Part One
Willow sighed and stretched, arching her back to work the kinks out. She had been sitting in
front of the library computer for hours, updating all her bookmarks in preparation for her death.
Which was planned for the end of the summer.
Angel was currently in Los Angeles, setting up a whole new identity for her, as well as a place for
them to live. Despite the money he had stashed away, they chose a place in a crowded, lower-
middle class area of the city, populated with Irish descendants, which would make her red hair
seem commonplace.
The only communication they were going to have with the Scooby Gang was to be through
email,
and the hacker had spent a better part of a week teaching Giles how to erase the messages so as
not to be tracked. The rest of the time had been spent teaching him how to use email.
Glancing at the clock, Willow sighed again and logged off the computer. The library seemed so
empty without Xander, Cordelia or Buffy hanging around, researching, training or just plain
making a nuisance of themselves to the erstwhile librarian cum Watcher. Right now said
Watcher
was 'on holiday' in England for the week, leaving her alone in Sunnydale.
"I'm going to miss this place," Willow said aloud, running her hand along the wooden table that
had been used to hold books of prophecy, demonology, rituals and Xander while he took a nap.
She remembered the first time she told Buffy that she and Xander were going to help her no
matter what. "You're the Slayer, and we're the Slayerettes," she said, standing in the same place
as she did over two years ago.
She walked further into the center of the room, right over the spot where the Hellmouth erupted
from the floor, where Buffy killed the Master. "And here, class, the world almost ended if not for
the quick actions of the Chosen One. What did we do after? Why, we went to the Spring Fling!"
Willow giggled at her silly actions, then saddened as she moved closer to the counter. "You are
not forgotten, Kendra. Mr. Pointy lives on."
Sighing for a third time, she let her gaze roam over the room, to the cage where Oz spent three
days a month, to the stacks where she saw Cordelia and Xander making out, to the office where
she saw Giles more often than not sleeping with his head in a book before returning to the table
that was the center of it all. "Yep, I'm gonna miss this place," she whispered, before turning off
the lights and leaving.
*****
"How are you tonight, Red?" Angel asked over the phone as Willow lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"Ok," Willow replied. "I miss you, though."
"I miss you, too," he said with a chuckle. "How is the bookmarking project coming along?"
"Almost done. I have folders set up for easy access and a dual password to prevent the wrong
people from accessing those files. Of course, teaching Giles how to get into those folders was a
whole lot of not fun," she said.
"Sounds like you've been busy," he commented. "Buffy says hello, by the way."
"When did you see her?"
"This morning. I stopped by her dad's house to see how she was doing. They're heading down
to Mexico in the morning," Angel said. "She was so surprised to see me standing there in the
daylight, even after all these weeks, she started laughing."
"Face it, General, you just have that effect on people," Willow teased.
"Hey!"
Willow giggled. "Oh, hey, Amy is on another date with Jonathan."
"Good for her," Angel replied. "It's nice that your friend found someone who passed all of your
'I'm not a demon' tests."
"Ah, the perils of dating on the Hellmouth," she said. "Bugs, robots, mummies, reanimated
corpses, vampires, Cordelia..."
"You do remember that you are dating one of those vampires, don't you?"
"What? You're a vampire? How can that be?" Willow asked in fake shock.
"Watch it, Red," Angel warned. "Or I won't bring anything back with me."
"Just your cute butt is all I need," she replied.
"Do you mean the rest of me should stay in LA? I don't think my ass knows how to drive.
Although there is a bus..."
"General!"
"Yes, Red?"
"I love you," Willow said. She could hear his smile.
"Love you, too," Angel replied. "I'll let you go to sleep now. I'm suppose to meet with
someone in about twenty minutes."
"Ok. I'll talk to you tomorrow night," she said.
"Same vamp time, same vamp channel," he said.
"Very funny."
"I try."
*****
Willow never knew what hit her. She was walking back home from another long day at the
library when it happened. Granted, she wasn't paying too much attention to her surroundings,
but
with her ever growing powers, she was confident she could handle anything that came her way.
However, she didn't count on being suddenly hit in the back of the head with something thick
and
solid, rendering her unconscious.
