Three Slayers 6 - Back In Town
"Xander, we need to talk. What you said to Buffy was out of line, you're being totally unreasonable. You should apol-."
"Apologise?" Xander slammed his locker shut and glared at the red-head stood beside him. "Listen very carefully Willow as far as I'm concerned Buffy has chosen her side - and it isn't the humans!"
"But she loves him!"
"This isn't 'Gone With The Wind' or 'Casablanca', this is real life and in real life Slayers aren't supposed to let vampires get away with their crimes, they stake them. If you could stop your hero worship for thirty seconds then maybe you'd see how wrong Buffy was. Well now we've got two real Slayers in town, two who like humans more than demons, you might want to remind Buffy of that next time she thinks about getting physical with that bastard."
* * *
"How could she!" Spike flung his bottle of whiskey into the wall, shattering it. He stared around the deserted factory that had once served as his base. "If only bloody the bloody poofter hadn't lost his sodding soul, Dru would still love me," he muttered brokenly, "instead the bitch starts crushing on him." His voice grew high-pitched. "Uh my daddy, he's so handsome." He kicked a stone across the dusty floor. "Bloody Peaches, if he wasn't in hell I'd put him there myself. I mean how could she? A slime demon, I'm witty charming, all the time she was ill I looked after her. Well no more!" he felt his features shift into his demonic face. "I'm going to get her back, and when I do I'll torture her until she loves me again. Yeah, that's what I'll do."
"Don't like it in 'ere anymore. Too many memories. Where can I go? I know eat first." His gait unsteady from the four bottles of whiskey he'd drunk, he stumbled out into the night. He smiled slightly at the sight of an attractive Oriental teen climbing out of her car. "Oh nice and juicy, maybe I'll play with my food before eating."
Spike grinned as he dropped the drained body. He'd raped the girl first, getting off on her screams and whimpers before revealing his demonic face. And then his fun had really begun. "It feels good to be undead!" Picking up his pace he hurried to Angel's old place.
"Bloody hell!" Spike pulled away from the window, his mind whirling with a dozen different thoughts. How the bloody hell was Peaches here? The world hadn't been sent to Hell, so that bint had stopped but not slain him. The fact he was reading poetry and not out creating havoc was out of character, unless. "That bloody Wicca gave him his soddin' soul back," he muttered before smiling slowly. That took power, power he could use to get his Dru back.
* * *
Mayor Wilkins squinted in concentration, this was important, he couldn't mess it up. Finally he took his shot and watched as the golf ball missed the hole. "Oh, look at that! Every time, cuts to the left." Groaning, he got down on his hands and knees and checked the lie of the floor. "And it's not the carpet. It's me." He got up and looked up at his deputy. "I swear, I would sell my soul for a decent short game. Of course," he chuckled, "mine's spoken for. " He smiled at his deputy. "What about yours Allan? I don't suppose I could offer your soul, huh? Really help me on the green." His deputy paled, he waved his hand. "I'm just funning. So, we have a Spike problem, do we? "
Allan nodded. "He's been spotted back in town."
This time his shot was on target but came up short. He let out a frustrated sigh before retrieving his ball. "Well, yes, y'know, he was up to all sorts of shenanigans last year," he shook his head. "We had a world of fun trying to guess what he'd do next."
His deputy leaned against his desk. "I remember." Irritated, he glanced at Allan, immediately his deputy stood back up.
He shook his head, he couldn't put up with William The Bloody's schemes this year. "This year is too important to let a loose cannon rock the boat."
His deputy nodded. "Should I have Mr. Trick send a... committee to deal with this?"
He began to nod only to stop when a troubling thought hit him. "Loose cannon. Rock the boat. Is that a mixed metaphor?"
"Uh..."
"In the old days boats did have cannons. And a loose one would cause it to rock. Oh, honestly. I don't know where my mind goes these days," he chuckled before turning serious. "Why don't you take care of that Spike problem? A committee, like you said."
Allan nodded. "As good as done."
* * *
Xander made his way down the darkened school corridor. He looked up at the lab ahead and sighed. After this morning he'd decided he'd have to make up with Willow, not apologise he had nothing to apologise for, but smooth the waters over, he had too many years of friendship to throw it all away. Pushing the door open he saw his friend crouched over a lamp-lit table, so engrossed in what she was doing that she failed to notice his entrance. Xander walked over to the desk and glanced idly at the two books open on the table only for his eyes to widen in shock at what he saw. "Mind control spells, you're going to cast a spell on me?" Willow's head snapped up, the guilty look on her face confirming his suspicions. "Xander-."
"How dare you? What gives you the right to mess with my mind?"
"If we got things back to the way before those two bitches -."
He cut off the red-head's words with an angry sweep of his arm, knocking the desk's contents off the table, breaking several expensive scientific instruments and scattering the books and ingredients across the floor. "Never ever refer to Kendra and Faith like that!" he roared, angrier than he'd ever been, even more furious when he'd discovered Buffy was hiding Angel. "Those two bitches as you called them have always treated me with respect and listened to my opinions, have always treated me as an equal. Not like you two, I'm just donut boy to you! What happens if this spell works? Do you cast one where I'm in love with you?" he slammed a fist onto the desk, the blaze in his eyes making the Wicca back off. "Because you better have some pretty powerful mojo if you think I could ever fall for you! Well you can go to hell -."
