Disclaimer: Disclaimer for all of the story can be found before the Prologue.
A/N: Well, this took a while. I hope it was worth the wait.
Many thanks to Infie, Maia and Merlin The Enchanter. Hugs to everybody who left me feedback.
Please let me know what you think.
The sound of screeching tires cut through the night as the beat up black car came to a stop besides the sign.
"'Welcome to Sunnydale.' Well, ain't that bloody nauseating."
The driver's door of the car opened and a black clad figure stepped out. He made his way over to the sign and proceeded to smash it to pieces. "Who the 'ell cares how many happy meals there are in this bloody 'ellhole? They'll all be dead soon enough anyway."
A few seconds later the car took off down the street leaving a cloud of smoke and two black tire tracks on the road.
"I'll show that pathetic excuse for a Slayer what it means to mess with William the Bloody. I'll drown the entire town in blood!" Spike had been ranting to himself all the way from LA and showed no signs of slowing down. As he drove he scanned the empty streets for something to eat, but it looked like he was the only one awake at this hour.
If he'd stopped to think about it he might have taken it as a sign, but unfortunately Spike wasn't one to spend much time thinking. Violence was his desired cause of action. Murder and mayhem were his hobbies. The Hellmouth was where he once again would set up shop.
Now he just had to find some incompetent fledgling to question about the current vampire ranks in Sunnydale. After all, he couldn't take over before he'd killed the current master.
After driving around the outskirts of Sunnydale for a while he turned onto yet another street just in time to see a group of what were clearly vampires pushing some sort of carts in front of them. His face split in a hideous grin and he let out a laugh. They would do.
So intent was he on finding his informants that it wasn't until he had already brought the car to a screeching stop besides the vampires that he took a second to examine the feeling he got from them.
This was *not* what he'd planned.
Absolutely not.
As one the six vampires turned to face the black car that stood bouncing on its suspension.
Marcel made a quick sign to one of this brothers and the vampire walked over to the car and ripped the left front door off.
"Bloody 'ell, mate!" Spike roared. "What the 'ell do you think you're doing!"
"Be quiet, child," Allessandro hissed.
"Look 'ere mate. I don't care how old you are. I'm William the fucking Bloody, feared all over the world, and I want to know why the 'ell you did that!"
Marcel walked up to the car and bent down to look at the bleached blonde vampire inside. "So you're William the Bloody, huh? Not exactly what I'd expected."
"Sod off, bloody Frenchman."
Marcel's eyes turned cold as he fixated the British vampire with his gaze. "Bring him with us," he instructed the others. "From what I've heard he is familiar with the Hellmouth and the various players here. I'm sure Marcus would like to have a word with him before we end his existence."
"Now wait a soddin' minute," Spike protested as he was dragged out of the car.
"Silence!"
One look at the gathered vampires and Spike knew that he'd never be able to fight them all off and escape with his life. On the inside he was seething with anger but he forced himself to appear calm. He'd been in tight situations before. As long as he played along and kept an eye open he would get his chance.
And his revenge.
No one treated him like this and got away with it. Oh yeah, railroad spikes were lots of fun but some of the new toys the happy meals had invented were just bloody awesome. He'd make them scream for *days* before he dusted them.
It only took a few minutes to reach the mansion where Marcus had set up his base and Spike had spent the time wondering over the carts the other vampires were pushing in front of them. He wanted to sink his fangs into one of the blood bags they had but he forced himself to ignore the bloodlust. He'd get his chance, but not if he was dead.
When they walked up the driveway to the large mansion Spike couldn't help but feel the power radiating from the house. There were several vampires in there and at least one of them was so old it made Darla and Angelus look like fledglings. Whoever it was had to be the one to run this joint.
The more he thought about it the clearer it became to him that as long as this group was around he'd never become the master of the city again.
Simple solution: they had to die.
Ok, maybe not that simple. But he'd have to get rid of them before he could put his own plans in motion.
The vampires guided him through the house until they reached a plain looking door at the end of a hallway.
"Sit."
The demon inside him roared and reveled in the images of what he'd do to them later, but Spike did what he was told and took a seat. The French vampire, who he was going to tie to a wall and shower in holy water, entered the room and closed the door behind him. Spike took a moment to study the vampires around him more closely. For some reason or another they appeared to be nervous.
Very nervous.
"You did what!?"
The muffled roar from the other side of the door caused more than one of his captors to flinch back and pale further. As much as a vampire really could pale.
So, the big boss is not happy with the minions. I'm sure I can use that knowledge to my favor in some way.
A loud crash was heard from behind the door and a few seconds later the French vampire opened it and pointed at Spike.
"You, come with me."
Once again Spike fought off the impulse to sneer at the older vampire and followed him into the room, which he could now see was an office, albeit without any modern equipment.
The vampire who stood behind the desk at the end of the room looked like he'd rather be pacing furiously instead of remaining calm, but had decided that it would be better to not show his temper in front of the prisoner.
Spike took one look at the vampire's face and knew that he'd have to play his cards carefully now or he'd never leave this room alive.
"My son here tells me you have met the Slayer before."
Spike hesitated for a second, forming his reply before he spoke. "Yeah, I've met the bint. What of it?"
Ok, diplomacy wasn't really his thing.
The old vampire fixed his yellow eyes on Spike before his features softened and he let out a roaring laugh. "You're a feisty one, youngling. So ignorant and naïve. I am Marcus, and you are going to tell me about her."
Spike drew an unnecessary breath to calm himself down before he opened his mouth again. "And if I refuse?"
Marcus face split into a grin. "You won't."
Spike's eyes narrowed and Marcus' grin disappeared immediately.
"Make no mistake, young one. You will tell me what I want to know and if I am pleased with you, you will live. Marcel, make sure tonight's debacle is not repeated."
The French vampire bowed slightly. "Yes Father." As he turned to the door and opened it to leave Spike couldn't help but giving a parting remark.
"Bloody useless Frenchmen," Spike muttered.
Had Marcel been human he would never have heard the insult. Had he been human he would never have been able to pin the British vampire against the wall with a grip around his throat either.
"Marcel!" Marcus growled.
The vampire in question immediately let go of Spike's throat and the younger vampire slid down the wall and landed in a heap on the floor, desperately shaking his head in an attempt to clear the stars from his vision.
Marcus sent one short look at his son and the French vampire left the room in a hurry. Then he turned to Spike.
"That was a mistake, young one," the former Roman Centurion growled. He grabbed a handful of bleached blonde hair and lifted – only to evoke a scream from Spike as the hair was ripped from his head and the vampire remained on the floor.
"Bloody 'ell! Not the 'air!"
"Silence!"
Marcus studied the fistful of hair with interest. "It looks like all that bleach is bad for your scalp," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Now, talk."
Spike swallowed another curse and decided to cut his losses for the moment. "Look 'ere, mate. I don't know much about what the bint's been up to lately but I can tell you this; the easiest way to get 'er is through 'er friends. They're a bloody useless bunch of pansies but she'll do anything to protect them."
"I see," Marcus said slowly as he made some notes on a paper. "Anything else you would like to share?"
When Spike remained silent the ancient vampire let out a sigh and pressed a button on the desk. "Marcel, lock our guest into the basement and see if you can think of something that would ease his tongue."
"Now, wait a bloody minute," Spike protested as the French vampire entered, followed by two others.
Despite the protests it wasn't long before Spike was thrown into a windowless room in the basement and the thick steel door was closed behind him.
"Brilliant, bloody brilliant." He took a look at the room he'd been locked into and couldn't find anything that would help him open the door silently. Breaking it down was out of the question with all the vampires in the house. They'd hear what he was doing before he could get half way through the door. Beyond frustrated, he sent a kick at the innocent couch that stood along one wall of the room, and spread splinters of wood all over the room. A hint of metal became visible under the carpet that had been dislocated when the couch moved.
Spike moved in a flash and lifted the corner of the carpet to take a closer look. A second later a grin spread over his face and he had to force back the laughter. "I knew it! The bloody wankers will pay for this."
