PROLOGUE
Standing on a cliff side overlooking a long narrow valley watching a marvelous full moon and the blue iridescence that colors the scene, a lone building stands in peaceful silence. A long road leads from the valley to the building, a simple yet beautifully perfect Zen Buddhist Monastery complete with rock garden. A distraught pair of eyes looks out onto this glorious sight with a tear of despair.
Akibo turns from the view of the magnificent valley below to his Alter. The man is elderly for the time; a mid-fifties man qualifies as practically ancient in Japan during the 16th century.
With a troubled sigh he begins a chant. As the chant starts to become more intense Akibo cups two small statues of demons in his hands and rocks back and forth grasping them tightly to his stomach.
A circling wind starts around the room extinguishing the candle on the Alter and sending a cloud of ash from burnt incense swirling. In the center of this maelstrom a single piece of paper appears undisturbed by its surroundings. Calligraphy paints onto the blank surface in red and black ink, written by the ash cloud.
As it forms Akibo becomes increasingly weak until he cannot keep his posture. He falls back exhaling his last breath, as if to give one more piece of himself to the spiraling entity. His hands part to reveal the statues just before they wisp away.
The paper disintegrates into the ash cloud as it hovers over the corpse of the gentle holy man as he lay silently on the bamboo tatami floor panels. A wisp of a hand lovingly caresses the stoic face smearing black onto the ghostly white skin.
It slowly leaves the fallen monk and races out the window overlooking the valley. The cloud shoots down the road hurtling toward the Monastery.
•••
A young Japanese woman in a tattered kimono lands heavily against the front door of the Monastery. Soaked in her own sweat on a night so cold her breath frosts the air around her, exhausted beyond breaking and scything in a great pain that distorts her face and body.
Her impact draws the attention of several monks who immediately take her in. While she is assisted the monks see she is about to give birth. They carry her into the building and shut the doors behind them.
Screams follow. The wails of a woman about to become a mother, baying cries of the infants as they erupt into life clearing their lungs confused at being alive, the shrieks of the men who fail to contain their terror at what they just aided into the world.
Chapter One
A disenfranchised member of the post-punk why bother generation stomps his way down Sunset Blvd. This place discourages most during the day, so at night it's an estranged slice of hell populated by every manner of creature, and most the locals know Dirk.
With an outstandingly outlandish purple Mohawk, tipped green for good measure, nobody would guess that this manic-depressive would be the sole interest of an exclusive group of undead. They follow him slipping from shadow to shadow keeping their pursuit obfuscated with distractions and cover.
Nearby, Angel, Gunn, and Wesley walk down an alleyway trying desperately to ignore Cordelia's ranting. Cordy is brushing off her trendier than thou clothing. The crew looks like they recently went ten rounds with something ugly.
"This is never going to come out. Never. Every time I go out with you guys I get all dirty." Cordelia whines. "The guy at my cleaners is going to drop me."
Wesley turns to Angel with a question forming. With a tired gesture Angel puts his finger up to his lips shushing Wesley, "Please don't."
Cordy continues without missing a beat. Wesley returns to his impression of the walking dead leaving his question for another day.
"...and of all the places to go after an ugly slime ball but Hollywood. I don't want to see the walk of fame until I am on it. I mean why can't they infest the seedy streets of Beverly Hills or Brentwood or even Santa Monica." Cordelia says with a full throated sense of conviction.
Angel, Gunn, and Wesley turn a corner intentionally letting Cordy walk in the wrong direction during her rant.
Cordy continues the rant unphased by the others. "A monster on the 3rd street promenade would help me kill two birds with one stone." Cordy realizes the misdirection and hurries to catch up. "You guys, you promised you would appreciate me more."
"I appreciate you." Gunn retorts almost as a coarse of habit, like a pavlovian response to a woman asking for respect, strong maternal upbringing and a long list of aunties to keep him inline.
Not realizing the automated nature of the response Cordy smiles. "Thank you."