Suddenly he was cut off by a hand grabbing him around the throat. "Well what do we 'ave 'ere now?"
Xander's blood chilled at the familiar cockney voice, kicking out with his legs against the wall, he shoved Spike and himself across the room and into a metal shelf. The vampire let out a gleeful laugh before throwing him to the floor. Even as he tried to get up Spike slammed a first into his head causing lights to explode into his head. He dimly heard Willow let out a scream and Spike laugh, rolling up he lunged at the vampire only for the vampire to swing a microscope into his head.
* * *
Spike grinned down at the boy, so now he'd taken out the boy that had backed Angelus down, if that didn't impress Dru he didn't know what would, might even turn the boy once he'd finished with him, yeah he had definite vampire potential. Grabbing the boy he lifted his limp body off the ground and grinned at the sobbing Wicca lying on the floor. "Get up Red if you want the boy to live," after a second the girl obeyed. "Good girl, now pick up your books you're casting a spell for me. Now let's be going."
"Leave him."
He grinned into the wicca's reddening eyes. "Oh no, he's my insurance," he morphed into his demonic face. "Now get moving, otherwise I feed."
* * *
Kendra grabbed her bottle of water and drank, her eyes sparkling. There was nothing in the world to compare with training with a Slayer, Xander and Giles were good, but sparring with Faith was a whole different level, like fighting a vampire but with the safety net of being able to trust her opponent. Hearing the sound of the library double doors crashing open she turned, her eyes filling with worry at the panicked look on the newcomer's face. "Johnno!" Faith ran to meet her boyfriend, "what's up?"
The boy's answer came in wheezing gasps. "Some vampire, snatched Xander, and Willow."
Kendra felt her heart miss a beat, she started forward grabbing the pale- faced teen around the shoulders. "What happened? What did the vampire look like!" Nothing could happen to her Xander.
"I was coming into the school when I heard the sound of glass shattering," the teen babbled, his face paling at the look in her eyes, "so I hurried to the back and saw this bleached blonde vampire carrying Xander's body and dragging Willow behind."
Xander's body? Kendra felt her legs give way beneath her. She would have fallen except for her sister Slayer grabbing her. "Relax Ken," Faith whispered, "Xand will be five by five." The brunette turned her head towards the Watcher behind them. "What's the plan G?" She turned to see the worried look on her Watcher's face.
"Buffy," the Watcher glanced towards the other Slayer who'd been training with her pet demon, "take him and hit the demon hang-outs for information about where Spike might be staying. Kendra, you and Faith hit the cemeteries, Jonathan, you and Cordelia stay with me, we'll wait for contact from you, you all have your mobiles."
"Five by five G," after giving Jonathan a quick kiss on his forehead, Faith dragged her outside.
* * *
"Well get in! We've got to get to Will and Xander before the others, then Xander will realise how wrong he was to doubt me!"
Angel paused doubtfully not only at Buffy's absurd logic but also at the thought of being in a car driven by her. He'd heard too many stories of Buffy's driving from Willow to willingly get into a car with her. "Are you sure we couldn't get there quicker on foot?"
"Just get in!"
Visions of his undead life ending in an inferno engulfing him, he climbed into the car and did something he hadn't done in centuries. He prayed.
* * *
Willow looked around her surroundings, her entire body shaking. The vampire had dragged them to the basement of a deserted factory that if she remembered what Buffy had told her had served as Spike's base. "W..what do you want from me?"
"A spell. For me. You're gonna do a spell for me," Spike growled.
"Uh, what kind of spell?" she looked with concern at Xander, he hadn't awoken since Spike had hit him over the head.
"A love spell! Are you brain dead?" the vampire walked over to the dresser "I'm gonna get what's mine." Spike opened a bottle of whiskey and began drinking greedily. "Teach her to walk out on me." The vampire took several good swallows, before looking over at her. "What are you staring at?"
"Nothing," she looked away.
"You can do it, right? You can make Dru love me again? Make her beg and crawl!"
"I-I can try," she stuttered, she gasped as Spike grabbed her around the throat.
"What are you talking about, trying? You'll do it!"
"Yes, I'll do it!"
She shuddered as the vampire released his hold and broke his bottle against a bedpost before grabbing her again and pulling her head back. "Lie to me, and I'll shove this through your face! You want that?"
"No..." tears burnt her eyes.
"Right through to your BRAIN!"
"No, please, no..."
The vampire shoved her aside and leant against the bedpost, his voice calming. "She wouldn't even kill me." Spike dropped the broken bottle, and sat down next to her. "She just left. She didn't even care enough to cut off my head or set me on fire. I mean, is that too much to ask? You know? Some little sign that she cared?" The vampire paused for a moment to inhale and exhale deeply. "It was that truce with Buffy that did it. Dru said I'd gone soft. Wasn't demon enough for the likes of her. And I told her it didn't mean anything, I was thinking of her the whole time, but she didn't care. So, we got to Brazil, and she was... she was just different. I gave her everything: beautiful jewels, beautiful dresses with beautiful girls in them, but nothing made her happy. And she would fliiirt!" The witch blinked as the vampire began to sniffle. "I caught her on a park bench, making out with a *chaos* demon! Have you ever seen a chaos demon? They're all slime and antlers. They're disgusting." She resisted the urge to shudder as the vampire began to stroke her hair. "She only did it to hurt me. So I said, 'I'm not putting up with this anymore.' And she said, 'Fine!' And I said, 'Yeah, I've got an unlife, you know!' And then she said... she said we could still be friends." She swallowed as the vampire leant over and began to sob on her shoulder. "God, I'm so unhappy!"
