I would like to thank Spikes Bint for taking the time to beta me.
Angel left the witch’s room. “Helping” them to bed also coincided with helping himself to their blood. Strange thing was that he had expected to get more of a buzz from their blood. A different kind of rush of power when he drank it down. It tasted very normal, mundane even. He almost laughed aloud at what a snob he was becoming. A week ago, he would have been swilling down pig’s blood.
He really didn’t have time to be pondering his tastes in blood or his former lack thereof. This is where his timing became even more crucial. He took out as many of the witches as he could. They were pretty much helpless as a side effect from the summoning spell he had cast. Adding their blood to his store was making him that much stronger.
He had already “helped” eight of the coven and two slayerettes that had been stupid enough to offer to help him. Some of these girls had been just too bold for their own good. They thought him harmless until they felt his fangs in their neck. The sight of that was usually enough to get the weakened witch up and running to the door. Her fear flooded the room with a delicious scent. He had denied himself for too long. This is what he was here for. This is why he still existed. The blood. The fear.
Then he found out that Buffy was getting all of the slayerettes rounded up so they could go and kill his pet. Just what he predicted she would do. This would leave him free reign with the remaining Coven, whatever Scoobies were left behind and his darlings from Angel Investigations. The final link to his old dreams and hopes. To kill them would finally make him free.
He imagined Buffy’s face as she returned and found everyone that she left behind was slaughtered. Oh, she would suffer. He would wait for nightfall and fade away. Maybe a few days later she would piece everything together, then she would come looking for him, bringing her lap dog Spike in tow, and he would be waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The cards went flying in the air. Dawn looked over to where Spike had been and saw only empty space. She heard a low growl coming from the other side of the bed. Spike had materialized across from her on the other side of Andrew’s bed.
Leaning over him he asked, “Are you sure of that, mate?”
Andrew tried to clear the fogginess from his brain. Mentally reviewing the events of the previous night, he reaffirmed it with a nod of his head. The room tilted wildly and he let go of Dawn’s wrist to gingerly feel the wound that should have been there. Ah... it was good to have witchy friends. His tongue felt thick and he desperately wanted that drink of water Dawn had been about to offer him.
Dawn saw the longing in his eyes and poured a big glass for him. Helping him to sit up a little, she tried to encourage him to say more. He gulped down swallow after swallow only stopping when he reached the bottom of the glass. Letting out a satisfied, “Ahhh...”
Andrew was stunned when Dawn grabbed him by the shoulder and snapped, “C’mon Andrew we need to know what you saw!”
Andrew winced. “All I remember was that I went to the other building to get a different view of the battlefield and I was looking for Spike.”
His gaze travelled over to the obviously pissed off vampire. Spike had slipped into game face and was almost snarling. Andrew took a deep breath before he continued with his account of events.
“I saw him and the others fighting back up against the wall...then I noticed something strange. Angel was off fighting the dragon. He took his sword and stabbed it. In its death throes it managed to throw him, and the dragon sent out a huge fireball that engulfed him. I thought that he was dead. I searched the surrounding area to see if anyone else friendly was around and that’s when I saw Rona. She must have been separated from Buffy’s group. She had seen Angel go down and was trying to see if she could help him. Several of the demons that had been spared from the dragon fire attacked her. Then... I... saw this thing attack her. The last thing that Rona did was to try and help someone that she thought was a friend and Angel drained her...”
Dawn had a horrified look on her face. The thought that Angel could have done that to anyone was chilling. He was still roaming about here.
She stuttered, “B-but... h-he...h-has a soul.”
Spike snorted. That simple statement, the catch phrase of all the Scoobies, had been stuffed down his throat for years now.
“Don’t think that matters now. Does it, pet? I’m pretty sure that we’re not dealin’ with Angelus here. No happy means all soulful Angel. It’s always a matter of choice pet. I researched up on his curse when I realized that I was in for the long haul at Wolfram & Hart.”
Dawn and Andrew looked at him strangely.
“What? I can’t open a book? Well I originally was looking up this Shanshu thing, but I got sidetracked by the files Wolfram & Hart had on Angel. We’re talkin’ reams here. It seems like this, curse doesn’t have anything in it that actually keeps him from feeding on anyone, except for the feeling of guilt that accompanies it. Guess Peaches doesn’t feel enough guilt to keep off the sauce.”
Dawn looked at him a speck of fear showing in her eyes. “Does that mean you can do it too?”
Spike raked his hand through his hair frustrated. “I went to get my soul. I didn’t have it forced on me, or tied to me by the thinnest of curses. It’s a part of me pet. Do y’know what that means? The difference between us is that my soul couldn’t go anywhere even if I wanted it too. I feel it all the time. I couldn’t feed off of a human now...”
Dawn looked at Spike, “What about what happened with Buffy. Y’know at the battle site?”
“That was nothing like feeding off of someone. She was helping me heal. She was never in any danger. I didn’t even ask her. Never mind.”
“I understand, Spike. I know that you would never do anything in the world to hurt her. I just needed to hear you say it.”
“Right then.” His reply was clipped.
He didn’t have time for all of these questions. Angel was out there doing what Angelus used to do best. He had to find him
and stop him. He absentmindedly reached for what he thought was a cross on the wall. Picking it up he noticed that the familiar pain from a cross was distinctly missing. “Bloody hell! Don’t these bleedin’ witches even have a cross lying around here?” He looked disgustedly at the ankh in his palm.
Dawn had the nerve to grin up at him. Grabbing the ankh from his hand, she took out the dagger that she had in her belt. “At least it is wooden...” She started making a stake out of it.
Andrew was rummaging in the bedside table. Finding a small vial of holy water, he held it up triumphantly. “Hey, look what I found...”
Dawn saw the look on Spike’s face. “Oh no! You aren’t going to do it. You can’t go out there looking for him. Just wait. Buffy should be back soon.”
“I can’t wait, bit. This is something that I have to do. What if he is out there killing...Xander? Oh, wait maybe I can do that...” He was shrugging on his duster completely making his last statement false.
“What if he comes to get us? You promised Buffy to take care of me!” said Dawn
That was a low blow. He knew that she would go there so he was ready for it.
“I know that you aren’t such a little bit anymore. I was the only one who ever believed in you. That you could take care of yourself, and that is how you are going to act. You have your stake and holy water. I pray to God that you won’t have to use it. I have to go and find him pet. I can’t let anyone else die. Just shut this door behind me and do not let anything in after me.” His hand came up to cradle her chin. “Be safe. Stay strong. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Andrew had watched the two of them for moments and whispered, “I wish I had my video camera...”
Then in a flash of black leather, Spike was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The red haze before his eyes just wouldn’t go away. He leaned against the door he’d just closed until he heard the sound of heavy furniture being dragged across the floor and placed in front of it. He sighed in relief. At least it looked like the bit was going to do the sensible thing for once.
Angel had really done it now. There was no coming back from this. No grey area where he could claim that it wasn’t he. That it was his alter ego, Angelus. Spike wanted to punch something so bad that it hurt. He should have known that Angel was up to something. Not one word had come out of his mouth when he saw Buffy being claimed. He had originally thought that Angel was going to have the good grace to bow out quietly and to let Buffy choose whom she wanted. Figures that the ponce wouldn’t let her go that easily. He had been planning ways for revenge ever since. When he found him, he was going to wish that he had died in the fireball.
