Chapter Ten ~ Dhampire
"William!"
The shout snapped Drusilla's concentration and she turned to see a young red headed boy running towards them. She had just been forcing the near unconscious teenager she held in her arms to drink her blood and this was not the time to be interrupted. Allowing her prize slump to the ground and sprang into attack/defend position. The boy didn't smell right.
When she lunged at him, he quickly dodged to the side and then he started to grow chestnut colored fur that spread allover his body. He went down onto all fours and grew a tail and fangs, long with the other parts of a canine. The kid was a werewolf.
"Bad doggy" she hissed at him as the red werewolf snarled at her.
Then he lunged at her. Using her super speed, Drusilla sidestepped the assault and went for him again. A scratch here and a scratch there, was all they could inflict on each other.
"The bad little doggy needs to be put down because nobody tries to steal my little kitty!"
He lunged again, forcing the vampiress to back up. But when Drusilla backed up, she felt a blinding pain in her just below her left shoulder blade. She only managed to turn her head to the side to she William on one knee baring a rod of 'pure sunlight' in both hands, before she exploded into a cloud of swirling black dust. While she had her back turn to him, he had forced the shaft of energy through her back and strait into her heart.
William collapsed painfully to the ground on his side, the light rod diminishing and evaporating as if it had never even been there. He watched through blurry eyes as Darcy reverted back into a human in torn and tattered clothing.
"William you alive!" Darcy cried, dropping down beside his injured friend.
"It kind looks that way doesn't it" William replied weakly.
"But you should be dead!"
"Oh gee, thanks Darcy "
"I don't mean it like that" Darcy snipped. "I only thought that the bloodsucker had really done you in. like she was forcing you to drink her blood and everything!"
"Blame it on the last of my nine lives mate"
William groaned and passed out. Darcy started yelling like crazy for his dad, whom he knew, would hear his call. Oz and the others came running out of the building to find the two boys on the ground, Darcy crouched William's limp body.
"What happened" Oz demanded in shock.
"Williamwasattackedbyavampire,ItransformedandfoughtheroffandWilliamstakedher withsunlight.Butifwedon'tgethimmedicalattention,hemightdie!" Darcy was so near tears that he was to blabbering incoherently.
"Calm down son, say that again but slowly this time"
"William was attacked by a vampire, I transformed and fought her off and William staked her with sunlight. But if we don't get him medical attention, he might die!"
"Don't worry, we'll get him some help" Oz tried to reassure his hysterical boy.
He reached down and picked William up, and he could hear that the boy's heartbeat was abnormally slow and would die if they did not get him help soon. Devon and Kyle help to drag Darcy to his feet and to get the boy to walk. With that, Oz led the way.
"We have to get him to Wolfram & Hart pronto guys!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The office was unnaturally quite, even though it was Angel's. Its occupants sat in silent waiting for the doctor to arrive with word on William's condition.
Fred had been sitting motionless in the same position for four hours strait and Wesley also sat diligently by her side. Angel had been pacing back and forth during that time and it was amazing to see that the carpet wasn't about to burst into fame. Gunn had taken up to watching Angel pace as he did not seem to have the energy himself and Lorne couldn't manage to keep a tune while he hummed, which didn't seem to help any of them out at all. When the doctor finally arrived, Fred launched herself at him, demanding to news on William, which was very uncommon for the timid genus. Wesley had to gently peel her off of him to allow him to speak.
"He'll survive"
"Oh thank god!" Fred sobbed, hugging onto Lorne who was closest to reach.
"But there will be a few complications - " the doctor continued.
"What kind of complications?" Angel probed.
"Well now that's a conflict of interest case. Loss of natural skin tone, increased strength, need of hemoglobin for survival and to coincide with a with a demon counterpart"
"So you're telling us that our kids' turned into a vamp?" Gunn demanded.
"Basically. He will be immune to the harmful rays of the sun, because of his mage gift he retained his soul and he also has a heartbeat"
"What, but vampire's don't have heartbeats!"
"And they also burn to crisps in sunlight, but he doesn't. They don't have heartbeats, but he does. That's just it, that boy is the first ever- recorded 'living vampire'! From the ancient texts it said they were called 'Dhampires' the children of human and vampire, but they never truly existed. There are the advantages and disadvantages of being a human/vampire hybrid. He will still age, but at an extremely slower rate then humans; an estimated year for every hundred and the inner conflict of a soul and a demon confined in the same body, will cause a little more then a few 'minor' mood-swings" the doctor concluded.
