Near the doorway, Julien and Sayo watched the ritual, glad that for once they were away from the center of action. All vampires tended to develop a healthy fear of magic over time. All sane ones, at least. The dark arts were one of the few powers on earth capable of rendering them completely defenseless.

Spike had built up his own distrust of magic over the years, but he was more than willing to overlook it for Dru’s benefit. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the censer from Dalton’s desk and lit the incense with a quick flick of his lighter. The scent was not one that was familiar to him, but his demon instantly associated it with dark magic and began bristling in response. Forcing it down, he walked slowly up and down the nave of the church, filling the small chamber with the intoxicating scent.

Off of Dalton’s nod, he returned to the altar. Eyes that looked black in the candlelight stared at the point where Drusilla and Angel hung together for the ceiling. Time to finally make things right again.

“Eligor, I name thee,” he began in a dull tone, trying not to roll his eyes at how inane these rituals all were. “Bringer of war, poisoners, pariahs, grand obscenity.” 

Blah, blah, blah, shall I kiss your arse some more? Spike may have needed this ritual, but that didn’t mean he had to enjoy it.

“Eligor, wretched master of decay, bring your black medicine.” And save me from this bleeding repetition…

He approached Dru and Angelus now and circled them slowly as he continued the Universe’s Most Boring Ritual. 

Drusilla caught his eye, and she tried not to break the mood by giggling at the completely bored look on her mate’s face. Poor boy never did have the patience for these things. Which made it all the more precious that he was willing to go to these lengths for her. “Black medicine…” she whispered a repetition of the last line, giving him an encouraging look.

Giving her a little nod in response, he set the censer down on the altar. Pulling at the base of the large black rubber glove he wore to make sure it was on securely, he carefully picked up the Du Lac Cross. Crossbeam only slightly repaired by a bit of all-purpose duct tape.

“Come,” he said in a clear voice, feeling the magical forces building. He held the cross up pointedly for a moment before turning it upside-down and summoning its inverted force. “Restore your most impious, murderous child.”

Drusilla whispered along softly with him, feeling the gathering energy surrounding her and Angel.

Spike yanked on the point of the cross, and an ornate-looking dagger emerged, embossed and bejeweled with ancient symbols. Leaving the rest of the cross behind, he approached the pair hanging behind the altar.

“From the blood of the sire, she is risen,” he proclaimed, taking Drusilla’s left hand and guiding it so that it clasped Angelus’ right. “From the blood of the sire, she shall rise again.”

With one swift stroke, he stabbed the blade through the union of their hands. Angel cried out in agony, while Dru gasped in something akin to awe. Slowly, the blood trickled between their hands. So dark it was almost black at first, their wounds slowly began glowing a deep red. The light grew brighter until suddenly it let out a blinding bright pink burst. A beat of energy pulsed out through their bodies before encompassing the entire room in a ring of pale pink light.

Spike flinched backward instinctively from the light, but it quickly faded to a faint glimmer that centered in glowing rings around Angel and Drusilla’s bound hands. As he watched, Angel slumped, the strength ebbing from his body and flowing into Dru’s. Her head fell back with a gasp as she felt the healing energy consume her.

Spike cast a quick look Dalton and Willow’s way, and they both them him approving nods. With a silent breath of relief, he returned to their desk to watch. “Right, then!” he announced in a falsely cheerful voice, not willing to show how tense he felt before his audience. “Now we just let them come to a simmering boil, and remove to a low flame,” he joked lightly.

Willow giggled at that, sidling up beside him to watch her mommy grow stronger.

And that was when the door burst in.

“Look at the pretty little lambs, all ripe for the slaughter…”

Buffy started at the sudden words in the silence of the bedroom, jumping instantly to her feet to face the two intruders at the doorway.

“Better watch out,” Ivan scoffed at her defensive posture, “this lamb thinks she’s a wolf.”

