~*Three*~
"Wherever you go, whatever you do,
I will be right here waiting for you.
Whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks,
I will be right here waiting for you…"
-- Richard Marx
The darkness was heavy. A lone figure watched as the plane landed. It was a small, private plane. It seated perhaps 6 passengers. Slowly, a ramp descended from the vehicle. A low growl came from the cowered over figure standing next to the car. Anticipation was thick, almost palpable. Slowly, two figures walked down the ramp. One of them was young girl, perhaps no more than ten years of age. Her companion was an older gentleman. He carried with him a briefcase and wore a top hat at a jaunty angle. The two gave a friendly wave of goodbye to the pilots before making their way towards the limousine that awaited them.
The gentleman was the first to speak. He spoke with a refined British accent, "Hello, sir. I believe you are to be our escort to the hotel?"
The creature glared the man and the girl who accompanied him. It's golden-red eyes darted over them, as if examining their features. It snarled, bearing its yellow fangs.
"Now, now." The gentleman exclaimed, scowling slightly, "There's no need to be impolite. We were informed that we were to arrive sometime this week. We were unable to catch an earlier flight."
Again, the monster growled. Slowly, it straightened to its full height, coming to a full seven feet. Its hairy claws twitched slightly in discomfort.
There was a tense moment of silence that passed between the creature and the two new arrivals. Finally, the thing stepped aside and opened the door of the limousine, allowing them passage.
As the two entered the limousine, the little girl gave harsh glare at the monster. "Now, now." She chastised, "Don't play mean with us. We were invited here by the Mistress." Her violet eyes gleamed dangerously. She stuck her tongue out at the monster before proceeding to get into the car.
The monster bowed its head in respect before rounding the car and getting into another compartment of the limousine. With that, the car took off the early hours of the morning, heading into downtown Chicago.
* * *
Buffy walked with a deliberate step as she entered the lobby. She looked around, finally deciding to approach the main desk. She was greeted by the clerk who had checked her in the other day. She offered a warm smile, folding her arms on the counter.
"Hello." She said, "My name is Anne Summers. I'm the one who's staying in the Empress Suite…"
At this, the young man immediately seemed to perk up. He stood up a little straighter and seemed to look at her with much more attention and respect.
"I was wondering," Buffy continued, "I was told I might be able to find out about the… uh… unnatural occurrences in the area from somebody here."
The man nodded stiffly, he seemed nervous. "Why… uh… yes. I… I could provide you with whatever information you need."
Buffy smiled, "Well then. Mind if we have a little chat?"
The man walked out from behind the counter. He led her to a small conference room down the hall. After the two entered, he locked the door behind him. He glanced at her nervously.
"Umm… what's your name?" Buffy asked, trying to set the man at ease.
"I'm Matt. I… uh… I'm studying to be a Wicca…" He was stuttering, "I've never met a Slayer before. I… uh… I've read about you though. I mean, not you in particular… but you know, I've read about Slayers…. Yeah…."
Buffy smiled, "Well, don't believe half the stuff they write about us. We're not as bad as you think."
"Oh… no! It's nothing like that…" He cut in, "I mean… you sound amazing. You know, super human strength… regenerative powers… very cool."
She nodded, taking a seat on one of the chairs. "Well, what I meant to say was… we're really quite human. So, you don't have to be nervous or anything. I'm not gonna try to stake you."
He laughed nervously, sitting down next to her. "That's good to know."
"So… Matt. Can you tell me a little about the activity in the city? Is it mainly vamps or demons? And where can I find them?"
At the mention of the supernatural creatures, the young man seemed to perk up. "Well," He smiled, "it's mainly vampires. We've seen a mix of some lower level demons too. The area right around the hotel is pretty clean. Really, we don't have much activity at all. At least, not until recently. I never even saw a vampire until a few weeks ago."
Buffy nodded, taking this news in. "So, why would they all of sudden start coming to Chicago now?"
"I don't know." Matt shrugged, "Alfred, he's a retired Watcher who works here, he's been flipping through all these old books trying to figure out why we're suddenly getting vampires. He said something about how the last Slayer had pretty much driven out the whole demonic population. That's why we don't have a Slayer. There hasn't been a need for one…And now… I dunno. They just start popping up like daisies."
At this, Buffy laughed. "Well, vamps tend to hang out around cemeteries. But there aren't any cemeteries in the middle of downtown Chicago. Somehow, I get the feeling these vamps aren't native. They're just congregating here…"
Matt nodded, "We see them in the alleys sometimes. They don't seem to like light too much. They like to hang out at clubs, and warehouses seem to be a big favorite with them. Other than that, I don't know what else I could tell you."
Buffy nodded, "Yeah, sounds like the usual suspects. I'll check them out later tonight when I go out to patrol a bit." She got up, "Thanks for the info. Contact me if anything strange or new pops up."
