Ch.14

The gang met in the board room about two hours after Sair was put in a room to rest. Frankly, all were on edge.

"Well, first order of business," Angel started, sitting at his place at the head of the table, "It seems Sair is quite alright now, looks as if she got out all of her pent up energy."

"Well I do understand her position in the matter," Fred started, sitting to the right of him, "The poor girl was afraid, she woke up and didn't know where she was."

"But that doesn't give her a right to go hostile on the people around her," Wesley said bitterly from her right.

"Actually, it kind of does," Gunn said from his seat across from him, "She reacted by what her instinct told her. It told her to fight, it's how a lot of creatures live, including humans."

"Well, nevertheless, it seems that Dorian's company has changed her a bit," Angel concluded.

"A bit?" came Spike's voice from his position at the far wall. He had been turned away from them, thinking about the recent events.

"You call that," he said as he turned towards them, "A bit?"

"Well, I mean she has changed," Angel said, "But it doesn't seem like a whole lot."

"Angel, are you not seeing the big picture here?" Spike started, "That bastard has totally screwed with her brain! She thinks its' bad for a vampire to even feed because supposedly he says so! He has warped her mind to think differently!"

"We don't know what happened to her," Angel said, "It could be just something that changed within her, something since you've known her."

"Yes and speaking of which," Wesley interjected, "How do you know her? She looked quite relieved to see you after all of her demands and ranting for us to get you to her."

Spike sighed.

"What have you been keeping from us?" Fred asked.

"Wesley," Spike began, "Remember that one woman that I thought I had dated for awhile?"

"Uh, oh yeah. The one girl that Dorian murdered right?"

"Yeah."

"Uh, excuse me, but what are you talking about?" Fred asked suddenly, with a look of confused.

After that, Spike explained the whole story to them. Everything he knew about Lucia and Sair. When he had finished, everyone was speechless.

"So now you understand," Spike said, his anger growing, "Now you understand why Dorian must die, he screwed up her mind. He killed everyone she knew and had the audacity to brainwash her? This isn't an enemy to me. He is the only evil and I have to stop him. Eliminate him."

"You can't go as far as that," Angel said, "He can't be killed."

"I'll find a way," Spike said, "He's crossed the line, he won't live, not as long as I am."

And with that, he left the room in anger.

Angel sighed, this wasn't a mission anymore, it was revenge.

Spike went down the steps from the board room. He sighed, this wasn't something he was ready for. He couldn't take it, it all happened too fast. He settled on the steps to the first platform of the stairs. He held his head in his hands, this was tiring. He checked the clock, it was seven at night already? The time flew too quickly.

The sun had already set, and it was pitch black now. He got up to his feet and sighed again. 'Maybe I should visit Sair,' he thought. Deciding that that was a good idea, he went to Harmony to find out where she was.

"Harmony," he started, "Do you know where Sair is staying at?"

"Um yeah," she said as she looked through her papers and finally found what she needed, "She's in one of the temporary shape-shifter rooms."

A moment of silence passed between the two, Harmony staring intently at Spike.

"Which one?" he asked.

"Oh right! Um," she shifted through another couple of papers, "Number 202."

"Thanks."

"Your welcome!" she called after him after a few more moments of silence.

He was inclined to give her the finger because her stupidity was so disgusting, but instead, he just waved her off as he went to the elevator.

Spike reached the floor that held all of the specialized rooms and walked to the one Sair was occupying. He knocked twice and when no answer came, he opened up the door. His eyes widened at what he saw.

He went to the phone and dialed Angel's number.

"Hello?" was the answer on the other end.

"Angel," Spike said, "Sair's gone."

Ch.15

"What?"

"I mean she's gone, meaning not in the space she was occupying before!" Spike told him, "She couldn't have gone far, I'll try to find her."

Angel started to say something, but Spike hung up the phone. He went to the neatly broken window and looked down onto the busy street. Lampposts lit up the streets dimly and for the most part kept most of the surrounding area dark, harder for him to find her.

Spike stepped out onto the pane, half in, half out and sniffed the air. He could vaguely pick up her scent, but it was enough to follow. Without further time to waste, he jumped out of the window, flipped, and landed in a crouch on the cement.

He ran after her.

About forty minutes later, Spike was closer to finding her, her scent was becoming stronger by the minute.

