Chapter 3
Serena sat in the cellar of the library, knees drawn against her chest, her chin resting thoughtfully on them. The basement was cold and damp, but it had to be better than the hostility that she felt back at Angel's. She shivered and pulled her sweatshirt around her tightly, trying to warm up. She decided to get up and walk around outside a bit, to warm up, to see what kind of action was happening. She found another person in the apartment building, a child, without a soul.
The work of Christian. She thought, shivering again, a sickening feeling creeping into the pit of her stomach. She stepped out and closed her eyes, tipping her head back and basking in the beautiful fading sunlight. She suddenly had an idea. She walked around to the front of the library to find the doors locked. She cursed under her breath. Another idea popped into her head. She used her power to levitate herself off of the ground and gently push herself into an open window about two stories off of the ground.
As easy as pie. She smiled to herself as she pulled herself through the window and checked the library with a quick glance. It was empty.
She seated herself in front of a computer, booting it up.
"Okay," She cracked her knuckles and wiggled her fingers, then began to type furiously.
"Come on, come on," she mumbled as she typed, staring at the computer screen.
Okay, here we are. Now, Christian Edwards..she thought as she scanned the screen. Damn, nothing. Hmm. There's gotta be something deeper.wait a second! She hit the keys and waited a few seconds. She smiled triumphantly.
"Gotcha." She whispered. And my sixth grade typing teacher thought I wouldn't amount to anything on the computer. Ha! I'd love to show her that I just hacked into Christian's database! Christian's secret database.
Serena's brow furrowed. "Dammit, a password." She sat, thinking, her finger tapping her lip thoughtfully.
She tried several words, but nothing worked. Hmm. She glanced around the library hopelessly. She spotted a poster of a snake hanging in the science section. Snake.That's it! Machida. She typed furiously and was rewarded when the password was acceptable. She cheered silently and patted herself on the back, very proud of herself.
She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. What are you hiding, Christian? What's your secret? What are you planning? She thought as the page booted up.
Her mouth was agape with shock and her hands began to shake as she stared at the screen in front of her.
History of Angelus. she read to herself. 1752: Liam dies and Angelus is borne. Angelus goes back to his home and kills his family, one by one, beginning with his little sister, Katherine.
Tears dripped down her face and fell, hitting the desk, forming a small puddle. "Liam." she whispered. "So that's what his name was before he became." She couldn't finish her sentence. She forced herself to read on. She read the entire history of Angelus, all of the unforgiving and ruthless thing Angel did as Angelus. She knew that Angel had done some evil things when he was Angelus, but she didn't realize the extent of the evil. She felt like she didn't know him anymore.
Through the tears, something caught her eye. She gaped at the screen quizzically. "Spells?" she wondered.
After a swift click of the mouse, she found herself studying all of Christian's spells. She wiped the tears from her face. "Oh my goodness." Even though the spells were in some weird demon language, she could tell that the spells weren't for making daisies grow or for making rainbows appear. She printed out all of the spells and stuffed them in her pocket.
Gotta get these to Wes without seeing Angel. She thought grimly. She couldn't look at Angel now. The thought of him and all of his lies made her sick. She shut off the computer and exited the way she came. She checked the alley to make sure the coast was clear and floated herself back down to the ground. She walked away from the library, en route to the hotel, praying that Angel wasn't there.
The whole way to the hotel, thoughts of what she had read about Angelus shot through her mind. He killed his own little sister.his own mother and father! She hastily wiped away the tears that began to run down her face. In her mind, only a true demon could take away something as precious as family. She shook her head. That's all he was to her anymore. A demon.
She walked into the hotel as if she never left and made sure she was composed as possible. "Hiya Wes! Gotta job for you." She called. Wesley looked up in shock.
"Serena! What are you doing here?" Wesley asked, shock written all over his face.
"Is Angel here?" She asked abruptly, cutting in. Cordelia walked in, looking through some papers. "Hi Cordelia."
