The Scooby gang plus Andrew and Kennedy sat in Angel's office. They were all in shock over Andrew's announcement that Spike was alive and well and living in LA. The fact that he had help Andrew track down Dana told them all that he was still on the side for good, something that couldn't be said for Angel. They had come to a unanimous decision that they would go to LA, offer Spike his rightful position with the International Council of Slayers and Watchers and get him the hell away from Wolfram and Hart. The trip had a dual purpose though. They were hoping that Angel was still good enough to help them track a vampire.
Gabe was proving to be an elusive and dangerous foe. He had killed every slayer that he had met so far. There was nothing about him in any of the history books or the Watcher's journals. He was obviously old. They had no idea how to bring him down and they needed to fast. He was wiping out the young slayers quicker than the ICSW could find them and doing so in such a random pattern that they had no way to plan for his next move. It was a very undesirable situation that was rapidly spiralling out of control. The intel that they had told them that he had left Europe and was currently in or on his way to LA but that was all they knew. He could very well be setting up a base in LA but hunting slayers elsewhere. In short they had no guarantees.
As soon as Buffy had said that she was heading for the city to hunt the vampire herself Andrew had come clean about Spike. There had been a mixed but definitely positive reaction to this news. Within hours Xander, Willow, Dawn and Giles had decided that they were going with her. Where Willow went, Kennedy followed and Andrew just seemed to invite himself along. Now they were all waiting for the former AI gang to appear. They all wanted to see Spike, to have the verification of their own eyes (or eye in Xander's case) that he was actually alive. When Buffy had heard the news she had gone into shock; guilt at leaving him behind, desire to have him back, love and sorrow all swirling around her head in a deafening roar. As she had mounted the plane at Fiumicino, a colony of butterflies had begun to swarm around her stomach and they had turned to bats somewhere over the Atlantic. Then she had spent the night tossing and turning as she was so nervous about meeting him again. Now she was having to wait.
They had been waiting for a full half hour, Harmony telling them that they would have to wait as everyone was either busy or not actually in the building and that they would have to wait until they got back. Harmony hadn't been exactly pleasant to them either. Although she loved being a vampire, she never aged or put on weight – staying eternally fabulous – she still couldn't help but resent them as they had been the ones to drag her into the battle that had gotten her killed. Never mind the fact that Spike's obsession with Buffy had caused them to break up. She was looking forward to his and Angel's relationship being thrown in her face. Her first time in LA, Cordy had told her the drama that had been the Buffy and Angel show, how she had been utterly in love with him and caused him to lose his soul and that even though he was a couple of hours drive away he was still under her thumb. Angel was now totally in love with Spike and Harmony couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at the passion that Spike held for Angel. It was obvious to all who saw – although she had the added advantage of an enhanced sense of smell to fill in the blanks. She knew that their relationship was serious even though it was still so young but she was worried that Buffy would try something.
For their part, having to wait was causing increasingly active butterflies for all of the Scoobies. They were all excited to see Spike and Buffy was totally nervous. She had meant every word that she had said to him in that cave and grieved over his death, now she wasn't sure where they were at but she knew that she wanted him in her life. She was so angry at Angel for not telling her that he was back. She was unable to believe that he was that petty and jealous that he couldn't acknowledge her right to know that Spike had returned. Dawn was really excited about seeing Spike, unable to believe how much she had missed him over the past few months. It had been almost a year since she had last seen him and despite how mad she had been at him in Sunnydale, he was her big brother, her protector, her friend. She had missed him something fierce and really wanted him to come back with them. Although she had grown up a lot over the past year, there was still a small part of her that wanted Buffy and Spike to be together. She had watched her sister mourn the vampire throughout the past few months, missing his company on hunts and sparring with him. She had seemed awfully alone despite the fact that she had been surrounded by other slayers. The rest of the group just wanted to see Spike and thank him. He had earned their respect and gratitude and they were all delighted that he was all right.
The door opened to admit Angel looking a little battered and bruised being supported by Spike, closely behind them was Wesley, looking very different to how they all remembered, a guy and a girl that they didn't recognise and a green demon. Spike and Angel seemed to be in the middle of an argument, a long one if the looks on everyone's faces were anything to go by. Had the members of the ICSW had looked closely they would have noticed something in the way that Spike and Angel were holding each other, but they let their natural belief that they knew these people blinded their senses.
"No, that's not the case at all!"
"Please Peaches, he had you pinned to the wall!"
"I was fine…"
Angel's voice trailed off when he caught sight of the group gathered in his office and he wanted to crawl away and hide rather than face what he knew was coming. He had a horrible feeling that this was the sense of doom that had been tickling him for the past few days. He tensed and Spike felt it in his body and in his mind. He followed Angel's eyes and came face to face with the Scoobies, the people that believed he was dead. Unconsciously he dropped his arms from Angel and Angel staggered at the lack of support, only Gunn at his back stopped him going down completely. The feeling of inevitability raced through his veins like motor oil, clogging up everything in its path until all that was left was the sense of doom and knowledge that he was about to lose.
"Buffy." Spike was pleased to find that he had been right about the fact that he had no way of opening this conversation. The pleasure quickly turned to pain as she punched his nose. Then she threw her arms around him and pulled him into a fierce hug.
"I thought you were dead. I saw you burn."
"Shh pet…its ok… 'm fine." Spike couldn't help burying his face into her hair and holding her tighter. Eventually they broke apart and Spike had to greet all the other Scoobies.
He got lingering hugs from Red and Nibblet, a brief hug and whisper of thanks form Kennedy, a manly hug from Xander (which scared the hell out of him) and another impression of a limpet from Andrew. Even Giles engaged him in a warm handshake and pat on the back. All of them told him how much they had missed him and how grateful they were to see him again. Buffy remained constantly at his side and once all the welcome hugs were done, Dawn took up a flanking position on his other side.
Angel watched with a heavy heart as Buffy wrapped her hand round Spike's and dragged him to the sofa, sitting down next to him practically plastered to his side. Spike hadn't so much as looked at him since they had arrived, not seeming to care that he was looking like he was in a relationship with Buffy and not Angel. Trying not to draw any attention to himself Angel slipped towards the window, listening as they told Spike of everything that they had been doing and Wes made the necessary introductions. Immediately Angel knew that he couldn't trust Kennedy, she was more extreme in her view on the supposed black and white world that they lived in than Buffy was. He knew that she would stake him as soon as look at him just because he was a vampire – never mind the fact that he had a soul. He could smell the mistrust that rolled of each and everyone of them every time that Wolfram and Hart was mentioned and he knew that there would be no way they would come out of this as friends. He hoped to all the deities listening that he was wrong.
He was however surprised at the lack of feeling that he had for the group that had once been his only link to the real world. Spike had eclipsed everything in his heart and the other spaces were filled by his real family; by Wes, Fred, Lorne and Gunn. The remaining space was taken up by the memory of Cordelia, Darla and of course Connor. He felt affection for the people that he saw and he knew it would hurt if anything happened to them, but it wouldn't leave behind the gaping bloody wound that his friends would leave. Then came the question that he was dreading.
"So where's Queen C?"
Angel didn't have to turn around to know that his group were looking amongst themselves and glancing at him for leadership. He merely slumped his shoulders more and continued to watch out of the window. Wes answered in his stead.
"She died a little over a month ago. We tried to get in contact with you but we were told that you wanted nothing to do with us whilst we were having dealings with Wolfram and Hart."
An ominous silence settled over the group. No one knew what to say to that as they couldn't deny the fact that they had refused to speak to the LA group and Angel knew that his group felt that they were being hypocritical to claim that they truly cared about Cordelia, after all they had barely kept in contact with her after she had moved to LA.
"So, I guess that you just don't bother to inform us of anything anymore."
Everyone was aware that the accusation had more to do with Spike than with Cordelia but despite that fact Wes felt the need to defend them.
"We have tried to contact you all on several occasions but each time we met the same barriers. If you won't allow for any messages to get through how are we meant to contact you? Smoke signals?"
He failed to mention the fact that Spike was the one who forbade them telling the Scoobies that he was back, even when they had suggested calling on Willow to help un-ghost him. That was for Spike to admit to. Cowed by Wes' sudden and vehement attack on them Buffy switched tracks.
