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Chapter Ten: Gathering of the Big Bads

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Vienna, Italy

A trio of human looking demons walked through the rubble of an old church, the bodies of robed priests and priests littering the ground with small fires burning around them. In the background, the sounds of a fight and the tortured screams of the living could be heard.

The trio are dressed in stylish, expensive clothes that spoke of their power and money. One was a large, dark skinned male, silent as ever since he had his tongue ripped out as a child. The other was a woman, sleek and deadly with pale ashen skin. The other was a slim figured man with black hair and yellow eyes.

"Russo!" a hunched over demon with large green eyes hopped over to the trio. "We have captured the high priests."

"Good." Russo said, his sharp teeth gleaming in the fires. He brushed his black hair back as he cracked his neck. "Bring them to me."

The demon growled in reply and hopped away as the Trio stepped over the corpses.

A girlish giggled broke through the silence and they turned to see a blonde with brown cat ears poking through her curly hair. She was dressed in a slinky, pale blue green dress with shoes that matched the color of her dress. A brown furry tail swung side to side as she stepped through the puddles of blood before she reached the Trio, wrapping her arms around the slim male.

"Russo, look at all the people. They're dead and become deader still." she giggled against his lips. She bit his lower lip, moaning in pleasure as he ran his hand up her backside. "Can I play with them?" she asked against his mouth.

"All you what Il mio amante bello." Russo said, holding the girl to his side, his yellow eyes gleaming with her twisted delight. "Don't get too excited now, we still have a long night ahead of us Aari. I promised you a night on the town and it will be one you'll never forget."

"Hmm, promises promises." Aari sighed, giving Russo a deep kiss before she walked back to the bodies singing a little song as she bent down to one body, poking at it with her finger.

"Really Russo, playing with the dead?" Russo turned back to his companions, not surprised that it was Ira who spoke. Ira tilt her head to the side, her hands on her hips, her long black hair falling over her left shoulder, highlighting the red pant suit she wore. "That modello dello sciampo del Idiot is out of her mind. We don't need her around to mess up our plans."

"Careful Ira." Russo cautioned, wiggling his finger at her slowly. "You don't want to fight with me."

"Oh save it Brother." Ira snapped her yellow eyes bright with anger. "Your girlfriend is the reason we lost track of our little brother in the first place."

"And Aari is the only one who can find him again. Froflavs can track their own people." Russo said, stepping into Ira's space. "I have complete control over her."

"For how long?" Ira asked, stepping back. She hated having her personal space invaded. "Froflavs may be cowards and on the brink of extinction but they're still a danger. Their blood is poison, their powers beyond that of a high priest or priestess and they can destroy other demons with ease if given a reason. That spell of yours won't hold her in thrall for long."

"Just long enough." Russo said. "After we get our little brother back and the spell to ascend us is completed, then she will die."

"Until then, she is to remain unharmed and left to her own devices." Russo rushed ahead and grabbed Ira by her long hair, twisting it painfully in his hand. "Understood Sister dear?"

"Fine." Ira said.

"Good." Russo thrust her away from him.

She glared at him as she rubbed the sore spots on her head when the demon reappeared with the defeated priests. They were being dragged along by four shadow demons, demons that lived in the shadows of the world, slinking in and out with ease. It was how Russo found out about the priest's failure in Rome.

They threw the beaten and bloodied priests and priestess at their feet.

"Ah, High Priest, it’s a pleasure to see you again." Russo smiled at the beaten old man at his feet. "It seems that we have a problem that you caused. Yuri bring him up."

Yuri, the other member of the group, reached down and picked up the old priest in his large hands and held him up, his feet dangling three inches off the ground. He blinked his black eyes slowly as Russo approached them.

"Please, my lord, show mercy on us." the old priest pleaded through swollen lips. He looked at Russo, blood dripping into his right eye from a cut on his forehead as his jewelry swung from his neck. "We didn't know that the Slayers---"

"And that is the mistake that your cult has paid for." Russo broke in. "But that isn't the reason I'm here. I asked you for one thing and only one. To take care of my little brother after the spell. And you couldn't even do that."

"These are mine." He tore the black crystals hanging around the priest's neck, studying the stones before pocketing them. He grabbed the old priest's face. "Where is my little brother?"

