At the supermarket:


Annabelle catches up with Lance on the next aisle, but before she can answer that complex question, they realize they are not alone.

Two Turok-Hans stand just a few yards away at the other end of the aisle.  They came in here to seek cover as the sun came up. These are the vampires other vampires fear, something Lance has never encountered before.

He's about to get a crash course.

The two turok-hans begin to move forward, one going for Annabelle, the other for Lance.


OCC: Combat thread time for everybody in the supermarket. Good guys have initiative.

Annabelle rushed up to meet the Turok-Han coming her way, attempting to get the monster in a take down  and missing as the monster dodges out of the way.  The ubervamp swings a high kick at the Slayer who ducks who moves out of the way.

"Lance get out of here!  You're no match for a Turok-Han! Run outside to the sunlight where it's safe! she screamed.


Reaching for his cigs Lance's smile quickly fades.  The figures step out and he hears Annabelle's yell.  Lance drops the cigs and looks terrified and even lets out a little girly scream. He quickly turns and steps for the door. Then he stops dead in his tracks and turns.  His smirk is back as he fires a pistol into the face of one of the nasties. "So what in the Nine Hells are those things?"

The bullet strikes the creature in the chest, who pauses for a moment, then lurches forward towards Lance, the bullet only slowing him down for a second.  He hurls a punch at the former agent, who dodges the blow with flawless ability.

OCC: Back to the combat thread.  Buffybot can join in this round (and should probably help Lance). No damage to the good guys, they have initiative next round.

Meanwhile, back at The Fish Tank:



Aaron is moving occult books around when he drops one.




The book cracks open to a spell that catches Aaron's eye.  It describes a spell that gives a vampire the ability to enter any dwelling without an invitation.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:15, Thu 14 May 2015.

Glancing down Aaron spots the fallen book, picking it up he casually scans the open pages before stopping dead. Half bent over he re-reads the spell that is shown on the pages. "Micheal! I think you'll want to see this." He places the book on a table so he can study the spell more closely. He had never believed that such spell was possible the implications could be massive.

Mike comes over, and...

"That's definitely useful. Means I can go places others can't follow."

"That's true. But if it's in a book then the chances are that others know of it. Imagine if all your 'friends' got hold of this spell? I know it's not the priority right now, but I think we should keep this book close at hand so it doesn't get 'lost'." Aaron's thoughts are grim at the idea of vampires being able to break into unwilling victims' homes to prey upon them. Vampires are dangerous enough without them being able to do that.

Mike nodded.

"If a spell like that got out, particularly to the cops...that wouldn't end well. However, do we want to see if it actually works? Overcoming the rules like that typically isn't easy."

Annabelle sighs in relief as Lance runs for it.  Then cringes when she hears the gunshot.  Bloody fool!  Didn't anyone teach him you'd have better results hitting a polo ball at a vampire?! she thought.

"Buffy!  Help Lance!  Now!" she shouted as she concentrated on her own enemy, aiming a punch to his jaw followed by one to his gut. But the ubervamp ducks the Slayer's strike and nails her in the jaw with a punch of his own.


Buffybot mainly got more cleaning equipment then anything else. Just as she was done with that that trouble came. "Got it Annabelle!" She then runs to Lance's aid, launching into the air and nailing the second ubervamp with a jump kick to his head.

Despite the awesome blow, the Turok recovered and bares its claws as it lurched forward with slasing his right hand across Buffy's midsection.

Sparks fly.  Not blood, sparks.

Not phased by the lack of reaction from the creature Lance gives no facial reaction at first.

Then he thinks to himself as he chuckles After all how do you know if a bullet kills something unless you try?

He gives a look to his gun as if here we go again and holstering his favorite piece he steps back towards the door. As he faces the things while moving to the door he can't help but think they remind him of something, or someone.  As he gets to the door he doesn't exit but stands at the door and pulls out a modestly sized knife from under his green army looking jacket.

"God didn't make Rambo, I made him!" he said prepared to make a stand, but Buffy's attack bought him the time he needed to get outside into the sun.

But not before he saw sparks rather than blood emit from Buffy's wound.

OCC: Back to the combat thread.  16 points  of damage to Annabelle, 19 points of damage to Buffybot. One Turok each. Good guys still have initiative.  Lance is now safely outside in the sun, he can either stay there or run back in to help either girl for a 2 to 1 advantage.