Part Two
Willow swam back to consciousness with a headache and a groan. Blinking her eyes, she tried to
focus the fuzzy picture that made up her surroundings. She was in a cell of some sort, chipped
yellow paint coating the bars that separated her from whatever lay beyond her prison. Slowly,
she
sat up, wincing at the pain in her head. She took a deep breath and concentrated. Almost
immediately, her aches and pains vanished as she healed herself.
With that done, Willow sighed in relief and looked around, noting the absence of anything in the
cell with her. She could easily bend the metal bars and escape, but that would do no good if she
didn't know where she was or how many 'enemies' were on the other side.
"Oh good, you're awake."
Willow looked through the bars to see a well dressed vampire standing with his hands in his
pockets, his pose confident and casual. "What do you want?" she asked, a little fearful that she
had been captured by the hunters.
"Simple, my dear," he said, morphing into his human mask before giving her a wicked smile.
"I'm going to make you immortal."
Willow almost laughed out loud in both relief and irony. This extremely handsome vampire,
with
his dark blue eyes and long blond hair, reminding her of a nordic Viking, wanted to make an
immortal immortal. Instead of laughing out loud, she asked instead, "Why?"
"Because your beauty is ethereal," he replied. "I am building a new empire, and I want to
surround myself with perfection."
"You want to be the Master vampire in Sunnydale?" she asked, then clamped her mouth shut and
swore mentally. *Stupid, Red. Tell him you know all about vampires so that he'd never let you
leave still breathing.*
"Darling, I am the Master," he said. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself properly. I am
Jonathan."
"Charmed," Willow replied somewhat sarcastically.
He ignored her and continued. "Like I said, I am the Master of the Hellmouth, and after all is
complete, Sunnydale will be in my control. And that is only a stepping stone."
*Oh boy,* Willow thought. *This is not good.* "Um, how much longer until your plan is
complete?"
"Now, now dear," Jonathan said mockingly. "In have no desire to share information unless you
decide to join me."
*Great,* she thought. *What do I do? Giles is in England, Cordelia and Xander are traveling in
Europe, Buffy left for Mexico with her dad, and Angel is still in LA. No one here but me to
protect Sunnydale. And In can't protect Sunnydale without information. And I won't be able to
get information unless I become a vampire. But if I do that, I'll be on the bad guys team.
Unless...* "Does it hurt?" Willow asked, her voice small and scared even though the plan she just
came up with bolstered her confidence.
"Becoming a vampire?" Jonathan said. "No."
"How long does it take?"
"A few hours," he answered.
Willow's eyes widened. She knew from all her reading that the older the vampire, the sooner the
newly created rose in their undead state. "Would...would you be the one to change me?"
"Of course," Jonathan said. "I allow no one else to change anyone else they have proven
themselves in my court. And to do that, they must show dominance over the others."
*And I bet those with the most dominance are in on the details of the plan,* she thought. "Um,
can I have an hour to think about it?"
"Sure," he replied. "Take two. It's not like you're going anywhere." He smiled at her again, then
left with a graceful stride.
"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap," Willow repeated after he had gone. She shook her head and took
several deep, calming breaths. She had about one hour to compete all the spells she was about to
preform, and needed to be focused. Especially if she was going to 'die' and return as a vampire.
She positioned herself Indian style on the hard floor, cast a quick protective circle, then faced east
for intelligence. She called on the gods and goddesses to aid her in her spells, then began casting
the first one, the one that was going to make her body functions inaudible to the keen vampire
hearing upon her command and stay until she dismissed the spell.
Once finished, she moved onto the second one. This time, she faced south for strength. She
began casting a spell that would make her stronger than the strongest vampire, with the skills to
match. She hadn't created this type of physical spell before because she had Buffy and Angel for
protection as well as her own magick.
The third spell was done facing west, for appearance. This was a simple glamour spell that would
create the vampire game face as well as creating the illusion of her being able to feed. Somehow,
she'd have to sneak off to eat and use the facilities at times, but overall it should fool even the
smartest of vampires.
The last, most important spell for her to be able to reach Jonathan's inner court was done facing
north, for power. It was also the most tricky spell for her to cast, for it involved the man she
loved beyond reason. But without him being with her, she doubted she could pull this off.
However, the Angel she knew and loved was not the vampire she needed. The words tumbled
from her lips in Latin with no need for spellbooks or preparation.