He tested the air for Angel’s scent. He had been around here not that long ago. He checked in on the first room that he came too. The scent of old blood hung in the air mixed with the acrid smell of the black blood the witches had been chucking for the last three hours. He focused on the sound of heartbeats...actually the lack of them. Three doors down he opened the door and wasn’t truly surprised at what he saw. A crumpled form of a slayer lying at the foot of the bed and one of the witches with her throat torn out, sprawled on the floor face down a few feet from the door. It was a bad sign that Angel hadn’t even taken the time to disguise his actions. It meant that he was his usual arrogant self or that he was kicking his plan into overdrive.
Five rooms later Spike had a sick feeling in his stomach. The bastard had drained every one of them and most of them brutally. He had to find him soon. Fear for the bit flooded him. In this last room, the scent had been stronger. Either Angel had lingered there over his kill or it had been recent. Four more rooms later, the scent was overpowering, where He found him, fang deep in Gunn’s throat.
tbc
I would like to thank Spikes Bint for beta-ing me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“We are so going and that’s final!”
Dawn leaned into the heavy armoire that she had shimmied into place only fifteen minutes ago. Moving this thing was proving to be an Olympian struggle. Andrew was in a snit and refused to even look at her. Taking a deep breath Dawn reminded herself how concerned she had been when she had seen him seriously hurt after the battle. Her feelings reigned in; once again, she tried another tactic to gain his help.
“Andrew I was wondering if you would remind me of Angelus’ habits? With your Watcher training you would be much better equipped to deal with the situation that we find ourselves in.” This wasn’t her most brilliant of schemes, but subtlety was lost on Andrew. She had to get right to the chase. Giles needed to know what was going on.
Andrew ignored her last question, “We can’t go out there. We should stay here until Spike rescues us. He gets really mean if you don’t do what he says...”
“Andrew I have had it! We need to tell Giles!”
“There’s no reason to yell. Why don’t you use your two-way?”
Dawn was torn between slapping herself on the forehead for missing such an obvious solution to their problem, and hugging Andrew. Settling for the latter of the two, she bounded across the room and gave Andrew the biggest hug of his life. Settling back on the bed, she depressed the button.
“Willow? Willow? Are you there?” Dawn remembered to let go of the button this time.
A couple of seconds went by and she was about to try again when Willow beeped back. “Dawnie? Is that you? Is everything okay?”
“We have a problem... Angel is going all Angelus. Spike left us in Andrew’s sick room and took off after him I think. You guys better go and help him.”
“What are you talking about, Dawnie? Angel was acting fine...”
“That’s just what I thought too. Andrew saw him attack Rona and drain her. You have to believe me...”The two-way was yanked out of Dawn’s grasp.
“Oh, magical mistress, can you not see his aura? The blight upon his soul must be vast. To have partaken in such a foul deed should have left some visible mark for one such as you.”
Dawn yanked the two-way out of Andrew’s hand giving him a look that promised much pain if he tried that again.
Willow thought hard trying to remember if she had seen anything amiss. She had been too wrapped up in dealing with the influx of power and her growing, “whatever it was” with Giles. “I was uhh... kinda busy during the battle. Afterwards I helped the wounded so I never really paid much attention to Angel.” The reality of the situation sunk in. “I can’t believe that this is happening again. We barely escaped alive the last time that Angelus made an appearance. You guys need to stay put. Giles and I will go find Spike. He shouldn’t confront him alone.”
“Spike doesn’t think that we are dealing with Angelus but Angel who is capable of anything... Be careful.”
They were interrupted by Buffy, “What the hell is going on there? Somebody better go find Spike! Now!”
She had been on her way back to the Coven to get cleaned up. Not wanting to be away from Spike after just reuniting with him she had asked the girls if they minded if she cut out early. Vi had laughed at the eager expression on her face and told her to go on back. It had been decided that the demon had to be burned to cleanse it from the land. Giles had hoped that by burning, the remains the Coven’s strange sickness that had come on with the beast’s appearance would disappear with its corporeal form.
Halfway back she had heard the conversation between Dawn and Willow. The thought that Angel would do this to her again was heart wrenching, she never even noticed a change in him. He still had acted the same. Angelus never had the reticence to forego a little mental torture with his evil plans. He always had to put a few digs in there to make you doubt yourself. Therefore, this had to be Angel.
Angel, the one who swore that he loved her and that HE would never do anything to hurt her. He HAD hurt her before, but he had always maintained that it had been Angelus behind the wheel and that he had nothing to do with his actions. She had always suspected that a good part of him was intertwined with his demon. His soul had never left any mark upon his demon. His human personality hadn’t been enough to change it, even a little, for the better.
Unlike unsouled Spike who acted out of the kindness of his heart on occasion. Spike’s demon had some form of compassion for those that he cared about. A sometimes skewed compassion, but he had feelings and interests other than inflicting as much torture as possible.
It hurt her to think that she had brought Angel back into everyone’s lives yet again and that he had killed yet again. Rona didn’t deserve to die that way. He was supposed to be a friend, dammit. Spike was out there trying to find Angel. She hoped against hope that he wouldn’t be able to track him. Two master vampires in one building. Sun out, not good odds for Angel escaping him. She poured all of her energy toward getting back to the Coven as fast as she could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike stood in the doorway for a second taking in the minute details. The look of fear on Gunn’s face was a chilling reminder of all of the times that Spike had seen the same look upon Angelus’ victims. The realization of what Angel had done to him was showing through the look in his eyes. Listening to his steady and strong heartbeat meant that Angel had probably just sprung upon him. Debating how to get Angel to release Gunn without killing him was first and foremost in Spike’s mind.
Angel seeing the vampire that he hated more than anything else took advantage of Spike’s inaction. Tightening his grip on Gunn’s neck, he grazed the aorta puncturing it enough to make the wound fatal. He made sure that he didn’t tear it open enough to make the death clean. Gunn would watch as the blood sprayed out all over the room as he desperately tried to stem the bleeding. He let out an evil chuckle as he dropped Gunn from his embrace. Eyes narrowed and still in game face, he leapt at Spike.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gunn had seen Angel come into the room out of the corner of his eye, but he had thought that he had come in here to talk. Possibly about Spike and Buffy and he had tried to pull it together so he could try to cheer him up. Seeing Fred again, the real Fred, had thrown him for a loop.
As he was turning around, he felt Angel’s hand come up in a vice like grip around his upper arm, and pulling him into an embrace. There was something seriously wrong here. Angel wasn’t a huggy kinda guy and he was pulling him backwards. He reached with his free hand for the stake that he kept in his belt. Angel let him grab it and then reached over and latched onto his wrist. Holding the stake straight out in front of Gunn, he taunted him with it.
“What do you think you’re doing with this Charlie-boy?” He leaned in close to his neck and let each word come out as a cool caress.
Gunn snapped back his head in an attempt to head butt him. Angel had been expecting that and had moved out of the way.
“Don’t bother with trying to hurt me. It will only make this harder on you. I am so much stronger than you now. I could take this wrist in my hand and crush it into little shards.”
Angel started to apply pressure to the wrist in increments and Gunn, the nerves in his hand forced him to drop the stake. The loud clatter of the stake and Gunn’s harsh breathing was the only sound in the room.
Satisfied with that response Angel decided to up the ante. Focusing on the thrumming vein in his neck he gently scraped his fangs back and forth. Gunn instinctively flinched and renewed his struggles. That only brought more laughter from Angel.