"Hi! What are you doing back?" She smiled cheerfully.
Serena expression remained stone-faced. "I'm not back."
"No, Angel isn't here. He's out with Gunn, probably."
"Good." Serena interrupted again. "I need you to decipher this for me." She removed the wad of papers from her pocket and laid them on the counter for Wesley to see. Cordelia peered over his shoulder.
"Where did you get these?" Wesley asked, astounded. He picked up the papers to take a closer look and adjusted his glasses.
"I was taking a joy-ride thought Edwards' database and happened to run into these." And a lot of other unsuspecting things. She added silently. Wesley peered at her, puzzled, over his glasses. She answered his silent question.
"I hacked into his database just a little while ago and found this and a lot of other stuff. Thought you could decipher it for me." She said hurriedly, glancing at the door.
"Oh, right." Wesley nodded and began to look up the words. Serena tapped her finger on the counter impatiently, wanting to leave as soon as possible.
Suddenly, Gunn and Angel walked through the door and Serena's stomach sank to the floor. Surprise masked his face as he walked towards her.
"Serena, what are you doing here?" Angel asked incredulously. He strode towards her with a small smile on his face and stopped in front of her. Serena took a step away from him, diverting her eyes. Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn busied themselves to keep out of the vampire's and Slayer's business.
"Wesley's just deciphering some stuff for me. That's all." She answered shortly.
"Oh, well, do you want some tea or something?" Angel asked.
Serena shook her head. "No, that's okay. I really don't plan on staying long."
"But." Angel trailed off.
"I'm not coming back, if that's what you're thinking." She stared across the room, at one of the computers. She focused on only that.
"I don't understand. Why don't you come back?" Angel asked gently. He reached out to her. She moved away from him.
She turned to him, tears brimming her eyes. "I can't believe you!" She burst out, not able to contain it any longer.
"What are you talking about?" Angel demanded, his eyes narrowing.
"You want to know what I'm talking about, Liam? I'll tell you." She paused, letting what she said sink into Angel's head.
"How do you know about that?" Angel whispered, anger gone from his voice. His voice was low and Serena detected a hint of hurt in his words.
Serena plowed on. "What, did you think that I would find out about your past? All of your victories? Dammit, Angel, you killed your own family, your own sister!" She said, still unable to believe what she read.
"You don't understand." Angel argued weakly.
"Of course I don't. I never do, right? Save it Angel." She shook her head. She turned to Wesley. "Wes, if you could decipher some of that by tomorrow night, that'd be great. I'll come by later and talk to you about them."
Wesley nodded wordlessly, and continued to scan the book in his hands. Serena turned towards the door and brush passed Angel, pushing herself to make it outside. As soon as she was outside, she ran. She didn't know where she was going, and it didn't matter. She just ran to get away.
*****
Serena studied the translation of the spells in her hands. Her mind spun, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. In her mind, she went over the explanation Wesley gave her, explaining the meaning and purpose of the spells.
"They are of ancient demonic tongue." Wesley had explained, leafing through the stack of spells. "This one," he said, placing one on the counter in front of Serena and pointing to it, "is our shadow creature spell as far as I could tell. It speaks of creatures of the darkness that you quite can't touch. I think that pertains to our shadowy friends."
Serena shoved the spells into her pocket and tuned into her Slayer senses. A good ass-kicking always helped to get anger and frustration out. Serena was about due to give one.
She spied three suspicious figures wearing trench-coats and hats set low on their heads. that gave her goose-bumps. "Well, creepiness decides to drop in for a little chat. Who knew it had perfect timing?" she asked herself through gritted teeth, following the figures. She kept a safe distance behind them. Something about them was familiar somehow.
Wait a second. She thought, realization stopping her in her tracks. Those trench-coats. It's the homoculi. Dread seeped into her brain, making her palms sweat.
