~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 31~
Cordelia was tired of not knowing what they were doing. She and Giles had finally left the magic shop with a big bag of all sorts of supplies for the incantation they were supposed to perform, but as far as she knew, they still didn't have a spell to work from. She had tried asking Giles about that, but he didn't seem to want to hear her. He seemed to be all caught up in his own little world, trusting her to just follow his lead, and quite frankly, she was sick of it. When he turned into the doorway of an apartment building about a block away from Angel's apartment, and began pushing intercom buttons, she decided that she had finally had enough. "Giles." Cordelia said, flatly, "No." She caught his eyes with her own, refusing to look away. "I'm not going any farthur until you tell me what we're doing here. We went and got all those supplies, and we don't even have a spell... So what gives?... What are we doing?" She almost cringed away from the angry look in his eyes, but managed to hold her ground. After all, it wasn't the first time that someone had been mad at her... she'd just never gotten that look from Ripper... and that was exactly who was looking at her that way now.
Giles sighed, rubbing his hand over his eyes, and began to answer when he heard the low buzzing tone coming from the door of the building. Someone had rung them in. He pulled open the door, and gestured for Cordelia to precede him. At her stubborn look, he sighed again. "All right, Cordelia, I'll explain everything, but... let's just get inside first, OK?" At her slow nod, he let her pass him, and entered the builing on her heels. He steered her to the elevator, getting in and pressing the button for the top floor. They stood together in silence as they ascended, and when the doors finally opened, he led her to the stairs, and up the two flights to the roof. "All right," he said, after rigging the door so that it wouldn't lock them outside, "I can explain..." He walked over to the edge of the roof, looking down at the street as he began to speak. "OK, Cordelia... you wanted to know what we're doing... well, it's a... not exactly a spell... it's more of a request to certain powers, living in the ether... some of the things that we got at the magic shop are just... offerings, I suppose you could say... Oh, some of them are needed for the calling, but these... beings... aren't really the type of creatures that you call on without having some sort of a... not gift precisely... more like a... bribe? Yes, I suppose that's what I mean. A bribe... Something to keep them from ripping your head off..." he mumbled the last, not completely aware that he'd spoken that bit out loud until he saw the shudder passing through his companion. "Oh, I'm sorry, Cordelia, did you think that we were going to the fluffy bunnies of information? No... the only ones who will be able to help us are not nice creatures... but they can be managed, as long as you know what you're doing. And in this particular case, I do know..." He saw the disturbed look on the beautiful girl's face and continued. "Look. Willow is... well, she's like a daughter to me, and that means that she's family. You don't walk away from your family. This is the fastest, simplest way to find out whether she's still alive... or whether that bastard Angelus has killed her... or worse, turned her..." He pulled his mind back from the awful thought, feeling an icy shiver pass down his spine. He had seen the vampire version of the young witch, and it hadn't been a sight that he wanted to experience again. "So, I'm going to do this... and hope for the best... And if he has turned her," he said, answering the question in her eyes, "I will kill him... slowly... And I will enjoy every moment of it."
Cordelia felt the fear coiling in her stomach as she saw the look in his eyes. He would do it, she knew. He would find a way to get to Angelus, and he would hurt him... a lot... before finally putting the demon out of its misery. She had one other question, though... "Giles?" she said softly, not wanting his anger turned on her, "What about Willow?... I mean, if he's turned her, what do we do about Willow?... I don't think I could kill her..." She barely held in her sigh of relief as she saw his expression soften a little as he looked at her.
"I don't know, Cordelia... it depends on whether she's killed yet... maybe we can restore her soul, like she did with Angel..." He shook his head slowly, looking away. "But don't worry. Whatever happens, if it becomes necessary to... well, it won't be up to you... if it must be done, I shall do it..." he smiled sadly, not noticing the tear slowly slipping down his cheek. "It's a father's place, after all..." He found himself lost in the what-if for a few moments, wondering whether he'd be able to do it... to completely eradicate the young girl who had taken over so much of his heart. He had never regretted not having children of his own... and he still didn't, because he knew, in his heart, that no child of his blood could ever have made him as happy, and proud, as the quiet young hacker whom the fates had thrown into his path. No father could ever love a child of their body as much, he was certain. And, he decided, if he had to do it... to kill her... he would... if only to save her soul from centuries of torment... What father would do any less?
He pulled himself from his dark, despairing thoughts, and looked at the young woman standing there with him, knowing deep inside that she was family as well... his family, and if necessary, she was another one that he would die to protect. "All right, then... lets get started. Cordelia, you sit over there." He pointed to a spot about six feet away, and waited until she was settled. "Make sure that you're comfortable," he commanded, as he began to draw a series of protective circles around her. "You will not be able to move about much until this is over. And whatever you do, don't break this circle..." He looked sternly at her, nodding finally, when he saw the understanding in her eyes. "I mean it, Cordelia... no matter what you see, or think you see, don't break this circle..." He sighed, looking down at the concrete of the roof. "I may have already lost Willow; I have no intention of losing you, too."
Cordelia swallowed hard, looking searchingly at the former watcher. She felt a lump in her throat as he looked up again and met her eyes. He loved her... she was family, too... She smiled inside at the warmth that thought caused. Her own family had never really cared about her... she had always known that... but here was something better. A family, together not because of bloodlines, but because of love... true emotions... She sighed. Yes, this was her family... and she would do anything to try to keep it intact. "Yes, Giles." she said seriously, "I understand. I stay right here, I do what you tell me, and I don't stir from this circle... not until it's over with, anyway... Why am I here again?"
Giles looked at her closely before answering. He didn't want to scare her but... "You're the bait." He said gently. "They won't come without something of beauty as a lure, and I can't imagine anything more beautiful... or more to their tastes..." He felt himself beginning to smile widely as she responded.
" Hey!" Cordelia cried, "What do you mean I'm to their tastes? Do I have 'Demon Bait' written on my forehead or something?" She paused for a moment, thinking wildly, "'Cause that would exlain a lot!"
Giles laughed aloud at her comments, before finally hushing her. He finished making the protective circles for the girl, and continued with the binding circle for whatever he managed to call before finally assuming his own position and completing his own. It was time to begin. "I call upon the dark and light, the beings old and new, I call upon the stars and sky, Give answers, for I seek..." He looked at Cordelia, rolling his eyes as they both burst out laughing. "OK," Giles said, "Do you remember that? From high school?" At her nod and renewed laughter, he sighed. Those had been good days... "Right, then," he said, completely serious, "Let's get started."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Spike didn't know what the hell was going on. One minute, he and Red had been making love on the couch, the next minute, she was crying. And it wasn't that 'Oh, god, it's finally happened' kind of happy, relieved crying, either. It was that deep, heart-rending, gut-wrenching 'I've lost everything, and I'll never get it back' kind of crying. He hadn't thought it was that bad... OK, maybe it could have lasted longer, but... He didn't know what to do... he wanted to make things better, but... So he just sat there, arms around the little witch in his lap, rubbing circles against her back, not knowing what to say. Finally, he felt her sobs beginning to taper off. "Red?" he said gently, "Red... luv, what's wrong? What did I do? Whatever it is, I'm sorry... don't cry, luv... Spike'll make it better..." He sighed as he felt her shake her head against his neck. She wasn't redy to talk about it yet... that was fine, she'd tell him eventually. He slowly scooted the both of them to the edge of the couch. "Hush, luv," he said softly, as he stood, taking her with him. "I'm just putting you to bed." He felt her relaxing against him at his gentle words, and carried her down the hall to the cheerleader's guest room. Closing the door behind them, he set the small redhead down and pulled back the sheets. He lifted her again, set her gently down on the bed, and went to pull the sheets up over her naked body.
Willow felt as though she was just coming out of a dense fog... her mind had been so cloudy, but... she remembered it all... the night with Angel... waking up with Angelus... running back to Cordelia's, and... Spike. Spike, who had been so caring, and tender, until she had made it clear that tender hadn't been what she was looking for... Spike, who was trying to take care of her, even now... She lay back in the bed, watching his pale body as he started to cove her with the sheets. "Spike," she said softly, placing one small, warm hand on his arm. "Spike?" she said again, almost gasping when she saw the look in his eyes. He loved her... not that 'I love you' thing that guys always said, but never meant, after they had sex with you... he really loved her... why had she never seen it before? She ran her hand lightly up and down the smooth skin of his arm, and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Stay with me?" she asked in a small voice, almost afraid of what his answer would be. She smiled a little when he only nodded and slipped into the bed with her, pulling the sheets up over them, and taking her into his arms. She could feel sleep overtaking her, and was barely aware of it when she mumbled "Don't leave me..." She fell deep into slumber, not hearing his response.
"Never, pet... never."
~Part: 32~
Angelus had been roaming the tunnels for what felt like hours. He just couldn't seem to keep his mind off of the look on his little witch's face when he had finished her punishment. She had looked so betrayed. He knew that it shouldn't bother him, but it did. (Must be that damned soul's influence,) he thought angrily, lashing out with his large fist, knocking a chunk out of the brick wall. (I never had this problem before...) he continued to himself, not noticing the blood dripping from his hand, (It's gotta be the soul... So this is what guilty feels like.) It was an interesting sensation, mostly due to it's unfamiliarity. He could feel Soulboy writhing in agony within him, horrified by the things that Angelus had done to the girl he loved. (Oh, pipe down, nancy-boy,) Angelus thought, knowing the soul could hear him, (I love her, too, you know... and I'm gonna apologize when I get home...) he felt the soul quiet a bit. (I just need a good meal first.) He grinned as he felt the soul beginning to struggle again. (Don't you know it's no use, boy? You're not getting out unless I let you out... and that's never gonna happen, so you might as well just get used to it...) Angelus smiled his satisfaction as he felt the despair rediating from the tiny corner of his mind where he kept the soul caged up. (Hmmm...) he thought, enjoying tormenting his 'better' half, ( I know who I can eat... and I can get there quick if I just take that turning up ahead...) He felt the soul renew it's struggles as he took the branching of the tunnel that would lead him to the well-shaded alley behind the C-note Lounge.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Giles was glad that Cordelia had taken his warnings seriously. She had remained almost perfectly still in her circle during the whole calling, only moving once when the creature he had called let slip that not only was Willow not turned, but she also wasn't dead... The being had been quite disappointed at not getting Cordelia, but had, in the end, been satisfied with the fermented mandrake root and pickled hemlock that Giles had offered. The only problem was that now that the creature had been banished back to its home plane, Cordelia wouldn't believe that it was gone. She had been sitting, stock still, in her circle for the last fifteen minutes, refusing to come out. "Cordelia," Giles tried again, "It's gone... it's safe, now..." He rolled his eyes as the girl just looked at him and made one of those 'Pffff' noises that he usually found so amusing. "Come on, Cordelia," he said, sounding annoyed, having finally lost what little patience he'd had, "Get out of the damned circle! We need to find Willow so that we can protect her."
"Oh, no," Cordelia replied, the tone of her voice making it clear that she wasn't going anywhere. " You go find Willow. I'm staying right here!" She cut off his attempted protest. " You weren't the one that thing wanted to eat! I'm not going anywhere... not until I'm sure it's gone..." She croosed her arms over her chest, trying to make the shivering stop. The look in the creatures eyes, all six of them, was going to haunt her dreams for years... she just knew it. And the tentacles... she didn't even want to think about the tentacles. She felt herself shuddering even more.
Giles sighed, and did what he should have done from the very beginning. He stepped forward and rubbed out a section of each of the chalk circles surrounding the girl, trying not to smile as he heard her shriek of fear. He looked at her, huddled there on the cement, feeling badly for the fright she'd had, and crouched down beside her. "Cordelia... you ceased to exist for him as soon as he accepted our gifts... you could have left the circle then, and he wouldn't have touched you, wouldn't even have seen you." He recoiled from the glare she gave him as she raised her head.
"And you couldn't have told me this sooner... why?"
"Well, I did try," Giles said, in a far too reasonable tone, "But you wouldn't listen..." He stood as she began to relax a little, and offered her his hand to help getting up. Pulling her to her feet, he slowly began to gather the remains of their supplies. "Right," he said, "Now all we need to do is figure out what all that 'Red Bird' stuff was that he was talking about..."
"Why?" Cordelia said, still a little bit angry at the watcher. "We wanted to know about Willow, and now we do... unless she's the red bird." Cordelia stopped suddenly, as she figured it out. "Giles! The red bird! I know who it is!" She saw his look of astonishment. "What? I can't know something you don't?" she asked teasingly, "I may have been Sunnydale girl, but L.A. is my town now."
