::Thats a tad Old Testemant for a good Catholic boy, aint it Peaches?::
Spike was whispering somewhere in Angels
mind. He could hear it again, without hearing it.
Angel turned over in the wet grass to look at the fountain, now running
red with blood. The crimson pool spilled over the
marble edges and seeped into the earth below. The stone angel grimaced
at them in the darkness, a gargoyle, cold
and indifferent.
Angel shook his head. ::Im not doing that Spike,....:: he answered, although his lips never moved.
::Dru?:: Spike turned to look for the woman who had, only moments before,
he was certain, lain sleeping between the
two male vampires. She was nowhere in sight.
Angel blinked slowly as the smaller man stood. He seemed to shimmer somehow,
as if he was made entirely of
dancing molecules and fragments of light. Angel shook his head and
the vision cleared, but as he watched, Spikes
nude form was suddenly clothed, first in the Eighteenth century finery,
then the familiar Neo-Gothic garb. The larger
vampire stared, unmoving, as the auburn hair of his lover shifted,
shrank back closer to his scalp, and faded to
a platinum blonde. The stripes of paint which had marked his cheeks
dissapeared as well, replaced by the bruises
Angel recalled making himself, before this strange journey had begun.
When he had loosed his demon full force upon
his lover.
((Not truly full on, you had more planned, Angelus))
Angel shivered, and tossed away the thought. He glanced down at his own
form. His naked body was now covered too,
by black jeans, a bulky, dark sweater, and the trademark black duster.
He reached a hand to touch his spiky, short hair.
Spike was looking at him intently, the blue eyes reflecting and refracting
the darkness, turning to yellow glass in the
moonlight. ::I dont like this, Angel.:: he whispered, out loud this
time. Angel was relieved to hear the voice. It shattered
the surreal feeling which surrounded him. He reached out a hand to
touch the smaller mans face, fingertips lightly
brushing the cold, soft skin.
Physical. Material. Sure.
Then the larger vampire nodded tersely, and glanced back to where the mansion was -- n't......
::Shit!:: he muttered, grabbing for Spikes hand.
::What the fucks goin on, Sire?:: Angel realized the question was mostly
rhetorical. It was the only way Spike could look
to him with any sort of reassurance. He would never express fears
aloud. In response, Angel squeezed the slim fingers
within his own tightly.
::I dunno, Spike, but its not...its not me anymore. Im not doing any of
this....:: Angels stomach lurched to his throat as he
realized the truth. ::We have to get out of here. Now.::
::Giles! I think I found it!:: Willow shouted excitedly. She handed a large
tome to the Watcher, who eyed it with growing
excitement. ::Yes- yes, this may work!:: he agreed. Then his voice
lowered ever so slightly. ::Its very dangerous.::
Xander snorted. ::More dangerous than starving to death amidst chicken droppings? Cause, Im there.::
Anya shrugged and patted his belly. ::Not like you couldnt lose a few pounds around the middle.::
Xander glared at her, and turned to Giles. ::Whats the what already?::
The group listened intently as the older Watcher translated directions
on the creation of a portal into conciousness....
Angel kept a firm grip on his Childes hand as they ran through what had
once been the garden. Where flowers had
moments ago bloomed, only brown, dusty remnants remained. The once
full trees were bare, limbs twisted and
decayed. The blood from the never ending fountain crawled through
the ground, and everywhere it touched, the soil
bubbled and disintegrated, leaving gaping holes and the stench of
death.
Angel looked to the sky; the moon had started its descent. He suddenly
realized that until now, it had indeed stood still,
as Dru had promised. But now the moon was careening through the heavens
like a chariot afire, the stars flickering
and burning in random patterns around it. If the pace kept up, sunrise
would not be long in coming. And the mansion
was gone. There would be nowhere to hide.
Spike realized it the moment Angel did. He shut his eyes for a moment,
panic flashing in them too quickly for a mortal
to catch. ::Druscilla!:: he shouted, sending out voice and Bloode
bond to her. Angel closed his eyes as well, and joined
in the preterntural summons.
Only silence met their plea. ::Its no use, Will. She cut it.:: Angel said.
Spike ducked his head, disbelieving, guilty.... ::Its not your fault, Childe,
:: Angel whispered. ::We have to get
someplace safe.::
The blond vampire looked at the crumbling earth beneath his boots, and
nodded. Angel raised his brows in uneasy
agreement. Underground. Deep enough where the sunlight could not
reach, they could steal time... to think, to make a
plan. Maybe even to survive long enough to be rescued by the mortal
crew Spike had enough foresight to call upon.
Angel made a mental note to thank him again for that if they lived
through this.
::You sure you wanna.....?:: Angel gestured to the ground to finish his
question, expecting and recieving a glower as a
reply. Nonetheless he felt compelled to ask.
The taller vampire had been buried as part of his turning. He had clawed
his way from the half frozen earth and simple
wood box which was his grave, to find Darla standing above the desecrated
site, waiting for him. Angelus had never
put Will into the earth. And although there was nothing which could
harm them there, it was.....
::I lived in a mausoleum, Peaches. I aint afraid of a little bit o dirt.::
Spike snorted, then asked, :: You sure youre up to
it? Takes some heavy majik, luv. I couldnt -- I mean, Ive never done
it.::
Angel squelched his grin and nodded. ::Yea, I think I got some kick
left...for an Ol man.:: He referred back to their
earlier conversation without thinking. The familiar banter was always
comforting. At the moment, it was the only thing
slicing through the tension, which otherwise hung thick and palatable
in the stale, musky air.
::Shame to mess up the jacket though.:: Spike countered, and Angel finally had to give up a grin for him.
