Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.
Summary: Post AtS and BtVS, Faith and Xander are approached by a secret government agency. Surprises all around.
Rating: PG-13
Chapter 10: Angel/Angelus
Dawn and Xander sat in the quiet library leafing through the dusty tomes. Xander was bored, but he kept going anyway, not willing to face Dawn.
Dawn appeared to be fighting against tears, but she continued working doggedly, reading through the long texts. Xander's one eye had long ago become too tired to read, but he continued pretending, afraid of the confrontation that he knew was coming.
"Was I too hard on him?" asked Dawn in a small voice. Xander looked at her helplessly, not knowing what to say. "I mean, he used to be my friend. I drove him away, I told him that he was less than a thing to me...I hated him. Was that too hard?"
Xander shook his head. "Don't you think you're asking the wrong person, Dawn? Even when he was your friend...I hated him. Even when he was good, I hated him. The closest we came to getting along was the day before the big fight with the First. Do you know how I pulled that off? I IGNORED him, Dawn." He could feel a muscle in his cheek twitching even at the thought of Spike.
Dawn shook her head, rubbing slowly at her face with the insides of her wrists, wiping the tear tracks away. "He was my only real friend that summer, you know," she said tearfully. "He tried to rape my sister: that wasn't just something I could ignore. I went from loving him to hating him, while he was going through the worst torture of his life. And I didn't feel guilty until I found out he hadn't turned evil after all. What kind of friend am I?"
Xander shrugged. "He's still in hell," he pointed out.
"But maybe for good reasons!" snapped Dawn. "This is killing me, Xander."
Xander sighed. "And he's there with the Slayer I'm supposed to be protecting. You think this is somehow easier for me, Dawn?"
"Why do you think I'm talking to you?" snapped Dawn. She shook her head, penitent almost immediately. "I'm sorry, Xander. I just don't even know what's going on anymore."
"You and me both," he sighed. He put the book down, leaning back in his chair. "We don't know where Angelus has gone, we don't know where Faith, Buffy and Spike have gone...not to mention the 'destroyer.' We don't know anything!"
Dawn shivered. "Actually, I think I know where Angelus went," she offered.
"What?" said Xander, surprised.
Dawn met his gaze. "It's just a guess, but if Drusilla thought he would come for her—why wouldn't he?"
Xander stared at her. "You mean you think he's still hanging around here?"
Dawn nodded. "I think he's going to hit us, and soon."
--
Buffy watched Connor, who was sniffing the air. "We're close," reported Connor happily. He was wearing a vest festooned with straps and various weapons over a bright orange shirt that was a bit tight, with loose baggy pants to complete the absolute absurdity of the look.
Buffy hefted the broadsword in her hand grimly. "Great," she said shortly. "And soon we'll meet Angelus." She was all too conscious that instead of a vest covered in knives she had a white tee and blue jeans.
Connor glanced to her. "Um, I could carry that for you, if you'd like," he said. His eyes were serious, even if there was still a bit of humor in his voice.
"No, that's okay," said Buffy. "Last time I fought Angelus was bad enough; I'm going to be ready for him this time."
Connor scowled. "A completely dual view of him—that's something I never had. Well, I did, but I just thought he was Angelus all the time. Come to think of it, so did Spike. You seem to have mentally separated Angel and Angelus."
Buffy laughed harshly. "Sorry, but I can't think of them as the same person. I've fought them both...and there is a difference."
Connor shrugged. "I don't really understand the whole soul deal myself...but these days, I do notice the differences. Especially around Spike."
"Spike?" asked Buffy, and there was a very tentative note in her voice.
Connor gave a wry grin. "I don't know what the soul is, what it does, or how it affects him...but I do know that he hates my dad, but he's doing this anyway."
Connor started walking down the street and Buffy followed him, scowling.
--
The instant Spike and Faith made it through the door there were demons attacking them, guards armed with swords and axes.
Spike dove low, reaching up and grabbing at demons, trying to get a weapon.
As he did that Faith immediately jumped up, planting a foot on a demon's chest and grabbing his head, kicking off and twisting.
As she did so the demon's neck snapped, and she was dropped back to slam inot the ground, driving the breath out of her. She tried to roll, but was unable to do more than a half-roll onto her side to gasp for breath.
She heard a grunt, and then a demon slammed into the floor next to her, an axe buried in its head. She reached out and quick grabbed it, wrenching it free, and rolled away to her feet.
They were already down to just four or five demons, and Spike was fighting like a maniac, spinning and kicking and punching frenetically, his face twisted into a dark scowl.
