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Part 2
Leonna once again stood in the middle of the large room, this time tapping her high heels in a sign of impatience. She crossed her arms and looked at the silver watch on her wrist. She glanced again in the direction of Spike and Drusilla’s bedroom, then around the room. There were no loitering minions like there had been when she had first arrived. She smiled evilly, knowing they were terrified of her and that they had gone to the sewers in an attempt to avoid her.
<And with good reason> she thought. <I doubt they’ve ever been in the presence of one who’s killed five Slayers in the last four hundred years.> She was rather proud of her track record, she was itching to make it six with this latest Slayer.
Buffy. She certainly presented quite a challenge, but Leonna had yet to face a challenge she couldn’t overcome. She wasn’t going to let some seventeen year old child get the best of her. Clouds of anger stirred in Leonna as she thought of Angelus, whom she had sired after he had been made human by his little Slayer. She would not let this Buffy have him, she would not let her win. <And there has to be some kind of a written rule about vampires and Slayers falling in love> she thought, shuddering in fury. He was supposed to be hers, like it should have been before he was first ensouled. Darla had kept him from her, she had been so overbearing when it came to him. She wouldn’t even share every now and then.
Leonna was interrupted from her thoughts by Spike appearing in the doorway to his room. Her thoughts shifted to him as she stared at him evenly. He certainly was handsome, and if wasn’t for Drusilla, he could have been hers also. She smiled at the irony of it all. She knew Spike wanted her, lusted after her, but his heart belonged to the insane vampiress and nothing would change that. Even when Dru had been lusting after Angelus, he had loved her with every fiber of his being. It surprised Leonna that vampires could have such feelings for any kind of creature, but she had seen it displayed throughout the ages. She shook her head slightly to clear it, then gave Spike her full attention.
“So, anything?” she asked lightly as she strode up to him, knowing she was affecting him. Knowing he was using every bit of self control to stop himself from doing something he would regret later on. The smile on her blood lips grew.
“Well, I found someone who owes me a big favor, who just so happens to own a plane that he is so...willingly letting us borrow. Problem is,” Spike said, pulling the cigarette that had been sitting behind his ear down and lighting it. He took a slow drag and continued. “He’s in the Bahamas right now and it’ll take him about a day to get here.”
She frowned, but controlled the anger and hatred that surged up in her. Hatred directed to the blond who seemed to always come out on top, always succeed. “Well, it’s better than nothing, I suppose. I take it Dru will be coming?” she said, raising her eyebrows slightly in a provocative way. She gave him a look that made him groan.
“Yeah, she wants to go back to Europe. America just hasn’t done anything for her,” he said tightly. He took another drag from his cigarette and passed it over to her. She puckered her lips and drew in a long drag, holding it in her dead lungs before blowing it in Spike’s face. She was taunting him, flirting with him and he knew it. He was powerless to her charms, to her powers. He seemed to forget that she was a powerful gypsy who had the skill to do things most people only dreamed of. She stepped forward, handing him back his cigarette, and placed a kiss on his cheek before turning to go back to her room, wriggling a little more than necessary.
Spike swallowed and closed his eyes, mentally cursing her and the power she held over him. He stood there for a long moment before walking back into the room where his princess reigned above all.
Katrina walked quietly into the the main part of the plane, careful not to wake any of the Slayerettes. They had been in the air for hours, awake for even longer, and everyone was exhausted. She glanced around the room, feeling admiration swell in her for the ones she traveled with. She was one of the few members of the Council who didn’t criticize the Slayer for having her friends help her. How could she when they’d saved the world from so many terrible things? When they’d averted so many apocalypses, defied so many prophesies? She even had had no objection to a vampire and a Slayer in love, not when the vampire was Angel. Many members had been determined to end it, but she had refused to let them get involved. She knew in her heart that they were meant to be together.
She stared at them now, asleep in each other’s arms in one of the leather chairs. They clung to each other in a somewhat desperate manner, an unconscious gesture of love and fear. Katrina watched Buffy stir and nuzzle Angel’s neck in her sleep, seemingly relieved that he was there. She smiled slightly, knowing what she would report back to the Council. Many of its members had been outraged as they watched the tragedy of Angel’s fall unfold. They had griped and complained about how unorthodox the whole thing was, how weak the Slayer seemed because she could not kill him. What Katrina had realized was that the Council members were ignorant when it came to love. They could not begin to fathom what it was like to lose your first love, to lose that sense of security.
But she could, not that anyone else knew about it. Knew about what she had gone through, what she had had to do. She kept her pain locked away in a forgotten corner of her heart. She would not let anyone know the horrors she had faced, she would never share her experiences with anyone. She was strong enough to not need anyone. She had healed long ago and moved on.
