Disclamer: I do not own any of the original dialog used or the characters, Joss Whedon and the people associated with the show do. Please don't sue.
Summary: What if Willow went all vein-y for a different reason and went after a certain soulful vampire? Takes place during season 6 of Buffy and season 3 of Angel. TOTAL A.U. [WARNING!
CHARACTER DEATH(S)]
Co-written with my friend Faith.
FeedBack: Yes, please. It makes us feel all warm fuzzy inside. kick_ass_willow@yahoo.com
(Notes) Takes place during Season 6 of Buffy and season 3 of Angel. This is TOTAL A.U. note I did use dialog from the episode 'Grave' and added some changes to it. I do not own any of the original dialog used or the characters, Joss Whedon and the people associated with the show do. Please don't sue.
To see a trailer for this fic please visit SRQ's site at: http://www.dazzled.com/spikesqueen
A/N I do not know if I will continue this fic. This is a result of staying up to late while watching the end of season 6. So, read and tell me what ya think :)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 1~ Turmoil
"It's incredible," the dark haired witch said, panting. "I mean, I am so juiced ... Giles, it's like ... no ... mortal person has ... ever had ... this much power. Ever. It's like I, I'm connected to everything ... I can feel ... it feels like ... I ... I can feel..." Willow paused and her smile faded as she continued, " ...everyone. Oh. Angel. Oh my God. All the emotion. All the pain. No, it, it's too much. It's just too much."
"Willow ... It doesn't have to be ... like that. You ... you can stop it," Giles said weakly while laying on the floor where she had dropped him.
Willow bent over pain, hands on the floor, gasping for air once again. "Yeah. I, I can. I have to stop this," she said. She struggled to her feet, then stared at the ceiling before lowering her gaze to Giles. "I'll make it go away."
"Willow? Willow, please,” Giles entreated, “you can stop this. Let me help you.”
“No! I think you’ve ‘helped’ enough, Giles. Always telling me to control myself, that I was an amateur messing with things I didn’t understand. Well, you were right, back in high school anyway. I wasn’t ready for the restoration spell, but I did it anyway. For Buffy. For all of us. And I’ve been paying for it ever since.”
“I know you’re hurting Willow, please let me help you” Giles pleaded.
"Oh, you poor bastard!"
Magic began to swirl around the vein-y witch, forming a tornado-like funnel cloud, then lifting her in the air. "Your suffering has to end." Lightning flashed around her body, and she vanished. Giles shut his eyes hoping she wasn't about to do what he thought she was about to do.
"No…" he hoarsely whispered.
Flashback four years ago, Sunnydale Hospital.
Willow Rosenberg's head flew back and flung forward as she gripped the tray in front of her. Oz and Cordelia watched with horror as something took over the redhead. A powerful force of magic, welded within her small body as she began to chant an unknown language. The Orb of Thesulah glowed and disappeared once the last of the spell spilled from her lips. Willow slumped back exhausted. She felt different. She could feel a myriad of emotions, feelings she was pretty sure didn’t belong to her. Confusion, fear, acceptance, all fading into a deep sadness.
'Angel,' the redhead thought. 'I can feel what Angel does. How? The last part of the spell. I bonded myself to him. But why?' The young witch fell asleep finally taken by the exhaustion plaguing her. She knew Angel wasn’t dead. That much she was sure of. What she didn’t know was exactly where he was, or how to get him back. She could feel him though. Everything he felt was hers to experience also. Fire, heat, pain, plus her own frustration at not being able to bring him back.
She cried herself to sleep every night, exhausted from his transferred emotions and her own extensive efforts to work a retrieval spell. Finally, in early fall, she managed to work the spell, and Angel was returned. She expected the pain to end, but it didn’t. She could still feel him, and he was still in pain. His guilt for Angelus’ actions and his inability to have a relationship with Buffy were a constant source of pain for him.
Giles knew Angel and Buffy would never work out, and that the continued attempts were only distracting his Slayer. He finally managed to convince Angel of this, and the vampire agreed to leave town. Willow never told anyone about the bond, and Angel didn’t admit it until just before he left for Los Angeles. He admitted he felt the bond also, that he knew he was hurting her, but he didn’t care. He was angry that she restored his soul a moment too late, and he blamed her for Buffy sending him to Hell. To Willow, that hurt more than any of the pain she felt while he was gone. She knew she had only been trying to help, and to know that her friend despised her for it was almost more than she could take.
In the end, she told Giles about her connection to Angel. She didn’t have a choice, really. Even with the vampire in L.A., she could still feel him, still know that he blamed her. Giles found a ritual that would break the bond, but in reality it was an impossibility. The only way to destroy the link was to remove Angel’s soul, which was not an option, or get Angel’s permission, which he wouldn’t give. With Giles’ help, and much meditation, she managed to dampen the link. After several months, she could actually go entire days without feeling Angel at all.
As time passed, life on the Hellmouth got more complicated. Oz left her, saying that even though the connection to Angel was weak, it still existed, and the werewolf could never feel she was truly his. Tara, the one woman she ever cared for, left after the group defeated Glory, saying that she wasn’t cut out for the constant danger of a Scooby lifestyle.
In spite of it all, Willow felt she could make it through anything the
Hellmouth could throw at her, as long as she had her two best friends.
And then the time came to test that theory. Warren had shown up in
Buffy’s back yard, angry at the Slayer for ruining his ‘diabolical’ plan
of world domination. Pulling a gun, he shot wildly in the air.
Buffy was hit first, in the shoulder, while trying to protect Willow.
Xander was next, and was not as lucky as the Slayer. Warren’s bullet
lodged in the boy’s chest, and killed him instantly.
Crying as she tried to stop the Slayer’s bleeding, she noticed Xander's non-breathing body next to her. She took a few breaths and her eyes turned a cold black then blood red as she summoned Osiris, Keeper of the Dead. She pleaded for him to bring back Xander, but to no avail. He told her it was a mortal death by mortal means, nothing could be done for him. This only pissed her off further.
Willow turned her attention back to her currently dying friend Buffy, after banishing the Keeper away from her. Ripping open the side of the shirt where the wound lay she used her magic to float the small bullet from its place, saving the Slayer's life. Taking the bullet in her hand Willow couldn't help but wonder, how something so tiny could be so deadly, as she made the little metal bullet disappear. Just as that was happening, Dawn came out side.
Buffy awoke startled by all the happenings going on around her but all she could feel was her stomach drop at the sight of Xander's body. Willow helped up her friend as Buffy told Dawn to call an ambulance. Willow took off on the path to the Magic Box. It was time to find Warren and his little buddies. She needed a little revenge.
Back to Present
Angel was standing on the beach waiting for Cordelia to arrive. They needed to talk about so much. While waiting, he felt something stirring deep inside him, a feeling he knew well. Grief. An overwhelming feeling of grief washed over his entire being. He felt as if something had just been ripped from him that could never be returned. A tingling sensation crept up on him as he turned around to see that Connor was approaching from behind. That wasn't the sensation that unnerved him though. He couldn’t place it exactly, but gave up to focus on his son.
"Connor, what are you doing here?" Connor shrugged as he edged closer to his father when suddenly there was a cloud of black smoke and green lightning flashed between them. The boy took a cautious step back keeping an eye on the mysterious occurrence. Angel stood in place, his face paling even more so, as a black haired and a very vein-y Willow appeared before them.
"Hello, Angel," Willow smiled eerily.
Angel's jaw dropped as he attempted to form words, but he only found numbness consuming him. He couldn't move, this couldn't be Willow. But it was. The same meek girl who had restored his soul, making him suffer torment in the god forsaken hell dimension. It was most definitely her, just way darker than he could ever imagine the tiny witch becoming. He tried once again to speak but found he had nothing to say. His jaw clenched as the almost forgotten bond came rushing back. He realized that was the strange sensation from earlier. It was her grief he was feeling. ‘Damn her, I’ve had enough grief in my life without getting extra from her,’ he thought wildly.
