*****

Xander stared at the glittering blade. He turned it from side to side, watching the play of light across its smooth surface. He sighed, almost lovingly. Glancing up briefly at the clock, he saw that it was almost midnight. Time then.

Laying a sharp edge against the tender skin of his left wrist, he pressed down hard and pulled. Quickly transferring the knife to his left hand before he lost control of it entirely, he repeated the harsh motion on his other wrist.

The knife clunked dully on the floor as it slipped from nerveless fingers. Xander stared at the blood that fountained from him. The deep red fluid gathered in thick puddles under him. //Pretty. Such a nice color. Like Christmas.// Smiling slightly, he lay down in the blood that was even now beginning to congeal. He closed his eyes sleepily. //Bye everyone. It was...interesting.//

The cold, still body lay pale and lifeless.

Willow glanced at her watch, tugging at Tara's arm. "C'mon, it's late. We can drop this stuff off at Xander's like he asked, then go home."

Tara grinned at her. "I can't wait."

Willow giggled. Reaching the door to Xander's basement, she paused. It was slightly ajar. She paused at it hesitantly. "Xander?" She glanced back at Tara, who bit her lip nervously.

"Something's wrong. He never leaves his door open like this."

"Should we--?"

"Let's go."

The witches crept carefully inside. Tara gasped, pointing shakily to a pool of crimson near the bed. Willow moved in closer, then dropped to her knees, breath catching on a sob. Tara's eyes widened in shock when she saw what had elicited this reaction. "Oh, no..."

Horrified, the two stared at the unmoving body. "Is he--?"

Willow inched forward, heedless of how the blood was soaking into her clothes. Reaching out a trembling, she felt Xander's neck. Nothing. No pulse.

"Oh, goddess. He's...dead..." Willow collapsed, harsh sobs wracking her body. Tara tried to comfort her, tears rolling down her own cheeks in sympathy. She knew how long the two had been friends. This wasn't going to be easy to deal with.

Both girls were wrenched from their shared misery at a loud crash behind them. Jumping up and spinning, they saw an enraged Anya framed in the doorway.

The ex-vengeance demon snarled in fury. "What did you do? You killed my boyfriend!"

Willow gaped at her. "What!? No! He...we found him like this. He...I think he killed himself."

"I don't believe you! Xander would never kill himself! He was happy! I gave him good orgasms, he wouldn't have done anything to hurt me like this. You did it!" Hate and fury boiled in her eyes as she stalked forward.

Willow scrambled backward, trying to drag her girlfriend with her. Tara slipped in Xander's blood, crashing to the floor at Anya's feet. She rolled over and looked up, just in time to see her death looming above her.

Anya brought her foot down, putting all her power behind the blow. A loud crunching could be heard as the cartilage in Tara's nose was forced back into her brain, killing her instantly. Blood poured from the disfigured face, and blank eyes stared at Willow.

"No!!!" Willow felt her world collapsing around her. Looking at the creature who had murdered her love, she saw no trace of human reasoning, only an insane hunger for death. She blanched.

Mind whirling, she searched for an escape. Suddenly, a spell came to mind. It was one she had read, but never had the intention of using. However, its effects were so horrifying, that the words to the spell remained burned in her mind. Without a second thought, she began to chant.

A mist rose up to envelope the crazed woman. She howled in anger as smoky tendrils clutched, keeping her from her prey. The howls died in a gurgle as she inhaled thick plumes of the mist. Her eyes bulged horribly, and blood began to spew from her mouth.

Lesions appeared on her skin as the gas invaded her body, and the tendrils began to tear her apart from the inside out. The smoke oozed over and through her, and she managed one last, agonized scream before she burst.

The mist quickly dispersed, leaving behind a mangled corpse and a horrified witch, faced with the results of her unthinking action.

The dark-haired vampire prowled through the night. As he neared his destination, the sharp smell of blood struck him. He stared for a moment, then rushed to the door.

The scene that met his eyes stopped him cold.

Willow cradled Tara's body, whimpering softly. Hearing a noise, she looked up in panic. Relief washed over her face. "Angel! Thank the goddess! Come in! You have to help...Tara...she's hurt. I...I don't know what to do."

The vampire moved to her side. Stroking the red hair gently, he whispered, "She's dead. But don't worry...you're going to be joining her shortly."

Willow inhaled sharply, pulling away. Too late. He struck, punching his fist into her chest and grabbing hold of her heart, pulling it out with a slurping sound. "You know, I certainly am glad I got rid of that pesky soul again. It was so...limiting." He dropped the organ, turning to the body that had started this.

