NOTE : This story is set within an alternate Buffyverse. Faith has stayed with the Scooby gang and has become Buffy's secret girlfriend. Dawn is now nineteen and at college. Willow and Tara are still together.
++++++++++
Wesley knew the demon was coming for him. He could not see it in the luxury hotel room, but it had taken out Buffy and now would be advancing on him. He cursed himself for not bringing a weapon, but what better weapon was there than an angry Slayer? Unfortunately, she was groaning and lying face down as blood soaked into the plush carpet from the slashes on her belly. He did not think that she was fully conscious.
Inspiration struck him and he snatched up a long floor lamp that was standing near an armchair. It had a wooden shaft about five feet long and its base was a foot wide circle of wood. Yanking the plug from the socket, he spun the lamp horizontal and thrust forward with it. He hit nothing.
Moving with a crab like walk, he sidestepped toward the fallen Slayer, giving quick thrusts with the lamp. Suddenly, the wooden base hit something and bounced off what seemed like empty air. With a shout, he swung the lamp like a club at the chameleon demon. The monster must have swung back because the base and two foot at the end of the wooden stand dropped to the floor as they were sliced off.
An invisible claw slammed into the young Watcher and threw him across the room like a rag doll. As he groaned and staggered to his feet, still clutching the broken pole, he thanked his lucky stars that the beast must have hit him with a closed fist. It still felt like he had cracked ribs, though.
The Wolfram and Hart lawyer shook her head, "Angelus will probably be angry that he didn't get to kill you himself. Apparently he had such fun doing it to Gunn."
The Englishman did not think that he had ever been tempted to hit a woman before. His knuckles whitened as he gripped the broken lamp stand tighter. With a lunge, he stabbed the wooden shaft into the air where he thought the Myragogic must have been standing when it struck him. Again, he hit nothing.
To make himself a slightly harder target, he danced sideways and continued to swing the pole before him, until the back of his legs bumped against the table that the lawyer was sitting at.
Lilah laughed, "Give up, Wesley. You can't beat what you can't see!"
She was shocked when he spun toward her with a grin on his face, "Quite true! Thank you for enlightening me."
Reaching across the table, he grasped her soup bowl and flung his arm around so that the liquid sprayed out in a wide arc. To his near left, some splattered onto the camouflaged demon. A bestial face formed out of nothing as the brown fluid dripped down it. Instantly, the Watcher lunged forward and drove the broken shaft of the lamp into the creatures face. It howled in agony and crashed back as black ichor fountained out of the fatal wound.
Lilah gasped in amazement, leapt out of the chair and dashed for the doorway. Wesley ignored her and hurried over to Buffy. She was beginning to push herself up off the floor with a painful groan
"Next time we fight an invisible nasty, you distract it and I do the slaying, okay?"
He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "It's a deal." His face hardened as he looked to where her hand was cupping her torn belly.
"Is it bad?"
"Nah. I'll live. Stings though."
She gave him a crooked smile and peeked at the slashes. They were not as deep as she feared and, because she was the Slayer, the bleeding had already slowed. The sound of the rattling door made her look at the lawyer pulling on it. In her panic, Lilah had forgotten that Wesley had turned the lock. Remembering, she twisted it and yanked the door open.
"Shouldn't we stop her?" asked the Slayer, getting to her knees.
Still inspecting her wound, Wesley shook his head, "She won't get far."
Lilah shot through the doorway. There was a slapping noise and she staggered back into the room, out cold before she hit the floor.
"That's for the crack about Gunn," said Cordelia, rubbing her fist.
++++++++++
The iron bound oak door to the back cellar shook and bounced in place as the men inside screamed and pounded on it for help. An unearthly howl drowned out their cries.
Dawn, Willow and Tara flinched at the horrible sounds of the slaughter in the other room. Cries of fear and agony mingled with the werewolf's roaring and the horrifying ripping of flesh.
Sat on a table near the quivering door, Angelus and Spike were in tears of laughter. They giggled like schoolboys at the sound of the cultists' violent deaths.
"Think they managed to make her angry, then?" gasped Spike.
Angelus held his stomach as he laughed, "Not necessarily. It could just be the wrong time of the month!"