Angel takes the opportunity Gunn just opened for him. "Lets observe a moment of silence while we appreciate Cordy."
The group continues walking several steps and it's too much for Cordy to bear. "See that! You are just trying to shut me up."
Gunn cracks a smile. "Damn and it was working."
"So close yet so far." Wesley's tired voice waifs from the background.
Cordy assumes a position in front of the group and continues while walking backwards. "Just for that I am going to continue talking all the way back."
"I for one love the sound of your voice Cordy. Please continue on whatever you would like to say." Angel says.
Gunn chimes in. "Ya, don't be like that, just say whatever comes to mind."
Cordy stops with a blank look on her face. "Losing your train of thought?" Wesley asks.
"Guys, I was trying to make a point." Cordy turns away disgusted and walks several steps while Gunn slaps a low five to Angel.
Across the street Dirk stops in front of a chain link fence and lights a cigarette. Cordy notices him with the same expression she would use for a car wreck or a gruesome crime scene. "Ouch, punk fashion victim."
"Can you imagine trying to get a job with that haircut?" Gunn jabs a chin at the punker across the street. "I mean that must be a limit some employers just can't get past. "
"I can't see him in a suit and tie." Wesley squints weakly as if to attempt the visualization.
Too tired to hold back the sarcasm, Angel suggests "Toilet brush maybe."
The group looks at Angel mocking astonishment that he would make the remark. Angel looks back and forth to the group. "Oh like I was the only one thinking that."
"I should make you apologize to him." Wesley exclaims without passion.
Angel shrugs, "He doesn't look like the sensitive type."
Cordy, of all people, steps in. "This toilet fixture happens to be a person..." Cordy turns to point at the subject of the conversation. "A human being who is about to be abducted by those vampires."
As the group turns toward Dirk the three vampires who have trailed him to this point rush in from the other side of the fence and tear through it grabbing his torso.
The group takes a startled start toward the melee as the powerful hands pull Dirk through the chain link fence leaving a jagged hole in the mesh and streaks of cuts along Dirk's skull.
The group moves through the tear and gets near as two of the vampires break off the attack on Dirk to take on Angel, Gunn, and Wesley. The third vampire starts dragging Dirk away.
Cordy doesn't know what to do, "Guys, he's getting away with the toilet brush guy!"
"Well, do something about it!" Westley pushes out through gritted teeth as he parries a kick, with his ribs.
Cordy runs after the third vampire, dragging a slightly conscious Dirk.
The two vampires take on the three heroes with surprising ease. They work as a team blocking for each other and keeping the three at a stalemate. Angel scores a lucky hit that seems to hurt his hand more than the vampire.
Cordy reaches Dirk and pulls on his belt. The vampire snaps Dirk's neck and kicks the body into Cordy knocking her back several feet. Dirk lands on top of her.
"Guys, a little help." Cries Cordy from under the limp dead body.
The vampires become more aggressive and move with extreme grace and speed. So fast in fact that they move faster than the eye can follow delivering rapid blows in complex combinations.
The two gather the three men into a clutter just before they knock Angel, Gunn, and Wesley back into a pile.
The third vampire retreats as the other two vampires hold their ground. Wesley picks himself out of the garbage pile that softened his impact. "Any bright ideas?"
"Running sounds good." Gunn suggests as he rolls off the hard pallet that he landed on.
Angel, clearly the loser of the three landing face first into a dumpster's corner, clears a trickle of blood from his nose with the sleeve of his black coat. "I would be ok with that."
Cordy is still stuck under Dirk's corps. "Still need help here."
The two vampires stop their progression and turn toward a new combatant who rounds a nearby corner. The figure takes several steps toward the fight and removes the hood of a long robe that covers his large frame. A head of straight black hair pulled tight into a tail tops a demonic face with blood red skin, deep black within black eyes, oversized cheek bones, a powerful jaw, and sharp upper and lower fangs. The demon stands near to seven feet and has huge hands with sharp black fingernails.
Cordy, still pinned by Dirk, strains to see but cannot. "How are we doing?"
