Chapter nine.
Buffy.
"Where is he, Willy?"
I slam the greasy bartender down onto the countertop again, and he shrieks in pain.
"I told you, Slayer, I don't know!!"
Uh huh. And I'm a science nerd.
"Well, I tell you what, Willy. You find another answer to that question and I'll let you leave here without too many broken bones. Okay?"
Angel's been missing for 24 hours. And that's about 24 hours longer than I'd like. And I know the little squirrely man currently residing under my fist knows something. If anyone in this town does.
"Gah! Okay, okay, sheesh, let me up! You're putting bruises on my bruises."
I lift my hand, and he stands up straight, gingerly feeling the knot on his forehead.
"Dang, girly, why you gotta be so rough?"
I just stare at him, eyebrow cocked and arms crossed in front of my chest.
"You have got to be kidding me, right?"
He lifts his hands in a placating gesture. "Right, right. Ha ha, listen to Willy, he's always joking. Coke?"
He tries to distract me from my current mission, and not very successfully may I add.
"Willy. Information. Now."
He sighs. "Right. I don't know where your honey is," he starts, and I step closer to the bar and tap my fingers on it's dirty top.
"Wait, wait," he backpeddles, "however, I do know there's some nasty new vamps in town, stirring up trouble and asking questions."
"What kind of questions, Willy?" I ask him through clenched teeth.
"You know, questions! About the Master, the one who died, you remember?"
I try not to laugh, and succeed only partially. "Yeah, and?"
"And one of them was talking about another vampire they were looking for."
"I'm getting a little bored here, Willy. You know what happens when I get bored, right?" I examine my nails and grin inwardly when I hear his audible gulp.
"Let me finish, Slayer. Geez! The name I heard them mention was," and he pauses, looking around to see if anyone is listening, "Angelus."
I walk purposefully out of the decrepit bar, and meet Xander outside.
"What'd he say? Anything useful?" he asks, and I keep walking, forcing him to run after me as he talks.
"Yeah. Some undead nasties are trying to raise the Master again. And they need the blood of one of his 'family' to raise him. Guess who the local family is?"
"Um, Snyder? Considering he's so, you know, ugly and rat faced? They kind of look alike now that I think about it…" he muses, and slows.
"Xander! Let's go," I yell behind me, and he breaks into a trot to catch up. "It's Angel, right? Damn, of course it is. Couldn't go one week or two without one of you getting in some kind of bruhaha," he says, and I shoot him a look that makes him shut his mouth.
"I'm teasing, Buff. Of course we'll help. But, and correct me if I'm wrong here, I thought Darla turned Angel. How can he be part of the Master's family?"
"She did turn him, Xand. But the Master made her, and there you have it. His blood passed to Angel through Darla. Got it?"
"Got it."
We walk faster.
The sky darkens as we reach the school, and the wind whips our hair around our heads.
"Looks like duck and cover time, Buffy. Should we head inside?" Xander shouts over the rising storm.
"Wait a minute, Xand. I wanna see what happens," I yell back, and he complies, both of us turning to face the North, and the huge black clouds building there.
Lightning cracks through the sky, and the clouds roil ominously. "Uh, Buffy, not like this isn't fun, but, well, it isn't fun. We should go in," Xander screams near my ear, and I barely acknowledge him. I'm too intent on the feel of moisture in the air and the weird swirly looking thing forming just to our right…
"Buffy, do you see that-"
"I see it, Xander. Go inside. Tell Willow to get with the book cracking. Like now," I say, my eyes on the thing opening up in the sky.
"Ten four, chief," he says, saluting. And he's gone, the doors to the school slapping against their frames behind him.
Damn. Willow had said there would be portals. I know I've never really seen one, but I think I am now.
Things are being sucked into it, and my hair switches direction, blowing toward the black hole and pulling me with it. I turn, and forceably grab for the doors to the main entrance, putting a lot of effort into it.
I make it inside just before the rain starts. And judging from the smell, it's the same lovely rain we had before.
The local vamp population won't have to go to McPlasma's tonight for their meals.
"Buffy!" Giles states as I enter the library, "You're alright?"
"Right as rain…ew, scratch that. Right as a dry sky. Anything?" I ask Willow, and she nods, her hair bobbing around her head.
"I've found reference to a gang of vampires who have been traveling around the country, trying to 'gather power' by raising local Masters. It seems they've been through a couple of towns, usually smaller than this one, and manage to find a few of the things they need, but never all of it. So I guess, when they found out we had had a Master here, they came a running. And plus, 'family' vamp, and easy access to witchcraft supplies, and bang, welcome to Sunnydale, home of the best evil ever."
I stare at her. "You found all that on the net?"
She nods, and replies. "Yeah, well, apparently these vamps aren't the smartest monkeys in the barrel. They have their own website."
I laugh. "You're kidding, right? What's it called, Bloodsuckers 'R' Us?"
"The Immortal Three."
I plop into a chair, and shake my head. "Egocentric, all these demons. Pathetic really. Don't they know they're in Slayer land?"
"I don't think they care, Buffy. They've been criss-crossing the country for years trying to make this spell work, and they haven't succeeded so far. I would believe they feel that since they have all the elements, they have no chance of failure," Giles interjects, and I look up at him.
"Giles, I don't care if they're the Immortal Ten. Or the Fantastic Four. They have Angel. And I'm getting him back."
"I understand, Buffy. I just want you to understand how dangerous this group is. Or how dangerous any committed group is. Once they have all the elements of the spell in place, they won't hesitate to start it. And once they have begun, I'm not sure how we can stop them, to be honest," he tells me, removing his glasses and cleaning them on his shirt, typical Giles 'I'm worried' gesture.
"Well, get sure. I'm not abandoning Angel to some horrible fate at the hands of some cheesy vamps who can't even come up with a good group name. The Immortal Three? Sounds like an eighties hair band," I mutter, and Giles clears his throat. "What?"
"Xander told us the weather outside had changed drastically on your walk from Willy's bar. How drastic?" Giles asks.
"Remember what you said about portals forming? Well, they're not forming anymore," I say, and Giles and Willow look at each other, smiling in relief.
"They're formed."
Damn, I hate it when I make my friends look like that.
"So, guys? Info. Where would these vampires be, and how fast can I kill them?"
TBC.
