Whiskers Of Fury (14/?)
DEDICATION: To my "Whiskers" feedbackers: Amelia, bwit, chalkdusty, Cheryl, Christopher Marlowe, cile, cyberwulf, Dayzee, elizabethdarcy, gyrlfrend, Jane McCartney, Jericho TGF, JJ, Katherine, Kelley and Shelley, kitkat, Levi Truelove, Lilyana, lwbush, MattyMatt, Rayven, Rikki, Seven, Shadowfang, shiny silver grl, superrmk, Sweet Kitten, TAMZ, Undead, and Y_slaybelle.
And a special dedication to two people. One, to none other than Amber Benson herself, for making my millenium and joining my Miss Kitty Fantastico For The Next Big Bad club, and two, to Spikmeister, the maintainer of the MKFftNBB website (where this fic can also be found, incidentally), for making it happen. Anyone interested in knowing about the club can email me.
***
CHAPTER 14 - Motel California
***
Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok clan sat on the edge of his bed in the motel room, hands on his knees, watching his roommate closely. The man hadn't spoken a word since the six of them checked in. Outside the window, the first slivers of sunlight were starting to appear on the eastern horizon. Angel would definitely have the curtains drawn in his room by now. He and Fred had taken a room together, and Cordy and Gunn were in the third.
Lorne sighed, stood up, and crossed the room to look out the window. "Talk to me."
Wesley Wyndham-Pryce looked up from the floor. "I'm sorry?"
Lorne turned back around to face Wesley. The boss of Angel Investigations looked up at him from where he sat, his face firm. "Honey, you can play Mr. Grumpy Pants and give us the silent treatment all you want, but your aura's practically screaming about me."
Wesley held Lorne's gaze, not speaking.
Sighing, Lorne crossed to his bed again and sat back down. "Something's bothering you, Wesley. I've been feeling it ever since you came limping down those stairs. So what's the what?"
Wesley frowned. "Like you don't already know."
"Well, I've got a pretty good idea, it's true. But I want to hear it from you."
Wesley looked down at the floor, not speaking. Lorne watched him patiently. The man needed time with this one. It was obvious.
"Not just yet," Wesley said finally, talking softly. He looked back up, and Lorne was a little surprised by the look of fear in the man's eyes. "Soon."
"Fair enough," Lorne replied agreeably. "But I'm gonna hold you to that. I think you've got info we all need to hear."
Wesley's face hardened, and he nodded.
***
"Angel, are you alright?"
Angel was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of Fred's voice, the contemplative look on his face evaporating. "Hmm?"
"Well, you seem kinda distracted." Fred smiled a little. "You're not worried about the kitten we're looking for, are ya?"
Angel paused for a moment before answering.. "No. It's just ... something's off. I can feel it."
Fred frowned. "Off? Like what?"
"Not sure."
***
In the next room, Darla stared intently at Drusilla. "What is it?"
Drusilla smiled. "Daddy's here."
***
Cordelia watched Gunn with an amused smile as he flicked through the channels.
"Cordelia?"
"What?"
"Doesn't Sunnydale have anything good to watch on TV?"
"Nope."
"Damn."
***
Xander walked down the sidewalk of Sunnydale's main street, hands in the pockets, head down. A couple of steps behind him, Faith dangled a stake in one hand as she followed him. The sun was coming up, so vampires weren't a worry, but her time in Sunnydale had shown her that vampires are far from the only thing you have to worry about in this town.
They were on their way to Buffy's place, and Faith was really starting to regret coming back here. But, she hadn't had a choice in the matter. The bespectacled Brit in the tweed suit that awaited her as she stepped out through those prison doors and into the open world again had made that more than clear. She was out because she was needed here. Fail to do what was asked of her, and she would find herself back behind those bars before you could say "five by five." So, here she was, back in the town that had pushed her over the edge.
And she was quickly discovering that whatever this dark power that had just risen in this town (at least, that was what she had been told) was exactly, it wasn't beating around the bush. The first familiar face she ran into belonged to Xander, and he had told her about his dead fiance. Sunnydale's newest Big Bad had already made its mark.
