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Title: The Spirit Runs Deep-Prologue
Author: Amanda
Rating: PG
Summary: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE ALERT!! Forget everything from the show, this
thing is totally different. But don't worry, it's still Willow/Angel.
Disclaimer: I don't own anybody from the show. They are the property of Joss
Whedon and his band of Merry Men. The story, however, is mine.
Archive: Go for it dude, just let me know!
Spoilers: There might be some stuff from the show mentioned, but otherwise
everything is different.
Special Thanks: To Brenna: Get your computer fixed soon man!! STOP MOOCHING
OFF MY JOLLY RANCHERS!!!
Prologue
Ireland--1974
Sarah O’Brien sat perched on a large boulder near the edge of a giant cliff. Her
short legs draped over the side, not quite reaching the plush green grass under her feet.
She tucked a stray piece of her brown hair behind her ear, and stared out at the massive
ocean before her. A cool breeze picked up, carrying with it the familiar scent of Sarah’s
small Irish village; a combination of hearty soil and fresh rain. The aroma of the land
embedded itself in the nostrils of those that worked it. It wasn’t until now that she
realized how she’d taken for granted even something as simple as the smell of dirt.
Sarah was a young girl of 17. Her family, like most of the Irish families in her village, was extremely Catholic. Sarah went to church with them every Sunday, but her heart had never been in it. She just couldn't believe in God.
One day a mysterious woman named Arianna came to their town, and introduced Sarah to the world of magic and witchcraft. Sarah had a strong head on her shoulders, and decided that the beliefs of the Wiccans made more sense than her Catholic upbringing.
Sarah soon met a man by the name of Foster. He was a gypsy, and a friend of Arianna’s. The young girl was easily manipulated into believing that Foster loved her. Sarah, convinced that they would be together forever, lost her viginity to him. When she discovered she was pregnant, Foster left her, and Sarah had to deal with her family on her own.
When Sarah sat her parents down and explained what happened, they seemed eerily calm and understanding. She went to bed that night relieved that her parents supported her.
She couldn’t have been more wrong.
The next morning Sarah awoke to find all of her belongings shoved into two metal trunks and sitting out on the front porch. Her parents left her a note saying that she was to leave and "never come back." Along with the note, they gave her enough money to pay for a plane ride to America, and to pay for a place to stay when she arrived.
After a fit of hysteria that lasted nearly three hours, Sarah found herself sitting on the boulder.
"This is it Sarah. Time to start a new life." She stood and brushed off the back of her long skirt. She had no idea where she was going to go, or what she was going to do when she got there, but she knew it was time to make a life for her and her baby.
"You, my child, are going to be perfect. And no matter if you're a boy or a girl, I’m going
to give you the perfect name. Angel." Sarah patted her stomach, and turned to see the
cab pull up in front of her parent's cottage. Sarah climbed into the passenger seat and gazed longingly at her former home. A single tear rolled down her cheek. It was the last
time in her entire life that she cried.
~~~~~
Lucerne, Switzerland--1696
The young red head sat alone at a small table in the far corner of the tiny outdoor pub at the base of Mt. Pilatus. She looked out over Lake Lucerne, admiring it's beautiful blue-green color. She inhaled, and then coughed loudly, billows of tobacco smoke choking her lungs. She turned and sneered at the obnoxious men smoking cigars two tables away from her own. They didn't notice her.
"Well, I suppose I should be on my way," she said under her breath, taking one final swig of her drink. She slapped some money down on the tabletop, gathered her
shawl around her shoulders, and waved to the bartender as she left the pub.
The sun was slipping swiftly below the horizon. < Lucerne is such a small
"Well hello there."
The sound of another female's voice sent chills up the red head's spine, and she turned slowly to face the speaker. It was a young woman, not much older than herself,
with blonde hair and a smile that made the red head feel uneasy.
"C-can I help you?" she asked nervously.
"Why yes, you can. I'm quite hungry. Can you tell me where I can get something to eat?"
Relieved, the red head nodded. "Yes, there's a pub about one kilometer down the road in that direction." She pointed, and the blonde just smiled, ignoring her gesture.
"I'm afraid I can't wait. Why don't I just eat now?" With that, the blonde woman grabbed the red head by the hair and buried her fangs into the pale flesh of the other's neck.
Before the girl fell into unconsciousness, the blonde cut her wrist and forced her blood on the red head. "By the way," the vampire gasped. "My name is Darla."
They were the last words the red head heard before she died.
PART 1
Sunnydale, California--1999
She slid undetected into the shadows of the small night club, her eyes never leaving the
group of people seated at the table across the room. < A male Slayer. This should be
interesting. > She maneuvered around the sweaty, gyrating bodies and over- turned chairs,
finally coming to a stop underneath the rickety metal staircase leading to the second floor
of the building. She scanned the area to make sure she wasn't standing underneath even
the dimmest light, and then turned her attention back to the Slayer and his friends.
She sized him up to the other Slayers she'd encountered in her many, many years of existence as a vampire. He was unlike any other Slayer, not only because he was the first male Slayer (a powerful ritual performed by an unknown Wicca threw the entire Slayer organization off), but also because he possessed far superior strength and mental capabilities. All she knew about his past was that his mother was born with a natural psychic ability. She could only assume that he was born with the same ability.
~~~~~
He could sense her the moment she stepped into The Bronze. He was always able to detect vampires; after all, it was his job to do so. But this one seemed different to him. He wasn't receiving the usual hatred and disgust most vampires had towards the Slayer. He could only describe it as indifference.
Now that he'd made a mental note of what she "felt" like, he wanted to see what she looked like. He reached out with his mind, trying to pinpoint her location. < Under the
< Oh shit, he’s seen me. >
< She knows I’ve seen her. Where’s she going to run? >
concentrating fully on her.
"What is it?"
He turned to his Watcher, and pressed his finger to his lips.
Amy Madison shook her head at her Slayer, and went back to conversing with an older
gentleman that had somehow managed to get into The Bronze without getting laughed out
by Buffy Summers and her snobby friends.
"Hey Witch-Lady, what's with Slay-Boy tonight?" Xander Harris sat on the stool next to
Amy's, followed by his best friend, Cordelia Chase.
"Shh, Xander please. I'm sure he's just spacing out again." Amy turned back to the man,
and allowed him to escort her to the dance floor.
"Hey Cordy, looks like Miss Madison is gonna get some action!" Xander did a strange
little dance move on his seat, and smiled brightly at the brunette next to him.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Sure Xander, sure she is." Cordelia turned back to her laptop and
clicked away at the keys. Xander shook his head.
~~~~~
She tried to rip her eyes away from his penetrating gaze and focus her attention on the
teens sitting next to him, but she was unsuccessful. They were locked in a blind stare.
He couldn't see all of her, but what he saw was enough to imprint her image on his brain.
The picture of her bright, green eyes and flowing red hair would never leave him. Even
after he killed her.
< He's going to kill me. I have to get out of here. > She looked to her left, and then to her
right. She was blocked on both sides by various obstacles. All she could do was move forward. < Act like you’re a normal person. Maybe he’ll leave you alone. >
"What are you stari....hel-lo," Xander said, finally seeing on whom his friend was so
intently focused. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She had long,
beautiful red hair, and sparkling green eyes. Her clothes were simple, a black pants suit
with a white collared shirt underneath. Xander, who's goal it was to become a
fashion designer, appreciated her sense of style.
The Slayer averted his gaze to Xander. "Let's go. Get Amy." Xander quickly jumped
from the table and pushed himself through the teeming mass of dancing kids. Cordelia
wrapped up her final sentence and slammed the cover closed on her laptop.
"What're we doing?" she asked, sliding the computer into it's soft case, and slinging the
strap over her shoulder.
"Vampire. Headed outside. Come on." A wave of his hand was all it took for Xander,
Cordelia, and finally Amy, to follow him towards the back door.
Xander gripped the wooden stake in his pocket. He stopped to look for her, and Cordelia slammed into him.
"Hurry up Xander, I'm aching for a killing tonight."
"Geez Cordy, what's with the lust for violence?"
She shoved him hard, and he stumbled forward, falling into the determined Slayer.
"Watch it Harris, this is serious," he mumbled under his breath.
"Sorry, let's just go kick some vampire behind."
~~~~~
She pressed herself flat against the wall of the dark alley, and watched as the four people
stumbled out of the club. < It's no use, he'll feel me. > She slowly crept deeper into the
alley, taking her eyes off of the group momentarily to maintain her balance.
Suddenly, she was thrown to the ground, the Slayer's knee pressing hard into her back.
"Who are you?" he snarled, holding a stake just above her heart.
She tried to turn over, but couldn't muster up the strength. "I'm not here to kill you," she
groaned.
"Right, just like I'm not here to kill you. Really, who are you? What's your name?"
"What difference does it make?" she hissed. "Do you like to know the names of the
vampires you kill?"
"Yeah, I use them for my scrapbook." He rolled off of her, and lifted her up by the collar
of her shirt. "Now, are you going to tell me your name?"
He was so close, she could've stuck her tongue out and touched his nose. In fact, she
considered doing so, if only to throw him off guard so she could twist herself out of his
grasp. < Lower is better. >
doubling over in pain.
He recovered quickly, and slammed her hard against the wall. She gasped at the sharp
pain slicing through her back. "I won't ask again," he warned through clenched teeth.
"Willow."
"What?"
"My name, it's Willow."
He stared at her, disbelief on his face. "Willow? How intimidating is that?"
She snorted. "Would you prefer something like Attilla or Hannibal?"
He slapped her hard across the face. She snarled, and her teeth elongated into sharp
fangs. He grinned at her. "I guess I hit a nerve. Well, I suppose I should introduce
myself. I want you to remember my name while you burn in hell."
"I already know your name, Slayer," she interrupted. "And you thought my name was
inappropriate. Angel? Ha! You were all set to kill me, and instead you decide to torture
me with brainless small talk and physical abuse? Are you sure your destiny wasn't to
become a vampire?"
He pulled her up against him, his eyes boring holes through her own. "I don't think I'm the
weak one here. You aren't even fighting back. And, by the way," he spun them around
and shoved her away. "Don't ever make fun of my name. It's all I have left of my life
before all of this." He waved his hands around, emphasizing the dankness of the alley,
which held a deep symbolism for his tortured and dark life.
"Aww, poor Slayer. Look, I'm not here to fight, Angel. I'm here to warn you." Willow
started to move closer to him, but he stepped back.
"Warn me? Why, Willow, what makes you think I care about anything you have to say?
What makes you think I won't kill you if you help me?"
"I'm not helping you to avoid being killed. In fact, I welcome it. I've been suffering far too long now," she said, looking down at her hands. < A vampire with a soul. A sentence worse than hell. >
"Cry me a river, Willow. Tell me what you came here to say, and maybe I'll let you go."
Angel stood facing her, his arms crossed and his head cocked to the side, a skeptical look
on his face.
"There's a new Master in town. He's dangerous. More so than the last Master. He's
trying to get together an army, and he plans on opening the Hellmouth."
Angel sighed. "You'd think as the Masters get more colorful personality wise, they would
do interesting bad things rather than the same old crap. So, where's his hideout?"
Willow shook her head. "I don't know yet. I have sources, but I don't have the trust. Ask
your watcher, I'm sure she'd be able to help you."
<Amy... > Angel looked towards the opening to the alley, and saw that he and Willow had
an audience of three. He turned back to Willow to say something, but she was gone.
< What the…? >
to be found.
"Dammit!" he shouted, his voice bouncing off the walls and nearly deafening him before he
escaped the echo.
"What's the matter, Angel? Who was it?" Amy checked over Angel, making sure he wasn't injured in any way. She said a short spell under her breath, making sure to ease the pain of any internal injuries. They would be healed by morning, but Angel shouldn't be made to suffer with pain if it wasn't necessary.
"It was a vampire. She said there was a new Master in town, and that he was more dangerous than any other Master before him. When I asked her where he was hiding out, she said she didn't know, but I think that's a lie." Angel brushed off the front of his shirt,
and smiled gratefully at his Watcher when he realized she'd done the spell.
"So, research then?" Cordelia asked, getting excited by the idea of surfing the net and finding info on bad guys. More often than not, she'd saved the day with her Internet expertise. Knowing that she had that kind of power over everybody else, for she was the only one that had any idea how to turn on a computer, much less use one, was something she enjoyed immensely.
"Yeah, research sounds great guys, but I really need to head home. I've got studying to pretend to do, and then I have other stuff that I need to take care of," Xander said, shifting from right foot to left under their stares.
"Other stuff? Don't you mean you have to watch this week's reruns of Due South and
Captain Planet?"
Xander glared at Cordelia, his face bright red with embarrassment. "NO! I just uh, have
to clean for my parents."
"Right, and I'm-"
"Guys! Can we please discuss this later? Xander, if you can't stay, fine. Just let us drive you home. I'm not about to let you walk by yourself," Amy said. She hurried over to her small car and held the door open so Angel could climb into the back seat. Xander shrugged and followed close behind, hopping up front. Amy helped Cordelia into the back and climbed into the driver's seat. The engine of the tiny car screeched and groaned before finally roaring to life.
Willow watched from the rooftop. She admired Angel's ability to control everybody around
him with a simple word or gesture. Especially that teenage boy. <Xander...he's pretty cute.. >
Of course, there was no denying that Willow had been somewhat attracted to the Slayer as well, but she knew that nothing would ever come of it. < He's beautiful, but he's the Slayer, which makes him hazardous for my health. >
She shook her head, sighing in frustration, and made her way down the fire escape. Underneath her, a group of teenage girls came outside, giggling and shrieking about boys
and other girlie things that made Willow sick to her stomach. The short blonde in the miniskirt and sleeveless shirt seemed to lead the pack, her head held high, and her chest thrust forward for all the world to see.
< Yuck, I hate people like that. But it seems to be what men like. It's a good thing most
of the men I'm interested in prefer dead girls rather than live ones. I would have some
serious competition. > She landed with a thud at the bottom of the fire escape, and took
off running into the night.
PART 2
"Angel, it's important that you tell me everything you noticed about this vampire. There may be something about her in one of my books...something that will improve her credibility. We can't just go around believing the word on the street. It might be a set up or-"
"Amy, it's not a set up," Angel said, trying to calm his watcher down. "I don't know how I
know that for sure, but I can feel it. Something about this wo...vampire makes me want to
believe her."
"It was the girl from The Bronze, wasn't it?" Cordelia asked, not looking up from her
computer.
"What girl from...oh, yeah, it was her." Angel peered across the room at his friend, and
she looked up to meet his questioning look.
"Xander really knows how to pick 'em, doesn't he?" she said with an exasperated sigh.
Amy started to answer, but bit her tongue and instead chose to gather up all of the old
Watcher diaries as reference on the new vampire, and the new Master.
Angel snorted and stood up to pace around the room. "Xander's oblivious, Cordy. He's
just like every other guy. If you don't throw yourself at him like a slut, he won't notice a
thing. Not that I'm saying you should throw yourself at him."
"Are you kidding? I doubt Xander would notice if I walked into a room completely naked. He'd probably say something like 'Gee Cordy, you better put some sunblock on. It's gonna be a hot one!' I'm so sick of him! Ugh!" She pounded her fist on the large wooden table, and shrieked as her computer screen went black. "Whew, it was only the screen saver." Her anger at Xander forgotten for the moment, Cordelia started typing again.
"Angel, can you give me a hand please?"
Angel stopped pacing and walked over to the young woman, who was struggling rather comedically with a large box full of books. He put his hands under the bottom edge, and
lifted the box into the air as though it weighed nothing. "Where do you want it?" he
groaned under the strain of the box.
"Over there," Amy said, pointing to the checkout counter. Angel stumbled across the
room and set the box down on the wooden surface. "Thanks, Angel."
"No problem. So, what do you want to know about this vampire?"
~~~~~
Willow unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped inside. She flicked on the one lamp in the entire place, and dropped her keys on the kitchen table. She opened the refrigerator and bent down to inspect the contents.
"Do I want O positive, AB, or O Negative?" Willow thumbed through the multiple bags
of blood sitting on the top shelf of the fridge, and chose one. "AB it is."
She pulled a coffee mug out of the cabinet above the stove, tore open the bag of blood,
and poured it in. She set it in the microwave and hit the preset time. After she regained
her soul, Willow spent most of her time learning about technology. She prided herself on
being the only microwave owner that actually knew how to program it.
The timer beeped, and Willow removed the glass. She drank slowly, savoring the taste of
the red liquid running down her throat.
After rinsing the mug out and placing it in the dishwasher, Willow went into her living room and plopped down on the plush, burgundy couch. She switched on the TV, and flipped through the channels. Once she found a show she liked, she laid back into the massive throw pillow shoved into the corner of her couch. She kicked off her shoes and stretched her toes.
Willow's thoughts drifted away from her television and onto the events of that night. Meeting the Slayer face to face was something she'd been wanting to do for a long time. Ever since the night she'd seen him in Central Park.
After moving to New York, Willow took it upon herself to try and weed out the city's vampire population. She knew it was a nearly impossible task, but it gave her a reason to go on.
One night, while out patrolling through the park, she saw Angel fighting three vampires. At first, she didn't realize he was the Slayer. She didn't get the familiar Slayer warning in her head. But when she saw the skill he displayed in his fighting technique, she knew.
