CHAPTER 6: WITH A SONG IN HIS HEART


Late that afternoon, just before sunset, Gunn was bored. Spike was slumped in a chair watching TV, Xander was sleeping on the couch and Angelus was tied up tightly. He hadn't been much trouble so far. Gunn studied him. When he wasn't smirking or making his evil chuckle, he looked very much like Angel. Just like Angel in fact. Gunn hadn't known him long enough to see the difference in his eyes.

He wasn't really sure how to deal with the whole "Angel can go bad" concept he had learned about in the car on the way to Sunnydale. Angel had never told him anything specific about his past, and Gunn had never asked. As far as he knew, he might as well always have been good.

What he got to learn was instead that the so called good guy was actually the most brutal, vicious and evil vamp who'd ever set foot on the earth. Murderer of thousands, more like hundreds of thousands, and cursed with a soul by an angry gypsy tribe. He had been told that there were great knowledge in mindgames and mental torture, a chillingly sadistic side and attempted apocalypses somewhere in the mix as well. Boy, they could make a TV show off of that guy's life.

Apparently, "certain factors", as Wesley had put it, could make Angel return to his old state of mind, and evidently that had happened when he was together with the slayer. Wesley hadn't said exactly what had happened between the two, but Gunn wasn't born yesterday. He could figure it out himself.

The way Gunn could tell, several things seemed to be able to send Angel off his rocker. There was the "certain factors", translated to perfect happiness. There was the occasional actress that wanted him to let his guard down and drugged him into the Angelus-y state of mind, and, apparently, there were demons that could blast him into it. Well, technically not INTO it since Angel was still there but in another body.

Deeply confused, a part of him wondered how that guy over there was capable of so much destruction. He'd seen Angel fight – and sure, he held his own, but that was just methodical demon slaughter. For Gunn it was hard to imagine him as a brutal mass murderer, but apparently it wasn't for Cordelia and the rest of the people that had been around when Angel lost his soul. Maybe it was something that had to be lived to really understand. He needed a walk to process all these thoughts.

"Well, I don't know about y'all, but I'm hungry. I figure there's no food here, so I'm gonna go out and grab something. Are you two okay here?"

Xander mumbled something incomprehensive and Spike didn't even turn to look at him. Gunn turned around and passed Angelus, just a few inches to close… A form of incautiousness he never would have had if he actually had lived through any of Angelus' reign of terror, and would come to regret.

Before Gunn even had time to realize that the still creature chained to the wall had moved, Angelus had lunged forward, twisted his arm with a crack and put the chain around his neck, yanking it. Gunn fell to the floor lifeless. Xander shot up very quickly and advanced towards Angelus.

"What the hell are you doing, you…"

Angelus didn't listen to the inferior boy, the punched him hard in the face, sending him smacking into the stonewall. Xander only distracted Angelus for a few seconds, but it gave Spike time to attack him.

"So this is it? Not really playing nice, just waiting for the perfect moment to take break free and disappearing into the dark with a scary promise to 'kill this girl by working from the inside'. Don't you think it's getting kinda old, eh?"

"Well you know, Spike, I've always liked the classics."

Angelus kicked Spike hard in the stomach, making him groan and bend over. Angelus swept his leg underneath Spike's feet causing him to fall to the ground face first. He then grabbed an andiron, ironically enough – the very same Spike had used a few years back, and hit him several times hard over the back.

"Bloody hell!"

Angelus kicked the bleeding vampire in the ribs, Spike gathered his strength and hit Angelus legs, which made him stumble a little, not for long, but it gave Spike some time to get up. Angelus shook his head, hit Spike again and pinned him against the wall.

"Now, Spike my boy, I'm gonna give you a choice," Angelus hissed. "Either you get your ass out of this town, or I kill you. Is that simple enough for you to understand?"

Spike stopped struggling.

"Yeah, sure, whatever mate."

Angelus eyed him suspiciously, not releasing his grip.

