Swirling her tongue around the red sucker, Luci propped her feet on the small coffee table, twirling a long strand of her white-blonde hair around her fingertip

Swirling her tongue around the red sucker, Luci propped her feet on the small coffee table, twirling a long strand of her white-blonde hair around her fingertip. "I think we got everything."

"I'd say so." Bella agreed, closing the folder on the desk. "Is that all we need to know, boss?"

There was a chuckle down the phone line. "Yes, girls." The dangerously-sexy male voice replied. "Enjoy yourselves and don't make too much mess, all right? I would hate to have to scold you."

There was a crackle of static as the phone cut off, leaving the three women grinning wickedly at one another. "Don't you love it when he gives us something fun to do?" Lee remarked, standing up.

"No doubt about it." Luci nodded. "So, we head out tonight and we should get there by daybreak, right?"

Bella tossed her mass of auburn hair back over her slim shoulders. "A couple of hours of driving should get us there in plenty of time." She dug out a bunch of silvery keys. "Well, ladies, I suggest we pack and move out...what say you?"

"Aye!" Lee raised her hand enthusiastically, her oriental ebony eyes dancing with mischief. "Can't wait to kick some serious ass!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Bella smirked. "Very well, my fellow fighters, we have four hours to plan, then we're out of here, right?"

She was answered by the backs of her two companions racing out of the doors, their heels clicking on the stone floors.

Releasing a slow sigh, the auburn woman shook her head, tucking her bunch of keys back into her pocket. "Which leaves me to crank up the Hell Beast I suppose." She stated to the silent room, pivoting to walk to the garage.

*

"We're gonna rock this country!" Three feminine voices rang out, the stereo blasting at full volume as the massive, gleaming white car roaring into the small town. "Right out of this world!"

Skidding to a halt outside the High School, the gathered pupils stared in awe at the beautiful vehicle, elaborate gold lettering on the rear of the car spelling out the surprisingly contradictory name of 'The HellBeast'.

The two passengers scrambled out, closely followed by the black-haired, oriental-looking driver. All three were stunning, despite looking completely different to one another.

The smallest of the trio was an innocent-looking girl. With twin, white blonde pigtails hanging down on either side of her cherubic features, her blue eyes sparkled with the promise of mischief. In a white-and-blue-checked skirt and white blouse, she looked more of a little girl than a woman, a sucker between her rose-pink lips.

Her auburn companion, however, looked every inch the professional. Her dark red hair was pinned in a perfect french roll, her tailored suit looking expensive and impeccable. Her severity was only dimmed by her dancing green eyes and the wicked smile that curved her ruby lips up.

Their driver was the tallest of the three. Her radiant, silk-like hair hung down her back smoothly, her reed-like body clad entirely in black leather, right down to the silver-studded gloves.

"Howdee." The little blonde batted her eyes at one of the teens standing on the wide steps. Her tongue flicked out and swirled around her sucker suggestively, her baby-blue eyes glinting.

"Luci." The driver warned her. "Leave the kids alone. We're here for a reason. Not for you to flirt with any male that passes by."

Luci pouted. "You're no fun." She stuck her tongue out childishly, then turned back to the teen, smiling innocently, her eyebrows rising suggestively. "What do you think? Is she a spoilsport?"

"Uh...yeah?" The brunette teen stared at her numbly, watching the tip of her delicate pink tongue against the sucker.

A dark-haired girl next him slapped him sharply on the arm. "Xander! Stop staring!"

"Sorry, honey." Tearing his attention away from the girl, the triad were amused to see a red head and blonde smirking at the blustering teenager. "She...she just had a sucker...I love suckers..."

"Seeing Freud connotations here?" The blonde suggested.

The red head giggled and squealed. "Buffy!"

"You're Buffy?" The tall, black-haired woman stepped forward, eyeing the girl with interest. Proffering a hand, she smiled warmly as the petite blonde warily shook it. "I'm Lee. Maybe you can help me."

"Uh...sure."

"We're looking for an expert on the occult...Rupert Giles...we heard that he worked here, as a librarian?"

"You wanna see him?"

Nodding, Lee gestured Luci and the striking, auburn-haired woman to follow. "If it's not too much trouble."

Leaving her friends, the young Slayer smiled brightly. "No problem. I'm just going to see him anyway."

Entering the school building, Buffy couldn't help but steal a glance back at the three women. There was something weird about them. They positively glowed with some kind of hidden power.