From that night until the day he left for Sunnydale, Willow watched Angel kill vampires in the park. He worked like a machine; kick, punch, stake. Willow did some checking, and found that Angel's mother had been killed by vampires. < Probably for creating
When he left, Willow felt like a part of her was missing. She'd grown attached to the young man. She found herself longing to aid him in his battles. That's when she decided
to move to Sunnydale.
"And here I am, sitting in my lonely apartment, pining away for a man who wants nothing more than to kill me. Not to mention the fact that I'm like 12 times his age!" Willow swung her legs off of the couch and stood, stretching her tense back muscles. "Enough of this, I'm going to bed, and I'm not going to think about the Slayer anymore!" She stomped out of the living room and into her bedroom. She threw herself onto the bed, her red hair falling in whisps across her down comforter. "I just need to concentrate on finding out about this new Master. I have to try and dream up some kind of plan or something. Or maybe that can wait..."
She drifted off to sleep, her mind on only one thing. The dark and mysterious Angel.
~~~~~
"What did you say her name was again? Spruce?"
"No, Cordelia, I said her name was Willow!" Angel glared at the brunette seated behind the computer, and she held her hands up in denial.
"I wasn't trying to insult you! It's late, and I'm tired! Give me a break!"
"I'm sorry, I guess she just really got to me." Angel started to elaborate, but Amy cut him off.
"That's really no surprise, Angel. Look." She held out an old, dusty book, and he took it
from her.
"What is this?" he asked.
"It's an old diary. A Watcher in the 1700's wrote it while living in Austria with the Slayer at that time. It talks about a vampire named Willow, but it says she also went by The Red Mistress. Supposedly she seduced many rich married men, got them to put her in their wills as the sole heiress instead of their wives, and then literally ripped their hearts out of
their chests. There was quite the surplus on widows back then."
"So are you saying she was trying to seduce me tonight? I don't know, Amy. This vampire didn't seem like the type to rip a man's heart out. She didn't even try and fight back." Amy scratched her chin, and then snapped her fingers, producing another book.
"This is a journal from a Watcher in the early 1900's. He talks about a red haired female vampire coming to his Slayer's rescue several times. Her name was Willow. I can only
assume it's the same vampire."
"Why the change of heart?" Cordelia asked. "Did she just up and decide one day to join
the side of good? I don't buy it!"
"Neither do I," Angel said. "Amy, there has to be more. Something explaining this whole
thing, because right now, she's just another vampire to me, regardless of whether or not
she provides us with accurate information about this new Master."
"Ah, yes, the new Master! I almost forgot!" Another snap, and yet another book was in
the hands of the Watcher. Angel shook his head in amazement.
"I just don't get how you know which books to get."
"It's all in the mind, my young Slayer. Okay, check this out. This prophecy says that a newer, more powerful Master will rise, and provide a challenge to the most powerful Slayer ever known. It will be an equal match, and the end result is unknown." Amy
slammed the book shut, sneezing as a puff of dust flew up her nose.
"So we don't know what's going to happen?" Cordelia asked, her voice cracking.
"Nope. That's why we need all the help we can get. Angel, is there anyway you can track
this Willow down? We might need her to help us. Even if we don't think she's on our
side, at least she seems to be against the Master."
Angel paused for a moment, and then nodded. "I'll see what I can do. She's like a beacon.
That's what got my attention at The Bronze tonight. It's like she wants me to find her."
"Great, see what you can do. In the meantime, Cordy and I will stay here and find out
what we can on this new Master, and on The Red Mistress. Please be careful." Amy
hugged him, maternal instincts taking over. Angel was like a son to her, and her love for
him ran deeper than any admiration between Slayer and Watcher.
"I will, don't worry. I'll give you a call when I get home. Goodnight Cordy." Angel hugged her and kissed the top of her head. Cordelia patted his arm and then pushed him away.
"Hurry up, you don't want to miss her before she goes outside to kill something."
"Right. Okay then, please be safe. Don't take down the protection spell for anything." Amy smiled and nodded, and Angel, satisfied that he was leaving the two women in
relative safety, left the library.
Part 3
Felix and Marvin sat hunched over the bar, each peering unhappily into their respective glasses of blood.
"Willie, when are you gonna start getting better quality blood? This stuff tastes like shit!" Felix said.
"Hey guys, it ain't my fault you're too lazy to go and kill. If you don't like my stuff, get the hell out of here, and let the vampires that can appreciate my service consume my product." Willie stared coldly at the two vampires, and went back to wiping down the counter with a dirty rag.
Felix was just about to deliver yet another empty threat on Willie's life when he was
interrupted by the loud crashing of the door.
Angel sauntered into the dark bar, and smiled at the two vampires seated at the counter. They looked fearfully at him, then at one another, and then they stood and left without saying a word.
"Yeah, you're welcome jackasses!" Willie shouted, cursing under his breath at the measly one dollar tip they'd left him. "So, Slayer, what brings you here this fine evening?"
Angel's smile disappeared as he strode up to the bar. He leaned close to "The Snitch", as he was so lovingly dubbed, and whispered, "I need you to tell me about the new vampire in town."
"I don't know much about the new Master, just that he's-"
Angel cut him off. "No, not the new Master. The red head. Willow's her name. What do you know about her?"
From the look on Willie's face, Angel could see that he did in fact know something about this mysterious vampiress. "I...uh...well, what do you wanna know?" The fear in the bartender's voice was obvious, and Angel could almost smell the terror seeping out of his skin.
"I want to know what she's doing here, and, more importantly, where I can find her." He looked expectantly at the frightened man.
"I don't know where-"
"NO! Do not tell me you don't know where she lives! Willie, if there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I can spot a liar from a mile away. I know you know something about her. Your left eye is twitching. So why don't you tell me where she is so I can be on my way?"
"But Angel, I really don't-"
Willie didn't have a chance to finish his sentence, because Angel was over the counter and holding him by the neck in a matter of seconds. Willie's line of work had put him in this position many times before, but a male Slayer with exceptional power was somebody he didn't want to piss off.
In reality, Willie did know Willow. Very well, in fact. The day she came to town she'd visited his establishment, and made the necessary arrangements for a daily delivery of blood to her apartment. She'd threatened his life to insure his silence. But even an incredibly powerful vampire was nothing compared to this terrifying man standing over him, his hand so tightly wrapped around Willie's neck.
"Okay, I'll talk," he choked. Angel immediately released him, and Willie gingerly
massaged his neck.
"Spill it, Snitch. I don't have much time."
"Alright, I'm supposed to deliver some blood to her apartment tonight after I close this
place. She set it up about a month ago, I guess when she first got to town."
"Has she mentioned anything about what she was doing here?" Angel asked.
Willie shook his head. "No, just that she needed a delivery every night until further notice. She paid six months in advance, too. Oh, there was one thing that I thought a little bit odd."
"And what's that?" Angel was already formulating a plan in his mind on how he could get to Willow. He just had to persuade Willie that he wasn't going to kill his most steady source of income.
"She didn't want the blood of a human woman. She would take a human male's blood, and any type of animal blood, but never the human woman." While Willie never made it his business why his customers did what they did, he was terribly curious about Willow's motives for refusing women's blood. Once, on accident, a pint of women's blood was delivered to her, and she abruptly returned it. It was a violent experience for Willie, one which he would never forget.
< Why would a vampire care what kind of blood it drank? >
"I have no idea," Angel said, having heard Willie's thoughts. "I've never met a picky
vampire. Anything else you can tell me?"
"No, don't think so." Willie prayed that his interrogation was finished, and that Angel would hop back over the bar and leave. Their close proximity and Angel's penetrating stare was making him nervous.
"So you haven't made your delivery tonight?" Angel asked, a vindictive gleam in his eyes.
"N-no, I haven't. Why? Oh, wait a minute, Angel, I don't think so," Willie said, shaking his head emphatically and holding up his hands in a gesture that clearly said "back off".
"Don't think, Willie. Just do." Angel grabbed the shorter man by the collar, and tossed him over the countertop with the greatest of ease. Angel hopped over and hauled Willie across the room by his collar, stopping in front of the door to Willie's office. "Open it, give me the delivery, her address, and don't say a word, you understand me?" Willie nodded, and fumbled nervously with the keys, desperate to get Angel out of his hair. < Damn Slayer, thinks he
"I don't think I can manipulate people to do what I want them to do, Willie. I KNOW I
can. Now hurry up!" Angel snapped, smirking at the scared look on Willie's face. Angel had never felt this way before. He was consumed by the task of seeking Willow out, and would stop at nothing to find her. A small part of him was frightened by this obsession, but the rest of him screamed out at him to find her.
"Earth to Slayer, come in Slayer," Willie said. He cleared his throat loudly, and Angel refocused his attention on the situation at hand.
"Sorry. What's the address?" Willie handed Angel the slip of paper on which Willow had scribbled her address. "And the delivery?" Willie sighed and opened up a small refrigerator next to his cluttered desk. He removed four bags of blood and placed them in a Styrofoam cooler.
"Can you please bring the cooler back? I use it for other customers too ya know. And look, Slayer, don't kill this broad. She pays good, and she ain't bad on the eyes, so I'd like to keep her around for awhile. These dollar tips are killing me." Angel chuckled and took the cooler from Willie's hands.
"I promise I won't kill her. I just need to find out what she's doing here." Angel hoped his voice sounded reassuring, but he could tell that it didn't by the look on Willie's face. Angel himself wasn't sure what he was going to do with the red headed vampire. He knew it was his duty to destroy her, but something about her kept him from doing so. < I'll get to the bottom of it. And then I'll be able to kill her. > Angel nodded curtly at Willie and left the bar.
Once outside, he looked down at the scrap of paper in his hand. Angel was familiar with the warehouse district, and recognized the address as one of the many abandoned buildings. Sighing, he tucked the paper safely into his back pocket and headed towards the docks.
"Why didn't the Slayer kill us, Felix?" Marvin asked as the two vampires climbed down the rusty ladder leading down into the sewer.
"Beats the hell out of me. But I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I wanna get back to the caves before he comes after us." Felix waited until he heard Marvin drop down into the water below, and closed the grate above him. He cleared the remaining rungs and landed with a loud splash next to his friend. "Let's go," he whispered, motioning for Marvin to follow him.
Marvin shrugged and followed the older vampire. He had no idea where they were or
where they were supposed to go, but he trusted that Felix, who'd been an inhabitant of Sunnydale for many many years, knew the way home.
< Why didn’t the Slayer kill us? >
"Felix, aren't we supposed to go this way?" Marvin's question broke the
silence between the two, and Felix spun around to face the other vampire.
"I think I know where I'm going, idiot! I've been through these sewers longer
than you've been a vampire!" Felix had to fight down the urge to pummel
Marvin.
Marvin held his hands up in defense. "Okay, I'm sorry! I just thought I saw
a light down one of the tunnels back there!"
"A light? Where? Show me, dammit!"
Marvin turned quickly and jogged back through the murky water to the tunnel
they'd
passed earlier. Felix was right on his heels, and nearly fell right into
Marvin when the
other vampire stopped suddenly.
"There, look," Marvin said, pointing to what was indeed a light at the end of
the tunnel.
"Well don't just stand there, go investigate!" Felix hissed, shoving Marvin
towards the
entrance.
"No way Felix! The Master said he wanted us back right away! I'm not about
to piss him off!" Marvin pushed Felix off of him and started back on their
original course.
"Fine! I'll investigate, and if I turn up dead, the Master will kill you
because you let me die!"
Marvin paused and almost turned back, but instead he let out a little snort
and kept going.
Felix flipped Marvin off and stepped into the tunnel. If he could have felt
temperature
changes, he would have noticed that it was getting hotter and hotter as he got
closer to the light.
~~~~~
"He WHAT?!?"
"I...um...that is, HE...he wanted to investigate, Master. I told him that we
should c-come back, but he said he didn't care!" < It's close enough to the
truth. > Marvin thought as he cowered before his Master.
"Well that's just fabulous, isn't it? He was to be my new right hand man...oh
well, I'll just have to eliminate him. So, Marvin is it?" Marvin nodded
eagerly, but put his head bacj down when his Master glared at him with
flashing, yellow eyes. "How would you like to move up in the ranks, Marvin?"
"I would be honored, Sir," Marvin said, his voice barely above a whisper. He
was trying desperately not to sound like an idiot.
"Perfect. You are my new second in command. And for my first order of
business, I'd like to-"
"Oh sweetheart?"
Marvin and the Master both turned towards the shadows where the female voice
came from.
"Yes my love?" the Master replied.
"Why don't you take a break from business and come play with me? We never do
anything together anymore!" The vampiress stepped out of the shadows. Her
short dark hair hung loosely around her face, and she wore a flowing dress
with tiny blue flowers printed on the fabric. There was nothing scary about
her appearance, but Marvin knew her reputation, and was weary of being in the
same room with her.
The Master chuckled at his mate, and smiled down at Marvin. "Women! Well,
business will have to wait until tomorrow. If Felix comes back, kill him."
Marvin bowed his head and the Master stood from his position above all of the
other vampires. "Come my love, let us retire to our room." The Master held
out a hand to his lady, and she accepted, smiling shyly.
"Thank you, Master," Marvin said under his breath.
"No need to thank me, Marvin," the Master answered, never taking his eyes off
the face of the woman beside him. "And please, stop calling me Master. It
makes me feel terribly uncomfortable. I would rather you just call me Ripper.
Is that alright with you?"
"Y-yes. Ripper. Goodnight."
~~~~~
Felix could hear voices. It was difficult to make out words, but he could
tell that it was a male, most likely British, and a female, also British. He
crept closer until he could peek around the corner of the small cave without
being detected.
"Dru, luv, please sit up. I can't stay in this bloody cave all night without
anyone to talk to." Spike caressed her pale cheek and kissed her forehead.
"Spike, do you hear them? Do you hear the birds? They are singing our song,
our happy happy song," Dru murmured, her eyelids slipping shut at a rate that
alarmed the blonde vampire holding her in his lap.
"Yes, I hear the birds," he lied. "Why don't you sing their song for me, Dru?
I love to
hear you sing."
Dru sighed and buried her face in Spike's stomach. She started to mumble the
words when she stopped suddenly, and pulled Spike's face close to her own.
"Somebody is here," she whispered into his ear.
"Are you sure, luv?"
"Yes! He's hiding in the shadows. He thinks I do not see him, but he is
wrong. Spike, I'm hungry." Her voice went from evil to whiny, and the first
thing Spike wanted to do was punish the thing that made his Dru upset.
Felix didn't hear what the strange vampiress said to the blonde, but he knew
he better get moving. He turned to leave when somebody seized him from behind
and pulled him into the light of the cave.
"Dru, darling, is this the man that you spoke of?" Spike asked, his true demon
form
showing on his face.
"Bring him to me, Spikey. I want to taste his fear."
Spike grinned, his yellowed fangs flashing in the fire light, and shoved the
weak vampire to his knees.
"Wh-what are you going to do with me?" Felix asked, his entire body quaking in
fear.
"Gee, I'm not sure. Dru, what should we do with him?"
Dru squealed in excitement and began to clap her hands. "Let's have a
picnic!"
"Sounds great to me, luv!" Spike quickly snapped Felix's neck, and he and Dru
proceeded to drain the vampire of it's blood.
Once they were finished, Spike sat back against the wall of the cave, Dru
stretched out lazily across his lap.
"What are you going to do tomorrow, Spike?" she asked.
"Don't you remember what I told you? Our whole purpose for coming to this
wretched
place was to find-"
"Mother?" She looked up into his blue eyes and grinned.
"Yes. It's time to find Mother. Now get some sleep, Dru. We've got a busy
day
tomorrow." Spike gently played with her hair until he was sure she was
asleep. He then adjusted and moved her off of his lap. He rolled away from
her sleeping form and used his arm as a pillow. No matter how hard he tried,
he couldn't get the image of his Red Mistress out of his mind.
Willow was roused from her sleep by a knock at the door. She mumbled
incoherent swear words when she saw what time it was and then realized it was
probably Willie. A very late Willie. She stood up and stretched, groaning as
her joints popped and muscles strained. Willow might not have looked a day
over 18, but she most definitely felt like it.
Willow stumbled out of her bedroom and into the living room of her apartment.
There
was a second knock at the door, louder than the first.
"I'm coming! Just give me a minute!" She shouted, pulling a blanket on over
her nightgown. She got to the door and looked through the peep hole, but all she saw
was a dark head of hair. <That's funny, usually Willie is doing some kind of
obscene thing when he's in my hallway.> Concerned at his lack of enthusiasm,
Willow quickly opened the door. "Willie, what's-"
"Sorry Willow, I think you've got the wrong guy," Angel said, smiling down at
the startled vampire.
"Slayer." Willow nodded curtly and began to invite Angel into her apartment
when she paused. <What am I doing?? Do I want to get myself killed?? I
shouldn't be anywhere near him!> Willow braced herself against the door,
anticipating an attack. "What the hell are you doing here? And where is
Willie?"
"I gave Willie the night off. I told him I would take care of
the...special...delivery tonight. You don't mind, do you?" Angel tilted his
head slightly to the side and stuck out his lower lip, pouting.
