Outsider Chronicles: This Bites
Getting reborn into the dark ages isn't exactly my idea of a 'good time', but nearly getting my throat ripped out by my own brother, then recruited as an Immortal bodyguard for a crazy vampire with a chip on his shoulder? Really not fun either. Surviving 300 years then getting sent to investigate odd occurrences in America in the same town as a goddamn Vampire slayer? Really not fun.
And we're back. Nothing to say here, so lets dive right in. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
"You wanted to see me Amelia?" I asked as I entered the Elders office.
Amelia looked up from the report she was reading with an unusually serious light in her eyes.
"I have a job for you Lucas," she said, "And its imperative that you don't fail."
I immediately straightened.
"I am at your command," I said.
Amelia nodded.
"A few days ago, I received a report of a robbery at one of our storage vaults in Vienna," she said, "It was a high security vault, intended to hide secrets and treasures that are far too dangerous to allow out into the world, so the fact they succeeded in their robbery is...disconcerting to say the least."
"You think we have a rat?" I asked.
"Possible, but thats not your job," said Amelia, "I will deal with the break in. You are to track down what was taken and retrieve it."
I nodded.
"Alright, what was taken?" I asked.
"A box containing a fragment of an ancient and incredibly powerful Demon," said Amelia, "He was called the Judge and we helped to destroy him over six centuries ago."
I bit my tongue to prevent myself from reacting.
"So I take it that the fact someone took the box is a bad thing?" I asked.
"Oh yes," said Amelia, "See, we couldn't kill him. He was immune to any weapon forged, so we ended up being forced to dismember him. That battle was one of the few times Viktor approved of the use of Lycans after he awoke and found out from the Blood Memories."
"Oh, so very bad?"
Amelia gave me a flat look.
"Anyway, if someone managed to bring the parts of the Demon back together, he would be revived," said Amelia, "I don't know who stole it, but I have a horrible suspicion it was Spikes goons. The idea of someone like that with the Judge on their side...doesn't bear thinking about."
"Got it," I said, "Any idea where I should start looking?"
"We managed to track the crate to Sunnydale California, so start your search there," said Amelia, "And hurry."
I snapped a salute and left the room.
"Well, this is gonna be fun," I grumbled as I pulled up in front of the safehouse we had in Sunnydale, "Me in the same town as Angel and the Slayer. Ohhh, that'll end well."
I kept grumbling as I stalked upstairs with my bags and started taking stock of what I had.
"Right, plenty of blood bags, enough guns to make Kahn drool and...a torture chamber. Great."
I shut the door to the sterile room set up for 'interrogations' in favor of checking on the living quarters. As was standard, they were rather spartan, designed more for function than comfort, but that was fine. In my 200 years as a Death Dealer, I had dealt with far worse. At least this place had a bed. A quick check of the security system revealed that there was only about an hour until dawn, so I decided to call it a day. I could start my search in the evening.
The next evening, I was 'eating' breakfast while waiting for the last of the evening light to fade while trying to come up with a game plan. While I knew that Spike and his gang were using an abandoned warehouse as a base, I had no idea which one. It certainly didn't help that Sunnydale seemed to have an uncomfortable number of such locations to choose from. Then there was the issue of figuring out if the Judge had been reassembled yet. If he had, it would probably be a good idea to offer the Scoobys my help…
I pulled a face at that thought. Yeah, that meeting would go well if Angel had already been de-souled. I'd already had to deal with one Slayer in my time, I wasn't looking forwards to a second, especially not one whos recently been dumped and targeted by someone who happens to look exactly like me. Still, that didn't change the fact that talking with that lot was the best way of figuring out where the Judge was and dealing with him. I sighed and tossed my drained blood pack into the bin as I stood.
"Well, lets get this over with," I muttered as I opened the window and jumped out.
It didn't take me long to reach the school and even less time to locate the library skylight. I had no intention of using the door, especially not when Buffy had a rocket...launcher, aw shit. I let out a groan and rubbed my eyes in an attempt to alleviate the headache that was suddenly pounding behind my eyes.
"Well, lets get this over with," I muttered as I placed my hands on the edge of the window, "Hup."
I flipped up into a perfect handstand, holding the pose for a moment before pushing myself of and crashing through the window, feet first.
Third Person POV, with Buffy
Buffy felt numb. Considering everything that had happened over the last couple of days, that honestly wasn't all that surprising. Between failing to stop the Judge from being restored, discovering that Angel had been de-souled because of her and finding out that the newly evil Vampire was out to kill everyone even remotely connected to her for revenge, she was all emotioned out. Not even learning how to use a rocket launcher from Xander of all people could elicit much of a reaction from her. However, the skylight abruptly exploding and a figure in black dropping into the room was still odd enough to surprise her. The figure landed on the table in front of a startled Willow without so much as bending his knees, despite the two story drop. In fact, it almost looked as if he'd simply stepped down of a step.
"Hnn, maybe I should have opened that first," he muttered in a voice coloured by an irish accent as he brushed broken glass of his shoulder, "Sorry about that."