“Hmmm... What have I found here? A nice juicy vein? I think that I need to personally investigate this one, don’t you Charles?”
“You asshole! Why the hell are you doing this?”
“Why shouldn’t I be doing this is the question you should be asking yourself. You had it much more together when you were living on the streets. You knew me then. Knew what I was, what I am. I am a vampire and no flowery phrases and tidy little souls are going to change that. You are my prey. On the other hand, maybe I’ll turn you. You’d like that wouldn’t you?”
“God damn you Angel. I am going to kill you!” It was his worst nightmare come to life. That he would be turned was a constant fear since what had happened to Alonna. He struggled again thrashing back and forth.
Angel slowly dipped his fangs in just getting them bloodied. He was going to make this last. He licked the wound shut so he could do it again. Savouring the bright burst of blood against his tongue and the sweet agony, that he was inflicting on his prey…that’s all that he was to him now. He sunk his fangs in deeper and took a few swallows of blood. It always was better when he really knew his victim. He sighed in pleasure against Gunn’s neck.
Now firmly entrenched in Angel’s embrace, Gunn felt impotent rage in him build up. “Buffy is going to kill you for this. She did it once before! Cordelia told me all about it when you took off to Tibet. You couldn’t defeat her before... What makes you sure that you can beat her when Spike will be by her side?”
The effect of those words was terrifying to see. Angel immediately sunk his fangs in deep and started to draw out blood at a feverish pace. The door opened with a bang and he looked up to see his nemesis in the doorway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel was on top of Spike before he knew it snarling and trying to sink his fang into his neck. Spike’s demon came to the fore and he gave back as much as he could. Angel was incredibly strong. He must have been eating his weetabix along with his Slayer.
Spike turned his head to check on Gunn’s condition. He could hear the rapid beating of his heart and that meant that panic had set in. Gunn turned toward them for a second and tiny droplets of blood showered them before Gunn had managed to wrestle the coverlet off the bed and clamp it on his throat.
Spike knew it looked grim but he had to try to help him. Hoping that he would catch Angel off guard he unleashed all of the power that he had and it came blazing through him. His eyes glowed eerily and he snapped his head back before Angel’s startled eyes. The thrall had him.
Gunn had been fumbling on the floor for something and came up behind Angel’s now motionless form, but before he could bury the stake in his back, a wave of darkness came over him. He fell over on his side the blanket that he had been clutching to his throat forgotten.
Spike panicked. Putting his all into it, “Angel get your bloody ass out of this room and wait for me in the library. We’ll finish the fight in there.”
Angel struggled against the thrall for a second and then decided that it really didn’t matter. He could easily kill him in there as in here. Spike’s strength was no match to his anymore. In addition, the waiting always made it that much more special. He rolled off him and smiled.
“You always were a bookworm huh, William? See you there...” The door shut after him.
Spike knew that he only had seconds. He flipped Gunn over and brought his wound up to his lips. Gently licking it closed he prayed that he wasn’t too late. Gunn’s heartbeat was faint, but steady. He kicked away the ruined coverlet and placed Charles on the bed covering him up with whatever blankets he could find. Hopefully that would help him through some of the shock that his body was going through. It would have to do.
He couldn’t let Angel go free. Taking one last glance, he picked up the fallen stake and headed to the library.
I have to thank Spikes Bint for once again beta-ing me. She’s the best.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The surface of the table was scattered with opened tomes and Giles was peering down at one, looking in vain for some sort of prophesy regarding Angel and the sudden resurgence of his evil alter ego. No matter how many times Willow had tried to tell him that Spike knew that it was Angel not Angelus he refused believe it. It seemed that Giles wanted Angel to be Angelus again.
She sighed, “Giles I need your help. We don’t have much time left. Angel is on the loose out there and we have to try to seal as many of the Coven’s rooms from him. I checked up on Margaret and saw that she is doing slightly better but there are all so weak. Giles? Are you listening to me?”
Giles had his face close to a book, scanning rapidly through paragraph after paragraph his finger lightly touching the tome. “Hmmm?... Oh yes, quite right.”
Willow felt her anger rise. That had been close to a dismissive ‘yes, dear’ comment. “Hey! I’m big with the books too Giles but, we have to do something. There are people that need us!”
Giles, glanced up only for a brief moment, but in that moment, she read the fear in his eyes. Evil Angel was back and he had shattered his life once before. The thought that it could happen again terrified him.
She instantly regretted her words and closed the space in between them swiftly. Putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder, she felt the connection spring up between them once again. Feeling the need to touch him she shyly leaned into his chest and entwined her arms around his neck. Giles looked at her in surprise and then crushed her to him his arms wrapped tight around her. Tilting her head back, he brushed his lips against hers so lightly, asking permission to continue.
Her eyes fluttered shut and she revelled in the sensations coursing through her. The slightest brush of his lips had her trembling. Giles waited, hoping that he hadn’t made a mistake. When Willow tentatively opened her mouth against his it was as if the world had exploded. The loud groan that rang through the room was hers. Shocked at her overwhelming response she stepped back and put a trembling hand to her mouth. Giles ran his hand soothingly down her arm as he tried to control himself from pulling her back into his arms. A huge smile lit up her face and Giles ended up chuckling too.
“Well that was unexpected?”
She nodded her head and whispered, “But nice. Extremely nice.”
Giles caught her softly spoken words and growled half hopeful, “Unless you want to continue where we left off, I suggest that we gather the ingredients for the warding spell and get on with it.”
Willow noticed that his hands were shaking ever so slightly. The realization that she had affected him, made her smile grow. Turning her thoughts to the task in front of her, she motioned to the stuff that she wanted Giles to go through. She heard him sigh and almost laughed at the resigned look on his face.
She was glad that he was here with her. Having gone through one episode with Angelus was enough. Even now with her power to help her through it, this time she felt a thrill of fear snake through her when she thought of Angel and evil together.
What Giles was feeling had to be a thousand times worse. The physical pain that Angelus had put him through was horrible. The bruises and cuts had taken months to heal completely. It was the mental torment that he had been put through that had left a lasting mark.
After Jenny’s death, it had been a very rough time for them all. Willow had loved her and they had become very close friends. Buffy had felt responsible. Giles, well, he had gone through each day afterwards but he had seemed empty. Her heart ached for him knowing how he had felt when he lost Jenny. Tara wasn’t such a distant memory.
She shook off her thoughts and focused on her task at hand. She walked over to the cupboards where the coven kept some of their extra supplies. She snatched up some charcoal for the brazier, holy water, some amber, obsidian, sardonyx and a perfect blood red ruby. Trying to balance all of the supplies, she didn’t notice the library door open and close. Giles was placing the items he had gathered in a small box and turned to help her.
Willow saw the look on his face and froze. All the blood had drained from his countenance and he leaned heavily on the table next to him. The feeling of ultimate terror overcame her. She always wondered why, in all of the movies she had seen, that the victim never ran or did anything to save herself.
She finally had the answer. Her mouth opened, but no sound would come out. A small squeak was all that she managed. She could feel his presence behind her; though he had made no more to even touch her. The stones that she had grabbed fell out of her hand and rattled as they hit the floor. The sound startled her from the fear-induced inaction. She grasped the holy water vial and flipped off the stopper in the confusion of the moment. She felt strong hand caress her cheek.