"My lord, he was taken from us. We had no control over the events---"

"Yuri." There was a loud snap and the old priest screamed in pain as Yuri broke his arm. He twisted the old priest's now broken arm until he stopped moving, whimpering in pain.

"I didn't ask what happened. I want to know where my little brother is. I'm getting very tired of your excuses. Tell me now or I'll have Yuri break something else." Russo said. "And my brother loves to break things, don't you Yuri?"

Yuri grunted and started squeezing on the old priest's wrists, grinding bone against bone painfully.

"See, he was hurt when he was young. Had his tongue ripped out by our father's enemy. Molto violento, molto sanguinante e molto difettoso. And ever since then, there has been a rage inside of him, a hatred for others outside the Mauvra Clan. It makes him edgy and hard to control capisca? Only when he hurts others or breaks things, like your arm, then the rage simmers down enough for him to control it. And it’s been a long time since he released it, isn't that right Yuri?"

Yuri responded by breaking another arm.

"Wow, he must really be on edge." Russo commented after the old priest stopped screaming. "See, he hates it when our family is being threaten capisca? So tell me, what happened to our little Cristoforo?"

"S-S-Slayers." The old priest stuttered painfully.

"What about them?"

"T-hey c-c-c-came andddd---" the old priest voice died out as he struggled to breathe, the pain interfering with his thinking. “Il mio dio, dio dell'OH, prego risparmi me!!”

"Listen priesty, I don't have time for this. If you won't talk, I'm sure the others will." Russo turned to the rest of the group as Yuri wrapped his hands around the old priest's neck.

"So. Who wants to talk?" Russo asked the group as Yuri dropped the old priest, his neck bent in a strange angle. “Voi ragazza, desideri comunicare?” he asked a pale faced priestress. Ira grabbed her from behind and dragged her forward, kicking and sobbing.

===========

"Idiots guasti del cervello didn't know what they were getting into." Russo said as Aari and his siblings walked out of the burning church. "Trying to raise the feces del cane of a demon god."

"Eww." Aari squealed. "Nice mental picture Russo."

"Sorry il mio caro." Russo said, grabbing his girl around the waist and pulled her close. He turned to his siblings. "Ira. Yuri. I want you to go to Los Angeles and pick up that damn vampire bitch. If we are going to get Cristoforo back, we'll need her. Do everything you can, just get her back here. Undead and unspoiled."

He gave Ira a warning look.

"And what about us lover?" Aari asked against his throat.

"We'll go to Rome and see about getting our brother away from those Slayer bitches. They may have killed our Father, the Immortal, but we won't let them kill him." Russo said. "With the Circle of the Black Thorn gone and the First in retreat, the Mauvra Clan is the strongest force in this realm. With the birth of a new Immortal, we'll concrete our hold in this realm. Nothing will stand in our way after that. Until then keep your eyes open and listen to the shadows. Let nothing get in our way."

"Of course Brother." Ira said with a slight bow before she and Yuri walked away.

"Ooh, Rome! They have one of the best shoe and clothes shops around!" Aari spoke with unbridled delight. She wrapped her arms around Russo's neck. "How can I repay you?"

"Oh I think I have a couple of ideas." Russo said, as he plundered her mouth.

===============


"Buffy!"

Buffy dropped the basket full of clothes she was carrying as Dawn's scream carried from the dining room. She ran into the room, pausing only for a moment to see Dawn kneeling besides Dib as he shook on the ground, a scream bubbling from his lips.

"Dawn get back!" Buffy said as she straddled Dib's chest, and grabbed his arms, forcing them down on the floor as his legs kicked out, knocking over the chairs in the dining room. His eyes were rolled back as he shook his head side to side. "Oh god---"

Dib stopped suddenly, going limp as his vision passed. He laid still the only sign that he was still alive was the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he swallowed gulps of air. Blood ran down from his nose as another blood vessel popped in his brain.

"Dib?" Buffy cupped his face gently, bringing his attention to her. "Dib? It's okay. It's over now." She spoke to him softly for a few minutes as he struggled to stay awake, his head pounding.

His skin was pale and wet, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as his head rolled to the side, his tail flipping around. His eyes fluttered opened and he focused on Buffy as she stroke his hair. He looked away for a moment to give a frighten Dawn a brief smile.

He snapped his fingers, signaling for Buffy to let go. She climbed off him and helped him to his feet, leading him to the couch. He sat down, feeling old and tired as he wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve, looking up at Dawn.