Buffy stared at the newcomer, trying desperately to figure out just how and why someone would drop through the ceiling. Then she noticed that Willow and Giles both looked terrified and the Watcher was inching towards a cross on a nearby shelf. The reason for those reaction became apparent a moment later however when he turned around to face the Slayer, revealing a face that was identical to Angel's. Buddy's eyes widened as a combination of fear, grief and white hot fury shot through her body. Her eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth as her fingers closed around a handy nearby stake.
"Whoo boy, I knew this was a bad idea," muttered 'Angel', right before Buffy charged him, stake aimed squarely for his chest.
In an impressive display of flexibility that should not be possible for the Human body, the man bent backwards, avoiding the stab as he spun away from the Slayers attack.
"Huh, not bad," he said.
Buffy snarled and charged him again, her anger blinding her to the fact that the mans eyes were a bright, electric blue instead of Angel's dark brown. He signed and ducked under the thrust, catching Buffy's wrist and flipping her over his shoulder to slam into the table, twisting her arm behind her in the same movement in a perfect lock that rendered Buffy completely immobile, It didn't help that he was incredibly strong.
"Say uncle," he said.
Instead, Giles splashed holy water on him from behind. However, instead of the faint hissing and screams they were all expecting, the Scooby gang were treated to a perfect deadpan look.
"Really? Holy water?"
Giles blinked at the sight of the newcomers blue eyes.
"Oh, right," he said, "I suppose that would be a waste of time on you."
"So would the cross the idiot's about to hit me with," said the man.
Xander paused as he was about to do just that.
"Er, shouldn't you be running from this?" asked the teen.
"No, because I'm not a demon," drawled the stranger.
"W-wait, what?" stuttered Willow, "B-but…"
"Hes right Willow, this isnt Angel," said Giles.
"Oh, so thats why little miss Slayer got so angry at the sight of me," said the not-Angel, "Let me guess, you slept with him and broke that curse of his?"
Buffy, who had stopped struggling at this point, immediately went bright red as Xander and Giles jerked in surprise.
"I'll take that as a yes," drawled the newcomer with a shit eating grin that looked very odd on Angel's face, "Now, if I let you up, are you gonna try and stake me again? Cus that shit hurts."
Buffy's response was to let out a pained moan. Still, the Angel-looka-like took that as a yes and released her before dropping into a sitting position on the table.
"So, um, if your not Angel, why do you look so much like him?" asked Xander, "I mean, its uncanny. Are you some kind of clone?"
The stranger snorted.
"Nah, I'm his twin," he said, "Names Lucas by the way."
Cue five very confused looks.
"Angel has a twin?" asked Willow.
"I doubt he knows I'm still alive considering he killed our entire family after he was Turned," said Lucas, "I was lucky enough to survive, although he did leave me with this lovely souvenir."
He tilted his head to the side to reveal a nasty looking scar that everyone recognized as a vampire bite.
"So wait, if your Angels twin, how are you still alive?" asked Oz, "I mean, isnt he pretty old?"
"Over 200," said Giles, "But hes not Human either. Those blue eyes are indicative of a Corvinus Strain Vampire."
"Stick that in me and I'll do more than just slam you into the table," said Lucas as Buffy's fingers twitched towards the fallen stake.
"But if hes a Vampire, how come Holy water didn't affect him?" asked Xander.
"Because Corvinus Strain Vampires are not related to Demons," said Lucas, "We're biologically immortal transgenics created from a mutagenic virus carried in blood and saliva."
"Err…"
"They're Humans mutated by a virus, not corpses possessed by demons," translated Giles, "They're actually more closely related to Werewolves than the Demonic Vampires that we know."
"Don't let Viktor hear you say that," muttered Lucas.
"What? Oh, yes, of course," said Giles, "Actually, having him here may be a big help. It was originally the Vampire Elder Amelia who defeated the Judge."
"Wait, let me guess," said Lucas, cutting the Watcher off, "Spike was the one behind stealing the bits of Demon and he and his little nutcase of a squeeze have managed to put him back together?"
"Rather crude, but accurate," said Giles.
Lucas groaned and dropped his head into his hands.
"Great, Amelia's gonna kill me," he muttered, "Right, so lets take stock, the Judge is back, my Brother is now back to being a soulless killer 'artist' who considers that nutjob Drusilla to be his best work and the Slayer is apparently in love with said soulless killer."
Buffy twitched.
"How did…" started Oz.
"I'm over 200 years old kiddo," said Lucas, "You learn to pick up on these things."
"Fair enough."
"Alright you lot, enough," said Buffy, "We have a plan and a Demon to destroy so we really shouldn't hang around any more."
"Great, I'll tag along," said Lucas, hopping off the table, "Dealing with the Judge is supposed to be my job here after all. Plus…"
He grinned, showing off a set of fangs that had everyone in the room recoiling since they were even larger than Angels and looked even more eery set into his still very Human face.
"Its been 200 years since I've last seen my brother. I think we're due a visit."
