ASTA Episode 1.04 "Something Evil This Way Comes"

[shred]

TEASER

~MOTEL ROOM~

XANDER: Ok. You ready?

Asta nodded as the two of them circled each other slowly. In her hands was a crossbow and Xander was weaponless.

XANDER: Keep your eyes on me. Try to read me as much as you can and from there, plan out your next move. Understand?

Asta nodded again. The two of them continued to circle each other. Asta stared into Xander’s eyes trying to read him as much as possible. Then Asta hesitated, lowering her crossbow just a little.

ASTA: You think this is a good idea? I don’t want you to get hurt.

XANDER: It’s not like we haven’t done this before.

ASTA: But the last time –

XANDER: Asta. I’m gonna quote Nike here and say, just do it.

ASTA: But that time –

Xander shot her a look.

ASTA: Alright fine.

Asta shook her shoulders to loosen the tensed muscles there and raised her crossbow, narrowing her eyes a little.

ASTA: Eat dust, pirate!

Xander shook his head and held up his hand. Asta straightened.

XANDER: Don’t call me a pirate. I’m not Xander, I’m a demon.

ASTA: But I can’t pretend that you’re a demon. You look too cute with that eye patch and that fierce expression.

XANDER: I look cute all the time so don’t use that as an excuse. Let’s try this again. Go!

ASTA: Eat dust!

Asta squeezed the trigger of the crossbow and a thwack sound was heard but no bolt was released.

XANDER: And I’m dust.

Asta lowered the crossbow and looked at Xander questioningly.

ASTA: So? Was that better? I mean it wasn’t original. But…it sucked, didn’t it?

XANDER: I won’t say suck…

ASTA: Ok, ok. I think I got it this time. I’m just warming up so that time isn’t counted. Let’s try again. Go!

Xander tackled her to the ground and the crossbow went flying to the other end of the basement. Xander straddled Asta with a relatively menacing look on his face.

XANDER: You will die now, Slayer!

Asta burst out laughing and Xander rolled his eyes.

ASTA: This is not going to work. And you’re heavy.

XANDER: (sighed) You’re right. Maybe we should call it a day. I’m sure Andrew wants to do some real training with you. Next lesson – punning!

But the two of them didn’t move. Instead they stared at each other, staying exactly where they were, breathing hard.

ASTA: (softly) Sounds good.

The two of them seemed to have the inability to move as Xander sat on top of Asta and Asta lay on the ground, gazing up at the older man. She swallowed hard.

Then Asta broke the tense silence.

ASTA: You’re really heavy.

CUT TO BLACK

OPENING CREDITS ROLL

THEME SONG “Club Foot” by Kasabian

Starring:
Jewel Staite as Asta Dawson
Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells
Cillian Murphy as Oliver Pike
Ashley Scott as Tabitha Pike

Guest Starring:
Tyron Leitso as David Boone
Richard Dean Anderson as Brother Tam
Matthew James as Argros


Created by Irene Issac with Rebecca Schwarz
Based on the hit television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”

END OF CREDITS

[shred]

ACT 1

~MOTEL ROOM~
~later~

XANDER: Ok, are we all packed?

ASTA: Yup. There isn’t much to pack actually.

XANDER: Good. Andrew?

Andrew came out of the bathroom with his hands full of toiletries.

ANDREW: Almost done.

XANDER: (groaned) No, Andrew. You’re not stealing the motel’s toiletries.

ANDREW: I’m not stealing – just taking.

ASTA: And the difference is?

ANDREW: That I’m not stealing? Look, the shampoo here does wonders for my hair. I have to take them.

XANDER: And the soap and shower cap?

ANDREW: I like the soap smell and the shower cap protects my wonderful.

XANDER: And the tampons?

ANDREW: (grinned) Those are just souvenirs.

XANDER: Ok you know what? I’m not going to bother anymore. Just hurry up will you? The cab is already waiting for us.

ANDREW: Five minutes. That’s all I need.

He dumped all the toiletries into his duffel bag and frowned.

ANDREW: I feel like I’m missing something.

ASTA: (scoffed) The bathrobes maybe?

Andrew brightened.

ANDREW: The bathrobes!

Xander looked at Asta sternly.

XANDER: You had to say that didn’t you?

Asta gave him a sheepish smile.

ASTA: Sorry.

Xander picked up two of the bags and nodded to the rest.

XANDER: Let’s start loading the cab. He might take awhile.

ANDREW: Has anyone seen the bathroom slippers anywhere?

#############################################
~PIKE/TABITHA’S HOUSE~
~later~

Tabitha swung the door open and grinned at her visitors.

TABITHA: Glad you guys could make it.

XANDER: It’s not like we had a choice. We kinda stopped paying for our room and we got ourselves kicked out.

TABITHA: (laughed) Come on in.

Tabitha stepped aside and allowed Xander, Asta and Andrew to step into the house, lugging a few bags behind them.

TABITHA: Oliver! We got company.

PIKE: Be right down.

TABITHA: Sorry about the one-man welcome wagon. Ollie got this new book a few days ago and hasn’t stop reading it since.

XANDER: Don’t worry about it. Just show us to our room and we’ll be fine.

TABITHA: Great. The guest room is all set up for Asta and you boys can take the basement.

Andrew stopped short and blinked at Tabitha.

ANDREW: The basement? We are sleeping in the basement?

TABITHA: It’s not a big house and the basement is spacious enough to accommodate the two of you.

ANDREW: But it’s the basement. Bad things happened there.

Tabitha patted his shoulder in reassurance and smiled.

TABITHA: Not in my house, Andy.

She picked up one of Asta’s bags and led her towards the staircase.

TABITHA: Come on. I’ll help you set up.

Xander took Andrew by his elbow and started pushing him towards the direction where the basement was.

The basement was just slightly bigger than the Summers’ one back in Sunnydale. There were two cots, – one near the stairs and another against the wall under a small window – two chest of drawers beside each bed and folded neatly on the pillows were white towels and a thick blanket.

XANDER: Pick a bed.

Andrew made a beeline to the bed nearer to the stairs.

ANDREW: So I can escape the basement in under 30 seconds if something nasty happens.

With a roll of his eyes, Xander padded towards the bed under the small window and placed his bags on it. Standing on his toes, Xander grabbed the handle of the window and gave it a tug. It didn’t budge. After making sure that the window won’t open no matter how hard he tried, he sat down on the cot and bounced lightly, testing out the mattress.

XANDER: No complaints so far.

ANDREW: I still don’t see why we had to move out of the motel.

XANDER: Firstly, that was not a motel. Motels don’t have rats, roaches and bedbugs. Secondly, we don’t know how long we are going to be here and we were using the Council’s money to pay for the room. Even though Giles is kinda overall in-charge, stuffy Englishmen are in charge of finance and they refuse to give us more money. And thirdly, three of us in that one room? I would prefer to sleep on the street.

Andrew crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, flopping onto his cot. He looked very much like the young, geeky Andrew from a year ago than the Watcher that he now was.

ANDREW: I want to go back to England. I miss drinking tea.

XANDER: (chuckled) Well, I’m sure Tabby makes great tea.

ANDREW: No she doesn’t.

Xander shook his head, amused.

XANDER: Fine. Be that way.

Xander stood up, unzipped his bag and started taking out his clothes.

XANDER: By the way, you taking Asta out for patrolling tonight?

ANDREW: Yup. Wanna tag along?

XANDER: I always tag along. Asta wants me there cause you scare her.

Andrew’s eyes widened in surprise.

ANDREW: Scare her? Wow. I didn’t know I was that intimidating.

XANDER: No, not scare her in that way. She’s scared that you might get her killed. Anyway, I promised her that I would teach her some stuff so I’m coming whether you like it or not.

Andrew narrowed his eyes at the man opposite of him.