Giles smiled at the look on the girl's face. (I've really got to stop under-estimating her...) he thought wryly, (She's a good deal more than anyone would expect... I mean, who would have thought that smart and savvy could be hidden in such an... enticing package...) He cut the thought off as he realized where his mind was leading him. (No, Rupert,) he told himself, (She's just a girl... and you're old enough to be her father, man... snap out of it!) "Yes," he said distractedly, trying to pull his mind away from the pictures of Cordelia that it was conjuring, "Yes, I suppose it is..." He saw her looking at him oddly. "Sorry... I was just thinking about those... tentacles..." He grinned to himself as he saw her cringe. ( That'll keep her from wondering about what was really on my mind...)
"All right... so who is it?" He sighed, taking in her blank look. "The red bird, Cordelia... who is it?"
"Oh!" she cried, suddenly recalling herself. "It's Luce... Lucinda Darke..." She saw the look of non-comprehension on his face, and realized that she hadn't told him about her... at all. "Come on, Giles... I'll tell you on the way." She grabbed the bag of used magic supplies from his hand and headed through the door and down the stairs to the street, telling him, as quickly as she could, everything that she knew, or even suspected, about the red haired singer.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Matthias and Waiter Bob stood silently at the bar as they watched the band practicing. It was just one of the perks of being family. Lucinda and the guys had been at it for almost an hour, and they were all getting frustrated. It seemed that no matter how many times they tried, they just couldn't get this one song to come out right... and that was highly unusual. Matthias sighed as he saw Lucinda signal a break, and watched carefully as she walked towards them.
"Waiter Bob... Matthias," she said, with a nod for the two of them. "So... what are we doing wrong?" She reached out and grabbed a glass, leaning over the bar to pull the beer tap. After filling her glass and shutting the tap off, she turned back to them. "Well?" she said, obviously waiting for an answer.
Matthias looked at the man next to him, and replied himself when it became obvious that Waiter Bob had nothing to say. "I don't know, Luce... maybe you just shouldn't do that one for a while... It doesn't seem like you're feeling it... inside."
Lucinda sighed and took a sip of her beer. "You're right, love... that's pretty much what I thought, too. But I wanted to see if it was obvious, or if it was just me..."
"It's never just you, Luce, you know that." Matthias said gently.
"Yes, love... I do..." She swallowed the rest of the beer quickly, setting the glass down on the bar, and looked at the two men with her. "I'm going to my dressing room. Please be sure that I'm not disturbed." She accepted their nods of asent, and turned, walking away. "Oh, and tell the guys to take another half an hour... I need to re-work the set list." she called back over her shoulder, as she reached the door to the back stage.
Matthias sighed, and turned to his companion. "So..." he asked, trying to fill the time, "Why 'Waiter Bob'? Why not just Bob?"
"Because," came a dangerous sounding voice from the shadows near the back alley door, "He's a servant..." Waiter Bob's gasp of surprise and horror could be heard throughout the entire room. Not that it mattered, there was no one there but the three of them. "Isn't that right, Waiter Bob?" Angelus was amused as he stepped out of the shadows. He lived for this... the smell of fear, the sound of frantic heartbeats. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, then frowned. He stalked towards the two at the bar, almost laughing when Waiter Bob tried to run, and then froze. He loved the effect he had on the pitiful creature. The other one, though... He searched his mind before coming up with a name from the soul's memory. "And you're Matthias... the Lady's 'brother'..." He stepped closer and inhaled the boy's scent, curiousity making himforget entirely about the servant. "Funny... you don't smell like her brother... but you are related..." He cocked a lazy brow at the boy, and leaned against the bar beside him, acting for all the world as if he owned the place. "Explain that to me, why don't you... You almost smell... human..." Angelus smiled as he saw and felt Matthias stiffen. "Oh, that's right... your kind don't like questions... I forgot..." He leaned in closer and said in a low, dangerous voice, "But tell me anyway..." He stiffened himself when he heard the voice coming from behind him. (The Lady!) he thought.
"No, Matthias," Lucinda said, swiftly crossing the floor and inserting herself between the two men. "Don't tell him anything. Go back to our rooms." She heard him begin to protest and cut him off. " Go! I command it!" She didn't look at him, not wanting to see the hurt in his eyes as he slowly turned and began to leave. "Matthias!" she cried, her voice breaking a little. She saw him pause. "I'm sorry, Matthias... this is my mess... I have to take care of it myself..." She saw him nod, still not turning to look at her, and then continue to the door, leaving without so much as a good bye. She turned her attention back to the man at her side. "Angelus. What do you want?"
"What do you think I want, Lady?" he asked, hating the tone of respect in his own voice. "I want to know why you broke our deal... I was given to understand that your kind held their word as sacred, and yet, here you are... and he's seen you... if I hadn't kept the memories from him..."
"But you did... and I didn't violate our agreement. I had nothing to do with it. The Seer had a vision. And before you ask, no, it wasn't sent by one of us. The vision brought them here. I was as surprised as you are to see him... you... again." She thought for a moment. "And he hasn't exactly seen me... he's seen my human face, but not mine."
Angelus grinned, a little wickedly, thinking about the last time he'd seen her. "So what are you going by now?... Lucinda?... Oh, no, wait... Luce. You told him to call you Luce... Not too bright of you, was it? Very close to the name you were using last time."
Lucinda sighed, moving closer to him, and spoke up into his eyes. "I didn't even know that he was in L.A. How could I? I promised that I wouldn't keep tabs on you... him... oh, whatever, you know what I mean..."
"No, Luce," he said, inhaling the never forgotten smell of her. "What do you mean?"
She pushed away from him, earning herself a low growl from the man before her. "I mean that I swore not to keep a watch on you, and I haven't. L.A.... well, this is just somewhere we play every year or so. I wasn't looking for you... not that I wasn't glad to see you... the other you... oh, gods, this is just too confusing." She stepped back as he moved closer. "No, Angelus... just go..."
"All right," he said lightly, almost teasingly, "I have to go see my girl, anyway..." He didn't miss her sharp intake of breath. "I knew you wouldn't like that." he said softly but triumphantly.
"It's not that, Angelus... it's your girl."
"Willow?" he said, surprised, "What about Willow?"
She smiled a little wickedly herself. "I just thought you ought to know..."
"What?" he growled, suddenly wondering how she knew about the little witch.
"Willow..." Lucinda smiled at what she knew his reaction would be to what she said next. "Willow is one of ours." She wasn't disappointed as he spun on his heel and ran to the alley door he had entered by. (Check mate.) she thought, as she turned and left the club through another door. It was time to find Matthias; to tell him she was sorry. She sighed. She had a feeling that she'd be apologizing for a long time to come.
~Part: 33~
"So you think that this Lucinda Darke knows more than she lets on..." Giles said tentatively, trying to keep up with the suddenly energetic Seer. "I mean, I heard what you said, and it does sound a bit... off... but maybe you're reading things into the situation that just..." He was cut off by Cordelia's strident tone.
"No, Giles... you're a guy, you wouldn't understand... it's a woman thing... or maybe a Seer thing, I'm not sure about that... but she definitely knows something... and Angel said that he felt like he knew her from somewhere... but he couldn't remember..." She stopped suddenly, almost causing Giles to run right into her. "That's it!" She cried triumphantly, "Somebody's messed with his memory..." She frowned slightly, working it through in her mind. "I'm don't know who or why, but somebody did... and it wasn't Luce..." She saw Giles looking at her like she was crazy. "What? It's the only possible answer!"
Giles couldn't quite figure out exactly how Cordelia had arrived at that conclusion. He had never heard of anyone altering a vampire's memory without using some fairly powerful magics, and any spell of that strength would have left its mark on Angel. He would have fairly glowed with the power of it. "I don't think so, Cordelia," he said, before explaining the details to her. "And besides," he continued, seeing her thinking about the information, "You said that this woman is only what? Mid-twenties at most? He would have had to meet her sometime in the last five or six years, then... and we know where he's been during that time..." He sighed at the disappointment that crossed her lovely face. "I'm sorry... but the red bird must be someone or something else..." He froze when he heard the voice coming from directly behind him, and saw Cordelia stiffen, looking over his shoulder.
"No... I'm afraid you're wrong about that."
Giles turned around quickly, reaching into his pocket for the stake he'd had hidden there, and found himself just inches away from the greenest eyes he had ever seen in his life. "He- hello..." he stammered.
Lucinda sighed silently, knowing that apologizing to Matthias was going to have to wait just a little while longer. (But he did say to talk to the Seer...) She looked away from the man in front of her, glancing beyond him to his companion. "Cordelia. So nice to see you... aren't you going to introduce me to your 'friend'?"
Cordelia felt her eyes widen as she realized that, Giles' reasoning aside, Lucinda obviously did know something about what was going on. "Umm, yeah... Luce, this is my friend, and Angel's, Rupert Giles... Giles, this is Lucinda Darke... the woman I was telling you about... You know... the one who isn't involved with any of this?" She couldn't resist the dig at him, she just couldn't. He started to stammer again, this time with embarrassment, and had the situation been any less serious, she would have laughed.
"Now, Cordelia," Lucinda said lightly, "It's hardly fair to make fun... after all, he is just a man... and you're the Seer... you have access to vast pools of intuition, and that gives you a decided advantage..." She broke off at their stunned looks, and sighed. "I can see that we have a lot to talk about. Please... come inside," she said, gesturing towards the door just behind her.
It was only then, as they followed her into the dark, air-conditioned club, that they realized that they had actually been arguing right in front of the C-note Lounge.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Willow awoke rather suddenly from what had been a somewhat short, but very restful nap. She felt surprisingly good for a moment, until the memories of the last twelve hours forced themselves to the fore of her brain. (Oh, gods!) she thought, sitting bolt upright in the bed, one hand pressed to her mouth in an attempt to not wake the apparently sleeping vampire beside her. (What have I done... I... I...) She swallowed hard, and forced herself to think it. (I had sex... with Angel... and kind of had sex with Angelus... well, OK, I was forced to kind of have sex with Angelus, but it still counts... and then I ran away and had sex with Spike... Oh, gods... I am such a slut... and Spike's here... he must think I'm such a tramp... oh, gods, I've got to get out of here...) She took her hand from her mouth, and began slowly inching herself away from the cool body beside her, hoping not to wake him. She got a foot away, and looked back at him. (Good... still sleeping... she thought, relieved, as she finally reached the edge of the bed and swung her feet down over the side. (Now if I can just...) She shrieked as she felt a cold hand on her naked back.
"Going somewhere, pet?" Spike asked lazily, starting to run his hand slowly up and down her back. "You wouldn't be trying to leave me, now would you?" he almost purred, able to hear her heart beat, and smell her arrousal from just the simple touch. "Because if I remember correctly, a certain red haired witch asked me not to leave her, and if I let you leave, then I'm kind of breaking my word, aren't I?" He had spent the last hour and a half just laying there watching her sleep, and he had loved every minute of it. His only regret was that she had woken up so soon... he could have watched her forever. He smiled as he felt the first tremblings of desire in the muscles of her back. "So, pet? You going somewhere?"
Once the first shock had passed (I really thought he was asleep!) she thought. (Stupid Willow... stupid, stupid Willow...), she could feel herself beginning to want him again, feel herself leaning back into his touch. A part of her wanted to just stay there, in bed with Spike, and hope that everything else would just go away. A larger part wanted her to just get the hell out of there, before Angelus came looking for her. (Oh, gods... Angelus... if he finds out about today, Spike's dead... oh, I really have to get out of here...) "Yeah," she finally replied, pulling herself away from his strong cold hands, "I'm going somewhere..." She stood up and began going through the bags from her shopping trip with Cordelia. (Gods... was it only two days ago? It feels like a lifetime...) She finally found the pants and shirt that she had been looking for, pulling them from the bag and leaving the room to go change in the bathroom, ignoring the hurt-sounding "Pet?" that followed her out the door.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Angelus was truly pissed. He had gone to that damned bar in order to eat someone... not Lucinda, but anyone else would have done... that Waiter Bob, who had smelled so deliciously of fear and cowardice would have been good for a start... But then she'd shown up... the Lady... (No,) Angelus reminded himself, (Luce... she's not the Lady anymore... I wonder how that happened... she's not dead, so...) He shook his head, returning his mind to the list of what had gone wrong. The La... Luce had shown up, destroying any chance he might have had at feeding on one of her people... not that it would kill any of them, but they were just so damned tasty... and he hadn't been able to satisfy his curiousity about her 'brother', either... he didn't know who the boy was, but it was virtually impossible for the half-breed to actually be her brother... he had met her parents, after all, and the chances of either of them laying down with a mortal were so slim as to not exist at all... unless her father... yes, that was probably it...He filed that thought away for a later date... he would figure it out. (After all,) he thought, a small grin escaping the fury within him, (I may be able to use the information at our next bargaining session... and there will be one...) And then, of course, finding out that Willow, his Willow was one of Luce's... that had completely thrown him, although... (I should have known... no full human could accept me... us... not completely... Slutty proved that...) He suddenly realized that he hadn't felt Soulboy rattling around inside him for a while... not since that little scene at the bar. (What are you doing in there, nancy-boy?) He grinned as he realized. (You won't find out, you know... it's locked away so deeply and tightly, that the only way you'll ever get to it is if I let you... and how likely do you really think that is?) He let out an amused chuckle as he felt the soul begin its battle against the cage again, finding that his own spirits rose as its fell. He continued on his way, whistling softly to himself. He'd apologize to his Willow, and she'd forgive him... anything else would be unacceptable. His grin grew even wider as he reached the tunnel entrance into his apartment. He steeped inside, closing the door behind him. "Willow..." he called, trying to sound as pleasant and non-threatening as he could. "Willow?" he said again, inhaling the air, searching for her scent. He cocked an ear, and felt the fury return, full-force, as he realized that there was no heart beating in the place... she wasn't here... she had left him... " WILLOW!!!" He scarcely recognized the growl, filled with equal parts of anger, loss, fear, and betrayal, as coming from him. (And she thought she was punished before!) he thought, as he stormed back out into the tunnels, having a pretty good idea of where to find the girl. He only wished that he had thought to check for her presence before he'd left the damned bar in the first place...