Willow patted the vampire's knee. "There, there."
"I mean, friends! How could she be so cruel?" The vampire raised his head, her blood chilled as he started to look at her neck. "Mmm. That smell... Your neck..." He leant in to take a better whiff and then leant back, now in his game face. "I bet you taste good."
Willow jumped up. "Whoa! No! Hold it! Now, now, hold on! I-I'll do your spell for you, and, and, and I'll get you Drusilla back, but, but there will be no bottle-in-face, and there will be no 'having' of any kind with me. Alright?" She sobbed as the vampire grabbed her by the neck and bent her over, but made no move to bite her. Instead he reverted to his human guise.
"Alright." Spike pushed her down on the bed. "Get started."
"Now, I'm not a real witch, you know. I-I don't know if this is gonna work right away."
Spike shrugged before grinning. "Well, if at first you don't succeed, I'll kill him," her heart missed a beat as the vampire nodded towards Xander, "and you try again."
"This isn't enough." She glanced at her supplies, she had to buy some time for the others to find them.
"What?"
"Well, there are other ingredients I need."
"You've got them, though, at home?"
"Not at home."
Spike shoved his face in her's. "Where?"
"The magic shop."
"I'll have to go and get them then," the vampire grinned, "make your list luv."
* * *
"You five by five?" Faith glanced with concern at her fellow Slayer. Ken looked devastated, she couldn't imagine how crappy her friend felt, well maybe she could if she thought about anything happening to Ken or G, Faith shuddered. Suddenly her eyes narrowed. "Ken, is that someone breaking into the magic shop?"
Kendra looked up and shrugged. "So?" even her friend's voice was lifeless.
"So, Will's a witch right?" Kendra nodded. "Well what would a vampire need a live Wicca for?" when her friend didn't reply she pressed on. "To cast a spell maybe? And what does a Wicca need?" Kendra's eyes widened, suddenly her sister began to run towards the shop, cursing Faith followed.
As she neared the shop, Kendra let out an angry scream. "Spike!" The figure started to turn only for her sister Slayer to leap into the air, and crash feet-first into the figure's chest, knocking him to the ground. Before the vampire, at least that was what she hoped the figure was, could get back to his feet, Kendra was knelt on its chest, her fists a blur as she repeatedly punched the figure in the face.
"Shit, that has gotta hurt," Faith muttered as she hurried after Kendra. "Chill Ken," she urged, "we need it alive remember."
After a second her still glaring friend climbed to her feet, a few seconds later the vampire followed suit, his face battered but his expression cocksure. "Right Kendra, I thought Dru killed you?" the lean vampire turned to her. "Who the bloody hell's the babe?"
"The babe," she darted forward grabbing the vampire around the throat and slamming him into the wall, "is called Faith, and she's the third Slayer. Now what have you done with Xand and Red?"
She was surprised when the vampire's smirk didn't move. "Third Slayer uh? It's getting so a vamp can't move without bumping into one of you. As for your friends," the vampire grinned, "they're safe but unless you let me alone they're dead."
"And if we do, you'll kill 'em anyway!" she snapped.
"You can come along with me if you want," Spike shrugged. "All I want is for the Wicca to cast a spell for me."
"A spell?" a spell for a vamp, that couldn't be a good spell. "What sort of spell?" she demanded.
"Doesn't matter what the spell is," Faith glanced behind her and groaned, great about 15 vampires surrounding them, "you aren't going to cast it."
"Right there Lenny," Spike beamed, "good to see you pissant. You ever meet the Slayers before?"
Faith was pleased when the group's leader paled, good to see their reputations had an effect of the vampire population. "Y..you two can leave," Lenny said, "our business is with him."
"Leave me and your friends die," Spike cheerfully broke in.
"We're not going anywhere," Kendra said.
"Get them!"
Faith moved off to her left. Kendra reacted instantly and moved to her right. Faith threw a front snap kick to the gut of the nearest vampire knocking him down. Another vampire rushed her, but she leapt into the air and connected with full spinning wheel kick to his face. Another vampire tried to slam her into a low wall, but she used her momentum and his leverage to jump sideways over the wall into the outdoor table area of the Espresso Pump. She lands on a table on her back, rolled off and came up in a standing position. A vampire inside the cafe' rushed her from behind but she executed a full spinning hook kick, connecting with his stomach before side kicking a vampire in the neck, sending him flying backwards into some chairs.
Out of the corner of her eye, Faith saw another vampire coming at her from the side, spinning round she grabbed a round metal table and smacked him hard in the face, knocking him to the floor. Faith glanced desperately around for a weapon, spying a mop by the wall. Rushing over, she stomped on its base, breaking the mop head off and leaving her with a wooden pole. "Works for me." As the vampire attacked again, she swung the stick into the vamp's gut, knocking him to the floor. As the other one tried to get up again, she slammed the pole down onto his face, sending him back to the floor also. Before either vampire had a chance to recover she thrust her makeshift stake through both their hearts, causing them to explode into dust.
