2.3

SIT

Rebirth And Retreat

By Stephen Craig

The condo shook around the group of SIT’s as they gathered their stuff, hurriedly loading in into the waiting van.

“Hurry up!” shouted Kara, who was starting the engine as she shouted. Below them the earth shook again.

“Is Buffy sure what she’s doing?” asked Rose, throwing a bag into the seat beside her. “She’s sure” Stephen assured her. Turning he saw Hope watching the group from the side of the Condo. He sighed and ran over to her.

“Need a lift?” he asked. She looked at him as if apprising him for the first time.

“who said I was leaving?” she asked in a low tone.

“Get in the van” he told her. She nodded and ran to the van, jumping in next to Kelly. “Oh yay, its you” Kelly said.

“In the flesh” Hope replied as Stephen got in the van next to Kara.

“Are we all here?” he asked. Jenna, Kelly, Simone and Kara all answered.

“Good, lets get out of here” he said. Kara didn’t waist anytime, putting her foot to the gas, the Van sped off. Jenna felt the tears fall from her eyes as the Condo began to grow smaller behind them. Across town she knew a school bus was ferrying the other Slayers, Buffy, Faith, Xander and hopefully Willow, Anya and Dawn. out of the area. She let out a little cry as the road behind them began to collapse inwards, suddenly it overtook the Condo and their home collapsed into the earth. Beside her she heard Kelly whisper softly. “Please be alright Giles”

“he will be” Kara said from the driver seat.

As the SITS sped off they watched their home vanish into the ground. And for once it was silent.

Lady Delucia had already left town a few days earlier, now she was in LA, her apartment as lavishly furnished as her previous one. She watched the news, saw the two lone vehicles speeding from the town. One a long yellow school bus, the other a blue mini van. She smiled to herself. Then felt the creature watching her from the window. Turning in her seat she saw nothing. She moved over to the window and looked out. It was dark, night having long fallen over the city. Of the Creature that had escaped from the mirror there was no sign.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” said a voice behind her. She turned and gasped.

“You.. but You...”

“died?.. yes well I decided to come back.. pay a visit. Neona you see is.. concerned that your not taking adequate precautions against the SITS” the man said.

“I have served Neona faithfully for four years” Delucia said with vehemence in her voice. The man smiled, a cruel, twisted smile.

“Well believe it or not...” Before Delucia could react, the blade she>hadn’t seen was in her throat. She grasped at it, pulling it free, the blood gushed down her dress, leaving red patches. She tried to reach out to the man, but fell short, she collapsed to her knees, and with a final shudder fell still.

“-Your fired. Neona can work you all she wants, but I serve only one person” said the man with a grin. He looked around the apartment.

“I think I’m gonna like this” he said with a smile.

Across the city, on top of the ‘H’ letter in the Hollywood sign the Darkling roared. It leapt from the letter to the ground and scurried off into the darkness.

Buffy Summers watched as her town fell to nothingness A gaping hole in the ground where once an entire town had stood.

“So Buffy, what are you gonna do?” asked Dawn. Buffy smiled to herself, then turned as a blue mini van pulled up. She watched as Giles let out a small laugh, and run to the van. “you made it” he said.

“Just... hell I left my CD collection behind” said Stephen. Giles smiled at him. The rest of the vans occupants got out, and looked at the girls who were sitting in the school bus, who were watching them with a confused look. Rose got out and looked around, she saw Xander standing alone, eyes closed, and walked over to him.

“Xander?” she asked softly. He suddenly sniffled and Rose realised he’d been crying. “What’s up?” Rose asked, concerned. He looked at her and smiled sadly.

“She’s gone Rose” he said softly. Rose put her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry Xander.. I really am” She said.

Kelly was looking around inside the bus, finally she got out and went up to Buffy. “Where is he?” she asked.

“He... didn’t make it Kelly” Buffy said. Kelly blinked a couple of times.

