Spike’s first impression of the vampire leaning over the rail was that he was old. . .not as old as Angel or Spike, but he’d been a member of the undead for a long while. 

 

The vampire was likely turned when he was slightly younger than Michael, but despite his youthful appearance, he was experienced. . . he’d killed. . . he knew the rules of survival. 

 

Experience alone did not make a good leader.

 

His skin had probably been fair even when he was alive, his build and height were average, and his dark hair was a tousled mop as if he’d tumbled out of bed and forgotten to comb it.  He wore black; however, it wasn’t leather or tailored.  Instead, he wore black jeans and a cotton shirt that was un-tucked and slightly askew. 

 

From a distance, Spike would not have pegged him as someone who took charge.  However, judging from the silent entourage in the shadows, the vampire commanded respect.

 

The vampire kept his attention on the monitors before him as Spike and the others clustered behind him.  Although he appeared nonchalant, his voice was deep and energized, “Michael, you’ve brought visitors.”

 

Michael removed Harmony’s hand from his arm and joined the vampire at the rail.  “I have.  They are new to the city.”

 

“New?  They’ve never been here?”  The vampire afforded them a glimpse of dark brown eyes.  Spike averted his gaze and hoped the vampire took it as a sign of deference. 

 

“No, they haven’t.  They’re the ones from last night. . . the ones who were with me when the kranooks were after me,” Michael explained.  “And today, they saved Harmony’s life.”

 

Buffy’s arm brushed Spike’s, and he was forced to work hard to hold back any display of emotion.  Very carefully, he leaned the other direction, pretending to be entranced by something on one of the monitors.  Truth be told, he couldn’t make out a thing on them.

 

“Ah.  I’d heard about them.”  The vampire leader half-turned, and force radiated from him.  His eyes locked on Buffy who Spike could see was bowing her head out of false modesty.  “You.  What’s your name?”

 

            In an excellent imitation of Tara’s shyness, Buffy peeked up briefly as if hiding behind her hair.  “Liz,” she replied a bit too confidently.  So much for her pretense of timidity.

 

            “Liz.  Come here.”  He gestured for her to come forward.  Buffy obediently joined him, moving awkwardly in the too tight green leather pants that Harmony had given her. 

 

Although the vampire didn’t touch her, he was attracted to her, and Spike didn’t like it.  Angel didn’t either because he emitted a quiet sound that only Spike recognized as a sign of displeasure.  At least, they were united on that point. 

 

As a matter of fact, Spike was quite amazed that he and Angel had tolerated each other so well in the last three years.  After Spike had physically recovered enough from his sacrifice in Sunnydale and his subsequent transformation, they had had one scuffle from which Angel had emerged as the victor since Spike no longer had the speed or strength of a vampire. 

 

He couldn’t even recall what the fight had been about now.  Most likely, it had been about Buffy. 

 

It was always about Buffy.

 

Spike resumed his attention on the conversation between the vampire leader and Buffy.  He thought he might have caught the vampire introducing himself as Stephan. 

 

“And see here,” Stephan pointed at one of the monitors.  When he pointed, the rest went dark.  “That is one of our most popular hunts.  It’s a series or tournament, you see, kind of like baseball or golf.  We send our best hunters into a vampire-constructed forest and let loose one human, preferably one with brains, skill, and strength.  Whoever captures the human first wins the round and advances to the next one.  With each round, the quality of the vampire hunters and the human prey improves until we reach the final round, which is our championship.  The winner walks away with a lifetime supply of blood and a penthouse apartment in a safe part of the city.”

 

Spike squinted at the monitor Stephan had pointed to.  From Spike’s vantage point, nothing was visible except trees, and inanely, Spike wondered how trees grew in a place with no sunlight. 

 

For a moment, Spike let his jealousy regarding Buffy shine through, interrupting Stephan, “So, it’s more like a fox hunt, then?”

 

Unruffled, Stephan turned briefly and winked at Spike.  “Right.” 

 

He motioned the others forward.  Only Spike boldly advanced.  Angel hung back with Mary, and Michael and Harmony seemed to have disappeared. 

 

Stephan continued, “Except the vamps in this tournament are a little bit more ruthless than hunters of old. . . although. . . I really have no idea about the past.  Perhaps the humans in a fox hunt played more tricks on one another than I know.  Anyway, the vamps will often set traps for one another.  They’ve gotten into some pretty bloody scrapes, and often, there’re quite a few dustings along the way.”

 

“Wow,” Buffy breathed, successfully holding back her desire to be sarcastic. 

 

“Wow is right, and that is only one of the marvels of this ‘world’ we vampires have made for ourselves.  You’ll learn more about this tomorrow when Michelle and I have time to show you what we have to offer.  My plan, Liz, Will, and Andy, is to convince you that our city should not be moved into the other dimension.”