Giles was trying unobtrusively to locate anything he could use as a weapon on the tabletop. He couldn’t begin working any spell. One word and Angel would snap her neck like a twig. He stopped moving. Angel would love the fact that he was causing as much pain as possible and would hopefully draw this out. Each second that passed was another chance for Willow’s survival and he wasn’t going to jeopardize it for anything.
Angel smiled coldly at Giles. Willow was the only one he had to worry about and one word from her and she would be history. Now that the Coven’s magic had been expended from Giles at the battle site he wanted to toy with him a little. Giles, the Watcher, always lording it over everyone else. Never admitting to his own mistakes and blood that was on his hands was no less red than the blood singing through his veins.
Slowly leaning into Willow’s small frame, he draped an arm around her chest hovering over her vulnerable neck. “What’s the matter guys... Aren’t you glad to see me?”
He had felt the tension in the air between the two of them since he’d snuck in and they practically reeked of each other. This was going to be sweeter than doing Gunn. He knew that he didn’t have much time, but he figured that Spike would be trying to help out Gunn. Out of the people that had survived Wolfram & Hart, Gunn was the closest to Spike. They had hung out at some local dive after work and surprisingly for Gunn he had no problem getting along with that vampire.
‘Yeah, Spikey-boy won’t be coming to help them anytime soon. Time for play...’
“What do you think you are doing Angel?” She tried to play dumb hoping that he would play along.
“What does it look like I am doing Willow? Hey, Giles, I know that you like to watch so I thought that you might want to see what happens when a vampire tastes a witch.”
His head dipped low and he ran his tongue along the throbbing vein in her neck. He could smell the fear coming off her and there was the faint scent of strawberries. “Ummm... Yum!”
Eyes locked on Giles, he noted the pained reaction that he tried to keep hidden. The subtle clenching of his fists and the muscle ticking at his jaw was the only give away. He had to hand it to the old Watcher’s Council they really had drilled control into this one.
Dredging up old memories that he had locked away in shame, Angel went for the figurative jugular, “You know what I am thinking? Roses are out of season this time of year I might have some trouble getting them from the garden. We might just have to make do with a nice chilled bottle of Champagne. I can tell that Willow is going to look so good all snuggled up in your bed Rupert... What do you think?”
His eyes became golden and his face shifted to reveal his true nature. Grasping a fistful of her hair he yanked her head to the side and lowered his head to sink his fangs in.
That Angel had the nerve to mention what he had done to Jenny was almost too much for him. Alluding to what he had in store for Willow made him sick to his stomach with fear. Giles hand came up in supplication, the black feeling of terror churning through him. A horror laced, “No...” slipped past Giles lips before he could stop it.
Angel hesitated soaking in the agonizing fear that was coming from Giles. There wasn’t anything sweeter than that. The pain and sheer terror before the kill was what he lived for. Having someone that cared for the prey only heightened the overall sensation bringing undiluted ecstasy.
Willow had waited until the last moment to use the holy water, knowing that if she missed him then she would have no other weapon at her ready disposal. Her head was pulled painfully to the side so she figured that she would have a good chance to hit him if she tossed the contents straight back. Hoping for the best she flung it over her shoulder.
Angel felt the red-hot liquid sear his flesh. He should have known that the little bitch would try something like that. The smell and the feel of his flesh bubbling and peeling brought back the terrifying memory of being consumed by the dragon fire and his hold on her faltered for a second. He could feel her frantically struggling to free herself and almost laughed in spite of the pain.
The laughter died in his throat when she was pulled out of his grasp. Looking out of his good eye, he saw Spike standing in front of him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Why do you always have to come and ruin my good time? Wasn’t it enough that you messed up things with Gunn?” Angel gave an aggravated growl and tried to shrug off Spike’s grasp.
His grip was firm though and he managed to hang on his other arm, roughly shoving Willow towards Giles. He would have to try to take him down soon since Angel’s strength now outstripped his. The trick that he had pulled in Gunn’s room had taken a lot out of him. He heard the witch and the warlock begin to chant something. Trying to keep Angel occupied he threw a jab and followed it up with an uppercut. He felt his blows connect, but they didn’t seem to leave that much damage. Needing to distance himself from Angel, he executed a perfect snap kick and gained a little breathing room.
Willow and Giles had brought up a small warding shield and continued to cast an intricate spell. Giles held her desperately and the power that flowed through them was enormous. It appeared that his emotions intensified his spell casting and almost losing her had put him close to the edge. His strong voice flowed over her and she felt her power entwine with his without having to say a single word.
“Crescere animatis arboris anquirere viscerum solitarum.”
The wooden objects in the room started to glow. The floorboards began to shift and grow before their eyes. Angel felt a moment of concern, pulled a dagger from his boot, and threw it with all of his might at the two figures huddled together. It struck the hastily constructed ward and with a sigh of relief, Willow saw that it held. The dagger fell to the ground uselessly.
The floorboards underneath him buckled suddenly and heaved themselves over his boots holding him in place. Spike tried to scramble back as Angel reached down and tore off a chunk of the offending wood. More wood quickly grew up and over the area that he had cleared. Staring at it with disbelief he muttered a curse and launched the piece he held, it at his target. Had Spike had been at full strength he would have easily avoided the missile. At such a close range and with more than half of his strength leeched from him he only was able to deflect it at the very last second. It punched a hole through his right lung and left a gaping hole where it went through. Spike’s agonizing scream was deafening. He fell to the floor.
Willow made a move to help him and was dragged back by Giles right before she would have broke through what meagre protection they now possessed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy burst through the door at a dead run. Pausing for a moment to catch her breath, she figured she was safe enough with the dying rays of the evening sunset on her back. The scene that she stumbled into startled her. Clothes were strewn all around the kitchen floor. She looked away hurriedly when she caught the embarrassed eyes of Wes and the piercing blue ones of Illyria. She managed to stutter out an apology. Wes was already shrugging back into his shirt and his pants had never quite made it completely off. A discreet zip and he was presentable.
His heart squeezed in pain when he saw that Illyria was back in full control, standing there in front of them without an embarrassed bone in her body. Not that she had anything to be embarrassed about. He sighed and that brought Illyria’s attention on him. Reaching up stiltedly she caressed his cheek.
“Do not fear Wesley, your spark is still here I will keep it safe.”
Wesley felt his eyes water and he held on to that thought. Losing her again was so hard, but today had been a gift and had brought him back the ability to hope.
Illyria brushed her hand across his cheek once more and then turned to Buffy. “Slayer. Why do you interrupt us?”
Buffy had no idea what was going on here and was very uncomfortable but the room was so small that the pair blocked any avenue of escape.
“I am so sorry. I had no idea! The door was open...” cutting off her apology she focused on what had brought her back to the Coven so swiftly. “Angel has gone bad!”
Wes’s head snapped up at that, “You mean Angelus has made an appearance?”
“I don’t think that he is Angelus but he is killing again. He killed Rona during the battle. Andrew saw him do it.”
“There must be some mistake!”
“I don’t think so Wes. He is acting like Angelus though and we need to find him and stop him quick.”
“Who is this Angelus?” Illyria looked at Buffy intently, her armour having miraculously reappeared upon her body.
Wesley sighed. “Angelus is... well, Angel. An evil Angel. He must be stopped at all costs.”
“I see.” Illyria answered but by the far off look in her eyes, he wondered if she was even talking to him at all.
