Tangled Webs chapter 1
AN: I only own the plot and all the characters belong to Joss Whedon
11th May 2005 in London
XOYO the newest nightclub in London opened tonight the base of speakers was bouncing off the walls rammed with party goers of all walks of life. The Demon and human community in London were so diverse that even Buffy and Spike could blend into the background undetected.
As soon as they had arrived Buffy had left Spike with a kiss and ran into the wave of clubbers and pretty much disappeared from sight, whilst as always Spike kept an eye on her from a distance sitting at a table drinking a pint of bitter as he watched her dance and grind in the middle of a big group of people clearly enjoying herself with a wide smile across her face.
Spike smirked over the rim of his glass remembering their tumultuous past from trying to kill her to getting chipped by those Wankers in the Initiative and then falling for the Slayer. His decision to regain his soul was because, as a soulless demon, his interest in Buffy was killing them. Buffy had been grieving and depressed because her friends pulled her out of heaven. Suddenly he became aware of a familiar voice from the past which had jerked him out of his thoughts.
"Hi, how are things?" inquired a demon in a colourful suit.
"Green jeans, is that you?" asked Spike, recognizing Lorne he hadn't seen him since Lorne went missing after the last battle in L.A.
"Yes, it's me, Spike, and long-time no see. This club's no Caritas but people singing around a guy could get used to this. How is the big guy doing?" asked Lorne.
"If you are referring to Captain Forehead, he is fine and in Ireland with Nina" replied Spike and he could not understand what a lovely girl such as Nina saw in His Broodiness. Although having to turn into Cujo every full moon did limit dating opportunities, he thought.
"Good for him! … Is there some place quiet where we can talk?" requested Lorne and Spike nodded and followed Lorne outside into the dark alley.
"What's on your mind, Lorne?" asked Spike.
"I have heard through the grapevine that Wolfram and Hart are back and running a new operation involving Slayers" replied Lorne.
"Why tell me? I thought that you had gotten out of the game mate, after Angel got you to shoot Doyle... Er Linsdey right?" questioned Spike.
"I thought that you could tell your new girlfriend and she's a peach by the way. I don't want to be revealed as the source of your information. It has taken me about a year and lots of patience to get my new club started and I don't want my club to be blown up again" replied Lorne.
"Alright and i'll tell her but tomorrow." agreed Spike and they went back inside. Buffy smiled at him when she saw him approach. She was currently drinking cocktail and looking rather sweaty from dancing. But to Spike, she looked as sexy as always. Lorne eyed the front door and then muttered under his breath before he left. Spike turned to see another acquaintance from his Sunnydale days arrive with a slender young man with long, brown hair and blue eyes.
"Faith" grumbled Buffy, with some irritation.
"Yes, it is Hellcat and Peaches junior," said Spike now recognizing the young man.
Buffy knew that Hellcat was his nickname for Faith. The brunette Slayer radiated power and confidence as she walked through the crowd of dancers onto the dance floor, followed by her boyfriend.
"I thought that she and her new boyfriend were in Ireland visiting Angel" hissed Buffy. She thought that his name was Connor or something like that. The only thing that she knew about the brunette Slayer's personal life was that Faith was currently screwing some demon hunter, but this kid looked very skinny and only a year or two above Dawn's age.
"Well, she is here now, and she may have hurt you in the past but times have changed, Slayer" replied Spike wisely.
"Yeah I know" answered Buffy. She and the brunette would never be the best of friends although they could work well together sometimes. She heard Spike chuckle to himself and followed his gaze where Faith and Connor bumped and grinded in time to the music. Connor had put his hands-on Faith's hips as she was grinding her leather-clad butt against his groin.
"Well if only Peaches could see his baby boy now" chortled Spike.
"Do you mean Angel?" Buffy asked, wondering what her boyfriend was finding so funny.
"Yes, that is the not so little tyke Connor who is looking a bit more normal than the last time that I saw him," said Lorne, who had reappeared with a drink in his hand.
"Connor is?" asked Buffy wondering who was this green demon and what connection Faith's new boyfriend had to Spike or Angel?
"Connor is the apple of Angel's eye and the reason why the big man took us to work for Wolfram and Hart," said Lorne.