"Really? Just like that? What about your little feelings for dear old Buff, hm? Your little perverted infatuation?" Spike snorted.

"Hell are you talking about, you ninny? I hate the damn bitch! Didn't have this bloody chip in my brain, I'd kill her in a heartbeat."

"No, you wouldn't. Maybe you'd try, but you wouldn't go through with it. Love, Spike. I can smell it on you."

"Think whatever you want," Spike shot back, frustrated that Angelus could feel things that even he wasn't sure of. "I may be love's bitch, but I ain't that stupid. I'm evil, damn it! Like my unlife too much to sacrifice myself, ain't the 'throw himself to the lions' type."

"Then we understand each other." Angelus let Spike go, and turned around to leave the mansion. However, living with Spike for 20 years back in the day and several months in Sunnydale had made him well aware that he should always watch his back when his grandchilde was pissed off.

As Angelus expected, Spike pulled out a stake and attacked him with a roar. Angelus spun around and grabbed the stake, twisted Spikes wrist and slammed the stake into his gut. Hard. It wouldn't kill him of course, but Angelus had no desire to finish off his pesky grandchilde – not right now. He had more interesting plans to fulfill. With a smirk Angelus took advantage of Spike's state of debility, pushed him backwards and smacked the back of his head against the stone wall. Weakened by the recent mauling and the wooden stake in his stomach, Spike groaned and sank to the floor unconscious.

Angelus left the lovely commotion in the mansion behind, whistling Beethoven's "Ode of joy".


Angel and Buffy hurried along the path leading up to the mansion. Buffy had tried to call Xander several times but he hadn't picked up. She was hoping that there was some simple explanation to why he didn't answer or call her back, maybe the battery was dead, or maybe he'd simply put the phone somewhere in the mansion where he didn't hear it… Spike would probably hear it anyway, but then again, he wasn't always very helpful and could have simply ignored it. However, she had a sinking feeling in her gut that told her that it might not be as simple as that.

"Stand back." Angel moved to the door without a sound, slowly opening it. He looked at Buffy with a worried face. "I smell blood. Human." He swung the door open and revealed the horrible mess inside. Gunn lay closest to the door, a bump on his head, severe bruises around the neck and his right arm twisted in an unnatural position.

"Xander!" Buffy ran to her friend's side and kneeled beside him. She saw that Spike was hurt as well, but it couldnt be too serious - at least he couldn't be dead – or well, technically he was of course, but since a vampire turns to dust when it's killed, he was only unconscious. "I don't think he was hurt so bad," she said, relieved at feeling Xander's strong pulse under her fingertips. "He probably just shoved him out of the way."

He. Buffy didn't say "Angelus", she knew that Angel made no distinction between himself and his alter ego. There was no reason to rub his nose in what had clearly happened here.

"How's Gunn?"

Angel could hear Gunn's pulse, not as strong as it should be, but he would probably be okay.

"He's alive, but bruised pretty badly. His right arm's been broken. I'll call an ambulance."

They never had to raise the topic of what do to with Spike – they couldn't really leave a dead body laying around for the paramedics to find – because Spike soon stirred and started to wake up.

"Oh, bugger this." he mumbled. "This is just bloody brilliant." When Spike had turned around Buffy saw that he had a stake driven deeply into his gut. "Vampire heeling, not always a plus," he said. "The wound's closed up around the stake."

"I can help you with that." Angel left Gunn's side and walked up to Spike, a resolute and angry look on his face. Without hesitation, he grabbed the stake and pulled it out of Spike stomach. Spike growled loudly and raised a fist to hit Angel, but the pain overwhelmed him and he sank to his knees.

"Ow, bloody hell! What the hell are you doing, you git!"

"Taking care of both our problems; your injury and my desire to hurt you," Angel said smugly, then more serious. "Wanna tell us what happened here?"

"What do you think happened, you sod? Your bloody evil version went Chernobyl on us. As you see, I tried to stake the bloody bastard. Oh, don't look at me like that," he addressed Buffy. "Who do you think he's gonna kill now? Don't have to tell you he has a knack for your band of chums."


Angelus walked down the street, happy as a kid in a candy store. He'd found himself a nice, terrified little blond woman that he'd drain dryer than the Sahara, and now, full and warm, he was looking for a more interesting kill.

He guessed that it was too much to hope that anyone of Buffy's friends would be alone outside at this hour if they knew he was loose - then again, if they still believed that he was chained up in the mansion, they might very well be.

As soon as he reached the Shady Hill cemetery, he heard a strong heartbeat. He disappeared into the shadows to get a look at the person before being discovered. He sniffed. The person, whoever it was, smelled a little like Buffy. Not enough to be her though, more like one of her friends. However, the person was alone – and Angelus didn't think for a moment that Angel and Buffy would let anyone from their little cub scout army hunt him alone if they had discovered the mess at the mansion.Of course, maybe he was lucky and they hadn't made found out that he was gone yet. He heard the footsteps approach…

Riley. Of course. The Iowa boyfriend being a good little puppy dog, he had a stake and was obviously taking care of Buffy's patrolling. Angelus smirked to himself. Perfect. He and Angel didn't agree on many subjects, but they hated Riley equally as much. This would be fun.

He stepped out of the shadows.

Riley looked startled. "Angel! It's you." Riley lowered his stake. "I mean, it is the good you, right?" Buffy called me and explained the situation earlier. She told me that they are holding the bad version safely locked up somewhere."

Angelus smiled his trademark smirk. A gesture that would tip off any other of Buffy's friends, but Riley didn't know him well enough. Come to think of it, he was probably too stupid to figure it out even if he'd known him better.

"Of course it's me. I decided to take a sweep, you know, let off a little steam. After being locked up all day, you know, in the Magic Box, with all the books and research…"

Angelus wasn't entirely sure that his act was convincing – he would never get used to playing the Soul – but Riley still had his "as clueless as a dead cow"-look so apparently, it worked on him.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm on my way there myself, just heading back to my car right now. Why don't I drive you." Riley was obviously trying hard to be nice. Buffy had probably told him to be a good puppy and be nice to Angel, who after all was under a lot of pressure, having his evil alter ego loose in the world and all. Yada, yada, yada…

"Sure. Or, I could do this." Angelus lunged forward and kicked Riley in the stomach. As he arched forward, Angelus hit him swiftly over the neck, knocking him unconscious. There. That was better. Of course, he could have engaged in another fight with the tin soldier, but frankly, he didn't much care to. No, he had no desire to fight Riley again.

He just wanted to kill him.


The next two hours Buffy and Angel spent in the hospital – waiting, talking to doctors, and waiting again. Luckily Gunn's wounds weren't quite as severe as it looked like at first. His arm was broken, but apart from that he was simply beaten black and blue. Since he had been hit in the head, they wanted to keep him for observation overnight.

The biggest problem there was for Angel to talk the doctors into giving Gunn a room with a window facing east. Buffy told them that Gunn was a very spiritual person and that the morning sunshine would make him heal better. Of course they couldn't say that the real reason was that they wanted Gunn safe until they were allowed to pick him up. If Angelus wanted to, he would get in even when the sun was up – but direct sunlight in the room would protect him. The doctor didn't seem convinced, but since there was actually a suitable room empty, they got their wish.

Just as expected, Xander had simply been an inconvenience to Angelus – he had shoved him out of the way. He had a mild concussion but was allowed to leave the hospital right away, as long as he promised to take it easy; bed rest and no stress. Yeah, that was very likely to happen…

Meeting up with the gang again they had quickly explained what had happened and after the many "Oh my god" (Willow and Tara), "Oh dear" (Giles and Wesley), "The bastard hurt my Xander" (Anya) and "Smooth Buffy, now we're all on the menu" (Cordelia) they were discussing what to do next.

