4. The Rise of Twilight

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The counter was instantly shattered when Spike and Twilight smashed through it and into the opposite wall. Spike was then thrown to the ground, as Illyria quickly closed the gap and swung her fist. Twilight caught her wrist and punched her in the face, then kicked her in the stomach, throwing her out into the lobby. Spike groaned, getting to his feet and turned around, scoring a blow to the face, as Twilight grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw him out onto the couch, sliding it along the floor, as Wesley and Faith soon appeared. Adrian also appeared, but Faith quickly took her son back to his room, as Wesley headed down into the lobby, throwing a ball of magic at Twilight, who simply batted it aside with ease

“Magic. Is that really the best you can do, Pryce?”

“You know me?” Wesley asked

Before Twilight could reply, Spike tackled him around the waist. They slammed into the wall, as Spike slugged Twilight across the face. Twilight responded by headbutting Spike, then shoving him aside, as Illyria came in with a kick. Blocking, Twilight then backhanded, before uppercutting Illyria onto the second level. Grabbing his shotgun, Wesley took aim, but Twilight reached him quickly, knocking the shotgun aside as a hole was blasted into the ceiling. By that time, Faith, Lindsey and Kate had come down into the lobby, as the Slayer swung at Twilight. He shoved Wesley aside and took the blow from Faith, then punched her into the stomach, winding her, before knocking her to the ground with an elbow to the back

“I don’t know who are you,” Spike said, “But you don’t come here and attack me”

“And yet I have,” Twilight replied, “And my name is Twilight, if you were wondering”

“You’re the leader of the vampire clan?” Illyria asked

“They are my disciples, yes. And they will join me in the war against magic”

“Why would vampires want to get rid of magic?” Wesley asked, “They are magical creatures themselves, it wouldn’t make sense”

“Possibly to create the end of the world, perhaps?” Twilight suggested

Wesley fired again, but Twilight dodged the shot, before flying at the ex-Watcher and delivering a kick to his chest that sent him flying into a pillar

“Wes!” Faith cried

She lunged at Twilight, but he smacked her aside like she was a fly, sending her crashing into the wall. Lindsey, Spike and Illyria all attacked at the same time, but Twilight struck Lindsey in the jaw with his elbow, then used the same hand to deflect Spike’s fist, before backhanding him across the face, then parrying Illyria’s punch to strike her in the face, followed by a knee to the stomach, knocking her down

“Poor performance indeed,” Twilight said

Wesley got to his feet, his hand glowing as he created a magical barrier, encasing Twilight inside. He smashed the barrier, as Wesley raised his other hand, letting loose with a telekinetic blast. Twilight caught himself in mid-air, flying at the ex-Watcher, punching him across the room, before flying at Spike and grabbing him, then flying out of the hotel and into the morning sun. Spike growled as he felt his skin start to sizzle, as Twilight floated in the air

“The end will come, Spike. Everything you know and hold dear will be destroyed. There is no stopping what’s to come”

“I’m gonna try,” Spike growled

His body was getting red-hot, as his back caught on fire. Twilight seemed to smile behind the mask, as he let Spike go, before flying away. Spike slammed into the ground, as Wesley and Illyria quickly rushed outside, covering him with a blanket and patting out the fire, before hurrying him back into the hotel

“We are so screwed”

He then looked upstairs, seeing Elena peeking around the corner. Sighing, he headed upstairs to his daughter, who was looking at the destroyed lobby with wide eyes

“What happened here, Dad?”

“Just a little misunderstanding, Nibblet. What are you doing awake?”

“Heard the crashing and smashing, so duh, it woke me up”

“Right, never mind me, just taken a battering. Come on”

Elena followed her father downstairs, as Faith and Kate headed back upstairs to check on their children, as Spike led his daughter into the kitchen, before starting to make her breakfast. Years of living with Elena had taught Spike how to cook for his daughter, although Kate or Lindsey occasionally aided him. Fixing up Elena’s breakfast, Spike headed back out into the lobby

“So, what do we do about this Twilight guy?”

“We could head out and try to locate him, but it will be difficult,” Wesley said, “The clan may have been around for a while, but this Twilight guy is new”

“So in other words, we’re screwed?” Lindsey asked

“Thought I covered that earlier,” Spike muttered

“Is it even possible to end magic completely?” Faith asked, “And what would happen if it was possible?”

“It could mean the end of the world,” Wesley said, “I’m not entirely sure. Something like this has never been heard of before, so we’re at a loss”

“Maybe you should call Rupert and compare notes?” Spike suggested, “I’m going for a much needed lie down”

He headed upstairs to his room, checking on Jadyn, who was still asleep in her crib. Smiling slightly, Spike collapsed on the bed, slowly drifting off to sleep, but just before he did, he thought about the scent from Connor’s house, as well as Connor’s final words. His mind was too muddled from lack of sleep to properly think, but he decided to work on it when he woke up later that day

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“So, did you shake them up?” Buffy asked, her arms crossed over

“Shaken up enough,” Twilight replied

They were standing in a dark room, with only one small window letting the sunlight in. Twilight stood in the sun’s rays, his hands clasped behind his back, while Buffy stayed in the darkness, leaning against a pillar

“I hope this goes down pretty soon,” she said, “I don’t know how long I can keep my façade up for. Daddy Giles would start to get worried”

“Don’t worry, Slayer, in due time. Once I have what I need, the world will end”

“Well, you have fun with that”

Buffy left the room and headed along the dark corridor to another room, where a few vampires were standing. She dismissed them with a wave of her hand, before crouching near the far wall, where Dawn was currently chained up

“Why are you doing this, Buffy?” she asked

“I told you, Dawn, for the greater good”

“What have you done with Connor? With Jadyn?”

“Don’t know and don’t particularly care. You’re special, you know that, Dawn? Very special. You’re the most important thing around”

Buffy smiled and wiped away a tear from Dawn’s face, before leaving the room

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“This is all that we’ve gathered so far,” Lindsey said, “Connor is dead, Angel is missing and so is Dawn. Apparently, Buffy has had something to do with this”

“I phoned Giles again about Buffy’s whereabouts and he said that sometimes she goes away and then calls him again in a few months time, so apparently that’s normal,” Wesley said, “We know there is a link between Buffy and Twilight”

“Now all we need to do is find them,” Lindsey added, “But it’s not gonna be easy”

“Did you tell Giles about what Twilight plans to do?” Kate asked Wesley

“I did and he didn’t quite believe me. Well, he did, but he did say that such a thing is nigh impossible”

“Maybe impossible, but not improbable,” Lindsey said

“But the thing is, to end all magic is going to take a lot of magic,” Wesley said, “And the only one who might have the power is Willow. And she loves magic”

“None of this makes any sense at all,” Faith said, “I say we go out, bust some skulls and shake up some answers. Works best for me”

“Hardly anyone knows anything about Twilight,” Wesley told his wife, “Our best chance to get answers is to actually capture a clan member”

“And how are we gonna do that?” Lindsey asked

“I’ll come up with a plan,” Wesley said, “But for now, we should rest. We’ll need it”

He looked outside briefly, before heading upstairs, as Illyria headed to her room with Spike, while, Kate, Lindsey and Faith remained downstairs with the children

“Whatever we’re going up against is pretty serious,” Lindsey said, “We have got to be careful where we tread. Especially you, babe,” he said to Kate

“I’ll be fine,” Kate said, pulling Andrea onto her lap, “Don’t worry”

“Well, let’s just say we’re gonna be in for one hell of a ride,” Faith said, her arms wrapped around her young son

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX