Brooklyn, New York
The motorcycle roared down the street. Two people shared it, their faces obscured by black helmets. The black leather duster of the driver fluttered in the wind.
The bike pulled to the curb, coming to a stop. The passenger, a lithe woman in a red leather cat suit, got off. Removing her helmet, Illyria tossed her blue-streaked brown hair. She looked at the pavement with distain. "I do not like wearing this head shell. It is uncomfortable."
Spike took off his helmet, running his hand over his peroxide blond hair. "It's the law, Blue. We've already been pulled over twice. We're supposed to be under the radar."
Illyria's lip curled in distaste. "If we must use such low, human transportation, we should use something other than this..." She gestured a gloved hand at the motorcycle. " Thing ."
"C'mon, love." Spike cocked his head to the side. "Don't you think the bike is sexy?"
Illyria looked impassively at her companion. "It makes too much noise."
Spike shook his head, laughing softly. "You know, Blue... You're not the most easy to please travel companion. And you didn't have to come."
Illyria proudly stalked to the sidewalk. She kept her head held high, glaring at the pedestrians, wordlessly commanding them to part for her. "What else should I do? I have no place to go. My kingdom is unwelcoming since our strike against the Wolf, Ram and Hart. I would have remained with Wesley, but his body is now rotting... A testament to the fragility of human existence."
Spike cocked a brow. "You miss him, huh, Blue?"
Illyria's ice blue eyes darkened. "I wish to retrieve the new warrior. I have no patience for you inane questions. Whether or not I feel Wesley's absence is not relevant. It will change nothing."
Spike reached into his black leather duster. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, a gold lighter and a napkin. He slid a cigarette between his lips, lighting it with a flick of his lighter. He then opened up the napkin, reading the address scrawled on it. "According to Giles, the new bird's there." He pointed to an apartment above a convenience store.
Illyria cocked her head. "I do not understand."
Spike quickly caught up to her. "See... Humans have this thing where they need a place to hang their hat." He clutched his cigarette between two fingers, pointing up to the apartment again. "Some place to sleep, eat and if they're lucky, get a nice shag."
"I understand habitation!" Illyria snapped. "It is Buffy I do not understand. She seeks out those with the same power as her..."
Spike shook his head. "No one's got the same power as that girl."
"She is a Slayer," Illyria said plainly, looking up at the apartment. "As is this girl. As are the others. The Slayer was once unique. A singular beacon of power amongst the human rabble. Now they are nothing but chattle."
"They're soldiers in an army," Spike explained simply. He tilted his head questioningly. "Are you telling me you don't know what it's like to have soldiers?"
"I had many," Illyria snapped. "My legions were in the thousands... The millions... They were feared the world over. But none could ever oppose me. Buffy is putting herself in a position to be conquered."
"Telling you from experience, Blue..." Spike inhaled his cigarette, before blowing out a cloud of smoke. "There's no one in this world-- or any other-- that can conquer Buffy Summers."
"You speak with affection." Illyria tilted her head. "Yet you have not seen Buffy since she fought with us in Los Angeles. If you desire her, why do you not take her, instead of running her petty errands?"
"'S complicated, Blue," Spike replied. He took another drag from his cigarette. "And this has got nothing to do with me and the Slayer. It's got to do with the super-powered girl who's got no idea what's going on with her body."
They heard a ruckus in the alley. Spike dropped his cigarette onto the pavement, crushing it under his boot as he headed towards the noise.
There was a young woman-- probably no more than twenty-- surrounded by vampires. She was trembling in fear.
"Right then." Spike turned to Illyria. "You up for some of the old ultraviolence?"
The pair leapt into the fray. Spike picked up a discarded hockey stick, hitting one of the vampires in the back of the head. The stick split in two. He embedded the jagged wood into one of the attacker's hearts. The vampire instantly turned to dust. Spike turned to Illyria. "Blue--"
He saw the vampire coming up on the Old One from behind. He didn't have time to react before Illyria's ice blue eyes widened and she fainted to the ground.
"What the--" Spike turned back quickly, looking to the girl he had saved. She cracked Spike in the jaw, knocking him unconscious.
The girl smiled down at the vampire's fallen form. "You came here looking for a Slayer, Spike. Well... You found one. Too bad for you, you weren't the first." She looked up. "How was that, Mr. Black?"
