Disclaimer: Sadly Joss owns all.



Sunnydale July 2003

It was a typical Friday night on the hellmouth. The Bronze was packed with teenagers and young adults dancing and drinking, new fledglings were rising in search of their first meal and the smartest of the towns population was safely in doors for the night.

Spike roared into town on his motorcycle, he'd been gone for over a year now. He was finally free of the chip in his brain and he was looking forward to a 'Scooby snack'. He pulled up in front of the slayers house. To say that he was surprised to find it empty and up for sale was an understatement. Never one to be put of by the little changes, Spike headed toward Xander's place instead.

Spike parked his bike and entered the apartment building. He took the elevator up to the proper floor and stepped out. He knocked on the door and waited for it to open. No Xander. The middle-aged man who answered had no idea who Xander was. Spike learned that the man had moved into the apartment 10 months ago. Spike decided it was time to pay a visit to Willy's. He couldn't kill the Slayer and her pets if he couldn't find them.

The bike sped through town, running lights and causing a few accidents on the way. Spike didn't care. When he strolled into Willy's every head in the room turned. Spike walked up to the bar with a predators grace. He threw a fledgling off of a stool and sat down. He waited for Willy to come down the bar, he didn't have to wait long.

Willy saw him as soon as he walked in. He had dreaded this moment for a year now. He quickly went into the back and pulled out his cell phone and dialed. "He's back....yeah, just walked in like he owned the place....what do you want me to tell him?....I have to tell him something, he'll know I'm lying and he'll kill me!...yeah I know, you're the boss...okay, bye." Willy wasn't happy about approaching the Vampire but he did as he was told. He walked over to him trying to slow his rapidly beating heart. "Hey Spike, long time no see? How's unlife been treating you?"

Spike could smell the fear rolling off the little man. He knew something. What, he wasn't sure but he'd find out. "Been out of town for a bit. Business. Speaking of which, I got a few things to take of here in good old Sunnyhell. But first I need some information."

Willy was scared, not just because of the Vampire sitting in front of him. No no, this was much worse. If he gave away anything the boss wouldn't be happy. He did not want to make the boss unhappy. "What kind of information you looking for?"

"The Slayer. You tell me where she is and I let you live. Oh and her little friends too." Spike sat back and watched as Willy struggled to say something, anything. After about five minutes Spike lost his patience and grabbed the little man and pulled him across the bar towards him. "See now, I haven't got my little disability anymore ducks. So...it would be in your best interest to play nice with me."

Willy swallowed the lump in his throat. He was told not to say anything about the Slayer or her friends. Spike would kill him if he didn't but at least it would be quick. If he said the wrong thing and the boss found out....well he'd pray for a death that would never come. "I don't know anything. You'd have to ask the boss."

"Wrong answer pal, I don't think you understood me." Spike quickly broke two of the man's fingers. "Now, do you want to try that again?" When Willy shook his head no Spike broke the man's arm. When he still refused to talk, he threw him against the wall so hard he passed out.

*****

Spike turned to the other demons in the bar. "Any of you wankers know where the Slayer is?" The bar erupted into laughs as the other patrons looked at Spike. One particularly large reddish brown demon stood up and headed toward Spike.

"Why? Are you looking for your girlfriend? We all remember how you chased her skirt like a puppy dog." He turned back to the bar as the other demons laughed and applauded. Spike was not impressed. His reputation had suffered a severe blow after the Initiative rendered him helpless. Falling in with the Slayer and her pets was the only choice he'd had at the time. Okay so yeah he turned into a full fledge nancy-boy for a while there but that was the chips influence, not his fault. It was time for the 'Big Bad' to remind them why he was called that. Without a word Spike walked up behind the demon and tore its head off.

