The group descended upon Angel investigations at twilight, piling out of
a pair of cars laden with heavy books, a
plethora of spell ingredients, and enough weapons to annex a small
middle eastern nation. Giles just hoped it would be
enough to conquer the demon that had felled Angel.
Cordelia unlocked the front door to the office, and escorted the five others
to the elevator leading to Angels apartment.
A witch, an ex-vengence demon, a pair of Watchers, the seer,
and....Xander. Varied and sundry lot. Pretty much
Angels only hope, besides the neutered vampire who was currently nowhere
to be seen.
As the elevator groaned its slow descent, the humans exchanged worried
glances. The noises echoing from the
vampires apartment were...
::Good lord::, Giles whispered, pulling open the chain door and stepping
one foot out of the small cage which opened
directly into Angels foyer. He sprang back almost immediately, throwing
his arms behind him to keep the rest of the
group inside as well.
::What is it Giles?:: Wesley asked worriedly, his concern for his employer
and friend growing by leaps and bounds as
the unearthly sounds rose into the night air, followed by crashes
and thuds which sounded mostly like....
::Some sort of tornado::, Cordelia stated, peering her head around Giles
shoulder to stare into the apartment. Objects
and furniture were being flung wildly about by an unseen hand,
landing in shattered pieces on the floor, only to be
picked up and careened about once more.
Willow cast her glance over the Watchers other shoulder. ::No,:: the red
haired witch asserted, ::its the result of some
kind of disturbance created by the Essence Demon. Its a manifestation
of some sort...::
::Indeed,:: agreed the older watcher, adding, ::Fascinating.::
Xander spoke up with the pressing issue. ::Yea, its got a great beat and
you can dance to it, I give it a 9. But,
*hello*? How are we going to get off this elevator without
getting killed by an unidentified flying toaster oven?::
::Willow, can you perform some sort of spell to stop... this?:: Wesley
queried, gesturing with his hand to indicate the
bizarre spinning motion of the front room and all its contents.
::I dont think so, :: replied the witch, ::Id have to know the exact cause
of it to stop it completely...but...I think I can do a
temporary spell...so we can get in and get Angel out of there...flying
wood no good for vamps and all...::
::Not so good for humans either, Wills::, Xander commented dryly.
But Willow was already chanting, softly and intently, her arms raised over
her head in supplication. Noone but Giles
understood the words, but whatever they were, they were having an
obvious effect on the state of affairs in the vampires
lair. The howling noise increased, roared through the apartment
like a living being, and sent a chilling wind into the
elevator, directly into the face of the witch. Willows hair blew
about wildly, her skirt billowed around her legs. Still she
kept chanting, knowing that she was angering something with her words,
and that to back down now would be to admit
a defeat which equaled certain disaster. Her prayer grew louder, as if
in battle with the cacaphonous force.
Then, silence.
Everything was still. The mortals could hear only the sounds of their own breathing.
Cautiously, deliberately, Giles stepped first off the elevator. Looking
around, he saw that eveything had frozen in place,
including numerous objects which were suspended in mid-air.
He carefully made his way around half broken pieces of
furniture which dangled in front of his eyes, and searched for either
vampire. Having no luck, he called for the others to
join him. ::Be careful::, he admonished them, needlessly.
Cordelia was behind him in an instant. ::Damn! My computer!:: She moaned
as she saw the smoking heap of twisted
metal which had once been her beloved MAC. :: I had AOL set up with
all my favorite places...every decent hairdresser
and spa in LA!::
Willow whispered fervently to the older Watcher,:: We need to hurry, I
dont know how long this calm will last. Something
was working against me during the casting, its only a matter of time
before it overcomes my spell.::
Giles nodded. ::Lets just find Angel and take him someplace safe, then
we can work on undoing whatever has been
done.::
Xander quickly agreed. He had nearly been skewered at the entrance to the
kitchen by a swinging axe, perched
precariously at the level of his head . ::Couldnt Angel just collect
stamps like normal people?:: he muttered,
noting unhappily the amount of weaponry which threatened, at any
moment, to resume its crazy space dance.
A shrill scream stopped his train of thought. Following the sound, the
group staggered around the obstacle course
created by broken and dangling furniture and sharp objects, and made
their way into the bedroom. Willow brought a
hand to her mouth, and Xander choked back the gag which threatened.
The sight was disturbing, even for a group as
experienced in mayhem as the six gathered here.
Angels room was completely saturated in dried blood. It looked as if someone
had literally painted the walls scarlet.
Which wouldnt have explained the red caked on the coverlets, the
floor, and similarly, all the smashed furnishings.
