Additional Notes: This was created in response to Rebecca’s Wishverse Challenge. My muse disappeared after writing what I’ve posted- I’m hoping that feedback might bring her back again. Truly, I’m not sure if I should continue. Let me know if you think I’m far off, or if you feel I might have something interesting and should continue.

A New Assignment

The walls of the cave practically vibrated with Kate Lockley’s annoyance. She regarded Travers with an expression of disbelief.

“So let me get this straight. The Master has gone underground- whereabouts unknown. You want us to somehow capture this ‘puppy’ and bring him in? You really think he’ll help us?” Kate asked derisively.

Travers haughtily ignored her tone. “Kate, he’s been tortured and brutalized. Surely he’ll recognize a golden opportunity to get back at his…oppressors,” he said.

Kate snorted. “So we’re just supposed to trust that a vampire is going to go against the others, and lead us to where the Master is,” she asked.

Travers nodded. “What else would you suggest?” he asked snidely, noticing her smirk.

Kate shrugged. “Don’t any of your contacts know where he could be?” she asked, and Travers sighed.

“All the contacts are recently…deceased,” he said, and Kate shook her head.

“Not very good contacts,” she muttered.

Travers hissed in an annoyed breath. “Kate, need I remind you of your position in this group? You may be a Watcher, but as of yet you have not been given a Slayer. If you continue to be headstrong and reticent, you may never fully realize your potential in this organization,” Travers hissed, and Kate nodded- a more bit subdued.

She sighed. “So then what?” she asked, and Travers shrugged.

“We call in the Slayer to defeat the Master. We can finally get out of hiding,” he said, motioning with disgust to the walls of the cave where the Watcher’s Council had been forced to escape to. “And we start reclaiming this world,” he finished.

Kate looked at him evenly. “And you really think this will work?” she asked dubiously.

“It’s all we can do,” he answered quietly.

Grabbing her stakes and cross, Kate nodded. “I’ll get to the location of the old hangout in about twenty minutes,” she said, turning to go.

“Kate,” Quentin said, and she turned to face him. “Be careful,” he cautioned.

She simply walked away.



The Bitter Taste Of Reality

Kate picked her way over the mess of garbage in the street. “This is disgusting,” she said, and her partner looked at her in amusement.

“And LA is so much better?” he asked mockingly. She gave him a glare.

“LA doesn’t require full quarantine after being outside for a few minutes,” Kate shot back.

“Why don’t you go back?” he replied, and this time Kate didn’t answer.

In truth, LA was just as bad as Sunnydale- though it didn’t have the distinction of being on a Hellmouth. When she’d received the call to come to Sunnydale to meet with Quentin Travers, she’d been stunned.

All her life she’d been groomed for the Council, but her teachers had all found her impropriety and strong will too difficult to manage.

The thought of finally being accepted into the Council had been a thrilling thought. Never had she imagined that taking down the master would be her final test to prove her worthiness.

Reaching the remains of the Bronze club, they found the doors locked. Carefully picking at the lock, they made their way inside. Two vamps immediately jumped from their sentry posts behind the door.

Kate’s stake landed squarely in the one vamp’s heart, immediately dispatching it.

Turning, she used her other hand to bring up a cross and ward the other towards her partner, Mac. Mac quickly showered the vampire with holy water, then staked him.

‘Clearly fledglings- we’d never have gotten them dusted that easily otherwise,’ Kate noted with disdain.

Kate brushed herself off, then moved farther into the main room. It didn’t appear that too many vamps had stuck around after the Master had moved on.

Her eyes narrowed in disgust at the many chains and cages that had once held human prisoners.

Their informants had told them that only a few vamps had been left to safeguard the club. The vampire who’d been the Master’s personal pet had been left as well- probably too weak to travel.

And even though the Master and his favorite subjects would miss their pet, Kate figured the Master would just get a new one.

Though it was curious that this pet hadn’t been killed before they left. ‘Must have left in a hurry,’ Kate mused, looking at the disarray the club was in.

Reaching the back hallway, she and Mac cautiously made their way to the end of the cells.

Mac took up a flanking position, as she located the vamp they needed to grab. Reaching his cell, she noticed a large figure hunched on the ground. She wrinkled her nose at the smell- wondered if he was already dead.