The demon inside you
I need to set free,
your feeding and killing
controlled by me,
the memories of my powers
you shall not see,
Angelus come forth
so mote it be.
After thanking the gods and goddesses and closing the circle, Willow bit her lower lip and
frowned. She was about to delve into an interesting new world that she'd read about both in
Giles' books and on the Internet. While one part of her was still shy and virginal, the other part
was dancing in devilish glee. She was glad that Angel...no Angelus...would be the one to do most
of the 'climbing' to the inner court. Once he was there, she would take control and dominate
him, thus putting her in the prime position to gather her information and put a stop to whatever
Jonathan had in mind.
Luckily, the release of the demon would not erase his memories of their relationship, only the
memories of her powers. She was counting on the fact that the vampire Angelus would be
disgusted with himself like he'd been when he was with Buffy and would want nothing to do with
her since she would be a vampire, as well. That should take all the 'fun' out of pursing her. She
hoped. She also had to remember not to let him have his wicked way with her at all, or else when
the time came to strike, her dominance would be in question.
In her mind, she tweaked the spell on him so he couldn't kill humans except by the illusion that
he
bled them dry. She had set a safehold that prevented him from doing this, however, only
thinking
that he had, leaving the victim alive enough not to worry about them not surviving the attack.
Jonathan returned, an evil smile on his handsome face. "Have we decided, my dear?"
Willow nodded. *Time to play evil,* she thought, gearing herself up for the role of a lifetime.
"I'll do it," she said in a frightened voice. She was a bit scared, after all, she was letting a vampire
who was not Angel bite her.
Jonathan unlocked the cage and stepped inside, motioning for her to stand. He caught her
shoulders and turned her around so her back was to him. Gently, he brushed her hair off of her
neck, baring her to him. "Welcome to eternity, my dear," he whispered, then sunk his fangs into
her jugular.
Willow winced, then began casting the last illusion spell, the one that would make him think he'd
drained her more than he actually did. She slowly let herself go limp in his arms, her heart rate
slowing, and he released her neck to bite into his own wrist, then holding it to her mouth.
The red head knew that to make a vampire, a certain point must be passed in draining the victim
before the change takes place when the sire feeds the fledgling-to-be his or her blood. Thus,
Jonathan's blood would not do anything to her other than creating a bad taste in her mouth.
He laid her back down on the floor, smiling at her as she let her gaze go blank. "See you soon,"
he said before straightening his suit and leaving the cell door open as he walked away.
"Count on it," she whispered, deciding to take a meditative 'nap' for a few hours. Luckily, she
wouldn't have to wear her 'game face' all the time because of the age inferred by her sire. She
invoked the first and second spells, then let herself drift off with one final thought. *Ooh, I can be
naughty and wear leather.*
Part Three
Willow walked down the hall from her cell, for all intent and purposes a vampire. She grinned
devilishly at the thought. *I get to play wicked. Not mousy Willow, the buddy, the good girl, but
a naughty vampiress. If I enjoy this, maybe when Angel is back to normal he'd be 'up' for a little
role playing.* She blushed at her pun, but it did not show on her face because of the glamour.
She approached a junction in the hall and paused, not sure of which way to go. The decision was
taken from her when she heard Jonathan's voice as he came around a second corner down the
hall
to her right.
"Welcome, childe," he said, rapidly approaching her. She looked up at the Master from under her
lashes. "I bet you're hungry."
"Yes, sire," Willow replied in a diminutive voice, licking her fangs. She had activated the third
spell, creating the physical illusion of a game face, as it would be in the foreground if she had just
reawakened. She knew vampires reverted to their demon state with high emotions such as anger
or intense sexual release, as well as when they were in bloodlust.
"Come then, I will show you to your quarters first, then you may go out and feed," Jonathan
said,
putting his arm around her shoulders and leading her down the hall.
They entered a large rec room type area, with couches, an entertainment center, a billiards table
and an ice hockey table. She counted about twenty vampires sitting around, all exceptionally
good looking.
"Children," her 'sire' called. The vampires in the room fell silent and turned to him and Willow.
"Please welcome the new addition to our family."
*This is strange,* Willow thought of his introduction as the various vampires in the room said
some sort of greeting. She could tell by some of the looks she was getting that rivalry was a big
problem in the group. She wondered who was the dominant in the room.