Eveything in the room was smashed to unrecognizable, crimson tainted
bits. The only thing which remained seemingly
untouched, albeit also blood covered, was the four post bed.
::Cordelia...step away...:, Wesley instructed, ::this is no place for..:..
he trailed off as she shot him a hard look. There was
also the fact that she didnt seem particularly upset about the new
crimson decor. Rather, her eyes were focused firmly
on the bed, and the shadowy figures upon it, barely visible in the
dim light of the apartment.
::What, you think I was screaming over a little blood?:: At the others
stares, she modified, ::All right. Alot of blood. But
no....its *that!*.::
She pointed toward the bed to clarify. ::Thats Angel there...and...SPIKE! Spikes killed him!!::
Giles was about to point out the obvious...that fleshy vampire bodies equal
living vampire bodies, when it dawned on
Cordelia as well. ::Ok! Ok! Obviously he hasnt killed him yet, cause..cause
everythings frozen! But hes about to! Look! I
mean what else would ...they....be.......do--...::
Five heads swiveled, ten eyebrows rasied. Giles cleared his throat.
The older Watcher was the first to approach the immobile pair, sidestepping
the array of knives and swords which
hovered dangerously above him. He reached out gingerly, and pulled
back the soiled coverlet. ::Ah, well, yes....not
killing him, then.:: He quickly replaced the quilt.
::It does present us with a spot of a dillemma though::, mused the smaller Watcher.
::What? That Deadboy swings both ways? Cause, yea. Color me surprised.:: Xander stated with a sarcastic grin.
::Er...quite...:: , began Giles, ::but, no...No the problem is that we cannot move them.::
::Because youre afraid to touch a naked vampire? Ill do it!:: Anya
volunteered, speaking up for the first time since
entering the apartment. Xander shot her a look that would have cowed...anyone
but Anya.
::No, :: Wesley explained. ::We cannot move them because they are joined --::
::EWW!!:: a mutual battlecry.
::Not *that* kind of joined. Their conciousness is linked. Apparantly,
when
Spike began to feed off of Angel he linked with him. We have no idea what
would happen if we attempted to break the circle...::
::Circle!:: shouted Willow. ::Ok, thats it! We need to cast a circle! Now!
Here! Before the
cease and desist spell breaks!::
With that cue, the room began to vibrate once more, and the ghastly howling
began. Objects flew about first randomly,
then began an orbit around the heads of the onlookers. Cordelia ducked
an alarm clock, and a pair of
hairbrushes narrowly missed Xanders skull. He was nonplussed. ::So,
anyone else here thinking all we need now is a
midget and Carol Anne?::
He was grabbed by several pairs of hands and drawn into the formation of
a circle. ::Wait!:: Wesley shouted above the
growing din ::We have to put them in the middle first! Once its cast,
they can not get in.::
Willow nodded; the Watcher was right. Once the sacred circle was cast,
it
would act as any religious object, and repel the vampires entrance. They
needed to be safely inside of it before the spell could begin.
::So I get to move the naked vampires?!:: Anya clasped her hands together
gleefully.
Ignoring the last, the men hurriedly crossed the room to the bed, and moved
it far enough away from the wall so that the
circle could be formed around it. Giles glanced down at the floor,
and spied the small green stone, laying untouched in
the wreckage. He tossed it to Wesley, who quickly placed it in his
pocket. Tasks completed, Giles and Willow led the
casting of the circle around the vampires and all the mortals gathered.
The job proved more difficult than any expected. As the young witch had
asscertained earlier, some force was
definately working against the groups majik. It took all of her energy
to draw on the protection of the entities she
summoned, and to conjure the sacred space with their assistance. When the
deed was at last done, she fell to her
knees, panting.
::Giles, that was too hard::, she huffed, clutching at her chest. ::It
shouldnt have been that hard.:: The Watcher nodded,
and looked around at the still careening room. Nothing breached the
sacred space they had just created.
::Indeed,:: he agreed, ::but it does look as though we are all safe here, for the time being anyway. ::
::Still, we should work as quickly as possible to undo this Essence Demon.
I dont like the...what shall I call it...something
about the way this place *feels*?:: Wesley asked.
Xander finished for him. ::Vibes, man. Its got really really creepy vibes.
And surprisingly enough, its not just from the gay
vampire orgy.::
Anya placed a hand on his broad shoulder. ::Xander, you know Ive told you
several times that an orgy is *more* than two
--::
Giles cut her off. ::And now for something completely less nauseating. Lets begin hitting the books, shall we?::
Soon, all were deeply immersed enough in their research that they were
oblivious to the wail of the Essence Demon.
None would admit it, but ignoring the naked pair of vampires took
a wee bit longer.
End Part 11