Disclaimer: Buffy belongs to ME, err....Mutant Enemy, not me...and the World of Darkness belongs to White Wolf. The personality of Ifrit belongs to me, and so does the Hell he sprang out of, but the name doesn't belong to me, that belongs to mythology.

Thanks for the feedback all. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. But please, don't let it stop you from sending more.

Xander and Allandra sat in the apartment, waiting for nightfall. Xander was watching Jeopardy, which surprisingly was still popular, while Allandra was deeply immersed in a book written in elven. Xander couldn't help but chuckle at some of the questions. Not because he knew more than the contestants, he didn't. But because one entire category was twentieth century history and half their answers were wrong.

There was a knock on the door. Allandra got up and looked through the eyepiece. Seeing a short man who appeared to be deep in his forties, she opened the door. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, yeah. Is this Xander's place?" He spoke.

Xander was beside Allandra in a flash. The man turned to Xander and nodded to him. "Good to see you, Xander."

Xander smiled and nodded. "Oz, looking good."

Oz just shrugged.

Xander asked. "Still a wolf huh?"

"Yup."

"How's that working out for ya?"

"Not bad."

Allandra blinked and looked between Oz and Xander. "You haven't seen each other in sixty years and that's all you've got to say to each other?" She said incredulously.

Oz shrugged. Xander laughed. "That's Oz alright. He never was one to waste words. I always thought he was saving them for a special occasion."

Allandra rolled her eyes. Xander chuckled, then looked at Oz again. "Seriously man, you look good for an eighty-three-year old."

Oz shrugged. "I'm well preserved."

Xander rolled his eyes. "No, seriously man. What's the deal?"

Oz replied. "There's some rituals to slow down the aging process. Gave me a bit longer to stick around."

Xander blinked. "That's handy."

Oz nodded. "So..vampire huh?"

Xander nodded. "Yeah, them's the breaks. What can ya do, though?"

Oz nodded sagely.

Allandra sighed.

Xander blinked, then smacked himself on the face. "Sorry! Allandra, this is Oz, we were friends back when we were both in high school. Oz, this is Allandra, she's a good friend of mine."

Oz held out his hand, which Allandra took and shook.

Allandra tilted her head. "So..you're a werewolf?"

"Yup."

"So..what's it like, being able to change shape?"

Oz shrugged. "It feels completely normal to me, now."

Xander spoke up. "Well, we've got a few things to do today. I've got to meet with Vanessa, then we're going to see if we can dig up Buffy and Spike. I think it's time we brought them both to an end."

Ifrit strolled through the Sunnydale mall, observing the mortals. He found it odd that here and there, different types of mortals mingled together, as if unconcerned about their differences. The humans seemed to be plentiful, but every once in a while he saw an elf talking quietly with human friends. Everyone gave the tusked orcs a wide berth, those humanoids walking around in groups like a street gang.

Ifrit could feel her. Her presence resonated across this plane like a beacon. One only he, and those he allows to, to feel. She was dangerous. She could not be allowed to live. Her soul sent out waves that washed over everything she touched. He could not risk that interference disrupting anything.

He also could not risk her going down an all-too familiar path. Kyannar himself had done a similar thing in the past, and his son spent the next thousand years trying to track down and kill his mistake.

It didn't help his son was returned to Hell no less than eight times over those thousand years by being defeated. Creatures like her were even worse. At least with their own they could enforce their will and prevent them from going rogue. In cases like hers, there was no control.

Too dangerous, too risky.

Ifrit shrugged to himself. She could wait a little while longer. He would know when she'd be vulnerable. All he had to do was wait. The opportunity would arrive when he would be able to eliminate the threat.

'Champions.' What rubbish. Fodder is far more like it. He was going to enjoy this. It had been a while since he felt something other than boredom.

The figure drove along the highway out in the middle of the desert. He was in what passed for a sports car in this day and age, doing well over 150 MPH. He enjoyed the sensation of speed, the humming of the engine as it did its work.

The Sabbat was sending someone in to eliminate a thorn in its side. Somebody who had, apparently, destroyed two Brujah more than a hundred years old, a Toreador of a hundred fifty, and before someone in the Sabbat could take over, bought their nightclub out from under them.

He knew from long experience somebody who ticked off any part of the Sabbat didn't live long. Those who did were a force to be reckoned with. Like his old friend.

A smile touched his lips. It was ironic in that he was supposed to be the teacher, but his younger friend ended up teaching him about life, and unlife.

His mistress wanted to recruit the one who so unwittingly tossed a wrench into the gears of the other Sabbat Lord. He, personally, wanted to keep this one, Xander Harris, out of his mistress' clutches. It had taken him nine hundred years to realize just how poisonous his mistress was.

He sighed ruefully. He had never been accused of being that bright. Sometimes the young can see more clearly than the old.

It had taken long enough, but he had finally left his mistress on good terms. They stayed out of each other's way and now they were, while not the closest of friends, were at least able to get along when they did meet.

He idly wondered why there was so much interest in this town among those in the proper circles. Not a year went by that some Sabbat lord or another sent someone to Sunnydale, a hick town in right in a pleasant valley between the desert and the Pacific Ocean, only to either come back disappointed, scared or dead.

It didn't take a genius to know there was something, someone, or both that was dangerous, in Sunnydale. To most Kindred, dangerous meant powerful, and there were very, very few things that the Kindred could not use that was powerful.