But that wasn't Faith's main concern at this point. Seeing Buffy again was her biggest worry. They would be there very soon, so she didn't have a lot of time left to worry about it, but Faith didn't have the slightest idea whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Half of her thought that the sooner she got this over with, the better it would be for both her and Buffy, but the other half was practically screaming at her to turn around and get out of this town, and never come back.
But running wasn't the answer. She had done enough of that for one lifetime.
A few minutes later, the two of them turned a corner, and Faith found herself looking down Buffy's street. She stopped. Xander, who was a few steps behind her now, just kept on walking. Faith took a deep breath, let it out, and started walking again.
***
As Spike paused outside the door to his crypt to finish his cigarette, he realized he was starting to feel worry. Since coming back home from the dorm party, he had become aware of two major problems.
One, Drusilla was back in town. And this time, she had brought Darla with her.
Two, the other Slayer was back.
Spike frowned. He knew the others would not be happy when they heard about this.
Sucking it up, he flicked the cigarette butt away, opened the door, and entered the crypt.
Inside, a young brunette woman sat with her legs crossed on top of his coffin, staring at him intently. "And just where have you been?" she demanded. Spike opened his mouth to answer, but she went on. "We've been worried sick! We were afraid something had happened to you!"
"Don't worry yourself, luv," Spike said, grinning. He was still getting used to this newfound affection from the girl. "Just got held up a little longer than I thought." He strolled over to the coffin, and hopped up onto the lid, sitting across from her. "Ran into a couple of people on the way."
"Like who?" she asked.
"Well, like Droopy, for a start."
"You mean Xander?"
Spike nodded.
Her eyes widened. "Well? How was he? How did he look?"
"Actually, he seemed pretty normal," the chipped vampire replied, raising his eyebrows. "But he bought it."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," Spike said, a little patronizingly. "Don't worry about it, luv. Far as he thinks, you're deader than drywood."
"Well, good," Anya said, relaxing. "Everything's going to plan, then."
T.B.C.
DEDICATION: To my "Whiskers" feedbackers: Amelia, bwit, chalkdusty, Cheryl, Christopher Marlowe, cile, cyberwulf, Dayzee, elizabethdarcy, gyrlfrend, Jane McCartney, Jericho TGF, JJ, Katherine, Kelley and Shelley, kitkat, Levi Truelove, Lilyana, lwbush, MattyMatt, Rayven, Rikki, Seven, Shadowfang, shiny silver grl, superrmk, Sweet Kitten, TAMZ, Undead, and Y_slaybelle.
And a special dedication to two people. One, to none other than Amber Benson herself, for making my millenium and joining my Miss Kitty Fantastico For The Next Big Bad club, and two, to Spikmeister, the maintainer of the MKFftNBB website (where this fic can also be found, incidentally), for making it happen. Anyone interested in knowing about the club can email me.
***
CHAPTER 14 - Motel California
***
Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok clan sat on the edge of his bed in the motel room, hands on his knees, watching his roommate closely. The man hadn't spoken a word since the six of them checked in. Outside the window, the first slivers of sunlight were starting to appear on the eastern horizon. Angel would definitely have the curtains drawn in his room by now. He and Fred had taken a room together, and Cordy and Gunn were in the third.
Lorne sighed, stood up, and crossed the room to look out the window. "Talk to me."
Wesley Wyndham-Pryce looked up from the floor. "I'm sorry?"
Lorne turned back around to face Wesley. The boss of Angel Investigations looked up at him from where he sat, his face firm. "Honey, you can play Mr. Grumpy Pants and give us the silent treatment all you want, but your aura's practically screaming about me."
Wesley held Lorne's gaze, not speaking.
Sighing, Lorne crossed to his bed again and sat back down. "Something's bothering you, Wesley. I've been feeling it ever since you came limping down those stairs. So what's the what?"
Wesley frowned. "Like you don't already know."
"Well, I've got a pretty good idea, it's true. But I want to hear it from you."
Wesley looked down at the floor, not speaking. Lorne watched him patiently. The man needed time with this one. It was obvious.
"Not just yet," Wesley said finally, talking softly. He looked back up, and Lorne was a little surprised by the look of fear in the man's eyes. "Soon."
"Fair enough," Lorne replied agreeably. "But I'm gonna hold you to that. I think you've got info we all need to hear."
Wesley's face hardened, and he nodded.
***
"Angel, are you alright?"
Angel was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of Fred's voice, the contemplative look on his face evaporating. "Hmm?"
"Well, you seem kinda distracted." Fred smiled a little. "You're not worried about the kitten we're looking for, are ya?"
Angel paused for a moment before answering.. "No. It's just ... something's off. I can feel it."
Fred frowned. "Off? Like what?"
"Not sure."
***
In the next room, Darla stared intently at Drusilla. "What is it?"
Drusilla smiled. "Daddy's here."
***
Cordelia watched Gunn with an amused smile as he flicked through the channels.
"Cordelia?"
"What?"
"Doesn't Sunnydale have anything good to watch on TV?"
"Nope."
"Damn."
***
Xander walked down the sidewalk of Sunnydale's main street, hands in the pockets, head down. A couple of steps behind him, Faith dangled a stake in one hand as she followed him. The sun was coming up, so vampires weren't a worry, but her time in Sunnydale had shown her that vampires are far from the only thing you have to worry about in this town.
They were on their way to Buffy's place, and Faith was really starting to regret coming back here. But, she hadn't had a choice in the matter. The bespectacled Brit in the tweed suit that awaited her as she stepped out through those prison doors and into the open world again had made that more than clear. She was out because she was needed here. Fail to do what was asked of her, and she would find herself back behind those bars before you could say "five by five." So, here she was, back in the town that had pushed her over the edge.
And she was quickly discovering that whatever this dark power that had just risen in this town (at least, that was what she had been told) was exactly, it wasn't beating around the bush. The first familiar face she ran into belonged to Xander, and he had told her about his dead fiance. Sunnydale's newest Big Bad had already made its mark.
But that wasn't Faith's main concern at this point. Seeing Buffy again was her biggest worry. They would be there very soon, so she didn't have a lot of time left to worry about it, but Faith didn't have the slightest idea whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Half of her thought that the sooner she got this over with, the better it would be for both her and Buffy, but the other half was practically screaming at her to turn around and get out of this town, and never come back.
But running wasn't the answer. She had done enough of that for one lifetime.
A few minutes later, the two of them turned a corner, and Faith found herself looking down Buffy's street. She stopped. Xander, who was a few steps behind her now, just kept on walking. Faith took a deep breath, let it out, and started walking again.
***
As Spike paused outside the door to his crypt to finish his cigarette, he realized he was starting to feel worry. Since coming back home from the dorm party, he had become aware of two major problems.
One, Drusilla was back in town. And this time, she had brought Darla with her.
Two, the other Slayer was back.
Spike frowned. He knew the others would not be happy when they heard about this.
Sucking it up, he flicked the cigarette butt away, opened the door, and entered the crypt.
Inside, a young brunette woman sat with her legs crossed on top of his coffin, staring at him intently. "And just where have you been?" she demanded. Spike opened his mouth to answer, but she went on. "We've been worried sick! We were afraid something had happened to you!"
"Don't worry yourself, luv," Spike said, grinning. He was still getting used to this newfound affection from the girl. "Just got held up a little longer than I thought." He strolled over to the coffin, and hopped up onto the lid, sitting across from her. "Ran into a couple of people on the way."
"Like who?" she asked.
"Well, like Droopy, for a start."
"You mean Xander?"
Spike nodded.
Her eyes widened. "Well? How was he? How did he look?"
"Actually, he seemed pretty normal," the chipped vampire replied, raising his eyebrows. "But he bought it."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," Spike said, a little patronizingly. "Don't worry about it, luv. Far as he thinks, you're deader than drywood."
"Well, good," Anya said, relaxing. "Everything's going to plan, then."
T.B.C.