She looked briefly over the others. Willow and Oz slept in two of the chairs that were side by side, their fingers close but not touching. She smiled at them. Their feelings were new, she could tell. They were still tentative, unsure. Cordelia lay on the only bed, the others having given it to her so they wouldn’t hear her complain all night. Xander slept in a chair not far from Cordelia, curled in a ball. His blanket had slipped from his body and Katrina retrieved it from the floor, placing it across his shoulders again. He snuggled under it, pulling the blanket closer to him. She smiled at him before returning to the cockpit where Giles lay asleep with his book in his lap.
She chuckled softly and removed the book, getting one of the extra blankets and covering him with it. She touched his faced lightly, gazing at him sadly. She was attracted to him and she knew he was to her, but they could never be together. She smiled at the irony, a vampire and a Slayer were allowed to love, but two Watchers were not. Or could not, she had vowed long ago she would never get close to another man. It was too painful.
Sighing, she sat down in her seat and checked the gauges. They were going to be landing in Japan to refill and then would continue on to Romania. Katrina sat silently and stared out into the darkness.
They landed in Japan about sixteen hours after they had left Sunnydale. Giles and Katrina had agreed they should get as far as they could with the amount of gas they had, time was of the utmost importance. The Council had had to draw up fake passports for everyone, and since it was such short notice they were British passports. The gang had spent quite a bit of time perfecting their accents.
“All right,” Katrina said as they all gathered in the airport terminal. “The gentleman said it will be about an hour before they can refuel us, so we have that much time before we need to be back here. You may go off, but remain in groups. Don’t leave the airport and please be back promptly in one hour. Don’t forget the accents either, although you shouldn’t have to use them right now.”
The five teenagers and one ex-vampire nodded and said goodbye to the Watchers before heading off. Cordelia immediately spotted some designer clothing stores and dragged Xander towards them. Buffy, Angel, Oz, and Willow all walked around looking for phones and restrooms.
“I really wish I spoke Japanese,” Buffy said as she listened to conversations around her. They were beginning to give her a headache.
“Yeah, but at least some of the signs are in English,” Willow pointed out. Buffy nodded, grateful at least for that. The two couples made their way to the restrooms and found phones near them.
“Ooh, these are the cool kind of pay phones. Will, what did you tell your parents? I never asked.”
“Oh, just that there was an opportunity to go on this free trip that some company gave me or something. It worked out really well because my parents were going away and didn’t know where I was going to stay. So they didn’t ask too many questions,” Willow replied as Buffy punched in her calling card number and waited for her mother to answer.
“Hey, Mom...is it too late to call?...Okay, good...yeah, we’re all fine, the plane ride has been pretty cool so far. We’re in Japan right now...has Snyder called yet?...Oh, what did he say?...What did you say?...Cool. Okay, I’m gonna go, I’ll call you when we get there...Love you...I will...I will...Okay. Bye,” she said, hanging up the phone and turning to her friends. “Snyder called my house and told my mom I wasn’t there, she said I was on a trip with you guys and she had forgotten to inform the school or something. He didn’t call anyone else’s parents, thank God. That’s really not something I would want to explain to the school board. ‘Yeah, I had to go to Romania to stop this powerful vampire from killing me.’ Not exactly a good excuse.”
They wandered around for a while, grabbing a bite to eat before going into a book store for some magazines. Buffy was dismayed at the fact that there were hardly any there, but she picked up the latest issue of Seventeen and a Stephen King book. Angel picked up the new Anne Rice novel, receiving odd looks from them all.
“I got hooked,” he said simply, shrugging. The others laughed as they continued on to where they were supposed to meet Giles and Katrina.
“I wonder if Xander has survived,” Willow said, giggling.
“Maybe Cordy convinced him to buy some new clothes,” Buffy suggested, picturing Xander in clothes that would make him look like a model from GQ. She laughed.
They made it back with fifteen minutes to spare. Giles and Katrina were engaged in a conversation in some of the chairs and Xander and Cordelia were nowhere to be found. The four of them took seats a couple of chairs away from the two Watchers.
“Will, what do you think?” she said, tossing her head over in the direction of Giles and Katrina.
“I think there’s the mutual attraction there, but I don’t know. Ms. Calendar’s death hit Giles really hard, probably more than we know. I mean, he loved her and never got to tell her,” Willow said quietly, stealing a look in Angel’s direction. He sat next to Buffy, his hand entwined in hers, a somewhat sad expression passing across his features before disappearing. Willow felt proud of him, he was obviously trying hard to remember that it wasn’t his fault in any way. Buffy glanced at him too and gave him a soft kiss, squeezing his hand gently. He gave her a little smile.
