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Heros: The Education of Mr. Riley

Secrets collecting dust
but never forget
Skeletons come to
life in my closet
I found out what it takes
to be a man
Mom and Dad will never
understand
What's happening to me
-Green Day "Coming Clean"

Chapter One

The streets were quiet at one am on a Wednesday. Whoever had not gone to bed, was now stumbling home for the bars to do just that. Spike and Layla walked these quiet streets looking for their quarry. 'Correction,' Spike thought. 'I am looking for the geek squad, she is looking at the stars and pot holes.' Spike, again, wondered why he chose to go on this search with her, and not Gunn.

Layla had taken them directly into the center of town. They had, for a lack of a better word, phased into the ally next to the Pizza place they had gone to the night before. He had stood there for a moment shaking off the effects. It felt like being torn apart and put back together, but with a pleasurable chill. It was a very odd feeling. Then, he noticed he was still holding her hand. He quickly and, as a result, awkwardly yanked his hand away, and stalked off into the street. Layla on her part just looked at him awkwardly in return, but then, for a brief moment, looked at bit annoyed when he took his hand back.

Spike slowed his pace to allow her to catch up, and lit a cigarette. However, he seemed intent on not being too physically close to her. And that was how they had been for the last hour. Searching, but not finding anything, and not walking too close. Now, he was starting to wonder if they would ever find anything.

Then, something found them. Spike knew right off what it was, by the scent and the way they moved. 'Vampires,' he thought. "Damn!" he whispered aloud. Layla's head snapped back from the telephone pole she was contemplating. She regarded them with interest as they walked up to a young man who was drunkenly walking home.

"Stay here!" Spike ordered, and ran down the sidewalk to where the gang of five was starting to surround the man.

Layla looked at his back with a very annoyed expression on her face, and phased out. Spike skidded to a stop to find her already ahead of him. She stood next to the young man, and smiled at the group of vampires. They backed up quickly; instinctively knowing something was wrong. She turned to the young man, put her fingers to her lips, and then placed her palm on his head. He smiled, and dropped to the ground unconscious. The vampires watched dumbfounded.

Spike took full advantage of the moment, and quickly staked the first one. This brought the other four out of their stupor quickly. Two others turned, and ran at him. The other two turned to Layla. "You'll pay for that Bitch," a blond haired female dressed as a goth growled. Layla looked at her, her expression almost childlike. "This will be too easy," the other, a dark haired male, stated with a grin.

The female moved quickly, but Layla was quicker. As the vampire's fist came toward her, she reached out her own, and grabbed it. The vampire howled in pain, as Layla's eyes hardened, and her hand ground the bones to dust. The male rushed her, but to no avail. Layla reached out her other hand, and grabbed him by the throat. He turned to dust as she squeezed his neck to meal, effectively decapitating him. She didn't even look at him for the brief moment it took her to accomplish it. Her eyes glinted silver as she tossed the female into the wires of the telephone poll, that only a moment ago she had studied so closely.

Spike staked his last vampire, and looked up just in time to see what Layla had done. The female screamed as 3000 volts of electricity burned her to ash.

Layla shook her head, and turned her attention to the man on the pavement. She picked him up, and carried him to a nearby bench. "He will recover shortly," she whispered. She waved a hand slowly over his head, and looked at Spike. "And remember nothing of this encounter." She stood, and walked over to Spike, who was looking like he just got hit with a Mac truck. "Are you well?" she said with concern, and place a hand on his arm. A hand, he thought to himself, which a moment ago, had ripped vampires apart like paper, but was now extremely gentle and soft.

Spike jumped a little at the touch, and looked at her hand. However, when he looked up it was with a more humble respect. He had taken her for a naïve, peace-child, and forgotten who she was and where she came from.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He took her hand, and gave it a squeeze. She blushed and let go. "You're stronger than you look Angel Toes."

He smiled, and waved ahead of them. "Shall we?"

She smiled back.


Connor and Illyria had picked up the trail in the graveyard. It had been where they had last seen Bartleby, so it seemed the logical place to start. Connor moved quickly, stopping every few minutes to confirm the direction. Illyria kept pace behind him, keeping watch for potential threats. She watched him as he moved with the grace of a cat, and approved of the boy's skill. It seemed the training of his past life had indeed returned, and this would be a great asset to them should their quarry prove unwilling to cooperate.

So far, neither had spoken to the other since leaving the car back at the graveyard. Illyria did not mind this for she found humans more vocal than necessary. In her opinion, a warrior must be silent and ever vigil for threats.

They managed to follow the trail to outside the city limits, into a residential neighborhood. Connor stopped, and sat on the edge of the sidewalk to take a breather and get his bearings. He looked up at his companion. She looked a lot different from when he had first met her. Her hair was less blue, her eyes were not so alien, and she wore normal clothing. She looked less like an ancient demon, and more like a normal woman with a leaning toward a punkish look. It was her body language that betrayed her as something other than human. It was jerky, like a bird, and stiff. There was, apart from the obvious physical resemblance, nothing that reminded him of Fred. Those memories had been hard to reconcile at first. He remembered the quiet yet resolute physicist, and it was only when he had gotten home that it had clicked that Illyria and Fred bore more than a passing resemblance. No one had come out and said it, but he knew that something had happened to Fred, and Illyria had been that something.

Illyria sensed his examination, and turned toward him. "There is something that troubles you? "she asked him, not unkindly.

Connor looked at his shoes, a bit embarrassed to be caught out so, but he looked her in the eye a moment later. "You were Fred, weren't you? I mean, something happened to Fred, and now you're in there."

Illyria sighed, and crouched down in front of him so her face was but inches away. "This shell...this body once belonged to Winifred Burkle. The process in which I returned to this world killed her. It was not my intention for this to happen." She looked down for a moment. "I will not apologize for actions that were not my own. However," she looked back up into his eyes, "I am sorry that she and others were injured by it. She must have been a ...remarkable person to have encouraged the loyalty of so many." She stood, and moved a few paces away from him. She looked down the street, but Connor felt she was looking much farther away than that. "I have learned much since my awakening. I have learned the value of human strength. You are small and weak, but you endure so much. It is confusing, yet commendable."

Connor stood, and stretched. He felt no blame toward the demon at all. The memories of a woman he had known in another life, seemed far away at this point compared to what had happened and was happening now. "Well, as long as you don't taser me, we'll get along fine." He said with a smile, and started walking down the street.

Illyria looked at him oddly for a moment, and then with a slight smile on her lips, she followed him.


Author's note: I would like to thank everyone for their kind reviews, and hope this next episode in the saga brings answers to your questions, and new questions for you to answer...

Enjoy the show!