All three of them re-grouped outside in front of the magic shop, but in seconds they were surrounded by the remaining vampires. "Through here!" with a quick twist of her wrist she forced the door while her companions slowly backed in towards her. At the last instant they ran into the shop before slamming the door closed in front of the chasing gang of vampires.
Once inside, Faith headed behind the counter to see if she could find a weapon. Shouting orders as she went. "Ken! You and Bleach-Job grab one of the bookcases and slide it over against the front window!" Behind the counter Faith found a chair. "Shit! Is that it?" Muttering curses under her breath, she smashed the chair's legs to use as stakes and threw a chair leg to each of her companions..
Suddenly the back door flew open. Kendra sprang to meet the intruder, sliding beneath his attack before lifting him into the air and flinging him onto a table arrayed with books and candles. Two more vampires rushed in, making their way toward Faith. Kendra slammed the back door closed and leant against it, holding it shut. Faith grabbed hold of the rolling ladder used to reach the upper shelves, and pushed it into the two vampires coming at her, knocking them to the floor. Even as she staked the two vampires she saw Spike stake the vampire lying on the table and the door Kendra had been blocking crash open, the door falling to the ground, trapping her friend beneath it.
The first vampire to enter the room was Lenny. After quickly scanning the room he headed straight for Spike. Behind the gang leader another vampire ran in, Faith rushed to engage him, roundhouse kicking him in the face and followed up with a backhand punch. Her adversary blocked the hit and wrapped his arm around hers and yanked her arm downward. Bracing against the vampire's power she yanked back up and pulled her arm free, before quickly punching him twice in the face, following it up with a knee to the gut and a high punch to the face. Taking advantage of the vampire's stunned condition, she grabbed hold of his hair and yanked the vampire over onto his back before staking him and rushing over to help Kendra to her feet. "You five by five Ken?"
Her friend smiled weakly only to point at the shaking bookcase at the front window. "That window's about to go!" Suddenly Ken grinned and pointed. "Faith look!"
She smirked as she saw what her friend was pointing at. "Wicked idea Ken!" Grabbing the suggested weapons, the two of them turned to see Spike staking Lenny and the window crash open. "Bleach! Get down!"
The vampire dropped to the floor as the remaining horde of vampires stormed the shop. Faith began to giggle as she began to throw the bottles of holy water that Ken had noticed at the vampires, this was wicked fun. The bottles broke as they hit their targets, spraying the vampires and burning them like battery acid. Soon the attacking vampires were making a hasty, screaming retreat. Spike stood back up before letting out a breath of satisfaction. Faith glanced across at Ken, seeing her friend's almost imperceptible nod she flung a bottle of holy water square into the vampire's face. Even as the vampire let out a bellow of agony, they both darted forward, Kendra sweeping the vampire's legs from beneath the vamp while she tipped a bookcase over on the vamp, pinning the demon's legs and stomach beneath the case. Before the vampire had a chance to throw the bookcase off, Faith had his right arm pinned down under her feet and Kendra his left similarly restrained.
"We had a deal!" Spike screamed.
"Guess what?" Kendra crouched over the vampire. "You kidnapped my boyfriend. And you picked the wrong two Slayers to make a deal with. Where are they?"
"Piss off, agg!"
The vampire began shrieking as Faith poured her vial onto the vamp's face and watched with horrified fascination as the vamp's skin began to bubble and smoulder. "How many bottles we got left Ken?"
"Maybe thirty."
"Damn," she opened another bottle and poured it onto the vampire's palm. "With all that we could burn every inch of skin off your body, Billy Boy."
"They're in the old abandoned factory."
Faith supposed she should have felt sorry for the sobbing vampire, but then she wasn't blond. "You want to do the honours, Ken?" Her sister Slayer grinned eagerly before slamming her chair leg into the vampire's chest. Once the vampire had exploded into dust, Ken looked up at her. "Shall we go get our bud, Ken?"
"Let's..."
* * *
"Do you know what this is?"
Willow stared at the list that a very angry looking Giles had passed to her. "It's the list of books I've borrowed off you," she replied uncertainly. Three days had passed since Kendra and Faith had rescued her and Xander from the factory. He'd hardly spoken to her since but that was okay, in a couple of weeks she'd have enough money saved to replace the spell ingredients he'd destroyed in his tantrum and then everything would be alright.
"Precisely," the Watcher took the list from her. "I want every one of those books returned to me by tomorrow morning at the latest."
All the books, but they were her entire collection - the best bits anyhow. "B..but-."
She jumped as the man slammed a fist into the desk, his eyes glittering dangerously, he leaned forward until his face was mere inches from her's. "Let me make this very clear, Xander informed me of what your plan was," she swallowed, oh boy she was in trouble now. "He wanted to have your powers bound. And well," the Watcher smiled a most unGilesish smile, "let's just say it's fortunate for you he had the good sense to tell me when Kendra and Faith were pre-occupied otherwise I somehow think this talk would be unnecessary. Those books will be returned, and you won't so as much look at a magic book in the future without my permission unless you want your powers binding understand?" She nodded fearfully, the Watcher sighed. "Willow, you have tremendous potential, but you are treading a path that led me to become Ripper, caused Ethan Rayne, the zookeeper who caused Xander to be possessed, all sorts of evil. I would rather not be forced to face you as an enemy. Understand?" She nodded fearfully. "Good girl, now go. And don't forget those books."