She moved in quickly, lopping the head off one demon before they noticed she was moving. Another one immediately attacked her, a large arm flying at her, but she blocked it with her offweapon arm and slammed the axe into its face.
She saw another fall, and noticed that Spike had stopped fighting. She looked around, searching for another target, and found that they had all fallen.
"Yay us," she said shortly.
He pulled the piece of paper from his pocket. "Now or never," he said, licking his lips.
As he began to read from the paper in a language Faith had never heard, focusing entirely on it, it occurred to her that she'd never seen him read before. She'd assumed that he couldn't read, or that he didn't care to read.
The chanting wasn't in any language that she recognized, and after a moment she realized with a start that it wasn't really a human language. There was growling, which Spike had to struggle with, and even the occasional trilling sound.
That's when the rain of fire began.
--
Angelus moved through the dark streets of LA, prowling.
Prowling was one of his favorite activities. It was right up there with lurking. That and killing people in really evil ways.
He knew he was being followed. His son was running around behind him somewhere, conjuring up all manner of inappropriate Star Wars comments in his head. "No, Connor, I am your father," he said experimentally, listening to his smooth voice echo through the empty streets.
Then he chuckled and kept walking.
LA was different. Very different. He was all too aware that it had changed mostly because of Angel's actions, which was really annoying him.
A lot of the darkness was gone, scrubbed clean. Wolfram and Hart had been nearly destroyed in the final blaze of battle.
At least everyone else had died, too. He distinctly remembered Spike losing his head, Gunn falling, and Illyria being torn to little bits by some particularly vindictive demons.
He grinned at the memory. "Good times," he said aloud.
"You always talk to yourself?" asked a cranky female voice.
Angelus turned, smiling. "I thought you'd be around here somewhere," he said triumphantly.
Buffy advanced on him with a scowl. "High school reunion, huh?" she asked.
Angelus grinned. "Only this time without a pesky gypsy curse hanging over my head...or Spike. Isn't that grand?"
"Just terrific," said Connor, moving out of the shadows behind Buffy. "Hi, how've you been? Good to see you again."
Angelus chuckled. "Terrific; all I need is a mask and a black cape, and this would all work out. The princess, the snot-nosed son, and the evil father. Wait, didn't I go good at the end of this movie?"
Connor moved closer to Buffy, grabbing the broadsword out of her hands. "Well, I won't tell if you won't," he said with a grin. "Ready for round three, old man?"
Angelus sighed. "You know, maybe I should go good. It worked for Spike, right? Maybe I should promise not to kill humans and just dote on Buffy forever and ever." As he finished saying this his face morphed into its demonic visage. "Or, maybe I should just kill you."
He charged forward, straight at Buffy. She kicked him, spinning around and sending him flying over her shoulder. "Little trick I learned from an old friend of yours," she taunted.
Angelus climbed to his feet, scowling. "Oh, yeah, l'Eterno. What's the matter, couldn't find a vampire to give you that cold, cold lovin? Needed to find a substitute for your souled Aurelian lovers?"
Buffy's face darkened, and she moved forward.
Connor cut in front of her with almost impossible speed, slashing at Angelus, who dodged back.
"Careful, son, it's all fun and games till somebody puts an eye out," said Angelus, grinning. "Just ask Xander."
Connor moved forward, attacking quickly and grimly. "You know, Angelus, I'm stronger than you these days," said Connor quietly, the sword in his hand whipping through the air, making a loud whistling noise. "I took Sahjhan, something you never could do."
"Luck," mocked Angelus. "And fate. And destiny. And, hey, how you doing, Buff? Last time I saw you, you were all over the Immortal...time before that, you were all over Spike...been missing me?"
Connor punched Angelus in the face, a lightning move that sent him flying. "Hey, focus," said Connor. "She's just here for back up, in case I'm kicking your butt too much. Then she'll step in on your side." He advanced, swinging the broadsword.
Angelus spat on the ground, leaving a bloody stain. "Oh, right, like I'll need it," he growled.
Connor was faster than Angelus, and he used that speed as best he could. But Angelus was still the more powerful of the two, and with a few more tricks up his sleeve. As they fought Connor was forced back again and again.
Then Buffy entered the fray, throwing punches that were harder than Angelus' and just as fast as Connor's. Angelus fell back, surprised.
The Slayer, however, fought silently and viciously. "Little bottled up rage thing going on here, huh?" joked Angelus, punching her in the face. She staggered back, but silently approached him again.