ANDREW: Stuff? What kind of stuff? Slayer stuff? Cause you can’t do that you know. I’m her Watcher so I’m supposed to teach her all the slayer stuff – not you. She’s my slayer and I’m her Watcher.

XANDER: I know you are and I’m not saying you’re not. Besides, the ‘stuff’ I’m teaching her has nothing to do with Slayer stuff.

ANDREW: Good. Just make sure it’s not slayer stuff. I can handle teaching her that, thank you very much.

XANDER: I’m sure you can. Anyway, this is just a one time thing – I won’t tag along for your patrolling anymore. But if I hear one more complaint from Asta that you screamed like a girl and make her feel like she’s about to die, I’m tagging along like a leech.

ANDREW: (scowled) I don’t scream like a girl.

Xander stopped unpacking his bag and faced the younger man. His eyes twinkled mischievously. He nodded to the floor behind Andrew.

XANDER: Andrew, rat.

Without turning around, Andrew screeched loudly and leapt onto his bed.

ANDREW: Get it away! Get it away!

Xander returned to his unpacking, a satisfied smile on his lips.

XANDER: Just like a girl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ASTA’S BEDROOM~

TABITHA: And this is your bedroom.

Tabitha pushed the door open and revealed to Asta their guest bedroom. Asta stepped in and looked around in satisfaction.

ASTA: This is a really big room.

TABITHA: It’s the biggest in this house. My parents use this room whenever they drop by for a visit – which is like never.

Asta dropped her bag to the ground and explored the bedroom. There was a queen size bed at one end of the room, a built-in closet, dresser and a television set on the other side of the room.

TABITHA: So I’m going to leave you to unpack. If there’s anything you need, just let me know.

ASTA: I think I need some towels?

TABITHA: Knew I forgot something. Just give me a minute and I’ll go get them for you.

ASTA: (smiled) Sure thanks.

Tabitha gave her one last smile before exiting the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Asta walked around the room, taking a peek into the closet and the dresser. Both the closet and the dresser were relatively empty. There were only a handful of hangers in the closet and an old, woolen blanket. In the dressers, however, there was nothing at all.

Asta then walked towards one of the bedside tables that had two drawers. She opened the top drawer and found that there was nothing inside. She pulled open the second drawer and inside was a photo frame that was placed face down.

She picked up the photo, turned it over and a middle aged couple stared back at her. At the corner of the photo a message was scribbled.

ASTA: “Parents, 2000”.

She set the photo down on the table. Someone knocked on the door and Asta turned to see Tabitha popping her head in.

TABITHA: Hey. Got you your towels.

ASTA: Thanks.

Asta stood up and went to Tabitha to grab the towels. Tabitha frowned at something behind her.

TABITHA: Where did you get that from?

ASTA: Huh?

Tabitha pushed past her and went to the bedside table where the photo of her parents was. She picked up the photo frame and scowled at Asta.

TABITHA: This photo. Where did you get it from?

ASTA: Oh that. It was found in one of the drawers. I thought it would be better if it was placed outside instead in somewhere where no one can see it. Don’t worry, it doesn’t bother me. It’s a great picture.

TABITHA: No, it’s not. Photos like these are meant to be in places where no one is supposed to see. So leave it alone.

ASTA: I don’t understand. It’s just a picture of your parents.

TABITHA: It’s doesn’t change a thing. I mean it, Asta, don’t mess with things like this.

ASTA: Things like what?

Tabitha shot her another glare.

TABITHA: Just don’t.

ASTA: Ok, I won’t. I’m sorry…I didn’t know.

TABITHA: Well, now you do.

Tabitha ripped the photo frame open and pulled out the picture of her parents. She tossed the photo frame into the rubbish bin that was under the dresser and then she crushed the picture into a ball. Without a word and a glance towards the younger girl, Tabitha stalked out of the room.

All Asta could do was stare at Tabitha’s back in confusion and in surprise.

#############################################
~HADES VALLEY, 1924~
~night~

A man about 30 years old, donned in an old monk’s robe, hurried down the quiet streets of Hades Valley. He was half running and half jogging and every minute or so, he would glance back over his shoulder to see if anyone was following him. Behind him, the street was deserted but that didn’t calm his nerves at all. Instead, it caused his heart to race much faster.

There were only a few more minutes of night left and dawn was approaching fast. He came to an intersection, took a moment to look out for traffic before crossing the street. Once he crossed the street, he found himself a few feet away from the monastery. The man let out a sigh of relief and picked up his pace. A minute later, he pushed the heavy oak door open and stepped into the safe haven. He closed the door behind him and allowed himself to relax a little.

MAN: Brothers! I have returned!

The interior of the monastery was dark. A few torches dotted the place but didn’t manage to light up the place all that well. The man squinted against the darkness and made a quick scan. The place was unusually empty.

MAN: Brothers? Are you here? I have returned with news.

The man went to the wall nearest to him and plucked the torch from its holder. Raising it high above his head, he ventured further into the monastery.

MAN: Brother Chang? Brother Lee? Please show yourselves.

The man stubbed his toe on something, causing him to lose his balance a little. He lowered his torch and let the fire illuminate the ground before him. The man gasped when he saw his fellow brother sprawled on his stomach on the floor. He was lying on a pool of blood and his eyes stared blankly at the alter that was situated at the other end of the monastery.

MAN: Brother Lee!

The man dropped to his knees beside the dead monk. He touched the head of his brother and bowed his head in grief. He muttered a quick prayer and pulled his hand away. His fingers were coated with blood. Swallowing back a cry of shock, the man wiped his fingers against his robe and looked around the monastery, hoping that his other brother didn’t suffer the same fate.

His dark eyes landed on the alter and he frowned slightly. The alter consisted of a statue of a golden Buddha that was three times as big as him. In front of the statue was a wooden railing where joss sticks and various offerings could be placed. Considering how late it was, there were only a few burnt joss sticks left and all offerings were cleared.

The monk cautiously approached the alter, his eyes trained on the Buddha statue. Lifting the torch, he swept the fire across the face of the statue and cried out in shock. From the Buddha’s golden eyes, thick, dark blood came trickling down its cheeks. The blood dripped from the statue’s chin and formed a puddle on the ground.

MAN: Oh my.

The monk took a step back, squeezing his eyes shut. He opened his mouth and started to chant loudly in Chinese. He was in the middle of his chant when he felt the ground beneath him vibrate. The man stopped his reciting and froze. He didn’t dare glance over his shoulder.

Footsteps pounded loudly behind him and it felt like the newcomer was coming closer and closer to him. Slowly and warily, the man turned around. His eyes widened in surprise when his gaze landed upon the newcomer.

The demon before him was more humanlike than demon. It was the same height as him, had human features and moved in a very humanlike way. The only thing that identified the creature as a demon was the bright, fiery red skin and the ice blue eyes. There were scars on the demon’s naked torso. The only piece of clothing that the demon had on was a piece of white linen cloth that hung loosely from it waist, covering its private area.

And then there were those claws that were stained red with blood.

MAN: Y-you!

The demon cocked its head. It curled its fingers, letting the sharp claws dig into its own palms. Its icy blue eyes focused on the monk.

MAN: Demon! How dare you! Y-you cannot enter here!

The demon didn’t say a word in response – it just continued to study him. The man trembled under its scrutiny.

MAN: You better leave at once. I command you to leave.

The demon’s gaze flickered away from the monk to something behind him. The demon tilted his head to the other side. The man took this chance to charge the demon with the torch he was holding. The demon blinked at him in surprise. As soon as the man was near enough the demon to set it on fire, the demon stretched out it red coloured hand and grabbed the monk’s throat, wrapping his fingers and claws around him and lifted him of the ground.

The man dropped the torch and clawed at the demon’s hands, coughing and choking. From this close, the man could see how blue its eyes were. The red skin made its eyes shine like blue gems.

