Angelus was pacing a hole in the floor waiting for the seven vampires to
return to the lair with Xander. "Where the hell are they? I send seven
vampires out to retrieve a mere boy, and I'll bet my soul that they found
some way to botch that simple job! I didn't even make them bring him back
alive!"
"Well, Angelus old boy it's not much of a bet if you're wagering something you don't even have. It's really poor form. And would it trouble you too much to stop that bloody pacing? I'm getting seasick over here!"
Angelus whirled around in mid-step glaring at Spike with his game face on. "Well Spike I would, but you see..." Angelus made a gesture with both his arms spread wide. "I'm having to do the pacing for two. Seeing that you've become the only vampire to hear the phrase 'Hell on Wheels' and take it literally." Having said this, his mouth turned upwards into a cruel grin.
Drusilla was standing next to Spike mindlessly running her hand through his blond hair. Spike looked up at Drucilla and noticed her glazed eyes that were seemingly staring into a faraway place. The absent cock of her head slightly alarmed Spike. "Pet, what's wrong?"
Drusilla looked down at Spike and answered him in a dreamy voice. "Spike... All my dollies don't want to play anymore. They say that they're scared."
"What are they scared of pet? Is it that damn accursed Slayer again? The same Slayer that somehow Angelus always fails to kill? Is that what your dollies are scared of?"
Drusilla began to look at her Tarot cards, and as she flipped over the last one, she looked absolutely horrified. "Spike... Evil is coming."
"Well, of course evil is coming. We are on the Hellmouth. And there'd be a whole lot more evil coming if the Cowardly Lion over here would actually follow through and kill the Slayer!"
"No, Spike... Miss Edith says that she is afraid of this evil. And she said that we should be afraid too..."
Angelus walked over to Drusilla and caressed her cheek with his hand. "Dru, don't be ridiculous. We're vampires, what evil should we be afraid of? Nothing short of the arrival of one of the Old Ones should be cataclysmic enough to cause any sense of alarm. In fact..."
Angelus never got to finish, because at that very moment, the room was filled with a loud rumbling. As the vampiric threesome turned to face the source of the noise, they saw the air itself begin to shimmer and shake. Then suddenly, the air collapsed up on itself and a large hole appeared in the corner of the room. On the other side of the hole, the threesome could see a dark shadow lit by flames somewhere further in the background. As the shadow walked through the hole and appeared on the other side, the vampires felt a large wave of hot air overwash them. As soon as he was completely on this side of the hole, the creature tossed a bundle at the feet of the gathered vampires.
Before the threesome could say anything, the great creature began to speak. "I am Abishai, Herald of Baatezu the Devourer. And this I believe, belongs to you."
Still stunned by the sudden appearance of Abishai, Angelus bent down and unwrapped the bundle that the demon had tossed at them earlier. Once Angelus had unwrapped it f ully, he jumped back in terror. "That's... That's Adam Lockhart! He was one of the seven we sent out to fetch that boy! What in the name of all that's unholy, did you do to him?" Angelus had seen and done many horrible things, but the sight of a vampire that had all of its limbs violently torn from his body was enough to make even him slightly tremble. Aside from the ragged flesh where his limbs had been torn off, Lockhart had several deep gashes criss-crossing his torso apparently from Abishai's talons and a deep gaping maw was opened in his abdomen from front to back. His mouth seemed fixed permanently open in a silent scream of agony. And for the rest of his miserable days, the last image that Lockhart would ever see was Abishai reaching for his eyes. All that remained were empty sockets filled with torn muscles and nerves.
Spike nudged the body with his wheelchair, and was shocked when the broken vampire moaned in pain. "Bloody Hell! You really worked the poor blighter over, didn't you?" Now once again conscious, the limbless vampire began to writhe in agony. Unfortunately for the vampire, Abishai had ripped out his tongue, so he was unable to voice his pains. Because of his vampirism, Lockhart would never perish from these ghastly wounds. In fact, he would spend the rest of his days in the dark unable to do anything, even scream.
"This ignorant fool remains alive as an example to you. He alone was spared the fate of the other six sent to capture the Chosen One."
Angelus began to laugh aloud. "You mean these seven were after the Slayer? I sent them to fetch Xander Harris for me, not Buffy. I wasn't after her, well not directly. As you see, this was all a big misunderstanding."
Abishai held up his taloned hand to halt further comment from Angelus. "It is because you sent them after the one named Xander Harris that they are no more. He is the Chosen One. The one human being chosen to implement the return of Baatezu the Devourer. There is only one Chosen One for every five thousand years, and Xander Harris is he. Therefore, any action taken to harm or otherwise deter the Chosen One from bringing about the return of Baatezu will be met will terrible force. I will now take my leave of you and return to my Master. But be assured that I will be watching." Abishai paused to allow for any foolish bravado to rear its head among the gathering of the undead. Seeing none, he turned around and stepped back through the portal.
