SquidgeWorld Archive

Cordelia Chase laid her head on her dining room table, and surrendered to frustration. The classifieds were spread out before her. The phone was still resting in her hand. A cup of tea floated her way from the kitchen.

"Thanks, Dennis," she said taking the cup. "That was very sweet of you."

She turned back to the classifieds as she sipped her Earl Grey. There was nothing. She had called them all. She had even hit three auditions in oneday, but there was no steady work to be had.

"I guess there's always Taco Barn," she mumbled to herself.

Ding-Dong.

She glanced at the clock. It was almost 10 in the evening. And she wasn't expecting any visitors.

"C'mon, Dennis. The way my luck is going, this is probably Faith all fresh out of jail and looking for trouble."

She opened the door cautiously. She was both thrilled and surprised by the man she found on her doorstep.

"Hey, Cor," Xander Harris said with a smile. "Long time, no see."

Wesley glanced up at Gunn, who handed him his beer. "Thank you, Gunn."

"Don't mention it," the young man said. "I told'em it was on your tab."

Wesley smiled at the young man. Though he would never admit it, he admired Gunn. He knew his colleague had been through more in his short lifetime than most of the Watcher's council put together. He was glad they had agreed to meet. He had some ideas and wanted to bounce them off of someone with a differing perspective.

"I informed Angel that we would be keeping the agency open," Wesley said.

"Let me guess," Gunn said. "He had nothing to say."

"Not a word."

"So what do we do? We don't even have an office to work out of."

"I'm working on that particular problem. For now, though, Cordelia has agreed to let us use her place. It's not a place to bring clients, but we will continue to work from her visions."

"You think Angel will ever get his act together?" Gunn asked.'

"I hope so," Wesley said. "But the reality of the situation is that we cannot possibly be certain of it. Therefore, we must keep up the good fight."

"I hear that," Gunn said, knocking his beer mug against Wesley's. "Speaking of which...." He nodded to a woman who had just entered the bar and sat in a booth by herself.

"Good call," Wesley said. "She's clearly a vampire."

"Then let's get her."

"Well, we can hardly attack her here. Go over and chat her up."

"Chat her up? Is that stuck-up British guy for 'flirt with her'?"

Wesley rolled his eyes. "Just get her into the alley. I'll be hiding there in wait."

"That's the plan?"

"Well, she is only a vampire."

Cordelia handed Xander a diet soft drink and took a place next to him on the couch. "So you're here with a job?"

"Yeah," he responded. "My construction crew was called here for a week, but we were done in 4 days. So...."

"You figured you'd look up your ex?"

"No. I figured I'd look up my friend. Since we kind of resolved everything, we haven't really been in touch. I just thought it would be nice to see you."

She smiled at him. "Well, I can't say that I'm unhappy to see you."

"I'll take that."

"I still can't believe you're in construction. I wouldn't have thought you'd go for something so... manly."

"Yeah, well... It's not secretary work, but it's a living."

She smiled. He was still the same, old Xander. "So how is everyone?" she asked.

"Of the good. Wills is taking the university by storm. She and Tara are pretty heavy into the Wicca thing."

"Who's Tara?"

"Oh... long story. Anyway, Giles is busy with the Magic Box. Anya took a job with him and keeps him on his toes. Dawn is Dawn. She drives Buffy nuts, but we all get along with her fine. Cute kid. Spike is still around, though he's hardly one of the gang. He just likes to show up and taunt us."

"My old gig?"

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "And Buffy.... Well, Riley bailed on her. She's had it pretty rough, but she's learning a lot. She'll be alright."

"You still love her?"

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

"I... I love Anya. Buffy and I... we're not...."

"Already answered," Cordelia said, rolling her eyes. Then suddenly, her facial expression changed. Pain shot through her, and she began convulsing.

"Cor?" Xander grabbed her and kept her from falling backwards. "I got ya."

When the seizing stopped, she looked up at him. "We've got to hurry."

"Hurry?" He repeated. "Where?"

"To save Wesley and Gunn. They're in big trouble."

"We're in big trouble," Wesley thought, just before he went flying at a brick wall. He hit it so hard, he bounced back and landed on his back in the middle of the alley. He picked himself up, despite his body's protests, just in time to see Gunn flying his direction. The collision could not be avoided, and soon both men were on the ground.

"That woman is no ordinary vampire," Wesley said.