She slid the keys out of her pocket, and opened the lock. At the loud creak of the door, the figure carefully turned over, and Kate shone her flashlight over him.

Before she could react to the horror that was in front of her, she felt movement behind her.

“Kate!” Mac called out, as a vampire reached over and shoved her down into the cell. Then went straight for Mac.

“Damn it,” Kate swore, dropping her flashlight and the keys to root around her pockets for her stake.

Mac was putting up a valiant fight, though Kate could tell that this vamp must be extremely strong. Finally getting hold of her stake, she carefully made her way towards them.

As she got within a few feet, Mac stopped struggling. At first, Kate thought he might have gotten the upper hand- but then she realized the vamp was drinking.

She fought the wave of fury that washed over her. She remembered her teacher Margaret’s words- ‘Calm in the heat of battle, Kate. Keep your head clear, your mind sharp- then go for the kill.’

Calm, calm, must remain calm. Slowly approaching, the vamp was so busy with its prey it didn’t even notice her approach.

It also missed the predatory smile on her face as she slammed the stake home. But as it exploded in front of her, her grim smile of victory fell as she watched Mac’s body hit the floor.

He’d been a good man.

She backed up a bit, wiping at the moisture that was gathering in her eyes. Damn it, she could not get emotional now. People died- that’s the way this world worked.

You deal, you move on. But still- she was sick and tired of seeing people she liked go down.

Making her way back to the cell, she threw another cautionary glance over her back before coming back in. Dark eyes glanced at her from a disfigured face, but she ignored his questioning look.

She retrieved her flashlight, then moved over to him. “Can you walk?” she asked, and his eyes closed. She shook his shoulder slight. “Can you walk?” she repeated, more sharply this time, and he shook his head.

Great. Fantastic. So she’d have to carry him.

Well, no time like the present, she thought to herself, moving behind him. Placing her hands under his shoulders, she pulled up hard. His shriek of pain echoed in the halls, and she quickly braced them both against the wall.

Facing him, the wall bearing much of his weight, she glared at him. Purposely ignored the cuts, bruises and scars that covered his body, she leaned in.

“Listen here, buddy. I know you’re wounded. But I’ve got a job to do, and that includes getting us both out of her relatively intact. So put up and shut up, and help me out. Because if you fight, you’ll find out I can be a lot worse than your tormentors here were,” she said, voice low.

He nodded again, slowly, and she took a deep breath. “Alright, on the count of three. One, two, three…” And as she pushed away from the wall, she found that he could hold up most of his strength on his own, as long as he braced himself on the wall.

Sliding along the hallway, Kate fought the urge to hide Mac’s body. It was no use- it’d be found anyway. He was gone, in a better place. His body was only a shell- nothing done to it could hurt him now.

Not facing the huddle that had been her partner, she glanced over at the wounded vampire. He was looking at Mac with sadness.

“Your friends’ work,” she spit out, not entirely forgetting that this creature was one of the things she fought against. His eyes briefly met hers.

“They were never my friends,” he whispered, and she shrugged.

Getting to the main room, she stopped to take some well-needed breaths. The walls were too far from the door to keep going that way- she’d have to figure something else out.

Just then, the vampire beside her gasped in pain and fell to the floor, clutching his ribs.

She looked at him, realizing their walk down the hallway had cost him more than she realized. Then she got an idea. Grabbing hold of his arm, she began the slow process of dragging him across the floor.

Inch by inch, painful gasp by painful gasp, they reached the door.

Pulling it open, Kate motioned to the van sitting outside. Immediately, four people jumped out and grabbed the vampire. Kate barely noticed them helping him into the back of the van, as she got into the passenger side.

Taking a look at the club’s outside, she felt the ice-cold sensation of fear slide out of her spine. Relaxing against the worn leather of the seat, she let out a breath of relief.

Just another day on the job.

 

A Debriefing To Remember

The others had rushed the vampire away before Kate could even get out of the van. Walking wearily into the stairwell, she descended to her room.

The Watchers and all in training had been given rooms near the central room. She knew she’d be debriefed soon, but she needed a break.

Unlocking her door, she barely glanced around her sparse one-room ‘apartment’. Throwing her coat on the floor, she went into the bathroom. Locking the door, she made sure to set her stake on the edge of the tub.

