Chapter 7

Games & Shadows

Later that same night - the Garbaldi house.

Willow prowled the first floor in a near blinding rage, her growls echoing throughout the quiet house. Someone had tried to probe her mind; she could still feel the after effects of a powerful enchantment touching her. It wasn't a pleasant feeling; the enchantment tasted of dark magic, the kind that Sunnydale seemed to attract. It was a magic she was beginning to recognize; it smelled of that crazy vampire that had invaded her dreams the night before. However, tonight was different, the magic smelled odd, like it was more powerful. She really couldn't explain it, she only knew that it angered her. With a deep growl of frustration, she turned suddenly and headed for the front door. It was no use trying to get back to sleep, she knew from past experience that she was filled with a restlessness not easily satisfied. ‘Best to run it off’, she decided with resolve, absently wondering how many miles it would be this night before her cat calmed down enough to sleep.

She had been running for some time, dawn just a few hours away, and Willow was still all wound up. The past couple of days troubled her, she wasn't used to people trying to get into her mind while she slept, and she sure wasn't used to losing control of her cat in public. ‘It has to be the Hellmouth,’ she thought with disgust, unconsciously turning her aimless jog toward Sunnydale. The town was calling to her, mocking her with its evil...almost like it was daring her to do something about it. As a result she was rapidly developing an intense hatred for Sunnydale and its undead populace.

Shaking her head to clear it of her silent musings, she realized that she was headed back to the Bronze. She hadn't meant to go back into town, at least not at night anyway. The fight earlier with the vampires had taken more out of her then she would like to admit. Her cat had gotten a taste of blood and it wanted more. Willow had always feared losing herself to her animal psyche; of course her brother firmly believed that she - her ‘human’ self - would always remain in control. Sometimes Marco's faith in her astounded even her. Deciding that she had run far enough, and having no desire to see the other side of town, she turned back toward home briefly wondering if she could beat the sun or not.

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Angelus couldn't believe his luck. He had been in a rage of his own after the brawl in the Bronze, losing several good minions to the Slayer and the redhead. He had already taken out his displeasure on the assorted minions, who had the misfortune to get in his way, back at the lair. He had left his own mansion lair, over looking one of Sunnydale's larger graveyards, hours ago to spread even more mayhem among any unsuspecting human who might have been outside so late at night. Only to find the mysterious redhead on a late night run.

Smiling to himself, he followed her, careful to stay down wind of the small redhead. Although, the scars across his cheek were healing themselves, he still felt the need to repay her in kind, to possess her in every way. When he first came to Sunnydale to overthrow the imprisoned Master, he had stalked the Slayer, toying with her whenever he could. He was determined to destroy her, to break her human mind and then vamp her. She would make a good companion for Spike and himself], he had decided. But now there was the red head, who seemed to be helping the Slayer some how. That would not do, the Slayer was his to break and mold in his own twisted image, and Angelus always got his way. The redhead's presence in Sunnydale would have to be addressed and soon. The longer he watched her the more obsessed he became. The need to calm the fire that burned within her eyes, as his own consumed him. And whatever Angelus wanted, he got. He was Sunnydale's master after all.

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Drusilla watched Angelus form the shadows, noting her sire's pleased expression as he followed the unaware red head through town. She had the left the safety of her own lair when she felt her kitten's presence in town. Dru had already prepared her kitten's new home, and was eager to place her in it. Soon she would have her kitten with her, where she would remain until the Slayer joined their little family, and then they would rule the night.

Still there was the little matter of Angelus to address; the master vampire was unaware of her presence in town, believing that he had gotten rid of her back in Prague. Her ‘daddy’ always was full of his self, buying into the insane act she put on for the last two hundred years. She had planned her revenge carefully, waiting for the most opportune time to destroy him as he once tried to do to her. ‘Perhaps, I should rethink my plans,’ she silently mused, careful to keep out of range of Angelus's senses. It wouldn't do for him to know that she was in town, not until she was ready to stand over him as the Slayer dusted him. ‘Yes, it would be perfect,’ she thought with and evil grin. Dru would take her little kitten tonight, Angelus was getting ideas of his own for her kitten, and that would not be allowed. The kitten belonged to ‘her’, she was for ‘her’ Enforcer, and Angelus's continued interest in either of them was growing tiring.

