Chapter 7

Back at the Hyperion, Angel and the rest of the team were regrouping from their escape from The Master's crypt. Faith took Laura to one side to tend to the wound left by the arrow The Master threw into her shoulder. Laura took off her jacket, and Faith began to clean the injury, and bandage it up.

"I think we have a problem Angel" said Faith. "I should get onto the Council, to see if..."

"You're damn right we have a problem!" Spike interrupted. "Not only is my great grand-sire alive and kicking, but we have a slayer who is a bleedin' vampire on the loose! What do we even call one of them?"

"I don't know," said Angel. "I don't think anything like this has ever happened before. All I know is that there is a vampire out there, with the proportionate strength and speed of a Slayer."

"So, kind of like Spiderman then?" said Spike, "Only without the red and blue tights..."

Everyone turned an looked at him.

"I thought we left Andrew back in London.." said Faith. She turned to Laura as she finished binding the young Slayer's shoulder. "There we go, just don't get any more arrows stuck in it..."

"Faith," Angel said. "Get onto Giles, see if he has ever heard of anything like this happened before, and if he has any idea how to stop it."

The vampire turned to the rest of the group.

"The rest of you get ready for a fight..."

Meanwhile, at The Master's crypt, two large vampires drag a battered human to Talia's feet, and drop him. Talia stared down at the battered male on the floor. He looked up at her with terror filled eyes. "Please... don't hurt me." the man begged. "I have a family..."

The Master stooped down and picked the man up by his throat.

"Here we go, my dear. Dine on this pitiful beast, build up your strength for the upcoming battle."

Talia looked at the man as a man would look at a steak. She grabbed him by the throat, and moved him closer to her.

"Please... don't.. I beg you.."

Talia looked at him with some confusion. Why was her meal still speaking? She lowered the man slightly down, and a relieved look briefly flashed across his face. A look that was replaced with horror, as her face twisted into a monstrous beast. Her eyes became yellow, and her teeth twisted into fangs. The man screamed as her fangs sunk into his neck, the blood trickling down her face as she dined on his lifeblood. The corpse dropped to the floor with a dull thud, and her face shifted back to the human mask.

The Master smiled as his newest warrior stood up from her first feeding. With Talia at his side, nothing, not a Slayer, not even his ensouled wayward descendants could stop him.

He turned to the vampire behind him.

"Prepare a raiding party. It is time for Talia to discover what its like to hunt for the other side now..."