Author's Note: To my oh-so-faithful readers, here you have the new chapter. And it saddens me deeply that this story is coming to the end. I've had so much fun writing it.

Children of Darkness

Chapter 13

Twins in Town

By the time their mother had finished telling her tale Katherine and Liam were perplexed, to say the least. Their father – whose greatest pride was to have been called, once, the Scourge of Europe, the most ruthless vampire to ever exist – had been in possession of a soul for almost a century until they were conceived? It almost made no sense. How could someone shove a soul back on the most powerful vampire that had ever crossed Europe?

"Suddenly, many things make so much sense", Katherine was the first to break the silence, her words weighing in the quietness. Elizabeth smiled at her child.

"What are you talking about?" A confused Liam asked his twin. He was stronger than her, but sometimes she was brighter, and now was one of those times. "Da having a soul seems complete bullshit to me".

"Why do you think mom calls daddy Angel, Liam, when his name is Angelus?" Katherine asked, exasperated. She loved her brother, she really did, but sometimes he could be so dense.

"I don't know. Maybe because Angelus is too long a name".

"No, you idiot. It's because daddy answered for Angel once he was with his soul, right, mom?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Yes, baby", she sighed. "He did. But your daddy when in possession of a soul can be slightly… hum…" She paused, searching for the right word. "… Stupid. Once Angel realized I was actually pregnant, he tried to convince Angelus to leave town, and us, behind".

Katherine squeaked in shock and Liam widened his eyes.

"What a bloke. So, what are we supposed to do?" Liam changed topics quickly. He didn't want to imagine how his life, and his sister's and mother's, would have been if his father wasn't around. Liam adored his father, and the thought of him not being there for him, his mother and his siblings had the power of making him physically ill.

"You two were conceived on a rainy night. So, that prophecy is talking about the two of you. You're expected to prevent some sort of apocalypse", Angelus said, walking in. His wife stared questioningly at him and he said, "Annabelle and Andrew are sleeping. I've read Cinderella for her and played the music box to him. So we can focus on the matter at hand".

"I still don't want them to go there", she said stubbornly. "They're minors and only God knows what my mother is capable of doing once they set feet in Sunnydale".

"You want to tag along?" Angelus asked calmly, his eyes never leaving his wife's. "I hope you remember that if we go, then the smaller ones are going to go as well. Spike and Dru aren't going to get back for another three weeks, so we have no sitter to look over them during our absence".

Elizabeth bit her lip dubiously. Did she want her twins to go to America? No, for she didn't know what her mother was capable of doing if she knew her minor grandchildren were in an arm's reach. Did she want to go herself to Sunnydale? No, for she knew it wasn't going to help (it was not her prophecy to fulfill), and for she knew she wouldn't be able to fight if she took her new babies with her.

"I know we can't go, Angel", she said softly. "But what if my mom keeps them there? You know she was never fond of you".

Liam scoffed. "Please, mom. Not even you guys can keep us around when we don't want to be. And you are our parents. You think dear grandma, whom we never met, is going to keep us locked somewhere?"

Katherine, sitting by her brother's side, nodded vigorously. "We go, we fight, we know good ole Hellmouth, we fly back", she said, and Angelus had to bit back a laugh. That kid was so much like her mother when Elizabeth was sixteen.

"I like the way you think, sis", Liam said with a grin, and then turned to their mother. "Please let us go, mom. We'll be just peachy. We'll even call you everyday we're not here".

Elizabeth was still knee deep in doubts, but she knew there wasn't a way out of this. She was going to let her children go to a place where she had sworn never to go again.

So, taking her husband's hand, she squeezed it firmly as she nodded, silently.

It was a bright, warm morning in Sunnydale, north California. The sun was shining, high on the blue skies and the halls of Sunnydale High were buzzing with life. Students came and went, either by themselves or in groups of three or four. But, once the young couple set foot in the main entrance, all life seemed to stop, as the teenagers stared in disbelieving awe at them.

The boy was tall, with thick dark hair and deep brown eyes. He had a beautiful face, with strong features that weren't easy to be forgotten. However, his eyes stood up in his face – he had dark brown eyes, almost the shade of chocolate, and those eyes could hypnotize someone. He was a quiet type, usually, but his eyes spoke volumes.

Under the white shirt and denim pants, there were traces of a toned, worked-out body. He moved with certainty, with the feral grace of a nightly predator. His legs were long, as lean as the rest of his body, and his beauty attracted the eyes of all females of Sunnydale High – available or not, teachers and students.

His companion was as beautiful as he was, for a woman. She was almost as tall as he was, however being smaller than him. Her body was slim, athletic, and her flawless white skin seemed to glow under the early morning sun. She had long, dark brown wavy hair, and her eyes were as hypnotic as the boy's, only dark green, where his were chocolate brown. Her movements were as graceful as his, and she walked with the calm confidence only royalty have.

Neither one of the two new faces seemed uncomfortable on the environment, solemnly ignoring the curious glances every person around were shooting their way. However, the boy seemed to pick up on the fact that every boy was nearly drooling over the girl, and, with a small, jealous growl, he wrapped a strong arm around her narrow waist, bringing her closer to his body.