"Well, guess I was a bit late. I hate disappointments, I don't deal with them too well." He nodded at Willow's body to emphasize this point. "Too bad, Harris. You would have been such fun to...train. Oh well." Angelus moved toward the door. He was stopped by a low growl.

Oz circled the vampire. "You killed my Willow." He glared, clutching a makeshift stake in one hand.

Angelus snorted. "What do you care? She dumped you for that other bitch." He pointed at Tara's body.

Oz bared his teeth, snarling. "She was mine! And you killed her!" Half-changed into his wolf form, he pounced.

Angelus felt only a searing pain before his world vanished. Dust swirled through the air where one had stood the master vampire.

A piercing shriek rang through the basement.

Oz looked up to see Buffy, red-faced with anger.

Buffy vaulted to the floor, grabbing Oz by the throat. "You dusted him! That was my boyfriend, you little mongrel!" She flung him across the room, sending him crashing into a wall.

Slayer and werewolf battled furiously, trading blows. Buffy yelped as sharp claws raked across her chest. She fell to the floor. Oz snapped for her throat, not seeing her draw a silver dagger from her boot. The blade pierced through his heart, and he stared, stunned. The life bled from his eyes, and he dropped heavily to the floor.

Buffy stood shakily, wiping the sweat from her brow. Her eyes flew wide, and she stumbled forward.

Riley watched the scene unfold. The werewolf was a fairly decent fighter, but the commando knew that in a hand-to-hand...or, erm, paw...fight with his girlfriend, very few stood a chance. His eyes narrowed. //Girlfriend. Except she just called that vampire her boyfriend. No one fucks with me like that.// He caressed the weapon at his side, waiting.

As he knew would happen, the Slayer finally rose, victorious. He raised his weapon, aiming carefully. With a precise throw, he let loose the knife at his unsuspecting *ex*-girlfriend's back.

Crumpling, the blond staggered around to look at Riley in disbelief. Weakly, she reached futilely for the blade embedded between her shoulder blades. Gasping, she whispered, "Why?"

Riley moved to crouch over her, and sneered. "You chose a hostile...a vampire!...over me. *Me*! Guess you could call this my notice of termination of our relationship."

Buffy gave a last shuddering breath, then went limp.

Worried about his charge, Giles traced her route. Knowing she had intended to go to Xander's house after her patrol, he arrived there quickly. He saw a figure enter the boy's basement, and he followed. Peering in through the open door, he heard Riley's voice, and entered. When he saw him standing over Buffy's body, laughing, he couldn't believe it. Then, the other bodies scattered around caught his attention, and he gasped.

A haze swept over him.

Riley looked in horror at the usually mild-mannered Watcher who was now bearing down on him. He fumbled for his gun, but his hand was snatched in a crushing grip. He looked into the eyes of the one known as Ripper, and saw his ending.

Ripper grabbed Riley's throat with his other hand, and squeezed. He could feel the trachea collapse as he used all his strength to crush the life from the boy. A rattle, a gasp, then...nothing. He dropped the body in disgust. He blinked.

Shaking his head, Giles looked down, frowning. Seeing Riley's body at his feet, he stared at his hand, shaking his head in denial. He dropped to his knees. "Oh, what have I done!" A shot rang out.

Graham walked towards Xander's house, confused. //Why would he have called me and asked me to come over at this hour of the night?// He heard a rustle in the bushes near him. Drawing his gun, he waited. When nothing happened, he moved on cautiously, gun still drawn.

Finally arriving at Xander's house, he went around to the basement, stepping through the open door. He felt his heart stop when he saw his sometime lover being held aloft in the brutal grip of a seemingly possessed Giles. He watched the limp body drop to the floor, followed by the older man. When the hand reached out again, he lifted his gun and fired without thought.

Moving to Riley's side, he dispassionately shoved the dead Watcher aside, ignoring the brain matter that had splattered over his lover's torso. Cradling the beloved head in his lap, he sobbed. Placing a gentle kiss on cooling lips, he lifted the gun once more. Without breaking the kiss, he placed the barrel against his temple and squeezed the trigger. The shot echoed for a bit, then died away.

For a few moments, silence reigned.

*****
Part 2:

Spike walked out of the shadows, chuckling. "Now, that couldn't have worked better if I'd planned it." He surveyed the scattered corpses with satisfaction.

Xander opened his eyes and sat up, looking at him. "Um, hello? You *did* plan it. Well, we did."

"Timed that nicely, didn't we?"

"To perfection." He glanced around at the carnage. "That reminds me...I'm hungry."

Spike gestured expansively around the room at the many and varied exposed organs and puddles of blood. "Well, luv, plenty to eat here. Take your pick."

"Mmmm." Xander licked at the blood that had dried on his own hands, then crawled over to one of the bodies. He shifted into game face, then began to eat.