"Anybody else want to take a crack at me? No? Then tell me where I can find the bloody Slayer!" Spike practically growled. A young Vamp in the back made eye contact and nodded toward the door. Spike stepped outside and waited for him. When he came out he motioned for Spike to follow him. "Look, we can't talk here. That your ride?" He pointed to the motorcycle. Spike nodded. "Let's take a ride, outside of town. Then I'll tell you." Figuring he had no better way to learn anything spike shrugged his shoulders and got on the bike. The other Vampire jumped on behind him.

Spike stopped the bike as soon as they reached the next town. He jumped off and turned to his passenger. "Right then, we're out of Sunnyhell now talk." He leaned against the bike and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his duster. After lighting one and inhaling deeply he turned his gaze on the young Vampire.

"Okay, first off you can't tell anyone that I told you. The Slayer and pals are all in the same place, still in Sunnydale. You'll find them at Restfields Cemetery. They were all killed over a year ago." The young Vampire kept a wary eye on the blonde Vamp in front of him. "Look, I know you've been away awhile but things are different in Sunnydale now. The boss doesn't like outsiders interfering in town business. If I were you I'd let this drop. Things are good here, the Slayers gone, no white hats, the new Slayer's in Cleveland, couldn't get much better."

Spike couldn't believe that Buffy was dead. Not only her but the scoobies as well. He had to see for himself, he jumped back on the bike and pulled away leaving the other Vampire in the middle of the street. "Oh well, I wasn't planning on going back for a couple months anyways. "That said, the young vamp wandered off to find a suitable place to stay for a while.

Spike walked through the gates of the cemetery. He figured that they'd be near Joyce and Buffy's first grave. He was right. The Slayer had a new headstone in the same grave, the moron and his chit were next to her. Nibblet was buried on the other side of her mum. He didn't see one for Red. He wandered a bit further down and stopped. He found Red's stone. Her and Tara's to be precise. "Well I'll be buggered! They're all dead."

Spike sat on ground and rested his back against the stone. He lit up a smoke and relaxed. "Well there goes that plan, you know Red, I never gave up my hopes of turning you. I'd 'ave let the rest rot but not you luv. You were supposed to be mine. Prolly would've left the bit alone too. She was a good kid. Don't be surprised, I was never a soddin Scooby. I know you all thought I was, thought I'd changed, became one of the good guys. Not effen likely! I'm still the Big Bad." Spike sat for a while chain-smoking and thinking. As dawn approached he got up and left the cemetery.

A black-cloaked figure stepped out from behind a nearby crypt and watched the Vampire walk away. Red eyes could be seen glowing from beneath the hood, then the figure disappeared.

****

Willy woke up to a sharp pain behind his eyes and a voice in his head. "No! Nothing I swear!" "Yes, of course." Willy got up off the floor and staggered into the washroom to clean himself up. He couldn't meet the boss in this shape.

In a cheap motel room in the next town over a Vampire was slowly turning to dust. It wouldn't be pretty, or painless. The poor guy would take a week to disintegrate. He should have know the boss would find out. Getting on the boss's bad side got you killed, painfully.

Spike woke up in his crypt. He hadn't had time to make any arrangements for himself when he got back into town. He figured this was as good a place as any for now. With the Slayer and her gang dead, no one knew where he had lived anymore. He stretched out his arm and grabbed his duster from the chair beside the bed. He rummaged through the pockets until he found his smokes. He lit one up and inhaled deeply. He was pissed. He had a plan, and now it was ruined. He was gonna kill Slutty, torture the demon-girl and the moron, then kill them, turn Red and then head to LA to pay the Poof a visit. Not much sense in going to LA now. He had nothing to torture Angel with anymore. He could kill the cheerleader and the other Watcher but hell, they didn't really do anything to piss him off. Besides, they were no challenge. No, he was looking forward to torturing and killing Buffy and the rest of her gang.