"But he'll still be William, right doc?" Lorne asked hopefully.
"He will be different at times when the demon manages to momentarily gain control of his body. That's really all I can tell you. Two of you can go and see him now, if you want. He's has been sedated - It seems Wolfram & Hart still had some magic tranquilizers that have the same affect on mages as elephant darts do for elephants"
~*~
Lorne and Fred then become the ones that got see William because Wesley, Gunn and Angel were needed immediately elsewhere. Upon entering the white sterile medical room, they were greeted by an overwhelming feeling of hostility. They saw the torn sheets and shredded mattress propped against the wall along with the metal bed frames that seem to serve the purpose of a makeshift shelter. In the corner beside it was William. Red gauze covered his neck and bruises covered his arms and face that he received from fighting the medical staff. His head lolled to one side and a look of disorientation was written across the haggard young features.
"He tells me I should kill you" the boy slurred. "He tried to kill the doctor, but I stopped him. Told him this was my body and not his"
"Who's he?" Fred asked.
"My demon. The great and mighty Malice says he's better then Angel's demon Mace. Well they are twins you know, Malice and Mace. I guess that makes Angel and me even more related"
"What do you mean even 'more'" Lorne gapped.
"Well my nightmares finally got me. The Dark One came, Drusilla, Angelus's childe. I even killed her myself too. Oh and wouldn't that would make Angel my grandsire now?"
"Umm - yes it would"
It wasn't the topic that any of them wanted to dwell on. Lorne could feel the teen's negative energy building and knew that if they were not careful, that the demon, Malice, would take control. So he took Fred by the arm and lead her out of the room where the came across Angel. Without a word to vampire, Lorne forced him into the room with the boy and snapped the door shut behind him. This was something best left to two fast healing vampires.
Angel stood there in the room with William. He felt ill at ease with the teen for some reason and he knew it wasn't the demon qualities that the boy possessed. William turned his head to stare at Angel, and the vampire couldn't tell what the boy's expression meant.
"I want answers, now" William stated bluntly crossing his arms.
"What kind of answers?" Angel asked.
"The kind that have been kept from me for far too long. I want to know the truth about how I got here"
"I can't answer those"
William started to get angry now and growled a warning at Angel.
"What's there to protect now Deadboy?"
Angel winced at Xander Harris's former nickname for him back in Sunnydale. William had only spent a day with Darcy Osbourne, but it was enough to change the youth's list of obscure names.
"Everything" Angel replied.
"Everything! There is nothing!" William shouted, his temper boiling over.
And then it happened. William vamped out. The change of appearance was lesser then that of a normal vampire. His icy blue eyes turned golden, the brows thickened and his fangs grew longer. It looked almost scary on his cat like face, but then the feline features melted away to leave a younger looking Spike in his place. William as he was naturally.
"Malice has given me the ability to shape shift to my natural form for an hour at most if I want. He tells me that you keep things from me. I don't rightly know whether to believe him or not, but I have always asked and you have always refused. You are so like the Mace that Malice tells me about. Now tell me!" he snarled.
"No"
Before Angel could blink, William used his newborn super speed and strength to pin him to the wall.
"I wont take no for my answer. It's my life!"
Angel gently pried William's hands off of him and sighed with submission.
"Fine, go see Fitzgibbons in Restoration. I'll never be able to explain this anything to you the way you would want it far too deep. What he can do for you is far more then I could ever say"
William looked at him critically and when he was certain that the vampire wasn't playing with his head, he turned his back to him and without a word, headed for the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~ Meanwhile with Angel ~
"What you mean you actually let him do that?" Wesley gasped.
"But why? We all agreed to keep the kid from finding out" Gunn added.
Angel stood with his four friends after telling them what had happened with William and his final choice to let the teen have his memories back, regardless of the pain the would cause.
"But my little boy - " Fred started to say.
"That's just it, he's not your little boy any more Fred. He's grown up and he can make his own choices. The only reason I caved was because he would have found out anyway. Whether it came from the sleaziest scum here at Wolfram & Hart or from the outside world, like one of the Scoobies. Now one of them would have been a top priority as William has become friends with Buffy's son"
"But then William will become Spike again" Loren said.