“He’s dead?... how?” Kelly asked.

“He died a hero.. he saved the world” Buffy told her. Kelly nodded. Buffy grasped her arm. Kelly looked at her, but remained silent.

“So what do we do now?” asked Andrew speaking up.

“Yeah B we can’t stay out here all night, besides the teacher needs some A&E help ASAP” Faith added.

“We’ll go to LA” Buffy said. “Once we’re there we can sort out what to do next” she added.

“Home sweet prison” muttered Faith getting back into the School bus. Giles looked at Stephen.

“Are you coming with us?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’ll go on ahead.. see If Angel can help us out before you guys get there” Stephen told him.

“Ok.. hopefully he can spare a few rooms” Giles replied. Neither of the men saw Hope look up at the mention of Angel.

The Trip to LA, though long, was quiet. The girls had just witnessed the death of their home, their entire town. For some of them the battle with The First had taken a more personal meaning. Kelly, usually quick with her sarcasm, was unusually quiet, and even ignored Rose, when the other Slayer tried to talk to her. The atmosphere was tense. Finally after 3 hours of driving, the small van pulled up outside the hotel. Getting out, Stephen went up to the front door and walked in.

“Where’s Angel?” asked Jenna looking around once she and the others had joined Stephen in the hotel. It was deserted, however it was still clean so had only been abandoned recently.

“He’s not here” said Hope stepping forwards and sniffing the air. Kara looked at her as she spoke, sure she had heard a note of... relief in the mysterious woman's voice.

“Well it appears deserted, and at the moment I think we should consider staying-” Stephen was cut off by a woman’s voice from the balcony above them.

“I’m gonna miss this place.. We had memories here” she said. Jenna smiled and waved, catching the woman’s attention.

“Jenna!” Fred said with a smile, seeing her. Beside Her a young black man also smiled. “How ya doing kid?” he asked, pleasantly.

“Good thanks” Jenna replied. Then she noticed Stephen and Kara looking at them.

Oh yeah, Stephen, Kara, this is Fred and Gunn, friends of Angel” Jenna introduced.

Amy Maddison was bored. She had been bored since arriving in LA, however seeing the Sunnydale report on TV had left her feeling a little upset. She had saw the birds eye view picture as the town had been enveloped and destroyed. Her father had understood her pain. She had friends whom she hadn’t heard from since leaving the town.

“Amy Maddison?” she looked up sharply at the owner of the voice. A man she had never seen before.

“Do we know each other?” she asked, not inviting him to sit down.

“we have... friends in common” he told her, sitting down anyway.

“Really?” she found it hard to believe, this man reeked of dark magic. In fact she could almost see the shadow of its evil slithering around him.

“yes, her name is Willow” he said with a somewhat forced smile. Amy went on the defensive. She knew Willow all right, and this person, whoever he was, was not someone Willow would have considered a friend.

“no, I’m afraid I don’t know a Willow“ she said. The man smiled again.

“now now my dear, no need to be afraid. You can carry out the pretence of being the good little witch all you want. I know your heart. I can see the inner struggle within”

“I don’t know what the hell your talking about” she said.

“Magic, Amy.. pure, unadulterated magic. The purity of the soul, the vengeance of the mind. You have a great power within you Amy, yet you.. suppress it like an unwanted sibling. something to be.. hidden away, not touched for fear of harm”

“What do you want?” she asked, eyes narrow.

“Why my dear Amy.. I want to help you...” he said.

The young woman carried her baby through the dark streets, aware she was being followed. She had caught a glimpse of it twice, but she could hear the faint click of claws across stone. Turning a corner she saw a taxi cab driving past, she held out her hand for it, but it continued past her without stopping. Cursing she began to walk quickly up the street. After a few moments she stopped and listened. There was no clicking, no other sounds than the rustle of rubbish blown down the street by the wind.

