Chapter 26

The air was filled with the scent of blood and fire. With Willow's help, they had arrived undetected. Their arrival caught everyone by surprise. Buffy had given them a huge advantage once they'd gotten inside. And now, Spike and Xander had fought their way through to the main part of the building. All of the minions and most of the older vampires were dust now. Only a select few remained. Xander could smell them. One of them was old – older than Spike, maybe older than Angel. Could he be the one they were looking for? Was their information bad?

Angel caught up to them just as they burst through the doors. The three vampires stood solidly, unified. The large room was ornately decorated, much like the rest of the estate. It had clearly been a ballroom at one point, but had been remodeled to mimic a throne room. This guy's ego was bigger than they'd imagined.

Surprise registered on their faces when they realized there were not just one, but two vampires in the room. From the descriptions they'd found, it was easy to tell that one of them was Romeo, the vampire who'd ordered the attack on Xander. But the other vampire was older than they'd expected any to be here.

"Welcome," the oldest vampire said. "I was hoping you'd show up soon. I was getting tired of waiting for you, Xander." His leer caused a shiver to work its way up Xander's spine.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" Xander couldn't stop himself from asking.

"I am called Dario."

Spike frowned. Suddenly, he thought he understood what was going on. He hoped he was wrong. "You're the one who ordered the attack on the Slayer."

The older vampire laughed, as Romeo turned his eyes to the ground. "The Slayer? Who cares about some Slayer halfway across the country? No. My wayward childe decided that on his own. Didn't you," he asked, turning a glare on Romeo.

"I did. It was my fault you were turned," Romeo said sheepishly.

"I'm glad you admit it," his sire said.

Before anyone could blink, Dario had thrust his hand through Romeo's chest and ripped out his heart, watching impassively as his childe crumbled to dust before him.

"You killed him." Xander's shocked voice carried across the room as the dust of the vampire who'd had him turned floated to the ground.

"He betrayed me," Dario said. "He defied my orders, which were to bring you to me alive, so that I could turn you myself. I've wanted you as my childe ever since one of my associates described you to me after a near-escape from the Slayer. Now because of Romeo's foolishness, I'll have to start all over with you. I'm sure there are some nasty habits you've picked up from the riffraff you've been spending time with that will take months to break," he said with an enigmatic smile.

Cutting off Xander's declaration that he would rather die than be sired to Dario, Spike said, "So, you chose Xander on purpose."

"Wouldn't you," Dario asked calmly. "Such untapped potential for darkness." He flashed a sinister smile at Xander.

Spike scoffed. "He's too stubborn to give into the darkness you're talking about."

"Perhaps that's because you're holding him back," Dario replied. "I can take care of that pesky detail once I've disposed of you."

Dario stepped forward, preparing himself to attack Spike. Xander moved closer to his sire, but it was Angel who stepped in front of him. "I would never allow someone like you to harm my childe. No matter how often he disobeyed me, or how many times I felt disappointed in him, I would never have killed him. Someone who has so little regard for their childer disgusts me."

"Angelus. That surprises me," Dario confessed. "I would have thought you'd be the last one to tolerate failure."

"Failure should be corrected, not tolerated, but that can only happen if they're not dust" Angel replied, a bit of his old brogue slipping past his lips.

The elder vampires clashed in the middle of the room. Dario had drawn the sword from the scabbard around his waist. They were moving so fast that Xander knew he'd have trouble seeing them if he'd been human. The clang of steel against steel echoed through the cavernous room. Angel had trained for many years with that sword, yet Dario's skill was greater. The clash of Angel's sword made Xander's ears ring, but the thud of Angel's body against the wall made Xander wince.

Dario grinned menacingly across the room at Xander, who took an involuntary step back. Spike stepped forward, blocking Xander from view, not daring to move his eyes from Dario.

Spike felt the exact moment that Buffy stepped into the room. She radiated an aura that would have frightened even him if they'd been on opposing sides. As it was, he'd never been so glad to see a Slayer before. She stepped up beside him and Xander, and watched as Angel struggled to stand.

"Make sure he gets up," she said before engaging Dario in a fight.

Xander and Spike helped Angel to his feet, watching as Buffy beat Dario back into a corner. Suddenly, he grabbed her arms and threw her away from himself, rushing towards the three vampires. Knowing that he wanted Spike dead, Angel stepped forward to take the brunt of the attack, but it was Xander who truly deflected him. Angel caught Dario in the chin with a punch, but he still slipped past, stopping just before he was impaled on Xander's sword.

"You want me," Xander asked, ignoring Spike's mutter about not being a damsel who needed saving. "You've got to earn me. Just like he did."

Stepping into his stance, Xander waited, sword poised near his face. Buffy stood to her feet just as a group of minions rushed into the room. Suddenly, the three warriors had their hands full trying to get through the mass of vampires.

Dario hefted his own sword and he and Xander clashed in the middle of the room. Xander was fast, but Dario was faster. Xander was strong, but Dario was stronger. And older. But Xander's resolve, which had followed him from when he was a human, was his greatest asset. He would not surrender without a fight. He would never give up his friends without trying to protect them.

Suddenly, without any of them quite sure how it had happened, Xander was on the ground, scrabbling to get the sword when he saw Dario heft his blade and bring it down swiftly. "If you won't join me, you will die!"

Xander's eyes met Spike's as he grasped for his sword. He didn't want to die like this. Spike's eyes widened in horror as he rushed toward his childe, staking two more vampires who got in his way. Xander braced himself, still trying to reach his sword. But the blow never came. He heard a pained grunt and opened his eyes to see Angel grasping Dario's sword between his hands.

"Now, Xander!"

Xander grabbed his own sword and jumped up, swinging the sword with enough power to slice through Dario's head. As the body crumbled to dust, Angel staggered back, and Xander was able to see what he hadn't before. The sword's tip had pierced Angel's shoulder, far too close to his heart. As his grandsire dropped to his knees, and Buffy rushed to help him stand, Xander turned toward Spike, who was just dispatching the last of the minions.

"You all right, whelp?"

"Yeah."

Xander sighed as Spike's arm came around him in a brief hug before he moved to help Buffy half-carry Angel from the room. Xander followed slowly, unable to relinquish his sword just yet. But they were still here, and that's all that really mattered.