A/N: You guys have been really cool with the reviewing and all. I so owe all of you major hugs. Now sit back and relax with this chapter. Enjoy!
CHAPTER 11
Over the next two months things remained in a usual state of order. The vampires would hide from the sun's deadly rays during the day and feast upon those foolish enough to be out late at night.
On one particular late Friday evening the foursome was out on their usual patrol for human related snacks. Angelus walked ahead of all of them, which looked more like marching, as he was clearly angry. Darla was in the far back, her arms folded, equally upset. Dru and Spike walked in the middle of them, Spike with his arm around her.
"Am I the only one who feels like the meat in a pissed off sandwich?" Spike whispered to his girlfriend.
"I wonder what could possibly be bothering them tonight," Dru whispered back.
"Intervene, anyone?"
"Mine as well." Dru glanced back at Darla then forward at Angelus. "So… how is everyone's evening going?"
"Drusilla," Darla said, using the vampire girl's "new" name for herself. "If you're going to intervene, you could at least be creative about it."
"Super hearing," Spike said to Dru.
"I knew that. I just forgot it for a moment," Dru said.
"If Angelus has something to say to me he knows he can," Darla said.
"I have nothing to say to you," Angelus muttered.
Darla laughed lightly in spite. "Typical, Angelus. Can walk around, broad shouldered, yet, never a real man."
Angelus immediately turned around and glowered at her. "I think it's time for you to shut up."
"How about you try and silence me?" Darla challenged.
"Shh," Dru hushed gently then touched the temples of her head.
"Pet, are you having a vision?" Spike asked her.
"Shh," Dru said again. "I can see them. They're ripe and delicious." She removed her fingertips from her head and approached Angelus. "Come on, dear sire. Let's get some food in you."
Angelus allowed Dru to guide him down the block, leaving Darla and Spike behind.
"Uh, yeah," Spike said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head with a finger. "Darla, why don't we—?"
"Just come on, peroxide boy," Darla interrupted, beginning to walk.
Spike just went after her.
"What is the trouble between you and Darla?" Dru asked Angelus.
"The precious master has sent for her," Angelus replied, his voice even with anger.
Dru thought for a moment. "Master Aurelius."
"Yes, the supposed master, whom none of us has ever seen. Now Darla must go to him."
"Do not let it worry you so, Angelus," Dru said, her dark hair flying lightly with the breeze of the night air. "Darla will be back. It's the way love works."
Angelus scoffed, "Love. Fool's game, Drusilla. Love is to keep. One thing I've learned is that in this world, no one and nothing is yours. You just take."
"To take is to keep. And love is kept." Angelus glanced at the girl. She had her poetic ways, more than likely getting it from her boyfriend.
Suddenly Angelus stopped in his tracks, causing Dru to stop as well.
"What is it?" Dru asked.
"Fresh," he replied, Dru automatically knowing he meant blood.
As the two of them started to walk forward a figure leapt down in front of them. Darla.
"Smell what I smell?" the blonde vampire asked.
"Spike," Dru recognized as he, too, leapt down.
"Hey." He put an arm around Dru. "Let's have drinks."
"Why don't we call up the master?" Angelus turned to Darla, giving her a look. "Assuming he exits, he can join us."
Darla had to laugh in her usual sarcastic way. "Practicing your sense of humor, Angelus?" She pressed her pointer finger against his forehead and worked it down the front of his handsome face. "I almost love it. Now… do I get a goodbye, sweet boy?"
Angelus stared at her for a moment, nothing but anger on his face. Then he started to walk again, going right pass her. Darla looked back at him, a simple smirk on her face. She folded her arms and walked off in the opposite direction.
Dru and Spike exchanged a look before going after Angelus. "Angelus, sire, please," Dru called after him.
"Be quiet," Angelus ordered softly. He glanced back at them.
Dru started to say something else but Spike squeezed her arm. "Now might not be the best time to console, pet."
Dru sighed, giving up.
Angelus, hearing something, led them into a deserted warehouse. The first thing they spotted, under the dim light of the moon, was a tiny figure. A child. A little girl stood in the middle of the warehouse, bouncing a large rubber ball up and down. She wore a flowery dress and had long, brown pigtails.
"Oh, how sweet," Dru commented.
"Hardly enough for a meal," said Spike.
"Now, now, don't be picky, William," Angelus said to him. "The younger, the better."
The three of them approached the child. Dru stood apart from the two males and knelt down before the child. "Hello, dear," she smiled. "All alone, are we?"
"You're pretty," the child returned Dru's smile.
Dru stroked her face gently. "Thank you, sweet."
"What's a little girl doing in a place like this at this time of night?" Angelus asked casually.
"Playing," she replied, as she continued to bounce the ball. "Do you like to play?"
"Oh, yes, luv. We play all the time," Spike chimed in. "Extreme torture, drain your of your red blood cells until you're weak and frozen, all the fun games."
"You're funny," the child giggled.
"Funny and hungry," Dru said. "Haven't eaten in a while. You look especially plump and delicious, luv."
"You want to eat me?" the girl asked, all the innocence in the world in her voice.
"Smart child," Angelus smirked sinisterly.
The girl shook her head. "No-no. I wouldn't do that."
"Well, you know, we would." Dru dissolved her face into that of a vampire's. She leaned in towards the girl's neck and immediately bit into her.
The girl suddenly began to laugh wildly and Dru pulled back in shock. "That tickles," the girl continued to laugh as blood from the two holes in her neck dripped down, covering parts of her dress.
All of a sudden the girl began to grow and deform right before the vampires' eyes. The child went from being a girl to being a full-grown man. He had dark eyes and long, black hair, which was tied back.
"Well, that was a nice trick," Spike said. "Let us show you one." He leaned in towards the man's neck for the bite.
The man pressed his hands against Spike's chest and a burst of energy traveled through his hands, sending Spike to the floor, hard.
"None of that," the man said.
Angelus stared closely at the man. "Who or what…?"
"Little of both, Angelus," the man said. "I've been watching you three, closer than you could ever realize."
"Dru," Angelus signaled.
Dru got the hint and stood up, trying to get some type of feeling from the man. Suddenly she grabbed her head in pain. "Oh, God!" She fell to her knees, unable to hand how badly her head ached.
"Dru," Spike approached her, pulling her close to him. "What did you do to her?" he growled at the man.
"She shouldn't spy into others' heads," the man replied simply. "Now, I believe I was talking."
"What do you want from us?" Angelus demanded.
"Your lives," he replied. "Sadly, though, I don't have the power to take those. But let me show you what I can do."
With a flash, the warehouse completely disappeared and the vampires found themselves surrounded by magnificent swirls of colors, both dark and bright. The man still stood before them, the same as he had in the warehouse.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked them.
"What is this?" Angelus wanted to know.
"Looks like a dream I had during my last hangover," Spike said.
"I can't get a feeling," Dru said, her voice weak. "I can't understand."
"This is the world where destiny is molded; changed. And we are here for me to change yours," the man told them.
"Some type of witch craft," Angelus dismissed. "Nothing but a trick of the light."
"You will soon be a believe, vampire." The man's dark eyes examined the three of them. "So will you all."
Unexpectedly, the three former humans found themselves surrounded by burning bright light, not the magnificent colors. The light only continued to burn, harsher than the sun's radiance, taking hold of the vampires. The light locked them in its hold. None of them would ever escape it.
A/N: Sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger, but, hey, it makes life interesting. Please review!