Spike started pacing in his crypt. "So mate, the real question is, who killed them? I mean whoever it was would be a worthy opponent. Besides the fact that they took MY kill. I had soddin plans, they were good too! Now I'll never know if Red tasted as sweet as she smelled, if she would be as ruthless and beautiful as a Vampire as I imagined. Hell I won't even get to find out if the git actually was a 'nummy treat'. Oh and Anya, I wanted to make her scream, make her feel how much it hurt to be human before she died. FUCK!" Spike started to trash the crypt. If it wasn't bolted down he threw it or kicked it. Then he stomped everything into dust. It was hours before his rage subsided and he left. If there was one rule in demon circles it was that you don't make another's kill. And Spike had clearly marked the Scoobies as his along time ago. Someone was going to pay.

****

Willy never felt more relieved in his whole life. Not only was the boss pleased by his refusal to give up information to Spike but his arm and fingers were taken care of as well. Loyalty was well rewarded, for that he was grateful. He had a bad feeling that Spike would be back. The boss had told him that some young fledge leaked the info about the Slayer and her crew, stupid bastard. The young ones never understand the power the boss has. Now that Spike knows they're dead he's bound to want the name of the one responsible. The boss was getting ready for Spike at that very moment, so hopefully he wouldn't have to wait long for him to show up at the bar so he could send him over.

Spike walked the length of town trying to think of who could have taken out the entire Scooby gang. The only real suspect he could come up with was Angelus. Of course he knew that his sire was still all soul having so it wasn't him. Drusilla was too crazy to come up with a plan on her own and he doubted that any of the demons she hooked up with were the brightest creatures either. Besides, this wasn't a group kill, they were hunted. The dates on the headstones were a few weeks apart from start to finish. Whoever killed them played with them first. He wished it could have been him.

Eventually Spikes walk led him to Willy's place. He decided to try roughing the little weasel up again. Maybe abuse those broken appendages. "Yeah, that'll make him talk." He smiled to himself as he entered the bar.

The look on his face when he noticed that Willy wasn't sporting a cast and had full use of both his fingers and his arm was one of pure bafflement. He stalked angrily up to the bar, reached over it and pulled the bartender toward him. "Now I know I broke that arm last night, a couple of fingers as well, how is it then that they ain't broken now mate?" He shoved the little man back across the bar. Spike grabbed the drink in front of the demon next to him and downed it in one gulp. "I'm waiting for an answer."

Willy reached into his pocket and extracted a folded white envelope, he handed it over to Spike. "I was told to give you this. As for the um, broken bones....well lets just say my silence was rewarded." Willy, not being the complete idiot that most people took him for stepped far back from the Vampires reach as soon as he finished speaking. He watched as Spike closely examined the envelope as if it would damage his in some way. "Look Spike, I think you're supposed to open it. It's not gonna blow up or nothin."

Spike growled and flashed yellow eyes at him but then decided he was probably right. He tore open the envelope, inside was a small piece of expensive stationary with the words: You have questions, I have answers. Come tomorrow night at sunset. All will be explained.

The only other thing on the paper was an address. He sniffed the paper, other that Willy's there was no other scent. No clues what so ever about who sent it or why? He figured that Willy knew, so he'd give him a chance to answer before beating him senseless. "Who gave you this? Who am I meeting tomorrow?" He lit a smoke and stole the beer from the Vampire on the other side of him. "The boss, to both questions." Was Willy's nervous reply. Spike smirked. "So I'm finally gonna see who the new Master of Sunnyhell is eh? I can hardly wait."

****

The following evening found Spike pacing in his crypt waiting for the sun to set. He hated summer, the days were too effen long! He missed New York in the winter, he could practically go out in the daytime there. He was anxious to meet whomever it was that thought they were bad enough to run the Hellmouth. "Not to mention make MY soddin kill!" This new master was in for a world of hurt it they were behind the death of the Scoobies. It's one thing to take advantage if a situation and set yourself up as master. It's another to orchestrate the whole thing.

