TITLE: Battle For Dominance
AUTHOR: Ragna (writinggoddess@aol.com)
RATING: FRT
CLASSIFICATION: Spike/Other, Buffy/Other, Xander/Other, Willow/Oz
SPOILERS: Um...none for the show; in this series, "Battle Scars" and "Proposals".
DISTRIBUTION: Sure, just keep my name on it and let me know.
DISCLAIMER: If you don't recognize it, chances are it's my own creation. If you do, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kazui Sandollar, FOX and the WB own it or them. I'm just holding Spike, Xander and Oz hostage. You may see them by appointment only. "Apple Of Sodom" belongs to Marilyn Manson.
FEEDBACK: Sorry I'm not home right now I'm walking in the spiderwebs so leave a message and I'll call you back...in other words, I want it. Don't care if it's onlist or not.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I finally picked up this series again, with a long story. Hope all of you enjoy.
***
The night was quiet as the group walked around the various cemeteries. They'd paired off, basically in the way the always paired off: Buffy and Mike, Willow and Oz, Gaby and Xander, Alex and Spike.
Each covered a different area of each cemetery, same as they usually did.
"We do this all the time, you know?" Mike said as him and Buffy rejoined the group again outside the last cemetery of the night.
"Yeah, but everyone stays safe," Gaby said, grasping Xander's hand tightly.
Willow nodded. "Some of us have been doing this for a long time, you know."
"Yeah. I've been hunting things since I was...14 or so," Alex said, stretching her arms above her head and yawned. It turned into a smile as Spike came up behind her and hugged her. "But I think he beats all of us out."
"He was hunting to kill," Buffy pointed out.
"But hunting nonetheless, love," he replied.
"So, what's everyone else up to this weekend?" Oz asked.
"Why?" Xander replied.
"There's going to be a Battle of the Bands in LA, and Dingoes Ate My Baby is in it. So I was thinking all of you might want to come and cheer us on."
"Well, I'm preggers, so this might be my last chance to have a wild weekend of fun," Gaby said, smiling as Xander reached over and put a hand on her belly.
"How far along is my niece or nephew now?" Alex asked.
"Three months. Which means I'm going to stop patrolling soon."
"So all I have to do is get pregnant and I can quit? Great!" Buffy said.
Everyone laughed. "Want to try?" Mike joked, and Buffy blushed.
"Well, I doubt I'll ever get that escape," Alex said.
"You're the one who chose to have a vampire as a lover, sister dear," Gaby said, getting a stuck out tongue from Alex.
"Actually, she had very little choice in it, Gaby. It was more of a mutual admission," Spike said.
"How did you two hook up, anyway? I mean, one minute you two were fighting and the next..." Willow said with a grin.
Alex smiled. "Well, remember that demon we fought? The first time Dru helped? The next day, I went to the college and checked out Romeo and Juliet."
"At the same time," Spike said, "I was reading the same thing at the mansion. So when she came by, we figured that out, and one thing led to another."
"And hence, we started dating," Alex finished.
"And we thought you two were the least romantic of all of us," Buffy said with a smirk.
"Well, love, you'd be surprised," Spike said. "But then again, we're rather...private, unlike you young adults."
"So you're saying we're more into PDA's than you two?" Gaby asked, and Alex nodded.
"Yeah, that's what we're saying. Between the six of you, I see enough PDA's to make me sick. Well, Gaby and Xander have impending parenthood to blame. And you two are engaged," she continued, pointing to Willow and Oz.
Buffy laughed. "You've got a point there."
Willow looked around. "So, back to Oz's question. Are you guys going to see it?"
"Is it outdoors during the day?" Spike asked warily.
"Parts of it, yeah," Oz said.
"Fun. I get to do the spell again," Alex said. "We'll be there."
"We will too," Mike said. "If Alex will give me the weekend off."
"You got it. Who will patrol around here, though?" Buffy asked.