Willow was fuming. "I most certainly DO mind! How DARE you think you can
come
here! I suggest you leave, Slayer, before I really do kill you this time!"
She reached out for the cooler, but Angel snatched it away and jumped back.
"Don't think so, Red Mistress. Now why don't you let me inside so we can
discuss what exactly you are doing here in Sunnydale?"
Willow felt weak in the knees when she realized what Angel had called her.
<Red
Mistress...I haven't been called that since I left...well, since I left Spike
and Dru behind.> Realizing that she had no other options, Willow stepped
aside, allowing Angel to enter her home.
"Nice place," Angel said while he scanned the room and it's modern decor. He
could
almost hear Xander's critique of her decorating choices.
"Thanks. Can I have my bl...cooler now?"
Angel handed it over, glad to get rid of the package. He sat down on her
large couch and listened as she went into the kitchen. Angel could hear her
mumbling something under her breath, but he couldn't make out the words.
"I'd really like to get back to bed, so let's make this quick." Willow joined
him in the living room and sat cross-legged in the recliner positioned next to
the couch. She laced her fingers together and held them in her lap. It was
something she always did when she was nervous.
<She's got really nice eyes. Why the hell am I thinking about her eyes?!>
"Okay, well why don't you start off by telling me why exactly it is that you
didn't try to kill me
tonight." Angel sat back and watched her facial expressions. He could tell
that she was going through somewhat of an intense thought process, but he
couldn't sense what it was she was thinking about. Somehow, she was blocking
all of his attempts at reading her mind.
"You're probably wondering why you can't read my mind," Willow said, noticing
the
confused look on his face. "I've been around a long time, and I've picked up
a few
pointers here and there about magic and...things.... I know how to hide
my thoughts. My emotions, however, are a little more difficult." <Which is
why I have to exercise some kind of control when I'm around this guy. Look at
me, crushing on a Slayer as though I were a careless teenager!>
Angel didn't know how to respond, so he just nodded. Mentally, however, his
mind was racing, and he was adapting all of his internal sensors to pick up
emotional signals.
Willow continued. "Now to answer your question. You may not believe me, but
this is the absolute truth. Over three hundred years ago, I was turned into a
vampire. My sire was a woman named Darla, who died several years ago by my
hand."
Darla and I traveled around the world for decades, killing villages upon
villages of people. I loved every second of it. I was a killer through and
through, and nothing could stop me. A total of six Slayers came face to face
with me, and none of them made it out alive."
"Are you saying all of this in an attempt to frighten me?" Angel asked.
"No, not at all," she replied, shaking her head. Then she grinned. "The
whole point of this story is to explain WHY I'm no threat to you. Believe me,
if I intended to kill you, it would've been done already."
Angel scoffed at the smug vampiress. "I think you underestimate me, Willow.
I'm not like other Slayers."
<Oh believe me, you don't have to remind me of your...differences> Willow
shook her
head to clear her thoughts, and crossed her arms over her chest. "May I
please continue?"
"Be my guest."
"Alright, so about 100 years ago I was living in Portugal. I'd started a very
successful
army of minions, and we had just taken over a small village. One night I was
out hunting when I ran into a young priest. I was pretty hungry, and even
though he was a small guy, I figured he'd hold me over until I found a juicy
kill." Willow stood up from her seat and began to pace slowly around the
room, adjusting various trinkets on shelves. Her movements made Angel
nervous, and his eyes followed her around the room.
"So I followed this priest to his church, and before he stepped inside, I
grabbed him. Just as I sank my fangs into his neck, he started chanting. He
was speaking Latin, and I understood the words, but I didn't know their
meaning at the time. I thought he was just praying. But when he stopped
chanting, I felt this terrible pain wash over my entire body, and then I
passed out.
When I woke up, I found myself laying on the floor of the church, surrounded
by crosses. I remember lashing out at them, and then running. I just kept
running."
Angel waited for Willow to continue, but she didn't. She sat staring down at
the carpet, fiddling nervously with her fingers.
"And?"
No answer.
"Willow?" He reached out with his mental sensors, but could pick up no
emotions.
"Willow, are you still with me?"
<No, I don't want to remember. Just let me forget, please, just let me
forget.> It took her a moment to realize that Angel was calling her name.
Willow looked up at him, tears in her eyes.
Angel's first instinct was to comfort her. His mother had raised him to treat
women with kindness, and at first glance, this woman appeared to be just like
any other. He had to remind himself that she was his mortal enemy. "Are you
going to continue, or should I just kill you?"
Willow flinched at his harsh remark, and wiped angrily at the tears in her
eyes. "Sorry. Anyway, what the priest did, when he chanted, was restore my
soul. After over two centuries of being a brutal murderer, I was given a
conscience. And then I had 100 years to think about everybody that I'd ever
hurt. Every child that begged for his or her life. It wasn't until recently
that I actually began to function again. I vowed that I would never kill
another human."
"But you drink human blood?"
Willow nodded. "But only that which is donated. I won't drink the blood of
someone that is unwilling. I can smell the difference between the two, and I
always return blood that smells of fear."
"And you return the blood of women," Angel said.
"What?"
"You don't drink women's blood. Why is that?" he asked.
Angel's world came to a screeching halt. One moment, the vampiress was
standing on the opposite side of the room from where he was sitting. The
next, she was on top of him, her vampire visage in place.
"You son of a bitch!!" she screamed, her yellow eyes blazing with rage.
Willow punched him hard in the face, and then lifted him up off of the couch.
Her plan to throw him against the wall was cut off by his retaliation. Angel
knocked her arms away and punched her hard in the stomach. Willow doubled
over in agony, and Angel seized the moment and brought his knee up hard into
her chin. Her jaw cracked under the blow, and she was sent reeling backwards.
Before she fell, she grabbed onto Angel's belt, bringing him crashing down on
top of her.
Both were panting, not so much from the physical exertion as from the
emotional stress of their mutual anger. It wasn't until Angel felt Willow's
heaving chest beneath his own that he realized he was lying on top of her.
His face turned red with embarrassment, all of his previous emotions
forgotten.
Willow couldn't take her hand off of his belt. She gripped onto it like it
was a life line, and he was going to pull her into safety. Willow wanted him
to save her.
"I...um...should probably get going now," he said. Willow's mind cleared
suddenly, and she released his pants from her grasp. Angel stood, rubbing his
jaw where she'd punched him. "Nice hit, by the way."
"Thanks," Willow replied, sitting up. She could feel that her own jaw was
broken. "You aren't so bad yourself."
"Look, I'm so-"
"No, you don't have to say anything. I'd rather you just leave, if you don't
mind?"
Angel shook his head, wincing at the pain in his face. He was pretty sure his
own jaw was broken. <I've never fought a vampire that could hit like that.>
"I have a feeling I'll be seeing you again."
"You will. I'm still trying to find out more about this new Master. As soon
as I'm done, and he's destroyed, I'll leave, and you'll never have to deal
with me again." Willow pulled herself up and walked over to the door, opening
it for the dark haired Slayer.
"Well, goodnight Willow."
"Goodnight, Slayer."
Once Angel was out in the hallway, he let the tears of pain come to his eyes.
He'd held them back in order to save face; for his masculinity as well as his
position as Slayer. No vampire hit Angel and lived. So why was this
particular vampire so different? <Because there's something about her that
you can't get out of your mind. Because she intrigues you with everything she
does, and you can't stop thinking about that, even though you've only known
her for a few hours.> "No," he hissed at himself. "I will not think about
this right now. I have to get back to Amy and tell her what's going on. A
vampire with a soul? Please, there has to be more here than meets the eye."
Satisfied that he'd fooled himself well enough to get through the night, Angel
left the building and started back to the school.
Once Willow was sure he'd gone, she let out the moan of pain she'd been
holding back. Acting tough was difficult enough, but in front of the Slayer?
Willow had to maintain a position of equality, if not dominance. She knew
intuitively that he was holding back some kind of reaction to the pain he was
in, but she ignored that. What she couldn't ignore, however, was how she
could still feel his body on top of her own. "Stop it, Willow. He's the
Slayer, he wants to kill you, and you don't stand a chance. It's bad enough
that you're betraying Ripper, but to have any kind of feelings towards Angel
can only make matters worse." Through berating herself for the night, Willow
went back to her room and climbed into bed. This time, she dreamt of what
would happen to her when her betrayal was discovered.
Part 5
"Watch it, trailer trash!" Buffy Summers pushed past one of the many "losers"
that
attended Sunnydale High School. She was followed by her regular group of
loyal
wannabes. Harmony, Buffy's "best" friend, pushed the young man Buffy had
insulted.
"Yeah, watch it Jonathan."
The shy young man simply stared back at Harmony and then went on his way.
He'd been pestered by the group for four years, and finally decided to simply
ignore them. It wasn't so easy for others, however.
"Hey, Cordelia!" Buffy shouted. Cordelia, who had been trying to stay out of
the popular blonde's path, stopped in front of her locker and tried to look
occupied by putting her books away. Buffy sauntered up to her and leaned
against the locker next to the brunette's.
"B-Buffy. How's it going?"
Buffy laughed, a sound that sent chills down Cordelia's spine. "As if you
care!" she said. "I just wanted to say that I'm glad somebody got a use out of
my old yard-sale shoes."
Cordelia followed Buffy's glance down to the shoes on her feet and blushed.
"I'll have you know, Buffy, that I bought these shoes in Los Angeles."
"Uh huh, from the Goodwill!" Harmony piped in, and Buffy smiled appreciatively
at her
clone.
"No, they are not from Goodwill! Not that I would have a problem with buying
anything from Goodwill! God Buffy, why don't you go pick on somebody that
understands your retard-speak?" Cordelia's heart raced when she saw Buffy's
reaction to her insult. < It was harsh, but she deserved it. >
trying to rationalize things in her head.
"I'm sorry Cordelia, I didn't mean to confuse you with my obviously superior
control of
the English language. You have a nice day now, okay?"
Cordelia started to open her mouth and defend herself when she was
interrupted.
"Excuse me, but I'm looking for...oh, there you are Cordy!"
Buffy turned and saw perhaps the most beautiful man she'd ever seen in her
entire life.
"Angel! I've been wondering what you've been up to!" Cordelia flashed a
brilliant smile at her friend, and stepped past Buffy so that she was standing
in front of him.
"I'm sorry I missed you last night," he said, winking. He returned her smile
with one of his own, and pulled her into a tight hug. Buffy and her friends
stood, mouths gaping at the couple in front of them.
"Um, Cordy, aren't you going to introduce me to your...friend?" Buffy asked.
Angel squeezed Cordelia, silently telling her that he was totally willing to
play along with whatever she had in mind. Cordy smiled to herself and pulled
out of the hug. She turned to face Buffy and the other girls, who were busily
straightening their already perfect hair.
"Buffy, this is Angel. He works for my father." Buffy shoved a delicate hand
into one of Angel's larger ones. Cordy noticed that she didn't let go, and
pretended to be jealous. She tore their hands apart and pushed Angel
protectively behind her. "Angel, this is Buffy."
"Pleased to meet you," he said, grinning. A collective sigh came from Buffy's
friends at the sight of his smile. He truly was the most beautiful man ANY of
them had ever seen.
"So, Angel, how old are you?" Buffy's attempt at conversation, and ultimately
seduction, was cut off by Cordelia's insistence that Angel was needed in the
library. He shrugged, said goodbye to a disappointed Buffy, and took
Cordelia's hand in his own.
"Thanks," she whispered once they were out of Buffy's hearing range. "I hate
her so
much. She's the one thing about this place that I find totally unbearable."
Angel leaned over and kissed the top of Cordelia's head. She smiled, knowing
that Buffy had seen his gesture and mistaken it for something more than
friendly. "Anytime I can help, Cordy. You're my best friend, and I'd do
anything for you. Even if it means touching that trashy whore. I can wash my
hands."
"Angel!" Cordelia smacked him on the arm, and he laughed out loud.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!" he said, nearly doubled over in laughter.
Cordelia let go of his hand and stepped back to look him over. She hadn't
seen him in this good of a mood in a long time. She checked his forehead for
a sign of a fever, which made Angel laugh even harder. By this time they were
drawing a crowd, and Cordelia tried to calm Angel down. When he finally
stopped laughing, he noticed the group of people staring at the two of them.
A group that included Buffy and the Slut Parade.
"Please, Angel, let's just get out of here," Cordelia said, her face bright
red with
embarrassment. She wasn't used to being the center of attention, and somehow
Angel's presence did nothing to alleviate her nerves.
"As you wish." Angel suddenly swept Cordelia off of her feet and carried her
through the crowd of on-lookers.
Buffy rolled her eyes and walked away from the spectacle. < How embarrassing
for Angel. Being seen in public with one of the library geeks has got to be
complete misery for the guy. > Buffy set it in her mind to find a way to make
Angel feel better after what had to have been the most humiliating moment of
his life.
By the time they got to the library, Angel could take no more of Cordelia's
pounding on his back, so he finally set her down.
"You jackass! Now everybody will have an even bigger reason to laugh at me!"
She
stormed upstairs and made her way deep into the stacks. Angel just shrugged,
thinking what he'd done was rather chivalrous.
"Hey Angel. What's wrong with Cordy?" Amy came out of her office and joined
Angel in the main room of the library.
"Beats me. I guess she can't handle a little 'Knight In Shining Armor' every
once in a
while."
Amy smiled in the direction of the stacks, and then turned back to her Slayer.
"Did you ever find the 'Red Mistress'?"
"Her name is Willow, and yes, I did. I found out something very interesting,
but I don't know if I believe it."
Amy arched an eyebrow in suspicion. "Oh? What did she tell you?"
Angel went over to the big wooden table in the middle of the room and sat down
in one of the surrounding chairs. He rubbed his eyes, the lack of sleep
catching up to him. Angel took a deep breath, and explained to Amy everything
Willow had told him. He left out the part about their little "fight", and
once he was done, he sat back and waited patiently for his Watcher's opinion
on Willow's story.
Amy took in everything he'd told her. In her years studying under previous
Watchers and reading ancient tomes, she'd never heard of a vampire with a
soul. It wasn't totally impossible, though. In addition to her studies under
the Watchers, she'd learned the Wiccan arts, and she was aware that plenty of
spells were created for the restoration of souls.
"Angel, is there anyway you can get Willow to come to the library? I have a
few
questions I want to ask her about this."
"You're inviting that vampire here? Are you insane??" Xander had entered the
room just in time to hear Amy's question, and was frozen in shock near the
swinging doors.
"It's okay, Xander. She won't kill us," Angel said.
"Yeah, right, and I'm gay!"
Both Angel and Amy had to turn away to hide their smiles. It seemed that
everybody, including Xander, was oblivious to his "true self". They were the
only ones who saw the irony in what he'd just said.
Xander ignored their obvious amusement at his expense, and walked over to sit
across from Angel. "So what makes you think this fiendish hottie won't kill
us? Does she not like the taste of blood or something?"
"She's different from other vampires, Xander," Amy explained. "She has a
soul."
"What?! How is that possible??" Cordelia asked as she rushed down the
stairs, sitting next to Xander.
"Yeah, and how does having a soul stop her from wanting to drink our blood?"
Xander
asked.
"She has a soul AND a conscience, which means she feels tremendous guilt if
she hurts someone or something. And, according to Angel, she does drink
blood, but it comes by donation." Amy looked at Angel for his approval of her
short version of the story, and he nodded.
"I know it seems impossible, but I think I believe her story. She was given
her soul a long time ago, and has since taken up the task of killing bad guys.
She's actually doing me a favor."
"Okay, here's another question for you two, since you seem to know it all,"
Cordelia said, her voice cutting. "What do the other vampires think about one
of their own working on the side of the Slayer?"
Neither of them had thought of that. And they couldn't come up with an
answer,
either.
"That's what I thought. What if by helping us she's actually putting us in
greater danger? What if she's got some kind of relationship with this new
Master, and he doesn't know the truth about her? Or, this could all just be a
set up, and she could be trying to get on our good side by making us believe
she isn't a bad guy...damn! I'm glad you guys really took the time to think
about all of this!" Cordelia folded her arms across her chest and glared at
the Slayer and his Watcher. They could do nothing but turn away. Both had
hoped that having a vampire with a soul would make things easier. Now both of
them felt foolish for thinking positively too soon.
"They won't find out about me."
The four were ripped from their uncomfortable silence by the soft, female
voice emanating from the shadows of the stacks.
"Who's there?!" Xander shouted, moving quickly to stand in front of Cordelia.
Once Angel recognized the voice, he also stood, slowly pulling a stake out of
his leather jacket.
"You won't need the stake, Slayer. I can't come out of the shadows until the
sun sets, which means you have a few hours before I kill you and your
friends."
Part 6
"See?!" Cordelia cried. "I told you she was bad!" The frightened brunette
scampered out of her chair and tried to pull Xander into the safety of Amy's
office.
"Cordy, calm down!" Xander shouted, breaking Cordelia out of her frenzied
panic. "She
can't do anything to us! There's too much sunlight!"
"Cordelia, Xander's right. Just settle down," Amy said, her voice calming.
The blonde
reached a hand out to her young friend, and Cordelia moved to take it when
Amy pulled
back sharply. With a shriek the watcher's hands flew up to her face, and Amy
doubled
over and gripped her skull. She began frantically pounding her temples,
trying to assuage the bolts of pain shooting through her.
