Chapter one: Underground

Steven Kramer walked slowly home letting the cold crystalline raindrops sooth and caress his tender shadowed bruised eye and the rest of his tired body. He did not wince as large droplets splattered relentlessly on his face. The pain was coming from the inside, and as each raindrop fell down all he could feel was his father's fist connecting with his stern yet still youthful face. He dreaded going home, but he did not like leaving his poor mother there alone, she was the only reason he stayed. The condition of his eye was from protecting her, and the pain a father causes, a father who he swore...... was soulless.

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"So how long have you practiced magics?" Wesley asked the now conservative looking vampire.

"A long time, at least four ,five years." Tara said faking the real sense of nondescript boredom she was forcing herself to go through.

"Harmony tells me that you are a vampire, who was your sire?"

"A vampire named Drusilla."

"Drusilla?"

"Yeah really crazy chic."

"Wesley, I have the result of Ms. Maclay's blood analysis. It looks like the only blood she's had for the past couple of months is odder... mixed with a little tequila...But I guess that's all fine and dandy since we don't have a no tolerance policy for drinking." Fred said as she entered Wesley's office.

Tara closed her eyes as the two's hands connected exchanging the piece of paper. She let their feelings wash over her. Compassion, love, admiration, they were all purely coming from the two. She could feel it like a tide of beautiful colors all seeming to be pastel. For the second the two touched she remembered what it was to have a soul, to be human... and that frightened her.

"Oh thank you, um.. Ms. Maclay you are hired. When is the best time you can start?" Wesley said as he noticed Tara suddenly sigh in relief, not knowing that she was doing it because of the release of the lovers slight embrace.

"Right now would be good seeming how I'm stuck in a building in the middle of the day." Tara said as she tried to desperately reconnect with vampire she truly was.

"All right, Fred would you mind helping Ms. Maclay to the vault?"

"No problem." Fred said as she gave Wesley, her Wes, a smile, which to Tara seemed to be a deadly blow.

Fred led Tara down a long series of tunnels leading down to an actual vault. It was large and cold but it seemed like a blessing to the mall Tara had lived.

"Winifred Burkle." Fred said into a small hole in the vault door activating the mechanisms opening the massive steal doors. "The vault can only be opened from the inside unless you have me, Wesley, or Angel with you but there's just a door knob on the other side so you don't have to worry about be locked in."

"So I'm just supposed to keep inventory?"

"Pretty much we wanted someone to do this because this guy came in without any of our camera's or mystical defenses knowing and Angel wants to make sure he didn't take anything."

"And where is this guy now?"

"He's being tortured by the senior partners right about now."

"Probably a good thing to stay on your good side."

"So do you plan on staying here try getting a piece of the pie as it were?" Fred said in her all to sweet sincerity.

"No I'm going to leave once a find a way to get somewhere."

"Where?"

"Home."

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"SPIKE, didn't Harmony get you a car?!" Angel said as his most annoying, pain in the butt, non-friend.

"I need some cash, I spent all my money buying booze at the convenient store."

"How can you even buy "booze", you don't even have a driver's license."

"I go to the ones run by the lady's, after a little flirting they tend to believe I left my I.D. at home better then the guys."

"As exciting as this story is, I'm not giving you any cash, especially cash you didn't even earn."

"And you did?"

"Spike if you don't leave this building....."

"The cash isn't the only thing I needed to talk to you about, I've caught a strange scent, a familiar one at that."

"And whose would that be?"

"I don't know but it's sodding at the tip of my brain. It's so familiar but it seems to be tainted."

"Are you sure you just didn't leave the peroxide in to long last night Spike."

"Ok, ok I know when I'm not wanted."

"I think I cleared that with Spike if you don't leave this building."

"Fine!" Spike said as he backed away and into the hallway.

"What a drama queen."