Title: The Next Mission
Note: Written By WayWard Childe, Edited by Hieiko.
Feedback: Please! It drives the story forward.
Chapter Four: Drusilla versus Harmony, oh yeah and there's a really big dog.
The sound of steel hitting steel was all that could be heard throughout the training basement. Connor sat on the sidelines as he watched Spike and Oz fight. Ever since Nina died, Spike had thrown himself into a new project: training Oz.
It was good for them both, Connor decided. It helped Spike get his mind off of Nina, and prepared Oz for whatever his destiny may be. Connor remembered all too well the night they'd found Nina; he remembered the sickening atrocities committed at the church. You'd think he'd be used to it, the death and destruction, but being raised in a hell dimension was different. Seeing mangled demon corpses isn't the same as seeing children whose faces were ripped off and bodies strung up on those walls like decorations.
The most disturbing thing was the replica, brought to life just to be tortured, brought to life just because someone wanted to see pain and agony, to hear the screams of a man that couldn't die, even though he wished to. It had been sickening, and there'd been nothing they could do, or so they'd thought.
Spike had stared at the replica for a few minutes, before walking over to it seemingly mesmerized, until he stood right in front of it. His right hand started to glow a brilliant white light, and he placed his hand onto the replica's chest. The white light filled the room. Connor and Oz covered their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, they saw Spike unconscious, and the replica restored to its lifeless state. Spike couldn't remember what he'd done; he said he'd blacked out as soon as he'd laid his eyes on the living replica.
Since then, Spike had been training and patrolling. It was his way of dealing with what he felt was his failure, Connor supposed. War was Spike's way of brooding; that, or going crazy.
"Come on! Wolf Boy, you're still bringing the sword down wrong. Look, I know your peaceful nature, but remember what Tara said? Said you were important, that you had something important to do, yeah? Unfortunately, in this world, the important things aren't guitar lessons and meditation techniques. So come on. Again!" Spike commanded, and their blades clashed.
Oz finally got the better of Spike and slashed the vampire's arm.
"Ow! Bloody hell!"
Oz stopped and cringed. "Sorry, man."
Spike looked at Oz incredulously, "Don't apologize to the enemy, mate. Now suit up." The last was a command, one which Oz didn't understand.
Oz cocked an eyebrow and asked "Suit up?"
Spike smirked. "Yeah, wolf-out half way or something, aren't you stronger that way?"
Oz looked a little nervous. "Well, yeah, but I don't really like doing it, ya know?"
Spike sighed. "You've got to do this sometime, mate. You can't hold back forever. Remember what you are. Forgetting your potential, even if it's for evil, means forgetting yourself. Then you're weak. See, in my opinion Angel had it wrong. It isn't about forgetting your nature, or suppressing it. It's about using your nature in the right way, instead of letting it use you."
"But isn't that what Angel did?" Oz asked curiously.
"No, not really. Angel would always remind people that he was a vampire. Poof would warn them like they would forget that the guy who burns in the sodding sun is a vampire." Spike chuckled. "But in his mind, he tried to be human; tried to be something he's not. He pushed people away because he didn't think he could be human if they got too close. Ironic, wanting to be human, but only feeling that way when away from humans."
"I'm a vampire," Spike pointed to himself as he shifted into gameface. He then pointed to Oz. "You're a werewolf."
Oz nodded, took a calming breath and started to transform. First, his hair, even though dyed purple, slowly turned jet black. His ears became pointed, his teeth sharp and carnivorous, and his face took on wolf-like features. His fingers became hard and extended a few inches longer, while his fingernails grew into claws. The hair on his body turned black and thickened.
Finally, he opened his eyes. The irises had become silver outlined in black. Oz was in a midway transformation of his werewolf state.
Oz snarled at Spike. "Ready for this?"
Spike smirked at him. "Now there's the real you."
And with that Oz and Spike charged each other, faster now, and stronger. Spike was no longer pulling his punches; Oz was at a new level of strength.
In the middle of the training session, a voice drifted down the stairs. "I was walking by and then I heard this beautiful music."
Oz and Spike stopped fighting and looked up. It was Drusilla. She seemingly floated down the stairway like she always did. "The music was wonderful, it went Clang. Bang. Clang. Shim!" She giggled like a child.