"Buffy, this is Lorne from Los Angeles and he used to work with Peaches when I knew him" Spike introduced them with a wave of his hand.
"Oh, it's nice to meet you," Buffy said, and she puzzled over what her ex was doing now. The last she had heard that Angel was living in Ireland with Nina, a blonde werewolf. She wished him well with his relationship.
There was a commotion at the door as around a dozen vampires arrived, looking menacing. They began to attack people and screams could be heard.
"Not again" cursed Lorne, "Why didn't I install those protection spells?"
"Don't worry Lorne, we will soon eject your trespassers" reassured Spike and he and Buffy both leapt to the stage almost in concert and started to fight the nearest vampires. He watched Buffy throw herself with zealous abandon into the fight. She unleashed her flurry of martial arts combinations against several vampires. He smiled to himself as he heard her taunt her opponents before hurling one into the wall.
Lorne used his demonic shriek, and everyone covered their ears.
"Bloody hell, Lorne, warn a fellow before you do that!" cursed Spike, holding his right hand to his ear while staking a vampire with his left. He observed Faith and her boyfriend holding off several vampires and staking a few who had been covering their ears. He had to admit that the kid was good and was almost as strong as him or Angel.
One of the surviving vampires ran for his unlife out the door.
The music started up again and those who had stayed behind began to party again.
"Thanks for the assistance, you two lovebirds are useful to have around.," Lorne thanked them before he moved on to greet the newcomers because he was the Host.
"That was fun, B" chortled Faith, now joining them.
"Faith, I thought that you were in Ireland visiting Angel," replied Buffy suspiciously.
"I was and the big guy says hey," retorted Faith.
"Hello again Spike," spoke Connor.
"Broody Boy, I have not seen you since LA." Replied Spike
"Oh, so you were also part of Angel`s group?" Buffy asked curiously. She had no problems interrogating Faith`s boyfriend and anyway she wanted to know more about the people Spike met in LA.
"Well, not exactly," replied Connor.
He then left with Faith's arm around his waist and grins on their faces.
Buffy didn't want to know where they were going next because she knew what Faith did after a good bout of slayage. She and Spike then left to make their journey back to their place.
#####################################################
In a parallel universe in the same evening somewhere in Los Angeles
Demons of various species, vampires and some humans were gathered around a huge round, wooden table at a large mansion, chanting in unison. They were members of a secret society known as the Circle of the Black Thorn.
"Of the world's woe, now convene. All is bound by the circle and its thorns. Invisible, inviolate, we, the seeds of the storm, at the centre of the world's woe, now convene."
A tall, dark-haired man sat at the table with a cruel smirk on his face.
"So, do you think that you are worthy to join the Circle, Angelus?" asked Sebassis after sipping from a champagne flute.
"Well I am here now, aren't I!" snapped Angelus.
"Yes, your liberation at the hands of the former liaison of the Senior Partners was unexpected but not unwelcome. We did not expect you to bring friends" wheezed Vail, a red-skinned demon. He was referring to the brunette with an insane look in her eyes and two other vampires.
"But can you imagine Angelus having the patience to run Wolfram and Hart?" said one of the vampires with a sardonic tone in his voice. Angelus snarled at him but he looked unmoved.
"We, the Circle, are meant to be the instruments of the Senior Partners in this dimension and to do that we are meant to make this place a darker place for people and demons to live in" explained Senator Brucker who was a demon inside a blonde and middle-aged woman's skin.
"We have not the time or the patience to waste on silly blood feuds such as yours with William The Bloody," said a well-built man in an expensive suit who Angelus recognized to be Hamilton. Wesley smirked to himself and then suddenly Vail chanted in a demonic tongue and a portal opened.
"You can serve the Senior Partners someplace where you can't betray us or harm our plans for this world" mocked Brucker.
"You can't do this to me!" barked Angelus now realizing that he had been led into a trap.
"You are an old relic with an inflated opinion of yourself but who has been cursed with a soul more than once" replied one of the Circle members with a smirk. Hamilton moved in and began to grapple with Angelus, managing to pin his arms with his superior strength. He began to drag Angelus to the portal and simply threw him through.
"Daddy!" wailed Drusilla, looking fearful and in shock.