"Gee... ya think, Sherlock?" Gunn grabbed a board that was sticking out of a dumpster. "Here take this."

Wesley took the board and watched as Gunn pulled one free for himself.

"Sticks?" The vampire said with a laugh. "You come at me with sticks?"

"We don't need anything more to take you down," Gunn said. "We're professionals. Well, I am."

"You're laughable," she said. "What do you think you are? The Slayer? You're a little male for that, I think."

"Maybe. But we are friends of the Slayer. I doubt you will find it so easy to best her when she arrives," Wesley looked at Gunn, obviously wanting help with the bluff.

"Yeah, you best get outta here," Gunn said. "I sure wouldn't want to be in your shoes when she gets here."

"You are bluffing," the vamp laughed. "It's cute, really. But I think I have time to pull your livers out before having to worry about the Slayer. Now, stop wasting my time with macho posturing. It's insulting."

"You think that's insulting?" Gunn asked. "Check this out."

She turned just in time to see the car bearing down on her. It was far to late to jump out of the way. The car rammed her with its front end so hard that she bounced down the alley like a ragdoll caught in a whirlwind. She didn't stop until she slammed into a brick wall at the farthest end.

Wesley was fighting the temptation to black out when the driver's door opened. The young man who stepped out was an old comrade. "Xander?"

"Who?" Gunn asked.

Cordelia opened the passenger door and motioned for them to get in. "From what I saw in my vision, this lady isn't going to stay down for long. Let's scoot!"

"Don't have to tell me twice," Gunn said, climbing into the back of the rental car.

Xander saw that Wesley was about to lose consciousness and ran to his side to help him into the car. "You know, when Willow said I'd have fun in L.A., I don't think this is what she had in mind."

"Oh, come on," Cordelia smiled. "It's just like old times."

Xander rolled his eyes and put the car in reverse. As they backed out, they could see the vampire standing to her feet at the end of the alley. She glared at Cordelia. "So the Slayer really is their friend," she thought to herself. "Good. That will make things all the more interesting."

Later at Cordelia's -

"So you're telling me that Angel has just abandoned you guys?" Xander asked.

"Not abandoned," Wesley said.

"Fired," Cordy corrected.

"Ah. I see the distinction." Xander plopped down on the couch. "I wish I could say I was surprised."

"You never did like him," Wesley said quietly.

"So what's your beef?" Gunn asked. "Why are you all anti-Angel? I thought he helped you guys before he came out here."

"If you call helping 'stalking and killing innocent people, including Giles' girlfriend,' then yeah. He helped us a lot."

"That was Angelus," Wesley said. "Angel has always been an honorable man."

"Yeah. I guess you're right," Xander said. "Leaving your friends to carry on the job that won you a second chance at life so you can fulfill some personal vendetta.... That just reeks of honor."

"It ain't that simple, man," Gunn said. "Angel needed to move us out of the way. He knew things were going to get dirty. He just didn't want us getting hurt."

"Wow," Xander said. "What a guy. He won't so much as talk to you, yet somehow you're convinced that it's for your own good? Get a clue. He wants you out of the way. He wants to do this his way and not have to answer to the good guys. Well, screw that. How many people is that woman, whatever she was, going to kill? The PTB brought Angel back for a purpose. And while I have no doubt that he will conveniently welcome you all back once this Darla mess is over, it hardly seems right. Why should he still get his second chance if he's going to waste it?"

The room was suddenly silent, as Angel's companions pondered what had been said.

"What you say may be true," Cordelia said. "But it may not be. I'm not gonna write Angel off until I see the big picture. He's saved my life, and yours if I recall, far too many times to not give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Do what you like," Xander said. "What do we do about the vamp chick from the alley?"

"Could you call Buffy?" Wesley asked.

"Buff already has a big bad roaming Sunnydale," Xander said. "She's needed there."

"Besides," Cordelia said. "Angel is skirting the edge as it is. The last thing we need is to bring Buffy into the mix."

"Then what's the plan?" Gunn asked. "We hole up here and hope she crosses Angel's path? I mean, I'm not willing to let folks die just because I know this girl can rip my head off with her bare hands."

"While I have to thumbs down the visual," Xander said. "I agree that we have to stop her. Angel or no Angel."

"Easier said than done," Wesley said. "She is unlike any vampire I have ever encountered."

"Then we research," Cordelia said. "Let's hit the books."

"But even when we find out what or who she is," Gunn started. "We still won't know how to find her."