Angel was staring into the shadows, trying to locate Willow, when his
concentration was broken by the sound of the wooden shutters slamming closed
over their windows.
< Witchcraft! She's closing the windows with a spell! >
"What the hell is going on?!" Xander yelled, watching as Angel ran over to
try and stop
the invisible force that was controlling the shutters. Even Angel's superior
strength wasn't enough to combat the supernatural power.
"I don't know!" Cordelia screamed over the racket of both the windows and
Amy's
shrieking.
Xander wrapped his hand around Cordelia's arm and pulled her roughly into the
office,
slamming and locking to door behind them.
"Oh God, Xander, shouldn't we be helping them?" Cordelia asked as she watched
Angel
struggle with another set of shutters. Amy was slumped over in her chair
now, gripping
handfuls of her own hair, trying to stop the excruciating pain in her head.
"A-Amy once told us that if there was ever any threat th-that appeared to be
caused by
magic, you and I were to come in here. They can protect themselves, Cordy,
but we
can't," he explained, breathing slowly to calm down his racing heartbeat.
"What's this room supposed to do to protect us? I'm sure magic can penetrate
walls!"
"I don't know! Maybe there's some kind of protection spe-" Xander stopped
talking when
he noticed that the racket in the other room had ceased. A minuscule amount
of sunlight seeped through the cracks in the windows. That tiny bit of sun
wouldn't effect any vampire that decided to waltz in and kill everybody.
Cordelia didn't even notice that Xander hadn't finished his sentence. She
stared out of the window of the office, instinctively wrapping her arms
around her friend for protection.
Angel was leaning over Amy, wiping the tears from her cheeks. A figure
stepped out of
the shadows, and Xander gasped when he realized it was the woman from the
club.
Willow leaned against the short railing, her arms folded over her chest. A
small part of her was touched by the scene before her. The Slayer comforting
his Watcher, and the two teens clinging to each other behind the protection
barrier. < Well...here goes nothing. >
"So! I guess you don't have a few hours after all."
Angel's head snapped up, his eyes flashing with molten rage. "You bitch!"
He ran
straight at her, prepared to do whatever he had to do to make her death
unbearably painful.
"Angel!" Amy snapped. He stopped on a dime and spun around, confusion etched
on his face.
"Your Watcher is a smart woman, Angel. If you kill me, her pain will come
back, and it
won't end until it kills her. The power of magic is amazing, isn't it?" It
took all the
strength Willow could find to keep from turning away. His look of betrayal
destroyed her. She hated this more than anything she'd ever done in her long
unlife. Knowing that the two people she needed on her side, the two people
that were willing to trust her without thinking about the consequences, and
who were probably never going to rest until they killed her, made her sick.
"Why are you doing this?" Amy asked, weary of the vampire that could wield
powers
stronger than her own.
< Because I have to. >
with evil. "I
may have a soul and a conscience, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy hurting
people. Call it a perversion, if you will."
Angel was completely confused. The vampire standing in front of him was
nothing like the vampire he confronted last night. "But what about
everything you told me last night?
You know, all of that about the kids begging for their lives?" He took a
step towards her, and she stood her ground.
"I lied."
Angel went from confusion to hurt anger. But before he could lash out at
her, he caught a flash of her emotions. It was the first emotion Angel had
ever sensed from her, and it told him all he needed to know about what was
happening.
She was terrified.
"I don't think you did, Willow. I saw how you reacted to my question last
night. I saw
the agony in your eyes at the memory of those kids. What are you so afraid
of?" His
voice was barely above a whisper, but Willow heard every word he said, for he
was now
standing directly in front of her.
"What makes you think you know me, Slayer? After less than 24 hours you
think you can figure me out?" Willow stood defiantly before him, her eyes a
mixture of fear, anger, and sadness. Her posture was ramrod straight, and
she appeared to be quite a formidable presence. But inside, Willow longed to
reach out to Angel, to tell him everything about herself, to beg him to free
her from her tortured existence. Angel wasn't the Slayer in her eyes. He
may have started out that way, but now things were different. He was making
her feel again, and it scared the hell out of her.
"It was you, wasn't it?"
"Excuse me?"
"It was you," Angel repeated. "You were the one following me back in New
York."
Though it didn't seem possible, Willow's already pale face got even paler.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Willow said, looking down at her
feet. < I
really need to learn how to lie better. >
Angel shook his head and lifted her face with a gentle touch of his hand
under her chin,
forcing eye contact. "Why did you follow me, Willow?"
She jerked her head away from his hand and stepped back. "Stay away from
me!" she
cried, her voice shaking under the stress of her emotions.
He took another step forward, slightly closing the gap between them. "I
can't do that. I
don't know why, but I feel like the information you're hiding from me is
something that I
need to insure the safety of my friends. I will not let you disappear with
it."
"Don't you understand?!" Willow started to back away from him, her hands
held out in
front of her. "If you get anywhere near me, he'll kill you! I put you in
danger by talking
to you in the alley last night! I...I can't be responsible for your death or
the deaths of your friends." Bloody tears took formation in her eyes, and
her hands trembled wildly.
Angel wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms. He was disgusted
with himself
for wanting to comfort her, but the fact that she'd done all she had, scaring
them into
believing that she was truly evil, just to save their lives, would not let
Angel turn his back
on her.
Willow's emotions were overflowing now, her carefully constructed walls
breaking down
under the weight of her guilt. It had been so long since Willow cried, and
it felt so good
to get some of her grief out.
He was almost nose to nose with her when she looked up into his eyes. Angel
used his thumb to wipe away the tear on her cheek. Willow opened her mouth
to say something, but Angel spoke first.
"I won't let him hurt you, and I will do everything I can to protect you. I
don't understand
what I'm feeling right now. It's like....it's like I KNEW it was you in New
York. Even last
night, I just had this feeling. Your presence was familiar to me. That
feeling
of...stability... that I get from you is something I don't want to lose,
especially not now
that there's this all powerful Master trying to take over the world." He
smiled down at
her, and the corners of her mouth turned up into an almost smirk.
"I can't ask for your protection. You and I, we're supposed to be enemies.
Why are you
willing to help me when your hatred for me is in every fiber of what you
are?"
Angel pondered her question while he looked down into her eyes. Their bright
green
depths seemed to hold all of the answers in the world for him. He could
spend the rest of his life looking into those eyes. "Honestly, I don't know.
Something about you makes me want to trust you. I guess that's how I knew
all of this," he gestured behind him towards the Amy and the covered
windows. "Wasn't real. You were trying to keep us away from you because you
know the Master will kill you and anybody around you once he finds out you've
betrayed him."
Willow gawked up at this man that knew her so well. Never before had she met
someone that could simply look into her eyes one minute, and give a dead on
interpretation of what he saw there the next. And not since Spike had Willow
been around a man that reeked with such power and...magnificence. She
couldn't tear her eyes away from his. "I...should probably go now," she
whispered, not wanting to hear her own words, but knowing it was the truth.
Willow had given them all too much information. Her plan backfired, and now
these people were in even greater danger.
"You probably should. But please, will you come back?" he asked, hoping with
everything in his soul that she would.
Willow didn't want to come back. < If I come back, will I ever be able to
leave again? >
"Yes, I'll be back later tonight to tell you everything I know about the
Master. Be careful, Slayer." She turned to leave when Angel grabbed her arm
and spun her around, placing her body extremely close to his.
"The name is Angel," he whispered. The closeness of her small body next to
his own was causing his heart to do strange flip-flops in his chest.
She slowly pulled her arm out of his grasp, winked up at him, and was gone,
melting into the shadows. Angel stood staring at the empty space which the
vampiress had occupied seconds before, unaware of the three people gawking
behind him.
Part 7
She was once again surrounded by pulsating bodies swaying to the erotic beat
of the music blasting out from the speakers near her ear. < Déjà vu much? >
she thought as she pushed and pulled her way through the giant mass of
people. She had no idea where she was going to go. It seemed as though the
ocean of bodies went on for infinity.
"Ouch!" Willow shouted as a young woman stomped down hard on one of her feet.
The girl turned around and sneered at the red head. < If only she knew what
I was; I don't think she'd be sneering right now. > Willow ignored the
profane insult and continued to force her way through the crowd. Several
teens were really getting into their dancing, and nearly sent Willow falling
to the ground in an ungraceful heap. But a strong hand reached out to grab
her and pull her out of the suffocating mass.
"Give me your other hand." Willow looked up at her savior, and was surprised
to see Angel leaning over the railing of the staircase under which she'd
hidden herself just days before. He looked desperately into her eyes,
mentally pleading with her to take his hand, and she complied. Willow
reached up and grabbed onto him, holding on for dear life, as he pulled her
to safety.
"Thanks," Willow said once she was sure of her footing on the stairs.
"No problem," Angel replied, looking down at her pale features, and smiling
as she dusted herself off and straightened her practically perfect collar.
Willow couldn't help but notice that he was staring down at her, but she
wasn't able to bring herself to look up into his eyes. < Once again, I let
him get to me! I'm getting weak in my old age! >
Angel watched as she went through what appeared to be some sort of mental
process, but was distracted by the changing of the music from a hypnotic
techno beat to a song that was very familiar to him. "Would you care to
dance?"
Willow's head shot up. Once she realized she'd made eye contact, she turned
away, nearly blushing. "What, right here?" she asked, indicating the
unsturdy steps beneath their feet.
"Sure, why not? We don't have to get down and boogie. Just sway with the
music. Let it carry you away." Willow smiled slightly when she saw the
dreamy look in his eyes, and gently took his hands in her own.
"Okay, but only one dance. And you can't stake me!"
"I wouldn't dream of it," he murmured, pulling her close to him.
Something tells me I can trust in you
There's no pretense in the things you do
So much water under this bridge
And I'm standing here at the water's edge
Under normal circumstances, Willow wouldn't have considered dancing with
Angel if he was the last man on earth. It didn't even matter that he just
happened to be the Slayer. She'd sworn off human's as love interests the day
after she regained her soul. Spending centuries tearing apart the lives of
men that she "loved" had a powerful effect on her. Her soul couldn't let it
happen again, and the only way to prevent it was to stay away from all human
males.
So why was Angel so different? Willow didn't know. It was the moment that
she cared about. Rocking gently in his arms, oblivious to the dangers of
what they were doing, not caring who or what saw them together. The here and
now was all Willow felt. But a nagging voice in her conscience told her that
there were too many obstacles. It wasn't meant to be, and her fight would
only end when it killed her.
Looking into your eyes
I'm crossing the river to get to you
I'm crossing the river
I'm crossing the river
< She's so beautiful >Angel thought as he held her tightly in his arms. It
seemed like she fit right there; like that part of his body was sculpted just
for her. Sure, he'd danced with women before, but it never felt like this.
Something seemingly innocent was becoming the most erotic experience of his
life, and his insides begged him to let her go. Why couldn't he do that?
Perhaps it was because he'd been alone for so long. Companionship wasn't
hard to come by for a young man like Angel. Girls were constantly throwing
themselves at his feet. Everytime it happened, Angel's first instinct was to
slap the girl silly and tell her to find a man that deserved her. He
chuckled when he remembered the way Buffy had fawned all over him earlier
that day at Sunnydale. < She would be the first to receive the slappage. >
Willow was the first woman that hadn't thrown herself at his feet. Hell,
she'd even welcomed death. While her motives may have been purely selfish,
she was actually doing Angel a favor by not fighting him. That's why he
couldn't kill her. That, and the realization that he'd felt her before, in
New York. Even in those days, when his guts were turned inside out by his
mother's death, the knowledge that she was around provided some comfort.
Angel now felt safe in her arms. She was filling a void in his heart that he
never knew existed. < Impossible! I don't even know her! > But did he really
need to know her? Was knowing her going to make a difference in the way he
felt?
You had the longing of a broken heart
Shined your light in a room that was frozen dark
Looking into your eyes, yeah
Looking into your eyes
I'm crossing the river to get to you
I'm crossing the river, and this time I'll make it through
With your faith and your arms open wide
I see you there on the other side
I'm crossing the river of fear and pride
Willow felt his arms constrict and then loosen around her body. She could
almost sense his inner turmoil. Though not a psychic, Willow was highly
intuitive, and could tell by body language what was taking place inside a
person's mind. Angel was obviously waging some kind of mental battle.
She looked up into his deep brown eyes, hoping to find an answer to her
unasked question. All she saw was the kind of tenderness and dedication
she'd only dreamt of finding in those eyes. Eyes that she'd imagined for so
long now. Eyes that she yearned to have wander over her body....
***HELLLLOOOO SUNNYDALE!! THIS IS YOUR NIGHTTIME DJ DAN THE MAN***
Willow slammed her fist down on her alarm clock. She hated being woken up in
the middle of a good dream, especially by that annoying disc jockey "Dan the
Man". < Too bad I have morals. I wouldn’t mind ripping his vocal cords out! >
She looked over to check the time, and sighed at the remains of yet another
alarm clock. Willow shook her wristwatch, and saw that she had 20 minutes to
get to the library. < Better get a move on, Red. Don’t want to be late and
face the wrath of the Slayer! > She grinned to herself at the thought of
being ravaged by an angry Angel.
~~~~~~~
"ANGEL!! WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD!!" Cordelia poked and prodded at her best
friend, trying to get him to wake up and re-focus on his research. Angel
moaned loudly, and Cordelia could sympathize. She herself had tried to read
the book he had been reading, and nearly drifted off to sleep. So Cordelia
unloaded the burden on Angel, citing that he had more patience than she, and
that he would probably enjoy it, since it was about past Slayers.
Angel, of course, did not enjoy the book. He decided napping was a more
interesting route. And what an interesting dream he'd had. Willow in his
arms, dancing at the Bronze. Lovely thoughts that were also bad in a big
way. < No more of this pining for a vampire business. >
told him, while the other insisted that holding her had felt so right.
"Angel? Where did you go in dream land?"
He slowly lifted his head, rubbing his eyes with clumsy fingers, and glared
at her. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he asked, his voice raspy.
"Wouldn't she like to know what?" asked Xander, bounding into the room, arms
full of a variety of snack cakes.
"Nothing, nevermind. Let's get back to work." Angel shook the sleep out of
his mind and opened up his book. The words swam laps in front of his eyes.
He slammed it closed again and sighed. "Xander, could you toss me one of
those tasty snack cakes?"
"Sure thing, Slay-Boy!" Xander grinned as Angel failed to catch the cream
filled cupcake Xander had hurtled in his direction. "Looks like you're
losing your stuff there buddy."
"Shove it. I just woke up. You know how I am," Angel grumbled, tearing open
the cellophane and taking a huge bite out of his snack.
"I'm sure I'm the same way."
They all turned to see Willow making her way out of the stacks. She was
quite a sight to behold. Her red hair was pulled back in a loose french
braid, setting off her cheekbones and bringing out her eyes. Willow's
clothing was nothing to look twice at; black corduroys, a dark blue t-shirt,
and a long black duster. The contrast of the dark colors of her clothes and
her pale skin made her stand out against the dark shadows behind her.
It took Xander a minute to realize he was gawking. He cleared his throat,
and put out the first peace offering. "So, where did you get that jacket?"
Part 8
"So what you're saying is that Rupert Giles, the former watcher that
disappeared five years
ago, is now the Master terrorizing Sunnydale?" Amy was stunned by this
revelation. She
remembered quite clearly the day she'd met Rupert Giles. He was kind,
soft-spoken,
highly intelligent, and certainly not the type of man that would attempt to
take over a
Hellmouth.
"He's no longer the Rupert Giles you knew, Miss Madison," Willow warned,
worried that
Amy might not be able to see Ripper for the evil demon that he was. "I met
that man once
as well, and apparently I'd made such an impression on him, he purposely
sought me out
once he was...turned."
"He sought you out?" Cordelia asked. "Why would he do that? Didn't he know
that you
had a soul?"
Willow shook her head. "No, all he knew of me was my past. I guess
he just figured I was toning it down around him. Funny, I never really
thought about that
before."
"Why is it I pose all of the interesting questions? Do any of you even
THINK before
acting?" Cordelia crossed her arms, a gesture that she'd been doing a lot
recently, and
stared down everyone seated at the table. Even Willow cringed under the
harsh judgment
of Cordelia's deep brown eyes.
"Because, Cordy, you're the smart one," Xander answered, hoping his
compliment would
make her drop the subject. He knew he wasn't one to talk about not looking
before
leaping. Xander Harris was never as cautious as he should have been,
especially in a town
like Sunnydale.
"You're damn right I'm the smart one! Which is exactly why I should be
researching stuff
on this Rupert guy." She stood from the table and moved to sit in front of
her computer.
"Ripper."
Cordelia halted her movements towards the machine and turned to look at the
red headed
vampire. "Excuse me? Did I rip my dress?" The brunette's hands swept down
the back
of her dress, checking for a hole.
"No," Willow said, stifling a giggle. "His name is Ripper. That should
narrow the search
parameters significantly. I'd suggest checking the Watcher Database first."
Cordelia scoffed. "As if I wouldn't have figured that out on my own!"