Careful not to leave traces that would be too obvious, he lifted the sewer cover and slipped down the hole, replacing the cover and doing his best to arrange the carpet over it.
As soon as he'd reached the bottom he took off at a furious pace down the sewer tunnel. So those new vamps wanted the Slayer, huh? Well, she was his and he'd be damned if he let someone else get her. She was going to be his third and there was no way he'd let those wankers stop him.
No matter how angry or determined he was it was blatantly obvious that he couldn't take them out by himself. And he was pretty sure that they'd have made their presence known to the vampire population in Sunnydale. That meant he couldn't hope to recruit enough vampires to fight them, at least not with a good enough chance for survival to make it worth the effort. The only option left was one that left a foul taste in his mouth. But what else could he do?
Having made his decision he turned left at the next corner and climbed the ladder to get out of the sewers. He needed to find someone to feed off fast and then hide somewhere until the sun set again. He had work to do the coming night and he needed to be rested and well fed before he met with the Slayer. It wasn't something he wanted to do but he couldn't see any other options than to help the Slayer with this. Then he'd get his chance to take her out or, even better, turn her.
True, there were powerful enemies in the neighborhood now but how was it the saying went? The enemy of my enemy is my friend? Something like that. He grinned as he spotted a lone figure, nervously walking down the sidewalk. Things were looking up.
When Rupert Giles entered the hospital most of the traces of what had happened earlier that night had been cleaned up. The bodies were removed and even though there were traces of blood left, most of that was cleaned up as well. The Watcher did a double take when he spotted two SPD officers talking with a white clad doctor. SPD working at night? That had to be a first.
He made his way over to reception and asked the nurse where he could find Xander. A few minutes later he knocked lightly on the door and entered the hospital room without waiting for an answer. The scene that met him was not what he'd expected.
Xander and Alec were laughing so hard they were doubled up, Alec in his chair and Xander on the bed. Willow's face had taken on a very interesting shade of red to match her hair and Buffy was fuming. Her eyes were fixed on Alec, and Giles could have sworn that he could see smoke trailing out of her ears.
"Excuse me, children," Giles tried to attract their attention.
"Giles," Buffy growled. "Nice to see you. I'm going home." With that she stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
Giles looked at the door for a second, turned to face the teens and then back to the door again. Very slowly he removed his glasses and produced a handkerchief from his pocket. "Would any of you care to inform me of what is going on?" He asked as he started to polish the glasses.
Xander and Willow took one look at the Englishman and broke out in a new fit of giggles. Alec just rolled his eyes and got up, putting his arm around the Watcher's shoulders.
"Well, G-man, it's like this," he said as he guided the older man through the door and out into the corridor. "Me and Xand were just telling some old stories about nurses," the X5 said with a wink to let him know what kind of stories. "And, well, I said that Buffy would look great in this nurse outfit I saw in a movie once."
Giles cleared his throat. "That is more than enough information, thank you." He shot a withering glare at the transgenic and Alec met his glare with such a look of fake innocence that any judge would have found him guilty on the spot.
Giles sighed and replaced his glasses on his nose. "I take it Xander is mostly all right then?"
"He'll be fine. He should be able to leave this place as soon as we can get one of the docs to sign him out."
"Very well. I will see to that, and you can make sure the children are ready to leave."
"Sure."
When Alec entered the room again the two Scoobies had managed to stop laughing and were trying to catch their breath. "Giles is looking for a doc," Alec said. "As soon as he can find one we're outta here."
"Good, then we can get some sleep and… Faith!" Willow said. "What happened to her?"
Alec shrugged. "Short version only, for now. They came, they saw – nothing at all, we kicked their asses."
Willow smiled and gave him a quick hug, before blushing red again. Alec gave her a smile and a wink that caused her blush to deepen.
Xander let out a low whistle. "Nice. You'll have to tell me about it later," he added.
Alec nodded. "Sure. Max and I want to talk to you about something anyway. Besides, we need to find out exactly what you got from that soldier guy."
"Yeah," Xander agreed. It would be nice if he could use some of the stuff the soldier knew. It would come as a surprise for some of the vamps.
The door opened and Giles entered with Dr. Green.
"Mr. Giles here has told me that you'd like to leave the hospital as soon as possible. I'd be more comfortable if you would remain here for observation for at least another 12 hours to make sure there are no complications."
"What would I have to do to get out of here now?" Xander asked.
The doctor sighed. Some patients just had no idea what was good for them. "We will let you go but it is against medical advice. If you sign these papers you can leave immediately." He handed a couple of papers to Xander who quickly looked them through and signed them.
The doctor checked the signatures and shook his head slightly. "Very well, I'll find a chair for you and your friends can escort you out."
"Thank you Dr. Green," Giles said. "We will make sure he does not strain himself for the next few days."
The doctor nodded and left the room. Alec and Xander shared a look and rolled their eyes simultaneously. Take it easy? Yeah right. There was no point in being sick unless it was a school day.
A few minutes later Alec rolled the wheelchair out the main entrance and as soon as the doors had closed behind them Xander was out of the chair.
"God I hate those things!"
Alec just rolled his eyes and parked the wheelchair outside the entrance.
"My car is parked over here," Giles said, and started walking in the direction of the antique vehicle.
Alec eyed the car suspiciously before turning to Willow. "Does he know that we drive on the right side of the road here?"
"It was one of the first things he learned," she answered. "I have no idea why though. It's not like all the other cars can't drive circles around Giles' car so there's really nothing to worry about."
Giles glared at the redhead but refused to take the bait. They'd had this discussion so many times he was used to it now.
They embarked the car, Willow riding shotgun with Alec and Xander in the back, and after an uneventful but yet scary drive they were back at Casa del Summers.
As the four of them entered the Summers' home they were not surprised to find that Buffy had arrived before them. Considering that she was on foot, it was yet another thing pointing to the obvious: Giles needed a new car.
Buffy was waiting for them in the living room and appeared to be a lot calmer than she'd been at the hospital. Xander and Alec let out identical sighs of relief. They weren't scared of Buffy, far from it to be honest, but they knew there were people in the house who really needed to sleep, something that would be impossible if the Slayer started screaming.
"Mom is sleeping and Max is keeping an eye on Faith," Buffy said. "She was asleep when I got home and Max said everything was all right."
"Excellent," Giles said. "Since everything appears to be calm at the moment I will take my leave and try to get some sleep."
The four teens quickly said good-bye and Giles left with a cloud of smoke and strange noises accompanying him.
Alec's gaze followed the car as long as it was within sight. When it finally disappeared he let out a low chuckle and shook his head. Xander had walked up beside him and just grunted in agreement. "I have no idea how that thing still runs," he confessed.
"I'm surprised he uses a car like that when it's so easy to get a new one. Not even the cars where we come from were in shape that bad," Alec said. "At least not the ones that ran," he added after a second.
"Giles is just weird like that," Willow put in her opinion before she turned to Buffy. "Um, Buffy. I should probably have asked this before Giles left but can we sleep here? It's almost morning and I'd like to get some sleep before it's time to get up again."
Buffy just shrugged. "Sure. Alec can take the couch down here and Xander the basement, you can sleep in my room like always."
"Or we could trade places," Alec winked.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right." Sure, he was yummy, but Max would kill her. Not to mention that her mom would ground her for the rest of the summer.
"Threesome?"
"Uhh, I'll just go to bed," Willow managed to get out before she escaped up the stairs.
Alec raised his eyebrows and turned to Buffy who mirrored his action. "We need to work on her self-esteem."
"Good luck." And with that parting comment Buffy followed the redhead up the stairs.
"Buffy," Alec called after her, careful to keep his voice down to not wake anyone up.
"Yeah?"
"Which room is Faith in? I'm gonna check on Max."
