CHAPTER 2: THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
A few hours later, down in the area of the sewer where Angel had fought the strange demon, a figure stirred… A figure that looked exactly like the vampire who had left earlier.
Angelus snapped his head up. Now, this was an interesting turn of events. He remembered the demon pointing its weapon at him – or, well, the souled version that was of course, him smacking the wall and then… nothing. It must have been a hard hit.
He felt the back of his head tryingly, and granted it felt pretty sore. The important question was how he had lost his soul through it. If there had been a moment of perfect happiness, he certainly had missed it, unless Angel had a completely fucked up vision of what happiness was. Maybe the self flagellating bastard thought a good blow to the head was side-splitting.
Oh well. Angelus shook himself and stood up. Despite the slight headache, he felt pretty damned good. Calm. Relaxed. Evil. However it had happened, he was sure he had lost the soul completely. He couldn't feel it anywhere, repressed and out of order, like when that stupid actress bitch had fed him Doxymall. No, this was the real deal.
He wasn't stupid, of course. Angelus realized that the demon's weapon must have done something to help him shed the fluffy soul. After all, there hadn't been any horny, innocent little slayers around to do the trick for him this time. He smirked to himself at the memory.
Quickly scanning the area, Angelus found a piece of the demon's rod weapon lying nearby, but the others were lost in the mire of the sewer. He pocketed the single piece for later research and left the same way he had used to get down into the sewers.
He went back to the parking lot where he remembered leaving his car earlier, but it had apparently been stolen. Well, not that it surprised him. Angel was always parking in some shitty part of town. Last time it had been stolen, which was only a few weeks ago, at least it had been Cordelia parking it.
Cordelia. There was a thing or two he would relish in doing to that body. He thought about it for a moment. He had things to follow on in Sunnydale. In fact, he had a whole lot to follow up on there, considering that the last time he had enjoyed torturing the gag inducing small town, his plans had been infuriatingly stopped short by ensouling and hellgoing. The red headed witch would pay for stuffing him full with soul again. And Buffy, dear old Buff. How he would enjoy breaking her.
Since that time the Soul had posed as him once, something he didn't really appreciate. It had given him a few ideas though. Posing as the counterpart could be fun, couldn't it? Now, capturing the girl and tying her up for a little torture was old fashioned, but since when had that stopped him?
That settled it. After a short walk away from the dingy parking lot he quickly decided on a car to steal and brushed away from Los Angeles, heading up the coast. After all, nothing was sweeter than dealing with unfinished business.
Considering the late hour, it didn't surprise Angelus that the Summers residence was dark and quiet when he steered into the driveway. Not that it was a problem, he could still get to Buffy. The only question was how he should do it.
How would the measly souled version do? Step inside and wait for her to wake up, he guessed, at least when was her lapdog that was. How would HE do? Hmm, sneak in, paint pictures of her sleeping form and leave before she woke up… Just enough chilling evidence that HE was back to tear her apart completely. But no, he had already done the picture thing, and besides, he was feeling up for a bit of physical torture right now.
Somewhere deep down in his mind, the unpleasant yet nagging thought that just maybe there were important things about this recent soul shedding that he didn't know anything about… He had hit his head hard before, but it hadn't done anything about the conscience status. What had really happened? Something was clearly up, somehow he doubted that the rod bearing creature actually had zapped the soul out of him just like that. If he was really going to turn back, a thought that made him wince with disgust, he wanted to wreak as much havoc during the amount of time that he had on his hands.
So the plan was that he would pose as his stumped alter ego to get Buffy outside without too much struggle. Not that he minded struggle… but he didn't want it here. It would lead to waking up the other whiny Summers women, Senior and Junior, both equally repulsive. If they woke up he would have to kill them as well, and that was just moving a little too quickly. No fun in a mass slaughter unless it was a well estimated mass slaughter.
Why would Angel come to Buffy in the middle of the night without calling or announcing his arrival? Something serious happening. He would be too retarded to take the chance to step inside, even though Angelus was completely convinced that no de-invitation spell had been performed, but he would get as close as possible.
Angelus quickly decided on his action and climbed the tree by Buffy's window and peeked inside. Watching her from his spot at so many times earlier, he could see that she was sleeping soundly. Well, no more of that.
Putting on his best "something killed my puppy and now the world is in peril" face, Angelus tapped the window three times and waited. Buffy only stirred slightly. Angelus frowned. Was she too tired from screwing her farmboy all night maybe? Not that he was there – now, that had been a reason for immediate bloodshed – but he could smell the slight reek of him even from outside the window.
He knocked again. Her eyes twitched. At the sight of him, she suddenly widened her eyes and sat up in bed. Avoiding an imminent smirk in triumph when he saw her confused expression, he turned it to an even deeper scowl to keep up appearance. He could smell all sorts of feelings on her.
She was clearly bewildered, maybe a tad annoyed – if it was because it was him or because he had woken her up, he wasn't sure, and of course, the usual stench of love and attraction. No matter how hard she spoke her words and how stone cold her face was, that never failed. Not even when she knew he was evil. God, that girl was easy.
