A/N: Okay, like I promised, here is the next update. This will be the very last of the Balcony Scenes. I don't care how long it is, but here is where you learn about Angelus' findings and here is where the Balcony Scenes end. After this, the updates will go back to being random – sometimes I'll post like three a week, and sometimes one a week, but always I'll update regularly, until this story is finished.
(Special A/N: As a reviewer pointed out to me, I got Oz's name wrong in the first edition of chapter four, before I rewrote it. Since I rewrote it, Oz wasn't actually in it, but, for future reference, Oz's actual full name is Daniel Ozbourne. Thanks for the check-up, RuneWitchSakura. Oh, and other people – you catch a mistake, feel free to drop me a line and I'll address the issue – help is much appreciated, along with reviews.)
SPECIAL NOTE: This is in response to a semi-flame I received, so I'm only gonna say this the once. First, this is a fanfiction; aside from the basic plot, all of the central characters/locales/previous plot points/etc., etc., is someone else's material, so back off. Secondly, this is a fanfiction that came with warnings that there were going to be major materials taken from certain scenes from the X-Men fandom (specifically, the Phoenix/Dark Phoenix Saga), Atlantis, and maybe some stuff from various Avalon stories – a lot of that is my own stuff. If you can't take certain dialogue from movies appearing in this, though changed for my own diabolical reasons, don't waste both my time and yours writing a review that nobody is going to care about. By taking up bandwidth, you are also annoying countless others. Thank you.
A Disclaimer In Regards to the Above: Buffy the Vampire Slayer came from the fantasmically creative mind of Joss Whedon, with his team of marvellously talented writers (such as David Greenwalt and Marti Noxon, among others) – here's for hoping that an eighth season makes it to TV (I can dream, can't I?)!
Disclaimer Part II: X-Men – the comics – came from the ridiculously creative Stan Lee, and his team of writers. The Phoenix/Dark Phoenix storyline came from the wondrous mind of Chris Claremont, and the X-Men movies came from the minds of Stu Ravener and other really good authors. Certain parts of these will be borrowed and changed to fit my story. No copyright infringement is intended, blah, blah, blah. Don't sue me.
Distribution: As said before, if you would like my story for your archive or whatever, just email me (the author page has the address) and tell me where my baby is going.
the Passion of Angels and Demons
chapter V
The Balcony Scene, Part III
Angelus was fighting the urge to crow in triumph. Xander's innocent gesture of submission to his will was inflaming him, urging him to mate and Claim, to drink – he forcibly reigned in his desires, mastering them with the skill of long practice.
Any Master vampire worthy of the title concealed his emotions from everyone, lest he inadvertently revealed his weaknesses to his enemies. No minions would respect the rule of a Master if the Master showed any sign of weakness. Angelus had no doubt that had the Master, that mouldy old bat of a vampire, had ascended, he'd still be in control of most of the vampire covens in America.
Xander was patiently staring at him, waiting. Angelus thought how best to carefully state the truth to Xander. No matter how docile the boy looked now, it was a volatile state of mind that Angelus had reduced him to. The bruise forming on the side of Xander's face was a testament to that.
"I'm assuming that the Watcher told you about the Old Ones?" Angelus asked finally. He'd taught Drusilla and Spike to be two of the most vicious vampires alive (or not); he knew how to lead someone along to have them form their conclusions – it would be better for his boy's ego, if nothing else.
Xander nodded slowly. He remembered that day vividly – the night before, he, Willow, and Jesse had been attacked by monsters and saved by Buffy, the new girl, who, despite her tiny frame, had kicked monster ass and saved their lives.
The next day, Mr. Giles, the new librarian, explained what demons were, what vampires were, and who Buffy was. The Old Ones were the pure demons who had ruled the Earth back in the dark times, before the people had arrived and the First Slayer had driven most of the demons into other dimensions.
"Well, what he doesn't know – what most Watchers don't know, is how much of a foothold those demons have here in this world," Angelus continued. He was going purposefully slow – he wanted Xander to understand everything that he said. "Some of the older, more powerful demons are able to break through, to make contact in this reality, with varying results."
"What does this have to do with me?" Xander asked hesitantly.
