/

/

/

The next day…

/

Spike was sprinting towards the Bronze, trying to beat The Vessel there. If Giles was right, The Vessel would be making his way to an enclosed area filled with young, tasty humans. Spike made a mental note to get a car; even his slayer stamina wouldn't be enough. Spike stopped to catch his breath. He heard a strange rustling in the bushes.

"Either you come out, or I come in there," Spike sighed

The bushes parted, revealing Spike's stalker. She was wearing a red silk dress and carrying a crossbow.

"What do you want?" Spike asked

"You're going to kill the vessel, right?" she asked

"Yeah…" Spike nodded

"Good."

Suddenly, the stalker grabbed Spike, and wrestled his coat off of him. She then gave him a crossbow, as if it was an exchange.

"What the hell?" Spike exclaimed

"You don't want to get your clothes dirty, you've got a big night tonight," the stalker explained

"And how do you know that?"

"I'm a little bit psychic."

"I hope you're not a Cassandra."

Spike was referring to the woman in Greek mythology who could predict the future, but no one would believe her.

"Actually, I'm a Drusilla," she corrected

"As in Caligula's sister?" Spike flinched, "You mean you and your brother…?"

"No," Drusilla interrupted, "My name. Drusilla."

"Oh," Spike nodded, understanding

/

Later…

/

Spike jammed the stake into Luke's heart, giving it a good twist. Luke was horrified for a moment, but then he turned to dust.

"Tell 'The Master'…" Spike wheezed, "That…the Slayer…is coming for him…"

Spike then realized that no one was around to hear him.

"Bugger…" he muttered

/

Spike walked to the front of the Bronze, grabbed the pay phone, and dialed a number.

"Hello?" Giles answered

"I killed The Vessel!" Spike said, still out of breath

"Good. And its associates?"

"What?" Spike groaned

"Spike, surely you didn't think it would be alone?"

Spike turned around, seeing three vampires heading in his direction.

"Son of a…"

/

One fight later…

/

Spike was lying in the alley behind the Bronze, barely alive. Darla stood in front of him, twirling a dagger.

"You made a fight of it, slayer, I'll give you that," Darla admitted

Spike tried to grab his stake from the ground, but Darla got it first.

"Nice try," Darla grinned

She jammed the stake into Spike's arm. It was the most painful thing he had ever experienced. Spike wasn't new to pain; since becoming a slayer, he had been beaten with blunt objects, gotten punched a lot, and had even been stabbed before, but not with a stake. In addition to the pain of having a stake shoved through him, splinters had lodged themselves into his skin. Spike howled with pain.

"Well, slayer, this has been fun," Darla concluded, "But unfortunately, I've got places to be, people to kill…"

Willow walked out of the Bronze in time to see Darla standing over Spike. Without hesitation, she picked up the crossbow that Spike had dropped. There was one bolt in it.

"Hey!" Willow yelled, "Get away from him!"

Darla turned around.

"Do you even know how to use that?" she sneered

Willow pulled the trigger, and the bolt went flying in Darla's direction. It missed her heart.

"Aaaaaaah!" Darla screamed

It missed her heart, and landed in her eye. Darla couldn't handle the pain. She ran off, attempting to yank the arrow out.

"Spike!" Willow dropped the crossbow

She ran to him.

"Are you alright?" Willow asked

"I'll be fine," Spike grunted, "Help me up?"

Willow helped Spike to his feet. He yanked the stake out.

"I wonder what would have happened if I'd asked for the chicken?" Spike joked

"Huh?" Willow asked, "Oh! I get it! Like chicken or steak! Ha-ha!"

"Yeah," Spike nodded, "Now help me get out of here before something kills me?"

Willow laughed again.

"That one wasn't a joke."

"Sorry."

/

Willow helped Spike walk to the school.

"Spike, I really think you should go to the hospital," Willow said

"Nah," Spike shook his head, "I'll be fine."

"But you got stabbed with a piece of wood!" Willow reminded

Spike rolled up his sleeve. His wound was almost completely closed.

"How did you do that?" Willow asked

"One of the benefits of being a slayer," Spike explained, "I can heal pretty fast."

"What exactly is a slayer?" Willow asked, "I know it's what you are, but what is it?"

"It's someone who's given the strength and skill to kill vampires," Spike explained

"How do you get them?"

"I'm not sure. One day I found myself stronger and then some bloke showed up and said I had to kill vampires."

"Do you get a choice?"

"Not really. It's like being drafted, except you can't escape to Canada."

"That doesn't sound too good."

"Understatement."

/

They arrived at Sunnydale High, and headed to the library. Giles was attempting to make sense of an ancient text.

"So does that mean no ONE can enter the temple, or literally no MAN?" he muttered

"Giles!" Spike called

Giles looked up from his book.

"Oh, good, you're here," he said, "Did you have trouble with The Vessel's guard?"

"No, thanks to Maid Marion here," Spike indicated Willow

"Well, while she's here, she can help us with research," Giles said, "Now, from what I've read of 'The Master', he likes to dwell underground. As soon as city hall opens in the morning, we can apply for the plans for the city, which we can get in about two weeks…"

"There's a quicker way," Willow interrupted

"Do you know someone who can get us the plans?" Giles asked

"Yeah. Me."

Willow sat down at the computer, and logged herself in.

"When you spend as much time online as I do, you pick up a few things," Willow explained, typing away, "It's a simple matter of finding the weak point in the system and tearing it open. All I need to do is find one corrupted terabyte and then I can exploit it by creating a new primary ident."

She hit the enter key.

"I just did it," Willow replied, "Here's the plans for the entire city."

She punched them up on the computer.

"So, I guess this 'master' must be hiding in a large underground area, somewhere he could live in."

Willow zoomed in on the plans.

"Now this is a church that collapsed in the thirties, it's connected to the sewers," she said, "It's not exactly a mansion, but if half of what I've heard about vampires is true, it would be ideal for one, especially one who calls himself 'The Master'."

Giles leaned in closer, and examined the screen.

"You're brilliant…" he breathed

"I can also hack the Mayor's computer. Want to read his e-mails?"

"Perhaps another time…"

/

Later…

/

Spike ran into Drusilla on his way home; she was waiting for him by the Revello Drive street sign, holding his coat.

"You knew I was going to get stabbed," Spike said, "You really are psychic."

"Yes," Drusilla nodded

"So why didn't you just tell me that?"

"I couldn't prevent it. But I could save your poor coat."

She handed it to Spike. He slid it back on.

"Drusilla, who are you? Why are you helping me?"

"I lost my family to a bad, bad vampire," Drusilla explained, her British accent becoming more apparent, "I want to catch him. Make him pay. I want to stake him everywhere except his heart. Then I'll stake him in the heart."

There was an awkward silence.

"So I'll see you around?" Spike asked

"Of course."

/

/

/

To be continued…