-
Lyra had run from the house as fast as she could and didn’t stop running until she was out of breath. She had put a good distance between her and Charley. She walked while hugging herself and tears streaming down her cheeks. Why did Charley do that to her? She loved him and she thought he loved her. He had controlled his bloodlust until now, so why did he try to bite her? Now that she was far away she was able to think strait.
Charley had mentioned that he wanted to bite Lyra and something about “her” power forcing him. Whose power? He also was trying to get a warning out to save Xander.
“Xander’s in trouble,” Lyra said as she fished for her phone. She had left her bag at home and only brought her phone and her wallet with her. She counted the rings while whispering to her Watcher to pick up.
“Hello this is Xander.” Thank god he finally answered. “I’m unable to be reached right now please leave a message and number and I will get back to you as soon as I can.”
“Hey you look lost,” some guy said as he and a girl walked up to her. “Want to come with us a to a party?”
“No thank you,” Lyra said. Why would random people just invite her to a party like that? She kept her eyes on them as she removed both her compact and her stake from the bag. She kept her weapon concealed while she looked at her compact. They did not have any reflections.
“Checking your make up?” the male vampire asked. “I think you look nice and pretty.”
“Just checking for something else,” Lyra said before she ran up to the vampire and shoved the stake into his chest.
“You bitch,” the female vampire said as her face changed. She growled and lunged for Lyra.
Lyra stepped to the side and kicked back at the vampire before she ran up and struck her in the face and then on the top of her head, sending her to kiss the sidewalk. Lyra did not waste anytime to stake her.
“Great,” Lyra grumbled. “A perfect evening.” She needed to call Ronnie. She barely paid any attention to the black car until it pulled up next to her.
“Fun Size,” the British vampire stuck his head out of the driver’s side. “What are you doing out here?”
“Spike?” Lyra asked. She had been briefed on who Spike was. According to Xander he was one of the demonic vampires who was a pain in the ass for Xander and his friends until he got some chip in his head that wouldn’t let him attack humans, just other vampires and demons, and that Spike also got his soul restored.
“What are you doing out here?” Spike repeated. “You got none of your Scoobies with you, or Avengers or whatever you call your little group of friends.”
“Xander’s in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“I just know that he is in trouble.”
“You need a ride to his apartment?” Spike asked.
“Yes.” She did not have a definite impression of him. She thought he was a bit of a pig but that was nothing compared to Charley’s old friend. Charley. She could not get that image of his face like that all gray with pronounced brow bones and mouth like a deep sea fish out of her head. It was more frightening than the bumpy face of the other kind of vampires.
“Well then get in. The back doors are unlocked.”
Lyra jumped into the back seat and as soon as the door closed the car took off. “Whoa, can I buckle first?”
“Sorry bout that, love,” Spike said as he slowed down. “You did say Xander is in trouble?”
“You okay?” The one called Evil was riding shotgun. “You look shaken.”
“When did you get all concerned?” Spike asked him.
“She’s Brewster’s girl,” Evil explained.
“I thought I was,” Lyra said softly. She explained how the their date ended and how Charley wanted to bite her and what he had said. “He looked and acted like he was in pain.”
“He was,” Evil said. “He was trying to go against his thrall.”
“It was a spell?” Lyra asked. She felt a little bit relieved. “His sire wanted him to bite me?”
“Sounds bout right,” Spike said. “Probably got tired of his angsty Anne Rice act and wanted him to be a true vampire.”
“This vampire could be living with him?” Lyra asked as she continued to dial for Xander. “Could they also be beating him?” She recalled the bruises she had seen on his arms and the bandages at other times and recalled when he was limping. He kept saying it was due to accidents but now she wasn’t so sure.
“Someone is beating Brewster?” Evil asked as they pulled into the parking lot of Xander and Faith’s apartment complex.
“Yes they are,” Lyra said her voice dripped with acid. This sire not only turned Charley against his will but was also physically hurting him. She felt the temperature of her own blood rise to a slow boil. She undid the buckle and jumped out of the car.
“Niblet wait,” Spike called after her.
Lyra did not wait. She stormed up the stairs and drummed her fists against the door.
“Hold on,” Faith shouted and opened the door. “Lyra? What is it?”
“Where’s Xander?” Lyra asked.
“He’s not here,” Faith said. “He’s probably on his date with Regine.”
“Regine,” Evil repeated. He and Spike had caught up with Lyra. “That was the name of the chick that wanted to know who killed Jerry Dandridge. She said she was going to punish both of them.”