"If you'll let me finish, I'll get to that," Angelus snapped with a sigh of exasperation. Xander subsided without protest, but he wasn't quick enough to stop the flash of hurt in his eyes at Angelus' words. With a pang, he quickly remembered the obvious fact that Xander hailed from an abusive home – the out-of-hand dismissal from his lips had obviously hurt the boy. Apologetically, he drew the boy back against his chest, letting a gentle sort of growl emanate from his chest.
Xander was still for a moment, but he relaxed against the firm chest that was holding him captive. This strange…affinity that he was feeling for the demon was getting stronger by the moment. He'd felt a hurt that was stronger than he could really understand when Angelus had snapped at him (so like his father) – but the vampire had surprised him by being instantly apologetic, taking him into something that Xander could pretend was a hug.
"Now," Angelus continued, as if there hadn't been an interruption. "Of all of the Old Ones, the most powerful were called Elementals. These were the demon masters with power over the elements – earth, air, fire and water. Magic, mental powers, whatever you want to call it, they had it. And after they were exiled, they could still use it."
"Because the Slayer couldn't kill them. She was powerful, but one girl wouldn't have been nearly enough to exile the Old Ones from this plane. She had help, from the one group of human magic users strong enough to overthrow the Elementals."
"But I thought that the humans weren't really around much before the Slayer kicked the demons out," Xander said, confused.
"Oh, there were humans that weren't in Africa, the so-called Cradle of Life. They were all killed after the Exile," Angelus explained patiently. "But if you'd let me finish, boy, I'd explain." Angelus made sure to gentle his tone this time, and he felt Xander relax against him once more.
"There's an old human myth about an island of people that were far too advanced for their time, that was sank to the bottom of the sea thousands of years ago–"
"Okay, wait a minute," Xander interrupted, turning around and regarding Angelus with near-amused exasperation in his eyes. "This whole thing is nuts, anyway, and I don't know why I'm listening to you, but you can't really expect me to believe that Atlantis actually existed! I mean, come on! Atlantis?" he said incredulously.
Angelus regarded him with amused eyes. "Boy, you've spent the last year-and-a-half bein' best friends with a vampire Slayer, a witch, and a werewolf, and you have trouble believin' in Atlantis?"
"Oh," Xander said. He wondered if he sounded as small and stupid as he felt at that moment. Judging from the rich, hearty chuckle coming from the demon in front of him, he did. "So, Atlantis, huh?" he asked, a little too cheerfully, as if to make up for his apparent lapse of brains earlier.
"Yes, mine own, Atlantis," Angelus said, the endearment coming easily to his lips. Xander didn't seem to mind, though; indeed, he drew closer, and Angelus fought down a smirk of victory. "There was a great power in Atlantis that the humans found, no one knows what it was or where it came from. But they grew to be a very advanced branch of your insipid breed–" Xander turned here and glared at him; Angelus gave him a smirk in return.
"They read and wrote, they learned and they prospered. And they grew very powerful in their magicks. The Emperor of Atlantis sought more power for himself. He negotiated a marriage, his daughter to one of the demon overlords who ruled the Earth."
"He just bartered away his daughter's life to a demon to get himself bigger?" Xander asked incredulously.
"Of course," Angelus said easily. Xander stared at him, and Angelus fought the urge to curse – he saw nothing wrong with what the king had done; but Xander had been raised with a different code of ethics. "Er…well, anyway, the emperor had his daughter marry one of the overlords, no one that I talked to knows which," Angelus fumbled on. He was irritated with himself at being embarrassed by his boy's censuring stare; his demon was practically howling with laughter.
"For a time, things went okay. But then the girl got herself knocked up," Angelus said bluntly. He was pleased to see that Xander was once again hanging on to his every word. "Her father was very afraid, because the power that the Atlanteans had discovered was more prominent in women at the time. Cross that with the demon's power, and the child would have more power than what she knew to do with.
"So, the emperor ordered his daughter killed, and said the marriage was void."
"And, let me guess: that didn't go down too well with the demon dude, did it?" Xander asked.