 

“Right.  Well, we sort of already agree,” Buffy said before she could stop herself.

 

Moving back from the rail, Stephan was bemused.  “Still.  I want to make sure of that.”

 

Buffy fidgeted, and Spike could tell that she was antsy for information.  “What are the kranooks besides something reptilian and very scary?”

 

            A grin spread across Stephan’s face.  “Getting straight to your questions.  I like that.” 

 

            Returning his grin, Buffy stated, “I have a lot of them.”

 

            “Good.  Let’s walk, shall we?”  He started toward a door opposite from where they’d come into the room. 

 

            In silent agreement to let Buffy ask the questions, Spike and Angel followed them.  Spike was distinctly aware of the presence of at least eight vampires bringing up the rear.  The building, which was magically hidden behind a vampire brothel, was definitely secure. 

 

            “So, you want to know about the kranooks?” Stephan asked, politely keeping a safe distance from Buffy as he led them through a maze of dimly lit but clean smelling hallways that were lined with a multitude of closed doors.  Spike could hear noises coming from behind some of them.

 

            “Right,” Buffy said with a bit too much spunk for Spike’s taste. 

 

            “Well, in order to explain about that properly, I’ll need to explain something else first.”  Stephan pushed open one of the doors to reveal a small library of books.  Stuffed chairs were situated around a small table, which was stacked high with leather-bound volumes that someone had been perusing earlier. 

 

            Going to a dispenser on the left, Stephan poured himself a mug of steaming blood.  He raised the glass at Angel, Spike and Buffy.  “Blood?”  When they all declined, he took a small sip and made a face when he burned his tongue.  “I like mine really hot.  Sometimes it gets me in trouble.” 

 

            Once he had them settled around the small table, including Mary, he launched into his tale, “So, you’ve probably heard about there being two factions: one for the emergence of the city into the world of humans and one against it.  One is obviously headed by me.  The other is headed by my twin sister, Stephanie.”

 

            “The Gemela Prophecy!” Angel burst out, sitting forward with interest.  Spike and Buffy stared at him as if he had three heads, and Spike decided that the information must have been in the thick mission packet he hadn’t bothered to read because he’d been to upset.

 

            Stephan nodded.  “You’re up on your prophecies.”

 

            Emboldened, Angel launched onward, “Well, what can I say?  I work with an evil l. . .”  Buffy and Spike gave him a dirty look, and he switched his words, “library.  I’m a. . . librarian at a, uh, . . . demon library.”

 

            Stephan didn’t even flinch, “You’d be surprised, but some demons are interested in education.” 

 

            “Right,” Spike acknowledged.  He’d read a book or two in his time despite his attempts to feign disinterest.

 

            “And the prophecy of the twins coming to power in the vampire world has now, for the record, come to pass.  My twin sister, Stephanie, is one leader in Vampire Villa.”

 

            Buffy spoke her thoughts aloud, “And she’s the leader of the other faction.”

 

            “She is.”  Stephan paused to take a sip of blood.

 

Inwardly, Spike found that he was feeling slightly annoyed at the vampire leader’s need to play the dramatic storyteller.  On the other hand, Stephan might still have residual feelings for his sister; Spike had had them for his own relatives when he’d been a soulless vampire.

 

            A little too eagerly, Buffy asked, “So, did you have a falling out with her over the whole issue of bringing the city into the human world?” 

 

Spike fought the urge to nudge her foot with his.  She better watch herself, or she would end up giving them away.

 

            Stephan grinned over the edge of his mug.  “Yes.  I did.  It’s an old sibling rivalry, if you will.  Even as children, we fought over the minutest things, and on almost any subject, our opinions were opposite.  Our temperaments were and are very different.  I’m fairly laid back, and Stephanie. . . well, let’s just say, she’s not.”

 

            Apparently, Angel was as impatient as Spike although he didn’t show it outwardly.  “So, how did you rise to power in Vampire Villa?”

 

            Chuckling, Stephan admitted, “It seems that your simplest questions have such complicated answers.  You see, despite what may seem apparent to you since you’ve come to Vampire Villa, most vampires aren’t aware of the pervasiveness of the factions in their world.  Some may even think the factions don’t exist or dismiss their existence as the product of rumors. 

 

“Stephanie and I were among the initial founders of Vampire Villa when the Slayers began to proliferate and eradicate thousands of vampires in the human dimension.  Through an ancient text found at the remains of the Watchers Council, we managed to find a way to cut holes in dimensional walls, and after much experimentation, we found a pocket of darkness between dimensions. . . a place where we could build a safe haven for our kind. 

 

            “From the city’s inception, Stephanie and I realized that vampires would not take kindly to being ‘ruled’ by vampires with our strength and power.  There would be too much fighting for power.  So, we decided to put in place a set of vampires who believed they were in charge. . . vampires who would be respected and followed by other vampires. 