I can't take on these guys myself. Angel and I together could barely take them on. She thought desperately. Let's just follow them to see where they go. She nodded, agreeing with herself and followed the homoculi for several blocks, until they disappeared, turning into an alley. Cautiously, she followed them down the eerie, dark alleyway. She turned the corner and found herself staring right into Gunn's face. She gasped.
"Gunn! What do you think you're doing?" She whispered hoarsely.
"I could ask you the same question, with you all creepin' down alleys and stuff." Gunn remarked.
"I was following the homoculi to see where they were headed. To see if they would lead to Edwards and Aubrey's soul. Until I ran into you." Serena said pointedly, kneeling down to adjust her boot.
"Oh, you mean those ugly, faceless things you and Angel fought together? Damn. I didn't see them come down that way." Gunn shook his head. "I'm hungry. You hungry?" He asked, leaning against the wall.
Serena arched her eyebrow with curiosity. "You're asking me to go out to dinner with you?" she asked incredulously.
"No!" Gunn answered quickly, standing straight up. "I'm asking you if you'll come with me and watch me eat cause it sucks to eat alone. That's all. I don't want you getting the idea that I want your company. Your just the only totally faced, not fanged person around." Nonetheless, Gunn gave her a smile.
Serena could only laugh. She walked next to Gunn to the nearest burger joint.
*****
Christian Edwards paced the floor, worry creasing his handsome face. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, patterns of shadows danced on his face. He stopped pacing and suddenly slammed a fist onto the table in front of him, the loud sound thundering in the small room. Edwards' cohorts glanced up, startled.
"She is getting too close!" Christian roared, dropping into a seat. He pulled his hair in frustration. "She as already infiltrated my database. How long until she attacks me?" He demanded. He received no answer from his followers. He fumed to himself, then stopped. He stood and retrieved a large, musty book from small pile on the other side of the room. A small smile played on his lips. He scanned the contents of the old book, and stopped when he found what he was looking for. "Yes. Things are going to get a little wild, believe me." He studied the words and mumbled the foreign language, evil casting over his face.
Serena sat in the cellar of the library, knees drawn against her chest, her chin resting thoughtfully on them. The basement was cold and damp, but it had to be better than the hostility that she felt back at Angel's. She shivered and pulled her sweatshirt around her tightly, trying to warm up. She decided to get up and walk around outside a bit, to warm up, to see what kind of action was happening. She found another person in the apartment building, a child, without a soul.
The work of Christian. She thought, shivering again, a sickening feeling creeping into the pit of her stomach. She stepped out and closed her eyes, tipping her head back and basking in the beautiful fading sunlight. She suddenly had an idea. She walked around to the front of the library to find the doors locked. She cursed under her breath. Another idea popped into her head. She used her power to levitate herself off of the ground and gently push herself into an open window about two stories off of the ground.
As easy as pie. She smiled to herself as she pulled herself through the window and checked the library with a quick glance. It was empty.
She seated herself in front of a computer, booting it up.
"Okay," She cracked her knuckles and wiggled her fingers, then began to type furiously.
"Come on, come on," she mumbled as she typed, staring at the computer screen.
Okay, here we are. Now, Christian Edwards..she thought as she scanned the screen. Damn, nothing. Hmm. There's gotta be something deeper.wait a second! She hit the keys and waited a few seconds. She smiled triumphantly.
"Gotcha." She whispered. And my sixth grade typing teacher thought I wouldn't amount to anything on the computer. Ha! I'd love to show her that I just hacked into Christian's database! Christian's secret database.
Serena's brow furrowed. "Dammit, a password." She sat, thinking, her finger tapping her lip thoughtfully.
She tried several words, but nothing worked. Hmm. She glanced around the library hopelessly. She spotted a poster of a snake hanging in the science section. Snake.That's it! Machida. She typed furiously and was rewarded when the password was acceptable. She cheered silently and patted herself on the back, very proud of herself.
She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. What are you hiding, Christian? What's your secret? What are you planning? She thought as the page booted up.
