Starting Over 10 - Crimson Rain
"Everybody get out."
Angel looked up from his desk and into Xander's eyes. He'd just finished telling the others that they were fired, they couldn't accept where he was going to have to do to defeat Darla and Drusilla, they already weren't happy with him allowing the mass-murder of Manners and his cronies. "Xand," Angel glanced across at the teen's pale-faced girl-friend.
"GET OUT NOW!" the Slayer jumped at the man's roar and Angel blinked. The look in Xander's eyes was colder than when the teen had stopped Angelus from killing Buffy at Sunnydale General. He wasn't the coward Angelus was but there was enough rage in the youth's eyes to make him nervous. The others moved to the door. "Faith," Xander's gaze didn't move from him, his eyes continuing to burn into him, "I'm sorry I shouted at you, it's not you I'm angry with."
The brunette smiled wanly in response. "Five by five."
As soon as the door had closed behind the Slayer and the others, Xander exploded again. "You bastard!" he started to look nervously around, checking that there wasn't any sharp wooden objects in the office. "This isn't just your home you know! It's Cordy's, mine, this place belongs to us all! Hell, for the last year this has been the first place that Faith has ever called home! You're her goddamn mentor!" Xander slammed his fist onto the desk, "the one who she looks to for guidance about redemption, but no you had to decide to throw us aside for a petty feud."
"Petty-."
The young man's rage overrode his attempt at a reply. "The way I see it you've got two choices. One, you leave," Angel's eyes widened, Xander was going to throw him out? "Or you let us help you."
"It's too dangerous -."
Xander raised an eyebrow. "Too dangerous? Too dangerous for two demon- hunters, two master vampires, a former Watcher, a seer, and a Slayer?" the youth's face softened. "Let us help you for god's sake Angel. We're friends, that's what friends do, just ask."
"Fine," Angel took an unneeded breath. "What do you have in mind?"
* * *
Angel looked around the gaudy bar in disbelief. The place looked liked the place had been decorated by a member of the Village People on acid. "This was your bright idea?" he muttered in disbelief, "take me out and get me drunk in a bar owned by the Bee Gees?"
"I do so hope he's not going to start sing 'Staying Alive'."
Angel loftily decided to ignore Wesley's muttered comment. He turned towards Xander. "Care to explain?"
"Two weeks ago, me and Faith chased a Walki into here," Xander's explanation was interrupted by a green-skinned, horned demon wearing a red designer suit so bright Angel thought his eyes were going to bleed.
"It's Spitfire and Melody! And who are your friends?"
"He's Melody, I'm Spitfire," Faith explained as Xander started to talk to the demon, "and he's Lorne."
Angel nodded, he'd already figured that, he'd had the misfortune to hear Faith singing in the bath and nobody would describe that screech or the lyrics she sang as melodious. "So," he sighed, he was sure he wasn't going to like the answer. "Why are we here?" The vampire bit back a groan, judging from the malicious gleam in the Slayer's eyes he was right.
* * *
"You want me to sing!"
"Never thought I'd see a Master Vampire have a temper tantrum," Xander muttered.
"Bet you ten bucks he cries," Spike muttered back, an evil grin the twin to Xander's on his face.
Faith chuckled. "Don't know why you're smirking Billy, he's your grand- sire, it's your family he's showing up with this behaviour."
"Piss off Slayer."
After a few seconds of moaning, the vampire climbed onto stage, his head bowed as if heading towards after a guillotine. And after a few seconds the vampire's rapidly becoming former friends knew why. "Bloody hell," Wes muttered, "it's not only people he's murdered."
"I thought 'Mandy' was bad when Beaky sang it," Faith replied, her eyes widening. "Forget vamps, mages, demons, G in the buff," conscious that everybody had turned to her, the Slayer shrugged, "hey he should have locked the door, now there's a sight to scar an impressionable mind. But," Faith pointed at the stage, "this is really scary." After what seemed a lifetime the song ended Angel climbed off the stage, his glare forcing scattered applause from the demons nearest the stage. Finally Xander found his voice. "That was really," for once words failed him.
"Shit," Faith finished for him.
"Exactly."
"So what advice have you got for me?" Angel asked the green-skinned demon.
"Aside from don't give up the career as a champion to become a club singer?"
"Couldn't cope with the competition eh?"
"Dear god," Wesley groaned. "Do tell me he's joking."
"If not I'm moving to another state," Gunn replied with a mutter.