Buffy pointed it out for him. "And she's all right Xan, she just needs to sleep," she added before she disappeared into her bedroom and locked the door. Alec considered picking the lock and poking his head in, just to see their reaction, but decided against it when he remembered some of the weapons Buffy always seemed to have nearby. Instead he continued down the hall and knocked lightly on the door Buffy had pointed out for him. A few seconds later it opened and he found himself looking down at Max's face.
"Hey," he said quietly. "I was just going to see if there's anything you needed or if you want to sleep some. I could take the watch for a while if you want to get an hour or so?"
"Nah, I'm ok. I slept last night so I don't need it now. Why don't you take a few hours on the couch down there, you need it more than I do."
Alec nodded, grateful that he'd get some sleep. "Ok, see you in the morning."
"'night."
Xander had already retreated to the basement when Alec came down the stairs. He did a quick sweep of the ground floor to make sure that the windows and doors were shut before he made himself comfortable on the couch. Or, as comfortable as you could be on a couch. Thankfully he'd slept in much worse places and being the transgenic he was he could fall asleep when he wanted to. A few seconds after he'd closed his eyes he was asleep.
When Joyce woke up in the morning she found Alec sleeping on the couch in the living room. Careful not to wake the sleeping transgenic she made her way to the kitchen.
"You don't have to sneak around Joyce," Alec said. "I heard when you woke up and I'll go back to sleep in a moment."
Startled, Joyce spun around and looked at Alec, who was still lying with his eyes closed on the couch. Shaking her head she resumed her walk to the kitchen and prepared a breakfast for herself.
She left a note for Buffy on the kitchen table, letting her daughter know that she'd left for work and when she planned to be back.
Alec relaxed again on the couch and was just about to allow himself to fall asleep when a sound caught his attention again. "Hey Max. How's Faith?"
"Still sleeping," Max said quietly as she came down the stairs and into the living room. "I figured it would be better if she was alone when she woke up. Don't want her to feel like we don't trust her or like she needs a babysitter."
Alec grunted in approval. "I told Xander we wanted to speak to him today. I think we better start the training as soon as possible and we'll want to see how much he remembers from that Halloween incident."
"Is he healed up enough to start physical training?"
"I think so. He said he's always healed fast and with a little transgenic boost it should go even faster. The wound wasn't that bad to begin with, even though it bled like crazy. The doctors stitched it up, so it should heal fast."
Max sat down on the floor with her back leaning against the couch, her head close to Alec's so they could keep the conversation quiet enough to not disturb anyone else in the house.
Alec, who still had been a little sleepy, was instantly awake when the unique scent of Max filled his nostrils. He opened his eyes to look at the female X5, who was staring off into space. He mentally groaned when he realized she had no idea how she affected him. On second thought it might actually be better like this. If she knew she'd take every opportunity to tease him about it and he'd never be able to take that when he knew she didn't feel the same way.
"Whatcha thinking about?"
Alec shook his head to clear it from any dangerous thoughts. Obviously she hadn't been as lost in thought as he had believed. "Uh…" he answered, shifting his gaze up to the roof, unsuccessfully fighting a guilty expression.
Max turned her head slightly so she could see him in her peripheral vision and growled mentally. Oh… staring up into the roof, with a guilty expression on his face, in the exact direction of Buffy's bedroom where the Slayer and Willow were sleeping. Not that hard to figure out what he was thinking about. With a huff she turned her head back and resumed staring at the wall. Alec just never changes, she thought angrily.
It didn't take long before the first signs of people waking up could be heard through the house.
Buffy and Willow were the first to come down the stairs from the second floor, both looking equally exhausted. The two barely grunted their hellos and good mornings before they disappeared into the kitchen.
Alec looked at their disappearing forms and then turned back to Max, raising his eyebrows. "I thought Slayers could go with less sleep than normal humans."
Max just shrugged. The sleeping pattern of humans was not something she'd ever understood. The shark DNA the scientists at Manticore had included in the genetic cocktail she'd been created from made sure of that. When you needed as little sleep as she did it felt strange to be around others who were hardly able to function properly without eight hours every night. She had to admit, though, that in the last few years she'd come to enjoy sleep more and more. She wasn't sure why but she guessed that her body slowly adapted to her surroundings in order to blend in better. She'd spent more time living with and around normal humans since she moved to Seattle than she had in a long time before that.
Faith was the next one to show up, looking a lot better than she had the day before. The sleep had done her good and her Slayer healing had been working overtime, trying to get her body back into shape again. She smiled briefly at Max and nodded at Alec before she too disappeared into the kitchen.
Alec yawned and stretched like a big cat on the couch, before he sat up. Max's breath caught in her throat and she quickly averted her gaze as his movement caused interesting things to happen under his t-shirt.
"Looks like the kitchen is the place to be," Alec said.
The group was busy stuffing their mouths with toast and various other breakfast items when Faith broke the silence. "Umm… Where's Xan?"
Buffy gasped and shot to her feet, leaving in a sprint to wake Xander up.
Willow let out a small laugh at her friend's antics. "Xander can sleep for days unless you wake him up. Once when we were like ten or something he was still sleeping when I came to visit him at three in the afternoon."
Max grinned and turned to Alec. "Sounds like someone I know."
"Hey! I don't sleep that much."
"Uh-huh."
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do too!!"
"Do not!!!"
"Okay, I give up," Alec sighed. "You're right." He got up from the table and put his plate away before he left the kitchen. "I'll be out in the back yard."
Max grinned smugly at his retreating back before a strangled sound from the other side of the table caught her attention. Faith looked like she was ready to explode. Suddenly she couldn't hold back anymore and a bubbling laughter broke forth. Willow couldn't stop herself and joined the dark haired Slayer.
Max frowned and looked questioningly at them before her mind caught up with her and she went over the argument in her head again. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, but it only served to increase the laughter from the others. "Hey!" She pushed out her chair with enough force to make it topple over and stormed out of the kitchen in pursuit of the male transgenic.
"Alec!!"
When Buffy got back a few seconds later she found the Wiccan and the dark Slayer on the floor, laughing so hard they could barely breathe. Buffy stopped dead in her tracks and just stared at the scene. The look on her face was enough to send Willow into a new fit of giggles.
Xander came up the stairs shortly after Buffy and found the kitchen in pretty much the same condition as Buffy had. He just shook his head and loaded his plate with food before he took a seat, happy that Faith felt well enough to laugh.
Buffy glanced at the pair at the table before she helped the redhead up from the floor and dragged her towards the living room. "C'mon Wills. What's the riot?" They left among renewed giggles from Willow.
Suddenly a very awkward silence settled over the kitchen.
Xander took a bite of his toast and chewed slowly, trying to figure out a way to start the conversation that wouldn't automatically make Faith raise her defensive walls. Another twenty seconds of uncomfortable silence later he gave up and settled for the simplest possible approach. "Hey."
Faith didn't look up from her breakfast and for a moment Xander thought she hadn't heard him. He was just about to repeat himself when she answered, still without looking up from her food.
"Hey." It came out as nothing more than a whisper.
"How do you feel?"
"Five by five." Her tone was so flat that even if he hadn't known she wasn't all right he could have guessed it.
"Faith. Won't you even look at me?"
"No."
"Please."
She raised her head just enough so she could glance quickly at him before she let her gaze fall down again. "How can you even stand to be in the same room as me anymore?" She asked flatly.
Xander looked questioningly at her for several seconds before he spoke again. "Why wouldn't I?"
"I almost killed you." There was more emotion in her voice this time. He could hear traces of anger even though it came out as nothing but a whisper.
He swallowed a lump in his throat; feeling strangely reassured by that trace of fury that it would work out in the end. The real Faith was still there somewhere; he just had to bring her out. "That wasn't you," he stated, trying to put as much honesty and conviction as he could in his voice.
That made her look at him for the first time since she'd woken up from her coma. "I was there," she spat. "I remember doing it." Her gaze fell again.
He watched her as she trembled visibly, as if trying to shake off the memories, and he had to force himself from reaching out to touch and comfort her. It wasn't time for that yet and if he moved too fast she'd just close up completely. "That wasn't you," he repeated, more firmly this time. "You had no choice but to do what they wanted."