* * * * * * * * * * *
Archer and VanWey stood in the shadows of the stage curtains, listening as Lucinda told the two mortals enough of the truth to be a real danger. They knew that Lucinda wouldn't be doing it if she didn't feel that it was necessary, and it was, of course, her prerogative, but that didn't mean that they had to like it... but at least she wasn't telling them everything... They looked at each other a moment, each noting the agreement in the other's eyes. They nodded and faded back into the shadows, moving through the darkness on silent feet, until they reached their dressing room and entered, meeting the expectant stares of their band-mates, their brothers in arms. Archer spoke. "She hasn't told them any more than she has to, but one of them is the Seer, and the other..." He looked to VanWey for the best way of explaining the Englishman. VanWey took up the thread of information. "Do you guys remember London, oh, about twenty or so years ago..." he saw the surprised looks that Rikk and Mykl exchanged. "The demon Eygon, remember? Called the Sleepwalker?" He rolled his eyes at their blank stares. "Has to inhabit an unconscious host? C'mon, guys..." He nodded, once, in satisfaction, as he saw the light of recognition in their eyes. "Well, the other human out there... he was one of the ones that called it..." He saw the question in Mykl's eyes, and paused a moment before answering. "It seems that little Ripper's all grown up..." He smelled their surprise, and couldn't resist telling them the best part. "Oh, and he's a watcher." "Right," Archer said, taking control of the conversation. "So, the question now is... how much can she tell them... before we'll have to kill them, I mean?" A lively debate began, with each of the four quite happy with the knowledge that this particular topic could very easily take days of discussion before they came to any conclussions.
~Part: 34~
Matthias was fuming mad as he stalked angrily through his and Lucinda's rooms, occassionally slowing to kick a chair or hit the wall with a tightly clenched fist. The five or six holes at various locations throughout the apartment swore mute testimony to the fact that he'd been at it for a while. He swore loudly to himself as he pulled his now bleeding hand from the latest hole that his anger had made. (It's not right...) he ranted to himself, (I'm supposed to protect her, and she sends me away like some kid... I can take care of myself... and her too...) He started to circle their rooms yet again, hoping to burn off some of the energy generated by his fury. (That's why I'm here... to protect her... and the minute that... Angelus shows up, she sends me off to run and hide... She commanded me. Me!!! She swore that she'd never do that, and she did...) He stopped in his tracks as he realized exactly what he'd just thought. (Oh, gods...) He sat down hard on the floor, the shock alone causing all strength to leave him. (She... she broke her word... she's never done that before...) His eyes widened, one hand coming up to cover his mouth in understanding. (She was afraid for me... she thought that he'd hurt me...) He slowly got to his feet, eyes narrowing slightly. (Or else... she was afraid of what he might find out... and what he'd do with the information...) He nodded sharply to himself. (Right. Well, whatever the reason, she sent me away in order to protect me... but if he's that much of a danger, then who's going to protect her?) He strode quickly towards the door, stopping only to pick up the carved wooden letter opener from the desk. He slid it easily down beyween the top of his boot and his pants leg, as he slipped out the door, heading back to the club. (Well, she may not want him dead, but if he hurts her...) The look on his face at the very thought would probably have frightened children... if there had been any around to see it.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Spike had never hated anyone as much as he hated his bloody sire right at that moment. It had taken a little while, but he had finally convinced his Red to talk to him about what had happened the night before with the poof, and had been completely taken aback when she had started talking about Angelus' presence in Angel's bed that morning. He'd been surprised, to say the least, and then, when she told him the details of her 'wake-up call', he had found himself becoming more angry than he probably had any right to be. Willow wasn't his, not really... (Although, she has got my mark on her...) he thought, feeling the satisfaction buzzing quietly in him. (She loves the poof, and he didn't mark her... and he would have if she'd asked... but she wanted me to do it...) He glanced at the girl, watching her lips move silently as she recited the incantation to herself, making sure that she had it down perfectly before attempting the spell for real. (But, does that mean that she... oh, hell... I don't know what it means... But I know what I want it to mean...) Spike sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily. (Right. Let's get this thing finished with Angelus, and then... we'll see...) He almost wanted to scream at the thought that maybe their afternoon together had been a fluke, a one time thing... that maybe she'd just been hurt by what the bastard had done to her, and had used him to make herself feel better. (No...) he thought, as he watched her lay out the items she'd need for the spell. (I won't let it be over... I don't care if I have to stake Angelus myself... if that's what it takes to show her how I feel, then that's what I'll do... The poof killed his sire; I don't see why I can't kill mine... and I'd do it... for her...) He sat back on the couch, watching through the kitchen doorway, as his Red began the spell. He listened to her voice lilting its way through the incantation, and watched the graceful passes of her hands above the map spread out on the kitchen table. (She really is magnificent...) he thought, fascinated. She raised her hands above her head before swinging them down hard, only to stop mere inches from the table top. Spike squinted as a hot wind suddenly came up from nowhere, but it was gone again before he could say a word. He stood and went to her, looking down at the map, and the glowing spot that was beginng to fade even as he watched. "So, pet... is that the place?" He nodded at her sound of agreement, helping her on with her jacket. "Well, come on then, luv... if that's where we'll find someone to help with this whole Angelus thing, we'd better get moving." He ushered her out the door, one hand resting gently at the small of her back, pausing only to grab the stake that Cordelia kept on the table by the door. He slipped it into the waistband at the back of his jeans, knowing that Willow hadn't seen his action. (Just in case...) he told himself, (just in case...)
* * * * * * * * * * *
Lucinda had been talking to the Seer and the Watcher for at least an hour, explaining at least some of the story. It was taking them a while to fully grasp what she had been saying, but she supposed that that was to be expected. (Gods, if someone had come up to me and said, out of the blue, that they were related to the Oracles, had been alive for three centuries, and could help me out with a twice-souled vampire, I'd probably have a little trouble taking it in, myself...) She swallowed the smile that threatened to spred on her face. (And they don't know the half of it... I think that they'd probably faint if I told them the whole story... Now, as long as they don't ask...) Lucinda groaned. (I just had to tell her about the intuition thing, didn't I?) she asked herself, mentally kicking her own butt.
Cordelia looked expectantly at the redhead sitting across from her. "Well?" she asked. "What aren't you telling us?" she repeated. There was a whole lot more to this than Luce had told them... she could sense it. "Look," she said wearily, "We have spent the entire day running around, just to find our way here... We went to your 'cousins'-- which I just don't get by the way, I mean, how can they be your cousins? But, we'll deal with that whole issue later..." Cordelia paused for a moment, relocating her train of thought. "Oh, yeah... so we went to your cousins, then we spent what felt like hours at that smelly magic shop, then we called up the big ugly tentacle thing that wanted to kill me... and all so we could find you... So, I'm thinking... answers??? Now."
Lucinda stared in amazement at the Seer. (This one is so much better than the last... Perhaps I shouldn't have warned Matthias away... she might have been good for him... helped him to accept the humanity within him...) She suddenly looked at the watcher as the full meaning of what the dark haired girl had just said registered on her, and burst out laughing at his slightly guilty look. "Oh, C- Cordelia..." she stammered, between laughs, "What exactly did Ripper here tell you? Because it sounds like you called up one of the M- M- Morathalca..." At the brunette's confused nod, Lucinda began laughing even harder. "Oh, my dear..." The redhead made a sincere effort to calm herself, to still her laughter enough to explain it to her. "The Morathalca," she said quietly, unable to look at the girl for fear of losing her battle with mirth, "are called by beauty... and the proper words, of course..." Catching the girl's nod out of the corner of her eye, she continued. "So, the beauty is the lure... but the one that you called, the two of you, I mean... he wouldn't have hurt you..." She turned her attention to the englishman. "Ripper, why didn't you tell her?" She smiled at his quiet 'I don't know what you mean' before continuing. "I guess that you must have learned the calling from one of the newer translations?" she asked, offering him an out. At his relieved nod, she smiled. "Well, that explains it... the demonic languages are always being misinterpreted..." She turned back to the Seer, seeing the rampant curiousity in her gaze. "The Morathalca wouldn't have wanted to kill you... he would have wanted to eat you..." At the girl's confused stare, Lucinda barely managed to get the words out. "And I don't mean for food..." She burst out laughing again as she saw comprehension dawn on the young Seer, followed quickly by disgust. She knew that, for the rest of her very long life, just the memory of Cordelia's tone of voice as she cried 'Ewwwww' would always have the power to make her smile.
Giles had been listening to everything that the red headed singer said, and thought that he had a fairly good grasp of what was actually going on. He cleared his throat to get the girls' attention. When they were both looking at him, he spoke softly but clearly to Lucinda. "You never answered Cordelia's question. What aren't you telling us?" He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer, and he was right.
Lucinda sighed. She had hoped that they'd forgotten about that. She looked down at the table, not really wanting to answer, but knowing that she had to tell them something. "A lot..." she finally said. "There are a lot of things that you don't need to know..." she looked from one to the other, "Things that could endanger you, by the very fact of your knowing them..." She saw that they didn't want to accept that, and knew that she had to at least try to make them understand. She looked to the watcher, hoping that with his history, he might realize how dangerous certain types of knowledge could be, and spoke directly to him. "There are things that comprise the full story that are irrelevant to this situation... that have no impact upon the events currently unfolding... and there are people, on our side of the fight as well as on the other, who feel that humans should not have access to any information about us." She relaxed a little at Giles' cautious nod. "I have already put you in enough danger, by telling you as much as I have, and unless I am woefully mistaken, my people are in the back right now trying to decide whether or not you two need to die..." She relaxed even more as she saw the realization strike home in his eyes. "I will tell you whatever you need to know, but please, don't ask me for any more than that..." She looked at him beseachingly before turning her gaze to a slightly pale Cordelia. "I don't want your deaths on my conscience..." Lucinda sat back as she watched the two mortals thinking over what she had just said, and sighed in relief as first the watcher, then the Seer, nodded their agreement. "What?" she asked, seeing the question in the watcher's eyes.
Giles swallowed nervously. He probably shouldn't ask her this, but he just had to know. "Um, yes... Luce... earlier, you... you called me Ripper... three times... How...?" He wasn't completely surprised when he saw her eyes widen as she realized that she had slipped up... badly. The surprise came when she started banging her head repeatedly on the table, muttering what sounded for all the world like 'Shit!Shit!Shit!I am such a fucking idiot!' over and over again.
Mykl stood behind the curtains listening. He had come out to see for himself what exactly was going on. He kind of agreed with the guys... these humans were dangerous... but one of them was the Seer, and the other a watcher... and not just any watcher, but Ripper... Mykl was pretty sure that they could be trusted. And Lucinda needed their help, so... He nodded slowly, knowing that he had just made up his mind. He would help them... whatever it took, he would help them... for Luce... and Matthias... he would help.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Angelus burst out of the tunnels as the sun finally set. It would be so much easier getting around above ground. He smiled a wicked smile as he saw the woman ahead of him turn down an alley. (Ah... time for a quick bite to eat...) he laughed inside at his own pun, feeling the soul screaming at him to stop, to not do this. He grinned wider, loving the feelings of anguish and despair rolling from that little corner of his mind. He turned swiftly into the alley, no more than ten feet behind his intended meal, and closed the distance between them swiftly. He reached out, and grabbed the girl by her shoulder, spinning her around, and smirking a bit at the attraction he could smell on her, once she got a good look at him in his 'human' face. "So, I'm wondering," he said softly, running the tip of his index finger carressingly down the curve of her cheek, to her neck, and down to the scooped neck of her top. "What's a pretty thing like you doing out here, all alone, after dark?" He barely listened to her answer, his eyes tracing the faint blue veins barely visible beneath her tanned skin. "Are you lost, sweet?" he purred seductively, bending his head in close to hers, smiling wickedly at her softly uttered negative. He leaned in even closer, lightly flicking her earlobe with his cool wet tongue. "Would you like to be?" he murmurred, letting his true face emerge, and sinking his sharp teeth firmly into the soft flesh if her neck, stopping only when he finally heard what the damned soul had been shouting at him for some time. He growled, releasing the now unconscious girl, allowing her to slide down his body until she was laying bonelessly on the garbage littered concrete. (You're right,) he growled at the soul within as he walked away, (Willow wouldn't like it...) He felt his soul's relief at being able to stop him from killing the girl, and sub-consiously began to berate himself for being controlled by the part of him that he hated most. He turned his feet back towards his original direction. He would go back to the club, and get his witch... there was no other option... he was lost without her.