DEMON: You’re no use to me. You’re protected.

With a flick of its wrist, the red demon flung the monk to the other side of the monastery. The monk slammed against the wall and slumped to the ground. He landed next to the dead Brother Chang – his head was twisted precariously to one side and there was a deep gash that ran diagonally across his face.

MAN: Chang…

The demon came towards him as the edges of the man’s vision began to dim. He groaned softly, unable to pick himself up. The demon stood in front of him now, grabbed the back of his robe and picked him up.

DEMON: You didn’t die.

The monk cracked a smile.

MAN: I will soon. Y-you killed my brothers?

DEMON: No I didn’t. I only killed that one.

The demon pointed to Chang as he said this.

MAN: And B-brother Lee?

DEMON: This one killed him.

MAN: What? B-but why? They were brothers!

DEMON: They were evil. I touched them and they were evil.

MAN: Who are you?

DEMON: I am Argros.

Without another word, the demon tossed him to the other side of the room. This time, the monk slipped into unconsciousness almost immediately.

[shred]

ACT 2

~HADES VALLEY, PRESENT DAY~
~Monastery~
~night~

GIRL: Ab, are you sure about this? The sign says “Keep Out”.

AB: So? Relax, Tasha, it will only just take a short while. I just want to take a quick tour.

GIRL/TASHA: What if we get caught?

AB: Nah, we won’t. Look at this place, I don’t think this place is rigged with a proper alarm system and there isn’t any security guard around so I don’t think we’ll get caught.

TASHA: I don’t know…

AB: You can stay here if you want but Josh is coming with me. Right Josh?

Josh nodded, snapping his chewing gum.

TASHA: I’m not going to stay here all alone.

AB: Then come with us. We’ll go in, have a look and then come out. It won’t take more than 10 minutes, I promise.

TASHA: (sighed) Fine.

Together with Josh’s help, Ab pushed the heavy door open. It only opened slightly but it was enough to let the three of them through. Clicking a flashlight on, Ab went into the monastery with Josh and Tasha in tow.

JOSH: Whoa! This place is massive, bro!

AB: Hell yeah.

Unlike 20 years ago, the monastery was in a mess. The Buddha statue laid on the ground in pieces, burn marks were everywhere and there were a few layers of dust on everything. Some of the walls were marred with graffiti and there was garbage of all kinds strewn on the floor.

TASHA: This place is disgusting. I think there are rats in here.

Ab rolled his eyes and shone the flashlight at Tasha.

AB: If you are gonna complain the whole time, I would prefer if you waited outside.

TASHA: Alright, I’ll keep quiet. But if I see a rat, we are getting out of here.

The three of them continued walking around the main hall of the monastery, looking for anything interesting.

AB: Is that it? There aren’t any other rooms but this?

JOSH: Looks like.

AB: Damn, this sucks.

TASHA: Can we go now?

Something fell with a loud crash somewhere in the monastery and the three of them froze.

TASHA: What was that?

Ab pointed his flashlight to the corner on his right. There was nothing there but a tattered gold curtain that was faded with age. Half of it hung on its railings while the other half drooped to the ground. It rustled slightly

AB: It came from there.

Tasha came up to Ab and grabbed his hand. She started pulling him away from the corner.

TASHA: Ok, this is not fun anymore. Let’s go.

Ab jerked his hand away and stepped a little closer.

AB: Hello? Anyone there?

JOSH: Dude, let’s go man. I’m starving.

AB: In a minute. There’s something behind that curtain.

TASHA: It’s just a rat. We are the only ones here.

JOSH: Could be some homeless dude.

AB: Well, whatever it is, I’m going to check it out. You guys can wait outside.

TASHA: Oh no, we are not leaving you here alone.

There was the same noise again and the curtain rustled a bit more. Ab jumped back, dropping his flashlight in the process. The flashlight clattered to the ground and flickered for a moment. However, it managed to stay on.

Ab picked up the flashlight and slowly inched towards the curtain. Once he was near enough to touch it, he reached out and pushed the curtain aside, revealing an entrance to another room.

AB: Jackpot!

More sounds – and this time much louder – came from the room. Gesturing for Tasha and Josh to follow, he continued to inch his way further into the room. The room looked very much like a kitchen with a rusty looking sink at one end and a few blackened and rusted pots and pans around the floor.

And there was a baldheaded man, who looked like he was covered in red paint, pattering around the kitchen like he owned the place. He only had some pants on and nothing else – no shoes or a top.

AB: Hey! Who the hell are you?

The red man stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder, his piercing blue eyes narrowing at Ab.

AB: Dude, what the hell are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here.

TASHA: Ab, he looks angry. I think we should leave.

AB: Shut up, Tasha.

He turned back to the man, aiming the flashlight directly into the man’s eyes. The man didn’t even flinch or blink. He kept staring at Ab.

AB: Do you live here? Do you even understand a word of English?

The man turned around and cocked his head.

AB: Ok, you know what? I think we are disturbing you so we’ll leave now alright? Sorry for interrupting whatever you were doing. We didn’t know anyone was here. So…we’ll leave now.

Ab turned around and was about to push his friends out of the room when the floor beneath them started to shake.

TASHA: Oh shit!

Ab dropped his flashlight again and the torch rolled towards the red coloured man. He turned around to grab the flashlight before it could roll any further but the man grabbed his shirt and lifted him off the ground.

AB: Hey! What the hell are you doing? Let me go!

Ab struggled hard against the man’s grip but he held on tight. The man lifted his other hand and snarled, revealing a row of sharp silver teeth.

Ab screamed for dear life.

The demon touched Ab’s forehead. As soon as the finger made contact with Ab’s skin, the tip of its finger began to glow a bright red. Ab’s scream was cut off and a moment later his eyes began to glow an intense blue. The demon let go of Ab and the boy dropped to the ground with ease.

JOSH: Ab, man. You alright?

Ab turned and faced Josh and Tasha. He grinned evilly, his eyes glowing vividly.

TASHA: Josh? What’s wrong with his eyes?

JOSH: Let’s get out of here.

Josh grabbed Tasha’s hand and began to yank her out of the room. But Ab was too fast. He leapt at them, tackling the two of them to the ground. He straddled Josh and bared his teeth.

JOSH: Ab, what is wrong with you?

Ab lifted his hand and started punching Josh in the face ruthlessly. Tasha screamed in horror.

TASHA: Ab! Stop it!

A few minutes later, Ab stood up over the dead Josh. He turned to Tasha and advanced towards her.

TASHA: Ab! No! Please no!

She screamed one last time before Ab ripped her throat with his bare hands. Argros stood at a distance and watched with a small smile on its red face.

#############################################
~CEMETERY~

XANDER: You know what pun means, don’t you? It’s a play on words. To quote an online dictionary, “it’s a humorous use of words that involves a word or phrase that has more than one possible meaning”. Now, punning is important. Punning makes you smarter than your opponent. It also makes light of the situation. But mostly importantly, punning throws your opponent off; you’ll definitely catch that demon or vampire off guard. I mean, you’re in the fight of your life and then you make a pun. Your opponent would be like, “What? What does that mean? Does that even make any sense?” and then, wham! You stake him – or chop its head off. So punning is very important.

ASTA: (nodded) Right. Punning, important – check!

XANDER: Now, the trick in executing a good pun comes down to timing. You can pun anywhere to any demon but you can’t do it anytime. If you lose your timing and pun at the wrong time, you’ll just come off as lame. So timing is important.

ASTA: Right. Timing, important – check!

ANDREW: (sighed) Is this even important? I should be teaching her some slayer moves.

XANDER: In a minute, Andrew. (to Asta) Where was I? Right, timing. Ok, so when do you pun? The best time would be when you first meet your opponent and just before it dies.

ASTA: Why?

XANDER: Because I see Buffy doing that and it works all the time.