"How do you know?" Anger again. "Maybe I wanted to do it all the time."
He understood what she meant even though she didn't say it; understood her worries. What if some part of her had been capable of doing those things the whole time? If she couldn't fight it, maybe that meant some part deep down inside her wanted to do them. It was thoughts he'd had himself more than once after the incident at the zoo.
"Do you know what happened to me at the zoo?"
That caught her completely off-guard and she actually looked up at him with a puzzled expression on her face. "The hyena?" The unsaid 'what does that have to do with this' was obvious.
"I remember everything that happened while I was possessed," he confessed. "I remember almost raping Buffy and being a complete ass to all my friends. It was only pure luck that I wasn't there when the others killed Principal Flutie." He sighed. "What I mean is that I remember it all but I *know* it wasn't me who did all those things. It took a long time before I got over the guilt I felt and I still feel sorry for some of the things the hyena did, even though they're not my fault."
"I…" she started but he interrupted her before she could say anything.
"The PTB are so much more powerful than that hyena-spirit they're not even on the same map. Whistler said you still almost broke free. It's. Not. Your. Fault."
She glanced down again and it struck him how un-Faith-like her behavior was. He'd never expected Faith to act like anything but the tough, ass-kicking girl she'd been when she first came to Sunnydale. It made him wonder who the real Faith was. How much had the PTB already influenced her before she got to Sunnydale? Was her tough-girl act the beginning of her alienation, her being forced to drift away from the rest of the 'good guys?' When she looked up again there was more fire in her eyes and she seemed to have pulled herself together.
The armor was up again.
"So, boytoy. I'll give you a free ride for old times sake."
Now the only question was if he'd be able to break through before she closed herself off completely.
"No thanks."
That caught her off-guard and her eyes widened in surprise for a second before she replaced it with a blank expression. Was it just wishful thinking or did he see disappointment in her eyes for that brief moment?
"I don't know anything about your past really, but I can make some guesses. It's probably a lot worse than mine ever was and I know the others would never understand. Don't let them win, Faith. Don't continue what they started and pretend that your body is just a thing to be used or let others use. You're better than that."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously and for a moment he was afraid he'd gone too far too fast. Their eyes met for a second and her expression softened slightly as she saw nothing but honesty in his dark brown gaze.
Slowly he reached out and placed his hand on hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Please let me in."
She snorted. "Thought you said you didn't want another ride."
Xander blushed. "Not like that." He reached out with his other hand and pointed at her heart. "There."
Faith lowered her gaze again, looking at where their hands lay entwined on the table. His thumb had started to trace small circles on the upper side of her hand and she was pretty sure it was something he did unconsciously.
It felt good.
Maybe she could let herself trust another man again. Something she hadn't done since she was eight and the first time her dad and his friends…
She pushed back the memories.
Xander wasn't like them. If there was something she knew for sure it was that he'd never hurt her intentionally.
And she was still terrified.
She looked up again and saw nothing but concern and… no… she wouldn't hope for that.
"I'm sorry." She looked down again.
It came out so softly he only caught it because he was so focused on her. So very unlike Faith.
"Faith."
She looked up again.
"I won't say I forgive you because there's really nothing to forgive. It wasn't your fault."
"I…" She had to stop to swallow the lump in her throat. What was happening to her?
When she looked at him again there were tears in her eyes and he couldn't stand it anymore. With a quick motion he stood and rounded the table, without letting go of her hand.
She got up from her chair and instinctively took a step back when he moved, and something inside him broke. "Faith…"
"I'm sorry." She couldn't help it. It was a defensive reaction so old that she hadn't been able to stop herself. Not even this time when she didn't want to move away.
He reached out with his other hand and lifted her chin in time to see a single tear roll down her left cheek. It was more than he could take and he took a slow step toward her.
She didn't move.
Carefully he reached out and embraced her, pulling her close to him, and Faith clung to him as if her life depended on it.
She buried her face in his chest and, for the first time she could remember, let her protective walls fall.
And cried.
"Alec!"
The transgenic in question turned his head slightly to see Max storming out of the house and heading in his direction. It was another lovely day in Sunnydale. The sun was shining brightly and until he'd laid eyes on Max he hadn't seen any clouds at all. The dark ones roiling over her head didn't bode well for the future.
God how he loved her when she was like this.
"Max, what can I do for you this lovely morning?"
"Shut up!"
Alec rolled his eyes. "Awww… C'mon… something else? That's what you usually tell me to do." Ok, baiting her now probably wasn't very wise but he couldn't help himself.
Max stopped a few inches from his outstretched legs and bent down to glare into his eyes.
"You did that on purpose," she growled. He had to admit it was a very impressive growl. One would think that someone with her feline DNA would be more inclined to hiss instead of growl, but she pulled it off amazingly well.
"You won the argument, Maxie," he said with wide, innocent eyes. "I have *no* idea why you're pissed now."
"You… You *tricked* me!"
"Oh, *that.*" He smirked. "It was so easy I couldn't resist."
Her mouth worked for several seconds while she tried to come up with something to say. Finally she gave up and resorted to physical violence. At least that was something that always worked.
Alec knew exactly when she was going to attack. All the signs were there and as usual she let her anger take over and forgot everything about training and techniques. He easily caught her hands when she dove for his throat and pulled her with him as he rolled to the left. In less than a second he had her pinned to the ground beneath him again.
Two seconds later he had already begun to regret his decision. The way she writhed and squirmed beneath him was making it difficult to stay focused, but releasing her would only result in bruises. Alec trapped her arms above her head and used his full body weight to keep her from moving around as much. It was the normal way to restrain someone, don't give them any leverage to get free.
Unfortunately it also had the added side effect of making him feel every curve of the soft body pinned beneath him.
Alec swallowed.
It took a full five seconds before he even noticed that she'd stopped trying to break free and lay motionless beneath him. Her mouth was slightly open and she was breathing heavily, something that only made it increasingly clear exactly what he was pressed up against.
Max's brain had disconnected completely. All thoughts of escaping or inflicting bodily harm on her annoying companion had vanished without a trace. Her eyes had found something to lock on.
Lips.
Beautiful, tempting and oh so perfect lips.
Alec looked into her eyes, eyes that were still clouded, but no longer with anger. Max's tongue darted out to moisten her lips and Alec lost the capability of coherent thoughts.
He kissed her.
And she kissed him back.
It was all he'd ever dreamed about. It was dueling tongues and intoxicating tastes. It was sweet and gentle and it was a struggle for dominance. He let go of her arms and used his hands to hold her head instead, running one hand through her dark hair until he could swear he heard her purr.
Neither of them could tell for how long it went on but finally they had to break apart for some much needed air. Her eyes were closed and he stared down in wonder at the perfection that was Max.
Max came back to her senses slowly, her brain finally catching up with what had happened. Her eyes snapped open to find Alec looking back at her with an expression of wonder on his face.
She had just kissed Alec.
She had just kissed Alec and it had been good.
Oh so good.
But it was *Alec.*
So naturally she panicked and did what she usually did when she couldn't deal with something. She resorted to physical violence.
*SMACK*
"What the hell were you doing!?!"
Alec rolled a full 360 degrees from the force of the slap and his left hand automatically came up to his left cheek, trying to soothe the pain.
"Wha…"
"What the hell were you doing thinking you could just do… do… that!?"
Max stormed off in a huff, leaving a completely bewildered Alec on the lawn.
Ok, what had just happened? Rubbing his flaming cheek he climbed to his feet and debated whether to go after her or let her cool down for a while. The latter seemed to be the best choice for the moment.
He sighed.
It couldn't be PMS. Heck, transgenic females didn't even have cycles like normal humans. Shaking his head to try to clear it from the ringing, he decided that it was just Max being Max.
As usual.
Oh well, he'd give her some time to calm down and see what happened. It was probably best to try to forget it ever happened. He was sure Max would do her best to ignore it.
Right… Like he could ever do that.
