[Reviews - 66]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 3684 times

- Text Size +




Los Angeles May 13th 4:30 a.m.

Lorne continued to stare into his glass of whiskey, needing something stronger than his usual cocktail. Not knowing whether he should cry, laugh, or scream clawed at his battered emotions. He felt that by killing Lindsey and not joining the final battle, he had betrayed his friends in the end. However, he also knew that his being there would have hindered the others from fighting at their best; they would have been worried about him and his inability to protect himself. Angel especially would have paid more attention to his well-being than to his own.

He wasn't sure where to go from here.

"Do I wait and see if they make it and then leave?" He hung his head and held back the tears fighting for release. "Or do I go and let fate play my hand and see where it takes me?" He was lost, so deep in his thoughts that he didn't realize he had spoken aloud.

The green demon smiled sadly, as he stood up, leaving money on the bar to cover his drink and tip. On his way out the door, he started to hum a catchy little tune. By the time he had put his key in the ignition and put the car in drive, Lorne had started to sing.

"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high..."

He pointed the car toward the east and decided to let fate take him away.

A young man stood watching as the depressed former owner of a once popular demon bar drove off singing a song from the Wizard of Oz. He had tried to get Lorne's attention, but by the time he'd gotten within hearing distance, the demon had said something that worried him.

"I have to find out if my father is okay," Connor gasped as he ran to his SUV. He needed to catch up with the demon so he could ask him where he could find Angel.

Connor had to tell his father what he had found out when he had returned home to his so-called surrogate family. Lawrence and Colleen Reilly had known all along whom and what Connor was. The Senior Partners had hired the supposedly wholesome couple to watch over him and try to turn him to the side of evil. What they didn’t know was that the spell that had made him forget who he really was had been reversed. Since it had been broken, he had come to understand and believe just how much his true father really did love him.

Nothing was ever going to destroy that love again.

Lorne knew someone was following him when suddenly blindingly bright headlights were flashing on and off behind him. His first instinct was to run, but the green demon knew that it would be useless, for if they were out to kill him, there was nowhere he could run. Hoping it might be one of the gang, he decided to stop.

The demon pulled his car over to the side of the street and watched anxiously as a black SUV pulled up behind him. Lorne watched as a young man got out of the truck and started to approach his car. For some reason, he felt familiar to Lorne, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Quickly, he rolled down his window and called out, "Sing for me, young one, and do it quick."

Connor smiled and started singing a familiar tune that would remind the demon of a happier time, not musically as much as comically; with all the stories he had heard about it. He could still remember the others teasing his father about singing Mandy.

"Conner?" Lorne's voice sounding confused at first and then his expression changed from happy to suspicious. "I remember you now. Are you friend or foe?"

"Yeah, it's me, and I won't hurt you, I promise."

Lorne opened the car door and jumped out, grabbing the kid in a bear hug as his tears flowed. "He'll live through you. We haven't lost him as long as you're alive."

Connor's heart sank at the implications of the demon's words. As he returned the hug, he started to cry. His father was dead. "He came to see me today. I knew then that it was bad," he managed to say.

Lorne felt a sense of closure. Everything was falling into place now. Here was the real reason that Angel had gone to work for 'Department Evil'; it was to give Connor a second chance. An attempt to put right what that damned demon hunter, Holtz, had done by indoctrinating the son to hate the father. Trying to give the confused boy a chance to be normal, so he could forget the past misdeeds and misconceptions that had darkened his life since he had come back from the Quortoth fully grown and brainwashed.

"Tell me, is my father dead?" Connor could barely speak through his tears.

"I don't know for sure if he is yet, but they were meeting up at the hotel after they finished taking out the Circle," Lorne replied.

"Should we join them?"

Lorne looked up and noticed the sun was about to peek its head up over the horizon. "I'm not sure what we'll find there."

"I'm willing to take my chances," Connor nodded.

"Okay, sweet cheeks, I drive, you talk. Tell me what happened to have you out in demon bars into the wee hours of the morning."

Connor smiled as he moved to get into the passenger seat without casting a glance back at his pseudo-parents abandoned SUV. He took a moment to catch his breath before he started to tell Lorne about his evening, including the fact that he had helped his father fight Hamilton, and that Angel had killed the best-dressed demon rep the firm ever had, or so he had said.

Lorne could hear the pain in the boy's voice as he told him how Angel had forced him to leave his side earlier that night. He could feel how proud the boy was of his father and how he had wanted to be there to fight alongside the man he had eventually come to admire and love. He also sensed the heartbreak in Connor’s voice over the so-called parents who had tried to kill him.

Lorne gripped the steering wheel tightly. The last thing he wanted was to take the boy to his father's grave. He prayed desperately for Angel's well being, but he had seen Connor's future, and to his despair, his father was nowhere to be seen in it.

Instead, he had envisioned another vampire and a slayer holding an important role in the young man's future.

*******

He could smell the impending scent of dawn approaching as his senses came back to life. For some reason, he was having a hard time waking up, aching all over while thinking to himself, 'Feels like I've been run over by a train.'

"You awaken." A familiar yet monotonous voice broke into his thoughts.

"Yeah, so what?" he returned as he looked over at her Highness, who was sitting there covered in blood. "What the hell happened to you?" he demanded with a confused look on his face.

She tilted her head and gave him an enquiring look as she replied, "The same thing that happened to you, vampire." She rose to her feet stiffly and began to examine him.

Spike found it painful when he shook his head. Raising his hand to inspect it for any injuries, he was surprised to feel the healing cut and dried blood there. Struggling to remember what he had been doing the night before, he said, "Sorry, your Highness, but I'm drawin' a blank at the moment."

"I can understand this from a human, but not from an undead creature such as yourself." Her words were sarcastic, but the look she was giving him showed her concern, even as she stood there rigid with her head tipped to the side. There was a glint of worry in her usually cold eyes.

"Maybe if you give us just a little hint, it might come rushin' back and all." Spike squinted as he looked around the room, wondering where Captain Bloody Avenger and the rest of his merry crew had run off to. For some reason, he was sure that Angel's absence was a vital piece of information.

The blue warrior god stared blankly at the vampire who had come to mean something to her. Each of them in their own way had touched her in some fashion, unlike any in her past had ever done, but there was one she had never regarded highly that would soon feel her wrath. The blonde vampiress, Harmony Kendal, would pay for her betrayal and regret her traitorous actions.

"Do you not remember our mission to kill the members of the Circle?" Illyria asked calmly, as she watched the blond vampire closely. "Do you not remember fighting the demonic army, or the slaying of the dragon?"

Spike tilted his head and concentrated on what she was asking. Sparks of memory where slowly coming back to him as he muttered, "I remember going and savin' the little imp and taking him back to his half-baked mum. Now that was a vision of sunshine and roses, let me tell ya. Saw more joy watching Angel's face slam a door in mine than that poor excuse of a mother takin' her own flesh and blood back into her arms."

"He will not be safe with her, for the survivors of the Brethren will return for him," she told him dispassionately.

"Yeah, well I’m gonna talk to Peaches about that, see if we can find him a safe home and all." Spike swung his legs over to the side of the bed. "Where are we?"

"We are inside the hotel."

"Where are the others?" he asked as he stood up and stretched gingerly.

"They did not make it," she stated without any emotion as she looked out at the rain that was still falling from the darkened skies. "When Angel died, our opponents started to break off and leave."

"What!" Spike looked over at the blue demon. "Angel’s dead? As in- dusted?"

"He did slay the dragon as he wished, and then they killed him." She shrugged. "They were no longer interested in us for some reason, so I picked you up and brought you inside here."

"How did he die?" Spike asked. He didn't know what to believe. No matter how much bad blood was between them, the Poof was still family.

"They cut off his head, and he became dust." She looked over at the vampire and frowned. "I can feel your grief. It is as I felt for Wesley."

Spike suddenly remembered everything, from catching up with the great Poof in the alley, to Charlie boy's blood soaked return, and then the Blue Meanie jumping down to tell them that the ex-watcher had died during his mission. "Well, seems it's just you and me, pet." He chose to ignore her assumption on his grief over his Grandsire's demise.

"It is I that wish to keep you as my pet." Illyria glared at him.

"Ain't nobody bein' anybody’s pet, you stupid bint…just an endearment that I'm gonna have to curb using around you, I guess." Spike rolled his eyes as it made him think of an ex-demon he used to know. 'Ah, Anya…you and Blue here would've been entertainment galore, that’s for sure. Just, as if I was sittin' down to a good dose of Monty Python.'

"What do we do now?" she asked, ignoring his words.

"Well, I say we get out of L.A, for one. Get as far away from the evil empire as we can." Spike walked over toward the window and looked down into the alley where they had faced their enemy. Four soldiers for the light, now down to two. "I don't understand why they just walked away leavin' us alive. It just makes no bloody sense."

"We are not important to them, insignificant." She shrugged. "A very bad tactical decision on their part. In my day, we left no one standing."

Spike brooded at first before agreeing about their not being important. "No, they had their reasons, just didn't care to share. We need to find safe haven and regroup and plan our next step."

"Since this is your world, you must decide where we are to go," she stated simply, as she joined him at the window.

Spike snorted. "Luv, there's nowhere we can call safe, not after today." He looked down at the trashed alley and wished they could gather their dead. They didn't deserve unmarked graves. They deserved words said over their burial places, telling anyone who would listen that the bravest warriors in the world lay here.

