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Author: Ash *tries to hide in the laundry basket*
Disclaimer: To the surprise of everyone, these are still not my characters.
Rating: Oh, I give up. If it's not G, I'll tell you.

Note: This is a continuation of "Good Intentions". (Yeah, like I could actually let it go... Hah!) This is the part which Spike invaded and peppered with Disco. I have now managed to remove all traces of that little escapade. I hope.


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art 1

Buffy paced outside the hospital room, trying to contain the urge to punch things until she felt better. For one thing, it would probably < Okay, certainly. > get her thrown out. For another… her hands tightened into claws before she forced them to relax. < I won't feel better until I've made him hurt. Bleed. Die. >

Buffy's mind faltered at the thought. As much as she hated Angelus, she knew that even if he appeared in front of her holding a stake to his chest and handed her a hammer, she still wouldn't be able to do it.

Her Slayer instincts, her human soul, the part of her that ached for every life she'd been too slow to save from him, all clamored for his death. In moments like this, when a thousand agonizing ways for him to die flickered before her, when a faint smile crept over her lips at the almost heard sound of his screams, one thought blotted out the world around her. < Soon. >

As always, softer emotions chipped away at the corners of her rage. But each time it came the anger remained longer, burned hotter, the scenes of death grew more vivid. The time was coming. As Buffy looked through the glass at Willow, she prayed it would come soon enough.

"Buffy?" Xander's voice quavered slightly.

The Slayer turned, her reverie pushed aside by concern for the obviously frightened boy.

"She's going to be okay." Buffy's statement caused Xander to visibly relax. Coming to stand beside her, he gazed at his sleeping friend.

"Was it…" The question trailed off.

"I don't know. I haven't had the chance to be alone with her yet. But, probably." Her tone was leaden with guilt.

"Where did you find her?" Xander's tone was studiously non-judgmental. This wasn't the time to start pointing fingers. Willow wouldn't want that.

"Inside her room. Her balcony doors were open." Buffy could feel Xander tense as he absorbed the implications.

"Why would she invite him in?" His expression clearly expressed the hope that it wasn't Angelus after all, but someone else, someone less determined. Someone Buffy could kill.

"She wouldn't. At least, not willingly." She thought of what he might have done to "persuade" Willow and felt sick.

Xander's eyes focused on the large bandage covering Willow's neck. "What did you tell the hospital?"

"Um…" Buffy shifted nervously, vaguely embarrassed on behalf of the Sunnydale medical personnel. "I said that we'd been attacked. By a gang."

His eyebrows lifted. "They bought that. When she only had two little puncture marks and a serious lack of blood? Has there been a rash of barbecue fork killings that I've been uninformed of?" His face paled as another possibility occurred to him. "Those were her only injuries, right? He didn't -"

"No!" She cut him off quickly, shaking her head. "That was all." < Thank God. >

"How long does she have to stay in here? It's a public place."

Buffy's eyes remained fixed on the figure in the bed. "They said she could probably leave tomorrow afternoon. She can stay at my house until we get the un-invite spell done again. I'm going to stay here tonight."

"I'm staying too." His voice was firm, and he looked as though he expected an argument. Possibly one along the lines of I'm-the-Slayer-you're-not.

At the moment however, she was grateful for the company. She nodded slightly and gave him a grateful smile. Together, they stood watch over their friend until the sun forced the darkness into hiding for another day.

***** The darkness was not happy.

Angelus paced around the silent mansion, his face thunderous. After tracking the scent to the hospital, he had waited in vain for the Slayer and the boy to leave Willow alone for a moment. < Just a moment… > He leaned against the wall, imagining the delight that should have been his. All it would have taken was a second to grab Willow, run, and then… He licked his fangs, savoring the last remnants of her.

The stench of the Slayer's blood had acted as a counter agent to the desire evoked by Willow's, giving him the presence of mind to exercise caution. Right now, he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. < If I'd still been in the grips of the fever I could have slaughtered Buffy and her little playmate. > He grinned silently at the image of Xander's fallen corpse. < Of course, then I won't have a hold over Willow. I suppose I'll just have to deal with her first... >

A faint shuffling noise disturbed him and he whirled towards the door. Nine of the younger vampires were standing there silently, staring at him.