Angel, Wesley, and Gunn look at the newcomer with jaws dropped. "I think we just got worse."
Another creature of the same race appears behind Cordy and lifts her out from under Dirk holding the back of her neck. Cordy is held at a position not allowing her to see either newcomer.
The relation in appearance between the two is not just the familiarity of their race, they look almost identical save the clothing and hair. The creature that holds Cordy's neck wears skintight leather clothing and his hair is in a bushy mess. At first glance he may even look like an 80's glam rock star, if it wasn't for the whole demon thing. "Attack him!"
The two vampires attack the robed demon with the same techniques that were so effective against Angel, Gunn, and Wesley only this time their opponent is better than they are. He defends gracefully and begins beating the two around the alley.
Angel, Gunn, and Wesley recover themselves and rush toward the biker demon and Cordy. Seeing the oncoming attack he twists his wrist breaking Cordy's neck and releases his grip on her. Gunn screams as the three reaches Cordy's limp body falling to the pavement.
Angel slides under her catching her in his arms and laying her gently on his lap. "She's still breathing."
The biker demon slips on a full-faced motorcycle helmet as he walks away. "But not for long", echoes back to the group as he drifts into the local haze.
The robed figure throws one of the vampires into a stack of wooden palates. A split piece enters the vampire's chest turning him to ash. He then strikes the other vampire making him land in front of Angel who stakes him. He turns to pursue the leathered monster.
"Wait, can you help her?" Angel breaks the demon's focus on the retreating enemy.
He looks at Cordy then looks back toward the route the other took. Realizing the dilemma Wesley promises, "We'll help you track him."
The hulking figure gracefully turns toward Cordy. "Give me room to work."
The three separate allowing him to lean over Cordy who has fallen unconscious. After a quick examination he holds her neck in his hands and begins to chant in Japanese. A moment later he twists his hands sharply producing a loud crack. Cordy awakens with a start and leaps to her feet.
Cordy's eyes dart around, her head spinning as her body sways. "What was... Who the hell..."
Cordy looks at Angel, Wesley, and Gunn who are shocked at the instant recovery.
Cordy whips around to the demon whose hood obstructs her view of him as he finishes the chant. Frantically she asks "What the hell do you think you were doing?"
He lifts his head and again pushes back the hood to face Cordy giving her a first look at his demonic face. "You had better catch her." He says to the men standing dumbfounded.
Cordy faints and Angel thrusts forward catching her again. "I've been known to have that effect on people." The demon rises and offers a slight bow of respect to the group.
•••
Angel, Gunn, Wesley, Cordy, and the robed demon walk into the hotel lobby continuing a conversation started in the car ride over.
"So you have been around since the 1500's." Gunn turns to Angel "Someone older than you. "
Angel smirks at the comment but doesn't respond. Fred, nose buried in a book, comes out of the back office into the lobby. "You know guys I think we could do alot of stuff with mixing magic and technology. I've even found a new way to fight vampires..."
"You're going to need to catch her." The deep rumbling voice of the robed demon echoes in the lobby.
Cordy and Wesley nod and walk over to Fred who looks up at the new voice. "Who's this?"
Drop. Fred faints into Cordy and Wesley's arms. They drag her over to the sofa in the center of the room while Angel picks up her book.
Once free of the burden Wesley turns and gestures toward Fred, "If you please."
A massive red hand with black nails pointed razor sharp slowly approaches Fred's face.
Cordy looks at the scene with light disgust. "I still can't believe you guys let him do this to me."
"It wasn't like we could've prevented it." Gunn speaks up. "That guy came out of nowhere."
"Not that. This whole touching thing, we didn't know this demon."
Fred starts to awaken and the robe moves away from her "So we have company?"
"Yes, this is..." Wesley stutters a bit trying to pronounce the full name. "What was that again?"
"Kunsomeda Toda Otekasan." Replies the large voice, Fred gives a short giggle while the others look blank. "Oteka for short."