Jonathan led her past the group and down another hallway to a series of closed doors. He
stopped before one at a four way junction and opened it. "This shall be your room."
The room was fairly average size, with a double bed, chest of drawers, lamp and trunk. The
bedposts were made of thick metal to uphold a non-existent canopy. Over it, there was a large
ring set in the cement.
"You will find toys in the chest and money in the top drawer of the dresser for you to purchase
new clothing. Do not kill or feed off the store employees. Everyone else is fair game," Jonathan
said.
"Yes, sire," Willow answered, bowing her head in submission.
He patted the top of her head as if she were a dog. "Good girl," he said. "The others will tell you
what the rules are of my domain. Have fun."
With that final statement, he left the hacker alone, closing the door behind him. Willow let out
the
breath she didn't know she'd been holding and went over to the bed. She sat on the edge, still in
game face and sighed. "Red, what have you gotten yourself into?"
She conjured her laptop and quickly brought up a blank page and titled it 'Willow's Stupid Plan -
Notes.' With a snort, she began rapidly typing all that she'd learned thus far.
-Jonathan is the Master
-Dominance is the key to the inner court
-Everyone is really good looking
-J is everyone's sire???
-'New Empire'; control of Sunnydale; stepping stone - to what??
-Introductions, $ and own room = almost like a cult or something similar
-I wonder if I make a sexy vampire?
Giggling at the last thought, she saved her work and made the computer disappear. "Guess I'd
better make an appearance, 'feed' and go shopping."
She went to the dresser and opened the top drawer. "Holy.. That's a lotta money," she said,
picking up the pack of hundred dollar bills. There was over a thousand dollars in her hands. She
stuffed it in the deep pockets of her jeans, then re-closed the drawer, heading for the chest with
curiosity. She opened the lid, gasped, and let it fall shut with a bang. "I don't think I'll go there
yet."
Taking another calming breath, she put on her resolve face, which didn't shown under her game
face glamour and left the room. She paid attention as she walked back to the rec room, counting
the number of doors in her head. The vampires who greeted her earlier all looked up when she
entered the room.
"Well, looky here. We have a new friend," a man, who had to be the most dominant in the room,
said. He stood, his dark shaggy hair flopping sexily over his equally dark eyes, and walked over
to her. "What's your name, girl?"
"W...Red," Willow answered, changing her name at the last moment. 'Red' sounded more
dangerous than 'Willow' and she couldn't be too careful against the hunters.
He put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up. "Listen, Red. You do as I say, and you
won't get hurt. If I'm not here, you do as Jordan says," he gestured to a tall, blond woman, more
than likely his favorite consort.
Willow nodded, lowering her eyes in submission. He let go of her chin and stepped back.
"Obedience. I like that in a fledgling. Ramona, take Red out for a bite then to the mall."
"Yes, Carter," Ramona, a petite, oriental girl said as she hurried over to them. She took Willow's
arm and started leading her down a new hallway, which led outside.
The night air was warm for late June as the two girls began walking. Willow glanced over her
shoulder to check the layout of the structure to find that she recognized the place as the old
boarding school before Kent was built. It was located within half a mile of the mall on the
outskirts of town.
"Red," Ramona started. "I give you permission to freely ask questions."
*Boy, the books weren't kidding with this group when they talked about the
Dominant/submissive relationship between vampires.* Willow looked at the smaller girl, about to
ask something when she spotted what would have to be 'dinner.'
She saw Ramona's game face come forth and let the real vampire take the lead, silently chanting
the protection spell on her intended victim.
They attacked together, Willow's third spell creating the illusion that she was feeding and the man
slumped unconscious in her arms. Luckily, the second strength spell worked perfectly, and she
easily held him before putting him on the ground.
Ramona dropped her victim as well, who she believed dead but in reality was not because of the
protection spell, then licked her lips, her face morphing back to human. Willow let her vampire
glamour fade and gave the other girl a small grin. "Much better."
Ramona seemed to be put back by the red head's normal face and she growled. "Come on."
They continued their way to the mall and were almost there before Willow began to ask
questions.
"Is the Master everyone's sire?" she began.
"No, but he is choosy who he allows in his court," Ramona answered. "He wishes to surround
himself by beauty."