"Yes?" He snarled, looking each briefly in the eye. One by one they dropped their gaze before him. "If I don't get an explanation as to why you dare to disturb me in the next five sec-"

The eldest stepped forward, trembling. "I don't know, my Master. We were downstairs when we scented tasty prey. " He caught Angelus' tension and hastily qualified his statement. "Not that we think you're prey! It just…" He broke off in confusion.

Angelus clenched his jaw. This was a complication he had not considered. Other demons would doubtless find the scent of her blood just as intoxicating as he did. The boldness it had given these whelps was proof of that. Under normal circumstances, they would drink holy water before risking his anger. In some cases, they had. The idea of another vampire finding Willow before he had the chance to finish what he started was intolerable.

Re-arranging his features into a pleasant smile, he walked forward. The fledglings watched him anxiously.

"Let me make this absolutely clear. The one whom you scented is mine. I claim her and have marked her. None of you will touch her." With every sentence he stepped closer to them, scanning their expressions. The emotions varied between regret, hunger and fear.

"If you defy me…" He continued smiling. His hand moved quickly. He looked them over again. All fear. Nodding with satisfaction, he stepped over the pile of dust and walked towards his room.

The younger vampires exchanged glances and relieved smiles. The elder vampires of the world may count their rank by Slayer kills, but in Sunnydale it was a major point of prestige to encounter Angelus and live.

After a mild argument on who had to clean up the remains of the eldest, the mansion was silent again. Waiting for the night, and the hunt, to begin.


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art 2

"Are you sure you're okay Willow?" Joyce glanced over her shoulder into the backseat, examining the redhead closely. Buffy's mother was horrified by the news of the "attack" and had quickly agreed to let Willow stay at their house overnight, as well as offering to drive the girls home from the hospital.

"Yes, Mrs. Summers." She replied, trying to sound healthy. < Yep. I'm fine. Really. Why wouldn't I be fine? > The fear center of her brain clicked on, beginning the recitation. Reason one… Angelus. Reason two… Quickly she clamped a lid over it, shutting off the nagging little voice. < Rhetorical! That was rhetorical! >

She could feel Buffy watching her, wondering. The two hadn't got a chance to be alone since the "event" and Willow knew her best friend was waiting to listen, hug and then go out and slay. Under normal circumstances, that would have been exactly what she would be waiting for too. A chance to pour out her fears and receive comfort and/or vengeance sounded really good right about now.

But this time, she was sworn to secrecy. < Well, threatened to secrecy anyway. > She bit her lip. < He said I shouldn't tell anyone "What I'd done, or had done to me." That'd be a lot easier if I knew what it was! >

A chill ran through her as she thought of the second part of Angelus' admonition. < And he doesn't want me to undo it. That can't be a good thing. > Willow had a strong suspicion that anything a vampire wanted to keep, particularly something that led to biting, would be something she should be actively getting rid of.

With a deep sigh, she pushed the speculations to the back of her mind.

The memory of a whisper tingled up and down her nerves. "Be seeing you very soon." She gulped.

From her seat beside Willow, Buffy had been observing the lip biting, sighing, shivering and gulping with increasing concern. She had enough experience to recognize the symptoms of "Willow In Turmoil". Granted, nearly dying was enough to upset anyone's emotional equilibrium, but this seemed somehow different.



Pushing her concerns to the back of her mind, she patted Willow's arm gently. After attracting her attention, Buffy leaned close, as in out-of-parental-hearing range, and whispered "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I won't let you out of my sight. Plus, we have chocolate!"

The red-head offered a sickly smile and a tremulous "Oh. Good!"

Satisfied that she was being a Good Friend, Buffy sat back and waited for the ride to end.

Willow felt nauseous. < How am I supposed to figure out what's going on if I'm never alone? What am I going to do… I need to research that spell but… chocolate. Yum. But not worth death! Let's have a little focus here. Right. I have to think of a lie that gets me out of there, doesn't make Buffy worry about me, and sounds plausible. >

*****

"It wasn't Angel?" Buffy looked both confused and relieved.

