Another One

Episode 7

Wolfram and Hart:

It was late and Angel was leaving his office. The floor was empty; the others had all turned in for the night. He walked up to the elevator and pressed the down button. Normally he would use his own private elevator, however it was broken. After a few moments, there was a noise telling him that the elevator had come up to the floor.

As the doors slid open, a wounded, half-conscious Spike fell, face-first, to the ground at Angel's feet.

"Spike?" he questioned.

Angel bent down and rolled the other vampire over onto his back. He noticed the wounds and blood all over Spike. It was obvious that the vampire had taken a serious beating.

"Who did this?" Angel asked.

Spike didn't answer at first. He was having trouble comprehending what he heard.

"H-Ham-il-t-ton," Spike stuttered.

Angel was curious now. Of course he knew that Hamilton was involved in the whole Circle of Black Thorn thing, but he didn't think that Hamilton knew that Angel knew about it.

"Come on, let's get you into my office," Angel said, lifting Spike's shoulders off the ground and dragging him back towards the office.

Kenya, Africa:

"Who is she?" Buffy demanded.

"I couldn't tell you," Whistler replied.

Buffy had been sitting around this fire for almost three hours now. She was trying to get Whistler to tell her about the last slayer. However, she wasn't getting the answer that she wanted.

"How can you not know?" she asked, "You're a messenger of the Powers. Don't they tell you this stuff in case I have questions?"

"No," he answered, "I only know what they tell me, which isn't much. Most of the things I know, I pick up on my own. And the new slayer's identity is not one of them."

"What about her location?"

"Again, I don't know," Whistler said, "That's another thing they didn't tell me."

Buffy was really starting to get frustrated. Whistler had answered all of her questions earlier, but now he was lying to her. She knew he was.

"Look, I know you're lying," Buffy said.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"I can tell," she replied, "You won't look me in the eye when you answer."

"Not true."

"Sure it is and you know it," she said, "Please just tell me where she is."

"I honestly don't know," he answered again.

"Fine, then I'm not going to LA to help Angel until I find her."

"Good luck with that," he said, "It's a big world and she could be anywhere in it."

Wolfram and Hart:

The next day, the gang was all seated in Angel's office. The vampire had tried his best to keep the meeting secret. He didn't want Hamilton to know what was going on.

"So Hamilton attacked you?" Giles asked.

"Bloody right he did," Spike replied, "And the bugger will pay for it."

"What did you do?" Nina asked.

"Nothing," Spike answered.

"Of course he did something," Angel put in.

"Okay, well by nothing, I mean that I overheard a conversation between a few people dressed in robes. Hamilton saw me and attacked me when I questioned who they were," Spike told them.

"He's trying to keep the Black Thorn hidden from us. We're not supposed to know about it," Giles said.

"What are we going to do?" Nina asked.

There was silence for a few moments as the three of them glanced up at Angel. They were awaiting a reply from their leader.

"We have to lie low," Angel told them, "Stay away from Hamilton as much as you can. We know nothing. We need to run this office the way that we've been running it all along. Got it?"

All three nodded in response.

"Good," he replied, "Now let's get back to work."

Downtown, LA, That Night:

Spike was beginning to worry. He'd gotten beat up by Hamilton twice already and was starting to doubt himself. He wondered if he was getting weaker. It seemed like a strange thing, but it made sense.

It was getting pretty late as Spike walked through downtown Los Angeles. But he didn't care. He had nothing better to do. That's when he heard a noise coming from a nearby alley. Walking up to it, he noticed that someone was getting attacked.

"Greetings, mate," he said, ready for a fight.

This was the perfect chance for Spike to prove himself. Sure it was an easy kill; a weak vampire. But that didn't matter.

"Vampire!" one of the people in the alley shouted.

The attacker quickly pulled out what looked like a stake and dusted the vampire they were attacking. Then they turned their attention on Spike.

As the attacker walked towards him, Spike quickly realized that it was a young woman. She had very short black hair and was about medium height. She looked well-built as well. There was something different about this girl. There was power radiating from her.