*Then Angel will have no problems,* she thought. "Does everyone have their own quarters?"
"Yes, but if one of your betters wants you in their room..."
"I go," Willow finished.
"And everyone is your better, fledgling," Ramona said with a sneer.
"Yes, Ramona," she replied, bowing her head. *But not for long.*
*****
Shopping with someone else's money was more fun than Willow ever imagined, especially since
she could buy all the things she'd never dared to wear before. *Good thing mom and dad are at
that seminar until the end of July. In wouldn't want to run into them dressed like this,* she
thought, eyeing herself in the mirror. She'd made sure that Ramona would see the illusion that
there was no reflection if she entered the fitting room as the hacker tried on the clothes. *Eat your
heart out, Buffy and Cordelia.*
She snickered with the thought, admiring her trim figure clothed in the short leather skirt and
vest,
with nothing underneath. The two vampires had hit all the clothing stores, especially the shoe
stores. Finally, they left the mall and went to Ramona's favorite unconventional outfitter called
Naughty But Nice.
Ever glad that the glamour covered Willow's blushing, they made their way through the lingerie,
risque clothing and the toy section. Ramona was currently in that last area as Willow changed
back into her original clothes. She gathered up all that she was going to purchase and brought it
to the cashier. As he rang it up, she moved to the 'forbidden' area to browse. *I'll have to
remember to check out my toy chest later and see what I'm going to have to get...and I can't
believe I just thought that.*
With a quiet giggle, Willow returned to the counter and paid, using almost all of the rest of the
money. Glad for her new spell cast strength, she gathered all the bags and waited for Ramona,
who quickly bought a leather riding crop. "Mine keeps breaking," she said offhandedly.
"I'll bet," Willow said under her breath. They began the walk home, loaded down with bags and
the hacker decided to continue her questions. "Ramona, the Master spoke of a plan to me before
I was released from my mortality," she said. *Ooh, good one.* "Do you know of it?"
"It is not our place to know, only to follow orders by Carter, Matthew, Richard, Linda, Jordan or
the Master himself," Ramona answered.
*The inner court,* she thought. "Is there anywhere I shouldn't go in the, er...compound?"
"Guards are posted where you should not go," Ramona said. "They will warn you once."
*Got it, important stuff behind the guards,* she thought satisfactorily. They arrived at the lair
and
she went directly to her room, glad she wasn't stopped with the amount of bags she carried. She
put everything away, quickly hiding the mirror she bought, and laid the makeup and other beauty
products on the dresser. She'd have to remember to find the bathroom in a little while and make
sure to cast a spell on the mirrors so she didn't reflect.
Glancing at her watch, she realized she had another four hours before she was suppose to get
tired. Happy that she had drank coffee earlier at the library, she conjured her laptop back up
again and added her new discoveries.
*****
At 3:00 in the morning, Willow decided to explore. She had found a phone jack in the room and
hooked herself up to the Net, pulling up a layout of the old school and magickally printed it out in
order to make her own map.
She first marked her room with yellow high lighter, conjured from the depths of her backpack,
and put a black star in the center. The other bedrooms she also marked in yellow. They took up
the entire right wing of the old school, sixty rooms in all with four dormitory style bathrooms,
which she marked in green.
The cell where she started out from was also located in the right wing, but in the south east
corner, marked in gray. She found the kitchen and large cafeteria in the northeast corner,
marking
it pink, and discovered that the rec room was the center most part of the school, where all the
hallways connected.
She found the guards stationed in the south west area, the hall that led opposite the cells where
she first paused wondering which direction to go. On her map, she highlighted the whole area
blue. According to the printout, there were ten rooms in that wing, possibly offices, and one
bigger room that was either the Master's suite or a conference room.
Willow yawned and left her room to use the facilities, noting that all the other vampires had
vanished into their various rooms alone or with another. She lifted her sight to the ceiling as she
stretched, seeing that it was either unfinished or in disrepair, the cross beams and ventilation
exposed. She disappeared into the 'private' stall she cloaked magickally. Vampires weren't
suppose to have to use the toilet.
Glancing at her watch one final time, she saw that the sun was rising outside the tightly boarded
old school and wondered when Angel would be arriving that night. She had no doubt that his
first
instinct would be to return to Sunnydale to hurt her, but since she was already dead, per se...