"Nope. Not Angel. Nothing like him at all. This one was, uh… short! And I think he was balding. " < Too much! Keep it simple! >

"So…" The Slayer rubbed her face tiredly. "Let me see if I've got this straight. You ran into a vamp on the way home…" She paused, and gave Willow an odd look. "A stocky, balding vamp. You staked him, but not before he'd managed to drain a lot of blood. You somehow made it home, got inside…"

She broke off to fish in her pockets. "Oh, that reminds me. When I went to pick up a change of clothes for you, I found your key in the bushes. " < Uh oh.>

"Yeah… I must have dropped it. I uh… um… I climbed in through the balcony! Yeah. Weird, huh? " < Sounding casual, very good. >

"Just a tad. How could you do that while you were so low on blood?" Her tone sounded curious, and it was probably Willow's imagination that laced it with a hint of suspicion. Probably.

< Flying monkeys? Demonic influence? No, that wouldn't help things much. > Frantically she ran through the things that could have gotten her up to the balcony. Dismissing them all as too contrived, she gave Buffy her most innocent it-certainly-wasn't-me-who-hacked-into-the-computer smile and shrugged. "Just one of those weird things, I guess. "

Buffy looked at her for a moment longer and then relaxed. "I guess. " Cheering up now that she was relieved of the burden of guilt, she grabbed the bag of oreos and settled down on the bed. "So, which one do you want to watch?"

"Ooh! Princess Bride!" Willow bounced slightly out of relief and reached for a cookie. < Tomorrow will be soon enough to go home and figure it out. >

For the moment, the two girls lost themselves in chocolate, romance, and the perils of Buttercup.

Outside the window, a tall figure detached itself from the shadows and made its way silently to the ground. A faint smile curved Angelus' lips as he strode reluctantly away from his prize. < Good girl. >


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art 3

With a sigh of relief, Willow closed the front door behind her. It had taken quite a bit of persuasion to convince Buffy that she would be all right to stay at home by herself. < Not that that's exactly what I want… Night will be coming soon, and then-- > She stopped that train of thought before it drove her right back to Buffy's house. < And chocolate! And silly movies, and… No. Probably not good to trade one night of fun for having to spend the rest of my life dead. >

Pushing her fears aside, she delved into research. For the next four hours she searched the Web, and re-read the spell countless times, looking for the flaw. Finally she found it, in a small book of annotations. The book had been created by an alchemist/witch who had believed that the flowery language that most spells were written in was just asking for trouble.

To attempt to make them clearer, she had translated some spells into chemical language, citing reagents, procedure, primary effect, secondary effects… < OH! Uh oh. This is so not what I wanted to find out. I was hoping for the phrase "protected" or maybe even "temporary". Darn it! I knew I should have taken the time to translate the Latin! But no… I wanted to get my Geography homework done. That's just peachy! >

Not for the first time, Willow wished she could swear. A few well-chosen adjectives could go a long way towards making her a happier person at the moment.

She slumped back against the headboard, re-reading the page over and over again. < Hah. "This spell is very rarely used, for obvious reasons." Weren't so obvious to me, now were they? " In my opinion, it should not be used at all. It is unconscionable to sacrifice an innocent life, even to gain complete control over a demon. (See footnote 7)" WHAT?! >

Flipping frantically to the back of the book, she searched through the numerous footnotes. She found the one she was looking for in a small section titled "Historical Usage". Quickly she read it over. And again. Again.

A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth. < Well, it's not all that I hoped for, but… Yay! I may not have to die! > Sobering, she glanced out the window at the gathering dusk. < Now let's just hope he lets me live long enough to explain that to him. >

*****

Angelus looked through the window of Buffy's room. The blonde was preparing for patrol, consolidating her weapons. And she was alone. Though Willow's scent still lingered in the breeze, it was almost totally overwhelmed by Buffy's. She was gone. < If she dares to try to hide from me, I'll… >

There was a knock on Buffy's door. With one fluid motion the Slayer gathered up the assorted armaments, shoved them in a satchel and kicked it under the bed.