He turned down a particularly dark alley, his coat swishing as he went, and almost tripped over something. He looked down and was surprised to find a body beneath him. He bent down to get a closer look, it was guy, his eyes were wide open in fear and death. But there wasn't much left of him, his body was completely ravaged and his head was saved a bit

Spike sighed and walked onward around a corner and into three more alleys before he found another body, this one of a young girl. No older than 17 or 16. She looked just like Cordelia used to at Sunnydale, overdressed for no real occasion. He checked the pulse, the girl was the same as the guy before, dead. But more suttle-like, just a bite mark, no more.

By now, Sair's scent was intoxicating. Spike knew she was close now, his walk had long since turned into a half run and he was eager to find her. He didn't want any more people dead, what would the blood do to her? Whenever she fed, Dorian would just drain her before it could circulate into her system. But now, now was a whole new ballgame.

He went through a few more alleys before the strong scent of freshly spilled blood filled his nostrils and stirred his own. He went on until he stepped on broken glass, making a crunch underneath his shoe. Spike looked up and saw a broken light next to a back door to a restaurant or club or something.

The vampire walked a few steps and heard soft sobbing. It was coming from behind a nearby dumpster. Almost afraid of what he would find, Spike timidly rounded the end of the giant trash can and found Sair, crumpled in the corner, her knees drawn to her chest.

In her hands, was the wrist of a young girl, no older than her. Sair was crying as she slowly drained the life out of her, taking the girl away from this world. Her eyes met Spike's and she lowered the wrist onto the ground, never breaking eye-contact. The girl slumped awkwardly to the side, close enough to death, but yet so far away. Spike knew the girl wouldn't die for awhile unless her suffering was put to an end by the vampire who had started killing her.

It was almost hard for him to watch, but her vampire instincts were coming back, that was a good thing. But this would not go over with Angel. And it was unnecessary carnage though, these people didn't deserve to die.

"Sair…" Spike whispered as he looked down on her.

"It's not fair…" the vampire said as her eyes brimmed with tears, "It's just not fair…"

"What?" asked Spike.

"They all had everything…and they wasted it…" she said, "They had the most precious thing ever, life! Freedom! And they waste it!"

"Sair! You do not know if they wasted it," Spike replied.

"They did, I know they did…they wanted to give their life, they wanted this!" she told him.

"Sair, you need to kill this girl, end her suffering," the vampire told her.

"No, she needs to suffer, to know what she's losing! What I felt!"

Spike bent down and looked into the young vampire's eyes.

"Please.." he said.

At first she shook her head, denying the dying girl a quick end, but then the girls' eyes softened and she nodded as she swallowed a lump in her throat. She pulled the girl up and placed her hands on her head. With a swift motion, Sair wrung the girls' neck, feeling and hearing the snap of the bone, ending her life.

The victim slumped over to one side, no longer living.

Sair pushed away from her and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Spike asked in question to her sudden haste.

"Away from here, I can't take it!" Sair yelled.

"Don't walk away from the carnage you created!" Spike yelled after her.

Sair turned around and stared at Spike squarely in the eyes.

"What am I suppose to do then? Sit here and rot?!" her anger flared through her words and tears were in her eyes, "I went twenty years with that bastard Dorian, never knowing what was going on outside of that bloody hotel walls' And now, you want me to stay here?! I'm not going to stay anywhere ever! I'm sick and tired of people telling me what to do!"

"Then why are you here?" Spike countered.

Sair fell silent.

"Yeah, you think you're all big now don't you?"

"I never said that."

"But you feel it," Spike said as he started to walk towards the younger vampire, "You feel all of these things because you buried them. You never got a chance to feel them again. Dorian messed with your head, and now, you feel as if you have to defend yourself against everything."

Sair fell silent again, her feelings burning in her chest, ready to explode.

"You don't have to defend yourself against me. You don't have to, you can trust me," Spike said as he came to a stop in front of her, "To protect you. I promise you that."

The young vampire was silent and then she looked up at her brother, "Dammit Spike, you always had a soft spot, no matter what."

"Yeah well, it's grown a bit."

She smiled at him, and then gave him a hug. After a few moments, Spike released her.

"Well, why don't we go back?" he asked.

"Perhaps I should," Sair said, finally free of her old worries, fears, and restraints, "Walk with me, and I'll go."

"Alright."

He smiled at her and started off, all the while, Sair right by his side .