Disclaimer: *rolls eyes* still not mine.
Chapter 7
'What are you doing here, Spike?' Angel paced the length of the office angrily. Spike, the bleached blonde British vampire sat sprawled in a chair, studiously ignoring the furious vampire. Connor perched on Cordelia's desk, watching the show avidly.
Buffy hadn't come back down after she left the lobby and for that, Angel was grateful. He really didn't want her knowing anything about his past. There were things she was better off not knowing. Spike was a part of that. 'Why are you here, now?'
Spike grinned, obviously enjoying his sire's discomfort. 'Didn’t you miss me? Look, peaches. I'm here for the same reason the chump was,’ he pointed to the dead demon.
'Which is?' Angel gritted. He had better not be after what I think he’s after.
'I'm getting to that,' Spike said airily. 'A group of demons approached me a few days go. It seems there is a competition going on; big prize money. Most, however, like my good self, will say screw the prize money and do it for free.'
'What's the competition?' Connor spoke up, fascinated by the blonde vampire and, no doubt, his relation to Angel.
'Assassination,' Spike grinned evilly. 'First to take out the target, gets the money.'
Angel growled. 'What's the target?'
Spike studied his black polished nails. He didn't look up as he answered. 'The Slayer.'
'What?' Connor stood up.
'The Slayer,' Spike repeated. 'Heard she was in town, took out a few demons from another dimension to save some kids. Sounds like my kind of girl. Got to find the bint first.'
Angel glanced at Connor and noticed he was thinking the same thing. Keep Spike away from Buffy. “When does the competition start?’ Angel moved closer to the blonde.
Spike laughed, loud and deep. ‘It’s already started, mate,’ he sounded amused. ‘Where do you think Dru is?’
A scream tore through the hotel as Spike finished speaking and without a second thought, Angel ran for the door, Connor following closely. They were at the top of the big staircase when Angel realised the scream had not come from Buffy. He grinned. It had come from Drusilla. Spike must have finally realised that too as Angel could hear the slap of his feet as he ran behind them.
They ran up the three floors to Buffy’s room and Angel kicked the door in, not bothering with the door knob. The sight that greeted the three as they entered the room was an unexpected one. Drusilla stood, back against the wall, staring at Buffy with loathing and hunger. The Slayer stood in front of the beautiful vampire, stake pressed against Dru’s chest, over her unbeating heart.
‘Don’t,’ Spike darted forward. Angel grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the floor before he could get anywhere.
‘Watch,’ he growled at the downed vamp then focussed back on the two females. Buffy still stood with her stake against Dru’s chest but she mad no move to strike the killing blow. Connor took a step forward but Angel grabbed his arm. He shook his head, not looking away from the tableau before him.
‘Someone want to get with the splainy sometime soon?’ Buffy’s spoke, not turning away from the mad vampire. ‘Why’d she attack me?’
Drusilla grinned crazily at Buffy and Angel almost winced. He knew he shouldn’t though. Drusilla was only what he had made her to be. Well, not him exactly, his demon, Angelus.
‘Let her go, you stupid bint. The dark goddess before you is my sire and Angelus’s childe,’ Spike growled from the floor. Angel’s foot on his chest prevented him from rising- no pun intended.
‘Who’s Angelus?’ she paused. ‘Again I say, why’d she attack me.’
‘The same reason the demons have been,’ Angel replied, grinding Spike further into the floor with his foot.
‘Which is?’
‘A competition,’ the Billy Idol look-alike answered instead and Buffy turned to look at him. ‘Slayerfest.’
‘Slayerfest?’
‘Yep,’ Spike pushed away from Angel and stood, brushing himself off. Angel watched him closely, ready to grab him should he make a move towards Buffy. ‘Like Oktoberfest only instead of those bloody sausages and beer, it’s bloody Slayers and entrails.’
‘I don’t get it,’ Buffy shook her head, a puzzled expression on her beautiful face. She still had Drusilla pinned to the wall but otherwise seemed to have forgotten the vampire was even there.
It was about then Angel realised what Buffy was wearing or, rather, not wearing. Buffy stood menacingly, threatening a very deadly vampire, dressed only in a thin pair of summer pyjama’s. The shorts showed off her tanned legs and the thin strap top showed more skin than Angel was comfortable with. He was only uncomfortable with it because there was company. He didn’t want anyone else, including Connor, seeing any part of beautiful body.
‘Well, Slayer,’ Buffy’s eyes widened and she looked to Angel as Spike shook out a cigarette from the packet he’d taken from the inside pocket of his long leather jacket. Angel shook his head, he’d explain everything later. ‘It’s like this. Some demons put out the word of Slayerfest. They have teams competing against each other for the prize money. The goal? You. The prize? One hundred thousand big ones. But as I told the poof here, I’d do you for free. Already bagged myself two, earlier in the century, goin’ for a third.’
Buffy threw a disgusted look at him and turned back to Drusilla. ‘Where does she fit into all this?’
‘She’s my sire, my mate. Angelus’ child.’ Spike glanced at the Slayer in contempt. ‘We make up the Gamma team.’
‘How many teams are there?’ Angel asked out of curiosity. Three had already come for Buffy. How many more were there after they learned Spike had failed?
‘Seven. Alpha, Beta, Charlie, Delta, Epsilon, Foxtrot and Gamma. We wanted to be team Alpha but someone beat us too it. Wait, why am I telling you any of this? I’m supposed to be ripping her bloody throat out and staking the hell out of you, peaches. I’ll do your offspring too, for fun, you know?’ Spike vamped out and Angel also felt his face change.
Spike lunged at him as Drusilla knocked Buffy’s arm aside and grabbed her by the throat. Out of the corner of his eye, Angel saw Connor spring into action. He lunged at the brunette vampire holding the Slayer by the throat. They crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Buffy recovered first. She flipped to her feet and snatched up the dropped stake. She turned quickly as Drusilla rose and brought the stake down towards her heart. Spike, who’d been watching the battle as closely as Angel, shoved his grandsire out of the way and lunged at the Slayer, knocking her to the ground before she could pierce his loves heart.
He pulled Dru to her feet and backed away from the now upright and extremely pissed off Slayer. Connor stuck close to her side and Angel moved in, flanking her other side. Angel knew Spike knew they weren’t getting out of this hotel alive- undead- if they tried to take Buffy. Angel didn’t want to stake them, it was his fault they were here after all, he made them, turned them into the monsters they were, but he would if he had to. Nothing was going to hurt his Buffy. He wouldn’t allow it. Angel realised what he’d said. His Buffy. She was his, his love, his Slayer.
Spike made a sudden move and Angel pulled Buffy back against his side but he needn‘t have worried. Spike protectively latched onto Drusilla and he jumped through the large window, smashing the glass as the two fell through.
The three warriors ran to the window, watching as the two vampires disappeared into the night. The sky above was slowly turning pink as sunrise approached. Spike and Dru were going to get a little singed around the edges. Buffy turned to Angel, ignoring the bloody trail left from the vamps and the shattered glass and raised and eyebrow.
‘Who’s Angelus?’ was the last thing he expected her to ask.
*******************************
Buffy’s mind was buzzing like a live wire. Thoughts flowed in and out of her mind as she desperately tried to grasp all the facts. The foremost thing on her mind was Slayerfest. There were five more teams out there, competing for her head. When would they show up?
She sat down in the chair Angel indicated and fidgeted nervously while he made her a coffee. Willow walked into the small lounge area, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Connor had gone to get her when Buffy mentioned she wanted Willow to hear everything. She spotted Buffy and made her way over to her, dropping into the chair beside her and laying her head on her shoulder.
Buffy wrapped an arm around her and together they watched as the vampire walked back into the room with two cups of steaming hot coffee. Willow perked up instantly and Buffy chuckled.
‘Decaf,’ Angel told her as he handed her a cup. She looked so disappointed the other two had to laugh.
Buffy took her cup gratefully and held it between her cold hands. She looked up as Angel sat in a chair in front of the girls, leaning forwards, hands clasped between his knees. He opened his mouth to begin but was interrupted as Connor entered the room. Buffy watched Connor take a seat on the floor near her chair then her gaze flitted back to Angel. He didn’t look entirely happy that Connor was present but the boy probably needed to hear this story too. Buffy didn’t doubt Angel hadn’t told him everything.
‘What do you want to know?‘ Angel asked them.
Buffy took the initiative. ’Everything. What was Spike talking about? You were their sire? Why’d he wanna stake you then?’
Angel sighed and settled back on the couch. Buffy knew this was gonna be one of those ‘It’s a long story’ things that actually are a long story.
‘I’ll begin at the very start, I suppose. You know I haven’t always had a soul, right? Well, before I got my soul I was known as Angelus. I was one of the most feared vampires in many years. For over a century I left a bloody trail across Europe and half of the world. I wasn’t alone. We, Drusilla, Spike, Darla and myself, were known as the Scourge of Europe. For a hundred years I offered ugly death to everyone I met, and I did it with a song in my heart.’
‘What changed?’ Buffy asked curiously.
‘Fed on a girl about your age... beautiful... dumb as a post...but a favourite among her clan.’
‘Clan?’
‘Romany. Gypsies. The elders conjured the perfect punishment for me. They restored my soul.’
‘What, they were all out of boils and blinding torment?’ Connor smirked and Buffy frowned. What was with the attitude? Angel was trying here. Connor could ay least make an effort. Deciding to talk to the boy later, she focussed back on Angel as he continued.
‘When you become a vampire the demon takes your body, but it doesn't get your soul. That's gone. No conscience, no remorse... It's an easy way to live. You have no idea what it's like to have done the things I've done... and to care. I haven't fed on a living human being since that day.’
Silence reigned at the end of Angel’s speech. Connor seemed to be in mild shock. His face was frozen and he looked at the carpet as though it were the most interesting object ever. Buffy was too trapped in her own thoughts to wonder how Connor was taking it.
Willow was the first to recover from shock. ‘Oh.’
**************************
Buffy paced around her room, hands clasped behind her back, much the same way Angel had done earlier. After Angel had told his story- not all of it by the way, after all, what happened after he regained his soul?- everyone had gone to back to bed, hoping to sleep for what was left of the disastrous night. Buffy couldn’t believe everything that happened tonight- the inquisition from Giles, then on her walk she met up with a small gang of vamps, on the way back to the hotel she came across Angel and Willow in the alley, when they got back that scene with Angel, the demon attack, then Spike-. It boggled the mind.
The whole world turned out on one night just to annoy her. Well, that’s what it felt like anyway. Almost everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong tonight. After all that had happened, the foremost thing occupying Buffy’s mind was not the British vampire and his nutso girlfriend nor the other teams after her head nor was it Willow’s wellbeing or Connor’s weird reaction to Angel's speech, no. What occupied Buffy’s mind so completely, was the dark, brooding vampire with rooms down the hall from hers. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the change from demon to what he was now. She couldn’t imagine, even with Angel’s description, how evil his alter ego was. Angelus. Nice name. She resolved to speak more with Angel when the sun was actually up and crawled into bed. She was asleep seconds after her head hit the pillow.
No point in telling you where the quote came from.
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