"Screw that I don't care if he's got a soul, I'm killing him," Faith whispered. "Call it a mercy staking."
Suddenly Lorne's face turned deadly serious. "Dru and Darla are in Warehouse 17 on Luther King docks, they've got between 15 and 20 vampires with them."
"Doable." Xander nodded in satisfaction before turning to the bleached blond vampire. "Your turn next Spike."
"Why the bloody hell do I have to sing? We know where they are now."
"Because we're going after Dru," Xander replied, all previous humour vanishing from his voice, leaving it cold and emotionless.
After a second the vampire nodded, stood, and walked to the stage. Spike flipped before the karaoke book before pointing out of a song, a minute or so later the vampire began singing 'Mony Mony'. "Bloody hell," Wesley said, his cultured voice filled with awe. "He's really rather good."
"Well he's better than Deadboy that's for sure."
"Cordelia!" Angel protested.
"Oh shut up Angel, you hired me for my honesty," the former cheerleader snapped before turning to the green-skinned demon. "Well?"
"Well, with that voice don't ever sing," the demon turned a strange shade of polluted seaweed at the cheerleader's glare. "He can be trusted and you really want him to come with you."
"So are we off now?" Angel said.
"Hey Fang don't you want to sing again?"
Angel let out a long-suffering sigh. "Faith shut up." The vampire shook his head. "Xander, Faith, and Cordelia, surely I wasn't that evil."
"But at least you got me and Wes," Gunn pointed out.
"Oh lucky me."
* * *
"What's the plan Xander?" Angel muttered.
Xander stared at the shadowy form of the warehouse from the faraway end of the narrow street that snaked its way up to its front doors. The building, veiled behind a thick swirling curtain of falling rain, was only a vaguely- shaped silhouette. And yet its brooding bulk still managed to inspire a feeling of unease in him, as if it was a living beast, watching him and his companions, and waiting to pounce. After a second he shook his head, breaking the gloomy spell the ponderous building held over him. "Faith and I will go through the front doors," Xander looked through his binoculars, "and you and Billy Boy will come through the skylight. Wes, Gunn, and Cordy will block the mouth of the street and kill any vamps that escape the camp."
"That's it?" Faith muttered in disbelief. "That's your great plan?"
"Nobody said I was Patton," Xander shrugged. "Look we don't have time to plan anything intricate, and if we did Dru would only sense it anyway."
"He's right Slayer," Spike muttered, "how long to get to the skylight Peaches?"
"Five, maybe seven, minutes," Angel replied, "have to take care of those two guards first though. You come through the front in ten minutes Xander. As soon as we hear you we'll follow okay?"
"Let's go."
Xander started to move only to be stopped by his girl-friend grabbing him around the waist and pulling him into a hug. "Don't you dare get hurt you asshole," the brunette whispered into his ear, her voice trembling.
Xander winked at his girlfriend, he knew how frightened she got, not about herself but losing him. "We'll be fine baby," he kissed the slayer on her forehead before grinning, "it's my plan after all."
Faith giggled. "Why do you think I'm worried?"
Spike let out a groan. "Bloody hell you two pillocks are so sugary it's making me diabetic."
Faith glared at the bleached vampire. "Shut it."
* * *
"You ready," Xander swallowed at the Slayer's whispered question before nodding. The brunette winked at him. "Love you," turning she sent a heel smashing kick into the double doors sending them crashing open. Her trademark smirk in place Faith sauntered into the suddenly hushed warehouse. "Hi everybody, who wants to hop on the Faith Express? Stakings a speciality."
"Don't say that dear," Xander murmured as he eyed the vampires charging towards them, "makes you sound cheap."
Whatever smart reply Faith would have come up with was lost when the skylight suddenly exploded, sending glass flying as Angel and Spike dropped in through the window. Distracted by the sudden intrusion, the vampires advancing towards him and his girl-friend stopped in confusion. Taking advantage of the vampires' hesitation, Xander bounded and swung his axe through the neck of the nearest vamp.
Blood burst from the vampire's neck a split-second before it turned to dust, showering him like a crimson rain. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another vampire coming towards him, twisting round he managed to send his axe slicing through the vampire's sword arm, cutting off its arm at the elbow. The vampire glanced down at his arm in amazement. Before the blood- sucker could regain his equilibrium, Xander reversed his swing, sending the vampire's flying off his shoulder.
Seeing a third vampire coming at him, Xander snapped out a heel kick, shattering the vampire's knee and sending him stumbling to the floor. Before his adversary had chance to recover, Xander's axe came down taking the vampire's head off. "Damn I'm on fire tonight!" he crowed.