~Part: 35~
Lucinda had been talking with Cordelia and Giles for quite q while now... they had discussed everything that she could safely tell them and a few things that would endanger them even more. The watcher and the Seer wee just so damned curious... Lucinda wasn't entirely sure of how she could stop them from asking far too many unanswerable questions... unanswerable for their state of mind, and health, anyway. But suddenly she felt it, and knew that she could escape their questions, for a little while at least. "Cordelia... Ripper..." she looked, wide-eyed, at them. "You need to disappear for a bit..." She could see them starting to protest and called out, barely louder than she'd been speaking, "Mykl!" When she heard no response for a moment, she called out again. "Mykl, I know you're there..." She smiled slightly as the man stepped out from behind the stage curtain. "Mykl... he's coming... take them to your dresing room..." she sighed. "And don't let them out until I say it's OK..." She smiled at Mykl's grumbled agreement, then frowned as the two morals began to argue. "No," she cut them off. "Angelus is nearby... he'll be here soon. Please... let me hide you... just for now." Lucinda smiled and nodded to herself as Giles and Cordelia followed Mykl out of the main room of the club.
* * * * * * *
Willow was feeling kind of pathetic... she knew that she'd done the right thing, leaving Angelus after his little 'wake-up' surprise... she loved Angel... and she'd thought that it would be OK... she looked ahead at Spike, knowing that he was worried about her, about what was happening... he'd said he loved her... and not to get her into bed, he'd said it after... more than once... She smiled for a moment, the smile dimming as she remembered Angel... Angel... telling her that he loved her, touching her cheek with his smooth, cool fingers; the feel of Angel's cold wet tongue as he traced a path from her jaw to the swell of her breasts... She shook her head, denying the images... not that they weren't real, but... Angel wasn't Angel anymore... she should hate what he had become... Willow followed the broad, sinuous back before her blindly. She thought about everything that she had been through in the last twenty-four hours, and smiled. Not because of her treatment at Angelus' hands, but because of her treatment at Angel's... and Spike's... Willow almost groaned aloud, as she remembered the way that she had virtually attacked Spike, begging him with her body to make her forget her treatment at the hands of his Sire... not that he'd seemed to mind, but still... he'd said that he loved her... and she'd seen the truth of it in his eyes... She was startled from her reflections as Spike turned to her, gesturing to the doorway beside him with a very obvious 'Voila!' in his stance. They were at the place that her spell had sent them... Willow wondered why she wasn't surprised to realize that it was the C-note Lounge.
* * * * * * *
Angelus stood in the mouth of the alley-way and watched as his witch entered the bar with his childe. ( No!) he thought, (This is not happeneing... she wouldn't go to him...) he frowned, (Would she?) He thought for a moment, kicking himself for not thinking of the cheerleader's place. (Of course she went to Cordelia's!) he thought, for a moment satisfied with the progression of his thoughts. (But why is she just now getting here... it's been hours...) His eyebrows raised, and a low growl sprang from his throat, as the wind suddenly shifted direction, and he smelled the scent coming from his witch... and his childe as they entered the bar. (I'm gonna kill him...) He grinned, suddenly, (And torture her... until she can't think of anyone but me...) His smile grew even wider as he pulled himself up strong and tall, and began to cross the street. He was going to teach all of them... Willow, and Spike, and even the Lady... (Lucinda,) he corrected himself... he was going to teach all of them a lesson...
* * * * * * * *
Matthias watched from a doorway down the street as first the witch and her companion, and then, a few minutes later, that Angelus, entered the C-note. He knew that bad things were a-brewin', but he almost wanted to let them... after all, Luce had ordered him away... she'd been trying to protect him, but still... he hated it when she made him feel like a child... not that she generally did it on purpose, but... this time.. well, she still hadn't done it on purpose, but... Matthias grinned. This might be his chance to prove to her that he was more than just a kid... sure, she trusted him to look after her interests most of the time, but she'd never faced a situation like this before... of course, neither had he... He allowed his thoughts to slow him for a few moments, then continued down the street and very quietly entered the C-note Lounge, swiftly realizing that he might as well have hired a marching band... no one would have noticed, anyway...
* * * * * * * * *
Mykl showed the Seer and the watcher into the band's dressing room, maintaining the silence he'd held since Lucinda had entrusted them to him. Archer, Rikk, and VanWey had long since left, heading down the street to a bar where they could find cheap coffee and willing women... not that Mykl blamed them... time was when he'd have been the one suggesting that particular course of action... and that was only a few hours ago, he realized, the surprise loosening him up enough to actually speak with the two mortals. He found himself actually listening to them, and answering their questions, and before he knew it, he discovered that he, himself, had told them enough about his people to guarantee their deaths, Seer and watcher or not, if his shield-mates ever found out about it... (Yes... I understand their concerns,) Mykl thought, (But what else are we to do? Luce needs this, and if we don't help her...) He felt himself beginning to shudder, and clamped down on the impulse. (She's the last one that you'd ever want mad at you...)
He invited the two mortals to have a seat on the couch, and sat himself down in a nearby chair as they continued to question him, and he, to his own surprise, continued to answer, knowing full well that if anyone ever found him out, he'd be lucky if he died quickly... if he could die...
* * * * * * * *
Lucinda looked up at the sound of the club's door closing, and was completely astonished at what she saw... she had been expecting Angelus... she could feel him. "Willi... umm.. Willow!" she cried softly, rising to meet the couple, and drawing the young redhead into an all-encompassing hug. "What are you doing here?" Lucinda met Spike's eyes behind the back of the witch, her expression begging him to keep silent about their past. She sighed deeply and unhappily as he shook his head in refusal.
Spike looked deep into the singer's eyes, not wanting her to think that he was airing their dirty laundry for fun. He relaxed a bit, and smiled a little when he saw that she was willing to let him tell at least some of their secrets. "Hullo, luv... long time..." he drawled, unable to refrain from being the bastard. (Well, after all, she did know me when I was with Angelus... this is positively tame by comparison...) He smiled as she released his witch and moved towards him, matching the hug she had given Willow with a similar one for him. He chuckled there in her arms, saying off of the top of his head, "Yeah, it's good to see you again, too, luv..." He was almost disappointed when she relaxed her arms and let him go. "So, luv... what's been happening?" Spike was prepared to hear almost anything except what he heard next from out of the shadows. In a voice that he was far too familiar with.
"Yes," came the voice. "What has been happening?" Angelus walked slowly out of the shadows by the alley-way door. He could smell the stench of his childe all over his witch... and smell her on him... (What the hell were they thinking?) he wondered. (That I wouldn't find out?) His mind froze for a moment as he made an incredible.. to him... discovery. (She ran... from me... to Spike... it had to have been her idea...) He frowned. (I made her that unhappy... she ran away and went to William...) the frown deepened. (And he didn't turn her down... he didn't say No... and he should have... he should have sent her back to me...) He began striding forward, planning on punishing his witch and his errant childe. (She's mine, and he knows it!!! Didn't he help me... well, OK, Soul-boy... to get her?) He felt his features beginning to slip, just before he felt the weight of a heavy, blunt object impacting with his skull. (Oh, fuck!!!) was his last thought, as the darkness swam up and devoured him.
* * * * * * *
Lucinda, Willow, and Spike were all completely stunned as an incredibly angry Angelus began stalking towards them, and then suddenly stopped dead, only to colapse on the floor of the bar, eyes rolled back in his head. Lucinda was astonished at the voice she heard coming from beside the figure slumped on the floor. "Matthias?" she said, a bit breathlessly, "Matthias? Is that you, love?"
Matthias slowly stood, nodding. "Yes, M... Luce... guess I'm not that bad at stealth after all.." he smiled. trying to make it a joke. "So... what do you want me to do with... him?" he asked, the distaste apparent in his tone. He wasn't happy at his 'sister's' response, but he had to admit that it made a certain amount of sense, if they ever wanted the Warrior back on the side of the goodly and kind... it made sense, but he didn't have to like it. If the Warrior stayed evil, there would be no need for the Seer... and maybe then he'd have a chance with the brunette... whether Luce wanted him to or not... Matthias sighed as he went back to Lucinda's dressing room and got the spelled chains that she'd advised using to bind the once again evil vampire. He spent a good five minutes chaining the bastard up before lifting him effortlessly to his shoulder and carrying him out. "I'll see you at home?" he questioned over his shoulder; taking her silent nod as a 'yes', he quickly left.
Spike and Willow had stood silently while everything with Angelus had taken place, and now that it appeared to be over, Spike moved closer to the petite redhead, putting his arms around her and pulling her close. "I'm sorry, pet..." Spike said softly into her hair, "I know you loved him... but he's gone..." He felt himself recoil from her as he heard her response.
"No, Spike," Willow said gently, pulling back slightly. "Not loved... love..." She looked deep into his glorious blue eyes, not letting him pull away. "I love him... probably always will... Angel, Angelus... it doesn't matter... they're one and the same... they just express themselves differently... but I still... love him... them... the both of them..." She saw the look in his eyes, the angry, trapped look, and finally realized what had been wrong with him since before they'd left Cordelia's apartment. "Spike." Willow said softly, an almost breathless tone to her voice. "Spike... look at me..." she waited for what felt like hours, but was in fact only seconds, before he finally raised his eyes to meet hers. She was astonished at the depths of pain revealed there. "Oh, Spike..." she sighed hopelessly. "I love you, too... I do..." She watched his eyes as he began to understand that she meant what she said, and smiled broadly herself as his grin threatened to split his face. Se hadn't realized it before, but she really did love Spike... and as his cool, firm lips came down to claim her warm, soft ones, she just hoped that he could handle the fact that he wasn't the only one she loved.
Lucinda was thrilled that the two people before her had somehow managed to figure things out. Which was not to say that she wasn't surprised... she was. And as much as she hated to do it, she knew that she needed to acquaint them both with the realities of their situation. She waited patiently for their kiss to end, and when it did, reminded them of her presence with a very subtle throat-clearing. When she knew that she had their attention, she made her case. "Willow... Wi... Spike... the three of us need to talk..." she saw and accepted their nods of agreement, "But not here... Do ou trust me enough to come to my place?" She saw the confusion in Willow's eyes and explained. "Not the place where Matthias took Angelus. My place... my home... do you trust me?" She sighed in relief as they both nodded 'yes', and lead them through the door to the back stage area, stopping when they were just past her dressing room. "OK, you two... close your eyes and let me lead you..." Lucinda grinned as they both followed her instructions unquestioningly. She passed her hand across the blank walland then grabbed their hands with her own as she pulled them through the glowingpeach-coloured portal.
~Part: 36~
Cordelia couldn't stop staring at Mykl. It was something about his eyes when he talked about the past... something almost... hypnotic. It was almost as if she could see the memories in her own head... as if they were sharing a frequency. Everything that he said, she greeted internally with a strange sense of deja-vu. She wasn't sure whether she liked the sensation or not, but she was pretty damned sure that she'd never experienced anything like it before. (Oh, great!) she thought sarcastically. (This is just what I needed... first the blinding visions... or is that an oxymoron... then this whole 'intuition' thing... which I am so not thanking Luce for telling me about... and now I feel like I'm seeing into some strange guy's head... at his memories from... three hundred years ago??? Oh...) she moaned internally, (I so did not need this...) She forced her full attention back to the conversation as Giles finally asked a question that Cordelia actually wanted to hear the answer to. She had been wondering whyshe hadn't had one of her visions to warn her about the whole Angel, Willow, Angelus thing, and now she really hoped that she'd get an answer. Her expression began to tighten a bit as Mykl tried to explain, her eyes narrowing to slits, and glittering dangerously. ( Damn them!!!) she thought, quickly becoming furious. "Giles." she said flatly, between clenched teeth, "Come on..." She stood and started for the dressing room door, the watcher directly on her heels. As she reached for the knob, she was halted by Mykl's next words.