A quick glance at his watch confirmed that it was almost time for their scheduled training session. He'd have to deal with this later when he had some distance from it.
As soon as Alec came down the stairs to the basement and took in the scene in front of him he felt both worried and relieved. Xander and Faith were talking quietly in one corner and a quick look on their faces was enough to see that they'd both been crying. Hopefully they'd worked some things out. However, a second look told him that they would not be doing any training within the next few hours. They were far from focused enough. Alec sighed. He couldn't really blame them, could he? They were civilians and not used to pushing their emotions aside to achieve the objective. They were still good people though and he understood them. It would still have been nice to work with professionals again, he thought.
One look at Max made him reconsider that.
She was fuming. Still.
The male transgenic let out a sigh and closed his eyes, silently counting to ten. Max was a professional, or at least she should be, and she still couldn't stay calm and focused.
He let his gaze wander over the rest of the room and found Willow in one corner. The redhead had taken a seat as far away as possible from Xander and Faith to give them some privacy, and she was nervously eying the pacing Max. He couldn't really blame her either. When Max was in this mood it was best to stay out of the way unless you had accelerated healing.
When Buffy came bouncing down the stairs, dressed for workout in shorts and a tank top, he considered escaping from the house. He'd managed to forget that Max was going to spar with the Slayer and was expecting to beat her as 'easy' as he'd done.
He was going to die.
Max would kill him and he'd let her. How warped was that?
Running away felt like a better and better choice the more he thought about it.
There was only one problem.
The only thing Max had been better than him at back at Manticore was Escape and Evade. He was more of a hands-on guy. She'd find him no matter what he did and the only difference would be that he'd die tired.
Max was pacing furiously on the open area they'd cleared for training. She was seriously pissed off and the worst thing was that she wasn't sure exactly why she was pissed.
And that only made it worse.
She'd felt Alec's eyes on her when he'd entered and she'd refused to acknowledge him. She knew that if she were to look at him she'd either beat the crap out of him or tear his clothes off. She wasn't sure what scared her the most, the fact that she was actually considering the second option or that it felt more and more appealing the more she thought about it. She closed her eyes and sighed.
She had to get out of here.
Naturally it was at that moment Buffy chose to come bouncing down the stairs. Max had a sudden flash of seeing the Slayer dressed up like a giant bunny with flapping ears and everything. She choked back a giggle.
Oh well, some violence would take her mind away from things she shouldn't even be considering. She always felt better after she'd kicked someone's ass.
"Hey, you ready?"
Buffy did a few quick stretches and nodded. "Yup, let's go."
Alec smirked as he watched the fight from where he was leaning against a wall. There were two possible outcomes of this. Either it would loosen Max up a bit and she wouldn't be such a pain to deal with, or she'd kill him.
The two started out slowly, testing each other's defenses while trying to not give the other any openings. Alec could see that Buffy was being more careful than she'd been when they fought, most likely expecting Max to be as good as him or even better. After all, the female X5 had been 'kicking his ass' for a year now.
He kept one eye on the fight where Buffy had just blocked a series of kicks and punches from Max, and glanced over at the second Slayer and Xander. They were both watching the fight with interest and Alec suddenly remembered that this was the first time Faith had seen either of them fight.
A muffled 'Oooff' pulled his full attention back to the fight. Buffy had just landed a punch, managing to get Max slightly off-balance and had then swept the transgenic's legs out from under her. Max landed on her back and the air whooshed out of her lungs. Max skipped back to her feet and did a quick back flip to put some distance between herself and Buffy.
The Slayer was grinning and obviously enjoying herself. "First point to me."
Max eyes narrowed and she attacked again. Arms and legs were a blur as the two fought with a speed that no normal human could ever hope to match. Buffy was on the defensive now, doing her best to block all the attacks Max sent her way. A few got through and left her with aching bruises, but so did some of her counterattacks. It was apparent that they were more closely matched than she'd thought at the beginning and, what was even better; she could see that Max was losing her patience.
Buffy slowly backed away from Max as she continued to fight defensively, watching as the transgenic became more and more frustrated. It was only a matter of time before she'd get the opening she needed.
Alec could see the same from where he was watching. All the signs were there and he was actually surprised that Max had lasted as long as she had before she lost her temper and with that her focus.
When the mistake came it was over so quickly that Xander almost missed it. Max put too much force behind a punch and when Buffy dodged it her balance was way off. The Slayer took advantage right away and grabbed the transgenic's arm, twisting her body and sending Max flying over her head. The X5 twisted in the air and turned the landing into a roll, coming up on her feet and facing her opponent – who had followed her faster than she'd expected and already anticipated the move. Buffy's foot hit Max in the stomach and the air whooshed out of her lungs for the second time as she fell to the floor.
"Yes!" The blonde Slayer called out as she did a little victory dance. "Did you see that Faith?" She asked, bubbling with excitement.
Faith gave her a thumbs-up. "Nice going B. Looks like you've been taking lessons from G," she smirked.
Buffy's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Well, for once you weren't the first one to lose your temper."
"Shut up!"
Willow didn't manage to stifle her giggle and was soon met with a Slayer death-glare. "Don't you start!"
Alec and Xander exchanged an amused look and the transgenic raised his eyebrows. "Well… she did keep her temper twenty seconds longer than Maxie did."
"Fine, be that way," Buffy muttered as she stormed up the stairs.
Alec cast a worried look after her and turned to Xander. Willow spoke up before he got a chance to open his mouth. "She'll be ok. Don't worry," she said with a small smile as she followed her friend up the stairs.
Alec allowed himself a small sigh of relief. It wasn't easy to know how someone would react to some teasing before it happened. Buffy seemed to be one for pouting but as long as she didn't let it get to her head he wouldn't worry. She'd find a way to get even with him sooner or later.
Or at least she'd try, he thought with a grin.
Suddenly he froze mid-motion and the grin vanished without a trace.
"You!"
Oh shit!
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Xander and Faith escape up the stairs but his mind dismissed them immediately as he laid his eyes on Max.
She was standing with her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed and a dangerous look on her face.
She was beautiful.
"Me?" Alec tried. "I didn't do anything."
Max's mouth worked for a few seconds as she tried to come up with something, anything to say. Suddenly the murderous look disappeared and she looked at him with a bewildered expression on her face. "Why?"
Alec did a double take, his calm façade slipping as her reaction caught him with surprise. "Why what?" He asked slowly.
"Why did you let me win every time we fought?"
"You're not angry?"
Her eyes narrowed dangerously again. "I didn't say that."
Alec let out a sigh of relief. She was still Max.
Oh-kay, time for the truth. "You needed to win more than I did."
Max jaw dropped. "What?"
Alec sighed. "You needed reassurance. I knew what I could do and was confident in my abilities."
"What? That's not it at all," Max protested.
Alec took a slow step toward her and when she didn't look like she'd attack he took another. "Max, you've lived most of your life around regular humans. You're used to being stronger and faster and able to kick everybody's ass. Then you let us all out and all of a sudden there's a whole lotta people running around who have the same abilities as you. You needed to feel like you still were in control and I didn't." He carefully placed a hand on her shoulder and met her eyes. "So I helped."
Max mind was spinning uncontrolled. He'd let her win all those times and taken all those bruises only to make her feel better? This wasn't happening. It just wasn't happening. This was Alec for crying out loud! He wasn't supposed to do things like that!
"But how…?" She trailed off.
Alec smirked, suddenly looking like nothing but his old arrogant self. "C'mon Maxie. I know you fought Brin and lost."
"How d'ya…"
"I read the contact report," Alec waved the question off. "Max, Brin was back at Manticore for a few months after being on the run for ten years. I was involved with training her, getting her back into shape after all that time. She had a couple of months of hard training when you faced her." He took a deep breath. "I've got ten years of training on her, trust me when I say that they didn't pick me to train her just for her to throw my ass around," he finished with a smirk.