ASTA: Right.

XANDER: So when you first meet –

ANDREW: Ok that’s enough!

Xander stopped in mid sentence and the two of them stopped walking to stare at Andrew in surprise.

ANDREW: You guys having been talking about this for the past half an hour and in case you didn’t notice, we haven’t come across a single vampire. And I think it’s because you’re scaring them away.

ASTA: Oh sorry.

ANDREW: And also, I should be teaching her stuff – slayer or non slayer stuff. I’m her Watcher so I should be teaching her!

XANDER: Yeah but you were never good at punning. But you’re good with Star Wars references so maybe you can teach her that.

ANDREW: No! I’m her Watcher! Watchers don’t teach their Slayers about Star Wars.

ASTA: Guys, yelling isn’t going to help with our patrol. (pause) Or it’s going to make it worse by telling all the vampires and demons out there where we are.

ANDREW: I forbid you from joining us on patrol!

XANDER: What? You can’t do that?

ANDREW: Yes, I can and I just did. Don’t push me or I’ll call Buffy and get you sent back to England.

XANDER: You are going to deport me? That’s ridiculous.

ASTA: Guys…please. Not right now – where we are open targets for vampires and demons and what not.

ANDREW: Well I can if I told Buffy that you’re interfering with my work!

XANDER: I distinctly remember you coming to me for help and that’s what I’m doing. I’m helping!

ASTA: Andrew, Xander…seriously. Demons…

ANDREW: This is not helping! This is interfering! And I don’t need your help anymore. So…go away!

ASTA: Vampires…

XANDER: Fine. I’ll go away but if you come to me begging and whining about how you can’t deal with your Slayer, you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to laugh in your face and say “No way, Andy!”

ANDREW: Fine! Go ahead! See if I care.

ASTA: Vampire!

Something in Asta’s voice made Andrew and Xander stop their bickering to turn to look at Asta.

ANDREW/XANDER: What?

ASTA: Vampire! Right behind you!

Andrew and Xander turned around while Asta pulled out a stake. The two men jumped back, giving Asta space to work. The vampire was a teenage boy. His clothes were drenched with blood and his bright blue eyes shone brightly in the dark of night.

Asta put in a punch but the vampire caught her fist easily and gave a sharp twist. Asta cried out in pain and went to her knees. Behind her, Andrew pulled out a sword from its sheath that hung on his back and ran towards the vampire. As soon as he was close to the vampire, he swung his sword. But the teenager was fast. He jumped back, releasing Asta at the same time, just as the sword nicked the front of his T-shirt.

Andrew pulled back, frowning.

Cradling her arm close to her chest, Asta got up and took that moment of distraction to stake the vampire. She raised her stake and aimed it at the teenager’s heart.

ANDREW: Asta, wait! He’s not a vampire!

Asta heard Andrew’s warning and instinctively shifted her arm. Instead of stabbing the stake into the vampire’s heart, she stabbed his shoulder. The boy didn’t flinch in pain when the stake sunk into his flesh. Asta moved away from him in surprise as the boy pulled out the wood and threw it to the ground.

The teenager bared his teeth, his blue eyes twinkling menacingly.

XANDER: Andrew! What’s going on? What is he?

ANDREW: He’s human.

ASTA: He is?

ANDREW: Yes. Can’t you tell?

ASTA: No. But how do you know he’s not a vampire?

ANDREW: The blood on his shirt. Vampires aren’t usually messy eaters. Also, he hasn’t vamped out which is highly unusual. When in the fight of your death, vampires usually want to be at their most powerful. They are at their most powerful when they vamp out. And how can you not tell he’s not a vampire? Slayers have the power to do that.

ASTA: We do? You didn’t teach me that!

Andrew shot a dirty look towards Xander.

ANDREW: And I wonder why.

XANDER: Don’t you dare blame me for this, Andrew!

ASTA: Ok, let’s fight with this not-vampire thing before we fight each other ok?

ANDREW: Just don’t kill him.

Asta looked at the ground around her. She spotted a long branch and picked it up. Swirling it around, she went towards the teenager. She started attacking him with the branch but he managed to duck most of her hits. Only a few struck him but he didn’t falter. He kept coming at her and Asta kept striking him. When she thought she had his pattern down, Asta aimed a roundhouse kick squarely at his chest and then smacked him across his face with the branch.

The teenager went down to the ground and stayed still. Asta, Andrew and Xander kept their distance and waiting with baited breath to see whether he would get up and come at them again.

Asta blinked at the unconscious teenager, looking slightly amazed.

ASTA: Wow.

XANDER: You were awesome.

ASTA: Oh, wow.

XANDER: Ok, so what do we do with him?

ANDREW: I don’t know. I think he’s been possessed by something. Maybe we should tie him up. I am guessing the blood on him is not his and that means he might be dangerous. We can’t let him loose like this.

XANDER: Tie him up with what? We don’t have any rope.

ASTA: We can use his shirt.

XANDER: Good thinking.

ASTA: Maybe we can call the cops too. He might be less dangerous to the public if he was behind bars.

XANDER: Andrew, would you mind calling the cops? My cell phone got kinda crushed when we are fighting the vamp gang.

Andrew nodded and took out his cell phone. He flipped it opened and started dialing. In the meantime, Asta cautiously walked towards the teenager and started taking off his shirt with Xander’s help. Once that was done, they tied his hands together with his legs so that there was no way he could run when he regained consciousness.

ANDREW: The police are on their way.

ASTA: Should we leave him here or stay till the cops arrive?

XANDER: We’ll stay until we are sure the cops come. In the meantime…

He knelt down beside the teenager and started patting him down.

ASTA: What are you doing?

ANDREW: Are you robbing him? That is not cool, man.

Xander rolled his eyes at Andrew.

XANDER: I’m not robbing him. I’m looking for an ID. Identification can probably help us in our research in finding out what possessed this boy.

Xander reached into the back pocket of the boy’s jeans and took out a brand new leather wallet. He flicked it open and searched through its contents. He found the teenager’s ID card.

XANDER: Abraham Fox. And he’s only 17. He lives in 21 Craven Street.

ASTA: That’s quite far from here.

XANDER: You know where is it?

ASTA: Yeah. My grandparents used to live there before they moved to Boston.

XANDER: Good. Remember the address. We might have to take a look at his place.

Suddenly, the earth started to tremble, taking the three of them by surprise.

XANDER: Whoa. Is that an earthquake? Cause earthquakes are never good.

Xander, Andrew and Asta came together slowly, forming a loose circle while looking around the area.

ASTA: Look! Over there!

Xander and Andrew looked at the direction Asta was pointing at. Just somewhere off to their right, a figure came striding towards them.

ASTA: You can see it right?

XANDER: Yup.

ANDREW: I hope it’s not another possessed teenager.

The figure came closer and the three of them could make out its features.

ASTA: He’s human. (pause) He’s a red human.

XANDER: Demon, Asta. I think he qualifies as a demon.

ASTA: It’s your bickering. Told you it would attract the nasties.

ANDREW: Ok, enough blaming, more chopping?

Andrew pressed the sword he was holding into Asta’s hand and gave her a nudge.

ASTA: You want me to fight that thing by myself?

ANDREW: He doesn’t look that strong.

ASTA: The ground shakes when he walks!

ANDREW: As your Watcher, I order you to fight him.

XANDER: Don’t worry, Asta. We got your back.

She turned towards the demon, raising the sword in front of her. The demon stopped just a few feet away from Asta and the rest. His blue gaze dropped to the teenage boy behind them.

ARGROS: You killed him?

ASTA: No. But I’ll kill you.

Argros burst out laughing and its voice sounded like rocks falling down a cliff.

ARGROS: Try.