As the sports car passed the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign, Wilhem Striker of the Brujah Clan smiled.

Vanessa walked into the flat, yawning loudly. She looked around for Sandra, wondering if she'd be in for another lecture on the forces of darkness and combat tactics.

"Sandra?" She called out.

She heard Sandra calling out from the kitchen. "In here, Vanessa. Somebody's here to see you."

Slowly, Vanessa walked into the kitchen. She looked at Sandra suspiciously, who was trying to conceal a grin. Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "All right, what is it, Sandra?"

There was a tap on her shoulder and Vanessa whirled around, her fist arcing out instinctively.

Only for her hit to be deflected to the side and to find herself pushed onto the floor, face down with her arm behind her back.

"Tsk tsk, Vanessa. You left yourself open again." A familiar voice said.

She couldn't help but laugh, despite her current position. "Thanks for the advice, Master Morris."

With a chuckle, she felt the weight come up off her back. Vanessa rolled over, and accepted her mentor's hand as he pulled her to her feet.

Master Jonathan 'Jack' Morris was a thin, wiry, white, blonde-haired man who stood at six foot two inches. His body was built for speed and stamina instead of sheer power, and although he towered over the Slayer, it was obvious she was stronger than he was, simply because her muscles were more compact than his own.

Vanessa laughed and hugged Jack, who patted her on the back. He pulled away. "Good to see you again too, Vanessa. I hope you haven't been letting all that training I worked into you go to waste."

Vanessa smiled, crossing her arms and pouting lightly. "Aww, but I was looking forward to getting away from you, Master."

He chuckled, going over to the fridge and getting himself a glass of fruit punch. Vanessa couldn't help but smile. The only things she'd ever seen Jack eat was chicken and rice, and all she'd ever seen him drink was something that came from a fruit. 'Some things never change.'

He nodded to Sandra and Vanessa both. "So, how have you two been? I haven't heard from either of you since you were Called." He looked to Vanessa.

Sandra shrugged. "The Council thought you'd be a better resource training the next probable Slayer. We were under orders not to contact you unless it was a dire circumstance."

Vanessa smirked. "Or until I needled Sandra enough for it to become an emergency."

Sandra chuckled. "Or that, yes. Tea, Vanessa?"

Vanessa nodded. "Yeah, thanks." Turning back to Jack, she spoke. "Last week, I met a vampire. He doesn't act like any of the others, and he doesn't feel like a normal vampire either. He actually saved my life twice since then, once from a master vampire and once from a Devil Knight."

Jack chewed on his lip for a moment. "Hm. Well..Before anything else, you have to remember there's a lot more in the universe than we know, or can ever know. It's possible he's not a vampire at all, but rather something else. Maybe something similar, but different nevertheless."

Sandra spoke up, bringing Vanessa her cup of tea along with her own. "This person didn't need invitation into my home nor did he show any aversion to religious icons."

Jack nodded. "That would fit, the only real question is what side is he really on? Have you ever wondered why the vampires you're called to fight don't, at least for the most part, try to outwit you?"

Vanessa shrugged. "It never really occurred to me. Most vamps and other nasties that I've had the displeasure of meeting liked to come right up to me and say cheesy lines like, 'I'm going to eat you tonight.' Or better yet 'I'd really like to have you...for dinner.'" She spoke with a grin.

Jack chuckled. "Well, I've been doing some researching back at the Watcher's Headquarters. Turns out that the demon that vampires are descended from was about as smart as a petrified tree stump. It was big, it was ugly, it was scaly, it was green and it was bloodthirsty. That was about it. As a result, every vampire descended from that demon can only be as smart as the person it was made out of. It's just a set of instincts and a twisted reflection of that person's mind."

Sandra and Vanessa nodded. They'd heard such before.

Jack continued. "Now with the cases of the Masters, there's a problem. Because those are the vampires that were created out of people smart enough to lie low and not simply go with every dark urge they got. They have the smarts to avoid you, the Slayer, other hunters, and whatever else that may pose a threat. They are the ones who take advantage of the fact the older the vampire is the stronger it becomes. Frankly speaking, you can take out every stupid vampire on the face of the earth and it wouldn't make one whit of difference on the larger scale. They'd be replaced within days. However, if you take out one Master...the repercussions send shockwaves throughout the entire vampire community."

Vanessa nodded. "Yes, but what does that have to do with the vampire who's been helping me?"

Jack shrugged. "Who knows? Perhaps he had a magic spell cast on him to restore his soul, like Angelus. Perhaps he was somebody who managed to tick off the wrong person and was cursed to help people. Or maybe he's just using you for something, perhaps to get rid of his enemies?"

Vanessa blinked. "Well..He does want to kill Spike, also known as William the Bloody, and his consort, Beth."

Jack nodded. "More power to him then, at least until the job's done. Once they're out of the way you'll have to determine if he is a threat to people or not. You've always been a smart girl, Vanessa, I trust your judgement in this matter."

There was a knock on the door. Sandra went over and opened it slowly.

Outside were Xander and two other people. Vanessa used her supernatural sense on them. One felt like a weird mix of human and animal, but altogether on the good side. On the other...was something she'd never felt before. There was overall, light, strength, a sense of goodness and purpose. But under the surface was power, tightly caged and sealed, but still shining with potential.