James Black the Second stepped out of the shadows. He clapped politely. "Good job, Rachel. Now you better get back to the office. "
****
Cleveland, Ohio
Nina Ash sighed as she leaned back against the headboard of the hotel bed. She brought a hand to her temple, rubbing gently and nodding along.
Angel was lying on his back. He shook his head furiously. "I don't understand it. Connor's been really good about checking in. Every day, same time, ever since he went back to California. It doesn't make sense that he wouldn't call now."
Nina smiled down at him, trying to look supportive. "Maybe he got busy at work. You said he's got a hard job."
Angel sat up, the sheet slipping off of his bare chest. "No. I called David. He said Connor left already."
Nina shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe he went out with a friend--"
"All of his friends are in Palo Alto," Angel countered. "He doesn't know anyone in Los Angeles and he doesn't make friends easily."
"If you're so worried, why don't you have Oz go check in on him?" Nina put a hand on Angel's shoulder. "Maybe he just got distracted and forgot to call."
"What could distract him from calling me?" Angel asked pathetically.
Nina stayed silent, just arching an eyebrow.
"Oh." Angel's brow furrowed. "That. Well, he could be talking to... Her."
Nina laughed. "I was actually referring to the fact that if he is indeed your son, then he probably got caught up fighting some big bad."
"Oh." Angel nodded. "Yeah. I suppose so."
Nina shook her head. "I'm still reeling on this you having a son thing. I can't wait to meet him."
Angel shifted uncomfortably, getting out of the bed. He shook his head furiously. "Oh... I don't know about that, Nina."
"What?" Nina frowned deeply. "We've been together for a year and a half. Why do you try to keep your son from me? You only started mentioning Connor in December and you just told me he's your son a week ago."
Angel nodded. "I know, Nina. I'm sorry. It's just my relationship with Connor is... Complicated. I'm not even sure he wants me to be involved in his life."
"Why haven't you asked him?" Nina leaned closer to Angel.
Angel shrugged, looking down. "We don't really talk about that kind of stuff."
Nina cocked her head in curiosity. "Well, what do you talk about?"
"What we kill," Angel replied. He ran a hand through his hair. "Like I said, we have a complicated relationship."
"Start out small," Nina suggested. "You have the killing and hunting talk down. Be casual. Ask him how school and work are. His friends. His love life."
Angel shook his head firmly. "If I did that, he'd think I didn't approve of his girlfriend."
Nina frowned. "Why would he think that?"
Sheepishly, Angel smiled. "I don't approve of his girlfriend."
Nina rolled her eyes. "Maybe if you approved, Connor would open up more." She smiled comfortingly. "I may not have a magically created son who grew up in a hell dimension and is in college and dating..."
Tugging on his pants, Angel shook his head. "I need to get ice for my blood."
Nina sat up straighter. "Angel, did I say something wrong?"
Angel snatched up the ice bucket. "No... I just... Need ice."
Angel strode to the door, leaving without another word. Nina frowned deeply, slumping down. She waited quietly for him to return.
Five minutes passed. Ten.
With a sigh, Nina got to her feet. She pulled on her bathrobe. "Angel." She opened the front door. "I know you're upset about Connor, but...."
Nina felt the cold under her bare feet. There was a crunching noise. She looked down at the floor. The ice bucket was abandoned on the floor, the contents strewn across the floor.
****
Palo Alto, California
Perched on the lid of a low tomb, Jamie Black held up a clipboard. "All right. The Marvels are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. We should try to get the DCs and Dark Horses away by then. We don't want to get too backed up."
Andrew Wells turned and looked vaguely at Jamie. "Oh. Right. Sure." He turned back to watch ahead. "I guess we can do that."
"Do you think we can get the girls to help us?" Jamie asked.
Andrew shifted uncomfortably. "Erm... I don't know if I'm comfortable with that."
Jamie sighed, setting his clipboard on his lap and leaning against his hands. "You really have to get some nerve, Dude. I thought you were supposed to be some brave demon fighter... And you're afraid of some girls."
Andrew shrugged. "Well..."
He and Jamie ducked as a vampire was lobbed over their heads. Faith then leapt over them, stake in one hand, crossbow in the other.
Andrew pulled himself back up. "Would you really want to ask her for a favour?"
"Okay. Maybe Faith isn't the best person to ask for comic book shelving help." Jamie tilted his head to the side, gesturing ahead. "But what about Vi?"