"I may have an idea about that," Xander said. "Let me make a phone call."

An hour and a half later, Xander pulled his battle damaged rental car into a small motel. The sign out front read, "Come On Inn." He went straight to room 14c and knocked on the door. A familiar face greeted him. "Hey, man."

"Hey, Oz. We could really use your help."

"We've been doing this for how many nights now?" Cordelia asked.

"Just two," Xander said, looking ahead to where Oz was kneeling in the alley. "Disturbance in the force?"

"She was here," Oz said. "Not long ago."

"I'm not sure where that falls in the luck continuum, but it's a start," Xander said.

"Can you track her?" Cordelia asked.

"Possibly. The scent is fairly strong, but I'm not used to using my senses like this," Oz said.

A scream pierced the night. It was coming from less than a block away. Cordelia, Xander and Oz all looked in the direction it was coming from.

"I'm gonna go with instinct and say, 'That way,' though," Oz mumbled.

"Cordy, go get the car," Xander shouted as he and Oz took off running toward the scream. "And call the others."

Gunn was cutting off the gentleman's breath. That much was obvious to Wesley. Unfortunately, Gunn was unaware of the Pyn'kesh demon sneaking up behind him.

"I would advise against that," Wesley said, stepping out of the shadows. He lowered his crossbow, aiming directly between the creatures eyes. "Gunn may be a bit impetuous, but he is my friend. I wouldn't fancy having to replace him."

The creature backed down.

"Now one more time," Gunn said to the little troll of a man he held by the throat. "Lady vamp... super strong... full of herself... Tell me where she is."

"I don't know," the man rasped, his face contorting into that of a vampire. "Please. I know nothing."

Wesley's cell phone rang. "Yes? Of course. We'll be right there."

Gunn let go of the vamp's neck. "They find her?"

"Three blocks over," Wesley said. "Behind the Krispy Creme."

The two men turned and left the demon bar. Wesley slid behind the wheel of Xander's rental car, and they were off. Within a minute, they were facing the alleyway Cordelia had described.

"You sure this is it?" Gunn asked. "It's dark down there. I can't see any fight going on."

"Yes. Surely we could at least hear something," Wesley added.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he caught sight of something flying straight at them. Xander landed on his back in the middle of the windshield. It immediately shattered and gave way, landing him on top of Wesley and Gunn.

"Man, that was fierce," Gunn said. "You okay, X?"

"Just thanking the heavens my insurance premiums are paid up," Xander moaned. "Go. Oz and Cordy are down there. I'll follow as soon as I find my spinal column."

Wesley and Gunn hopped out of the car. From the trunk, they produced assorted weapons. In seconds, they were at ground zero. The vampire they had encountered only two nights earlier had Oz by the throat. The boy was turning blue. Cordelia was sneaking up behind her with a stake. At the last second, the woman whirled around and kicked Cordelia in the face.

"You are not the Slayer," she screamed. "I thought I was going to get a workout."

"Try this," Gunn said from behind her. He let a throwing knife fly. It stuck in the woman's wrist, forcing her to drop Oz. He landed on the pavement with a thud.

"You know nothing," the woman screamed. "A knife is nothing but a pain. It can do me no real harm."

"How does this feel?" Wesley asked as he fired a bolt from his crossbow. The vamp caught it in mid flight.

"Feels just fine," she said with a wicked smile. Behind her back, Cordelia was helping Oz to his feet. "Now where did the other one go? The other boy had the stink of Slayer about him. Perhaps he can see if she will come out to play."

"Sorry," Xander said, stepping back into the fray. "The Slayer might be a little overkill for one pesky little vamp."

The vampire laughed. "Oh, you will tell her," she said. "She will know that Lucia has come to call."

"Doubtful," Xander said. "Saying that dust has come to call just doesn't frighten her the way it used to."

"You have a sharp tongue," she said. "I wonder how it will taste."

"Probably like chicken. Everything else does."

"You interest me, boy."

"Yeah. I get that a lot. So're you ready to die now or what?"

"I was just getting ready to ask you the same thing." She jumped at him faster than anyone else could react. She knocked him on his back, pinning him with her knees. "Come any closer and he's already dead," she said to the others. "I have plans for this one."

"Sorry," Xander said, sticking a cross into her face. She was in agony as it touched her flesh, so he pressed the advantage. As fast as he could, he pulled a roll of duct tape from his coat pocket and began wrapping in in earnest around the vamp's head.

