Chapter Three: Who is Nero?

Wesley scanned the pages in his books for what seemed like hours. With Fred and Gunn helping look too, he figured it wouldn't be long before they turned up something of use.

'Here. Got him.' Gunn said. Wesley held out his hand for the book from Gunn, who rolled his eyes and handed it over. Wesley looked at the small picture on one page, with a tiny bit of text beneath it. It wasn't in English; he assumed it might be Scandinavian from the symbols used. 'What does it say Wes?' Wesley began reading out what he could decipher.

'Nero was a… hunting demon.' Wesley read. 'He controlled an army of slaves who hunted for him, and brought him…' Wesley paused before adding, 'Oh. Eww.'

'Brought him what?'

'Vital organs.' Wesley replied. He continued reading. 'Nero's army was small but gathered him enough organs, mostly hearts, to perform a ritual to make him… oh great.' Wesley's expression changed to one of defeat as he looked up at Gunn. '… Invincible.' He finished.

'So this guy can't be killed?' Gunn concluded.

'Wait, there's more.' Wesley told him before finishing the last of the text. 'One of his more powerful slaves managed to overpower him. Gynash. Guy-na-ash' Wesley used the English pronunciation hint to help him say the name correctly.

'And what did this Gynash do exactly?' Gunn asked. Fred looked on eagerly, strangely interested in the subject.

'He escaped from Nero after attempting to kill him in 1812.' Wesley looked up. 'It says Nero went after him and killed him by 1816.'

'Oh.' Gunn sighed. 'Does it say anything at all about how to stop this Nero guy? Anything?'

Wesley looked back down at the book and read the last sentence. 'Nero is also known as the Collector. That's it.'

'The Collector? That doesn't help us.' Gunn scowled. Wesley suddenly had an idea.

'Maybe it does. If I cross-reference Nero with his other name as the Collector, maybe I can find out more about him.' He informed Gunn.

'Will that work?' Fred piped up.

'If we can find the book Dark Souls of the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries then we may have a chance. I know I have it somewhere here…' Wesley began searching the remaining books on his shelf, going along the rows until he found what he was looking for. 'Aha! I knew it was here.' He pulled a large solid brown leather-covered book off the shelf and thumped it down on the desk.

Fred jumped, and Gunn stared in amazement at the size of the book. 'Where the heck did you find that thing?' He asked.

'Picked it up on the Black market about 8 months ago. I knew it would come in handy.' Wesley answered, flipping the book open carefully and turning alphabetically to C.

He ran his finger down some of the names that were close together until he found what he was looking for. There it was in plainness on the page. The Collector. There was about half a page of text about him, all in another language. Wesley again guessed Scandinavian. He read over the text, his eyes widening when he reached the last paragraph.

'What is it Wes?' Gunn asked, seeing Wesley's expression change. He remained silent, not answering Gunn until he asked again. 'Wes?'

'It says…' Wesley paused before reading out all that was written in the final paragraph. 'The Collector's most well known strength is his invulnerability. He has no weakness known to man, except for when his power must be renewed one every 200 years. Only during the time he is performing the ritual can he be killed, and not by any instrument known to man.'

'Great. How can he be killed?' Gunn asked. Wesley looked up.

'I don't know.' He looked back up to the first paragraph. 'Human weapons, forged in any time period, cannot harm The Collector. He is invincible to fire, water, air and earth; all the elements that combine to form the Earth. He cannot be beaten by nature, man, or any of man's creations. He is eternal.'

'Well isn't that positive. He's gonna be around forever so there is no way we can stop him from killing Kathy.'

'Wesley, can I see the book?' Fred asked suddenly.

'Sure.' Wesley pushed the book over and Fred stood above it, reading the words over her glasses. A smile appeared on her face as she proudly declared her findings.

'Here, beneath the picture.' She pointed for Wesley to see. 'It says that a combination of the four elements is what can destroy him.'

'Damn, did you see the picture in the other book?' Gunn asked. 'That dude is bigger than all of us.'

'Not by much Gunn, the picture is described as showing his height in proportion to man. He's probably only a little taller than you or me.'

Suddenly there was a crash in the lobby. Cordelia appeared at the top of the stairs, with Kathy safely in her room. Wesley, Gunn and Fred rushed out of Wesley's office to see what was going on.

Angel was lying on the floor against the front desk, with a tall man standing on the landing inside the front double doors. Wesley, Gunn and Fred recognised who it was all-too-easily. It was Nero, The Collector. He had tracked down Kathy, and found them.

Author's Note: Thankyou so much to all the people who reviewed. I hope you're enjoying the story, and I can promise you there is plenty more to come.