A/N:

Yup, exactly three month, give or take a day.
Sorry about that, life got in the way. I either had no time or no motivation to write.

But I'm quite fond of this story, so I kept going. Parts of this were written weeks apart, in different mind sets. Might be noticeable.
Quite proud of some parts of this, not so much of others.

I am planning to write another chapter (hopefully faster...) to get out all of my originally planned premise. Then I want to try and find someone to continue this. As I said I am fond of this story, but I just don't have the time and dedication to writing to do what I had planned with it. So, if someone else thinks this concept is a good idea, message me. You can have my (quite jumbled) notes if you want.

I bumped this up to M, because Cluster F-Bombs.
Also if you find mistakes I oversaw, please tell me.

Thanks to jvdoscher, XxbvbluvahXX, PerfectlyUnique an DARKVOLVE
Special Thanks to ScottyBgood, TimelessReader, spiderwriter, Jeremy-Shane and PerfectlyUnique(again).

Chpt. II - Soul(less)

The darkness surrounding her was total. At least she thought it was. It wasn't like she could open her eyes to check. In fact she wasn't able to move at all. Jade also became aware of the deafening silence around her. The kind of silence so deep that one could hear one's own beating heart. Except that she didn't. Huh... OK... Was she dead? If she was dead, then how the hell could she ask herself if she was dead?
Stop. Don't panic. Jade West does not panic. Breath... or not. Great, apparently she couldn't do that either. Where the hell was she? How did she get here?
The last thing she could remember was the club. She had gone to that pseudo-underground rock club to get her mind off of Beck's and hers latest breakup. This time it was final ...again. She had fake-id'd herself some shots, everything after that was a bit blurry. Had she been roofied? No, she had only taken drinks directly from the bar tender and never let them out of her sight, she hadn't been that whammied. She hoped. If she had been drugged, she could be in some serious shit.
Better not to think about that possibility right now, so back to the club. There had been that Dude. They had danced. Somehow they had ended up making out in the back alley behind the club. She must have been really out of it, that normally wasn't her style. She barely even remembered him. She had broken the kiss to catch some air, felt cool lips travel over her jaw to her neck, a tongue finding her pulse point, teeth gracing her skin. Then the pain and then she had been flying. She remembered tasting another liquid, sweeter, warmer and more intoxicating than the vodka she had had before.

Wait. No. Nonononono. Fuck. Fuck Fuck FUUCK. No.
She knew what happened. She'd seen the not-so-public PSAs. They were mandatory for close relatives of higher-up Wolfram & Hart employees; they were too valuable hostages. So her father the kiss ass had made her watch them time and time again. Of course she had ignored them all just to spite him. Oh, he would have a field day about this. "You should have listened, Jadelyn. Do you see now what happens if you don't do as you're told?!" She could hear his voice in her mind, dripping with contempt; see the sneer he always wore when talking to her. She wondered if the sneer would stay in place after she ripped his throat out, or if he would stay alive long enough to register what had happened and she would get to see the terror fill his eyes. It would be fun to find out.

Jade had been sired. And she was awakening.

The ride to school turned out to be less annoying than the day before. Trina still insisted on singing herself instead of getting that damn radio fixed, but this time Tori managed to remember the ear plugs she had in her purse. They had been given out at some concert she and the gang had been to a few weeks ago. Since Trina was Trina and thus her attention was divided and solely between driving and Trina it didn't prove too difficult to put them in without her noticing. So Tori could spent the rest of the ride in relative peace and didn't have the urge to rip out hey own eardrums when they arrived at school. She was, however still hungry. The grub truck wasn't open yet, so she had to settle for a cereal bar and a soda from the vending machines. The breakfast of champions... well, it would do 'til lunch. She didn't see any of her friends while munching on the too sweet oat brick. Most of them either had a free period or had to be in another part of the building right now. Jade should have been around though. Tori felt an odd sense of disappointment bubbling up inside at the thought of again not seeing her darkish friend. The only one she did see was Sikowitz. He was walking to his next class and sucking on one of his coconuts. He shot her a grin and winked at her before hurrying off. Remembering her dream from last night, that send some serious chills down her spine. Why did her weird teacher have to choose that day to be extra weird?

By the time she finished her food, she was already late for first period. They had some substitute teacher that day, so the attendance check was rather lax anyway and Tori was able to sneak in without the woman in front noticing that her audience had just increased by one. Most of the lesson was dedicated to a rather interesting and passionate monologue about the life and work of Janice Joplin. Their teacher was technically supposed to give them a safety lesson about the use of pyrotechnics on stage, but when would they ever actually need that, right? Tori sighed to herself. Yup, they were doomed. After the bell rung she made her way to her locker just to find André and Robbie quietly arguing about something. When they saw her, both stopped and tried to put on non chalant faces. The effect was somewhat tarnished by each of them still staring daggers at the other. "Hey Tor, 'sup chica?" André greeted her. Tori narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Hi guys. What were you two talking about?"

"Baseball!" "The apparent obsession of internet fan culture with non-canonical homosexuality!" André and Robbie both answered at the same time. The other two just blinked at Robbie, until André decided to try and change the topic "So, Tori, what the hell happened to your locker?" Tori hadn't even looked at it yet. For her first class she hadn't needed anything from it and the day before she had been both too tired to pay much attention to it and in a hurry to make Trina not wait any longer. There was a dent around the handle that was big and deep enough to twist the metal up to the corners of the door. The paint she had painstakingly applied was cracked in a few places and the little switch that turned the illumination on appeared to be broken. She shrugged exasperated."I don't know. I just closed it as always and the door just gave in. Lane already gave me a lecture about it yesterday." "But how did you..." She interrupted her best friend, knowing what he would ask. "I don't know. Lane thought I had anger issues or something, but agreed that it must have been metal fatigue. Maybe the paint I used was corrosive or something like that." Robbie and André both took a step away from the possibly hazardous locker. Tori didn't want to dwell on yesterday anymore than necessary. That day had been annoying enough. She had to steer the conversation to anything else. She just asked the first question that popped into her head. "Has anyone seen Jade?"

