XXXXXXXXXX
Dawn was getting worried.
It had been at least two days since she last heard from Buffy. When Buffy first didn't return from the clubs, Dawn had assumed she had met someone there and gone away with him. But when Buffy didn't return home later that day nor even call her, Dawn started going frantic. Several calls to Buffy's phone revealed that it wasn't working, but that didn't stop the younger Summers from trying. She had also contacted the other Scoobies, but not one of them had heard from Buffy, although Willow did offer to try a location spell. Now, Dawn was pacing the living room, wringing her hands as she waited for the phone call from the red-haired witch.
The phone finally rang and Dawn practically jumped out of her skin in surprise (thankful that she wasn't living on the Hellmouth or that would have literally happened), and she dashed over to the phone, fumbling it as she answered.
"Buffy?"
"Sorry, Dawnie, but no Buffy," Willow replied, "Just me. I'm afraid I've got some bad news and well…just bad news."
"How bad?"
"Well, sweetie, I did that locator spell and…well, um…Buffy's nowhere to be found."
"What?" Dawn cried, her grip tightening on the phone.
"I did Rome at least three times, then I went global," Willow said hurriedly, "No Buffy."
"What does that mean?"
"She's disappeared off the face of the earth."
XXXXXXXXXX
Connor sighed as he waited for college to finish. The day had been dragging on and now he had to spend only two hours in a classroom with a substitute teacher before he could go home, so to kill time, Connor decided to engage in a paper dart war with some of his friends, as well as texting Spike for amusement. Finally, the time came for the end of class and Connor never felt so relieved to be heading home. Packing away his study books, he was heading for the exit, when the teacher called him back.
"What is it, sir?" Connor asked, shifting his backpack to his other shoulder.
"I noticed how you weren't paying attention in class today," the teacher replied.
"Oh, yeah, sorry…I guess."
By now, they were the only ones left in the classroom, with Connor hoping that he would be let go soon. He really wanted to go home and hang out with his father.
"Anything else?" Connor asked.
"Sure thing," the teacher replied.
His hand suddenly shot out and grabbed the teenager by the throat, before hurling him through the air. Connor crashed amongst the desks, groaning in pain as he rolled over onto his stomach, watching as the teacher's skin and clothes were shed, falling to the ground to reveal the demon's true form, a large hulk of a beast with dark thick skin and irregular fangs. Reaching under the teacher's desk, the demon drew out a large axe and stomped up towards Connor, as he hurriedly got to his feet.
"Okay, so this is new. Here you are, attacking me right in the middle of public and no doubt on orders from Wolfram and Hart. How do we go about this?"
"I kill you," the demon snarled in reply.
"Yeah, cause that always ends so well for you guys," Connor said sarcastically.
The demon lunged, swinging the axe, as Connor dived out of the way, throwing his schoolbag at the demon's face. Catching him by surprise, Connor then launched a desk at the beast, throwing him off guard, before leaping onto a desk and lashing out with a kick. Unfortunately, the demon caught him by the leg and raised his axe, but Connor dropped himself onto the desk, the axe sailing just inches overhead.
"Damn, that was close. Too close!"
With his free leg, Connor kicked the demon in the jaw, freeing his other leg and rolled off the desk, before shoving it towards the demon as he raised his axe, the desk momentarily halting his attack, but it was enough for Connor to race down towards the exit. Just as he grasped the door handle, he was yanked from behind and hurled away from the door, the demon standing between him and the exit.
"Okay, how to get out of this one intact. What would Angel do?"
The demon roared and charged again, leaping through the air, his axe sinking into the wooden floorboards, as Connor moved in swiftly, striking fast and hard into the demon's unprotected ribs. The demon snarled and whirled around with a backhand, but Connor ducked, striking him in the stomach, only for the demon to boot him in the chest. Connor slid along the floor, before flipping up onto his feet, just as the axe came sailing for his head. Ducking under the blade in time, Connor slammed his shoulder into the demon's ribs, forcing him back a few inches, then began delivering blows to the demon's mid-section. He growled and grabbed Connor by the back of his shirt, lifting him off the ground, but Connor kneed him in the jaw, freeing himself.
The demon snarled in annoyance, as Connor took the opportunity to launch a powerful kick straight into the demon's knee, snapping it. The demon howled, clutching his knee in agony, dropping his axe in the process. Smirking, Connor seized the axe and implanted the blade into the demon's head. He instantly dropped.
"Well…how am I going to explain this one?" Connor asked himself.
XXXXXXXXXX
Angel and Spike returned back to the Hyperion to find that the phone was ringing off the hook. The elder vampire moved with lightning speed, answering the call.
"Angel Investigations. We help the-"
"Angel!" came an urgent, familiar voice over the line.
The vampire frowned, moreso in surprise than anything else, "Willow?"
"I - we - I need your help! Buffy's gone missing!"
"Missing? Missing where? How? What are you talking about?"
Spike had perked up at the first mention of Buffy's name and was puzzled over what the witch was talking about. Since when and how did Buffy go missing?
"According to Dawn, Buffy went missing about two days ago," Willow replied, a little calmer now, "I tried a location spell, but I couldn't find Buffy anywhere on the global map. And I mean anywhere."
"Okay, okay, listen, we'll keep an eye out for her here. If we hear or see anything, we'll let you know."
Farewelling the witch, Angel hung up and slowly turned to Spike.
"I guess you heard that?"
"Duh. So, Buffy's missing? Which means we gotta find her."
"Spike, don't go rushing into this just yet. If Willow was unable to locate Buffy, that means that whoever has Buffy has a lot of powerful magic on their side."
"Yeah, well, when someone like her just ups and disappears, there's bound to be word passing 'bout on the streets. I'm gonna find those words."
"Spike!"
But Spike was already back in the basement, entering the sewers and heading to one of the nearest demon bars. He hoped that someone or something had heard of Buffy's kidnapping. There was no way in the world that an incident like that wouldn't cause any waves in the demon world. He just prayed she was still alive when they found her.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Jacob Crane?"
The aristocratic man looked up from his dinner, as a young man sat before him. He was stocky and muscular, with closely-shaved hair and a small beard. Dressed in casual clothes consisting of a T-shirt and jeans, the young man stared intensely at Crane, who was starting to become unnerved.
"Can I help you?"
"You're the one who goes around L.A., carving up creatures as delicacies? And not just demons or werewolves, but sometimes humans as well."
"I just do what my high-paying customers ask for," Crane said stiffly.
The man leaned back in his chair, one arm slung over the back, a smirk on his face.
"Is that so? Is that how you justify the murder of numerous, innocent people?"
"I don't think this is any of your business, boy. You should leave."
"Don't worry, I'm already planning on leaving. But first, I gotta do this."
Rising up from the chair, the man grinned as he underwent a transformation. His hair disappeared as his eyes turned a pupil-less white. His shirt was ripped from his expanding body, muscles becoming thicker and stronger, as his skin turned dark blue and runic markings appeared on his body. A pair of horns erupted from his skull, as a long thick tail completed the transformation. Crane stared in horror at the demon before him, fear preventing him from running for his life.
The demon raised his hand and Crane felt the air get colder around him, dropping rapidly in temperature, as an orb of ice appeared around him, constricting him. Crane pressed his hands against the ice, eyes wide in horror, as the demon then slashed the air with his claws and the ice orb, including Crane, shattered into a million, bloodied pieces. Satisfied, the demon resumed his human form and drew out a list from his pocket.
"Jacob Crane. Done. Next, Angelus."
XXXXXXXXXX