Chapter 4: The City of Angels
It took all night for Spike to get where he was going, even if he did have to go over the speed limit sometimes. So far, he only met two police officers that pulled him over for running the speed limit, and both times, he had snuck away.
"I'm a vampire. Not a human," he reminded himself, as he felt guilty for sneaking away from the second police officer. "Vampires don't really need to follow rules set for humans."
Spike finally made it to Los Angeles, though. He only ate two bags of blood on his trip, and decided after eating his second bag, that he should give the third to Angel. "Maybe it will clear up all this bitterness between us," he said. "Besides, it's time for a new start. I have a soul and he has a soul. He should be kinder to me this time than the last time we met."
The sun was close to rising, so Spike decided that he should find out where Angel lived. And quickly.
He tried to remember from the last time he visited Angel. Of course, that was over two years ago, and he was trying to get back the Gem of Amarra then, so unless something tempted him to find out where Angel was, he was lost.
It was four minutes to dawn.
Spike, even though he had to get help from Angel, he was reluctant to face him again. Angel might kill him, or just torture him like he did with Angel that one time.
Three minutes.
Just ask for help, Spike thought as some sunlight began to creep up on him slowly. It wouldn't hurt.
Two minutes.
Unless you want to be burned to a crisp, ask for help. And now.
One minute. It was too late.
Sunlight hit Spike, causing him to shout. He stopped his motorcycle in front of a tall building. Spike didn't even bother to know the name, he just ran inside to get away from the sun.
"Whew," he sighed as he got away from the sunlight. "That was close." Spike looked around at the building he was in. It looked like a hotel, from the sight of a front counter, and the way the stairs were made. He walked down the three steps, and up to the front counter. "Hello!" He shouted. "Anybody home?"
"Who's there?" Somebody asked from the stairs. It sounded like a girl.
Spike turned around, and saw a woman come down the stairs. She had light brown hair, and glasses on.
"Who are you?" She asked as she took off her glasses. "What do you need?"
"Where's Angel? I need his help," Spike reluctantly asked.
"Angel's not in. Well, he's with someone. Talking to someone, actually. He's talking to an old friend of his. You can leave a message for him," the woman offered. "And I can give the message to him."
"Uh, I don't think so. I need to speak to him."
"Well, leave a—""In person," he added. "We're old friends. We go way back."
"Okay, I'll go get him. Just wait here, and don't touch anything," she commanded, and walked back up the stairs.
Spike sighed, and leaned on the counter. The counter was dusty, along with the phone that sat on top of it. The phone looked like it hasn't been used in years, actually. Spike walked to the couch, which was in the middle of the lobby, and sat down.
"How long does it take to get him?" Spike said out loud. True, a minute or two has passed by, but I really have to see him, Spike thought as he looked at the clock on the wall. He stood up impatiently. He couldn't wait anymore, he had to see Angel. Now.
He made his way to the stairs just when two voices floated down. "What's his name?" That sounded like Angel.
"I don't know. I forgot to ask him," the woman answered.
"Well, Fred, how am I supposed to know who he is if you didn't ask for his name?" Angel asked.
"I don't—" She stopped talking as she reached the balcony overhead, looking down at the lobby. "There he is," she pointed to Spike, who was looking around impatiently.
"That's Spike," Angel said harshly.
"You know him?" Fred asked curiously, looking at Angel.
"Yeah, it's a long story," he added as he made his way down the staircase.
Fred stared after Angel in disbelief. "Does that mean that he's a vampire too?" Fred asked Angel, but he was too far down the staircase to answer her.
"Spike," Angel greeted in his own way as he reached the lobby. "Nice to see you here."
"Hey, Angel. Glad to see you, too." Spike looked around at the lobby, not wanting to stare Angel in the eye. "Um…just so you won't torture me or anything, I have not come to harass you, nor have I killed Buffy." Spike sighed, not wanting to say the words. "I need your help."
"You…?" Angel started laughing. He managed to stop laughing in order to ask the question, "You need my help?" A small grin spread across his face.
Spike stared at Angel. "Yeah, I do."
"Where was the Spike that I used to know? That Spike used to do stuff without anyone's help," Angel teased.
"Things changed. I—I changed. I'm not the same. I'm not Spike the killer, I'm Spike the…the…well, I don't know who I am now, but I didn't come here to kill anyone. I gave up my killing ways a long time ago," Spike explained desperately. "I just need some help."
"Okay," Angel reluctantly gave in, "what do you need help on?"
"That's the problem. Ever since I got it back, I didn't know who I was anymore. All I want to know is if I'll loose it."
"Loose what?" Angel asked, trying to keep up with the ramblings of Spike.
"My soul," Spike said quietly, but with Angel's super sharp hearing, he heard it loud and clear.