"Oh no kitten," Xander's blood chilled at Drusilla's insane babblings in his ear, "don't be on fire, fire would burn that lovely skin."
"Shit!" Xander spun round to face the vampire only to be caught by a haymaker to the jaw that caused his vision to blur and his legs to almost buckle. He swung his axe up, aiming to repeat his earlier success but as he moved Drusilla easily intercepted the blow, hitting his arm hard enough to send the axe clattering to the floor. Before he had time to re-group Dru had her hands wrapped around his throat, lifting his body off the floor. Xander struck at her wrists, trying to break free by hitting her nerve-clusters but it was like punching stone.
"Such pretty eyes," the insane vampire cooed. Then she kissed him full on the lips, her ice-cold tongue slipping into his mouth. Xander struggled but couldn't budge an inch, the insane vampire's grip inescapable. When she was done she tossed him to the ground like a rag doll. Winded, he could only watch helplessly as she advanced on him. "You're going to be a special childe," she simpered, "take Spikey's place in mummy's heart you are."
"Not sodding likely." A look of alarm spreading across her face, Drusilla started to turn only to explode to dust when Spike shoved a stake in her heart. "Bloody women, let that be a lesson to you boy. They're all bloody flighty."
"Thanks Spike, I'll bear that in mind," he rubbed gingerly at his chin where Drusilla had slugged him. "Going to give me a hand up?"
"Can't take you anywhere whelp," Spike pulled him to his feet. "You know," the bleached vampire looked down at the dustpile at his feet, "with all her psychic powers you'd have thought she'd have seen that coming." The vampire shook his head. "Anyway night's still young," Spike cast an almost hungry gaze at the carnage surrounding them, "violence still to be had."
* * *
Xander looked at the two brooding master vampires and sighed, both had had to kill their sires and their actions were hitting them hard. "So," he forced a cheery note into his voice, "we've won. How about celebration?"
"What do you suggest?" Wesley asked.
"Oh I was thinking we could back down to Lorne's place," Xander paused, a slight smile tugging at his lips, "Angel could tort-, entertain us with a singing of 'That's All Right Mama'." The two vampires glared at him, he smiled and shrugged. "Just a thought."
"Everybody get out."
Angel looked up from his desk and into Xander's eyes. He'd just finished telling the others that they were fired, they couldn't accept where he was going to have to do to defeat Darla and Drusilla, they already weren't happy with him allowing the mass-murder of Manners and his cronies. "Xand," Angel glanced across at the teen's pale-faced girl-friend.
"GET OUT NOW!" the Slayer jumped at the man's roar and Angel blinked. The look in Xander's eyes was colder than when the teen had stopped Angelus from killing Buffy at Sunnydale General. He wasn't the coward Angelus was but there was enough rage in the youth's eyes to make him nervous. The others moved to the door. "Faith," Xander's gaze didn't move from him, his eyes continuing to burn into him, "I'm sorry I shouted at you, it's not you I'm angry with."
The brunette smiled wanly in response. "Five by five."
As soon as the door had closed behind the Slayer and the others, Xander exploded again. "You bastard!" he started to look nervously around, checking that there wasn't any sharp wooden objects in the office. "This isn't just your home you know! It's Cordy's, mine, this place belongs to us all! Hell, for the last year this has been the first place that Faith has ever called home! You're her goddamn mentor!" Xander slammed his fist onto the desk, "the one who she looks to for guidance about redemption, but no you had to decide to throw us aside for a petty feud."
"Petty-."
The young man's rage overrode his attempt at a reply. "The way I see it you've got two choices. One, you leave," Angel's eyes widened, Xander was going to throw him out? "Or you let us help you."
"It's too dangerous -."
Xander raised an eyebrow. "Too dangerous? Too dangerous for two demon- hunters, two master vampires, a former Watcher, a seer, and a Slayer?" the youth's face softened. "Let us help you for god's sake Angel. We're friends, that's what friends do, just ask."
"Fine," Angel took an unneeded breath. "What do you have in mind?"
* * *
Angel looked around the gaudy bar in disbelief. The place looked liked the place had been decorated by a member of the Village People on acid. "This was your bright idea?" he muttered in disbelief, "take me out and get me drunk in a bar owned by the Bee Gees?"
"I do so hope he's not going to start sing 'Staying Alive'."
Angel loftily decided to ignore Wesley's muttered comment. He turned towards Xander. "Care to explain?"
