Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the buffyverse. Sometimes I steal them like I am doing now but I always return them as good as new. And I never make any money off them. (That would make me a pimp if I did wouldn't it?) They belong to the nice people at Fox, the WB and of course to Joss Whedon.]
The only thing I claim is Lily, who was hatched from my very own brain. Also thanks to my fabulous beta reader: Dare the Great :)
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Part Six
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When the bell rang, the three teenagers were forced to go to class. Listening to a history lecture seemed extremely insignificant at a time like this. But they agreed to check back with Giles as soon as possible and left for an hour of forced learning. Once again alone in the library, Giles called Angel in hopes that they could come up with a new angle on the situation.
As soon as school was over Buffy, Willow and Xander met once more in the dark confines of the library.
"Giles?" Buffy called into the silent room.
"Ah, you're here," was Giles' answer as he popped up from behind one of the shelves.
"So what's the word?" asked Xander anxiously.
"Well, we may have the beginnings of a plan," answered Giles.
"Tell," said Buffy.
"I was talking to Angel and we've decided that we have to figure out how the Anointed One is controlling Lily."
"Um, great plan Giles." said Xander sarcastically. "We already knew that. Any idea on how you're going to figure this out."
"We have one possibility. Angel has apprehended a vampire that he found lurking in his house," continued Giles. "We all have to head over there and see if we can get any information from the beast."
"Is this any particular vamp, or is it just one of the miscellaneous loiterers?" asked Buffy.
"It's the other half of the pair that invaded Angel's home before. It's name is Daniel I believe."
"So what are we waiting around here for?" asked Willow. "Let's go kick some ass." Every eye in the room settled on her and she squirmed under the scrutiny. "Well we are going to aren't we?" she asked. Buffy grinned at her and Xander gave her a high five.
"Let's go." said Buffy as she breezed through the library doors with the other three close behind.
* * *
Angel met them at the door of his apartment. He stood behind the door, hidden in shadows. Heavy blinds were closed tight against the painful light of the sun, creating an artificial night.
"He's over there," he said nodding in the direction of a large figure slumped against the wall. "He came after me, said I had shamed him. So I knocked him out and chained him up." Xander approached the still unconscious vampire cautiously. He resisted the urge to poke the man's body.
"So how are we going to get him to tell us anything. I seriously doubt that he's just going to spill his guts. He looks pretty tough."
"There are ways," said Angel ominously, flashing a fang filled grin. He strolled over to the unconscious vampire and grabbed a hand full of the man's long hair. He casually slapped Daniel's face. The vampire's head rocked slightly with the force of the blow, but Angel's hold on his hair kept his neck from snapping backwards. He came to with a low growl and pulled against his chains. Keeping his face completely calm, Angel bent Daniel's pinky back until the brittle bone snapped. Daniel screamed in pain and Willow's face paled.
"Don't worry," said Angel. "He'll heal." He turned his attention back to the vampire before him. "We need a little information," he said politely. "You can either cooperate, or you can be tortured until you cooperate." Daniel only hissed in response and spit in Angel's face. "I was hoping you'd say that," Angel said, and licked his lips in anticipation. "But with less spit." He turned to look at the four humans, who seemed less than thrilled at the show. "It's necessary," he said. "His Master will punish him if he tells, so we have to make him more afraid of us than his Master." Their heads nodded, but their faces evidenced their horror at the proceedings. "You don't have to watch," Angel offered. Willow nodded once and left the room. Xander glanced after her, but decided to stay.
"I think it's best I stay, to hear what he says," said Giles nervously. Buffy stared at the sullen vampire before her, the two slightly queasy humans, and finally at Angel. She could stand the gore, she'd seen worse. But she wasn't sure she wanted to witness the brutality Angel was capable of. Finally she decided that it would be cowardly to try to pretend this wasn't happening. She stood her ground and Angel turned back to his victim.
"We want to know why Lily follows the Anointed one," he hissed. His leg flashed out so quickly that Buffy almost didn't notice it move. A dry crunch filled the room as Daniel's knee broke. He choked back a scream. Angel shrugged and stalked from one side of the vampire to the other. His fist flashed out and when he pulled it back Daniel's nose was smashed, streaming blood. Xander silently turned away and walked out of the apartment to join Willow. "If you tell us what we want to know, we'll let you go free," Angel said tantalizingly.
"You don't understand," said Daniel, choking on the blood streaming from his nose. "She'll kill me."
"So will we," said Angel, "if you don't tell." He reached into his pocket and brought out a blue jewelry box. He popped it open and showed the contents to Daniel who's eyes jumped suddenly with fear. Angel pulled the cross out of the box by it's chain. He swung it gently in front of Daniel's face. Daniel began whimpering with panic. "Tell us why Lily is following the Anointed One. We know she's powerful enough to kill him." Angel brought the cross closer to Daniel's face and lightly touched his forehead with it. The flesh sizzled where it touched the vampire and he opened his mouth to scream. Angel grabbed the cross itself, ignoring the pain as it ate into his hand. He pressed the cross firmly to Daniel's mouth, until the vampire's lips were black and his screams had devolved into frantic, futile cowering. Then he grabbed the chain again.
"You don't understand," whispered Daniel.
"Then help us understand," threatened Angel, "or I will burn out your tongue."
"She's not following him!" Daniel screamed. "She's just using him," he began to laugh hysterically. "Using him as a figurehead." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Sometimes, she feeds off him. She thinks it's funny. The other vampires are too afraid to do anything. Eventually she'll tire of him, then she's going to kill him." Angel looked at Giles, who nodded carefully. It was possible, more than possible. With a quick motion Angel unchained his prisoner. The ravaged vampire ran at Buffy, attacking in an impossible situation. Her instinct took over, and she staked him before she even realized what was happening.
"Ooops," she said, looking down at the stake in her hand.
"He wanted to die," said Angel. "He betrayed his Master, Lily." Angel turned to Giles. "So now we know who's pulling the strings, does that help us at all?"
"It may," said Giles. "There's only one thing I can think of to do. It may not work, but it's better than facing all the vampires in the city at once. The sun's gone down, let's get out of here." He walked out of the room to tell Willow and Xander what they had found out.
"Are you ok?" asked Angel, lightly touching Buffy on the shoulder. She jumped a little at his touch.
"How can you be so gentle with me, and yet be able to brutally torture that vampire?" she asked.
"If one of your friends was in trouble and the only way you could save them was to torture your enemy, would you do it?" he asked.
"Yes, I would" she answered. But I don't think I would enjoy it as much as you did, she thought to herself. Some of her thought must have shown on her face, because Angel's face hardened. She could tell that her disgust hurt him, deepened his own self-hatred.
"Buffy, the beast is part of who I am. But believe me, if there had been any other way, I wouldn't have tortured him."
"I know," said Buffy. She understood the reason for what had been done. In his place she would have done the same thing. But watching him do it was something she wished she hadn't seen. She was suddenly very glad that Angel was on their side and that he was strong enough to keep his demons in check. She grabbed his hand and together they went to look for the rest of the group.
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