"You should see our apartment in Rome. It is beautiful. We're quite near the Trevi Fountain and the area is full of shops and fabulous pizza places. We couldn't get rid of Xander for a month the last time that he came to stay!"
Everyone was aware of the implication behind the words that Buffy spoke and to Angel's increasing heartache Spike said nothing about staying in LA or about their relationship. He didn't even mention that he was seeing someone when Buffy mentioned that she had been dating someone but that it hadn't worked out. After about forty-five minutes of torture on Angel's part and general chit chat on behalf of the others Giles adopted a more formal attitude.
"Yes well, as good as it is to see Spike alive and well, for a vampire, we will have to leave the issue of your return and joining the ICSW for the time being. As much as it galls us to say this Angel we have need of your help." Giles pushed a thick manila folder across the coffee table in Angel's general direction. Angel didn't move from his position on the corner of his desk but he did turn away from the window.
"My help? Or Wolfram and Hart's help?" Angel glanced at the folder as if it were about to leap up and bite him. Angel was not happy at the way they assumed that Spike would be going with them, although Angel feared that that would turn out to be the case.
Spike had been overjoyed to see Dawn and Buffy and thrilled to see the others. Buffy had been equally ecstatic to see Spike. He couldn't compete with that and he knew that should Spike wish to leave, Angel couldn't stop him. He felt Fred's hand slip into his own and Wesley take a seat on the desk next to him in a show of moral support. It was killing the pair of them to see Spike curled up with the two Summers girls. They knew that it was destroying Angel but Spike had been so happy to see the people that he had loved in Sunnydale that he hadn't noticed the discomfort of his Claim.
Buffy took control, her status as Prime Slayer apparent in the way she decided to steer the discussion.
"Yours Angel. We are hunting a vampire known as Gabe. He has killed every slayer that he has come into contact with – most of them were unknown or unconnected to the ICSW. From his apparent strength and skill, he is obviously an old vampire. Not Master or Kakistos old but he is no newbie and that is the extent of out knowledge. We can't find anything about him anywhere, which considering how good he is, we are finding that really worrying. We have him tracked to LA. He has been here for a few weeks at most, but he hasn't killed any slayers here yet and we want to sort this out before he does."
Angel glanced at Wes and Gunn, both shook their heads declaring what he suspected to be true.
"We haven't heard of any new vampire in town. If he's as proficient as you say we'd have heard about him by now."
The Scoobies looked amongst each other, briefly considering the fact that they could be wrong but all their evidence had pointed to him coming here.
"No, he's definitely here."
"You're sure?"
"Positive. That file contains everything that we know about him. So far it's only a list of the slayers that he's killed."
Wes frowned at the lack of information. If that was all they had to go on then it was going to be very difficult to track him down in a city the size of LA.
"You have nothing else?"
"No."
"Well, I guess Special Ops have their work cut out for them."
Their was another exchange of private looks and Giles cleared his throat.
"Actually, we would prefer it if Wolfram and Hart had nothing to do with this arrangement. Some slayers may be in danger and we want them to have no contact with this place."
Angel felt his heckles rising at the implications that Giles seemed to be making. He glanced at his friends and saw a similar fury in their expressions. It was Gunn who put their thoughts into words.
"So you want our help but you don't want us involved?"
"That's not what Giles said."
"No, what he said amounted to the fact that you want to have free reign to use the resources that Wolfram and Hart have put at our disposal but you don't want us involved."
Buffy couldn't help the frustrated 'hmph' that escaped her lips as Gunn hit the nail on the head. They had discussed this all the way on the plane. Wolfram and Hart had resources that they didn't – especially in the demon world, but they really didn't want to involve themselves or the slayers they were trying to protect in the mire that was Wolfram and Hart. The Watcher's Council had always been aware of the potential threat that the law firm posed, but with only one Slayer it hardly seemed worth the effort to get involved. Now there were hundreds of girls all over the world with the power of the Slayer and Wolfram and Hart seemed a bigger threat.
"Look, are you going to help us or not?"
"Of course we will. Did you seriously think that we wouldn't?"
Angel couldn't keep the note of hurt out of his voice as he spoke voluntarily for the first time in the whole meeting. He received no reply.
"So we're huntin tonight then luv?" Spike cocked an eyebrow at Buffy. She nodded and gave him a small grin. "Jus' like old times then pet."