“its ok baby, we’re nearly home” she said to the child sleeping in her arms. She began to cross the road when it landed in front of her. She screamed, clinging to the child as the creature advanced on her. the Darkling watched her for a few moments, processing her behaviour, the scream she had made. It vision showed the heart pumping blood around her body at a fast rate, and the sleeping child in her arms. It reared up on its hind legs, and then came crashing down, its fangs biting into the woman’s shoulder she screamed again, even as her knees gave way and she fell to the ground. A few moments later her arms opened and the baby was exposed. The Darkling moved forwards, the woman was thankful she could at least close her eyes. She whished however she was also deaf.

The club wasn’t exactly busy, but it was a break for the moment. Jenna, Rose and Kelly had all left the others to go out and look around the town.

“Not the Ritz is it?” said Rose sighing.

“Its a club, there’s guys, there’s music” said Rose.

“Speaking of guys, how’s Xander?” asked Jenna.

“Xander is Xander.. I don't think he’ll get over Anya’s death quickly, he was too dedicated to her” Rose said softly. Kelly rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, Xander’s so dedicated, he could be three dedicated men” she said.

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, for tonight only, the newest hottest act in town. Put your hands together for DM” said the announcer on the stage. As the lights in the Bronze came up, Kelly, Jenna and Rose froze. Marc stood on the stage. he looked over at them and the music began.

“We have a problem” said Kelly

“No crap” muttered Jenna.

“Guess who’s back.. back again.. Dark Marc’s Back.. tell a friend” he sang before the lights died and the stage exploded....

Angel had been busy with Wolfram and Heart, setting things up when he had walked into the club. He saw Jenna over at a table with Kelly and Rose. He was about to wave when the Announcer had introduced DM, whoever that had been. Then when the lights came up he realised he knew the man on stage. However judging from the looks on the faces of the three slayers this was not meant to be happening. Then the lights had gone out, and the stage had exploded. Now in the panic he could see the smouldering wreck that had been the stage, the announcer laying head crushed under it. People were running screaming, He caught a glimpse of Jenna, Rose and Kelly, helping the wounded out of the club. But where was Marc?

“Right here Angel!” came a voice behind him. Angel spun around and saw Dark Marc regarding him with a smirk.

“I thought you were dead” Angel said.

“You’d be surprised how often I get that, but as you can see, alive and well” Dark Marc said with a small bow.

“I’m telling you this once.. leave them alone” Angel said. Dark Marc began to laugh. “Oh you do have a sense of humour don’t you? Well Angel.. let’s put it this way.. who’s gonna stop me?”

“I will!”

“Oh I think not.. I really think not” Dark Marc said, he held up his hands and blasted Angel across the room.

“Now now.. you should play fair” said Rose. Dark Marc spun around, and felt the hard crack of a fist against his face. He staggered back and looked up glaring.

“AMY!” he called out. Suddenly Jenna, Rose and Kelly found themselves unable to move as magical tendrils wrapped themselves around the three slayers.

“what the hell?” said Jenna, struggling.

“Now I’m going to enjoy killing you slowly..” Dark Marc said through clenched teeth. He held up his hands and began to chant. then the roof collapsed in and the Darkling screamed. The Darkling had fled the destruction of Sunnydale relatively unhurt, still it had a goal now.. Neona had left behind things that could hurt it. the Slayers were no longer important. Now it had to deal with Dark Marc. It had sensed Dark Marc’s resurrection when Neona had brought it back. Now it was time to deal with him. the Darkling screamed again and jumped forwards, Dark Marc raised his hands, and the Darkling hit a barrier it fell back stunned, but only for a moment. It righted itself, and then pulled back.

“Marc! its time to leave!” shouted Amy from the doorway. Dark Marc glared at the Darkling, then at the slayers.

“Another time” he spat, then he ran out with Amy. the Darkling roared and bounded out after it.

“ok two questions.. what the hell is going on here.. and what the hell was that?” asked Kelly as Angel rejoined the group.