Back at the The Fish Tank:

Aaron starts reading the details of the spell:

You need a metal key, some moss herbs, and the blood of a vampire.  The moss herbs you don't have but can usually be found at most magic shops.  You do a ritual on the key and then the vampire whose blood is used can enter any dwelling without invitation as long he's holding the key, the key is in his pocket, etc.

If the vampire loses the key or the key is destroyed, the vampire lose the power.  If another vampire gains possession of the key, it won't work for him or her.  The specific blood use bounds the key to that vampire alone.

Aaron takes a closer look at the book.  It's only about a hundred years old ( almost brand new by occult book standards), which might explain why this spell isn't well known since its relatively new.

Mike considers.

"Do you want to try that spell?"

"We could have a go. The ingredients don't appear to be very rare. And the ritual seems simple enough." Aaron takes the time to read through it again to make sure the spell is committed to memory.

"Oh crumbs, that was just horrid."  Annabelle said commenting on her form.  Time for a new tactic.  Focusing on not getting hit by the Turok, she ran towards the front of the market, not out the door and into the sun, and hoped the monster would follow her.

The Slayer successfully ducked out of the monster's reach as he pursued her to the front of the store, not far away from the entrance.

Unlike Annabelle this time around. Buffybot decided to get physical. After all she is built for it. "Not bad but let's see you got out of this."  The robot reached forward, grabbing the Turok by the neck then attempted to nail him in the groin area.  The ubervamp managed to dodge out of the way, then failed to nail Buffy with a punch of his own.



Lance sees the girls run in toward the store away from the exit.  Too many questions right now to think, got to focus.  He looks left then right then up trying to case the joint as they say.  Gotta be something useful around here.  He starts to walk the perimeter of the store looking for any useful items that could be turned into weapons. He knows there must be other entrances towards the back and heads that way on his search.

The Initiative agent makes his way to the back and to the loading dock back entrance to the market, nothing useful for a weapon, unless you count the stack of large wooden palettes that food deliveries were stacked on when the trucks showed up.

OCC: Back to the combat thread.  No damage this round. Buffybot still has her vamp grappled by the neck. Lance is at the back of the store (as far as he got in one round). The back entrance may or may not be unlocked if he wants to try to get back inside that way.

In reply to Aaron James (msg # 11):

"In that case, we'll go to a magic supply shop. There's a route underground we can take. Of course, any route I can take is one the enemy can take too."

Aaron grins in a slightly savage way. "We'd best make sure we're well armed then." He fetches both his bow and sword. He closes the book and places it with the others so that it won't look out of place. "So no-one will know what we're attempting if they find our little hideout. We should probably leave a note for Annabelle and the others though."

Underneath Sunnydale:

Having left a note for Annabelle and the others, Michael and Aaron entered a man hole cover (in a shady spot of course)near the back of The Fish Tank are now on their way to the magic supply shop though Sunnydale's underground tunnels.

Once she reached the front of the store Annabelle whirled around to face the Turok.

"And now for my Michael Smith impression:  Annabelle, you're snoring can wake the undead!  Annabelle, that's not how you drive! Annabelle, I'm going to be an insufferable bore and get on your nerves all the time! she said as she reached forward to grab the nearest body part on the Turok ................and missed, but at least manged to avoid getting hit herself by the ubervamp.



"Frickin nice, the ladies are having all the fun and I am hiding in the sun." Lance finds the dock entry way and goes to the door to see if it is indeed open or not. But not before kicking and breaking a palette apart. He inspects the pieces and tries to fashion a makeshift stake.

Picking up a suitable homemade stake from the pieces, Lance tries the dock entrance and fortunately finds it unlocked.


Buffybot growled a bit. This Turok Han was sneaky as hell. BUT she wanted one more shot before she changes tactics. Still grabbing her opponent by neck she attempts it once again. "Ok let's see you get out of this one!" This time she succeeded as the ubervamp howled in pain, but he managed to shrug off the blow, and tried to punch Buffy, but missed.

OCC: Back to the combat thread.  If Lance wants to rejoin the fight, it will take him one round to run back to the front of the store where the fight is. Both vamp's still up and fighting, Buffybot still has hers grappled by the neck.

In reply to Director (msg # 15):

Mike led the way...after all, this was natural territory for his kind. Just because he made a habit of killing his own kind didn't make it any less true.