 

            Spike found himself fidgeting.  He wanted to do something besides listen to Stephan prattle. 

 

            Stephan didn’t stop though, “Each time Stephanie or I discovered a cluster of vampires living in the human dimension, we handpicked the vampire leaders to take a position of authority within the growing city we were forming.  With magic, we were able to lead those vampires to believe that they were coming to power through their natural, innate talents.  We chose leaders that were experts across multiple areas of art and science.  They were and are acquainted with us, but they don’t recognize us as having any power over them.”

 

            Stephan paused to drink deeply from his cup, allowing Buffy to ask a question, “So, how did you have any influence over what they did?  It seems like it might have led to chaos, having all those different leaders with differing ideas about what was best for the city.”

 

            “Excellent point, my dear.  That’s why Stephanie and I led from behind the scenes.  We wanted to make sure that things ran smoothly and to our liking.  We accomplished it mob style.  We made sure that we sired enough vamps to fill key positions and to support our endeavors with force if need be. . . all very discretely, of course.  The local leaders we hand picked were soon and continue to be merely figureheads.  They lead the teams that helped build the structures around the city and make some decisions, but Stephanie’s or my influence touches most everything you see within the city limits.  Most vampires in the city had, and still have, no awareness of the breadth of our authority. . . if they are even aware of us at all. 

 

            “For example, today’s attack on Harmony’s shop was no coincidence.  Stephanie takes every chance she can to try and get to me.  I think it’s because she’s aware that something big is about to go down.  In any case, today’s attack will hardly be a blip on the radar.  The city news won’t report it, or if they do report it, it will be cited as an accident with the wiring or some such nonsense.”

 

            “Where do the kranooks come into play?” Angel injected. 

 

            “Ah.  The kranooks.  I think a better question to answer first would be how Stephanie and I parted ways.  Then, I think your other question will be answered.”  Stephan sniffed the empty mug and set it aside with a bit of disgruntlement on his face.  “About a year after the inception of the city, Stephanie got the idea in her head that she wanted to eventually move the city back to the human dimension.  I didn’t quite understand it because we had the perfect set up.  The sun never shone, the system of leading through figureheads was running smoothly, and we had all the blood we needed.  It was like a miniature hell without the fire, brimstone, and endless torture.”  With that comment, a faraway expression of peace lit Stephan’s face. 

 

            “She missed human civilization?  The ‘happy meals on legs’ or something to that effect?” Buffy suggested, ignoring Spike’s pointed glance her way.  He knew she was referring to a time when he’d helped her stop Angelus from bringing hell to earth.  Spike doubted that Angel even knew that part of the reason why he’d aided Buffy.

 

            Stephan looked startled by this.  “Perhaps. . . perhaps she was homesick.  I disagreed with her reasoning.  But despite that, she began researching a way to magically transfer the entire city to the United States.  When I reminded her that the city would be vulnerable to attack by the Slayers, she became obsessed with trying to find a way to protect the city.  One avenue she explored was genetics. . . mixed with magic.”

 

            “Hence, the kranooks,” Buffy noted with sarcasm.

 

            “Right.  They’re not a naturally occurring demon race.  They were genetically and magically created.”

 

            “As were most of the demon types on earth,” Spike added, breaking his thoughtful silence and eliciting an elbow poke from Buffy and a look of annoyance from Stephan.  He suppressed the urge to grin.  What could he say?  He liked to piss off authority figures.

 

            “I warned her that the violent temperament she gave the half-human, half-snake creatures would be uncontrollable.  She didn’t listen, and although the creatures listened to her, they didn’t listen to anyone else, including me.”

 

            Spike caught himself before he could mutter something rude about listening to Stephan under his breath. 

 

            “So, being smart, they managed to escape into other dimensions.  In our efforts to regain control over them and herd them back for destruction, we discovered a couple of things.  One is that the kranooks couldn’t survive too far from a source of magic; they need it to survive.  So, they tended to gravitate toward pockets of magic in other dimensions.  In your dimension, they couldn’t travel too far from the edges of the entrances of the vampire city.”

 

            “Even with the magic of the hellmouth and other similar locations?” Buffy asked, doing her best not to look at Stephan too intently.

 

            “Even with.  None of the mystical areas were close enough to the vampire city with the exception of New Orleans,” Stephan clarified. 

 

            Buffy frowned slightly as if pondering something.  Spike wondered if it had something to do with the recent mysterious disappearance of the Slayer stationed in New Orleans.