"Cordelia... Ripper..." Mykl tried desperately to maneuver himself between them and the door with little success. "Lucinda said to keep you here until she..." his voice trailed off as he saw the determination and anger in the Seer's eyes. He sighed deeply, stepping back. "All right..." he mumbled, defeated. "But if you get yourselves killed..." He watched as the two left the room, the one stalking furiously, the other trying desperately to keep up. (Damn... if they do get killed, I'll have to answer to Luce... and if they don't, the guys'll probably torture me for decades...) He sighed again, grabbing his coat from the chair it had been slung over. He was still getting his arms into the sleeves even as he followed the humans into the night. (I wonder where we're going...) he thought dismally. Wherever it was, it couldn't be good.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Angelus slowly began to regain consciousness. He could hear the breathing on the other side of the room, and remained still, not wanting to alert the one doing the breathing. And it was only one... he was sure of it... He slowly tried to move his arms and legs, attempting to give the impression of involuntary motions, and discovered that he couldn't move... or at least not much... his entire body, from the neck down, felt numb... like he was paralyzed... he felt an almost frightened whimper beginning to form in his throat. He was a vampire... this sort of thing couldn't happen to him... it wasn't possible. Or at least, not without a lot of severe damage... like when Spike was in that wheelchair after an entire church had fallen on him. He felt the whimper building inside him as he searched his mind for any recollection of what might have happened, only to draw a blank... the last thing he remembered was being at the club... Willow... Spike... he felt the whimper becoming a growl, and barely managed to contain it. His witch... and his childe... and the Lady... it made him furious. His girl had gone to her for help... probably wanting to curse him again, make him all soul-having once more... He almost smirked, before he recalled that he was supposed to still be unconscious, and then went ahead and did it anyway, as he opened his eyes and looked over to his captor. "Well, well," Angelus drawled, "What have we here... the Lady's little brother..." He grinned at the look of annoyance that crossed Matthias' face. "You know," he continued almost casually, "I couldn't figure that one out at first... I mean, how you could be half human, and still be her brother... but you are... you even smell like her... with a little mortality mixed in, that is..." Angelus looked down at himself for a moment, finally realizing why he hadn't been able to move, or even feel his body. His eyes traveled over the chains that were firmly wrapped around him, lingering on the very specific glyphs and sigils engraved on each link. "Well, fuck..." he glanced back up at Matthias. "I'm guessing that these are your sister's handy-work?" At the younger man's curt nod, Angelus smiled. "Yeah... you don't seem the type to go in for this kind of kink, but the Lady, now..." He let his eyes gleam suggestively, hoping to lure the young man closer. If he could just get him nearby, he was sure that he could talk the boy into letting him loose. "Oh, yes... the Lady..." Angelus could see the boy shifting in his chair, as if he was growing uncomfortable. "She always had a thing for chains... whips, too, as I recall..." he smiled wickedly, deliberately letting his eyes assume a far away expression, "And you know, regardless of the situation, she could always find a way to... make the most of things..." He watched the boy as the squirming became more pronounced. "She had this little thing that she did with her tongue... Oh, but you don't want to know about that... do you, Matthias? All the things that she and I did with each other... to each other... I wouldn't be surprised if I still have a scar or two... or if the Lady did too..." Angelus' head snapped back, slamming painfully into the wooden floor as he blinked in surprise. He hadn't even seen the boy moving. One moment, he'd been sitting on the other side of the room, and the next, his fist was in Angelus' face, hitting him once, twice, three, and then four times. Angelus scowled, realizing that he had severely misjudged the young man as he heard Matthias speak for the first time since he'd come to.
Matthias stared down at the chained vampire, slightly out of breath, he spoke softly but distinctly. "You will never call her that again. She is not the Lady... not anymore... and you will do well to remember it." He kept his eyes locked on the vampire's until he received a nod from the creature. "And as for anything else you might have to say," Matthias stood and returned to his chair, "Lucinda is a grown woman, and what she chooses to do with her free time is none of my concern." He sat, leaning down and picking up an old book. "And, by the by," Matthias said casually, "I'm nowhere near as young as you seem to think I am..." he smiled as he found the page where he'd left off. "Your tricks, your manipulations... they won't work on me." He looked over at the vampire, seeing the surprise in his eyes. "I grew up surrounded by people who would have delighted in seeing me dead." he stated baldly. "Compared to most of my own family, you're just a big fluffy bunny... so if I were you, I wouldn't even try me... it would just be a big waste of time and effort... on your part..." He leaned back in his chair, throwing one knee over the armrest, and began to read his book, almost completely forgetting about Angelus, the Scourge of Europe, who was laying in chains on his living room floor.
Angelus just lay there, unable to move, as he thought about what Matthias had just said. He was surprised that the boy... no, man he corrected himself, hadn't hit him for the things he'd said about his past with Lucinda... that Matthias had hit him for calling her the Lady... hit him once for each time he's said it... He felt his one hope of escape fade completely away as he realized that he liked the half-breed... maybe even respected him a little... (Stop it, Soul-boy,) he growled to himself. (Why would I respect him? Just because he's not afraid of me? Because he didn't back down? Or because he managed to sneak up on me, heartbeat and all, and knock me out?) Angelus sighed, realizing that he was only making the soul's point for him. (Oh, OK... I respect the man... it's not everyone who can see through my little games, but he did... no problems...) He listened intently to what was going on in his head before interuppting the soul in mid-brood as a thought suddenly occurred to him. (Now why would his own family want him dead...) he mused, not getting that at all. He grinned as he felt the caged soul trying once again to find the memoriesthat it was being denied. (I told you before, Nancy-boy... those memories are not for you... If I have my way, you'll never find out...) Angelus smiled at the war being waged within him. It felt so good to cause someone pain... it felt even better to cause the soul pain... But not as good as the feeling of helplessness that he was beginning to experience, laying there on the floor, all wrapped up in 'chanted chains... chains that were 'chanted specifically for him... it had been a long time since he'd been made helpless by anything other than that damned gypsy curse... he remembered the last time, and wondered just where in the hell Luce was... he wanted to finish this game, and then... He smirked a bit evilly... and then he would deal with his witch... and his childe... Oh, yes...
* * * * * * * * * * *
< meanwhile, back in Sunnydale >
Rocko looked up transfixed as his sweet little Sunshine came strolling nonchalantly out of her 'bedroom'. (But I thought I left her chained up...) he thought irrelevantly, not really caring too much that she was free as he saw her slow and turn to face him. (Uh, oh,) he thought, amused, (I know that look in her eyes...) "Martin!" he called out into the darkness of the lair, "Martin, get your ass over here!" It was only when Martin came trotting out of the gloom that Rocko managed to tear his eyes away from the heavily breathing blonde. "Martin," he said in response to his second's enquiring glance, "Look at our little Sunshine, and tell me what you see..."
Martin looked closely at the girl before replying. "Umm... she's not chained up anymore?" At Rocko's frustrated sigh, he looked again, more closely this time, until he finally saw what the boss had been speaking of. "Ohhh..." he moaned, his eyes widening slightly. "Little Sunshine's feeling neglected..." He felt a strong sense of relief at Rocko's almost proud nod. He looked again at the small blonde. "I'm sorry, sweetheart... what can I do to show you how much you mean to me?" He felt her small hand touch his chest, and quickly trail down to the enormous hard bulge in his pants. His head tilted back as she rubbed him lightly through the rough cloth before stopping and turning back towards her room. He growled as he began to follow her. Maybe he had been neglecting her... or maybe she was just a hot little slut... He grinned. Either way, he was glad that she was here... and his... No, he corrected himself as he heard Rocko stand up to watch them go. She was theirs... forever... He felt himself getting harder still when she stopped in the doorway and called over her shoulder. 'Rocko, aren't you coming too?' he heard, just a moment before he felt the boss' arm clasp around his shoulder. He heard the warning growl coming from Rocko's throat, and hastily set him at ease. "Hey, boss, whatever you want... front, back... I'll take whichever... it's up to you..." Martin relaxed as he felt Rocko's hand release its punishing grip on his arm, and followed him into the room where Sunshine waited, laying on her side, touching herself in anticipation. (Oh...) he thought, (This is gonna be fun...) He smiled hugely. (But then, it always is...)
~Part: 37~
Willow and Spike both stumbled as they stepped out of the other side of the peach coloured doorway, almost falling to the floor. They probably would have if Lucinda hadn't kept a tight hold on both of them. They opened their eyes and gasped. They were in a very large room. It looked like it was meant for receptions... large parties... the kind where at least a hundred people could sit and drink wine, snacking upon canapes, and still have a surfeit of room to move. The floor was of an almost blood red wood, with large veins of what looked like pure silver following the grain in an almost hypnotic pattern. There were chairs and couches scattered about, along with a large number of low tables and floor cushions. The walls were lined with what they knew had to be reproductions of paintings by many long-dead artists, although the paintings themselves were almost unfamiliar. They glanced around themselves, almost overwhelmed by the opulence that they were surrounded by, feeling very out of place. Lucinda caught the worried glance that the vampire and the witch exchanged, and sighed to herself. "Close your eyes..." she said softly, shutting her own when she saw them comply. She concentrated tightly, focusing her thoughts, and after a moment opened her eyes again. She sighed in relief. "OK... you can open them now..." she murmured.
Spike's eyes opened first. "How..." he said, startled, looking to Luce for an explaination, as he heard Willow's swiftly indrawn breath. In the few moments that their eyes had been closed, the room around them had completely changed. The floor was still the same, only the silver-work seemed to have shrunk in on itself, and there were now only two couches, three chairs, and two of the low tables. The floor cushions had deminished, becoming mere pillows to their eyes. Spike watched as the emotions chased each other around Lucinda's face. "How?" he asked again, hearing Willow mumble in agreement. They had to find out what was going on. He took Willow's hand in his own as Luce let go of them both, wanting to present a united front. He stared fixedly at their hostess, the steadiness of his gaze making it very clear that he would have answers, and he would have them now. "Lucinda..."
She could hear the warning in his tone. (Ah, gods... time for 'the talk'...) she thought despairingly. (They're going to hate me...) Lucinda sighed and led them towards one of the couches, smiling slightly as they sat down so close together that they might as well have been in each other's laps, their hands still joined. She sat down across from them in her favourite chair and leaned back, thinking for a moment before replying. "How what, Willia... I'm sorry... you're using Spike now, aren't you?" At his slow nod, she continued. "How what? How did the room change? How do I know your little witch?" She nodded towards Willow. "How did I happen to be in LA? How did I bring you here?" She broke off her rapid fire questions before saying, in a much softer voice, "How am I still... alive... even though I'm not the Lady anymore..." She felt her eyes dropping from his, hating that she was acting submissive to him as her eyes traced the silver veining in the floor. She sighed, knowing that he was staring, and feeling, for the first time, ashamed of the things that she had done to save a life.
Spike couldn't believe it... she was actually looking away, almost as if she was... ashamed? (No,) he thought, (that can't be right... what's she up to, then?) "Yeah..." he said, almost growling at her, "Those'll do for a start..." He felt himself suddenly becoming tense as her eyes looked back up at his, and he saw the power... and fear in them. (What the hell!!!) he wondered, feeling Willow's hand suddenly gripping his so tightly that he thought she might break it. "Red?" he said, concerned, as he turned to the witch.
Willow wasn't sure of exactly what was going on, but she did know one thing... "I don't want to know..." she said, looking directly into Lucinda's eyes. "Or, well, I actually do, but not about your personal stuff... just about the room and things, 'cause I'm thinking that if I can learn to do that, then, Hello interior decorating... I mean, I would never have to buy furniture again, and... does it work for clothes, too??? "Cause if it does, then I can just return all of that stuff I bought with Cordelia, 'cause who'd need to shop when they could just... whatever you did, and..." She saw the singer looking at her strangely. "Sorry... it's just that I tend to babble when I'm nervous, and here I am... with Spike... in some kind of an alternates dimension, and so I kind of feel like... OK... Shutting up now..." She felt herself blushing as the red haired woman stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Oh... Willow," Lucinda said weakly, one hand pressed to her almost aching ribs, "You remind me so much of my cousin Damiana when she was your age... OK... I'll tell you about the room..." She paused a moment, suddenly remembering her manners. "I'm so sorry... here I've invited you into my home, and haven't offered you any refreshment... Spike... the usual?" At his slight nod, she smiled. "And Willow? What would you like?" She smiled a bit more broadly at the witch's answer and snapped her fingers, trying to hide her amusement as her two guests gaped at the glasses floating in from the hidden doorway behind her. "Thank you, Meg," she said to the empty air as she took the glasses from where they hovered before her and handed them to the vampire and witch. "Willow, your apple juice... Spike... AB negative, if I remember correctly?" Lucinda hid another smile at the surprise in his eyes, although she wasn't sure of just why he'd have thought that she might forget. She leaned back in her chair, thinking of the best way to explain the room to the redheaded girl while she waited for them to drink and relax. Finally, she sat up straight, and began to talk. "All right," she said, "It's like this... it's a matter of perspective..." Lucinda saw the interest in Willow's face as she continued her explaination, and was delighted when the mortal began asking a truly amazing number of questions, some of which Luce had never heard before. She smiled. (Here's another one we should be proud to claim... she could change our world...) Lucinda felt her smile dim. (Not that the family would ever accept her... any more than they did Matthias... and he's one of the best we've ever had... not that they'll ever admit it, what with his ancestry, and all...) She didn't even realize that she'd sighed until Willow broke off the conversation and tried to apologize for boring her. She pulled herself back to the present, "No, Willow, it's not you... I was just thinking about Matthias..." She felt both Spike and Willow looking at her curiously. "I was hoping that he's OK back there with Angelus..." she lied, knowing that he'd be fine with the chained vampire. At least, she had thought that she knew, until she saw Spike's eyes narrow in concern. "What, Spike? What is it?" she asked, suddenly afraid.