Jim couldn’t help but giggle at that. The thought of this tiny little creature thinking she could defeat him. “The small ones are always fun to take,” he commented lasciviously. “So tight and eager to scream with pain.”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed in response. She would’ve preferred to put off this confrontation until after she knew the results of Drusilla’s ritual, but there wasn’t any harm in trying to settle things now. If she could. She wasn’t quite liking the two-on-one odds. Nevertheless, she put on an icy front.

“When Spike finds out you dared to enter his room, he’ll flay you alive,” she said with a false cheerfulness that belied her deadly shifting into demon form.

Ivan gave her a wicked smile at that. “Funny thing about that, honey,” he chided her. “I don’t think daddy’s coming back. Seems he had a bit of a run-in with the slayer.”

Momentary panic flashed in Buffy’s eyes at the thought of Spike facing off with some trained killer. But she quickly reassured herself that he could take care of himself. If these two losers were even telling the truth, that is.

“In case you haven’t heard,” she countered with a defiant flip of her hair, “slayers are Spike’s prime choice of meat. He’s killed three already, you know. The fourth?” She shrugged disinterestedly. “No big deal.”

“Aw, isn’t that cute?” Ivan sneered.

Jim just grinned dumbly until Ivan jabbed him in the ribs. Jim gave him a confused look, and Ivan’s eyes widened pointedly, telling Jim to play along. “Oh. Right. So cute.” A pause. “Uh, what’s cute?” he whispered, puzzled.

Ivan fought the urge to rip the other vamp’s head off. He couldn’t let his dimwitted ally ruin the mood he’d set up, after all. “How she’s in denial about her precious daddy’s death,” he countered. “Our Brave Little Slayer…”

Buffy hissed at that, and her eyes flashed yellow. “I’m not your anything,” she informed him coldly.

“Oh no?” Ivan countered smugly. “Seems to me I made a rather proprietary claim all over your face. Remember that, bitch?” He chuckled at the rage that tensed through her tiny body. “Don’t tell me you haven’t been honoring it?” he teased.

Buffy opened her mouth to retort, but she was distracted when Cordelia chose that moment to finally awake.

“What’s going on?” the dark-haired vampiress wondered before her eyes widened at the intruders. Instantly, she was on her feet as well and at Buffy’s side. Worry flooded her mind not only for herself and Buffy, but also for her childe who still lay innocently sleeping in the bed.

“And my girl’s here, too,” Jim announced proudly.

Cordy snarled at that. “Puh-lease!” she retorted sarcastically. “Like a needle-dick like you could ever do it for me.”

Jim gaped at that, and Ivan couldn’t help but chuckle. “Shut up!” Jim protested in a whiny voice.

Ivan just shook his head. “Whatever you say, ‘needle-dick’,” he grinned.

“You’re one to be talking,” Buffy taunted him. “Bet a girl couldn’t even feel that shriveled up thing of yours. That why you just sit back and watch?”

Ivan’s face reddened with fury. “Sounds like you want another taste, bitch.”

Cordy gave Buffy an annoyed look. “Egg him on much?” she demanded.

“Like they would’ve let us alone anyway,” Buffy retorted.

“Looks like we’re going to have to do a bit of discipline,” Ivan announced, circling to the right as he stalked Buffy.

“Teach ‘em good,” Jim agreed, eyes set on Cordelia.

The two vampiresses turned with their attackers until they were back to back and then, as if on some mutual signal, they ran at their foes shrieking…

“Do you mind?” Spike snapped sarcastically as the church doors were burst inward, and Kendra and Giles made their appearance.

“You have met your end, vampire,” Kendra announced, accent growing thicker as she prepared to fight, “for I am the Vampire Slayer.”

“No, really?” Spike retorted with a disgusted roll of his eyes. “I thought you were the bleedin’ queen of England.”

This comment seemed to puzzle Kendra, and her brow furrowed. She’d never had a vampire talk back to her before.

“Stay back,” Giles ordered, crossbow raised. He was far more used to vampire back talk than Kendra was and hadn’t even paused for a second. “If you would all kindly step away from Angel…”

“So you can dust us all after you’ve got what you came for?” Spike retorted, taking a deliberate step between the human pair and their destination. “You’re not dealin’ with brain-dead fledglings here, watcher. And, might I say, you’re makin’ quite a nuisance of yourself. Keep pissin’ me off like this, and ‘m liable to do you in one of these days.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” Giles insisted primly.