"Yes well Oteka, this is Fred." Wesley gives a formal introduction. "Pleasure to meet you." Rumbles the demon.
"Charmed, why did I just go unconscious?" Her scientist side usually wins over the shy one.
"My apologies, that happens the first time a female human sees one of my race in our natural form." It is obvious that Oteka, while a demon, is a Japanese demon. He maintains the closed and simple body language of a traditional Japanese Monk.
Cordy says, "And I thought it was from that other thing. So what brings you to town?"
Oteka sits on the couch and relaxes an imperceptible bit. Fred, still unsure of him, gets up and walks over to Angel who hands her the book she dropped.
"I'm in Los Angeles hunting down the demon and his minions that we fought tonight." Oteka answers.
Fred looks over the group. "You guys fought minions?"
"Oh ya, us the minion fighters." Cordy's sarcasm has obviously reached the next step.
"She's a little cranky; the bad guy broke her neck." Gunn explains
Startled Fred takes a closer look at Cordy's neck walking toward her. "Are you all right?
Cordy quickly waves her hands in front of Fred. "Ya these guys let him crack my neck back together."
Fred immediately retreats looking over to Gunn. "You're right, cranky."
"Not that I'm complaining but you hunt your own kind?" Angel tries to bring the conversation to a serious point.
Oteka nods, "I am the last of the Oni, or at least I hope I am. I was born in a monastery in the mountains of Japan, 1534. The holy men trained me to control my demonic impulses.
"Earlier you referred to your natural form?" Wesley interjects. "What exactly did you mean by that?"
"I can only take advantage of my accelerated abilities in my natural form. When I am at rest I can concentrate on a different appearance."
Gunn looks interested. "So you can look like anyone?"
Oteka closes his eyes and morphs into a Japanese man in his early 40's. "Not quite. This appearance took a century to build."
Fred smiles, "Well, it does look much better."
Wesley looks over at Fred oddly. Oteka removes his cloak to show a stylish shirt, nice jeans, and boots. Cordy's eyes bulge a bit and she turns walking quickly toward the office.
Wesley continues his questioning. "And the other one like you?"
"Sektaka. He never developed himself to this point of control. " When in his human form the deep voice that remains of the demon form doesn't match the body. He is very plain in appearance, nice looking enough but unremarkable enough to blend into a crowd.
"Do you know more about him?" Angel presses.
"We attended the same monastery, only they were not as effective with him as they were with me."
"That must have been tough." Gunn empathizes.
Cordy returns to the lobby with a fashion magazine holding up the pictures comparing them to Oteka's wardrobe. Oteka becomes distracted by Cordy, who makes little noises when she finds different things about the clothes. "He wasn't able to learn the discipline and philosophy they offered so one night he left."
"How long have you been tracking him?" Wesley asks.
"Several decades after he left, word came back to the monastery that Sektaka had become the demon we feared. I was sent to return him to the monastery at all costs."
Angel senses a problem with his answer. "Is that still the plan?"
"The Tokugawa Shogun destroyed the monastery in 1820. No, after all that's happened over the centuries, my task is to stop him, permanently."
Cordy starts flipping pages frantically.
Gunn steps up, "So your gunna kill him."
"Problem with that?" the deep voice rumbles.
Gunn smiles a reply, "Na, just making sure."
"He started building and leading armies against governments and sovereignties. He destroyed entire provinces single handedly."
Cordy closes the magazine. "I must say you have an excellent taste in wardrobe. Are you gay?" The look of astonishment from the group is intense however Cordy is not swayed in her inquiries.
"Thank you for the compliment, and no I am not."
"What lead you to believe he was here?" Wesley asks desperate now to change the subject.
"He has been hired by a local law firm in an attempt to create a group of elite vampires."
An air of tension builds amongst the group, a form of worry that had not occurred to them prior.
"Wolfram & Hart."
Chapter 2
The hallways of Wolfram & Hart are moderately busy. Sektaka walks down the halls wearing motorcycle leathers and holding a helmet, he's followed by four men wearing business suits. One of the following men is the human side of the third vampire who escaped the night before.