"Yeah – we even have a stash of hot chocolate and marshmallows for after." Buffy wanted to talk to Spike after patrol so that they could sort out his coming back to Rome with her. She was confident that he would as he didn't seem to have any lasting attachments here and the way he had been with all of them screamed to her that he needed his friends. "So what are we waiting for? Come on guys, let's patrol LA. How many different cities does that make it now Will?"
Angel listened to their inane banter as they left his office. It had been clear to all of them that they were not invited on this hunt. Angel got the sneaking suspicion in his gut that Spike wouldn't be back tonight.
"Angel? Are you ok?" Fred was worried for her friend. She had seen how he had loved and lost Cordy and that had been tough, this looked like it was going to be more serious though.
"I'm fine Fred. Why wouldn't I be?" Angel's reply sounded forced to his own ears and he could see the patented looks of disbelief on the faces of his friends. "Ok, I'll be fine."
"Perhaps we should discuss this mysterious vampire they are hunting. If he has set up shop in LA that would be bad for us and so I think that we should get a jump on this before anything starts to occur." Wesley took the folder from the table and began to pass sections to each person as Fred put in a call for take out.
It was well after 2am when they decided to call it a night. Angel offered them the guest rooms on his floor which they gladly accepted. He fell into his bed and was amazed at the size of it. It was much too big and cold without Spike. Something was troubling him about the vampire they were tracking. There was something there, staring him in the eye and he couldn't quite see it. It was going to drive him insane – he knew that. Eventually he curled into the arms of sleep, lamenting the lack of the physical arms that he had come to rely upon.
The Master came back to him that night. It was his first time again. He was flogged until there was no skin left on his back. He was then manacled to the bed – the cuffs on his wrists and ankles stretching him wide. He felt the cold, cold hands running over his flesh and then pulling his cheeks roughly apart and then the pain… greater than any he had experienced before. He was stretched and filled more than he thought possible. He felt as though the thrusting would force the cock all the way through him, splitting him in half. He was hammered into the mattress so hard that he could feel the wooden support below. Blood was seeping down from a cut on his head where the Master had smashed it into the ground. He was begging for it to end and yet it wasn't going to, he knew that. He was so scared…
He woke up panting.
The dream had been so real that he could still feel the shocks of pain radiating from his backside. It hurt so much that he wouldn't have been shocked to smell blood. It had been more vivid than ever before. He could still feel the cold hands mapping their way over his skin, the claws raking bloodied tracks in his flesh. He was clammy with a cold sweat – entirely the product of his nightmares. As he gradually woke up more he remembered other details of the dream, details that he had never had before.
A cold and remarkably hard hand pushed him down. There was so much strength in that one hand, he dreaded to find out how much strength there was in the rest of that cold marble body. He hadn't the energy to scream anymore. His throat was raw with crying and ivory fangs had sapped most of the fight out of him. He felt the tears track down his cheeks and remembered feeling like this when he was only thirteen and Donal had pushed him into a similar mattress. At the horrific thought of what might be to come he began to struggle with what remained of his energy, icy fear making up for the blood loss.
He was dimly aware of a serpentine hiss in his ear telling him that he belonged to the bloodied monster that towered above him. He could feel the words of ownership being whispered into the deep lash marks on his back and into the deep tear on his throat and his blood soaking them up despite his frantic struggles.
He screamed as a talon-esque finger breached him violently. The serrated nail tore at the delicate tissue that was beyond the ring of muscle and brought forth a small and steady stream of viscous blood. No matter how much the powerful male anal muscles tried to force the foreign and unwelcome object from his body, that one finger was stronger than all of his muscles put together. He tried to bury his head into the mattress and block out what was happening to him, but nothing seemed to help. His silent screams were absorbed by the goose down but nothing could block out the smell of rich honeyed blood, salty tears and the astringent aroma of the Master's arousal.
When the huge and almost petrified cock slammed into him he arched off the bed and desperately tried to claw his way away from it. Sharp ungues ripped through the flesh and muscle of his hips and sunk into the bone, holding him in place as a punishing rhythm was set. He cried for someone, anyone to come to him and help but his calls just bounced back to him off the cave walls.