"Xander, we need to talk. What you said to Buffy was out of line, you're being totally unreasonable. You should apol-."
"Apologise?" Xander slammed his locker shut and glared at the red-head stood beside him. "Listen very carefully Willow as far as I'm concerned Buffy has chosen her side - and it isn't the humans!"
"But she loves him!"
"This isn't 'Gone With The Wind' or 'Casablanca', this is real life and in real life Slayers aren't supposed to let vampires get away with their crimes, they stake them. If you could stop your hero worship for thirty seconds then maybe you'd see how wrong Buffy was. Well now we've got two real Slayers in town, two who like humans more than demons, you might want to remind Buffy of that next time she thinks about getting physical with that bastard."
* * *
"How could she!" Spike flung his bottle of whiskey into the wall, shattering it. He stared around the deserted factory that had once served as his base. "If only bloody the bloody poofter hadn't lost his sodding soul, Dru would still love me," he muttered brokenly, "instead the bitch starts crushing on him." His voice grew high-pitched. "Uh my daddy, he's so handsome." He kicked a stone across the dusty floor. "Bloody Peaches, if he wasn't in hell I'd put him there myself. I mean how could she? A slime demon, I'm witty charming, all the time she was ill I looked after her. Well no more!" he felt his features shift into his demonic face. "I'm going to get her back, and when I do I'll torture her until she loves me again. Yeah, that's what I'll do."
"Don't like it in 'ere anymore. Too many memories. Where can I go? I know eat first." His gait unsteady from the four bottles of whiskey he'd drunk, he stumbled out into the night. He smiled slightly at the sight of an attractive Oriental teen climbing out of her car. "Oh nice and juicy, maybe I'll play with my food before eating."
Spike grinned as he dropped the drained body. He'd raped the girl first, getting off on her screams and whimpers before revealing his demonic face. And then his fun had really begun. "It feels good to be undead!" Picking up his pace he hurried to Angel's old place.
"Bloody hell!" Spike pulled away from the window, his mind whirling with a dozen different thoughts. How the bloody hell was Peaches here? The world hadn't been sent to Hell, so that bint had stopped but not slain him. The fact he was reading poetry and not out creating havoc was out of character, unless. "That bloody Wicca gave him his soddin' soul back," he muttered before smiling slowly. That took power, power he could use to get his Dru back.
* * *
Mayor Wilkins squinted in concentration, this was important, he couldn't mess it up. Finally he took his shot and watched as the golf ball missed the hole. "Oh, look at that! Every time, cuts to the left." Groaning, he got down on his hands and knees and checked the lie of the floor. "And it's not the carpet. It's me." He got up and looked up at his deputy. "I swear, I would sell my soul for a decent short game. Of course," he chuckled, "mine's spoken for. " He smiled at his deputy. "What about yours Allan? I don't suppose I could offer your soul, huh? Really help me on the green." His deputy paled, he waved his hand. "I'm just funning. So, we have a Spike problem, do we? "
Allan nodded. "He's been spotted back in town."
This time his shot was on target but came up short. He let out a frustrated sigh before retrieving his ball. "Well, yes, y'know, he was up to all sorts of shenanigans last year," he shook his head. "We had a world of fun trying to guess what he'd do next."
His deputy leaned against his desk. "I remember." Irritated, he glanced at Allan, immediately his deputy stood back up.
He shook his head, he couldn't put up with William The Bloody's schemes this year. "This year is too important to let a loose cannon rock the boat."
His deputy nodded. "Should I have Mr. Trick send a... committee to deal with this?"
He began to nod only to stop when a troubling thought hit him. "Loose cannon. Rock the boat. Is that a mixed metaphor?"
"Uh..."
"In the old days boats did have cannons. And a loose one would cause it to rock. Oh, honestly. I don't know where my mind goes these days," he chuckled before turning serious. "Why don't you take care of that Spike problem? A committee, like you said."
Allan nodded. "As good as done."
* * *
Xander made his way down the darkened school corridor. He looked up at the lab ahead and sighed. After this morning he'd decided he'd have to make up with Willow, not apologise he had nothing to apologise for, but smooth the waters over, he had too many years of friendship to throw it all away. Pushing the door open he saw his friend crouched over a lamp-lit table, so engrossed in what she was doing that she failed to notice his entrance. Xander walked over to the desk and glanced idly at the two books open on the table only for his eyes to widen in shock at what he saw. "Mind control spells, you're going to cast a spell on me?" Willow's head snapped up, the guilty look on her face confirming his suspicions. "Xander-."
"How dare you? What gives you the right to mess with my mind?"
"If we got things back to the way before those two bitches -."
He cut off the red-head's words with an angry sweep of his arm, knocking the desk's contents off the table, breaking several expensive scientific instruments and scattering the books and ingredients across the floor. "Never ever refer to Kendra and Faith like that!" he roared, angrier than he'd ever been, even more furious when he'd discovered Buffy was hiding Angel. "Those two bitches as you called them have always treated me with respect and listened to my opinions, have always treated me as an equal. Not like you two, I'm just donut boy to you! What happens if this spell works? Do you cast one where I'm in love with you?" he slammed a fist onto the desk, the blaze in his eyes making the Wicca back off. "Because you better have some pretty powerful mojo if you think I could ever fall for you! Well you can go to hell -."
