A/N: A special bonus for my faithful readers! I'm getting kind of bad at this, but oh, well; it seems to be kind of my shtick at this point – not update for so long and then compromise with an added bonus as well as a new chapter. But none of you seem to be complaining, so, oh well. As I've already said above, I notice – wow, if I'd known I was going to ramble this long, I would've brought some water…

A/N: SPECIAL NOTE: It is very gratifying to check my email and see all kinds of new notices that so-and-so has added my story as a favorite or as an alert or something like that. But I would nearly kill for you people to review me as well. Any good author needs some feedback from the readers in order to critique and renew what has gone on before, so please, please, please review, lest we all have a Yvonne Navarro meltdown on (A side note here: I actually really like her books, but the Amazon thing was kind of ridiculous. Come on, it's online reviews at a shopping site! What was she expecting? Einstein inquiries? Anyone?)

A/N: Last one, I promise. In case you can't tell, this is merely the exact same chapter ten that I posted the last time, only with more at the bottom – I was kind of in a rush the last time I posted this, and my long silence only gave me more incentive to offer you guys more of a story – plus, it's better to get a view of how Angelus operates in his day-to-day world in order to get more of an insight to his and Xander's relationship.

So, with all of that out of the way, let's get this party started, bitches!

the Passion of Angels and Demons

Chapter XI

The Court of Angelus

(Revised and Updated)

Angelus paused outside the door to the room he'd demarcated as his own – well, the room in which Xander now resided. He took a deep, unneeded breath in order to steady himself. The boy, in his surprising burst of innocent passion, had no idea how close he had come to being a meal tonight. It had taken an enormous amount of effort on Angelus' part to restrain himself, especially when his inner demon had been fighting to feed, to fuck, to Claim its Cruor Aduro and damn the consequences. But, no. Leave the idiotic bouts of impulsive behavior to lesser demons.

He had definite, carefully designed plans for his pet. It wouldn't do to screw everything up now and ruin his plans by acting on his base desires. As he had explained to Xander earlier, all actions carried consequences, and he could easily see the ones imminent in this situation. But he also needed to factor in the risks of keeping such a tempting morsel in a factory/home base full of vampires.

As a master, it was his right to expect deference, loyalty, and obedience from the minions. On the one hand, Angelus was the Scourge of Europe, one of the most feared and powerful vampires ever Sired to this world. His own Sire, Darla, had herself nearly the reputation her Childe would earn for himself. She had killed a Slayer once, back in the Revolutionary War, as a tribute to her Sire, the Master (arguably the most feared and revered vampires…well, ever). Angelus himself had killed three Slayers, earning respect for his already dreaded name. His three infamous Childers, Drusilla, Spike, and Penn, had only added to his fame.

And on the other hand, he was the newly instated master of the Order of Aurelius. The Order placed emphasis on loyalty, order, power, and control. Minions religiously followed the master's orders, and gladly offered their lives if they failed in whatever tasks he or she had set out for them. Tributes were regularly offered to their master, and sexual advances were not uncommon (as vampires were already a highly sexual race themselves, this wasn't surprising). While Angelus himself had once scoffed at the ritualistic styling created by the Master himself, he had to admit that parts of it had been a relatively good idea.

But Angelus was smart enough to be pragmatic; while Drusilla worshipped the ground that he walked on, Spike hated him with a fiery passion. Darla had been slain by he himself, a mortal sin in the eyes of most vampires, and his more than a century of soul-driven foolishness had done much to diminish his once awesome reputation.

Spike would see Xander as an opportunity to manipulate Angelus, and his minions would be very tempted to break his commands and drain or fuck the sweetly innocent boy locked in the room behind him. This put an irritating time constraint on his plans for the boy – he would need to bend Xander to his will, and soon, so that he could Claim him for his own and remove the impending threats to his pet.

He allowed himself a feral smile, in lieu of the situation. That kiss, the first kiss, had rocked him all the way down to his toes. In all of his years, in all of his vast experience, with men, women, demonic and human, he had never felt such raw, unbridled enthusiasm, such pure passion. Xander had been so sweetly submissive; so wonderfully eager to please him. He had stolen that kiss, and the feeling behind it, from the soul, from Angel, and it had been so sweet.

He found himself getting hard just picturing that rosy, kiss-swollen mouth wrapped around his cock…he had a feeling that Xander would be good at that…

He shook himself. Now was not the time to lose himself in idle fantasy. For there was another danger to his position here, one that he had been avoiding thinking about. The Slayer. For much as he hated to admit it, the girl did pose an actual threat to him. This girl was different from all the others – she herself was dangerous, a skilled, smart, and unorthodox fighter. But her friends who actually fought with her were what made her truly formidable.

Xander had turned out to be fine tactician, an able researcher, and no real liability in the field, either. Willow, the little redhead, had the potential so deep inside her that he doubted she sensed it, to be a truly powerful witch, and her computer skills had aided the Slayer time and time again. Not to mention the Watcher, Giles, who seemed to have every ounce of mystical information available on file in his brain. Together they had formed a team that no demon in Sunnydale (including he himself and his two Childers, he had to admit with some chagrin) had been able to defeat.

With Xander gone, they were liable to get very dangerous in their desperation to get him back. Staying in the factory was a risk in and of itself, but where in the world was he supposed to find a good place to hide an entire Vampire Court? He sighed, moving away from the door. There was actual business to attend to whilst he brooded about this. Darla had been a better leader than he had ever allowed himself to admit.

As he headed down the stairs toward the main level, a passing minion gave him an idea. He grabbed her arm, struggling to remember her name. The young vampiress gave a startled noise, but instantly bowed her neck in submission to her master. The thought of Xander and the way he had unconsciously done just than when Angelus had buckled the collar around his neck with slightly trembling fingers…it was enough to restore his good mood.

"Jessica, isn't it?" he asked in a burst of remembrance. She looked exceptionally flattered that he had remembered her name.

"Yes, master," she said breathlessly.

"Bring me Lucian," he ordered her, giving her a gentle push. With a wide smile in her master's direction, she nodded and ran off to comply. The brief glance of her body's sweet young tits bouncing as she ran made him want to remember her eagerness to please. He made his way down the stairs, thinking of his next move. Lucian was the only one of the Anointed One's original followers left after Spike's idiotic attack on the school, leaving Buffy with no choice but to dust the other four. Lucian could be counted on to follow his master's instructions.

"Milord?" Lucian asked presently, and Angelus nearly started with surprise as he found himself at the bottom of the staircase. He had been so lost in his thoughts, he hadn't even noticed getting to his destination. Lucian was a hulking brute, but one of the few who had any real intelligence. He was tall and dark-skinned, and one of the few who bothered to wear his human face in a house full of vampires.

"I have a task for you," Angelus said, drawing himself up regally. Lucian instantly perked up at the thought of pleasing his master. "The boy upstairs will be essential in my plans of defeating the Slayer," he continued. Lucian looked like he had barely been able to hold himself back from snarling at the thought of her. Buffy's defeat of the Master had not made her a popular figure in the underworld. "I'll need one of my most trusted advisors to guard him from the other idiots around us…are you worthy?" he asked, fixing Lucian with an unblinking stare.

"Yes, master!" Lucian said eagerly. Angelus hid a smile. Manipulating loyalty was so easy.

"Now, you understand," Angelus said, suddenly serious, "that there are to be no visitors to him but me. If my own Childers attempt entry, particularly Spike, I authorize you to use whatever means necessary to waylay them until I arrive." Lucian's eyes widened as he nodded, and Angelus could easily understand his amazement. The idea of a master not sharing a lowly human with his Childers was practically unthinkable.

"He's not to go out to do anything but go to the bathroom, and he'll be accompanied at all times. If he's hungry, get another minion to bring you food to give to him. Do this, and I shall see to it that you are elevated above all my other minions. Fail me…" he trailed off meaningfully, his yellow eyes flashing as he growled. Lucian nodded, trembling. While Angelus' reputation might have been diminished thanks to Angel, his possessiveness and delight in punishing incompetence was still feared in the Hellmouth.

"I'll dedicate my life to it, master!" Lucian declared loyally. Angelus gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Good."

He left without a backward glance, assured that his boy had some protection, for the moment, at least. He walked down to the main floor of the factory, where the rest of his Court milled restlessly. Spike and Drusilla were in a corner, given a wide berth by the other vampires. While Spike had been confined to his wheelchair, the other vampires had feared him greatly, for his bad mood had led to many of their deaths. Now they avoided him as a matter of principle.