"Actually, I don't think so" Wesley interrupted. "He will remember being Spike, but he won't be Spike. He will one become Spike again if he really wants to, and for some reason I think the good will overpower the memories of the bad - plus he still does have his soul. So I don't think his teenage mind will totally be able to control the centuries worth of adult he has. I'll all be memories, bad ones, but just memories"
"Yes" Angel nodded. "But when he remembers - he'll hate me"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~ Meanwhile with William ~
William sat with an intense feeling of overwhelming dread. He had done what Angel had said; he had gone to Fitzgibbons and was gone to get his answers. But why now was he feeling like he shouldn't tip the hand of God? Why now did doing this feel so wrong? Angel, Winnie, Wesley, Lorne and Gunn must have had some major reason as not to tell him.
The metallic buzz of the machine worming up was begging to get on his nerves. It made him feel as though if he went through with this, then things would only get worse from here on out. Shifting in his seat, William turned his head and tried to shout over all the noise.
"Hey Fitz! I don't really think I want to do this anymore!"
But the noise was too loud and his cry fell on deaf ears. So he tried again.
"Hey, I don't really - "
It felt like his voice had been ripped from him. A sharp pain pierced him at the base of his skull, causing him to grimace in pain. Images began to form. People dressed in 1800's style clothing, then into 1900's style and progressed to the, 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's. It finished with the 2000's. Then people came into focus. Mother and father, Agatha the maid, Cecily, Drusilla, Angelus and Darla, Slayers #1 & #2, Angel, Slayer #3 ~ Buffy and the Scoobies, Dawn, Harmony, Captain Cardboard, Tara, Glory, Faith, Wood, the Potentials, the First, Wolfram & Hart, Fred, Wesley, Lorne and Gunn. So many things rolled in one.
These were memories he was seeing, someone's memories. The last of it came as the finally excruciating blow. William the Blood Awful Poet, Spike the Slayer of Slayers and ending with him, William, just William. He knew the truth now that had kept from him and he knew exactly why his family had kept it from him. He got to re-experience evil and torment and betrayal and soulful remorse in two minutes flat. It was just all too much from him to handle at once. He 'was' Spike!
William felt the world spinning around him; darkness was beginning to choke off his vision. He tried to stand, but fell to a heap on the floor. Angel - Angel had hated him, Angel still hated him. Then everything went black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well how was that? Sort I know compared to the last chapter, but I hope that doesn't last. Next chap to come as soon as possible and thanks to Snowbird for asking the question to wither or not William would be permanently cat boy. Please review. Later*
"William!"
The shout snapped Drusilla's concentration and she turned to see a young red headed boy running towards them. She had just been forcing the near unconscious teenager she held in her arms to drink her blood and this was not the time to be interrupted. Allowing her prize slump to the ground and sprang into attack/defend position. The boy didn't smell right.
When she lunged at him, he quickly dodged to the side and then he started to grow chestnut colored fur that spread allover his body. He went down onto all fours and grew a tail and fangs, long with the other parts of a canine. The kid was a werewolf.
"Bad doggy" she hissed at him as the red werewolf snarled at her.
Then he lunged at her. Using her super speed, Drusilla sidestepped the assault and went for him again. A scratch here and a scratch there, was all they could inflict on each other.
"The bad little doggy needs to be put down because nobody tries to steal my little kitty!"
He lunged again, forcing the vampiress to back up. But when Drusilla backed up, she felt a blinding pain in her just below her left shoulder blade. She only managed to turn her head to the side to she William on one knee baring a rod of 'pure sunlight' in both hands, before she exploded into a cloud of swirling black dust. While she had her back turn to him, he had forced the shaft of energy through her back and strait into her heart.
William collapsed painfully to the ground on his side, the light rod diminishing and evaporating as if it had never even been there. He watched through blurry eyes as Darcy reverted back into a human in torn and tattered clothing.
"William you alive!" Darcy cried, dropping down beside his injured friend.
"It kind looks that way doesn't it" William replied weakly.
"But you should be dead!"
"Oh gee, thanks Darcy "
"I don't mean it like that" Darcy snipped. "I only thought that the bloodsucker had really done you in. like she was forcing you to drink her blood and everything!"
"Blame it on the last of my nine lives mate"
William groaned and passed out. Darcy started yelling like crazy for his dad, whom he knew, would hear his call. Oz and the others came running out of the building to find the two boys on the ground, Darcy crouched William's limp body.
"What happened" Oz demanded in shock.
"Williamwasattackedbyavampire,ItransformedandfoughtheroffandWilliamstakedher withsunlight.Butifwedon'tgethimmedicalattention,hemightdie!" Darcy was so near tears that he was to blabbering incoherently.
