Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2007 23:33:43 -0700 (PDT) From: Jason Decade <femtoka2@yahoo.com> Subject: Slayers Untied 9 Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters are copyright and trademarks of WB, David Greenwalt, Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and others. Author's note: This story is set before the comics. It will tie-in soon. Chapter 9: I looked at the man standing in front of me, unsure of what to think. He grabbed my hand and I stood up. We looked at each other for a moment, trying to decide whether to trust one another. I broke our gaze and looked around, " Did you see the other...thing?" I asked. " No, but I am sure that something is down here with us." Groo mumbled, " YOu are deciding whether to trust me? " Aren't you?" I asked. " No. Are you not the slayer?" Groo asked, " The king..." " I'm not the king." I spat, " And even if I am, don't call me that. No slayer is better than any other...except Buffy...and Faith." " And you." Groo smiled. I was about to talk when a piece of the ceiling broke off and Groo pulled me closer. I looked up at him and smiled, " We gotta go!" I said, grabbing his arm and leading him deeper into the tunnel. 'Tunnel' I thought. I looked around and noticed that we must be back in the sewers. I jumped at a loud growl coming a few feet down the tunnel, " Welcome wagon...check." I said, peering into the darkness. Buffy and the gang sat around the palazzo, watching the news. The news had declared the hospital blowing up as a terrorist attack...but the group new better. That, compounded with their worry of Austin, put them on the edge right before you blow something up yourself. Buffy stood next to Dawn and Willow, arms folded and hands on her chin, " Terrorist, yeah. Terrorists that flee from the sun and have very fangy teeth." she said angrily. " At least we weren't mentioned. And it was sorta a terrorist thing, Buff." Xander said, " Terrorism again slayers." Willow looked concerned, but spoke anyways, " He's right. Someone was trying to kill us all, not just the slayers or Connor or..." she trailed. " Austin." Dawn flinched, " But he was okay, right? I mean he got out the same time we did, right?" she asked. " He stayed, but they got all the bodies out of the building and his wasn't on the list." Buffy said quickly, " We just don't know where he is." " We've gotta find him, I like not being the only black..." Robin started. " What're you talkin about, half the slayers are...or brown." Faith sighed. Robin chuckled, " Guy." he said, " Besides, a dead slayer is bad either way." he finished. " Agreed. So we should do searches and researches." Buffy said, " And while you're at it, I wanna know 'Where's Waldo'." " Some demony beastie could be kicking his ass right now." Faith said uneasily, " be glad when the other slayer get back." " I talked to them yesterday, they said they were on their way. Giles seemed a little groggy, so they're either almost here or, you know, dead." Willow said nervously. Buffy nodded and went wide-eyed, " well, we need to find Austin, then we'll call Giles or do a spell." she said, " Got it?" she asked, getting many nods and the gang split up. The blonde vampire and his companion, a blue haired woman, sat in coach, avoiding the stares of the other passengers. Illyria had tried to avoid them by transforming into Winifred Burkle, or her 'Vessel'. She had looked human and even if she wasn't, she had looked so. The crying baby, the clumsy stewardess, and the obnoxious kid couldn't stop them from returning to Rome to see her. Spike wanted to see her, he had to. Who would have thought that these two completely different beings would align themselves? Flight 783 to Rome. This time no one would stop him from seeing his love again. Not look-alike slayers, not the Immortal, and certainly not Angel. Since the fight in L.A., the two had traveled far and wide to get the Shanshu before Angel, but they had yet to find and they grew tired of trying to find it, so they took a break. " Spike." Illyria said, " Spike, are you okay?" she said. Spike looked up at her and ignored the kid kicking his seat, " Nothing, love. Just a bad dream." he said, looking away. " Are you sure?" Illyria asked. " I just..." Spike groaned, looking back at the kid and his mother, " Can you keep the little brat from kicking my bloody seat?!" he growled The mother looked appalled, " My child is a healthy, growing you boy, aren't you Billy (the boy nodded) and I'm sure that he's not that bad." she said snidely. " He is worse." Illyria added. " I'm sorry we're being such a bother." the mother said sarcastically, " Billy, please stop." she said disgustedly. Billy nodded and Spike and Illyria turned around to continued their conversation, but soon the kid's mother fell asleep and the kid started kicking the seat again. Just as Spike temper hit it's breaking point, he turned and vamped out, causing the kid to stop and completely freeze, then he turned back around, " I think I'll be okay." he said. Groo and I stepped backwards as the growling noise grew into a hiss and the sound glided forward and a pair of yellow eyes popped open. " Why do you tread down here, human?" the thing in the dark hissed. I looked hard, trying to make out what this creature is," Hospital blew up and...wait, you have easy access to the hospital, right?" I asked, not taking my eyes off it's general direction. " You brought another? A demon...what's more, a champion. Is this worship? Are you the one who brought me to this pitiful dimension?" It sighed. My eyes were