Unfortunately all I own is Carma

"There she is."

"Where?"

"There."

Carma followed the pointing finger and found herself looking at her, but not her. The older Carma had practically chopped off all her hair; it fell down to just below her shoulders, dead straight, no waves in it at all, her skin was pale, but not the healthy (albeit dead pale) of the younger Carma, it was the colour the chalk in the South Down back home in England. Carma always looked good, not always at the height of fashion, but she made what she had work in a way no one else could. This Carma was shrouded in grey and black sweatshirt material, shoulders hunched, no pride in her stance at all.

While the first Carma was contemplating her otherself's appearance, Spike was heading toward her, slowly, as though he couldn't quite process how she looked. Carma watched as he approached the depressed looking girl, watched as his mouth moved, even her vampiric hearing wasn't able to pick up what he was saying, she could see the reaction though.

While Spike talked the other vampire's head raised, her shoulders straightened, and the air of regal elegance that had pulled so many of her victims to her in ages past filled her again. Although Carma couldn't see it her blue eyes had deepened back to their original silver from a pale grey and they were literally spitting acid. While Spike was still talking Carma watched as the other girl pulled her arm back and let fly! Spike went flying a few feet before crashing into a nearby flower stall.

All motion stopped as the Parisians nearby tried to rationalise what had happened, it wasn't every day a small girl who everyone described as scared of her own shadow sent a full grown, strong looking man flying. Of course it couldn't be rationalised, and that's when pandemonium broke loose. Screams and French curses filled the air as chairs outside cafés went flying as their occupants jumped up and ran. Within five seconds the courtyard beneath the Eiffel Tower was deserted except for the two modern vampires, Spike now on his feet, the two of them shouting and screaming at each other in between kicks and punches, an old man who looked about 90 was passed out on a bench, he hadn't heard anything the whole time, and of course, the other Carma.

The youngest vampire in the square just watched the two in amazement; they were really trying to kill each other. Sure she and Will had spats pretty much every day about pretty much everything, but they never got this bad. She was contemplating whether or not she should intervene or let them work out their frustrations when the sound of police cars approaching, a sound she'd learned very well in her few days in Sunnydale, forced her decision.

A second later saw her pulling Spike away from the other her, and a chalky hand headed at her head. She caught it of course, she might be younger but any fool could see that she was better, this Carma obviously hadn't improved on her skills much in the last hundred or so years.

The oldest Carma was shocked beyond belief, not to mention really pissed off: first Spike of all bloody people shows up, and his first words are, 'we need your help', not a hello, not even a fucking apology for a hundred years of missed Christmas appointments. She'd checked up on him, he'd been spending his time gallivanting around with Drusilla, is 'dark princess', well that was just fine, if he wanted to abandon her he could. But no bloody way was he just going to come up and demand her help; it was just not fucking going to happen. And then she was having a perfectly good time working out al her issues with the jerk when some other vamp breaks in, and tries to crush every single bone in her wrist, at least that's what it felt like. And she looked like her, how she used to look, smelled like her, had the same kind of vamp signature as her, but…oh fuck!…this was not going to be her Christmas.

"Are you two children done playing, or would you like to keep going and have a nice run in with the local constabulary."

In the days since Spike had been reunited with her Carma had looked and sounded like she belonged in the 21st century, so had the other two. But now her stance and voice was that of the wealthy society lady she had acted as in years gone by, regal, authoritative, and never disobeyed.

Carma was met with silence which she took as agreement and not giving the other two any room to argue dragged them down a side alley and into another small courtyard, bathed in shadows and moonlight it had probably been beautiful once, but now statues were broken and shattered, heads separated from bodies, low walls were knocked down. It was a universal sign of humanity, and the First, although now human would ever admit the resemblance, beauty destroyed, taken over, sullied, corrupted. A fitting meeting place for three (two) of the most formidable vampires in history.

"Now Spike, I want you to apologise to her. Do not glare at me, do it!"

After the sullen, muttered apology she repeated her, order, this time to the other her, she took a little longer than Spike, but eventually she got through and seated the two of them a few yards away from each other, and deposited herself in the middle, in case they decided to go for each other again.

"Good children. Now, this is going to get a bit confusing, having two Carma's, so we need to come up with another name for one of us. Probably me as I'm the youngest."

"You're really me aren't you? Me as I used to be."

"Yes I am."

"You should be Destiny then, it's another meaning of karma so it fits really."

Carma had a vaguely slovenly accent, picked up over the years, and as stupid as it seemed it actually pained Destiny to hear the accent she had worked so hard to learn and make her own (she had been a lowly landlords daughter, not nobility like the rest of her vampire family and so to fit in with them and attract a higher class of victim she had to learn the ways of the aristocracy, and it hadn't been easy) pulled to pieces like it was.

"Destiny it is then. Spike did you tell her about the First before you started trying to kill each other."

"I told her during, but I don't think she was listening to me."

"You hand your hands round my neck, of course I wasn't bloody listening to you. And if you don't mind I'd rather stress about my past self being here than you babbling on about the First, instead of even giving me a decent apology."

"What am I supposed to be apologising for?"

"Not turning up!"

"ME! It's not like you were ever there either. It goes two ways you know."

"Well at least I wasn't spending my time prancing about Europe with Drusilla."

"I tried to get away from her, you know…"

"SILENCE"

Destiny's roar ripped the air, and she threw a touch of the Triumvirate's power behind it. The other two vampires may be older, and Master's in their own, but she had the power of the Triumvirate behind her, and she was really mad.

"You two save you silly squabbles for when we get back to Sunnydale and you can have it out with Angel at the same time. Carma I want you to listen to me, alright, because the First is back."