Part Four
Willow groaned when her watch alarm went off, signaling sunset. A proper vampire would
automatically know when the sun went down, so she made a list of the times while she waited
before exploring the night before and hid the page in her drawer. Grumbling, the red head got
up,
threw on some clothes and headed for the shower.
She hadn't gotten much sleep during the day on count of the fact she kept waking herself up as
she remembered things that needed to be done. The first time she woke was because she heard
voices in the hall and realized there was no way to protect herself at night unless she put a
magickal lock on the door.
Then her mind woke her up because the reason another vampire would enter her room was to
show his or her dominance, which led to her thinking about how that would happen. She ended
up casting yet another spell on herself rending her 'invisible' to the advances of the others as long
as she stayed quiet and submissive. Once done, she relaxed in knowing that she'd be ignored and
thought of as insignificant.
She had been about to fall asleep again when her stomach growled loudly. She zapped herself
the
cold pizza from her fridge at home and ate while she thought of how she was going to have to
stock up on food at her house so she could eat after she'd 'fed' for the night. She had learned
that the minions time was their own and could come and go as desired. That worked perfectly
for
Willow because she still needed to eat 'real' food and check her phone messages.
Her sleep was again interrupted by the remembrance that if she just disappeared, people would
worry and her plans would be ruined. She conjured up her cell phone, called Amy and told her
the plan, to which her friend replied that it was a stupid plan. Willow had gotten a good laugh
over that since that was what she titled it. Then, she left a message with her parents that she was
going out of town with Amy, left the same message with Giles but changed the person to Angel,
then went back to sleep.
This time, however, her sleep was plagued with very interesting and erotic dreams involving
Angel, causing her to wake up aroused and dying to find out if she had some of the things from
her dream in her toy chest. Finally, her body decided enough was enough and she slept
peacefully... for a whole two hours before her alarm went off.
Willow quickly showered and returned to her room, dressing in her new, more daring clothes.
The blood red, shell blouse was something Buffy would normally wear and she paired it with her
new black leather pants and thick heeled, strappy shoes. After putting on more makeup than she
normally wore, including lipstick that matched the blouse, she grabbed her house keys, ran a
brush
through her hair once more and made her way to the rec room.
The others looked up when she emerged from the hallway, but, as she hoped, they turned back to
what they were doing, dismissing her as not worth their time. Hiding her grin, she kept heading
straight across the room and down the hall that led to the outside. She continued walking until
she passed between two vans which blocked anyone's view of her. She never came out the other
side.
Teleporting herself to her street, Willow looked around carefully before heading up her driveway.
It wouldn't be good if any vampires saw where she lived. Even worse, if they saw she could enter
the house without being invited. Satisfied no one was there, she let herself in and headed for the
kitchen. "Food, food, food, food, answering machine," she mumbled as she opened the freezer.
She made herself a quick TV dinner in the microwave and, as it was heating, put together a few
ready-to-eat meals, sealing them in tupperware containers and leaving them in the fridge.
Willow glanced at the clock on the microwave after removing her dinner, calculating how long it
would take Angel to get to Sunnydale. She knew her home would be his first stop, thinking he
would have some fun because of his all access pass. He would not realize that his actions were a
crucial part of her plan.
After eating, she checked the answering machine, called Jonathan - not the Master vampire, but
the teen who once peed in the pool - then went to her room to wait.
*****
Grinning, Willow wiggled her newly painted toes and fingernails, admiring the color that matched
her lipstick and blouse. She had spent her time preparing herself for the first confrontation with
Angelus. Being here in her house, she had decided to let him play the dominant role, hoping that
once he was in control of her, he'd pretty much dismiss her as a lowly fledgling, which was what
she wanted.
She heard a light tapping at the French doors to her room. *It's showtime,* she thought, smiling
excitedly before smothering it. She put on an innocent face and went to open the doors.
On the other side stood Angelus. Willow could tell the difference immediately. The way he
stood, the way his lips were curled, the look in his eyes - pure Angelus. Even his clothing was
different, velvet and leather. *Ooh, sexy,* she thought, then remembered she was suppose to be
surprised to see him. "Angel! You're back early."
"I couldn't stay away from you any longer, Willow," Angelus replied as she stepped into his
waiting arms. Willow caught the evil grin out of the corner of her eye as he hugged her. "I
missed you."
"I missed you, too," she replied. "A few...changes have happened since I last talked to you."
"On my end, as well," he said, leading her into the bedroom and pulling the doors shut behind
him. He grabbed her suddenly, holding her in his powerful grip by the back of her hair, forcing
her to look up at him. "Would you like to know what changes?"
"Angel, you're hurting me," Willow said. It was true, but since she could heal herself and she
needed for him to do this, she took it.
"Am I?" Angelus said with fake concern. He let his game face come forth and stared at her with
his unholy eyes. "That's such a shame."
*Time to play it up,* Willow thought, widening her eyes. "Angel? What's going on?"
"Silly little girl," he laughed. "Your Angel has gone again by way of the dodo. And boy does it
feel good to be rid of that pesky soul."
She gave him a terrified look. "What...what are you going to do?" she asked in a fearful voice.
"Well now, let me see." Angelus brought his free hand up to his chin, striking a thoughtful pose.
"I could kill you. Or I could kill you. Oh, and then there's always killing you."
"Um...Angel?"
He shook her by the grip on her hair. "That's Angelus, you plain Jane," he said, then looked at
her outfit. "Well, well, well. It seems as though the little girl has been playing dress up. Why?"
"Part of those changes I said earlier," Willow replied. Her lips curved into a wicked smile.
"Want to know what else has changed?"
"You know what? I don't care," Angelus responded. "Because soon you'll be dead and it won't
matter."
"Too late," she said, activating the vampire glamour spell. "I'm already dead."
Part Five
Shocked did not adequately describe the look on Angelus' face. Willow had to bite her tongue to
keep from laughing at him. Instead, she gave him a fang-filled sneer as he let go and took a step
back.
"Who did this?" Angelus demanded.
"The new Master, Jonathan," Willow replied, letting the glamour fade away. "I am privileged
because he considered me one of the beautiful. The Master only surrounds himself with
perfection."
Watching his human face, which he slid back into as she answered, she could see a cross
between
fury and curiosity flash in his eyes. "Tell me more about this Jonathan."
"Wouldn't you rather do something a bit more...exciting?" Willow asked with a seductive smile.
She took a step towards him and ran her hands over the velvet shirt.
Angelus backhanded her, the sun-protectant ring on his right hand cutting into her cheek. She
reeled with the blow, stumbling away and collapsing onto the bed. She dropped her head so he
wouldn't see her tears of pain and quickly concentrated on stopping it without healing the cut.
Normal people and vampires don't instantly heal.
"Answer my question, Willow," Angelus snapped.
"Yes, Angelus," Willow said submissively, establishing her role as the 'weaker' vampire. She
raised her gaze to him. "He is planning on building a new empire, starting with Sunnydale. He
desires to keep only those he deems beautiful around him. No one may sire children unless they
are part of his inner court. We live at the old boarding school on the outskirts of town and are
allowed to come and go as we please. Master Jonathan is always looking for strong, handsome
vampires to join him, especially if they can show their dominance to the others," she paused,
letting the information sink in like bait. "You would make a fine addition to his court, Angelus."
"Perhaps," Angelus said thoughtfully. Nibble on her mental hook. "You will take me there... in a
little while."
*Start reeling him in, Red,* she thought as she curled her legs up on the bed and struck a sexy
pose. At least, she hoped it was sexy. Mentally, she ran through yet another spell, this one to
block the pain that was sure to come soon. Vampires without souls definitely liked rough sex.
"What would you like to do until then, Angelus?"
One side of his mouth slowly rose, his dark gaze traveling over her body in a purely predatory
manor. "I'm going to fuck you, little girl, until you know your place. I don't care if Jonathan is
your sire, you will answer only to me."
"Yes, Angelus," Willow replied, lowering her gaze. When she raised her head, she saw Angelus
lounging against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, his human mask in place. She didn't dare
release her glamour, knowing that the pressure she was under would make it stay in the
foreground if she were a true vampire. She was just glad that her mind was quick enough to stay
on top of things. She gathered her laptop and the small nail polish bag and turned to leave.
"What are you doing?" Angelus asked, his tone casual.