tuned to whatever was squirming next to it, " What are you?" I asked. Without another word, the thing slithered into sight and for the first time, I saw what it was, a giant snake-like, man-like thing. The head and chest of a scaly human and the lower body of a snake, tail and all. I felt Groo's hand on my shoulder, but still I didn't turn around, " Have you ever eaten anyone?" I asked. " Whatever do you mean?" It asked. I sighed, " Is the hospital like your own personal buffet?" I asked. " Not just mine." It whined, " And I wouldn't say a buffet, more like..." It stopped and before I could think, I flipped back and it tail swiped at us! I got to my feet, " Split up, meet back here in five!" I said, motioning a four in the dark, then darting off in different directions. Buffy and Faith checked the hospital and found that it had been blocked off and the inside was totally scorched. It looked as if they were able to save most of the people before there was any real damage caused. The place was crawling with police, but that wasn't too much of a problem, so the girls checked it out. " Now how're we supposed to get in?" Buffy said, watching Faith walk to the window and break it, " Faith!" " Come on, B." Faith smiled, " Think of the window as rules. Rules are mean to be broken." she smiled, hopping through the window. " Ladies and Gentlemen, Break-in Barbie." Buffy said, " It's all fun and games until someone gets mortally wounded." she said, hopping through the window. The women crept through the scorched hospital, avoiding numerous officers as they made their way to the basement. When they got there, they found that the hallway was guarded by vampires. The vampires guarded a hole in the wall and the biggest vampire stood in attention, " You shall not pass1' he said. Faith smiled and looked at Buffy. " Rules?" Buffy smiled. " Rules." Faith smiled, clutching her stake. The creature creeped through the tunnels, sniffing for the two intruders...us, I guess. But if we knew a way out, we'd gladly leave. We'd been everywhere and I'm sure he could smell it because I could see his frustration and confusion. Someone had summoned him to this place and he was hungry, ready to eat and settling for no less than Groo and I. It smelled something on one of us and breathed deeply. I think it knew I wasn't a slayer and I knew what it'd say. The same thing everything else would, males aren't slayers. But, to reinterate, I am. Groo and I sped to the center of the tunnel and stared at each other. " Are you okay?" Groo asked, surveying me. " No time for the protective thing, we need to kick this things ass." I said. " I am with you." Groo smiled. I looked at him nervously and he spoke again," About the plan. What do you propose?" " I'm thinkin some stabby, with a little choppy thing." I said, gesturing as if I had an axe. " Do you have a weapon?" he asked. A low hiss came from down the tunnel, " I am a weapon." I smirked, " Up." I said. " Up?" he asked, looking up, " Could be a problem." " Noted." I said, grabbing his foot and tossing him up in time to see the demon slither down the tunnel, " Harry Potter, eat your heart out." I joked, then I looked at the demon, " Come and give mommy a hug." I said, watching it slither closer. " I have impeccable hearing, one thing demons seem to have." it smiled. I smiled, " I know you do, you genius. It's in the slayer handbook, which strangely I haven't read, demons hear all. I believe that's in the chapter about falling for a demon, or maybe it's in the introduction...But the question on my mind is can you unsnap a neck?" i asked. " What?" it asked, being jumped on by Groo. Groo twisted at it's neck and it's neck cracked and snapped, making the monster slump to the ground! " Good work." I panted, " Now, which way is out?" " I do not know." Groo said, moving in front of me, " But I know that that is not the way." he said, pointing to a tunnel with three Ubervamps. " Oh sh..." I said, trying to reposition myself, but it was then that I heard voices. Familiar voices and jogged in the direction of the voices, but stopped as an ubervamp jumped from above, moving back to Groo. " Austin, I fear you may have to fight, but I will protect you!" Groo said. I scoffed, " Why does everyone want to protect me?" I asked, moving forward, " Four Ubervamps...we're pretty much screwed." I said quickly. " Aren't you a witch?" Groo asked. I stopped and looked at him, " how'd you know?" I asked. Groo laughed insanely and transformed into a brunette, green eyed 6'3 guy, " I'm not who you think I am." he said, The Turok Hans hissed and backed back into the darkness. I did too, " Titan?" I asked. He shook his head, " I'm not who you think I am. This is not my face, it is his." he smiled, " I'm here to help." " You killed...this face killed my parents?" I asked, " You fileted the hospital...Where's Groo?" I asked, realizing that he wasn't Groo. The guy shrugged, " In the tunnels. I needed you alone." he said. " To kill me?" I said, " Cause you're wearing the face that...deserves a huge ass-kicking." " You're not getting it. I'm here to help." he smirked, " If I'd have wanted to kill you, I'd have killed you already." he said, taking a huge step closer to me. " I don't trust you." I said. " Someone in your group is betraying you. One of them is untrue." the guy said, " And as for your parents, He did not kill them." " Who did?" I asked. " I am not sure. I do know that right now something is happening." the guy said, looking around at the buckling walls and the falling debris. I looked around tood and looked back at him.