“Oh god,” Why hadn’t Lyra seen it sooner. Charley lived with her. “It’s Regine. She’s the one that turned Charley.”
“Ace was right,” Faith said.
“The demon in me thinks that’s brilliant,” Spike said. “How else do you make someone suffer forever? You sire them and torture them a bit each night.”
“No,” Lyra gasped. “That bitch has been hurting him for twenty two years and now she wants to do the same to Xander.”
“Screw that,” Faith said. “I’ll stake the bitch myself.”
“She’s mine,” Lyra said in a low tone.
“Good feel that anger,” Spike said. “Go with it.” He then turned to Evil. “How did you not know that she was his sire?”
“I dunno,” Evil said. “I didn’t know she was a vampire at the time.”
“Did you not recognize her when she was on camera?” Spike asked and smacked the other vampire up the side of his head.
“I stopped watching Fright Night after Dandridge got killed. And I don’t keep up with gossip rags. When I got into it again it was ten years later and I did not connect the two.”
“Enough arguing,” Lyra said. “We need to get our weapons.”
“Call the team,” Faith said. “And we’ll meet at the store.” She ran back into the apartment .
Lyra called Ronnie’s number first. “Ronnie call Ace and have him pick you, Tyler and Rissa up and take you to the book store.”
“Lyra, what’s going on?”
“Regine’s a vampire. She’s the one that turned Charley and now wants Xander.”
“Whoa can you pause and go back a few scenes?”
“No time to talk, just call Ace.” She hung up and dialed Tyler’s number.
“Hey Lyra,” Tyler greeted. “Didn’t expect you to call.”
“Tyler it’s time for Avengers to assemble. Ace is going to come by to pick you up and your cousin. Call Rissa and explain this an emergency battle against the forces of darkness and we need the keys to the bookstore.”
“Don’t need to say anymore,” Tyler said.
“Thank you,” Lyra hung up and turned to Spike just as Faith left the apartment with her arms full of a large container and a garment bag. “I need you to drive as fast as you can.”
“No problem about that, love,” Spike said. “Just tell me where to go.”
-
They were the first to arrive at the shopping center. It was no surprise, considering how fast Spike was driving and the fact that they did not have to stop and pick up anyone or anything. Faith had brought the necessary supplies from the apartment, including the large container of holy water and Lyra’s costume.
“What are we waiting for?” Evil asked as soon as they stepped out of the car.
“Ace and the others,” Lyra said. “Rissa has the key to open the shop.”
“A book store?” Evil asked as he pointed to the shop. “We are here why?” He was so annoying. It took all of Faith’s strength to keep from punching him.
“My guess is where this little group of junior Scoobies keeps their toys,” Spike said as he lit another cigarette. “Am I right?”
“You’re right,” Faith said.
“So why are we still waiting?” Evil asked. “Why don’t we just take a brick and throw it through the window?”
“Are you stupid or something?” Faith asked. She could not believe the sheer idiocy of this vampire.
“Brilliant plan, mate,” Spike said. “We break and enter the shop and while we get the weapons the cops will come. Do you know how it’s going to look like?” He smacked the side of Evil’s head. “Next time you have an idea just let it fade away.”
“He’s just worried,” Lyra said. She had been pacing up and down the sidewalk while hugging her arms and it wasn’t because of the temperature. “He just wants to help Charley.”
“Exactly,” Evil said.
Faith approached the younger Slayer. “Are you scared?” She wanted to comfort the girl and if her focus was on Lyra then she wouldn’t have to speak to, or listen to, or even look at Evil.
“Just worried,” Lyra said. “Not just about Charley, but about Xander. I’m not going to let Regine hurt any of them. She had already put Charley through enough.”
“We are going to get them both back.” Faith put her arm around Lyra’s shoulders.
“Can’t get Brewster back,” Evil said. “Been under the fang too long. He won’t be human.”
“She means get him away from this Regine,” Spike said. “You said it yourself. This bird has your old friend under her thrall.”
“If you kill her then Brewster is free to be his own vampire,” Evil said. “And if we get there in time we can stop her from turning your other friend into one of us.”
“That’s what I mean,” Lyra said. Her eyes widened and a smile of relief appeared on her face when Ace’s minivan pulled up. “They’re here.”
Faith stared at the vehicle as it parked. The black Kia Carnival had a few details added it to it. There was a deep purple under light that lit up the asphalt under the vehicle. There was a bright red cross painted across the hood. It was the exact same cross as the one on Lyra’s costume. There was a silver cross hood ornament planted near the front and the bumper had a metal grill over it with two rows of wooden stakes with the sharp points sticking out
The driver’s side door opened and Ace jumped out. “Sorry about the wait. Ronnie said she needed her lap top.”