"What? Not happy to see me?" Willow mocked hurt.
Connor watched his father and black haired woman for a moment. 'This has to be one of Angelus' old friends. She’s obviously evil, which makes her the enemy,' he thought. He made a sudden attempt to jump the woman from behind. Willow slowly turned in his direction holding her hand up inches in front of his chest.
She smiled while wagging her finger back and forth, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. That's not very nice junior. Didn’t Daddy ever teach you manners?” She waved her hand in the direction of the cliff face, sending Connor flying into the rocky wall. As his child was being flung around like a feather in the wind, Angel snapped out of his reverie.
"Connor!" he yelped.
"What's going on here?" a woman's voice came from the shadows.
"Why, Cordelia. How nice of you to join us," the witch teased.
"Willow? My god what happened?" the brunette woman asked. "By the way black is so not your color," she added with a snort. Willow's smile faded and a bolt of light green energy shot out from her hand. The energy wrapped around the woman hoisting her up in the air.
"You're a demon now, Cordy?" she asked, slightly amused at sensing the former cheerleader's essence for the first time. Cordelia struggled within her bindings before answering.
"Yes. A very powerful demon. So powerful, I don't even know all my powers yet. And let me tell ya, the ones I do know about, boy howdy!" the seer tried to intimidate the pissed off witch. Angel was at Connor's side instantly, noting there was only minor physical damage from Willow’s attack. They both watched with awe as the dark witch lifted Cordelia in the air. She was powerful, they could feel it. Knowing they needed to help Cordelia quickly, they silently approached the witch while Cordelia tried to keep Willow’s attention.
Willow wasn’t buying it, though. Six years on the Hellmouth had taught her a thing or two. Spinning quickly, she grabbed Connor by the throat and threw him into Cordelia, knocking them both to the ground with a loud thump. She glanced at them to be sure they were both unconscious, before turning to Angel.
"Just you and me baby," Willow said with a wicked smile.
~Part: 2~ Feel It!
“Willow, you don’t know what you’re doing,” Angel said, trying to remain calm. Willow sauntered a few steps closer to the vampire, then leaned up until she was almost nose to nose with him.
“Don’t I? I am more aware of my self, my power, than I’ve ever been.”
“You can’t hurt me without hurting yourself in the process. You know that,” Angel said, trying to sound confident when he was really grasping at straws.
“I’m already hurting soul-boy. Can’t you *feel* it?” the dark witch asked with emphasis.
Flashes of her memories played through his head. He felt her heartache as he relived the lonely nights she spent crying after Oz and Tara left her, compounded by her current fear and grief since Warren’s shooting. All the years of pain he had put Willow through from the moment of the bond, telling her she didn’t deserve happiness after she had done what she had thought was best to help him stung the most. Angel fell to his knees as tears escaped his dark brown eyes. ‘Oh, god. What have I done to her? How could I’ve been such an ass? If she only knew. If I had only known,’ he thought, idly wiping the tears from his eyes.
Trembling, Angel slowly steadied himself as he looked up. Willow’s eyes were fully blackened when he faced her again. “Goodbye Angel,” was all she said before suddenly a strong force of wind blew powerfully past them, maneuvering Willow’s black hair around her face revealing more veins around her neck.
Angel screamed as the wind and Willow hoisted him up in the air. The vein-y witch muttered a few words and suddenly Angel fell to the ground. Willow stepped near him looking down at the fallen vampire smiling victoriously. She was finally free from that fucking bond which was her curse for re-cursing her supposed friend.
Cordelia and Connor finally woke up as Angel began to stir. Connor stood up first wiping off the dirt on his shirt then held out his hand to the seer, helping her off the ground. Looking down at her new skirt Cordelia frowned while wiping at the dirt and leaves.
“Willow is so going to buy me a new outfit,” she grumbled, then looked back at Connor staring at something across from them. Following his gaze, Cordelia’s jaw dropped at the image before them. Angel was getting up to his feet dusting off his pants, while Willow was standing next him with her arms folded against her chest, clearly unafraid. Taking in his surroundings, the vampire turned to the dark witch with a feral grin.
Cordelia gasped, taking a step back, “Angelus.”
~Part: 3~ Surprise
Cordelia's frightened gasp brought Willow's and Angelus' attention to the duo across the way. Willow's grin matched Angelus'. 'God, I love when they squirm,' thought Angelus.
"So, that's Angelus?" Connor asked, quickly glancing at Cordelia as she nodded fearfully then back at his 'father'.
"Feeling better, Angelus?" asked Willow still watching them.
"Yeah, much more...liberated," the dark vampire answered with a knowing smile at the black haired witch.
Quickly Cordelia grabbed Connor by the arm in an attempt to get him to leave, but he wouldn't budge. Silently she cursed his preternatural strength.
"Com'on Connor we have to get of here. He'll kill us," the seer cried frantically.
"He has to get through me to get to you Cordy. Don't worry," Connor replied, remaining calm and collected.
"Don't worry? Look, I've seen Angelus in the flesh before. Son or no, Connor, he will kill you. Plus, with the evil witch bitch on his side I so don't think we stand a chance in hell right now."
"No, Connor, I would never hurt you. Don't you believe me?" Angelus tried to look placating.
Connor hesitated. "Oh, who am I kidding, I'd just love to hurt you little boy. Come to daddy." Angelus sneered.
Swallowing hard Cordelia took a step back getting ready to flee.
Turning on her heel she came face to face with a pale faced Willow. Finally getting a good look at her darkened veins flowing with magic, black lips and hair. Even her normal eyes had a threatening tint of black within them.
"Going somewhere, 'Delia?" Willow asked innocently.
"N-no."
Willow sighed dramatically, "You know, I never got to thank you for all those times you tormented me in Sunnydale."
"Actually, you never thanked me for a lot of things, Willow. Like the time I caught you cheating with my boyfriend and didn't bitch-slap you, or the time I was almost nice to you in public in the 9th grade, or..." Cordelia remembered her current situation, " but you know, we should maybe talk about this some other time, like when you're not vein-y and trying to kill me."
Willow gave a slow smile, and Cordelia took a step backwards, almost landing on Connor. Just before Willow could reach out and grab her, a bright light shone from a boat in the harbor.
Angelus shielded his sensitive eyes, temporally blinded by the brilliance of the search light. Taking this momentary distraction, Connor whipped out a knife he had carried in Quortoth. It was a birthday present from Holtz, a symbol that he would always be protected.
Silently thanking his biological father for enhanced speed, Connor spun quickly, sliding the jagged blade into Willow's abdomen from blade to handle. The dark witch stood, gripping the knife, as she watched Connor take Cordelia's hand and running away as fast as hell.
Once the boat was anchored, Justine turned off the light and stepped ashore. Walking up to Angelus and the witch, crossbow aimed at the dark vampire's heart, she smiled cockily as Angelus uncovered his eyes, growling while he adjusted to the darkness once again.
Willow let out a gasp of pain and relief as she ripped the blade from her abdomen. Blood spilled from the deep wound soaking her through her shirt. Angelus' nostrils flared as he vamped out, smelling the scent of the witch's powerful ambrosia pouring from her wound.
Carefully Justine aimed and shot an arrow at the vampire's un-beating heart. Catching the arrow in mid air inches from his chest Angelus snarled. Taking a step back, Justine fumbled with a few more arrows as she fearfully tried to load another projectile into place on the crossbow. Just as she finally loaded one, it was too late. Angelus took her head in his strong hands and twisted her neck, making a rubbed popping sound before her lifeless body hit the ground.