Suddenly he was cut off by a hand grabbing him around the throat. "Well what do we 'ave 'ere now?"
Xander's blood chilled at the familiar cockney voice, kicking out with his legs against the wall, he shoved Spike and himself across the room and into a metal shelf. The vampire let out a gleeful laugh before throwing him to the floor. Even as he tried to get up Spike slammed a first into his head causing lights to explode into his head. He dimly heard Willow let out a scream and Spike laugh, rolling up he lunged at the vampire only for the vampire to swing a microscope into his head.
* * *
Spike grinned down at the boy, so now he'd taken out the boy that had backed Angelus down, if that didn't impress Dru he didn't know what would, might even turn the boy once he'd finished with him, yeah he had definite vampire potential. Grabbing the boy he lifted his limp body off the ground and grinned at the sobbing Wicca lying on the floor. "Get up Red if you want the boy to live," after a second the girl obeyed. "Good girl, now pick up your books you're casting a spell for me. Now let's be going."
"Leave him."
He grinned into the wicca's reddening eyes. "Oh no, he's my insurance," he morphed into his demonic face. "Now get moving, otherwise I feed."
* * *
Kendra grabbed her bottle of water and drank, her eyes sparkling. There was nothing in the world to compare with training with a Slayer, Xander and Giles were good, but sparring with Faith was a whole different level, like fighting a vampire but with the safety net of being able to trust her opponent. Hearing the sound of the library double doors crashing open she turned, her eyes filling with worry at the panicked look on the newcomer's face. "Johnno!" Faith ran to meet her boyfriend, "what's up?"
The boy's answer came in wheezing gasps. "Some vampire, snatched Xander, and Willow."
Kendra felt her heart miss a beat, she started forward grabbing the pale- faced teen around the shoulders. "What happened? What did the vampire look like!" Nothing could happen to her Xander.
"I was coming into the school when I heard the sound of glass shattering," the teen babbled, his face paling at the look in her eyes, "so I hurried to the back and saw this bleached blonde vampire carrying Xander's body and dragging Willow behind."
Xander's body? Kendra felt her legs give way beneath her. She would have fallen except for her sister Slayer grabbing her. "Relax Ken," Faith whispered, "Xand will be five by five." The brunette turned her head towards the Watcher behind them. "What's the plan G?" She turned to see the worried look on her Watcher's face.
"Buffy," the Watcher glanced towards the other Slayer who'd been training with her pet demon, "take him and hit the demon hang-outs for information about where Spike might be staying. Kendra, you and Faith hit the cemeteries, Jonathan, you and Cordelia stay with me, we'll wait for contact from you, you all have your mobiles."
"Five by five G," after giving Jonathan a quick kiss on his forehead, Faith dragged her outside.
* * *
"Well get in! We've got to get to Will and Xander before the others, then Xander will realise how wrong he was to doubt me!"
Angel paused doubtfully not only at Buffy's absurd logic but also at the thought of being in a car driven by her. He'd heard too many stories of Buffy's driving from Willow to willingly get into a car with her. "Are you sure we couldn't get there quicker on foot?"
"Just get in!"
Visions of his undead life ending in an inferno engulfing him, he climbed into the car and did something he hadn't done in centuries. He prayed.
* * *
Willow looked around her surroundings, her entire body shaking. The vampire had dragged them to the basement of a deserted factory that if she remembered what Buffy had told her had served as Spike's base. "W..what do you want from me?"
"A spell. For me. You're gonna do a spell for me," Spike growled.
"Uh, what kind of spell?" she looked with concern at Xander, he hadn't awoken since Spike had hit him over the head.
"A love spell! Are you brain dead?" the vampire walked over to the dresser "I'm gonna get what's mine." Spike opened a bottle of whiskey and began drinking greedily. "Teach her to walk out on me." The vampire took several good swallows, before looking over at her. "What are you staring at?"
"Nothing," she looked away.
"You can do it, right? You can make Dru love me again? Make her beg and crawl!"
"I-I can try," she stuttered, she gasped as Spike grabbed her around the throat.
"What are you talking about, trying? You'll do it!"
"Yes, I'll do it!"
She shuddered as the vampire released his hold and broke his bottle against a bedpost before grabbing her again and pulling her head back. "Lie to me, and I'll shove this through your face! You want that?"
"No..." tears burnt her eyes.
"Right through to your BRAIN!"
"No, please, no..."
The vampire shoved her aside and leant against the bedpost, his voice calming. "She wouldn't even kill me." Spike dropped the broken bottle, and sat down next to her. "She just left. She didn't even care enough to cut off my head or set me on fire. I mean, is that too much to ask? You know? Some little sign that she cared?" The vampire paused for a moment to inhale and exhale deeply. "It was that truce with Buffy that did it. Dru said I'd gone soft. Wasn't demon enough for the likes of her. And I told her it didn't mean anything, I was thinking of her the whole time, but she didn't care. So, we got to Brazil, and she was... she was just different. I gave her everything: beautiful jewels, beautiful dresses with beautiful girls in them, but nothing made her happy. And she would fliiirt!" The witch blinked as the vampire began to sniffle. "I caught her on a park bench, making out with a *chaos* demon! Have you ever seen a chaos demon? They're all slime and antlers. They're disgusting." She resisted the urge to shudder as the vampire began to stroke her hair. "She only did it to hurt me. So I said, 'I'm not putting up with this anymore.' And she said, 'Fine!' And I said, 'Yeah, I've got an unlife, you know!' And then she said... she said we could still be friends." She swallowed as the vampire leant over and began to sob on her shoulder. "God, I'm so unhappy!"
