Chapter Five: Morning Sun

"Sixteen-thirty," Dennis says as he spots the house they were looking for. The anonymous caller had reported a trauma of an unknown nature having taking place on the premises. The person inside was suppose to be in some type of near catatonic state. That had been at almost five o'clock in the morning. With a good two hours to go until full sunrise at the time of the call they were just now arriving at the scene five minutes after seven.

Mike swerves into the driveway, "what was the call for?"

"Sever shock," his partner answers. "It might be some kind of paranoid delusion. Runs in the family I'm guessing. Daughter was hospitalized a few years back," he gives partner a knowing look, "claimed that vampires were real."

Mike shakes his head. He always found it amazing what you could learn about a person while waiting for the morning sun to rise. It wasn't that anybody believed in vampires. There were simply a lot of strange occurrences that took place in Sunnydale after the sun went down.

Giles looks over the assembled group of distraught teenagers- Willow with a numb expression plastered over her face, Oz sitting by Willow's side simply holding her, and Cordelia silent tears streaming down her face- that sat huddled around the large table in the center of the library. Not a single one of them looked as if they had gotten a single minute of sleep the night before. Not that he could blame them for that occurrence with the events that had transpired yesterday.

None of them were aware of the worst of it. Only Jenny and himself were privy to that knowledge. To all of the tragedies that had rocked their world in the worst way imaginable.

True the children were well aware of Xander's demise, though not the cause of it. Nor did they know what had happened next. He did and he prayed to god that he didn't, that it was all just a nightmare he would soon wake from.

He had rang the emergency services earlier this morning, informing them of Joyce's condition. Not being fool enough to call from his apartment he had made sure to use a pay phone on his way to meet Jenny. Hopefully they would be able to something to help the woman, provide her with some kind of relief.

Cordelia sniffles as she wipes her eyes with a well used handkerchief. Giles thought the girl was still wearing the same clothes she had worn yesterday. It wouldn't surprise him. With as distraught as the girl had been the night before he was surprised to see her here at all.

The library door swings open admitting the last person that he was waiting for. "What the hell are you doing here!" Cordelia screams as she jumps to her feet knocking her chair over in the process. Amy flinches slightly but doesn't move back from the angry cheerleader. If anything her back seems to straighten under the taller brunettes hate filled glare. "You're the reason Xander's dead," she snarls taking a step forward. "You have no business here," She continues as she marches toward the smaller girl.

Oz quickly gets to his feet interposing himself between the two girls. At the same time Amy decides she's heard enough from the Cordelia as she retorts, "if you hadn't broken up with him in the first place he never would have wanted me to do the spell."

"Why you little," Cordelia begins lunging at Amy like a mad woman. Oz barely manages to halt the tall brunette as he grabs her around the waist, but the difference in their height leaves him the slightly awkward situation of getting hit in the face, repeatedly, with a chest full of her cleavage as she tries to get past him.

The sudden, and deafening crack of Giles palm slapping against the hard surface of the large table brings everybody up short as they separate, with Oz still standing between the two brunettes. "I don't have the time, or the bloody inclination to put up with these childish antics!" He informs everyone in the room. "None of us do. Even as we sit here bickering among ourselves our situation slips that much further from dire into the realm of abysmal."

"How can it can get any worse?" Willow's small voice inquires. "Xander's dead, Buffy's missing. I don't think it can get much worse then that," she observes softly more to herself then anyone else.

Giles takes a deep breath. Out of everyone present Willow had lost more then rest of them combined last night and she didn't even know it. Her two best friends weren't just dead, but were undead.

Jenny sits down beside Willow taking the young redhead into her arms. Giles takes another deep breath, "Buffy did in fact turn up last night," he stammers feeling a knife bury itself in his heart as Willow's face lights up.

"Really?" She asks sounding close to normal. "When? Where? How come she's not here?"

The librarian shakes his head slightly as he begins in a halting voice, "it's not as simple."