He turned back to Willow, who was now holding her stomach with one hand while the other was clutching the knife tightly. With her eyes closed, she tried to concentrate on healing. Her deep red blood seeped through the spaces between her fingers covering her pale hand. Angelus walked up to her, removed her small hand, and knelt in front of the injured witch.
"Oh, an all I can lick buffet," he said, as he lifted her shirt just above the wound.
Licking his cool lips, he lowered his head. Willow didn't move, relishing in the feel of him as she concentrated on her healing. Taking his tongue he licked around the wound before suckling the cut itself. Angelus moaned when the first warm and creamy mouth full slid down his throat.
It had been so long since he had tasted human blood, but this was different this blood was powerful, sweet, innocent, and evil all at the same time. It was a mixture he had never had the pleasure of tasting until now. Willow let out a small gasp-y moan of her own as he grabbed her hips pulling her closer, her knee rubbing against the bulge in his pants making him purr and growl in appreciation. For once in his un-life he was damn grateful that he wasn't wearing his usual leather pants. Willow ran her bloodied fingers through his hair pulling him closer.
Her eyes shot open as she felt the wound close. Angelus lapped up the remaining blood around the wound, he had helped her heal as she repaired the internal damage, he stopped the hemorrhaging by clotting the opening.
She smiled, when she noticed his cum soaked pants as he stood up facing her once again. Willow ripped off her bloody shirt and jacket revealing a black laced bra against her vein-y porcelain white skin. He looked her up and down appraisingly and smirked.
"Time to find your son of bitch child," Willow stated coldly while throwing her clothes to the ground beside a pool of her blood. Angelus glanced at where she left her clothes and back at her to smirk again as a dark mist of magic swirled around her.
When the magic dissipated she was wearing a skin tight button up black leather jacket with sleeves that stopped at her elbows. Shaking his head at the loss of fully viewing her dark beauty he followed her. He would go along with her rampage, for now.
~Part: 4~ Escape
Connor pulled Cordelia along as she dragged her tired human legs trying to keep with his supernatural speed. They had been running for a good ten minutes or so, at a steady run-as-if-your-ass-depended-on- it pace. Cordelia let go of the boy's hand as they neared her car, and she swiftly pulled the keys from her purse. Pressing on the gas, after fastening her seat belt, they sped away twenty miles over the speed limit. They headed back to the Hyperion to inform the gang of the return of one of most feared vampires in history and one vigorously infuriated witch.
Gunn sat in on the round couch in the middle of the lobby, looking wistfully at the axe he was polishing. Fred was sitting on the bottom of the stair case, as she and Lorne theorized why pastry names seemed to bother Angel so much, her giggles interrupted by the occasional snort . But their smiles were short lived as a distraught Cordelia and an exasperated Connor burst through the door.
Connor began to check the doors to make sure they were secure when Cordelia ran over and grabbed Lorne's martini out of his green hand. After downing the last few swallows of the alcoholic beverage, she panted as she tried to catch her breath.
"Where's the fire?" Gunn asked worriedly.
"No fire," Cordelia replied casually. "Just blood, magic, and death. You know, the not so usual. Unless you're us."
"That should hold but we need to get out of here," Connor said after checking the locks on the doors.
"Why? What in the world is going on Princess?" Lorne asked.
Cordelia sat down beside Fred on the stairs while Connor kept watch out the front window.
"Angelus is back," the seer sighed. "Why? Why wouldn't the Powers send a vision? I mean hello, countless innocent lives at stake here."
"How?" asked Lorne.
"Willow."
"I don't understand. You mean that cute little redhead that came to tell Angel about the slayer's death is the one who brought back Angelus?" Lorne asked baffled. Cordelia nodded as she ran a hand through her hair.
"She didn't make him evil the old fashioned way, did she?" asked Gunn.
"So, Angel's evil now," Fred stated barely above a whisper, looking at her feet. This all seemed surreal to her. The vampire who had saved countless lives, including hers, has turned against them so suddenly.
"Angel's evil. I kill him," Gunn stated, standing up with his trusty axe in hand.
"Yeah, good luck with that," Connor replied sarcastically.
"What? It's not like I haven't killed vamps before."
"No, he's different.," a familiar British voice came from behind. He made his way from the sewer entrance into the middle of the lobby as everyone remained silent watching him. "He is a Master Vampire, of the Order of Aurelius, childe of Darla and sire to Drusilla and Spike. The head of the Scourge of Europe. Buffy could hardly kill him and she's the slayer. No. If we are to take him out we are going to have to all do our parts."
"Wesley, how did..?" Cordelia asked.
"I have my sources. Just because my friends abandoned me, doesn't mean I abandoned them," he said wryly.
"They're close. We should get out of here," Connor interrupted, as he made his way to the weapons cabinet. He took out a large sword handing it to Wesley.
"They?" the Texan asked as she got up and took her favorite crossbow hanging on inside the door.
"Oh, yeah. Willow's evil too. And may I just say, the vein-y look isn't working for her," said Cordelia as she grabbed a sword of her own. Connor took a few stakes and the largest axe. Lorne, not big with the weaponry, settled for vial of holy water, a cross, and couple stakes.
"Where are we going?" Fred asked nervously. Everyone looked around at each other expecting someone else to answer. Finally, Gunn spoke up.
"Do we have a place Angel doesn't have an invite to?"
"Even if we did, that wouldn't help us against Willow." Wesley countered.
"So what will stop a seriously brassed off witch?" Cordelia asked.
"Yeah, English, you got any bright ideas? There has to be something rattling around in that jacked up brain of yours." said Gunn.
"A protection spell might slow her down, but I don't think it'll stop her for long." answered Wesley.
"So we need a place that Angelcakes has never been and that Wesley can wield the beaucoup de mojo? How about my place?" Lorne suggested. "Plus, I have the makings for a seabreeze, and I gotta tell ya, I think I'll be needing one. Or twelve."
Gunn and Cordelia stared at the green demon. "Your place? You have a place?" asked Cordelia.
"Since you asked sweetcakes, yes I do. I got tired of playing Trading Spaces everytime Caritas got blown up, so I found somewhere a bit safer for my personal belongings."
Wesley picked up a book from the stack he had been searching through. "Here's the Dragonovich Compendium. It'll have the spell we need. I suggest we head directly to Lorne's, attempt the spell, and then try to figure out how Willow's evil and why she would want to bring Angelus back."
"Yeah, and thinking of a backup safe house, might not be a bad idea either." suggested Gunn.
"Angelus we can de-invite, but how do we stop Willow?" No one answered Fred's quiet question as they filed out through the sewer entrance.
~Part: 5~ Bonding
Angelus observed the young witch surrupticiously as they continued on their way to the hotel, where it was most likely the Angel Investigations team would be. Quickly, Willow slipped Conner's weapon into her pocket.
"So tell me, wicked witch o' mine, how is it that I don't remember you being so..helpful the last time I had you pressed up against me? Remember that school hallway? So innocent and scared...a whole different kind of trembling," Angelus smirked when the witch didn't answer. She just kept moving as if he weren't there.
"I can't decide which I like better." Angelus drew a deep, unnecessary, breath as he reminisced, "I do miss the smell of fear though...especially yours."
The witch stopped to look indignantly at the vampire, when a slow, mischeivious grin graced her lips. After blinking once, Willow's dark green eyes turned coal black. A cloud of dark mist swirled around Angelus' legs.
"What the hell?" he muttered to himself, looking at his lower body. Just as soon as he uttered those words the magic was gone and he was in his classic black leather pants. Smirking at Willow as she blinked away the black magic in her eyes, he tucked in the black silk shirt he had been wearing and unbuttoned the top half, revealing his muscular chest for her perusal.