He smirked as every teenage pair of shoulders seemed to sag with disappointment. She turned to him with a question on her eyes and he nearly laughed out loud. "There is no way in hell I'm letting these Ken dolls touch you", he told her in Gaelic. "Just act like you're my girlfriend and we'll be just fine".

"You're crazy", she muttered, but slipped an arm around her waist, snuggling into his warmth. He was the closest thing to home she had right now, and the bond they shared – the nearly telepathic bond every pair of twins seem to have – was now sharper than ever. She was scared and she knew he knew this. She was worried with what they were about to face.

She wasn't thinking about the apocalypse, that wasn't cause of concern for her. She and he had been trained by their mother, father and foster brother ever since they could stand up fully, and their fighting skills were wonderful. They were going to be fine, she knew this. She was sure of this.

What worried her was the fact that they had to search for her mother's former friends in order to prevent the end of days. She knew they hadn't parted in the best way, and she understood her mother's fears. Hell, she was afraid as well. She didn't want to be kept in America – she wanted to fight and then go back home, to mommy, daddy and her baby brother and sister.

Her companion however… She chuckled. Liam was another story entirely. He wasn't afraid of being kept in a foreign land by some old woman – as he had told her while on the plane, there is no way in hell some human woman can keep the Scourge of Europe's children away from their parents. And she believed him. Liam was like every boy she knew, but deep down he was her brother, her twin, the one she knew since when inside their mother's womb, and she trusted him with her life. She knew where his loyalties lie – and those were with her, right now.

"I love you", she whispered in English, and he squeezed her a little, dropping a kiss to her luxurious dark hair.

"I love you too, sis", he whispered.

Katherine approached a small girl with dark burgundy hair. The girl was talking to some friends, and Katherine tapped her shoulder lightly "Excuse me… Do you know where the library is?" She asked with her most polite voice.

The girl turned to them, and Katherine snickered at the way her eyes immediately went to Liam. She knew her brother was insanely hot, just like their father, but it didn't mean that she liked to notice when he was being looked at like he was some piece of meat. Standing in front of him and wrapping his arms around her waist, she repeated her question with a cold voice, "Can you tell us where the library is?"

Liam picked up the iciness in his twin's usually cheerful voice, chuckled and whispered in Gaelic to her, "Back off… The girl won't jump me bones".

"Who says she won't?" Katherine growled in the same language, and kissed his cheek. "She's staring at you like Spike does at Dru", she rolled her eyes.

The girl blinked disappointedly as she noticed the way the hot new boy was clinging to the girl, and took a deep breath. "Why don't I lead you there?" She said, and Katherine nodded. Liam kept an arm around her, laughing inside at his sister's jealousy. "So… Can I ask you what you guys want in the library?"

"We're here to talk to Ms. Rosemberg", Katherine replied, and nearly ran into the girl when she stopped abruptly.

"Ms. Rosemberg… You mean Willow?"

"Yeah, Willow, that's her name", Katherine replied, slightly confused by the girl's sudden actions.

"Oh", the girl made. She stopped in front of the double swing doors. "Here we are. Sunnydale High's Library. I think Willow is in there. If she isn't you can check the computer room – she works there as well, as teacher" The girl said as she walked away. "Hey, maybe we can hang out later. Name is Christina. See ya!" And then she darted away.

Liam laughed as Katherine shook her head. "That girl is strange", she said as he pushed the double doors. They walked into the darkened library, and it was strangely empty and silent.

"Hello?" Liam called out in a loud voice. "Is there anyone in here?"

"This place", Katherine whispered to her brother in an audible voice, "gives me a hell of a lot of wiggins".

"Ditto", he replied, and the twins startled when a deep, older male voice rang from behind them.

"Can I help you?"

They turned around sharply, and faced an older, more tired man. He had graying hair and friendly eyes behind glasses that he took out of his nose, cleaning the lenses with his handkerchief. "Uh, yes… We're looking for Ms. Rosemberg", Katherine spoke quickly.

"I was once Ms. Rosemberg", the soft, quiet female voice came from a place on their far right. The twins stared at that direction, and looked into the older version of the red-haired woman their mother had showed on an old picture. "It's now Harris. Willow Harris. How can I help you?" Willow said as she approached the twins.

Katherine looked cautiously at the man. "Can't we do it in private?"

"Whatever it is that you need my help for, it surely can be spoken in front of my colleague", Willow said with a friendly smile, and turned to look at the quiet young man by the girl's side. As her eyes reached the boy's face, she nearly felt her heart stop beating.

Standing in front of her, looking as broody, dark and tall as she recalled him, there was Angel.

"Angel?" She whispered, as she approached him. Wesley lifted an eyebrow. The boy had just walked in from the sunny halls, there was no way he was Angel.

The girl stared at Willow in disbelief. "You know our father?" She asked before she could prevent it.

Willow turned sharply, incredulous eyes meeting the girl's fierce dark greens. "Father?"

"Real smooth, Katty", the boy snorted, and put an arm protectively around the girl's waist. "I'm Liam Angelus and she is Katherine Alicia. Mom sent us here because of some prophecy".

Katherine elbowed his ribs. "Real smooth you, idiot", she rolled her eyes.

Willow grabbed the nearest chair, falling into it. Her eyes incredulously went from Katherine to Liam, then back to Katherine, and she put a hand on her cheek. "Oh my God…" She whispered quietly. "Buffy's twins are in Sunnydale".