"Gillian will be here, and she's training a Slayer. She can do on-the-job training."
"Then it's settled," Oz said. "This weekend, we party."
***
Alex leaned back in the chair, looking around the library. It was empty; no one was there. No one except her. Standing up she started walking around, mumbling the refrain to an old song she liked.
"Oh, Lord, it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way. I can't even look in the mirror, I get better lookin' each day. To know me is to love me I must one helluva man. Oh, Lord, it's hard to be humble but I'm doin' the best that I can." Smiling, she touched the books lightly as she continued humming the song.
The smile faded slightly as she went over to the window, looking out across the parking lot. She didn't exactly have a great feeling about this weekend.
Angel had called, saying that there was some sort of division between the vampires in Los Angeles. It worried her for a reason she just couldn't get.
"Love, it's past midnight. You leaving yet?" Startled slightly at the sound of another voice, Alex turned around and smiled as she saw Spike framed in the library doorway.
She nodded. "Yeah, soon. I just wanted to look through some things, that's all. I mean...it's not often there's such a division in the vampire clans. You said so yourself."
"Well, why don't we forget about it for the weekend, Alex? I mean, enjoy ourselves. We don't do that often enough."
"I can't. It's one of the things I do take seriously about being a Watcher. Besides, if it goes down this weekend and everyone's up there...I wouldn't forgive myself if I found out I could have stopped it."
Spike nodded and moved towards her. "I understand, I suppose. Promise me you'll try and enjoy parts of this three day festival though? At least for one entire day?"
Laughing, she went over and hugged him. "One day. Just for you."
***
Gaby looked at her figure in the mirror. She was showing slight signs of pregnancy, but not much. "I look fat."
"No, you don't," Xander said, coming up behind her. "You don't look fat."
She laughed slightly. "You're just saying that because it's partly your fault."
"No, I'm saying it because it's the truth." He looked at their reflections in the mirror. "You look gorgeous. Really."
"Really? Because right now I have a craving for a peanut butter, banana and ershey bar sandwich."
Xander laughed. "You show me how to make one and I'll make it."
She grabbed his hand and dragged him into their kitchen. Slathering peanut butter on two slices of bread, she cut up a banana and placed each sliced part on one piece of bread. She headed for Xander's stash of chocolate next and rummaged around until she found his Hershey bars.
"That's all I have, I hope you know," he said, watching her break them into squares and place them on the second piece of bread. Squishing the two together, she smiled.
"And that's how it's done." She offered a bite to Xander.
"That's...not bad. Mind if I make another?"
***
"Oh my god!"
The vampire scowled at the teenagers walking down the Sunset Strip. Not again...
"Could I get your autograph? I mean, I loved you in Trainspotting. You were great," the dark haired girl said.
Her blonde friend chimed in. "And you were awesome in A Life Less Ordinary."
The vampire sighed slightly, but smiled at them, realizing dinner had come to him. Again. He made the motions, hoping he could fool them. It wouldn't matter...he was close to the vampires club. He'd lure them there with an invitation and the starstruck fools would follow.
"Well, why don't you joining me for a bit to eat?" he asked, finally glad he had a moderate Scottish accent.
The girls practically fainted but agreed. The stupid idiots.
He put his arms around them and led them to the club, glad to be getting a decent meal for once. His blue eyes and reddish-brown hair, plus his fair complexion and medium build made him, in the eyes of his victims, anywhere from "gently handsome" to "sexy."
It helped that Ewan McGregor was so popular now, too, or else the look he'd imitated wouldn't work.
Thank God, he mused, for the overhype of the newest Star Wars prequel.
***
The two vampires who'd been in the shadows stepped out.
"So that's what he looks like?" The dark haired one asked.
The other one nodded. "Yeah. They'll never see the light of day again, mate. But he's the bloody wanker."
"He looks like the guy in that picture that Cordy has on the wall by her desk."