"What… how… why…"
Alec tried his best not to laugh at the expression on her face. Now wasn't the time even if her reaction was hilarious. Carefully he pulled her closer and embraced her, telling himself that he only did it to minimize the chances of her hitting him. He didn't fool himself for a second. "Besides, I never wanted to hurt you when we fought."
Max was trying her hardest to figure him out. Trying to understand why he'd done it and what she'd do about it. She had a hard time trying as the hand that was slowly rubbing up and down her spine made thinking very hard. Unconsciously she rubbed her cheek against his muscular chest.
Alec swallowed. If she kept that up he'd lose all control and now really wasn't the time for that. He let her go, bringing his hands up to clasp her shoulders and locking his eyes with hers. Her eyes didn't give a clue to as what she was thinking. Or rather, they gave so many different contradicting clues that he couldn't figure it out. "If you want to we can work on your training," Alec said carefully. "It shouldn't take too long to get some good results."
Max managed to nod; she didn't trust her mouth at the moment.
Alec let out a mental sigh of relief. She hadn't hit him and she'd agreed to start training with him. He'd have to do something about that stunned look on her face though. "First you need to learn how to not lose your temper while fighting," he smirked and was glad to see the old Max returning as she glared at him.
He let go of her shoulders and held out a hand to her. "C'mon, lets go check what the locals are doing."
They walked together up the stairs from the basement, Max wondering why they were suddenly holding hands and why it felt right doing it.
It was evening in London and the rain was pouring down from heavy, dark clouds. Combined with the darkness of the hallway it was somewhat fitting for the situation, Stuart MacIntyre thought as he studied the richly decorated walls. He was *not* looking forward to this debriefing. It, of course, wasn't the first time he'd been called in to leave a report to the High Council, but it was the first time he'd have to report a failure. He had no idea what was going to happen, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't like it. What made matters even worse was that he had *no* idea why the mission had turned into such a total failure. Two Goddamn *teenagers* had taken out his whole team without breaking a sweat.
It just wasn't supposed to happen.
The two guards motioned for him to enter and opened the heavy, decorated wooden doors to the High Council Chamber. It was time.
"You stand before the High Council of Watchers," a voice called out from somewhere behind and to the left of him. Stuart knew what was expected of him and bowed to one knee, showing his respect. It was what he had to do, and something he did out of necessity, not out of respect. Not surprisingly it was Travers who was the first one to speak up, and he sounded pissed.
"Would you please explain the debacle that took place in Sunnydale." It wasn't a request even if it was worded as one and everybody present knew that.
MacIntyre took a deep breath and launched into an explanation of what had happened.
Ten minutes later he was still standing in the middle of the room under the scrutinizing gazes of nine pair of eyes.
It seemed like Travers was the one that had been elected to speak for the nine of them, as he once again was the one to address the uncomfortable soldier. It wasn't that much of a surprise really; Travers was after all the one who'd ordered the mission.
"You are telling us that two unknown teenagers disabled your entire team and after throwing you out of Sunnydale, warned you not to return to the location again?"
"That is correct, sir."
"And the only reason you even know who your attackers are is that they allowed one of your men to see them?"
"Yes sir."
"They threatened to kill you if you ever returned?"
Stuart almost sighed in annoyance. This was what he hated the most with working for civilians; it took ages for them to even understand the most basic parts of what he reported. "Yes sir, his exact words were: 'The only reason you're alive is because we didn't want to kill you. This time you all leave Sunnydale. Next time half of you don't.'"
There was a moment of silence before someone spoke again, and this time it wasn't Travers. "Is your opinion that they would follow up on this threat?" The speaker was a thin, gray haired man who sat at the far right of the group from MacIntyre's position.
Stuart took a second to think the situation over before he answered. That voice in the van had been deadly serious and Duncan was still jumpy from his meeting with the two teenagers. "Yes sir. They kept some of our equipment so even if they didn't have access to firearms before they do now. It was clear that they were dangerous even unarmed and I don't think going against them when they're armed would be a good idea."
"Very well," the man said. "You may leave."
MacIntyre bowed and left the room quickly. He knew when he wasn't wanted and he had no intention to stick around to find out if they wanted to send his team back to Sunnydale. He wasn't suicidal.
In the Council's Chamber there was a minute of silence while the High Council members pondered the situation. Travers was the first one to speak again, taking the offensive in order to try to draw the attention away from the fact that it had been he who ordered the failed mission. "It is clear that Slayer Summers and Slayer Williams have gone against the will of the Council. They have to be punished."
By the Council's rules going against the Council was the worst crime a Slayer could commit. It was somewhat significant for the Council that no one on the High Council even thought twice about the fact that disobedience was considered worse than killing a human being.
"What are our choices?"
Travers took a deep breath and spoke again. "We could call the Order," he suggested. "We have used them before in sensitive situations." If he couldn't count on his own incompetent people he had to rely on outside help.
The High Council took a few minutes to ponder the suggestion in silence. Using the Order of Taeraka was not something that felt right to several of the members. They were after all a mostly demonic assassination order and thus made up of the very beings the Council so valiantly fought. But at the same time they needed full control over the Slayer or their positions would be threatened. In the end the vote was unanimous and the High Council concluded their session.
Travers was the first one to leave, hurrying through the hallways to his office, eager to reach his phone. He would get his wish and the Slayer Bitches would learn their lesson and get what they deserved. And Giles would go down with them.
He dialed a number from memory, something that would have made the other members of the High Council very uneasy had they known. It wasn't the first time he'd used the Order and most of the times it was not sanctioned by the Council.
"Yes," a voice hissed from the other end of the line.
Travers suppressed a shiver. Dealing with demons always made him nervous. "This is High Councilman Travers," he said, doing his best to sound intimidating and powerful.
"What can we do for the Watcher's Council?" the voice asked with a hint of amusement.
Travers either ignored it or missed it completely as he continued in the same voice. "We have a contract for you."
The voice was quiet for a moment. "I see. What is it that we can help you with?"
"We need some people removed. You know of several of them already."
"The Slayers?"
"Yes," Travers confirmed. "The two Slayers, the former Watcher Rupert Giles and two unknown teenagers who appear to be friends of Slayers Summers and Williams."
It took several minutes before the voice responded and Travers was almost afraid that the connection had been broken. "Two Slayers, a Watcher and two unknown teenagers?"
"Yes."
"May I ask why you don't take matters into your own hands? The Council has never been averse to it before."
"That is none of your business," Travers snapped.
A chuckling laughter was the response that came from the hissing voice. "So it has nothing to do with the way your team was kicked out of Sunnydale?"
"Wha-" Travers started before he caught himself, silently berating himself for letting his self-control slip. "Do you accept the contract or not?" he snapped, no longer able to keep the anger from his voice.
"We will require double the normal payment."
Travers closed his eyes. It was expensive but in the end it would be worth it. Those traitors had to die. "You will have it."
"Excellent. The contract will be fulfilled within 72 hours," the voice hissed before hanging up the phone.
Travers stared at the suddenly quiet phone in silence for a moment before slamming it down on the table. One day, he promised himself. One day he'd destroy the Order as well and then they'd see who got the last laugh.
In a big house at the outskirts of Sunnydale a cell phone buzzed, the call signal muted and the vibration the only indication of the incoming call.
"Hello," a man answered with a yawn.
"We have a job for you," a voice hissed.
"One moment," the male voice mumbled sleepily as he left the room and found a secluded spot in the house. "I'm listening."
"The two Slayers, the Watcher and two unknown teenagers. You have 71 hours. Double the normal payment." The soft click from the phone told him that the one at the other end had hung up.
Closing his eyes Marcel let out a low groan. Why? Why now of all times? His Master wanted the Slayers alive for the ritual and his employers wanted them dead. 71 hours, he thought. If he could convince Marcus to move within that time everything would work out well. If not, well, then his unlife was forfeit. With some luck he could pull this off and Marcus would never know that his loyalty was divided. Better start planning how to take them out and escape though. He was far more afraid of the Order than Marcus. The Roman was only one person – well, vampire – after all.