Hoping that she couldn't actually see the difference in his eyes, he looked sorely at her when she opened the window.
"Angel? What are you doing here?" Her voice was still a little drowsy with sleep. Without further thought Angelus went on with the charade, realizing that it was easier than usual to keep his anger and predator instinct in check. Maybe a little easier than it should be…
"Something's happened…" he began vaguely, hoping that he didn't sound too cheerful. Well, something HAD happened, just not something to sound sullen about.
"What's wrong? What's happened?" She made no move to come outside. Her clearly false unconcerned look flustered him. He could smell worry and care all over the place, why was she trying to hide it from him?
"I, um… I think it's best if you come outside with me," he tried to explain. "I-I don't want to wake up your mother or your sister." Some of the old gag inducing warmth returned to Buffy's eyes. Sweet Angel, always so caring. Pfft.
"I'll be right out."
A few minutes later Buffy came outside. Waiting next to the car, Angelus was sure to pose himself like the Soul. Hanging his head slightly, shoulder slumped, avoiding following her eagerly and hungrily with his piercing hard gazing. Sorrow in his eyes instead of glee…
Still, he didn't find it as hard as usual, which was strange. Now, the usual sense of intoxicating evil and sadism was still there, but it was like something in his mind kept a lid on it. Very similar to how he felt when he had the soul. It wasn't just the presence of a soul that kept Angel from saying "screw redemption" and do whatever he wanted, it was the sickening "holier than thou" self-mastery that he had achieved over the years. Angelus didn't like the feeling.
"Now tell me," Buffy said as soon as she reached him. "What's happened that is so important you have to knock at my window at 5 AM?"
"Why don't we go sit in my car and talk about that?" Angelus gestured towards the stolen vehicle.
Buffy shrugged, obviously not suspecting anything. "All right."
As Buffy turned, Angelus struck, hitting her hard in the back of her head. She slumped to the ground, unconscious. He had hit her just hard enough to knock her out. She'd be fine; she was a slayer after all. He just needed her out of commission long enough to set his plan in motion.
Angelus was pleased to see that the Crawford Street mansion was still set up with the supplies he needed for the first part of his plan – torture instruments. The same tools he had used on Rupert that time, they were still lined up in the box where he had left them. Apparently his souled ego had never touched them. He left them there for the time being. He wanted to make sure that nothing warned Buffy about his transformation when he woke up. He shackled her to the wall with the chains that were already there and then sat down on the couch maybe six feet or so away from her.
It didn't take very long for her to stir. Her eyelids fluttered before she woke up completely and she immediately turned her gooey eyed gaze towards Angelus and smiled.
"Angel," she said softly, as if this was a dream she'd had every night since he left her. Come to think of it, being as soft as she was, maybe she had. When he only looked at her, lips twitching with a smirk, she stiffened slightly and pressed herself against the wall, realizing that she was tied up.
"Angel?"
"If that's what you'd like to call me, then sure. After all, you never used my real name the last time around, did you." He kept his expression serious, letting reality slowly sink in. He could hear her heart speed up, her blood run cold with the horrifying realization. It was wonderful.
"No…" she uttered weakly.
"Should we play this scene out again? What do you think, lover?" He got up from his seat and strode towards her. He could se her tremble slightly. "I never properly thanked you, for sending me to hell," he said, quoting Angel's words from when they were playing Faith. "I was thinking where should I start? Card? Fruit basket?" Standing only inches from her, he slammed his hands into the stonewall on either side of her head. "Evisceration?"
"No," she said again, shaking her head. "It can't be." Angelus dredged up a little maniacal chuckle and paced away from her.
"It can always be, Buff. You should know that."
"What are you doing here?" she managed. As if she didn't already know.
"Buffy. I'm hurt! Let's just say I decided to visit some old friends and say thanks for the last time around. I was thinking about going to see Rupert. I never got around to using the chainsaw." Buffy shook her head in disgust and horror.
"I didn't bring this on. Why don't you go stalk and maim the special someone that gave Angel his moment of happiness this time instead." Angelus grinned at her tone. She was hurt. She was even more hurt by the thought of Angel finding happiness again, with someone else, than scared by being held prisoner by him. Now that was nice to know.
"Buffy, what are you saying? As if any other woman could accomplish this. It takes that special innocent rookie style you used to be so good at. I'm not even sure you could pull it off anymore. I mean, so many months of doing the farm boy?" He shook his head and held back a grin. His words definitely hit home. Buffy was cringing - fear, disgust and hatred coming off of her in waves.
"I hate you," she said simply.
"Thank you," he answered lightly.
"So how did it happen?" she spoke, not sure what to think.
"I think that's for me to know, and for you not to find out," Angelus said easily.
Were there other ways for him to loose his soul? Other loop holes in the curse? Buffy remembered Willow sharing what Cordelia had told her during their long talk that spring. Willow had helped her break an encryption on the computer and Cordelia had filled her in on the latest happenings in LA. Apparently Angel had lost his soul briefly, in a way, when he had been fed a drug that simulated bliss. Of course. That must be it.
Although, even if it fit perfectly, something didn't seem right about that. Cordelia had told Willow that Wesley – WESLEY – had stopped the high Angelus from slaughtering all of them by surprising him and knocking him down the elevator shaft. If he had fallen for that, he must have been in pretty bad shape. The Angelus standing in front of her was chillingly calm and moderate. Even more so than before, which was strange. Still, it was the only idea she had.
"I know," she said. "It must have been that drug again. That Proxydox-whatever stuff. Cordelia told us all about it, ant that the effects are only temporary. Angel should be back before sunset."
Angelus smirked. "I don't think so."
"Whatever. Fine, don't tell me. We'll figure it out." She was quiet for a moment. Oh no… If Angelus had come here, did that mean he had left carnage behind in LA? Cordelia and Wesley… "What did you do to them? Cordelia and Wesley…" Neither of them had been her best friends, but that didn't matter. She had understood that they had become close friends with Angel and if his evil alter ego had killed them, it would strike hard against him.
"Nothing," Angelus said calmly. Buffy narrowed her eyes. Was he telling the truth? Angelus used truth and lies to his advantage as he pleased, twisting them into suiting his purpose. "I didn't bother with them. I had more important matters to deal with here, we have unfinished business you and I, Buff," he continued.
Buffy winced at his too-familiar way to say her name. "Are you gonna kill me or just talk me to death?" she retorted to avoid any show of emotions, even though she knew he could sense it already. "Shall we go on with it, you want to drain me, put on your boogie-shoes and dance in my blood?"
Angelus cocked his head. "There's time for that too. You know I'm not much for quick deaths. You know my motto. Never go for the kill if you can go for the hurt…" A short laugh. "Well, in most cases…"
Every time the leering vampire strode past her, Buffy felt anger well up. She thought she was passed the torturous boyfriend stage. After all, that was why she had Riley. He may be a demon hunter, but in all other aspects, he was a normal man. Nice, kind, dull – never psychotic or soulless. What was the point of that if she still had to put up with visits from her stalking megalomaniac of an ex-honey?
Just as Angelus was about to say something else, she decided to take action. She was thrown and confused, but she was still the Slayer. As soon as he had his back turned, she jumped, using the chains to her advantage, and kicked him hard in the back of the head. Even though her position was compromised, it had been hard enough. Angelus slumped to the floor in an unconscious heap.
What now? She yanked her chains, but they didn't budge at all. She looked at the still form of Angelus. How had this happened to him? She suddenly felt a certain hopelessness washing over her. The main reason Angel had left her was out of fear of loosing his soul again. He wanted to protect her. Obviously, it had happened anyway, and no matter how far apart hey were, he wouldn't leave her alone.
Shaking off the uncomfortable feeling, she returned to her plan of escape. Was it too much to hope for Angel to have a cell phone? She reached down as far as the chains would allow her, grabbed him and pulled him up by the collar, feeling his pockets. To her surprise he actually had a phone on him. Things certainly had changed.
No key though, he must have put it somewhere else in case she pulled a trick like this. She could only hope that help would arrive before the surely to be pissed off demon waked up and confronted her.
Not wasting any more time, she dialed Giles' number. The reception wasn't good; she had to try twice just to get a dial tone. She counted several signals before he finally got up. Funny, when he was still working in the library, he would have been out and about for a while now. His "gentleman of leisure" phase obviously had left its mark even though he had just started up his new business.
"Hello?" a drowsy voice answered.
"Giles!" Buffy exclaimed. She saw Angelus shift slightly at her high pitched voice. Ready to strike again if he started to wake up, she went on in a lower tone.
"You have to come to the Crawford Street mansion, now. It's about Angel." She swallowed hard, already knowing how Giles felt about Angelus. "He's Angelus again. I don't know how, but… Giles?"
She stared at the phone. Dead. Great. She could only hope that he had caught enough to understand that he should come for her.
Still watching Angelus carefully, Buffy sighed. She shook the phone and managed to bring it back to life. She should call Angel's people in LA. She figured either Angelus had lied and they were dead, or they were alive – and if they were, knew didn't know about his transformation. She glanced at her watch, it was nearly 6.30. Would they be in the office now? She could only try.
She checked the cell phones address book and luckily found the number to Angel Investigations offices. It didn't take many signals for the other end to pick up.
"Hello?" Buffy froze in shock for a second. It was Angel's voice.
"Angel!" she cried out.
"Buffy?" came the confused answer.
"Angel, what are you… Uh-oh." The conversation was abruptly stopped when Angelus began moving. No doubt he had heard who she was talking to. Yanking the chain again, Buffy managed to kick the still dazed Angelus squarely in the head, making him sink to the floor again with a groan.
"Angel?" she spoke into the phone again. It was dead. Furious, she shook it and tried to turn it on. 'Low battery' the screen informed her. Great. Now she was even more confused, and stuck until Giles came – if he came that was. She glanced at Angelus and hoped that he would hurry up. Banishing the phone to the floor, she began the frustrating work of trying to free herself from her chains.
