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Connor fidgeted as he waited in the living room. After speaking with Dawn, she had taken him back to her apartment and was currently on the phone to her sister. Connor knew he should be searching for Elena, but he also knew that having a Slayer on their side would prove useful, even if his last encounter with a Slayer didn’t end so well. He allowed himself a small smile when he thought of Faith and then his smile faded when he remembered just how well she kicked his ass
“She won’t be long,” Dawn said, returning to the living room and hanging up the phone, “It’ll be a few hours before she gets here”
“Look, I need to get back to Spike,” Connor said, “He needs my help”
“Is Spike in trouble?”
“What? No. At least, I don’t think so. Well, he’ll soon get into trouble. He’s looking for his daughter and she’s here somewhere”
“Spike has a daughter?” Dawn asked with amazement, “Is she something like you?”
“I guess. Spike never really told me about how Elena came around, but she is his flesh and blood. You can tell. They have the same eyes, hell, they even have the same scar”
“How old is Elena?”
“She’s five years old, if I remember correctly. Seriously, I need to be out there and helping to search for her”
“I’ll come with you. I’ve had more than enough experience in kicking evil butt”
“What if your sister arrives while you’re out?”
“Eh, she’ll call and whinge and then she’ll join me”
“Okay then. Let’s go”
Connor led the way out of the apartment, as Dawn grabbed a few stakes and her jacket, before joining Connor outside as they left the building
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“Nnnnnn! Gonna have to try harder than that,” Spike groaned
“Come on, a few tears, please?” Non asked, “Just a few. I wanna see some tears”
“Step up your game, twiggy. I lived with Xander Harris. You think you’re bad, you’re nothing compared to him. His lame humour? Clothing style? Now that’s torture”
Non pressed the superheated forked prong against Spike’s ribs, getting a small cry out of him. She held the poker there against his flesh as it sizzled and burned
“Stop referencing people I don’t know,” she demanded
“Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?” Spike asked, “Burn me some more?”
“Maybe if I burn you enough, you’ll catch fire. Now, where is Dracula?”
“Like hell I would know”
“You should know. He has your daughter. Where would he go?”
“Didn’t you ever read the book? Or watch the theatre play? Or the Francis Ford Coppola movie? Where do you think Dracula would live?”
“Why would Dracula go to Transylvania?” Non asked, holding the poker threateningly
“I don’t know. Why is your hair so pink and tacky?”
Spike cried out when Non rammed the poker through his stomach, the wound sizzling and cauterising. He gritted his teeth in pain, involuntary vamping out, as Non struck him across the face, then punched him again, followed by a third punch, as she then ripped the poker around and struck him across the jaw with it. Spike slumped against the ground, his arms hanging limply in the air, held by chains, as blood dripped from his mouth
“Well, that was a thing and a half,” Non said, “Anyone else want a turn?”
“Ooh, let me, let me torture the filthy vampire,” Spider cried
“So, hoping for a little rendezvous?” Spike asked, slowly pulling himself up
“What are you talking about?” Non asked
“You’ve shampooed your hair, drowned your body in cheap and tacky perfume and you’ve buffed your arm-spikes. Hoping to get some? Might take the edge off then”
“Carve my name on his face,” Non said, handing the poker to Spider
She grinned and brought the poker close to Spike, as he grimaced and braced himself for the burning pain to come. Non left the room with Noelle, heading to another room where Illyria was locked in a small cage, podded and poked by others of the gang. Smirking, Non and Noelle then left the building and headed out into the night
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“We have to go in there and get them,” Lindsey said
“We don’t have the firepower,” Dracula said, “We are both formidable together, but Non and her women will mow us down. She has a Sadecki demon on her side”
“Oh yeah, good point. Well, where the hell is Connor then?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll head out and find him later”
“When are we going to get my Daddy back?” Elena asked
“Soon, Elena,” Dracula replied, “Soon”
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“This is where they were last,” Connor said, “At this building. There are a lot of people inside. We’ll have to get the others”
At that moment, Dawn’s mobile phone rang and she quickly answered it, talking for about half a minute, then hanging up
“Buffy’s here. She’ll be joining us in about ten minutes”
Sure enough, ten minutes later, Buffy Summers, the oldest of the current Slayers, arrived at their location, the red and silver scythe in her hand
“So, you’re Connor? Angel’s son?” Buffy asked
“Uh, yeah, I am,” Connor replied, “I know you’re Buffy”
“So what are we doing here?”
“This is where Spike was last. He was tracking his daughter down and-”
“Stop. Be kind and rewind. Spike has a daughter?”
Connor sighed
“Maybe it would be best if we discussed this back at base. Come on, I’ll lead the way”
He headed off with the Summers sisters trailing after him, both exchanging confused looks between each other
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“Non. Dead on time as usual”
“Well, I like to be consistent,” Non said, “I have Spike in my custody”
“And what about his daughter? The young Elena?”
“She escaped from my grasp with help from Dracula”
“I do not like failure, Non”
“Hey, if you don’t like failure, you could have done it yourself. I don’t really see why you need me for all this”
“Because as powerful as I am, I cannot take Spike. He’s bested me before and I currently don’t have the power to fight him. That’s why I need you. Plus, you are the Lord of Los Angeles. I can use your contacts to get what I want and in return, you get complete amnesty from me when my plan comes into fruitation”
“Well, that all was part of the agreement,” Non said
“Now I have to waste time in searching for Elena because you are incapable of containing her. She is crucial to my plan and I cannot allow her to go far”
“Don’t worry, I have my girls tracking Dracula down”
“Let’s hope they find him quickly enough. She…is…important”
“A fact you keep telling me over and over like a broken record. You need a day job”
The man whirled around, his dirty brown eyes gleaming with malice
“Don’t test my patience, Non”
“Don’t push my buttons, Pavayne. You’ll never know which is the wrong one to press until it’s too late”
Pavayne chuckled
“Ah, you amuse me, dear Non”
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