As they move down the hall a woman sees Sektaka and faints. A slight smile crosses his demonic face as he rounds a corner into a conference room. The last man following shuts the doors.
Delilah sits at the head of a conference table with a Senior Partner. "You may consider leaving the helmet on until you get in here."
Sektaka sets the helmet down on the table. "It would cost you much more to have me submit to your will. Besides, I liked you much better sprawled on the floor of your office. "
The Senior Partner gestures to Delilah to stop before she replies. "Why have you called us together for this meeting?"
Sektaka takes a seat while the four men fan out around his side of the room. "Two of my trainees were killed last night. You told me Oteka wouldn't find me here. This complicates things."
"Your point?" The senior Partner knows full well where this is going but he will still make the demon say it.
"More complications mean more money. I am not going to risk my life for free. Training up vampires is easy money, Killing him requires more work."
In full lawyer mode Delilah speaks up "I was lead to believe that you were the last of this race that held the ancient knowledge of...
Sektaka pounds his fist against his side of the table sending it into Delilah and the Senior Partner pinning them into their chairs. The four men shift into vampires and cross the room, two per lawyer. "Knowledge wise enough to have your death planned."
A side door to the room opens revealing four vampire guards with stun batons and stakes. The Senior Partner gives a smirk. "We too stay prepared."
Sektaka gives a hand gesture and the vampires tighten their grip. "I guarantee that you will be dead long before I." The Senior Partner tests his endurance a moment then signals the approaching guards to stop.
Sektaka waves his hand and the vampires release their hold.
"What do you want?" The senior partner straightens his expensive suit trying to avoid eye contact with the demon.
"Add a zero to my rate and furnish me with two other volunteers."
Delilah cocks her head to one side, "How can we be sure it's worth it?"
Sektaka looks at one of the vampires. After a moment of silent communication the vampire approaches the four guards. A step away from them he squares off in a fighting stance.
"A test." Sektaka suggests.
The Senior Partner nods and says to the guards, "Kill him."
The guards become active moving around the lone vampire. As soon as one gets close enough the vampire attacks. Moving faster than the eye can follow he decimates the four guards leaving two dead and two stunned.
The others move over and help to remove the bodies of the two stunned guards.
"I expect the first half of our newly decided price deposited into my account immediately." The four vampires return to Sektaka's side. Two have the subdued guards lifted onto their shoulder.
"We'll take these two volunteers with us."
Sektaka and group exit the conference room.
"Sir, tell me again why we are dealing with this thing." Delilah inquires.
The Senior Partner looks shocked at the question. "He is doing a wonderful job with these guys. Three weeks ago that vampire was a geek from accounting, now look at him."
"He's becoming a greater liability than ever."
"Really. Those vampires are on our side of this deal. Each one is blood bound to this firm, their loyalty is guaranteed. When Mr. Sektaka finishes the training. They will finish him off and bring back the technique."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, find out what happened to our men last night. I want to get to know this Oteka."
Delilah walks quickly toward a door.
"And Delilah,"
She stops and turns.
"You're good, however I don't believe you will ever be good enough to question me again."
•••
Fred is busy working at a laboratory setup in her room. The lab looks like a mixture of science and magic with herbs boiling over burners and a computer analyzing ancient languages.
Wesley pokes his head around looking into the open room. Fred is carefully working with a tray of Jell-O molds in the shape of Xmas trees. She sets down the mold and activates a device with an aluminum tennis racket oddly attached. When she flips the switch a loud electrical field erupts in the center of the tennis racket. She dips the Xmas tree shaped molds into the field holding an arrow stuck in the bottom. When she moves the object out it has formed an arrowhead shaped crystal shard. Wesley steps into the room and Fred turns off the field.
"I'm sorry, too loud? I tried to make it quiet but it's ripping a whole in space/time so it's hard to construct a silencer for it."
"Fred, there's nobody up here; you can make all the noise you want."