“Yeah, I know. It would be kinda cool if she could come back to Sunnydale with us, though, she’s really awesome. Kinda kills the old Watchers-are-always-uptight-and-wear-tweed theory,” Buffy said, glancing once more in their direction. The two just seemed to realize that they were not alone anymore and looked up. They stood and made their way over to the group, Giles checking his watch as they did so.
“I gather Cordelia and Xander were not with you?” he asked, looking around for them. Buffy shook her head.
“We lost them as soon as Cordelia saw the Gucci store. Haven’t seen them since. We’re gonna give them ten more minutes before we send out the search party,” Buffy said. Giles gave her a slightly pained look. “Hey,” she said defensively, “We’re not on a Hellmouth anymore. You don’t have to take it literally.”
“Quite true. We were just informed that the plane is ready when we are,” Katrina spoke up, casting a glance around the terminal once more. She heard rather than saw Cordelia and Xander.
“I still think you should have bought it, Xander, you need a new wardrobe. Badly,” Cordelia said as they rounded the corner and headed towards the group. She was carrying several shopping bags, as was Xander.
“I will not pay a hundred dollars for a shirt, Cordy. An *ugly* shirt, might I add,” he retorted.
“Ugly? You’re calling that shirt ugly? You’re hopeless!!” she cried, then looked up to see the rest of the group watching them intently with smiles. “What? He is!”
“Buy enough, Cordy?” Buffy asked, turning her gaze to the many shopping bags. She would not want to see the bill for all those designer clothes.
“Yeah, she bought enough to clothe a small nation,” Xander muttered under his breath.
“Excuse me if I need more than two shirts and a pair of pants, Xander,” she retorted. He glared at her, then stomped over to one of the chairs and plopped himself into it.
“Ah, young love,” Oz said, eliciting a laugh from everyone but Xander and Cordelia, who continued to glare at each other.
“Three, two, one...” Angel said under his breath. Right on time, Xander and Cordelia launched themselves into each other’s arms, kissing furiously. The others just shook their heads.
“Yo, guys. We have to go. Remember? Leonna, Romania, people who don’t like me. You can make out on the plane,” Buffy said as she picked up her bag. They followed Giles and Katrina to where the plane was sitting. The wind whipped around them, causing the girls’ hair to blow all over the place. They quickly boarded and sealed the hatch. The guys strapped themselves in and watched the girls complain about their hair.
They left shortly afterwards, Giles and Katrina in the cockpit, Buffy and Angel curled up together, she reading her magazine, he reading his book. Oz and Willow were talking quietly and Xander and Cordelia were making out.
“Next stop, Romania,” Buffy muttered under her breath as they lifted smoothly off the ground. Angel smiled at her.
“Oh, I meant to ask you before. Why don’t the gypsies like you?” Angel asked, marking his spot and gazing at Buffy. She turned pink and looked back.
“Oh...um...I guess it would be because I kinda called them about Leonna and they didn’t believe me and I kinda...gave them an attitude,” she said sheepishly.
“Careful. They make enemies for eternity,” he teased. She groaned.
“That’s what I’m afraid of. We need their help with Leonna,” she replied.
“They’ll give it to us. One way or another,” Angel reassured her. She smiled and gave him a quick kiss before returning to her magazine.
“Is he here yet?” Leonna called into the outer room. She was busily packing what little she had brought. She paused, gazing over at the bed Melaine had slept in. Fury grew like a hurricane in her, itching to get out. Melaine had been killed by the Slayer not even a week before. “I will get revenge for you, Mel, my sweet. I will get revenge,” she whispered menacingly to the air.
“No, not yet,” Drusilla said from the doorway. Leonna spun around to see her. She was wearing a petticoat and carried her doll and an antique suitcase in her hand. “But I feel him...he’s coming. Soon, we’ll have another party,” she said dreamily, curling a lock of brown hair around her finger. “To celebrate the Slayer’s death.”
Leonna smiled at her. “That’s right, darling. And we’ll share her. All three of us.”
“Four,” Drusilla corrected. Leonna looked at her, confused.
“Melly’s coming along. She says to pack her bags for her. Her clothes keep jumping away from her and she’s growing panicked. She wants to come too,” Drusilla said, fixating her gaze on a point beyond Leonna. She turned sharply, half-expecting to see Melaine there. An empty wall met her gaze.
“Okay, sweetie. I’ll pack some clothes for her in my suitcase, all
right?” Leonna said softly. Drusilla smiled happily and turned and
walked back towards her room. Leonna shook her head and turned back to
her packing, anticipating the coming days.