See part 1.
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Part Six
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Wearily, Laurent strained against his bonds. It was no use. He was very weak now, almost like a human. In his eyes, he felt the burn of the rising sun. Its rays wouldn't reach him in this place, but vampires were more sensitive to the sun when hungry.
"Poor thing," Drusilla said with well-feigned pity. "You are weak as a kitten!" And she caressed Laurent's face with her hand, but then she grew claws and raked through his cheek. Laurent gave a painful sigh.
"You know, Laurent, I'm really trying very hard to understand you," Angelus put in. "I mean, here you are, one of the strongest among us, and yet you submit to this torture. Kowtowing to those idiot humans, restraining your hunger as if any of them would care. Why, pray tell, is that?"
"If I thought you would understand, maybe I'd tell you," Laurent said, his defiance belied by the pain in his voice.
"Oh, but I would," Angelus replied. "I really would. Do you think you are the only one who had to face the pangs of a guilty conscience? The only vampire who ever doubted the righteousness of this whole bloodsucking deal?"
Much against his will, Laurent found himself interested.
"I pity you, my friend," Angel continued. "I was like you, you know, only months before. You should've heard me: 'Oh, but I am a poor lost supernatural creature, woe is me!' Hated every minute of it. In fact, you might say that was the whole point of the experiment."
"I don't believe you. What does one such as you know of conscience?"
"Oh, lots! Conscience is a prison built for the weak, so that they will stay weak forever. Passion, hunger, death, now, _that's_ life! Warm and bloody, and still beating, like the heart taken from a living victim!"
Drusilla giggled at the image. Laurent gave a soft, sad chuckle.
"_I_ pity you, Angelus. You have no idea of the hell that is waiting for you."
Angelus laughed explosively at that, and placed his vampiric face only inches from Laurent's.
"I like hell!" he cried. "Hell is fine by me!"
Laurent closed his eyes, pained.
"A vampire is a good subject to study up in the basics of torture," Angelus remarked, his tone mild now. "He has great stamina, and he cannot be killed by the mistakes that an unskilled or out-of- practice torturer is bound to make. We are going to have lots of fun, Laurent, you and me. And Dru, and even Spike, if he wants."
The mad vampire paced through the room.
"I wonder about you, Laurent," he went on in the same mild, matter-of-fact voice. "What will it take for you to accept your true nature, to set free that rampaging predator that we all know is inside you?"
He signalled to Drusilla, who went out of the room and returned with a young woman, about 25, who was bound by hand and feet.
"Oh, what do you want?" the woman cried. "Please, please, don't hurt me!"
Drusilla shushed her and placed a finger over her lips. "Girls who speak out of turn shall have no cake."
"You hungry, Laurent?" Angelus asked. "I've been there myself. All that animal blood, it's not the same, is it?. The first human victim after a long period of abstinence, hmm, it's such a pleasure!" And he raised the woman by her clothes, keeping both of them facing Laurent. He put on his game face again, and moved in for the bite. Laurent's own hunger responded by making him draw his fangs and hiss. His eyes were glowing golden now. The woman, facing him with panicked eyes, gave off a scream of diminishing force.
By the time Angelus was finished with her, the woman's scream had subsided to a long, soft moan. He smiled. "Delicious." Then, looking at Laurent, "oh, I'm sorry, did you want some?" He laughed. "Dru, would you give our friend a little?"
Drusilla, smiling all the way, dabbed at the wound in the woman's neck with her hand, and walked towards Laurent. She raised her bloody fingers towards his lips. Laurent shook his head wildly, trying to avoid her hand, but finally Dru managed to smear a little blood on his lips. His tongue came out of its own volition and tasted the rich, red fluid.
Laurent gave off a louder hiss, fangs drawn and eyes completely golden. He strained rabidly against his bonds, but he couldn't yet break free. The blood had only been just enough to sharpen his hunger, but not for him to regain any of his power.
Angelus watched his thrashing with a satisfied smile on his lips.
"I think," he told Drusilla, "we're making progress."
* * *
Spike was fairly unimpressed by the whole show. "If you want the man dead, Angelus, why the warmup?"
"I don't want him dead. Although I suppose a weakened, immobilized vampire would be an irresistible prize to you. Finally, a victim closer to your own speed, wouldn't you say?"
Spike swallowed his anger. "I use all the advantages I can find. And I still can't see what kind of advantage this boy Laurent is."
"Shows what you know," Angelus retorted. "Laurent faced the Slayer, and managed to escape. He faced Drusilla, and could've beaten her if he'd wanted to... shut up, Dru, you know it's true. All this while being weakened by hunger. He's strong, Spike. And he's the Slayer current fair-haired boy."
"What use is his strength, if it's directed against us? You really think all your games in the basement are going to turn him over to us? Use him as bait, or as an ally, but you can't have your cake and eat it, too."
"Oh, that I certainly can," Angelus replied gleefully. As if to prove the point, he drew Drusilla close and made as if to kiss her. "To understand Laurent, my dear Spike, you have to _be_ him. Or have been him. He'll come around."
Spike laughed softly, his head cocked to one side. "You make things too complicated. If something threatens you, kill it. It works."
"Ah, Spike, you're so unappreciative of the poetry of evil."
"I fed off a poet one time. He was an easy mark."
Angelus smiled.
"Well," Spike went on, "while you two were playing with your food downstairs, some of us actually did some work. Let me introduce you to... Laurent's girl."
Lydia came in, holding Angela. All the fight seemed to have gone out of the girl. Although unbound, she walked in meekly and stared at the vampires with a blank face.
Angelus seemed surprised at first, but then smiled widely. "But... but this is... wonderful! We have Laurent exactly where we want him now!" Laughter bubbled out of him. "And Buffy. Oh, this is going to be so fun!"
"Laurent is asleep," Drusilla informed them. "He dreams." The female vampire began to hum softly, rocking back and forth. "I like his dreams."
Angelus walked towards Angela, baring his fangs and his demonic face.
"Tut-tut," Spike rebuked him. "Lydia fed from this girl. I don't think she could resist any further blood loss."
"After I'm done with her, she will not have to worry about blood loss, only blood _intake_."
"And this is the guy who says I'm not poetic enough. Why do it now? Why not wait until Laurent can see it? Until he can see his girl turned and the four of us... the three of you... going on her first hunt?"
Angel studied Spike's expression very carefully. "You know, Spike, that's fairly good. Maybe there's hope for you yet."
Spike waited until Angelus turned away from him, and only then did he allow himself to relax. Maybe there was hope for him yet. He'd bought just a little time. Only a little. Now he had to make the best of it.
* * *
Angela cried silently and ceaselessly inside her prison (actually a locked room, but a prison was a prison no matter how luxurious). How could she have been that foolish? What had she been thinking of? Even when she wanted to rescue Laurent, she ended up being a liability to him. Now they could use her as leverage against her friend, make him do things he didn't want to do. Or... something worse. She had understood from Angelus' conversation with Spike that they wanted to change her, to turn her vampire just to make Laurent suffer.
It was the end. Laurent couldn't rescue her this time, not in his current weakened state, not when these fiends already had him prisoner. And Buffy... she was strong, but not that powerful. She had no magick to locate her (as Laurent had, as Melissa could have done), and even if she was on her way right now, it would take time for her to fight her way through so many vampires. Time enough for Angela's fate to be resolved.
The girl cried harder. After they had made her a vampire, would she love Laurent still? Would she even remember him? Would he love her?
Angela heard the door of the room open behind her, and strong, confident steps making their way to the bed upon which she lay. The girl pressed her face harder against the pillow, willing the vampire to go away.
"You are not going to help your friend if you keep crying like that."
Surprised, Angela raised her head to face the intruder. It was Spike, the blond vampire who had been in the wheelchair when Lydia brought her in. His face didn't betray any compassion, or empathy for Angela's pain, but neither did it show cruelty or hungry expectation.
"What do you want?"
Spike gave a sigh. "I want to propose a deal."
"What kind of deal? What do you offer? What do I have to give?"
"Shh. The walls have ears. Angelus and Dru are supposed to be sleeping, but someone close by might be more loyal to them than to me."
Angela found herself interested. If this vampire was intriguing against Angelus, and if she could play a faction against the other, maybe she and Laurent had a chance after all. Then she noticed something else. "Where's your wheelchair?"
"Let that be our little secret. Before I make my proposal to you, I need to know something. I need to know if you truly went inside the Slayer's house, and slept below her roof and ate of her food."
Angela frowned. "I did. What of that?"
"It means... that you can invite someone in. Someone who cannot go in except with an invitation. Someone like a vampire."
"Oh, no, you don't."
Spike just looked at her with that weird, not-compassionate, not-cruel expression of his. "Come on. What has the Slayer done for you recently?"
"She's helped us, or tried to. And I'm not selling her out to you."
"Suit yourself. But if you choose that way, within the next three hours you are going to be a vampire, and your pal Laurent will be wrapped around Angel's finger. I have a plan that can save you both. But if you won't cooperate, I'll have to go back to the drawing board."
"No, wait. What kind of plan is it?"
"Some among us vampires are not very happy with the way that Angel manages things. Me in particular. He spends more time pining over the Slayer than working towards her demise. We vampires are mostly partidaries of the direct approach, you understand. Me in particular. And we would like to arrange a final, honest-to-goodness fight between our young nemesis and a suitable contender. Me in particular."
"So you want to kill Buffy? That's it?"
"That's pretty much it. When someone is walking around killing your people, interferring with your hunts, and putting some of us in wheelchairs, you don't fool around with that person. You kill her, or she'll eventually kill you. It's that simple. There are ways to force a confrontation. You are just one of the most expedite."
"In what way?"
"Nightfall is going to come pretty soon. By that time, if you are not with me, you will be here waiting for a sad and painful death. If you agree to my conditions, I can arrange for you to escape shortly before sunset. You are then to go to the Slayer's home and get inside. I don't care how you do it, and I don't care if she is in at that moment. I will follow you close behind, and you will invite me in. After that, I'll be able to go in and out of the Slayer's house as I will. At least, until she gets around to doing another purification ritual, but I intend to finish this before she has the opportunity."
"You're crazy. Why should I do what you want? Buffy is my friend."
"Because," Spike said with a smile, "I have another of your friends in my hands. If you double-cross me, Laurent will still be here, our prisoner. I might kill him myself, or I might let Angelus have fun with him for a while."
Angela nodded. She had already known that would be his answer. "But if I go out and do what you want, you'll kill me and Laurent anyway. I know you vampires cannot be trusted."
"Gee, that's too bad, isn't it. Because you really don't have a choice. In a few hours, the decission is going to be taken for you."
"Wait! I... I can do what you want. But I need some kind of insurance. I need to be able to trust that Laurent and I are walking out of this. Otherwise, do your worst. I'm not selling Buffy for nothing."
Spike frowned. "Hmm. You put me in a difficult situation... I'll tell you what we'll do, just out of the kindness of my heart. I'll arrange for Laurent to be brought to Buffy's house, bound or otherwise neutralized. You get to see him before inviting me in. Then, he'll be released and you can go to him. I wouldn't waste my energies on him or you when I've got the Slayer to worry about. Once you two are free, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave this town, never to be seen again. Otherwise, I might be tempted to arrange a match with your loverboy. Uncle Tom vampires give me the creeps."
Angela nodded again, thinking furiously, trying to work out all the implications of Spike's proposition. Could he somehow squirm out of his part? Well, yes. But Angela was not in the best position to bargain from. And that, more than anything else, made Spike sound honest. He had her in his hands, he didn't need to bargain with her.
"So? Do we have a deal, sweetie?" he pressed.
It was wrong. Buffy would never forgive her. But there was no other way out for her and Laurent. They were going to use her as leverage, unless she found a way _herself_ to use the leverage she had and buy them both out of here. Laurent had done the same on occasion, negotiating his powers in exchange for her safety. Now it was time to repay part of that debt.
"Yes," Angela said in a dead voice. "I'll do what you want."
* * *
Angela tried her best to look broken and scared. It wasn't that difficult. Lydia, the red-headed vampire that had captured her, arranged her flight from her prison, but she had had to dodge some token pursuit. A show put on for Angelus' benefit, she supposed. And Lydia had led her through a circuitous escape route, which Angela assumed was planned to make her unable to remember the location of the vampires' lair.
It had succeeded. When Lydia had helped her go up through a manhole cover (it was a few minutes to sunset, and vampires still couldn't walk around on the open), all she knew is that the high school was close by, because she could see it. She couldn't have gone back to Angelus' haven if she had wanted to. But she knew the way to Buffy's house.
"Don't play funny with us, kid," Lydia warned her, with her game face on. "Or I'll be coming for you."
"I'm terrified," Angela replied with sarcasm. She was on the short end of the deal right now, but with the new hope for escape, some of her spirit had returned.
She walked towards Buffy's house, making an effort to stop the pounding of her heart. She had lost a lot of blood last night, and she supposed she looked a little bit pale. Some of that blood was still matting her dark hair.
"Angela!" a voice called her from across the street. It was Willow, Buffy's computer-nerd friend, walking together with Xander and his girlfriend Cordelia.
"Guys!" Angela breathed, collapsing into Xander's arms. The boy blushed, and Cordelia looked at her balefully.
"We have been looking for you all over!" Willow exclaimed. "What happened?"
"They caught me. Laurent got me out, but we got separated. He has to wait for sunset before coming out," Angela related, disgusted at the ease with which the lies came out of her.
"Are you okay?" Cordelia put in. "I mean, you look like you could use a major beauty rest... And maybe a facial, too."
"I... I'll be fine. I need to get to Buffy's house."
"Sure," Xander said.
"Laurent... He knows where Angelus' lair is. He and Buffy can hit it come nightfall. Someone should get Giles."
"Let's get to Buffy's. We can call him from there."
They walked towards the Slayer's home, which was only a few blocks away. Angela, with her natural alertness, noticed that Mrs. Summers' wagon was not in the garage. Only a few degrees of the solar disk were now visible above the horizon.
"Let's get inside," Angela said, a little anxiously.
Buffy was inside, and she was more than a little surprised to see the guys come in with Angela. "What happened to you?" the Slayer inquired.
"Had a close encounter with the fang gang. Laurent saved me."
"What were you thinking, going off in your own?"
"I had to find him, Buffy. You can understand that, can't you?"
"I can't. I'd never do anything that foolish. Did you succeed?"
"In finding him? I did," Angela said. "He said to wait here until he came or called. He knows where the vampires' haven is, and he wants to take the fight to them."
The Slayer nodded. "That's good. But what condition is he in?"
"I... I don't really know. He... I think he managed to feed from some of the vampires. If he has his powers back, he'll be of great help."
Buffy sighed, and went upstairs to get her Slaying paraphernalia. The Slayerettes, and Angela, noticed the small tear that rolled out of her eye. Probably thinking of Angel. Angela blinked back her own tears.
"So... this is it, huh?" Xander commented. "The final faceoff, the battle of Endor, the big big thing."
"It is," Angela answered, her voice breaking. "Could we go into the kitchen? I need to sit down, and maybe a glass of water."
"Sure," Willow said helpfully. "Come this way."
Angela sat at the kitchen table, waiting for Willow to serve her a glass of water, conscious of every second ticking away, of the dying rays of the sun.
A scream from Cordelia was her first warning. Spike was at the kitchen's door, looking in of them. His calm, not-cruel eyes settled on Angela.
Knowing that procrastinating would do no good, Angela invited him in in a low, toneless voice: "Come in". The friends she had betrayed, Willow, Xander and Cordelia, stared at her unbelievingly for a few heartbeats.
The vampire Spike, however, had not such indecission. He broke through the door right after Angela's invitation, and shot out with a kick that got Cordelia in the midriff. The May Queen hit the opposite wall, hard, and collapsed limply to the floor.
"Lydia is outside with your golden boy. Invite her in," Spike ordered.
"That was not part of the deal!" Angela cried. Willow was still staring at Angela, the pain of betrayal too visible in her eyes.
"It is now! Or your lover-vamp dies."
"You sold us out. You spineless traitor," Xander told Angela with venom on his voice.
"Can't trust anyone these days. Ain't life a bitch?" Spike agreed gleefully, while grabbing the boy's neck. He used his fangs to rip a long, shallow wound through Xander's throat, drinking some of the blood that spurted out. Xander, gasping, fell bleeding where the vampire dropped him like a rag.
Angela went to the shattered door, and saw Lydia outside holding a tied-up Laurent. Her friend was pale and limp in his captor's arms, and his eyes were closed. Angela only knew he was alive because a dead vampire crumbled into dust.
"Invite her in, sweetie," Spike insisted. "Or none of you walks out of this."
Angela could hear the Slayer running down the stairs, warned by the scuffle in the kitchen. Choking back a sob, she managed to utter, "Lydia. Come in."
The female vampire bared her fangs in a grin, and ran though the door, leaving Laurent lying outside. Willow was now out cold from one of Spike's powerful kicks. The element of suprise, and the vampire's superior fighting abilities, had made short work of the Slayerettes. The same element of surprise, and the help of Lydia, could now turn the tide of the battle against the Slayer. Angela couldn't believe how quickly all had happened. Spike was a formidable tactician.
It's not my fight now, Angela said to herself. Crying freely, she approached her fallen friend. "Laurent? Love?" she cooed, craddling his head in her arms.
"Angela?" he said in a raspy voice, his eyelids fluttering but still closed. "What's happening?"
"Shh. It's all right. We have to go away now."
"You... You _betrayed_ Buffy?"
Angela hugged the vampire harder. "We'll talk later, love. Can you stand?"
The sounds of a terrible fight were coming now from inside the kitchen. Angela dared not turn her head and see how Buffy was faring. "Is that Buffy?" Laurent asked. "Is that Spike inside with her?"
"Shh, love. Make an effort. We have to go!"
"What is happening here?" a powerful male voice demanded.
Angela looked up to face the Watcher. "That's Spike inside, and another vampire. They're fighting Buffy."
Giles frowned, even while rushing past them both to go inside the house. "Spike? Who let him in...?"
"You did, didn't you, love?" Laurent asked in a barely audible whisper. "The Slayer was their price for letting me go."
Angela cried harder, and pressed the vampire's head against her bossom. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, my dearest. There was no other way."
She sniffled hard, and then gave a pained gasp as the vampire's fangs pierced the skin of her left breast.
* * *
To his credit, Giles put up a good fight. For a second or two, it seemed like his arrival might have made the difference. But he was not the Slayer, and he'd had no weapon ready. His blows, while strong and accurate, didn't even begin to hurt Lydia. And Spike was managing to keep Buffy nicely occupied, even if he couldn't get the advantage in the fight. Finally, the female vampire managed to overpower the Watcher in her grapple, her mouth dangerously close to his neck.
"Surrender now, or your librarian friend dies," Spike threatened the Slayer.
"As if you'd let him go otherwise?" Buffy replied, keeping her combat stance.
Spike grinned. "Not really. Lydia, kill him."
"No, you bastard!" Buffy screamed, throwing herself in defense of her Watcher. It was the opening that Spike had been looking for. He managed to catch the Slayer's arm, upsetting her balance. Buffy went face first to the floor, and Spike was immediately atop of her. He noticed Angela come into the kitchen, looking dazed, but paid no attention to her. Here was the Slayer, the final prize, down and defenseless. In Spike's mind, Buffy was already dead, and he was already deciding what to do with her. Would it be worth it to turn her vampire? Put to work on his side, her strength and skills would be an awesome asset. But vampires, especially ones as strong as Buffy would be, had a nasty habit of turning against their sires.
In truth, he should have paid more attention to Angela. Perhaps then he would've noticed the puncture wounds in the girl's chest, or the blood that still trickled from them, or the way that she moved, like a puppet being manipulated by a clumsy child. Or, finally, the strange vision that came behind her, golden-eyed and dangerous.
But Spike noticed none of those things. The first sign he had that something had gone sour was the sickening crunch that came from where Lydia was standing. Frowning, he looked up. Lydia should be biting now, not striking! But his ally was now thrown against the kitchen top, her head cocked at an angle that necks don't allow unless they're broken. Her purported victim, Buffy's sissy librarian friend, was even now picking himself up, down but obviously not out. And standing above Giles was a new combatant, a tall, lean boy with golden eyes and a handsome face.
"Who invited _you_ in?" Spike said, confused by this sudden turn of events.
"I'm bonded to Angela. I can go wherever she goes," Laurent replied with a tight, grim expression.
Spike lost a beat in the fight, which was all that Buffy needed to get him off her. The Slayer kicked him down and then looked around for anything that could be used to stake a vampire.
But Laurent beat her to it, somehow. The blood he had taken from Angela had been enough for him to recover some of his strength, but it had roused his hunger, which had sharpened to a very dangerous edge from months living on packed blood. Moving in a blur of speed, he threw himself at the blond vampire, immobilizing him. All of Spike's fantastic strength and skill could accomplish nothing against this frenzied predator. Very soon Laurent managed to sink his fangs into Spike's neck, draining him as one drained the last of a milkshake thorugh a straw.
Buffy, makeshift stake in hand (it was one of the legs from the kicthen table), held back, half in surprise and half in disgust. Spike's attempts to throw Laurent off were getting weaker, and a low gurgling moan was comming from her enemy's throath (what was left of it). Another wheezing moan made her remember her friends. Xander was on the floor, in a pool of his own blood, but obviously still alive. Her two girl friends were still out cold, but she saw Willow's chest rise a little with her breathing. Angela had collapsed in a corner, bleeding sparsely from a wound on her chest, but Buffy barely noticed her.
"Giles, call 911!" The Slayer called out. Her Watcher was shakily coming to his feet, shocked but not really hurt. He blinked sheepishly at Buffy for a second, but then came to himself and hurried to do what she'd told.
Buffy then turned with her stake towards Lydia. The girl vampire had a broken neck from Laurent's blow. It would've been a lethal wound for a human, and was disabling even for a vampire. Buffy staked her as an afterthought, and Lydia's unconscious body crumbled to dust. The Slayer couldn't help but feel that she'd saved that vampire from an even worse fate, especially after she looked again towards Laurent and Spike. Laurent had let go of his prey now, and Spike was kneeling on the floor, one hand to his throat, an unbelieving expression on his eyes. His skin was deathly pale now, almost transparent. The blond vampire moaned once more, and then he too turned into dust.
* * *
Some distance from there, in the mansion that the Sunnydale vampires had turned into their haven, Angelus was pacing manically, barking orders to his undead underlings. "Where are they! Where did Spike take them? I want them found _now_!"
Drusilla was pacing with him, not being very helpful, sometimes stopping to hold a hand to her forehead. Angelus bit back a snide comment. Dru's psychic powers were awesome, but on the whole she was too unreliable. She always needed someone like Spike or himself by her side to take care of the practical details.
"I know where they went," the female vampire said.
Angelus stopped his pacing and turned towards her, taking her into his arms. "Where, my pet?" he asked.
"The Slayer's home. My Spikey is going to kill her, kill her for us... Ai-e-eeeeeee," she suddenly screamed.
"Buffy!" Angelus exclaimed. "It can't be! Not even Spike is that foolish!" Then he noticed that Drusilla had fallen to her knees, still screaming. "What, my precious? What is it?"
Drusilla rolled on the floor, thrashing and screaming some more. "Spike! Spike! A-a-ahhhhhhhhhhh! Spike! It cannot be!"
"What is it, beautiful? What happened to Spike?" Angelus asked, even though he already knew the answer. Spike was tough, and clever enough to have fooled them with that wheelchair routine (they had found the wheelchair in his room, and Angelus' minions had already reported to him that Spike had been seen on his feet). But Buffy was in a class all by herself. She was probably the mightiest Slayer that ever lived. No vampire, not even his childe Spike, could confront Buffy and live.
If he'd wanted Drusilla to confirm his fears, however, it wasn't forthcoming. She only kept rolling and thrasing, sometimes screaming Spike's name.
Somehow, that was all the confirmation that Angelus needed.
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