Angel was worried. Cassie hadn't shown up at their appointed spot for patrol. He slowly made his way towards Giles' apartment. About halfway there, the vampire caught Cassie's scent for the first time that evening.

Angel realized that Cassie's scent was mixed with several males' scents, and that there was a faint hint of her blood. He slipped into game face, and he growled. Something bad had happened to Cassie. He was sure of it.

"Better not be those commandos," Angel snarled to himself. "I'll take that campus apart till I find her." He started off towards Giles' apartment at a faster clip than before.

Giles and Faith were startled when someone pounded on the front door. Giles glanced at the clock. Cassie wasn't expected back for a few more hours. Besides, she had a key. Giles rose to answer the door.

"Cassie didn't show," Angel said as soon as Giles opened the apartment. "On the way here, I caught her scent mixed with others. Human males."

"The soldiers?" Faith got to her feet.

"I don't know." Angel shook his head. "I haven't been close to any of them. If it is, they'll regret it."

"Cassie's eighteenth birthday is in four days," Giles said softly. "It takes two days for the strength-suppressing drugs to kick in. Although she might feel a bit off as soon as she takes the first dose."

"You think it might be the Council?" Angel asked.

Giles simply nodded. "After the Hansel and Gretel demon was thwarted last week, Spike expressed how displeased he and the Specter would be if I participated in the Cruciamentum. So, I called Quentin Travers to plead Cassie's case but to no avail. The man is set in his ways."

"Would they take matters into their own hands?" Angel asked.

"What's the Cruciamentum?" Faith asked at the same time.

"Yes, I do," Giles answered Angel before he turned to Faith. "The Cruciamentum is a test the Council devised to test a Slayer's skills when she turns eighteen. If she turns eighteen."

"By taking their powers?" Faith asked in an outraged voice. "That's sick!"

"It's barbaric," Angel said. "Has this always been the practice?"

"No, it was not." Giles shook his head. He went to the bookshelf, and he pulled out a very ancient tome. "The Cruciamentum was instituted in 948 A.D. when the then Slayer, Diane of Marius, became involved with a vampire Cladius Aurelius. However before the Watchers could test her, she and the vampire stopped an apocalypse by closing the Hellmouth from the inside."

"And the Council just kept the test, huh?" Faith looked disgusted. "Men!"

"Only one other Slayer has reached the age of eighteen in this century. That was Nikki Wood, who was later killed by our friend." Giles glanced up at Faith.

"Spike's killed a Slayer?" Faith looked shocked. She knew he was a strong master vampire, but she had no idea he was so dangerous... or so infamous.

"Two, actually," Angel replied. "Never underestimate him. Just because he is half-tamed doesn't make him any less lethal if you cross him."

"I'll give him a call. Maybe he or the Specter have some idea of what to do to find Cassie." Giles moved towards the phone. "Maybe you two could do a quick patrol to see if you can run across any of the commandos. I'd like to at least rule them out. Then, meet me at the Magic Box."

"Gotcha." Faith gave Giles a thumbs up sign. She dragged the reluctant vampire out of the apartment.

Giles punched in Beth's number, and after a few rings the young woman answered the phone.

"Hello," Beth said.

"Hello, Beth. Rupert Giles here," the Watcher answered.

"Hey, Giles. What's up?"

"Cassie has disappeared. We suspect the Council." Giles took his glasses off, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I was hoping to speak to Spike."

"He's out with Clem and Xander. Then, he'll meet up with the Specter later on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"See him?" Xander pointed at a dark-haired teenager standing on the other side of the Bronze. "That's Jack O'Toole, the local psychopath. He threatened to cut me up today just because I bumped into him."

Spike turned to stare at the boy that Xander was talking about. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Zombie."

"Again?" Xander grimaced. "What is it with zombies this year?"

"Beth told me about that," Spike replied with a chuckle. "Looks like he's leaving'. Wanna follow and see what he's up to?"

"Well, since I've got my own psychopath to protect me." Xander slapped Spike on the back. "What the heck. Let's follow him."

The three males, one human and two demons, followed the zombie out of the nightclub. They watched with curiosity as Jack commandeered a car from one of the nerdier high school students.

"He seems more alert than the other zombies," Xander observed. "They just kinda shuffled along, groaning."

"Depends on what kind of magic is used," Clem said. "If someone is looking for mindless minions it's one kind of magic, but zombies can be very much like vamps otherwise."

"Just undead though. No demon." Spike motioned his friends towards his car.

"What's the difference?" Xander followed Spike to the Desoto.

The vampire shrugged his shoulders. "Never thought about it before," he said. "Zombies have to be dead to be reanimated, I suppose. To become a vampire, you have to still be alive just a little bit to ingest the Sire's blood."

The three males climbed into Spike's car. With Spike driving they were able to easily follow Jack the zombie and the shaken nerd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is there any way you can get in touch with either Spike or the Specter to tell them about Cassie?" Giles asked Beth. The longer Cassie was gone, the more worried he felt. The Slayer was like the child he never had. All of them were really, except maybe Angel. Giles was happily involved with Anya now, but he was still deeply upset by Jenny Calendar's death.

"I might be able to catch the Specter if I call right now," Beth said in a thoughtful voice.

"Is she hard to get a hold of?"

"Sometimes. I think she goes to school or has a job someplace."

"I'll just ring off now." Giles was curious about this new information about the Specter. It could mean she was someone they knew.

"Sure thing, Giles. Bye." Beth hung up the phone. That was close, she thought to herself. I suppose I should go find Spike. She glanced longingly at her homework.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Faith and Angel moved quickly through the streets. The Slayer and the vampire were on the alert for anything unusual. They were quiet until Faith asked a question.

"Do you think it was the Watchers or the soldiers that took Cassie?"

"Watchers," Angel grunted. "I'm sure of it. The soldiers have no reason to take Cassie."

"I hope she's okay," Faith said almost to herself. "She's my first friend, you know."

"She will be," Angel said fiercely. "She has to be."

"Well, if I was a covert operation headed by old men where would I be?" In a nervous gesture, Faith tapped her leg with her stake.

"Too many places to even thing about searching," Angel replied. "Vacant buildings, caverns, and caves. There are also other places like where the Master was trapped underground."

"This so sucks," Faith grumbled. "I hate not being able to do anything. It makes me antsy."

Angel nodded a simple agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Beth hung up the phone, Giles immediately called Anya and the others. Willow and Oz agreed to meet Anya at the Magic Box to do a locater spell while Giles and a grumbling Cordelia went for donuts and coffee from Hassib's bakery.

Twenty minutes later Faith and Angel joined the Scoobies at Anya's store. Everyone was concerned that Spike, Xander, and the Specter hadn't made their appearances either. Oz and Faith offered to go search for the missing trio, but Willow and Anya's success with the spell got everyone's attention instead.

"Anya, you, Willow, and Cordelia man the crossbows. You're the most vulnerable of the group," Giles told his girlfriend. "Faith, you and Angel take point. Oz and I will cover you."

"So, in, kick Council butt, and rescue Cassie?" Faith asked while she loaded up with weapons.

"Sounds good to me," Oz said. "My van's out back. If you guys crouch down low in the back, it'll look like Willow and I are out parking."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike, Xander, and Clem pulled up behind the parked car that they had seen Jack and the nerd get out of. They looked at the cemetery where the zombie had disappeared.

"That can't be good," Xander muttered. "Either it's brains for dinner or Jack's looking for friends."

"Probably both." Clem looked a little sick. "And people think eating kittens is gross."

"It is, but brains are grosser," Xander assured the demon with a pat on the back.

"Let's go." Spike opened the car door. "That git is up to no good."

"Well, he is a zombie." Xander got out of the Desoto. "No good and zombies kinda go hand in hand."

The three males slipped into the cemetery, and Spike went on the alert as he searched for the zombie and his victim. Once the vampire pinpointed his prey's location, he gestured for Xander and Clem to silently follow him. They soon came upon Jack doing a ritual to raise his friends from the dead.

Spike indicated for Xander and Clem to stay put before he sauntered into the clearing. "Well, well, well," he drawled. "Look what we have here. A ritual." He slipped into game face. "I hate rituals."

The human boy screamed as he took off running towards his car at the sight of the vampire.

"Well, there goes the brains of the operation," Spike said with a chuckle.

"You will pay for that." Jack pulled his knife.

"You really think you have what it take to beat me?" Spike asked in a low, deadly voice.

"You're just another vamp," Jack chortled. "Those are a dime a dozen in this town."

"Uh, Master Spike?" Dalton stepped out from behind a gravestone.