She would never forget when they’d been testing her reflexes, and had sent a vampire prisoner in to attack her while taking a bath. She did not want to repeat that experience ever, ever again.

Thirty minutes later, she wiped the steam from the fogged mirror. Pulling her wet hair into a ponytail, she quickly dressed into the requisite gray skirt and top. Opening her door, she went to her bed.

Pulling her books off the nightstand, she quickly organized them into which she wanted to study tonight.

After that was done, she grabbed the phone. “Eleanor, I’ll take whatever the staff can bring,” she said. Satisfied that there would be food waiting for her in her room (though goodness knew if it would be edible) when she got back, she left her room.

Travers was waiting for her when she entered the room, and he quickly gave her an appraising smile.

“Nice work,” he complimented, but Kate didn’t respond. He motioned with his glass, and when she nodded, he poured a glass of brandy for her as well.

He handed her drink to her, motioning for her to sit. “So what’s happening with the vampire?” she asked abruptly, not able to beat around the bush.

Quentin shrugged. “We’ve set him up in one of the examining rooms,” he answered cryptically, brushing lint off his jacket coat.

Kate recognized the evasive tactic. “Did he give us any useful information as of yet?” she questioned, and his gaze sharpened on her.

“No. In fact, he quite passed out when he was removed from the van. We’ll interrogate him later,” he said with a dismissive tone.

Kate fought her anger. Typical- she was never kept informed on her missions. Well, this one was different. “I want to make sure Mac didn’t die for nothing,” she said harshly, and Travers’ eyes softened a bit at the man’s name.

“As do I,” he said, with a steely resolve. The look in his eyes sent a frisson of fear up Kate’s spine.

“Will you kill the vamp afterwards?” she asked, trying to keep her tone light. Vampires were evil, cruel creatures. But something about this one intrigued her, much though she detested admitting it.

He eyed her carefully. “Do you care?” he asked, and Kate tried not to waver under his shrewd glance. Finally, she settled for a careless shrug.

“Just wondering if I’ll be part of the extermination team,” she replied, making her voice flippant.

Quentin laughed, as he finally seated himself across from her. “You’re something else, Kate,” he said, still chuckling through his words. “Now, about this magick you’ve taken an interest in,” he began, picking up his books.

“I think I have someone who you’d like to work with,” he said, and Kate leaned forward eagerly.

 

A Late Night Summons


Four hours later, Kate wearily pulled herself into her room. Much though she enjoyed talking with Travers, who had extensive knowledge on just about everything she wanted to know, listening to him blather did tend to give her a headache.

The Watchers themselves had all been working feverishly to try and eradicate all the remaining vampires in Sunnydale before the Master came back- if he ever did.

Kate knew she should be grateful that she didn’t have to pull their long hours, carefully scouring every known piece of literature to try to locate a clue on where the Master’s location was.

But it didn’t help that she felt she was only a lackey to them. They get the info, and let the others like her get dirty doing the job.

Trying to tell herself it didn’t matter, she gratefully sank onto her bed. Crackers, cheese and bread had been neatly lined on a tray, and the tray placed on her nightstand.

Leaning back against the headboard, she put some cheese on the bread and took a bit, carefully thinking over what Travers had told her about this evening. She’d long been interested in the study of magick, and been disappointed to find that there weren’t many books on the subject.

Most Watchers preferred to specialize in weapons or self-defense; Kate figured this was just another one of her odd quirks that the others laughed over.

She carefully took hold of the folder Quentin had handed her, and pulled out the photo. Rupert Giles, a Watcher who’d come from England to Sunnydale when most of the Watcher’s Council had moved here.

She looked at his profile. Studious, intelligent, though slightly rebellious, he apparently had first hand knowledge of magick due to the fact that two of his closest friends, both Watchers themselves, had fallen into the trap of the dark arts.

Kate carefully replaced the photo and profile in the folder, and slid it into her drawer. Travers had told her she could meet this Giles man soon, and she intended to have all her questions ready.

But for now, all she wanted was sleep. Moving the food tray to her desk chair, she was going to get her pajamas on when someone knocked.