Matt smiled, getting up as well. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Summers."
"Call me Anne." She said, already walking out into the hallway.
"It was nice meeting you… Anne." He repeated. Then he smiled nervously and shuffled back to his post at the front desk.
Buffy watched him leave, a slight frown overcoming her features. Somehow, this didn't seem right. Obviously, this city had not seen vampire activity for long time. Why would vamps all of a sudden find it so attractive now? She shook her head, fingering her key card. She let a small sigh and decided to give Giles another call. She walked out into the lobby again, calling an elevator to go back to her suite.
* * *
"We are here to serve you, Mistress." The young girl bowed down in front of the shadowed figure before her, "We apologize for our late arrival."
"Oh, don't be silly, Violet." The young woman motioned for her to stand up, "We still have a few more days. Besides, we're still waiting for a few of our Klak to join us."
The young girl straightened. She ran her fingers through her frizzy, black curls. A small smirk spreading over her features, "It is good to see you, Mistress. I have waited many centuries to meet you again."
The woman laughed, seemingly pleased, "If things go as planned, you will live many more centuries in my presence." She sat down on her lavish throne. "I see you brought Kelson with you."
The older gentleman now bowed, "I'm am here to serve you, Mistress."
The woman nodded, "Please, forego the formalities. We live now in the 21st century, it would be wise for us to change with the times."
The man got up stiffly as he nodded to her request.
She sighed impatiently, her emerald eyes searching around the room. "As Fiore has previously explained to you, we hope to begin to Elevate by the end of the week. We have tracked down the remaining remembers of our Klak. Unfortunately, our numbers have dwindled in the centuries. This means that I will need your strength more than ever." Her eyes pierced through the two figures that stood before her, "We need to ensure that things go smoothly. If we are to win, we need full cooperation. We can't have another upset as we did last time. We can't afford to lose again. The Klak is becoming few. If we are to survive, we must rise now."
"We are with you, Mistress." The two replied; they eyes trained on her.
"Then if you are truly with me, give me your gifts." Her eyes became hungry as they glared at the girl and the man. She motioned for them to come towards her.
The girl was the first. She stepped up reluctantly to the throne. Mistress stood up, her face changing even as she bent towards the small figure before her. Her eyes glowed yellow and her fangs were now visible. She seized the girl violently, grasping the small form to her bosom. Her mouth closed in rapidly on the girl's neck. Within seconds, she had a death grasp on her. Slowly, she drained the girl, reveling in her blood.
Finally, she drew away, crimson trickling from her lips. She looked at the small vampire child standing before her. "You have served me well, Violet. You will be rewarded."
The girl's form shook rapidly but her voice was steady, "Anything for you, Mistress."
The woman looked up, licking her lips slowly. Her gaze came to rest on the man. "Come forth, Kelson. Now it is your turn to give your gift…"
* * *
The alley was disturbingly quiet. Angel walked down it slowly, his keen eyes surveying every dark corner. His senses were alert; something didn't feel right. He had talked with one of the clerks at the hotel earlier that day. The young woman had directed him to this part of town, claiming that there was a large amount vampire activity in this area in the past week. He tightened his grip on the stake in his hand. If his heart were alive, he imagined it would be beating faster right now.
The alley was deserted. The ground was totally covered in tightly packed snow, making it somewhat slippery. Angel examined it for footprints and found that for a deserted alley, there sure were a lot of prints. The night was cold and the wind was harsh. He could see his breath in front of him… at least, he imagined he would be able to… though he didn't actually breathe. His fingers again ran over the smooth surface of the stake, just to reassure himself that it was there. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him.
He whirled around quickly, his eyes immediately finding the source of the noise. It came from a large group of people that was walking towards him. From the looks of it, it seemed there were at least ten of them.
"Who're you?" One of them asked, stepping towards Angel. His voice was low and rasping.
"I could ask you the same question." He replied. No matter how nervous he was inside, he wasn't going to let them know his fear.
Without warning, the man's face changed. He glared at Angel, "You better tell me the truth, or I'm going to have fun sucking the life outta you."
Angel stepped forward, shrugging, "I would let you do that. But I've tried that already. Didn't like it too much." His instincts took over and he felt his own face change too. With the change, he could feel his strength growing. The exhilaration for the kill was kicking in, and he lifted his stake up.
There was a deep growl from somewhere in the midst of the pack. Angel realized he was grossly outnumbered, yet at the same time, he also realized that he was cornered in a dead end. He looked around, trying to gain his bearings before the fight that would inevitably ensue.
The vampire that had spoken lunged at him, trying to grab him by the collar. Angel ducked easily, able to stake him even before he got the chance to recover his balance.
