(6/28/2020) Two chapters (gasp)! I think after I finally toppled the writer's block things are flowing again. Movin' on towards Lucifer…
Thank you Cassie–011, RHatch89, BaDWolF89, thedarkpokemaster, and DestinyManifested twice for the reviews! And anyone who leaves a little note gets a puppy!
"This is so stupid."
Jimmy couldn't disagree with what Anya kept muttering, but what else could they do? "Careful," he told the young woman as they picked their way around rusted pipes and broken timbers.
Anya took the proffered hand and allowed Jimmy to help her over a questionable area. "You realize when Castiel gets back he's not going to be their friend anymore."
"You don't know that."
"Yes, I do." The former angel grabbed Jimmy's shoulder and forced him to face her. "What they do to us up there? It makes a North Korean prison stay look like summer camp. Please," she urged, showing for the first time a sense of worry and concern, "make sure you tell those mud-monkeys or they might all die."
"I thought you didn't like any of them."
"I don't. Not… really. I mean, the tall one with the brown eyes is sort of nice looking. It'd be a waste."
It took Jimmy a moment to realize who she was talking about. He hadn't seen the boy much, but in his opinion the lanky teenager named Xander paled in comparison to Buffy's brothers. Just went to show how much of the world Jimmy didn't understand. "The demons are around the corner," he whispered. "You ready?"
"No."
With Jimmy leading, the pair strode brazenly into the room. Claire and Faith were tied up on chairs, the former with fear writ large in her eyes and the latter slumped over, unconscious. They were being guarded by two demons, one being Jimmy's wife. She held a semiautomatic against their daughter's head and smiled pleasantly. "Hi, honey. You're home."
"Listen," Jimmy pleaded. "I'm-I'm begging you here. You do whatever you want with me, but my wife and daughter, they're just… they're not a part of this."
"Oh, they're a big part of this, Jimmy. And P.S.? You two should've come alone."
With a nervous swallow, the man tried to lie. "We are alone."
"You're such a liar. Like I didn't think you'd bring the Justice League, hmm?"
The former angels turned around and beheld the most of the allies they'd left outside, each one paired with a black-eyed host. Only Angel was missing. "The plan was to sneak in through the front door?" Buffy asked her eldest brother incredulously.
"Hey, nobody bats a thousand."
"You're not allowed to make plans anymore. Like, ever."
Judging by the nonchalant response to their predicament, Jimmy surmised that the vampire wasn't there because he'd been killed; he'd been quick enough or smart enough to avoid detection. Hopefully the creature was as altruistic as they all seemed to think. Otherwise…
"Got the knife?" Amelia queried. One of the females held up the intricately carved blade the Winchesters always had on them. The demon in Jimmy's wife then directed her gaze towards the humans. "You know what's funny?"
"You wearing a soccer mom?" Dean asked sourly.
"I was actually bummed to get this detail, picking up an empty vessel. Sort of like a milk run. Now look who landed in my lap."
"Good for you," Buffy snarled. "Now let us go and maybe all of you live to blow smoke up someone else's ass."
Having a demon's arm wrapped around the Slayer's neck made the threat fall far short of being credible. Amelia's lips twisted into a cruel smirk. She gave a few disparaging clucks with her tongue. "Naughty, naughty! Someone will have to wash your mouth out with soap, young lady. I think someone needs to teach you a lesson."
The hammer on the gun cocked. Amelia pointed it at Buffy (whose brothers began vigorously trying to free themselves)… then swiveled her arm to the side and fired at her husband.
Jimmy let out a cry and collapsed. Immediately afterwards the ceiling window exploded inward, with Angel nimbly landing on the demon who'd been holding Dean. The impact jostled the others nearby, a distraction that served Buffy, Sam, and her Watcher, all of whom broke away from their captors. "Check on Jimmy," the Slayer told Giles as the rest of them engaged the demons in a brutal melee.
There were only two demons keeping themselves apart; Amelia's and the one tasked with watching over Faith. Jimmy's wife turned towards her counterpart. "Waste Little Orphan Annie then break the other bitch's neck."
As Mrs. Novak entered the fray, her underling picked up a discarded pipe. He approached the girl, his arm prepped to swing, eagerly anticipating the subsequent gore. It took him aback, however, when the child looked at him with eyes bright with blue light. Her small hand clapped onto his forehead. A moment later, his own eyes (and the brain in back of them) had been burned to ash.
Jimmy looked on in horror as Castiel, in his daughter, freed Faith and healed her from her beating. "No," he whispered, the last bits of his strength wasted on frantically trying to get past the older English gentleman. "Please, not Claire."