Her mouth was agape with shock and her hands began to shake as she stared at the screen in front of her.
History of Angelus. she read to herself. 1752: Liam dies and Angelus is borne. Angelus goes back to his home and kills his family, one by one, beginning with his little sister, Katherine.
Tears dripped down her face and fell, hitting the desk, forming a small puddle. "Liam." she whispered. "So that's what his name was before he became." She couldn't finish her sentence. She forced herself to read on. She read the entire history of Angelus, all of the unforgiving and ruthless thing Angel did as Angelus. She knew that Angel had done some evil things when he was Angelus, but she didn't realize the extent of the evil. She felt like she didn't know him anymore.
Through the tears, something caught her eye. She gaped at the screen quizzically. "Spells?" she wondered.
After a swift click of the mouse, she found herself studying all of Christian's spells. She wiped the tears from her face. "Oh my goodness." Even though the spells were in some weird demon language, she could tell that the spells weren't for making daisies grow or for making rainbows appear. She printed out all of the spells and stuffed them in her pocket.
Gotta get these to Wes without seeing Angel. She thought grimly. She couldn't look at Angel now. The thought of him and all of his lies made her sick. She shut off the computer and exited the way she came. She checked the alley to make sure the coast was clear and floated herself back down to the ground. She walked away from the library, en route to the hotel, praying that Angel wasn't there.
The whole way to the hotel, thoughts of what she had read about Angelus shot through her mind. He killed his own little sister.his own mother and father! She hastily wiped away the tears that began to run down her face. In her mind, only a true demon could take away something as precious as family. She shook her head. That's all he was to her anymore. A demon.
She walked into the hotel as if she never left and made sure she was composed as possible. "Hiya Wes! Gotta job for you." She called. Wesley looked up in shock.
"Serena! What are you doing here?" Wesley asked, shock written all over his face.
"Is Angel here?" She asked abruptly, cutting in. Cordelia walked in, looking through some papers. "Hi Cordelia."
"Hi! What are you doing back?" She smiled cheerfully.
Serena expression remained stone-faced. "I'm not back."
"No, Angel isn't here. He's out with Gunn, probably."
"Good." Serena interrupted again. "I need you to decipher this for me." She removed the wad of papers from her pocket and laid them on the counter for Wesley to see. Cordelia peered over his shoulder.
"Where did you get these?" Wesley asked, astounded. He picked up the papers to take a closer look and adjusted his glasses.
"I was taking a joy-ride thought Edwards' database and happened to run into these." And a lot of other unsuspecting things. She added silently. Wesley peered at her, puzzled, over his glasses. She answered his silent question.
"I hacked into his database just a little while ago and found this and a lot of other stuff. Thought you could decipher it for me." She said hurriedly, glancing at the door.
"Oh, right." Wesley nodded and began to look up the words. Serena tapped her finger on the counter impatiently, wanting to leave as soon as possible.
Suddenly, Gunn and Angel walked through the door and Serena's stomach sank to the floor. Surprise masked his face as he walked towards her.
"Serena, what are you doing here?" Angel asked incredulously. He strode towards her with a small smile on his face and stopped in front of her. Serena took a step away from him, diverting her eyes. Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn busied themselves to keep out of the vampire's and Slayer's business.
"Wesley's just deciphering some stuff for me. That's all." She answered shortly.
"Oh, well, do you want some tea or something?" Angel asked.
Serena shook her head. "No, that's okay. I really don't plan on staying long."
"But." Angel trailed off.
"I'm not coming back, if that's what you're thinking." She stared across the room, at one of the computers. She focused on only that.
"I don't understand. Why don't you come back?" Angel asked gently. He reached out to her. She moved away from him.
She turned to him, tears brimming her eyes. "I can't believe you!" She burst out, not able to contain it any longer.
"What are you talking about?" Angel demanded, his eyes narrowing.
"You want to know what I'm talking about, Liam? I'll tell you." She paused, letting what she said sink into Angel's head.