"She came to my apartment last night," Jenny says softly but with enough authority to stop Giles. "You should all sit down," She tells the teenagers as she rises back to her feet. "This isn't going to be easy for me to say. Less for you guys to hear," she continues. Pausing for a moment she takes a deep breath, "Angel turned Buffy last night. At the same time Drusilla turned Xander," she says in a rush. She hoped by telling them this way it might make it slightly easier for them to accept. Not that she thought anything would make what she just told them easy to accept, but it was said and now they could try to deal with the situation they found themselves in.

"That's, that's..." Willow begins but covers her face in her hands as Oz wraps her up in his arms as she begins crying again. The small boy gives Jenny an extremely hard and unforgiving look as he tries to sooth Willow with soft words the teacher couldn't hear.

Cordelia looks if possible even more devastated then she had just a few short minutes ago. She simply stares off into space with vacant eyes. Tears still slide down he cheeks but she didn't bother to wipe them away.

Amy on the other hand seemed to find a little courage at the news, "what did she want?" She asks the teacher. "Did she come to threaten you, give us a warning, now we're all going to die?"

"She gave us a warning," Jenny answers. "More then that though she gave us information. She has a plan to protect us from them."

"She's going to stake them all? Then herself?" Cordelia inquires in a flat voice lacking her normal venom. "What? They're vampires. We're human. Do the math, we're nothing but food to them now."

"Not quite," Giles responds.

"Right," Amy remarks cutting in before Giles can say anything else. "Some of you guys they might want to turn, but the rest of us... Cordelia's right we're nothing but a quick meal for them."

"Buffy told me of a de-invitation spell that can revoke a vampire that's been invited to your house, but until we find it Willow you and you're family are going to have to find someplace to live. Angelus has free access to your house," Jenny begins to outline Buffy's plan. "That will keep you safe until I finish reconstructing the soul restoration that my clan originally cursed Angel with."

"What good is that going to do?" Cordelia demands, "so you curse one of them, what's to stop the rest of them from simply having sex with them to get rid of it? Then all of them coming after you because you're the only one capable of casting the spell?"

"Buffy's going to be getting them out of Sunnydale," Jenny answers. "But I'm not the only capable of casting the spell. Amy can, as well as Giles, and with a little guidance so can Willow. So it's not just one spell we're going to be casting but four. Angel, Drusilla, Spike, and Xander."

"What about Buffy?" Willow asks looking up at Jenny. Her voice was still small, but for the first time there was a little spark of light in her green eyes.

Awareness came back slowly. Just a slight touch of the air as it stirs over his cool skin. The tantalizing aroma of fear that the soft breeze carries on it's current. The whispered pounding of the frantic heartbeat. All of it together begins to draw him closer to the surface as his senses bring him back to life. In a manner of speaking.

Xander moans softly as he slowly regains consciousness. He realizes this is nothing like waking up. Its so much more. He becomes aware of everything going on around him.

Without opening his eyes he takes in his surroundings. He was lying on a large wooden table, a dead body on the table with him. As the rough, coarse wood digs into his back he comes to the realization that it didn't bother him. It would have only yesterday, waking up next to a dead body, but today he found it somewhat titillating.

Letting the myriad thoughts of what he was going to do to the corpse go, he concentrated on the sensations his body was feeling. He had never felt anything so intense before, and not just the wood digging into his back, or the soft caress the wind was blowing over his flesh. It was everything flowing within, as well as throughout, his body.

Anger, desire, rage, passion, lust, life. All of it flowing through him like never before. It raged with the fury of a monstrous hurricane. They were bubbling, churning, burning in his veins like a river of molten lava.

There were others like himself close by. He could feel them nearby. Watching him, waiting for him. Three of them, powerful. Like nothing he could have imagined before. Each one of them anticipating his arising.

They weren't what called him out though. There was a living, breathing human in the area. The roaring of blood flowing through his veins, pumping through his body as his heart pounding in his chest. That was what had first brought him up from the murky depths of the dead. That had called him back to the surface. Slipping his eyes open the brilliance shinning down on him is nearly blinding.

"Um," Drusilla purrs softly from a few feet away. "Look at little Kitten. All awake with a fire burning in his belly."

"I'll bet he does," Angelus agrees placidly looking the fledgling over. Grabbing Xander by the throat he lifts him off the table. Instinctively he grabs hold of Angelus' wrist as he suddenly finds himself with his feet dangling a good foot of the floor. Just like that he knows fear like he had never felt before. "But unlike the rest of us you get your first meal brought to you," he sneers derisively. "Instead of getting pampered we had to hunt to survive."

"Angel," Buffy growls from the upper catwalk causing both vampires to turn their heads to look up at her. Neither one had known she was there until she spoke. It was just another surprise that Angelus hated having to deal with. "Put him down," she says the warning clear in her voice. She was allowing Angel to rule the clan, but her will was going to be the one driving their little family.

"He should be out hunting his first meal, not having it hand fed to him," Angelus snarls as he looks back at the vampire he was holding in his hand.

"We already went over this."

"And we'll go over it again," he counters.

Buffy drops over the railing plummeting to the floor below. Her white duster flaring around her as she seemingly glides on the air as she falls. The hard soles of her white leather boots make even less sound hitting the concrete floor then a leave falling landing on the softest grass. Moving up close to Angelus she purrs, "and like I told you. We're not risking one of our family on a reckless first feeding. You know as well as I how many vampires are killed, by normal humans, because they can't control the urge to feed."

"It culls the weak from the heard," he snarls at her. He was finding it increasingly difficult, despite what he promised himself earlier, to be around her without losing his temper.

Buffy smiles sweetly at her sire. "I know you haven't caught up on a lot of things in the modern world, like the industrial revolution or the renaissance... Were you even alive for the renaissance?" She gives her head a slight shake, "doesn't matter," she mumbles to herself. "Point is I'm about to bring in a new age. Then only those I deem weak are going to be culled from the pack," she tells him in a deceptively mild voice. "Now be a sweetheart and put Xander down so he can go eat Uncle Rory," she says as she turns away from him.

Angelus snarls as he drops Xander to the floor. Pulling back on his anger he manages to ask in a calm voice, "when are you going to be ushering in this new era Buff?"

She spins around still walking backwards, "soon. Take a week, let Xander eat his family. Then I wanna go out and have some fun, see the world sort of thing, before I recreate it in my image," she says twirling all the way around. Grabbing Drusilla by the hand she pulls the older vampiress along with her. A giddy little smile plays at the corner of her lips as she murmurs softly, "come along. It's time for us to go find Spike's baby girl someone good to eat."

As Jenny sinks into her sofa she begins to realize just how drained she was from the day's events. Finding the de-invitation spell had been a long, arduous process that took the better part of the school day, but they had finally managed to find it before school let out for the day. The ritual itself was easy in comparison and she had already re-shielded both Giles' and Willow's homes. The only one left undone was the Summers' house, but since nobody was going to be staying there for a while she didn't feel it was a priority. Plus it was getting on towards nightfall and she wasn't going to take a chance on being out after dark.

Now the only thing left to do was recreate the soul restoration spell that was originally cast upon Angelus nearly a hundred and ten years ago. She smiles ruefully to herself, nothing like setting your sights on the impossible. The spell had been lost to her people shortly after it had been cast, ever since Darla had failed to get the soul removed. For their refusal to cooperate with her she had unleashed Spike on them. No one that had been in the camp that night had survived the vampire's wraith.

Not that she hadn't felt a tremendous amount of pressure over the recreation of the spell when it had just been Angelus, but now with Buffy and Xander both being turned there was an added amount of guilt on her shoulders. If only she had been able to convince Uncle Enyos to help, then maybe the events of yesterday could have been avoided. The worst of them anyway.

The ringing of her phone pulls her from her silent musing. Getting up from her couch she reaches the telephone by the third ring. "Hello," she greets whoever is on the other end of the phone.

"Hey Jenny," Buffy replies. "Having fun?"

"Buffy," Jenny responds surprised at hearing her voice. "I thought we agreed that you weren't going to be contacting us? That it was safer that way."

"Yeah, well. There's a saying somewhere about men and mice and plans and I knew there was point there when I started," she replies sounding slightly disappointed with herself.

Jenny sighs lightly. Buffy wasn't a stupid girl, far from it, but she had perfected the act of airhead so long ago that it was just easier for her to maintain it. "What is it?" She finally asks the former slayer.

"You need six," Buffy answers.

"What!"

"Six," Buffy repeats.

"I heard you," Jenny replies.

"Then what's the problem?" Buffy questions confusion evident in her voice.

Jenny shakes her head, "I don't think you understand. The components for the spell are rare. Some of them can take years to track down."

"You don't have years," Buffy growls angrily.

"I know that," Jenny spits back.

Buffy scowls as she lets out a breath. "Listen. Angel, Dru, Xander, Spike's childe, Spike, and then me. That's your order of priority."

With that the phone went dead. Jenny closes her eyes as she lets out a relieved breath. She didn't think Buffy had any idea of what she was getting into with the soul restoration. The guilt and pain that was going to be inflicted on her once the spell was cast. That, along with removing the happiness clause, was one of the things she was trying to fix with the curse. The young girl was doing this to protect them. Jenny didn't feel there was any need to make her suffer as her ancestors had made Angelus suffer.

Buffy's honeyed laughter drifts down from above as she giggles at something she finds amusing. Her soft footfalls echo as she descends downward into the factory. It was an indication that she wanted those inside to know she was home. If she hadn't then nobody would have heard her until she had them lifted off their feet or pressed into a wall.

Xander moves away from Angelus, breaking off their conversation, at the first sound of Buffy's arrival. He gives the older vampire a nervous look not knowing how long Buffy had been able to hear them. The conversation they had been having was not one he would want to have her over hearing.

Angelus however had other ideas for the young vampire. After all there were two, soon to be three, childers in the fold. The fact that his own had proven herself far too independent, not to mention powerful, for him to train properly infuriated the master vampire. Of the three sires he was the only one capable of training the other two childes, a task he was going to relish performing.

Sidling up close to the young vampire Angelus presses his body into Xander. Slipping his hand inside the boy's shirt he drags his fingers over the lean muscles. Xander gasps softly at the older vampire's firm touch, hardening instantly as Angelus almost rips his nipple off as he gives his tit a savage twist.

"Naughty, naughty girl," Drusilla firm voice scolds Buffy as they stride down the walkway. Buffy has a heavyset dark hair young boy draped over her right shoulder while she balances a pair of pizza warmers in her left hand. "All ruff, ruff. Showing what's only suppose to be seen inside the bedroom."

The tiny blonde rolls her eyes at her elders comments, "it got us invited inside," she points out lightly. "Hell we could've been in total vamp face and not one guy there woulda noticed," she adds mildly amused. Stopping near the end of the ramp she sets the teenager down on his feet as she takes in the sight of Angel's hand roughly stroking Xander's chest under his shirt. "Looks like they settled their differences," she mutters darkly.

Drusilla claps her hands excitedly seeing the gentle foreplay going on between the two vampires. A bright gleam shining in her eyes. Turning an excited grin on Buffy she sighs, "Daddy and Kitten are going to play all rough, teach him the way things are now. Make the pain that doesn't end," she murmurs. Her voice taking on a slight heat as she adds, "Daddy's good at making pain. Makes everything hurt just right, but Miss Edith says Kitten going to need more pain then Daddy can make before he learns his place. Miss Edith says I'm going to have to help him learn his lessons," she finishes with a broad grin nearly splitting her face.

Buffy quirks an eyebrow at her sister as she gives her an indifferent reply, "whatever she says." She hands the warmers to the wide eye delivery boy, "put them over on the table," she commands. He shoots her a questioning glance with eyes full of fear. "Just do it," she snaps at him. "Nobody's going to hurt you as long as behave yourself," she assures him in a softer voice.

"Miss Edith also says to me my little Kitten isn't going to learn his lessons well until Rose teaches them to him," she says with meaning. Buffy seemingly ignores the words as she watches the teenager scramble as far around the two vampires as possible before he sets the pizza's down on the table and then backs away into the corner. She can easily pick out the strong odor of Xander's dead blood on the still air as Angel ravages his lips with his razor sharp fangs as the two of them share a passionate kiss.

She shakes her head at the display, "you can tell Miss Edith I don't think so," Buffy says coldly. Turning her head slightly so she can see Drusilla, the almost jubilant glitter in her eyes. "If you want to join them go ahead," grabbing hold of her arm as Drusilla begins to glide forward she adds, "just be sure to take it to your room. Spike's little girl is going to be waking up shortly and I don't want her first meal ruined because the three of you can't control your appetites."

Buffy was amazed by the life growing inside the girl lying on the table. Last night the first time Buffy had seen her it had barely been there, just a little spark that told her there was something different about the girl when compared to the other body that had been in the back seat of Spike's car. Now here it was, only moments away from bursting into the world, a newly risen vampire. A demon. Spike's childe.

Buffy almost felt like an expectant mother in the final stages of labor, except without the annoying pain that accompany that particular event. It was that kind of excitement that was racing through her veins though as she hovered over the girl with purple hair. She would have been pacing only she was too nervous to pace, she was too nervous to do anything but stand almost on top of the girl as she felt demon inside clawing it's way to the surface. Towards freedom and a life free of any worries.

The rest of her family, with the exception of Spike, was absent. Off on their own having what for them passed as love. She could hear them even now, through several layers of concrete and steel. Could pick up the slightest whimper of pain, the softest pleasure filled moans, each and every grunt that passed beyond their lips. She could almost feel sorry for Xander, if he hadn't cast the damn spell that had led to this maybe she would have. Maybe she would have done more to protect him from Angel.

As it stood now he was going to have far worse things to be concern about if he followed through on Angel's plan. The plotting and manipulations she could deal with. She expected no less from Angel once she had proven just how much stronger then him she was, but for Xander to go along with it. A lesson was going to have to be made and she was afraid Xander was going to be the object of it.

"Seem a bit quite pet," Spike comments into the overwhelming silence as he strokes behind the Lab's ear. He preferred cats himself, not as much maintenance involved with one of those, but he didn't have anything against dogs.

Buffy shrugs as she backs away from the table, "it just seems like it's taking too long," she gripes as walks over to him. "I mean there are so many things out there for her to see and I can't wait to show them to her." Carefully sitting down on his lap she to begins to scratch behind the puppy's other ear.

Princess had thought she was in heaven with just the man petting her, but now she knew what heaven truly felt like. Rolling over onto her back she hopes the two of them will take the hint and rub her belly. She isn't disappointed as her head lolls back onto the arm of Spike's wheelchair as both the cold people stroke her sensitive underside.

Spike smirks, "looks like somebody's got themselves a case of childer envy."

Buffy gives him puzzled look as she says, "hugh."

"It's simple luv. You want a childe."

"Do not," Buffy disagrees with an almost disgusted look.

Spike just continues to grin at her as he says, "oh you so do."

Buffy shakes her head, "no way."

"Ah-ha."

"Besides I'm like way to young to be having children. Plus you know there's this whole being dead thing that kind of puts a crimp in your theory," she finishes decisively.

Spike groans slightly as he looks heaven ward as his mouth moves but no sound comes out. Looking back down at Buffy he mutters, "I said childe. Not child," in such a way that makes her think the difference should be easily evident.