Now that they were fully clothed, Buffy felt some of the embarrassment leave her. They didn’t have time for this. She needed to find Spike and make sure that Dawn was still fine. She didn’t dare use her two-way again in case Angel would overhear and know that they were on to him. She looked at Wes and saw the lethal look on his face. She briefly wondered what had happened to him since he had left Sunnydale to make such a profound difference in him. Gone was the meek and sheltered Watcher, and in his place, a lethal combination of intelligence and training. She was glad that he was on her side and wherever he went, the Blue thingy was sure to follow. It made her less apprehensive that she had back up.
The thought of facing Angel when he was like this, made her blood run cold. It had hurt so much when she had sent him to hell before. She knew with stunning clarity that it was going to hurt like hell again but this time there would be no delay in justice for him. He had crossed the line and he was going to see the Slayer side of her up close and personal.
She felt something close to panic set whenever she thought about Spike being in there hunting down Angel. Taking a calming
breath she reminded herself that Spike had lived through centuries with Angelus. He would take care of himself... If Angel had touched one hair on Spike’s head, he was going to pay in blood. Buckets of it. She sent Wesley an ‘Are you ready yet?’ look of annoyance. He simply nodded his head and fell into line after her with Illyria guarding the rear.
They went swiftly down the hall with Illyria moving ghostlike behind them. Wesley checked in one of the rooms and nodded his head silently and the grim look on his face said it all. It was true. Angel was killing again. Buffy felt the last shred of hope die within her, he was going to dust this time. No coming back from a Hell dimension. No mystical death for him!
She took the time to stop outside of Andrew’s sick room, tapping softly on the door knowing that if Angel were anywhere nearby he would have already heard them coming. The hallway was eerily quiet and she hated to break the silence. She had to make sure that Dawn and Andrew were okay so she knocked twice again. She heard a muffled noise inside and then a loud yelp.
“You bit me?”
“You are lucky I didn’t take a finger off! Do you think that Evil Angel is going to be knocking on the door and asking to be let in?”
Buffy felt relief at hearing her sister’s annoyed tones. Andrew had a way of getting under Dawn’s skin.
“You guys are okay, right?”
“Yeah, we’re okay. Did you guys take care of him yet? Hey... Is Spike with you? He left a half hour ago...”
Buffy felt sick, Spike would have definitely found him in that time. Praying that he was okay, she told Dawn and Andrew to stay put and to keep as quiet as possible. Buffy told Dawn that in fifteen minutes, if she hadn’t come back for them, she had to use the two-way and try to get ahold of the other slayers. The girls would be trickling back in soon and Buffy had to warn them as best as she could.
She took off down the hallway not attempting to disguise where she was. Hoping that she could draw Angel out from wherever he was. Wesley and Illyria were right behind her. Wesley checked each room as they passed hoping that they would catch Angel inside of one of the small rooms. It would give him less room to work with in which to escape.
Wesley felt sick when he saw what had been done to the girls. Some of them had such a look of horror frozen upon their face. All of the past months clicked finally in his mind. He had thought that Angel was really trying to fight evil from the inside at Wolfram and Hart. How could he have been so naive? Angel’s soul had been effectively gone ever since he had signed the damn contract to work at Wolfram & Hart.
He had put pen to paper in order to get Connor the life that he wanted him to have. The rest of Angel Investigations had been hired on at Wolfram & Hart as outside contractors with the option to sign on if they worked out. Wesley felt guilt assail him again for failing to keep Connor safe. Angel’s soul truly belonged to evil now and he was partly to blame. He stared at the horrified look on the dead witch’s face committing it to memory. Another failure in a long string of them...
Illyria felt the spark wake within her and listened to it scream. The foolish spark needed to be protected. Illyria thought about how the shell had felt when within Wesley’s arms. She had felt close to her Godhood for one blinding second when the spark and Wesley had mated. She wanted to explore that again, so she must protect her Wesley an the spark. Angel must be taken care of.
Buffy stood outside of the Library door cold dread rolling through her stomach. She heard the sounds of fighting within and Giles’s strong voice calling out in Latin. She hoped to God that they were alright. She threw open the door, shocked at what she saw...
~~~~~~~~~~
The room was swathed in greenery, not the deck the halls type of greenery, but the living, growing type. Tree branches and limbs had sprung up from the tables and chairs and even the floorboards had flourished. Buffy’s eyes scanned the room, seeing Giles and Willow apparently unharmed and in each other’s arms with a glow gently surrounding them brought a measure of relief. She tried to peer through the veritable forest surrounding her. The limbs that she brushed up against bended willingly to let her pass and she finally found the animal that she had been hunting.
Angel struggled against the wooden bonds. Wood was weak he should have had no problem shattering himself free. The limbs that held him had adapted rapidly and another limb wrapping itself tightly around him met each movement he made to get free. Desperate he had torn at the slender bonds managing to free one of his arms. The magical growth had responded fiercely sending shoot after shoot into his flesh, digging in deeply where each limb touched his body. Still reeling from the unending pain of the wood entering his flesh, Angel finally screamed out in agony. He could feel the slow forced entry all along the length of his body.
Screaming out curse words at Giles and promising him more torment, Angel realized that he had better play along right now before Giles’ elemental began torturing him on a deeper stake-like level. Feeling the resistance drain, the limbs slowly stopped their growth and stayed anchored within Angel’s flesh.
She moved closer to Angel making sure that he had no way of escape. Two feet in front of him, she stumbled over Spike’s prone form. A soft moan passed his lips, alerting her of the severity of his injuries.
Immediately dropping into a crouch she snapped, “Illyria, watch him. Make sure that he doesn’t try anything.”
Illyria stood motionless in front of Angel trying to discover what was different in the half-breed that made the others fear him so. He was a warrior but so many of the others were too. The spark was screaming again. Why must it always scream? She focused on her inner spark letting it have its say.
Leaning down, Buffy moved away the vegetation that had disguised him. Tearing clumps of greenery away from Spike’s form, she saw the gaping hole where Angel had injured him. Feeling something akin to hysteria rise within her, she forced back the panic and focused on his face.
‘He’s not dust. It’s okay. He can heal from this. Oh God, he’s so still. There’s so much blood.’ She looked in horror as she raised her hand away from his chest and saw that it was coated in blood.
‘I just got him back... No. This is not happening! He’s going to be fine.’ She leaned closer to him. It always freaked her out whenever he was still like this. His normal vibrancy made her forget sometimes that he was one of the undead. For him this utter stillness was unnatural.
His eyes flickered open. He saw Buffy hovering over him, her eyes misted over and a look of pure terror in them that he had never wanted to see there again. He reached up and gently stroked her face. The movement caused his body to feel an agonizing, searing pain from the torn muscles of his chest. Buffy grasped his hand and laid it on his chest, tears falling unheeded down her face.
“You’re going to be fine! I love you,” she whispered fiercely. The severity of his wound making her realize that she still hadn’t said it to him enough. A lump forming in her throat she pulled herself up into a semi-crouch. Anger evident in the rigid stance of her body. She meant to do harm. Lots of it.
Angel watched the pained looked on Buffy’s face and relished it. Slowly flexing his bonds, he tried to loosen them as gently as he could. He groaned as the wood bit deeper into his flesh in some places touching the bone. He felt the pain as if it belonged to another person as he calculated his best chances at survival. He put on his best puppy dog face and hoped that he could stir up a glimmer of compassion from the enraged slayer.