++++++++++
Giles and the rest of the group looked up as the front door opened. Buffy pushed Lilah in before her as Wesley and Cordelia brought up the rear. The lawyer had a darkening bruise around her eye. Buffy prodded her into the lounge, "Sit."
Giles pointed to the book that he had just been reading, "Buffy, we've found out what Angelus wanted with Tara. He needs three types of blood to mix during the ritual to release Mobadon. One of them is the blood of a witch, so I guess he chose Tara for that reason."
A thoughtful expression crossed her face as she considered it. "Angel never met Tara and I didn't tell him about her. How could he know she's a witch?"
The Watcher looked taken aback, "Oh. I just assumed that you would have told him about Willow and er... something like that. Still, Spike knows she's a witch, doesn't he?"
"I guess. Something just doesn't fit. Why would he take Dawn?"
"Presumably she saw him with Tara, or perhaps she got in the way, somehow."
"No. He tricked me into inviting him into my house and then made sure that Faith and I left him alone with Dawn. She was what he was after. I'm guessing to use as blackmail to get me to agree to whatever it is that he needs. Tara just got home at the wrong time."
"That could be it," he admitted. "The first ingredient of the summoning spell is the blood of a Slayer. Angelus would know that you would agree to anything to keep your sister safe." The Englishman frowned as he looked down at the carpet, "Assuming that he has captured our other search party, he now has all three ingredients and so will no longer need your co-operation."
"Hold the phone a minute, Giles. Faith, Slayer; Willow, witch. Okay, got that. Does that mean the third ingredient is werewolf blood?"
He looked uncomfortable, "Not precisely."
"Then what is it?"
"The blood from a female werewolf that has just fed."
It took a moment for the impact of his words to sink in. A look of horror spread across Buffy's face, "Oh, my God! Dawn!" Desperately she spun on Oz, "Will that bitch hurt my sister?"
The small man looked concerned. For someone who rarely showed any form of emotion, that was almost all the answer that Buffy needed. "Ru hasn't learned how to chain the wolf, yet. That's why we are here in the first place; to get her the talisman she needs. I've managed to teach her some influence whilst in the beast; I have seen her stop it from attacking a huntsman in the forest. But she definitely cannot control it like I do."
Buffy moved to stand before him. She was taller than the little man was and glared down into his eyes, "If she so much as touches Dawn, I'll kill her."
He did not break her gaze, "She won't. I trust her."
"Who is the woman?" Giles inquired, to break the tension.
Buffy turned her head to glance over her shoulder at Lilah. The young lawyer had taken a seat on the sofa and almost managed to look as if she were there for a meeting. Cordelia stood over her, scowling down, with her arms folded across her chest.
"Ally Mcbeal? She's going to tell us where the disciples are. Right now."
As the blonde Slayer strode toward her, Lilah regarded her with an appraising eye. She could see that the woman was angry and in no mood to play around.
"If I tell you where to try looking, will you let me go?"
"No. Tell me where the disciples are."
"Okay. You're a negotiator. I can respect that. What deal are you prepared to offer?"
"This one. Spill now or I get Xander to lend his tool belt to Cordelia while the rest of us go and have a coffee."
Lilah looked from Buffy to Cordelia and swallowed, "They're in the monastery on Sherman Drive."
++++++++++
Angelus slid off the table and reached into his pocket, withdrawing three small vials. He handed one to Spike, "You get the She-Wolf's."
As the white haired vampire knelt under the table and removed the tranquilliser rifle from its hiding place, Angelus walked over to Faith and Willow.
"Time for you two gals to donate."
Snatching hold of Willow's hand, he unfolded her fingers and used a small knife to draw a cut across her palm. She winced and took a sharp intake of breath at the brief pain. The vampire smiled at her as he uncorked one of the tiny vials and held it under the dripping flow of blood.
At the back of the room, there was a clack as Spike loaded in a dart and then casually rested the gun barrel over his shoulder. "You think the Shepherd will behave himself?"
The Irish vampire shook his head as he put the stopper back into the now full bottle, "I think that he would be stupid not to try something. All we need is for him to get Mobadon here. After that, he may require a permanent rest, don't you think?"
Harmony skipped down the cellar steps, "I've finished lighting the candles and drawing all the marks that you showed me in that book. Can I have a little drink, now?"