The other vampire chuckled. "Mate, most females have a picture of him up somewhere. Look, I need to get back to my own kind. Tomorrow night, Angel...they'll start making their move."
Angel nodded and watched the vampire named Charles walk away. This wasn't good news. He walked back toward the private detectives office that he worked with. Another phone call to Sunnydale...
Alex was going to kill him.
***
"Hello?"
Even worse, Spike picked up the phone.
"Spike? I need to talk to Alex. Now."
"Hello to you too, Angel. Hold on. Let me wake her up. Whatever she utters...it's your own damn fault." Spike reached over, glancing at the clock which read three am. "Lexie...Angel needs to talk to you."
Nothing happened; she continued to sleep.
Spike shook her a little and was fully prepared for the arm that flung out at him, ducking out of the way. "Spike, it's early. Lemme sleep," Alex mumbled into the pillow.
"Angel's on the phone. He needs to talk to you."
She sat up and looked at him, her hair messed up and frizzing slightly, a glare on her face. She took the portable phone off the nightstand and walked out of the room.
"Five...four...three...two...one..." Spike counted down as he heard Alex yelling from downstairs. He laughed to himself as he heard the various curse words she said, and wondering what Angel was looking like at the moment, having Alex berate him for waking her up.
The yelling stopped, and Spike got up and headed down the stairs, not surprised to see Alex on the computer while still on the phone with Angel. He sat beside her and watched as she typed in various things, pulling them up on he Internet.
"Okay...he looks like who? Oh...well, describe him. Yes, I know what Ewan McGregor looks like, I saw most of his movies and I'm friends with him. Now, describe the vampire you saw. I mean, do you even have a name?" She nodded and typed in the description and the name Conner.
"I'm getting some stuff. Want me to fax it?" She nodded, than turned on the fax machine and sent the printed papers. "Sent. And Angel? Don't ever wake me up this early again." She hung up and sat down next to Spike. "Fun. I don't think I'll get to have any fun this weekend. None."
He pulled her up on to his lap as she put her head on his shoulder. "Well, why is that?"
"There's a new villain up there. He's splitting the vampires into the strong ones and the weak ones, and the guy he had me get info on is the leader. They want to kill all the humans that will be there, and they want to kill the weaker vampires too. But no one knows when it's going down."
He nodded slightly. "So why are you getting all the burden?"
"Because I'm the oldest Watcher. I mean, I'm the one who's been watching the longest." She nuzzled his neck, kissing it lightly.
"Yes, you have. Why were you talking about that Scottish chap you know?"
"Ewan? Well, that's because that's who the vampire looks like," she murmured against his neck.
"Falling asleep again?" he asked, getting the expected nod. He picked her up and carried her back up the stair.
"Do you ever get tired of doing this?" she asked suddenly.
"Carrying you? No, never. You take care of yourself and I rarely ever get to take care of you unless you're sick."
Smiling, she tightened her hold on his neck. "You never told me that, Spike."
"It's not something I, being male, like to admit. But it's the truth."
"Ah. Well, feel free to take care of me anytime."
Spike kissed her softly. "I'll remember that when you're saying you want to be out and about."
***
"It's been a long time since I've been here," Buffy said, looking around her father's apartment.
"Where is your dad, anyway?" Willow asked, setting down her bag on the couch.
"He's out of town, actually, so he's letting us use the place. And I think Gaby and Xander get one of the bedrooms, and I'll take my old room with Mike. So you four get to fight over the other one," she said, glancing at Oz, Willow, Spike and Alex.
"Uh...Will? What do you want?" Oz asked.
"Why don't you guys take the bedroom?" Alex suggested. "The two of us probably won't be sleeping much. We get to help save the world," she finished with a slight bitterness.
They'd all arrived a day early. It was now Thursday afternoon, and surprisingly sunny, despite the high smog warning. Alex grabbed her laptop, sunglasses and various papers and turned around. "Well, we'll see you guys later, okay?"