'I'm okay Dawn.' he signed to her. 'It's not that bad.' It was a lie, he felt like he was dying and for a moment as he struggled under Buffy, he wished that he did if only to stop the pain. It made him sick now to think that he wished to die. 'Can you get me something to drink?'

Dawn nodded, speaking with her hands as she spoke to him. "Sure. Don't scare me like that again okay?"

She turned around and disappeared into the kitchen.

'Buffy.' Dib started signing to her. 'I saw her. The girl in my dream. I think she's real.'

"How?"

'I dunno. She's some place full of sun, living under the shadows of an angel, helping the helpless.' Dib signed. 'It felt urgent, this vision. I think she's at the edge---'

The phone started ringing, startling the two of them. Buffy gave Dib a roll of her eyes and he smiled. The phone always seemed to ring at the wrong moment. She walked over and answered. "Hello?"

Dawn walked back in with a glass of water and some pills in her hand. She handed them to Dib and sat down next to him. "Dib. Maybe you should lie down and rest."

'I will Dawn.' Dib swallowed the pills and water. 'Thanks for caring.'

"I care for you Dib." Dawn said, laying her head on his shoulder and hugged his arm. "I care about you alot."

Dib frowned at the hint of something else in Dawn's voice. Did she care for him more than a friend and roommate? As he was about to ask her, Buffy hung up the phone, looking down deep in thought.

"Buffy?" Dawn frowned, pulling her head up from Dib's shoulder. "Did something happen?"

"Huh?" Buffy looked up at Dawn and Dib before shaking her head. "That was Hector. The Watcher from L.A. ---he called to say that they just lost a Slayer."

"Oh." Dawn sighed sadly before frowning, "Wait, how did they lose a Slayer? Did she die---"

"No. No. At-at least they don't think so." Buffy rubbed the back of her neck, the muscles tense. "Apparently a group went out for some fun, taking some of the new girls with them and they ran into some vampires. They fought against them but then a woman showed up. Super strong and---blue."

"Blue." Dawn and Dib raised their eyebrows.

"Yeah. With her help the vampires managed to take out the girls before escaping. They took one of the girls when they did."

"Oh no."

"They tried to use magic to find her but so far nothing turned up. Every time they do, the spell goes ka-blooey." Buffy frowned as she took a seat on the couch next to Dawn. "So far, the search for the girl hasn't come up with anything---"

"Annnnddd---" Dawn said when Buffy didn't go on.

"Huh? Oh, uh the girls said something---that the vampires they were fighting said that they had souls."

"Souls?" Dawn chuckled. "Well that's weird. Why would vampires say they have souls unless---" Dawn's eyes widen. "Do you think it was Angel and Spike?!"

Buffy shook her head sadly. "I don't know. Not everyone is out of the hospital. The ones who've been talking said that it was a girl saying that she had a soul. That she helps the helpless."

Dib started snapping his fingers and signing, 'My vision! My vision!'

"What vision? The one that just happened?" Dawn asked confused.

'My vision showed a girl living in the sun, under the shadows of an angel.'

"California. That's a place of sun. And L.A. is the city of lights." Dawn said, piecing things together. "And it’s also known as the city of angels."

"And that she helps the helpless. That's what that vampire said." Buffy finished. "Dib, you think that this is connected somehow."

He nodded. 'Yes. It has to be.'

Buffy nodded, slapping her hands on her knees before standing up. "I guess we better go check it out. This is too much for it to be just a coincidence. I'll go check it out and--"

'Not without me.' Dib signed, standing up with his arms crossed and a determined look on his face. His ears flattened as well.

"Dib, you have school and---"

"Like I need school!" Dib spoke, coughing as he did. When he looked up at Buffy and Dawn, his eyes were tearing up from the tickling in his throat. "It's boring and I swear that I've lived through it. I'm going."

"Fine. But you're not." Buffy pointed to Dawn before she could speak. "He might not need school but you do."

"Fine!" Dawn huffed, crossing her arms with a put out face.

"Don't worry Dawn." Dib said, poking his elbow into Dawn's side. "I'll promise to get you something on Rodeo Drive."

"You better!" Dawn said, pushing Dib.

Buffy walked over to the phone to set up the mission to L.A. as Dawn and Dib teased each other.





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