Spike hadn't even thought about the boy since his one glimpse of him back at the C-note Lounge, but once Luce had mentioned his name, he'd flashed back on what he'd seen of him. He was exactly the type that would appeal to his Sire... at least, the un-souled version of his Sire. The boy was young, and certainly pretty enough... and strong... he'd lifted Angelus and the chains with no trouble at all... Spike almost growled at the thought of what his Sire might be up to with the boy. It just wasn't fair... He snapped back to attention as he realized that Lucinda had been calling his name for at least a minute. "What?" he snarled. "Oh..." he tried to calm himself as he remembered what she had asked. "Sorry,... Luce... but you remember the kind of games Angelus used to get up to..." He knew that he still sounded a bit... rough... but Angelus was his Sire, damn it... he shouldn't be playing those sorts of games with anyone... not when his favourite childe was around, anyway... He barely contained another growl as he saw Lucinda's eyes widen in comprehension, and he suddenly released Willow's hand and stood as he saw the pleading look in the former Lady's eyes. "OK," Spike said, determined, "Send me there... now..."
Lucinda felt nothing but relief as she stood as well... Spike would stop things before they went too far, she knew. "Yes," she said, in response to his demand. "Go... and send him back to me..." She looked away, and then back, as she spoke to the confusion in his eyes. "You know what I was... what I still am... and so does Matthias..." She stepped closer to Spike, speaking softly so that Willow wouldn't over-hear. "But he's been... protected... He's not a part of that world... our world... he hasn't the... heart for it... the anger... the rage... the desire to give and receive pain... it isn't in him... or maybe it isn't awake in him..." She saw the understanding in Spike's eyes. "And I don't want that part of him to be awakened... if it even exists..." She stepped closer, leaning in to whisper directly into his ear. " You know that I don't care about what you and Angelus have gotten up to in the past... it isn't that... but Spike... it would be wrong for so many reasons... and one more than most... Please, Spike... Matthias is... eveything to me... just the way he is... I don't want him to be... ruined... warped... twisted into something he's not... something he was never meant to be... he's had enough of pain, Spike..." She heard his softly murmured reassurances, taking comfort in knowing that he'd do everything he could to protect the boy, even if it was just to keep that particular temptation away from his Sire. "Send him back to me, Spike... please..." Lucinda knew she was begging, and somehow she just didn't care. She pulled back from the blond, letting him see the anguish in her eyes. "Please..." she said again, "Just... send him back..." If she hadn't been needed to open the portal for him, she probably would have fainted at his nod of agreement.
"I'll send him back, Luce," Spike said softly. "He's just a boy... he couldn't handle Angelus... not a chance..." Spike didn't even notice the wicked anticipatory grin speading across his cool hard lips as he continued. "But I can... and will..." he mused, out loud, but to himself. He stepped up in front of the space on the wall that Lucinda was gesturing at, and passed through the peach-coloured light, never noticing the devastated expression on Willow's suddenly tear-streaked face.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Matthias had only been reading his book for a few minutes, while keeping an ear trained for any signs of movement from the vampire, when he felt the familiar internal shiver that signaled a portal being opened. (Good,) he thought, (Luce is finally done with those... people...) He stood, placing a finger between the pages while he watched the pale peach glow growing against the far wall. (Not that I dislike the little witch... Willow,) he corrected himself, (but that blond guy she was with... there's something... wrong about him... something... unnatural, and it's not like anything I've ever seen before...) He almost jumped back, startled, when that same blond man stepped into the room from the glowing entry. (What?) He looked more closely at the man that he'd only seen for a moment at the club. (He's... a vampire? But, how... what...) Matthias shook his head slowly, and approached the blond. "I know what you are," he said softly, looking the stranger over quickly, "But I don't understand what's been done to you..." He let the book fall to the floor, needing both hands to trace the blond vamp. "I can... feel it..." He spoke quietly, his hands outlining the form before him, staying a very precise six inches away from actual contact. He saw the blond looking at him bemusedly, and ignored it as the sensations he was receiving through the air drew his hands up to the vampire's head. He focused for a moment before his entire body was wracked with painful shudders. He cried out as his hands flew to his own head, trying to stop the feeling of explosions in his brain. After a few moments, the pain subsided, and Matthias looked the vampire in the eyes, horrified. "Gods... what have they done to you... why?"
Spike stared at the young man, amazed at what had just happened. This boy... this kid... had somehow just looked at him, and known about the chip! And if he knew about it just by looking, maybe he could do something to fix it... or break it, rather... "What... what do you mean?" he asked, warily. "What did who do to me?" If Spike had been human, he would have passed out at the boy's next words. (And how did he know I was a vampire? It's not like I'm wearing a sign or anything...) His eyes roamed the room, and his mind quickly snapped back to the business at hand as he saw the long, muscular body of Angelus laying on the floor across from the chair that Matthias had been sitting in. He was surprised that he hadn't been able to scent him when he first arrived. He looked back at the young man. "Lucinda sent me..." he said slowly, his mind still working furiously. "You're needed at home. I'm here to watch him." Spike bent and picked up the book that Matthias had been reading. "'The Malificus Malificarum'... and in the original Latin, too..." He grinned at the lad. "I'm impressed... Now go... she's waiting..." He stared at Matthias, who was hesitating at the portal, the questions still apparent in his eyes. "We'll talk later... you can count on it..." He watched as Matthias stepped through the glowing light, and turned his attention to his Sire. "Well, well..." Spike drawled, stalking across the room towards a suddenly alert and glowering chain-bound Angelus. "And here I thought I'd have to protect the boy from you and your games... I thought I'd have to hurt you... and yet, here you are... all chained up..." Spike began to smile, the wicked grin spreading wider and wider as his mind created all sorts of delightful scenarios for him. "I guess," he sighed, going to his knees beside the prone form of his Sire, "I guess we'll just have to play some of my games..." He began to chuckle almost maniacally at the look of anger, annoyance and lust in Angelus' coffee-brown eyes as he reached out and stroked his Sire's cheek lightly.
~Part: 38~
Mykl followed closely behind the irate Seer and the slightly befuddled watcher, thoroughly amused, and amazed, at the un-ending stream of angry words coming from the girl's mouth. (Wow!) he thought, his mouth hanging open at a particularly pointed comment she made, (She rivals Luce in one of her 'moods'...) He sighed as he saw the two entering an alley just ahead of him and followed. (Oh, this can't be good,) he thought flatly as he saw the watcher lift the end of a steel grate, holding it up so that the Seer could slip under it and into the tunnels below. He stepped forward, silently relieving the man of his burden, allowing him to follow the brunette down, before following them himself. He had a feeling that he knew exactly where they were going now, and he was absolutely certain that he didn't like it... not one bit. (The guys are going to kill me... if the cousins don't do it first...)
Cordelia was well and truly pissed. The damned oracles had first caused Angel's soul to go the way of the dodo, then they'd had the nerve to just say 'Ooops, sorry about the homicidal demon who's walking around wearing your boss's face', but now... now, she'd found out that the reason that she hadn't gotten a vision to warn her about Angelus was because they'd thought that they were doing Luce a favor, so they hadn't even bothered to look into it. She fumed as she led the two men following her through the tunnels towards the post office. If those oracles had thought that she was angry before, they were in for a big surprise... they were just lucky that Willow wasn't dead, because, if Cordelia's friend had died... she would have found herself a very slow, painful way to punish them, and to hell with the consequences. Her thoughts slowed as she realized that they'd arrived and she turned to Giles. "Do it." she said shortly, ignoring the look in his eyes.
Giles wasn't sure about the wisdom of what Cordelia wanted to do, but... He saw the look on her face, and knew that he couldn't stop her, but this time, he vowed silently, he was going with her... no matter what she said. He glanced at Mykl, seeing that the man understood his intent, and stepped towards Cordelia, allowing Mykl access to the raised stone bowl. His breath caught in his throat, and he felt Cordelia jump in surprise as Mykl just reached out and tapped lightly against the side of the bowl three times, and the white glow of the portal appeared.
Mykl chuckled slightly at the looks on the two mortals faces. "What?" he asked, sounding almost as amused as he actually was. "I am related, after all... the rules are slightly different when family comes calling..." He smiled a bit. "I think that this is a really bad idea, but... if you're set on doing it, then..." He shrugged. "Go..." He let out a deep sigh as he watched the two of them disappear into the light, wondering if he'd just made the biggest mistake of his considerably long life.
* * * * * * *
Lucinda almost fainted from relief when Matthias steeped through the portal from their mortal rooms looking none the worse for wear. "Matthias!" she cried, hugging him to her. "You're all right!" She stepped back, giving him a quick once-over before hugging him again.
Matthias pulled away, looking at her in surprise. "Of course I'm all right, Luce..." he looked at her, confusion plain on his face. "Why wouldn't I be all right? I mean, I was just guarding a vampire who was bound in enchanted chains... what did you think was going to happen?" He knew that he sounded puzzled, but he was puzzled. "It's not like he could have broken free... he didn't even try..." He saw her eyebrows raise in question. "OK, I think that he was trying to... piss me off?... or distract me? I don't know... something..." He shrugged. "He kept talking about you... and the games that you two played... I think he was trying to make me... jealous?" He laughed a bit, remembering the look on the vampire's face when he realized that it wasn't going to work. "He didn't seem to understand why I wasn't though... But your other friend... the blond?" Matthias looked away from Lucinda and stared at the floor. "I think that he's almost figured it out..." He nodded at her harshly intaken breath. "And something else... someone's crippled him, Luce..." he could hear the pain in his own voice, "They... did something to him... something wrong. The... agony in his head..." He looked back up at her. "I don't know what it is, but... I have to help him... I have to..." His voice trailed off as he prepared to fight her over that. He knew she'd want him to avoid the blond vampire, but the creature was in pain, and being kept from his own nature couldn't be good for him. Matthias mentally prepared himself to stand his ground. He stared at Lucinda in shock when she only nodded her agreement, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he found his voice. "So, now all I have to do is find out what was done to him... then, maybe I can figure out how to fix it..." He sighed, thinking about how difficult that would be, only to turn quickly towards one of the couches at the sound of a vaguely familiar voice.
"It was the Initiative," Willow said from her position on the couch, straightening her spine and wiping the tears from her cheeks. "They were a bunch of Army types back in Sunnydale... they caught Spike and put a chip in his head, and now he can't even... feed anymore... He can only hurt demons now..." She looked down at her hands, clasped in her lap. "And me..." she whispered, remembering the way he'd run off to Angelus without even a thought about her... he hadn't even said goodbye... She felt the tears threatening to seep from her eyes again, and tried to steel herself to the familiar pain. She knew that she shouldn't be surprised that he had left her... everyone she had ever loved had left her... why would Spike be any different? But the sad part was that she had thought that he was different... and he wasn't... At least Oz had stuck around for a while... Tara, too... Not Spike, though. Willow buried her face in her hands, unable to hold the tears at bey. She was crying so hard that she didn't even notice the two bodies sitting down on the couch, one to either side of her, and with her face in her hands, she couldn't see the looks that the two exchanged over her bowed and weeping head. She missed the matched looks of compassion, and the unspoken agreement that was reached.
Matthias stood, walking out of the room to give the two redheads some time alone together. He hoped that Luce would be able to explain the vampire's actions in a way that the girl would understand and accept, although he didn't understand it himself... Apparently, the blond had run to Angelus without telling the girl. He looked back at the two women on the couch. No, he really didn't understand what the blond had been thinking. Spike, he decided, was an idiot. Matthias turned and walked away, hoping that they wouldn't be long... he wanted to find out what else Willow knew about this 'Initiative'... they needed to be stopped, and he would stop them if no one else would...