"So why do you want to see Giles?" She asked, directing them down the hall, the crowds of kids parting to let the four pass by, the trio of beautiful women drawing admiring and jealous glances from males and females alike.

"We heard he may be able to direct us to...someone we're looking for." The auburn-haired woman responded. "You may have heard of him. A tall, dark man by the name of Angelus."

The Slayer stopped short, the muscles in her jaw twitching. "Why would you want to find Angelus?" She asked, her voice deceptively soft. "Don't you know what he is?"

"Oh we know." The expression on Luci's face was far from child-like. "We know exactly what he is." Stepping close to the Slayer, a shiver passed down the Slayer's spine at the sinister look in the petite blonde woman's eyes. "Fact is, that's why we're here."

"Maybe you could tell us where he is." The auburn woman put in, her green eyes boring into Buffy's hazel ones. "Being his ex and the Slayer means that you do have a bit of an advantage on us."

Buffy suddenly felt incredibly small, the power and confidence of the three women making her tremble. "But you...you didn't tell me why you are here." She faltered, her teeth chattering. "Or how you know who I am..."

"We're just well-informed." The tallest of the three put in, gesturing for her companions to back off a little. "Sorry if we scared you, kid, but Bella and Luci do have a tendency to get carried away."

"It's vital that we find the whereabouts of Angelus and that we do it discreetly." Bella stated softly, making certain no one was listening. "If you tell us and allow us this one night when you don't hunt, we can promise to be out of your hair by tomorrow evening, tops. All we ask is for your trust and confidentiality."

"You came here to find me? Not Giles?" Buffy asked faintly. The women nodded in unison. "And why should I tell you? What does it gain me?"

"Well, you don't lose anything," Luci put in brightly, tugging on the end of one of her pigtails. "You just have an extra night off and if you let us do what we have to, you could gain everything."

Buffy tried not to roll her eyes. "I guess I can manage that." She reluctantly conceded. "But what do I tell Giles, huh? What shall I say when he tells me to go slay and whatever?"

"Leave that to us." Bella's smile was dazzling. "I've been meaning to talk to this chap for quite a while now. He sounds like a very interesting young man."

"Giles? Young?" Buffy couldn't help but laugh. "Now there's two words I never imagined going together." She flashed a reluctant smile at the trio. "Let's get to the library. We can talk there."

*

Sitting on the wide table alongside the Slayer, Luci pushed her sucker into her cheek and turned her attention to the girl next to her. "So you really fight all the demons that come along?"

Tearing her attention from the office where Bella and Lee were talking animatedly to Giles, she glanced at the blonde next to her. "All the ones that need to be slain or fought." She replied cagily.

"I guess that they're not all bad." Swinging her booted feet back and forth, Luci smiled brightly. "I met this demon once and he just had the cutest set of buns in the world...Mmm..." She smirked wickedly. "Now, I wish I could bake 'em to look like that."

"We are talking...real buns?"

Luci giggled naughtily. "You can imagine whatever you like." She winked, wagging her sucker at Buffy.

The Slayer couldn't help but smile faintly. "So, who exactly are you? I mean, why did you come here to fin Angelus?"

"Duty thang." Shrugging, the blonde toyed with the hem of her skirt. "The boss said we had to come, do our thang then leave, so that's we're doing. We've come, as you can see. Now, we gotta do our thang, then we're gone."

"What exactly is your 'thang'?"

"Top secret." Tapping the side of her nose, Luci pushed herself to her feet and brushed her skirt down, smoothing the wrinkles out. "And the boss...we don't know who he is, but he knows where we can come and do our secret thang."

Buffy nodded slowly. "Still doesn't explain how you knew who I was."

"Damn, girl!" The blonde laughed merrily. "You ask a helluva lot of questions!"

"Only when I wanna know the answers." Buffy retorted, getting to her feet. The other blonde was a couple of inches smaller than the Slayer, but still didn't look concerned, her blue eyes fixed on Buffy's face.

The smaller of the two blonde's shrugged. "I could tell you." She replied coolly, a small smile playing on her lips. "But that would give you the advantage. I'm not one for revealing my…weaknesses." Glancing at the Slayer from beneath half-closed lids, she added. "And I don't know if you could handle it."

"I can handle anything." The Slayer glared at the older woman.

As her two companions exited the office, shaking hands with Giles, she walked over, her voice floating back. "Not this, honey."

The library doors swung shut softly , leaving Watcher and Slayer gazing after the triad. "So, what did they tell you?"