The beautiful elf looked back at Vanessa, as if she knew that she was being examined. Vanessa blushed and looked away.

Xander spoke. "Um...is this a bad time? I didn't know you'd have company over."

Sandra shook her head. "No, don't worry. If it's important.." She opened the door all the way and Xander and his companions stepped through. None of them had any trouble entering, Jack noted.

Xander began speaking, with a bit of confidence. "Alright. Since I guess there's new faces all around, I think we should get to introducing ourselves before we do what I came here to do."

The short, forty year-old man spoke. "I'm Oz. I'm a werewolf. So if I sprout hair and stuff don't be too surprised."

Xander chuckled. "You know man, I think that's the longest sentence I heard from you in ages."

Oz shrugged.

The elf, standing beside the closed door spoke up. "I'm Allandra, Xander saved my life a little over a month ago and I've been helping him ever since."

Xander shrugged. "I'm Xander Harris, former normal guy of the Scoobies, now I'm pulling a Deadboy impression. Or would that be impersonation?" He pretended to think for a moment. "Nah, I'm not broody enough for that."

Oz smirked at that, Allandra let out a bit of a chuckle. Jack crossed his arms. Sandra began chewing on her lip, probably trying to reference in her mind who 'Deadboy' was. Vanessa just chalked it up to an inside joke.

Jack stood up in a single easy movement and nodded to each in turn. "I'm Jack Morris, a martial arts trainer."

Xander, Oz, and Allandra all nodded in respect at that.

Sandra spoke up. "I'm Sandra Raine, Vanessa's Watcher."

Vanessa waved easily. "Vanessa Stevens, Vampire Slayer."

Xander nodded. "All right, now all that junk is out of the way. I dropped by because my friends and I were going to go after Spike and Buffy tonight. We can't give them time to do whatever they feel like doing. Spike is going to think something up, and Buffy can knock us down without breaking a sweat. I wanted to extend the invite to anybody who wants to come along."

Vanessa stood up immediately. "I'm going. I'm the Slayer, it's my duty to be there."

Jack nodded. "I'll go. I just hope you can keep up." He smirked.

Sandra opened her mouth, but after a quick look from Jack, she closed it and thought on it. Then she nodded. "Very well. I hope you all prepare for this properly."

Xander nodded, then gave an extravagant bow. "Of course, my lady. We mighty warriors have prepared for war. And now we shall sally forth for goodness, light, and most importantly, for cheesy snacks and good televison!"

Vanessa snorted. "Yeah, yeah. I'll grab my gear."

They pulled up to the warehouse in Oz's newest version of his van. It had been a tight fit, and more than a little crowded with all the weapons they brought along, but they were ready.

Xander had brought his katana and a shotgun. He placed the katana's sheath across his back, putting the shotgun into place under his coat. Shifting everything around so he was comfortable walking and would be comfortable running, he nodded to himself and got out of the van.

Jack appeared to be unarmed. What the casual observer wouldn't realize is he was carrying four stakes and a machete in his jean jacket. The only thing that appeared to be out of sorts on Jack was a pair of bracers on his arms. They weren't made for offense at all, but instead in place so if an enemy had a blade, he could stop it with his forearm. He had similar protection strapped to his shins, and thus he looked a little out of place.

Oz got out of his van, casually carrying a large axe, and from the way he held it he obviously knew how to use it.

Allandra got out wearing casual running pants and a leather duster. Strapped to her hip was her rapier. Drawing it with a steely hiss, she twirled it in her right hand in a complex move. She looked to be extremely competent.

Vanessa got out of the van and stretched. On her was her usual allotment of four stakes, but added on at Jack's insistence was a short sword, neatly strapped across her back.

Xander looked at everybody. "All right guys. We're going into the breach. Our primary targets are Spike and Buffy. Spike's going to be the smarter one, he's been around for almost two hundred years and he's taken out four Slayers, so he's going to be dangerous. Whatever you do, don't let him run off, don't let him talk, don't let him do anything other than fight directly. His best asset is his mind, so let's not let him use it if possible."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"All right, now that leaves Buffy. Do not, I repeat, do not fight her on your own. We've got a turned Slayer on our hands people. We don't know what she's got access to or what she's capable of. We do know her strength is likely to be up around ten times what it was before she was turned, so keep that in mind. We've got the numbers and we've all got talents, we're going to have to use them properly." Xander spoke.

He took a deep breath. "Everybody got their radios?"

Everyone nodded and patted their belts, or inside their jackets.

"All right. There's four entrances to the warehouse, one on each side of the building. Allandra and I will take the north side. Oz, you mind taking the west side on your own?"

Oz shook his head. "It's cool."

Xander nodded. "Right, Oz on the west. Jack, you take the-"

Jack rose an eyebrow. "I don't recall giving you permission to give me orders."

Xander sighed. "I'm not giving you orders, if you want to take another route that you know of, that's fine. I'm just lying out what I know."

Jack nodded. "Very well. I'll take the east."

Vanessa shrugged. "Guess that leaves me taking south then."

Xander nodded. "All right, let's all keep in contact. That warehouse is big people, and we don't want to alert our enemies if we can avoid it, so use your radios to keep in touch and don't shout."

Everybody agreed.

"Let's go."