 

            Stephan was still talking, “We managed to recover most of the kranooks, but Stephanie insisted we leave the kranooks at the edges of the vampire city to protect the city.  I didn’t agree.  I wanted to terminate the bizarre experiment before it got more out of hand.  Our arguments about Stephanie’s plans intensified over several weeks until we stopped talking to one another.  Then, one day, a minor incident that’s too irrelevant to discuss pushed her over, and she broke from me, taking several of the city leaders with her.  Since then, she has continually tried to undermine me.  For the most part, no one is aware of the feud with the exception of those I trust the most.”

 

            Buffy chewed on her lower lip.  “Why hasn’t she sent the kranooks after you?”

 

            “She using them to guard something I need. . . something I used to have.  She believes it is the key to making her plan come to pass.”

 

            “The plan to bring the vampire city among the world of the living,” Spike added. 

 

            “Yes.”  Stephan nodded.

 

            “There’s always a something.  What is it?”  Spike could tell Buffy was thinking hard, and he wondered if her thoughts were similar to his. 

 

Stephan was waiting for them to sort through the facts, and Spike didn’t like it.

 

            “It’s half a dimensional trigger.  She only has half.  With half, one can open temporary portals between the human dimension and the vampire city.  However, the portals aren’t stable enough to move whole cities across dimensions.  Stephanie needs. . .wants both pieces.  As do I.”

 

            “And Michael has one piece,” Buffy stated as she remembered that Michael had opened the portal between dimensions. 

 

            “Stephanie and I each have a piece.  We use them to cross dimensions to meet our needs.  Michael was running an errand for me, and Stephanie found out about it.  She sent the kranooks for him, and he barely escaped.”

 

            “And you’re telling us all this because?” Spike asked, not able to hide his impatience anymore.

 

            “Because,” Stephan looked hard at each one of them with an air of nonchalance, “I need your help, and. . . I know who all of you are.”  He paused as he waited for his statement to have an impact. 

 

            They rose as one as if they’d fought together for ages.  Spike felt the energy rolling through the three of them.  It hummed through his veins, and he made a mental note of it.  He was ready for a fight despite the overwhelming odds against them. 

 

Stephan regarded the three thoughtfully and smiled as several vampires emerged from the shadows.  One of the vampires plucked a terrified Mary from her seat.

 

            “Hey,” Angel snarled, shifting into vampire face.

 

            “Don’t worry.  Your human isn’t going anywhere, but then, again, neither are you,” Stephan said calmly.  “You’re well within the midst of our city.  Even if you got out of the building, the city works for me. . . well, half of it does anyway.  You’d be stopped before you made it past the first block, and no one would be the wiser.”

 

            “How did you know it was us?” Buffy demanded, holding up a stake that she’d managed to conceal quite invisibly on her person. 

 

            “Did *Harmony* tell you?” Spike growled, not for the first time thinking very vile thoughts about his ex and shifting his eyes to search the room for a weapon.  He settled on the coffee pot. 

 

            “Harmony didn’t tell me anything. I read the prophecies.  I knew long before you got here. . . that a Slayer and two vampires with souls. . .”

 

“Make that *one*. . . *one* vampire with a soul,” Angel insisted. 

 

Stephan rolled his eyes, and Spike felt a minute bit of respect for the vampire.  “*One* vampire with a soul.  I knew who you were as soon as you set foot in the city.  No other vampire knows. . . except perhaps Stephanie.  Not even Michael has a clue.  Harmony is a simpleton. . . sweet but not too bright.  She’s around because she knows you and because Michael seems to have taken a shine to her.  You might ask how I know about you. . . .”

 

“You read the prophecy,” Buffy said, and Spike swore he could see the soul shining out from her eyes.  “Big whoop, you can read.”

 

            “And you probably think I want to get rid of you before the prophecy can come to pass. . . before you can decimate the city.”  Stephan motioned for the vampires behind him.  “And you would be wrong.  I don’t want to kill you. . . . or even to stop the prophecy. . . at least, not yet.  You, Buffy, have a history of thwarting prophecy.  I’m banking on it.  I want to stop my sister.  If she brings the city to fruition in the human world, vampires will cease to experience the prosperity they’ve enjoyed.”

 

            “And we *couldn’t* have *that.*” Buffy’s words were biting.  “There’s a hidden agenda in there for you, mister.”

 

            “Of course, I would lose power if the city was brought into the light.  But I’m also about bringing the spark of humanity back into the vampire community.”

 

            Spike snorted; Stephan sounded like a very bad campaign ad.  “That’ll be the day.”

 

            Stephan ignored him.  “You haven’t seen what I’ve done with the city.  Before you decide. . . well, you really have no choice. . . I want you to see the plans I have.  I’ve made great steps in improving the way our kind lives.”

 

“And what are you planning on having us do?” Buffy asked.

 

Walking to the door, Stephan swung it open and grinned.  “I’ll explain after the remainder of the tour.”