"You're a slayer," Spike said.

"Duh!" she yelled, coming at him.

Spike quickly dodged and followed up with a quick jab to her face. His fist hits its mark. The girl groaned, but quickly recovered.

"Better watch yourself, luv," he said, "Not too keen with those fighting skill."

The girl glared at him and then attacked again. This time, she came at him, punching and kicking. She managed to knock Spike back a bit.

"Bloody hell!" he shouted, "I'm on your side!"

"Nice try, vampire," she replied, "But I'm not stupid."

She followed up her last attack with a roundhouse kick. Her foot connected with his jaw and he fell back. Spike slowly rose to his feet.

"Look, luv, I have…" Spike said before being interrupted.

"William the Bloody," she smirked, "It's been a while."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" he questioned, "I don't know you."

Spike was really confused. How could this girl have known him? It seemed impossible.

"What, don't remember?" she asked.

Spike didn't answer. He had no idea what she was talking about.

"Do you remember my friend?" she asked, "Do you remember draining her and then snapping her neck?"

"I've done that to a lot of people, luv," he replied.

She punched him in the face again. He stumbled backwards, blood now dripping from his nose.

"You remember, two girls, walking home through the park," she said.

Spring 1998, Sunnydale, Ca:

It was warm summer night. Two young girls were walking through a dimly-lit park, on their way home from dance class. They were exhausted. It had been a long class. As they rounded a corner, they heard rustling in the bushes up ahead.

"What was that?" the one asked, a little scared.

"Probably just a raccoon or something," the other replied.

Just as they reached the bushed, someone jumped out in front of them. Both girls screamed and turned to run. Unfortunately the figure had appeared right in front of them.

"Hello girlies," he said in a British accent.

The two were frozen in terror. They didn't know what to do.

"You should know that you shouldn't be outside, alone, at night," he told them, "It's very dangerous out here."

He reached out and grabbed the second girl by the arm, pulling her towards him. The girl was too afraid to scream. Her friend stood there in horror as the man's facial features changed before her eyes. At first, she didn't know what was going on. Then she noticed the fangs.

"Y-you're a v-vampire," she stuttered.

"That's right, luv," he smirked, leaning in to bite the one girl, "The name's Spike."

He sunk his fangs into the one girl's neck, slowly draining the life out of her. Her friend could only stand there and watch as she grew weaker. She just stood there watching, unable to do anything. She was helpless.

Eventually the vampire pulled away from the girl's neck. He smirked as he gripped her neck with both hands. He quickly twisted his wrists and a loud crack echoed through the darkness. Her limp body fell to the pavement.

The other girl screamed, then turned and ran away into the darkness. Spike didn't give chase. He was satisfied for now.

Los Angeles, Present Time:

"Now I remember," Spike said, "It seems like a lifetime ago."

"It was only a few years," the girl said.

"To me, it was a lifetime," he repeated, "I haven't killed a human for a few years now. Now that I've got a…"

"Save it, vampire!" she interrupted, "I don't care. I'm not here for small talk. I'm here to dust you."

Spike couldn't help but be amused. This girl thought she could beat him. That's when he remembered something.

"How could you be a slayer?" he asked, "They're all dead. I saw them die a few months ago."

"Guess what, I'm still here," she smirked.

She charged Spike once again. The vampire was taken off guard and she tackled him to the ground. Straddling him, she repeatedly punched him the face. Soon, blood was trickling down his face. That's when his face began to change. His brow was pushed back and his eyes turned yellow. In his mouth, fangs appeared.

As her hand came down to hit him again, Spike snatched it out of the air. He gripped her hand tightly, as if he was trying to crush it, chuckling the whole time. Eventually growing tired of this, he tossed her off before rising to his feet.

"Stupid girl," he grumbled as he watched her stand up.

He walked over as she was recovering and grabbed her by the throat. He lifted her into the air and began to crush her windpipe. She began to panic, clawing at him with her hands.