Asta leapt, her sword raised high above her head and brought it down, aiming at the demon’s head. Argros didn’t even blink as it took a swipe at her, slapping her away like a rag doll. Asta crashed into a tombstone and stayed down.

XANDER: Our turn!

But before Xander could even pick up a weapon of sort, Argros came towards him and flung him away. Xander hit a tree and crumpled to the ground. Argros turned to Andrew and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. With his free hand, the red demon touched Andrew’s forehead. Andrew squeezed his eyes shut, terror all over his face. The demon’s fingertips glowed red and a second later, Andrew’s eyes snapped open and it blazed blue. The demon dropped him to the ground and walked towards Ab. The teenager was already starting to stir.

Asta got to her feet slowly. She spotted Andrew and went towards him, concerned.

ASTA: Andrew?

Andrew turned towards his slayer and smiled evilly.

ASTA: Oh crap.

[shred]

ACT 3

Asta ducked and ran past the oncoming Andrew. She kicked him in the back so that he would stumble to the ground and give her some time to come up with a plan. Ab was already on his feet, his makeshift ropes untied and on the ground. He came at her slowly. Asta rushed towards Xander and dragged him to his feet.

ASTA: Xander, we gotta go.

XANDER: What’s going on?

ASTA: If we don’t leave, we are going to get our ass kicked very painfully.

XANDER: What about Andrew?

ASTA: They got Andrew.

A loud roar was heard and Asta glanced over her shoulder to see Ab and Andrew running towards them. The red demon stood a few feet away, watching.

ASTA: We gotta go!

She draped Xander’s arm around her shoulder and together they ran towards the cemetery’s exit without a backward glance.

#############################################

Pike opened the front door and stared at the two disheveled people at his doorstep.

PIKE: I take it patrol didn’t go all to well.

Pike stepped aside as Asta pushed past him with the limping Xander at her side.

ASTA: Nope.

PIKE: And where’s the Watcher?

ASTA: Possessed.

PIKE: What?

Asta and Xander moved to the kitchen. The dining table was covered with Pike’s laptop and with books of all kinds. Xander gingerly sat down at the table.

ASTA: Do you have an ice pack?

PIKE: Yeah, in the freezer. There are two I think.

Asta went to the refrigerator, pulled open the freezer door and took out two ice packs. She handed one to Xander.

PIKE: Ok, so, you said that Andrew got possessed.

ASTA: Yeah.

PIKE: How did that happened?

XANDER: We were fighting one possessed person, then this red demon came and Andrew got possessed.

ASTA: That about sums it up.

PIKE: You guys suck at retelling stories, you know that.

Pike went to the dining table and shifted through some of the books. Asta pressed her ice pack against her shoulder, wincing a little. Xander had his pack against his temple and his good eye was closed.

PIKE: What did the demon look like?

ASTA: Red, human-like, bald, has really bright blue eyes.

PIKE: Any distinctive marking or features?

XANDER: He had scars all over his body.

PIKE: Is that it?

ASTA: That’s it. Is that enough to help us in research?

PIKE: I guess it depends on how many red, human-like demons there are out there. How about Andrew and the other guy that got possessed? Did anything happen to them? Did their appearance change, sport a new tattoo?

ASTA: No. They were just evil…

XANDER: And vicious.

ASTA: …and vicious.

XANDER: And wild.

ASTA: And wild.

PIKE: Ok, ok. I get the picture.

ASTA: Oh! Their eyes! After they got possessed, their eyes became blue – just like the demon’s eyes.

PIKE: Ok. There’s a demon database on the internet. Why don’t you check that out and see if we can find the demon in question? I’ll look through the books.

ASTA: Done.

XANDER: Where’s Tabitha? Maybe she can help.

PIKE: She’s out with her boyfriend, David. We’ll fill her in once she gets back – which should be anytime now.

#############################################

Tabitha and David walked out of the cinema complex and onto the sidewalk. They started walking down the street in the direction of Tabitha’s house with their arms around each other.

DAVID: Ok, that was a boring movie.

Tabitha let out a laugh.

TABITHA: How would you know? You had your tongue stuck down my throat the whole time.

DAVID: Yeah, well, if it was an interesting movie, I would have paid attention to it and not to your sweet mouth.

Tabitha shook her head in amusement.

TABITHA: I’m so glad you didn’t use that as a pick up line when we first met or I would have kicked you to the ground.

A commotion up ahead caught their attention and they came to a stop. A middle aged women and a man in his early twenties were beating up a teenager that had all the colours of the rainbow in his hair. They were both beating him up quite badly.

TABITHA: Oh my goodness…

DAVID: What’s the hell are they doing? They are going to kill that kid.

TABITHA: Come on, we gotta stop them.

Tabitha and David jogged towards the group.

TABITHA: Hey!

David grabbed the man and roughly pushed him aside while Tabitha pulled the woman away from the teenager.

TABITHA: What is wrong with you? You’re going to kill him!

Instead of responding, the woman pushed Tabitha away and sneered. Her eyes glowed, taking Tabitha by surprise.

TABITHA: You’re not human. Or I don’t think you are. David!

Tabitha glanced over to her boyfriend and saw that he was getting into a scuffle with the young man.

TABITHA: David!

DAVID: Tabby! Call the cops!

Tabitha whispered a spell under her breath as she kept her eyes on the two men. A moment later, the two men flew apart by an unseen force. Tabitha went towards David and helped him to his feet.

DAVID: Ok, there’s something really wrong with these people. Did you see his eyes?

TABITHA: We better go before they start attacking us. It’s not safe for us here.

They turned and were about to leave when the teenager with the colourful hair stood before them, blocking their way. He eyes also glowed a strange blue. The woman and the man came up behind the teenager and the three of them advanced towards Tabitha and David with evil smiles on their faces.

DAVID: Look, man. We don’t mean any harm. Just leave us alone.

As David talked, Tabitha looked around for a way to escape this situation unharmed. A flash of blond hair behind her caught her eye.

TABITHA: Is that Andrew?

DAVID: Who’s Andrew?

Tabitha started waving her arms at the young Watcher, hoping to catch his attention.

TABITHA: Andrew! Over here! Andrew!

Andrew snapped his head towards her. It was then when she realized that he wasn’t alone. A younger man was beside him and he too looked at Tabitha. The two of them started coming towards her.

TABITHA: Oh shit, they got him too.

Tabitha grabbed David’s hand, muttered a spell to freeze Andrew, his friend and the three in front of them and ran as fast as possible. Then a red being appeared before them. Tabitha pulled on the brakes and skidded to a stop.

DAVID: Holy crap!

TABITHA: Come on! This way!

She was about to turn to run in the other direction when the red being reached out and touched her forehead. Its fingertips started to glow.

#############################################
~HOUSE~

Pike pulled the front door open and sighed.

PIKE: Ok, this has gotta stop. Every time I open the door, I see people looking like they just ran the race of hell.

David grabbed Pike’s hand, taking him by surprise.

DAVID: They got Tabby!

A few minutes later, David was sitting at the dining table with Xander, Asta and Pike, telling them what happened.

DAVID: We came out of the movie theater and we saw this 40 something lady and a 20 something man beating up a punk.

PIKE: Nothing unusual there. He probably stole the woman’s person or something.

DAVID: Maybe…but the way the two of them were beating him up…It was ruthless. They could have killed him. So Tabby and I went up to them to try to break them up. We did but the guy – not the punk – started attacking me.

PIKE: Did you provoke him?

DAVID: What? No! I just told him to calm down, that’s all. Then he just went nuts and started swinging punches at me.

XANDER: Then what happened?

DAVID: (confuse) Erm…I’m sorry but who are you guys?

PIKE: They are friends of mine. What happened after the guy went nuts?

DAVID: Tabby started telling me to leave. We were about to when we were stopped by the woman, the man and the punk. Somehow we managed to get away and this dude in red paint appeared out of nowhere. He touched Tabby and she had this really evil look on her face. But she didn’t attack me. The red dude gestured to them and they all left.