The others just smiled, already getting used to Drusilla's amusement in the oddest things. Drusilla looked over to Oz and Spike, saw them both transformed, and slapped her hands together in glee. "My boys are dressed up; are we going to a party?"
"No, luv. Just practicing our steps. Got to teach the mutt here how to dance properly."
Drusilla nodded and glided over to Connor. "Come little one, give grandmum a hug."
Connor looked a little weirded out and shifted on his feet. Spike and Oz only looked amused.
"That's all you want? Just a hug?" Connor asked suspiciously.
Drusilla nodded again, "Just a hug for big sister. Please."
Then she pouted like a little girl, and Connor couldn't help but give in. They embraced into a normal hug, but then, Drusilla's hands started to slide lower and lower. And then...
"AHHH, HANDS! EVERY TIME!" Connor screeched, backing away from Drusilla, while Spike and Oz (both back to human state) fell over laughing.
Drusilla had a look of perfect innocence on her face, but a mischievous glint in her eye.
Connor glared at Spike and Oz furiously. "It's not funny, she keeps grabbing my ass!"
To this, the vampire and the werewolf just laughed harder.
"Stop it! It's not funny, it's icky."
Spike and Oz were now sitting up, no longer laughing. Both were wiping tears of mirth from their eyes.
Ever since Drusilla came to live with them, she'd been grabbing Connor's ass just to freak him out. Eh, she's crazy; let her have her crazy fun.
Connor rolled his eyes and muttered, "They're children, nothing but children."
He then looked at his watch and noticed the time. He bolted upstairs. Halfway up the steps, he yelled, "Class in 30 minutes, got a date tonight, be back home at 8."
"Bye!" Spike, Oz, and Drusilla chorused.
Later…Oz sat on the new sofa in the middle of the lobby, his feet propped up on an oak coffee table. Oz was watching Boondock saints on the 34-inch TV located on the counter. Spike was cleaning weapons by the weapons chest, and Drusilla was in the background having a tea party with her dolls. The hotel was treated like a house by its occupants, and the lobby was their living room.
"Spike, how do you afford all of this? New couch, satellite TV, new weapons, you even gave us all money to decorate our rooms with. Where'd you get it?" Oz asked curiously.
Spike didn't raise his head from the axe, and just kept cleaning.
"Well, I am a hundred and forty seven years old. Every dollar, jewel, diamond, or piece of gold I've stolen I had invested into bonds about 90 years ago. That's how I got the factory and so forth. After I tortured the poof for the ring, he had my accounts frozen so I had to live in that damn crypt. Not that I mind living in a crypt, it's just it took me two years to get it fixed up right and then it got blown up."
Oz's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, "So all of this is paid for by blood money."
Spike held up his hands in defeat, "Hey now, it's better being used this way, innit? Using it to help people. After all, the blood money bought our weapons, and it's funding Randall's new operation."
Ever since the night in the cemetery, Spike and Randall came up with a new routine. Randall and his crew took over Angel Investigations; they became more organized, and were properly funded by Spike. Randall's crew, now the new Angel Investigations, did nightly patrols around their neighborhood, and dealt with cases from people scattered all over L.A. Much like Angel, Doyle, and Cordelia did when they first got to L.A.
After knocking some sense into Randall's crew, Spike finally made them realize that some demons were good, and for the past two weeks the new Angel Investigations had been doing better than ever. With so many people part of Randall's crew, they were able to handle two or three cases at a time.
Oz nodded, "Yeah, I guess so." And then he went back to watching TV.
Spike sighed and continued cleaning his blade. All of sudden everything turned dream-like again. He looked up to see the hotel shift into the top of a snowy hill. Surrounding him were trees, and lodges and skiers having the time of their lives. Spike looked around 'til he felt the "pull", the pull towards whatever was most important in his vision. He started walking down an already walked path; recent footsteps were just imprinted. Spike kept following the path weaving through trees until he saw an elderly man standing in a clearing. The man looked familiar, but Spike couldn't place it 'til he got real close.
Raged filled through Spike, it was that damn demon DOC who threw him off the tower and cut Dawn. Doc was doing some sort of ritual; he had a jar of blood in his hand and was dripping it on the ground, while chanting words in Latin.
All of a sudden the ground started to shake and crack. The ground bust open and out leapt a three headed dog about the size of a full grown horse, its claws massive, eyes red, and its breath was made of fire, its spit made of lava. The vision world around Spike seemed to speed up around him, time was moving forward while he stayed the same. The vision world eventually slowed down and Spike got a good look around.
The trees and buildings were burning down; the whole town was aflame. Charred flesh and mangled bodies lay on the ground seeping out their liquid life force. Spike walked around trying to find out where this place was, finally he reached the city limits and saw a sign saying "Now leaving Aspen, Colorado."
Spike shook his head and looked up. He was back in reality now and Oz was staring at him expectedly. Drusilla was laughing apparently at an amusing joke told by Miss Gwendolyn; her newest doll.
Spike put on a smile and told Oz, "Looks like we're going to a party after all."
A few hours later on an airplane to Aspen…Spike and Oz sat side by side on a jet about 20 minutes from their destination. Spike was strumming his thumbs on the tray in front of him, looking a bit nervous and glancing out the window about every minute. Oz was slightly amused by the situation.
"Is the Big Bad, afraid?" Oz asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Not afraid, just not used to it. I must of flown a hundred times since I've been getting the visions and I'm still just not use to it. I was born in 1856 after all, so I'm not scared it just doesn't feel right."
Oz wore an amused smile, "So you call Connor and let him know?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah, he said he look after Drusilla. That alone makes this trip worth it," he finished with an amused smile.
Oz didn't smile but his eyes did. "Poor kid, you'd think he would stop hugging her."
Spike then smirked. "Probably can't, what with Dru's thrall and all." Spike shook his head out of amusement. "She's going to torment that boy for ever."
"Why? I mean, not that I don't find a guy that can rip off a Necctlyn demons head off shrieking like a little girl funny. I just wonder, what's the point?"
"Oh, she has her reasons."
"Oh really? What are they?"
"Her dolls tell her to."
Same time at the Hyperion Hotel…Connor was in the lobby doing his schoolwork while Drusilla danced in the background to no music. Connor finally looked up and noticed Drusilla dancing. He arched an eyebrow and asked, "Dru…what are you dancing to? There's no music."
Drusilla stopped and smiled. "Can't you hear them? The stars tell me things. They're singing to me about dogs and fire and nasty little men who harm pretty green keys. Such effulgent songs." She began to twirl.
"Riiight, well you keep on dancing to the creepy little voices in your head."
Before Drusilla could respond, a voice yelled, "Blondie Bear, where are you?"
Connor and Drusilla both turned towards the front door to see Harmony, clad in blue jeans and a pink spaghetti strap top.
Drusilla hissed; Harmony returned the hiss with an eye roll.
"Oh it's you, Durkkle, right? Like, where's my Blondie bear?"
If looks could dust, Harmony wouldn't be standing there anymore. Drusilla glared stakes at Harmony, angry that she was trying to get Spike again, but that's when she heard the stars whispering something strange.
Drusilla's glare filled with hatred and rage, "The stars are whispering about you, my nasty little unicorn. Whispering tales of betrayal, turning tables, tables turned, left my not-daddy alone to burn." She sang the last part out.
Harmony looked at Connor, confusion marring her face. "What is this loony bitch talking abou... AHH!" Before she could finish her sentence, Drusilla grabbed her by the hair and threw her into a wall.
Harmony got up, snarling at Drusilla. "You bitch! You messed up my hair!"
With that, Harmony shifted into gameface, while Drusilla did the same. Connor, who by this point had disappeared, reappeared with a bowl of popcorn, and went to sit on the sofa to watch the brawl.
Harmony tackled Drusilla, managing to push the raven-haired vampire to the ground. Straddling the brunette's hips, she began pummeling Drusilla. Drusilla quickly bucked her hips and flipped Harmony onto her back. Both women swiftly got to their feet.
Harmony charged Drusilla, but she received a kick in the stomach and was sent flying to the bottom of the staircase. Walking over to Harmony's sprawled form, Dru grabbed her by the hair and threw her over each step to the second floor. Drusilla then climbed the stairs calmly, her eyes never leaving Harmony. When she reached the top, Harmony flipped up and kicked Drusilla in the face, then backhanded her, sending her to the ground.
Harmony went on to kick Drusilla in the ribs a few times, before pulling her up. On her way up, Drusilla elbowed Harmony on her breast, then quickly grabbed the back of Harmony's head and drove the blond vampire's face down to her rising knee. Harmony's nose crunched and she let out a feral scream as she grabbed her face. Harmony backed up against the railing of the second floor and Drusilla went to tackle her. Just as Drusilla was about to descend on her, Harmony bent down and flipped Drusilla over the rail. The flip caused Drusilla to fall to the first floor, crashing into the weapons chest.
Harmony descended the stairs and stood over Drusilla. She raised a stake that she had hidden in her back pocket and was about to stake Dru, when all of sudden Drusilla lashed out with a short sword she had gripped in her hand since the crash. Moving faster then Harmony could see, Drusilla cut off the hand with the stake, which brought Harmony down to her knees in pain. Drusilla raised the sword above her head and said:
"There can only be one!"
Harmony looked confused and said, "What pant are pant you pant talking-"
Before she could finish, Drusilla lopped off her head and Harmony turned to dust. Drusilla looked around the room for a second, confused, but it quickly turned to annoyed.
She stomped her foot like a child. "There's no lighting!"
Drusilla huffed and stomped up half way up the stairs. By the time she got to the middle of the stairs she forgot why she was angry and skipped the rest of the way. Connor, who was looking on at the scene, just sat there for a minute taking everything in. Then he quietly returned to his studies.
'Everything was much more peaceful in Quortoth,' Connor quietly thought.
In Aspen, a clearing in the woods…Spike and Oz ran through the snowy trail as fast they could, nearly at their destination when the ground started to rumble. They both tripped and fell on their faces. Spike looked up in time to see Doc putting away the materials for the rituals.
"Bugger…we're too late." Looking over at Oz, Spike yelled, "Suit up! The shit's going to hit the fan."
Oz quickly morphed into his half-wolf guise, while Spike threw himself through the air and pounced on Doc.
Doc looked up at Spike a kind smile on his face, "Well it seems you finally got that soul of yours. Did you get you the girl?"
Spike growled and shifted into game face. Amber eyes stared into Doc's gray ones. "I'm going to rip you apart, old man."
He was about to pummel Doc into oblivion when a giant paw about the size of his head just swiped him across the chest. The power of the blow sent Spike sprawling back about twenty feet. Spike was just getting up when Oz tackled him to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Spike yelled, but before Oz could answer, fire blanketed the air above their bodies, the heat melting the snow around them. The trees behind them were set aflame. The three-headed dog monster, which looked like Cerberus of mythology, leaped in the air heading in the direction of the humans.
Spike and Oz both tackled Cerberus, a combination of their force and weight finally pulling the dog down.
Spike got up and delivered a right hook followed by a left, but both have little effect. Cerberus was about to chomp down on Spike, when Oz snarled and jumped on the beast's back, clawing and biting on the center head's neck.
Spike pulled out a sword, as he screamed, "Move!" to Oz. Oz quickly got off, and as soon as he lost contact with Cerberus, the sword came down, slicing the dog-beast in half. Spike had to literally run through the beast to cut it in half. And when he turned around, the sight before him didn't help his mood much.
The middle section of the body which was evenly cut between the other heads, melted into an extra front and hind leg. So now instead of one three headed fire breathing dog monster the size of an ox, they now had two single-headed, fire-breathing, ox-sized devil dogs.
"Oh bollocks," Spike muttered, before one of them took him down.
While he was being tackled he shoved his sword sideways into the beast's mouth, hoping to prevent fire or teeth from being his end. The beast's claws started digging into Spike's sides through his leather jacket, his shirt, and skin. Spike tried to buck off the beast with all his power, but it didn't move. He tried again but with the same result, and the beast just kept digging and crushing him.
Spike used his right forearm to keep the blade in place as he used his other arm to pull out a desert eagle. He shot the beast nine times in the stomach, but it didn't even flinch. Only a few moments later, Spike learned what lava being dripped on you felt like. He screamed first, then growled, and with a strength he never knew he possessed, Spike flung the beast off him.
When Spike randomly slashed the sword at the Cerberus, he managed a long cut across its face and through one of its eyes. The beast backed down for a moment, apparently re-thinking its attack on the blond vampire.
During this time Spike checked his new wounds. The front of his shirt was completely burnt off, his chest and stomach were charred, and there was a hole about the size of a half dollar near his navel. Spike wasn't sure how he was standing.