Tunnels of Sunnydale:

Mike leads Aaron in the direction of the magic supply store.  They make it to the appropriate manhole cover which is currently covered in shade rather than sunlight and exit without a problem.

The magic store is just a few yards away, they find the door unlocked and are inside less than five minutes when they find the moss herbs they need.

Now they just need a key and Mike's blood to cast the spell.

Mike looked around...

"Ya know, does this store ave a key? Somewhere?"

Or hell, a car key would do...

At the supermarket:


After trying the sneak approach and failing he stashes the stake in his belt and quickly lights a smoke. He takes a long deep drag"Well to quote some Metallica, BACK TO THE FRONT!" Lance nods as if he is head banging once or twice. He reaches down, draws the stake and moves out.

But before he can rejoin the battle upfront, he is cut off as two vampire cops suddenly appear and block his way.  They came from the direction of the meat and seafood section, apparently they were hiding in the meat cooler. They're clearly vamps as they have their vamp faces on and are carrying something cops don't usually carry.

Lance recognizes the standard issue Initiative taser rifle each cop is carrying.  "The chief was right!  Stake this place out and they would show up. You call for back up, I'll handle this guy." One cop reaches for his radio to call for backup.  The other one points his taser rifle at Lance.

Meanwhile up front:

"Stab my eyes!  Michael makes it look so easy!. Annabelle shouted as she reviewed her failure to grab and throw the vamp.

Trying for something more up her alley, she launched a punch then a kick at the Turok. This time she succeeded as she nailed the Turok twice, then deftly dodged his attack on her.


Buffybot makes a successful takedown on her foe in order to make a finishing move.  The Turok hits the floor with a thud.


OCC: Back to the combat thread.  Good guys have initiative.  Lance now has two vamp cops to deal with, one is about to call for backup, the other about to shoot him with a taser rifle. Lance can either shoot at them or is close enough to engage them in melee combat. Annabelle and Buffy still have one Turok each, Buffy's is on the floor
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:14, Wed 27 May 2015.

"If we can't get one fro, here, there must be a locksmith nearby. They'll have more keys than we know what to do with." Aaron also begins to hunt for a key, but also sticks his head out the door and looks up and down the street for a locksmiths shop.

"Should already have one from the stolen vehicles. That'll have to do for the moment."


Should work.

"That's true. I guess we should head back then. See if we can get this spell to work."

Underground:

With their key procuring strategy decided and moss herbs in hand, Michael and Aaron are soon going back the way they came in Sunnydale's underground tunnel system.

They're about halfway back to The Fish Tank when they hear a growling noise.

Then a single Turok-Han turns the corner to face them. No doubt he came underground to hide from the sun.


He appears to be alone. The Turok pauses only for a second before he races forward in between the two, looks like he's trying to attack you both at once.

OCC: Combat thread time for Aaron and Michael.  Turok-Han coming your way.

Underground:

Mike is so very well practiced, doing what he does. He successfully grabs his enemy and tosses him right into the ceiling of the tunnel, where he faceplants right into it before falling down. Then he could finish him off. He forgot to block, though, perhaps getting a little overconfident.

But luckily for Mike, the vamp was in no position to attack as he crashed to the ground.

Aaron brings up the bow in his hands and looses an arrow at the incoming vamp without a thought. Then, reaching across himself, he draws his sword. Ready to face the creature in the close confines of the tunnel.

Aaron makes a million dollar shot that easily strikes the downed vamp as the monsters cry of pain echoes down the tunnel.

OCC: Back to the combat thread for you two.  The Turok is on the ground and you have initiative. You'll be able to start the round by attacking him while he is down before he gets to his feet.

Reversing the sword deftly Aaron takes it in a firm two-handed grip and swings the blade toward the Turok Han's exposed neck.


Mike grabbed his stake and aimed 3 shots at his heart, going all out. Between that and the incoming sword, this poor Turok Han never had a prayer. Mike gets there first, despite his prone position, the ubervamp manages to roll out of the way of the ensouled vamp's atack.


 But he wasn't so lucky against the watcher's flawless decapitation attack as the blade cuts through his neck and the head goes flying for a second before both head and body turn to dust. "Go back to hell." His face has a grim expression of disgust as he pulls his sword loose.

This Turok was alone.  After checking to make sure no other enemies were present, Aaron and Mike continue on their underground trip back to The Fish Tank.