XANDER: Did you notice anything weird about them and Tabitha. Like, let’s say, bright blue eyes?

DAVID: Yeah, all of them had bright blue eyes. So did Tabby after the red dude touched her.

ASTA: Just like Andrew.

DAVID: Andrew? Tabby mentioned him earlier.

ASTA: He was there?

DAVID: Short, had longish blond hair?

ASTA: He was there. Did you see which way they went?

DAVID: Yeah. Towards Lightington – where the old monastery is. And you know what else? While I was on the way here, everywhere I looked there were people beating and fighting each other. It’s like a war zone out there but without the weapons.

PIKE: (to Xander and Asta) The whole town is probably getting infected.

DAVID: Infected? What do you mean “infected”? You think they are possessed or something? That’s ridiculous. It seems to me like some gang war that happened in the 20s.

PIKE: (scoffed) And Tabby is part of it. Clever.

XANDER: Wait. Gang war? What gang war?

DAVID: My great grandma use to tell me stories about this huge gang war that happened in 1921 right here in Hades Valley. It happened when a couple of famous monks died. It was known as the most violent war in the history of Hades Valley. Many people died, the rest of the people left. Hades Valley became a ghost town for a few months after that.

PIKE: So you think the same gang war is happening now? And that Tabby, my sister, is part of it?

DAVID: Look, I don’t know, ok? All I know is that the violence that I’ve been seeing is pretty similar to the stories my great grandmother told me. So lay off, Pike.

XANDER: Now, now. Let’s not get testy. It won’t help Tabitha or Andrew if we lose our tempers here. Ok?

Pike and David glared at each other for a moment before Pike looked away.

PIKE: You’re right. Let’s get to work. Asta, look for information on this 1921 gang war and see if there’s any information that might help us. Xander, you help Asta to look for ID on this…erm…red dude in the books.

DAVID: You can find out who the red dude is in your books?

PIKE: I’ll go out and look for Tabitha. I’m bringing my cell phone with me so call if you guys find anything.

DAVID: What about me?

PIKE: Erm…you can stay here and help them or you can go home.

DAVID: I’m not going home. I’m going to help you find Tabby.

PIKE: No, you can’t.

DAVID: Pike, I’m her boyfriend. I have all the right in the world to help you find her.

PIKE: You’re right, you do.

Pike slugged him across David’s face and he slumped to the ground.

PIKE: But my answer is still no. (to Xander and Asta) It’s easier than explaining it to him why he can’t come.

ASTA: He doesn’t know about the supernatural?

PIKE: Nope. Tabitha likes him too much.

#############################################
~LATER~

ASTA: I found something!

XANDER: Finally! I thought you would never say that.

Xander came over to where Asta was sitting and peered over her shoulder at the computer screen.

ASTA: I got some info on the whole gang war. It happened during the summer of 1921. Like David said, it all got started when 2 of the town’s 3 famous monks were violently killed. After that, majority of the citizens in Hades Valley became evil and violent and started tearing each other apart. Nobody knew the exact cause of everyone going crazy. Some said it was possession while others said it was the water. Local authorities pegged it as a gang war. Eventually the ‘troublemakers’ were killed by authorities and once the town was safe again, those who left came back. And the whole thing was forgotten.

XANDER: Typical. Citizens of Sunnydale would love these people. You said 2 of the three monks were killed. What happened to the other monk?

ASTA: He disappeared. Nobody knew where he was and so he was suspected to be dead as well.

XANDER: Does he have family still living in Hades Valley?

ASTA: Doesn’t say. But I have the name of the monk. I can search on the net for his family and get an address.

XANDER: Good. Let’s try that.

A few minutes of clicking and typing later, Asta hit jackpot.

ASTA: What do you know? He has family here and I got an address. And they stay in Lightington. What are the odds of that?

XANDER: Good odds, I’ll say. Come one. Let’s drop by and give this family a visit.

ASTA: What about David? We can’t leave him on the floor like that.

XANDER: I’m sure he knows his way back home.

#############################################
~LIGHTINGTON~
~later~

Xander and Asta stood in front of a single story house that was in desperate need of a paint job. Most of the windows were boarded up and the lawn that they were standing in looked like it had seen better days.

XANDER: You sure people live here?

ASTA: I’m just following what the address told me.

XANDER: But you sure people live here?

ASTA: Only one way to find out.

They climbed the rickety porch steps and stood in front of a door that looked like it might fall of its hinges anytime soon. Asta stuck out a hand and rapped on the door. There was silence and Asta tried again, this time knocking more loudly. A few minutes later, movement was heard inside.

The door cracked open and a man peered at them.

MAN: Yeah?

XANDER: Er…hi! I’m Xander and this lovely girl here is Asta –

MAN: I don’t want to buy anything from you.

XANDER: Of course you don’t and luckily for us, we are not selling anything. We just want to talk to you about Brother Tam. He disappeared back in 1921 and we were wondering if you could give us some information on what happened.

The man looked at them for a longest time before opening the front door wider.

MAN: Come in.

The man left the door open for them and disappeared inside. Asta and Xander entered the dark house carefully.

MAN: Living room.

They followed the man’s voice and managed to make their way to the living room. The man was standing at a coffee table, pouring himself a drink.

MAN: Drink?

XANDER: No thanks. We are kind of in a hurry.

The man sat down on the couch next to the coffee table and regarded them.

MAN: Alright. What do you want to know?

ASTA: About Brother Tam and the supposed gang war in 1921. You look like a smart man, sir, so I know that you know that gang war wasn’t a gang war but something else. Something supernatural perhaps – something demonic.

MAN: And why do you want to know this?

ASTA: Cause we believe that the ‘gang war’ that happened in 1921 is happening again. And we need all the information we can get to stop this.

The man took a sip of his drink and sighed.

MAN: You’re right. It wasn’t a gang war. It was a demon name Argros.

XANDER: Demonic possession?

MAN: Oh no, far from that. You see, Argros, is a demon of evil. His very being is rooted in evil and he has the power to spread that evil around. When he first appeared and everyone started going crazy, my brothers and I thought it was demonic possession but it wasn’t. Argros doesn’t possess, he just brings out the evil in you. You see, there’s an evil nature is all of us and it’s our choice to bring that evil nature out. But when Argros touches you, on the forehead, you lose all control on this evil nature and it surfaces. So what you see is not people being possessed but people being evil.

XANDER: Wait a minute. Did you just say your brothers and I?

The man laughed as he took another sip of his drink.

MAN: (smiled) I’m sorry. Where are my manners? I’m Brother Tam.

[shred]

ACT 4

Xander and Asta stared at the man in shock.

XANDER: I’m sorry…what?

ASTA: You’re Brother Tam? You don’t look 113 years old.

TAM: No, I don’t but I am. I’m a monk who dabbles in the black arts. I’ve been…preserving myself ever since Argros appeared in 1921.

ASTA: So you didn’t die?

TAM: No, but I was very close to dying. Argros didn’t kill me because just before he arrived to do that, I did a protection spell on myself. He let me go and I went into hiding. Once the whole massacre was over, I came back to Hades Valley under a different name.

XANDER: Why did you come back?

TAM: Because of my monastery. My brothers and I were the only caretakers of the monastery and I had a strong responsibility to it after my brothers died. So I came back to see if it was alright.

ASTA: Did you leave after that?

TAM: No, because Argros didn’t. When I went to the monastery, I found Argros there. Argros didn’t see me as I cloaked myself, made myself invisible. When I saw Argros in there, I boarded up the place and bound Argros to the monastery so that he could never leave. So I stayed in Hades Valley to watch over Argros – to make sure Argros didn’t leave the monastery. I was the only one who knew that Argros was still in Hades Valley.