"Calm down son, say that again but slowly this time"
"William was attacked by a vampire, I transformed and fought her off and William staked her with sunlight. But if we don't get him medical attention, he might die!"
"Don't worry, we'll get him some help" Oz tried to reassure his hysterical boy.
He reached down and picked William up, and he could hear that the boy's heartbeat was abnormally slow and would die if they did not get him help soon. Devon and Kyle help to drag Darcy to his feet and to get the boy to walk. With that, Oz led the way.
"We have to get him to Wolfram & Hart pronto guys!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The office was unnaturally quite, even though it was Angel's. Its occupants sat in silent waiting for the doctor to arrive with word on William's condition.
Fred had been sitting motionless in the same position for four hours strait and Wesley also sat diligently by her side. Angel had been pacing back and forth during that time and it was amazing to see that the carpet wasn't about to burst into fame. Gunn had taken up to watching Angel pace as he did not seem to have the energy himself and Lorne couldn't manage to keep a tune while he hummed, which didn't seem to help any of them out at all. When the doctor finally arrived, Fred launched herself at him, demanding to news on William, which was very uncommon for the timid genus. Wesley had to gently peel her off of him to allow him to speak.
"He'll survive"
"Oh thank god!" Fred sobbed, hugging onto Lorne who was closest to reach.
"But there will be a few complications - " the doctor continued.
"What kind of complications?" Angel probed.
"Well now that's a conflict of interest case. Loss of natural skin tone, increased strength, need of hemoglobin for survival and to coincide with a with a demon counterpart"
"So you're telling us that our kids' turned into a vamp?" Gunn demanded.
"Basically. He will be immune to the harmful rays of the sun, because of his mage gift he retained his soul and he also has a heartbeat"
"What, but vampire's don't have heartbeats!"
"And they also burn to crisps in sunlight, but he doesn't. They don't have heartbeats, but he does. That's just it, that boy is the first ever- recorded 'living vampire'! From the ancient texts it said they were called 'Dhampires' the children of human and vampire, but they never truly existed. There are the advantages and disadvantages of being a human/vampire hybrid. He will still age, but at an extremely slower rate then humans; an estimated year for every hundred and the inner conflict of a soul and a demon confined in the same body, will cause a little more then a few 'minor' mood-swings" the doctor concluded.
"But he'll still be William, right doc?" Lorne asked hopefully.
"He will be different at times when the demon manages to momentarily gain control of his body. That's really all I can tell you. Two of you can go and see him now, if you want. He's has been sedated - It seems Wolfram & Hart still had some magic tranquilizers that have the same affect on mages as elephant darts do for elephants"
~*~
Lorne and Fred then become the ones that got see William because Wesley, Gunn and Angel were needed immediately elsewhere. Upon entering the white sterile medical room, they were greeted by an overwhelming feeling of hostility. They saw the torn sheets and shredded mattress propped against the wall along with the metal bed frames that seem to serve the purpose of a makeshift shelter. In the corner beside it was William. Red gauze covered his neck and bruises covered his arms and face that he received from fighting the medical staff. His head lolled to one side and a look of disorientation was written across the haggard young features.
"He tells me I should kill you" the boy slurred. "He tried to kill the doctor, but I stopped him. Told him this was my body and not his"
"Who's he?" Fred asked.
"My demon. The great and mighty Malice says he's better then Angel's demon Mace. Well they are twins you know, Malice and Mace. I guess that makes Angel and me even more related"
"What do you mean even 'more'" Lorne gapped.
"Well my nightmares finally got me. The Dark One came, Drusilla, Angelus's childe. I even killed her myself too. Oh and wouldn't that would make Angel my grandsire now?"
"Umm - yes it would"
It wasn't the topic that any of them wanted to dwell on. Lorne could feel the teen's negative energy building and knew that if they were not careful, that the demon, Malice, would take control. So he took Fred by the arm and lead her out of the room where the came across Angel. Without a word to vampire, Lorne forced him into the room with the boy and snapped the door shut behind him. This was something best left to two fast healing vampires.
Angel stood there in the room with William. He felt ill at ease with the teen for some reason and he knew it wasn't the demon qualities that the boy possessed. William turned his head to stare at Angel, and the vampire couldn't tell what the boy's expression meant.
"I want answers, now" William stated bluntly crossing his arms.
"What kind of answers?" Angel asked.
"The kind that have been kept from me for far too long. I want to know the truth about how I got here"
"I can't answer those"
William started to get angry now and growled a warning at Angel.
"What's there to protect now Deadboy?"
