Sorry that this has taken so long - but RL can suck! I am not too sure about this chpt but I hope that you enjoy it anyway... Thanks for reviewing too x

Chpt 14 - Racing the Blood Flow

They were absolutely silent. They were absolutely deadly. They were absolutely hidden. Black Kevlar cloaked figures surrounded the small glass and wood hut that currently housed many of Wolfram and Hart's dreams. They had only one order – kill anything that got to the roof.

The lobby of the 25 storey Marshall Building was deadly silent as the LA crew and the Scoobies arrived. There was no security guard at the desk for them to report to or question. There were no employees milling about after a hard day's work or rapidly trying to finish that last bit of paper work before they had to leave for the evening. Go back to their wives and 2.5 kids. There was no janitor pushing a mop over the shiny floor. There was nothing – it was as silent as a tomb… Within moments they had decided that Spike and Buffy would take the stairs and the rest of the team would take the elevator. Nodding at each other and hefting their weapons, they separated.

Darla's body began to cool. To a vampire's eyes the change had already begun. Rather than the bluish tinge that bodies take on after death… that cold, icy blue that only can mean death… she began to turn white. Porcelain white. An unnatural white… it was as if she had been covered in plaster of Paris or stage paint. It was wrong. Her lips darkened to a bloody red, a garish strip of crimson on the snowy backdrop. Rather than lie still, she twitched. Small muscles spasms wracked her systems and were the only indication of battle of domination that was going on between her dead form and the living demon that wanted it.

They shifted their positions. Eyes scanned the roof, watching every available breach point for any signs of danger. Be it a rampaging vampire or a renegade Slayer… they were ready. Armed with crossbows, battle axes and one machine gun they were ready for anything.

Spike and Buffy hit the 12th floor… they kept running. Spike pushed ahead in his fear but Buffy was never far behind.

The elevator hit the 8th floor.

Drusilla took the catatonic Angel from Lindsay. She held her new soon-to-be Childe gently with one arm as she raked bloody fingernails across Lindsay's chest for hurting Angel – only she was allowed to do that. Only a mother was allowed to punish their son when they were naughty and Dru was Angel's new mummy. He crumpled to the floor in pain as four stripes of scarlet began to seep through the expensive cotton shirt. Crawling backwards Lindsay distanced himself from the irate demon holding back the whimpers as he went. Drusilla began to hum softly, a quiet old English tune that her mother had sung to her… well, before Angelus had gotten his claws into them. She stroked Angel's hair, her wide eyes looking over his inert form with something that came close to psychotic affection.

The hooded figure in the midst of black Kevlar raised its head and focused on the far door. The vampire detector nodded to the captain and then drifted into the ether, leaving the troops to deal with what was about to come through the door. He didn't want to face the leather cloaked death that was fast approaching the emergency exit.

They reached the 19th floor and Spike began to pick up speed. He pushed his body to its full demonic potential and Buffy could barely keep up with him. He was silent. Each movement he made was fluid and economical. He took the corners of the stairwell without slowing down, using his arm to pull him around. Buffy was copying his technique to the letter but despite the belief that she still held about her being Angel's one true love, she still was not driven by the same desperation that was driving Spike. She couldn't feel what he could. She couldn't feel her family line extending. She couldn't feel the blackness that stretched before Spike at the idea of losing Angel. He pushed harder, almost wrenching his arm out of its socket as he turned another corner. He could hear his muscles protesting at the abuse, but at the same time, his blood was singing with the idea of family. A larger family… more demons to play with. His blood was driving him further up the stairwell.

The elevator reached 17 and Cordelia smashed her hand against the wall in frustration. Willow and Tara began to focus all their power, hands wound tightly together as a golden fog began to settle on the edges of their sight, and Gunn was spinning his axe rapidly as his nerves built to a deafening crescendo.

Drusilla's fangs stretched themselves growing to full length. Small ivory daggers hidden behind a wicked plum smile. They lengthened and sharpened and the saliva began to pool in her mouth. She licked her lips and pulled Angel closer…

Five… four… three… two… one…

Crossbows let their bolts loose with a 'twang' of tightened twine and there was a round of automatic fire… The fire exit door burst open spraying wooden shards everywhere… The lift doors opened and a bolt whistled away from a bow followed closely by a stream of violet light…

Fangs ripped into flesh and blood began to pump lazily into the waiting mouth.