OCC: Back to the episode thread for you two.  One more Turok dusted and one DP spent by Aaron.

"Well done. He got away from me."

Which is rare, when they're prone, but always possible.

And then they'd head the rest of the way back.

"I'm sending you back to hell."

Seizing the advantage, Annabelle took aim with her wooden stake and went for the Turok's heart.

THOK!  FOOM!  The stake hit the heart, and the ubervamp exploded to dust.

SHHHHRAAKKK!!!!

The slayer doesn't have time to celebrate her victory as a bolt of lighting struck her from behind.  Standing a couple of yards behind her is a vamp cop holding a taser rifle.

The slayer never knew what hit her as she hit the floor like a rock.


Lance chuckles to himself. "What do we have here?" He grins and unleashes a kick towards the taser rifle to try to knock it away from him but fails as the vamp cop avoids his attmept. He follows through with a roll to try to get away from their grasp.

But this vamp cop is a good shooter as a charge from the taser rifle travels through the air and nails the former Initiative agent.  The other cop speaks into his two way radio.  "We've got a suspect on aisle 5 and need back up."  The voice on the other end says "You two are on your own, we've got suspects up front to deal with."


Lance tried to roll but was not quick enough.  Feeling the slight sting he knew what was coming next. He gritted his teeth together, time to "Ride the Lightning".

The agent felt a surge of pain for just a moment, then his eyes closed before he hit the floor.



Buffybot saw her chance to finish off the now prone Turok Han. She strikes in the attempt to dust the hostile.  Thok!  Foom!  One Turok dusted.

But before she knew what hit her, Buffybot was also struck by a bolt of lighting from a vamp cop who was standing a few yards behind her as she finished the Turok.

Buffybot can feel the surge going thru her body but somehow managed to stay awake. Annabelle was on the floor and two vamp cops with tasers were now taking aim at her.

OCC: Buffybot is the only one up and at a -2 penalty on all actions. Annabelle and Lance are knocked out. You also each take five points of damage. Vamp cops have initiative.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:50, Wed 03 June 2015.

"Thanks. They do that sometimes." The Watcher sheathes his sword once more and follows the friendly vampire along the tunnel, leaving behind the two piles of dust.

Back at The Fish Tank:


Aaron and Michael make it back to their headquarters with no further resistance.  Moments later, Aaron obtains a spare key from one of the keyrings of their "borrowed" vehicles.


Now they just need a sample of Michael's blood.

Mike provides it...

"Cast away."

Aaron gathers the supplies and re-reads the spell to confirm the details. He then starts to go through the spell step by step, ensuring that he misses nothing out.

Laying out the moss herbs on the floor, Aaron puts the key on top, drips Mike's blood onto the key and begins to walk a circle around it while chanting.

OOC: 20:22, Today: Aaron James rolled 11 using 1d10+6. Spellcasting roll.

At The Fish Tank:


The moss herbs begin to smoke, then...............whoosh!

A fire ball about the size of a basketball erupts, then disappears as quickly as it came.

When the smoke clears, nothing is left.  No key, no blood, no moss herbs.




OCC:  Spell didn't work this time.  If Aaron wants to try again right away, it will be at -3 penalty (Standard -2 cumulative casting penalty and another -1 for doing the exact same spell)You don't have to go supply hunting again, they grabbed extra moss herbs and there is more than one spare key on key rings.

"Well I guess that didn't work. Maybe I missed something." Picking up the book he begins to read through the spell once more. It wasn't the easiest spell, maybe there was an experience component to the spellcasting...

At the supermarket:

Lance wiggles on the ground and drools a bit.

SHHHRRRAAAAKKK!!!

Before Buffybot can make a move on either of the two vamp cops, she feels another jolt of electricity slam into her.  Another vamp cop with a taser was hiding among the aisles and zapped her from behind.


OCC: Buffybot must make another constitution doubled roll at a -15 penalty this time.

In reply to Aaron James (msg # 35):

"Well...probably best to give it a rest. Wait for tomorrow, or something. Not sure how long it takes to make a retry feasible."

At the supermarket:


Another surge goes thru her and that one does the job as the robot hits the floor.

Moments later a SWAT van pulls up to the loading dock at the back of the supermarket under the safety of the shade.

Two cops carry the unconcious Annabelle and load her into the back of the van, similary followed by teams of two cops each carrying the unconcious Lance and Buffybot.

