked. Three of them. Biggest group I've seen in a while. We managed to stake two of them, and the third ran off.

I staggered slightly as we turned to go back to the apartment. Angel caught me by the arm. "If more vampires attack us, we'll be easy to defeat. We'd better find someplace to spend the night."

We settled on his old apartment. Amazingly, it still had power. I looked around. One bed. No sofa.

"I can take the floor." Angel said. I shook my head. "No, we're both exhausted. We'd better both take the bed. There's room for two of us."

I curled up next to the wall, I was aware of Angel lying down on the bed beside me. Just as I was drifting off, I felt him put his arms around me. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Walsh-

It's another late night. The boys are out looking for demons to capture or kill. I'm in the lab again, searching for a vaccine against vampirism.

The problem is, everytime I test a new batch out, something ugly usually happens to the lab rats. One of them became a vampire, and gnawed his way out of his wire cage. Fortunately, Graham was serving as the lab guard, and he killed it.

I nearly yawned, but I controlled myself. No need to show weakness in front of the troops. I gathered up my equipment, and locked it away. On my way out, I turned off the lights.

Stepping into the elevator, I rode it up to the top section of the underground complex. Stepping out, I made my way into my office. Stowing my notes in a drawer, I sat down. A picture caught my eye, and sadness filled me.

It was a picture of me and Jack from five years ago. Picking it up, I stared at it sadly. "Jack..." I murmured.

He was killed three years ago, by vampires. We were out for a nightly jog, and got attacked. By vampires.

Jack told me to run. I tried to help him, but they dragged him away. So I began to hunt them down, killing them. A couple of college students saw me hunting them one night, and helped me out. With the money I inherited from Jack, I moved here, and constructed this complex. I've been doing experiments and killing the vampires ever since, recruiting students occasionally to help out.

Putting the picture down, I stood up and left my office, shutting off the lights as I left. Stepping back into the elevator, I left the underground complex, and went home.

Druscilla-

They failed. Now the voices must scream as they bleed.

In the upper world, they're kneeling before me, shaking in fear. I can see them in the mists, though. I can make them disappear.

"You failed me." I told them. I let my voice go sing-song. "Ms. Edith isn't happy."

They think I'm weak. I may be shattered, but I can make them scream for oblivion. I swept across the cavern in my dress. It's long, and the color of blood. The Slayer had a white one like it... But mine is drenched in blood. I like it that way.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you. Maybe Ms. Edith will agree." I told them, smiling viciously. They're smiling at each other now. I know what they're thinking...

They leapt at me. In the mists, I plunged knives into them. They screamed and fell on their faces before me.

"Not good enough. Ms. Edith isn't happy."

Angel-

Buffy stared at Giles, then turned to look at me. "He must have heard about Druscilla blowing up my apartment." I said. Kneeling down beside Giles, she slapped him lightly. He groaned, and blinked.

"Giles, you okay?" asked Buffy.

"Your apartment..." Giles trailed off, confused.

"We barely escaped into the sewers." Buffy said. "Sorry about the shock."

"It's quite alright." said Giles, sitting up. Buffy straightened, and extending a hand, she pulled Giles to his feet.

"I'm calling Willow." said Buffy, picking up the phone.

"Hi, Willow? Yeah, we barely escaped. I'm fine. So is Angel. Listen, can you get over here as quickly as possible? Bring Pearl."

She hung up, and turned to face Giles and me. "If Druscilla wants a war, let's give her one." she said.

Anya-

I was sketching a picture of Doyle when the phone rang. Xander picked it up. He listened for a second, then turned grey. Numbly, he hung up.

"Druscilla... She bombed Angel's apartment. Buffy was there." he whispered.

My hand stopped in the middle of drawing Doyle's eyes. "Were the bodies found?" I asked him, leveling a look at him. Xander just stared at me. "How can you..."

"Xander..."

"No." he answered sullenly.

"Then they're not dead." I said coolly. "I was poking through Angel's apartment a while ago, looking for charcoal to sketch with. There's an underground access. Buffy and Angel probably escaped into the sewers, and right now are probably scaring the living daylights out of Giles."