"Bye Angelus and don't ever come back. I will be a member of the Circle however," sneered Wesley with a gloating smile. But then he felt immobilized as Vail pointed at him while chanting and he felt that he was dragged by a superior invisible force to the portal.
"No, wait! I was helping you!" protested Wesley.
"Yes, you did your part in getting Angelus and his children here, but you can't be trusted, Pryce. So, you can serve the Senior Partners in a parallel world" replied Vail, smiling evilly, and with a gesture he released Wesley who fell screaming through the portal. Also, using his superior magic skills,he succeeded in throwing Drusilla and her younger brother through the portal and with another gesture he zipped it shut. He then turned to Sebassis.
"It was unfortunate that we had to send Angelus and the others away," commented Sebassis, looking rather irritated.
"The Senior Partners feel that Angelus and his gang are better utilized in a different world where their skills can be used to the greatest effect rather than risk them damaging the plans of the Wolf, Ram, and Hart here," spoke Hamilton.
"Yes, having loose cannons in this world such as Angelus, The Destroyer, Drusilla or Wyndham Pryce is a recipe for disaster" agreed Senator Brucker looking relieved.
"Shall we move on to the daily business now that the show is over?" offered one member, a suited red-skinned demon with horns.
"Yes, we should but we have to decide what to do with the former lieutenants of the vampire with the soul," said Sebassis.
"Well why don't we throw them out and they can go back to being private detectives in that hotel?" asked Izzerial.
#####################################################
At a deserted warehouse in London at midnight on Saturday May 12th in the mainstream world.
A black Volvo pulled up and two people got out. One was a distinguished Englishman wearing glasses while the other was a younger blond man. They went inside and met with a muscular man in a suit.
"We have the man that you requested," said the tall and muscular man.
"Thank you, Cain. Please bring our honoured guest in," said the Englishman and Ethan Rayne was dragged out by the scruff of his neck.
"Ripper, will you be a dear and tell him to let me go," said Ethan.
"So, I hear that you are trying to get in on our operation, Ethan. How very typical always sticking your nose in where doesn't belong, " scolded Giles.
"It's not like you to be involved in kidnapping and selling Slayers, Rupert," said Ethan with a confused look.
"You shouldn't call me Rupert because you are not speaking to your former friend and I mean that in the literal sense," said Giles.
"You are not Rupert," said Ethan and an awful realization began to enter his head.
"No, Rupert Giles is no longer in possession of this body, but I am," said the possessed Giles. He then produced a handgun from his pocket and fired two shots. One hit Ethan in the chest and the other hit him in the head. Ethan fell to the ground dead. Non-Giles laughed before handing the weapon to his companion who took it with a frightened expression on his face.
"That was well-played, sir," said Cain.
"I know and it feels good to be evil because it has been tiring to play the do-gooder all this time," said the possessed Giles.
"Yes, but the Senior Partners want to know why Angel and Spike are still undead when you were supposed to let them die in that battle against the legions that our masters had sent against them" complained Cain.
"Yes, but Buffy, Faith, and Willow Rosenberg gave the vampire with the soul the benefit of the doubt and sent in Slayers to rescue the survivors of Angel's team a year ago," replied non-Giles defensively.
"Yes, that was done without authorization from either myself or my boss and there was nothing that we could do," commented the younger man who was looking pale from fear.
"Do shut up, Andrew, while your betters are speaking!" barked possessed Giles.
"Yes, do be quiet. The Senior Partners have sent in a team to take care of Angel, Spike, and Connor because their parts in destroying the Circle of the Black Thorn will be answered," said Cain, looking stoically at them.
"Our business associate in Los Angeles will want to help because he hates Angel for what happened to him," commented non-Giles.
"Right and how is the merchandise doing?" asked Cain.
"We have put them in cages that are electrified, and their powers have been deprived through an injection. So far, we have sold at least 5 percent of the worldwide Slayers to the most eager buyers that we have found through the Immortal's connections," reported Andrew.
"Good. Make sure that you give the locations of Angel and Spike to our business associate in Los Angeles. We may need him and his gang should Angelus and his team get out of control," replied Cain.
Please read and review and I would like to Starway Man for his kind advice on this story.