Vi was chasing down a vampire, brandishing a sword. It strode far ahead of her, getting away. Vi suddenly stopped cold, kneeling on the ground. She aimed carefully and threw her sword, easily decapitating the vampire.
Jamie smiled as he watched Vi get up and dust herself off. "I'm thinking about asking her out."
Andrew blinked before turning and staring incredulously at Jamie.
"What?" Jamie shrugged. "Is there something wrong with being secure enough in my masculinity to date a girl who can beat me to a sticky pulp?"
Andrew nodded. "Well, it's your funeral, Black."
Andrew's cellphone went off, playing the Imperial March. He snapped it up, answering. "Andrew Wells. Connor, is that you?"
"You haven't heard from him either?" Salome said. "I've been calling him for an hour."
Andrew frowned deeply. "You haven't been able to get a hold of Connor?"
Shaking his head, Jamie laughed. "He's probably just having his naughty phone sex with Salome. Tell Angel to stop worrying."
Andrew put a hand over the phone and glared at Jamie. "This is Salome."
"Oh." Jamie nodded slowly. "Then I think we're in trouble. You know Connor would never be late for his naughty phone sex."
Andrew went back to the phone. "Maybe he got sidetracked." He tried to hide the nervous tone in his voice. "Things are pretty hectic in Los Angeles right now. Power vacuum and all."
"That's not all, Andrew!" Salome insisted. "I called Angel to see if he'd heard from Connor. Nina said Angel's gone."
Andrew swallowed hard. "Angel's gone?"
"Yeah. It's--"
"Sal!" Andrew could heard a voice in the background. "Where's Willow?"
"I'm on the phone, Kennedy!" Salome snapped
"I really don't care if you're trying to get off your Boy Slayer, Miss Demon. Willow's gone ."
Andrew's eyes widened. "Sal... I've gotta call the Council."
"All right." Salome paused for a long moment. "You've got to find something, Andy. Please."
"Try not to worry," Andrew said comfortingly. "It's probably just a coincidence. I'll call you later."
He hung up the phone and cupped a hand around his mouth. "Vi! Faith! We gotta go! We got trouble."
Vi approached, dusting off her sword. "What's going on?"
"There's something weird going on," Andrew said gravely.
"Okay." Vi nodded before looking around. "So where did Faith go?"
"What do you mean?" Andrew asked. "She's right--" Andrew turned and looked at the abandoned crossbow. "She was right there."
****
"Faith?"
Faith could hear the voice somewhere in the distance. Her head felt fuzzy. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter.
"Faith!" A sharp slap on the face brought her back to reality. Faith's eyes snapped open and she brought her hand up, trying to strike her attacker.
Buffy dodged out of the way of the attack. "Calm down. It's just me."
"When did you get here, B?" Faith asked groggily. She brought a hand to her head. "Last thing I remember was jumping over Andy and Jay..."
Buffy frowned in confusion. "Who's Jay?"
Faith rubbed her head. "I was fighting... And then..."
Buffy moved behind Faith, pushing her hair off of her neck, exposing the red puncture mark. "They drugged us."
Faith looked up at Buffy, arching a brow. "You too, B?"
Buffy smiled wryly. "Never go to confront an ex. It never goes well."
Faith blinked, looking past Buffy. "Speaking of exes..."
"Speaking of?" Buffy shook her head. "What do you mean?"
Faith raised her hand, pointing behind Buffy. Buffy then heard the footsteps. She straightened up, swallowing hard before slowly turning.
Angel brought a hand to his head. "Buffy?"
"Angel," Buffy whispered softly.
Angel shook his head fractionally. "Buffy, Faith... What the hell is going on?"
"We were just trying to figure that out ourselves," Buffy sighed. "We were nabbed by..."
Angel's eyes grew wide, panicked. He pushed past Buffy, searching the darkened room. "Connor!"
"What the hell?" Buffy muttered. She watched Angel search though the darkness. "What the hell was that about?"
Faith ignored Buffy's question, smacking her fellow Slayer lightly in the shoulder. "Yo... B... Over there." She pointed to a chair. Willow was pulling herself up from behind it.
"Will!" Buffy ran to her friend, hugging her. "Don't even ask what happened. We have absolutely no idea. We're still trying to figure it out."
