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“Come on, Blue, we’re going out,” Spike said

“Going out where?” Illyria asked

She had been enjoying watching the Discovery Channel and was annoyed at Spike’s comment. She didn’t want to go out. She was interested in watching the launch of the space shuttle in the mission to the moon

“Out. Away from this room. You don’t have to sleep during the day and have to listen to Angel and Cordelia doing god knows what in their room”

“Where shall we go?”

“Visit the sites around Rome. There are some good places to go to. Think of it as a date”

“A date? Like the one we had while hunting that Boretz demon?”

“Yeah, something like that. Come on, get changed out of that leather outfit and put some civilian clothes on”

Illyria sighed, turning the TV off, as Spike grabbed some clothes out the closet and headed into the bathroom to get changed. Illyria stood up, as her leather outfit melted and changed into a civilian outfit Spike had bought her in Las Vegas, consisting of jeans, heels, a red singlet top and a black jacket, as Spike came out of the bathroom, changed into a navy T-shirt, faded jeans and a dark green army print jacket

“Let’s go”

Spike and Illyria left their room, passing Angel and Cordelia’s, leaving the motel and hailing down a cab, as Spike gave the cabbie directions. Ten minutes later, they had arrived at a small restaurant, as Spike paid the driver and touched Illyria’s arm gently

“Why are we here?”

“Well, before we head out and see all the grand tourist sites, we have a little something to eat first. Got myself Angel’s credit card”

He grinned as he held up the small card, before leading Illyria into the restaurant and sitting down in a booth, as a waitress came over to them

“What can I get for you?” she asked

Spike watched as Illyria picked up the menu and read through it, frowning at most of the choices, before finally settling on the special of the day. Spike went for a small dish and a bottle of Scotch whiskey. The waitress wrote the order down and headed off, as Spike grinned at Illyria

“You are imbibing poisons?”

“So? It tastes good and it won’t kill me like the humans”

“They are weak. Like tiny ants soon to be crushed under the foot of those who should rule over them”

“Yeah, but you’re all gone and sleeping in a big hole in the world, except for you, of course, and they probably will never wake up”

“There will be a day when my kind will rise again”

Spike smirked at her and shook his head

“Still hoping for that day, huh love? That will happen when hell freezes over and since that’s not gonna happen for a very long time, it’s best if you don’t dream for the day and just focus on today, tonight, cause tomorrow may never come”

Illyria tilted her head slightly, as the waitress returned with their order

“Dig in,” Spike said, opening the whiskey, “I’m building up my resolve for later”

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The phone rang, as Wesley looked up from his current spell book. Harmony quickly answered it and brought the phone over to Wesley, holding it up to his ear

“It’s Gunn,” Harmony said

“What can I do for you?” Wesley asked

“We’re in Rome, but we’re having trouble finding Spike,” Gunn replied, “Ava’s little Spike-finding magic isn’t working, so I’m guessing it’s being blocked”

“And you need my help in destroying the blocking spell?”

“It would be appreciated”

“Better yet, why don’t I send over some help? I’m sure I can recite a spell that will help you find Spike”

“Okay, do that then. I’ll wait,” Gunn said, before hanging up

“Harmony, fetch me that book on the shelf,” said Wesley

Harmony grabbed him the book and began flicking through the pages for him, until he stopped her on a certain page and her eyes widened slightly

“Are you sure about this one, boss?”

“Of course, Harmony. This one will be perfect. Fast, strong, focused and resilient”

“Okay then”

“I need the proper ingredients. If you can do that for me, that would be great”

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Spike fiddled around with the lock and grinned when the lock clicked. He opened the door with a smug smile, as Illyria walked inside, before ducking inside after her quickly when his phone started ringing

“I’m gonna break this thing,” he growled as he answered it, “What?”

“Spike, it’s Harmony here and I have something to tell you”

“Make it quick”

“Wesley is about to summon a demon over there in Rome. It’s a Gator demon”

“Gator demon? Are you sure about this?”

“I saw the spell and he asked me to get ingredients for it”

“Great. Okay thanks for the heads up”

Spike hung up as Illyria watched him, a speculating look on her face

“What did the blond vampiress tell you this time?” she asked

“We’re gonna be in danger soon,” Spike replied, “Best we hurry up with our little date. Now, check this place out”

He turned a light switch on, highlighting the various artistic paintings and statues in the room, as Illyria walked around, looking at them

“What is this place?”

“This is an art museum. For those who like to call these things artistic. I mean, come on, a five-year-old kid can draw a hell of a lot better than that”

“I sense you do not like this art here. Then why do you come here?”

“Because it’s one of the tourist attractions. And we’re tourists. Since I can’t go out in daylight, we go now. And it’s more fun at night. You have the place to yourself”

“Alright you two, raise your hands, slowly,” said a security guard, holding his gun

“Oh damn, I forgot about you guys,” Spike grinned

“What the hell are you two doing here?” the guard asked

“Taking a tour,” Spike replied, “We’re doing no harm”

“Lower your primitive weapon,” Illyria said, “And I will spare you”

“Oh yeah, that’ll convince him”

“How about you two take a hike and I won’t report you to the police?” said the guard

“Now that’s convincing. Okay, we’re going now. Come on, Blue”

“You promised me a great time,” Illyria complained

“At another place. Where there aren’t people who want to shoot us”

“That’s it, now turn around and walk away,” said the guard

“We’re gone now”

Spike took Illyria’s arm and led her out of the art museum

“Okay, that went well. Not. No fear, I know another place we can go. Besides, it makes it all the more exciting”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gunn sat around, as Ava continued with her spell, still trying to locate Spike, but to no avail. Little did she know, Cordelia and Lindsey had performed a spell together that masked Spike and Illyria’s location to Ava’s magic

“I’m bored of this,” Gunn said, “I wanna find myself some action”

“Patience is a virtue,” Ava said without looking up, “Argh, this is frustrating”

Just then, a green swirl of magic appeared in the middle of the room. Gunn jumped up suddenly at the magic, as Ava looked up, her eyes widening. A large demon appeared, as the swirl faded away. Gunn grinned as he looked at the demon. It was over seven feet tall, with thick green scales, a reptilian tail and long, deadly claws on both fingers and toes. The demon’s face bulged out like a lizards, with sharp, small fangs and a forked tongue that flicked in and out

“Is that a Gator demon?” Ava asked, trying hard to mask her fear

“Oh yeah,” Gunn grinned, “The perfect hunter. Why didn’t I think of this”

The Gator started to hiss slightly when Gunn approached him, but seemed to deem him as a non-threat, as Gunn took a photo out of his jacket pocket

“See this guy?” Gunn said, showing the Gator the photo of Spike, “He must be killed. And the female companion with him. Kill her as well”

The Gator hissed and suddenly leapt out the window, spraying glass everywhere as Ava and Gunn headed over to the window, watching the Gator streak through the streets, keeping to the shadows

“We better follow or we’re gonna miss out on the action,” Gunn said

“Sounds good. Come on”

Gunn and Ava left their hotel room quickly, before getting into their car and chasing after the scent of the Gator, as it began hunting down Spike with exceptional ease

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