The others nodded and went back to getting set up to go eat lunch.
***
"Alex? Spike? Oh my God!"
Cordy stood up and walked around the desk she'd just been sitting at. Hugging Alex she pulled back and smiled. "Finally. Maybe now Angel can stop pacing around."
"I heard that," he said lightly as he walked out of the office. "Spike, is that a tan?"
"No, you need to get your eyesight checked," he replied. "Good to see you again, Angel."
"Good to see you too, Spike. So...what did you bring with you?"
Alex handed him the papers. "There's the stuff I got from the Council, plus I have some friends e-mailing me with information."
"You didn't have to bring your laptop, Alex," Cordy piped in. "We have the Internet here."
"Well, I love this little thing. Besides, I have most of the stuff I need on here, password protected. Like a decryption device and a translator."
"This, I have to see," Whistler muttered from behind his desk.
"Then get your tacky ass over here and look," Cordy replied.
"You do realize I'm one of your bosses, Cordy. Right?" he replied, standing up.
"Yes, I do. So get over here already." She turned around and looked behind him. "Hey, Rebekah. Come here. You remember these two, right?"
Rebekah looked up and smiled. "The vampire and the Watcher. I was wondering if I'd get to see you again."
"Hey, Rebekah!" Alex said. "How's the slaying going?"
"Getting easier," she said, coming over to the group. "How'd you get to come out in the sun?"
Spike grinned. "It's a good thing I'm madly in love with a witch who can cast useful spells."
"Useful? I can cast other ones, too, you know."
"Well, most of them are useful, love."
"Fine," Alex said, looking back at her laptop. "Angel, this is the stuff I've gotten from my friends in Scotland. Some of it's in Gaelic, and that's from my Irish contacts.
Angel nodded, glancing at the computer. "That's...a lot. How do you have so many contacts?"
Alex smiled. "Well, prior to the Council meeting Spike and I barged in on, I used to mention that I was the Watcher who he owed the favors to and if I didn't get help from them I'd find their weakness and exploit it. Now, I don't even need to do that."
"Why?" Rebekah asked. Alex started to reply but Whistler cut her off.
"The terrible twosome there stormed into a meeting and threatened the former head of the Council. Well, actually, Alex punched him out, yelled at the high and mighty Gwen Highwater for a while, and basically threatened to kill everyone in the room. Spike just looked menacing."
"I did my fair share of punching too, Whistler," he replied.
"Yeah. It was a fun evening. And the look on Gwen's face...that was priceless. What happened to her, anyway?"
"I can answer that," Angel said without looking up. "After her antics in the last meeting you two barged into, she got fired."
"Thank the Goddess!" Alex muttered.
"And hopefully tossed out on her arse?" Spike asked.
"It gets better, Spike. Ten minutes after she got fired, she walked out of the Council. And got hit by a car. She didn't get hurt badly, but she's considered herself full of bad luck ever since."
Spike snickered and looked at the computer screen. "Alex...what's that?"
"What's what?" she asked, stopping the scrolling she'd been doing.
"Back it up a bit," he said, watching the screen again. "Stop...there. What's that picture?"
Alex saved it and pulled it up in her image program. Zooming in, she gasped. "Whoa."
There, in the text, was a picture. And it was the copy of the wedding picture from Giles and Patricia's wedding, with X's over five pictures.
Angel's, Spike's, Alex's, Gaby's and Buffy's.
"Oh no," Cordy muttered.
"Looks like we're wanted dead...or deader...by someone," Angel muttered.
***
The inside of the club was packed. Cordelia was good friends with the bouncer, so they all got in sans ID and cover charge.
"Who's DJing? This sounds familiar," Gaby asked as they stepped in.
Cordy turned to the bartender and asked. "We're in luck. DJ P Royal. He's one of the best in the world, supposedly."
"No way! I knew him from high school!" Gaby said, heading right up to the booth. Everyone watched as he waved her in and hugged her quickly.