"Oh...good"
"I just came up to see what you were doing."
Wesley picks up an arrow with a Jell-O mold tip.
"Well, I was reading the other day about enchanting suspended liquids so I made a Jell-O mold with wooden splinters."
"Naturally."
Fred smiles at the jest but doesn't let it sway her explanation. "The idea is that the splinters will be guided by the enchantment to a vampire's heart as soon as it hits the vampire's blood stream."
"But it's Jell-O. Are we going to force feed it to them?"
"That's what this is for." She indicates the odd tennis racket machine. "This creates a space-time field. I have it set to a dimension that turns everything to crystal. So the arrowheads get turned to razor sharp shards."
"This is based off the doorway that brought us to the demon dimension."
"Sort of but it only works when I want it to and is very small." She turns to a notebook on a table looking away from Wesley. "Actually I found a listing of several hundred different dimensions."
"You're working with some very dangerous things."
"This coming from the guy who hunts down demons and vampires?"
"Those risks are necessary and are not taken lightly."
"I am not risking any more than you. I can't fight in the field like all of you. Cordy can do all that stuff but I'm more the support type."
"And that support is invaluable."
"And I can do much more. I know how to make all this stuff. Now we can hit a vampire anywhere and they poof in no time. And don't even ask what the bat can do." She motions to a baseball bat on a pedestal. "This is how I contribute."
"Very well. Just don't blow the hotel up."
Fred smiles and looks around gleefully at her lab, like a kid being able to keep her favorite toy.
Angel enters and looks at the Jell-O mold arrows on the table. "Hi guys, hey Jell-O." He picks one up. "Can I have one?"
Fred and Wesley grab for the arrow. "No!"
Fred begins to whisper. "Not for good vampires, not for good vampires."
Angel, holding the arrow with the head close to his mouth, stops cold.
Fred turns to Wesley. "Maybe a little more careful."
•••
Oteka, Gunn, and Cordy are in the office researching.
Cordy scrunches her tired eyes. "Tell me again what we are looking for?"
Oteka in human form, answers. "His SOP."
"His what?"
"Standard Operating Procedure." Gunn offers but Cordy just shakes her head at him. "What his patterns are, favorite foods, familiar hangouts."
"He usually will make a local residence by exterminating a family and occupying the home." Oteka adds.
"So missing persons or domestic disturbances." Cordy concludes. "How many vampires will be with him?"
"I can't be sure but rarely more than six."
"So we search larger houses. Big enough to sleep seven." Gunn follows up the thought.
"Nice, hadn't thought of that." Oteka gives a slight bow and Cordy smiles.
Angel and Wesley enter from the staircase. "How was I supposed to know about the Jell-O?"
"You didn't try to eat the Jell-O did you?" Gunn asks incredulous.
"Fred's vampire killing Jell-O?" Cordy smiles.
Wesley looks around the faces curiously. "Did everybody know about it?"
"She had me grinding wood all morning." Gunn admits.
Cordy adds, "She got me to stir it."
Oteka wrinkles his nose. "I don't care for Jell-O."
"As long as I'm not the test dummy." Angel holds up his hands in an apparent surrender on the topic.
Oteka leans forward in his chair sweating. "I have a feeling you'll be testing the Jell-O soon."
Wesley missed what Oteka said lost in thought, "From now on we should all carefully avoid Fred's room."
Oteka jolts to his feet and grabs the counter between him and Angel. His grip squeezes indents into the wood.
"Or not." Wesley finishes the thought looking at Oteka with concern.
Oteka's control over his appearance falters as his demon face returns. He is in the painful throws of a vision very much like Cordy's. His knees give out and he falls to the floor.
Gunn and Cordy instinctively go to Oteka's aid. As soon as Cordy touches him she is hit with the same imagery. They are both seeing Sektaka viciously beating a girl. By the end of the vision the girl is dead and both Cordy and Oteka are unconscious on the floor.
•••
Sektaka stands over the mangled body of a woman. "A seer."