While Spike sat their sulking Destiny explained how they had been pulled out of their time by the First to be on his side, but how Willow had summoned them away from him and now, much to their disgust, they were working with the slayer. Carma was strangely silent when she heard how long Spike had been helping their kind's natural enemy, and when asked if she would return with them she just nodded. The passion came back when Spike stated the proviso:

"There's one condition though. No feeding from humans, Angelus, Will and Car…Destiny have managed, you'll have to as well."

"You bastard. You absolute bloody bastard! I haven't drunk from a human in ages. And it's all your fault."

At the beginning of her tirade she'd got to her feet, looming over Spike who was cringing away from her voice. But at the end she collapsed, hands clasped over her eyes, shoulders shaking with noisy sobs. Destiny wrapped her arms around the other girl, and lifted her eyes to look at Spike, confusion was written over both of their faces.


"What the hell!"

The three vampires rematerialised in the circle and stared around them in confusion. The extremely crowded living room they'd left a few hours ago had disappeared; in its place was a battle zone. Pale, repulsive, bony Turok-han had invaded the house along with the black robed Bringers; potential slayers were everywhere, some on their own. Those were the ones determined to prove that they were the best and most likely to be called next, the other, more sensible potentials had teamed up and were fighting in groups, protecting each other.

Colin was in the thick of things, he'd picked up a metal staff from somewhere and a group of four potentials, they were surrounded by Bringers and he was yelling out weak points for the girls to aim at. Blasts of light were coming from the kitchen area; obviously the witch had got over her fear of magic. The dark-haired slayer was back to back with Angel's son and the two of them were steadily battering their way through a wall of uber-vamps. The rest of the Scoobies and Angel's gang were scattered around, each busy battling their own minion.

The three newly arrived vampires assimilated the sights that surrounded them in less than a second, but while Carma and Spike were spending precious seconds wondering what was going on, and how the makeshift army had been so overrun, Destiny's eyes had headed for, and found her family. And as soon as she saw them she pounced.

It was obvious to her that the First had launched this attack as a way to take are of the Triumvirate, whether by permanently eliminating them or subduing them and taking them back to the First so that they could be 'brought back into the fold' as it were.

Her lovers were backed into a corner, a dozen vampires and a group of bringers surrounding, piles of dust and bodies showed that they'd already made themselves felt in the ranks of the opposition. But there were so many claws and blades slashing at them in such a confined space that it was impossible for them not to have been hit. They each had cuts scattered all over their bodies, shirt sleeves ripped open, blood gluing the fabric to their torn skin. Will had a vicious gash over his left eye, running through his eyebrow leaving a viscous river of blood dripping in his eye.

Of course they didn't stay like that for long, as soon as Destiny saw them she sprang. Heads flew, literally, as she made her way to their side, pure, undiluted hatred on her face as she decimated the opposing ranks and made her way to her family's sides.

Carma and Spike hadn't stayed still very long, moving through the battle zone like roving patrols, slowly but steadily picking off the opposition.

Over in a corner the Triumvirate stood together again, Destiny's hair was flying all over the place, and a small stream of blood was running down her neck. The two male vampires were ripped to pieces, their clothes torn and their queues in disarray. But there was an awful serenity surrounding them, the Turok-han and Bringers that they had been fighting were slowly backing away. An eerie quiet surrounded them and rippled away. That feeling of power filling every nook and cranny and making everyone stop what they were doing. It wasn't just awe of the power that made them freeze, they physically couldn't move, not a single muscle, it wasn't selective either, good guys and bad guys were frozen alike.

Then the already heavy magic began to glow. That wasn't quite the right word, but it was the closest. Six eyes, brown, blue and silver began to shine a soft, sparkling black, the whites of their eyes were erased, only the blackness was left. Their hands were glowing in the same way, and air molecules surrounding them picked up the unearthly pigmentation, as though the air itself was a very large Dalmatian. Then it began to spread.

The spots in the air lengthened and became ribbons, reaching out from their points near the Triumvirate and stretching around every other body in the place, dead and alive, oily ribbons wrapping around potentials and the other good guys before rejecting them and returning to the bringers and Turok-han.

A complex web was formed, delicate and ethereal, yet stronger than any substance known to life. Not a single unwelcome visitor escaped its clutches.

Although it was probably only a minute and a half it felt like an hour to the frozen potentials, even Spike, Angel and Carma had been captured by the web, and it was bringing up some very disturbing memories for them. About the times they had used this particular magic, and it's explosive results.

Then stage four began, the air began to tighten, pulling on immobile flesh, nearly rending it away from fragile bones. Deep lines began to appear in the arms and necks of the trapped foes. The sound of brittle snapping ripped through the spooky silence and bones an veins were split in half by the inexorable tightening of the ropes. Until they went too tight, and those trapped inside just, exploded.

The sudden burst of sound was horrific, shattering ear drums, followed a split second later by ash and Bringer parts raining down on everyone. Reminding Spike of scenes he'd caught from 'Tremors' when he's been channel hopping one day in his crypt. After the bloody shower finished the houses other occupants were released and the uncanny, silent power dissipated. But there still wasn't any noise, everyone was just staring at the three vampires. Amazed that these three, two of whom the Scoobies had known for a long time and would never have imagined that they had that kind of power. Amazed that after having shown off that power in an amazingly destructive manner the three were just standing there, sniggering, the stares only seeming to encourage them, until full-blown peals of laughter were ringing through the still silent house.

Sorry it's been a while but things have kind of got away from me. Here it is though and I hope you all enjoyed it.

ScaryVampiress: sorry it took me so long, but I hope you liked it.

SpikingJennsAngel: Spike and Angel will get closer but you'll have to wait and see how.

Vdarkangel88: hope you still like it.

Please review everyone :)