As the Master continued to hammer into him, continually ripping and tearing at that tender flesh, he felt a warm glow caress his face. He turned towards the light and saw Spike and Buffy entwined in an ardent embrace. So wrapped up in one another they were ignorant to his cries for help. He screamed and shouted but he could see the words bounce off the barrier of their passion. He reached out a desperate hand to them but it was smacked down by a fist that felt more like a sledgehammer. He watched them dumbly as the Master rode on unable to do anything about his predicament.
As it came, he welcomed the call of unconsciousness, willingly diving into its depths in order to escape the physical and heart shattering pain that he was feeling. The last image that he saw was a pair of green eyes lurking in the shadows just out of reach.
Green eyes.
He knew no one with eyes that colour, green as emeralds, green as Irish hills. Yet, they felt… they felt welcome, familiar.
He glanced at his beside clock. The red digital display was flashing 3.34. He hadn't even had an hour's sleep but there was no way that he wanted to go back to sleep. He slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom. He needed to wash the feel of those claws, that mouth, those words from his skin because he knew there was no way to erase them from his mind. The scalding hot water managed to remove some of the physical memory but the ghosts refused to fade no matter how hot the water got. He only stopped his vicious scrubbing when he smelt blood. Glancing at his arms Angel was horrified to see that he had scratched the skin off of them, the soft flannel having been turned into a metal scourer by his fear and revulsion. Revulsion at himself for letting that creature back into his nightmares.
Angel sat and watched the dawn claim LA and trembled as he imagined Spike and Buffy doing the same thing. He tried to drink a mug of blood and a mug of coffee but both tasted like ashes in his mouth. Every time he closed his eyes he had flashes of himself, naked and manacled to a cold stone floor, a holy water dipped cat shredding through his skin and a cruel whisper of 'Mine' echoing down barren corridors. The warm morning sun did nothing to help ease the impressions that the icy hands of nightmare had left on his skin, it only emphasised the echo that still lingered.
Buffy, Spike and the others came in later that day. They were all smiles and sunshine and Angel felt sick. Spike barely said hello. Barely spared a glance to the dark figure that he had woken wrapped around a little over twenty four hours earlier. As he watched the way that they chatted and joked he felt his heart break. He watched whilst they researched, sharing memories that brought laughter bubbling over their lips. He listened as they discussed the previous night's unsuccessful hunt, making it sound like an erotic adventure to his melancholy ears. They didn't notice when he slipped out of the door.
That night he didn't dream.
He wished that he had.
Instead, he was assailed by a vision… Cordelia hadn't lied when she said that they were more painful than they looked. He felt as though molten lava was being poured into his skull whilst his brain was being pulled out at the same time. He lost total control of his body as it convulsed with pain. Red hot pain that blinded him to the world and perversely made him ache for the rime of his dream.
He saw flashes of a girl… young… pretty… long dark hair that framed her tanned heart shaped face. Her dark eyes were filled with tears and a sadness that was as deep as the ocean… She was at a grave… her mother's… there was a demon… burnt umber skin… four long claws… jagged fangs… Oh God! He felt it as the demon dug its claws into her and ripped her intestines out. He saw them fall on the floor in a loose puddle of flesh and blood. He felt her terror. He felt her pain. He felt her die…
It was hell…
He did the one thing that he could do. He pulled his agonised body out of its contorted position on the floor, hurriedly dressed in a pair of combats, a jumper and his boots and left the penthouse, pulling Cordelia's katana sword off of the wall as he went.
Not knowing where he was headed he merely followed the tugging in his mind hoping that it would lead him right. If he turned wrong the pain increased, forcing him to his knees, sobbing for mercy from unthinking powers that couldn't help him anymore.
It was a tear stained forlorn white knight that saved the princess this time, barely able to parry the demon's advances due to the pain in his head.
When he returned from the demon hunt he didn't dare go to sleep. If he did the dreams might come back or he'd see the vision again. He wanted Spike. He needed Spike. He was meant to be able to come up here and fall apart and Spike would put him back together. But Spike wasn't here and he was still falling apart. Instead he sat on his carpeted penthouse floor, head pressed against the window and waited for the dawn to take him. He didn't move until Wesley appeared six hours later and forced his bloodied form into a warm shower.
