Previously: Angelus went to Sunnydale and tried to kill Willow, but she imprisoned him in a cage in Buffy's living room. Buffy told him about the return of the First Evil and the SITs; Angelus informed Buffy of Connor's birth and Angel's feelings for Cordelia.
Balance 2/?
"So Angel's soul is stuck inside a jar somewhere and you don't know where? And without this jar, we aren't getting Angel back? Why didn't Wesley happen to mention this little detail when he called?"
Angelus grinned as he heard this reaction taking place nearby. Buffy had, as he had expected, flown to the kitchen phone to get in touch with the remnants of the Fang Gang to confirm Angelus' story. Not only had Gunn backed up every word of it, he'd gifted Buffy with even more bad news. Bad from her standpoint, anyway. Most of it was good in Angelus' eyes. He listened to Buffy's subdued goodbye before she came back into the living room, shoulders slumped.
"Sorry I had to break things to you, Buffy." He reconsidered. "Well, no, actually I'm not, but let's be realistic. You had to find out sooner or later and I just love delivering bad news."
"I called Los Angeles and talked to Gunn," she said in a small voice. "You were being honest. I can't believe it. I guess in the back of my mind, I always thought that someday..." Her voice trailed off; then she whirled on him. "How could he do that to me? What happened to me being the only person he's loved in 243 years? Was that all one big lie? I guess it must have been. I thought I could believe in him, and to find out all the things he's done... It isn't right. I mean, I know with my relationship with Spike wasn't the brightest move, but you try making intelligent decisions after being yanked out of heaven and see how quickly you recover. Besides, you didn't even know about Spike and me till just now. It's not like I ever planned to tell you, either. So what's your excuse for pulling this crap with Cordelia?"
Angelus has been fully prepared to let Buffy have her rant out before he spoke his piece, but the way she had switched to equating him with Angel royally pissed him off. She was clearly having major trouble differentiating between the soul and the demon, and had stooped to blaming Angelus for all of Angel's shortcomings. "Let's get something straight here. Angel fell in love with Cordelia. I didn't. I'm the smart one, remember? Personally, I can't stand the bitch. Her type is just way too common. You, on the other hand, are unique. I seriously underestimated you the first time around. Angel could have done a hell of a lot worse. I mean, the Cordy thing is proof of that. You really weren't so bad after all."
Buffy frowned, but not at the backhanded compliment, as her next words revealed. "So what did Angel see in her? What about her made him fall in love with her?"
"Proximity? Fuck if I can figure it out. It makes even less sense than Connor's existence did. Fortunately, some mistakes are correctable. I want to assure you that I do not and never will have any interest in Cordelia beyond the killing of her."
Buffy stared at him. "Why is it that Spike with his soul is almost like he was without it, only a lot more whiny, but you're like a different person?"
"Maybe I'm not so different. Maybe I'm just pissed that the soul made me do stupid things. Loving-Cordelia stupid. Having-a-kid stupid. But now I'm me again, and my feelings for you are as strong as ever. Think about it: I could have just stayed in Los Angeles like Angel did. I mean, I left six of his friends alive. But instead of demolishing them, I cared enough about you to come back to Sunnydale and try to torture you." Seeing her stance soften, he pressed his advantage. "I could help you, you know. I don't have any great love for the First Evil. As far as I'm concerned, there's only room for one of us around here. Come on, Buff, just think about it. We'd make a great team." He gave her the limpid-eyed Angel gaze she always fell for. He could practically read the thoughts running through her mind: Angel is still in there, he's a strong fighter, I need more help, I still love him, blah, blah, blah.
Yes, she was tempted; he could see it in her eyes as she swayed a little closer to the cage. "I can trust you?"
"I'll give you my word, if you want." Angelus crept nearer to the bars, wishing Willow had set them just a bit farther apart. The few inches of space between them would have to do, though.
He almost had Buffy. She took one step, then another, before she slowly reached over and grasped one of the bars. Angelus held himself still, careful not to scare her away. He had to gain her trust so she'd open the lock and let him out. When he didn't move, she inched up, her face just outside the cage. His lack of movement must have reassured her, since she gradually rose until their lips were separated only by the width of the bars. Then not even by that, as Buffy leaned forward and began to kiss him.
Their lips had barely touched when the truly horrendous squawking noise that was Dawn's voice ruined the moment. "Buffy! What are you doing? Ew! Lips away from the vampire!"
Buffy jumped back like she'd been scalded by hot water. "No! Yuck! I was kissing evil, soulless lips, and that is just too wrong for words."
"Hey, you don't hear me bitching about touching soulful Slayer lips," Angelus countered, insulted.
Buffy merely shuddered and walked away, wiping her mouth on her sleeve.
"Remember what I said," Angelus called after her retreating back. "The offer stands."
Dawn planted herself in front of the cage and frowned at him. "You know, she wouldn't go near you with a 10-foot pole except she's still kind of confused about her feelings for Angel. She doesn't love you and the only reason she hasn't staked you yet is because she wants to get Angel back."
Angelus glared at her. He was just as obsessed with Buffy as ever and he had to prove it, without any snotty little sisters getting in the way. In the end, he said the only thing he could. "Fuck off, Dawn."
Following the exits of Buffy and Dawn, the SITs began to filter back into the living room, accompanied by Andrew and Spike. Angelus was prepared to ignore the entire pack until Andrew crept close to his cage and tremblingly fixed a video camera upon him.
Angelus stared at him.
Andrew stared back, looking simultaneously terrified and fascinated, before he blurted, "You don't scare me. I trust Buffy to keep us all safe."
'Moron,' thought Angelus. Aloud, he merely asked, "What's the camera for?"
