5. How to Capture a Cult Member
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
“So, what’s happening tonight?” Spike asked
“We’re going to catch ourselves a Twilight clan member,” Wesley answered
“Ooh, fun and excitement ahead. How are we going to do that?”
“Hunt one down. Search all the bars and known hangouts. There is bound to be at least one or two clan members about. How hard could it be?”
“Gathering from our success last night, not easy”
“You’re so cynical,” Wesley said dryly, before grabbing his shotgun
“So, where are we going then, Watcher?” Spike asked, shrugging his duster on
“You’ll be with Illyria, checking the bars closest to here. Faith and I will go out to Santa Monica, while Lindsey and Kate are in Silverlake”
“Sounds swell. Who’s watching the kids?”
“Lorne is. I’ll leave when he gets here”
“Great. Where’s Blue anyway?”
“I believe she is in the kitchen”
“Oh Lord help her”
Spike headed into the kitchen, finding Illyria at the stove. She was busy cooking bacon and eggs, while Elena sat the table, waiting for her dinner
“You going out tonight, Dad?” Elena asked, playing with her fork
“Yeah, me and Blue. Everyone is, but don’t fret, Uncle Lorne is coming around”
“Cool. I love Uncle Lorne. He tells funny stories and he can sing”
“Yeah, so can I, Nibblet. Hell, I reckon I could even rival Old Green Toots”
“Keep dreaming,” Illyria said, handing Elena her plate of food, “Ready?”
“Are you?”
Illyria’s clothes melted together to form her leather armour, as she followed her fiancée out of the kitchen and into the lobby, where they started getting weapons from the cabinet. Spike grabbed his chain and the Vorax sword, as well as a few stakes, while Illyria grabbed a few stakes and a sword, before leaving the hotel with Spike
“Wesley fill you in?”
“He did, though I wonder how we are to find Twilight”
“Ruffle a few feathers and wait for a loose one”
Illyria simply frowned at his comment, but didn’t elaborate, as they walked in silence, heading towards the nearest demon pub. It was one that hadn’t been checked yet, but when Spike and Illyria entered, everyone went silent
“Hey, just looking for a drink,” Spike said, “Don’t mind?”
No one answered, as Spike headed to the bar and sat down, before ordering a bottle of whiskey, while his fiancée stood behind him, arms crossed over her chest and eyes glaring at everyone in the room
“This is pointless,” Illyria hissed, “We’re meant to be hunting, not drinking”
“Seven years of being with me and you still don’t know my tactics?” Spike asked incredulously, “Unbelievable, pet. Surely, you should know what I’m doing?”
“I do, but I don’t have the patience”
“Okay, fine then,” Spike said, downing a shot, “Let’s get started”
He stood up and faced everyone in the pub, but Illyria beat him to it
“Where is Twilight?”
“Steal my thunder, no problems”
Everyone remained silent. Then a blond vampire wearing a red robe suddenly jumped up from his seat and rushed for the exit, beating the pair to the door. Illyria kicked the door off its hinges, as Spike set off after the vampire, who was just disappearing around the corner. Illyria gave chase, while Spike began climbing the buildings, until he reached the rooftops and continued the chase. The vampire turned down into an alley, throwing odd pieces of junk behind him to try and slow Illyria down to no avail. She nimbly dodged the traffic, leaping over a Dumpster, as the vampire leapt onto a drainage pipe and hurriedly climbed up. Illyria grabbed the pipe and tore it away from the wall, but the vampire leapt to the roof, scrambling out of sight
“Hey there,” Spike grinned, grabbing the vampire by his robes, “And where do you think you’re going, mate?”
The vampire grinned, showing off his fangs
“To help bring about-”
“The end of days, yada yada yada, heard that one before. Tell me som-”
The vampire struck Spike in the face, followed by a blow to the stomach, before leaping across to the next building, as Spike growled and also jumped across. However, by that time, the vampire was across on another building and pulled a stake out from his robes, before aiming it towards his own heart. Spike wasn’t able to reach him in time, as the vampire staked himself. However, before the stake could enter his flesh, a red glow had suddenly appeared around the vampire, apparently freezing him in his tracks, as Wesley appeared
“Excellent”
“How’d you know?”
“Illyria contacted me while she was giving chase. Good thing too. Now we’ll be able to get some answers now”
By then, Illyria had joined them, as Wesley teleported them all back to the Hyperion. Once there, he removed the stake from the vampire’s hand, before creating a containment field, trapping the vampire inside, as Lindsey and Kate arrived
“Oh good, we got something,” Lindsey said, “Where’s Faith?”
“Upstairs with Adrian,” Wesley replied, “Right, let’s begin. Where is the cult?”
“Not saying a word,” the vampire said, “I am nothing to Twilight. You could kill me and it wouldn’t matter to him”
“So why worship him?” Spike asked
“He possesses great power,” Illyria explained, “This vampire is weak”
“I may be weak, but my master is strong,” the vampire retorted
“This is getting us nowhere,” Lindsey said, “Wes, you know a truth spell?”
“In fact, I might have one around here somewhere,” Wesley said
Before he could do anything however, a wooden bolt came flying into the hotel, sinking through the barrier and impaled the vampire in the heart. He burst into dust, as everyone turned towards the entrance. The assassin ran off into the night, as Spike and Illyria gave chase, Spike being the faster of the two to close the gap. He saw a glimpse of blond hair, as he followed the assassin across the busy street. He was amazed at how fast the assassin was running, following him through an alley and into a parking lot behind some apartments, but the assassin was nowhere in sight
“Dammit!”
Spike then sniffed the air, catching the scent of the assassin, his eyes widening in surprise. Following the scent, he headed to one of the apartments and kicked the door open, coming across an elderly couple lying on the ground, their blood soaking the rugs, their throat torn open from a savage attack
“Bollocks”
Crash!
Spike followed the noise to a bedroom, peering out the broken window and seeing the feminine assassin streaking across the road. Jumping out, Spike raced across the road, pursing the assassin into a small park, losing sight once again
“I know you’re around here. Why don’t you come out and play?”
Crack!
Spike staggered back, having taken a kick to the jaw, as he was then thrown aside into a nearby tree. Growling, he got to his feet, seeing the assassin before him. And his jaw dropped as he took in the sight of her. Slim and petite, but containing power, her blond hair glimmering and her green eyes shining in the night
“Why not? That’s all you were ever good at,” Buffy smirked
“No way,” Spike gasped
“Close your mouth, Spike, you’re catching flies”
“This is unbelievable”
“Believe it or not”
Meanwhile, Illyria had lost sight of Spike and Buffy and was busy trying to track the pair down. She came to the apartment lots, but from there, the trail had turned cold due to the wind blowing the scents away
“Dammit,” she growled
Turning on her heel, Illyria headed back to the hotel, meeting up with the others
“Well?” Wesley asked
“I lost them,” Illyria replied
“Don’t worry, I can find them”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX