Children of the damned: part 2

Glad you liked the last chapter:D Special thanks to you Sinangeled and you Z0ey for faithfully reviewing every chapter:D

I am as you noticed a big fan of "In medias res" and cliffhangers as these make these short stories easier to follow and create a greater sense of being a part of the story than if every chapter ended with a long speech and an obvious ending. I have btw thought about the ending and have definitely found the perfect one, but it won't be until chapter 10 so hope you stay with me till then. Anyway, here's part 2;

Faith was winning, Angelus felt it long before he saw it. Buffy might only hesitate for a fraction of a second before a strike, but that was all Faith needed. Faith had truly embraced her inner darkness, and she was letting it guide her actions. When they had fought to the death the last time, Buffy had fought for him, but now she fought for herself and that didn't seem enough. Buffy was already covered in dozens of cuts on her arms, chest and legs, and she had barely given Faith more than a few shallow wounds.

As he watched Buffy slowly being driven back against the wall, he asked himself for the first time if he really truly wanted her dead. He definitely wanted to hurt her beyond anything she had felt before, but Faith was definitely going to kill her and he didn't know if that was exactly what he wanted. He had never given his victims a quick death, instead he had drawn out their physical and mental torture over hours, or even days. But he didn't want to stop Faith either, she was really turning into something useful for someone like him. It wasn't more than right that the most fearsome vampire in history should have his own slayer. The only thing that vampires needed to fear in the whole world was his to command, and set loose on those who refused to obey him.

And yet...

Faith might have an inner darkness that he found both interesting and attracting, but she lacked so much that Buffy had. It wasn't fun to torture the tortured, they had to be full of joy before he brought them down to a new hell. And Buffy had always shone like the brightest sun, engulfing all around her, making him bask in the glory of her light. He had enjoyed just being around her more than any depraved desire he had ever relished simply because she had never seen him as a monster or a lover or a friend, she had seen him as something so beautiful only those hopelessly in love could understand. He had tried to keep his distance, but it was as if a power stronger even than the hellmouth had drawn him in. Every day he had had to fight the urge to simply jump into his car, leave LA behind and go back to Sunnydale. He had wanted to fall down on his knees, apologize for leaving her and then punch out the lights of the soldier boy. But that had never happened, and so she lived on her life without him, forgetting him and moving on with both new boyfriends and new demon lovers.

As he looked down at the scene he saw that Faith had finally pushed Buffy against the wall, slamming the knife out of her hand and pressing her own against Buffy's throat.

"This is it B.", she spoke quietly, looking into Buffy's green eyes for the fear she must feel. "This is the end of you. There won't be a witch to save you this time, and there won't be an angel residing in your boyfriend to play me and help you with your noble quest. This time I will kill you, while a demon watches and waits to drain you.".

"Faith, you never learn do you?" Buffy spoke back calmly, not giving her the satisfaction of seeing her shrink in fear. "I don't care if I die. I already did it twice, and all I regret is not being able to stay there. This world is harsh and cruel, and it is not worth living in. Where I go, you will never be able to follow."

Faith gave her a wide smile, pressing the knife a little deeper into the skin.

"Of course this world is harsh and cruel, because people don't get what they deserve. I deserve to have what you have with the town and the friends. But most of all I deserve Angel, and the love he felt for you."

Angelus started at these words. He didn't think that Faith still held the same old resentment out of jealousy, he thought she finally had embraced something deeper within herself. But now he saw that she was simply a cranky little girl finally ready to strike back against those who didn't like her like they where supposed to; As the one true slayer. The one to revere, the one to love and the one to keep entertained on long dark night's. All that Buffy had already built up by the time Faith arrived.

But he still didn't want to stop her. She had been right about him wanting to drain Buffy, that was all he could do to stop himself from launching himself at her during the entire fight. And now he saw the old fire being re-lit in her eyes, her defiance even on the brink of death, that which he had seen as he himself had her cornered against the wall. And as if Faith had read his mind she spoke the words that still haunted Buffy's dreams.

"I have taken away your friend, your witch is nowhere to be found, the watcher has been thrown into a shed, your father has abandoned you and your mother is dead." she raised the dagger to Buffy's eyes and readied herself to gouge them out of her pretty blond skull. "What do you have left?".

Buffy looked up into those unforgiving eyes. All that rage, and all that envy flashed in them and she knew that this was the end. She would die again, although this time she couldn't count on a quick death. Faith would make it last for a long time, to really savor the feeling of her death. And as she thought back at her life she realized she had only one regret.

"I'm sorry I didn't go to LA and beat you for leaving me, and then drag you back home to Sunnydale." she said, looking at Angelus over Faiths shoulder. "I should have done it a long time ago. Can you forgive me Angel?" her eyes locked with his, and even Faith turned around to watch him with an incredulous look.

He stared into Buffy's eyes for a few seconds, but they seemed like hours to the girls. And then finally he spoke up.

"I do."

Faith's eyes widened with shock and anger. She turned to Buffy and grabbed her by the throat, ready to kill her.

"He might remember you in there, in that empty place of his heart. But he won't stop me from killing you. You are alone, and nothing will save you this time!". She gave her a triumphant grin and raised the dagger for the killing blow.

"I will." Angelus suddenly breathed in her ear.

Faith hadn't heard him approach, and he must have moved with an incredible speed. She tried to lash out with her knife behind her shoulder, but he had her arm in an iron grip and sank his long teeth into her neck. At first she felt the pain, but then she felt an enormous relief and sudden pleasure, almost as if she had an orgasm. She kicked and tried to cry out, but all that escaped her lips was a quiet moan as she began to loose control over her legs. She slowly sacked onto the floor, Angelus hands still tight around her chin and arm, and she felt more and more tired.

A shroud began to lower itself over her eyes, while she softly moaned for him to stop. But in truth she wouldn't want him to ever stop, this was beyond any pleasure she had aver felt. Finally he began to release his grip of her, and she slowly realized that this was the end, he had fed of her and now she was spent. Darkness took over from the grey world, and she felt herself falling into a deep sleep, the troubles of the world finally leaving her.

Angelus tossed the lifeless form away from Buffy and scooped her up in his arms.

"Let's go back to my place, lover. Too many emotions and dramatic statements here for my taste." He started to walk towards the door while Buffy leaned in and drew in the familiar scent and put a hand around his neck.

"OK," she whispered as she looked over his shoulder on the scene behind them. The blood she had lost and the blood that still streamed out of Faith made a big red pool on the other side of the room. She knew that she had forgotten someone, but right now it didn't matter. Angel held her in his arms, and she was finally going home with him again after all these years.

Spike hurried through the streets. He didn't care if he still wasn't fully healed, Buffy needed him. It was Willow who had told him, first that Xander and Anya were dead, then that they found Faith dead in the Magic Box with Giles locked in a cupboard. The whole f*cking world was falling to pieces of late, the bad things had just been piling up and the end was nowhere in sight.

The police had found out that not all the blood in the shop had been from Faith, a near lethal quantity had been from someone else. Spike didn't need to wait for some lab to test it to know that it was Buffy's, all he needed to do was find out where the bastard had taken her.

He had already checked at the mansion, but there was no sign of any of them there. He had caught Angel's scent, but it was days old and he hadn't revisited the place from what he could see. So now he scoured all the hideouts he thought Angelus might enjoy. He knew that beauty and class had always been more important than safe locations for Angelus, say what you wanted about the bugger but he definitely had style. The mansion had been a bust, the other old houses around Sunnydale had all been empty, or had a distinct lack of dead bodies, so now he was searching the nicer flats in town for clues. He knew from Buffy that the mayor had owned several of the finest one's and had given one to Faith, so Angelus might have taken residence in one of them when he arrived with Faith.

He walked up to the white door and knocked loudly. If there was no one there they wouldn't answer, and if it was Angelus in there, he wouldn't answer either. After a few minutes of waiting he took a step back and kicked the door in. That definitely made him feel better, door-kicking really had a way of cheering an angry man up. He took out the stake he kept in his jacket and stepped inside, ready for anything. But as he had suspected there was a complete lack of fancy pansies, there was however a faint scent of vampire in the air that could definitely be him. Spike walked around the spacious apartment and let his smell guide him, there had definitely been a vampire in here a few days ago.

As he passed the window a movement caught his eyes. Someone dressed in dark colors, and a lot bigger than a normal man. He slid behind the curtain and peeked his head out far enough to glimpse who it was. Sure enough he saw the trademark hairstyle of the sodding bastard and his favorite deep red shirt. To Spike's surprise however he didn't seem to be moving on, he had stopped on the other side of the street and was taking a smoke. Had he seen him? He was definitely clever enough not to

reveal any knowledge about Spike's position if he had caught a glimpse. But Spike was fairly sure he had been hidden behind the curtain and out of sight from the street as he was searching the flat.

"What are you doing you murderous bastard?" he muttered as he continued to watch Angelus, standing there under a streetlight in full view of the street and smoking.

He had always been a cocky guy, but with the entire town out in search for him and the witch in a berserker rage about the loss of her friends the guy should definitely show more caution. There was something fishy about this, he must have some devilish plan which he was planning to set in motion, or else he would be going somewhere else. Angelus had never been one to stand and fight a hopeless fight, and he had all he wanted in any case.

He looked down as Angelus lit another cigarette, still standing like a statue out there, not moving or looking for something, just staring in front of himself. So why hadn't he just left with her? It made no sense whatsoever. This was definitely not his trademark, he usually left after causing as much damage as he wanted to enjoy for the moment, and then he moved on with whatever he had collected as a trophy. Sometimes it was a jewel for Darla, sometimes a dagger or sword for himself, and sometimes with another protege to take under his wings and turn into a monst...

Surely he hadn't turned her? As he felt a chill creep up his spine he realized that that was the only logical explanation for him staying this long. He had turned Buffy, and now he wanted to unleash her on her friends to see if they really could kill her. Whatever he had done to her, Spike would never judge her, he would protect her and keep her safe from whatever might harm her.

Finally something happened down in the street. A big van had just driven into the alley next to where Angelus was standing, and he took a quick look around the street before he followed it into the deeper darkness.

Spike immediately ran to the door, and then on to the stairs. He took every flight of stairs with one big jump and arrived at the ground floor within seconds. He then darted along the shadows of his side of the street before rushing over to the other side and climbing up the fire escape to the top of the roof of the building on the right side of the alley. He ran across the roof as silently as possible until he heard voices at the very end of the alley.

As he reached them and leaned over the edge to see what was happening he saw the strangest gathering. About ten big hulking vampires and a big green demon where holding a giant rocky and horned demon in massive chains. Angelus was standing right in front of it and speaking in his usual calm and icy tone.

"You did it in LA, so you can do it here. The stone is right here, all you need to do is say those words you know and then it's good bye sunshine and welcome darkness." he was holding some kind of primitive knife that seemed to have the same rocky shape as the massive demon.

"You killed my master Angelus, now she cannot give birth to herself in this world. You have failed your task.". The demon didn't seem to care very much about the chains around him. His voice sounded like someone who simply had stopped caring for anything in the world.

"Sorry about that, but how was I supposed to know some demon god was coming to give us world-peace. I would have stopped her much sooner if I had known that, peace is for the weak and I know you are not weak.". He started to twirl the knife in his hands, and then he stabbed the demon in the gut with it. The demon gave out a load roar and the vamps around him had trouble keeping him in his kneeling position.

"I know you wont die from that, so I will keep stabbing until you do as I command. It's what you want in any case, you where never the peaceful type as I recall. You of all would never have wanted world-peace, she simply used you like a dummy. Do something on your own accord for once, give us darkness.". Angelus took out an orb and held it in front of the demon.

At first the demon didn't seem to react, then finally he started to mutter some words, but Spike was too far away to hear them. Then the demon seemed to breathe on the orb and it disappeared. But as Spike look closer he saw that it had been inclosed in some kind of dark cloud. And from it something seamed to be streaming towards the sky, only that in the darkness around him it was impossible for him to make out that it was simply more darkness streaming towards the sky.

"Now that wasn't too hard was it?" Angelus jested as he stored the orb inside his coat. "Take him away and sever his arms and legs. Make sure no one will accidentally find him.". He turned and disappeared into the building opposite of Spike while his lackeys started to hack away at the roaring demon.

"What the hell did they do?" Spike wondered silently muttering as he made his way to the very end of the alley and crossed over a few led pipes to the other building and slipped inside a window. He ran to the other side and just caught a glimpse of Angelus heading towards the bronze.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong peaches," he muttered to himself as he quietly slipped out of the building and headed towards the bronze. "But didn't you have a room around here? Never thought you would go back to something like that again."

And sure enough he saw Angelus disappear down a flight of stairs and heard the quiet opening and closing of a door. This was it! This was where he had kept her for the past three days, right under their very noses. No one had been there since Angel's departure for LA, he thought. He hadn't heard Buffy mentioning it a single time, and the other Scoobies had been just as quiet about it. But he had heard from Dru that Angel had been living above ground the first time he arrived here. And when Angelus had been released for the first time, he had returned to "my place" as he called it, to torture the poor girl for her first time.

So, storming in wasn't an option. He wasn't fully healed, and when Angelus had finished torturing him he would simply relocate. Spike needed to bring all the firepower he could. The witch, the watcher, the friendly demons and maybe even the police. He wasn't going to give Angelus even the smallest chance to get away this time. He turned and headed towards the watchers home, time was of the essence, they needed to hit his place come daybreak to stop him from getting assistance from his thugs.

Angelus threw the key on the desk as he entered his place. He surveyed the room, Buffy was still in bed, her feet chained to the wall. And his new guest seemed to have returned from the nightly hunt.

"How is our slayer doing?" he said as he walked over to Buffy and gave her a glass of water. "All healed up? You should be up and running by now... Figuratively speaking.". He gave her a playful grin.

She had learned to discern one smile from the other during her three days here. Sometimes he smiled with his whole face, that meant he had just done something or thought about doing something horrible. Sometimes the corner of his mouth just twitched, and that meant he was actually amused. And sometimes he had a small smile on his lips and a dark glint in his eyes, that meant he wanted to kill something. Now he was giving her the biggest smile she had ever seen, and that worried her more than anything she had seen so far in her life. He had already corrupted one slayer into killing one of her closest friends, and she knew this was something just as bad.

"I am all right. So you can let me go now." she gave him as much of an angry glare as she dared. She was still afraid he might rip her throat out at any minute.

Angelus slumped down in a chair and gave her a long curious look before he answered.

"No. I want you around for this.".

A voice carried to them from the other side of the apartment.

"Did he follow you?". The speaker was standing in the shadows, and Buffy couldn't make out who it was from where she lay. But the voice was eerily familiar.

"I made sure he did. He doesn't know what the Beast did, it was too dark. But I made sure he saw me walking back here.". He lit another cigarette, took a look at Buffy's reproachful face and immediately put it out. He did it without noticing, and when the thought caught up with him he became a bit irritated.

"The idiot will do exactly what we expect him to do." he hissed angrily to the corner, giving the shadowy person a glare as if they had made him do something disgusting.

"Don't underestimate my Spike, he can surprise you.". The speaker walked into the light, and Buffy immediately recognized the tall dark beauty that was Drusilla. Wow, things were really going back to how they had been all those years ago, Buffy thought to herself.

"It's not me who will be surprised, he won't know what hit him when I'm done.".

"What if he brings that dreadful witch? She is very powerful, and she will hurt us badly for what you did to the boy and the girl." Drusilla took the chair opposite of Angelus,crossed her legs and studied his face intently. "We wont survive fire daddy, she will burn us to the ashes we all will be one day. All to ashes.".

Angelus gave her a cold smile, as if he hadn't thought about that. The last three days hadn't been spent clipping his toe nails, he had planned and prepared. This would be the last big fight in Sunnydale, it would all be decided at dawn. And he already felt the rush before the kill, this would be his greatest masterpiece.

"I have prepared everything Dru. The witch won't be a problem, and no matter how much support he musters there is one thing he can't take in account...". He gave her a knowing look, while Buffy strained to hear everything. What could possibly be his ace?

"He is counting on dawn to lock me inside, and to keep my friends away. He will strike before the sun rises so he himself can lead the attack, he will feel the dawn coming. But he won't know that there won't be a dawn. He just heard me talk of darkness, but he doesn't know that I really meant the sunlight. So he will come, expecting to corner me, we will face him and whatever he brought, and then we end it. I will bring down everything I've got on them, and then we will see what the witch can do to harm us.". He leaned back and gave Dru a victorious smile.

Buffy sat there in shock. Her friends where walking into a trap, and they would have no one to warn them about it unless she could get away. She began pulling at the chain again, trying to loosen its foundation in the wall without alerting Angelus. But he heard better than she thought, as he rose and walked up to the bed and sat down beside her. But he didn't harm her, or even threaten her, he simply sat down next to her.

He lifted his hand and brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes, looking cold and distant but still lifting away the hair with the gentlest of touches. In that moment she saw some of the old Angel surface within him, the deep bond they shared, that transgressed right and wrong, souls and even death. He looked so like his old self in that moment that Buffy lifted her own hand to his face and let it glide down the side of his face, and then into his dark and ruffled hair. They seemed to be locked in a memory of old, where Buffy was secretly kissing him outside her window, when he had been her boyfriend and all that scared her was a history test. She leaned closer to him, and as she saw him lean in too she closed her eyes.

Kissing the soulless vampire who killed her friends must give her an express ticket to hell, but in that moment she didn't care, all she wanted was to feel his lips against hers, his skin against hers, and hear him whisper how much he loved her in her ear. But before their lips met he whispered to her.

"It's not the monster in me that needs killing Buffy.". He stood up and walked away from the bed. Leaving an even more heartbroken Buffy behind.

"I still love you Angel.". She whispered to herself before she turned around and started to cry into the pillow. To be so close to him, and yet so far away. In this very bed where they had experienced the moment of true happiness, in the room where he had belittled her for it the day after.

She didn't see Angelus leaning against the door outside, still holding it ready for the close. She didn't know he had heard her, and she didn't hear how he whispered back.

"That's why it has to end tomorrow.". And he closed the door and walked away with Drusilla to prepare for dawn.

Spike stood ready. He had Willow on his right and Giles on his left. Behind them an assortment of former students of Sunnydale high, and friends from the town (both human and demons) stood at the ready. They were facing the Bronze, with a dozen police ready on the roofs with crossbows instead of guns, everyone of the rest armed with stakes. If he hadn't been so tense for the fight he might have been impressed by just how many had turned up. There were at least s many as when they had fought the Mayor Giles had noted earlier, although Spike hadn't been present for that event in the past.

"Giles?" he asked over his shoulder. "Are the kids ready?".

Giles had a cold and deadly expression. He had slept drunkenly through the stabbing and kidnapping of his slayer, and he intended to make up for it today.

"They are as ready as they ever can be. This won't be the first time they fight for this town.". He held two small crossbows in his hands, and had several stakes at the ready. His face was covered in a three day stubble, and his eyes were red from absence of sleep.

Spike turned to Willow, glancing at her already black eyes.

"Ready to burn him into a crisp cutie?". Willow didn't say anything, but gave him a stare that made even his blood freeze. "Guess that means yes.".

"Alright people." he shouted to them all. "Let's kill this sodding bastard!". And he started to advance.

He wasn't surprised as he saw Angelus emerge from the stairs, but more so when he saw Dru follow him.

"Dru?". When had she got here? He hadn't seen her since he had threatened to stake her to prove his love for Buffy. She looked just as graceful and deadly as always in her old red gown.

Angelus and Drusilla walked the short distance to Spike and his group, and stopped a few yards in front of them. Angelus was giving them all the cold, deadly smile that Spike recognized as his expression before a kill.

"So many friends you brought Willy." he stated as he surveyed the assembled host. He took in the crossbows, the stakes and above all the trembling hands as most of them recognized him from his good days. Many of them hadn't known he was the vampire they were supposed to kill. "So many children. Why don't you let us settle this peacefully as grownups?".

"I prefer bashing you bloody head in if you don't mind." Spike retorted. Angelus seemed too calm, and only bringing Drusilla if he had expected them seemed like suicide. "Sun will be up soon, we booth feel it. And when it is, we will burn you out of your hole and turn you into a nice neat dust pile.". There was definitely something wrong, his gaze flickered around nervously for some sign of an ambush on the ambushers.

"Looking for someone?" Angelus leered at him. "Nothings coming."

"Sure, the great Angelus didn't find any goons to do his bitch work for him?" Spike gave him a disgusted look.

"I didn't say that." Angelus took a step closer, now barely a few feet from Spike. "I said; nothing is coming, the sun should have been up by now shouldn't it?".

Spike looked up in the dark sky, and then down to Angelus again.

"You gave yourself darkness as cover." he whispered, almost awestruck at the ingenuity of it.

"And every single creature that enjoys it in this town, including several of your friends back there.". Suddenly he turned his gaze up towards the roofs around them and roared;

"NOW!"

Another cliffhanger guys:D I know I'm evil, but I hope that makes you want to read the continuation even more as there are some things happening neither Spike or Angelus are prepared for.

Hope you liked it, and hope you give me a review with your thought's on the story and how you want it to continue.

Unto chapter 5 for me then;)