Max was buzzing around like a kid on a sugar rush and Alec had a hard time keeping up with her.
"Look at this Alec!" He heard her call out from somewhere behind him. How she'd got there without him noticing he had no idea. He spun around and found her admiring a mannequin wearing a pair of tight pants and a low-cut top. It'd look good on her, he decided.
He could hear Buffy and Willow giggle as they finally caught up with the female transgenic. "You'll fit in nice here," Buffy said with a laugh.
Willow nodded in agreement. "Yeah, no question about it."
Max looked around and her eyes lit up as she spotted something at the other end of the store. Buffy grabbed her arm before she could take off again. "Max, we need to actually buy some stuff before they close the Mall."
Max glared briefly at the Slayer before reluctantly agreeing. She glanced over at Alec who was barely holding back his laughter. He'd picked up everything he'd need in the first hour of their shopping trip and had been watching Max for the past three hours. It was amazing how fast she'd adapted to the lifestyle of the local teenage girls. Shopping seemed to be the thing to do.
Alec decided to take a break for a while and just stand back and enjoy the show. Buffy, with Willow as a hesitant helper, was trying to guide Max through the stores and teach her the latest fashion trends. Max was just overwhelmed by the sheer number of different pieces of clothing available.
The male transgenic let out a sigh of relief as they finally left the Mall. Five hours to buy some clothes. At least they had what they needed now and didn't have to run around in camouflage all day long. He couldn't wait to get back to the house and change out of the clothes he'd borrowed from Xander. This shirt was… well… it was hard to describe. He'd be glad when he was out of it.
As they waited for Joyce to come and pick them up after work Alec couldn't help but casting quick glances at Max. They hadn't really talked after what happened in the morning as they – well, at least she – had been too busy with the shopping. What made him wonder though was that she hadn't hit him yet. Not even once during the whole afternoon. And he'd be damned if he could figure out why. It had been her favorite way to pass time for so long that he didn't know how to handle her when she was acting so differently. Maybe he shouldn't have been so open with her, he sighed.
Max, in turn, did her best to ignore Alec. She had to figure out how to deal with everything before she could confront him again. The kiss and the revelation he'd made earlier in the morning had thrown her way off balance and her own reaction hadn't helped at all.
A small voice in her head was telling her that she liked him and that's why she reacted like she did. Another louder voice was screaming that she couldn't like him – he was Alec!
That wasn't *that* unusual if she was to be perfectly honest with herself, it had been going on for a while. If it had only been those two voices she could have ignored them as usual and let the second, louder one, decide for her.
It was the third voice that caused the problems.
So what if he's Alec, it said. Why should that be a reason not to like him?
And for the life of her she couldn't find a satisfactory answer to that question.
She needed to think to figure this out but she couldn't do that while he was this close. He was way too distracting.
"You need a new wardrobe," Alec grumbled as he pulled off Xander's shirt as soon as he got into the house.
"Hey!" Xander said, clearly offended. What was wrong with his shirts?
"Hate to break it to you boytoy but he's right."
Xander whipped his head around and looked at Faith, then Alec and back to the Slayer again. "You're teaming up against me," he mock whined.
Faith smirked. "It's for a good cause."
There was a *thump* from the open door and the three of them spun around to see Max standing in the door with her eyes wide open, parcels laying spread out on the floor at her feet. It took a second before she snapped out of her self-induced haze and hurriedly picked up the parcels, mumbling an excuse about tripping over the doorstep. There was no way she was going to admit that she'd been so distracted by Alec's naked, muscled back that she'd dropped everything she was carrying.
She needed to get away from him and think.
Right now.
The oblivious male exchanged a look with the Slayers and their friends and shrugged his shoulders as Max fled up the stairs. How the hell should he know what was going on in that girl's head?
After an excellent dinner, courtesy of Joyce, the gang gathered in the living room. Giles had come over for dinner and immediately took charge of the meeting. He cleared his throat in order to get everybody's attention.
"What do we know about the situation we are currently in?"
"Nothing," Xander supplied helpfully from the couch.
"Well, thank you for that excellent answer," Giles muttered.
"Um, Giles. He's actually right," Willow piped in.
"Hey!" Xander protested. "What's so unusual with that?"
"Nothing," Willow answered quickly. "I just mean that he's got no reason to say that this time…" she trailed off before she realized what she'd said and blushed a little. "Sorry."
Xander smiled at his childhood friend. He couldn't stay mad at her even if he wanted to. And right now things were going too good for him to want to be angry, he thought as he glanced at Faith who was sitting beside him on the couch.
"So we have no information at all?" Giles tried to bring the meeting back in order.
"Nope," the blonde Slayer answered cheerfully.
Giles sighed.
"Does anyone of you have any ideas as to where we can find out what is happening? I am afraid that I am at a loss as for how to approach this problem. There is after all no prophecy that applies to the situation and I very much doubt that anything is written down about these vampires."
The question was met by silence from the entire group. Finally Xander was the one to answer. "How about Willy's?"
The group turned as one to Buffy, the original Slayerettes to get an answer and the transgenics to find out what Willy's was. "It's a demon bar," the blonde explained. "Sort of a hangout for Vamps and other demons who wants to buy blood or whatever else they eat."
The two X5s shared a glance. The perfect place to gather intel.
"Okay," Buffy said cheerfully. "I go over to Willy's and beat some information out of him. Are we going to patrol as well?"
Giles pondered the question for a moment. "I believe it is better if we try to ascertain exactly what we are facing before we resume patrolling. The activity of the general vampire population is relatively low in the summer so the town should be quite safe even if you do not patrol tonight. I do not want you to be caught out in the open by a superior force simply because we did not know what we were facing."
There were nods from all of the present, even if Xander looked like he wanted to complain about the canceled patrol.
Alec and Max shared another look and got up from the chairs they'd been sitting on. "Mind if we tag along?"
"No, why?" Buffy asked.
Alec shrugged. "You'll have some backup if something comes up and we'll get a chance to familiarize ourselves with the town and the demon hangout."
"Yeah, and I want to beat something up," Max added, gaining an odd look from Joyce.
The hinges creaked slightly as the heavy steel door was opened and Marcel and Allessandro stepped into the room.
They froze on the spot.
There was no bleached blond badass-wannabe vampire in the room.
There should have been one.
It took only a few seconds to notice the slightly out of place carpet and the sewer entrance hidden under it. Allessandro growled low in his throat as he realized that their prisoner was gone. Marcel cast a thoughtful look at his little brother.
Maybe this could be turned to his advantage.
Marcus was *not* happy when he received the news. In fact it had been many decades since Marcel had seen him this angry.
"Whose bright idea was it to lock him up in a room where he could just walk out as he saw fit?" Marcus growled.
"Juan prepared the house for our arrival, Father. He was the one to chose that room as prison cell."
Marcus seethed silently. The loss of the British vampire wasn't as serious as he might have let on, but it annoyed him to no end that things weren't going according to the plan. First the raid on the hospital had been a failure and now this. "Very well. We need to gather more information about our enemies. Send out a few scouts tonight."
"Yes, Father." Marcel bowed his head and left the room quickly. Now he just had to convince his siblings that their Father was being overly cautious and that they should strike sooner than Marcus had planned.
Else he'd be a dead vampire.
"So this is a demon bar?" Alec asked as they stepped over the threshold. "I've seen human bars in worse condition."
"Yeah," Max agreed. "But I don't think I've ever seen one with this kind of patrons," she added as she let her eyes sweep over the dark interior of the bar.
Alec shrugged. "Adds to the atmosphere."
Their commentary of the bar and its guests was interrupted by a loud groan from behind the bar counter. "Not you again," Willy complained as he saw the blonde Slayer enter with two other teenagers in tow.
"Hi Willy," Buffy said cheerfully. "So do we do this the easy way or the hard way?"
"Easy or hard?" Max queried, raising her eyebrows.
"Without or with me beating him up."
"Ah. What's the fun with the easy way?"
