Right, Chapter two. Thanks again for the reviews - at least with this story I have an overall plan of how it's going to go. With a few of my other ones I don't, and that's why they take forever to get updated. Anyway, enough of me; over to Will:

Will frowned, wondering why that particular night had popped into his head, and trying unproductively to remember what had happened last night, because that would explain why and how he got here, but he couldn't.

Suddenly the Master moved aside and none other than Darla emerged from behind him. She looked first at Angelus, and then at Will, and the look on her face was a strange mixture of dislike, superiority and, strangely, sadness. She set her jaw and looked back to Angelus.

"This is your fault," she said, and Will suddenly remembered the events of the night before.

He was in bed with Drusilla, when he was woken by more arguing from downstairs. Since this had become a more than daily occurrence, he wasn't bothered by it, but realising they were both awake and irate; he'd better get up. While he was getting dressed, he frowned, listening to what was being said.

"This has gone on long enough, Angelus, and he's not going to take no for an answer!" Darla's shrill voice wafted up to him. Angelus said something unintelligible and Will drifted out of his room to the top of the stairs. "No! Like I said, it's not your decision!" Will still didn't manage to make out Angelus' reply, so he crept a little way down the stairs. Then a little further. And a little more, until right at the bottom, outside the room they were arguing in.

"Not yet, Darla, please," Angelus was saying.

Darla's voice was cold and Will's stomach churned just at the sound of it on the other side of the door. "You cannot possibly say he's not old enough, he has to go now!"

"He's not ready Darla!"

"If you use that excuse, he is never going to be ready, boy!" Darla's voice rose. "You will never see him as anything but a fledgling!" Then it lowered again and she sounded a little warmer. "Better now than face this again in a couple of years. It's not that bad, I promise." Angelus gave a low growl, but didn't speak. "Well?" she asked impatiently. "Will you let him go?"

There was a pause, and then a savage, "No."

Another pause followed, and then Darla's icy voice came again. "Yes. If you won't send him, he will be fetched."

Suddenly the door flew open and Darla stormed out rather gracefully, without giving Will a second glance. He watched her go, his heart racing and his head reeling with what the row could have been about. Where were they sending him? He presumed they'd been talking about him; a fledgling… A thought suddenly struck him. They weren't going to disown him, were they? The very idea plucked at his heart cruelly and he forced it away. He'd never been that bad, had he?

"Boy!" Angelus called, and Will suddenly remembered he was sitting outside Angelus' room. Of course he must've sensed him. He knew he had no choice but to go in, and so he silently slipped into Angelus' room. Angelus had his back to him, fully clothed, hands resting on the desk with his head drooped. "Get your coat. Where's Drusilla?"

"Asleep, Sire," he said respectfully for once.

"Don't wake her. We're going out."

William hesitated, unwilling to leave Drusilla in bed on her own in the house, but decided not to dispute it.

Half a minute later he was downstairs standing behind Angelus as he opened the door and stepped out. Will self consciously raised a hand to his hair, because this was normally the point where Angelus would frown and make a comment about it, but Angelus didn't even stop to see if he was following. Licking his lips in anxiety, Will hurried after him.

Angelus strode down several streets so quickly that Will had to trot to keep up, and then stopped at a corner so suddenly that Will ran into him. Angelus continued to ignore him and stood perfectly still, so still that Will knew he was sniffing the air. Awkwardly, he tried to follow suit, glancing at Angelus as he took in a breath. He couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary and couldn't work out what Angelus was doing, so he gave up, impatiently shifting his weight between his feet.

"Stop fidgeting," Angelus snapped irritably, and Will did his best to stop.

Finally they were on the move again, and Will continued to trot after his Sire. Angelus stopped at a few more corners, and each time he became more irritable, and each time they set off he walked a little faster, until finally he stopped in the middle of the road and raised his head to the sky, his eyes darting over the rooftops. Then he looked at Will. He took him by the shoulders and Will was suddenly very scared.

"Angelus? W-what's going –"

"Shh!" He was cut off as he smelt something and turned round slowly. "Stay behind me," he breathed so only Will could hear.

Obeying the order, Will peered out from behind Angelus' broad figure at a large group of vampires in front of them. The largest one stood afore the rest, but his face was covered by a hood.

Angelus bowed a little in acknowledgement. "Master."

Master? Will glanced at Angelus, who once again was ignoring Will.

"Angelus." The 'Master's' voice was horrible. He raised a hand to remove the hood and Will's eyes widened. The skin of his face was wrinkled and ugly. At first he thought it was a demon, but then realised he was just a vampire in some kind of dramatic true face. He glanced at Angelus again, but he seemed unfazed by it. "This is your fledgling then?"

Will saw Angelus tense. "Yes. William."

"Step forwards, William, I wish to see your face."

He hesitated, looking to Angelus, who gave a slight nod, and Will revealed himself from behind his Sire. He stood awkwardly for a couple of seconds, before Angelus prodded him and hissed, "Kneel. And don't fidget."

Will did so, uncomfortably conscious of all the eyes on him, as the Master came closer and lifted his head slowly. Will closed his eyes, not wanting to look at his face. He held Will's chin in his hand and breathed out slowly.

"Pretty. At least you didn't turn an ugly one, Angelus." He smiled at his own joke, and then half pushed Will away, who got up and swiftly returned to behind his Sire. "You know why I'm here, of course."

Angelus growled softly. "Respectfully, Master, he is not ready. I would ask for just –"

"No." The Master's voice had grown quiet and deep, and sent a chill down Will's spine. "Now." Angelus' jaw twitched, his eyes narrowed, and flashed amber. "Do I have to fight you for him?"

Angelus didn't take his eyes off the Master, but spoke to Will in a low voice. "Run, now."

Will didn't need telling twice, he turned and ran in the other direction from the Master. It was a vain effort, and he knew it was very much Angelus' last resort, but he was determined not to let him down. Sadly, he got no further than the corner before he was tackled to the floor by one of the Master's lackeys. Will put up a good fight, but one of them cracked his head against the stone and black dots crossed his vision before he fell unconscious.

And now he was here. Darla shook her head slowly at Angelus. "Dear boy…" she seemed to muse. "You still have so much to learn."

William watched this with astonishment. Angelus knew everything, didn't he? Angelus… no, Darla had got it mixed up. It was he who had so much to learn, surely she meant.

"I'm sorry it came to this, but my Sire informs me he needs your permission. And since you're currently not complying… well…" she shrugged. "See you later." She turned and left the way she had come, and William suddenly realised what she meant by 'my Sire'. That must be the hideous creature Angelus had addressed as Master.

Speaking of whom, he was nodding towards a minion who began to open the bag that the fledgling held. "Angelus. Do I have your permission?"

"No," Angelus said shortly.

The master made a disappointed noise and shook his head. "Good. I have the chance to hear you scream." From behind him, the Master produced a small vial of holy water that had come from the bag. He gave a horrible sort of grimace that Will suspected was supposed to be an evil smile. Then he paused and looked at Will. "I don't think we need the boy here. Take him next door."

One of the minions leant over and unlocked Will's manacles, then heaved him to his feet. The Master then turned his back on William and very slowly emptied the bottle of water over Angelus. Angelus moved to one side but his shoulder and chest still caught most of the deadly liquid, and he hissed.

Will suddenly launched himself at the Master and got in a good punch to his eye, but the Master was older and stronger and soon had him up against the wall, with his hand around Will's neck. He grabbed a stake from the bag the fledge had, and held it, snarling, against Will's chest.

The whole room was silent, as Will stared at the ugly form in front of him. Angelus was sitting up straight, his burn forgotten, and everyone was frozen. William was suddenly inexplicably aware of the smells around him. Angelus' all too familiar anger, rage from the Master, submission from the minions, probably terror from himself and… something else from Angelus… Fear. Angelus was scared. Will stole a glance at his Sire. He was leaning forwards slightly, eyes fixed on William, frozen.

As the point of the stake pressurised his chest, Will found himself begging silently for Angelus to do something, although he knew he couldn't. Stop him, please! You're my sire, you have to help me! Do something Angelus! Will swallowed and closed his eyes as the pressure increased, but then it disappeared, and for a moment Will thought he was dead, but when he opened his eyes again, he saw the Master smiling wickedly at Angelus.

"My friends," he addressed the room. "We have found a weakness." He suddenly turned and slapped Will hard across the face, and Angelus jerked as if he had been hit himself. That made the Master smile even more and he did it again. Then he turned back to his bag and Will slumped to the floor, not looking at Angelus.

When the Master turned back round again, he held another bottle of water and Will swallowed as he looked up at it. Then the Master clicked his fingers and one of his minions took the bottle from him. The Master stood back and allowed his lackey to unscrew the top, and with agonising slowness, he began to flick it over Will's exposed chest. Will turned his face away and screwed his eyes shut tight against the pain. The master carried on with this for sometime, and Will was determined not to make a sound, biting his lip until it bled, until the last half of the bottle was emptied in one and he had to hiss and shrink away in pain.

Then they brought out the whip and made him stand up while they whipped him. It wasn't the same as Angelus' strap. He pressed his forehead against the wall and dug his fingernails into a crack the way he did when Angelus was beating him. He didn't look at his Sire throughout the whole thing. After fifty strokes he had to give in and let out a strange sound somewhere between a cry and a whimper.

The minion carried on though, and Will started to shake silently, hating himself for not trying harder, but his chest was burning and his back was on fire and he was so hungry and just wanted to cry.

Finally Angelus broke in. "Stop."

The minion paused and looked at the Master. "What was that?" The Master asked.

"Stop it. Leave him alone."

The Master smiled and nodded. "That will do for now. Sleep well," he said with a laugh, and then turned to leave. His lackeys followed him and shut the door with a bang.

Will slumped to the floor in a heap and tried to pretend Angelus wasn't there, although he could feel his Sire's eyes burning into him. He didn't want Angelus to be here, he didn't want Angelus to see his weakness.

Finally the quiet voice called to him. "Will. William." Will ignored it. "I know you're awake. Come here, Will."

William sighed and managed to drag himself the short distance to where Angelus lay. Angelus was still manacled, but the Master had left the bag, and Angelus nodded towards it.

"Keys are in there."

Will felt like crying some more. He was in pain, weak, and just wanted to lie still, and Angelus was making him move around. He didn't stand up, just crawled to the bag and found the keys, crawled back and unlocked Angelus' wrists. Then he collapsed into Angelus' lap in exhaustion.

All it took was to feel Angelus' hand in his hair and he started to cry. "'m sorry," he sniffed into Angelus' leg. "I t-tried – I tried to be quiet b-but…"

"Shh," Angelus soothed, stroking his Childe gently. "I know, and you were, you were very brave."

William curled up and buried himself against his Sire desperately. Angelus pulled him close and rested Will's head against his neck. They sat like that for a while, and then, when Will's sobs had settled, Angelus straightened him up and wiped the blood and tears from his face. Then he leant forward and kissed him.

William responded instantly, despite his injuries. He closed his eyes and let Angelus prise his mouth open with his tongue. A kiss like this was such a rare occurrence that Will knew enough to savour it.

When Angelus drew away, Will desperately nuzzled his chin for more, but Angelus pulled Will against him again and slowly, they fell asleep together; Will's head resting on Angelus' shoulder.

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