Buffy really wasn't sure what to make of Lucas. Every time she looked at him, she was reminded of Angel and yet...he was so different. Even at the height of their time dating, Angel always had an air of melancholy about him, a near tangible aura of the weight of the sins he bore. Lucas utterly lacked it. Instead, he seemed rather carefree and cheerful, almost like Xander but with an air of preparedness that reminded her of Kendra. He was a soldier, there was no doubt about that, and stronger than her if the way he had easily manhandled her when she'd tried to attack him was anything to go by, yet Buffy got the distinct impression that he wasn't really a threat to them.
Then there was his smile. That more than anything proved to Buffy that Lucas was nothing like Angel. Angels smile always held a tinge of regret to it, or, more recently, sheer malevolence and evil. She didn't think she had ever really seen a true smile from her ex, but Lucas..? She glanced over at the Vampire, who already seemed to have created a rapport with Xander and Oz and was cracking jokes that had the two in stitches. Yeah, defiantly nothing like Angel. Hell, looking at him right now, it was hard to believe he was even a 244 year old Vampire rather than a normal collage aged man. Well, so long as Buffy ignored the body armour he wore under his coat and the holstered guns at his hips.
"Need something Buffy?"
The Slayer jerked as she realised that the subject of her thoughts had caught her looking at him. She quickly looked away to hide her reddening cheeks at being caught.
"N-no, nothing," she said, inwardly cursing the stutter.
Lucas raised an eyebrow, but didn't get chance to push as they had arrived at the factory Spike and his minions were using as a base, much to Buffy's relief. The fact she was relieved to be fighting a stupidly powerful Demon she couldn't kill but could kill her with a touch over trying to talk to Lucas was completely lost on her.
Back to Lucas
As tempted as I was to simply direct everyone to the shopping centre (or snag Spike at the factory), I had no real way of explaining that away. I suppose I could have told them how I know, but somehow I doubt that'd go over too well. As for Spike, well, maybe its stupid, but the guys so damn cool I couldn't resist letting him stick around.
"200 years and I still haven't lost my sense of whimsy," I muttered.
"Pardon?" asked Jiles.
"Nothing," I said as the lift came to a stop and the doors opened, "Lets go blow up a demon."
I hoisted the box containing the bazooka over my shoulder (being the strongest, I had been ordered to carry it by a very tense Buffy) and followed the Slayer out of the lift and down the hall to where the blue form of the Judge was zapping people left and right. A quick shot from Buffy's crossbow put a stop to that, although it apparently didn't do much more than annoy him.
"That won't work you stupid girl," said the Demon, sneering at the Slayer, "And I won't fall to those foolish little Immortals this time either. Not when they are too busy tearing at one another's throats."
He switched his sneer to me.
"That was then," said Buffy, "Lets see how you hold up to a modern weapon."
I opened the box and passed the Slayer the bazooka, barely suppressing the urge to smirk when I saw Angelus and Drusilla's eyes widen in horror. Yeah, even Werewolves can't walk of getting hit by a damned rocket (don't ask how I know that), so Vampires really don't stand a chance.
"Whats that do?" asked the Judge dumbly as his two bodyguards dove for cover and Buffy pulled the trigger.
One explosion and I scowled as I brushed a bit of Demon of my shoulder.
"You know, I really don't think we need to worry about him coming back any more," I grumbled, "But just to be sure, make sure you encase one of these bits in concrete and drop it into the sea or something."
"Thats...actually a good idea," said Xander.
"Don't sound so surprised," I muttered, "Anyway, you lot keep picking up the bastard, I'm gonna go kick my brothers arse."
I vaulted over the counter we had taken cover behind and sprinted through the door Angelus had just vanished through as the sprinklers came on. I burst through a door and immediately dropped to my knees, sliding under the swipe Angelus took at my head while tripping him with a length of wire around his ankle.
"Heh, not bad Buff…" started Angelus, only to trail off when he saw me, "Who the hell are you?"
"Aww come on Liam, I know its been a while, but surely you haven't forgotten me," I said as I flipped to my feet.
Angelus' eyes widened in disbelief.
"N-no, your dead," he said, "I killed you, you are DEAD!"
"Nope, still very much alive," I said, "Now then, why don't we settle this."
I dropped into a fighting crouch as my fangs extended to their full length and my eyes blazed like lightning bolts. Angelus snarled right back and the two of us pounced.
Ohhh, so mean, so horrible so...actually no, thats all its was. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
*cough*, anyway, Lucas is off to a flying start. Between a crazy entrance, nearly getting staked and already getting in with the Scooby gang, this looks like things are gonna get crazy.
Speaking of, if your wondering why they were so quick to trust him, they weren't really. Well, Giles probably does...ish since the Watchers know and have had dealings with the Covens in the past. Usually when Amelia's in charge since Marcus doesn't really care and Viktor is...well, Viktor.
Yes, I am setting up a possible romance between Buffy and Lucas. Maybe thats a tad iffy considering she just broke up with his identical twin, but thats half the fun. Plus, it'll be interesting to see if I can pull of the inevitable drama.
And with that, I'm done. Next time, Angelus vs Lucas, brother vs brother and Demon against Corvinus. Should be interesting. Until then, please leave a review!