Willow patted the vampire's knee. "There, there."
"I mean, friends! How could she be so cruel?" The vampire raised his head, her blood chilled as he started to look at her neck. "Mmm. That smell... Your neck..." He leant in to take a better whiff and then leant back, now in his game face. "I bet you taste good."
Willow jumped up. "Whoa! No! Hold it! Now, now, hold on! I-I'll do your spell for you, and, and, and I'll get you Drusilla back, but, but there will be no bottle-in-face, and there will be no 'having' of any kind with me. Alright?" She sobbed as the vampire grabbed her by the neck and bent her over, but made no move to bite her. Instead he reverted to his human guise.
"Alright." Spike pushed her down on the bed. "Get started."
"Now, I'm not a real witch, you know. I-I don't know if this is gonna work right away."
Spike shrugged before grinning. "Well, if at first you don't succeed, I'll kill him," her heart missed a beat as the vampire nodded towards Xander, "and you try again."
"This isn't enough." She glanced at her supplies, she had to buy some time for the others to find them.
"What?"
"Well, there are other ingredients I need."
"You've got them, though, at home?"
"Not at home."
Spike shoved his face in her's. "Where?"
"The magic shop."
"I'll have to go and get them then," the vampire grinned, "make your list luv."
* * *
"You five by five?" Faith glanced with concern at her fellow Slayer. Ken looked devastated, she couldn't imagine how crappy her friend felt, well maybe she could if she thought about anything happening to Ken or G, Faith shuddered. Suddenly her eyes narrowed. "Ken, is that someone breaking into the magic shop?"
Kendra looked up and shrugged. "So?" even her friend's voice was lifeless.
"So, Will's a witch right?" Kendra nodded. "Well what would a vampire need a live Wicca for?" when her friend didn't reply she pressed on. "To cast a spell maybe? And what does a Wicca need?" Kendra's eyes widened, suddenly her sister began to run towards the shop, cursing Faith followed.
As she neared the shop, Kendra let out an angry scream. "Spike!" The figure started to turn only for her sister Slayer to leap into the air, and crash feet-first into the figure's chest, knocking him to the ground. Before the vampire, at least that was what she hoped the figure was, could get back to his feet, Kendra was knelt on its chest, her fists a blur as she repeatedly punched the figure in the face.
"Shit, that has gotta hurt," Faith muttered as she hurried after Kendra. "Chill Ken," she urged, "we need it alive remember."
After a second her still glaring friend climbed to her feet, a few seconds later the vampire followed suit, his face battered but his expression cocksure. "Right Kendra, I thought Dru killed you?" the lean vampire turned to her. "Who the bloody hell's the babe?"
"The babe," she darted forward grabbing the vampire around the throat and slamming him into the wall, "is called Faith, and she's the third Slayer. Now what have you done with Xand and Red?"
She was surprised when the vampire's smirk didn't move. "Third Slayer uh? It's getting so a vamp can't move without bumping into one of you. As for your friends," the vampire grinned, "they're safe but unless you let me alone they're dead."
"And if we do, you'll kill 'em anyway!" she snapped.
"You can come along with me if you want," Spike shrugged. "All I want is for the Wicca to cast a spell for me."
"A spell?" a spell for a vamp, that couldn't be a good spell. "What sort of spell?" she demanded.
"Doesn't matter what the spell is," Faith glanced behind her and groaned, great about 15 vampires surrounding them, "you aren't going to cast it."
"Right there Lenny," Spike beamed, "good to see you pissant. You ever meet the Slayers before?"
Faith was pleased when the group's leader paled, good to see their reputations had an effect of the vampire population. "Y..you two can leave," Lenny said, "our business is with him."
"Leave me and your friends die," Spike cheerfully broke in.
"We're not going anywhere," Kendra said.
"Get them!"
Faith moved off to her left. Kendra reacted instantly and moved to her right. Faith threw a front snap kick to the gut of the nearest vampire knocking him down. Another vampire rushed her, but she leapt into the air and connected with full spinning wheel kick to his face. Another vampire tried to slam her into a low wall, but she used her momentum and his leverage to jump sideways over the wall into the outdoor table area of the Espresso Pump. She lands on a table on her back, rolled off and came up in a standing position. A vampire inside the cafe' rushed her from behind but she executed a full spinning hook kick, connecting with his stomach before side kicking a vampire in the neck, sending him flying backwards into some chairs.
Out of the corner of her eye, Faith saw another vampire coming at her from the side, spinning round she grabbed a round metal table and smacked him hard in the face, knocking him to the floor. Faith glanced desperately around for a weapon, spying a mop by the wall. Rushing over, she stomped on its base, breaking the mop head off and leaving her with a wooden pole. "Works for me." As the vampire attacked again, she swung the stick into the vamp's gut, knocking him to the floor. As the other one tried to get up again, she slammed the pole down onto his face, sending him back to the floor also. Before either vampire had a chance to recover she thrust her makeshift stake through both their hearts, causing them to explode into dust.