She slid to the door, and looked out the peephole. Opening the door, she gave her best don’t-disturb-me-for-something-stupid glare at the doctor standing on the other side. The man squirmed under her gaze.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Ms. Lockley, but the prisoner has been asking for you,” he stammered out.

Kate crossed her arms over her chest. “And are the prisoners always obeyed?” she snarled, and the man shook his head rapidly.

“No, no, of course not. Just..uh, Sir Travers has requested that you pay a visit to him. He thinks maybe you can get the vampire to talk,” he answered, shifting away from the door.

“Oh, he thinks that, does he?” she inquired, realizing that her long-denied period of sleep would have to wait a little longer. “Alright, I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she snapped, tightly closing the door and leaning back against it.

She knew that somewhere in the guidebook there had to be some sort of rule against interviewing a potentially dangerous vampire while on low sleep.

But she could handle this.

 

An Unsettling Interrogation

Entering the makeshift lab, she winced at the white walls. Leave it to the Council to find time to paint the walls hospital-white, even though they were in a subterranean cave. One of the technicians nodded a greeting to her.

“He’s in 5B. Do you want a stun gun?” she asked, and Kate shook her head. She always carried her own weapons- that way she could count on them working when she needed them to.

Sliding the door open cautiously, she stepped into his ‘holding room.’ He was curled up on the small mat, and winced as the light sliced into his eyes. Turning the overhead lights on, she took a seat at the chair set up near the door.

She waited until he took his hand from his eyes and peered at her before speaking. “How are you doing?” she asked conversationally, just as she’d been taught.

He snorted, but then winced- that small movement clearly hurting him. Kate wondered just how long he’d been in the custody of the Master.

“Where am I?” he croaked, and Kate considered her answer. Deciding on a truthful one, she answered.

“You’re in the company of the Watcher’s Council,” she replied, and his gaze shot up to hers, clearly surprised.

“Why?” he asked, and Kate shrugged.

“We hoped you could trade information with us,” she supplied, and a look of comprehension flitted over his face.

Kate found herself strangely drawn into his brown gaze, and she fought the urge to break eye contact. When he broke it a second later, she felt oddly defeated. His head sunk slightly.

“You think I know where the Master is,” he said dully, and Kate nodded- though he couldn’t see it.

“We hoped that your…previous experience with him would lead you to helping our cause,” she replied evenly, not seeing any point in lying.

“You should have just left me there. I don’t know where the Master is. And I’d rather die in that cell than here,” he said quietly.

Kate was slightly surprised by his defeated tone. She couldn’t believe she was trying to reason with the very thing that had tried to kill her on many occasions, and had killed her partner that day.

But she reminded herself this was for the good of the council. She could not give in to her feelings of slight concern over him.

“How’d you end up like this?” she asked, attempting to move the conversation on a different course. He choked out a slight laugh, and glanced back up.

“Because I wasn’t evil enough,” he said, and Kate blinked.

“Wasn’t evil enough?” she echoed, not completely understanding. His mouth curved up.

“Didn’t you read the file on me?” he asked, and noted her blank expression.

Then she quickly regained her control- furious with Travers for not sharing all the information he had on this vampire with her. She didn’t like not knowing things.

Pulling himself into a more seated position, he explained. “I…from the time I was made, I was different. I didn’t have the blood lust, didn’t have the urge to kill. Some claim it was because of a curse laid on my sire. I really am not sure why. But I always tried to help humans. Had to fight my kind, and was labeled a traitor,” his breath hitched, and he had to stop for a moment.

“I see,” Kate murmured, her thoughts tangled. She certainly didn’t believe him. All vampires had the urge to kill, maim, and generally exact indecent acts on the innocent. She realized that the topic had diverted from her original assignment.

“So you refuse to tell us where the Master is?” she questioned, trying not to let on how off balance his very presence made her.

He sighed. “No. I *can’t* tell you where the Master is because I don’t know. Believe me, I want him taken down as much as you do,” he said, his gaze open and guileless.

Believe him. Right. Because he claimed he wasn’t a ruthless killer. Sure. And after that, he could sell her nice little coffin with her name engraved on it.

Standing abruptly, she moved to leave.

“Kate,” he called out, and she froze. Who had told him her name? She turned to face him, and he looked up at her from pain filled eyes.

“I’m not like the others,” he said. Kate laughed.