"Hmm?" Giles seemed to be somewhere deep in thought.

"Did they tell you who they were?"

The Watcher shook his head. "Not in so many words." He replied. "But they are definitely three very remarkable women." Turning to his Slayer, he seemed distracted as he said. "We've got some research to work on tonight, but you better get to class now, Buffy."

"I'm not about to disagree." Grabbing her bag off the table, the blonde skipped out to join her friends, leaving the Englishman gazing thoughtfully out of the window, a small smile curling his lips.

He only wished he could be there to witness what the three striking women were going to do, that night. Whatever it was, he was certain that the beautiful trio wouldn't let him down.

They never had before.

*

"Well, that was refreshing." Wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, Angelus grinned over at his two childer. "We really should go out for dinner more often. Don't you agree?"

"Whatever." Spike shrugged. He was finally back on his feet, after his spine had eventually healed. He had solemnly vowed to never let someone else drop an organ and half a burning church on him again.

Drusilla had a smile of a lazy cat on her face. Toddlers could never run fast enough to escape the swift vampiress. "We should try a nursery, my Angel." She murmured dreamily. "So many little meals."

"That sounds yummy!" The three vampires stopped short at the new voice, gawking at the figure sitting on the table in the centre of the factory floor, a familiar doll clutched in her lap.

Drusilla's eyes widened in horror. "Miss Edith!"

The tiny blonde girl on the table frowned. "She says you're mean to her." She pouted her full pink lips. "So, I'm taking her."

"Do you know how stupid it was for you to come in here?" Angelus slowly prowled forward, a low growl rumbling through his body. Stopping at the end of the table, he glared dangerously at her.

Crawling towards him langurously, her slim body dipped sensually, almost distracting the vampire. Stopping with her face barely inches from his, she tilted her head. "Are you gonna tell me, daddy?" Rising on her knees, she traced her fingers down his chest slowly. "I sure wanna know."

"Shall I answer that by ripping your throat out?" He suggested maliciously, gasping sharply as a spar of wood jammed into his body, just below his heart, one of the girl's tiny hands locking around the back of his neck in an iron-tight grip.

"I prefer to keep my body intact." Her voice had lost the childish edge, a dangerous fire glittering in the blue depths of her eyes.

He tried to twist his head to look behind, but her hold was solid. "Bitch!"

Her lips curved up slightly. "But I'm the cute one!" She spoke softly. "Bella is the one that looks like a bitch. Lee just looks like a biker chick." She twisted the ragged piece of wood deeper into his body with a tiny giggle. "I'm the little angel."

"Who the hell are you?" Spike hissed, the broad blade held at his throat by a tall, oriental woman cutting into his skin.

"Should we tell 'em?" The auburn woman holding Drusilla in a tight headlock enquired. "I don't want to get my suit any more wrinkled than it is, so maybe if we tell 'em, they'll stop fighting."

Angelus snarled. His blood was welling over his tiny attacker's hands, soaking his shirt and trousers. "I doubt that." He gritted out painfully through clenched teeth. "Nothing you can say could stop us struggling, if we didn't want to."

"Give the boy credit," Drusilla's captor remarked with a grin. "He's definitely got guts, hasn't he?"

The blonde nodded. "Yep!" She exclaimed brightly, popping her 'P' for emphasis. "I have a stake in them right now!" She wiggled her weapon, her eyes never leaving Angelus' glowering face. "I think we should tell them, before they really get cranky. We weren't meant to dust them."

"Fair enough." Spike's attacker agreed.

The blonde grinned impishly. "Well, you big old creatures of the night, let me introduce us." Preening, she inclined her head. "I'm Luci. My charming red-haired friend is Bella and the lovely dark lady is Lee."

"I'm not shaking in my boots yet." Angelus' eyes blurred into furious gold.

"Oh, you mean I wasn't clear?" The girl sighed. "You guys said you'd stop me rambling on so much!"

"Sorry, boss." Lee shrugged, not looking apologetic in the least. "It's just funny watching them squirm when they find out who you are. It seems better to prolong it, y'know."

Bella nodded, tightening her grip on the whimpering Drusilla. "I think you better hurry up and spill, Luce." She warned her smaller colleague. "This little lady is about to blow your chances to shock."

"Damn!" The blonde looked from the vampiress to her growling Sire. "Don't you just hate trying to surprise psychics? No? Oh well, I think I might as well tell you that you now know our nicknames...my employees over there would be Bella Ze Bub..." She nodded towards the sophisticated red head and chinese woman in turn. "And Mephistophe Lee."