"Not now Dalton. Junior here is about to show me what a big man he is," Spike replied in a cool voice.

"Yes, Master Spike. I have an urgent message from Miss Buffy and the Specter about Miss Cassie when you finish." The bookwormish vampire leaned against the gravestone.

"Can't keep my ladies waiting. Let's get this over with." Spike gave the zombie a feral grin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oz pulled up next to the deserted boarding house where the locater spell had indicated that Cassie was being held. The two redheads made a big show of getting out of the van, opening the back doors, and getting out a blanket.

"Hey, kids, you can't stay around here." One of the men that the Scoobies realized must be a Council wet works man came around the van. "You'll have too... umph." Angel and Giles pulled the man into the van, and Anya, with Cordelia's help, tied him up with duct tape.

"How many more of you are there?" Giles asked the Council man.

"I'm not telling you a thing," the man growled in a brave voice.

"We don't have time for this," Faith muttered. "Let me take a turn at him. I'll teach him what a Slayer can do." She raised a threatening fist.

"Now, now, Faith." Giles laid a hand on the Slayer's arm. "Just maim him. If he's dead, he can't talk."

Faith gave a feral yet sultry smile. Then, she advanced on the Council operative. "Answer Giles' questions or this will get painful." She leaned in close to the man. "Because if you think I'm scary, wait till Spike gets here."

"S-Spike?" The man stammered. He'd heard the others talk about the Aurelian vampires currently residing in Sunnydale. His eyes widened when he recognized Angel. "T-there's ten more of us plus Mr. Travers and the crazy vamp for the trial."

"Good boy," Faith said as she cold-cocked the Watcher. "Let's go rescue Cassie."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Dalton and Spike talked, Xander and Clem surveyed the damage wreaked by the fight between the vampire and the zombie. Several headstones were knocked down, and body parts were strewn around the clearing.

"That was kinda gross." Xander grimaced at the mess that Spike had made with Jack. "At least vamps clean up after themselves."

The Specter stepped out from behind a tree. She crossed her arms over her chest, and she tapped her foot.

Spike dismissed Dalton, who slipped off through the cemetery towards the mansion on Crawford street that he still shared with Angel. "Specter, luv," the bleached blond vampire drawled. "You missed all the fun."

"I see you got the message about Cassie," the Specter said.

"I told the Watcher..." Spike growled.

"He didn't have anything to do with it," the Specter interrupted with a protest.

"What did she say?" Xander demanded to know. He looked back and forth between Spike and the Specter.

"Apparently, the Council decided to do the Cruciamentum with or without Rupes." Spike glanced at the boy.

"What? I thought Giles put a stop to that thing," Xander protested. "Let's go to the Magic Box."

Spike, the Specter, Xander and Clem started off towards downtown. Each one was worried to varying degrees about Cassie. When they got to the Magic Box, they found it deserted, and an array of weapons were missing. Spike followed the Scoobies' scent to the alley where the trail disappeared. The group decided the best course of action was to wait, since the Scoobies could have been anywhere in Sunnydale.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel and Faith staked the insane vamp while Giles and Oz grabbed the incapacitated Cassie. One Watcher attempted to protest, but he fell quiet under the cold glares of Cordelia and Anya.

"You are no longer in the Council's employment if you do this, Rupert," Quentin Travers said in a cold, emotionless voice.

"Ask me if I give a damn, Quentin," Giles replied in a equally cool voice.

"G-Giles," Cassie whispered. "I don't feel so good."

"Oz, you take Angel's place," Giles commanded when he realized he couldn't carry the weakened Slayer. "Angel, come get Cassie."

The two males quickly did as the Watcher asked. Oz trained his weapon on a group of terrified, but now awake, Council members while Angel went to Giles' side to take Cassie.

"You're fired, Rupert!" Travers bellowed. He was no longer unemotional. "You will never work for the Council ever again."

"Frankly, I don't give a damn about the Council." Giles waved for the Scoobies to retreat now that they had Cassie. He gave Travers a look that promised great amounts of pain. "Sunnydale belongs to us and few well selected allies. You and yours are no longer welcome here." He turned to follow the Scoobies while he ignored Travers threats and grumblings.

The gang piled into Oz's van, and they headed back to the Magic Box. Cassie curled up in Angel's lap. The helpless one for a change.