XANDER: Ok so you bound Argros to the monastery. But he's walking around the town like he isn’t. So how did he get out?

TAM: My binding spell expires after a few months so I had to do the spell all over again. But there was this one time, I forgot to do so. I went to the monastery to see if he was still there and he was. He actually made himself at home there. So from then onwards, I didn’t put up the binding spell. I just waited and watched to see if he tried to leave but he didn’t.

ASTA: But he leaves now. Why?

TAM: (shrugged) Who knows? Argros must have a plan and it’s probably now that Argros is putting his plan into action.

XANDER: (to Asta) Pretty typical for all demons. They have to wait for the right time, right star alignment and what not before putting their dire plan into action.

ASTA: Do you know what Argros’ plans are?

Xander raised an eyebrow at Asta.

XANDER: Do you really want to find out?

ASTA: Good point. So how do we kill this guy?

Brother Tam stood up and went to a book shelf behind him.

TAM: While I was ‘looking after’ Argros, I did a bit of research on him. But I never tried to destroy Argros as he was much stronger than me.

He ran his fingers over the spine of some books before stopping at one. He pulled it out and flipped through the pages.

TAM: Ah. Here it is.

He handed the book to Asta.

TAM: Argros’ power and strength lies in the eyes. Take that away and Argros is as weak as a man.

Asta stood up, smiling.

ASTA: That’s all we need to know. Thanks a lot Brother Tam. You really helped us.

TAM: You are welcome. But I’m coming with you. I know the monastery well enough to get you in there without Argros seeing you. And I know a few tricks that might help you kill him.

XANDER: That’s alright. We can handle him.

TAM: A teenager and a man with an eye-patch can kill a demon like Argros when I can’t? You can not be serious.

XANDER: Don’t be fooled by this girl’s looks. She’s stronger than she seems.

Brother Tam turned his eyes towards her and studied her. He frowned slightly. He then snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Xander.

TAM: No, I’m coming with you. I’ve been looking after Argros since 1921 and been hoping since then there was some way I could kill Argros. I should be there when Argros dies.

#############################################
~STREETS OF HADES VALLEY~

Brothers were tearing into sisters. Husbands were beating their wives to deaths. Friends were ripping through each others flesh.

Those were the common sights on the streets and in the houses of Hades Valley. Buildings were ablaze, people ran amok on streets, yelling and screaming on top of their voices and every five minutes, a police car or a fire engine would speed by.

Pike hitched his battle axe a little higher on his shoulder as he surveyed his surroundings. He shook his head and continued on. The monastery was just a few blocks ahead but getting there seemed like it was going to take a lot of work.

Two old men came running towards Pike with their walking sticks and without warning, they started hitting him. Pike ducked from a few strikes and jumped away from the men. He grabbed the two men by the back of their shirts and bumped the two together. Their foreheads struck each other and they went limp.

PIKE: Sorry, gramps.

Before he had time to catch his breath, someone struck him between the shoulders. Pike cried on in pain before going down to his knees. He glances over his shoulder and he found himself staring into the bright blue eyes of a ten year old boy. He had a baseball bat in his hands.

PIKE: I do not want to fight you, kid.

Pike lashed out with his right foot, catching the boy at his knees. Screaming in pain, boy doubled over, dropping his bat. Pike kicked the bat away and then slapped the kid hard across his face. The boy joined the two old men on the ground.

PIKE: This is so wrong.

Pike looked around to make sure he wasn’t going to be attacked by someone else before breaking into a run.

A few minutes later, Pike came to a halt in front of the monastery. The place looked like it was for the past 80 years. The doors and windows were boarded up and had graffiti of all kinds of vulgar words imaginable sprayed on them. The place looked like no one had stepped foot inside for a very, very long time.

Gripping his battle axe tight, Pike made his way towards the front steps of the monastery, looking for a way in. As he climbed up the steps, he realized that the doors weren’t boarded up properly. The doors could be open and at the moment, it was slightly ajar. Looking around once more to make sure he was not going to be attacked again, Pike slipped through the slight opening as quietly as possible.

The monastery was pitch black inside. It was so dark that Pike couldn’t even see his battle axe in front of him. He stood still, unsure of where to go.

PIKE: (muttered) This is just great.

A squeaking sound came somewhere from Pike’s right. He turned around and faced in that direction, watching the darkness for any movement. The squeak came again and this time it was louder, nearer. Pike took a step back and bumped into something behind him.

Pike whipped around, battle axe ready for chopping when he saw two bright blue eyes staring back at him. The glow of the eyes lit up the face it belonged to and Pike took in a sharp intake of breath.

PIKE: Tabby…

Tabitha smiled wickedly. She sneered before leaping at him. Pike’s sister tackled him to the ground, causing him to drop his axe. She sat on top of him, wrapped all her ten fingers around Pike’s throat and started strangling him.

Pike used his left hand to claw at Tabitha’s fingers while using his right to search the ground for his axe. After a moment of desperate searching later, his fingers brushed against something solid and he wrapped them around it. He head butted Tabitha and then used the butt of his axe to hit her just beneath her jaw. Tabitha flew back and fell to the ground.

Pike scrambled to his feet and looked around the monastery for his sister.

Then the monastery flooded with light and Pike blinked at the sudden brightness. He spotted Tabitha just a few feet away from him and next to her was Andrew.

PIKE: Hey guys. Nice to finally see you.

The two of them didn’t respond. They glared at him, once in awhile snarling and growling at Pike.

PIKE: So are we gonna fight?

Tabitha and Andrew didn’t move.

PIKE: Ok…so how about I go first then?

Then the ground beneath him quaked. A flash of red caught Pike’s eye and he saw a human looking, red demon coming into the main hall of the monastery where Pike was. The demon stood on Pike’s left a few feet away, cocking its head. On Pike’s right was Tabitha and Andrew and behind him was a wall.

Pike was trapped.

ARGROS: This is my house. You must leave.

PIKE: No can do, Red Devil. I’m here to pay a visit. (pause) And to kill you.

ARGROS: Kill me? Why?

PIKE: Erm…because you’re evil, you’re a demon and you’re causing everyone in this town, including my sister and my geeky Watcher friend over there, to go nuts. I can’t have that in my town.

ARGROS: Your town? But this town belongs to the demons and vampires.

PIKE: Not if I got something to say about it.

ARGROS: You are very brave man.

PIKE: Thank you. Now, shall we just get on with the killing?

The demon cracked a small smile, making it look more like a human.

ARGROS: Yes. Let’s get on with your killing.

Pike heard movement. He turned to his right and saw Tabitha and Andrew flying towards him.

#############################################
~SEWERS~

ASTA: This place is disgusting. Am I supposed to do patrol here as well?

XANDER: Eventually, yes.

ASTA: (groaned) Oh man.

TAM: Come on, we have to hurry up. Right this way.

The monk turned into another sewer tunnel on his right and Asta and Xander followed closely behind. Only Xander and Asta had weapons with them – Asta had a handheld axe while Xander had her crossbow – while the monk was empty handed.

XANDER: How far along is the monastery?

TAM: Not very far. We should be here any minute now.

ASTA: Good. I think I’m allergic to sewers.

After a couple more twists and turns, Brother Tam stopped under a manhole.

TAM: Here we are. I’ll go first and put up a cloaking spell that will make us invisible to Argros. That way, we will have an advantage over him.

XANDER: Sounds good to me.

ASTA: Having any advantage sounds good to me at the moment.

Tam climbed up the ladder leading to the manhole cover, shifted it aside as quietly as possible and popped his head into the open hole.

TAM: Give me five minutes and then you can follow me up.

XANDER: Gotcha.

ASTA: Roger that.

Tam disappeared as Asta and Xander waited silently below.

XANDER: So…this must be such an experience for you. Only a few weeks in Hades Valley and you’ve gotten yourself in all kinds of action.