~~~~~~~~~~
Wesley opened the door to the last bedroom in the hall and found Gunn lying motionless in the bed. Fearing the worst he crept to the side of the bed, and with a shaking hand he put two fingers on the side of his neck. He felt a faint pulse and sagged against the bed in relief. They hadn’t had the best of relationships but he truly didn’t want anything bad to befall him. They had been good friends at one point and he was certainly a better friend than the one out there killing whatever he came across. His anger at Angel surged to the fore as he positioned himself on the far side of the bed with the door in plain view, just in case Angel tried to come back and finish what he had started.
Gunn deserved better than this. They had all followed him so blindly, seeing what they had wanted to believe shining through in the idealized image of their leader. The faint misgiving grew and multiplied over the years that he had spent working closely with Angel. It had all gone away in those months in Wolfram and Hart and they had once again fallen in line
after him. Never once had they questioned his motives or actions until he had smashed the illusion that Angel had decided for them. Invading their memories and changing their perceptions. Part of him wished that he could forget those terrible months that he had been left on his own but; another larger part of him wanted and needed to know how the blind choices he made had destroyed a baby’s life and what had been left of the man within the vampire.
Gunn’s eyes fluttered open and darted around the room to make sure that he wasn’t going to be attacked again. He settled his eyes upon Wesley and felt a sense of calm envelope him. Wesley would have done the right thing if he had been turned. The mere fact that he was sitting sentinel over him brought a slight grin to his face.
Wesley saw that Gunn was awake and marvelled that at a time like this he was smiling. Feeling an answering smile upon his lips, he realized that if he didn’t start laughing he was going to cry. A strange strangled laugh escaped him and Gunn looked up in alarm.
“I thought you were dead!” another bark of laughter.
“I thought I was turned...” a small chuckle escaped him.
Their eyes locked. “That fucking bastard.”
Wesley reached for his hand and Gunn held on tight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willow felt Giles begin to falter. The immense mental effort he was putting forth to control the elemental was extraordinary. She hadn’t thought that Giles was capable of this level of control. She leaned in closer to him and funnelled more of her energy into his spell casting. She knew how draining these transformography spells were and he had called upon an elemental to reinforce the strength of his attack. Without the fury of the elemental, Angel would have long ago torn apart the fragile wooden bonds.
The fact that he had taken her unawares, once again, made her sick to her stomach. The attack from so many years ago in the high school still sometimes woke her up at night. She had mistakenly thought that this time, with her powers, she would be more of a match for him and ended up a means to hurt Giles. She sent another wave of energy towards Giles and hoped that Buffy would figure out what to do with Angel soon.
Giles felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead. The steady influx of energy that Willow had been sending him was most welcome. He was starting to feel the burn. If Angel guessed the strain that he was under trying to hold him, he would renew his attack upon the bonds.
He prayed that Buffy would be sensible about what she had to do. It was Angel though and her sensibilities usually went out the window when he was involved. The fact that he was killing again had to make an impression on her. Plus the fact that Spike was laying in a heap on the ground cleared things up for her a bit.
Giles focused on controlling the elemental who was becoming enraged that it was being held back from destroying everything in the room. Angel had blessedly stopped struggling against his bonds. It gave him a moments rest from restraining him as well.
Thinking of Willow trapped by the wanker made him send a tendril of new growth into Angel’s arms and legs. Hearing him scream was music to Ripper’s ears.
Buffy stood before him her body trembling from the force of her anger. Bits and pieces of her past came back to her making this moment all the more painful. She knew what her inaction in the past had caused Giles and she had seen enough of his victims here to make this a reality. The blood on his hands was not something that she could overlook and push out of her mind as a product of him not having a soul. He was doing these things and some part of her had known that without a soul Angel had let himself have free reign to the impulses and desires that he had always felt coursing through him. She gripped
the stake and positioned it perfectly. Angel was going to die but she needed to know...
“Why?” All the heartache and loss was in that one question.
A grim smile crept over Angel’s face, seeing her standing there in front of him so smug and self-righteous made him want to tell her the truth. Nothing hurt quite as much as the truth did. The words came tumbling out in a heated rush gaining momentum and getting louder with every word uttered.
“What do I have left to fight for? I have nothing. It means nothing to me anymore. Why try to fight my nature? I can’t be saved. The things I did, the lives I destroyed, and that is all that’s ever going to count. It’s what I am. I pretended that it wasn’t but it was just a lie. To be a champion of good... Y’know, I am a champion but it's really just for myself. You wanted me to toe the line. Kept dangling yourself in front of me as a reward if only I kept fighting the good fight. What do I get for all of the years I have been off doing your bidding?
Angel’s cold facade broke and they all could see the glitter of hatred in his eyes. His mouth twisted bitterly as he continued, “You, getting fucking claimed by my childe. The sorriest excuse of a vampire...my real son is stolen from me and when I finally get a measure of peace for him, it is destroyed by the memories I tried to keep from him. That was done by my best friend, Wesley, who knows what the right thing to do is in every situation...” He struggled against the bonds welcoming the pain that came with that motion.
“You tell me Buffy, what is there left for me? I have no soul anymore I signed it away to get the wasted memories for my son. There is no shanshu either I signed that away also. All in the fight against evil. It was in the middle of my last grand fight that I realized that I was still doing this for you. My last grand gesture since I expected to go down fighting. Well I didn’t go down and I came out of it with nothing. I drained Rona before I even knew what I had done. I was burned by dragon fire and instinctually I killed her. All of that repenting and do gooding gone in a single action. When it comes down to it, I am a killer. I can’t change my nature and frankly why try? Do what you want Buffy, I am done...”
Angel gauged the reaction to his speech and knew that he had touched a nerve. It was his only hope that she would come at him blindly, rage leading the way. It would make her reckless and it would leave opportunities open for him. Giles continuous Latin was driving him insane. He struggled against the bonds testing them for any weakness. The bonds just tightened in response drawing a soft moan out of him before he could stop it.
Buffy couldn’t believe he actually had the nerve to try to blame what had happened on her. Did he actually believe that crap? He was never going to accept any sort of responsibility for his actions.
Her words were low and meant for his ears only. Knowing that Spike would be able to hear everything that was said, “Angel there was a time that I thought that the very ground that you walked on was blessed. That you could do no wrong, and that you truly were the knight in shining armor that all girls dream about. That was so long ago, I woke up and saw you, as you really are, years ago, but clung to the false image of you. Afraid to pull you down from your pedestal.”
She took a deep breath to steady herself and started back in, “I was given real love before and I almost lost it. You know when you came to me with the amulet I honestly thought for a moment how nice it was to be around you again. You were comfortable and I cared for you but it was different. I told you that night that Spike was in my heart and now you act all surprised that I am with him? As I went home, I realized that I had chosen him and that it had been goodbye for you that night. I love him and I almost lost him because of you. There is nothing that you can do or say that is going to change my mind about him.”
“All of your posing and posturing, your noble actions and self denial it all was an act to hide a selfish little soul. You can never measure up to anything that Spike was or is yet to become.”
Her voice shook and broke as she forced out the words that had been clambering in her head, “You killed innocents and friends that came to help you and cared enough to fight for you. I don’t know what you did to the Coven but Giles and Willow will fix it. You are the most worthless piece of trash.” Tears fell from her eyes for the victims, her friends.She felt anger replace all of the feelings she had toward him. Anger was safe she knew how to deal with that emotion.