The phone rang again. I resumed working on Doyle's eyes as Xander picked it up. He talked with Giles for a few minutes, then hung up. "You were right." he admitted.

"Of course." I replied smugly.

He sat down beside me on the couch. "What are you sketching?" he asked.

"Doyle." I replied. "I've seen pretty much everybody in Sunnydale, and I'm really not that interested in sketching the hobo on the corner. Besides, after I'm done with this drawing, I'm going to draw him as a Brakkan demon."

We sat there in comfortable silence, until I finished Doyle's nose. He kissed me on the neck. "Come on." he murmured into my hair. "Let's go see Giles."

I'm a sucker for the neck. We left immediately.

Forrest-

God, we got the sewer duty again. Walsh must really hate our guts. Wasn't our fault that the Hostile escaped that one time. Our squad has bagged tons of demons for the lab. Best team in the Initiative.

A cold breeze washed over us. We're getting near the caves. They always give me the creeps. More so, tonight.

The quiet sound of something moving up behind me made me twirl. Something hit me. "Hostiles!" I shouted. The team went into action almost immediately. Unfortunately, there were a lot of vampires, blocking off all of the exits.

"This is about to get ugly." I muttered, just as the vampires leapt for us.

Willow-

Another long day. I scrubbed my eyes as I headed across the parking lot to my car. A rustling caught my attention, and I nervously grabbed a flask of Holy Water out of the pocket in my long skirt.

Sure enough, vampires circled out. I gulped, and transferred the flask of Holy Water from hand to hand. One leapt at me, and got a face of Holy Water. He screamed, and fell back.

One grabbed me from behind. I screamed as the flask of Holy Water fell from my fingers and shattered on the ground. The vampire's hand cut off my breath. Everything went black.

Buffy-

It was around ten when the notes were delivered.

Angel caught me as I sunk to the floor in shock. I looked up at him, tears streaming down my face.

Slayer-

We have the witch and the soldier boys. Unless you want to see them dead, you will surrender yourself and your daughter to us. Come with her, alone, to the mansion, tomorrow at sunset, or we'll kill the witch. And for every day you delay, someone will die.

Druscilla

"I'll call Giles." Angel said quietly. A grim note of steel was in his voice as he picked up the phone. I sat down on the couch, and curled up into a tight ball.

A choice. Between my daughter and my friends. A choice I never wanted to make. Damn Druscilla.

Angel sat down beside me, and I cried in his arms.

Angel-

Eventually, she stopped sobbing, and looked up at me. "You need a place to stay for the night." she murmured.

"I'll stay with Giles." I replied. She shook her head. "No, I can block up the window with a board. The couch folds out."

I stood up, and helped her get the sheets for the futon. She's in shock. I helped her unfold the futon. Once we finished, she stared at the futon for a long time.

"You should get some sleep, or..." I trailed off. She looked lost, and frightened. I walked around the bed, and hugged her. "We'll get through this. We always do."

She lifted her face from my shoulder, and looked at me. "Yeah." she said. Tension filled the room.

Her lips were an inch from mine. Softly, gently, I kissed her. She responded slowly, then snaked her arms around me.

Buffy-

Warmth. We sought more. We always did. With us it was never just a kiss, but a slowly growing flame. If we weren't careful, it would become an inferno that would consume us, and burn us to ash. And it never mattered.

"We can't..." he gasped.

Even as his hands were ocuppied with other things, I managed to gasp "Willow said... It'll hold."

The fire consumed us.

Graham-

Silence. It's deafening here. The room is pitch black, and somewhere in it, I can hear something else moving. I don't know what it is, but it's been moaning to itself.

It wouldn't be so bad, except I'm chained here, immobile. My clothes were torn in the fight with the vampires we faced. God. Vampires. I still can't believe that I'm here, that this is it. I'm going to die. Maybe soon now. But I thing I've accepted it. Death. The vampires are either going to turn me, or kill me. And there's nothing I can do about it.