Each member went their own way, and on a signal they entered the building at the same time, expecting to be rushed the moment they did.

What they found was an empty warehouse. Meeting up in the center, the group grumbled.

Then Oz looked a bit distracted. He lifted up a hand. "Hang on guys." He spoke. The group watched Oz.

He started walking toward the main storage area of the warehouse, where someone had left open a drain. The entrance stank of the sewers, and Oz looked slightly green.

Xander patted him on the shoulder. "You all right man?"

Oz nodded. "I can smell it. They went down there."

The group collectively grumbled.

Jack chuckled. "Guess we're going sewer walking then. Take my advice, watch your step."

Vanessa groaned. "I hate the sewers. It takes forever to get that damned stench off me."

The group walked cautiously for half an hour. Oz led them on unerringly, like a bloodhound following his prey. Coming to a section of the sewer where the wall was collapsed, the group paused. Behind the collapsed wall was what appeared to be a natural tunnel.

Oz shrugged nonchalantly and stepped in. One by one the rest followed, happy to no longer worry about watching their step and falling into the ditches.

Vanessa slowed down after a little bit. "Guys, hang on."

The group stopped, and looked at Vanessa.

She seemed to be peering intently forward at something, something that she couldn't possibly understand. "This is weird. It's like a little bit ahead, everything becomes alive. And it's huge, guys. Really, really huge."

They all exchanged puzzled looks to each other. Jack shrugged. "Guess we'll find out."

More cautiously now, the group moved forward and then the rounded the next corner. They all caught the breeze, the air smelled foul, dank. Jack, Allandra, Oz and Vanessa all scrunched up their noses. Xander just shrugged.

Vanessa glared at Xander. "Why don't you smell it?"

Xander shrugged. "I started holding my breath back in the sewers."

Allandra snorted, Oz smirked, Vanessa growled, and Jack chortled.

Jack looked around at the group. "Look, can we discuss this later? We've got bloodsuckers to kill tonight, don't we?"

Reluctantly, the group moved forward. Around the next corner, all of them stopped in horror.

They saw the walls of flesh and skin and bone. The writhing floors, the veins sticking out of the living walls, purple with lack of oxygen. The pillars of what was once people, horribly merged together, holding up walls. Here and there, a limb that was sticking out of the living masses twitched.

Xander shut his eyes, shuddering in disgust at the spectacle before him. Behind him, he could hear Vanessa retching, and Jack's attempts to calm her down. Oz was silent. Allandra quietly came up beside him and gripped his hand. He squeezed back gently.

Opening his eyes, he turned to Oz, who was turning an interesting shade of green.

"Further down this way?" Xander asked.

Oz nodded.

The group waited for Vanessa to get under control, and then they pressed onward.

"Oh God who art in Heaven..."

They slowed, hearing the voice up ahead.

"Please forgive us sinful children..."

Xander looked around a corner, searching for the source of the voice. The voice went silent at that moment.

Moving up cautiously, the group stayed nearby as Xander walked up to a place on the wall where it appeared an elderly woman had been grafted to it. The only thing recognizable on her was her head, the rest of her had been twisted into a horrid shape and merged with the rest of the living mass.

Looking at Xander, a glimmer appeared in her eye.

"It's my angel....you've come to answer my prayers! Praise the Lord!" She spoke.

Xander just blinked a few times, looking sick. "Angel?"

"You saved me from the monsters, my angel. You came when they were going to eat me, and they all ran away. They all ran and I ran home and gave my thanks to God for every day I had after that."

Xander took a step back. Her eyes...they were the same. The memories hit him with the force of a ton of bricks.

'Please....Leave me alone....'

'Hmmmm. Young blood. I always enjoyed little children. So sweet, and clean. So tender. It's like eating veal.'

'Alicia was our sire! You're gonna die, human!'

'I want him to suffer!'

'Well, that works. I think we can just leave him there.'

Xander spoke. "Oh my god...I know you."

She spoke, her eyes coming alight as only someone who has become unhinged could make them. "Yes my angel..I prayed for you to come day after day...and now you're here to free me. Please my angel...set me free."

Xander swallowed hard, aware of the eyes of his companions watching him. He gently stroked the face of the woman with his left hand.

"Yes...I'll set you free. Close your eyes." Xander managed to rasp out.

She closed her eyes, a contented smile on her face.

Xander slowly drew the katana from his back, it making no noise as he did so. Moving to the side, he slowly lifted it up, closed his eyes, and brought it down in a single stroke.

In the middle of the horrible place, Xander sat, in an open room. Vanessa and Jack were standing at the exit, alternating between watching for their quarry and watching Xander.

Oz stood against the wall near them, silent as usual, but a deep, understanding sadness on his face as he watched his friend from the corner of his eye.

Allandra held Xander as she had for the last half hour. As she had ever since Xander began weeping. His face was stained red with his blood as it ran down, slowly but surely dripping onto the ground.

Vanessa and Jack shared a look with each other. Without saying a single word, they knew that after tonight, they would allow Xander Harris to go on his way. He was no demon, a demon would not, could not, care for someone else like Xander had just shown.

Xander slowly stood, giving Allandra a deep, heartfelt hug in thanks. She nodded to him, tears in her own eyes. Xander wiped his face, taking deep breaths.