"Which would make you Luci...fuck!" Awareness hit Angelus like a ton of bricks, as the tiny blonde flashed her true face at him, before reverting to the cute, blonde image she disguised herself with.

"That's a new one." She smiled brightly, patting the vampire on the cheek. "But I prefer just plain Luci Fer. Or Lucifer." A puzzled frown crossed her face. "I can't imagine why anyone would assume that we're all guys, anyway."

Bella replied brightly. "Could be the soul-stealing thing. They don't think women are sneaky enough to cajole it out of a bloke."

Grimacing in his captor's punishing hold, Spike managed to force his mouth to function. "You're telling me the three faces of Satan are holding us hostage? Bloody hell...I knew we were famous..."

"Nothing personal." Lee murmured icily. "The big guy gave us our mission and it just happened to be coming in here and meeting the....what was it he said you were called? The Scourer of Europe?"

"The Scourge of Europe." Angelus growled. He was feelingly increasingly dizzy as his blood continued to gush out of his stomach, the throbbing ache in his torn abdomen increasing. "Who is this big guy? What does he want?"

Bella snorted, a surprisingly unladylike sound to come from her. "You think we would tell you? The Big guy gives the missions, we follow his orders and our...um...victims? Is that the right word?" Luci nodded. "Our victims get what's coming to them." She smirked proudly. "Then he rains praise on us and gives us more fun stuff to do. Anything's better than collecting freaks souls and working for them for a life time."

"And you three take orders from some 'Big Guy'?" Spike would have sniggered, but for the bloody great big knife in his neck. "I thought you were meant to be some kinds of powerful demons who worked solo, doing whatever you wanted to get men's souls..."

Lee jerked the blade harder against his skin. "And I thought you three were all meant to be bad ass vampires. Just goes to show how unbecoming those naff stereotypes really are, doesn't it?"

"Holy Mother full of grace, have mercy on your lost child. Holy Mother full of grace, show mercy to those who have strayed. Holy Mother, forgive the cursed ones in your name." Drusilla's eyes rolled back in her head, her gabbled prayers unnerving both her lovers.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Looks like we have an ex-sister here, ladies. And a loony one at that." Trailing a manicured nail down the wailing vampiress' face, the red head smiled chillingly. "I wonder if you could possibly know what we have in store for you, little one."

"Think we should tell them what our mission is?" Lee seemed to glow with anticipation, her dark eyes dancing.

Sliding off the table, Luci frowned. "I dunno, Lee." She murmured, levering the stake up and down in Angelus' gut. "I really think it would be much more effective if we just went on ahead and showed them."

The looks that the three beautiful demons exchanged were enough to make Angelus feel that bursting into tears and crying for 'Mama' would be fairly justified. The kind of looks that said within moments, all three vampires would be craving the mercy of oblivion.

*

Resting her chin on her crossed wrists, Buffy eyed her Watcher from across the table, tilting her head and trying to catch his eyes. "Giles? You okay in there? You look kinda...zoned out."

"What?" Blinking, he shook his head. "Oh, no. I'm fine...just thinking."

"About anything in particular?" Jenny asked, reaching over to squeeze his hand fondly.

The Watcher smiled at his new love interest. "Nothing really." He replied distantly. "Just those three women that dropped in earlier today. I was wondering what they were doing at the moment."

"There was something wiggy about them, Giles." Buffy remarked, sitting back in her seat and stretching. "Especially the little blonde one...maybe it was just that shade of hair. It can't be natural."

"Wiggy...yes, that's a very good word to describe those three." He frowned, tilted his head, as if straining to hear something. "Odd..." He glanced towards the door, Buffy and Jenny following his gaze.

Buffy was on her feet in a heartbeat. "There's some vamps out there." She stated tersely, her fingers wrapping around her stake with an easy familiarity. "Three...strong ones, heading this way...could be...Angelus?"

"I...I don't think it would be wise to go out into the main area." Giles advised, rising to gaze out of the door. "At least you-you have weapons here and you kn-know the layout well-enough in a fight, if it comes to it."

She didn't get the chance to decide, the doors jerked open, three familiar figures barreling in as fast as they could. It took the Slayer a moment to register that the three vampires looked terrified, were chained at the wrists and appeared to have had the crap effectively kicked out of them.