"If you're going to be mouthing off like your old self, you should at least look the part," she stated, walking ahead.
'So, she doesn't like me reminding her of Soul-Boy. Hmm, interesting,' he thought as he caught up with her.
As they neared the hotel, Willow slowed down, eventually stopping with Angelus beside her.
"You think they were expecting us?" Angelus asked sarcastically as they burst through the front door to find the lobby empty. "Looks like they outsmarted you, oh dark and powerful one."
Willow rolled her eyes. "I can rip your soul right from your body-- without a happy--and you think I can't track a few lousy mortals?" Willow asked, raising an eyebrow. Angelus shrugged as he made his way to sit on the couch, intentionally antagonizing her. He was curious as to just how powerful this dark enchantress was.
Willow's eyes turned black and then a dark red as her tone of voice went a little deeper, "Aradia, Goddess of the lost, the path is murky, the woods are dense, darkness pervades, I beseech thee, bring the light."
A tiny light appeared before her awaiting further instructions. Willow silently congratulated herself, the last time she tried this spell it went horribly wrong. She still remembered the lights attacking her in that fear-filled haunted house.
"Guide me to those I seek," Willow demanded, smirking as Angelus adjusted himself, to a, ahem, more comfortable position. 'Apparently a show of power is quite the turn on for him.' she thought. 'No wonder Angel had a mad on for the Slayer.'
~~~*~~~
The AI gang poured themselves into Lorne's condo. Gunn shut and locked the door behind everyone. Lorne ran to his wet bar and made a round of Seabreezes. Wesley flipped through his Dragonvich Compendium trying to find the right spell. Cordelia, Fred and Connor made themselves at home sitting on the couch,worriedly waiting for the ex- watcher to finish his search.
"Protective arms hear my plea. Keep out mine enemy. Fortress of good shield us from those who seek to harm. Hear me!" Wesley chanted with much conviction. A flash of light surrounded the apartment and faded just as fast.
"Did it work?" Cordelia asked.
"One way to find out," Gunn replied as he opened the door. His attempt to leave was halted by a blast of magic repelling him back a few steps. "I think it worked. How long will it hold?"
"It should keep us safe.for the time being," Wesley answered.
"Any ideas on why Willow is all evilly now?" Fred asked with her brows furrowed.
"Uh, cause she's a psycho loony that's why," Cordelia quipped, rolling her eyes. "Once a loser....".
"I don't think that's entirely accurate," Wesley said, sitting in a chair across from the couch. Sighing, he continued, "If she's after us it's for a reason. If Angelus is free then there may be more to her wanting to rid the world of those who know him."
Setting his drink down on the bar Lorne interrupted softly looking down at the counter, "I know why he's back." When everyone gave him questioning looks he continued, "I should have seen it coming. After I read Angel the first time, I saw her. Could feel her essence as it were. I didn't understand it, until a few weeks after. They were bonded through their souls."
"So, she could what? Tell when he gets a happy and show up to restore his soul?" Cordelia asked.
"I don't think so, Princess. All I could sense was her pain. When I confronted Angelhair about it he told me to mind my business. And being one who likes my limbs intact I did just that." Lorne stated, taking another sip of his beverage.
"Yes, of course," Wesley said astonished. "Willow restored Angel's soul before he was sent to hell," he paused when the seer gave him a look. "Giles told me," he explained.
"Yeah, but that happened four years ago, why go off the deep end now?" asked the ex-cheerleader.
"She would've been able to experience and suffer through everything Angel has done from past to present. It is a rarity to actually be able to live through such a bond."
"So, it's like double the pain, hers and Angel's combined?" Gunn asked.
"Yes. Clearly Angel didn't want to extinguish the bond, maybe even found away to ignore her pain as an attempt to condemn her for some reason. That could be the only explanation on why she would even think of bringing Angelus back, it just became to much for her to manage. She wants to stop us from attempting to restore him thus returning the bond as well."
"So, she keeps Angelus alive, figuratively speaking, to help her kill us," Fred commented catching on.
"Ok, that explains that. But why wouldn't Angelus try to kill her?" Connor asked.
Wesley shrugged and thought for a brief moment, "Respect? Maybe, gratefulness for releasing him, although Angelus feeling gratitude is highly unlikely in my opinion. He may just be trying to study her, see how she works with her powers, gauge how powerful she truly is before making his move. Truth is we may never know, Angelus has a sadistic and mysterious mind."
Everyone nodded in silent agreement. Connor looked up as an idea dawned on him.
"Can't Cordy, just you know, do that glowing thing to Willow, like she did for me when I tried to kill her?"
"I don't know how I did it," Cordelia admitted regretfully. "And I really don't think Willow will let me close enough to touch her without, ya know, making with the hurtful beatdown before killing me." After a moments of complete silence the seer's eyes lit up, "Oh, I know! We can get Buffy! And maybe Faith, too. Double the slayers, twice the damage?"
"I'm not sure Faith is the most stable person to help us right now. She is still trying to cope with what she has done. And surely Miss Summers must already be aware of Willow's current state. Perhaps a slayer might not pose a threat to her anymore," Wesley replied solemnly. "I just wish I knew what happened in Sunnydale to make her fall into the hands of such dark magic."
Suddenly, everyone's head shot up as the apartment door blew open revealing a smirking Angelus and a bored looking witch.
"Well, isn't this cozy," Willow said with a sneer.
~Part: 6~ Challenge
"You know, I really thought you'd be more of a challenge. It's no fun being the fox when the rabbits are this dumb," Willow pouted.
"I've seen a truck full of demon-y things in my day, but her? That's who you're all scared of? She don't look 'South Central' to me," Gunn shrugged. Angelus made a 'you really shouldn't have said that' face as he waited for the vein-y witch to unleash hell itself.
Gunn began to look a tad worried as Willow tried to pass the threshold. He and rest of the gang let out audible sighs of relief when she was thrown back by the protective force field.
Willow landed on her ass with a loud thud. Angelus watched with amusement.
"Tricky, tricky, tricky," the dark witch muttered as she climbed to her feet.
"Five points for the insipid good guys......that's gotta hurt. And not in the way I like," chuckled Angelus.
Willow gave the dark vampire a warning look, "Don't test me Angelus."
"But you enjoyed tests so much in school. In fact, that seemed to be ALL you enjoyed in high school." Angelus taunted.
Willow turned her attention back the crowded apartment. Stepping up to the barrier, she pulled back her right hand and swung full force into the shield as she attempted to inflict damage. A bolt of energy forced her back a few paces. Angelus smiled as he leaned against the wall, then slumped down directly across from the open door. He could have sworn he heard Willow growl as she began to pace back and forth. She had to get through that damn barrier.
Angelus stretched out his right leg, propping up the other, resting his arm on his knee. Watching Willow, he played with his fingers as he began to sing softly to himself. Lorne gradually lifted his eyes toward the door as he heard the words pour from the vampire. Cautiously he came out from behind the bar, edging closer to the open door to in hopes to get a better read.
"Time to run, time to hide, ye old friends o' mine. The devil's loose, playing with your mind. Run into the night, ye old friends o' mine." Angelus smirked evilly as Lorne neared the door, his threatening eyes making sudden, direct contact with the empath demon's. He never moved his gold flecked eyes as he continued to sing just a bit louder than before.
"The screams you'll hear will be your own, pray to the heavens to take your soul.."
Lorne's bright red eyes widened in horror as he turned a strange shade of yellow. He stumbled slightly as he backed away from the unstable creature of the night. Frightful images of the vampire's plans to maim and kill plagued his thoughts. He looked at everyone's confused expressions and mouthed that they had to get out of there and fast.