“Need it for breaking in the house,” Ronnie said. “I noticed the Cassaco Security sign. You are going to need someone to override the system.”
“Ronnie,” Lyra gasped at her friend. “I thought you got over your hacking phase.”
“I have only reformed in my ways. Now I only do it for good.”
“Can you use it to change my grade in Algebra Two?” Ace asked
“I said I was using it for good,” Ronnie told him.
“What the hell is this?” Spike asked as he pointed at the minivan.
“Looks like an official vampire hunter vehicle,” Ed said
“Got the stake racks installed I see,” Lyra said.
“I was thinking of installing a missile launcher on the top and near the back,” Ace said as he rubbed his chin. “Except instead of missiles it would fire stakes, or maybe a big horkin water gun that shoots holy water.”
“Talk about pimping the ride later.” Faith grabbed his shoulder and hauled him off to the storefront.
“I hope my parents don’t find out about this,” Rissa said as she unlocked the door.
“What are they doing here?” Tyler asked as he pointed at Spike and Evil.
“Helping,” Lyra said. “We need everyone to rescue Charley and Xander.”
“Xander’s in trouble?” Ace asked.
“It’s Regine,” Faith said as they entered the store and went straight to the back room. “She the one who turned Charley and now she wants Xander.”
“I knew it,” Ace said. As soon as he had entered the room he grabbed some of the stakes from the storage bins and sharpened them. “I was right and nobody believed me. Nobody ever listens to me.”
“Ace, not now,” Ronnie snapped at him and turned to Lyra “Lyra, what happened?”
“Regine has Charley under her thrall,” Lyra explained. “She tortures him a little each night in some fashion that I don’t know about and I don’t want to know. She was using her power to force Charley to feed on me, or possibly turn me. He was about to but he didn’t. He’s trying to fight her power and it’s hurting him.”
“Good,” Tyler said under breath, except it wasn’t quiet enough.
“What do you mean good?” Lyra asked in a low tone.
“They all should suffer,” Tyler said. “I don’t see why we should rescue him.”
“What about Xander?” Ace asked.
“We’ll rescue Xander and stake every other vampire,” Tyler said and pointed at Spike and Evil. “Including these two.”
“No you are not,” Faith said.
“You are not hurting my boyfriend,” Lyra said.
“He’s a vampire, Lyra.” Tyler glared at her.
“He’s a good vampire.”
“There is no such thing.”
“God damn you two,” Ronnie stepped in between them. “Lyra now will be a good time for you to suit up.”
“Thank you,” Lyra said coolly before she turned on her heel. She shoved past the other two vampires and grabbed her costume that was still inside its garment bag before she left the room.
“We knew Cheryl longer than you did,” Ronnie said as she stared into Tyler’s eyes. “She was more than a friend. She was like a sister to us. A part of us died when she did. I could not go to sleep that night or the next night because I couldn’t stop crying. So don’t think that we don’t care.”
“This vengeance feeling you have is not the answer,” Faith said while looking at Tyler. “It will lead down a dark path. I’ve been there and I thought I could never come back, but if you let this hate consume you then you may go even darker.”
“Think of Xander,” Ace said. “Think of your sensei and what he says.”
“Aren’t you always going around talking about being a ninja?” Rissa asked. “A ninja does not let anger guide them. They must make peace with in himself, or herself You need to ask yourself WWLD.”
“WWLD?” Faith asked. She figured out what the other letters were except for L.
“What would Leonardo do,” Tyler explained.
“It’s his favorite turtle,” Rissa added.
“I need to focus,” Tyler said as he slid down onto the floor with his back against the wall. “I need to gather my chi. I need to focus my mind.”
“Anger leads to the dark side,” Ace reminded him.
“We wasted more time getting that bit settled then,” Spike said.
“He’s right,” Faith said as she grabbed some arrows. “We need to get ready and need to be ready five minutes ago.”
Ace and Ronnie got down to assembling more Holy grenades. While Spike and Evil rooted around looking for the right kind of weapons they should use. Tyler remained where he was seated as he looked like he was meditating. Rissa helped Faith load her crossbow.
Lyra came in after she had put on her Slayer Star costume and loaded both the stake hand gun and rifle. She only looked up a few seconds later to see Rissa, Spike and Evil stare at her.