"Yes Mom?" Her tone was light.

Joyce opened the door and leaned against the frame. "Are you going to meet Willow at the Bronze tonight? She forgot her hairbrush."

A faintly worried expression flitted over Buffy's face. "No. She said she was just going to go to bed. I'll give it to her tomorrow, I'm going to drop by to make sure she's okay."

"Is that what you're weari-"

The conversation continued, but Angelus heard no more of it. He was already halfway down the street. < So, she was brave enough to go home. Poor little Willow, all alone. Not for long. > He smiled to himself and quickened his pace.

Within minutes, he was on the balcony. Inhaling deeply, he savored the essence of her that hung upon the air. < Mine. >

He edged slightly closer to the doors, his eyes searching the room inside. It was empty except for the books, which seemed to cover every surface. He growled softly in frustration. < Where is she? >

The hallway door swung open, and Willow walked in. He absorbed her presence like a physical shock, his entire body tensing in reaction.

Rubbing the back of her neck absentmindedly, she sat on the edge of the bed, knocking some of the books onto the floor. Outside the doors, he watched her every movement, his hands shaking slightly with the force of his hunger.

Willow shot an apprehensive glance at the darkness outside her window then looked away. Then she looked back. The darkness outside seemed less dark in some places and more dark in other places. < In fact, it almost looks like a… oh! >

She froze in position as her gaze locked with Angelus'. < You know, hiding in the basement is seeming good right about now. > Without meaning to, her hand went to her neck, covering the bandage. Angelus' eyes followed her gesture, his eyes darkening with desire. < Eep! No, no! The point is to distract him from the blood! >

Gathering all her willpower, Willow rose and walked towards the balcony doors. The vampire looked pleasantly surprised by her apparent surrender. She reached for the handle, twisted it, and then jumped back.

The door opened slowly, leaving only the frail protection of the threshold between them. To her, it seemed like no protection at all.

Angelus leaned casually on nothing, his hand outstretched towards her. "Invite me in."

< How to tell him… It has to be gradual. I need to give him a sense of the events so that he'll understand what's going on. Then I can hit him with the big guns! Well, gun, anyway. Though guns probably wouldn't hurt him, and anyway I'd miss! I could never even hit people with water guns and… I'm stalling. >

Willow opened her mouth to begin her well thought out narrative. Unfortunately, Angelus chose that moment to lick his lips. Although it was probably not intentional, the possibly threatening movement led to the temporary shutdown of Willow's higher reasoning centers.

"You can't kill me!"


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art 4

Angelus stared at the petite redhead, the words "You can't kill me!" still ringing in his ears. He felt somewhat disappointed. With the strength and self-control that Willow had shown so far, he hadn't expected her to do anything as pathetic as beg for her life. < Still, at least she didn't start crying. That's something. >

She was still watching him with an expectant look. Arching one eyebrow, he returned her gaze steadily. "What? That's it? You tell me I can't and I'm supposed to run away like a good little boy?"

"No, but I'm-" Willow started to speak again, but he cut her off.

"I hate to break it to you, Sweetness, but none of the people I've killed have gone willingly. If I waited for an invitation, well..." He opened his eyes wide, mocking her. "I'd never get to kill anyone at all!"

"Yes, but-"

"And speaking of invitations..." The humor fell away from his voice, replaced by raw hunger. Pressing his body against the barrier, he ran his hands slowly down the boundary, his eyes locked on hers. "Let me in, Willow."

The need that burned in his eyes drove her back a few steps. Watching him nervously, she walked over to the bed and picked up one of the books. Holding it against her chest like a shield, she turned to face him.

"I have something to tell you." Willow's voice was tremulous, and she avoided his eyes. He could feel the fear coming off of her in waves. < Delicious... >

Deciding to humor her, he motioned for her to proceed.

"See, what's going on here, is that my... blood, " she stumbled over the word, glancing quickly up at him and then away. "It's calling to you, right?"