"You have to understand, boyo, when a demon mates, he mates for life. It's an old ritual of magic that no one even knows where it came from. It binds a demon to its chosen mate for the rest of their existence. When the emperor ordered her killed…" Angelus trailed off meaningfully.
"Hubby went ballistic," Xander finished simply.
"Exactly. He mustered a force and attacked Atlantis. The emperor used the power to fight them off, but while he did so, his daughter gave birth. The baby was spirited away by one of the demon's servants that had managed to hide from the slaughter at the palace, and was taken to her father."
"So, then the war was over?" Xander asked, confused.
"Not quite yet," Angelus answered. "You see, the power that the emperor had unleashed was far too much for the world to handle. Some old man, who had been warned by his deity about it and that it would happen because the world was wicked, kept a handful of people on that side of the world alive with a big boat."
"Noah's ARK?!" Xander ejaculated forcefully. He stared at Angelus with pure disbelief, and the demon chuckled.
"That's the story. And that's how about half the world got wiped out by a big flood – because of Atlantis."
"So, what happened to the baby?" Xander asked, after he'd calmed down a bit.
"Well, her father had been injured in the flood, and he wasn't yet able to take care of her. So he took her to a group of humans that were descended from Atlantis, but had escaped their greed and lust for power. They had started an Old Religion Coven that worshipped the Goddess and the God, and they called their island Avalon."
"Avalon? This is all unbelievable," Xander snapped.
"You don't believe me, sweet?" Angelus asked sweetly. Xander shook his head mutinously. Angelus chuckled at the overt display of disobedience. Training his sweet boy was going to prove to be a challenge and a pleasure, he saw. "Then feel free to ask your Watcher, Giles. He'll tell you all about the Moon Coven on Avalon."
Xander stopped at that, and Angelus knew that he had him. "They exist, and they're very powerful today. But that's beside the point. What is the point is that the last remaining child of Atlantis, the demon's baby, became the first ever Lady of the Lake, Tíanna. She had a child, and her child had a child, and the demon's blood, mixed with the most ancient of magical heritages, passed down through the ages to the one sister of three, back in the 1400's, that didn't want to stay on Avalon.
"She left the isle, and she took her husband's last name, passing it on to her family, through which the ancient blood is now the only residing place. The family's name was Bënnu."
Xander was standing stock still, the blood rushing out of his face. "That's my mother's maiden name," he said slowly, enunciating each word.
"Yes," Angelus said simply. Here was the tricky phase. Xander would be facilitating between what to believe, and Angelus had to make sure that he was the only one that Xander believed.
Buffy glanced around. "Where is Xander, anyway?" she asked, turning in her seat to look around the club. She scanned the crowd, her anxiety growing as with each new face that she saw, she didn't see Xander. She quickly stood up, looking through the dance floor, hoping to see her friend murdering the term 'dancing' in the centre of the club, but no such luck. Even the shadowy corners of the Bronze were empty.
"I haven't seen him since he said he was going to get –" Willow stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening as she realised the implications of her words. This was Sunnydale, directly above the Hellmouth; more teenagers had died on the doorsteps of the Bronze than anywhere else in this accursed town.
"Some air," Buffy finished. She snatched her purse and drew out a wickedly sharp stake, disappearing into the crowd before Willow could say a word. The redhead sat back, breathing heavily. She knew that she wasn't the best ally to help Buffy at this junction, but anxiety over her friend drove her to stand and head after the Slayer.
She wouldn't lose Xander to the Hellmouth – not like Jesse.
Xander didn't know what to think. On the one hand, everything that Angelus had said sounded completely mental. Not to mention, Angelus! He was standing here with the demon that had gone on a murderous rampage after attacking him and his friends numerous times – hell, the demon was practically sniffing him and humping his leg and he wasn't doing a thing to stop it!
Firmly blocking that thought out of his head, he turned his attention to the other matter. The matter of the demon's story. Xander knew that he should be dismissing the whole thing out of hand. Angelus was pure evil; he took more pleasure in death and destruction than a kid with a new toy fire truck. Xander had read some of the journals that Giles had forbidden them to read after Angel had gone psycho, and he knew what the demon was capable of.