She rummaged through his records and, smiling quickly, pointed to her friends and handed him the record. He caught a glimpse of who she was pointing at, did some pointing of his own, and watched her nod. Stepping out of the booth she made her way back to her friends.
"What did you do, Gaby?" Alex asked.
"Asked for one of my favorite songs to be remixed. He wanted to know who I was hanging with. See, I went to high school with him for a while. He was a grade above me. Real name is Lee Cox."
Suddenly, All Saint's "I Know Where It's At" came up through the speakers, mixed with parts of TLC's "Silly Ho" and Harlem World's "I Like It" came up.
"Okay, I have to admit it's...different," Oz said. "But I'm used to rock."
"I'm glad to hear some decent hip-hop and R&B. The Bronze never plays it," Alex said, bobbing her head in time with the music. "Does he have any Wu-Tang Clan? Or RZA or Method Man at the least?"
"Ask. He takes requests for straight out songs that aren't mixed," Gaby said. "But I told him I love those songs."
"I want to hear Busta Rhymes," Cordy said, surprising everyone around.
"Busta? I'd rather hear Blaque," Buffy added.
Most of the guys looked on in surprise. "What?" they asked.
"It's just...well..." Angel began.
"It's not what we'd think you guys listen to," Oz finished.
Mike laughed lightly. "I could have told you they liked this stuff. Well, all of them except Cordelia."
Alex was about to respond but she caught a glimpse of someone. "Um...Angel?"
"Yeah?" he asked.
"I know for a fact Ewan McGregor's in London. So who's he?" He turned around to see who Alex was pointing at.
"That's Conner, the guy who wants to kill some of us," he said quietly. "This is how he gets his victims."
Spike had moved over towards the two. "So, that's who we're looking for, mate?" Angel nodded. "So how are we going to get close enough to where he is to keep an eye on him?"
"I'm going to dance," Alex said.
"Why? I mean...oh," Angel said, nodding slightly. "You can dance to this stuff?"
"Yeah. No problem." The dance beat changed to a more techno beat, and Alex smiled. "I'll be fine." She kissed Spike quickly and made her way out onto the dance floor in Conner's general direction.
"And you're actually letting her dance with other guys?" Angel asked.
"It's either that or make an ass out of myself trying to do what she does. I'd rather just watch," Spike replied, glancing at Alex.
"She is pretty good, isn't she?" he said appreciatively.
***
"So, what did you find out?"
Alex sipped her soda slowly, her face reddened slightly and her breathing hard. "Well, he goes for the girls who think he's Ewan. He dances with them, makes a little small talk then leads them towards this back room. He tried it on me but when I asked how his wife was he freaked out and moved away."
Spike nodded. "Good thing. How many victims?"
"About three, I think."
Angel looked around and flagged someone over. "Spike, Alex, this is Charles. He's one of the so-called 'weaker' vampires. Charles this is the vampire and Watcher I've been telling you about."
Spike nodded towards him and Alex shook his hand. "You should be an actress," he told her.
"I'd rather be in a Ricky Martin video," she replied with a smile. She saw the strange look on Spike's face. "What? It was a joke."
"I hope so," he said in a quiet voice.
"Like I'd ever be asked to be in a music video. Besides, I say nothing about your liking of Rose McGowan."
Spike smiled at that. "All right, I won't say anything else about it."
"All right, back to what we were talking about," Angel said. "How come he didn't recognize you?"
"I think he did faintly, but I colored my hair and I broke my nose recently, so I look a little different," she said, taking another gulp of her soda. "Plus I'm not wearing glasses right now."
"I wish we could all do that," Angel muttered.
"Now what?" Charles asked.
Alex was staring at him for a minute before something registered. "You look like--"
"Thom Yorke of Radiohead, I know," he said with a slight smile.
"I'm glad my friend Gillian isn't here. She'd have jumped you in a minute."