She would have to do something about that, she had wanted Angelus's last hours to be painful as his hold over the town, and minions, were stripped away from him. Dru was confident that she could direct the Slayer in the final battle with Angelus; she would ensure that he would die just as Drusilla wanted him to - painfully and slowly. Then there was the little matter of Spike; she wasn't sure what she wanted to do with him just yet. Oh they had some good times in the past, as they, literally, painted many a town red. But he had chosen to side with his sire, betraying Dru. His death would be nowhere near as swift as Angelus's, Spike would die much more slowly. It would take years for her former lover to finally become dust, but only after she had firmly taken control of Sunnydale. Before she would allow him to become dust, he would beg her for release from the agony that would become the center of his existence.

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‘Damn’, Willow mentally cursed, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. She was being followed; her cat began to stir at the thought. She was pretty sure that it was a couple of leeches that had attracted themselves to her shadows. She would have picked up heartbeats if it had been a couple of humans. ‘Not much I can do about that now. I wonder if they ever played tag before?’ She asked herself spotting a graveyard up a head. Her cat was feeling a bit frisky at the thought of turning the tables on her two shadows. ‘Maybe some blood would take the edge off,’ she thought with a smile, as she gave a quick burst of sped and fled into the dark depths of the graveyard. The call of the hunt pounded in her veins for the second time that night. It was time to kill something.

Chapter 8

‘Well, this was a rather stupid idea.’ Willow thought with annoyance ducking behind a tombstone. Now was not the time to be letting her instincts direct her thinking, she kept forgetting that this really wasn't the town to be ‘running wild’ in, well it sort of was and wasn't at the same time. Shaking her head to clear it, she focuses her senses. The leeches that had attached themselves to her shadow were good, real good. While a part of her liked a good hunt, the more rational side of her resented getting into the hunt in the first place. And then there was that little voice that kept whispering to her in the back of her mind. Telling her that someone was missing from the hunt, someone that was suppose to be there, sharing the kill with her. That little voice was beginning to get on her nerves, mainly because it had visuals of just who that someone was and kept showing them to her at the most inopportune time - like when she was trying to concentrate! The really irritating part was that her cat really didn't seem to mind the visuals - hell the cat liked the visuals even adding to them a bit. “You're hopeless Garibaldi.” Willow growled softly. Her cat was in love, she would just have to get used to it, although she did briefly wonder how the object of her affection was going to take some of the cat's ‘suggestions’ on how they should spend their free time.

Here she was playing tag with two vampires in the predawn hours and the one part of her psyche what would really be useful at a time like this was having fantasies about a certain blonde-haired sun-walker. “Huh?” Willow straightened a bit, a new scent in the air causing her cat to stir even more. Her life mate had joined the hunt, an animalistic light coming into her eyes, now the two of them could share the kill together.

Drusilla set on the tree branch watching the activity below her with interest. Her little kitten was such a joy to watch, all power and grace in a small lethal body. She was a perfect mate for her Enforcer; the two would be an unbeatable team together and, most importantly, they would be ‘hers!’ It was fun watching her little kitten toy with Angelus, as the master vampire tried in vain to locate the redhead. And now the Slayer was about to join the hunt, oh it was just turning out to be such a fun night. Her sire was just minutes from becoming dust and she had a ringside seat! Dru could almost taste the victory at hand, as the end of Angelus's reign over Sunnydale was immanent and hers would begin.

Buffy carefully made her way through the graveyard, stake at the ready, unsure why she was even out here this early in the morning. No vamp in its right mind would be out this close to dawn, the sun already beginning its ascension. However, a little voice kept insisting that she had to get to the graveyard, something bad was about to happen. Buffy had learned long ago not to ignore that little voice, it had kept her alive so many times in the past. She had also developed an intense hatred of that little voice, it usually meant that she would end up with several large colourful bruises for her troubles. Sometimes it was a real pain being the chosen one.

So here she was in one of Sunnydale's old cemeteries looking for.... who knew what!? Gripping her favourite stake tighter, she lets her senses take over, searching with her ‘spider sense’. ‘Damn’ she cursed picking up the rather frustrating presence of a certain vampire master. Every since her arrival in Sunnydale, Angelus had been a constant annoyance, his little mind games having become really old after the first two days. The vampire had made it a habit to pestering the Slayer at all hours of the night, usually while she was on patrol and in no mood for his annoying presence in her life. Just once she would like to have a patrol where she didn't run into him or that useless sidekick of his, Spike. Honestly the two of them were just too full of themselves, believing that just because they had lived a few centuries they were all that. One would think that after she had kicked both of their butts on five separate occasions they would have gotten the message, but no, they just kept on about how she had cheated in the fights. Like it was her fault neither of them had thought that sunlamps made really good weapons.