"It's not fun at all," Buffy whined. "But it is faster," she added reluctantly.
"So you're Willy?" Alec asked the nervous bartender.
"Uh.. yeah."
The male transgenic looked him over quickly. "I can see why you run a demon bar instead of a normal one."
"Hey!"
"What are you bloodbags doing here!" one of the guests, a vampire, snarled.
Willy ducked behind the bar and carefully peeked up over the top of it.
Buffy rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Here we go again."
The vampire in question had obviously had a little too much alcohol with his blood and was more than a little tipsy. He wasn't that impressive to begin with, standing maybe 5 foot 5 with a rather scrawny build. He growled deep down in his throat as he slowly advanced toward the three walking bloodbags.
Buffy gave him a quick look and turned to Alec. "You wanna?"
Alec smirked. "Why not." He pulled out a stake from a pocket and threw it at the vampire, easily dusting the bloodsucker.
"They never learn," Buffy mock sighed as she turned back to Willy. "So, new group of vampires moved in recently. What can you tell me?"
"Uh, nothing," Willy tried.
Buffy's eyes lit up. "You sure?" she asked, cracking her knuckles.
"Wait, wait, wait," the bartender stammered. "Maybe I know something."
Buffy pouted. "I never get to have any fun."
Max was watching the scene with amusement. It reminded her of many of the times she'd been trying to gather information from the criminals back in Seattle.
"I don't know much," Willy said nervously. "There's talk about a new Master and that he scared the shit out of Anthony when he first got here. I don't know much more than that, I swear!"
Buffy turned slightly to glance at Max and raised her eyebrows. "So whaddaya think? He telling the truth?"
Max made a big show of pondering the question. "I don't know," she drawled, eying the terrified bartender. "Maybe we should beat him up a little just to be sure?"
"Maybe," Buffy said thoughtfully. "What do you think Alec?"
"I swear I don't know anything!" Willy pleaded.
"Hey Willy you bloody wanker! Gimme a Vodka and Blood," a voice suddenly called from the doorway. "Make it a double."
The Slayer and the two transgenics spun around to face the newcomer and some of the demons and vampires, recognizing the new voice, hurried to escape out the back door.
"Spike!" Buffy spat, whipping out a stake and advancing on the bleached blond vampire.
"Bloody 'ell!" Spike snarled, bringing up his hands in a defensive position. "Slayer," he acknowledged.
"Oohh I'm going to enjoy this," Buffy growled as she closed in on the vampire with Max and Alec following her. The two transgenics had automatically taken up positions to cover her back as the Slayer appeared to be oblivious to anything but the vampire in front of her.
Spike, of course, noticed that and all plans of making a play for the Slayer right away were dismissed. Had she been alone he could have tried and then got the hell out of town, but not when she had backup. He didn't recognize her two companions but if they were here with her he had to assume they knew about the 'night life' and how to defend themselves against it.
"Wait a minute Slayer," the vampire growled. "I've got some info you need to know."
Buffy hesitated for a second and then resumed her advance, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Doesn't matter, you're dust."
Spike snorted. "Like you could take me even if you wanted." He backed out the door with Buffy and the X5s following him. The collective breath of relief from the patrons of the bar could be heard all the way out on the street. "There's a new gang of vamps in town and they're after you and your bloody friends," Spike tried. How the hell was he going to use her to take out the others if she wouldn't even listen to him? Bloody stupid blonde bitch.
That was enough to halt the Slayer's advance. "Talk," she ordered. "Fast."
"Damnit Slayer," Spike growled. "I'm not your enemy." Maybe he could persuade her not to attack him. If he could convince her that he could be helpful if she let him stick around he could plan out his revenge in a proper manner.
"Rii-ight," Buffy drawled. "You suddenly turned vegetarian?"
"Look 'ere. I can buy my blood from the wanker," he gestured toward the bar, "and I'll tell you when something big 'appens around 'ere if you leave me alone."
Buffy hesitated. She knew she couldn't trust Spike but at the same time it was a great opportunity to get some good info about what was going on in the demon community. "What do you know?"
The two transgenics shared a glance. Having informants in the enemy camp was a good way of finding out what the enemy was doing. But they both had a feeling that it wouldn't work in this particular case. Humans were driven by their desires. You could offer them money or promises of power and fame, but that wouldn't work with demons. They didn't really care for such things. Well… They weren't averse to fame, which they usually got from killing lots of people with the Slayer on top of the list. And that's what made this a bad deal.
"There's a new Master vamp in town," Spike started. "Some south-European wanker with lots of others working for him. I met a few Frenchmen and some other sods. They're all bloody old and annoying."
"Where are they?"
Spike hesitated for a second. He couldn't tell them exactly where even if he wanted to. He hadn't seen the name of the street or the number of the house they'd taken him to, and he wasn't familiar with the outskirts of Sunnydale. And he didn't want to make it too easy for the white-hats. "I don't know exactly where," he said slowly. "But it's in the outskirts of town. Some big old house with sewer access in the basement," the last part was said with a smug grin. Bet the sodding Frenchman was pissed when he found out I was gone.
"Anything else," Alec asked.
Spike focused his eyes on the guy who spoke while still keeping the Slayer in sight. He was well built and stood in a stance that on first sight looked relaxed, but there was something about him that made the vampire uneasy. It was the eyes, Spike decided. They were cold and calculating and looked like they'd seen much more than they should have. He'd have to find out who this guy was before he could make any plans – and the girl he added as an afterthought.
"They were asking 'bout blondie and the other one. Wanted to know 'bout their friends and everything."
"And what did you tell them?"
"Look mate, I wanted to survive. I told 'em what they wanted to know."
Max's eyes narrowed dangerously as she glared at the vampire. "What exactly did you tell them?"
Spike shifted his focus again, trying to keep both the Slayer and the guy in sight at the same time as he focused on the girl. It was giving him a headache. The brunette girl was glaring at him and he let his eyes wander appreciatively over her body. Nice, he decided. Very nice. Then he met her eyes and recognized the same look as in the guy's eyes. He definitely had to watch out for those two. "That the best way to get 'em was through their friends."
"What?" Buffy growled. "You-"
"Look, Slayer. I don't even think they know 'bout these two," Spike interrupted, gesturing at Max and Alec. "I didn't tell 'em anything they couldn't 'ave figured out for themselves."
"Let's dust him and get going," Alec suggested. "I don't think he can tell us anything else." Max nodded her agreement.
"I can find out more," Spike hurried to assure them.
Buffy glared at the vampire for a second. "If I find out you've eaten anyone you're dead. Got it?" If they could get Spike to keep an eye out on the local vampires for them it would be a lot easier for her to kill them later on.
"Yeah, sure," Spike grumbled.
"This is a bad idea," the two transgenics said at the same time. The idea with informants wasn't bad; it just wouldn't work in this case.
"We can use him," Buffy argued. "And if he does anything bad we dust him."
"I'll be a good little vamp," Spike reassured her. Oh yeah, he'd be very good. No eating in Sunnydale when it was just as easy to do it in the next town. He'd have to get a new car though. Just after sunset he'd gone back to where he left it last night and found it gone. It wasn't much of a surprise as it had been left with the driver's door ripped off and the keys in the ignition. It still pissed him off though. He'd liked that car.
"Go," Buffy said. "And remember what I said. One step wrong and you're dust."
The two transgenics shared a glance. They both had a feeling that this decision would come back and bite them in the ass later on.
The Slayer watched as the vampire disappeared in the shadows before she turned to her companions. "Let's go back."
The three of them had been walking in silence for some time and they were approaching the Summers' home when Alec spotted something about a block away. It was a black clad figure, no make that two figures, who were making their way slowly down the streets. Focusing his eyes on them he tried to make out any details but couldn't see much. They appeared to be carrying something black. The soldier in him automatically assumed a weapon of some kind. He only had them in sight for a few seconds before they disappeared behind some bushes. Still, that was something worth checking out. If there were other players around here he wanted to know who they were.