"Figured what out on your own, Cordy?" Angel asked, pushing through the
swinging
doors of the library. In his arms he held several different types of food,
ranging from
Chinese to Mexican to cheeseburgers. Xander was at his side in less than a
second, taking
away some of the Slayer's burden.
Amy joined Cordelia at the computer, looking over the brunette's shoulder at
the screen.
"She doesn't believe she needs any help with research. I guess Cordy here is
better on this
contraption than we all believed."
Angel nodded and smiled at his hacker friend. "Where's Willow?"
"Huh?" Xander mumbled, his mouth already stuffed with half a cheeseburger.
"I said 'where's Willow'," Angel repeated, looking around anxiously.
"She's in the stacks," Willow called out, smiling at the almost desperate
tone in Angel's
voice. The vampire went back to searching for books on former demon masters.
She'd
already had some idea of how Ripper planned on opening the Hellmouth, but she
wanted
to be sure.
"Hey."
Angel's unexpected presence startled the young looking red head, and she
dropped the
book she was clutching to her chest. Angel bent to pick it up, examining the
cover before
handing it back to her.
"The Demon Underground of the 1950's and 60's? Willow, is this some kind of
nostalgic
moment that I've interrupted?"
"No," she insisted, hurrying to put the book back on the shelf. "I was just
trying to find
something about..."
"You don't have to explain it to me. I know about the history of vampires
and demons,
and I know how sometimes even the strangest book can hold the answers. No
explanation
required."
Willow held back the urge to smile up at him, and went about her business
sifting through
the seemingly endless rows of books. Angel watched her for a minute, and
then began to
help her look for anything that might be of use in their search.
"Hey Angel," Amy called up into the stacks. "You really should get down
here and eat
something. You spent a lot of money here, and it seems you should be
entitled to some of
this junk!"
Angel laughed out loud, a noise that Willow found extremely pleasant, and
grabbed her
wrist, pulling her along with him back down into the main room of the library.
"But I didn't find what I nee-"
"It'll be there when we get back. I brought you something from Willie's.
If you'd like to-"
"Take it in the office? Sure. Thanks." Willow nodded appreciatively at
the young man
gripping her wrist. When he didn't let go, she gave him a look that let him
know that he
was beginning to overstep the boundaries of their "partnership" as it were,
and he
immediately released her. Willow went to the table and took the small cooler
from Amy.
Once she was inside of the office, Angel turned to his watcher.
"Do you think it was wrong of me to bring her some blood?"
Amy looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, under any other circumstances,
I'd say yes.
But I don't think she's a real threat to us right now. Besides, she needs to
eat like the rest
of us. And if it's donated blood, well, somehow that makes it all better."
< If the Council
could see me now, I would so be out of a job. >
"Ahem." Cordelia cleared her throat from across the room, preparing to
speak. But she
was interrupted by Willow bursting out of the office in full vampire mode.
At first Angel was scared that his thoughtful gesture had really backfired,
but then he saw
something in the red head's eyes that made him more than scared. He could
feel the
presence of a very powerful vampire nearby, and knew that this must have been
what
Willow was sensing.
The Slayer slipped into predator mode as he slid his hand into his pocket
and extracted a
stake. He shot Amy a look that plainly stated that she and the others were
to lock
themselves in Amy's office until the danger had passed. Amy quickly pushed
Xander and
Cordelia into the safe room and locked the door behind them.
"Who is it?" Angel asked, his body now just as tense as Willow's.
"Shhh!" She was now making her way across the library, quiet as a lion
stalking it's prey.
Willow wasn't sure what to do. She knew who was coming down the hall. It was
someone she hadn't felt in a very long time, but he was as familiar to her as
in the days when they were together.
Angel watched silently as Willow crept over to the doors to peek through the
circular
glass windows out into the hall. < Like a lioness. It takes years of
training for a Slayer to
hunt like that >
"Oh shit!" Willow ran back to Angel's side and tried to pull him into the
stacks.
"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed, trying to keep his voice down.
"I seriously don't want to deal with this right now. Come on, they'll be
fine behind the
protection wall, but we need to hide!" She continued to tug on his hand, but
Angel remained firmly in place.
"No, whoever or whatever it is will have to die. That's a lot of evil out
there, Willow.
I'm not letting it get away." Angel pulled his hand away from her and took
out a vile of
holy water from his other pocket.
"You don't understand what we'll be getting into here, Angel. Please, trust
me on this."
Willow plead with him to go with her, but he still refused.
"Stop putting up a fight and tell me who it is."
Willow shook her head and began pacing in front of him. She didn't have
time to explain who was coming for them, but Angel had to know how to defend
himself.
Suddenly, the doors burst open.
Part 9
"Mum? Are you in here?" Drusilla peeked around the edge of the door, her
supernatural
eyesight allowing her to see into the shadowed areas of the room.
"Dru, sweetheart, will you stop with the hiding and get in here?" Spike asked
from inside
the library, his face and posture representing physically the irritation in
his voice.
"Sorry Spikey, I was just listening to the walls. They want to tell me where
our mum is.
The walls talk to me." Dru stepped past the doorway, taking Spike's extended
hand.
"I'm sure they do, luv. Now, where do you suppose she's hiding?" Spike
cautiously led
her to the large wooden table in the center of the room. He glanced down at
the books
littering the tables surface. He released Dru's hand and picked up one of
the dusty
volumes, cringing at the centuries' worth of caked on filth.
Spike's guard was down for a milli-second. He didn't even see her coming.
Willow vaulted over the railing and landed with both feet on top of the
table, sending
several books flying. Spike didn't have any time to react before she
delivered a kick to his
chin. He stumbled backwards and nearly fell into the scattered chairs behind
him, but he
somehow managed to keep himself upright. Unfortunately for him, Willow took
this to
her advantage, and began to punch him hard in the gut.
Angel watched from above as Willow continued to rain kicks and punches on the
blonde
vampire. Her fighting style was highly sophisticated; much more so than what
was taught
by the Watchers. Angel was so caught up in admiring Willow, he didn't notice
Drusilla
sneaking up behind him.
Dru sprang forward, jumping onto Angel's back. She threw her arms around his
neck and
wrapped her legs around his waist. To a someone who didn't know any better,
it would
appear that Angel was giving her a piggy back ride.
Despite being distracted, Angel reacted in seconds, throwing the weak vampire
off of his
back. He spun around to face her, and ducked as Drusilla lashed out at him
with razor
sharp nails. The two went back and forth like that for what seemed like
forever--Angel
ducking, Dru slicing through the air where flesh had been mere seconds
before. During all
of this, Angel tried to get a good look at his opponent. When he finally got
a look at her
face, his world stopped in it's tracks.
Willow towered over Spike's prone form, torn between feeling relieved that
she'd beaten
him, and disappointed that he hadn't used any of the fighting techniques
she'd taught him.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Angel and Dru had stopped moving
and were
now locked in a silent stare.
"Angel, no!" Willow cried once she realized what the dark vampiress was doing
to him.
She'd taught Dru that form of mind control as a way to retain dominance over
physically
stronger vampires. If Angel was killed while under trance, Willow would
never forgive
herself.
Spike took advantage of the situation and kicked Willow's legs out from under
her.
Before she could pull herself out of the tangled mess of their limbs, Spike
was on top of
her, pinning her down to the floor.
"Gotcha, luv." He grinned down at her angry face, which had shifted from her
human
mask when he'd knocked her down.
"Fuck you, luv," she countered, tearing into the carpet below with her nails.
Spike had her
wrists pressed painfully into the floor. Willow turned away from the deep
blue oceans of
his eyes and looked back up to where Angel and Dru were standing.
< Angel >
The Slayer heard a strong voice above the incoherent whispers that crowded
his mind.
< Willow? >
< Yes, it's me. Angel, you have to fight her. You have to try to look away. >
Willow
knew her advice would be futile, but she had to try. Until she could figure
out a way to
get Spike off of her, she was stuck using telepathy to communicate with the
Slayer.
Things would be so much easier if she could just push Angel out of the way.
Or maybe
even find something to throw at him. Willow tried to break free from Spike's
iron grip,
but was unsuccessful.
Angel tried to move his head, but it wouldn't budge. In fact, none of his
limbs would
work at all. He strained and fought, and it was all for nothing. He was
paralyzed where
he stood.
< I...I can't move. What is she doing to me?? >
"Willow, what are you doing?" Spike asked, disappointed that she'd stopped
trying to get
away from him. Not that he minding being on top of her, he just preferred
things a little
bit rougher.
"Shut up Spike," she hissed, concentrating again on Angel.
< She can only control that part of your brain which is responsible for body
movements.
She does it to paralyze her victims. Essentially, they watch themselves die
slow and
painful deaths. >
< So she doesn’t control my mind? >
< No. We don't have time to discuss this. She'll kill you unless you find a
way to fight her.
Use your mind, Angel. Your psychic powers are far stronger than any I've ever
encountered. If anybody can counteract Dru's little mind game, it's you! >
Angel thought she was crazy. How was he supposed to defeat an enemy he
couldn't hurt
physically? Amy had told him time and again to work on strengthening his
mind, but had
he listened? However, when Angel set his mind to do something, he usually
did it. He
cleared his thoughts and put all of his attention on the voices in his head.
Confident that Angel would be able to stop Drusilla, Willow turned her
attention back to
the blonde vampire straddling her abdomen. "Do you mind?"
"Mind what, Red?"
"Do you mind getting off of me?"
Spike's grin got even wider. "How could I ever mind getting off-"
"OF me Spike. Getting off OF me!" As much as she hated to admit it, Willow
missed the
innuendo that she shared with Spike all of those years. She didn't just miss
the innuendo
though. She missed the instigator, too. Spike was the vampire Willow loved
to hate, and
hated to love.
"Sorry ducks, no can do. You're stuck here until I say otherwise." Spike
increased the
pressure on her wrists, and Willow moaned, in obvious pain.
"It's about time you show something other than pathetic weakness, blondie,"
Willow
quipped, hoping to distract him long enough to get out from under him.
"Give me a break, I was letting you beat me. I can't have you feeling sorry
for yourself,
can I? Oh wait, I'm sorry luv, you already do enough of that. The damage I
could do
probably wouldn't mean a thing, would it?"
Willow hated this. She hated that he threw her humanity in her face. When
he'd
discovered the truth about her, he was hurt. Willow was Spike's weakness.
He would
have done anything for her, and he made sure she knew it at all times. And
the fact that
Willow didn't tell him right away made him incredibly bitter.
"Still hating me after all these years, eh Spike?"
Spike shook his head, his grin vanished from his face. "No. I could never
hate you. You
were my Red Mistress..." he trailed off, lightly grazing the side of her face
with his long
fingers. Willow felt a tingling sensation go through her body, but she
ignored it. Spike
was a killer and a liar, and he betrayed her. If she got close, he would do
it again.
Somehow Willow knew that, unless she did something about it, Spike would
betray her to
Ripper.
Willow opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Drusilla's loud shriek.
It was so
loud, in fact, that one of the windows shattered, sending sharp bits of glass
cascading
down to the floor.
Angel and Dru collapsed at the same time. Spike's concern over Dru's fall
gave Willow
the opening she needed. Because he was seated just above her hips, she was
able to move
her legs enough to bend her knees and smash them into his back. Spike cried
out in pain
and fell off of her, rocking back and forth in a fetal position on top of a
pile of books.
Willow stood, brushed herself off, and grinned down at the vampire at her
feet. Spike
flipped her off, and Willow laughed out loud, stepping over him to go and
check on
Angel.
He didn't know how he was able to do it, but Angel was happy to have the
voices in his
head gone for the moment. He'd projected all of his psychic energies on
blocking the
whispering, and suddenly he'd found himself on the floor. Angel kept his
eyes shut tight,
not wanting to see what might have become of Willow or the rest of his
friends. It was
only when he felt the gentle caress of nimble fingers on his face that he
opened them.
"Willow? Wh-what happened?"
Willow smiled down at him, happy that Angel was still alive, and still intact.
"I'll tell you later. But right now, I have some business to attend to.
Here, let me help you
up." She reached down to him, and Angel took her hand. Although her skin
was cold,
her touch somehow warmed his body.
"Thanks. What business?"
"These two," Willow said, pointing at Dru's still body and Spike's trembling
one.
Angel leaned over the railing and looked down at the blonde vampire, who was
still
whimpering from Willow's unexpected attack.
"Looks like you've already taken care of things, Willow. What are you going
to do with
them?"
Willow didn't hear his question. She was too busy staring down at their
hands. Their
fingers had somehow managed to intertwine, and Willow almost couldn't tell the
difference between her fingers and Angel's.
When Angel saw what she was staring at, he pulled away abruptly. < Idiot! > He
inwardly
berated himself for once again overstepping the professional relationship
boundaries, but
he couldn't help himself. Holding her hand felt like the most natural thing
in the world.
To hell with the fact that she was one of the most unnatural things in the
world, and he
was supposed to be killing her.
"Um, guys, can we come out now?"
Cordelia stepped out of the office, tiptoeing over the torn pages of ancient
books and
broken furniture. Willow and Spike had made quite a mess. She gasped when
she saw
Spike writhing around on the floor. "Geez Willow, what did you do to him?"
"Him who? Oh! Spike you mean? He, uh, he has back problems. And I
complicated
them. Don't worry, he'll be like that for a little while, and I'll have him
out of here before
much longer."
Surprised, Angel turned to her. "What are you going to do with him?"
"Oh, I don't know, take him back to my apartment, chain him up, and beat him
senseless?"
Angel was once again surprised by Willow's frankness. < It must be Spork
that's making
the difference >
"Spike," Willow said, laughing softly. "His name is Spike."
Angel stepped back from her.
"You didn't. I can hear your thoughts."
"But I thought you said you couldn't do that."
Willow squirmed, uncomfortable with path the conversation was taking. "I
said that YOU
couldn't read MY thoughts. I don't think I ever said I couldn't read yours."
"Um, guys, could we please get to the important stuff here? Like cleaning up
my library?
And getting those two out of here?" Amy stood with her hands on her hips,
tapping her
foot impatiently on the floor. Willow and Angel stopped bickering and took a
look
around the room. There certainly was a large mess to clean up. Willow was
about to say
a spell that would clean it up right away, but Amy stopped her.
"No spells. I want elbow grease to clean this place."
"I thought elbow grease was used in polishing furniture," Xander remarked
from inside of
the office.
"Xander, why don't you come on out? Nobody is going to hurt you," Cordelia
said,
checking her laptop for damages. Happy to find none, she went back into the
office and
pulled her friend out by his collar.
"NO!! I was fine in the office! The office was perfect! I need a quiet
place to research,
so why not let me stay in there?" The young man was doing all he could to
push his friend
away, but she was too strong.
"Stop your whining and help us clean up!" Cordelia shouted, annoyed at her
best friend's
childish behavior.
"Mmmm, Spike?"
"Oh my God!" Xander screamed, and bolted back into the office.
Willow was at Dru's side in a second, making sure the vampiress wasn't going
to move
anywhere. She heard Spike's raspy voice calling up to Dru, and she decided
then that it
was time to get her "children" away from her new friends.
"Angel, do you think you can help me carry them out to my car?"
"You have a car?" he asked, shocked once again by this mysterious woman.
"Yes, I don't drive it too often, but sometimes it's necessary. It's a good
thing I drove it
tonight. Now you grab him, and I'll get her, okay?"
"Sure." Angel nodded and lifted Spike easily off of the ground. The blonde
vampire
hissed at the Slayer, but Angel ignored him, and instead picked Spike up and
put him over
his shoulder. Spike hated being so close to a Slayer, but his back was
killing him, and this
position wasn't too painful.
Willow held Dru in the same manner, and the two made their way out of the
doors,
leaving Amy, Cordelia, and Xander if the relative safety of the library.
"Sure, it's just like Angel to leave us to do the dirty work!" Cordelia made
a show out of
huffing as she began to pick up the broken pieces of wood. "I don't know why
she
couldn't have just staked him when she had the chance," she mumbled.
"Cordelia, if you had any idea of who that man...er, vampire, was, you would
understand
why she wasn't able to stake him," Amy said from across the room, reaching
over the
checkout counter for a roll of tape that would help mend her torn books.
"Why? Who was he?" Xander asked, reemerging from his hiding place.
"Oh, alright," Amy said, exasperated. Cleaning could wait, for now. "That
was William
the Bloody. More commonly known as Spike. In my studies of the Red
Mistress, I came
across references to William, and his relationship with her. It seems that
she is his sire,
meaning the one responsible for turning him into a vampire. But their
relationship went
beyond sire/childe. In fact, if my assumptions are correct, the story of
William the Bloody
and the Red Mistress is one of the greatest love stories, human and demon
realms alike, of
all time."
Part 10
"Red, luv, do you think you could tell the...BOY...to put me down?"
"Sorry Spike," Willow said over her shoulder. "I won't risk having you run
away from me. Besides, I thought you liked boys!" Spike laughed at this and
smacked Angel on his ass.
Angel froze, his face going pale. Willow noticed that he was no longer
following her, and halted her own movements to turn around and see what the
delay was. Angel had set Spike down and taken a step back, watching from a
distance as the gloriously cheek-boned vampire stretched the muscles in his
back. Willow smiled at Angel.