"Struggle all you want, luv," he said, "It won't help. You may be a slayer, but you're just a rookie. You can't take me. You were foolish to have tried."

He pressed harder and harder as she gasped for air. Soon black spots began to appear in her eyes. Spike had no intention of killing her, but she didn't know that. He planned to let her struggle for a little while longer.

After a few moments, the girl was unconscious. Spike released his grip and laid her gently on the ground. Before leaving, he made sure she was breathing. Then he walked off into the darkness. He was pleased that he still had it in him, but worried about this new slayer. Something didn't seem right to him.

Wolfram and Hart, the next day:

Angel was sitting in his office, reading up on the Circle of the Black Thorn again. This whole thing was really frustrating him. Just when he was ready to call it a day, Spike came strolling into the office.

"Afternoon," he said, looking worried.

Angel lifted his head from the book and looked in the other vampire's direction.

"What?" he questioned, annoyed by the intrusion.

"Can't a guy just pop in to say 'ello?" Spike asked.

"You don't," Angel grumbled.

Spike walked up to his desk and sat down in the chair facing Angel.

"Whatcha reading?" Spike asked, noticing the open book in front of the other vampire.

"Either tell me what you are doing in here or get out!" Angel snapped.

Spike decided to tell the vampire. It was probably good that he just come out with it before Angel staked him.

"There's another one," Spike said.

The anger and frustration on Angel's face disappeared. It was replaced by a look of confusion.

"Another what?"

"Slayer."

"That's not possible," Angel replied, "We saw them all die. The only one left is Buffy."

"I found her," Spike said, "Downtown. She attacked me. I knocked her out."

"Stop pushing my buttons, Spike," Angel grumbled, angry again.

"She was strong, Angel. And she knew who I was."

"Save it!" he yelled, "I don't want to hear your nonsense. I'm way too busy to be dealing with your stories."

Just then a cough came from the doorway. Both vampires looked over to see Giles standing there.

"Another slayer?" Giles questioned.

"I found her downtown," Spike told him, "She attacked me."

As Giles walked into the office, he noticed the bloodstain on Spike's jacket. Spike realized what the watcher was looking at and held up the spot to show Angel.

"She did this," he said, flashing it in front of Angel.

"It was probably just from when Hamilton attacked you," Angel grumbled.

"All the potential slayers died," Giles said, "You saw them. Remember?"

"I know that," Spike said, "But she must have escaped it."

"You were probably drunk, Spike," Angel said.

"I know what I saw!" Spike shouted, "I could feel her power."

"Doesn't mean she was a slayer," Angel countered, "Could have been a witch."

"Fine!" Spike shouted, "Don't believe me! But don't complain to me when she comes after you."

Giles finally spoke up again after listening.

"Listen you two," he began, "We'll look into this. If there's a slayer in town, I'm sure that we will run into her eventually."

Kenya, Africa:

"I'm leaving," Buffy said, rising to her feet.

It was obvious to her that Whistler wasn't going to give her any more answers. The two had been quiet for quite some time now. She was fed up with him now. As she turned to walk, she felt his hand on her arm.

"What?" she asked.

"You will find what you are looking for in Los Angeles," he told her.

"What?"

Whistler didn't repeat himself. He turned back to the fire.

"She's in LA?" Buffy asked.

Again, Whistler didn't respond. Buffy began to get frustrated.

"Tell me, is she with Angel?" Buffy asked.

"I guess you'll have to find that out for yourself," Whistler answered.

Buffy stood there quietly for a few moments. She was weighing her options. As of right now, it was the only lead she had to the girl's whereabouts.

"Fine!" she yelled, "I'll go see Angel!"

She turned to leave again.

"But if she's not there, I'm gonna find you. You don't want to know what'll happen in that case."

Whistler just laughed as the slayer walked out of the cave. He had succeeded in getting Buffy to go to Los Angeles. Everything would be in place for the Apocalypse to occur. And then he would finally get to go home.