“Sure you aren’t,” she said mockingly, then exited the room. She walked slowly back to room, not stopping to talk to anybody. Reaching her door, she quickly entered and slammed it shut, locking the deadbolts.

Yanking her laptop out of her desk, she brought it to her bed and sat down. Quickly entering the file storage, she tried to access all records on this vampire, but couldn’t find any. She pursed her lips.

Obviously, Travers was keeping something from her. She didn’t believe the vampire when he claimed he wasn’t ‘evil’ but there was something about him that didn’t sit right with her.

She’d check it out in the morning. Thus resolved, she got into her pajamas and settled into her bed. But when she closed her eyes, all she saw was his tortured brown eyes.

And the questions that reverberated in her head would not stop. What was it about him that kept drawing her closer? She’d never had this sort of reaction before.

She knew she’d have to find out more before she could close the book on this case.

 

Unanswered Questions

Kate awoke feeling unrested, and depressed. She worked out nothing in her dreams. Groggily checking her message machine, she found a note from Quentin letting her know that one Rupert Giles was arriving this afternoon.

Still wrought with inner doubt, she quickly showered and dressed. She met with Travers briefly, then made her way to the meeting room where this Mr. Giles was waiting.

Entering quietly, she observed him sitting in one of the chairs facing away from the door. Not wanting to startle him, she cleared her throat. He quickly jumped up, and she offered a smile.

“Kate Lockley,” she said in greeting, studying him over.

He was just as the profile described him, down to the way he pushed his glasses higher on his nose nervously. She’d been told that he was currently leading a rag-tag group against the vampire influx that developed when the Master entered Sunnydale.

She wondered briefly where his helpers were. She’d have liked to meet them.

“Ahh, yes. Um, Giles,” he said, nodding at her.

She moved in closer, and took the seat opposite him. “Traver….Sir Travers knows that I am wanting to get into the field of magicks. He said that you were the best expert on the subject,” Kate said, hoping to put the man at ease. She watched in slight amusement as he blushed over the compliment.

“Oh, I’m not an expert per se, but I do have quite extensive knowledge,” he admitted, giving her a small smile.

Ahhh. Progress. Before she could stop herself, she found herself speaking. “Mr…Giles, can I ask you a question?” He gave her a small nod.

“Of course,” he replied, and she took a deep breath. “Do you know anything about this vampire we’re holding?” she asked quietly, and noticed his slight hesitation.

It only increased her suspicion, but she knew he wasn’t under any obligation to answer her.

“He said something to me that I found to be intriguing. I’d just like to know what you’re willing to share,” Kate explained. Giles sighed, and took his glasses off. Massaging his brow anxiously, he didn’t speak for a long while. Kate had just about given up, when he replied.

“Angelus is…a rather unique vampire. He doesn’t have the same, shall we say, sensibilities as the others,” he said, giving her a searching look.

“How is that possible?” Kate asked, and he shook his head.

“We never were really sure. I…” he began, but stopped. Kate sat straighter.

“Please. There’s something about him that gets to me. A connection. Don’t ask me what it is, I don’t know. I don’t like it either,” she admitted, looking down.

Then she glanced back up. “But I want to know what’s going on,” she finished.

Giles put his glasses back on. “I heard about him some years ago,” he explained, and Kate settled in to listen. “Heard about him through one of my old contacts. I wanted to meet him. The Council has wanted to capture and test him for decades, but he always managed to stay one step ahead of them. When I asked if I might be allowed to question him, they refused to allow me to even attempt to find him,” he said, annoyance lacing his words.

“Why?” Kate asked, though she already knew the answer.

Giles confirmed it. “The Council is set in their ways. They believe that all vampires are evil, and as such, must be destroyed. Since their records indicated that no vampires could possibly have the same…inner feelings as Angel, they refused to consider the possibility that he could be an asset to the organization, instead of a liability.”

Kate sighed. “So they’ll kill him after this,” she said wearily, and Giles nodded.

“Why do you care?” he asked suddenly, and Kate shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she replied softly, and he let it go.

“Kate, I’ve been asked to help you find the location of the Master’s hiding place. Will you explain what you’ve learned so far?”

Kate grimaced and shrugged. “Not much,” she began, then filled him in on what she knew.

To be continue...