Connor impaled Angelus then, slamming the sword into his chest. Angelus laughed, punching his son away from him. "Even Spike's done that!" he said, laughing. "Lindsey, too!"
Connor whipped out a remote control. "Yeah, but I bet neither of them bothered to implant a taser in their sword handle first," he said, grinning.
The electric shock blew Angelus off his feet, the loud snap echoing through the air. Angelus crumpled to the ground, the sword hitting the pavement and making a loud clicking noise.
Buffy wrinkled her nose against the smell of burnt flesh. "Ew. You had a taser in there?"
"One of Spike's crazy ideas," said Connor, slowly moving closer to the big vampire. "And, yes, he's down." He hoisted the unconscious vampire onto his back. "Let's go; Lorne has the cage ready, and the drugs we're going to need to keep him docile."
"Terrific," said Buffy. "I thought you said his soul was destroyed!"
"Well, yeah, but he's still my dad," replied Connor.
Buffy shook her head. "No!" she said. "Your dad..." She glared at the boy for a minute, following him. "We're going to get into one of those long, boring, philosophical discussions about souls, aren't we?"
"Nope!" said Connor. "Firstly, we don't have time. He'll be waking up soon. Secondly, I really don't care about your hang-ups. This is my dad we're talking about. I'm not giving up on him. Thirdly, this is all part of the master plan."
"Master plan?" asked Buffy.
"Well, sure," said Connor. "Spike's master plan."
"Spike's. Master plan," repeated Buffy, the words sour on her lips. "You know what, that's messed up. Totally messed up."
"Why?" asked Connor. "Because he's not allowed to have plans like you have?" There was a slight edge to his voice, but Buffy ignored it.
"Because Spike's plans never turn out well," said Buffy. "And because... because this is all wrong! We can't get his soul back, but we're going to just tie him up and drug him? This is Angelus! Angel would have wanted us to stake him."
"Yes, he would have," replied Connor. He glanced back at Buffy, smiling. "But that's not the point, not any more."
Buffy continued following the super-powered teen, shaking her head. "This is why it's always a bad idea for Spike to have plans," she pointed out. "I end up confused, and I don't understand what's going on, and I'm pretty sure that you're not telling me everything. Why are we keeping Angelus alive? We defeated him! Pretty easily, too."
"That's because I've been training with Spike for this day," said Connor, a hint of grimness in his voice. "We didn't set about this lightly. We knew what we were doing."
"What were you doing?!" demanded Buffy.
"Getting ready," replied Connor.
--
Spike marched through the lower levels of the dungeon, an axe in each hand. Faith trailed behind him, carrying a broadsword she'd taken from a large, horned demon. "This is ridiculous," she muttered.
Spike turned a corner, encountering another demon. It gave a squeal of surprise, and reached for a weapon. Before its hand could get there Spike lopped the hand off with a long overhand swing, then lopped the head off the demon.
"Maybe," he agreed. "But I know they're here somewhere."
"How will you know which ones are the ones in charge?" asked Faith.
Spike shrugged. "They're the Senior partners, ain't they? I'll know em. If nothing else the stench of evil ought to give them away." He continued marching onward, and Faith practically had to run to keep up with him.
It was getting even harder to hate him. The stunt he'd pulled outside, forcing her to confront herself, had been downright therapeutic--even if it was cold and manipulative. And his brash manner, she was beginning to see, hid a soul as bruised and bleeding as her own.
And that sounded more like something a poet would say. She pushed the thought aside angrily, focusing on Spike.
As annoying and arrogant as he was, she was starting to understand why Buffy had been so attached to the vampire. At the time she had more or less ignored it, not understanding it at all, or assuming it was all about hot vampire lovin.
Now she was beginning to see how Spike's single-minded focus could be more than just an annoying tendency to stick up for Buffy when the whole house was kicking her out, more than just a tendency to start hitting people when Buffy wasn't getting her way.
Spike was like a bulldog. He wouldn't let go of this idea of killing the demons responsible for Angel's death, even though Faith knew he hated the older vampire. The peroxide blonde also seemed to be going even more crazy than before, becoming agitated and...violent.
That was actually turning Faith on a little, truth be told.
Faith scowled, pushing that thought aside too. That was definitely of the bad.
Spike continued marching through the dimly lit stone passages, glancing back at Faith once. His features were fixed in a dark scowl, and for a moment she wondered just how much demon there was left in him.
A tall demon with long, white hair and tan skin stepped out from behind a pillar, scowling at Spike. "William?" he asked, surprised. "You're ahead of schedule!" accused the demon.
Spike advanced on him menacingly. "Where're the Senior Partners?" he demanded.