On the other hand, he already trusted Angelus on a deeper, more profound level of his subconscious than he was ready to admit. The demon had done nothing to hurt him personally, and aside from threatening Willow and stomping Buffy's heart to the ground, he hadn't done a thing to personally injure any of the Scooby Gang. Hell, he hadn't even come after Giles.
Then there were the little things in his life that just…clicked with what Angelus said. The demon had given his mom's maiden name a weird pronunciation, sure, but how the hell had he known what her name was? Jessica Bennu had moved to Sunnydale after she'd become Jessica Harris; her maiden name wasn't even registered in any of the files that the city council had on the census of Sunnydale (Xander knew this because Willow had accidentally hacked on to the Sunnydale City Records on her computer).
There would have been no way for the demon to have known. Then, there was the crazed inclination that he had that he was safe (?!) in Angelus' presence. That somehow, he, Xander Harris, had a free pass. He remembered the totally psyched out look on the vampire's face when he'd tasted his blood, and the way that the demon had possessively held him when they'd first begun this little soul-searching conversation.
Xander didn't even want to think about the spanking, or how hard he'd gotten when the vampire had actually purred for him.
Xander hadn't even realised that that was an actual vampiric trait till tonight. Not to mention the weird little gifts that he'd been getting for the last month. And his mom had mentioned that it looked like an animal had pissed on the side of the house, marking its territory, almost…
"Say I believe you," Xander said slowly, trying desperately to sort out the maze of thoughts in his head. He turned to meet the gaze of the vampire. Angelus was in full game face, and Xander was grateful – he didn't think that he'd be able to think if that angel's face graced the demon's magnificent body once more. "What does this have to do with me?"
"Because, sweet, the demons have a way to enter this world, specifically with witch blood. If they have a way to enter, they use it to gain a foothold, or to put something there." Angelus didn't elaborate, because he wasn't sure how Xander would handle finding out that his father was a demon. All he needed to know right now was what Angelus had already told him.
"So...what does it have to do with you?"
The demon's yellow gaze locked on to his with an intensity that stilled Xander down to his soul. "Because you're mine," Angelus said bluntly. Xander froze as the demon's cool, smooth, beautifully shaped hand slowly ran down his face, stopping to rub over the vein in his throat with even gestures. Xander's breath was coming in short, sharp gasps, and he was harder than he'd ever been in his life.
Senses he didn't even know that he had were awakening to the demon's touch, and, following pure instinct, Xander bowed his head submissively, baring his neck to his demon's touch. Angelus leant in, soft, inhumanly cool lips that hid jagged fangs brushing the flesh of Xander's neck…
"I think that I'll have to have something to say about that," a cold voice echoed over the balcony. Xander's self slammed back into his conscious mind, and he leapt nearly a foot away from Angelus, his eyes slamming to lock onto the deceptively slight figure that was cloaked in shadow.
Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer, stood still, her face frozen in rage, her grip tightening slowly on the stake.
Fuck! Angelus roared inside his mind. Xander had been so close to submitting entirely to him, to let him mark him, claim him, and then this bitch had to come up and interfere. Driven by pure rage, his allowed Angel's face to slip back over his features, knowing how much that it would hurt her.
"Ah, Buff, how are ya?" he asked casually, slipping an arm around Xander's taught, tense shoulders. "Me and Xan were just having us a little chat. Mind if you stop by later?"
"Oh my god, Xander!" came a shrill voice from the other side of the balcony. Double fuck! Angelus thought irritably. Willow was standing, frozen in terror, directly by his planned escape route. Xander looked desperate to go to his friends, to seek security in familiar things. Angelus didn't stop the growl of possessive rage that rumbled up from his chest. The boy was his. HIS. And he'd be damned if that meek little redheaded bitch took him from him.
"Ah, Willow. Come to join the party, have you?" he asked, making sure to keep his voice steady and even. They had to think that he wasn't planning anything with the both of them there, so that he could put his plan in motion.
"Let him go!" Willow cried angrily.
"It's okay, Wills," Xander said softly. He wasn't trying to struggle out of Angelus' grasp, the vampire was pleased to see.
"Xander, move!" Buffy snapped, moving closer.