Demons were people, too... it just wasn't right to go around treating people that way...
* * * * * *
Spike smirked as he looked down on the bound form of his Sire. He loved seeing the bastard this way, all tied up and at his mercy... He just looked at Angelus for a moment, thinking about what he was going to do to him first, his lips shaping a wicked grin as all of the possibilities ran through his head. He leaned down, running a hand over the hard, silk-covered chest. "You are not going to enjoy this, you asshole... but I am..." he whispered silkily into the air next to the dark haired vampires ear. He felt the chained body trying to struggle, and slid his hand down to cover the hardening bulge in Angelus' pants. "Or maybe you will enjoy it," he said, surprised. "Why, Angelus, you old fraud, I never would have guessed it... you like being dominated... gets you all hot and bothered..." Spike threw his head back and laughed as his Sire tried to deny it. "Oh, no..." he chuckled into the angry brown eyes as he continued stroking the ever harder cock through the leather, "You can deny it all you like, but I think that the evidence at hand..." he chuckled at the pun, "Well, lets just say that your words don't really match the reality I'm feeling." He pulled his hand away, and began unbuttoning his shirt. "So... do you want to do this the hard way, or the easy way?" he asked, smiling when he heard Angelus' answer. "Oh, good," he purred, slipping the shirt from his shoulders, and dropping it on the floor behind him, "I was so hoping you'd say that..."
~Part: 39~
Willow stared at Lucinda, shocked, her mind whirring at about a thousand revolutions per second. "So, you mean that..." She took a moment to try to clarify her thoughts, and tried again, looking confusedly into the other woman's eyes. "So because Angelus is Spike's Sire... he'll always..."
Lucinda nodded slowly, never breaking eye contact as she explained it one more time, hoping that this time the girl would understand. "Yes... he'll always go to him..." she smiled slightly in remembrance, "He always did... But this time it's different... he hates Angelus now... almost as much as he loves him..." She broke off for just a second, seeing the surprise in the young witch's eyes, sighing to herself before continuing. "Yes, Willow... Spike loves his Sire... it's a part of him that will never change... and Angelus loves Spike... Spike is his childe... his favourite child, in point of fact... They may, at times, act like they hate each other, and in a way they do, but ultimately..." She sighed deeply, out loud this time. "Ultimately, they love each other in a way that you will probably never understand... Gods, it's hard enough for me, and I'm not even sure that I understand it completely, but... in a strange way, they are a part of each other... And if going to Angelus means leaving you from time to time, well... he'll leave..." Lucinda felt horrid, seeing the renewed despair in Willow's eyes. "But Willow," she said, placing her hand lightly on the girl's shoulder, "He'll always come back... always... he loves you... not in the same way that he loves Angelus, and that's a good thing, there's so much pain and suffering wrapped up in that relationship... but Spike loves you... he'll be back... After he takes care of his business with Angelus... he'll be back... for you."
Willow could feel her heart starting to believe Lucinda's words. She thought about things for a few minutes, eyes closed, realizing that Spike had always gone to Angel... even when he'd supposedly been trying to kill him, he'd always gone to Angel... and he'd always come back to Sunnydale... to her... she'd always been his favourite target. She supposed that that was love of a kind... "But, Luce... what about Angel? I mean, I know that Spike and Angelus have some sort of twisted love/hate thing going on, but what about Angel?" She saw the lack of comprehension in the older woman's eyes. "Does all this mean that Spike loves Angel, too, because in a way, he's still Spike's sire... or does Spike hate him for not being evil enough, and hate Angelus for being too evil... Or am I just insane?" she finished sheepishly, somehow feeling better, even though Spike had left her without a goodbye, or even a look.
Lucinda just looked at the girl for a while, and then asked her the one question that had been on her mind since before they'd come here. "Willow, did you mean what you said back at the club? That you loved them both... Angel and Angelus? That they were the same to you... in your heart, are they the same? Do you love them both?" She stared intently at the small redhead, waiting for an answer. After a moment, she continued. "I'm not trying to be intrusive, Willow... I really need to know..." She glanced away from the girl, not getting any response. "Please... tell me..." she pleaded. "If you do, I may be able to help you... him... all of you... just as Matthias is hoping to help Spike..."
"Just who are you people, anyway?" Willow said intently. "First of all, you somehow seem to know Spike... and Angelus, too... you've got some kind of powers, 'cause... look around us... your brother knows that there's something wrong in Spike's head... and Angelus can't manipulate him... and now... now you're trying to tell me that you can help us... but only if I answer your questions?" She spun away from the woman, glaring around the room. "OK, fine... I'll answer your questions... but you're gonna answer mine first!" She looked back at the redheaded woman, her eyes as determined as her expression, and sat down, waiting, arms folded defiantly across her chest. She released a breath that she hadn't known that she'd been holding as Lucinda sighed and nodded, seating herself in the chair across from the witch. "OK," Willow said. "First thing... who... or what are you?"
Lucinda laughed softly before replying. "That, sweet Willow, is a very long story... but seeing as it involves you in a way... or at least, your... ten-times? maybe eleven-times?... great-grandmother... I suppose I'd better start at the beginning..." She leaned back in her chair, wriggling about until she was sure that she was quite comfortable before continuing. "It must have been sometime in the early 1700s, judging by the smell of you..."
Willow sat back in the couch and found herself becoming completely wrapped up in the story Lucinda was telling her... it was... amazing...
* * * * * * * * * *
Mykl stood stolidly in the tunnel by the spot where the portal had opened, silently waiting for the Seer and Ripper to re-emerge. They had been gone from the mortal world for almost five minutes, and he was becoming concerned. (Five minutes out here is like... an hour?... two?... something like that, in the cousins dimension... I should have gone with them...) He sighed, stretching his arms over his head to relieve the cramping that had begun. (Damn, I'm out of practice... time was, I could've held stance for days at a stretch... I think I'm getting soft... Going to have to go home soon for a little extra training... maybe get the guys to go with me... gods know, we need it...) He grinned to himself, knowing that VanWey, Archer, and especially Rikk, would never admit that they were in less than perfect form. (I guess I've become a bit more of a realist in the last... two hundred years? two hundred? Can it really have been that long?) He thought for a while, replaying, in the back of his mind, his time in the mortal realm. (Gods... it has... two hundred years...) He brightened again after a moment. (Still... only about twenty back home... that's hardly even a long vacation...) He was suddenly pulled from his reverie by a soung like thunder, and a flash of white, so quick and bright that he almost thought that a storm had somehow been transported into the tunnels with him. He looked up in just enough time to throw a cushioning stream of power out, barely keeping the two humans from impacting the tunnel wall with fatal force. As it was, they still hit hard enough that he was sure they'd probably have the worst headaches of their admittedly short lives thus far. He went over to them, crouching down, and staring intently into their faces as they began to stir. "Hey," he said softly, "Seer? Ripper? You guys OK?" Seeing their slow, painful nods, he got to his feet, extending a hand to each of them and pulling them up off the tunnel floor. "So, what happened?" he said, voice still pitched low. "You were in there for a while..." He stared in amazement as the brunette girl and the englishman turned towards each other and started bickering, not stopping even once as they began to return the way they had come. He found himself having to swallow his own laughter as he listened to them, each accusing the other of being the one to truly anger the cousins. (The Seer... called them 'pissant motherfuckers'? And Ripper hit one of them? Oh, gods... they're lucky they even made it back out, much less alive...) His grin kept getting wider and wider as he listened to them go on... he almost wished that he'd been there to see it.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Spike drew his hand back, slamming it against his Sire's face one more time. He wasn't using his fist, that would have been no fun. He didn't want to knock the bastard out... not yet anyway. He had spent the last forty-five minutes learning, by trial and error, exactly what sorts of pain excited the dark haired vampire when on the receiving end of things... he already knew what the bloody jackass liked when he was dealing it out, but this... this was... Spike searched his mind for the exact word he was looking for... fun... He drew his open hand back once again, discovering that he finally understood what it had been like for Angelus back when Spike had first been turned. "I get it, Sire," he said, slamming his hand against the already bruised, but healing fast, cheekbone. "I actually get it..." He leaned down and spoke softly into Angelus' ear. "I know the why now..." He grinned, taking the vampire's earlobe between his teeth and biting hard, only releasing it when he heard the deep groan coming from his captive's throat. "And I'm learning the how... Y'know," he said, sitting back on his heels and staring at the bound form before him, "You could have come to me... I would've been happy to play this game with you back then... of course, I'm happy to play it with you now, too, but..." He ran his fingertips gently over the split he'd made in his Sire's lip, "There was no need to bring Luce into it... You could've told me what you wanted... needed... I mean, hell, Angelus!" he exclaimed, jumping up and beginning to roam the room, "You were my Sire... my lover... my world..." His voice had faded to a whisper, and he shook his head. When he spoke again, it was in an angry tone. "But that was then." he said, pulling open the desk drawers, one after another, until he found what he was looking for, "And this... this isn't..." He strolled back towards the dark haired form on the floor, holing the knife from the desk loosley in his hand. "But I get it, now," he said, still angry as he sank to his knees beside the prone form again. "I get it..." He reached out with the knife, slipping it between the chains, and began slicing one button after another from the front of Angelus' shirt. He smiled.
Angelus couldn't believe what his childe was doing. He hadn't actually thought that the boy would take it this far, but he had... and he looked like he was going to take it even farther. He wanted to struggle, to fight William off, but the chains were enchanted too strongly. He couldn't even move... so he did the only thing he could to try to stop what was happening. "You don't get anything, boy..." he growled, letting his true features come through. "You want to know why I went to Luce? It was because I wanted this..." he saw the slight gleam of triumph in his childe's eyes and continued. "But I wanted it from an equal... not some sneering, snide little fuck toy that I made one night while in a drunken stupor..." He saw the doubt creeping into Spike's eyes and pressed his advantage home. "And, yeah, I kept you around; why not? You were always a pretty good fuck... all smooth and submissive, tight little ass... you really loved it when I slammed into you dry and hard... you'd let me do anything to you... with you... you even let me share you with Dru... and don't think that I didn't enjoy fucking you, so hard your asshole bled, while you were buried deep inside her... I did ... but I always knew that you didn't have what it took to really please me... to really make me come..." He looked away from the blond, not seeing the fury rise to replace the uncertainty. "No, boy," Angelus sneered, "You'll never get it... I crave this kind of treatment from my equals... and you'll never be that..." He smirked, hearing no response to his comments. "Now, boy... if you know what's good for you, you'll find the key, or spell, or whatever, and get me out of these chains." He waited, his grin still in place, listening for the sounds of his child complying with his command, the grin soon fading away to nothing as he felt the hard, cold hand on his chin, turning his face towards his childe.
"No, Angelus," Spike said coldly, "I don't think that's what's good for me at all..." He ran the edge of the knife over the little bit of exposed skin on his Sire's chest, smiling evilly as he saw the thin line of blood appear. "In fact, I think I need to thank you..." he leaned down, lapping at the bloody chest until the thin cut healed. "Yeah... I need to thank you," he said again, grabbing hold of the vampire's chained form and rolling him onto his stomach as he turned the knife to cutting away the back of Angelus' leather pants, "Mostly for reminding me about the 'good old days'..." He chuckled, deep in his throat, as he pulled the flap of leather away from his Sire's firm, round ass. "I'd forgotten about most of that..." he said hatefully, unbuttoning his fly and pushing the jeans to his knees, "But you remembered..." He stroked himself roughly, and then jerked Angelus to his knees, pushing his head down until it rested, face-first against the wooden floor. Keeping one hand firmly against his Sire's back, he brought the other to his throbbing cock, guiding himself to the almost impossibly tightly clenched hole. He thrust himself forward with all his strength, suddenly penetrating, and feeling himself completely sheathed deep within Angelus' ass. He heard his Sire groan in pain, and smelled the blood caused by his violent entry, as he began to pump himself fast and hard into the tight, blood-slick passage. He felt his Sire try to raise his head, and allowed it for a moment before using his hand on the other vampire's back to slam his face repeatedly into the floor. "So... I'm not... your... equal..." Spike grunted, in time with his violent thrusts, feeling more blood beginning to flow. "So... I'm... just... a boy... am I?" He was thrusting harder and faster now, the fresh blood providing some much needed lubrication. "Well... Sire..." he sneered, feeling his balls begin to tighten, "Thanks... for... the... memories..." he grunted, as he sank his fangs deep into Angelus' back, and thrust himself even deeper into the firm tight ass of his Sire. The taste of Angelus' blood was too much for him; he released the vampire's back and grabbed onto his hips, pulling him tightly against him as he shot his entire load deep inside his Sire's tight, bloody ass. He could hear Angelus groaning in pain, and almost wanted to do it all over again... but not until the bastard begged for it. He pulled his half-erect cock from it's sheath, and pushed the form before him down flat onto the floor. Spike stood and sighed. "Look here, mate," he said, moving to stand beside the chained body, "Things aren't the same as they were... I'm not the same... and you'd better get used to it... Now," he said, rolling his Sire onto his back, and stradling the broad chest, "I think I'd like to have my dick sucked... and I'm giving that job to you..." He grinned as Angelus involuntarily licked his lips. "C'mon," Spike said impatiently, "And no teeth, or... well... I'll just have to keep you chained 'til I heal, and then... well... You and I will have a jolly old time... Now, get to work... boy..."