The second Slayer shot up from her seat and entered the fray. She tackled the nearest demon from behind and took him down. After grabbing its hair, Faith cracked the thing's face onto the concrete until blood was liberally splattered over her and the floor. Satisfied that her target was incapacitated, Faith rushed over to help Sam wrestle the Kurdish blade away from another demon. Surprised, Buffy's younger brother inadvertently gasped at the intrusion.
And suddenly the only thing Sam was capable of thinking about was what was flowing through the possessed woman's veins. He hurled his body weight forward and the three of them went crashing to the floor, Sam on top. The impact loosened the grip the demon had on the knife and knocked the wind from Faith's lungs.
The blade was in his hands… just a little cut there. It was just to smell it. Just to see it. Just to have a little taste.
Glorious.
Faintly, Sam heard the demon scream, "Get him off of me!" But that didn't matter. Ambrosia flowed over his tongue, down his throat, and filled him with power, with joy, everything good that had been missing from his life for days and days. All was now right in the world.
"Holy shit."
Sam jerked his head up from the demon's neck. On the other side of its body, Faith's eyes were wide with what could have been shock. It filled him with shame to have been caught openly indulging in his vice. He attempted to erase the evidence of his transgression by plunging Ruby's knife into demon's chest.
It was then that Sam realized the room had gone silent. When he turned around, he beheld a room full of consternated gazes. There was no time to make his excuses, however; the demon in Amelia was creeping up on his siblings, lead pipe in hand. He reached out and grasped the demon. Easily, far more easily than he had in days, Sam pulled the hellspawn's smoke from the woman's mouth. It spilled to the floor, a long waterfall of black, before dissipating into the cracks.
Dean caught Amelia before she could collapse, but said nothing to Sam. He turned to join Castiel, following the angel to where Jimmy lay dying. Buffy glanced from brother to brother, stricken by horror and indecision, and ended up rushing over to join Dean. When Sam moved, however, he found an irate vampire and a narrow-eyed Watcher in his way. "Hey!"
"You'll stay here for now, Sam," Giles said, the fury in his eyes belied by the calmness of his tone.
"No, I need to—"
"Stay. Here."
Blood-fueled power notwithstanding, Sam could have easily shoved his way through the middle-aged gentleman. Angel, on the other hand, was another story. The vampire's face was still warped from the battle, making the warning growl coming from between those dagger-like teeth all the more menacing.
Behind the two men Castiel was comforting his former vessel as his life slipped away. "She's with me now," the angel explained, the child's voice incongruently stoic and deep. "She's chosen. It's in her blood, as it was in yours."
With tremendous effort, Jimmy raised his bloodied hand and grasped his daughter's shoulder. "Please, Castiel," he pled through gritted teeth. "Me, just take me. Take me. Please."
"I want to make sure you understand. You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it."
The dying man clenched his teeth, bracing himself for what was to come. His daughter, his beautiful Claire, would not be subject to millennia of torture while he was sent to paradise. "It doesn't matter," Jimmy uttered. "You take me. Just take me."
Castiel sighed. "As you wish."
The others could only watch as the angel grasped the sides of Jimmy's face. A blinding, swirling plume of liquid light poured itself from the child's mouth into her father's. When it was done, Jimmy's eyes blazed and the area exploded with white light.
Claire was left gasping, frightened and horrified by her few minutes of possession. Her mother rushed forward to comfort her as Castiel stood, once again housed in the body of Jimmy Novak. From one instant to the next, the borrowed jeans and flannel were gone and his old suit and trench-coat had returned. Impassive was the best that could be said about the look the angel gave his vessel's family as he walked away.
Buffy grasped Castiel's arm as he passed. "Wait! In my dream you had something important to tell us. What was it?"
On the angel's face was a hardness the Slayer hadn't seen since their first meeting in that dilapidated barn. It contrasted vastly with the anxious, emotive being who had sought her advice about walking his own path. "I learned my lesson while I was away. I serve Heaven, I don't serve man." He looked pointedly from Buffy to Dean. "And I certainly don't serve any of you."
Stunned by the harshness of his words, Buffy let him go. Lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice the second angel approaching from behind. "Are we done here?" Anya wondered as the Slayer stifled a shriek. "Because unless you're going to eat them, standing around with these bodies is a big no-no."
"I'll take care of it," Giles said as the others tried to ignore Anya's apparent penchant for cannibalism. "Angel, if you wouldn't mind…"
Before anyone could question what the Watcher meant, Angel's fist cracked across Sam's jaw. The younger Winchester fell bonelessly to the floor amidst loud objections from both his brother and his sister. "It's necessary," Angel explained as he hefted the man over his shoulder.
"For?" Dean snapped.
Giles and Angel exchanged a nod. Rather than answer, the vampire leapt up the nearest stack of equipment, flew from one handhold to another, and disappeared through the skylight he'd used to ambush the demons. "Angel has the facilities to lock your brother up," Giles explained.
"And he needs that why?"
"Because what we've seen of Sam's behavior is the mere tip of the iceberg. If we are going to deprive him of demon blood there will be consequences. I'm assuming that's what we are intending to do?"
The two remaining siblings exchanged unhappy glances. "Yeah," Dean muttered despondently. "I guess."
"Anyone seen Faith?" Buffy called. A chorus of negative responses followed. "Huh. Weird."
"Went perfect, boss. Nothing to it."
The Mayor chuckled, impressed despite himself. "So little Samuel is all exposed. Just gives you the happy chills, doesn't it?"
While perched at the edge of Mayor Wilkins' desk Faith shrugged and rubbed her temples. "Would've been nicer if those fucking demons hadn't given me a damn concussion."
"Yes, that was a bit of an overkill." the Mayor turned in his chair and gave the shadowed corner a dark look. "You couldn't have asked them to be a little more gentle?"
"I didn't ask them to do anything," replied the woman as she stepped into the light. "I just let the rumor mill run. As far as they know, I'm with Sam Winchester. If we want to succeed, I need to keep undercover."
"By the way," Faith asked curiously, "I've been meaning to ask. What's tall and shaggy like in the sack? Is it true that, you know…" The young woman gestured, first mimicking the younger Winchester's physical height before guesstimating his endowment.
"Faith!" the Mayor exclaimed. "That is an inappropriate discussion for the workplace."
"Sorry, boss."
"A lady doesn't kiss and tell," Ruby crooned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Winchester to corrupt."
"Goodbye," Wilkins said genially. Once the demon was gone, he turned towards his protege. "She's a real go-getter, that one. You could learn a thing or two."
"Sure," the Slayer replied. "What's next?"
"I think it's time we cleared a few obstacles." He slid a box over his desk. "Here."
Bewildered, Faith could only ask, "What's the occasion?"
"Just a little something something for my special little girl. Go on now, open it." She did. "There. That look on your face is my reward."
The dark-haired Slayer couldn't help leaving her mouth open in awe. What she beheld was a blade, gleaming and sharp, intricately crafted. She ran her nose along the edge to smell the newness of the steel. "This is a thing of beauty, boss."
"Well, it cost a pretty penny. So, you just take good care of it." The Mayor waggled a finger. "And you be careful not to put somebody's eye out with that thing, until I tell you to."
"Any particular eyes in mind?"
The Mayor held out a slip of paper with names and addresses, weaknesses and possible opportunities. "Do this one first, okay? Then this one. After that, go nuts!"
Faith ran to the other side of the desk to give him a hug before hurrying out the door with her list and her prize. It made Wilkins sigh, and a smile curved up the sides of his lips. Oh, this was a wonderful relationship. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt anything other than contempt for his underlings. Somehow this young lady brought out all those quaint human qualities he'd thought long lost. He didn't want her to come to harm, but there was the seal, and it had been made clear to him that it needed to be broken. Promises of pain everlasting had been made should he fail.
Well, there was one thing that hadn't been counted on: there were now two Slayers who could feasibly fill the requirements. "Excuse me?"
"Sir?" asked the demon who'd been guarding his office door.
"Hello!" Wilkins called cheerfully. "Could you do me a favor? Could you go down to records and ask them to dig up everything they've got on that Buffy Summers girl? It's important we know everything about her so we can make sure she dies properly."
By the time Dean and Buffy made it back to Angel's mansion, the vampire had trussed up Sam on a chair in the basement. A large devil's trap had been drawn up on the floor. Judging by how Angel was rubbing his chest and arms, creating the mandala had been a painful experience. "This isn't going to be pretty," he explained. "Maybe you two should wait it out at Buffy's house."
"What do you mean?" the Slayer asked quietly.
Angel waited a moment before replying, "You shouldn't stay. Go home, let your mother know what's going on."
Buffy sighed, acquiescing. "Dean? Can you drive me?"
Transfixed by the sight of their brother hanging limp from his bonds, the eldest of them quietly replied, "Uh. Yeah. Sure. We'll be right back," he told Angel.
The vampire nodded and the pair left. He sat on a chair and waited for Sam to wake. It didn't take long.
Buffy's younger brother realized his predicament a second after regaining consciousness. He began to struggle against his bonds. "Don't," Angel warned. "It's safer for everyone if you stay this way."
"What? Why?"
"Because I know what's about to happen to you. It'll take a while to detox, but—"
"I'm not some junkie!"
Angel continued, ignoring the interruption. "—But until it's done, it's best for you to be locked away."