Lucia came out of her panic enough to realize what was happening. She struck blindly, knocking Xander down the alley. Wesley and Gunn moved to hold her down, but she ripped the tape and cross away before they could get to her. The was a cross-shaped burn mark on her face, ruining the beauty that was present only moments earlier.

"My face!" she screamed. "Look at what he's done to me!" She hit Wesley so hard that he thought his jaw might be broken. She then took off running back to the entrance of the alley.

When she had punched Xander, he went skidding back toward the entrance of the alley. His flesh scraped against the rough pavement, cutting him in places. He just laid there for a moment and let the pain settle in. Before he could even think of getting back on his feet, the vamp ran past him.

"You will die, young one. I swear it. By the time the sun sets on another day, your friends will be dead, and you will be next."

"Promises, promises," Xander mumbled. The others came running up, trying to get a feel for which way she was headed. Oz offered him a hand up.

"I think she likes you," Oz said with half of a smile. "You should probably tell her you're involved with somebody."

"I'll take that under advisement," Xander said. "The real question is what we do now."

"Well," Cordelia said, checking out his thoroughly abused form. "I'd say we get you to a hospital so they can patch you up, and then see if we can use her name to research a possible weakness."

"Yes," Wesley agreed. "There can't be many super strong vampire women named..."

"Lucia," Cordelia read. "Back in 1837, a Slayer named Percy Langlais fought and was killed by a vampire named Lucia." She handed the book to Wesley so he could continue. He walked across her living room and took a seat on the sofa.

"It seems Lucia had been an extremely wicked sorceress who was willingly turned into a vampire to further increase her power. She's killed three Slayers in all," Wesley added.

"Then she's not getting anywhere near Sunnydale," Xander said. "The last thing Buffy needs is to face her and Glory. We have to stop her ourselves."

"But how?" Oz asked, handing Xander a cup of coffee. "Assuming I can find her again, I'm still no help in the power department."

"And thus far, our combined skills have proven fairly worthless," Wesley said.

"That's British guy for 'we got our butts handed to us', if you didn't catch that," Gunn clarified.

"But we decided that we were going to continue the good fight," Cordelia said. "And some of us still have friends in Sunnydale." She smiled at Xander before continuing. "Let's keep researching and see if we can find a weakness."

"You do that," Xander said. "I've got something else to take care of."

"What can you do?" Cordelia asked. "You have two cracked ribs."

"I know. Hopefully, it won't require any physical action."

"Need me to go with?" Oz asked.

"No. I'm good," Xander said. "But..."

"What?" Gunn asked.

"If something happens and I'm not back by the morning, it would probably be safe to assume the worst."

"I don't like the sound of that, Xander," Welsey protested. "Whatever you are up to sounds extremely dangerous. It would be better if one of us went with you."

"Not really," Xander said. "That would only make it more difficult. Trust me."

They all stared at him for a moment.

"I do," Cordelia said. "But if you get yourself killed, I'm gonna say that I told you not to go."

"I wouldn't have expected anything else," Xander said with a smile.

He moved through them silently. It was like some deadly ballet in which he was the star. They came at him in twos and threes, but it mattered little. He made it look easy. Xander shook a little inside just watching him. It was over in moments. There was ash and demon blood everywhere. He was death to all that opposed him.

"Bravo," Xander said, stepping out of the shadows. "You always were good at killing things."

"What are YOU doing here?" Angel asked, without bothering to turn and face him.

"I'm here," Xander said. "Because you and I need to have a little talk."

"Go away, boy," Angel half said and half growled. "You don't belong here."

"Yeah, well... I realize that more with each passing second. But I'm not leaving until we talk." Xander took a few steps closer to the vampire. "Because somebody sure as hell needs to reign you in."

"And that's gonna be you?" Angel turned to look at him with his yellow, feral eyes. He was still vamped out from the fight Xander had witnessed.

The sight of him caused a million bad memories to resurface in Xander's mind, but he was determined to continue. "I don't see anyone else stepping up to the plate."

"I don't have time for this," Angel said, reverting to his human guise and starting to walk away.

"Your friends are gonna die," Xander said bluntly, causing Angel to stop dead in his tracks. "There's a lady vamp named Lucia going walkabout in L.A. She's way strong and not friendly. She says that before the sun sets tomorrow, we'll all be dead."

"And?"

