Title: Unnatural 5/8

Series: Unnatural!Verse. Part One.
Author: Miz Thang
Summary: post-Shells, Illyria has a few thoughts on things. The people she has to deal with. This takes a little twist on canon. I'll just say this doesn't turn out to be a happy ending fic.
Spoilers: Season 5 of Angel, up to Shells, and some plot points beyond that.
Warnings: Spike/Illyria. Sex. Character Death.
Rating: FRM

A/N: No, you are not dreaming. It's another update. I think we're about three chapters away from a finish. Plus, thanks so much for the reviews. They make me smile like it's Christmas. Spike'sSavior, that will soon come, promise. And Imzadi, very much in wonderment with you... Anyway, on with the chapter.

Chapter Five: All About The Blood

Illyria was a time bomb waiting to happen. Wesley had managed to conclude that Illyria's power couldn't be contained within Fred's body. The only option was to funnel it somewhere, to somehow extract so of her power and send it away.

Illyria had posed a really good question. Away where?

Illyria didn't want to send it away. The end of the world meant nothing to her; it would be a great gift to rid the universe of this planet. Except Spike cared. And for some strangely odd reason, she cared about what Spike cared about. So, she would give it up.

But under no circumstances would she funnel it 'somewhere,' send it into the ether. She would not just release it into the world without any certainty on how she could retrieve it in the future.

As they stood in Angel's office, contemplating on what she would do, she decided. It was fairly obvious, fool proof as her nights in Spike's bed told her. "I desire you give it to Spike."

The looks had been of surprise. Including Spike. No one would expect, no matter how suspiciously close these two were being as of late, that Illyria would throw out that option. A doable option.

"What?" Angel choked out. He prayed to whoever would listen that he'd heard Illyria wrong.

"Give it to Spike. If I cannot remain at my true self, and I must reduce my power, I will put it where I trust it most. That is in Spike." Illyria answered.

Her decision was final. She almost hummed as she thought of her plan moving along.

-

Illyria had watched him, hours after the transfusion. She knew he now had her power. She knew his strength was the only thing that rivaled hers. She knew that he was her true mate now. She did not understand why it shocked him so much.

"I don't understand." She went ahead and said. "You have more power than ever before."

"Not in it for the power anymore, Illyria."

"You lie." She sat up straighter, looking him head-on. "You say you don't but you know the truth in your heart. You like power. You like that I have power. Don't pretend that it doesn't affect you. I can see that it does. Allow it to."

She was poisoning him. His mind set. She had already started when she picked him. Her desire for world domination was swirling in his head and she knew that when the time came he would side with her and rule beside her. It was only a matter of time.

-

She was falling. I was not sensible, but it was true. She was falling in love with Spike, slowly but surely. She had thought that it was only she leaking into Spike, but he himself was tainting her. And she couldn't discontinue it. Her feelings now identified with the shell's for Wesley and…it made her smile to think of it, to think of anything associated with Spike.

I have allowed myself to become domesticated, she thought in disgust as she stood before the microwave, watching his blood for him while he bought a pack of cigarettes. He had taken up smoking again.

Blood. The last thing keeping us from truly being one.

Her thoughts centered on the mug spinning around on the table inside the electronic. Her mind was already made up and she reached inside, placing the scalding cup on the counter. She pulled out a dagger with her right hand and slashed the palm of her left. She closed her palm over the mug, watching the drip of her blood. Several drops later, the cut closed. She tucked the dagger back in and rid herself of the remaining blood on her palm.

Just as she closed the microwave door, the front door closed and she turned to face Spike, holding his mug. "It finished while you were still out. I thought it better to let it cool."

-

She had devised a plan to complete the exchange of blood. It was far-fetched, but she had no other answer to moving forward in her plans. One day, during training, she hit him. It was hard enough that, had he not been her equivalent, he'd have flown back into the wall and it would have caused internal bleeding. But, as he was her equal, it only knocked him back a few steps and caused a minor trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.

He dabbed at it and then looked at her. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"I'm…sorry." Even as she said this, moved towards him. As if in a trance, she reached forward, touching the corner of is mouth and taking some of his blood. Her eyes reached his and never wavered as she put her finger in her mouth, tasting it, completing her ritual.

Needless to say, not a lot of training was done after that.

-

It put Angel on edge. Which made it a good old time for Spike. The fact that Spike was retaining Illyria power, that his strength was nearly as encompassing as the god king's stuck a wedge farther up his ass. Well, it did in Spike's opinion.

Illyria also found it enjoyable. The unease that Angel reeked of brought tiny smiles to her face as she saw it did her Spike. She did not know when he became so. Her Spike. She just gave him that title mentally once she had fornicated with him, and then allowed him her power, her blood also.

"Kinda fun, you know," he commented, coming behind her from nowhere.

"What?" she questioned, calmly turning to face him.

"The time-wonky thing. Had a conversation with Angel. Got bored, left."

"You use what I gave you for frivolous things?" she asked as they began their walk. It led them into the lobby and towards the elevator.

"Well, not completely frivolous." Spike argued. He pressed the button. "What's on the agenda, Blue?"

She stepped on after him, about to answer when she noticed how he stayed out of her reach. She narrowed her eyes in slight suspicion and wondered what Angel had said to him.

If he had set back her plans, she would destroy him.