Buffy stood uncomfortably, shifting, nervous at the thought of Angelus being loose and killing in Sunnydale again. Angel paced back and forth, still not able to completely suppress his anger towards, well, the world in general really, and of course especially his evil counterpart. Xander sat slumped in the couch next to Anya, resting his head and trying hard not to look quiet as queasy and nauseous as he felt. Giles and Wesley were moving around, constantly flipping through books and making notes while the others sat around the large table in the middle of the shop.

"Well, I promised Angel that I'd stake him if it ever came to this," Cordelia said. She glanced at Angel with a confused frown. "Does that apply when you're here too?" Angel made a grimace.

"No. I don't know. If it comes to that, I'll sacrifice myself to stop him…"

"No, you won't." Buffy said firmly. "Now, we have already identified the demon that attacked you, and we know a little about his weapon. So, guys. Please tell me you've figured something more, and useful, about…" she made a grimace, "Totty?"

"Toth" Giles corrected. "Yes, it's a very old demon. The rod device that he used, it's called a ferula-gemina. As we already know, it splits one person in half, thereby distilling personality traits into the different bodies."

"What does that mean exactly? I mean, besides that he's split Angel and Angelus into two bodies, cause, kinda obvious."

"I'm not certain," Giles said, not sure how to go on. "But, seeing Angelus newfangled, er, self-mastery and Angel's – current slight lack of such, Angelus might very well have gotten all the traits that normally make Angel a very hard opponent. There is the demon – exposed, ruthless and centuries old. However, there is also the part of Angel's character that allows him to – control himself, if you will, to – to keep his natural instincts and reactions under restraint."

"And I'm left with my soul and my Angelus-like pigheadedness. My weaknesses," Angel realized. "Yeah, I think you're right."

Buffy nodded. That would explain why Angel had been so shifty these last few days. "So how do you fix it?"

"The book says that you need to make a sort of potion out of some of the demons blood and a piece of his weapon. If you have the potion it's very simple to reintegrate to refracted entities. I have yet to find the exact spell, but since we have neither demon blood nor a piece of the weapon…" Giles held up his hands in a dejected gesture.

"That's – bad, right?" Buffy asked.

"We'll find something, though," Willow assured. "Don't worry." Buffy threw a quick glance at Angel.

"I'll worry alright," she said silently. "But I trust you, all of you." Everyone was silent for a moment, perhaps dwelling on the question how their lives had been cast into such turmoil in just a few days. Three days ago they had all been happy, living their lives as they knew them. It was finally Buffy who broke the silence.

"So, Angel and I go Angelus hunting. This time around, a more serious Angelus hunt. We can tranq him, in the meantime, why don't you guys make some safe arrangements for our evil guest in the training room. We could bring Riley as well." Buffy said.

Angel didn't look very pleased with that suggestion, but he didn't say anything. Strength in numbers, he told himself. Maybe with Riley's help we'll catch him sooner. No, in fact, Angel was pretty sure the opposite was more likely. He could track himself easily, having Riley along would distract him.

"Yeah, that's a great plan! The capable fighters go away and leave us here to be all killed and tortured… Probably both, maybe not in that order. Angel, I won't be able to hold you… him, off with a bottle of fake holy water this time." Angel looked at Cordelia.

"No, you won't…" he answered truthfully. "Buffy, we could always send Riley here," Angel suggested, maybe a little too brightly. "I already know that I, and therefore also Angelus, can take him in combat, but I suppose he'll be good reinforcement here. If you barricade all doors except for the front door and load up on weapons, you should be safe." Angel didn't look anyone in the eyes when he continued. "Besides, I don't think he'll attack you here. Just stay together, armed and inside, you should be alright. It's not artistic enough to just burst in and slaughter everybody."

"Okay, Mr Positive. Thank you for that oh so reassuring statement," Xander said, grimacing and rubbing his head. Angel shrugged. Well, it was true. Buffy let her gaze drift from Angel to Xander and back, deciding not to add any comments of her own.

