(Untitled)

[timeshadow]

 A shadow was passing over the city. Literally. There was nothing to be seen in the late afternoon sky, not even a disturbance in the clouds, but something was coming in fast across the Hudson. It was too high up for anything more than a faint flickering shade across the water, but in the pre-fabricated jungle of Lower Manhattan there were some,

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[sharp_cold]

Well now, this was a turn up. Not that the excitement of the fight hadn't been waning - the sheer stupidity of these boys lost its novelty after the first two or three. And not that he was resistant to a little help, totally unexpected as it was. But when there were suddenly two complete strangers in the midst of the fight and they seemed to be on your side ... a body couldn't not to wonder who the bloody sodding hell they were.

Credit due; they were good, they had weapons, and - as one of the vamps settled to the floor as dust - they knew what they were dealing with. None of which, in his books, was necessarily encouraging. Spike threw a punch that broke the face of another opponent, then shot a sharp glance toward the nearer of the two; "Alright, ducks. Just what crevice did you pop up from?"

[etherreality]

"Us?" 'Rush sidestepped an attack and brought up her blade, handily cleaving the vampire's arm from his body.

"We're," the sword came around and took off the creature's head, "the Welcome Wagon."

[sharp_cold]

Oh t'riffic. And they were comedians, to boot.

"Nice shot, blondie," he returned, breaking the neck of the vamp he'd just punched and letting it drop to the floor, "but I was hoping for a mite more information."

[timeshadow]

"OK then, try this." Rak blocked a wild swing, stepped in and gave her assailant a knee hard in the groin.

"You crash-landed last night in the middle of Central Park. You were someplace totally other, but suddenly you were there. This place seems normal but there's bits that just aren't right. Something's screwy. If you want answers on what's happened, then you wanna stick with us."

[sharp_cold]

"Oh, very nice." A comment on both her words and actions; this one liked to mess with 'em before she bumped 'em off.

"Well, pet," he half-turned toward her, throwing a swift kick into the next attacker coming at him, "if you're the one with all the answers, tell me this one - why should I trust you?"

[timeshadow]

"Oh, that one's easy." Her blade took the head of the kneed vampire and continued into the gut of the next.

"Who else have ya got?"

[sharp_cold]

"Point." Spike let her finish off that one and stepped back. He kept his attention on the dark one, though he was well aware of the blonde behind him, keeping him nicely bracketed between.

"You throw a good line, ducky," he growled, completely ignoring the vamp with the broken neck twitching helplessly on the floor, "but the last time I saw anything like you two I ended up with a chip in my head."

[timeshadow]

"Chip?" Her brow furrowed, both curious and confused. "Don't they call those 'fries' over here? Look," as the attempt at humour obviously fell flat, "We do know what happened, and we have no ill-intent. We also know that you could have killed at least two people last night and you didn't. So we're giving you the benefit of the doubt."

A sigh, and a one-shoulder shrug. "Believe me - here, we're the best friends you've got."

[sharp_cold]

Spike thought about this for a long moment - slightly delayed as the other vamp tried to sit up, necessitating a boot trodden onto its throat. He didn't know about this. Their gear, their moves - it all reminded him of Riley and those other arseholes from the Initiative.

On the other hand ... bloody oath somethin' was screwy, and if they were offering to fill in the blanks he'd be stupid to turn them down. Besides which - now that he had time to notice - they were both eye-candy. Spike was not that dumb.

"Alright, darling." He nodded slowly, grinding his foot a little into the other vamp's neck. "You've got yourselves a bet. I've made meself a little unpopular with the locals 'ere, anyway."

[etherreality]

"Goodness knows why." 'Rush looked at the prone body and spun her sword in her hand. "You want I should clean that up before we ... " She stopped suddenly, looking around.

"Uh ... "

[timeshadow]

"Uh ... " Rak's eyes had gone slightly wide. "I hear 'em." She ran to the railing, leaning over and looking down.

On the level below, there was a crowd of moving bodies; she couldn't count exactly how many, but there were a lot, and none of them were actually human - and they were heading for the stairs.

"Company!" 'Rusha's voice behind her, and the sudden appearance of yet more shadowy figures from the corridor to one side.

"Uh?" Rak turned to the blond vampire, staring. "Exactly how many people have you managed to piss off, here?"

[sharp_cold]

"Dunno, pet." Retorted Spike, giving her a glare; "Why? You defending a record, or somethin'?"

The crowd below reached the stairs and surged up toward the terrace. Spike looked at the women and shrugged. "Rush hour."

[etherreality]

"Damn right."

All three of them turned and ran.