The tall demon paled. "What?" he asked, his chalky skin turning a pale, pasty white. "Uh, William, I don't know how you think this is supposed to work, but you're not the one with the power here."
Spike buried one axe in the demon's head. "Wrong answer!" he snarled.
A door opened, and another demon, nearly identical to the one Spike had just killed poked his head out. His face also turned a peculiar shade of white. "William the Bloody?" he asked, gaping.
Spike wrenched the axe free, letting the body of the demon fall to the ground. "It's go-time, kiddo!" he snarled. "Where's the Senior Partners?"
"Uh, you just killed one," said the demon nervously. "Don't we have armies of demons to keep your kind out?"
"You did!" snarled Spike. "Till you sent them to earth to destroy Angel." He advanced on the Senior Partner, lifting both axes to shoulder level. "Now, you know what I'm after. Take me there!"
"This is about the rain of fire, isn't it?" quavered the demon. "Look, can we make a deal?"
"No!" snapped Spike. "I've had quite enough dealing with the devil for one lifetime, all right? You take me to him, you might make it out of here alive!"
The pale demon whimpered. Spike moved closer, resting the axe on the demon's shoulder, glaring at him. "I'm going to tear this place apart!" he hissed. "I'll find him! The only question for you is, will you still be in one piece when we find him?"
The demon shook his head. "There are rules," he whispered. "And none of us is going to help you—agh!"
Spike pushed the axe harder against the demon's collarbone, snapping it. "Where is he?!" he snarled.
"Down that passage, take a right!" moaned the demon. Spike summarily chopped his head off, turning and rushing down the passage.
Faith followed him, glancing at the corpse. "Messy," she commented.
"Come on!" said Spike, hurrying. "They must have a few guards left somewhere."
Faith followed him, shaking her head. She could still hear the fireballs hitting the ground outside, a rumbling that shook the whole dimension. "What's the rush?" she asked.
"The spell I cast is going to destroy this whole plane of existence!" growled Spike. "And I can't reverse it! So we have to find what we're looking for and get out of here, and fast!"
Faith sighed, following him. As they started down a flight of stairs Spike let out a yelp, falling sideways to the ground as it shook under, plummeting several yards to crash to the ground.
He rolled upright instantly, holding one axe in a two-handed grip. "Come on!" he yelled.
Faith jumped down beside him, following as he darted down a passageway. At the end was a large, circular room with a chair in the middle, surrounded by pale demons like the ones above. The chair faced away from them, but she could see a tray filled with torture implements beside it, and hands dangling from the sides, tied to the chair.
"Get them!" yelled Spike, jumping forward and attacking. These pale demons responded by attacking them, drawing knives and other weapons.
Faith darted forward, swinging the sword wildly, hacking at the demons as they tried to swarm Spike. "Get off!" she yelled, kicking one across the room.
"Kill the prisoner!" squeaked the one she'd kicked, toppling to the ground.
"NO!" roared Spike, killing three with one sweep of his axe. "Slayer! Take them!"
Several of the demons darted towards the center of the room, weapons raised.
Faith ran forward, jumping up onto the chair, which was pointed away from her. She landed in the lap of the prisoner, blocking blows from the demons with her sword, slashing at them and driving them back.
Spike roared, leaping forward and attacking them, using the window of opportunity that Faith had given him. She watched in awe as he finished off the remaining demons with frenzied movements, his axe flying through the air.
He stopped when the demons all lay still on the floor, breathing heavily. He glanced to Faith, who was still straddling the prone prisoner. "Right, then, I'll open the passage out of here, before it all blows up," said Spike shortly, dropping the axe and grabbing a book out of one of his duster pockets.
Faith sighed, standing up and looking back at the prisoner.
She froze, staring down at Angel. He was looking back at her through eyes filled with pain, and an odd expression of hope.
"Angel?" she asked, surprised.
"Faith?" he croaked, his voice unsteady.
Spike moved to Angel's side, producing a knife and sawing at the bonds around Angel's wrists. "Well, ain't this a pickle?" he asked.
"Don't!" rasped Angel. "The chair anchors me...without it..."
"Don't worry, Liam," sneered Spike. "Came all prepared and everything, dinn't we?" Spike glanced up at Faith, who was still frozen, staring at Angel. "What?" he snapped, angrily. "Take the books, start putting together a pentagram so we can break out of here."
Faith nodded, still not believing her eyes. "It's Angel..." she whispered.
"Yeah, too right," snorted Spike. "Hey, git, you ready to go?"
Faith turned away, blinking.