"What's the difference?" She inquires when it becomes obvious he wasn't going to elaborate any further.

Spike closes his eyes as he mumbles slightly. With his eyes closed he misses the wide grin spread over Buffy's face. A smile that was gone by the time his eyes snap open. He had the feeling she was playing with him, but she acted as if she didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about.

He was about to reply when a sharp gasp alerts them to the awakening of Spike's childe. Buffy's at her side instantly, faster then Spike was able to see her move. Once again he chuckles silently at Angelus' arrogance.

Buffy was fascinated by the creature before her. The smallish bow ridges indicating her age, the razor sharp fangs, her pale yellow eyes. She gives a slight whimper and Buffy immediately wraps herself around the young girl. "Shh," she whispers into the girl's ear as she strokes her hair.

The girl sniffs her throat causing Buffy to smile, "you've just awoken. You're hungry," she says sliding around behind her keeping an arm firmly locked around her. She continues to use her right hand to brush her hair out of her eyes as she makes her way around the girl. Leaning into her left air she whispers, "but that's okay because we've brought you something to eat."

Her words coincide with her bringing the girl around so she can see the teenaged boy struggling against the ropes that keep him bound to the chair. His face was a stark white and his eyes were trying to pop out of his skull as he continued to plead for his life even with the gag shoved into his mouth. The fear wafting up off him was palpable as it drifted on the air.

The vampire in Buffy's arm growls as she surges forward only to be held back by Buffy's immovable arm. She tries again, but once more she doesn't budge the arm holding her. "Smell that," Buffy hisses into her ear. The girl nods quickly knowing instinctively what Buffy is talking about. "That's fear. Remember it. It gives humans an advantage over us. Makes them desperate, and their desperation makes them capable of things you wouldn't believe possible. Never, ever underestimate a human, no matter how weak you think they are. Do you understand?"

She nods slowly as the words made a kind of sense to her. Only her hunger was all she could think of at the moment. Reaching the warm blood that was inside the human tied to the chair in front of her.

Buffy sighs as she realizes the girl's hunger wasn't letting her fully understand what she had said. "What's your name?"

"Angie," she replies quickly without thinking.

Buffy smiles at the terse response. "Well then Angie, bon appétit," she says letting her go.

The boy's fear spikes to a whole new level as Angie lunges at him like a large cat pouncing on her prey. The chair topples over backwards as she plunges her fangs into his throat. Wriggling slightly she latches on as she begins gulping the steaming hot blood into her mouth and down her throat.

Buffy watches closely for a moment, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth as Angie snuggles in closer while she feeds. Walking over to the end of the table she flips open the lid of a pizza box and pulls out a slice. "So," she begins as she turns toward Spike, "where are we taking your little girl tonight?" She questions as she brings the pizza to her mouth and takes a large bite.

________________________________________________________________________

Morning Sun - Savatage

When you look at the morning sun

Do you see what I see
Or could I be the only one
Seeing just what I need

I envision a different man
Than the one I've become
Pray the ocean will understand
That my time isn't done

Everyone's leading
But nobody's dancing
You stand on the stage

Just to turn all alone
I have waited this way
For a lifetime of days

I can't wait for the morning sun
As I stand with the sea
And the ocean she understands

Just the man I could be

Somewhere else there's a different world

With a sun that will rise
And a moon that will take its place
In another man's eyes

And perhaps it's a better world
Than the one that I see
Or if better for no one else
Perhaps better for me

Here in the dark where the sky shows its Graces
Revealing each star while the moon plays the fool
Saying how it must be while the night disagrees

I can't wait for the morning sun
As I stand with the sea
And the ocean she understands

Just the man I could be

No, no, time doesn't wait for you
No, no, leave it alone
No, no, your days are far too few
This thing I have always known

When your time is up its too late
They never give another day to you

When your time is up its through
No one cares how

Can't keep it

Can't save it
Can't take it away with you
So I say we use it now