Willow paused momentarily. Each lunge at the barrier seemed less effective than the one before. 'Either that barrier is getting stronger, or I'm getting weaker. I hate to admit it, but I think it's time for another boost.'
"I need to get something. Stay here and watch them," she ordered as she turned her back on Angelus and headed down the hall. Angelus snarled as he leapt to his feet and used his vampire speed to chase after her. She made it all the way outside before he caught up with her.
"Let's get one thing straight, I don't take orders little girl! Mega- witch or not."
"Really? You've done a bang up job so far," she scoffed, walking down the street.
"Till now, I've been playing along. Watching you hurt, knowing Soul Boy caused most of it. It's delicious. But I'm beginning to lose my patience. And since I don't need you to help me create havoc on stupid humans..." Angelus grabbed her arm, pulled her into a quiet ally, and shoved her against the wall.
"Oh, baby, do it again," Willow purred, tilting her head to the side, teasing him.
"I admit, I like this side of you. But not enough to let you live." He moved to wrap his hands around her neck and lean forward. The minute his bare hands touched her neck, they began to smoke and he pulled away.
"There will be no killing of the nice witch, Angelus. Especially when I can make you sizzle like holy water. Won't be wanting to get too close now, will you? Or, maybe you will.....I think you like it."
Willow sidled closer to him, trailing a finger down his cheek. Angelus hissed and gritted his teeth.
"I can do so much more to you than this. Think about that. I'm going to get juiced."
She slipped around him and moved towards the street. He reached for her again and she raised her hand in a dismissive manner, magically shoving him across the alley. He crashed into a dumpster and landed on his ass.
"I'm tired of playing games with you Angelus. I removed the soul because it was the only way to lose the bond with Angel. I plan to make the rest of his little friends hurt as much as I have the last four years. I thought you'd make an interesting playmate in that regard, but I think I've proven I don't actually need you. I can play big bad villain all by myself. You're just a pretty accessory. Don't forget that, and don't touch me again. Unless I tell you to, of course. You won't like the inventive punishments I can think of." Willow declared. "On second thought, you would, but I'll discipline you later, Puppy," she added with a wink.
"If you want to help me reprimand the White Hats, I suggest we find a magic store" she continued. "I still need that fix. Then we can go have fun with the helpless humans. I love when they try to fight back. It's so cute."
'I do like her style, think I'll play along for awhile. Who knows I may get lucky, haven't had a good fuck in over a century,' Angelus thought as he followed Willow towards the magic shop, cringing a little when he thought of sleeping with the slayer.
A slow, murderous grin formed on his angelic face, 'Oh, How I'm going to enjoy killing Miss Witch-y Bitch, let me count the ways.'
Meanwhile at Lorne's
"Now that the wicked witch of the west and her munchkin have skiddatled, I suggest we do the same," Lorne recommended, relieved that the duo took off. He gave everyone one a once-over before continuing, "I was picking up heavy duty mojo vibes from our favorite black-eyed girl and less than friendly ones from Mr. Not-So-Broody- Anymore. Trust me when I say we really don't wanna stick around for the show, kiddies."
"Yes, quite right," Wesley replied, deep in thought.
"I wanna know why she left," Gunn thought aloud, befuddled.
"She probably forgot she had a paper due. She's been that way ever since I can remember," Cordy shrugged.
"No. The way she's burning her energy, I dare say she went for more magic to help make her stronger," the ex-watcher explained.
"We need some place where neither Willow or Angelus can track us," Connor pointed out.
"Someplace where we could try to hone Cordelia's new-found powers," Wesley added.
"Heh. Yeah, when you think of a place where the Dark Pixie from Hell can't find us, you be sure to let me know," Lorne scoffed as he knocked back the rest of his drink. The gang sat for a moment in thought.
"Maybe Caritas? I know it's all kablooie now but." Cordelia suggested.
"I don't think so. Even if the sanctuary spell was still holding, it wouldn't be much stronger than the one in place here. And we don't know how long this will last before she finds away around it," Wesley sighed.
"Or through it." muttered Gunn.
Fred's mind was whirling with different ideas as she paced near the bar in front of Lorne. Her innocent brown eyes enlarged when it hit her. She couldn't believe she was even thinking of this but it might be the only way. Not knowing exactly how to break her new idea to everyone, she did the only thing she could think of and burst into song.
"Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.."
Lorne's eyes shot to hers as the song began. "Whoa, wait a minute, no way is that gonna happen. Not in my life time, although that's beginning to look shorter and shorter."
"It's the only way, Lorne. We need to buy some time and ensure we're not followed." Fred responded.
"Ok," Lorne grumbled. "But I want to be on record as saying this is the worst idea to ever hit your pretty little head."
"What are you talking about Lorne?" asked Connor, as he left his station at the front door and moved towards the group.
"Freddikens has a proposal, and I'm pretty sure no one is gonna like it." Lorne said. "The floor's all yours, sweetie. I'll be hiding behind the bar when the yelling starts."
~~~*~~~
Willow was so pumped full of magic that her eyes no longer reverted back to their normal color. Her now blackened eyes sparkled with dark green energy as she walked up the hallway to the green demon's apartment.
Angelus was ecstatic. He couldn't wait to do more damage. He was having a great night thus far, in spite of letting the little witch call the shots. 'Temporarily' he reminded himself. He lost that pesky soul, had some of the most intoxicating blood he had ever tasted, killed Justine, fed on the clerk at the magic store, and now he was going to get to kill those who made him feel most human. Ah, un-life was good.
They approached the wide open door of the apartment with the utmost confidence, but hesitated when they realized the place was empty. Willow gazed around the room as she entered easily. The barrier had been demolished.
"Ok, now I'm really starting to get pissed off," Angelus stated through clenched teeth. He moved to enter the place as well but was stopped by an invisible barrier. Growling in frustration at his lack of invitation, he pounded the blockade with both fists, only to have them cover his susceptible ears as Willow let out the most high- pitched infuriated scream he had ever heard.
~Part: 7~ A Father's Love
Angelus held his head tight in an attempt to block out the horrid screeching. He couldn't stand it anymore, a vampire can only take so much before he snaps everyone's neck within a ten foot radius.
"Will you just shut the fuck up!?!" Angelus roared at the witch as her screams faded, then halted. "Remind me to put in some ear plugs the next time you decide screech like Cordelia."
Willow sent a stake-worthy glare his direction. Closing her eyes she took a deep cleansing breath. When she opened them again she smiled and sauntered towards Angelus.
"What? A girl's allowed a little... release, you know. Just because you rarely get one is no reason to be grumpy. Well, actually, I guess it is." She cocked her head to the side. "Still, you shouldn't get your boxers in a twist. Or do you wear any at all? Maybe it's a family thing, 'cause Spike certainly doesn't," she smirked.
"And what would you know about that little bastard's underwear?" Angelus seethed, strangely jealous.
"Well, I haven't had an up-close view yet. He's too busy making puppy eyes at the Slayer. Another family trait, apparently. But anyone with half a brain knows with jeans that tight...." Angelus growled and lunged towards her, stopping inches from her face.
"Yeah, we all know how much you like bad boys in tight pants, don't we little girl?" He moved his hips toward her slightly.
"I like them better out of tight pants, but we don't have time for that just now, Lover," she drawled, in her best Angelus imitation. "We still have some good guys to find. They can run, but there is no where in this world they can hide. A little locator spell should flush them out."
As Willow began chanting, Angelus stalked up and down the hallway outside the apartment. He was growing more restless as the night wore on. He turned back to the open doorway when Willow spoke.
"That can't be right. It's impossible."
"What's impossible witch? I thought you could twitch your little nose and find them instantly?"