"And? You heartless son of a... This chick doesn't strike me as someone who doesn't keep her word. Buffy's got problems in Sunnydale. You're the only big gun around."

"It doesn't matter," Angel said. "If I don't stop Darla and Drusilla, we're all as good as dead anyway."

"I don't know what sense that makes on the planet you're on," Xander said. "But letting your friends die so you can save them from an altogether different evil just doesn't make sense according to our earth logic."

"They didn't have to continue the good fight."

"Sure they did. What kind of person can know what's out there and not do something about it. Oh, wait. I guess YOU'RE that type. What happened to you? You've always been fairly worthless, but you were at least loyal when you were all full of soul. But whatever Darla and Dru have done to you... You're on a slippery slope, man. And while I don't give a rat's ass, your friends do. They're actually convinced you'll get over this."

"I will, once they've been stopped."

"But by then the only people who care about you will be dead. And the bottom line is... You'll be as responsible for their deaths as if you killed them yourself." Xander stepped up in the vampire's face. "And if one of them dies, I'll hunt you down myself."

Xander did not wait for a response. Instead, he turned and left the vampire alone to ponder his words.

"You gonna eat that?" Cordelia asked, eyeing the fruit on Oz's plate.

"Not so much," he replied with his trademark stoicism. "Funny how everything in California comes with fruit, but everything in Texas comes with cream gravy."

"You were in Texas?" Gunn asked. "Where at? I gotta cousin in Dallas."

"I was in Houston," Oz said. "I was checking some leads about a werewolf attack there. Thought I might be able to lend a hand."

"Any luck?" Wesley asked.

"He's history," Oz said. "So I came back here, gave Xander a call and found out he was heading this way. I decided to stick around, so I gave him my number."

"Well we're lucky to have you here," Wesley said.

"Yeah," Cordelia agreed, as she picked up her breakfast plate and headed for the kitchen. "If we didn't have you around, we'd probably have a heck of a time finding Lucia."

"Maybe not," Xander said, stepping into the kitchen.

"You're back," Cordelia said with a smile. "We were worried about you."

"For the record," Oz said. "I kept my cool about it."

"And I just didn't care," Gunn said.

"Feel the love," Xander joked.

"What were you saying as you came in?" Wesley asked.

"Oh, yeah," Xander remembered. "Check out the paper." He dropped it on the table in front of Wesley.

"Serial killer baffles police," Wesley read. "The L.A.P.D. released information late last night concerning a string of murders in the district known as 'Old Town.' Three people, whose names have been withheld until their families have been notified, have been murdered with what the police believe to be an icepick. Each victim had two puncture wounds near the jugular, and was drained of blood. Police believe that the murders may be the work of an occult faction, as the vital organs were also removed from each victim."

"That's not usual vamp M.O.," Gunn said.

"Organ harvesting is more of a demon thing, right?" Oz asked.

"Not exclusively," Wesley said. "Dark magic often requires sacrificing such things."

"And we know Lucia is a witchy woman," Xander said. "So we've narrowed down the area for Oz to search."

"Yeah, but we still don't know what to do with her once we find her," Gunn reminded.

"I wouldn't say that," Xander said. "I happen to have a plan. We just need to set it all up before night falls."

"Oh, boy," Cordelia said with a roll of her eyes. "Now we ALL get to die."

Later that night, Xander watched from the shadows as Lucia walked a young man into the alley behind a pool hall called O'Malley's. The guy obviously thought he was going to get lucky, but Xander knew the opposite was true. Slowly, he emerged from the shadows and followed them. It made him nervous that the others were several blocks away. But it was his plan, and his risk to take.

"So where are we going, baby?" Lucia's would-be victim asked.

"I am going to destroy the Slayer. After I kill all her friends, of course. You... Well, you're just going to die." Lucia's face revealed her demonic nature. "Scream if you'd like."

"Scream if you'd like?" Xander repeated as he stepped into the moonlight. "What are you? Auditioning for lame villain of the week? 'Cause I gotta say, I've seen better."

"You again." Lucia let loose of her victim, and turned to face Xander. The young man beside her, bolted out of the alley. "I was just getting ready to start looking for you. Once I fueled up, of course."

"Yeah, well... The sun has already set. I think you missed your window of opportunity."

"Hardly. I have all night."

"Possibly less," Xander said, pulling a gun from behind his back and firing at her heart. The round put a hole through her.

"Lead bullets? The Slayer hasn't taught you much. Only wood can do me harm."