There were about twenty vampires, other than Angelus and his Childers, who could claim that they were in the Order of Aurelius. Angelus shook his head. He'd have to make some new ones soon, due to Buffy's increased vigor on the hunt after Xander's disappearance. It wouldn't do to have half of his potential vampiric army dusted by the blonde Slayer and her pals.

Angelus paused as he watched his court. He really didn't want to be here; what he wanted was to be back with his boy. But it was the Master's duty to listen to his Court's complaints or reports of their activities. He had to recreate his image as Angelus and not Angel, and that required winning the respect of the other vampires. Jessica, the hot teenaged vamp that he'd ordered earlier that day, looked up at that moment and noticed the presence of the master.

A hush spread throughout the room.

Angelus walked up, his back imperially straight, and sat down on the large, throne-like chair at the head of the room. He beckoned for the first minion to come forward, and sat back to begin. He watched with cold, unblinking eyes as the first of the minions nervously came forward, neck down in deference to his master's whims. This was a particularly ugly one, probably a gangly pimply teenager when he'd been Turned.

"Your name, minion?" Angelus demanded in a bored sort of voice. He probably shouldn't have let his boredom show through so much, but what the hell. He'd never been much of one for ceremony, and his Xander waited upstairs for him to break in. He could have lost himself in imaginings of Xander, but he shook himself and forced himself to concentrate.

"Aaron, master," the minion whimpered. "Or, er, my liege, or—"

"You can shut up now," Angelus said with a lazy smile. The rest of the Court laughed meanly at the young vampire's discomfiture, and Angelus allowed this with the same smile. The minion was getting irritated by now, which was always a good thing; when they were timid, they were boring, and he could use some infusion of excitement now to wake his mind up from the sleep that the proceedings were trying to send it into. "What do you want?" he demanded bluntly.

"It's that idiot, David," the minion whined in an annoying try at an evil sounding snarl. "He's sloppy and slow, and he's gonna get the Slayer on our asses – and," he continued, clearly aggravated now, "he's been stealing my kills from me!" Angelus lifted an eyebrow dangerously, but the minions and the little idiot didn't seem to notice this little danger sign. Spike did, though; Angelus could see him drawing Drusilla back a little with him. She didn't take any notice, she just continued dancing in crazy little spirals. "The fat bastard is dumb and he's stealing kills and none of us can get any food anymore—"

This was as far as he got.

"This is what you interrupt my day for?" Angelus hissed. Aaron shrank back into himself, trembling suddenly with fear. And with good reason. "I am your Master, you little bitch!" Angelus snarled, leaping to his feet suddenly in a dizzying display of preternatural speed. "A million better things that I could be doing now and you interrupt me to complain that you're too stupid to catch a human from a vampire's vampire?!" he roared, enraged suddenly beyond thinking.

It was insane, really, that he should be this angry over something so small, but all that he could think about was that this pathetic creature was robbing him of time spent with his Cruor Aduro, that his boy should be rolling in his scent and displaying himself for his master's pleasure and all that he had were idiotic minions that couldn't fend for himself.

"Where is this David, then?" he asked in a delicate voice. Aaron jerked away from his Master's voice, but then tremulously pointed out a large black vampire that was from the Master's original Order, surely. Angelus pointed his finger at him. "You. Here. Now." David cast him a surly look, then sauntered over to where they were standing. Angelus instantly saw the use of subverting this creature's loyalty.

"So, you've been taking dominance over my minions, have you?" Angelus purred dangerously. David nodded, a little shaken now. He knew that he couldn't take the legendary Angelus in a fight, and that realization seemed to wilt his peacock's tail a little bit. Good. Too much arrogance was a bad thing. "Good for you," Angelus said genially. David nodded, a little taken aback. Aaron was about to open his mouth when Angelus roared in rage and tore his head off of his neck with his bare hands. He caught the first spattering of blood that spurted out of the severed arteries on his tongue before the useless vampire exploded in a fine cloud of dust. The other minions jerked back, trembling in fear.