"That's just it. I should be able to find them. All I'm getting is a vague outline of your little bastard of a son, and even he's fuzzy."
"What do you mean, fuzzy? What about the rest of them? Where did they go?"
"I don't know where they could've gone. Maybe they're using magic to block their signals, but I don't think any of those little prats are strong enough, even the watcher. As for your fuzzy offspring, I'm not sure. Only a large magical surge near him would cause his aura to show like this."
Angelus walked outside the apartment complex and looked around. He lifted his head to the side, closing his eyes as he concentrated and took a nonessential breath. His lips gradually shifted into a wicked smirk. His boy was still around.
"Maybe 'daddy' needs to show him some discipline," he said.
The dark vampire lightly sniffed the air, catching a stronger scent of his darling boy. Willow followed Angelus down the street as he began to lead the way to Connor. The hunt took longer than the witch originally thought, due to Angelus occasionally feeding and running into a few misguided demons who still thought he was his soulful self.
They neared an open field when Angelus stopped abruptly. The duo was about 50 yards away from the adolescent, just far enough for him not to be able to know they were directly upon him when he sensed their presence.
"Stay here," he commanded as he started towards his son. She scowled at him for his dictatorial manner, but did as he said.
The vampire stuck his hands in his pants pockets as he quietly approached Connor from behind. The boy seemed to be deep in thought staring at the ground, where the grass had been burnt.
"Hello father," he sighed.
"Son."
"If you've come to kill me, I think you should know I'm not going to go with out a fight," Connor said, turning to face his biological father.
"I know," the vampire replied, calmly while keeping a straight face. "But that's not why I'm here." Connor raised his eyebrow in confusion but kept his eyes on the vampire in case he decided to attack. "I'm not who you think I am, son. I'm just going along with Willow until I know for sure how to stop her. If I don't she'll hurt herself, and anyone else who's in the way. It was the only way," he tried to explain.
"Why should I trust you? Lorne said you planned on killing us with," Connor paused and looked in the direction where Willow was growing more and more impatient. "her," he finished then turned back to his dad.
"Lorne said that because I told him to while he was reading me. I didn't want him to reveal me until I was ready. I didn't want to endanger you all any further. If she knew, it would only make her more unstable," he sighed.
"Are you sure she can't hear you?" Connor asked, still unsure of the situation.
"Yeah, I told her I was coming over to taunt you before she comes and does that old black magic she loves so well," he answered, his voice unwavering.
"How do we get past her?" the boy asked, taking a quick glance at the witch to find she had gone. "Where?" he began as he looked around then back at his father.
Angelus was in full vamp face, smiling broadly as he tried to hold back his laughter.
"I can't believe you fell for that!" Angelus snickered.
"Really not the brightest in the gene pool is he?" Willow asked as she came from behind him to step beside her 'playmate'. Connor took a step back, slightly surprised by the glowing green energy sparkling in the witch's black eyes.
"I thought you didn't come here to kill me," the teen said taking a fighting stance.
"That's correct my boy. I came to taunt you, remember? And by acting as if I still had that damned soul, I did just that. Gained your trust," Angelus stated matter-of-factly. "Breaking it, seeing that hurt and disappointment written on that cute little face of yours when it all sunk in, it was so precious," the dark vampire smirked turning to Willow. "Honey, we should've brought a camera."
Willow evilly smiled at her vampire and then back at Connor just in time to see him throw a right hook to Angelus' turned face. The blow to the dark vampire's jaw made his head turn even more to the side but barely phased him. Growling in resentment, Angelus returned with an uppercut to the boy's chin, sending him flying through the breezy night air. Connor landed with a thwack about a foot away where he had been standing.
He gazed over to where the scorched grass was and silently begged Holtz for his forgiveness for letting Angelus get the upper hand. The young boy noticed Angelus walking towards him and began to get up when a large foot made contact with his head, rendering him unconscious.
Connor slowly came too, struggling to peel open his heavy eyes. His head hurt and the room was pitch-black. Even with his enhanced vision he was unable to make out anything. He tried to get up but realized his wrists, legs and torso were tied to a chair with thick chains.
Sensing something nearby, he stopped his struggling as he strained his eyes, hoping to pierce the darkness.
"Show yourself!" Connor demanded, keeping his nerves collected. If he learned one thing from living in Quortoth, it was never let your enemy know you're scared. It tends to make them more blood thirsty, so to speak. When no one answered, it unnerved the spawn of two vampires even more.
"I said show yourself, you soulless son of a bitch." he screeched. Willow interrupted his rant standing in front of him.
"Blah, blah, blah. God you whine just as much as Dawn. Maybe you guys can hook up, after we torture you. Oh, I know, you can give her a good fuck to shut her up for awhile, before I decide to kill you both," Willow smirked.
Connor began to see green flickers of light around the room as the lights faded back on. He observed Angelus sitting on the floor in front of him playing with some sort of tool, twirling it around in his hands. Angelus' dark 'human' eyes stared straight into his light brown ones.
"About time you woke up, I was getting bored," the vampire said getting to his feet. "Sun's been out for hours, not to much to do all cooped up in here."
Connor ignored him, keeping his eye on the unknown object in the vampire's dead hands. It had a plastic handle and a metal stem with a flat tip, it wasn't a knife, of that Connor was certain. Angelus gave Willow a knowing look before he noticed Connor's attention was on the object in his hand.
"Oh, this?" Angelus smirked, answering his unasked question. "This is a screw driver. It's used to fix things in this dimension."
"What are you going to do with it?" asked Connor, as he swallowed a lump in his throat. He had killed so many different demons in his homeland. Too many for him to count, but none made him this nervous, he was now at the mercy of a sadistic vampire. He now realized just how different Angel and Angelus really were.
"It seems my boy, that you have a screw loose," teased Angelus.
Willow grinned, crossing her arms under her breasts. Circling their captive, Angelus placed a hand under his chin as if full of thought.
"I do regret not getting to try out that chainsaw on the watcher, but I bet I can make this hurt almost as much. Now, be a good boy and tell Daddy were your little friends are hiding. But not too soon, or you'll ruin all my fun."
~Part: 8~ Agony
*******Warning: this chapter contains graphic violence*******
"We should do that more often. In a way that is never," Cordelia commented as they finally slowed her car to a stop.
"Cordy, we didn't have a lot of choice. Fred was right," Wesley mildly scolded. "I admit, I'm not much happier about it than you are, but we had to get away from Willow and Angelus long enough to form a plan of action."
"So what is the game plan, English? 'Cause runnin' around and waiting to get beat down by those two is not high on my list," Gunn commented.
"I'm not sure exactly. We can physically fight Angelus, if need be, but none of us would fare very well. Or very long, for that matter. However, it is Willow that is the biggest danger. I don't know of anyway to stop a witch with her kind of power. She has certainly progressed since our first meeting, when she was barely floating pencils. I think our best bet may be to find out what sent her on this downward spiral and see if there is any way to repair the emotional damage."
"That's a big IF, Kemosabe," said Lorne. "I didn't have to read the girl to get a big dose of emotional pain. It was radiating off her in Technicolor."
"Can't Angel make her feel better?" Fred asked.
"What do you mean, Fred? And please come out from behind that tree," Wes said.
"Sorry, habit. I meant that if feeling Angel's pain made her worse, couldn't he use the bond to make her feel better?"
"I don't think Angelus is exactly the head of the Lollipop Guild right now, sweetcakes," Lorne chided.
"What if he wasn't still Angelus? What if we shoved a soul back down his throat?" suggested Gunn. "Can we do that? Can we make it hurt when we do?"