"That was just to get your attention," Xander said with a smile. He then turned and ran with all the speed his legs would give him. He didn't have to look behind him to know that she was in pursuit.

"Xander's gonna get himself killed," Cordelia said. "And then we're gonna have a pissed off Slayer on our hands."

"Not to mention a witch and a former vengeance demon," Oz reminded. "Xander's not stupid. He wouldn't bite off more than he could chew."

"Still," Wesley said. "I wish he would have let Gunn go with him."

"Hey, sometimes a man has to do what he has to do. Was it just me or did he go from goofy guy to plan guy when this Lucia chick mentioned the Slayer?" Gunn asked.

"That's Xander," Cordelia said. "Doesn't matter that he doesn't get anywhere with her. Or even that he has a girlfriend for that matter. When Buffy's in trouble, he's ready to die for her." She turned and noticed that everyone was staring at her. "Sorry," she said. "Personal stuff."

Xander bolted through the entryway of the abandoned warehouse, making sure not to stumble over the tripwire at the foot of the door.

"7!" he shouted, so the others would know how many seconds behind him the vampire was.

The moment Lucia came through the doorway, she tripped the trigger that the others had rigged. Crossbow bolts came from everywhere, piercing her flesh. Unfortunately, not one of them hit her heart.

"You ruined my dress!" she screamed.

"That thing?" Xander said, continuing his run down the hall. "You can just go to Hookers R Us and pick up another one."

She continued after him, jerking the arrows out of her body as she went. "I was going to let you live if you led me to the Slayer, but now I will have just have to kill you anyway."

"Now you tell me," he mumbled. He was just about to step into the main holding area, when Lucia tackled him from behind, sending them both tumbling through the door way.

"No!" Cordelia screamed. It was far too late. The moment Xander and Lucia were through the door, the trigger was sprung. Luckily, Xander managed to roll out of the way before the flame throwers on either side of the door let loose their fury. Unfortunately, they missed Lucia, too.

"Nice try," the vamp said, picking Xander off his feet and throwing him into a stack of crates. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Gunn jumped at her from above, but she caught him and slammed him to the ground. He rolled out of her reach, but she was on him again, before he could fully recover. Wesley handed his crossbow to Cordelia, since he couldn't get a clean shot, and ran at the vampire with a cross and stake. Seconds later he landed at Cordelia's feet.

"Nice moves, Wes," Xander said, taking the crossbow from Cordelia. "You circle behind her, and while I distract her, you grab Gunn. Cordy, you stand near the back and be ready to run phase two."

"How are you going to distract her?" Wesley asked.

Gunn had never been so badly beaten in his life. Every move he had, she had a counter move for. She was just getting ready to bite him, when an arrow pierced the side of her head.

"I think that got her attention," Xander said, as he began clubbing her with the stock of the crossbow. "Fall back, Gunn. Give me some room."

Wesley swept in and helped Gunn to his feet. They both made their way back to Cordelia.

"This ain't gonna work," Gunn said. "She's too good."

"Okay, Mr. Negative," Cordelia said. "Why don't we just give up. I'm sure she'll have mercy on us all." She rolled her eyes.

"You ain't exactly Miss Sunshine," Gunn mumbled.

"Xander actually appears to have her on the ropes." Wesley commented.

"Yeah," Cordelia said. "I've never seen him so... manly." Both men stared at her. "What?"

"She's not that easy," Gunn said. "Ain't no way she's done yet."

The stock of the crossbow shattered across the vampire's skull, as Xander continued to pound away at her. "I think you'll find that your mistake was assuming that the weak little friends of the Slayer couldn't kick your scrawny..."

A crack across the chin silenced Xander. He flew back hard, landing on his back on the concrete floor. "You are truly pathetic," she said, wiping the blood from her face. "You are a being of light. You cannot hope to comprehend my darkness."

"I'm betting I can," came a voice from behind her. She ducked just as the blade of a sword came whistling toward her head.

At the other end of the warehouse, Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn all stood shocked at the sight of Angel attacking Lucia.

"How'd he know?" Gunn said, a bit confused.

"I assume it has something to do with Xander's mystery errand," Wesley said. "Hand me the walkie-talkie."

Cordelia passed it to Wesley. He spoke into it softly. "Is everything ready?"

"Good to go," Oz said, from somewhere close. "Just say the word."