"Two weeks ago, me and Faith chased a Walki into here," Xander's explanation was interrupted by a green-skinned, horned demon wearing a red designer suit so bright Angel thought his eyes were going to bleed.
"It's Spitfire and Melody! And who are your friends?"
"He's Melody, I'm Spitfire," Faith explained as Xander started to talk to the demon, "and he's Lorne."
Angel nodded, he'd already figured that, he'd had the misfortune to hear Faith singing in the bath and nobody would describe that screech or the lyrics she sang as melodious. "So," he sighed, he was sure he wasn't going to like the answer. "Why are we here?" The vampire bit back a groan, judging from the malicious gleam in the Slayer's eyes he was right.
* * *
"You want me to sing!"
"Never thought I'd see a Master Vampire have a temper tantrum," Xander muttered.
"Bet you ten bucks he cries," Spike muttered back, an evil grin the twin to Xander's on his face.
Faith chuckled. "Don't know why you're smirking Billy, he's your grand- sire, it's your family he's showing up with this behaviour."
"Piss off Slayer."
After a few seconds of moaning, the vampire climbed onto stage, his head bowed as if heading towards after a guillotine. And after a few seconds the vampire's rapidly becoming former friends knew why. "Bloody hell," Wes muttered, "it's not only people he's murdered."
"I thought 'Mandy' was bad when Beaky sang it," Faith replied, her eyes widening. "Forget vamps, mages, demons, G in the buff," conscious that everybody had turned to her, the Slayer shrugged, "hey he should have locked the door, now there's a sight to scar an impressionable mind. But," Faith pointed at the stage, "this is really scary." After what seemed a lifetime the song ended Angel climbed off the stage, his glare forcing scattered applause from the demons nearest the stage. Finally Xander found his voice. "That was really," for once words failed him.
"Shit," Faith finished for him.
"Exactly."
"So what advice have you got for me?" Angel asked the green-skinned demon.
"Aside from don't give up the career as a champion to become a club singer?"
"Couldn't cope with the competition eh?"
"Dear god," Wesley groaned. "Do tell me he's joking."
"If not I'm moving to another state," Gunn replied with a mutter.
"Screw that I don't care if he's got a soul, I'm killing him," Faith whispered. "Call it a mercy staking."
Suddenly Lorne's face turned deadly serious. "Dru and Darla are in Warehouse 17 on Luther King docks, they've got between 15 and 20 vampires with them."
"Doable." Xander nodded in satisfaction before turning to the bleached blond vampire. "Your turn next Spike."
"Why the bloody hell do I have to sing? We know where they are now."
"Because we're going after Dru," Xander replied, all previous humour vanishing from his voice, leaving it cold and emotionless.
After a second the vampire nodded, stood, and walked to the stage. Spike flipped before the karaoke book before pointing out of a song, a minute or so later the vampire began singing 'Mony Mony'. "Bloody hell," Wesley said, his cultured voice filled with awe. "He's really rather good."
"Well he's better than Deadboy that's for sure."
"Cordelia!" Angel protested.
"Oh shut up Angel, you hired me for my honesty," the former cheerleader snapped before turning to the green-skinned demon. "Well?"
"Well, with that voice don't ever sing," the demon turned a strange shade of polluted seaweed at the cheerleader's glare. "He can be trusted and you really want him to come with you."
"So are we off now?" Angel said.
"Hey Fang don't you want to sing again?"
Angel let out a long-suffering sigh. "Faith shut up." The vampire shook his head. "Xander, Faith, and Cordelia, surely I wasn't that evil."
"But at least you got me and Wes," Gunn pointed out.
"Oh lucky me."
* * *
"What's the plan Xander?" Angel muttered.
Xander stared at the shadowy form of the warehouse from the faraway end of the narrow street that snaked its way up to its front doors. The building, veiled behind a thick swirling curtain of falling rain, was only a vaguely- shaped silhouette. And yet its brooding bulk still managed to inspire a feeling of unease in him, as if it was a living beast, watching him and his companions, and waiting to pounce. After a second he shook his head, breaking the gloomy spell the ponderous building held over him. "Faith and I will go through the front doors," Xander looked through his binoculars, "and you and Billy Boy will come through the skylight. Wes, Gunn, and Cordy will block the mouth of the street and kill any vamps that escape the camp."
"That's it?" Faith muttered in disbelief. "That's your great plan?"
"Nobody said I was Patton," Xander shrugged. "Look we don't have time to plan anything intricate, and if we did Dru would only sense it anyway."