"Gosh Angel, homophobic much?" Her eyes glittered with amusement in the
moonlight, and Angel returned the smiled somewhat reluctantly.
"No, Xander IS one of my best friends, you know," he said, eyeing the blonde
vampire who had now taken to staring at Willow.
"So? Xander's not-"
"Gay? Of course he is. He just doesn't realize it yet."
Willow stood gaping at the young man. "But...what about Cordelia? She's in
love with him, isn't she?"
Angel nodded sadly, the look on his face clearly speaking of the sympathy he
felt towards his friend. "She is in denial more than he is."
"This is all very interesting, but I'd like to get out of here now. Red,
please give Dru to me." Spike held his arms out expectantly, and Willow
shook her head.
"No way Blondie, you and Dru are both coming with me." Willow reached out
and grabbed one of Spike's hands and pulled him roughly behind her towards
her car. Angel just stood staring after them, wondering at Willow's great
physical strength.
"Angel? Hello?"
"Huh? Oh! Sorry, I spaced out again." Angel put one foot in front of the
other until he reached the dark blue Honda and it's beautiful owner.
"Spaces out a lot, does he? Willow, you haven't fallen for ANOTHER brainless
sod, have you?"
Panicked and angered by Spike's comment, Willow squeezed harder on his hand.
She could feel the tiny bones slipping out of place.
"Ow! Jesus Red, it was a bloody joke!" Willow loosened her grip and Spike
snatched his hand away grimacing as he popped the dislocated bones back into
place.
Willow ignored Spike and spoke to Angel, who was now standing between her and
the car. "I need you to get my keys out of my pocket and unlock the door for
me." Willow had begun to tire of lugging Dru on her back, and was now forced
to hold onto the demon with both hands. Spike would have her head if Dru was
dropped.
Angel stared at her for a moment, unsure if he'd heard correctly.
"Angel, we're both adults. Just stick your hand in my pocket and take out my
keys."
Flustered, Angel stepped forward. Willow looked up into his chocolatey eyes
and watched with her peripheral vision as his hand snaked down between them.
Angel's large hand rested on the outside of her pocket.
"Other one," she whispered, never taking her eyes away from his.
As much as his mind called for him to remove his hand from Willow's hip,
Angel's body told him otherwise. He felt like he was on fire. Angel could
see mixed emotions in Willow's eyes as his other hand traveled down to it's
destination. Frustration, embarrassment, lust, all rolled into one perfect
face that he longed to touch.
As Angel's other hand finally reached her pocket, Willow opened her mouth to
say something, but shut it again. < Why isn’t he getting the keys? I know he
can feel them! Why the hell is he teasing me like this? >
< Why the hell is she teasing me like this? >
wonder at Willow's face. The lust was stronger now, and unmistakable to even
an untrained eye. Angel could feel the evil radiating off of the vampiress
in Willow's arms, but it didn't stop him from yearning to get closer to her.
At that very moment, all Angel wanted to do was toss Dru aside and sweep
Willow up into his arms and carry her away.
< Again with the intense eyes! >
ground, then throwing herself into Angel's arms, and throwing Dru to the
ground, then digging her keys out herself and leaving. She hated the feeling
of losing control, and it was overwhelming her now as his eyes penetrated
hers.
Spike was fed up with the disgustingly teenage behavior or his sire and the
Slayer. He marched over to Willow, pushed Angel's hand away, and forced his
hand into Willow's pocket, extracting her keys. "There, was that so
difficult? Was all of the foreplay necessary? Really Red, I thought you had
better taste in men."
Angel broke out of his trance and glared at Spike over Willow's head. He
lifted Dru off of Willow's shoulder and carried her to the now open back
door. Together, he and Spike managed to arrange Drusilla in such a way that
wouldn't cause her too much pain when she completely woke up. Spike snorted,
a gesture that Angel took to mean thank you, and shut Dru's door. He then
climbed into the passenger seat and allowed Willow to close the door behind
him. Wishing the deep breath she forced herself to take would do some good
in relaxing her, Willow turned away from the car to look up at Angel.
"Thanks," she said, smiling.
"You're welcome," Angel replied, nervousness apparent on his voice.
"What's wrong?" Willow asked, feeling and sounding genuinely concerned.
"I...I guess you have a past with him...with THEM," he corrected, knowing
that he hadn't done a good job in concealing the jealousy in his voice.
Hoping that it really was jealousy she heard, Willow nodded. "Yes, I do have
a past with Spike. But that's all it is. He's a vicious killer, and the
only reason I'm associating myself with him is because I think he can help us
defeat the Master."
"What makes you think he won't join forces with Ripper? If they worked
together-"
"I know Spike. He would NEVER form an alliance with anybody that might
threaten his goals towards dominance. Spike doesn't want to work with the
Master. He wants to BE the Master."
Shocked by the passion with which Willow spoke about the vampire, Angel
stared into the car and watched as Spike fiddled with the radio controls.
< He doesn’t seem that strong… >
< He is. He’s not much to look at muscle wise, but believe me Spike is smart, clever, and devious. He really only has one weakness. >
Angel averted his eyes from the car and focused them on the red head before
him. He searched her now emotionless eyes for some sign of what she was
thinking or feeling.
"Dru is his weakness?" he asked hopefully.
"No, Drusilla is not Spike's weakness."
Angel let out a slow breath, hating the truth he now saw in her eyes.
"You?"
Willow nodded, afraid to speak.
"Does he...does he love you?" Angel asked, his voice cracking.
Willow nodded again.
"And do you love him?"
Willow didn't say a word. This wasn't what Angel wanted to hear. Silence
was not the answer he was expecting. He either wanted confirmation or
denial, though the latter would have been more preferable to the former.
Angel spun on his heel and began to walk back to the school.
"Wait, Angel!"
He slowly faced her, unsure that it was the right thing to do, but not really
wanting to walk away from her.
"At one time, I did love Spike. I was really terrible then, Angel. More so
than I could ever describe, and than you could ever imagine. Spike and I
hunted together, killed together, conquered together, and loved each other
with more passion than we thought we were capable of. There was nothing that
could come between us. Or so we thought. When I was cursed with my soul,
Spike alienated me. My love for him was stronger than ever, because the soul
sought out the one pure thing that was present in me during the time I was
the 'Red Mistress'. It needed something to cling to, something that would
build it back up again and make it stronger than the ever present demon. But
Spike wouldn't have it. He said I was different, and that I couldn't
possibly love him. I know he was really hurt, but there was nothing I could
do.
"I don't think Spike has ever stopped loving me. And to be quite honest, I
don't think I've ever stopped loving him. But he has Drusilla, who loves him
despite his love for me, and he is no longer a part of my life in that way.
I haven't even seen him for at least 70 years. So, to answer your question,
yes, I still love him, but just not in the same way as I did back then."
Angel stood silently, taking in all that Willow had just told him. Spike was
like the old boyfriend, back in town to try and screw up his ex's new
relationship. <But we don’t even have a relationship! Not yet anyway… >
Willow smiled, but it quickly disappeared when Angel looked up at her. He'd
obviously forgotten that she could hear every single one of his thoughts.
"Look, Angel, it's late, you look really tired, and I have to go beat the
shit out of these two. Find out what they're doing here, that sort of thing.
I'll meet you back at the library tomorrow at sunset, alright?"
Angel just nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait, please." Willow stepped forward and softly kissed Angel's cheek.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. I never wanted my past to be
revealed to anybody. I just wanted to help and then slip back into the
shadows."
"I'm...I'm glad that you're here, Willow. And you're exploits as the 'Red
Mistress' are not as disturbing as some other things I've heard of. You are
definitely not an inconvenience." Angel caressed her cheek, and then let his
hand fall to his side. "Until tomorrow?"
"Yes, until tomorrow." Willow stood and watched Angel as he went back into
the school. Sighing, she went around to the driver's side of her car and
tapped on the window. Spike leaned over and unlocked the door for her. Once
she was inside, she turned to face him.
"Look, I don't know what you're doing here, but you might as well help me out
while you're in town. There's a new-"
"What makes you think I'm going to help you, luv?"
"Because I know you better than anybody else on this planet. I know you want
to become the new Master in Sunnydale, and you'll help me by defeating the
current Master. I know that power comes first on your list, and anything you
can do to achieve it will be done."
Spike crossed his arms over his chest and faced his window. "Shows how much
you know, pet," he mumbled to himself. Willow didn't hear him, as she was
flipping through the radio stations to try and find a song she could sing
along to. < You've always been first on my list, Willow. And nothing has
ever happened to change that >
Confused by his thoughts, Willow glanced over at her former lover. Spike was
still glaring outside the window, ignoring her. < What does he mean I’m the
first on his list? Oh God Spike, please don't do anything stupid. I don't
want to kill you >
Spike sat silently and watched as the school disappeared from view. He was
about to agree to something that he would eventually regret, but he didn't
care. His original plans for coming to Sunnydale could wait until after the
Master was dead. Spike just wanted to spend as much time with his Red
Mistress as he could before he put his plan into action.
Part 11
Willow was angry. Very angry. And not just because Spike had tried to feel
her up, twice, or because he'd been grabbing the wheel and trying to steer
the car into oncoming traffic; Spike was being very secretive about his
purpose for being in Sunnydale, and was sidestepping all of her questions
with pathetic sighing and annoying hijinks. Four times she'd almost pulled
the car over and thrown his skinny blonde ass out on the street, but she
always managed to calm down enough to see that she would get even less
information out of him if he was gone. < All of this in a drive that took
less than ten minutes! >
Spike smiled broadly when he saw the look of pure anger on Willow's face. He
missed that look. She used to look at him like that, and it made Spike feel
the strangest squishy feelings in his stomach. He had to remind himself that
Willow wasn't who she used to be, and that look was not a playful one. But
still, he couldn't help getting turned on by it.
< Finally! Maybe I can beat the information out of him now that I'll have
access to torture equipment! > Willow pulled into the parking lot underneath
her apartment. Owning property along nearly deserted docks had it's
advantages. There were no pesky neighbors to bother the vampiress during the
strange hours she kept.
Without saying a word to Spike, Willow got out of the car and opened up the
back door to pull Dru out. Spike started to get out and help her, but she
waved him away. So he stood back and watched her remove his crazy girlfriend
from the car and start towards the small stairwell leading up into the
building. Sighing once again, Spike followed, lagging behind a bit to watch
the way her hips swayed when she walked.
Because his concentration on Willow's body was so focused, Spike failed to
notice the person lurking in the shadows, watching the three of them ascend
the staircase.
~~~~~
"What do you mean Willow's consorting with the Slayer?!" Ripper stomped
around the room like a pouting child, his hair frazzled and his vampiric
features shadowed in the dim light. "How do you know this??"
"I-I saw her at the school, sir," the lackey said, quivering where he stood.
Ripper eyed him critically and stormed away, pacing faster this time.
"She LIED to me?? That bitch told me that she was going to KILL THE SLAYER!!
NOT BLOODY FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM!!!!" His rage got the best of him, and
Ripper was upon the minion in seconds, holding him in the air by the neck.
"Ripper, darling, why don't you put the young man down and come over here and
sit for a while? I hate to see you so upset."
Ripper dropped the young vampire and stalked over to his black haired maiden.
"Jenny, I don't know what to do anymore! I try to get these bloody people
on my side, and they always end up screwing me over!" He plopped down next
to her, and Jenny pulled his head into her lap.
"There, there sweetheart. Tough times are ahead, but we'll make it. I'm not
about to let all of my hard work go to waste. Now come on, pick yourself up,
and be a good example for all of your minions." Jenny's voice was stern, and
Ripper sat up quickly, growling low in his throat at her tone.
"Don't tell me what to do, Jenny. I'm not your lap dog, understand? YOU
work for ME now, got that?"
Jenny was startled by his sudden mood swing, but quickly adapted to her
helpless housewife routine. "Yes, love, I'm sorry. Forgive me?" She gave
him the look that he couldn't resist, and Ripper sighed.
"Alright, I'll forgive you. Come on my love, let's go see if we can't find
out more about Willow and her alleged betrayal." He stood and reached down
to help Jenny up. Once she was standing beside him, he gently kissed her
hand and led her out of the chamber.
~~~~~
"What happened?" Xander asked when Angel stepped into the library. The
Slayer just looked at his friend and shrugged his shoulders. Angel was
confused about the emotions churning around in his body, and didn't feel like
talking about anything having to do with Willow or Spike.
"Angel, I'm concerned about this Spike fellow. It seems that he and Willow
have quite the past together." Amy came out of her office staring down at a
large book. She'd found a watcher's account of an encounter with the Red
Mistress and William the Bloody. Before Amy could continue, Angel put his
hand up to stop her.
"I know about their past. She told me. I just don't want to hear anymore
about this whole situation tonight, alright? Let's just get this place
cleaned up so I can go patrol and then go to bed."
The Watcher looked up from her book, concerned about her Slayer. When Angel
had first come to Sunnydale, he was shut off emotionally from everyone around
him. It had taken the young woman a long time to get him out of his shell.
Amy hated that Willow's presence was turning Angel back into an introvert.
"Ow!" Cordelia cried. She had been trying to pick up some pieces of a broken
chair when she stumbled and fell into a large pile of books. Just as she was
about to stand, she saw something that was out of place for a school library.
A pack of cigarettes.
"Ew! This guy Spike just gets more and more disgusting!" Cordelia stood,
brushed herself off, and bent to pick up the cigarettes. It was empty, save
a piece of paper tucked between the package and the cellophane wrapper. The
brunette hacker pulled out the piece of paper and unfolded it. It looked
like some kind of spell.
"What is it Cordy?" Amy asked, making her way through the rubble to her young
friend. She took the piece of paper and studied the messy handwriting.
"Hmm, this looks like a spell, but I'm not sure what kind. It's written
in....well, it looks like some kind of old language, possibly Greek, or
something even older like Sanskrit. It'll take some time to translate."
"Why does that blonde idiot keep a spell hidden in his pack of cigarettes?"
Xander asked as he began to gingerly dust off the books strewn all over the
floor in front of him.
"Safe keeping? Who knows. But right now I REALLY want to clean up this mess
so I can go home." Angel started to follow Xander's lead by picking up books
and putting them back onto shelves. Soon, Amy and Cordelia helped, and the
library was clean.
As Angel walked home, he thought about the events of that night. < So Spike
really is up to something. Amy better translate that spell fast, otherwise I
doubt anybody will be able to stop him. > "Except for you, Angel old boy.
It's your job to stop him." Sighing at the difficulty of the truth, Angel
adjusted his path to the cemetery, where he would meet his fate.
Part 12
"Willow! What are you doing here?"
The red head looked up from her perch atop a headstone and smiled.
"He's so frustrating. More so than I remember."
Angel sat down on the headstone opposite the vampiress. "Spleen really got
to you, huh?"
Willow laughed hollowly. "Yeah, I guess he did. Spike has always been
annoying as hell, but tonight was pretty bad."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Angel asked, concern etched across his
handsome features.
"No," Willow shook her head. "All I can think about right now is that I
really don't know if I'm going to be able to kill him."
"I thought you were in love with him. Why are you going to kill him?"
Willow looked down at the ground, watching as a small black beetle scampered
across the mound of dirt beneath her feet. "I'm not. Not right now,
anyway." Willow lifted her eyes to meet Angel's. The Slayer could see tears
spilling over her cheeks.
"Willow, tell me what's wrong with you," he pleaded, rising from his seat and
going to her side. Willow refused to look him in the eye. She turned away
and stared off into the night.
"He's got this clandestine purpose for being here in Sunnydale, and he
refuses to let me in on the secret. Usually he's harmless, but I don't know
this time. Spike is known for his ambiguous behavior, unless his emotions
are running high, which they aren't, so I'm completely clueless." Without
looking, Willow took Angel's hand into her own. "I'd kill him before I let
anything happen to you."
Angel was frozen where he stood. He was breathless from both the conviction
in Willow's voice when she said she'd kill Spike if it meant saving him, and
the feeling of her tiny hand in his own. "When are we going to stop putting
ourselves into this position?" Angel asked.
Willow started to draw her hand away, but Angel held onto it tightly. "What
position is that?" she asked.
"The one where I comfort you, and you pull away from me. The position that
makes me want to take you in my arms and never let go." Angel sighed. "The
position that forces me to see that maybe my life isn't as together as I
thought it was. Willow, aren't you sick of denying yourself the one thing
you want?"
Willow growled and jerked her hand away, but she still refused to meet his
eyes. "What makes you think you know what I want?" she asked angrily.
"Willow, I can read your thoughts! I can hear you in my head while you're
asleep! I know exactly what it is you want."
Hearing this, Willow hopped down from the headstone and started to pace back
and forth in front of him. "Those were just random things, you know. Dreams
can't be interpreted as conscious thought. So what you heard-"
"Was all part of a big, mixed up dream? I doubt it. I know enough about
supernatural beings to realize that most of their dreams are like
prognostications. Hell, MY dreams are like prophecies come to life! And for
somebody with your psychic abilities, it's not surprising that you'd be
having some kind of dream based in reality. So that excuse of 'it was just a
dream' isn't going to work with me." Willow stopped pacing and finally faced
the young man. Angel stood defiantly in front of her, determined to defend
his beliefs about her dreams. Of course, he was right about her thoughts.