Drawing his sword, Xander nodded to the entire group. "Let's finish this." He spoke, rage in his voice. Everyone knew what that meant. It had become a simple fact. No matter what else would happen that night, this was it.

Spike was going to die tonight. And so would the demon wearing Buffy's face.

The group marched together into what had once been a simple cavern. Over the course of thousands of years, a small but steady stream of water had opened up a chamber large enough to contain a house.

After Spike and Beth had found the place, they'd obviously been doing some renovating. Human flesh was used to create walls that were always warm. Bones used to create steps and stairs and a pathway to the throne. The throne itself was twisted out of bones and skulls, giving it a horrific appearance.

On that throne together sat Spike and Beth. Looking up as the group entered, they both sneered.

Spike spoke. "Harrumph. They found our little hidey-hole. Rather rude of them, isn't it, pet?"

Beth tutted. "No manners these days. Really children, you should call ahead, we could then arrange a nice party!" She then giggled.

Xander deliberately sheathed his sword. "Spike. You and I have some unfinished business."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll give you credit droopy. You're as stubborn as a pit bull. Luckily, I'm stubborn and smart. Didn't you wonder for one second why the entire complex was empty? It's because..."

Growls emerged from various dark corners of the throne room, as large, hulking, flesh-colored beasts twice the size of anybody there stomped out. Each creature had one large spike for an arm, and the other was a whiplike appendage.

Quickly the group was surrounded by eight of the foul-smelling grotesque monsters.

Beth giggled. "Lovely pets aren't they? The others called them War Ghouls. I love my War Ghouls. They're so mean and nasty and bloodthirsty."

Spike smirked. "I think we'll just lay back and enjoy the show, hm pet?"

Beth nodded and waved her hand. At that gesture, all of them moved in to attack mindlessly.

Activating Celerity, Xander pulled out his shotgun as one of them rushed him. It tried to impale him with its spike, but he slid under it with a maneuver that would make any pro baseball player jealous. Placing the end of the barrel right against its misshapen neck, he pulled the trigger and grinned in satisfaction as its head was blown clean off.

Behind him, Jack was playing rope-a-dope with one. Every time it tried to stab him, Jack moved out of the way and slammed one of its joints with his fist. When it tried to tangle him up with its whip, he slipped around it and tore the whip off with a single deft movement. As it roared in pain, he simply grabbed one of his stakes and buried it in the War Ghoul's eye, and it immediately dropped.

Vanessa fought against one, deftly dodging with all the grace Jack Morris had hammered into her muscles when she was still normal, and her reflexes, now highly amplified after becoming the Slayer, were far too great for the beast to match. The beast lunged again and again, attempting to spear her, but every time it did, she simply moved her body just enough for it to miss by an inch. In between one lunge and the next, she grabbed the spike in her hands and tore it off the Ghoul's body. Spinning around she impaled the War Ghoul with its own spike. Twisting it once, causing it to growl as it slowly died, Vanessa kicked it away and moved on.

Allandra stood in the path of one charging War Ghoul. As it caught up to her, she twisted under its path and arced her blade out once. The War Ghoul roared in pain as the whip appendage fell to the floor. Grabbing it with her left hand, Allandra began striking at the Ghoul with its own whip, cracking down on its sensitive eyes, forcing it back. Every crack of the whip drew more blood and a new roar of pain from the monstrosity. When it began to stagger around, completely blind, Allandra dropped the whip and drove her rapier into the beast's brain.

Three of the beasts decided to converge on Oz. Oz threw his axe into one, which promptly dropped dead. The other two kept mindlessly charging. Mentally calculating the odds, Oz turned and ran as fast as he could back the way they came. Being in great shape, the War Ghouls quickly found they couldn't keep up with their fleeing prey, so they turned around to get to easier meat.

Then a wolf's howl reverberated throughout the chamber and both Spike and Beth stood up from the throne at that, their faces turning gray.

A moment later, an seven-foot-tall brown and black werewolf bounded into the chamber in great strides. The two War Ghouls tried to hit it and missed, pitifully. A single swipe from the wolf and one War Ghoul went flying through the air, howling as huge bloody wounds on its side sprayed blood.

The other one stabbed at Oz who intercepted the attack with his left paw. Promptly taking advantage of the opening he chomped his powerful jaws on the War Ghoul's head, crushing it.

The previous War Ghoul charged at Oz, bellowing mindlessly. Oz leapt over it and landed behind it. He swung his paws twice, claws flashing, and the creature collapsed, his entire backside ripped to pieces.

Spike and Beth looked at each other at the display. Then they both ran to a section of fleshy wall which opened at Beth's touch, and closed behind them.

Xander was busy unloading his shotgun into the last War Ghoul. It tried to move towards him, but every shot drove it back and to the point of exhaustion. It collapsed and died. Looking around, he growled as Spike and Beth had apparently disappeared.

Oz, still in his werewolf form, sniffed once and moved over to a section of the wall. With two quick swipes of his claws, the wall was torn open, revealing a natural passage out.

Xander nodded to Oz, who nodded back. Xander looked at the opening and spoke. "You know that's too narrow for you like that, Oz?"

Oz nodded again and sighed.

Xander turned around and looked at the others. "Come on people, they're getting away!"

Quickly, Oz began to return to his normal form. The group began chasing after the pair of vampires.