Angel and his lot had died to make the world just a little safer from those who it seemed could not be defeated. They had only sent evil running back to the drawing board for a while, to find another way to defeat and conquer humanity.

He hated that Angel was right and couldn't keep from silently agreeing. "Like Mr. Martyr said- we can't kill them all, just make it where they have to start all over. I think we should just keep on the move for awhile and keep a low profile." Spike sighed and rubbed his hands through his hair. "First we need to work out how to save the brat and then bugger off out of town."

"First I must find the one who betrayed us and kill her, and then we can think of the child," Illyria stated icily, hate laced in her words. She still had a problem with thinking about the safety of one human child.

"Her?" Spike asked as he looked at the old one, puzzled. He tried to figure out who she was talking about when suddenly it came to him like a punch in the stomach. "Damn, stupid bint… Harmony." He looked ready to kill, thinking, 'God, I can't believe I told her she had on a pretty skirt and tried to get a quickie! Good thing she went evil before I got to home plate.'

"Yes, it is she that I speak of." Illyria smiled evilly as she plotted the slow and painful death of the vapid blonde.

"Well, if we find Harm along the way, you can kill her as long as I get to watch and cheer you on." Spike returned the smile with an evil leer of his own. "Rescuing the sprog from his rotten mum comes first."

"So, where do we go from here?"

"I say we get some kip and then we can see about nicking us some transportation out of this town and think of a plan to save Junior." Spike sighed. "I'm thinkin' after…we just keep moving until we find a place we where we can hang our white hats for a spell."

"Hang? White hats?" She looked at him as if he had finally lost his mind. "We do not wear any hats to hang."

"Never, mind luv…another one of those human expressions that makes no sense to you yet." Spike found himself smiling, something he had not expected to happen for a while. "I'll make you a human lover Blue, you just wait and see."

Illyria briefly looked at the smiling idiot before turning to find the comfort only a bed could give her right now. She was suddenly feeling very tired and knew she would not be able to stay awake much longer. "I feel the need for rest."

Spike watched as she moved toward the bed and removed the blankets. His smile deepened as she used them to cover the windows to block the rays of sunshine that would come shortly. "I must make sure my only chance to get out of this town does not fade to dust," was her only justification of her actions.

"I'm glad you got my back, pet." Spike laughed as he noticed the irritated look on her face. He then walked over to lie down on the other empty bed.

Spike worried about of how he was going to get the money he would need to buy some much needed blood. He wouldn't be able to use any of his usual contacts either, since he didn't know who he'd be able to trust.

Illyria looked over and noticed that the blonde vampire was more pale than usual. She got up and walked over beside the bed, stared down at him, and smiled. "Would my blood help to sustain you until you can find a variety that is more acceptable to you?"

"Don't know luv, never bit a Blue Majestic before." Spike shrugged. "Not even sure yours won't kill me."

She looked down at him with an expression of momentary indecision before she lay down beside him and offered him her neck. "Feed."

"What?" Spike looked into her blue eyes and felt a connection.

"I said feed, pet." She brought her hand up behind his neck and gently brought his face closer to her neck. "I do not like how weak you are becoming."

He could smell the strong blood flowing through her veins, her calling him. Her use of ‘pet’ made him chuckle. "I just need a small nip is all, just enough to help me heal faster."

"Take what you need, for you will not kill me," she whispered. "You need me as much as I need you."

He was about to protest, but then realized she had spoken the truth. If they were to survive, they would need each other to do so. On this day, he found someone he could trust. Her decision to fight with them had forged a connection, but saving his life had formed a bond that nothing but permanent death could break.

Illyria felt his features change and a small pinch in her neck as the vampire gently bit into her flesh. She felt the pull as he drank softly from her and sighed contentedly, feeling something for this creature that once had been called her enemy. She couldn't put a name on the emotion this feeding was invoking.

The warmth of her blood as he fed was unlike any thing he'd experienced before as it moved quickly through his body. He could feel the cuts mending and his strength returning faster then ever. The blood of the two slayers he killed had never made him feel so alive. Her life source- if it indeed was hers, or Fred's, he wasn't sure- tasted better then anything he'd ever drank before. Spike realized she could easily become an addiction.

Spike took just enough to take off the edge of his hunger. As he withdrew his fangs, he lightly licked the wound clean until it stopped bleeding and no blood was left visible. He had expected her to get up and move on to the other bed but was surprised when she shifted in his arms and cuddled closer, laying her head upon his shoulder.

Neither of them commented on their intimate position. He pulled her closer as they drifted off to sleep, to rest for their journey out of L.A., once the sun disappeared.

*******

Whistler smiled as he looked through the window and noticed the odd couple consoling each other on the bed. The bottom corner of the window had a small enough opening he could peek through.