All she could think about was Angel. Willow despised that she was so easy to
read.
"So what do you think about, Angel? That is, when you aren't too busy
intruding on my dreams?"
Angel let out an exasperated groan. "What do you think I think about?! YOU!
Only you, night and day, you are always there in my head. I don't
understand why, and I know that it makes me weak, but I just don't care
anymore. It's like-"
"An obsession." He took a step closer to Willow, and she took one back.
"Angel come on, I really don't feel like sharing a...moment...here in the
cemetery. I mean come on, you're the Slayer, I'm a demon, talk about mixing
dangerous chemicals."
Angel had quickly closed the gap between the two of them, and was now
standing close enough that he could feel her breasts against his chest.
"Stop making excuses, Willow. Follow your instincts."
"That's what I'm afraid of doing," she whispered. "My instincts scream at me
to throw you down right now and make love to you, but my more rational mind
tells me that I should be drinking your blood."
"Willow?"
"Yes?"
"Just shut up."
"O-" Willow was cut off by Angel's lips pressing against her own. They were
soft and gentle, and felt like nothing Willow had ever experienced before.
Angel tangled his hands in her hair and pulled her closer, pushing her mouth
open with his tongue. Willow responded immediately, bringing up her own
hands and weaving her fingers into his thick dark hair. Suddenly, Angel
pulled away.
"Do you feel that?"
Willow did in fact feel something. Some kind of evil presence lurking in the
shadows.
"Oh come on, don't stop on my account!" Jenny stepped out from behind the
hedges, softly applauding. She'd enjoyed the little show that Willow and
Angel put on, and was almost sad to be the cause of the interruption.
"Jenny." Willow nodded curtly at the brunette woman, and reached down to
squeeze Angel's hand.
< Who is she? >
<Ripper's consort. But I think she's going behind his back with a plan of
her own, so don't worry. We should be alright. >
"Quite right Willow, quite right. On all accounts, in fact. I am indeed
Ripper's consort." Jenny went to Angel and extended a hand, which he shook
quickly. "I am also planning something behind Ripper's back, and it involves
the both of you."
"Wait a second, Jenny. If you think we're going to help you, you're
mistaken. I told Ripper I didn't want anything to do with him for a long
time, and the same went for you as well."
The dark haired gypsy looked and Willow and smiled. "Oh yes, you will help
me Willow. For two reasons. The first one being, if you don't, I'll hurt
your precious Slayer here. And before you say anything Angel, yes, I can
hurt you."
Angel shut his mouth and continued to stare at the woman.
"Secondly, I'll get Spike off your back. And this is where I need your help."
A twinge of jealousy flowed through Angel when he saw the look on Willow's
face at the mention of Spike. He forgot it almost as soon as it had arrived,
and squeezed Willow's hand in his own show of support.
"What do you want with Spike?" Willow asked. Spike dying by her hand was one
thing, but by the hand of this evil gypsy? Willow wouldn't stand for it.
Spike was her childe, and she felt protective of him.
"I've heard many great things about William the Bloody. I mainly just want
to meet him," Jenny answered, grinning. "But meeting him is really only half
the fun, I suppose. You see, my ultimate goal is to overthrow my beloved.
His presence as a powerful vampire is very upsetting to the underworld, and,
since it's my fault he's around in the first place, it's my job to...relieve
him of his duties, so to speak."
"And you want Spike to kill him?" Angel speculated there was more to the
plan than Jenny was letting on.
"No," Willow said softly. "She wants Spike to replace him." Willow looked
up into Angel's dark eyes. "She wants Spike to be the new master in
Sunnydale."
Angel was finally starting to see past all of Willow's emotional boundaries,
and in her eyes he saw feelings of both anger and tremendous sadness. Willow
obviously cared for Spike, and the knowledge that killing him would be
inevitable if he were to become master hurt her more than she could express
in words. "What's so wrong with Ripper? Why does the underworld hate him so
much?"
Jenny's smile turned into a scowl. "Because he isn't a real vampire," she
answered abruptly. Both Willow and Angel had to do a double-take before what
she'd said sunk in.
"So, if he isn't a vampire, what is he?" Willow asked, confused.
"Ripper, my dear, is a living, breathing human being."
Part 13
San Antonio, Texas--Five years ago...
"Hey Giles, what's the deal for tonight? Can we hit Riverwalk, or will it be
patrol?" Faith tucked a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear and
tightened the laces of her wrist guard.
Rupert Giles came out from his office wearing enough padding to protect him
from 50 Slayers. He sighed and took off his glasses. "Faith, we did go out
last night, so I really don't believe it would be appropriate for us to do so
tonight. Too many breaks makes for too many demons to kill."
"Always the diligent watcher, eh G-man?" The brunette slayer took a swig
from her bottle of water and set it down on the kitchen table. "We really
trashed the place last night," she commented, waving her hand in an arch
about the room.
"You're insatiable Faith, how am I supposed to control you?" Giles stepped
closer to the young woman, passion and fire burning in his eyes.
"Why not try some of that ol' black magic?" Faith closed the space between
them and lightly pressed her lips to her his. Giles moaned and pulled her
closer. Smiling against his mouth, Faith stomped hard on Giles' foot,
causing the man to cry out in pain.
"What was that for?" he cried, reaching down to cradle his injured foot.
"Distraction, Rupert. You were so preoccupied with your desire for me, that
you weren't prepared for my attack." She smiled smugly at him, and Giles
sneered at her.
"Aren't I the one that is supposed to do the training here?" he asked, the
blush on his face giving away his embarrassment
"Yes," Faith nodded. "But I like to play teacher sometimes."
"Alright, enough with the innuendo. Let us begin with your training, and
depending on how that goes, I'll make my decision about whether or not we can
go out this evening. You aren't an inexpensive date, Faith."
Faith laughed as she pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail. "What's the
matter Rupert, the Council still not paying enough?"
"I really do not want to discuss this right now. The Council's pay rate is
about the same as it was when it first began." Giles moved into a fighting
stance, and Faith took her place next to him. "Be gentle," he said.
"Right, sure thing sweetie."
Two hours later--
"Good heavens Faith, what did you do to him?" Dr. Snyder, part demon-part
physician, replaced the ice pack on Giles' head and looked up at the Slayer.
Faith smiled innocently and shrugged.
"He said don't be gentle!"
"I most certainly-ow-did not!" Giles insisted, trying to sit up but unable to
move the muscles in his back.
"Oh no? Sorry honey, I thought that's what you said."
Dr. Snyder looked between the quarrelers and shook his head. For the life of
him, he would never understand the attraction between humans. He noticed
Faith moving closer to the bed, and decided that it would be a good time to
dismiss himself. The Slayer and Watcher never even noticed him leave.
Just as Faith leaned down to kiss the semi-paralyzed Giles, the phone rang.
She huffed and picked it up off of the nightstand.
"Rupert Giles, please."
"Sure, hold on a sec." Faith handed Giles the phone and left the room in
search of something to eat. From the kitchen, she could hear her lover
yelling into the phone about a prophecy, but the details were spoken in a
hushed tone. More than anything, Faith wanted to pick up another phone and
listen in, but she figured Giles would give her the details as soon as he
hung up.
Rupert Giles had never been in such emotional turmoil in his entire life.
His body shook with fury, terror, and gut wrenching sadness. Faith, his
beloved Slayer, was supposed to die tonight, and there wasn't a thing he
could do about it.
Sunnydale, California--Five years later
"What was the prophecy?" Angel asked, now sitting down in the soft green
grass under a large tree in the cemetery. Willow was to his right, and Jenny
was seated in front of them.
"Ripper won't go into the details. All I know is that it was foretold that
the Slayer Faith absolutely had to die in order for some big 'Change' to
happen, and that destroyed the Giles that was once a Watcher."
Willow sat in a numb silence. Something about this story was way too
familiar to her, and it made the red head slightly uncomfortable. Angel
could sense her discomfort and took her hand.
"What is it, Willow?"
"I-I think I know the prophecy," she told him, keeping her eyes focused on
Jenny. "It was the prophecy that set into motion the changing of the guard.
Faith, the longest living Slayer, died, and on that night," Willow now faced
Angel, "your Slayer abilities were activated."
Everything was finally falling into place in Jenny's mind. Ripper's desire
to do whatever he could to hurt the Council, and this new breed of Slayer.
He blamed Angel for Faith's death.
"Wait though, I didn't actually become the Slayer until later on," Angel told
Willow, not sure he wanted to believe what he was hearing. If it were true
what Willow suspected, then Ripper would stop at nothing to destroy him.
"They always have backups," Willow explained. "A potential Slayer is always
being trained and is waiting for the day when she will be called to action.
You hadn't developed any of your powers yet, and so that's why you didn't
automatically become the Slayer. You just weren't ready."
"And my mother had just died," Angel whispered sadly, blinking back tears.
"This is all very sweet, really it is, but I haven't finished my story."
Jenny crossed her arms impatiently and waited for the small vampiress to
comfort Angel. Once she was satisfied she had their attention, Jenny
continued.
"Faith did die that night. It was gruesome and terrible and she was in a
tremendous amount of pain. The autopsy showed that Faith was also three
months pregnant. She'd wanted it to be a surprise, and it most certainly
was. Giles vowed in front of the entire Council that he would exact his
revenge on them as well as this new Slayer. He and I met several months
later.
"Giles asked...no, forced me to help him. He knew I was a gypsy and a
powerful witch, and he blackmailed me into making it seem like he was a
vampire. He wanted to be extremely viscous and powerful, and I told him that
I would help him. His anger had driven him back into what he called 'Ripper
mode', and he wanted to harness that anger and energy and use it to his
benefit. I conjured a few spells to make him look like and have the strength
of a vampire, and that was that. He quickly killed Masters all over the
world, and is now sitting several miles away from the Hellmouth he plans to
open next week."
It took a few minutes for Willow and Angel to allow everything to sink in.
Angel was angry and somewhat frightened for the lives of his friends, and
Willow was furious. She should have known he was a fake, but she didn't.
She didn't even recognize the magick so similar to her own.
"Why are you here?" Willow asked, controlling her anger.
"I'll be blunt. I'm here because I want you to get me Spike. I want him to
kill Ripper and take over the Hellmouth, and I want him to change me so that
I may sit by his side as his Queen." Jenny said it all so matter-of-factly,
Willow couldn't help but let a tiny giggle escape.
"Are you insane?!," Willow stopped laughing and turned angry. "Spike would
NEVER help you! Let alone make you his Queen!" Willow stood up and pulled
Angel up beside her. Jenny also stood, and Angel moved in front of Willow to
protect her.
"Isn't that sweet? I see you have the Slayer trained almost as well as you
trained Spike. Not to worry, I'll break him of his nasty habits. Goodnight
Slayer. Willow." Then she was gone. Willow snarled at the empty space in
front of her and broke away from Angel.
"Willow, wait. I really think we need to tell Amy all of this, don't you?"
Angel wanted to walk after her, but held his ground in hopes that she would
turn back. She did not disappoint.
"Yes, of course. Tell Amy. But not now, it's way too late. Will you walk
me home?"
Angel grinned and wove around the headstones until he was by her side. "Do
you need an escort, little lady?"
"No, I'm here to protect your ass," she shot back, a grin of her own
appearing on her pale face. Angel laughed and put his arm around her waist.
"We can talk about the kiss later, too," he said.
"Can we really?" she replied sarcastically.
"Yes, I think we need to, don't you?"
Willow forced a sigh out of her dead lungs. "Yeah, I guess we do." Willow
stopped and looked up at his handsome face. "You don't think it was a
mistake, do you?"
"Oh no, not at all. I've been wanting to do that since that night outside
the Bronze. Who knew I liked it rough?" Angel laughed playfully and tugged
on her hand. "Come on, let's get you home."
Part 14
He watched the scene below intently, trying to suppress his nausea. Before,
when Willow was viscous and cruel, Spike didn't mind so much when she would
kiss another man. But here, watching through the tiniest of peep holes in an
otherwise completely sun-proof room, Spike found himself to be so insanely
jealous, it was hard to keep from jumping through the window and ripping the
Slayer's pretty head off. Yes, it was the most innocent of kisses (a small
peck on the lips is hardly anything to be upset about), but the fact that it
was HIS Willow kissing THE SLAYER! The blonde vampire could hardly contain
himself.
It was time for Spike to make his decision.
He'd come to Sunnydale for one reason, and it sure as hell wasn't to take
over the Hellmouth. Spike was hardly up to a challenge as great as that.
No, he was a simple man, with simple needs, and all he wanted was to get his
woman back. Was his plan stupid? Probably. Chivalrous? Doubtful. But it
was, and of this Spike could be certain, very dangerous, and if he knew his
Red Mistress, she would appreciate the effort in the long run. Unless...
If Spike could persuade Willow to love him now, as he was, then most
certainly he wouldn't have to risk everything to get her back! Earlier that
evening, at the library, Spike had seen some of that familiar fire he'd come
to adore so tremendously in his sire. Perhaps there was still hope for him.
Perhaps some of that old "Spike Mojo", as Drucilla had so lovingly dubbed his
sex appeal after watching Austin Powers for the eighth time, would do the
trick!
"Who am I kidding?" Spike said aloud, pacing anxiously near the front door, a
cigarette hanging lazily out of the corner of his mouth. "Why would she take
me when she could have the bloody Slayer to help her in her quest for
justice!?"
Spike was starting to get angry. Visions of Willow kissing the Slayer
continuously bombarded his senses, and it was more than just a little
unnerving. Could he go through with it? A seduction which had been in the
works for nearly 100 years was being called off because of some mild
trepidation? "Absolutely not!" Spike shouted to no one in particular. He
took one last drag from his cigarette, and tossed it on the floor, snubbing
it out with the toe of his boot, apparently unaware of the white carpet
beneath his feet. As soon as he heard Willow insert her key into the
deadbolt, Spike took his position behind the door.
< Oh good, they’re gone. >
seemingly empty apartment. But when she went to close and lock her door, she
was stopped by a most unwelcome distraction.
Spike. Or, more accurately, Spike's lips.
Despite the screaming protests in Willow's brain, she found herself returning
her former lover's kiss with such fervor, it nearly brought both of them to
their knees. Her desperation was due in part to her wild need to be dominant
over her childe, as well as the frustration that had been building within her
over the course of her time spent with Angel. She wanted Angel, that much
was certain, but did she want Spike? Willow didn't care. All that mattered
was that moment, where her tiny hands buried themselves in the softness of
Spike's hair, and his hands roamed over all too familiar places on her body.
"Mmm, Angel," she murmured against his lips.
Please die Ana
For as long as you're here we're not
You make the sound of laughter
and sharpened nails seem softer
Spike abruptly pulled back, turning his head away from the confused stare on
his sire's face. *How could she do this?* a voice in his head asked. *She
managed to make a bloody fool out of me again!*
Realizing the words that had slipped out of her mouth, Willow pressed her
fingers to her lips. "I-I'm sorry Spike. I guess I was just...wait a
minute, why were you kissing me anyway?" Willow's voice was raised to a
level that used to mean certain punishment to Spike, but now he found himself
not caring.
"Honestly Red, I do not know," he answered, his tone far too condescending
for Willow's tastes. The ensouled vampire longed to lash out at her childe,
to teach him belligerence would not be tolerated, but for some reason, she
couldn't bring herself to do anything to Spike expect smirk up at his angry
face and walk away.
And I need you now somehow
And I need you now somehow
"Willow, wait."
The red head stopped walking towards her room, but did not turn to look at
him. She could sense that he was moving closer, and did nothing to remove
herself from his path. Was this what she really wanted? *It's been such a
long time...* "No!" she cried, spinning around and knocking Spike to the
floor. "I am your sire, and you will do as I tell you! If I want you to
leave me alone, then leave me alone!"
Taking a calming breath, Spike answered. "Is being alone what you really
want, luv? If so, I'll happily go on my merry way, back to Dru, back to that
blasted hole in the wall where we sleep. But, somehow, I don't think my
being here is what is agitating you so. I think you do want me here, either
to dominate or submit to, and that's fine with me, Red. Either way, I get to
spend at least one more night with a woman I find so amazing, I can't keep my
bloody mind off her for even a minute."
Open fire on the needs designed
On my knees for you
Open fire on my knees desires
What I need from you
Willow looked down at the blonde vampire kneeling before her. Her demon, as
well as her soul, longed to give him what he desired. She'd been alone for
so long, and she'd loved Spike every minute from the day she first saw him in
a pub in London so long ago, to this moment. In fact, her love for Spike had
grown stronger once she'd regained her soul. Since the day she first turned
him, he protected her with such ferocious loyalty, it shook something inside
of her. And that feeling wasn't going to go away because of a little old
soul.
"Get up, Spike. You're too good to kneel," she whispered, lightly caressing
his cheek.
And you're my obsession
I love you to the bones
And Ana wrecks your life
Like an Anorexia life
"How do you manage to turn me into a bumbling fool with one look?" he
inquired as he ran his fingers through her dark hair.
"I don't know," Willow replied, stroking his hard chest through the material
of his shirt. "I suppose it's part of my charm."
Spike began to lead her towards the bedroom when he stopped. He looked down
into her green eyes, and sighed. "Is this what you want?"
Willow nodded slowly, looking down at their newly intertwined fingers. "More
than anything in the world," she said, truthfully.