Spike and Beth ran as fast as they could down the tunnel. Spike was at the moment exploring his rather large vocabulary of swear words. Beth just ran alongside him silently.

"A bloody, goddamn, honest-to-god, real, uncursed werewolf! Bloody fucking hell!" Spike spoke under his breath.

Coming to another large chamber, both vampires looked back fearfully, half expecting the large werewolf to bound down on them.

Instead, echoing down the corridor was the sounds of the entire group of five.

Sharing a glance, Spike nodded to Beth. "We've got to blow seal the passage, buy us some time, maybe kill a couple of them."

Beth nodded. "Well, we did put a few explosives in the ceiling. It won't stop that wolf, but it'll slow it down at least."

Grunting in agreement, the pair went over to a section of the wall. Touching it with one hand, Beth forced the flesh from some of her victims to retract, exposing the detonator to the explosives the pair had planted in the tunnel.

Smirking slightly, Beth triggered the tiny packets of C4.

Xander, Allandra and Vanessa were in the lead, Oz and Jack trailing behind. As a click went on behind them, Xander and Allandra found themselves thrown to the floor as Vanessa instinctively tackled them. Jack and Oz fell back as the ceiling crumbled down in front of them.

Everybody's ears were ringing with the sudden force of the explosion.

Slowly getting to his feet, Xander checked over Allandra and Vanessa. They were both shaken up, but fairly unhurt. Helping Vanessa, then Allandra, to her feet, they turned back to the collapsed tunnel. Feeling a flash of fear, Xander yelled. "Oz! You alright!?"

They couldn't hear anything at first, then faintly from the other side. "We're alright!"

Vanessa yelled. "Master! We can't risk digging out the side, we might bring the rest of the tunnel down on top of us!"

Faintly the trio could hear. "Agreed! The way back is clear, we'll head out the way we came in! You guys will have to find another way!"

Allandra grumbled, then she shouted. "You two take care!"

Oz's reply could be heard. "You too!"

Xander turned, and patted both the girls on their shoulders. "Either of you hurt?" He asked.

Both of them shook their heads. Allandra turned to Vanessa. "Thanks, if you hadn't tackled us we'd probably be buried alive." She spoke.

Xander nodded gravely. "Yeah, nice move. I didn't even notice the click. While being buried wouldn't kill me, I sure wouldn't like it." He smiled ruefully.

Vanessa blushed. "Oh come on, it wasn't that big a deal."

Xander chuckled. "No, I'm serious. Thanks."

Turning back down the corridor, the gang prepared themselves for whatever lay ahead.

Beth and Spike watched silently as a wall of dust sprayed out from the tunnel. Spike had his hands clenched, Beth was busy creating three-inch long spikes on her knuckles. She kept glancing nervously down the tunnel, half-expecting the werewolf to bound down out of it any second.

When instead of a single seven-foot-tall werewolf, three figures covered in dust emerged, both Spike and Beth grinned.

Spike looked to Beth. "What do you say, pet? I take droopy, you take the Slayer and the bitch?"

Beth giggled. "Sounds good to me Spikey. I haven't had a taste of Slayer's blood in ages." She pouted, then continued. "Maybe we can turn this one! I always wanted another slave."

Vanessa drew her stakes and stood in a defensive stance. Allandra raised her rapier and held it outwards, the tip aimed directly at Beth's heart.

Xander advanced on Spike, katana at the ready. He was holding it down, extended at waist level, ready at the slightest movement Spike made.

Spike smirked. "You know droopy, I'm getting real tired of you. Time was you could torture somebody and dispose of the corpse and they wouldn't show up again. But you, gee, you've been like a bloody cockroach. Just don't know when to die."

Xander took another step towards Spike, raising the katana up to shoulder level, still pointed towards Spike.

Spike was grinning broadly now. "You know what the best way to deal with roaches is, Harris?" He pulled something out of his pocket, a small gold ring. "You step on them." Spike finished, slipping the ring on his right middle finger. Then he raised his hands in a boxing stance.

Xander swung his katana, only for Spike to dodge to the left with inhuman speed and slam his fist into Xander's ribs. Xander staggered to the side, bringing up the katana defensively. Spike laughed. "That's more like it, you fucking ponce. Try and keep up you bastard."

Meanwhile, Vanessa and Allandra had split up and moved on Beth from different angles. Vanessa struck forward with a kick, only to meet empty air as Buffy twisted just enough out of the way and struck out with a punch. Seeing the deadly spikes coming towards her, Vanessa moved her face out of the path of the punch, but couldn't move fast enough and her face was scratched for her trouble.

Allandra moved in from behind Beth and slashed, aiming for Beth's left arm. Instinctively, Beth kicked out behind her and slammed Allandra in the chest, sending her flying back and coming to rest against a wall. She slumped to the floor, holding her ribs.

Slayer and ex-Slayer fought with passion, rage showing on both their faces as they moved fought against each other as only they could. Every time Beth struck out, Vanessa dodged, sometimes with millimeters to spare.

Vanessa slammed her foot into Beth's chin, causing Beth to stagger back and cry out in pain. Moving in for the kill, Vanessa got right up into Beth's face and used a fast move Master Morris taught her, pushing Beth's arms apart with extreme speed and actually forcing Beth to stick her chest out. Vanessa took advantage of the opening and slammed her left stake into Beth's heart.