"How do you know about that?" Angel whispered, anger gone from his voice. His voice was low and Serena detected a hint of hurt in his words.
Serena plowed on. "What, did you think that I would find out about your past? All of your victories? Dammit, Angel, you killed your own family, your own sister!" She said, still unable to believe what she read.
"You don't understand." Angel argued weakly.
"Of course I don't. I never do, right? Save it Angel." She shook her head. She turned to Wesley. "Wes, if you could decipher some of that by tomorrow night, that'd be great. I'll come by later and talk to you about them."
Wesley nodded wordlessly, and continued to scan the book in his hands. Serena turned towards the door and brush passed Angel, pushing herself to make it outside. As soon as she was outside, she ran. She didn't know where she was going, and it didn't matter. She just ran to get away.
*****
Serena studied the translation of the spells in her hands. Her mind spun, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. In her mind, she went over the explanation Wesley gave her, explaining the meaning and purpose of the spells.
"They are of ancient demonic tongue." Wesley had explained, leafing through the stack of spells. "This one," he said, placing one on the counter in front of Serena and pointing to it, "is our shadow creature spell as far as I could tell. It speaks of creatures of the darkness that you quite can't touch. I think that pertains to our shadowy friends."
Serena shoved the spells into her pocket and tuned into her Slayer senses. A good ass-kicking always helped to get anger and frustration out. Serena was about due to give one.
She spied three suspicious figures wearing trench-coats and hats set low on their heads. that gave her goose-bumps. "Well, creepiness decides to drop in for a little chat. Who knew it had perfect timing?" she asked herself through gritted teeth, following the figures. She kept a safe distance behind them. Something about them was familiar somehow.
Wait a second. She thought, realization stopping her in her tracks. Those trench-coats. It's the homoculi. Dread seeped into her brain, making her palms sweat.
I can't take on these guys myself. Angel and I together could barely take them on. She thought desperately. Let's just follow them to see where they go. She nodded, agreeing with herself and followed the homoculi for several blocks, until they disappeared, turning into an alley. Cautiously, she followed them down the eerie, dark alleyway. She turned the corner and found herself staring right into Gunn's face. She gasped.
"Gunn! What do you think you're doing?" She whispered hoarsely.
"I could ask you the same question, with you all creepin' down alleys and stuff." Gunn remarked.
"I was following the homoculi to see where they were headed. To see if they would lead to Edwards and Aubrey's soul. Until I ran into you." Serena said pointedly, kneeling down to adjust her boot.
"Oh, you mean those ugly, faceless things you and Angel fought together? Damn. I didn't see them come down that way." Gunn shook his head. "I'm hungry. You hungry?" He asked, leaning against the wall.
Serena arched her eyebrow with curiosity. "You're asking me to go out to dinner with you?" she asked incredulously.
"No!" Gunn answered quickly, standing straight up. "I'm asking you if you'll come with me and watch me eat cause it sucks to eat alone. That's all. I don't want you getting the idea that I want your company. Your just the only totally faced, not fanged person around." Nonetheless, Gunn gave her a smile.
Serena could only laugh. She walked next to Gunn to the nearest burger joint.
*****
Christian Edwards paced the floor, worry creasing his handsome face. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, patterns of shadows danced on his face. He stopped pacing and suddenly slammed a fist onto the table in front of him, the loud sound thundering in the small room. Edwards' cohorts glanced up, startled.
"She is getting too close!" Christian roared, dropping into a seat. He pulled his hair in frustration. "She as already infiltrated my database. How long until she attacks me?" He demanded. He received no answer from his followers. He fumed to himself, then stopped. He stood and retrieved a large, musty book from small pile on the other side of the room. A small smile played on his lips. He scanned the contents of the old book, and stopped when he found what he was looking for. "Yes. Things are going to get a little wild, believe me." He studied the words and mumbled the foreign language, evil casting over his face.