"Don't you take another step, bitch," Angelus snarled, pulling Xander in close to himself. The boy relaxed in his grip, hanging like a limpet, drained. Angelus slipped his other hand encouragingly around the boy's waist, and Xander drew a little closer to his chest.
"Xander–" Willow began, stepping forward. A hand suddenly slammed forward onto her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks and pulling her back.
"I wouldn't do that, luv," an English accent drawled casually. Willow froze in her tracks as Angelus' secret weapon stepped out from the shadows. Buffy gasped as Spike, fully healed with his Sire's blood, pushed Willow away from Xander slightly. "The great pouf's got his mind set on the boy staying with him, and he's a little bitchy when he doesn't get what he wants," the blonde vampire said with a quirky grin.
"The stars whisper such magnificent things about daddy's dark little bird," Drusilla whispered from Buffy's left. "Such dark, deadly secrets…" she trailed off, grabbing her head and twirling in a circle like an insane top. Buffy jerked in surprise, faltering, as five other vampires stepped out of the shadows.
Xander tensed, struggling, in Angelus' arms. Here, though, was Angelus' test for his boy. "Trust me," he whispered in Xander's ear. The vampires advanced menacingly on the boy's friends, and Xander watched in horror as Spike and Dru held on to Willow with a loving gaze tossed his way. And, abruptly, Angelus' words penetrated his mind.
He threw his will to the wind and bowed his head in submission.
Angelus purred lowly from behind him, licking a long, decadently wicked trail up Xander's neck, making the boy shiver in desire. "Stop," the master vampire said coldly. Buffy froze as Willow was shoved abruptly into her gasp. The vampires drew around their master, protecting him from the Slayer's stake as she stumbled.
"Well, not that this hasn't been a lovely time to reminisce, Buff, but I think that me and my boy'll be leaving now," Angelus said with a maniacal chuckle. Xander had time to throw Buffy a slightly panicked look, but from what even he couldn't tell, before he was flying from the open window of the club, clutched in Angelus' arms like a kitten in the arms of his mother.
When they landed, Angelus unexpectedly released him. Xander stood warily, eyeing the pack of bloodsuckers around him as they bowed their head submissively to Angelus. Spike sidled up beside Angelus, with Drusilla next to him. Xander felt himself tremble under the eyes of three old, powerful demons, as they sized him up like a piece of meat.
Then, abruptly, an old memory awakened within him. Like a note of a song, a faint sound that he knew he'd heard in full somewhere in his memory, giving him strength. And he knew without doubt that he was angry. He could use this anger, and it would give him strength. An old quote from some president's wife came to mind:
"No one can ever make you feel inferior without your consent."
He'd given no one his consent. He straightened his shoulders and met Angelus in the eye, completely ignoring everyone else. Spike's eyes widened at the audacity of the boy's actions, and Drusilla stepped forward, running a hand through Xander's hair. He leant into the touch, his eyes daring Angelus to say anything.
The dark master of the Aurelius Coven growled loudly at Drusilla, and she was wise enough to let Spike lead her off. Angelus turned to leave, and Xander stood still, waiting. Spike was giving him a curious look, until Xander met his gaze head on. Visibly disturbed by something in the boy's gaze, Spike dropped his stare and hurried up to his Sire.
"Comin', boy o' mine?" Angelus asked, his Irish brogue thickened slightly as he offered his hand to Xander. Xander heard a struggle by the door, and he turned to see through a window that Buffy and Willow were struggling through the press to get out, to save him.
Save me from what? Myself? he wondered in a bitter sort of irony, before he took hold of the vampire's hand.
By the time the Slayer slammed out into the street, Angelus was gone, and Xander with him.
A/N: Alright, I finally finished the Balcony set! I've also finished the plotline, and I wanted to let everyone know that the plot is going to get a little convoluted by the time its done, so pay attention! I've almost topped thirty reviews on this story, which is huge for me, so I'm really hoping that I'll make it to fifty by the time I'm done. To all of my reviewers, I'm so sorry that you've all waited so long for me to update, but the fact that this story has been hit more than 2000 times, and is on six C2 communities, is what keeps me going. Cheers, and until next time (with lots of Xangelusy goodness),
PyroPadawan.