Beth gasped and fell to the floor, one hand on the stake. She looked down at it in shock, and then she began to giggle. Wrapping her spiked fist around the stake, she pulled it out. The end of the stake was broken, as if it had collided with stone. Standing up with a grin on her face, Beth smiled evilly. "You've never dealt with anyone who can rearrange flesh before, have you? I've sealed off my heart with a solid plate of bone. Got the idea from a movie."

With that, she charged the shocked Slayer.

At the same time, Spike and Xander were continuing their deadly dance of death. Xander was stronger, due to the Discipline of Potence. He was more durable, due to the Fortitude he possessed. Spike was faster, due to the magical ring that once belonged to Nicholas, and he was more skilled due to his long life.

As a result, a more evenly matched set of fighters there never was. Spike launched a hit to Xander's face, which to Spike's chagrin was barely bloodying Xander's nose. Xander countered by swinging up with the katana, slicing across Spike's chest as Spike twisted with all the acrobatics he possessed to avoid the extremely sharp blade from cutting deeper.

Spike backed off, holding the slice across his chest as Xander casually wiped his face with his left hand. Xander spoke. "Not bad, Spike. You know a hell of a lot about fighting. I bet you have no clue what all of this means though."

Spike tilted his head. "Feeling all chatty now, droopy?"

Xander sneered. "You couldn't put this nightmare together if your life depended on it, Spikey-boy. So I want to know, how'd you manage to get Beth to learn the secrets of the Tzimisce, huh? Last I heard they were pretty cautious about keeping their powers under wraps."

Spike chuckled. "I didn't get her to learn. Don't you see, wanker? When I found her she was already a vampire. I just gave her some of my blood, and made her into a demon. Made her mine." He smirked.

Xander growled. "All right Spike, you're asking for it."

Xander activated Celerity and moved in, katana flashing. Spike's eyes widened as he dodged back as fast as he could, Xander's new speed suddenly equaling his own magically gained speed. Placed completely on the defensive, Spike dodged back as the blade flashed in the light, striking again and again, moving closer with every stroke to Spike's skin.

Spike moved to the left, trying to move into a perceived opening in Xander's defense. Xander moved past Spike to his right, Spike's left hand meeting empty air as Spike turned, trying to follow Xander.

The pain hit Spike a second later. He looked down at the severed stump of his right hand in shock. Looking down to the floor, he saw his severed hand, still adorned by the ring.

Looking up once more at Xander, who had only pity on his face now, his eyes were wide with fear.

Deliberately, Xander marched towards Spike, blade at the ready.

Spike backed up, stumbling now as the ring exacted its price, now that the ring was off. Spike's muscles quivered and quaked as the stresses of the fast movement unleashed themselves all at once on his body. His legs failed him, and he fell to the ground. Turning over, he tried to crawl away using the stump of his right arm and scrabbling away at the floor with his left.

Xander walked up and deliberately stepped on Spike's left hand, causing Spike to scream out.

Raising the katana, Xander spoke. "You know Spike, I'm a nice guy. I owe you for a lot more than what I'm about to do to you. You caused me to miss sixty years. You tortured me on fucking Christmas for god's sake. But you know, I'm not going to torture you. You know why, Spike?"

Spike shook his head, wincing.

"It's because I'm better than you, Spike. I always have been. Any torture that comes your way will be up to whatever Powers there are. I'm just going to deliver your ass into their hands."

Xander swung the katana down, cleaving Spike's head off in a single stroke. An instant later, Spike's body burst into dust. So did Spike's severed hand, and the ring that had adorned his finger clattered to the floor with a light chime.

While Spike and Xander were finishing their battle, Beth and Vanessa were still going at it, neither giving an inch. Beth slipped in past Vanessa's guard and struck a chop to Vanessa's left arm. Vanessa screamed as the bone shattered. Beth's followup slammed Vanessa against one of the fleshy walls.

Allandra got to her feet and slashed at Beth from behind, cutting Beth's back open. Beth screamed and whirled around, slapping the rapier away from Allandra. Grabbing Allandra's left arm, she twisted it behind Allandra and pinned her to the floor. Grinning madly, she caught Vanessa's look, who widened her eyes in realization.

Vanessa screamed. "No!" Even as Beth raised her spiked fist. She only began moving as Beth drove the hard spikes into Allandra's right side, going clear through her chest.

Xander looked over at the scream, and if his heart was beating, it would have stopped at that moment at the sight before him. He screamed out. "Allandra!"

Nearly one hundred feet above, Ifrit stiffened.

'Damnable timing. Now is the moment we shall see how dangerous she is.'

Stretching out his senses, he monitored the situation. 'Now is the moment of truth. Are you worthy, or are you not? If you are, I shall have to kill you, if not, someone else has spared me the trouble. Just for the sake of my entertainment, I hope you are worthy.'

Xander growled and moved on Beth in a flash, who easily grabbed him, and using his own momentum against him, threw him against a wall. Standing up again, fangs bared, he rose his blade up into a defensive stance.

Vanessa stood up beside him, drawing the machete that Jack had insisted she take.

Beth stood up, kicking Allandra behind her who flopped around, struggling weakly as blood flowed out of her mouth.

Deliberately, Beth licked the spikes she used to spear Allandra with, smiling. "Mmm, tasty. I guess it's true what they say about the elves. Nice and spicy. Sooo good. I should capture a couple and use them like cattle."