"Let's discuss some things, my little coven," Angelus spat, annoyed. They all nodded, too scared to disagree. "I am only going to say this once, so that you all know how serious I am. Pay a-FUCKING-ttention!" He roared suddenly, and they all jumped. He continued in a deadly whisper that they all had to lean in to hear. "I am your master. I am not your friend, nor am I your ally in your petty little power games. You want to plot and scheme amongst yourselves for power positions, fine. You want to take out your enemies, fine. But if you annoy me in any way, I will kill you. You attract the Slayer's attention in any way. I will kill you. If you touch my pet, I will torture you and then slowly kill you. And if you annoy me, let me reiterate: I will KILL YOU!" he roared. They all leapt back.

"Whose was this thing?" he snapped suddenly. No one answered; you could practically see the sweat breaking out on their brows. And slowly, one vampire raised his hand. He was a big, red-headed beast; the demon's blood in him wasn't all that powerful anyway. "You're lucky that I don't want to slaughter my entire army tonight, or you'd be dead too," Angelus said slowly. The vampire paled, a remarkable accomplishment for their kind. "As it is, if I ever hear of you making a vampire within the next month, I will torture you and make you kill your childe."

And with that, he turned and stalked out of the room. He tried his best to ignore both the stunned stares of the trembling minions or of his Childers following him out of the room. He just continued, but Spike slammed the door shut. Any minion with a teaspoonful of brains wouldn't dare listen in on their conversation now, especially after Angelus' little 'happy hour' explosion.

"Are you off your head, mate?" Spike demanded without preamble. Usually Angelus could appreciate bluntness, but this wasn't usual. He turned around and growled fiercely at Spike, but the younger vampire held his ground. Yes, he had been away for too long; the old Spike would never have messed with Angelus when he was in this bad of a mood. "What the hell was that about?"

"Back off, Spike," Angelus growled dangerously. "I run my court the way that I decide." He turned away, clearly intending for Spike to leave it where it was. Spike, ever the hard-headed idiot, didn't leave it alone.

"Yeah, well, don't take it out on us if you haven't fucked your little human pet, ma—"

One thing about Angelus? He really let you know when you'd gone too far. Within the blink of an eye Spike found himself dangling a foot above the air, his neck caught in a vise-like grip and Angelus' enraged vampiric countenance a mere two inches from his face. Spike gasped as pain erupted in his neck.

"If you take so much as a step toward the boy, I'll kill you myself, Childe or no Childe!" With that he turned and stalked up the stairs. Spike fell to the floor, stunned, shaken, silent. Drusilla drifted into the room in that vague way of hers. She sent a small, reassuring smile to Spike.

"Poor Spike," she cooed. "Daddy has a nasty temper, he has; he won't admit it to himself," she said with a smile. Spike perked up at this.

"Won't admit what, pet?" he demanded. But Drusilla merely shook her head and kept her own counsel. She danced away, sashaying toward their room where she would bed down for the day. Spike knew that he should follow her, but instead he stared up after Angelus, a cold and calculating look on his face.

Angelus took the stairs two at a time. He had no idea what the haste was, but he was getting nervous being away from Xander for so long. Lucien he thought that he could trust, but all he knew was that his boy wasn't going to be safe until he had him in his arms. He wanted to have Xander with him at all times, he wanted—

He stopped himself. He had approached the door. But it wasn't the plan to go in just yet. It wasn't the plan to…he sighed, and pressed his ear to the door. From the confines of within, he could vaguely hear Xander shouting about something to the hapless Lucien. He smiled. Brave, brash boy…He sighed. He wasn't going to go in, at least not until he'd fed later that night. He didn't want to risk anything.

He walked on down the hall towards the minions' quarters. He stalked aggressively into the room, the basest, most demonic aspect of him enjoying the rank smell of their fear. It was enough to block out the thoughts of Xander, at least temporarily, and now he could concentrate on satisfying his own beast. He glanced around, and then noticed his quarry. He beckoned to Jessica. The minion came forward hurriedly, shaking her hair out of her eyes. She bowed her head, displaying her neck, and he growled appreciatively at the smooth porcelain expanse that led down to her full, plump breasts.

He grabbed the back of her neck and led her down the hall, while the other minions discreetly closed the door behind them.

A/N: So, that was the rewrite, and I really enjoy it better. I'll be posting this today, and I swear that within the next two days (more hopefully tomorrow) I'll have the next chapter up and posted, and then, since school has officially started, I'll hopefully swing back into a more regular writing schedule. Thanks so much for the support and for holding on as much as you have. I love you all, even though I don't know you. Still.

PyroPadawan.