"You got your soul back?"
Spike grinned. "Yeah, where have you been?"
"How…?" Angel asked, disbelieving of what he was hearing.
"Went through trials, tests, to get it back. Nearly died in the end, but I came out as the victor," Spike said painfully. "She made me get my soul back. Ever since she told me that I couldn't love her because I was a vampire. And then she told me that she was just using me. I was so angry afterwards that…" he gulped, "I hurt her."
"Who?"
"Buffy…"
"Okay, lets take a step back. What do you need help on?" Angel asked. He could smell Buffy's scent all over Spike, and somehow, deep down, he knew that Spike loved her.
"Okay, first of all, I need to know this demon that gave me back my soul. If I'll loose it, and second of all…" Spike spotted a long, sharp sword lying on the floor, "can I have that sword?" He pointed to it. It has been a long time since he ever held a sword in his hand, and just the touch of a steel blade made him feel strong.
"Sure."
Spike grinned, and made his way to pick up the sword when Angel stopped him. "I meant sure for the first thing. That sword is mine." And then he pushed Spike back.
"Hey!"
Angel picked up the sword and swung it around a couple of times. "Maybe if you're good, then you can have it." Angel walked to the weapons cabinet, opened it, and put the sword back in it's right full place. Then he closed the doors, locked it up, and turned to face Spike. "But for now, it's mine."
"But I am redeemed," Spike defended his right to have the sword. Just because I like swords, doesn't mean that I'll go ballistic on everyone and kill them, Spike thought.
"But is that what you're soul is really telling you? Maybe you're redeemed, for a vampire, but you're soul isn't. Maybe your soul isn't telling you right from wrong. Maybe it's just using you so you're good side can win out, but in mind and heart, you're not redeemed."
Spike blinked. "Okay…""A soul is something that is a part of you. When it's taken away, you're just a vampire, or a demon. And, for us, you may seem redeemed, but in your soul, you're not. To another person, you're just a guy, but to a Slayer, you're a vampire who's desperate to have her."
"Well, part of that was true. But I've given up on her," Spike said.
"And in truth, you can't love without a soul. You can't feel. You can't cry, feel excited about something—without a soul, you're just a vampire who loves someone just to taste her blood. A soul is everything."
It was quiet for a moment. Spike thought about what Angel just said. You can't love without a soul. You can't feel. "I bloody well felt before I got my soul back," Spike whispered to no one in particular.
"Or is what you felt just a blood lust?" Angel whispered back.
"Hey, guys," Fred called from the balcony overhead. Angel looked up to her.
"What?" He responded.
"We're going to try the spell again, so if the lights go out…" Fred shrugged. "If the lights go out, get over it." And she walked away.
"What spell?" Spike asked Angel.
"Oh, nothing, Willow's just doing something so in case during a thunderstorm, the lights won't go out."
Spike felt a jolt of shock go through him. "Wait, Red's here?"
"Yeah," Angel said slowly. He could sense that Spike was scared. "Why?"
"If she finds out I'm here, she'll tell Buffy. I can't risk that. Think I can hide out in the basement till she leaves?" Spike asked frantically.
"Sure, the basement's always open," Angel offered. "Except you might want to watch out for the mutant mice," Angel added as a joke, and grinned.
Spike sneered and walked down the steps of the basement. It was dark. He could hear mice scurrying in every corner of the basement, and he could smell the blood that fell on the floor a thousand times over. The smell of blood alone made him hungry, and he remembered the extra blood bag he had. He took it out, and ripped it open with his teeth. Since he didn't have his mug with him, he just drank straight from the bag instead. Once he finished, he threw the bag onto the floor.
He sighed, and decided to look around the basement. Even though he was good at seeing in the dark, he still needed light. He felt the wall for a light switch, found one, and turned it on. The light bulb flickered, and then light flooded the basement. There was a cage filling one side of the basement, and a small cot was in it. Off to the left was a long hallway. Spike followed it and discovered that the hallway led to the sewers.
"Perfect," he said, his voice echoing in the dark, long tunnels of the sewer. He went back to the basement, and decided to look for some more blood, maybe pig or rat's blood.
As he searched through the boxes stacked on top of each other, the light flickered again. Spike looked up to the lone light bulb, and hoped that it wouldn't give out, but it did. Darkness filled the room.
"Great," Spike said sarcastically. "Just great." In frustration, he kicked the boxes to the floor.
"Hey, Spike!" Angel called down to him.
"Yeah?" Spike responded.
"Willow's going to be working on the spell for a while."
"Did she cause the lights to go out?" Spike asked.
"Yeah." Spike sighed. Angel heard him. "In the meantime, you might want to get rested up for tonight."
"Why? What are we going to be doing tonight?" Spike asked curiously.
"We're going downtown."