::All right then, lets do it.::
::What language is that?:: Xander whispered to the ex demon clutching at
his hand. Anya looked nervous; that couldnt
be a good sign. Shed lived this stuff for a millenium. ::Its a form
of Aramaic. The spell is Quaballistic in origin, :: she
whispered back. Xander made believe he knew what the hell she was
talking about. But he was having a hard time
getting past the fact that the younger Watcher, the witch, and his
girlfriend looked mildly petrified.
::Youre shaking, Anya::, he murmured, and tugged her closer into his embrace.
::Well, you would be too if you knew
*anything*.:: Xander ignored the putdown in favor of the warning.
::Ok, so fill me in.::
::Giles is opening a door into Angels conciousness...his --:: she began.
But Xander cut her off. ::Essence? Soul?:: he
finished for the red headed demon.
She nodded. ::If he even gets through the portal, theres no guarantee hes coming back.::
Xanders mouth fell open. ::You mean...he has to go *in* to Angel? Like Spike is? Only..without the...ick factor.::
The girl nodded again. ::Yes. He has to go in. Its the only way to alter
anything. But once hes in....its up to Angel to get
them all out. And thats not looking very likely considering,...::
she waved her hand in the direction of the bloody bed,
and the vampires who had been.... suspended....for almost an entire
day and night.
::Someone remind me why were doing this again?:: Xander whispered.
But Cordelia heard him. When she turned to face the boy, it took some
channeling of his inner hyena not to cower at
that icy glare. Suddenly he was standing in front of her hospital
bed, after shed nearly died from a fall in a
warehouse....And she and Oz had just caught Xander and Willow in a moment
of foolish passion....And she was
looking at him with the most intense and focused hatred he had ever
seen in a living being.
::Youre doing *this* again because youve treated Angel like total shit
for long enough. Your weak and stupid and
jealousies have caused enough pain all around, and I for one am OVER
IT. So either get with the program, or go
back to doing what youre good at. Oh yea...I forgot. You dont *have*
anything youre good at.::
{{She shoots, she scores. Good old Cordy.}}
The answer was on his tongue, really it was, something profound and
scathing... But there was a whirlpool arising
behind Giles suddenly, a big blue spinning light, like a cross between
a hurricaine and a tornado, and inside it, he
could just make out darkness....earth...and sky....and as Giles continued
to chant, it was getting closer to the
Watcher...drawing him inside.....And there was a hideous, unearthly
howl......which made the wail of the Essence
Demon sound like a yapping poodle by way of comparison....And
then there was Nothing.
::Angel?:: Spike whispered....
::Yea?::
::Where the fuck are we?:: No fear. Just curiosity. The vampire was
beyond fear at this point. His physical self was in
LA, in Angels apartment, his *Essence* was buried eight feet underground,
and yet somehow...he was ..standing in a
...Museum.....
::I hate soddin Impressionist Art. Why Impressionist Art, you romantic poof?!::
:: I dunno.:: The older vampire shrugged. A dream within a dream within a.....thinking about it made his teeth hurt.
The two moved to sit on a stone bench, facing the work ~The Rouen Cathedral~
by Monet. Glorious, resplendent
sunlight whirled off the spires of the late nineteenth century church.
Probably painted right before Angelus gained
a soul.... Spike cocked his blond head. ::Freaky, really. If you
look at it long enough, theres a naked bird in there.::
Angel grinned. ::Is not.:: Nonetheless, Spike watched the dark vampire
cock his head at the same angle and squint
slightly....
::We need to talk.:: Angel said finally.
Spike sighed. ::You know, pet, according to Cosmo, when your lover says *we have to talk* , its always a bad sign.::
{{Cosmo? Oh yea...stupid girlie magazine...Cordy leaves those laying around
the office...why is Spike reading
Cosmo?}}
::Hey! I was neutered, chained in a bathtub, forced to live with
Rupert, and then *Xander*! It was a weak moment. Sue
me!.::
::You could hear that? I didnt...conciously.. send that one...:: Angel mused.
::Well, technically, were not talking at all. Were either on the bed...or
in the ground...or ...oh sod it. I dunno where the
fuck we are. But the bloods doin it. Yea, I hear everything youre
thinking. Even the stuff way at the back...like ---:: , the
blond paused and held a hand to his forehead for dramatic emphasis.
:: My my Peaches! You surprise me. Youre
thinking about that time in the Louvre in what was it? 1890-some...?
Me and you and Dru --::, he wriggled his brows
and gave Angel the trademark lacivious smirk.
The dark vampire looked impressed. ::Wow. Yea...yea.. I was..maybe thats
why we ended up here...the demon must
be snatching random images from my brain as well.... Look...the power
you have now, to hear *all* of me, try to put
some of it down. If you keep up that rate itll make you crazy. Im
sorry....I should have taught you this stuff before.
Angelus wasnt much into sharing power.::
Spike shurgged. ::Whatever, pet. How do I turn the volume down?::
Angel reached forward and lay his hand against Spikes cool forehead. ::Just
will it. Close off that part of your brain. I
dont know how it works. Hell, I dont know how *we* work. It just...does.::
The smaller vampire grimaced. ::Now youre a bleedin Nike commercial.::
Ignoring Angels confused stare, he shut his
eyes, and *willed* it...and ...holy hell. Now only Angels most focused
thoughts floated across to him. Well. That
was easy. And quite amusing. Angelus was a right bastard not teaching
him all this.
The tall vampire smiled. ::Yea, he was -- is. Anyway, *Now* we need to
talk.::
::Whats happening?:: a mortal voice in the darkness....Darkness...no, that
wasnt really the correct word. It was not just
darkness. It was ....absence of light. Absence of anything.
The voice floated, then was sucked into the Nothing.