"I trained in witchcraft at the Watcher's Academy, but I don't have that kind of power. Re-souling an evil vampire was hardly my final exam. We tended to specialize in how to just kill them," Wes responded.
"Really? I thought you specialized in how to sic a Slayer on them."
"What about our gorgeous link to the Powers? Queen C here is just bursting with factory-direct PTB mojo, right? Surely she can conjure up a measly little soul," said Lorne, as he looked around nervously. "And can I mention again how much I don't like being here? There are happier straight men at a Streisand concert."
"Lorne may have a point," Wes glanced at Gunn's face. "About Cordy, not Streisand. Cordelia, what exactly happened with you and Skip? Maybe there is something there that we're missing."
"What am I, the court reporter? 'Please read back the witness' last statement....'" she sighed dramatically. "Ok, I was on my way to meet Angel at the cliff. I got stopped by Skip the Demon and sent on a little field trip around, well, I guess Heaven. Or whatever the Powers are calling it these days. Next thing I know, I'm back in my car and Skip is telling me to use my new powers to help people. I left the car and walked to the cliffs, where I found Willow pushing Connor around and bitching at Angel. They argued, then poof, bye-bye soul."
"So Skip told you nothing else about your powers?" Wes asked.
"He wasn't in a chatty mood, ok? It was all, 'blah, blah, destiny, blah, blah, help, blah, blah'. Getting the picture?"
"Unfortunately, yes. However, I do feel you're capable of doing this, Cordy. We just have to figure it out quickly, and hope Angelus and Willow don't discover our whereabouts until then."
~~~*~~~
Willow knelt down in front of the 'super teen', light brown eyes meeting onyx. Her concentrated stare made him wonder if she could read his thoughts. Connor squirmed a little in his seat at the idea. He had underestimated the woman and vampire before him. Now, because of his arrogance, he was in their malicious hands.
"I'm not telling you anything Angelus," Connor spat, referring to the dark vampire as he challenged Willow with a stare of his own, one of pure disgust. He had promised the others he would protect them, keep their location safe. Something his father always taught him, protect those you care for. The AI team was the closest thing he had to friends and he was not about to give in.
"Now, now Junior. None of that. You'll eventually tell us where your pesky friends are, I think you just need some persuasion," said Willow, as she rose back to her feet.
"Com'on STEVEN, let's see what we can do to convince you," smirked Angelus, his eyes flashing amber.
Angelus licked his lips as he slid the tip of the screw driver under the tip Connor's index finger. The tormentor pushed down on the end of the tool, using it as a lever, slowly beginning to raise the nail. Connor hissed as his sensitive skin started to separate from his nail. Blood began to seep from underneath as the fingernail was unhurriedly torn from his finger, finally hanging loosely by the cuticle. Angelus winked at Connor as he roughly ripped the dangling appendage off his finger, causing a stinging rush of blood to pour from the wound.
Willow paced the room as Angelus continued used his callous tactics to make his son spill the beans, ripping off three more of his nails. Still Connor stayed silent and more stubborn than ever.
Angelus loved a challenge. And just like his previous torture session with the Watcher, he would eventually break his boy. Walking over to a table on the far end of the room, he picked up a small mirror, slamming it down upon the hard surface of the floor. Willow grinned as he picked up the most jagged piece of glass. He had tried blunt, now it was time for sharp.
"Hmmm, I think I'm gunna need a clean slate for my masterpiece," Angelus said to Willow.
Gliding over to their captive, Willow grabbed the front of his shirt, ripping it off. Angelus studied his canvas carefully as he contemplated where to place his sketch.
"You want to play grown-up, so how 'bout a tattoo just like your old man, huh?" With that, Angelus took the razor-sharp slither of glass and lightly traced an outline of the same tattoo that he bore on his back, careful not to break the skin.
When he was finished, the outline was bright red. Satisfied with the image, he punctured the skin, cautiously making sure he didn't go too deep, but just deep enough. A few salty tears of pain escaped from the corner of Connor's eye as Angelus harshly sliced through one of his nipples, leading over to the other.
Connor's chest was covered in fresh blood, dripping down from him to the floor. His head felt a little heavy at losing so much blood. All this pain and blood was really turning Angelus on. Getting up from his latest creation, he made his way to Willow.
With her back turned to the vamp as she continued to pace, she didn't notice him approach until he slammed her against the wall. He pressed against her, then spun her around, capturing her lips in a hard, brutal kiss.
Willow shoved him back with supernatural strength.
"Right now lover? In front of the boy?" she asked innocently. Angelus let out a growl of frustration. "Soon. But first I need to know where his little buddies are hiding."
"Th-They were your friends once," Connor spoke, his voice starting to get dry.
"Cordelia was never my friend, always mocking me when I was weak," Willow scoffed.
"Wesley, Fred, Gunn, Lorne, Me? What did we do to you?" he spat.
That was enough. Willow pulled out the knife from her back pocket. The dark witch held waved the ridged knife in front of Connor with her brows arched. Connor mentally berated himself, remembering having hurt the witch.
"Sorry," he said, lowing his eyes.
"Hmm," Willow pondered, ignoring his apology as she grazed the blade's tip over his face, barely touching, leaving a trail down to his torso. "Ya know, I've flayed someone alive with magic, which was nifty, but I wonder how different it would be to skin you with your own knife?"
Angelus smirked at her threat. She slid the blade under the skin of Connor's forearm, smoothly peeling a layer of flesh away.
Angelus began to grow more impatient as time went on. He wanted to torture his new 'toy'. As the fifth piece of flesh was removed, Angelus had had enough.
"Time to share, baby, can't be hogging all the fun," he seethed.
Willow leisurely turned to face the vampire and smiled sweetly.
"Ok," she agreed. "But is torturing the little boy all your up for?" She grazed the tip of the weapon over Connor's crotch while smirking at Angelus. Before either man could anticipate her movement, Willow ruthlessly ran the knife through Connor's inner thigh, plunging into the chair beneath the boy less than inch from his personal area as she stood.
"That should hold him," she quipped.
With a flash of magic Willow was on top of Angelus in a heap on the floor. She seized his lips with hers. 'This should be a pleasant enough diversion,' she thought.
The blood spilling from Connor's wounds made a thick puddle under the chair. His head felt light and heavy at the same time. He struggled to stay awake as his eye lids began to close on him. That's when he saw the vague outline of the man who raised him standing before him.
"Dad?" he asked, squinting to see the figure.
Angelus pulled away from Willow and smiled cruelly as Connor started to hallucinate. The young boy thought he was Holtz, oh this was just to perfect.
"Yes, my son," Angelus played the part. Connor could now see his real father in front of him. He was younger than he remembered but his father just the same.
"I'm sorry, dad. I failed you," he confessed with tearful eyes.
"Nonsense son, you have yet to let on about your friends whereabouts."
"But I let Angelus take me, I don't know if I can keep them safe from his hands. And the witch is too powerful. I don't know what to do," Connor looked to his dad for guidance.
"It's okay Steven. Tell me where they are and I will watch over them until you find away out of here," 'Holtz' reassured him.
"I don't know exactly. I was too afraid to jump dimensions again. Cordy said it would be alright, but I was still so afraid. I failed you in that too. I should have been braver. Even Lorne went, and he said he'd promised himself he'd never go home again. If I had gone with them...."
When Holtz began to laugh Connor was snapped out of his daydream.
"That was just a little too easy," Angelus grinned at Willow.
"Thanks for the tip," Willow teased right before she sent a fierce blow to Connor's head with her fist.
"Now, where's a good inter-dimensional hot spot when you need one?" Angelus chuckled as they left to seek the gang.
~Part: 9~ The Big Bang
Cordelia sighed and glanced at the others as they sat openly in a large field, "So, what now? After three hours of Magic Boot camp with Drill Sergeant Wesley, my head is killing me. Are you sure this is the only way?"