The front of the van has specially treated glass protecting the driver from sunlight.  One the three unconcious captives have been secured, the SWAT van drives off.

HOURS PASS

Annabelle, Lance, and Buffybot each begin to wake up.  Each one wakes up to find themselves on a cot in an enclosed space with bars on one side.  Appears to be a jail cell.  And each one wakes up alone in their own cell.

Back at The Fish Tank:

Michael and Aaron are getting worried their friends haven't come back yet.

Annabelle lies still, albeit breathing normally.  Then her hand moves, and she opens her eyes.

Aaarrgghh.  What hit me? Is there a demon breed that has the power to generate electricity. she thinks to herself as she sits up on the cot.

The Slayer looks around and assesses her surroundings.  "Yes, of course. ambushed by a vampire constable with a stolen Inititiative rifle. "

Noting that she's in the cell alone, Annabelle walks up to the bars.

"Hello?  Is anyone else here?" she shouts

Aaron frowns, looking out through the dirty windows. "They should be back by now." Turning back to look at Michael. "I'm beginning to get worried. Even if the vampires aren't out and about, there must still be other dangerous things around the Hellmouth. And I don't believe they would have taken this long on purpose."

"They have ways of moving about during the day, and they're probably the same ones I use. However...we'll need to find them. But where to start looking?"

They'd have to just get 'er done.

"We could always try the scanner again. If they're out looking it could tell us if the others have been spotted or taken. If we don't get anything then we may have to look the old fashioned way."

Lance begins to come around and is not amused.  "Damn cops, even when they're undead they're after me huh?"

Hearing what sounds to be a fellow captive he listens intently. As he listened he looked about the place to get familiar with the setup.

In reply to Aaron James (msg # 42):

"They just might talk about it..."

Trying the scanner is a good an idea as any.

"Lance, are you in here?  Are you awake?!  I was zapped from behind by what felt like a bolt of lighting.  What about you?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:26, Mon 02 May 2016.

At The Fish Tank

Michael and Aaron listen to the police radio in their borrowed police cruiser (after Aaron has moved it closer to the building so Michael won't be in danger from the sunlight).

For several minutes; nothing.

Then they hear:

"Unit 54, this is headquarters.  Are you still at the supermarket?"

"HQ, this is unit 54.  We're still here.  No sign of anyone."

"Maintain your position.  The chief's hoping the rest of the fugitives will show up there looking for their missing friends.  Then we can capture all of them.

"Roger that HQ, we're maintaining our position.  Over and out."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:31, Thu 11 June 2015.

"Well it was an Initiative taser for sure. I got a good look at one before I took a nap. Seems to me we were the sheep going to the slaughter. However the slaughter part didnt happen, yet. Why didn't they kill us outright?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:57, Fri 12 June 2015.

"Well, that explains the weapon that was used. As for why we're still alive, they're probably going to interrogate us for information so they can capture Aaron and Michael as well.  Then kill all of us at once.

"Well I guess that answers our question then. They've been captured. Now we need to decide what to do about it. Do we try and break them out now? Wait until nightfall in the hope that some of the cops will have left the precinct? Or do we try to thin out their numbers a little? Say, by taking on the ones at the supermarket." As much as they need to get rescue the others, a few moments of thought might save them all a lot of trouble further down the road.

Sunnydale police station:


Before anyone else can reply, Annabelle, Lance, and Buffybot watch through the bars of their cells as the door at the end of the room opens.

A man walks in, appears to be in his forties, how long you don't know since he's clearly a vampire as indicated by his yellow eyes and sharp teeth as well as being tall, muscular, and wearing a police uniform.

He is followed by four of the biggest, meanest, looking SWAT team vamps that ever came down the pike. All four taller than six feet, all with their SWAT helmets on, both with visors raised so you can see their vamp faces.

The man in the lead morphs into human face as he gets closer, you can all now get a good look at the badge on his chest indicating he's the chief of police.

"I see you're all awake, that's good. I'm Chuck Mixon, I'm the new chief of police in Sunnydale and you kids have been causing us  bit of trouble.

"So you're chief constable eh?" Annabelle says through the bars.

"We're also the kids who have been controlling the Turok-Han infestation.  I believe we are due some form of citizenship award for that.

Buffybot crosses her arms. For now she'll let Annabelle do the talking. Sometimes it's the unspoken words that are the most telling.