Xander calmed himself, feeling the Beast broil under the surface, threatening to take over and lash out madly. This time, he didn't suppress it. He didn't ignore it. He channeled it. In that moment, he fully accepted he was a vampire, he could not change his nature, could no longer pretend he was a human in a dead body. What he was was Xander Harris. That was all that mattered. And Xander Harris would no longer let the creature that was once Buffy go on.

As one, Vanessa and Xander charged the former Slayer, turned Tzimisce, turned demon. Xander's katana flashed out, only for Beth to parry the blade with her right arm's spikes while she drove her left arm's into Xander's chest.

Staggering back, Xander growled, but he smirked as Vanessa managed to open up a deep wound across Beth's stomach with the machete. Beth attempted to backhand Vanessa, but Vanessa ducked under that and slashed across Beth's chest, doing little damage as the blade slid across Beth's altered ribcage.

Silently and in perfect control now, Xander jumped at Beth again, blade extended before him.

Allandra couldn't breathe.

Blood was rapidly filling her lung. It was running up into her mouth.

She was dying. She could only watch helplessly as Xander and Vanessa fought against Beth, unable to make much headway.

Suddenly, a bright, blinding white light appeared in her eyes.

Then she was standing, no, floating, above herself, still watching the battle before her.

"It's strange, isn't it?"

Allandra whirled around, coming face to face with Beth.

No..this person seemed different, somehow. Beth's face was twisted by years of cruelty and hatred. Her hair had been cut short and was brown. This girl had a look of understanding pain and compassion, her hair was long and blond. The differences were subtle, but as profound as the difference between night and day.

The girl smiled slightly. "I'm Buffy. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for what that bitch has done to you." Buffy spoke.

Allandra shook her head. "I don't understand. If you're here and dead, then what..is that?"

Buffy sighed. "It's a long story. To cut it short, I was turned into a vampire fifty-eight years ago. Three years later Spike found me, serving one of the Tzimisce lords unwillingly. In his mind he was freeing me, what he really did was place a demon in my body. His kind are descended from demons, if one of Xander's kind drinks the demon's blood the demon has a chance of taking hold. After that...I was ejected. I've been watching and trying to help however I can since."

Allandra sighed, and looked down at her body. She was still breathing, but her own face looked gray, ashen, horrible. "Is there any way back?" She asked.

Buffy replied. "Under normal circumstances, no, you're not strong enough. But you're not normal."

Allandra looked sharply at Buffy. "What?"

"Look down at yourself. There's a secret within that you never knew about. I can see it. There's a seat of power deep inside of you. Just a little bit of flammable material, if you will. All you need is a sparkly-
type thing, and you'll get some major burnage." Buffy spoke, trying to get the idea of something she didn't understand completely herself, across.

Allandra closed her eyes. Trying to find it, that hidden potential.

She opened her eyes again. She could feel it.

Buffy smiled at her. "Go kick her ass, girl. She deserves it."

Allandra smiled in return as she was drawn back in.

With a gasp, she became aware of her body again, which was steadily growing hotter.

Then, pain overcame her, and she screamed.

Above on the street, Ifrit smiled.

'She is worthy. Good. Now all I have to do is prepare.'

Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, he laughed to himself, thinking of the upcoming game.

Xander got up again, bleeding from a half-dozen wounds. The scratches healed easily, but the wounds caused by those spikes refused to close so readily.

Vanessa was faring quite a bit better than he was. Beth had only scratched Vanessa a couple of times, Vanessa's superior training coming into play over Beth's mindless fighting rage.

An ear-shattering scream pierced the chamber, causing all three combatants to cover their ears. Beth retreated a section of fleshy wall, which hinted at another passage behind it, she looked over at the corpse of Allandra.

Or as it turned out, the corpse that wasn't quite dead yet. Allandra was kneeling, screaming incoherently as flames burst out of the wound on her chest and on her back. Her hair caught on fire, adding to her agony. She gibbered as the flames covered her entirely, she fell silent as the flames spread out into a circle around her.

Beth, Xander, and Vanessa all watched with varying degrees of horror as a figure rose from the flames. Indeed, the figure seemed to be made out of flames itself.

And the figure was not humanoid.

It stood at Allandra's normal height, but large wings made of flames were extended from its back. It growled and turned towards Beth. It slowly began to advance on her.

Allowing her instinctive fear overcome her, Beth opened the passage behind her and ran as quickly as she could.

Xander and Vanessa stood silently as the figure turned towards them.

Xander took a chance. "Allandra? Allandra, are you in there?"

The figure tilted its head.

Taking that as encouragement, he stepped forward. "Allandra, you have to calm down." He raised his hands. "Calm down honey. Calm down. Come back to me, please."

The flames began to fade slowly. Once they faded entirely, Xander could see her now-altered form.

Allandra was now no less beautiful, but substantially less elven. Great, bat-like wings spread from her back, her hair was fiery red, her eyes seemed to contain a flame within.

She looked down at herself, looking at her now clawed hands. She looked up at Xander, horror in her eyes.

"What...am I?" She croaked out.

Then she collapsed.

Whew. Longest chapter ever. My inspiration just wouldn't stop.

Anyway, please review. Feedback is the name of the game. More feedback equals more quality parts.

See you guys later.

Nick.