"He's right Slayer," Spike muttered, "how long to get to the skylight Peaches?"
"Five, maybe seven, minutes," Angel replied, "have to take care of those two guards first though. You come through the front in ten minutes Xander. As soon as we hear you we'll follow okay?"
"Let's go."
Xander started to move only to be stopped by his girl-friend grabbing him around the waist and pulling him into a hug. "Don't you dare get hurt you asshole," the brunette whispered into his ear, her voice trembling.
Xander winked at his girlfriend, he knew how frightened she got, not about herself but losing him. "We'll be fine baby," he kissed the slayer on her forehead before grinning, "it's my plan after all."
Faith giggled. "Why do you think I'm worried?"
Spike let out a groan. "Bloody hell you two pillocks are so sugary it's making me diabetic."
Faith glared at the bleached vampire. "Shut it."
* * *
"You ready," Xander swallowed at the Slayer's whispered question before nodding. The brunette winked at him. "Love you," turning she sent a heel smashing kick into the double doors sending them crashing open. Her trademark smirk in place Faith sauntered into the suddenly hushed warehouse. "Hi everybody, who wants to hop on the Faith Express? Stakings a speciality."
"Don't say that dear," Xander murmured as he eyed the vampires charging towards them, "makes you sound cheap."
Whatever smart reply Faith would have come up with was lost when the skylight suddenly exploded, sending glass flying as Angel and Spike dropped in through the window. Distracted by the sudden intrusion, the vampires advancing towards him and his girl-friend stopped in confusion. Taking advantage of the vampires' hesitation, Xander bounded and swung his axe through the neck of the nearest vamp.
Blood burst from the vampire's neck a split-second before it turned to dust, showering him like a crimson rain. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another vampire coming towards him, twisting round he managed to send his axe slicing through the vampire's sword arm, cutting off its arm at the elbow. The vampire glanced down at his arm in amazement. Before the blood- sucker could regain his equilibrium, Xander reversed his swing, sending the vampire's flying off his shoulder.
Seeing a third vampire coming at him, Xander snapped out a heel kick, shattering the vampire's knee and sending him stumbling to the floor. Before his adversary had chance to recover, Xander's axe came down taking the vampire's head off. "Damn I'm on fire tonight!" he crowed.
"Oh no kitten," Xander's blood chilled at Drusilla's insane babblings in his ear, "don't be on fire, fire would burn that lovely skin."
"Shit!" Xander spun round to face the vampire only to be caught by a haymaker to the jaw that caused his vision to blur and his legs to almost buckle. He swung his axe up, aiming to repeat his earlier success but as he moved Drusilla easily intercepted the blow, hitting his arm hard enough to send the axe clattering to the floor. Before he had time to re-group Dru had her hands wrapped around his throat, lifting his body off the floor. Xander struck at her wrists, trying to break free by hitting her nerve-clusters but it was like punching stone.
"Such pretty eyes," the insane vampire cooed. Then she kissed him full on the lips, her ice-cold tongue slipping into his mouth. Xander struggled but couldn't budge an inch, the insane vampire's grip inescapable. When she was done she tossed him to the ground like a rag doll. Winded, he could only watch helplessly as she advanced on him. "You're going to be a special childe," she simpered, "take Spikey's place in mummy's heart you are."
"Not sodding likely." A look of alarm spreading across her face, Drusilla started to turn only to explode to dust when Spike shoved a stake in her heart. "Bloody women, let that be a lesson to you boy. They're all bloody flighty."
"Thanks Spike, I'll bear that in mind," he rubbed gingerly at his chin where Drusilla had slugged him. "Going to give me a hand up?"
"Can't take you anywhere whelp," Spike pulled him to his feet. "You know," the bleached vampire looked down at the dustpile at his feet, "with all her psychic powers you'd have thought she'd have seen that coming." The vampire shook his head. "Anyway night's still young," Spike cast an almost hungry gaze at the carnage surrounding them, "violence still to be had."
* * *
Xander looked at the two brooding master vampires and sighed, both had had to kill their sires and their actions were hitting them hard. "So," he forced a cheery note into his voice, "we've won. How about celebration?"
"What do you suggest?" Wesley asked.
"Oh I was thinking we could back down to Lorne's place," Xander paused, a slight smile tugging at his lips, "Angel could tort-, entertain us with a singing of 'That's All Right Mama'." The two vampires glared at him, he smiled and shrugged. "Just a thought."