Something slimy looped around my ankles, and I gasped. This is it. I'm going to die.

The creature withdrew, and I heard the creaking of a door. The vampires, I'm sure of it. A whispery, breathy voice next to my ear, tinged with madness, whispering of secrets to tell.

"Ms. Edith is dead." hissed the vampiress. "The bad men took her away, made her sleep and die."

A cold finger traced a long cut on my leg. Pain ignited along the cut, and I clenched my teeth. The vampiress removed the finger, and the wound dulled. "You'll have to wait." she said. Then her eyes glowed in the dark. Oh God.

Walsh-

I will not let this happen.

Somewhere inside of me, a cold rage brewed. It was the same rage that drove me to hunting the vampires, and then this. Now it was happening again. A team has been taken. A note was delivered, thrown tied to a rock through a window in Lowell House. Someone called Druscilla has Lilac Team. The best of the troops. And more importantly, young men who I know, and to some extent think of as a family.

"I want search parties mobilized." I snapped. "I want every inch of Sunnydale covered. Lilac Team will be found if I have to go out there and search for them myself."

"YES SIR!"

The troops filed out, and I stomped away. I think I'll take out my aggressions on a punching bag.

Buffy-

I woke up slowly, relishing in every sensation. If I move I'll wake Angel up. So no moving. Sounds good to me right about now.

Angel stirred against my back. I almost laughed, realizing he had been awake long before me.

"Where do we go from here?" I asked him.

Angel sighed. "I don't know."

The phone rang. Angel reached over and picked it up. He listened for a moment, then hung up. Turning back to me, he said "Giles needs us."

I sighed. Angel brushed my hair back from my face, and kissed me tenderly. "We'll have time." he told me. "I promise."

Willow-

I came back to reality slowly. My head hurt. Again. Groaning, I opened my eyes.

The room was small, and bare. A small barred window had been set in the concrete wall. Someone had chained my wrists to the wall. One of those old weighed down balls they used to use in prisons is weighing down my feet.

"Willow?"

Blinking, I lifted my head. In the dim light, I could barely make out the outline of another person. "Riley? What are you doing here?" My eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. "In camo gear? You're one of the commandoes!"

"Um..."

"I can't believe this!" I cried. "All American Normal Boy. God! And at night you sneak around, zapping demons, doing wierd experiments on them, and probably torture them too! Fish Boy!"

Riley looked embarressed. I cursed under my breath, and resolutely stared at the window. I can't believe I actually thought this guy was normal.

Buffy-

Night has fallen over Sunnydale.

Angel and I crept into the mansion. Anya followed, holding Pearl in her arms. Outside, Xander and Giles waited for us.

Vampires emerged from the shadows. "Where's Willow?" I snapped angrily.

Druscilla stepped out of the shadows. Two vampires followed. They held Willow with her arms pinned behind her back. "My Angel." she breathed as she looked at them.

"Yours? Keep dreaming." I snapped. "Hand over Willow."

"Come here first." said Druscilla, giggling.

Her laughter grated on my nerves. "We'll exchange at the same time. Anya, hand me Pearl."

Anya gave me Pearl. The two vampires released Willow. We began to walk towards each other slowly. As we met each other in the middle, we stopped, and hugged. Willow took a hold of Pearl.

"Take her and run." I hissed, slipping a water gun full of Holy Water into her sleeve.

"I'm waiting." said Druscilla.

Willow ran towards Angel, holding Pearl tightly to her chest. Angel tossed me a stake. The vampires leapt at us.

Willow-

I evaded the vampires, squirting them occasionally with my water gun. I looked towards the door. Vampires were blocking it. With a sigh of frustration, I ducked back into another room, and into a hallway. Running down it, I skidded to a stop. Riley stepped into view.

"Oh! Riley! Come on, let's go!"

"We're not going anywhere." he said. His face morphed into a vampire's. Wonderful.

He was on me in an instant. I gasped as he grabbed Pearl, and bent towards her neck.

A board stuck through his chest. I caught Pearl as Riley turned to dust, and looked up. "Forest!"

