Gone 2: Rome: Part Ten
by Bria
All characters that have appeared on Buffy belong to the show, all others and the story line belong to me. Any feedback is welcome. Enjoy!



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Part Ten

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PARTY TIME

The night was black and warm, the stars glowing against its velvety softness like cold, distant diamonds, yet there was a slight chill to the wind that blew softly through the scant trees scattered around the area. The docks were empty with not a creature in sight. At least, those creatures that were alive. Dead ones, however, were another matter.

Cloaked by the darkness, Lily stealthily climbed the brick wall of the warehouse up to the roof. To her right and slightly below her, Aaron, too, scaled the wall easily, Zachary right beside him, hand over hand, foot over foot, his eyes turned upwards, concentrating on his destination. A slight noise whispered through the night and Lily froze, blending into the dark brick, as Aaron and Zachary stopped, clinging to the wall. She held completely still, scanning the darkness, her vampire hearing picking up little sounds, but nothing threatening. Suddenly a small bird burst from its roost on a railing down below. If Lily were human, she would have sighed with relief.

Reaching the top, she threw her arm over and used it to pull herself over the ledge, her muscles clenching, but not really working. They were used to much worse abuse than holding her body weight for ten minutes of climbing. Quickly she scanned the large roof, both the upper and the lower portion, noting possible areas for hidden dangers. In the middle of the upper roof there was a huge sky light, just as Angel said there would be. Lily smiled softly to herself. Angel was usually right any way.

Behind her she could hear Aaron and Zachary each land lightly on their feet and knew that they would be looking for trouble just like her. They immediately fanned out, each searching the dark corners and looking behind obstacles, ready for an attack. Finally, satisfied that no one knew they were up there, they each chose a side of the sky light to watch through, being careful so no one below would notice them if they glanced upward.

Down below Lily's keen eyes picked out Angel's handsome figure. He was turning in a slow circle, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. That was Angel for you, always cool under fire. Lily covertly glanced up at Aaron across the glass from her. She remembered her brief affair with Angelus while they were both possessed. She remembered it very well in fact, despite all the time that had passed, and she still found him attractive and knew the feeling was mutual, at least on a physical level. She'd told Aaron about the two of them when they had first gotten together, nearly a hundred years ago. He had been jealous at first, as Angel had still been with the family at the time. But after receiving much of her. . . attention, he was willing to believe that it was literally ancient history. Still, when Angel had left, she knew he had secretly been relieved.

Now that Angel was back, Lily knew Aaron was nervous and he didn't like to admit it, which was one of the reasons he had been so confrontational. Lily could very well understand, since she was known to be the jealous type as well. Still, as she stared at her ex-lover and her present companion, she was glad she had made the choice that she had. Aaron truly loved her, she knew that, and while she didn't know if that love would last over the centuries, she did know that, right now, he cared enough about her to give up eternity for her. That was more than enough to make her happy. Besides which, Angel was obviously enamored with this teenager. Lily had never seen him so besotted, and with a human, too! ( Well, half-human now. ) Members of the family often developed semi-relationships with the humans that came and went through out their lives, but none had ever been so devoted to their mortal lovers as Angel obviously was now. Even if Kalith hadn't been the one to kidnap her, Lily would have joined the rescue team anyway, just to see the girl that had managed to capture an immortal heart.

Zachary shifted, bringing her attention to him. She found that he was staring at her, his thoughts hidden behind his cold, mask-like face, and when their eyes met, he inclined his head downwards. Following his slightly impersonal gaze, she saw that Angel was no longer alone. A Japanese vampress was rapidly approaching him from behind and it was all Lily could do to keep herself from yelling out a warning to her friend. As it was, Angel didn't need it, not really. He some how heard her and turned, but not in time. The vamp hit him, pretty hard too, by the look of it, since it brought him to his knee. He recovered nicely, managing to knock her off her feet. They scuffled for a moment, neither really winning, then they separated.

Zachary stared, a look of confusion on his face. He had seen Angel fight many times before, and by the way he had treated the bloodsucker in the apartment, he hadn't gotten soft in his time away. This vamp must be really good in order to hold her own against him. His thoughts were interrupted by Aaron's whispered growl.

"Look," he said, his voice over flowing with emotion. "It's him."

The other two followed his pointing finger down to a dark corner of the warehouse. There, stepping out of the shadows stood their most hated enemy. Even from a distance, each could recognize the carnivorous vampire. Aaron growled again and Lily glanced up, worried that in the heat of the moment, he would do something stupid and get himself killed. Zachary didn't take his eyes off the scene unfolding below them. No one had moved yet, though the vampress had backed off, letting her sire take over the spotlight. Zachary found her fascinating. He knew practically every vamp living in Rome by sight, yet she was an anomaly to him. He wondered where she came from.

It was obvious from their body language that Kalith was taunting Angel, using his emotions against him. Lily winced, remembering how Angelus had taught Kalith, and even her, when she had first come to Europe from the South, how to play with a victim's head and heart, how to make them hate you as well as fear you. Back then, it had all been a game to her. For Kalith, it still was. And she knew it was a game he planned on winning.

Suddenly, Angel broke. He threw himself at Kalith so quickly they didn't even see him cross the floor. He tackled him to the ground, where they rolled over and over until both leapt to their feet. Kalith threw a hard right, but it was in a blind rage and clearly missed his opponent. Angel hauled back and sent him flying, causing Lily to give a grim smile. He followed up with a kick to the face and another punch, while his allies on the rooftop above silently cheered him on. Those cheers quickly died when he attempted to kick Kalith in the ribs, but ancient killer blocked the blow and delivered a vicious upper cut.

Drawing close to Angel, he shoved him backwards, then dropped to the floor and used his legs to knock out his ankle. He tried to kick his chest, but Angel was too quick, rolling out of the way and coming to his feet. Suddenly they both stopped. The three on the roof looked down in confusion, wondering what was going on. Zachary moved slightly, saying, "Get ready, this is it, I think." Aaron nodded, his hands clenched into fists

In the warehouse, Kalith was obviously talking and from the way his body shook, laughing as well. That was not a good sign. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Lily caught sight of the Oriental vamp, whom she had forgotten about, moving forward stealthily. Angel must have seen her too, for he wheeled just in time to throw out his arm and knock a glass container full of holy water out of her hand. While he was busy with the female, Kalith had produced a crow bar from a dark corner and he swung at Angel's back, knocking him to the floor. Lily tensed, waiting to see if he could get up on his own. He had instructed all of them only to show their presence if he was at a serious disadvantage.

Angel lay on the floor nearly completely still. Kalith raised his arms above his head, ready to strike again, when he hesitated, just for a second. That was it.

"All right," Lily said, stepping forward. Her face morphed into vampiric ridges, as did her two male companions', changing them into creatures most people only see in their nightmares, if they are lucky. "It's show time," she whispered. They jumped forward in unison and crashed into the pane of glass, shattering it and dropping to the ground. Upon landing, they bent their legs, absorbing the impact. Straightening, they grinned malevolently. Lily looked around in the stunned silence and drawled, " Well, hey y'all. Y'all ready to party?"


This story archived at: The Slayer\'s Fanfic Archive
The Slayer\\\\\\\\'s FanFic Archive - http://www.slayerfanfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=5583