~Part: 40~
Matthias lurked just outside the door, listening raptly as Lucinda told Willow the story of the girl's many-times great grandmother. It wasn't a story that he'd ever heard before, and while he knew that much of it was purely speculative, because he'd heard Luce say so to the girl, she had seemed to have worked in all of the salient details... Somewhere back in Willow's ancestry, there was one of Luce's people, and whoever he had been, he had obviously loved the witch's ancestress a great deal, because he had apparently chosen to have at least one child with her, and probably more than one... Matthias wracked his brain, trying to think of who, exactly, the man could have been. It would have to have been someone with a fair degree of autonomy, so that he could disappear whenever he chose, and he was most likely one of the few at court that had always been in support of inter-species relations, not to mention that he would have to have been from one of the better families for his blood to still be running true in the girl, especially after all the generations that had gone by... (Ah, well,) he thought, (I'll figure it out later...) He settled back against the wall, sliding down until his was seated on the floor, and settled in to listen to the rest of the story.
Lucinda smiled gently to herself, knowing that Matthias was just outside the door. She could understand his fascination with the story of the young witch's family... after all, he'd never had the chance to hear his own story, not completely, anyway... oh, sure, he knew most of it, but he'd learned the majority of it by picking up bits and pieces in conversation over the last two hundred years. She knew that he wanted to know the rest of it, but somehow, she just couldn't talk about it with him... not yet... besides, if she told him anything on purpose, it might well mean his death... and she certainly didn't want that... She drew her mind back to what she was telling the girl, realizing that she was about to tell her the most important part of all... and Willow wasn't going to like it... no more than Spike or Angelus would...
Willow couldn't believe what she was hearing... well, she believed it, but, still... it was so... strange, and yet she could feel the truth of it inside herself... in her very bones. Lucinda was telling her the truth, and while Willow was intrigued, she couldn't help but wonder exactly how this would all affect her life... how it would change her, knowing that she wasn't fully human, that she had access to powers above and beyond any she'd ever thought to attain. Not to mention which, she had finally discovered why so many of her spells had gone wrong... it wasn't for lack of power, or lack of concentration, it was because her type of magic operated by a different set of rules than the ones she had been using... it required a different methodology... She sighed to herself, well, at least now she knew... and maybe Luce could help her... after all, the woman had said that Willow's powers were similar to hers in a lot of ways... and from what she understood, time did run differently in this dimension where Luce and Matthias had their home, so maybe... maybe Luce would... teach her? Willow felt the nervousness rising within her as she tried to think of the best way to ask her hostess for help. (She has to help me!) she thought desperately, (She just has to...) She pulled her mind back to the redheaded woman, realizing that she'd just been asked a question. "Umm, sorry... What?"
"Do you... understand? About the blood, I mean?" Luce could see that the girl had been off somewhere, and she just hoped that the meaning of what she had said had penetrated. She watched sadly as the girl quickly replayed the words that she hadn't really been listening to and suddenly paled. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Willow... should I not have told you?"
Willow felt her heart turning cold as she spoke around the lump in her throat. "You mean... I'm going to die... eventually... and there's nothing that... Spike... or Angel... Angelus, I mean... can do about it? I can't be turned, I can't be claimed... at least, not in the traditional sense... I'm just gonna grow old and die... and there's nothing anyone can do about it..." She felt herself beginning to tear up, and wiped angrily at her eyes with the back of her hand. "So... I'd be better off if I were completely human... at least then I'd have a chance at eternity... with them... but as it is, I'll have just a few short years before they'll both leave me..." She looked at Lucinda, speaking to the confusion in the other woman's eyes. "They'll look at me, year after year, and see me growing old, and wrinkled, and weak... and they'll leave me... they won't want to stick around for the ugly ending... and I'll be alone..." She bowed her head, telling herself that she wouldn't cry... not again...
Matthias heard the pain in the young girl's voice, and took that as his cue to enter the conversation. He stood and walked over to the open doorway. "Not necessarily, Willow," he said, walking to the girl and sitting beside her. He took her hand in his, the intensity of his stare drawing her eyes to his. "Because your mortal blood was on the female side, you will not ever be immortal like Luce, but..." he smiled confidently at her, " There's no reason that you can't live a very long life with your two vampires... and you don't have to age like a human, either... there are spells that you can learn that'll help you to get around that..." He felt his heart lurch, seeing the hope starting to take root in her. "I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that it's going to be easy, but... in time, if you study hard, and practice your spell-crafting asiduously, you will eventually be able to not only cast the spell, but maintain it, without even a thought... I know that you have enough power... I can feel it, smell it in you..." He smiled again, seeing her eyes widening at what he was saying. "The only drawback, Will... can I call you Will?" He continued after seeing her nod. "The only drawback is that you would have to do a lot of your initial training here... there just aren't many places in the mortal realm that are warded to contain the kind of power that you're going to be flinging around at first... I mean, one day you'll be able to control the amount of power you use, but I don't think that you've reached that point yet..." He sighed, rubbing his eyes with one strong hand before looking back to the young girl. "So what do you say, Will? Are you willing to work that hard? Spend that much time here?" He watched her closely as she looked away from him and into her lap, thinking hard for a few minutes. He hoped that she'd take him up on the offer... he didn't like to think about this fantastic girl dying anytime soon... she should have at least a couple of centuries to see everything the world had to offer her.
Willow felt the thoughts spinning around in her head. She was almost giddy with hope. When Luce had first told her that she couldn't be turned or claimed because of their taint in her blood, she had thought that she would die from unhappiness, but now... (I can learn... I can study, and practice, and do whatever else I have to do to be with them... I can... I've always been good at studying... and research... but I'd have to do it here... what'll that do to Spike... and what do I do about Angelus? I... I love him, but... I want Angel back...) She looked up, her decision almost made. "I... I want to do it, but... what about Spike? I don't think he'd understand it if I just disappeared for a while... and school... I have to be back at college in anther month or so..." She sighed, feeling the hope slipping away, and shook her head slowly. "I... I appreciate the offer, guys, but... I don't see how it could work out... there are just too many problems..." She firmly ordered her face to assume its 'resolved' expression, turning away from Matthias and looking at Lucinda. "You... you said something earlier... about being able to help us... with the Angelus situation... You wanted to know if I loved him... the way I love Angel..." Willow looked away for a moment, finding the words she needed. "And I don't. I don't love him like I love Angel... the soul... but I do love him... differently, but just as much... they... Angel and Angelus... they're two sides of the same person... and I love both sides... for different reasons." She glanced at the floor, licking her lips nervously. "So, can you help me... us?" She felt Lucinda's hand on her chin, tilting her face up so that their eyes could meet.
Lucinda looked deeply into the witch's eyes, finding that the girl was telling the truth. "Yes, Willow... I can help. It'll take some time, and I'll need to call in my people, but with any luck... yes." She sighed at the sparkle which suddenly appeared in the young girl's eyes. "But, Willow, be aware... He won't be the same... I can't completely lock up the demon... that's what the problem was with the initial curse... Damned Rom, no concept of balance... it's all or nothing with those people..." Lucinda grinned. "Sorry... I have issues with the Rom... but in any case, I think that I can pull it off, but I'm going to need your help, as well as my people's..." She looked intently at the redheaded witch. "Are you willing?" She smiled at the girl's enthusiastic agreement. "All right," she said, feeling some of Willow's eagerness herself. "Matthias." she said, turning to meet his eyes over Willow's head, "I need you to go back to our mortal lodgings and bring Willia... Spike and Angelus back here... we have a lot to do..." She looked back at the redhead, meeting her emerald eyes with her own. "Willow, I'll be right back, I need to speak with Matthias privately," she said, walking with him out into the hallway and returning just a few minutes later. "OK, Will... here's what we're going to have to do..."
Willow listened closely, feeling the hope growing even stronger within her. (This could actually work....)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
< meanwhile, back in Sunnydale >
Riley Finn was getting very angry... it had been three days, and he hadn't seen hide nor hair of his missing girlfriend, and he'd been looking, practically non-stop... so the upshot of it all is that he was tired, and hungry, and horny, and was getting awfully tired of his own right hand... He walked through the bright, daylit streets of Sunnydale, occassionally ducking behind a car, or dumpster, and even a park bench once, in an effort to avoid the many demons running about, acting as if they owned the place, which, he supposed, they did, what with the slayer all MIA and everything... He ducked down behing yet another car as a group of five assorted demons wandered by, talking loudly about that Rocko person and his little pet again. (What's the big deal?) he wondered, confused, (They've been talking about it for two days now...) He felt his body make the decision to follow them and listen, while his brain was screaming at him to stop... and run... but apparently his brain was no longer in control because his body just kept right on following the group of demons as they traipsed through the streets of Sunnydale, heading to Willie's Bar.
~~~*~~~
The demons knew that they were being followed; had known it since they'd passed the car that the stupid boy had been hiding behind. They figured that he was probably looking for the Slayer, and were seriously considering drawing straws to see which one of them would get to tell him exactly where she was, and what she was doing there. They all had some less than fond memories of 'Agent Lilac', and the only reason that he was still alive was that the demon community, as a whole, felt kind of sorry for him... after all, he had turned out to be so inept once the Initiative was de-activated. A small group of them wanted to kill him, but the rest had managed to convince them that letting him live was the better punishment... after all, just watching him was providing them with hours of amusement... The very fact that he thought he was stealthy was hilarious... as if demons wouldn't notice a big blond lumbering doofus trying to creep about... in broad daylight... The entire group of them were having quite a good laugh as they entered Willie's and sat themselves down at the bar.
"Hi, guys," said the creepy, smarmy human who owned the place, "What's going on? Something funny?" He looked expectantly at the group as he set them up with their usual drinks.
"Oh," said the blue-skinned Trachar demon in the middle, waving his vestigal facial tentacles at the human, "Just Agent Lilac skulking about again... Thought he was being all subtle and stalk-y following us here..." He disolved into giggles that sounded rather like someone was coughing up a hairball the size of a small Volkswagon, and slammed the shot of tar and turpentine that Willie had put on the bar in front of him. "I'll bet he's still outside, trying to hide behind a street sign or something..."
Willie stared at the demon in surprise. "He can't really be that stupid... can he?" He asked, fascinated by the whole idea.
"Well, hell, Willie... he's been dating the Slayer... what do you think?"
The human looked thoughtful for a moment before his usual ass-kissing grin split his face. "Hmm... good point!" he said, looking towards the door as it opened and a large gray Amphora demon stepped in, folding its wings and crossing to the bar. "Hey... Artera... how ya doin'? Ya want your usual?" At her nod, he began to mix her drink, combining six different liquids in a glass tumbler and stirring them vigorously with a glass rod that he kept on hand for just such occassions. He shuddered as he remembered what had happened the one and only time that he had tried to mix this particular combination of substances in metal... he'd had to close down for a week, and hire a specialist to come in, before he had managed to get enough of the greenish mold and fungus off of the walls and ceiling. He had definitely learned his lesson. He looked up as he heard Artera asking him a question.
"So, Willie," the gray winged demon said, "Why is there a big, clumsy human trying to hide behing that fire-hydrant out front? Is it playing a game of some kind? Because if it is, someone ought to tell it that it's not terribly good at it..." Artera looked around in surprise as the bar full of demons suddenly burst out laughing. "What?" she asked, "What did I say?" She looked to Willie, realizing that she wasn't going to get an answer until the slimy little human stopped laughing.
~~~*~~~
Riley heard the loud laughter coming from inside the demon bar as he crouched behind the fire hydrant out front. He wondered what was so funny, and felt a little lonely. After all, most of his friends had died with the Intiative, and he'd been OK with that... after all, he'd had Buffy... but now, Buffy was who knew where, and he just felt so alone... maybe he'd go on into the bar, and get himself a drink... after all, if the demons were having that good of a time, maybe they wouldn't mind a little company... and maybe, just maybe, they'd have some idea of where his girlfriend had been hiding out... Yes, he decided, that was exactly what he would do... it wasn't as if any of the demons would hurt him... after all, he was Agent Lilac! He stood and crossed the sidewalk, bracing himself as he flung open the door to Willie's Bar, and stepped into the relative darkness.