Sunnydale Jail:

The chief steps closer to Annabelle's cell.

"Yes, you have been very helpful in culling those things.  We got rid of  a few ourselves recently.  Had us a Turok-Han vs. Kotar demon tournament at the high school gym. Everybody died, it was fun.  The Turok-Han population is down to a mere 7 our sources tell us.  If only you kids would obey the law, we'd get along just fine.

Lance could stay quiet no longer. With as much sarcasm as he could muster he smirked "And just what is this "Law" you speak of Chief? Your law? Our law? The law of nature? Law of Gravity? Quit the small talk.  What's going on here?"

The chief steps closer to Lance's cell.

"It's a new beginning for Sunnydale, boy. We're going to become the world's first vampire controlled town. And it's all going to be legal.

He's looks over Lance for a moment.  "Ever thought about joining the police force son?  And how do you feel about eternal life?  There could be a place for you in our new world.

""Ahem!" Annabelle called out, getting the chief's attention again.



"I notice you didn't extend that invitation to me.  Is it because I'm just a girl?  Or because I'm British and would make for a very bad American officer?

In reply to Aaron James (msg # 51):

Mike considers that, and...

"The sun is a weapon...I usually recommend going after the enemy when it's available. However...numbers are the enemy's best friend, and we don't want there to be a lot of them. They might disperse at night."

The chief turns his attention to Annabelle again.

"No young lady.  We don't allow the Slayer to join the police force.  You are the Slayer aren't you?

In reply to Michael Smith (msg # 59):

"I guess a little bit of reconnaissance is in order then? Try and work out where we should strike to best effect. Standard guerrilla tactics."

"Well, we're not saving anybody standing around here. We should probably get moving."

However they're going to do it.

Lance leans back and listens as the Chief speaks to Annabelle. I should learn to keep my mouth shut, maybe I will learn something, but probably not he mused to himself.

Annabelle looks shocked for about two seconds then, manages to regain her composure.


"What makes you say that?  Perhaps I am the Slayer. Or perhaps I just take a lot of vitamins. And eat right.  I am veggie. Really now, the Slayer is only one girl in all the world. What are the odds of it being me?" she says dismissively as if the subject is of minimal importance to her.

"Well, you're right about that young lady. the chief continued.

"We reversed the magic spell that created Slayers all over the world. We've restored the status quo, one Slayer on the planet.

Before the chief could continue, his cell phone rang.

"This is the chief..........oh hi Bubba.........yeah, they're all awake now.........okay, we'll bring the over in a few minutes.

The chief hangs up his cell phone and glances back and forth between the three of you.

"The mayor wants to see you all."

"Indeed we are not. To the sewers once more." Aaron lets Mike take the lead once they're in the sewers again. His senses have a better chance of picking up something ahead of them, and it worked out ok for them last time.

Sunnydale underground:

Minutes later, Michael and Aaron are prowling the Sunnydale underground tunnels.  Mike is in the lead and his superior vampire senses are detecting nothing but the two of them. No vamp cops (or anything else) to be found in the tunnels.

Just then something interesting happens.  The duo are approaching a ladder leading up to a manhole cover in the street.  A small bit of sunlight hits the floor from the hole in the manhole cover above.  Mike is just about to sidestep it, when the sunlight disappears.

Maybe just a passing cloud.  Or maybe something else.

""You should probably check on that...""

For obvious reasons, Mike can't.

Annabelle almost had to pick up her jaw off the floor after the chief's revelation.  Bloody hell?!  Do they have that kind of power to reverse such a spell?!  If that's true...........then I'm the only one. The Chosen One.

She shook her head to try to regain her senses in time to hear what the chief said.

"Sounds lovely.  I'm anxious to meet the mayor myself.  There will be tea I hope."

"Lambs to the slaughter." Lance mumbled under his breath at the Chiefs invite to see the mayor.  More importantly though, he thought to himself, what in the world are they talking about? Multiple Slayers? Turok-Hans? How long have I been gone?  What else has changed? I like a challenge as much as the next guy but what the hell have I gotten myself into here? Sure would be nice to have the old band back together.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 15:56, Fri 26 June 2015.

Aaron nods his agreement before starting to climb up towards the manhole cover. He stops just below checking for sounds, before he attempts to push the cover open and looks out into the daylight.