Spike snorted. "Except for the Slay-"
"Shh," she cut him off. "More than anything." Once Spike saw the conviction
in her eyes, it was all he needed to be convinced. Forgetting about all of
the complications that could arise from what was about to happen, Spike
picked his sire up in his arms, and carried her to the bedroom.
Open fire on the needs designed
On my knees for you
Open fire on my knees desires
What I need from you
Open fire on the needs designed
Open fire on my knees desires
On my knees for you
Part 15
"Hello? Is anybody here?" Buffy stepped arrogantly into the library,
sneering at it's lack of occupancy. The former Homecoming Queen hated
anything having to do with the library or those people that most often
inhabited it, but she had to make an exception this one time. Her English
teacher was going to throw her out of the class unless Buffy was able to
write an analysis of The Great Gatsby that would bring tears to any
Literature professor's very critical eyes.
"Yes, Miss Summers, how can I help you?"
Buffy nearly dropped her books she was so startled by the young librarian.
Setting them down on the checkout counter with shaky hands, she said, "Yeah,
I'm looking for a book."
Amy had to control her urge to snort rudely at the blonde. "Well, then
you're in the right place. What book might you be looking for?"
"Yeah Buffy, what book could you possibly want to read? Cosmo getting a
little tough to follow?" Xander brushed past Buffy as he made his way to the
table, where he deposited his backpack, and then went into Amy's office to
get a cup of coffee. Before Buffy could say something back, Angel and
Cordelia walked in, laughing loudly about something Buffy felt left out of.
Once the shy brunette saw her nemesis standing a mere ten feet away, all
traces of amusement left her face, and were replaced with mild contempt.
Buffy had yet to antagonize her, but Cordy wanted to be ready for the barrage
of insults the snob was sure to hurl her way.
Shocked that somebody had finally managed to look better than her in a black
trench coat, Buffy cleared her throat and smiled sweetly at Angel. "Your
name is Angel, right?"
He nodded, slightly peeved at how this narcissistic child was leering at him.
"It suits you," Buffy replied to his silent acknowledgment. She then cleared
her throat and turned back to Amy. "Can you please tell me where I can find
a copy of The Great Gatsby?"
"What, you aren't snobbish enough, so now you need pointers from a book about
snobby rich people? Gosh Buffy, it almost sounds like a family history for
you. I thought you would have memorized the Summers' family tree by now,"
Xander said, and then proceeded to shove a donut in his mouth.
"Goodness Xander, it sounds like you woke up on the wrong side of the rainbow
this morning."
"Okay, that's enough!" Amy shouted as Xander prepared to launch himself at
Buffy. "Miss Summers, let me get your book. Xander, sit down. Cordelia and
Angel, there are donuts and coffee in my office."
"Yeah, just what Cordelia needs. Donuts." Buffy shrieked as Angel backed
her up into the checkout counter, his eyes blazing.
"One of these days, you're going to regret that," he ground out, using every
fiber of control in his body to keep his fists at his sides. Buffy nodded
mutely, trying not to pass out from not only the fear his threat invoked, but
his closeness. The eternal flirt, Buffy reached forward and pressed on his
chest.
"Oo, you must work out."
Sensing Angel's rising anger, Amy quickly gave Buffy her book and led the
blonde away from her Slayer. "Here's you book Miss Summers. Please return
it when you are done. Thank you, and have a nice day."
Buffy opened her mouth to say something to the pushy librarian, but instead
winked at Angel and left the room. Cordelia let out a sigh of relief once
the swinging doors shut behind the notorious "Goddess B," as the blonde was
known by most of the football team and all of the swim team.
"Thank god she's gone. She almost ruined my appetite," Xander remarked after
swallowing his third donut. After so many years of Buffy's rudeness, the
young man was used to it, and had developed a rather nasty defense against
her.
"Alright, now that that's over with, Angel, how was patrol last night?" Amy
and Angel both sat down at the table, the Watcher prepared with a notebook
into which she put all of her observations and notes, which she later
transferred into the standard issue Watcher notebooks, which the Watcher's
Council liked to call "Tomes of Tomorrow."
"It was fairly uneventful," he said, trying to avoid the part about meeting
Willow, kissing Willow, fantasizing about Willow all night...
"Tell me what happened exactly. My notes aren't detailed enough for the
Council. They want to send me back to school, so please, save me that
torture and tell me everything." Poised with her pen above her paper, Amy
gave Angel an expectant look that told him he wasn't going to be able to hide
anything.
~~~~~
"Red, wake up. It's nearly sunset, and I think we should go tell your Slayer
friend that you and I are back together, so he should forget about his plans
for your seduction." Spike leaned over Willow, whispering in her ear. She
moaned and tried to push him away with her elbow, but he didn't budge. Once
his incessant demands that the Slayer be drawn and quartered began to grate
on her nerves, Willow put more force behind that elbow, and Spike went
sprawling off the bed, landing on the floor with an "oof".
"We are not going to torture the Slayer, Spike. And we are not back
together." Willow wasn't sure if the small level of uncertainty was
detectable in her voice, but she prayed that Spike was too occupied with
climbing up onto the bed to notice.
"Whatever you say, luv. But I know last night meant something to you. That
precious soul of yours must have been affected somehow."
Willow rolled her eyes at her childe and climbed out of bed. "Right.
Whatever you say, Spikey. But I'm going to go take a shower, and then WE are
going to get Drucilla and go to the high school."
"For what, a joint intervention, ensouled beings versus demonic? No thanks
Red, I'd rather walk out into that sun," Spike said, pointing at the boarded
up window.
"Be my guest. But please don't get dust on my carpet. You've already
managed to leave a nice little cigarette burn in my living room, and I don't
want your remains all over everything too. To answer your question, no, we
are not going to have an intervention for you and Dru. The Slayer and I have
much bigger fish to fry. Believe it or not Spike, you are in danger, and
it's the Slayer that's going to save your ass this time." Willow left the
room, sardonic smirk in tow, before Spike had a chance to respond to her
outrageous claims. The Slayer was going to save HIS life?
"Yes, and then he and I will take a walk along the beach at sunrise, hand in
hand, and fall madly in love!"
Willow stuck her head back into the room, smiling even bigger at her childe.
"Now that would be something I would pay to see."
"Bite me, Red," Spike said, glaring at the empty doorway.
"I think I did plenty of that last night, sweetheart!" she called just as she
slammed the bathroom door. Spike snorted and began picking up his discarded
articles of clothing.
Twenty minutes later, Willow was dressed and ready to go to the library. But
she was missing one thing. Spike. "Where the hell did he go?" she asked her
apartment, actually expecting some kind of answer from it's white walls. Not
feeling up to starting an all out search for her lover, Willow plopped down
on her couch and put her feet up on the coffee table.
*Last night was so...amazing* she thought to herself, grinning at the
memories of exactly what she and Spike had done to each other. It was
reminiscent of their past couplings; violent, bloody, and extremely erotic.
Willow was surprised she could even move in her old age. But Spike always
managed to take care that any pain she might experience would not leave her
incapacitated in case of an emergency. *He's always been so thoughtful...*
Willow shook her head and stood abruptly, trying to shake off the feelings
she was having towards Spike. Now was definitely not the time to rekindle
THAT old flame.
Pacing back and forth, Willow began to think. There was Angel. The
sweetest, most beautiful man Willow had ever laid eyes on. Initially, she
chalked her attraction towards him up to some pathetic weakness, but not
anymore. Willow knew what she wanted, and she knew that Angel wanted the
same thing. What did they have to lose?
"Our lives, that's what," she scolded, her soul drudging up the memories of
her shaky alliance with the Watcher Merrick, and his warnings that she keep
her lusty paws off of the male Slayer. Merrick warned her that if she got
involved with Angel, he would have both of them eliminated. The vampiress
had shrugged off the warning, convinced that she would never develop feelings
for the young man. But now those threats were in the front of her mind,
second to only the unknown force of the Master, Ripper.
Ripper was another danger Willow would eventually have to face. And not only
to protect herself, but also everybody else she had come into contact with
upon arriving in Sunnydale. Angel, Amy, Angel's friends, and even Spike and
Drucilla were all potential targets for Ripper's calculated coldness and
unpredictable evil.
"Lucy, I'm home!"
"Thanks for letting me know you were leaving, Spike. What would have
happened if the Slayer just happened along and staked you?" Willow asked,
raising her eyebrows.
"I would have eaten him, Mum. Nobody hurts my Spikey. Even Miss Edith gets
punished for hurting my Spikey, isn't that right?" Dru stood behind Spike,
looking up at the back of his head with eyes so full sweetness, Willow was
sure she was somehow contracting diabetes.
"That's right Dru, now why don't you ask Mum why she made you sleep in that
bloody cave all night last night?" Spike crossed his arms, hoping Dru hadn't
run out of complaints on their short walking trip from underground to the old
warehouse.
"It's alright Mummy, don't listen to Spikey. He's just mad because I got to
talk to the stars again, and he was stuck inside all night. I like the cave,
I do. It reminds me of our dungeon in Prague..." Dru trailed off and began
to hum. Willow recognized the tune, and started to hum along. She stopped
when she noticed Spike glaring at the insane vampiress.
"Okay Dru, it's time to go. Spike, would you like to walk, or do you want me
to drive you? I'm sure you must be completely worn out after last...your
walk to the cave," Willow quickly amended, not wanting to upset Dru with
innuendo that even a four year old could catch on to.
"Let's walk, Red. It's been a long time since I've seen your hair in the
light of the moon."
"Last night was the full moon. Didn't you see it then?"
"Is it that bloody important?"
"I just wanted to point that out to you. Are you sure Dru isn't contagious?"
"And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean, Red? I'm insane?"
Willow sighed and stepped past Spike out into the hall. "I don't want to
argue about this anymore. Come on Dru. Don't forget Miss Edith."
Dru giggled maniacally and skipped out of the apartment towards the door to
the stairwell. Spike rolled his eyes and followed, taking Drucilla's hand as
they made their way downstairs. Willow was close behind them, feelings of
unknown origin *Jealousy, perhaps? * surfacing in her emotions. She shook
them off and made sure all of the doors were locked behind her. Once the
three vampires were in her car, Willow stuck the key in the ignition, took a
deep breath, and started the engine.
Were they on their way to certain death? What was Willow going to tell Angel
about Spike? And why did Dru keep chewing on Miss Edith's hair?
She paced up and down the chilly hall until finally coming to a decision.
This strange, no, desperate need for honesty confused her, and she hated
being put out of sorts like that. What did she have to lose here? Spike was
simply a thorn in her side, easily discarded and easily forgotten.
No, that wasn't true. They'd been through too much together. Willow and
Spike, the terror of Europe for over a century. How could anybody forget a
relationship like that with any kind of ease? The two of them were connected
in such a deep way that loneliness would hurt more than the physical pain of
being denied the blood of your body.
Stop it! Her soul cried out, tearing her thoughts away from her childe and
thrusting them towards a salvation that could not be ignored. What in the
hell was she going to do about Angel?
Having halted her pacing, she shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her
duster and leaned up against a row of lockers.
Try as she did to convince herself that Spike was just a nuisance, she tried
even harder to convince herself that Angel was the same. She wanted to burn
the memory of his lips on hers and dump the ashes into a churning sea. She
wanted to tear away the feel of his hand upon her own and throw it to the
wolves. And she really wanted to stop making cheesy metaphors, but she
couldn't stop thinking about him! Stamping her foot in frustration, she
yanked her hands from her the warmth of her pockets and raked them through
her fiery hair.
"Willow? You coming in any time soon?" Amy peeked around the library door
and smiled gently at the agitated vampire.
"Yeah, I'll be right there. I just need to clear my head for a minute." The
corners of Willow's mouth turned up slightly, and the young watcher nodded.
"Sure thing. Whenever you're ready."
As soon as the door closed, she immediately dropped the psuedo-smile and back
to the scowl that had nearly become a permanent part of her face in the last
few hours. Beyond those doors lay her destiny. Or destinies. The idea that
she might have to choose between lust and love was terribly daunting. Who
was making her choose, though? Nobody! Not a damn thing was going to force
her into choosing sides.
With this idea firmly planted in her head, she leaned forward, straightened
her jacket, and pushed through the doors just in time to see Angel vaulting
across the table and putting a choke hold on Spike.
"Christ, I leave the room for five minutes, and the two of you can't be civil
enough not to try and kill each other?!" Willow shouted as she tried to pry
the stronger males apart. Her eyes were wild as she sought out some kind of
assistance, but realized the only person with enough strength to help was
Dru, and Dru was busy picking invisible bugs from Miss Edith's hair and
popping them in her mouth like popcorn. Cordelia was out of the picture, as
she was clinging to Amy like a drowning person to a life preserver. Xander,
however, appeared to be somewhat indisposed.
"Um, Xander, you want to lend me a hand here?" she asked, grunting as she was
slammed into the table with the force of two full grown male bodies.
"Who, me? Are you sure you want to risk my helping you? Because seriously,
I could do more harm than good in this situation. I mean, I'm not that
strong and Stake could bite me and..."
Ignoring Xander's whining, Willow focused inward, blocking out all of her
surroundings. She almost seemed to be moving outside of herself, but at the
same time, deep within. Pooling all of her strength into one dense mass, she
wrapped her arms around Angel's wriggling body and squeezed as hard as she
could.
One second, Angel was choking the unlife out of Spike, and the next, HE was
the one completely breathless. His entire body went numb, starting in his
abdomen and moving outward to his limbs and head, until finally, all he could
do was slump to the floor in a shapeless heap.
Willow quickly pulled away from Angel and turned to Spike just as he was
preparing to pounce on the Slayer's prone form. With a flash of white and
amber, Willow was meeting him head on, plowing into his upper body. Spike
cried out in pain as three of his ribs were cracked, and swung blindly at his
sire's head, trying to knock her away. Willow ducked his fumbling punches
and kneed him hard in the groin. With a small squeak, Spike fell to the
floor and landed with a loud thud.
Satisfied that she'd sedated them, Willow turned to the tiny cluster of
quaking humans hidden in the far corner of the library.
"It's okay," she said, slurring slightly because of her teeth. "I think I've
got the children under control now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Would all of you idiots please calm down?!" Marvin shouted, reveling in the
small taste of power being Ripper's Little Helper (as Jenny had so lovingly
dubbed him) afforded. Of course, this small moment of happiness was
shattered once he realized that none of the vampires surrounding the platform
on which he stood cared one bit about what he had to say. Ripper was the
only one they would take commands from. Ripper was their leader and master.
He was also 15 minutes late. Normally the tardiness would go unnoticed by
Marvin, but tonight seemed more important. Tonight Ripper had a gleam in his
eyes that nobody had ever seen. Even Jenny was frightened by him. And it
took a lot to frighten THAT woman.
Where was he? The hoard was getting even more restless, which seemed almost
an impossibility, considering they were already starting fights with one
another. Marvin sneered at two vampire in particular, who had thought it fun
to pick on him just a few days earlier, when he was a lackey too. But now
that he was somebody, revenge was beginning to smell extra bloody.
"Alright everybody, shut the hell up!" he screamed, feeling Ripper's eyes
bore into him from the mouth of the cave on the left hand side of the rock
platform. It seemed that the others sensed him as well, because a sudden
hush blanketed the crowd.
Ripper stepped out from the shadows and walked to his seat very slowly,
eyeing his gathered minions with a visible distaste. He was revolted by the
thought of sharing a lair with them all, let alone being in the same room
with them. *Such are the duties of a master, I supposed* he thought to
himself, allowing a cynical smirk to touch his lips before unleashing his icy
glare.
"I've brought you all here tonight to explain a few things about my plans for
the Slayer and the Hellmouth. You see, there's been a betrayal among us, and
we now must compensate for the loss, and exact our revenge. An outsider made
me believe that she could bring me to the Slayer and help me destroy him.
Instead, she chose to take his side and fight against us. I've been sending
spies out every night to follow this traitor." At this, he nodded at Marvin,
who moved the edge of the platform and cleared his throat.
"Y-yes, we have discovered where the traitor lives, and have also learned
that she is
living with two other vampires. They appear to be her childer, and pose no
threat to our operation if they do not agree to help the Slayer as well. We
will send a team out tonight to watch for her to return home, and then a
second team will raid her building. There are only three of them, and there
will be at least 20 of us. Capture is no problem."
"But I want her back unharmed!" Ripper interrupted, slamming his fist down on
the arm of his chair. "I don't care about the other two. Rend them limb
from limb and feast on their rotting flesh for all I care, but The Red
Mistress MUST NOT be delivered to me in the form of ash. Is that
understood!?"
Every vampire in the room, including Marvin, all nodded solemnly and looked
down at their feet.
"Good! Now, get out there and get something to eat. When you return, Marvin
will assemble you into your teams, and explain further where to go and what
to do. Dismissed!"
Several rowdy vampires in the back mock saluted Ripper before making their
way out of the caves and into the tunnels that would lead them to their
favorite all night buffet.
"Do you really think this will work?" Marvin asked Ripper after everyone had
gone.
"It bloody well better, Marvin, or it'll be your head." With one final
sneer, Ripper was gone, and Marvin was left standing alone, hands trembling
at his sides.