Spike practically flew out the door of the crypt as soon as the sunset. He headed toward the warehouse district. Upon arriving he scoped the placed out. He couldn't sense any other Vamps in the area nor could he hear any heartbeats. He stood straight and sniffed the air, no strong scents either. "Well, either no one's here yet or whoever it is can't be detected long range." He opened the door and stepped inside the dimly lit room. He took in his surroundings like any good predatorial creature. Big room, sparse furnishings, no one else present. He closed the door behind him and moved toward a chair on the far side of the room. That way he'd be sure to see anyone who came through the door. He knew something was wrong as soon as he sat down, he couldn't move.

The figure appeared out of nowhere. The long black cloak hid everything except the bright red eyes that could be seen glowing from within the hood. It advanced toward Spike and he felt himself repelled from it. He hadn't felt fear in a very long time, and never this strong. Angelus at his worst hadn't scared him this much. The power radiating from the figure in front of him was overwhelming. The demon in him was cowering and desperate to leave. However, Spike was always too damn cocky for his own good.

Spike fixed his glare on the cloaked figure in front of him. "So, this how you get your yayas mate? Lure unsuspecting demons to your warehouse and bind them to tacky office furniture?" As petrified as he was Spike was determined not to lose his dignity. He'd had that taken from him one too many time to ever give it up again. He almost couldn't believe his own ears when the cloaked figure laughed. It wasn't a cruel mocking laugh like he'd have suspected. It was a light tinkling sound, feminine. "Right then, now that I've amused you can we get on with this? I 'aven't got all the bloody time in the world. Well actually I do but I don't plan on spending it stuck to this soddin' chair!"

The figure waved its arm and the invisible bindings vanished. "Why are you here Vampire? You have no business here anymore why not leave?" The figure stepped closer to Spike who was still seated on the chair. "The Slayer and her friends are dead. There is no reason for you to remain in Sunnydale. This is my town now, I won't have you stirring up trouble."

As badly as he wanted to run from that place, that thing that was talking to him he had to know what happened. He wanted to know if this creature in front of him was responsible for their deaths. If so he would leave it alone, but if it were someone or something else he wanted revenge.

"The Witch, she was to be mine. I want to know who is responsible for her death. I wanted the Slayer and her pets dead. They were my kills! I claimed them as mine a long time ago, whatever wanker took what was mine has to pay!" That wasn't the smartest thing for him to say and he realized it when he saw the red eyes flash in anger.

****

The next thing Spike knew he was out of the chair and flying across the room. He slammed into the wall by the door and was pinned there. With a wave of its hand the figure tore Spikes shirt from his body and invisible lashes struck at his skin. The cloaked figure stood before him watching as he fought with himself not to scream. It felt as though he were being hit with pure sunlight, each stroke was more intense than the last. Just as Spike was sure he could take no more without screaming it stopped.

"Your kills? How do you figure that Vampire? I told you this is my town, I decide who lives and dies. If ANYONE had the right or reason to kill the Slayer it was me. For years she overshadowed my very existence. Denied me the things that I sought. It was always about Buffy. Did you know that she was the cause of their deaths? No, of course not. You left just before it happened." The figure reached out and slid one long slender finger across Spikes chest. "You thought she loved you. Silly silly Vampire. She loved no one, except maybe Angel. But I doubt it.

The woman, for Spike was definitely sure now that it was a woman, turned her back and continued to talk. "Do you know which went first?" Spike remembered from the dates on the headstones. "Yeah, the blonde Witch, Tara." The woman spun around to face him again. "That's right, Buffy killed her." Spike was shocked by that piece of information. "Really? Why?" She considered his question for a moment. "Let me tell you a little story about a Nerd with a gun."

Spike listened intently as the cloak-clad woman told him how Warren shot at the Slayer and the moron in the back yard. She told him how the stray bullet shot through the window and killed the blonde haired witch. He couldn't quiet figure out how she figured Buffy was responsible for it though. "So, this Warren guy comes in waving a gun around, takes a few shots hits the Slayer and kills the Witch by accident, that right?" He wanted to know what happened to the rest of them. "Yes, basically. You see, if Buffy hadn't let him get away, or if she'd done her job better it wouldn't have happened. Tara died because of Buffy's failure. She failed to protect her so-called friends. Again."