Sunnydale undeground:

Aaron looks up into the sky and sees that it has gotten very cloudly.  Clouds are now totally blocking out the sun, and what's strange is the clouds aren't moving very much, just hovering in place and continually blocking out the sun.

As long as this weather pattern remains, Mike is free to roam the open streets.  As is any other vampire in Sunnydale.

The streets are deserted for now, the time on a nearby outdoor digital clock indicates it is now 12:02 pm.

Sunnydale jail:

"Okay, boys we're taking them to see the mayor.  Cuff em'"

Three of the four tall and mean SWAT vamps each pulls out a pair of handcuffs.  Each SWAT vamp steps in front of one of the cells holding Annabelle, Lance, and Buffy.

"Put your hands though that slot." one says, pointing to the small open space in each cell, just large enough to fit two hands through.  The other two repeat the command.

"The mayor....now we're getting somewhere."She places her hands thru the slot.

"Of course." Annabelle said in her most cooperative voice as she put her hands into the slot.

Hopefully these aren't some form of mystical handcuffs so I can break out of them when necessary. she thought.

Lance reluctantly walks to the door and slides his hands through the slot.

Sunnydale Jail:

Moments later, each of the three SWAT vamps leads each of the now handcuffed captives out of the cell area, followed by the chief and the fourth SWAT vamp.

They take the trio out the back door and load them up into the back of the same SWAT van that brought them here.  Each of the heroes notice the vampires don't seem too concerned about the sunlight, when you each look up and see the cloud cover allowing them to move about freely.

The SWAT van pulls out, on it's way to city hall with the chief and the fourth SWAT vamp up front while the three heroes are in the back of the van, each one guarded by a SWAT vamp.

Oh crumbs, this is not peachy.  Annabelle thought as she glanced up at the sky.

It's cloudy again and probably not incidental.  The vampire constabulary will have free reign to hunt down Michael and Aaron.  If those two get caught, it's over. Hopefully they can evade the enemy.

She let the SWAT vamp put her in the van without incident. The Slayer had to fight the urge to escape, but if the mayor of Sunnydale was the talkative time (and evil masterminds ususally were) they would gain some valuable information.

In reply to Director (msg # 73):

"So, Aaron, why am I not wincing at the sight of whatever's going on up there?"

Aaron pulls himself oput of a silent inspection of the clouds above to respond to Mike's question. "It would seem our providential cloud cover has returned." He carefully returns the manhole cover to its rightful p[lace and decends the ladder once more. "I have a suspicion that it's going to get a lot busier above ground if that cloud is sticking around. I think we might be better off sticking down here to avoid attention."

Lance leans back against the metal of the vehicle and takes a few deep breaths.  Every inch of him is telling him to attack. He also knows that in this situation it will get him no where fast. He tries to make eye contact with the ladies to let them know he is ready on their mark if they so desire a bit of violence.

In reply to Aaron James (msg # 81):

"Right. Let's stay stealthed. If the enemy is above ground, we'll stay down here. Besides, I wouldn't put it past the enemy to abruptly end the cloud cover with magic if they thought they'd catch me too."

Annabelle meets Lance's eyes and reads the message he's trying to send with them.  She silently mouths "not now" when the SWAT vamps are looking the other way.

Annabelle was fighting the urge to attack herself but like her watcher said, there's a time to be brave and a time to be smart.  And trying an escape right now isn't smart.

"Of course. I had considered that possibility also. Shall we continue?" Aaron gestures to the open tunnel before them, indicating that Michael should take the lead once more.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:15, Wed 01 July 2015.

Sunnydale City Hall:

The SWAT van pulls up the back entrance of city hall and the three captives are quickly unloaded and taken inside.

The trio are taken into the city hall conference room.  Annabelle, Lance, and Buffybot are at one end of the long conference table, with a SWAT vamp guarding each one, the chief and the fourth SWAT vamp are standing just a few feet away.

All the way at the other end of the long table, sits the mayor of Sunnydale. He looks to be 40 to 50 years old, brown hair, and appears to be totally non-hostile.

"Well, hello.  I'm Patrick Rugby, mayor of Sunnydale.  You can just call me Bubba, everyone does." he says with a southern accent, possibly Georgian.

"You'll no longer need those." From the opposite side of the room, the mayor waves his hand.  All three of you hear a click sound as all three of your handcuffs unlock by themselves and drop to the floor.

"Now why don't you all have a seat." the mayor says.

TO BE CONTINUED