The newly embraced vampire slowly regained awareness of her body. First she felt the hunger. It was the most intense need she had ever felt. She felt like she hadn't eaten in days, but it was different than anything she had ever felt before. She didn't just need food. It was life itself she craved. She felt empty. And the only thing that could fill her was the essence of another. She needed blood.

Then she became aware of people around her. She could finally hear them, smell them. They were talking, but she couldn't make out the words, but that didn't matter. They had what she craved so much and she would drain them of it. They were just prey. She still couldn't move but she slowly regained the feeling in her limbs and the rest of her body. She was lying on what felt like warm metal, some light fabric covering her from the neck to her thighs, leaving her back and ass bare. The words of those around her slowly got more discernible, they still didn't make much sense though. "Brain activity rising. She's coming back!" "Orb is ready, implant still in prep. Restraints checked." "The ritual's just waiting for your 'go'." Jade had no idea what the hell these guys where talking about, but they didn't matter anyway. The first thing she would take care of was her "father". Then her so called friends. One by one.

She didn't actively despise André. He'd be first; she'd just drain him. Dude had had a little crush on her a while back, she might play with that a bit first.
That little pest Robbie. Jade didn't even want to drink that. Just ram that cursed puppet down his throat and see what happens.
Then Cat. Poor little Kitty-Cat. Even in her newly freed state Jade couldn't bring herself to think something truly cruel up for Kitty-Cat. She'd probably not get what was happening until it was too late anyway. Well, at least drinking her would likely give her a nice sugar rush for...
Beck. Oh, that bastard would get to know pain. Without him she wouldn't have gone to the club. She would never have met her sire. She wouldn't be in this whole mess. None of this would have happened. Mmmh... Actually... She would have to thank him for that before snapping his neck.
At last Vega. Vega, Vega, Vega. Maybe sweet Sally-Peaches would find her friends after Jade was done with them. That'd be priceless. Maybe Jade would have some longer term fun with the "good girl". Maybe the Latina could become her own little "Renfield". Maybe Jade would pass the gift to Tori. Sire her. Take her blood; give her own in return. Bind them to each other for eternity. The thought alone was exciting. She felt her nails digging in her palms just planning it.

Wait. Her hands. She could move them. It still took effort, but she found that she was in control of her body again. Her eyes shot open, the bright light burned. She could make out the silhouettes of the people she had only heard and smelled before and made to jump off her slab and attach herself to the nearest person's throat.

She couldn't. She tried again, but her limbs just stopped a few inches above the slab. Only now she noticed the cuffs and chains. She was bound by both of her wrists, ankles and her torso, they had even put a collar around her neck. They were afraid of her. Of what she had become. She would show them fear. Those restraints wouldn't bind her for long. She felt a twitch in her jaw and forehead. An inhumane, predatory roar escaped her throat. She would rip them all to shreds. Her eyes finally adjusted to the seemingly unnaturally bright light. She took in her surroundings.

Some kind of hospital. Sensors on her skin. Monitors with graphs next to her. Five people in the room with her, well technically six: A doctor checking the monitors with a nurse by her side. Two big guys by the door; apparently guards, they were carrying tasers, the big kind. The last man was Lane. Lane? What the hell?! Never mind! Then he would be the first one of her acquaintances to meet the new Jade. The sixth was a woman on a flat screen on the wall. A redhead. Sadly not with her in the room. She looked delicious.

"She's conscious. Do it, Will! GO!" Lane's voice boomed through the room. The doctors stepped aside. The guards raised their tasers. The redhead on the screen inhaled and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, they were two perfect pitch black orbs. She raised some kind of glass ball and spoke:

"Quod perditum est, invenietur.

Nici mort, nici al fiinţei,

te invoc spirit al trecerii.

Te implor, Doamne; nu ignoră aceasta rugăminte!

Lăsa orbită să fie vasul care-i vă transportă sufletul la el.

Este scris, aceasta putere este dreptul poporul meu de a conduce.

Aşa să fie! Aşa să fie!

Acum!"

The glass ball in the woman's hand began to glow and vanished. Jade blinked; what were these fools trying to... It burned. There was a new light blinding her and this time she couldn't close her eyes against it. The light came from inside her own head. And Fuck, it burned.

She was in a room, lying on a slab. Where was she? What had happened? Why was she tied up? People were staring at her. Two of them held tasers. Another one of them was Lane. Lane. Oh Gods, she had wanted to...
It came all rushing back to her: The club, the vampire, waking up, realizing her situation, her plans for her friends... Damnit, yes, she had quite a sadistic streak, but her thoughts from a few minutes ago had been just ...fuck.

She rolled onto her side as far as her restraints allowed and heaved. Nothing came out. Figures. She had no idea when she had eaten last. Hell, she didn't even know how long she'd been out. She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Jade?" It was Lane. "How do you feel?"
She blinked at him. How the fuck was she supposed to feel?! She had died in a freaking back alley, come back as a fucking demon and had plotted to murder everyone she knew.

"Drained.", she deadpanned. Lane sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He gave the doctors a nod, who unshackled her. "You're alright, thank goodness. Welcome to the Initiative!" Jade massaged her wrists, even if they didn't actually hurt. She sat up, careful not to flash half the room in her hospital gown. "What the Fuck is going on?"