"Um, I'm thinking about making a documentary."
"Huh." Angelus was quiet for a moment, thinking, as Andrew finished positioning his camera. "Hey, Spike," he finally called.
After a brief hesitation Spike sidled over to the cage. "Yeah?"
"There's something I don't get."
"Just one thing? Right, and what would that be?"
Angelus pointed at Andrew. "Who the hell is he, and why is he playing the part of resident dimwit that Xander used to fulfill admirably?"
He didn't get an answer to his question, but then, he hadn't really expected one.
A good hour later, Angelus was still awake. It was too damn noisy to allow him any peace in which to nap and restore his energy. The room had been invaded by chirping, tittering nitwit girls who acted like he was a zoo exhibit. They huddled about, casting coy glances toward his cage and giggling behind their hands.
Angelus cringed as he heard one particular comment, uttered in a dreamy tone. "Do you see those muscles? Those eyes? Luscious pools of deep chocolate. I could drown in them."
It wouldn't have been quite so bad except that the person saying it was Andrew. Angelus turned away in disgust. The last thing he needed was to have that nerd mooning over him.
"Sounds like someone has a crush on you, Angelus," Spike said with an annoying smirk from beside his cage.
Angelus turned a look of hate upon him. "Just wait until I get free, you sorry excuse for a vampire."
Spike shrugged and sauntered away, trying to look unaffected, but Angelus knew he had unnerved the younger vampire. A threat from Angel, he could laugh off. A threat from Angelus, on the other hand, was a much more serious matter. That fact didn't stop Spike from being a pain in the ass, though. He quickly joined Andrew across the room and struck up a conversation, which Angelus easily overheard.
"So, you like Angelus, do you?" Spike began.
"Oh, yes!" Andrew exclaimed. "Only..." He looked down. "I know the difference between fantasy and reality. Angelus could never be interested in... certain people."
Spike clapped a hand on Andrew's shoulder. "Buck up. I personally think 'Angelus and Andrew' has a nice ring to it."
"Angelus and Andrew. Andrew and Angelus," Andrew repeated. "Sounds good either way."
"Don't give up," Spike advised him. "There's something about vampires I bet you don't know, and it's a big something. You see, vamps? We're inherently bisexual."
Andrew's face lit up. "Really?"
"Really," Spike assured him. "In fact, I know from personal experience that Angelus here..."
The vampire in question did his very best to tune out the rest of Spike and Andrew's conversation. When he got loose, he would make Spike pay, quite painfully. Seeing that he wasn't loose yet, however, he continued to suffer until Buffy and Dawn reentered the room several minutes later. He had never been so glad to see Buffy, but she had become all business. When Angelus attempted to catch her eye, she avoided his gaze. Disappointed, he settled in a corner of his cage and went back to eavesdropping on the SITs.
Kennedy the troublemaker was at it again. "I dare you to go over to his cage and say hi," she whispered to one of the other Potentials.
At this comment, Buffy's head swung around and she strode across the room to confront the girls. "What do you think you're doing, taunting a vampire?"
"Just playing around," Kennedy replied sullenly.
Buffy raised her voice so that everyone could hear her. "Look, stay away from Angelus, okay? I know it'll be hard since he's living in the middle of the main room in the house, but the possibility of him attacking any of you guys is just one more problem I don't want to have to deal with."
"What's so bad about him?" Kennedy demanded. "He doesn't look that tough all locked up. Besides, Spike's a vampire too, but he gets to run around loose and you don't warn us about that."
Buffy studied the mutinous faces surrounding her. "You won't just accept my word for it, will you? I guess I'll have to spell it out. Fine. Follow me. You too, Spike." She positioned Spike to the left of Angelus' cage as all the Potentials crowded around, their doughy little faces peering in upon the imprisoned vampire.
"Don't stick your fingers through the bars," Dawn warned. "They might get bitten off."
A few of the girls laughed uncertainly but none took the hint, much to Angelus' disappointment. The taste of freshly severed finger blood would have been quite uplifting.
"Okay, Dawn, enough," Buffy chided. "And don't you have somewhere else to be?"
"Yeah, sure." Dawn stomped off in a huff.
Buffy turned back to the Potentials and began to pontificate. "Now, listen up: Angelus is inside the cage for a reason, and Spike is outside it, also for a reason. Angelus is not Spike. He is much more evil and vicious and unprincipled."
"And a much worse dresser," Spike muttered.
"That's Angel you're talking about," Angelus countered. "I have style. And unlike you, I own more than one shirt."
"But they're all black, so it doesn't count."
Following this exchange, the SITs looked less than convinced by Buffy's words. She glared at Angelus and Spike and tried again. "Spike has a soul. Angelus does not. He used to, when he went by the name Angel, but whenever he loses it he reverts to being Angelus and you don't want to be anywhere near him then."
"You say he lost his soul," Rona noted. "How'd that happen?"
"This time? His friends arranged for it to be extracted."
"So his friends are our enemies," Kennedy declared.
"No, they're our friends," Buffy corrected.
Now all the girls looked confused.
Buffy sighed and pointed at the vampire on the left, starting over. "This is Spike." She indicated Angelus. "And this is Spike on crack."
Several of the girls nodded, seeming to grasp that analogy a bit better. Still, Angelus decided to help Buffy out. "If you want to give them an object lesson, just shove the one you like the least a little closer to the cage and I'll show them all what you're talking about."
It might have been his imagination, but he thought he saw Buffy glance at Kennedy before she launched into a fresh lecture.
end 2/?
Next time: Buffy lectures the SITs, again; Angelus points out a flaw in her reasoning. Angelus offers to get rid of the First Evil, for a price.