"Okay, let's go, we can stop by Riley's dorm room. He's probably there by now." Buffy was already on her way to the door. Angel followed.


"Riley?" Buffy knocked on the door.

"You don't have a key?" Angel asked her. Buffy shook her head.

"No."

"Oh." He couldn't help but being the tiniest bit pleased that Buffy and Riley didn't seem SO close after all. Sure, he wanted a normal life for her – it was a main reason to why he left, but… Well, he was the jealous type. Besides, right now he could always blame those feelings on being split from Angelus, couldn't he?

"Oh, what the hell." Buffy pulled the doorknob hard and it broke. She swung the door open.

Maybe the fact that she had Angel at her side had slowed down Buffy's reactions, her realization that this was ANGELUS she was dealing with. A creature that, last time he was loose, had dedicated his existence to tormenting her. Maybe he was slightly altered since he wasn't soulless because of the curse like last time, but still very much the same vampire. Or maybe she just hadn't expected him to get into the game so quickly and brutally. Either way, the sight that awaited her in Riley's dorm room was the last thing she had expected.

Riley was there.

Riley was dead.

He had been placed very neatly on the bed, his bloody hands clutching two roses, one black, signifying death, and one yellow, implying a promise of a new beginning. Always with the artistry of it, Angel thought bitterly.

The body was badly beaten and a hard blow to the temple was probably what killed him. Buffy just stood there, in shock. Angel walked up to Riley's body, he could tell from a distance that he was dead, probably had been for a few hours, but he wanted to grip the situation somehow, not to mention making sure that the cause of death really was the blow to the head… He carefully turned the head on the dead man to both sides, looking for bite marks.

Angel could see the irony in Buffy's second boyfriend coming back as a vampire, and if he could, Angelus could as well. He hadn't been bitten, though, which was a little odd. Well, at least it was until Angel came close enough to feel the scent of his blood. He was drugged, there was no mistaking it. Strange. He had a lot to say about Riley, but he wouldn't have thought of him as a drug addict.

He tried to analyze the smell. Slightly reminiscent to the smell coming off the guy he had tried to eat outside of the Bronze towards the end of his time as Angelus two years ago. Buffy had told him later that he had been a part of the swim team, which had been fed steroids to achieve better. Angel could definitely picture an organization like the Initiative drugging their soldiers, making them stronger and less sensitive to pain. They were originally just ordinary men after all, not imbued with any special powers. Drugged they would burn out quicker, but they would be of better use for the Initiative.

"Buffy, there's nothing we can do here…" Angel began. Something on the wall caught his attention. Dreading what it might be, Buffy took a few steps forward to see what it was.

"Oh god." On the wall, Angelus had written in Riley's blood.

NO MORE SCREWING THE DEADBEAT

All memories of the events two years ago washed over Buffy. She was shocked, horrified and disgusted, all at the same time. Acid was burning in the back of her throat and her fists were clenching into tight balls. Anger, seething hatred and that sinking feeling that made her just want to collapse into a heap on the floor and remain there until all this was over – all emotions fought each other and she wasn't sure what to let out first.

Not again. She couldn't do it all over again.

Angelus was going obviously going for a full-scale attack in all ways imaginable. Mocking her sexually and murdering her boyfriend, all within hours of getting loose. What was to come? Angel knew what she was thinking, because he was thinking it too. He moved closer to her and hugged her. She returned the hug, holding on to him tightly. Taking in his familiar scent, the feel of being in his embrace, his body against hers… she realized how much she had missed him, missed being in his arms. It had been so long time now. The last few times they had met, they hadn't exactly been on the best terms. She had forgotten how everything would just melt away and seem less horrible when she was with him.

"It's okay Buffy. This time, I'm here too. I'm gonna be by your side all the way, and if Angelus needs killing, I'll do it. You're not alone in this."


A/N: Yes, I realize that the Toth-thing with Xander was solved with a simple "let the spell be ended", but that's just a little too simple for my taste.