Two had fallen to the brunette's crossbow, five to the Slayer's fists, six to the furious vampire and eleven were being held by a force field of raw power. The human members tried to crowd the vampire but he outmanoeuvred them. He twisted and turned, spinning and jumping and rolling. The demons were the focus of his rage. The Slayer took those he left behind. Wolfram and Hart has always been an equal opportunity work place. They did not discriminate on account of gender, disability, ethnicity or species. As such they could assure that they got the best possible candidates for the job. Their main core Special Ops team was no exception. It was made up of both demons and humans and all were trained to be the best that money could buy. Yet, even the best of the best can be whittled down by a war on two fronts. Especially when both fronts were fighting with a desperation that not many people ever had to suffer.

Spike and Buffy worked as the perfect team, he avoided the humans and attacked the demons whilst she avoided the demons and attacked the humans. Both were blurs of motion, swirls of black leather and golden hair were the only distinguishable features of both of them. Spike was a hurricane of pure demonic fury. The imprisoned vampire within him was rattling its cage for the possibility that it may lose the Sire that it had worshipped for so long and the ability that it was given to create a chaos that it had missed. He was cutting a bloody path the likes of which he hadn't done since he was by Angelus' side a century before. Demons fell in pieces at his feet, spilt by hands, fangs and feet…

Willow and Tara tossed bolts of power around as casually as Gunn swung his axe. Cordy and Wes were working as a well practised team taking on a Polgara demon – Wes would swing his sword high and Cordy would swing low then both would dance out of the way. Riley, Xander and Giles were dealing with a group of twelve vampires and dust clouds surrounded them as they fought. Each and every person gave everything that they had to get to that room. It didn't matter what had gone before, none of the jealousies that had been present were felt now… a human life was at stake and if they didn't save it, more than one life would be destroyed. So they gave it their all and prayed that it was enough.

A small smirk began to curve on the lips of Holland Manners and Lilah Morgan. As more blood began to slip between Drusilla's lips, Angel took more and more steps towards them. They were going to restore his soul but… they were going to restore it on their terms. The Senior Partners were going to be very happy with this… they would have their agent for the Apocalypse. For the three lawyers in the room, their futures at the firm were looking all the more secure… although Lindsey's personal future wasn't looking that great… Lindsay hissed as the gouges in his chest began to burn… Angel's blank, lifeless eyes began to quiver shut as more blood lazily pumped into Drusilla's waiting mouth…

There were less than half of them left now. All of the humans were on the ground… half of them were dead, the other half were severely beaten, bruised and bloodied. The vampires had fallen back to the contingency plan and had retreated to the inside of the greenhouse whilst the Fiorals and Polgaras held off the marauding friends. They had been the elite, now they were in tatters across the roof floor. The only thing in the way of them and imminent failure were the 17 vampires that had backtracked to the greenhouse.

Spike watched out of the corner of his eye as they thinned the herd. Buffy was a powerhouse of motion, nothing was getting out of her path intact. The only problem was that they weren't getting any closer to Angel… and Darla. The few remaining Wolfram and Hart troops were managing to keep them pinned to the side of the roof that they entered on and that wasn't a good thing. He watched with increasing worry as the humans amongst them began to tire. A demon would only have to get one good shot in and someone would die. None of them were used to fighting for ten minutes straight and it was beginning to show.

Spike shook his head as a high pitched buzz rang through his ears. Momentarily distracted, a Fioral demon managed to get a good hit in. Spike went down, but managed to tuck and roll at the last second; saving what little face he had left. As he came up swinging, eyes glowing a vicious yellow, the buzzing turned into the static crackle of a long range radio…

Spike

He blinked and followed it with a one two punch to the Fioral that had managed to down him moments before.

Spike!

That time he was definitely sure that he had heard a voice. Curious thing was that it sounded a whole lot like Willow and it was ringing around in his head. It was as if she was trying to telepathically connect to him…

Of course I'm trying to telepathically connect to you!

Shocked by the appearance of Willow in his brain, alongside the piece of tin courtesy of the Initiative, Spike actually jumped. In doing so, he avoided a low blow from the demon he was dancing with. A blow, which had it been successful, may have taken him out of the game…

Red?

Yeah… Look, I am not sure how long I can keep this up so listen. About twenty vamps have just gone into that greenhouse… you need to get in there now!

Spike glanced over to where she had indicated. He'd noticed that the vampire numbers had begun to dwindle, but he hadn't realised that they had retreated purposefully.

How? There's still a good number of nasties 'tween me an that place!

Go after three… 1…

Spike forced his body into a flight position. Commands from his brain sizzled their way down every synapse. They collected the pain that he was suffering from the numerous bruises and the cracked ribs and transported them to his adrenal glands. His blood began to pump faster and faster… adrenaline and anger and fear and pain rocketed around his body… He was a coiled spring and he was ready to let loose…

2…

Willow wound her fingers through Tara's. Gripping her girlfriend's hand tightly she began to pour her energy into Tara and felt the blonde witch doing the same. They focused the building torrent on the space between their ally and his goal. They focused… a low whirring spinning through their blood as they felt the power gather…

3!