Willow growled lowly as Angelus moved closer to her hiding place, her cat itching for the kill. Somewhere in the back of her mind she briefly wondered where the other vampire had disappeared to, but quickly dismissed the thought. Time enough to worry later, she had a kill to get to, besides it was only proper that she left at least one for her life mate.

Angelus froze at the low growl, his demon eager for the taste of blood. He had time to think over his plans for the redhead as he chased her through the cemetery. She was truly a thing of beauty to watch in action, her moves had reminded him of a large cat on the hunt. She was good, he had to give her that, she seemed to be waiting for the sun to raise as she taunted him throughout the maze of grave markers with her growls and hisses. He would have to punish her once he got her back to the lair, if the sun burned him. He had little doubt that he would capture her, he was the great Angelus after all and he always got what he wanted. He was already planning what he was going to do to her back at the lair. She would learn quickly that he was master, of this he was certain. He could already picture her at his side as he ruled over Sunnydale for all time. Yes the redhead and the Slayer both would make excellent additions to his family, once the two of them had been broken properly.

He grinned evilly at this last thought, he had begun to make long term plans for the Slayer after she had repeatedly bested him and his favourite childe in battle. The Slayer was just too good of a fighter to just kill, no he was going to turn her. She was going to be his greatest creation, second only to Spike of course. With the unexpected addition of the redhead they little family would only increase in the reign of terror it would unleash on the world. Just as soon as he figured out just what the redhead was, that is. Angelus was brought out of his silent musings as Willow leaped up from her hiding place to take a swing at him.

Willow growled as she drew blood for the second time on the vampire. There was just something about making this particular leech bleed that just appealed to her cat. Must have something to do with the fact that this leech seemed to have an unusual attachment to her life-mate, such an attachment would not be tolerated by her cat not one bit.

For the second time Willow could feel herself being lost in her animal instincts, her cat moving to the forefront of her consciousness demanding the blood of the leech before her. A small part of her disappointed that she would not be sharing it with her life mate, but her mate had her own leech to kill, and there would be plenty of times in the future for the both of them to share a kill together her cat reasoned.

Dru clapped her hands together in glee nearly losing her perch in her excitement. Her little kitten was just so fierce! And her mind so open and savage! The vampire was having little problem reading her kitten's mind now, the less complex mind of the cat now firmly in control with none of that pesky ‘humanity’ to interfere with Dru's manipulations. Righting herself on her tree branch, Dru felt her own demon move to the forefront as the Slayer joined the little stand off below her. ‘Yes!’ She crowed mentally with an evil smile. At long last her master plans would begin. It was time for the downfall of her Sire to start, but this was only the beginning. It wouldn't do for her pets to kill Angelus just yet, it was too soon the sun nearly up and Dru wanted to enjoy his downfall.

Buffy entered the standoff with a roundhouse kick to Angelus's head. It was just such a good move to use on him and he never seemed to see that one coming. Granted she usually used it to blind side him, but that was beside the point.

Willow growled with approval as her life-mate sent the vampire flying. It seemed that they would be sharing a kill together after all. Moving closer to her life mate, Willow begins to change forms. Her wild self was demanding the right to stand before her life mate in her true form.

Buffy and Angelus were both stocked to see the redhead shape shift before their eyes. The transformation was smooth, almost fluid, as human form morphed into that of a large mountain lion. In mere seconds where once a young human crouched stood a wildcat growling menacingly at the vampire.

Without warning the cat leaped upon Angelus with a blood-curdling roar. Only his vampire reflexes kept him from having his throat ripped out by the enraged werecat. Diving to the side, Angelus comes up in a crouch only to be tackled by Buffy who was intent on ending Angelus's reign of terror once and for all. Strangely a part of her wasn't afraid of the large cat, that little annoying voice telling her that everything was cool and to just go with it.

For his part Angelus was getting real worried, the sun was about up and these two just kept coming at him. At this rate he would be dust in a matter of moments. With a burst of strength he throw the Slayer off of him and into the cat. Scrambling to his feet he tore off in the direction of his lair, it would be close but he would make it with only minor singing on his part.

Drusilla watched Angelus flee with a wicked grin, she had hoped to keep her little kitten's secret a bit longer, but Angelus was too close to being dusted for her likely. She wanted his death to be at her convenience, she was going to enjoy it. As it was time was running out the sun was beginning to peek above the horizon, she had to leave now if she was going to make it to the safety of the sewers. With one last look at the Slayer and the mountain lion, she left for home. She had lots to think over the early morning activities raising many questions regarding her pets and their place at her side.

Continued in Part 5

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