"I'm getting my computer," Willow answered, shouldering the bag.
"Is that why you came here tonight?" he said curiously.
"No, I was suppose to meet with Amy," she replied, giving him a small, evil grin. "She didn't
show up. However, you weren't the only one to get home early."
Angelus smiled fully at her and headed for her bedroom door. "Where are they?"
*Eep!* Willow cried mentally. "Um...bedroom," she stammered. She watched him walk out of
the room and quickly said a new spell. "Gods and Goddesses, let him see the illusion of my
mom's body." Not moving, she waited to see if it worked. When he heard him laugh maniacally,
she let out a breath of relief. Tonight when she was alone, she was also going to have to preform
a huge thank you ritual to the gods and goddesses for all the magick she'd been preforming in the
past two days. *Has it only been two days? Seems much longer,* she thought as Angelus
walked
back into the bedroom.
"Very good work, little girl. Now, take me to Jonathan," Angelus said. She nodded and led the
way out the French doors.
Phase two of Willow's Stupid Plan was a success. On to phase three.
Part Six
Outside of the old school, Willow let her glamour fade before looking up at Angelus. His face
was set in a mocking sneer, as if he knew he was the best, or worst in terms of threat to humans,
vampire around. Which he was as far as she could tell.
She led him inside and stopped in the crowded rec room. It seemed as though all the minions
and
half of the inner court were present. She looked up at him again and he made a shooing motion
with his hand, effectively dismissing her. Without hesitation, she headed for her room. It was
time to let Angelus do his own thing.
That day she did two things - held a ritual of thanks and cast an anti-jealousy spell on herself.
She
needed her love to be free to make his way to the inner court and into the top position, and to do
that he would be using sex as a form of domination.
*****
It only took Angelus a week to climb his way to the top. Willow stayed unobtrusive and watched
the power struggle between the vampires. Every night he would pick the next dominant leader
and before every dawn he would come out with a cowed, submissive vampire, who would then
do
something in front of the others to show Angelus' dominance. She was not too thrilled to watch
him receive a blow job by one of the females, but the anti-jealousy spell helped.
Now that Angelus was in the highest position next to the Master, it was time for Willow to
prepare. She had found out that behind the closed doors in the southwest wing, guards were
stationed in every room. That hampering her ability to just become invisible and transport herself
inside, she made do with researching as much as she could about Jonathan and anything else she
overheard.
She let close to a month go by, allowing Angelus to be firmly entrenched in his position of
dominance. Those that came and challenged him were put in place immediately. She stayed in
the lowest possible position of the group, even newly made vampires surpassed her without
challenge. Granted, they wanted to move higher and it was easy for them because they didn't
have souls.
Willow formed a routine which kept her busy until the time was right. She got up as the sun
went
down, cleaned up, donned new clothes, went on a group hunt and saved the victims lives through
witchcraft, went to the Bronze for a bit, returned to her house to eat and check her phone
messages, returned to the school and eavesdropped for the remainder of the night. Then it was
back to her room for a few hours of research or updating her notes, before going to sleep.
Overall, her most favorite part of the night was going to the Bronze. With her change in
appearance and her confidence being bolstered due to living with vampires, she was asked to
dance more in one night then in her entire life prior to graduation. But the best was Cordelia's old
sheep. The looks on their faces whenever she passed or when guys bypassed them for her made
her giddy with revenge.
The drawbacks to going to the club was that at times she had to fight off unwanted advances.
Having fun was one thing, being mauled or heavily hit upon was something else. Luckily, with
her spell cast strength, just a little squeeze of a wrist or hand taught them a lesson. She also
missed having Angel around, dancing with him, kissing him or just plain being with him. He'd
been gone for two weeks prior to her 'becoming' a vampire, and since then Angelus had ignored
her except for that first night.
Willow checked the rings she magickally set in the ceiling and floor, then double checked the one
already above the bed. It wouldn't do her any good to have him break free, even thought she
could over power him easily.
She looked around his room where phase four of Willow's Stupid Plan was to occur, making sure
everything was easily accessible. She reread her list once more, nodded her head in satisfaction,
then went to get changed. She had half an hour before he was due to return and become owned
by her.
The fun was about to begin.
Part Seven
Omitted