“And I’m even less afraid of you,” Spike shot back matter-of-factly. He snapped the fingers of his left hand, and instantly Giles found himself surrounded by Sayo and Julien, who had been remaining quiet in the shadows up until this point. “Don’t finish him off until I’m done with the slayer,” Spike ordered.

The vamp pair nodded and began their circling.

Kendra was torn for an instant where she should attack, but then her choice was made for her when Spike lunged at her with a roar. Stake instantly in her hand, she ducked and struck up hard against the vampire’s chest…

Jim lunged first, and Cordy’s hand slashed out in response. He leapt back with an angry roar as the sharp points of her nails dug deep into his cheek.

She got one moment to gloat before he tackled her full on, hands clutching in her hair as he banged her head against the floor. She winced at the beating, forcing back the blackness that threatened to overtake her. Already, she felt herself growing dizzy, but somehow her knee managed to get between his legs and she lashed up hard.

She was slightly off the mark, but even the glancing blow had Jim hissing in pain, staggering backwards as he tried to recover. Fortunately for him, he had a few years on his foe, and his demon managed to work around the pain more quickly.

Cordelia’s vision was still blurred, but she saw him coming and rolled desperately to the side and out of his reach. She took one quick glance at Buffy and realized with a groan that the former slayer was caught up in her own battle to aid her in any way.

Buffy had learned her lesson from the last attack and was keeping her moves strictly defensive. Her muscles could remember her attacks all too well, but her reactions were just a little bit slower and her blows a little bit weaker. But her ducking and dodging technique seemed to be working all right for the moment.

“Whatsa matter, bitch?” Ivan sneered. A satisfied smile curved his lips when she blocked a bit too slowly, and his fist grazed the side of her face. “Afraid to take me on?”

“Proud of the fact that you can hit a fledgling?” she retorted sarcastically. “Wow, you really are a big, strong vamp aren’t you?” She rolled her eyes and took another few dancing steps out of his reach.

Her words just infuriated him more. “Tease all you like,” he retorted, “but sooner or later you’ll have no place to run.”

Buffy was well aware of this fact. The bedroom wasn’t overly large, and she had only a few more paces before she’d be backed up against the dressers lining the back wall. Cordelia seemed to be faring rather poorly against her foe, leaving Buffy with nothing but herself in this fight. No slayer, no backup, and not even her demon if she wanted to keep levelheaded enough to win this. Just Buffy.

The prospect was terrifying but exhilarating all at once.

Across the room, Jim’s foot came down hard on Cordelia’s back, leaving her slumped and struggling with unconsciousness on the floor. With a triumphant grin, he moved to take his prize before he noticed the rustling on the bed. His senses jumped to hyper-alert at the latest potential threat, but when he saw the vampire within, he couldn’t help but grin.

“Check it out,” he called over to Ivan, who’d taken to circling a still-defensive Buffy. “Our girls went out and got us a pretty little boy.”

Xander snarled at that, demon still completely in control and not comprehending anything that was happening. All he was able to understand at that point was ‘sire’ and ‘food’, and his demon shied away from these intruders.

“Another treat for us,” Ivan agreed with a grin, taking another advancing step.

Buffy backed up again, and her back collided with the dresser.

“Nowhere else to run,” Ivan chided her.

Jim left Cordelia’s prone body and walked over to the bed, snagging Xander by the scruff of his neck. “And no one left to defend you,” he agreed…

“Stay with Dru,” Spike barked his orders to Willow and Dalton. “Nothing’s to interfere with the ritual.” On the next beat, he dodged the spinning kick of this latest slayer.

Willow hissed in distaste at his command, already smelling blood, but Dalton held her back with a surprisingly powerful grip.

“We do as he says,” the bespectacled vamp insisted matter-of-factly, dragging her along with him to guard the altar.