All three of them re-grouped outside in front of the magic shop, but in seconds they were surrounded by the remaining vampires. "Through here!" with a quick twist of her wrist she forced the door while her companions slowly backed in towards her. At the last instant they ran into the shop before slamming the door closed in front of the chasing gang of vampires.
Once inside, Faith headed behind the counter to see if she could find a weapon. Shouting orders as she went. "Ken! You and Bleach-Job grab one of the bookcases and slide it over against the front window!" Behind the counter Faith found a chair. "Shit! Is that it?" Muttering curses under her breath, she smashed the chair's legs to use as stakes and threw a chair leg to each of her companions..
Suddenly the back door flew open. Kendra sprang to meet the intruder, sliding beneath his attack before lifting him into the air and flinging him onto a table arrayed with books and candles. Two more vampires rushed in, making their way toward Faith. Kendra slammed the back door closed and leant against it, holding it shut. Faith grabbed hold of the rolling ladder used to reach the upper shelves, and pushed it into the two vampires coming at her, knocking them to the floor. Even as she staked the two vampires she saw Spike stake the vampire lying on the table and the door Kendra had been blocking crash open, the door falling to the ground, trapping her friend beneath it.
The first vampire to enter the room was Lenny. After quickly scanning the room he headed straight for Spike. Behind the gang leader another vampire ran in, Faith rushed to engage him, roundhouse kicking him in the face and followed up with a backhand punch. Her adversary blocked the hit and wrapped his arm around hers and yanked her arm downward. Bracing against the vampire's power she yanked back up and pulled her arm free, before quickly punching him twice in the face, following it up with a knee to the gut and a high punch to the face. Taking advantage of the vampire's stunned condition, she grabbed hold of his hair and yanked the vampire over onto his back before staking him and rushing over to help Kendra to her feet. "You five by five Ken?"
Her friend smiled weakly only to point at the shaking bookcase at the front window. "That window's about to go!" Suddenly Ken grinned and pointed. "Faith look!"
She smirked as she saw what her friend was pointing at. "Wicked idea Ken!" Grabbing the suggested weapons, the two of them turned to see Spike staking Lenny and the window crash open. "Bleach! Get down!"
The vampire dropped to the floor as the remaining horde of vampires stormed the shop. Faith began to giggle as she began to throw the bottles of holy water that Ken had noticed at the vampires, this was wicked fun. The bottles broke as they hit their targets, spraying the vampires and burning them like battery acid. Soon the attacking vampires were making a hasty, screaming retreat. Spike stood back up before letting out a breath of satisfaction. Faith glanced across at Ken, seeing her friend's almost imperceptible nod she flung a bottle of holy water square into the vampire's face. Even as the vampire let out a bellow of agony, they both darted forward, Kendra sweeping the vampire's legs from beneath the vamp while she tipped a bookcase over on the vamp, pinning the demon's legs and stomach beneath the case. Before the vampire had a chance to throw the bookcase off, Faith had his right arm pinned down under her feet and Kendra his left similarly restrained.
"We had a deal!" Spike screamed.
"Guess what?" Kendra crouched over the vampire. "You kidnapped my boyfriend. And you picked the wrong two Slayers to make a deal with. Where are they?"
"Piss off, agg!"
The vampire began shrieking as Faith poured her vial onto the vamp's face and watched with horrified fascination as the vamp's skin began to bubble and smoulder. "How many bottles we got left Ken?"
"Maybe thirty."
"Damn," she opened another bottle and poured it onto the vampire's palm. "With all that we could burn every inch of skin off your body, Billy Boy."
"They're in the old abandoned factory."
Faith supposed she should have felt sorry for the sobbing vampire, but then she wasn't blond. "You want to do the honours, Ken?" Her sister Slayer grinned eagerly before slamming her chair leg into the vampire's chest. Once the vampire had exploded into dust, Ken looked up at her. "Shall we go get our bud, Ken?"
"Let's..."
* * *
"Do you know what this is?"
Willow stared at the list that a very angry looking Giles had passed to her. "It's the list of books I've borrowed off you," she replied uncertainly. Three days had passed since Kendra and Faith had rescued her and Xander from the factory. He'd hardly spoken to her since but that was okay, in a couple of weeks she'd have enough money saved to replace the spell ingredients he'd destroyed in his tantrum and then everything would be alright.
"Precisely," the Watcher took the list from her. "I want every one of those books returned to me by tomorrow morning at the latest."
All the books, but they were her entire collection - the best bits anyhow. "B..but-."
She jumped as the man slammed a fist into the desk, his eyes glittering dangerously, he leaned forward until his face was mere inches from her's. "Let me make this very clear, Xander informed me of what your plan was," she swallowed, oh boy she was in trouble now. "He wanted to have your powers bound. And well," the Watcher smiled a most unGilesish smile, "let's just say it's fortunate for you he had the good sense to tell me when Kendra and Faith were pre-occupied otherwise I somehow think this talk would be unnecessary. Those books will be returned, and you won't so as much look at a magic book in the future without my permission unless you want your powers binding understand?" She nodded fearfully, the Watcher sighed. "Willow, you have tremendous potential, but you are treading a path that led me to become Ripper, caused Ethan Rayne, the zookeeper who caused Xander to be possessed, all sorts of evil. I would rather not be forced to face you as an enemy. Understand?" She nodded fearfully. "Good girl, now go. And don't forget those books."