"We were ambushed," Illyria said as she pulled herself to her feet. She tightened her hands into fists. "Taken by those who were envious of our power."
Spike rubbed his jaw as he rose up beside Illyria. "That strangely makes sense, you know, Blue."
"Spike." Buffy managed a tiny smile when Spike strode to her.
Spike put a hand on Buffy's shoulder. "You okay, Slayer?"
Buffy nodded. "Yeah... I think so..." She shifted her gaze to Illyria. "So leather girl thinks the six of us were taken because of our power?"
"Seven."
Buffy turned at the sound of Angel's voice and watched him help up the slender young man. "They took seven of us."
Buffy cocked her head curiously as she watched Angel carefully examine the blood on the boy's temple. "Who is this?"
Faith let out a small chuckle. "You're kidding. You mean she--"
"Buffy, this is Connor Riley," Angel said quickly. He cast a venomous glare to Faith. "He's... Got powers. He's been working out of Palo Alto."
Connor looked up at Angel. His blue eyes were wide, full of shock and betrayal. "Right." He nodded curtly. "The Destroyer. And that's it." He extended a hand to Buffy. "It's nice to meet you finally." He looked briefly to Angel. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Right then." Spike looked around. "So... Does anyone know who took us?"
"It was the Immortal," Buffy replied. She looked around for an exit. "I went to see him and he drugged me."
She sighed when she saw the smug smiles on Spike and Angel's faces. She looked down, shaking her head. "Don't. Just... Don't."
"I was at work," Connor added. "And I just got jumped."
Angel furrowed his brow. "That doesn't make sense. David would never let anything happen to you."
Connor frowned in confusion. He furrowed his brow, his look nearly identical to his father's. "How do you know my boss?" He shook it off after a moment. "Anyway, it wasn't David. It was a woman."
"What did she look like?" Willow rubbed her sore neck.
Connor shrugged. "Kinda hot. But that might be the loneliness and frustration talking. Brunette. Small. Right before I passed out, she said her name was..." He closed his eyes, trying to recall. "Eve."
Angel, Spike and Illyria exchanged uncomfortable looks.
"The Wolf, Ram and Hart." Illyria tilted her head. "They have abducted us."
"I thought Eve died when the building went down," Spike looked to Angel for an explanation. "Not to mention she quit."
"Hardly the first time someone from Wolfram and Hart came back," Angel supplied. "And the Senior Partners do have a way of persuading people."
"As wicked fascinating as this is," Faith said, looking around. "I really don't care who put us here. I just wanna know how to get out."
"There's no door," Buffy said, examining the room they were in. "Or windows... How did we get into a room with no door or windows?"
"Teleportation spell?" Willow strode to the wall, placing her hands on it. "This is concrete all the way around. No breaks. The only way we could get in would be by spell."
"Can you get us out, Red?" Spike asked.
Willow sighed, leaning against the wall. "I don't even know where to get us out to. If I knew where we were... Then maybe. But going blind..."
"We need to figure a way out, Will." Buffy said, putting a hand on her friends shoulder. "And there are the others. People are going to notice we're missing." She sighed. "I just don't know who will be able to do something about it."
"Faith, you were with Andrew, right?" Connor asked. He smiled slowly. "If you're gone, he'll be able to figure out what's happened."
Buffy, Spike and Willow snickered.
Connor's brow furrowed. "What? Why is that funny?"
Buffy tried to keep a straight face. "You've... Met Andrew... Right?"
Connor nodded, looking unamused. "He's been my Watcher for a year."
This comment caught Buffy by surprise. She stared at Connor incredulously. "Who are you?"
"Nina will be wondering where I am," Angel threw in, a nervous shake in his voice. "What about you guys? Hm?"
"No one's waiting for me and Blue," Spike jerked a thumb to Illyria. "So no hope there."
"Kennedy probably thinks I'm off meditating somewhere," Willow added. She sighed. "As for Salome..." She looked to Connor. "She's probably more worried about you not calling her."
Connor grinned, nodding. "No way my girl won't do something. We're in good hands."
"I would agree with that," a sultry voice replied. Two figures appeared in the room.
The handsome green-haired man smirked at Connor. "But they're not your whore's."
"Azriel." Connor's hands tightened into fists.
Lilah smirked, putting a hand on Azriel's shoulder. "Now, boys... Not yet. The games haven't even begun."