“What’s with that get up?” Rissa asked
“It’s her Slayer Star outfit,” Faith explained. “That’s her thing. A lot of us Slayers have their own thing.”
“Can I see your thing?” Evil asked.
“My thing would be taking a stake and shoving it into your chest,” Faith told him. “Now load the weapons into the Slayermobile.”
“Slayermobile?” Spike asked before he and Evil both laughed.
“Don’t laugh at my baby,” Ace told them.
“Fine,” Spike said once he composed himself and turned to Lyra. “Not a bad little quirk to have there, Fun Size. A Slayer that developed a cool name and wears a mask to protect their loved ones.”
“Everyone got everything ready?” Faith asked. She waited for everyone to agree. “Then lets go.”
The eight of them left the store loaded with weapons. Rissa only paused to lock it back up before she jumped into the vehicle.
A cell phone went off. Lyra grabbed it.
“It’s me,” she said before she brought it to her ear. “Hello?” Here eyes narrowed after a few seconds. “Regine.”
Faith was instantly by her side and tried to listen.
“That was an impolite thing that Charley had done to you,” Regine’s voice was heard. “He should have not run you off like that.”
“Where is Xander?” Lyra asked.
“I invited him over,” Regine answered. “I am inviting you over so Charley can apologize.”
“She doesn’t know,” Faith hissed. “She doesn’t know that you know.”
“I’m not sure,” Lyra said. “He really upset me.”
“Lyra?” Charley’s sounded dazed.
“Charley,” Lyra breathed his name.
“I’m sorry,” Unicorn Boy said. “I’m real sorry. Please don’t be mad. Don’t be mad.”
“I’m not,” Lyra said softly.
“I want to see you again. I want you to come over.”
“I’ll be right over,” Lyra said in a honey sweet tone. She really was a good actress.
“Careful about that, Niblet,” Spike said. “I think he was trying to put you under his thrall.”
“But I’m a Slayer,” Lyra said as she hung up.
“We’re not immune to that kind of thing,” Faith told her.
“Just be careful,” Ronnie said.
“I will,” Lyra said
“Maybe I should drive,” Spike offered after he had climbed into the back.
“No,” Faith and Lyra said at the same time.
“Nobody drives the Slayermobile but me,” Ace said. “Everyone buckled up?”
“Everyone except the three of us in the back here,” Ronnie said.
“Your padiwan is coming, master,” Ace said before he turned on the car and floored it.
-
Faith leaned back against the upholstery as they waited for Ronnie to do her work. The sixteen year old swore she was able to hack into the system and turn it off. She stared at the house. They didn’t want to be close as to rouse any suspicion but they also had to be close enough for Ronnie to do her stuff.
Rissa was dialing someone on her cell. “Hey Deb?” She was quiet for a few seconds. “So you got most of them? Good. You switch to speaker phone and I’ll pop in my blue tooth.”
“What are you doing?” Tyler asked.
“Helping,” Rissa said.
“By calling your friends?” Tyler asked.
“We are stronger when we focus as a group,” Rissa said “Ronnie let me know when you are close to getting in.”
“Just about got it,” Ronnie told her.
“We call upon you, Goddess,” Rissa said as her eyes are closed. “We call on your power to guide us, to protect us. We ask you to create a shield, let Ronnie get through. Protect her from no one finding out. We ask upon you Goddess.”
“I’m in,” Ronnie said. “Now to disable their system.” Her fingers flew across the keys while she chewed on her bottom lip. “Just about, almost.”
“Protect our friend and give her strength,” Rissa continued. “Give help guide her, protect her.”
“I think I-“ Ronnie gasped and smiled. “I did it. Ha, I knew I could do it.” She reined in her enthusiasm and smiled towards Rissa’s direction. “With your help of course, thanks Rissa.”
“Don’t need to mention it,” Rissa said. She touched her Blue Tooth. “We did it everyone.”
“Now what?” Ronnie asked.
“We go in there and get back our boys,” Faith said as she got out of the car and immediately went to the back. As soon as it opened she grabbed her crossbow.
“What is the plan?” Spike asked. He and Evil handed out weapons to everyone.
“Divide into two teams,” Faith said. “Lyra will go with you and your wannabe. Tyler and Ronnie will go with me. We’ll take the first floor through the back door.”
“My team will take the second floor through the window,” Lyra said.
“What about me?” Ace asked.
“Stay in here and protect my cousin,” Tyler ordered and turned to Faith. “We’re ready.”
Faith nodded. “Let’s go and take this bitch down.”
-