It made sense in a warped twisted kinda way. Hell Spike always did like warped and twisted. He spent a century with Dru after all. "All right, makes sense to me ducks, what happened next?"

"Mmm, Xander went next, I killed him. I was going for the Slayer and he tried to stop me. I wouldn't have killed him but I had no other choice. You know how they were, he never got over his crush on her even though he said he was in love with Anya. Buffy was in the hospital recovering from her gunshot wound, she was weak so I took a shot. The boy stepped in front of me, I lashed out at him and he fell. He burned from the inside out, took him almost a week to die. They put the Slayer in a guarded room after that. It was the day after Xander's funeral when I caught up with her. I tortured her slowly, you would loved it. Shall I describe the things I did to her? Would you like to hear all about it? It's the least I can do after all."

****

Spike swallowed and nodded his head. He had a raging hard on from listening to her talk. He could imagine the pain the git must have gone through before his death. He couldn't wait to hear what she had inflicted on Slutty. He felt himself being pulled away from the wall and toward the middle of the room. She circled around him, running her nails over his skin as she spoke.

"I took her to her lover's mansion on the edge of town, you know the one you lived there once. I chained her to a wall and then I invaded her thoughts. She saw things, things she only saw in nightmares. Angelus, oh the things he did to her. Such pain, and the screams. They were so sweet. She saw all of her friends drained at the hands of your family. But that wasn't the worst. I gave her the vision of you fucking the Witch while she begged her for help. She tried to get free, she really did. Only I know what was in her heart. She would ran if she could. Left the girl in your bed and saved herself."

By this time Spike was painfully hard and his demon, while still scared was totally enthralled. He wanted her. At that moment he wanted nothing more that to have her, ravish her. Hell he'd be content to let her ravish him. He just needed release. "The physical torture was just as fun. I whipped her for hours on end. I bled her to the point of passing out only to revive her and beat her again. It was such fun. She lasted longer than I thought she would. One time I blindfolded her and let Willy have a go at her. She screamed so loud, louder when I told her who had done it. She cried for her Angel to come and save her. The powers must have turned their backs and her 'cause he never came."

She crouched down behind Spike and slid her hands up his thighs. She stood and slid her arms around his waist. She tilted her head up and nipped his ear. He groaned. "She even prayed for you to come save her." She whispered in his ear. That almost did spike in. The thought of Buffy praying for his help while he was off planning her death was almost enough to have him cumming in his jeans.

"Does that turn you on? All this talk about death?" She cupped his erection and laughed softly when he thrust against her hand. "Mmm, I guess it does. Did you know that Anya was given her powers back after the wedding was cancelled? It seems that she was reinstated. She should have left Xander behind and never looked back. She waited with him in that hospital room until his final breath. Then she came looking for me. She thought she could take me on. Foolish girl, I chained her up next to Buffy. I made the Slayer watch as I killed Anya. It was fun, she bled so much. Little cuts all over her body, deep enough to bleed a lot but not deep enough to kill. After a couple days of this I broke her neck. Buffy screamed when I killed Anya. Of course it was probably because she knew she was next."

Spike was almost beyond caring what happened to the Slayer and the rest. He could barely concentrate on anything other than her hands roaming his body. "Do you want to hear how the Slayer died? It's really sort of fitting. You might even call it poetic justice. I shoved a stake through her heart. Oh but not just any stake, I used her favorite stake. 'Mr. Pointy'. She screamed and then the blood started to pour from her mouth. I kissed her goodbye then, I can still feel her blood on my lips, taste it in my mouth. Warm and sweet like wine." She had during this time unzipped Spikes jeans and pulled his hard cock out. She stroked him lightly as she spoke.