The beast came charging out of the woods and leapt at him, but Spike was prepared, throwing the sword like a spear into the Cerberus' shoulder. The blade struck it half way, and the beast yelped in surprise, but didn't lose momentum. Spike ducked and rolled to the right, just barely missing the assault.
Pulling out a sawed-off double barrel shot gun, Spike began to unload the bucks into the demon's face. After the third round, half of the demon's head was gone, and the lava-like blood melted the rest of the sword. The demon was still standing and growling. It charged Spike with the fury of a hurricane, and then collapsed and died from blood loss.
"Well that was a bit anti-climactic." Spike stated to himself, before he fell down.
He used all his energy to drag himself to the nearest heartbeat, hoping it would belong to Oz. Spike finally reached Oz, whose body was still in half-werewolf configuration. Large gashes were all over his body, and one down the side of his face.
"You get it?" Spike asked. Oz shook his head.
"Can't, not strong enough."
Spike a little annoyed, "Why didn't you fully transform! With everything I taught you, don't you think you could have taken it!"
"Can't let the beast take over, I'm not an animal." Before he could say anything else, he was up against a tree, with Spike's hand around his throat.
"Yes, you are an animal, and a man and a demon, what did I tell you!"
"Spike, stop, I'm choking."
"You'll be dying soon enough, you were afraid. How many lives lost now? Because of that."
"I-I can't do it. I can't give in."
"Then DON'T!" Spike roared. "Don't give in, don't let it use you, you use it! People's lives are on the balance, and I need you with no fear. I need to walk with champions; I need you to be a champion."
Oz looked at Spike, his face turning red from lack of oxygen and choked out, "Why?"
Spike looked Oz right in the eyes, "When I blacked out, I wasn't gone. I wasn't left in nothingness. I saw what was coming, I saw a war that the world won't be able to ignore. I saw blood red rivers, and mangled bodies that should have been long dead, crying for someone to save them or kill them, just do something to make it stop. I saw what's worse than an apocalypse. I may be the one to stop it, but I won't get there without you. Now stop being a poofter, and be a warrior."
Oz stared back into Spike's eyes, amber meeting silver. But Oz's eyes turned black, as he threw Spike off of him. His clothes ripped and tore as he fully transformed into the wolf, his body covered in black fur, his face losing its humanity, everything except for the eyes.
A werewolf was a dangerous force. But a werewolf with control, a werewolf with its energy focused, was a deadly force. Oz raced towards the sounds of screaming his delicate wolf ears were picking up.
He found the last head of the Cerberus beast rolling a car over, and ripping it apart. Running up to the Cerberus he tackled it from the side. The beast budged, but not too much. In full wolf form, Oz had the strength and speed of a master vampire, but the Cerberus was still stronger.
The Cerberus swiped at him, but wasn't fast enough to dodge and the massive claw slashed his right arm. Oz howled in pain and dropped to his knees. The Cerberus thought Oz was in the perfect position to be finished and went for the kill. When the Cerberus was just a foot away, Oz rose with a pipe in his grasp and bashed the Cerberus' skull. Oz hit the Cerberus again and again, each time a sickening thud echoed through the air. The Cerberus finally recovered and swiped upwards, sending the werewolf flying. He finally landed on the roof of a two-story building.
When Oz landed, it was on his side and the lead pipe rolled away from his grasp. The Cerberus quickly found its way to the top of building, and rammed its head into Oz's side. The force of the smash sent Oz to the other side of the rooftop, his injured arm dragging on the rough surface. The Cerberus leapt at Oz, about to make its final strike when Oz jumped up with the lead pipe in hand, and pierced through the Cerberus's skull.
Oz then violently sank his teeth into the Cerberus's jugular, only to yelp in surprise when the blood burned his mouth. He backed away slowly, as the devil dog slowly died of blood loss.
Oz could feel his human features returning, could feel the pain heighten but he couldn't stop. Oz looked up to see Spike draping his duster over his naked form.
"Ya did good mutt, it's time to rest. No worries; you did good," Spike said softly to the tired werewolf.
Oz could barely keep his eyes open, and he finally gave in to the darkness.