"I still believe our best chance is to re-soul Angel, and hope that he can help us control Willow," said Wesley.
"Great plan, except the only living person to ever re-soul Angelus, just un-re-souled him. I'm not sure I'm up for this," Cordy complained, glaring at Wes.
"As I've already stated, I believe you have the ability to undo Willow's spell. I know the last few hours haven't been pleasant, but you've made magnificent strides, Cordy. I know you can do this," Wes encouraged.
"Ok, but if I'm going to re-soul Angelus, how do we get past Willow? `Cause I'm thinking she really doesn't want us to make him all broody again."
"Yes, indeed, as I stated before Willow is the biggest threat. If we could somehow distract her long enough for Cordelia to use her abilities on Angelus than we might stand a chance," replied Wesley.
The first step was getting Willow away from her vampire. If they didn't do something soon, Willow and Angelus would rule half of California.
"Lorne, you said you were getting hurt-puppy vibes from the witch, right?" asked Gunn.
"Did you miss the part about Technicolor?"
"Maybe we could use it against her, get her on the ropes by starting to confront her about why she is Miss-Veiny-Soul-Stealer," Gunn shrugged.
"I don't know exactly what happened to her," Lorne explained.
"We could maybe work around that. Wes, you knew her back in Sunnydale, right? Maybe a few comparisons to her old self? A few slams about how she used to botch all her spells?" Gunn suggested. "Something to get her defensive and lax."
"Peachy, but who's gonna keep his Un-broodiness from killing us all while we try this little experiment?" asked Lorne. "Cause I'm thinking that it's not too late to go hide out at my Ma's house. Lice-pile and all, it's still safer than going back and facing Angelus and the Good Witch Who Wasn't."
"Who said anything about going back?" came a sultry voice from behind Lorne.
Their heads turned quickly to the direction of the voice. The sun shone down upon her blackened hair making her skin seem paler and the once green energy glowing in her evil eyes turned red.
"W-willow, how?" Cordelia stuttered as everyone shot up to their feet, staring in horror. She SO didn't want to be in this situation again.
"Connor," she answered flatly.
"Along with some help from Gunn's little band-o-merry men by lending us his truck," smirked Angelus as he took his place beside his witch. Gunn swallowed hard as he looked behind them to see the truck in the distance, though far away he could see evidence of struggle and blood on the vehicle.
"What did you do with your son?" Cordelia demanded.
"Kinda weird, really. For such a pain in the ass, my boy can't stand much pain himself. A little blood-letting, and he's seeing visions of "Daddy the Protector," Angelus smiled cruelly. "God, I missed this place. All this natural lighting. I think it'll complement the blood and carnage, don't you?"
"Oh, God," gasped Fred.
"'S' the matter sweetling? Are you worried about yourself or my little brat?" Angelus asked sweetly. "He'll probably live. Unfortunately. Willow interrupted my playtime," Angelus tried to pout, but it came out as a sneer. "Come on, don't tell me we surprised you? You had to know we'd track you down. The forces of good really are pathetic."
"Cordy," Lorne muttered. "Get started princess."
Cordelia started to glow a brilliant white, drawing Willow's attention. "Oh, look-y here, Cordy thinks she's a jacked up super witch too. And you used to be such a trend-setter. Sad, really."
Cordelia ignored the witch, focusing her attention on Angelus. When he began to feel pain in his chest, he lunged toward Cordy, realizing her intent.
"Not so fast, Blood Boy," interrupted Gunn, stepping between Cordelia and the charging Angelus. He kicked out at the vampire, hitting him mid-stride and knocking him backwards a little.
"Ya, know the last time we were in this dimension, the soul barely had control.. I wonder.what I'd be like with nothing holding me back," Angelus speculated.
"Not gunna find out Fang Boy," Gunn said as his fist connected hard with Angelus' jaw.
"You never were a very good witch, were you, Willow?" Wesley taunted, trying to distract her from Cordelia's actions. "The only good thing you ever did was re-soul Angel, and you even managed to screw that up, didn't you?".
"Shut up, Wesley! You know nothing about me now. You think a few weeks as Watcher Extraordinaire to the most screwed up Slayer in history makes you an expert on me? On what I've been through? You have no idea," Willow stormed, turning from Cordelia to stalk Wes.
She grabbed the Watcher by his throat, as Cordelia continued to glow, muttering under her breath. Angelus lunged again, sending a kick to Gunn's side and again to his stomach knocking the wind out of him. The black man fell down sideways, but managed to trip Angelus with his leg as the vampire took another step towards Cordelia. Gunn managed to pin the disoriented vampire to the ground just as Cordelia became quiet.
A bright light beamed from the seer straight into Angelus. He screamed in pain as the light flashed through his eyes and Cordelia drooped to the ground exhausted. Lorne and Fred ran to her side helping her sit up.
The vampire stopped struggling, and stared at the man holding him down. "Gunn? What happened? ..Oh, God, Willow..." Angel murmured, anger and pain flooding in as the bond with Willow was re- established.
Angel pushed Gunn off him, and lumbered toward Willow, still reeling from the soul restoration. He could feel her hurt and confusion. As he approached her, Willow jerked towards him harshly, dropping Wesley to the ground. Angel wrapped both arms around her waist, holding her close and sending all his affection for her through their bond.
He tried to make her understand his feelings, his sorrow and guilt for the way he had treated her, his intention to make it up to her.
Willow pulled back slightly. "No, Angel. I'm not doing this. You spent too long blaming me for your time in Hell to just accept this now. You pushed me into this. Your pain, your anger and guilt, added to Xander's death was too much. I don't want to feel anymore. I want to make it all stop, and now I will, making you suffer while I kill your little friends. You ending up all ash-y will just be a bonus."
"Xander?" hiccupped Cordelia. "Xander's dead? Oh, God" she collapsed back to the ground, held tightly by Lorne.
"Yes, Xander's dead, Cordy." Willow turned in Angel's arms to face the girl. "Don't act like you care. You left Sunnydale the minute you graduated and never spoke to him again." Willow was getting agitated again, causing Angel to grip her tighter. Stray tears fell from his now soulful eyes as her grief started to return to her.
"Shh, shh. Now's not the time for this. Let's get back to L.A. and talk, ok?" Angel asked.
"No! Back Off!" the witch shrieked as she sent Angel hurdling backwards with a blast of magic.
"No, I Can't. Won't," Angel stated struggling to get to his feet. With the soul restoration, the feelings between the bond and the power Willow just hit him with, he was starting to feel weak.
"I have so much to tell you, so much to apologize for," he swallowed. "I was so wrong, Willow, I just want a chance to talk to you. Please?"
Willow sagged against his body as he wrapped his arms around her once more, letting him hold her upright. She could feel her walls starting to break down.
"I'm so, so sorry Willow, please forgive me," the vampire began to cry, begging. "I-I didn't mean for this to happen, you have to believe me. I needed you, still need you. That's why. I couldn't let you out of my life." He tried to explain more but his words were blending together as emotions poured out of him.
"I don't think I can forgive you, Angel. I'm not sure I want to," she stated trying to maintain her anger.
"Please? We were friends once, weren't we? I want to fix this."
"I don't know if I can trust you anymore. You're just feeling guilty and soulful again."
"It's not just the soul, Willow. Give me a chance to prove that to you. Let's go home, ok?"
Willow looked around the group, seeing the sincerity in Cordelia's grief, then stared at Angel again.
"Ok," she said simply.
Gunn led the way toward Angel's car, which they had used to get to Pylea in the first place. As everyone squeezed in, Angel asked, "Um, you guys do remember how to get back right?"
THE END