The pleasant blackness was fading away. Wesley tried with all his will to hold on to it, but the more he tried, the faster it faded. When the blackness was gone, all that existed in him was hunger. It was stronger than any feeling he ever remembered experiencing…pain, anger, and jealousy all paled in comparison to this. The hunger was a need, like breathing…. Breathing! He wasn't breathing! He was disoriented, and confused now, but he couldn't think properly, not with the need burning in his stomach. In that instant, Wesley realized what had happened. It wasn't a thought, but a gut-deep knowing. He was a vampire.
And he was hungry.
Not needing an instruction manual, Wesley knew that only one thing could satisfy this hunger, and strangely enough, he was not repulsed. Perhaps his human self would have been, but now he accepted it as part of his existence. The room he was in was dark, but Wesley could see perfectly, as if he were under evening sunlight. The only door in the room was large, steel, and locked. His surroundings gave him pause. The room was filled with meat, like a butcher's freezer. But the bloodless corpses did not have what he needed. He needed to get out of here, to find something to assuage his hunger, be it human or animal.
Wesley threw himself with animal-like ferocity against the steel door, hoping he could move it, force it open. He flew back several feet when the door resisted his attack. He was trapped. Trapped and hungry. Dying of hunger.
Then came a sound not of his making, metal against metal. The door was being opened. Freedom! his mind screamed. Wesley readied himself for another lunge, this time against the person who was opening the door. He felt a growl, almost undetectable, begin deep in his throat. And then he caught a smell. It was faintly metallic, but not warm. It was dead blood, and the one entering was not human, but another like himself.
The steel door opened, and Morpheus entered, carrying several bags of packaged blood. He tossed a few to Wesley, who accepted them greedily, then carefully opened one at a time and drank the contents. "Good to see that you have some restraint, at least. It is important, when making a master vampire, to keep the human mind intact, and not rely entirely on instinct, so I shall now allow you to feed yet on living human blood. It is also important for you to recognize that I am your master, your maker. All you are now, and all you now receive, is because of me. Never forget that.
"I will not force you to do everything I tell you to do, for you are not my minion, but will one day be my equal. That is not to say that I will allow you to do everything you want to do, either." Morpheus sighed, an unnecessary drawing of breath, but one that was comforting to him, to the humanity he still remembered. "One day you will be able to live with both human feeling and reasoning and vampire instinct. That is the essence of the master vampire, that is what makes us unique to vampire kind. Others can achieve power equal to ours and not be true master vampires, despite what they call themselves, for example one of my offspring who lived under Sunnydale."
Wesley looked up at the master vampire with yellow eyes filled with open contempt. His hunger gone for now, thoughts and memories again came easily to him. He did not hate this vampire for stealing his humanity. He wasn't doing much with it anyway. No, Wesley hated Morpheus because he did not like being dependent on anyone. He'd had a taste of freedom when he was running Angel Investigations, the first time he truly felt in charge in his life. Back when he was a Watcher, he depended on the Council, and even Mr. Giles' opinion of him. He'd let himself be bossed around, and had hated himself for it. He would allow himself to be led any longer. He could do whatever he wanted now, free from conscience.
"You may hate me now," said Morpheus in response to his glare, "but that will not always be the case. Anyway, we're meeting Lilah Morgan tomorrow night. She's the one that wanted you turned, in case you hadn't guessed. I told her you were dead, completely and irreversibly dead."
"Oh?" replied Wesley venomously.
"I did not want her to have such a weapon as yourself."
Wesley laughed now, a harsh and unnatural sound. "And am I truly such a powerful asset? Angel surely did not think so."
"Ah, the vampire cursed with a soul. My descendent, wouldn't you know. Angelus never was a good judge of character. He would not have recognized your steel, your great potential. And Angel certainly would never have worked to shape it. But Wesley, you could be the greatest vampire in a thousand years. If you want to be. If not…I will open the door and allow you to walk into the sun."
"No," replied Wesley with conviction. And then smiled, showing his fangs. "You said Lilah ordered this? And that we are to see her tomorrow?"
"Oh yes. I thought you might like a chance at revenge."
"I think I should very much like that." In this decision, both his human memories and the demon were in complete, unwavering accord. Then, to himself alone: "Tomorrow, Lilah."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Sorry it's been so long for this part. The next few should be along shortly. Thank you for all your feedback, and I always like more ^_^