Buffy's younger brother gave an exasperated sigh. "You know, I'm not drinking demon blood for kicks. I'm getting strong enough to kill Lilith!"
Angel gave him a pitying look before turning and walking away. "Hey!" Sam shouted as the vampire began to ascend the stone steps. "You're just gonna leave me here like this?"
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Angel called over his shoulder. A terrific grating sound followed, punctuated by the clunk of a bar falling down into place.
He wasn't wrong; a few minutes of focused wiggling and Sam was free. He massaged his wrists as he took in his surroundings. Bobby had left Angel with instructions on how to strengthen the room in case of emergencies. Unfortunately for Sam, the vampire appeared to be adept at construction; the walls and door were plated with steel, and the nearest window was barred both inside and out. While the only devil's trap was the one underneath him, the younger Winchester didn't think they'd left that as the only supernatural deterrent. What it was, however, wasn't easily ascertainable. The only other furnishings included a cot, an empty bucket (whose use Sam didn't want to consider yet), and a ceiling light. A carafe of water had been set on the floor.
He was left to pace. As the minutes ticked by, Sam was stabbed by the want again. Before now it had slid into him almost subconsciously, and was a problem that he hadn't noticed until it had become a danger. This time it came roaring to life, and there was no chance he could get any of it stuck where he was.
Desperate, Sam ran up the stairs and began pounding on the metal door. "Hey! HEY! Let me out! Fuck you guys, LET ME OUT!"
He gripped his hair and strode back down. It occurred to him that he'd been subsisting on half-mouthfuls and droplets for the past few weeks. Consuming however large quantity he'd drunk from the demon all at once after having been frugal for so long?
The lights flickered. Once, then twice. "Guys!" Sam called, panic lacing his tone. "Get down here! Something's coming!"
He hurried towards the door only to be hurled against the wall by an invisible force. On the other side of the room stood a thin man, nearly skeletal. A familiar man. His lips were quirked up in an anticipatory grin while his deep-set eyes promised pain. "Hello, Sam," Alastair said genially. "It's a pleasure to see you again. Looks like I have you all to myself here. Goodness." The demon lightly scraped a scalpel along his own jawline. "How will we pass the time?"
The first of Sam's screams filtered through the floorboards. Angel sighed; at least it had begun. It meant just that much less time until Buffy's brother was clean. He looked back down to continue reading the Stephen King novel Willow had loaned him. No one ever really pays for betrayal in silver, he thought. The price of any betrayal always comes due in flesh.
"Hey."
The vampire looked up, unsurprised. He'd gotten the scent of the Slayer as soon as she'd stepped into his home. "Faith."
"I-I was looking for everyone. I thought they might've come here."
She bit her lip nervously and Angel's eyebrows lifted. "What's wrong?"
"Well, I totally bailed on them back at that warehouse. First time I've seen, you know, Heaven and Hell together up close. Kinda makes a girl rethink her life choices." Faith twisted her fingers about before spreading them out, palms up. "I think I'm in trouble. The real bad kind."
"What happened?"
The Slayer stuffed her bloodied hands under her armpits. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to, but… but it's getting easier. I'm scared. Scared of what I am, what I'm turning into. Cold-blooded straight up killer. Like you."
Angel lay his book down on a side table. This, at least, was an illness he could do more to cure than just stand about waiting. "Not like me. I didn't have a choice. But you do. You can stop this."
Faith shook her head. "I want to. Believe me, I don't want to end up the way everybody said I would, dead or alone or a loser." She looked up, tears in her eyes. "What if it's too late?"
"It's not."
With a sob, Faith threw herself into the vampire's arms. "Angel, I'm so scared."
Angel held her tight and stroked her hair. He wished with all his dead heart that the girl had come to him sooner. "It's alright," he whispered. "It's going to be okay."
"It's really not. Chump."
The knife suddenly plunged into his gut wouldn't have normally bothered the vampire, but when the Slayer twisted it the wound burned. Angel cried out as she wrenched it from his flesh. "Faith…"
As Angel fell to his knees, the girl stood straight, red dripping from her blade. On her face was doubt, regret, and apprehension. But when the increasingly louder sound of the Impala's engine came through the front window, a grim determination took over. She turned on her heel and fled through the garden door, preternatural strength and reflexes vaulting her easily over the stone wall.
Angel collapsed onto his side, fire running through his veins. The last coherent thought he would have for a long time was to thank whoever that Buffy hadn't been here instead.
Acknowledgement : Some lines of dialogue are taken directly from the episodes, "The Rapture" (SPN 4.20), "When the Levee Breaks (SPN 4.21), and "Enemies" (BtVS 3.17).
Author's Note : I retconned how angel possession works since the most recent, and most consistent, examples are shiny smoky thingies.