"And that's because I did this spell, that was supposed to make Buffy repulsive to you, and it did, but it also made me, um, not repulsive, and that's what the unexpected part was." She paused for breath. < How cute... She thinks I care. >

Holding the book up and gesturing with it, she spoke in one long rush of words. "Now if I undo it, everything will go back to how it used to be and you can terrorize Buffy and I'll stop trying to stop you, well, using witchcraft anyway, I mean it's not like I'd stop altogether, 'cause she's my friend and you're not, you were, but now you're not, so..." With an effort, she stopped and calmed herself.

"So. Can I undo it?" She braced herself against his answer.

"Hmmm.... No." He smiled at her. "Buffy was boring me anyway. I can get some of my minions to take care of her. " His grin widened. "I've always loved that. I have minions."

Willow slumped. "Fine, then I suppose I have to tell you the rest of it." < The rest? Was she trying to keep something from me? Not smart. >

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she continued. " Since I'm not that good at Latin, and this part was in the fine print, I just found out recently what the true purpose of the spell was. It was intended to give the caster control over some demon. The spell draws the demon to um, the sacrifice. " She looked sheepishly down at her feet. "Since I reversed it, that would be me."

Opening the book to the appendix, she read aloud. "When the demon drains the sacrifice, the circle is completed. The death of the victim takes the control from the demon and passes it to the caster, as it is by their will that it came to pass."

" The short version, and the one which is the other unexpected bit, is that if you kill me, you get put under Buffy's control." Wincing as she noticed that he had shifted to game face, she hastily qualified her statement.

"You won't get your soul back... You'll just have to do whatever she says." < Oh boy, that didn't help. >

"The Lure of the Shadows..." Angelus hissed the words under his breath.

Startled, she looked up. "You've heard of it?"

He nodded grimly. "Every vampire has. During the 18th century, we had to be very careful about who we killed. Fortunately, it went out of style as the whole ethics thing gained popularity. It helped that we tracked down every copy of the spell we could find and burnt them."

"So..." Willow tried again. "Bearing that in mind, can I undo it? I could even without your permission, but can I without possibility of retribution?"

Turning, Angelus walked to the edge of the balcony and stood looking out. He appeared sunk in thought. After a few moments of breath holding on Willow's part, he turned back and leaned against the rail.

Meeting her anxious eyes, he nodded. "I suppose so. I certainly don't want to be the Slayer's plaything again." < Yes! YES! Happy am I! > "But..." "I'd like to check over the spell before you do it. I am proficient in Latin, and I'd prefer that no mistakes are made this time." Motioning towards the book she still held, he held out his hand expectantly.

Practically giddy with relief, Willow jumped off the bed and walked over to the door. While passing the book through, half of her hand passed through the threshold.

It was enough.


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art 5

After the world had come to a stop, Willow found herself outside on the balcony. That by itself was reason for concern. Keeping her eyes fixed on the expanse of smooth black satin that was suddenly a lot closer than it had been, she attempted to evaluate the situation. < Outside. Bad. > Still keeping her eyes down, she wiggled tentatively. The motion was instantly stilled as the arms around her tightened, eliminating the gap between their bodies. < Can't move. VERY bad! >

Despite the fact that her face was now pressed to his chest, making breathing more of an effort, Willow refused to look up. < What went wrong? He was being so reasonable, and... oh. That should have tipped me off right there. >

One of the hands was moving now, stroking up from the middle of her back.

"Willow." < Nu-uh. No Willow here. Come back later. Or, actually, don't! >

She shivered as the caressing hand brushed her neck before tangling itself in her hair. Slowly, he forced her head up, ignoring her efforts to resist. < Ouch! >

Unwillingly, she met his eyes. To her great relief, he wasn't in Grrr mode. The half-smile he was wearing was still less than reassuring. < What does he know that I don't? >

Her voice trembling slightly, she tried to understand. " But... But... Why? You don't want to belong to Bu-"

His smile disappeared. The hand in her hair tightened its grip, making her wince in pain. "I have no intention of ever *belonging*" He spat out the word like a curse. "to the Slayer."