"Really? That big a fan?" Charles asked, amused.
"She also likes Ewan, so I'm glad she's in Sunnydale."
Charles nodded. "So am I. There's many vampires that are almost dopplegangers of certain celebrities. It's a blessing almost when those celebrities are alive, and a bloody curse when they're dead."
"How so?" Spike asked.
"All those Elvis sightings? A vampire I know happens to look like the younger version. Where he goes, sightings pop up."
Alex started laughing. "You know, you two do remind me of actors I've seen," she said, indicating Angel and Spike.
"Don't, Alex. Don't even talk about it," Angel said. "I don't want to know there could be someone who looks exactly like me around here."
"Feelings mutual, love. I don't want to be mobbed for autographs and make the poor chap's life a living hell if I get caught doing something...vampiric."
"Me, I just don't want the paparazzi stalking me," Angel said.
"You always were a pansy, Angel," Spike said.
"But I'm a better looking one."
"I wouldn't say that," Alex interjected.
Angel gave her a mock glare. "But you're biased."
"So?"
***
In the back room, Conner slammed the door. "They know. I saw the dark haired traitor, Charles, talking to Angel, Spike and Alexandra."
The older vampire shrugged. "So? They cannot hurt us. They're pathetic; all of them are weak."
Conner glared at her. "Are you that absurd? They are more powerful than they would like you to believe."
The blonde vampire laughed. "They each have a weakness, you know. Gaby's is her unborn child, Buffy's is her friends, Angel's is Buffy, Alexandra's is Spike and Spike's is Alexandra."
Conner's glare softened as he nodded. "So we exploit their weaknesses and we'll be triumphant?"
She nodded again. "That is why you called me out of the pits of hell, right?"
Conner nodded again. "Yes, Mistress."
She twirled a small piece of her hair. "Now, you know that's not my full title."
He sighed slightly. "Yes, Mistress Darla."
She smiled. "I can't wait to get revenge on the bastard Angel for staking me. That will be the highlight of this trip."
***
The vampires lounged around the now empty club. Conner glanced around. "First, attack the pregnant dark haired Slayer, at the concert this evening. Then, go after either of the vampires."
He paused. "I take that back. Go after the Slayer's friends. Angel is going to be staked at the hands of Darla only. Alexandra and Spike...they're probably the toughest opponents of all, even the Slayers."
"Why, Lord Conner?" a burly black haired vampire asked.
"They're The Helper and The Decider. They were meant to work together, along with a dusted vampire named Drusilla. She is...I mean, was, The Seer. However, them becoming lovers was not intended but only strengthens the bond between them."
"So how do we defeat them?" the same vampire asked.
"I'm getting tired of your questions," he answered, pulling out a stake. "That was your last one," he added, tossing the stake with deadly accuracy. The other minions watched in almost nonchalance as the vampire turned to dust.
Conner stood up and looked at them. "You won't defeat them. I will."
"Master Conner, what do you want done with the Slayer's friends?"
"Kill them all. They know too much."
The minion nodded. "Yes, Master."
Darla walked in, looking at the pile of dust, "Now, now. Don't kill all the minions. We do need some of them to do most of the dirty work."
Conner nodded. "Yes, Mistress Darla. Do you want to kill the Slayers?"
She considered it. "How many have you killed?"
He thought back. "Three. Only Spike beats me; he's killed four."
She nodded. "Then you may have the pleasure of killing them." She waved her hand at the minions. "Leave. Now."
They obliged, exiting out of the room faster than rats leaving from a sinking ship.
He nodded and looked around. "Where's the bleeding radio?" he muttered.
"Why?" she asked, an amused look on her face.
"Because this song annoys me." He spotted the radio, pulled out a gun and shot it, causing a small electric fire.
"Hmm...such desperate measures?" Darla asked, a small cruel smile on her face.
"To be alone with you in a quiet room? Then they were not desperate measures."