Xander sat up and rubbed the back of his head. It was bleeding. He must have hit it on the concrete floor. Angel appeared to be holding his own with Lucia, but just barely. He stood to his feet and yelled at the others, "Go. You can't let her get to the scroll." The others ran through the door at the back of the warehouse.

"What scroll?" Lucia asked, beating Angel about the head with a crescent wrench she had picked up from a table full of discarded tools. "Tell me."

"She doesn't know about the scroll!" Angel shouted, playing along. "Keep your mouth shut!"

"She's a sorceress," Xander said. "I just assumed she was after the..."

"Xander!"

"Right. Shutting up now." Xander turned and ran for the same door into which Cordelia and the others had disappeared. "We'll protect the scroll," he shouted to Angel. "You protect us."

No sooner was Xander through the door, than Angel began losing ground quickly. Within but a few moments, he was defeated. Lucia left him there and made her way to the door the others had escaped through. She stepped through it, and found herself in another warehouse roughly half the size of the first.

It was nearly pitch black. The only thing she could hear was the whimpering of the girl the others had called, Cordelia. All she could see was a tanker truck parked a few feet to her left, just inside a huge sliding door.

She stepped into the darkness, preparing herself for any attack they might throw at her. The second that her first step found no purchase, Lucia knew something had gone horribly wrong. She tumbled head over heels into nothingness. There was nothing solid to grab hold of until she hit the bottom, some thirty feet below.

She looked up, as they all peered down at her. "What is this?" she demanded.

"It's an oil trap," Xander explained. "They used to work on the big rigs here. So they would dump all the old oil into this trap, and then they would dispose of it properly at a later date. They must have emptied it when they shut down. Cordelia was kind enough to pick it out, after she hacked into the city's blueprints."

"If you'll notice," Wesley said. "There are crosses attached to the opening here, to prevent you from escaping. That was my idea."

"Mine was to make sure the insides were still nice and slick," Gunn explained. "That way, you wouldn't even be able to get anywhere close to the top. Not that we plan on giving you a chance."

Lucia was beginning to look frightened, like a trapped rat. She glared at Xander. "And which part of the plan was yours, worm?"

"Mine?" Xander grinned at her. "I just had Oz pick up a little gift for you." Lucia watched as he was handed a hose and nozzle by the young man called Oz. "Consider this a going away gift," Xander said. "From me to you."

He turned on the hose, and even before it hit her, she knew what it was. She cursed herself for being a fool. It was the last thought she ever had.

"A whole tanker truck full of holy water," Gunn said. "Man, that was harsh." He handed Xander a beer. "How'd you come up with that?"

"It just seemed like an overkill kind of situation," Xander smiled. "It wouldn't have worked if Oz hadn't been able to get it blessed by a priest."

"Cordelia told me what priest to go to," Oz said. He turned to Cordelia. "Father Thomas said that he hoped that your strange request was payment enough for your kindness."

All eyes turned to Cordelia. "What?" she asked. "I talked his niece out of pursuing acting."

"Isn't that a bit hypocritical?" Wesley asked.

"One less person competing for my roles? I can live with myself," she said.

"So what's next for you, Oz-man?" Xander asked. "Taking your 'I was a teenage werewolf' show on the road again?"

"Yeah," the young man said. "I got a line on a job in Denver. Think I'll head that way. You?"

"Back to Sunnydale," Xander said. "Anya's probably freaking out by now, not to mention driving Giles insane. Plus, Buffy's got this whole Glory thing happening."

"Tell Giles that I will check a few of my sources," Wesley offered. "I can't promise anything, but..."

"It's appreciated, Wes. Any word from Angel?"

"Nada," Gunn said. "He just disappeared last night after that beating he... we took."

"Yes. I fear we're still on our own," Wesley said.

"Not alone," Cordelia said with a smile. "We have each other."

Xander and Oz shot each other a smile. It was obvious how much Cordelia had changed. When Xander looked back, Cordelia was motioning him into the kitchen. He got up and followed her.

"What's up?" He asked, walking over to her.

She looked around to see if anyone was watching. "If you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you."

"Okay."

She smiled at him and put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Your a good man, Xander Harris. I'm glad you came to see me." He hugged her back for a moment, and then let her go.

"Me, too. It seems we've both done a lot of growing up."

"Yeah, well... Don't let it go to your head." She turned around and walked out on him. He just stood there for a minute laughing to himself.

"Just like old times," he said with a grin.