"But..." She stared up at him, her eyes wide with pain and confusion.

Regaining control, he gentled his hold. The familiar expression of amusement returned. < At my expense. >

"Willow, all that spell does is stop me from killing you." Holding the book before her, he chuckled at the fleeting hope that sprang into her eyes. < I'm not going to die? That's good! Very, VERY good! Um... Why is he laughing? > Turning them around, he pressed her back against the rail, freeing his hands.

"I can live with that." His voice still held a hint of laughter as with one smooth motion he ripped the spell book into two even pieces. < NO! >

***** Ignoring the frantic beating of her hands against his chest, Angelus kept his gaze fixed on hers as he methodically tore the book into coin sized fragments. When he was done, he opened his hands and let the scraps drift down around them. Most were whisked off the balcony by the light breeze, disappearing into the night. Some settled in Willow's hair, incongruously white against the dark red. < Blood red. >

At the thought he could feel the hunger, already inflamed by her presence, roaring for satisfaction. Pushing it down, he fought for control. < Have to keep this under check, or... > He shuddered at the thought of a lifetime lived under the mastery of the Slayer. < Probably her first order would be for me to stake myself. >

Re-focusing on Willow, he was surprised and pleased to see tears sliding down her face. She was gazing at the scattered pieces in shock. < She looks so cute when she cries... Makes me almost wish it meant something to me. >

Wrapping his arms around her he bent and licked a tear off of her cheek. Startled, she jerked her head up to face him, fear in her eyes. Her mouth moved as if she was attempting to form words, but nothing came out.

Entertained by her efforts, he watched for a few more minutes. < As diverting as is would be to see how long it would take her, I can't wait much longer. We need to get a few things straight. >

Putting a hand over her mouth, he stopped her futile attempts at speech. "I imagine you'd like to know what happens next?" His voice was laced with mocking civility. She nodded jerkily, her breathing unsteady.

"Well..." Angelus let a smirk spread across his face. "I've never been in this situation either. I guess I'll just have to make up the rules as we go along." He could tell by the quick flash of anger in her eyes that she hadn't missed the paraphrasing, or its meaning. < Good. She should understand that I'm the one in control. >

"All you have to remember for the moment is that it's not up to you. Don't try to fight me, defy me or seek help against me..."

She shook her head, trying to dislodge his hand. Removing his impromptu gag, he looked at her quizzically. "Remembered how to speak have you?"

Ignoring his sardonic comment, Willow asked "Or what? You'll kill me? Or have me killed by someone else? 'Cause I have to tell you, that's not looking like the worst of my options here."

"No. I'll kill your parents, your friends, your pets..." < Been there, done that. > He brought his hand to the hollow of her throat, where her unsteady pulse beat. "Not you. You, I'd punish in ways that would make you wish for death. " < Now. >

Allowing his face to return to its true form, he tilted her head to one side and began to drink. Closing his eyes, he relished the ecstasy of her blood, his predatory pleasure enhanced by her useless struggling against him.

All too soon, he could feel her energy start to flag, and reluctantly pulled back. Looking down into her dazed expression he noticed that she was swaying gently but was still managing to stay upright. < Good. I didn't take too much. A good night's sleep and she'll be good as new. >

Picking her up, he carried her to the balcony doors. "Say "Come in, Angelus"." He whispered to her. "What choice do you have?"

Willow looked like she was attempting to think of a reason to protest, but couldn't find one. " Co- come in Angelus."

"Good girl." Walking inside, he dropped Willow gently on the bed. Putting the blankets on top of her, he sat on the edge and watched as she burrowed sleepily into the covers.

"Remember, your blood belongs to me. And therefore, you do as well. Don't try and change that." His voice was low and full of menace. < I hope she can still hear me. I hate to waste a good implied threat. >

Her brow furrowed, and she rolled onto her other side, facing away from him. < She heard me. >

Laughing to himself, Angelus left Willow to the safety of dreams. < And just when I was getting bored... This promises to be very amusing. >


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