"Come on!" said Forest. We ducked into the garden. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks." I said gratefully.

"Hey, no problem. You got any idea what's going on?"

"Not really." I replied. "Let's stay here until things quiet down."

We sat down on a bench, and stared around at the garden.

"So. How have you been hunting demons?"

Anya-

I began to edge back towards the door of the mansion, looking around carefully for any vampires. Ducking into the archway that led outside I opened the door.

A vampire grabbed me, and pinned my arms, I struggled as it dragged me to Druscilla.

"I wanted the Slayer's blood." pouted Druscilla. Then she shrugged. "Oh well." She grabbed me, and dragged me down the corridor, to a set of steps.

"Hey, get a clue." I snapped angrily, struggling. "I'm centuries older than you. You really want to be a pile of dust on the floor?"

"Shut up." said one of the vampires. He took up a position blocking the door.

I beat on Druscilla's arm as she dragged me down the steps. "Why me?" I muttered.

Buffy-

The last of the vampires disintigrated under my stake. "Where's Anya?" I panted, brushing hair back from my face,

A shriek of outrage came from deep within the mansion. Angel and me exchanged looks. I threw aside a rotting tapestry, revealing a hallway. I ran down the hallway, Angel hot on my heels. We skidded to a stop as five very burly vampires came around the corner.

Spike-

I tossed a vampire out of the window, and hurried into the garden. One of those commando blokes was necking with Willow on a bench. I cleared my throat. "Pet, perhaps we should leave now?"

They broke the kiss, looking dazed. Forest stared at me. "You're Hostile Seventeen!" he said.

"I prefer Spike." I replied, taking a cig out of my pocket. Lighting it up, I took a drag. "Now unless you two want to be Happy Meals on legs, I suggest you move."

The two followed me. As we were about to leave the mansion, the commando piped up "The leader of them said something about a ritual."

Willow whirled around. "What?" she said.

"She said she needed a Slayer's blood." said the commando.

"Oh for..." I stopped. "You two get out of here. I'll go see what Dru intends to do with the Slayer."

"Right." said the commando. Taking Willow by the arm, he led her out of the mansion.

Walsh-

I lifted a hand, and the two teams stopped. We watched Forest and Rosenburg hurry away from the mansion. Rosenburg was clutching a baby to her chest.

"Hold it." I said, stepping out of the bushes. Forest and Rosenburg stopped.

"Professor Walsh!" said Willow, looking surprised. "You're one of the commandoes too?"

"Where's Riley?" I asked Forest.

"Vamped. I had to stake him." replied Forest.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"The vampires are trying to do some sort of ritual." replied Forest. "They said something about needing a Slayer's blood."

"Did they say what the ritual was for?" asked Willow.

"No." said Forest. "Why?"

"Because if the ritual needs Slayer's blood, then it's got to be a big thing. And... There's a Slayer in there."

"What?" said Forest incredulously. "But a Slayer is just a myth!"

"We have to go in there." I said. Turning to Willow, I said "You seem to know what's going on. What do you know about rituals?"

"What kind of rituals?" asked Willow.

"Let's go." I said. Willow shook her head "But I have to get Pearl to safety!" she protested.

"There's no time." I replied. "Now let's go!"

Forest-

Walsh isn't thinking straight right now. Unfortunately, she's also the head of the Initiative, and has two teams backing her up.

I took a weapon from one of the team leaders, and moved to where Willow was. She was clutching Pearl against her, and looked scared.

"Oh. Forest. Hi." she said. "Um, is Walsh evil?"

One of the nearby troops snickered. "No, just angry." I replied. "Me and Riley were among the first she recruited, and she likes to think of us as the sons she'll never have."

"Oh." said Willow. The first team started moving. "Hey, come on." I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. We began to jog towards the mansion.

Everybody-

As Walsh and her teams crept into the mansion, intent on retreiving Lilac Team, and taking revenge on the vampires, Druscilla was preparing for the ritual.

"Now stay still deary." said Druscilla.

Anya cursed and struggled in her bonds while trying to spit out her gag. Finally, she managed to work it loose.