Spike watched in approval as his Childe licked and sucked the blood from Willow's heart, humming happily. //Might as well join in. Ain't too often a chipped vamp gets to enjoy human blood, after all. Well, other than Xander's, anyway.// Sparing a bit of thanks that, when Xander had been human, he could bite the boy as long as he was willing, Spike joined in the feast.

Finally sated from the bounty, Xander looked up at his Sire. "Spiiiike," he purred.

The older vampire started as Xander draped himself over his lap. He grinned. "Yes, pet?"

"All this blood and violence made me horny. Fix it?" He licked a path up to the blond vampire's ear, then bit down on the lobe, almost piercing it with his fang.

Spike hissed in appreciation. "Yessss." Holding Xander, he stood, tossing his Childe onto the blood and gore splattered bed. He snagged the knife Xander had used to 'kill' himself and, slicing deftly, removed the brunette's clothes.

Xander moaned appreciatively as he felt the tip of the blade catch against his skin briefly, drawing small droplets of stolen blood.

Spike undressed himself, then pounced on his lover. Kissing him ferociously, tongues met and dueled, and fangs scraped drawing blood. Pulling back, he stared at his beautiful Childe. Growling softly, he whispered, "Turn over, pet."

Xander eagerly complied. He whimpered as a cool finger, wet with spit, entered him. After a few short thrusts, it was removed, to be replaced by a much larger organ. He let out a strangled scream as it tore into his ill-prepared channel, then pushed back, relishing the intense feeling. "More..."

Spike thrust deeply into the willing body under him. He set up a fierce rhythm, the vice squeezing his cock gradually relaxing and accepting every advance. He reached a hand around to stroke Xander's cock as well, then bent forward and sank his fangs into the nape of his Childe's neck.

As he felt Spikes fangs pierce him, Xander screamed, squeezing his ass muscles tightly. His prostate was being pounded relentlessly, and the hand around his cock was like a vise. He convulsed, cumming hard in his Sire's hand.

Spike suckled, growling, and the passage around him spasmed. He removed his mouth and pulled out. Flipping Xander onto his back, he pushed his legs up and apart, then plunged back in.

Mentally thanking Spike that he no longer needed to breathe, Xander hung on as his lover rode him hard. Teeth clamped onto his neck again, and a wrist was pressed against his mouth. Moaning, he bit down, tasting the blood of his Sire once again.

As he exchanged blood with his Childe, Spike thrust faster. Xander's ass still held him tight, squeezing and massaging his cock. He froze, then came, spilling his cold seed inside his lover, marking him forever.

Xander held Spike close, giving a small whimper of disappointment as softened flesh slipped out of him. The two vampires kissed lazily, in human face now. Finally, Spike sighed.

"Time to go pet. There's a whole world out there I want to show you."

Xander chuckled. "I'll need new clothes. You ruined my others."

Spike rolled his eyes, but got up. Stepping over Tara's corpse, he rummaged through Xander's closet, eventually pulling out a pair of black jeans and a dark blue shirt. "These'll do. We'll fix you up with more later."

"'Kay." Xander dressed, leering as he watched his lover do the same.

"You know," Spike said conversationally as he pulled his shirt over his head, "It's a good job your parents didn't come home tonight. Even *they* might have wondered about this little to do."

Xander snickered. "They did come home. About 9 o'clock it was." Spike stilled, staring at him questioningly. "Well, I couldn't have them interrupting our party, so...I killed 'em."

Spike beamed at his Childe. "Xander! I'm so proud of you! We'll make a right evil vampire outta you in no time."

The brunette smiled. Then frowned. "Um, just one question. How did you know Graham would do what he did?"

Spike snorted. "I knew those blokes were shagging. Have been for a while. Could smell it on 'em, you know? He just seemed the sort who would do himself in to join his 'lover'. Had a Romeo and Juliet complex, or something."

"Hmm. Neat. I mean, I figured on what the others would do; they get to be fairly predictable when you knew what drove them. They were so easy to manipulate."

"And while I would have enjoyed doin' the deed myself, I can't say as I'm disappointed with the way things turned out. All those losers are dead, and I've got you all vampy and mine forever." He swept Xander into a kiss, which lasted for quite a while.

Finally, they parted. Spike slapped his lover's shapely ass. "Let get, before I need to shag you again. Not that I'd mind normally, but...the scene of the crime, and all that."

"Yeah. But we can continue this later. Over and over again."

"Count on it, pet."

The two vampires left the scene of destruction, arms wrapped around each other. A voice echoed through the night. "Now we just gotta figure out how to get this soddin' chip outta my skull!"

Finit