Spike groaned in frustration. He was so turned on he couldn't think straight. Then she had to go and start stroking his cock. He refused to shoot off like some schoolboy but he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out. "What about the sister and Red? Did you kill them as well?" He ground out between clenched teeth.

"Not exactly, Dawn took her own life. Apparently losing her sister twice was more than she could bare. She swallowed a bottle of painkillers that Buffy got after her gunshot wound. She went in her sleep. I wouldn't have killed her either. As for your Red, well hers was a symbolic death. Willow Rosenberg died the day her girlfriend was shot. That's the same day that I was born."

The figure stood in front of Spike and removed her hood. It was Willow, but it wasn't. "I buried that girl along with her lover, apart from her friends. That girl no longer exists. I am a Scooby no more. I am the thing that parents warn their children about. I am the Crimson Death and this is my town now." She released spike from her power. "If you try to kill me I will hurt you so bad that you'll pray for death."

Spike tucked himself back into his jeans and fastened them. He couldn't believe that this was his Red. He always knew the girl had darkness, power, but he never thought she'd be strong enough to make his demon cower. He wasn't sure what to do. Yeah, he wanted her, but he always assumed that when he got her he would be the dominant one. He wasn't sure if he could be submissive. "Not gonna try and kill ya luv, I'm not that stupid. What do you want from me?"

"Hmm, interesting question? At first I wanted to torture you, did that. Then I wanted an explanation, why you left, why you came back that sort of thing. But I got all that from you. Mind reading is a real handy talent. Then I wanted to tease you, that....was fun. Now? I'm not sure? Maybe I just want a good fuck? It's been so long since anyone has peaked my interest. If you perform well, I might decide to keep you. What do you think? You still 'up' for it?"

Tempting offer that it was, he needed to be assured that his death wasn't still being considered first. "Oh, believe me I'm 'up' for anything, just want to make sure you decided against killing me first pet." She trailed her fingers across his chest then whispered in his ear. "You're already dead Spike, but I have no plans on dusting you as long as you play nice." He nodded his affirmation and she pulled him into a passionate kiss.

It was hard to tell who was the dominant force in their coupling. They seemed to take turns submitting to each others desires. Spike was more than happy to lie back and enjoy it when she straddled his waist and began nipping at his neck. He was even more pleased when she lowered her head to bite at his nipples. When she took his cock in her mouth he was ecstatic. Of course she was just as pleased when their positions were reversed.

By the time he finally entered her he was half out of his mind with need. Never in his wildest fantasies, and he'd had a few good ones, was it like this. Hell, banging the Slayer didn't even come close! He drove himself into her with reckless abandon. Just as he was reaching his climax she pushed him away and rolled him over. Spike roared in frustration and demon visage appeared. She quickly straddled him and impaled herself on him once more. She rode him hard and fast. Slamming onto him again and again. He felt her tightening around him, he slipped a hand in between their bodies and rubbed a finger against her clit. She cried out as she came and flung herself forward onto his chest. He Quickly flipped them over and pumped into her furiously. She caught his eye and nodded before turning her head and baring her neck to him. He sank his fangs into her as he emptied his seed into her. He pulled his teeth from her neck and licked at the wound.

Spike rolled off her and pulled her into his arms. "So pet, do I pass?" She looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, I think I'll keep you for a while." Spike chuckled. "So what do I call you now? I mean 'Crimson Death' is too damn long, I mean can I still call you Red? Or will that get my ass kicked?"

"You can call me Red when we're alone. Around everyone else I'm usually referred to as the boss. If you can't bring yourself to call me that then don't call me anything." Spike just nodded, he figured he would just not call her anything in front of others. "Sounds good Red. So, Does this mean I get to stay with you, move up in the world and all?" He said jokingly. She wrapped her arms around him and chanted softly. The next thing he knew he was lying in a soft bed with silk sheets next to his Red. "I take it that's a yes?" She giggled. "You know Spike, I always did love your dry wit!" They closed their eyes and went to sleep.