She steeled herself to do what she had to and raised the stake for the final blow. Angel’s eyes widened imperceptibly and Buffy thought she saw relief flash in them. Her arm came straight down. Mere inches away from its target, halted in its progress as Illyria’s hand firmly grasped hers.
“The spark has spoken. There is a better way.”
Buffy tried to shrug her off but couldn’t break the grip on her wrist.
They didn’t have time for the two powerhouses to fight this out. Willow felt the strain that Giles was under and urged, “Buffy, please... just listen to what she has to say.”
Illyria stood with Buffy’s wrist in her hand and cocked her head as she listened to a voice that only she could hear right now.
“Please Buffy...”
Buffy relaxed and pulled back slightly.
Illyria had come to some sort of decision and dropped Buffy’s wrist. She turned toward the rest of the group and spoke in her loud, brash tone, “Drogyn was my keeper for eons. I was the only old one to ever escape. He was bound to find me and bring me back. Even before Angel attacked and finally killed him. Before Drogyn was taken from my pet’s dwelling, he gave me these. He wanted to make sure that the Well would be guarded.” She reached to her wrist and unsnapped the manacle that
had been placed there. Holding it in her hand as if it weighed a lot more than it did, the faraway look reappeared in her eyes.
“I told the keeper I would go back and stand sentry there. I had nothing in this world. I was diminished. Who better to guard the others? We are close to the well I can feel its pull. I do not wish to go back. This shell has awoken to Wesley. I want more.”
Buffy was the only one in the room that could fully understand what Illyria wanted.
Giles soft Latin had become raspy and Willow started to counterpoint it with some words of power of her own. Angel had renewed his struggle against the bonds when he realized that Buffy wasn’t going to stake him. It had cost Giles to keep the elemental from tearing apart the room and everyone in it. He focused all of his energy in bending it to his will.
Willow was so in tune with him now that she encouraged the wood into even more foliage. She interjected a cautionary word here or there to the elemental when it started to stray out of line.
Illyria’s words came at them staccato, “This foolish half-breed took the life of the keeper. It should be his fate now to guard all against the old ones being taken and made to see what this realm has become. The manacles will bind him and make him belong there. He will be half in this world and half within the Well, for all eternity. A champion for good once again. The spark wishes to speak...”
Her image softened and became Fred once again. The one manacle within her hand would have fallen if she hadn’t grabbed it and held on to it with both hands. “Angel?” She turned toward the man she had once loved and adored.
Angel looked at the miracle that was before him. Fred had come back to them. He could tell in her scent, her heartbeat, her soft little voice... He never saw the blow coming; her hand snaked out and slapped him hard across the mouth. He had been hit a million times harder but no hit had ever stung quite as this one did. It brought back the shame of what he had done. He tasted blood in his mouth and knew it was the stolen blood of the coven and slayers that he’d killed. Even a little of Drogyn’s blood.
“I guess I deserved that...”
“You deserve that and so much more.” Her voice had lowered and each word came out sharp and raw all of her emotion behind them.
“Do you know what it has been like to be trapped inside and not be able to do anything that you want to do? To see everything that is going on around you and to not be able to affect it? I was a prisoner in my own body for three months it was all that and more. Now you will have to fulfill Drogyn’s destiny. You took his life so now his life becomes yours. Forever at the Well, compelled to stay there and forced to keep them safe from harm, from you or others. You will be able to see life as it passes by you but you will never even be a small part of it as you are now. You’ll be like I was trapped without a way to work your will. After what you have done here Angel I think that this is the most fitting end.” Her sweet face was lit up by her smile as it slowly was absorbed back into the cold features of Illyria.
Buffy looked at her for a moment and reached toward the manacle. Hefting it into her hand she closed the distance between them.
Angel’s struggled against his bonds in full fury. There was no way that he was going to let them place him within a prison like that.
Giles let the elemental have its fun in reattaching the torn branches by sticking them back into Angel, only restraining it when it tried to go too deep. The elemental kept up easily with all of Angel’s attempts at freedom. A frenzied glee overtook it as it went about its work. Willow’s words kept the wood growing and strong but the spell was finally weakening the both of them. They had to end this soon or the two of them wouldn’t be able to hold off the elemental, let alone banish it back to its plane.
Illyria reached up, unlatched the other manacle, and stood at the other side of Angel. The two women brought up the manacles and Illyria never hesitated and clamped the manacle over Angel’s wrist. The wood at the wrist had melted away right before the manacle had snapped shut. Illyria stepped back and looked at Buffy in confusion.
Angel seized this moment to beg her, “Buffy don’t do this... Please Buffy. You sent me to Hell once already, please don’t do it again...”
“That was a different... You and I were different.” She watched in fascination as the manacle stretched to fit over his meaty wrist.
“At least now we know that you are forever going to fight for good...” her voice trailed off. The manacle snapped shut.
Angel felt a searing pain as the manacles pulled his arms together in front of him. The wood holding him shattered and exploded off his arms. Buffy and surprisingly Illyria jumped in front of Spike’s prone body to protect him from being hurt.
Willow screamed as the psychic backlash of the destruction of her magical creation completely caught her off guard. Giles immediately began the chant that would send the elemental back to its own plane of existence. His arms holding her still within the protective ward. Putting back the elemental where it came from was proving to be an easier task that he had dared to hope for. The intelligence of such beings was, at best, equivalent to a one-year old child and the presence of a powerful witch and a warlock had spoiled all of its fun here. It had wanted to go back.
The two manacles started to glow and raised Angel up and off the ground. Pulsing pain shot down his arms and into his dead heart. For one moment making him feel like it was beating. Every fibre of his being was fighting against the compelling bind that had been laid upon him. He was as helpless now as he was that long ago day that had cursed him with a soul. Feeling his will slip away, he knew that he was bound to serve out his time as the new Guardian of the Well.
Buffy watched Angel try to fight his fate. She saw the malevolent glare that he had sent her just before surrendering into acceptance of his fate. The monster before her was nothing to her now. He was already dead to her. She turned away to see how she could help Spike.
Reaching his side, she cradled him gently and gently moved away his shirt to see the extent of the wound. She smothered a gasp when she saw just how much damage Angel had actually done. If it had been five inches lower, he would have been nothing but dust. She put a gentle hand on his face to reassure herself that he was still here with her.
Spike’s eyes opened a fraction trying to stay focused on what was going on around him had taken its toll. He covertly stared up at his love, saw the shattered bits of wood clinging to her hair, and embedded in her leather jacket. The weak scent of her blood forced his eyes fully open and he half sat up in concern. “Buffy, luv, you’re alright?” He groaned and fell back into Buffy’s lap hating how weak his body was.
Buffy smiled, ‘How like him to be more worried about me than his own sorry self.’
“I’m fine....Spike you heard me tell Angel that we are together right?
This was a moment that Spike wanted to remember. He could see it clearly now. The pain made everything bright and focused. Buffy looked at him with all of the raw emotion in her eyes that he felt inside for her. His voice low and trembling he replied, “That we are, luv.”
Buffy leaned own and placed a feather light kiss on his lips. “I need you to drink from me. This is something that I can do to help you, and now that you are my boyfriend you have to do what I say!”
Spike felt dizzy from trying to follow her twisted logic, and from the prospect of tasting the slayer blood that was being offered.