In an unknown location…Doc walked into a dark room. The only light was emitted from the fireplace in the middle of the room. The room was too dark to describe the details; only two things were visible: a black leather couch about six feet from the fire place, and a dark figure next to the fireplace. Doc nervously walked forward to the figure.
"The Cerberus was raised, Master, but shortly killed afterwards by the vampire and wolf."
The figure turned around, revealing himself to be Liam.
"Good." Liam simply said, his Irish accent thick.
"Good?" Doc asks curiously. "Didn't you want him dead?"
Liam smirked, "Oh, he'll die, and he'll die by my hands. But not now, it's not time. When we fight the world will be diverge in darkness, and the chaos of war will plague the entire globe as our fists meet in combat. When we fight, it will be at a certain time and place; when we fight, everything will be on the line."
"But why raise Cerberus at all then, Master Liam?"
Liam smiled at Doc, not a kind smile but a maniacal one, insanity seem to be burning beneath his eyes as he spoke. "How many people died, before the Champion and the Wolf stopped it?"
Doc thought for a minute. "103 people died."
"Then that's why, I had you raise Cerberus, to kill a hundred and three people."
"I see, but why? Were they special? Do they prevent something that comes to pass? Maybe I should go read my books, find something out."
Liam chuckled and placed his hand on Doc's shoulder. "No, Doc, they weren't important people, nor were they major players. I had you raise Cerberus simply so people would die. I had you raise Cerberus just because I wanted blood to flow, just because I wanted more blood on my hands. Do you understand?"
Doc nodded, thinking only one thing. 'Dear god, he's crazier than Glory.'
Two weeks later, London, Watchers headquarters…Rupert Giles calmly strolled down the halls of the newly built Watchers' Council headquarters, with a brown package tucked beneath his arm. He was wearing a tweed suit, and a serious expression.
Giles was a busy man nowadays, being the new head of the Council. But he didn't have time to deal with such ludicrous fantasies by some of his field ops.
The newest little fantasy made Giles almost chuckle, almost. 'Spike's alive, that's a ridiculous idea.' Giles looked down at the package. 'But, Marsters is a good field operative, and has never lied before.'
Giles was almost tempted to check this 'proof' out for himself, but couldn't find the time really. So the responsibility will go to Andrew, he finally decided. Giles finally reached Andrew's office door, and was slightly startled to hear, explosions?
Giles opened the door just to see Andrew playing an X-box video game. Giles rolled his eyes. 'Always the perpetual child.' After a few minutes of Andrew not noticing his presence, Giles cleared his throat. Andrew gave a very unmanly squeak, paused the game and jumped out of his chair.
"Well hello, Mr. Giles." Andrew said as calmly as possible.
"Look, Andrew I'm a too busy to deal with your antics, now please review this tape and tell me if, Spike is alive."
Andrew looked confused, "Is Spike on the tape?"
"Supposedly yes, but I seriously doubt that. After all, he burned to death in the Hellmouth. But we must make sure, so please review the tape, and inform me if it's true."
"And if it is?" Andrew asked nervously.
"Well, we must dispose of him, of course. I told you Andrew, Spike is not a good man, soul or not. If he is back, he is no doubt going to try and get involved with Buffy again, and we can't have him ruin her life. Is that clear, Andrew?"
Andrew only nodded and took the package from Giles. "I'll look at it right away, Mr. Giles."
"Thank you, Andrew." And with that, Giles left Andrew's office.
Andrew took a deep breath, and walked over to his TV. He turned off the X-box, and played the videotape from the brown package.
Platinum blond hair flashed on the screen, and Andrew got that familiar tingle in his stomach, that he always got when he saw Spike.
He continued to watch the tape, seeing Spike and an almost familiar looking half-wolf, both taking on a three-headed Dog monster. He pressed "Eject", and took out the tape. Then Andrew walked out of his office and down the hallways.
Andrew finally reached the reception area. It was a very comfortable area with soft couches and reclining chairs, and a fireplace in the middle of the room. Giles was there talking to Faith and Robin Wood. Andrew remembered that they were here on a special assignment. He walked past them all and threw the tape in the fireplace.
The action caught Giles's eye, "So Andrew, was it him? Was it Spike?" Robin Wood looked at Giles with sharp eyes, while Faith looked at Andrew, observing his actions. Andrew just stared at the tape, letting moments go by until he was satisfied that the tape was no longer salvageable.