ASTA: It’s scary.

XANDER: But you’re doing well – by my standards anyway.

ASTA: (smiled) Yeah, well, I have great teachers.

Tam popped his head back into the sewers.

TAM: Come on up. I’ve already done the cloaking spell.

XANDER: (to Asta) After you.

Asta tossed Xander a grin before grabbing one of the rungs of the ladder and started climbing. Xander followed behind and a minute later, Asta and Xander found themselves in a dark room.

ASTA: Anyone have a flashlight or –

TAM: Dejar allí ser luz.

The room lit up, dimly but enough for all to them to see where they were.

ASTA: something…That could work.

The room they were in was small, empty and dusty.

ASTA: Where are we?

TAM: A storeroom in the basement. Through this door, there are steps that lead to the main hall. I assume that’s where Argros is so we must be quiet. Even though Argros can’t see us, Argros can still hear us.

Brother Tam went to the door, shoved it open and the three of them filed out of the storeroom. They crept up the steps leading to the main hall. Light shone from above, alerting them of company.

Asta stopped in her tracks and turned to Xander who was behind her.

ASTA: What’s the plan?

XANDER: You’re the slayer, you tell us.

ASTA: Me?

XANDER: Yes, you.

Brother Tam looked at Asta expectantly.

ASTA: Ok…so…erm….We’ll see whether Pike’s in the monastery and get him to us. Then we’ll kill Argros?

XANDER: Ok…Asta? Our next lesson? How to make a good plan where all my friends survive and the demons die.

ASTA: Ok, how about this? Brother Tam, is there a way to freeze Argros for a minute or two?

TAM: For a minute or two, I can. But it’s going to take a lot of work.

ASTA: Ok, do that. Make him immobile for at least two minutes. I’ll poke out Argros’ eyes and we’ll chop his head off as Argros stays immobile.

XANDER: Let’s hope it’s that easy.

When the three of them came up to the main hall of the monastery, they saw Pike fending off Andrew and Tabitha. They hid behind a large piece of the Buddha statue.

ASTA: Ok, I didn’t expect Andrew and Tabitha to be here.

XANDER: I’ll help Pike. You put that plan of yours into action.

ASTA: You sure you will be alright?

XANDER: Don’t worry about me. I’ve been in fights like this before. Lost my eye because of that but that’s not going to take me down.

TAM: Let’s do it then.

Xander went off, leaving Asta and Brother Tam behind.

ASTA: Wait for my signal and then you do the spell.

TAM: What’s your signal?

ASTA: Oh, I have to come up with a signal too? Erm…how about “now”?

TAM: “Now” it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xander ran as fast as his legs could carry him towards Tabitha. He jumped when he was close enough and tackled Tabitha to the ground. The two of them tumbled to the hard, dusty floor. Xander kept his hands on Tabitha so that she couldn’t slip away from him. Tabitha and Xander got to their feet with Xander’s hands gripping tightly on her shirt.

XANDER: Just to let you know, I’m not doing any illegal touching here. Just making sure you won’t go after your brother again.

Tabitha swung a fist at him and Xander ducked in time.

XANDER: Nu-huh. You’re not getting me that easily.

Pike – who was on the ground – got to his feet, wiped a trickle of blood from his nose and came up behind his sister. He grabbed her hands and pinned them behind her. He then used his right arm to wrap it around Tabitha’s neck. He gave a slight squeeze and held on.

XANDER: You’re not killing her, are you?

PIKE: No, just cutting off her oxygen supply for a little while. She’ll pass out but that’s it.

XANDER: Where’s Andrew?

PIKE: I don’t know. He was here a moment ago.

Pike nodded to something behind Xander’s shoulder.

PIKE: There. He’s over there with Asta. You better go help her.

XANDER: Right.

Casting one last look towards Tabitha, he ran towards Andrew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asta stood up from behind the statue and walked as confidently as she could towards Argros. The demon had its back towards her and that put her at an advantage. She spotted Xander running towards Pike, not bothering to keep his presence a secret. Before Argros could raise the alarm, Asta cleared her throat, shifting the red demon’s attention to her.

Argros whipped around, surprise registering on it face. Asta grinned.

ASTA: Surprise.

Argros roared loudly before raising its hands.

ASTA: NOW!

With one sweeping movement, Argros slammed one of its hands into Asta’s abdomen. Its arm struck Asta and sent her flying to the other corner of the room. Asta hit the floor and slide across it before coming to a stop in front of Andrew. Andrew grabbed Asta pulled her roughly to her feet. Asta hit Andrew in the nose with the back of her elbow and escaped from his grip. She pushed Andrew away giving herself some room to work. At that moment, Xander came up to her.

XANDER: I’ll take care of Andrew. You deal with Argros.

Asta nodded. She turned and saw Argros standing still, the demon’s hands frozen in mid air.

TAM: Asta! Hurry! The spell will be breaking soon

Asta looked at the handheld battle axe and then to Argros, who was already starting to move. With a grin playing on her lips, Asta elevated the axe, tilted it sideways and threw it straight at Argros’ face, putting all of her Slayer strength behind it.

The axe flew on its side and hit its target – the bright, blue eyes of Argros.

Argros roared again and this time louder than before. The whole monastery shook, causing pieces of ceiling to fall around Asta and the others. Blue light started spurting out from Argros and blinding all of them. Shielding her eyes from the light, Asta watched as Argros screamed in pain and agony, sinking to its knees. A second later, the blue light disappeared and everything went silent and still.

Asta walked up to the fallen demon. The axe was still stuck in Argros’ eyes and he was softly groaning in pain. Grasping the handle, Asta drove the axe further into the demon’s head and pulled it out from the other side. Argros fell backward, his head splitting into two. Asta smiled triumphantly and turned to the others to see how they were doing. Pike smiled at her with his sister in his arms. Andrew, who was being restrained, slumped unconsciously in Xander’s arms.

ASTA: (to Tam) Are they going to be alright?

Brother Tam stood beside Asta and nodded.

TAM: They should be. Argros is dead and its influence on them will die with it. All they need is a goodnights sleep.

#############################################
~NEXT DAY~
~monastery~

Brother Tam stood in the middle of the main hall of the monastery with his eyes closed. He held two roses in his hands. A moment later, he opened his eyes and knelt down. He placed the roses side by side on the ground.

TAM: Rest in peace, my brothers.

He looked up at the fallen statue of Buddha sadly before getting to his feet and turning towards the front door of the monastery. Once outside, Brother Tam shut the heavy door and placed a thick plank across the two doors. He nailed the plank to the doors and hung a “No Trespassing” sign on the plank. He looked up at the monastery one last time before walking down the steps and down the street which led away from the monastery.

Inside the monastery, something else was happening. A tall, handsome man stepped into the main hall. He is dressed sharply in black – a black suit over a black, silk shirt and matching tie – and his dark hair is slicked back. He picked up the roses on the ground and crushed them between his hands. He didn’t flinch when the thorns of the rose pieced through the skin of his palm. Dark red petals and blood fell to the ground from his hand.

The spot where the blood and the petals dropped to began to shimmer. Like throwing a stone into a pond, the spot rippled. The ripple swelled, becoming bigger and bigger until it was nearly covering half of the main hall. The man stood at a safe distance and watched proudly. The ripple stopped growing but still continued to shimmer. Then it began to glow. A moment later, a large figure began to rise from the ripple. A huge, massive being began to take form as the man’s smile grew bigger and more malicious.

MAN: Welcome home, Ahriman.


CUT TO BLACK

END CREDITS

Special Guest Star:
Dean Cain as man in dark suit

Written by
Irene Issac

Story Editor
Rebecca Schwarz

Special Thanks To
Everyone and anyone who helped in making this episode a success

A BECK TO SHREDS production. © 2007 Irene Issac

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