"Your Sire was a pig, a goat, and he smelt of a latrine!" she shouted at Druscilla. "That dress is so out of style that Eve was wearing it in the Garden of Eden!"

Druscilla gagged Anya again, and finished drawing out the circle. "You'll have no cake today." she reproved the ex-demon. "Bad girl."

"Bad girl this!" snapped Walsh, stepping into the cave. Druscilla turned around.

Walsh recognized Druscilla. "You killed Jack." she hissed. By now she was past rage. Throwing aside her weapon, she leapt at Druscilla.

Druscilla picked up a knife, and it flashed. Walsh fell to the floor with a groan. Frowning, Druscilla rolled Walsh out of the circle, and began to retrace the circle in Walsh's blood.

"Druscilla!"

The insane vampiress looked up as she stepped into the circle. Buffy and Angel burst through the door. "You're too late." giggled Druscilla. "The circle is drawn. And I may not have your blood, Slayer, but I have the blood of another."

The knife flashed again, and Druscilla's blood began to run along the lines of the circle. Fire roared in a circle around the vampiress, and it consumed Druscilla.

"What's the ritual?" shouted Buffy as the room began to shake.

Angel picked up the codex. "It's a ritual to open am portal to Hell." he replied. "Evidently its powered by blood. The stronger the blood, the stronger the portal."

Buffy stared at the circle, thinking hard. A buzzing impinged on her awareness, and she rubbed her temples, trying to think. Suddenly, she could see the power being raised.

And she knew how to stop it.

"Angel." she said. He turned around. "I love you."

A look of shock crossed his face as she kissed him, then punched him with all of her strength.

He hit the wall, and slid down it. Spike came running down the steps, Pearl in one arm, and the sword slung over his shoulder. He stared at Angel, then handed her the sword.

"Willow?" asked Buffy anxiously.

"Safe." replied Spike. "Slayer..."

"Take care of them." said Buffy. Drawing the sword, she leapt into the circle as her friends came hurdling down the steps.

"Buffy! No!" shouted Angel.

Taking a deep breath, Buffy drew the sword across her wrists, and raised the sword above her head. Focusing on the tip, she reached for the power raised by the ritual, and held it. It flowed into her.

The fire roared up high, and began to twirl. Buffy cried out as it struck her, invading every single cell in her body. Incredible energy poured into her, twirling with a wild fury that threatened to destroy everything.

As the energy danced over her skin, and wrapped itself around her tightly, cocooning her, she caught the threads of the power.

The pure white dress superimposed itself on her. It flared around her, glowing with the energy, the rhinestones sparkling like diamonds. Then everything exploded.

***

They swam back to awareness. Pearl began to cry. Angel sat up, his face numb with utter shock. "Buffy!!!" he screamed.

Spike just sat where he was. Willow knelt beside him, and took Pearl from his arms. As Angel reached for a stake, Spike moved into action. One of the commandoes plunged something into Angel's arm, and Angel crumpled to the ground.

"That'll put him to sleep for a while." said Forest quietly. His face was grim.

"Oh, Goddess. Buffy." whispered Willow. Forest hugged her, and they left the cavern. Spike followed, holding Pearl. The commandoes picked up Angel, and went after the vampire.

Xander, Anya, and Giles remained. "Giles?" said Xander.

Giles stared at the circle for a while. "She was the best Slayer that there ever was. The best that ever will be." he said. Raising his eyes, he met Xander's eyes. Xander winced at the sad look of emptiness in them. "Let's go."

Elsewhere-

It is time.

The Phoenix sleeps, ready to awaken again. We shall watch, for when she emerges. When she discovers her power, her gift.

There is sorrow now, and pain for the Champions. But centuries from now they will understand as she did, as she still does. They are Guardians, something like us. They live to protect, as do we.

The stage is set. The way is paved.

The Light will always overcome the Dark.

Okay, before any of you pull out the sporks, please remember that there will be sequels. And somewhere on the horizon, there's a happy ending.
Next up is Black Roses.

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