At the same instant the energy that Spike had stored and the energy that the witches had gathered was unleashed into the world. Milliseconds ahead of Spike a silent, invisible pulse shot through the air. Anything in its way was blasted out of it – be they friend or foe… Nothing stood between Spike and the white door behind which he dreaded to think what he would find. Unable to consider that he pushed his body and burst through the door, sending shards of wood and glass everywhere.

On the floor at Dru's feet was Darla, blood had stained her – or rather Cordelia's - pretty blue cardigan an unattractive shade of brown and by the looks of it, most of her throat had been torn out by Dru's fangs. She had obviously tried to fight it. He didn't blame her – she'd been happy with Angel and his little family. So had Spike. Now that peace had been shattered and it was up to him to salvage what he could. He really didn't mean to, but when he saw the Dru holding Angel up, his eyes beginning to glaze and Dru's fangs in his neck, he let out a vicious growl.

Only Drusilla recognised the growl for what it was…

She glanced up from Angel's neck and smiled around her fangs at her Spike. His human features melted back into place and she smiled sweetly at him and dropped Angel's almost dead body to the ground. Spike could already smell the death that clung to him. Angel had about a pint of blood left in him. He was in an in-between place and unless Dru began to drink more he still had time. Time for Spike to get him out of here and to a hospital. He could hear the wet gasps that Angel's parted lips were making as he tried to hold onto as many seconds of life as he could manage and ignored them, choosing to turn his attention to his Sire.

"Do you like Mummy's new family Sweet Willie?"

Dru moved away from Angel and towards to her first Childe. As she did so Lindsey began to move towards Angel's prostate form. Spike didn't try to help the second growl that escaped his lips as his eyes started to change and Dru let out a tinkling laugh.

"My Spike doesn't like you. He doesn't want you near his Angel. Miss Edith told you that only Mummy was allowed to play with him."

Lindsey glanced quickly at the newcomer but he was well informed that Spike couldn't hurt a human being – which was what Lindsey was still… if only in name. However, the files that pertained to Dru's viciousness when it came to her Childe were not to be ignored and so he decided that he should probably keep his mouth shut for once. Instead he meekly backed away from the catatonic Angel and moved towards Holland and Lilah. Drusilla turned from Spike and cradled Angel gently in her arms as she kneeled on the floor. She stroked his hair and over the planes of his face and over his unseeing eyes with so much reverence and care that it had to be seen to be believed. Spike was far from relieved by the turn that his Sire seemed to have taken. In fact it worried him all the more, as she had been like that with him before she had turned him. He knew that of all of Drusilla's obsessions, Angel had been her greatest one. It had taken him a while but he had worked out it was not all to do with him being her Sire, it was to do with the way he had treated her… he had made her a totally new creature and as such she saw him as her God. She worshiped his evil and would have followed him into Hell or Heaven had he wanted her too.

Now she had the chance to own the creature that she had wanted for so long but never been able to have and Spike knew that she wouldn't give up a prize like that easily. Didn't mean that he wasn't going to do all in his power to get her to walk away with Darla as her only trophy.

"Dru, Pet… Give him to me."

He used his most soothing voice. It was amazing how easily it came back to him. He'd used such a voice for years and now he needed it and it was there. Unfortunately it didn't get the response from Dru that he was used to. Yellow eyes flashed and teeth were bared in a drawn out hiss and Spike hurriedly back pedalled. He knew that she wasn't going to hand Angel over easily but he was quite prepared to go the long way round if he had to.

Unfortunately for him, the long way round meant the twenty or so vampires that got in there before him. In seconds he had taken out four of the weaker vampires, but there were still thirteen of them and only one of him. Plus, he wasn't too sure about the humans in the room. They hadn't done anything yet – probably because they knew that Dru wouldn't play nice if they hurt him, but that didn't mean that they were going to stay out of this. A well timed roundhouse kick sent him spinning to the floor.

Spike landed just a few inches from Darla's dead form. Some cultures say that the last thing that you see before you die is permanently imprinted on your retina, like an eternal negative. Spike fancied that he could see Angel's traumatised face in Darla's lifeless grey eyes and reached out a blood covered hand and shut her eyes. He knew that he should dust her before she could rise, but the steel toed boot in his side reminded him that he had other things to think about at present. As he flipped himself to his feet he noticed Dru sink her fangs into Angel's torn throat.