Andrew looked up. "No, it wasn't Spike," he said sadly.
Giles knew that Andrew held a place for Spike in his heart. Giles also knew that Andrew wouldn't lie to him about it. Mainly because he had made Willow place a truth spell over the entire building. It had caused a few or more fights, but every report was given with absolute truth, and that was what mattered.
Andrew gave a humorless chuckle, "The guy on the tape had blonde hair and a black leather trench coat, but beyond that…" He shook his head with amusement. "The guy had brown eyes, round facial features and was Scottish, so I'm sure it wasn't Spike."
Giles smiled, "Yes, that doesn't sound quite like Spike at all. Marsters is a very good agent, but being on the field must be making him see things. Maybe I should have him come in for a while."
"Maybe so, Mr. Giles, can I go back to playing my video game now?"
Giles barely looked up. "Oh yes, yes of course, go back to your video games. I need to call Marsters." Nodding to all of them, he left.
Andrew nodded to Faith and Robin and went back to his office.
Faith had her face scrunched up in confusion as she looked at Andrew's retreating form. "That's weird." She said.
"What?" The former principal asked.
"Andrew. He usually bothers us with questions about what we're doing and shit. Ya know what I mean? It's just, he seemed kind of quiet."
"Yeah, well I hope he's quiet more often, he gets annoying sometimes."
Faith just smiled and gave Robin a deep kiss.
Andrew's office…Andrew pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. The phone rang for a couple seconds before someone picked up the phone.
"Hey, it's me. It was close this time, if Giles wasn't so busy he would have found out."
"…."
"No, I took care of it; no one knows Spike is alive. Well, no one in the Council."
"…"
Andrew smiled, "Yeah, I knew he would be the Champion when I first met him."
"…"
"Oh yeah! I did see the new Star Wars trailer, it looks so awesome. I can't wait!"
"…"
"Oh, you have to go? Okay, talk to you later."
A darkened office, location unknown….
A woman who appeared to be in her mid thirties, with raven hair and ruby red lipstick was talking on her cell phone.
"Yes, I'll talk to you later, Andrew. And remember, you did a good job." The woman's emerald eyes glinted in the darkness, as her sensuous and hypnotic voice floated from her full luscious lips.
Finally, she clicked off her phone. The woman stood up and placed the cell on her black and silver table.
As the woman walked out of her office, an aura of confidence, power, and timeless wisdom surrounded her. There were no windows in the building; the only light that filled the complex was fluorescent. The floors were white, and the walls were made of a rich dark mahogany. The woman walked down a hallway, her hallway to be exact. No other offices were on her floor, the highest floor in the building. The woman turned a corner, and on the left side was a continuation of the wall, but on the right side there was a rail overlooking all the floors and lobby of the building.
She walked over to the rail, leaning on it, watching over the buildings and its worker bees. She smiled to herself as she looked on, and whispered.
"My Empire."
Going through all the floors we see humans, demons, vampires, witches, warlocks, elves, and many more creatures that the imagination couldn't fathom. All wearing Armani, all busy and working diligently. As we travel down the levels, each looking the same, we finally stop at the lobby and look at the symbol on the center of the floor. It's a golden circle of thorns; with an A in the center. Underneath the symbol in bold golden letters it stated plainly:
THE ORDER OF AURELIUS
tbc……….
I'd like to thank all you for your great reviews, please keep them coming.
Aeetos: Thank you for the inspiring words. I don't think you know how much saying this is best post-season finale of Angel story you've read so far means to me.
Dr. Gonzo: Thanks; I always thought Spike would make a great leader if he were pushed into it. I'm a little drained on the vampire/slayer relationship thing myself; if I do go in that direction I'll try a different approach to it, maybe making a relastionship between a slayer and a vampire were their titles aren't important to them or friends.
BAKAMAN: I agree if a relationship between Buffy and Spike would work, things would of needed to be changed in season six.
JonnyG: All you can say is wow? Is it a good wow or a bad wow?
Anyways I'd like to thank you all. Also if your a fan of this story, I have another called "Children of a Prodigal Father" It's a short one chapter fic about what's going on in Conner's head right after Angel's funeral in Dragons, Funerals, and family (Chapter one of this story.) So if you enjoy the Next Mission universe please read and review that fic. Oh and once again thank you all for reading.