Angel winced at Xander Harris's former nickname for him back in Sunnydale. William had only spent a day with Darcy Osbourne, but it was enough to change the youth's list of obscure names.
"Everything" Angel replied.
"Everything! There is nothing!" William shouted, his temper boiling over.
And then it happened. William vamped out. The change of appearance was lesser then that of a normal vampire. His icy blue eyes turned golden, the brows thickened and his fangs grew longer. It looked almost scary on his cat like face, but then the feline features melted away to leave a younger looking Spike in his place. William as he was naturally.
"Malice has given me the ability to shape shift to my natural form for an hour at most if I want. He tells me that you keep things from me. I don't rightly know whether to believe him or not, but I have always asked and you have always refused. You are so like the Mace that Malice tells me about. Now tell me!" he snarled.
"No"
Before Angel could blink, William used his newborn super speed and strength to pin him to the wall.
"I wont take no for my answer. It's my life!"
Angel gently pried William's hands off of him and sighed with submission.
"Fine, go see Fitzgibbons in Restoration. I'll never be able to explain this anything to you the way you would want it far too deep. What he can do for you is far more then I could ever say"
William looked at him critically and when he was certain that the vampire wasn't playing with his head, he turned his back to him and without a word, headed for the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~ Meanwhile with Angel ~
"What you mean you actually let him do that?" Wesley gasped.
"But why? We all agreed to keep the kid from finding out" Gunn added.
Angel stood with his four friends after telling them what had happened with William and his final choice to let the teen have his memories back, regardless of the pain the would cause.
"But my little boy - " Fred started to say.
"That's just it, he's not your little boy any more Fred. He's grown up and he can make his own choices. The only reason I caved was because he would have found out anyway. Whether it came from the sleaziest scum here at Wolfram & Hart or from the outside world, like one of the Scoobies. Now one of them would have been a top priority as William has become friends with Buffy's son"
"But then William will become Spike again" Loren said.
"Actually, I don't think so" Wesley interrupted. "He will remember being Spike, but he won't be Spike. He will one become Spike again if he really wants to, and for some reason I think the good will overpower the memories of the bad - plus he still does have his soul. So I don't think his teenage mind will totally be able to control the centuries worth of adult he has. I'll all be memories, bad ones, but just memories"
"Yes" Angel nodded. "But when he remembers - he'll hate me"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~ Meanwhile with William ~
William sat with an intense feeling of overwhelming dread. He had done what Angel had said; he had gone to Fitzgibbons and was gone to get his answers. But why now was he feeling like he shouldn't tip the hand of God? Why now did doing this feel so wrong? Angel, Winnie, Wesley, Lorne and Gunn must have had some major reason as not to tell him.
The metallic buzz of the machine worming up was begging to get on his nerves. It made him feel as though if he went through with this, then things would only get worse from here on out. Shifting in his seat, William turned his head and tried to shout over all the noise.
"Hey Fitz! I don't really think I want to do this anymore!"
But the noise was too loud and his cry fell on deaf ears. So he tried again.
"Hey, I don't really - "
It felt like his voice had been ripped from him. A sharp pain pierced him at the base of his skull, causing him to grimace in pain. Images began to form. People dressed in 1800's style clothing, then into 1900's style and progressed to the, 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's. It finished with the 2000's. Then people came into focus. Mother and father, Agatha the maid, Cecily, Drusilla, Angelus and Darla, Slayers #1 & #2, Angel, Slayer #3 ~ Buffy and the Scoobies, Dawn, Harmony, Captain Cardboard, Tara, Glory, Faith, Wood, the Potentials, the First, Wolfram & Hart, Fred, Wesley, Lorne and Gunn. So many things rolled in one.
These were memories he was seeing, someone's memories. The last of it came as the finally excruciating blow. William the Blood Awful Poet, Spike the Slayer of Slayers and ending with him, William, just William. He knew the truth now that had kept from him and he knew exactly why his family had kept it from him. He got to re-experience evil and torment and betrayal and soulful remorse in two minutes flat. It was just all too much from him to handle at once. He 'was' Spike!
William felt the world spinning around him; darkness was beginning to choke off his vision. He tried to stand, but fell to a heap on the floor. Angel - Angel had hated him, Angel still hated him. Then everything went black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well how was that? Sort I know compared to the last chapter, but I hope that doesn't last. Next chap to come as soon as possible and thanks to Snowbird for asking the question to wither or not William would be permanently cat boy. Please review. Later*