Julien and Sayo kept their grip on Giles, watching the fight before them with fascination. After all, it wasn’t every day that one saw the infamous Slayer of Slayers fighting with his chosen prey.

Spike dodged a series of strong blows, keeping one step ahead of his opponent at all times. This girl was too disciplined, too precisely trained. It made her predictable, easy to block. He actually felt himself slightly disappointed that he hadn’t found himself a worthier foe in this slayer. Now, Buffy… That had been a fight he would remember all his unlife.

He baited Kendra for a few more strikes before growing bored of this game. With a lightning-quick kick, he knocked her feet out from under her. She leapt back to her feet instantly, but he was already prepared with a spinning kick.

His ankle hit the slayer right in the jaw, and her head snapped violently to one side, blood dripping from her lips.

He chuckled and licked his own lips at the crimson droplets. “Oh, you shouldn’t have, luv,” he teased.

Kendra’s nostrils flared, and she moved into a defensive posture once more. Not one for witty banter, this slayer. A pity.

Finally bored of playing with her, he moved in for the kill. However, at that instant, the pink light surrounding Angel and Drusilla pulsed a deep red. Spike gasped in sudden surprise as a bolt of energy ran through him. Around him, all the other vampires reacted in the same way, falling to their knees as the spell reached its fruition and stretched out to bite at all their powers in that final moment.

Giles struggled to break free, but somehow Sayo and Julien managed to hold on.

However, Spike was left in no condition to deal with a slayer. Kendra took full advantage of the opportunity, knocking him down to the floor and retrieving her stake, holding it up high to strike. And completely oblivious to the fading light behind her, Angel’s body crumbling to ashes with a scream, and Drusilla falling back down to the ground with a gasp, she moved to deliver the killing blow…

“Oh, I’m going to show you a good time, pretty boy,” Jim informed Xander, forcing the fledgling down onto his face on the mattress. He yanked Xander’s pants down, grinning at the perfect white cheeks displayed before him. “You’re gonna be so good…”

And then out of nowhere came a shriek like a wild banshee. Jim looked up just as two sharp nails jammed right into his eye-sockets. Screaming in pain, he fell backwards off the bed and instantly felt a hard kick to his gut. He barely even had time to notice the blow before razor-sharp claws dug into his skull from all sides, lifted him clear off the ground, and threw him right out the door and into the hall.

“No one,” Cordelia’s voice reached a ear-piercing shriek as she chased him out into the corridor like an avenging fury, “lays a hand on my Xander!”

Ivan was stunned for a moment by the abrupt shift in power in the other fight, and it was all the time Buffy needed to put her plan into motion. Grabbing two crystal vials from the cabinet she’d intentionally backed into, she threw one of them as hard as she could right into Ivan’s face.

His face melted like candle wax as the holy water burned deep into his flesh. Writhing in agony, he staggered backwards, and that’s when Buffy hit him with the second vial, right in the middle of his chest. Flesh sizzled and burned, and crystal shards of glass cut deep.

Taking Cordelia’s unintentional – but strategically intelligent – plan of moving the fight where they had more room, Buffy caught hold of a broadsword from Spike’s weapon collection and swung at Ivan in wide arcs, forcing him back out the door.

Which left Xander alone in the room, blinking with confused yellow eyes at what had just happened.

Cordelia’s fury hadn’t abated in the slightest. Still slashing like a madwoman, she’d managed to pin Jim beneath her and was cutting and ripping at his flesh so rapidly that he couldn’t even begin to counteract her.

The shrieks had brought in a sizeable crowd, and a few of the minions couldn’t help but snicker at the huge vamp brought to such inglorious defeat by a female half his size and a quarter of his age. Even the snickers turned to gulps, however, when Cordelia’s wild lashings finally tore through Jim’s throat and neatly severed his head from his torso.

He collapsed in a poof of dust, and Cordelia’s blood-red teeth and golden eyes looked up furiously at the crowd, just waiting for another victim. “Xander. Is. Mine!” she screeched.

Nervous nods were the only responses anyone had to give.