"Help us...please..." Gasping for unneeded breath, Angelus' fear-filled eyes fixed on the Slayer's face, his chest heaving. His shirt hung in loose tatters on his shoulders, what she could see of his chest matted with blood.

Dropping to his knees, his motion followed by both his childer, the dark vampire bowed his head.

"Tell me, Angelus," Walking towards him warily, flexing her fingers around the stake, not taking any chances, she grabbed his hair, tilted his head back. "Why the hell should I help you after everything?"

Merry feminine laughter rang through the halls beyond the doors, whimpers rising from the blonde vampire and dark vampiress. Angelus stiffened, stared up at the Slayer hopelessly.

"Stake us. Do anything. Just don't let..."

"Look! There they are!"

Buffy looked towards the door, found herself face-to-face with Luci who smiled brightly, her red sucker replaced with a pink one, a porcelaine Victorian-style doll clutched in her arms.

"What are you guys doing here?" Bella peered at the three vampires who were rapidly backing away, eyes wide, terrified. "Come on, kids. We wanted to play hide and go seek and you come running straight to the Slayer? What kind of vampires are you?"

"Hide and go seek?" Buffy looked from vampires to the three women in bewilderment. "You made Angelus come running to me, begging for help with hide and go seek?"

Lee chuckled softly, shook her head. "We were so nice to them as well." She feigned a pout. "Can't begin to imagine why they would be scared of us. Luce, have you been playing your sadism games again?"

"Me?" The blonde echoed incredulously. "I'm not the one who conjours up lakes of sulphur when someone refuses to beg! And Bella with that damn fire-breathing stunt! I hate it when you guys singe my hair."

"Uh..." Buffy waved a hand, shooting a helpless glance in Giles' direction. He seemed to be either having a seizure or stifling laughter at the three vampires curled in helpless balls on the floor. "Care to tell me what's going on? Slayer? Right to know?"

Blue, brown and green eyes exchanged glances. "Nah, kid." Bella replied kindly. "I think this has to be one of those things that remains a mystery for all eternity. Suffice to say that your vampire friends are presents. You can do what you like with them. Put 'em in the attic in a cardboard box, make them your slaves, kill 'em. Its all up to you and they know that if they misbehave..." She paused, smirked. The vampires flinched. "I think its safe to say that they know what'll happen. They'll be good pets."

Tossing the baffled blonde Slayer three thick leather collars, Luci winked. "Put these on the kids and they're yours." She caught the look of hatred shot in her direction by Angelus. "Now, boy, you behave or I play again."

By the time Buffy had locked the collars in place and steered all three vampires into the book cage, just in case, she turned to find Jenny and Giles deep in conversation and the three women gone.

With a frown, she retrieved one of her stakes, watcing the triad in the cage ponderously. She didn't know what had happened, but whatever it was, Luci had been right. She had gained everything.

*

In the security of his office, Giles peered through the pane of glass at the unbelievable site of his Slayer conversing semi-civilly with the three surviving members of the Scourge of Europe.

True, they were cuffed and tied to chairs, but they truly did seem to have been tamed by the three mysterious women.

He chuckled, brushing the lens of his glasses lightly against his tie. It had, indeed, been an incredulous sight, seeing the three vampires brought to their knees by three delicate-looking women.

Positioning his glasses on the bridge of his nose, he glanced towards the busy Slayer before picking up the receiver of the phone and casually dialling number that was as familiar as the back of his hand.

Waiting to be connected, he chuckled again.

*

"Incoming!"

Bouncing down on the couch, alongside her fellow demons, Luci grinned. Whoever the Boss was, she wished she could meet him, at least once. He seemed like the kind of human she would get along with: tough, self-assured, powerful.

Powerful.

He definitely had to be that, to summon three of the most powerful demons in known history and successfully harness them – although he didn't call it anything near as crude.

He explained they were free, but he would appreciate little jobs. If he could contain them, as easily as he harnessed them, then they would have been prisoners forever.

But they weren't.

They had gainful and damn fun employment as well as a part-time Soul-trading gig in their non-thang time.

The intercom system clicked to life, all three of them pulling to attention, waiting eagerly for the words they knew would come, in that wonderfully sexy, cocky English accent. "Good Morning Demons."

"Good Morning, Ripper!" They chorussed in return, merging into delighted laughter.

After all, who wanted to be one of Charlie's Slutty little Angels when you could be one of Ripper's Kick-ass Demons? There really was no contest at all, the three demons knew with certainty.