Once the portal was closed, and the room again back to normal, Angelus spoke. "You remember what I was saying earlier about not worrying?" Drusilla and Spike nodded their heads. "Well, I think it's time to worry now."
"Well, Angelus old boy it's not much of a bet if you're wagering something you don't even have. It's really poor form. And would it trouble you too much to stop that bloody pacing? I'm getting seasick over here!"
Angelus whirled around in mid-step glaring at Spike with his game face on. "Well Spike I would, but you see..." Angelus made a gesture with both his arms spread wide. "I'm having to do the pacing for two. Seeing that you've become the only vampire to hear the phrase 'Hell on Wheels' and take it literally." Having said this, his mouth turned upwards into a cruel grin.
Drusilla was standing next to Spike mindlessly running her hand through his blond hair. Spike looked up at Drucilla and noticed her glazed eyes that were seemingly staring into a faraway place. The absent cock of her head slightly alarmed Spike. "Pet, what's wrong?"
Drusilla looked down at Spike and answered him in a dreamy voice. "Spike... All my dollies don't want to play anymore. They say that they're scared."
"What are they scared of pet? Is it that damn accursed Slayer again? The same Slayer that somehow Angelus always fails to kill? Is that what your dollies are scared of?"
Drusilla began to look at her Tarot cards, and as she flipped over the last one, she looked absolutely horrified. "Spike... Evil is coming."
"Well, of course evil is coming. We are on the Hellmouth. And there'd be a whole lot more evil coming if the Cowardly Lion over here would actually follow through and kill the Slayer!"
"No, Spike... Miss Edith says that she is afraid of this evil. And she said that we should be afraid too..."
Angelus walked over to Drusilla and caressed her cheek with his hand. "Dru, don't be ridiculous. We're vampires, what evil should we be afraid of? Nothing short of the arrival of one of the Old Ones should be cataclysmic enough to cause any sense of alarm. In fact..."
Angelus never got to finish, because at that very moment, the room was filled with a loud rumbling. As the vampiric threesome turned to face the source of the noise, they saw the air itself begin to shimmer and shake. Then suddenly, the air collapsed up on itself and a large hole appeared in the corner of the room. On the other side of the hole, the threesome could see a dark shadow lit by flames somewhere further in the background. As the shadow walked through the hole and appeared on the other side, the vampires felt a large wave of hot air overwash them. As soon as he was completely on this side of the hole, the creature tossed a bundle at the feet of the gathered vampires.
Before the threesome could say anything, the great creature began to speak. "I am Abishai, Herald of Baatezu the Devourer. And this I believe, belongs to you."
Still stunned by the sudden appearance of Abishai, Angelus bent down and unwrapped the bundle that the demon had tossed at them earlier. Once Angelus had unwrapped it f ully, he jumped back in terror. "That's... That's Adam Lockhart! He was one of the seven we sent out to fetch that boy! What in the name of all that's unholy, did you do to him?" Angelus had seen and done many horrible things, but the sight of a vampire that had all of its limbs violently torn from his body was enough to make even him slightly tremble. Aside from the ragged flesh where his limbs had been torn off, Lockhart had several deep gashes criss-crossing his torso apparently from Abishai's talons and a deep gaping maw was opened in his abdomen from front to back. His mouth seemed fixed permanently open in a silent scream of agony. And for the rest of his miserable days, the last image that Lockhart would ever see was Abishai reaching for his eyes. All that remained were empty sockets filled with torn muscles and nerves.
Spike nudged the body with his wheelchair, and was shocked when the broken vampire moaned in pain. "Bloody Hell! You really worked the poor blighter over, didn't you?" Now once again conscious, the limbless vampire began to writhe in agony. Unfortunately for the vampire, Abishai had ripped out his tongue, so he was unable to voice his pains. Because of his vampirism, Lockhart would never perish from these ghastly wounds. In fact, he would spend the rest of his days in the dark unable to do anything, even scream.
"This ignorant fool remains alive as an example to you. He alone was spared the fate of the other six sent to capture the Chosen One."
Angelus began to laugh aloud. "You mean these seven were after the Slayer? I sent them to fetch Xander Harris for me, not Buffy. I wasn't after her, well not directly. As you see, this was all a big misunderstanding."
Abishai held up his taloned hand to halt further comment from Angelus. "It is because you sent them after the one named Xander Harris that they are no more. He is the Chosen One. The one human being chosen to implement the return of Baatezu the Devourer. There is only one Chosen One for every five thousand years, and Xander Harris is he. Therefore, any action taken to harm or otherwise deter the Chosen One from bringing about the return of Baatezu will be met will terrible force. I will now take my leave of you and return to my Master. But be assured that I will be watching." Abishai paused to allow for any foolish bravado to rear its head among the gathering of the undead. Seeing none, he turned around and stepped back through the portal.
Once the portal was closed, and the room again back to normal, Angelus spoke. "You remember what I was saying earlier about not worrying?" Drusilla and Spike nodded their heads. "Well, I think it's time to worry now."