“trouble” said Angel. “Big trouble”

“Hey guys, miss us?” said Xander cheerfully as he walked into the hotel lobby with Buffy, Willow and the rest of the Sunnydale survivors.

“Glad you could make it” said Stephen. “but we have a problem” he added.

“Problem? what sort of problem?” asked Giles.

“the girls went out, for a mini patrol. Went to a bar. had fun” Stephen said.

“Yeah until it turned out Marc was the lead singer of Stage killers ‘r’ us” Kelly said. “Marc?” Giles said.

“No.. I’ve already called. Its not Marc Giles, its our old friend, Dark Marc” Kara said. “but he’s dead” Giles protested.

“I told him that, he didn’t seem to concerned about it” Angel replied walking down the stairs. His eyes met Buffy’s briefly, but he said nothing to her.

“Great we survive one disaster and another turns up” Xander muttered.

“Actually that wasn’t the only thing that happened. Dark Marc was ready to kill us, but then something dropped in.. looked like a lion/tiger/spider oh my type of demon” said Rose.

“I’ve started looking into it, but at the moment not much to go on” Stephen said.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Kelly.

“Well its obvious that if Dark Marc’s back he’s after us, this other demon you described is like nothing I’ve ever learned about”

“Its something to do with this Neona” said Hope, speaking up from the corner of the room. Angel turned and looked at her, mouth open.

“Hope?” he asked slowly.

“Yeah.. its me” she replied. Angel blinked, and shook his head.

“I thought.. I thought you were....”

“dead? not quite.. close a couple of times but still kicking around“

“You two know each other?” asked Giles.

“We have a.. professional.. relationship” said Angel, looking guiltily at Buffy, who just looked away.

“Ok as much fun as this reunion is.. what do we do about Dark Marc and this creature?” asked Stephen.

“And Amy” added Jenna.

“Amy?” said Willow. “Amy Maddison?” she repeated.

“Didn’t catch her second name, sorry” said Kelly.

“Look this isn’t important.. we need to find out what this thing is, and just what the hell Dark Marc is doing alive” snapped Giles. Everyone looked at him. “Jenna, Rose, Kelly, Research, Stephen you oversee them. Kara, you and I will head down to this club and see if we can find out anything, Buffy, Xander Willow, with us please.. Hope-”

“I need to speak to Angel” Hope cut in and making her tone dark enough so Giles would realise that she would not be outdone on this. Giles nodded and Angel led Hope into his old office.

“You’re looking good” he said quietly.

“I try to keep up appearances” she said, finally letting a smile show. Angel returned the smile, and sat down.

“What you been up to since we last.. talked?” he asked, crossing his arms. Hope sat on the desk and flicked her hair back, shrugging.

“this and that. Trying to be the guiding light for the unfortunate humans of this world” she thumbed back through the door.

“And boy are those guys unfortunate” Angel let out a small chuckle.

“But they’re good people.. hell last year they killed the Devil”

“I heard.. you don’t know half of what’s happening in the underworld cus of it” she said. angel nodded.

“Nature abhors a vacuum, its to be expected” he said. Hope nodded.

“yeah, but I’m worried about them, I mean I don’t know half their names.. but... I do worry” she said. Angel smiled.

“Yeah.. I know what you mean” he agreed. they looked out of the window of the office at the busyness out in the foyer.

“That thing... what was it?” asked Amy looking over at Marc. Marc shrugged.

“A demon.. a pest.. its not important.. what IS important is the fact those little bitches got away”

“you don’t like them do you?” Amy said, sitting down.

“They took everything I was.. everything I could have been and destroyed it.. this time I shall return the favour” he vowed.

Across town, the Darkling ate. A homeless man, blood full of booze and drugs. Still food was food. Dark Marc, the servant of Neona had escaped him. For now.. But it had the scent.. it wouldn’t be long.. Ducking it continued to feed...