He looked up toward the sky and smiled. "I think we did a nice job at protecting her Champion." He opened his hand and revealed an old rolled up scroll. The fact that The Powers That Be had the original Shanshu prophecy did not surprise him.

He had arrived just in time to use the glamour spell to protect Spike and Illyria. Just like the one he gave Angel to trick Hamilton into believing he was fighting with his friends. This made the demon army think that all four warriors had died in battle.

The demon felt bad. Under the direction of the Oracles, he had been the one that put the ball in motion to set Angel up as the one the prophecy was supposed to be about. The Oracles had known all along that the cursed soul Angelus carried within him was not the ensouled vampire mentioned in the prophecy. Instead, it told of another creature; one of the walking dead that fed off humans to survive. One special vampire, that for the love of a slayer, he would fight for and win his soul.

He would become a Champion, and for overcoming his true nature he would be rewarded with his Shanshu. What no one knew was the exact meaning of Shanshu prophecy. Due to a poor translation, everyone had assumed it was becoming human again after redemption, which was the forged copy's intent for those involved to believe such drivel. Its true meaning could only be revealed to the rightful recipient when the time was right and he was ready to accept it.

Eve waited for her brother as he walked toward her, wanting to run to him and hug him tight. Fear held her back, not knowing how he would react to seeing her again after all this time. She wondered if he knew that The Powers That Be had sent her into the fire to prepare for this day.

Eve hated that Angel had set up Lindsey to be killed. That had not been part of the deal, but since having been told by the Oracles that Lorne had been the one to kill him, she understood why it had to be done. The Pylean must have foreseen her lover's betrayal of them in the future. This made it easier for her to understand, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

"So, are they okay?" she asked Whistler as he hugged her close.

"Yeah, sis, they're both fine. They're going to survive this." He smiled sadly down at his youngest sister, who he had not seen in over a hundred years. Not since the day she had gone to work for the bastards at Wolfram and Hart. "How are you, Evie?"

"I'm sorry I never told you the truth about why I went to work for those evil corporate beings," Eve whispered softly. "Other than feeling like I lost my heart, I'm doing okay, I guess."

"I'm glad you can come home now. Everyone will be more than happy to see you, ya know."

"I'm more than ready. What better way to heal my broken heart than with the love of my family?" She smiled, knowing she was on the road to becoming who she used to be. She was a good little demon who had stopped believing in miracles a long time ago, but today she had witnessed one, albeit at a steep price.

The truth be told she had come to care about Angel's little gang of do-gooders. "They truly are what heroes are all about. I just wish they could be written about and given stories worthy of their sacrifice."

Whistler smiled as he let her go, only to take her hand. "Yes, maybe one day it can be done. Maybe you should write about what you've seen… what you know of them and the events of today." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, proud of the woman she had become.

"Home," he said as he closed his eyes and mumbled more words under his breath. Eve smiled as she felt her body becoming warmer as the incantation started to work. She felt the weight of her past leave her shoulders, knowing that soon she would be home with her family.

Until she would be needed again, that is where she would stay.

*******

Lorne and Connor arrived at the Hyperion as the sun was rising. The green demon smiled wistfully, remembering better times he and the others had spent here. He pulled out the key he thought he would never have to use again and let himself and the boy into the hotel. Seeing the lights off and evidence that no one had been in the office told them what they needed to know. Their friends and family had not survived. Both looked at each other and could not say anything at first.

Finally, Connor looked at the demon who he remembered as being easygoing and always able to see the silver lining in most things. "I'm going to go to my dad's room and get some sleep."

"You go right ahead, kiddo. You need your beauty sleep. I’ll crash here on the couch." Lorne nodded. "We can rest up and then we can take a look around town; put our ears to the underground and see if we can find anything out."

"Sounds like a great plan." Connor looked around the office and thought of happier times when Cordelia would be answering the phones. Before things had gotten weird between them. Wes and Gunn would be talking about the latest demon conquest with Fred listening and smiling with silent understanding. All the while, his father would be up in his room resting, trusting those he considered his friends to watch over him.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Lorne sighed. "I'll only remember the good ones."

"Yeah, it does," Connor said with a small smile on his face as he went to the elevator that would take him to his father's room. He too, would only remember the good times, even if there weren't many from the short time he was with them. "Maybe you can tell me more about the good times one day?"

"It would be my pleasure. Now, sleep well, sweet cheeks. I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise."

"I know you will be," Connor returned, letting his father's friend know he trusted his word.

Both of them settled down to rest, not knowing that just one floor above them were two survivors who held some of the answers they were looking for. The couple above them slept deeply, unaware that they had guests below them. The protection spell Whistler had placed over the occupied rooms kept their presence hidden from each other.

Neither knew what the morning would bring, too exhausted to care, too numb to feel.





You must login (register) to review.