Spike let out an ear piercing howl…

The battle outside the small wood and glass structure still continued but it was waning. There were only five demons left and they were on the verge of collapse. Three went down within seconds of each other; one felled by Gunn's axe, another was taken out by Cordelia and Wesley as their swords lacerated its neck and chest and the third received a bolt from Xander's crossbow through the eye. By the time, the third had hit the floor, Spike's scream of fury and fear was heard by all.

"All of you GO NOW!"

Buffy pointed towards the greenhouse and motioned for all of them to get in there as quickly as they could. She didn't wait to see if they followed her commands but she started on the remaining two demons. The Fiorals didn't really stand a chance. Buffy was desperate and in her desperation she was all the more deadly.

Gunn and Wes were the first to reach the small structure and they immediately staked the first two vampires they came to. Riley, Xander and Cordelia were hot on their heels and between them dusted another two vampires. There were only another nine still standing not including Spike and Drusilla. Cordelia stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Dru with her fangs embedded in Angel's throat and was tackled to the ground by a snarling demon. Willow and Tara worked in tandem to pull the blood lusting vamp off of the seer whilst Anya and Giles joined in the fray. The arrival of the extra people meant that Spike could pull out of the main battle and focus on Drusilla.

Angel was only dimly aware of the roar of the battle around him. He couldn't really hear anything over the thumping of his heart as it tried to pull the last remaining vestiges of blood through his system. All his death glazed eyes could see were images of Darla's last few moments. He could see the despair that was etched into every pore of her skin. He could see the red as it spread across the white skin and blue wool. He could still see the silent plea in her eyes and feel the utter contempt that he had for himself when he realised that he was unable to save her. As the room began to dim all he could feel was utter revulsion at the fact that he had failed the one person he had promised to protect. He was a failure. His final act in this world would be one of failure. Gladly, he let the darkness come, willing it to black out the image of Darla's lifeless and bloody corpse.

Spike watched in horror as Dru withdrew her fangs from Angel's neck and moved so that she had easy access to his mouth. He could hear Angel's heart slowing to a stop, barely beating now as he waited for death to come and claim him. Spike knew that this was the time, this was the confrontation that he had been dreading. Never in his existence had he imagined that he would be in a position to try to take from his Sire. It wasn't done. He didn't always follow the Lore, but he was always faithful to his family. Now he had to betray that core part of himself. Slowly, so as not to arouse suspicion, he moved forwards. He was within feet of Dru and her prey when a solid and heavy implement collided with the back of his head. He whirled and saw the young man, his prosthetic arm aloft and ready to crack down on him. Not thinking, Spike lashed out and as his fist impacted on Lindsay's cheek, he doubled over in pain. He crashed to his knees, clutching his throbbing head in his hands, sobbing at the pain the thousand electrical impulses flickering through his brain, causing a migraine like no other anyone had had before. Always one to strike a man when he's down, Lindsay backhanded him, hard, with his heavy clay fist.

Dru heard her Childe's howl and turned from the action of slitting her wrist in time to see Lindsay's third blow impact on a dazed and vulnerable Spike. Howling in fury she released Angel and threw herself at the brunette lawyer, violently tossing him the full length of the gazebo. A contorted snarl replaced her delicate features and she launched herself at Wes and Gunn who had made their way to her would be Childe. She was seeing attacks on every front and ripped the heart out of one Wolfram and Hart vampire before it could get anywhere near Angel's vulnerable form. She was a mother protecting her cubs and she was rabid with her fury. Each of the LA gang and the Scoobies tried to get near Angel and each found themselves meeting an unforgiving portion of Drusilla's anatomy, be it her feet or her fists. Cordy, Wesley, Xander, Anya, Willow, Giles and Tara ended up in an ungainly heap on one side of the room with Drusilla viciously battling Gunn and Riley on the other.

Spike pulled himself off the floor in time to see Dru toss Gunn through a pane of glass and deliver a deadly snap kick to Riley's abdomen, only his flack jacket saved his life. The world seemed to lose all sound and speed as he realised that there was nothing now between Drusilla and her prize. All colours left the world and condensed into the crimson line that appeared across her breastbone. He watched as she moved, so slowly, to pick Angel off the floor. She moved even slower as she pulled him to her, the viscous fluid making a unhurried cascade over her milky skin. She pulled Angel even closer, his lips just millimetres from the font of sanguineous sap that would guarantee eternal life – the soulless life that he knew Angel didn't want. There was nothing that Spike could do now – he was too far away. He wouldn't get there before the blood hit Angel's lips and the second that it did the change would begin and then they would either have to let Dru turn Angel or let him become a wrath and Spike couldn't bear the idea of that happening. Wraths were not pretty and not easy to kill. Angel would be trapped between life and death and would have to burn alive to be killed… at least if he was turned they could soul him…

He watched as the blood dripped lower and lower and… Drusilla exploded into ash…