The rest of the gang paused for a moment at their friend's death. Then, as if realization finally dawned on them, they attacked. There were twelve of them, Angel counted. This was not going to be easy. He began to back up, slowly retreating between two large stacks of crates off towards the side of the alley. He hoped this would at least force them to attack one at a time.
A growl towards his right informed him that his next opponent had arrived. He ducked instinctively, striking out with a hard punch. He heard an "oomph" come from the darkness and guessed that he had hit his mark. He raised his arm to strike, weapon in hand. Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind. Two strong arms were encircled around his neck. He raised his arm, punching frantically at the vampire behind him. The one in front of him had recovered and was now one his feet.
Angel swore, swinging around. Sharply, he thrust his elbow back. The arms around him loosened and allowed him to slip from their grasp. He whirled around, kicking the vamp and striking out blindly with his stake. He was reward by a scream followed by the sound of dust hitting the ground. Even before he could turn back around, three more vampires were coming in fast.
He ran, realizing that he was going to need space. He swore at his own recklessness for not thinking to lead them to a more advantageous place to fight. Now he was stuck. He picked up a crate, smashing it into pieces at his feet. He picked up the sharper ones, launching them with all his might at the vampires running towards him. He managed a lucky shot and took one of them out with his barrage. Now they were getting even more angry at him. He was out of room to run. He turned around, bracing himself.
The next wave of vampires hit him before he could even get a good grasp on his weapon. They were coming at him four at a time. He struck out in every direction, hoping that he'd get lucky. The demon inside of him started to rise up, taking over his instincts. He crouched down, tripping the vampire on his left in the process. His stake was already driven through the vampire's heart before it could get back up. Angel whirled back around; ready to face whatever came next. He took a hard hit in the jaw. This sent him reeling backwards. He shook the black spots that were impending on his vision and glared viciously at the vampire who had delivered the blow.
With all of his might, he kicked out with his right fight, sending the poor vampire sprawling backwards on the ground and into the snow. He didn't have time to follow up on the attack as another foe had already decided to take his friend's place.
A sharp pain hit him in his right shoulder and he hissed. He found a huge slice that went across his shoulder blade and to his back. Without thinking, he struck out with his other arm. He was pushed back into the wall. By now, he couldn't even tell how many vampires were still alive. He just knew that he couldn't win against all of them.
* * *
The sound of fighting came to her ears and Buffy looked up sharply. After having walked through this part of town four times already, she had almost decided to go home. She sighed, rubbing some warmth into her arms as she stalked towards the alley on her right. She was really beginning to despise the cold weather. She could barely feel her toes and her ears had gone numb. In one gloved hand she held her stake, in the other, she fingered a small bottle of holy water.
As she turned the corner, she saw a pack of vampires hovered towards the back of the alley. She let herself be rational for a second, and counted eight of them. They were fighting against someone… she couldn't tell who, but whoever it was was desperately outnumbered. She decided she might even the odds out a bit.
She threw the bottle of holy water as hard she could into the midst of the pack. Growling and screaming ensued, followed by one of them proceeding to disappear in a poof of smoke. The rest of the vampires seemed disoriented by this new enemy. They turned around to look at her, allowing their victim a chance to get away. She saw a dark figure run out in the midst of them and she heard the scream of another vampire as it hit the ground as dust.
Before the vampires could recover their wits, she charged towards them. She took one of them out just by the sheer momentum of her attack. Some of them scrambled out of her path, realizing that she was not scared to fight. She grabbed the nearest vampire to her, thrusting him against the wall. She drove her stake into him and turned around the meet the next one without even watching the first one turn into dust.
The vampires' victim was also doing quite a fine job himself. In between the exchanges of blows, she saw the dark figure hit another vampire with a hard punch. Within seconds the man was on top of it, staking it. In her head, she decided that only left three vampires between the two of them.
It seemed that her opponent was thinking the exact same thing. Before she could even deliver her next punch, the vampire turned tail and began to run. His two friends, realizing that they were now at a disadvantage, followed his example. Buffy scowled, ready to run after them. After all, it's never good to leave a job undone.
She brushed her hair back, throwing a glance at the man whose life she had just finished saving. She wasn't expecting a thank you, but she at least should show the courtesy of seeing if he was all right. She turned to face him…
… and froze.
He stood before her, slightly out of breath. In one hand, he held a stake. He was clad entirely in black. He was staring at her with an expression that was a mix of surprise, panic, fear, hope, and pure bewilderment. His face was slightly covered by the shadows, and he had a gash right above his left brow.
"Angel…" She breathed his name, afraid that if she said it any louder, it'd scare him away. He seemed frightened to see her as if he were… shocked.
He didn't move. He just stood there, gasping desperately for air. It seemed like forever had passed before he finally spoke. His voice was so soft that she could barely even hear his words. But she recognized it, "Buffy…?"
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