She looked deep in his eyes, and brought his lips to her bare neck. She gave him one last look that conveyed her love and complete trust, and pressed his lips across the marks he had made earlier. She felt the bones shift in his face and felt his fangs enter her artery. A small trickle of blood escaped and trickled down her collarbone. A testament to how truly hurt Spike was.
Angel hung suspended in the air forced to bear witness to Buffy and Spike’s reunion. All of his work here had been undone. There was nothing that he could do now to tear them apart. He felt bitter regret that he hadn’t found a way to kill Spike when he first arrived in his office at Wolfram & Hart. Seeing them together like this was the salt poured in to the wound. That image would be the last thing he would see in a long time as he felt himself being mystically pulled to the Well.
Giles watched the tender scene between Buffy and Spike and unconsciously tightened his grip on Willow. He winced when he saw Spike sink his fangs into Buffy’s neck, every instinct telling him to pull Spike off of her. He kept his mouth shut knowing that this was Buffy’s call and that she truly did know what she was doing. He had to let her go of her at last.
Willow felt Giles stiffen and knew what was bothering him without being told. She turned in his embrace and placed her hands on either side of his face and would not let go. She smiled when he returned her look with a thunderous one of his own. The aftermath of Angel’s attack made him tremble as his last shred of concentration faltered and the barrier around them fell.
Willow leaned toward Giles and whispered, “Who is messing around with the ferocious and primal magics now?”
Giles had the grace to look a bit sheepish, “I had to come up with something strong and powerful enough to stop him. He was going to kill you...” There was a pained look on Giles face.
Willow felt horrible that she had inadvertently reminded him about Jenny’s death. She had just wanted to tease him about the comments that he had made to her about the type of magic that she had practiced. The magic that he had been playing with here was definitely of the grey... She laid a hand on his shoulder as a type of peace gesture.
“I am sorry Giles I was just trying to lighten the mood here. I am really grateful for your help.”
Illyria was the only one that witnessed the subtle shimmer around Angel before he winked out. Her authoritative voice rung out a solid, “Goodbye, guardian.”
The couples broke apart and looked at where Angel had been moments before. Giles was the first to break the silence.
“Ummm... Well, Buffy what do you think we should do with Spike here? I know that he can’t possibly healed from that blow yet, even with your help.” It was as close as Giles could come to admit that he had full knowledge of their relationship and gave them his blessings of sorts.
Buffy blinked back her surprise, Giles didn’t have a lecture handy? This day needed to go down in the books. “Well... We could put him in the room across from Faith and we should check up on Margaret. Oh, and make sure that the room has a western exposure and heavy drapes.” She looked down at Spike’s chest wound, and while it was starting to close over a bit, it still was deep and ragged.
It wasn’t long before the group had gone to check on the others. Most of the Coven was resting in their beds and were still so sick that they could barely move. Giles and Willow found Margaret on her bathroom floor and tried to do a healing spell on her. It didn’t help the strange sickness was even worse than when it had started. They helped her back to bed and while Willow bathed her face Giles broke the terrible news that some of the Coven was killed.
Tears slid down her face and Margaret felt another kind of helplessness and bitterness. Why was it that the powers that be granted her the ability to see only certain things. The events that mattered most to her were always shrouded. She rarely ever glimpsed anything that effected her directly. She forcibly put aside her resentment and asked about the other women.
Giles looked at his old friend and felt regret. Willow and Giles had gained so much from coming to this place and in return for the Coven’s help several of the members had been slain, all of them had been sickened presumably by something Angel had done. He was puzzled by the fact that their healing spell had failed. There had to be a reason that the Coven was still so horribly sickened. He had hoped that when Angel was gone that the effects of the spell would lessen. The Slayers had been filtering back in and most of them had headed to bed after the news had been broken to them.
It was still so hard to tell young girls such tragic news. It was what they had been trained to deal with but whenever one of their own went down it was a reminder that they weren’t invincible and that being a Slayer was a burden. How Buffy had dealt with these issues alone baffled him. Looking back he realized that he had not been there for her when he should have and meddled when left best alone. Regret would always be with him it seemed.
He focused on the problem at hand, the Coven must be restored to full health and the wounded needed to be tended. Sleep would wait.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xander could feel his inner child just dying to say the words I told you so. Angel had been his least favorite “person” and to have all of his suspicions confirmed was justification of some of his own past actions. Another larger part of him felt sad for both Buffy and Faith. Deadboy had played a key part in making them what they are today, and in Faith’s life he had actually made it a change for the better.
He didn’t really relish the thought of breaking the news to Faith. He knew all of the issues that Faith had, having lived through most of it, and had to admit that Angel had helped her when everyone else had given up on her. Even himself. It took all of the glee out Angel’s downfall. Faith was still hurt her slaying healing had been overtaxed by the wound she received from the demon. Willow and Giles had promised to stop by and try to cast a healing charm on her to speed things along.
It had been a long night for everyone and he was glad that he had stayed in Faith’s room last night to make sure that she didn’t need anything. Sprawling in the overstuffed chair had probably saved his life. He had to rank high on Angel’s snackable tidbits right? Or was he not even bite worthy...
Faith was majorly pissed off that Angel had been behind it. If Xander heard her rasp out, “Are you sure?” one more time he was going to go mental.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He saw the blueish smudges underneath her eyes. Her body swayed a sure sign of her utter exhaustion. The face off against Angel had provided the only means for Giles to stay on his feet, pure adrenaline mixed with the after effect of magic coursing through his veins. He brushed aside all thought about Angel not ready to give in to his rage and utter hatred just yet. He had to be focused on what was going on in the here and now, people needed help and for once he was able to do something instead of just offer advice.
He had just found out about Gunn’s condition and had to tamp down on his anger once again. Gunn’s needs took precedence over anyone else since his healing charms didn’t seem to be helping anyone in the Coven. Wes looked up in hope as Giles and Willow brought in supplies to mend the wound in Gunn’s neck. There was blood all over, in one part of his mind Giles was taking in all the little details so he could piece together what had happened in this room.
His hands automatically went through the motions of preparing the spell. Barely aware of the trembling of his voice Giles intoned the necessary blessing before laying the poultice on thick. The room smelled heavily of feverfew and some less identifiable herbs and for a few moments nothing happened.
Gunn’s body suddenly stiffened and his eyes that had been shut flew open in alarm. Giles laid a restraining hand on his chest and Wes took his hand in his once more. Gunn relaxed as the poultice began its work. A warm glow enfolded him for a moment and the wound closed over.
Grateful that the charm had worked Giles started to clean up the remainder of the poultice, carefully holding it he asked Willow if she would apply the excess to Faith’s wounds. Sighing in relief when she agreed Giles went to figure out who else needed help and tried to round up Dawn to do a head count.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willow walked into the room to hear Faith mutter, “Angel?”
There was so much bewilderment in her voice that Willow felt an unfamiliar compassion for her. She caught Xander’s look of frustration and realized that Faith was having a hard time accepting the change that had come over Angel.
After Xander shot her his best pleading look Willow briskly walked into the room and placed her bundle carefully on the nightstand. She placed a cool hand on Faith’s forehead and and bit her lip in worry. “Xander? Could you please go to the kitchen and get a pitcher of cold water?”
After reluctantly nodding his head he jogged out the door. That gave them a few uninterrupted minutes since the kitchen was on the whole other side of the manor. Willow gave Faith a small smile that Faith regarded a bit suspiciously.
After all, she had seen the bundle that the witch had brought in...
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