Meanwhile, Buffy and Ivan continued to struggle. While Ivan was badly injured, he knew well enough that he had to keep fighting or die. Buffy was wielding the sword in well-practiced arcs, feinting and then slicing him in shallow cuts. Drawing off his blood and weakening him.

In one valiant last effort, he caught the blade of her sword, wincing as the hardened steel cut his hand deep. He kept his grip, however, and the sword clattered to the floor. Just the two of them, then.

Buffy knew she was close to her ultimate victory, could smell the blood in the air, both literally and figuratively. Her fists and feet aimed for the burned flesh of his face and chest, and he was so desperate to protect the injured areas that he neglected all else. The dangerous feints distracted his attention, while she bruised at battered his limbs, dropping his guard.

When he finally realized he was beat, he turned and ran for it…only to be stopped in his tracks by the immobile crowd in the hallway. They all wanted to see the violent conclusion to this match.

A sharp kick to the small of his back sent him down to the floor, and instantly Buffy was atop him, sword at the ready. She held it over his throat like a guillotine blade, hilt in her right hand and blade pressed beneath her left so that a thin trickle of her blood flowed onto the blade.

“All those times,” she began in a deadly whisper, “when you’re being tortured in hell, writhing in agony…” She gave him a falsely sweet smile. “You’ll see my face.”

His eyes widened in terror for one second before the blade sliced downward, and he vanished into nothingness.

Straightening her hair and brushing the dust from her clothing, Buffy rose to her feet, not sparing the crowd a second look. She gave Xander a reassuring smile as he ran to Cordelia’s arms and led the two vampires back to the bedroom.

“What sort of fools would dare attack us on our home turf?” she asked Cordelia loudly enough for the assembled crowd to hear every word, before she slammed the door shut behind them.

“Stop.”

It wasn’t a loud word, or excited in any way. It was softly spoken, barely above a whisper.

It held the most powerful command any of them had ever heard before, however, and it seemed to echo repeatedly through every mind in the room.

Including Kendra’s. Her eyes grew blank, and her hand stopped its descent just inches before the stake would’ve pierced Spike’s heart.

“There’s a good little girl,” Drusilla cooed, gliding up the aisle with a deadly purpose in her step. “Why don’t you stand up so mommy can get a good look at you?”

Enthralled, Kendra rose to her feet and turned to face the vampiress.

For one second, Drusilla gave the young girl a beatific smile. And then, faster than human eyes could see, she lashed out, sharp claws slitting the slayer’s jugular. The girl slumped to the floor in response, and Drusilla giggled.

The sound seemed to break the trance they were all under. Instantly, Giles began struggling against his two captors once more, and Spike shook his head at the blows he’d received while unable to fight back.

“Uh…what should we do with him?” Sayo asked confusedly, holding onto the human’s thrashing right arm.

Dru tisked at that. “We don’t slaughter family’s family,” she chided, “…without their permission, that is.” Dark anger flared in her eyes for one second. “Not like Angelus,” she spat.

Sayo looked to Spike for confirmation, and he nodded grimly. Let his childe deal with her own watcher if she so pleased. It wasn’t their place.

Giles froze for a second when he was released, too shocked to believe that he could possibly be escaping certain death once more. And then he decided not to press his luck and fled from the vampire clan once more. He’d certainly made more honorable retreats in his life…

Willow pouted after he was gone. “I wanted a new plaything,” she whined.

Dru waggled one finger at her before reaching down to help Spike up.

“Are you—?” he began, rising to his feet. He let out an undignified little yelp of surprise, however, when – instead of letting him stand – Dru caught him up in her arms, cradling her childe in her arms.

“All better,” she teased him with a light in her eyes that he had only seen rarely. Happiness, he’d always named it. Pure happiness… “My boy has done such a good job caring for me,” she pressed a light kiss to his platinum locks, “I think ‘s time I returned the favor.”

He purred against her. “Just one thing, luv…”

“Mmm?”

“Can you let me walk? This is bleedin’ embarrassing.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at that and let him down gently to his feet once more. “Let’s go home,” she suggested, lust swirling in the ebony depths of her eyes.

“Home, sweet home.”