January 30, 2005

Hyperion Hotel

10.56 am.


"Right then. All ready?"

With a firm nod, Joyce shook her hands in an effort to loosen
them up. Catching Wesley's eye, the older woman gave her tutor
a small smile of confidence. Joyce knew that she could do this.
She had practiced all day and night since the decision had been
made to try the location spell on Spike. The only time she
hadn't been running over the words or actions had been when she
had been occupied by sleep or eating...and consummating her
relationship with Graham. Wesley had made it clear that she
wasn't to be needlessly taken from practice, even going so far
as to practice abstinence along with Angel, thus ensuring that
*nothing* had disturbed her concentration and valuable rest
time.

A glance around the room as she went over the words and delicate
actions once again in her mind, Joyce started her breathing
exercises. Deep slow breathes and she sat cross-legged on the
floor opposite an already sitting Wesley, a large child’s wading
pool in between them, filled to the brim with water. The large
size of the pool would allow them a good view of the kidnapped
vampire and surroundings in case Joyce proved too inexperienced
to pan the scene around. Graham and Riley were standing in
between them on one side of the pool while Angel and Doyle stood
opposite them on the other side, all men making sure that they
were as quiet as possible.

Joyce worked on clearing her mind as she slowed her breathing
even more. Blinking a few times, she allowed her eyes to close
firmly. One, two, three breathes and she started the
incantation while performing the intricate actions with one hand
while she held the missing vampires t-shirt with the other.

"In trua mobutani."

"MAAith liniamu qyun t'rum...HUNIOmanui."

Gathering her next breath, the older woman clutched the bleached
vampire’s black t-shirt tightly as she heard a bubbling sound
coming from in front of her.

"Questrum MAAith wrethahn."

"Isht...ragmorum...Isht..Isht...ragmorum."

Heart beating fast, Joyce opened her green eyes and looked at
the pool in front of her. The water was bubbling like it was in
a saucepan on the stove, the only difference being the lack of
any heat being thrown off. A movement from Wesley and she was
reassured that she had done it right by the look of pride
shining in his eyes. Looking at the bubbling water once
again, the woman gave a small gasp as an image flickered over
the water, staying for only a few seconds before disappearing.
Suddenly, the large pool was inundated with images of Spike,
each one only staying for a millisecond before another one from
a totally different direction replaced it. Her eyes already
hurting from trying to keep up with the rapidly changing
pictures, Joyce wondered just what was happening and from
glancing around at the others, she knew that she wasn't the only
one to be having that thought.

"Wesley...what's going on? I thought that it was supposed to
just stay with the one angle, not just flick all around the
place?"

Shoulders shrugged in confusion, the ex-watcher indicated to his
apprentice that he truly didn't know what was going on. As he
stared into the child’s pool, the sitting man slowly got to his
knees and moved towards Joyce, all the while trying not to
squint as the fast changing pictures threatened to give him a
headache. As he came to sit beside the older woman, the images
of the vampire started to slow down. Puzzled, Wesley was at a
loss to explain what was happening, he had never come across
something like this before.

"Maybe the spell needs to settle before it presents just a
single image? Either that or you need more experience at
concentrating so that it does just show one single image...I'm
really not sure? You did do the words and actions perfectly...I
couldn't have done them better myself....JESUS F'ING CHRIST!"

As one, all people in the room leapt away from the kiddie pool
as the water suddenly spewed upright into a tall funnel of still
bubbling water, images of Spike still flickering through the
cylinder.

"What? What's happening, Angel..let go."

"Uhhh Wesley? *What* is happening now?"

"How the hell should *I* know Riley? I'm not a bloody expert on
this stuff. Everyone, just keep clear...just Joyce and me near
this thing for the moment...alright?"

Wesley was fascinated by the water funnel rising from the blow
up pool, only barely registering the other four men obeying his
order to keep clear, Riley and Graham moving around the pool to
join Doyle in the corner in which Angel had bodily dragged him
into. With a gesture, he motioned for a visibly nervous Joyce
to stand next to him.

"I'm sorry Wesley, I think it's stuffed up...can we try again?"

"What? Oh...lets just give it a few minutes...you know, see what
happens, if anything changes...ok?"

Nodding her agreement, the woman switched the faintly smelly
garment into her other hand as she watched Graham and Riley
argue over how to describe what was happening to Doyle, who was
looking increasingly annoyed by Angels refusal to let go of his
upper arm. As the minutes ticked by, the gathered friends
watched the water spout for any useful images of the bleached
vampire. Arms crossed over his chest, his gaze firmly studying
the unusual spell result in front of him, Wesley at first didn't
pay any attention to what the older woman was saying.

"What…sorry Joyce, what did you say?"

"Can you put this on the table?"

T-shirt held out to her tutor, Joyce smiled as Wesley reached
out to take the dirty garment and put it on the table next to
him, both uttering a small scream of fright as the water spout,
without warning, shuddered and twisted. The black cloth held
between them was forgotten in an instant as the tall shaft of
water slowly unravelled into a wide bubbling wall, images still
continuing to flicker across it.

"What the hell?"

"What is happening *now*?"

"I don't know Doyle,...I truly do not know."

Taking a step forward, away from Joyce, Wesley slowly raised a
hand to touch at the wall. As the t-shirt dropped from his
hold, the ex-watcher swore as the wall crumbled back into the
toddler play pool, all images disappearing. Disappointed, the
man shrugged his shoulders again as everyone crowded him for
answers as to what had happened.

"I don't know ok? Joyce did the spell perfectly...nothing was
wrong with the way she did it. The result was, as you all just
saw, weird...I've never seen anything like that before, there
was only supposed to be one image of Spike that we could
concentrate on not all those other odd ones...did anyone get a
good view?"

"I know, both you and Joyce did the actions the same."

"Oh my God! I know why it went wrong!"

Joyce felt faint, one hand over her mouth in shock as she
registered what Riley had just said. As everyone stared at her,
she hurriedly explained what she meant by the words.

"Wesley..you did the actions with me didn't you? Yes...and you
also did the same thing with the flame spell....I think we're
meant to work together on this. That’s why the flame went
haywire, it was affected by *both* of us doing the
actions....Wes, what would happen if you spoke the words as
well, I mean, you know?"

Feeling himself pale at the numerous possibilities flowing
through him, the ex-watcher held his hand up to indicate that he
needed to think for a moment. Slowly, he ran through everything
in his mind. It was true, he *had* done the actions in time to
Joyce's with the flame spell, the same as he had just done and
the flame had gone strange. The new room was proof of that.

"I think your right Joyce...as I said before, the spell didn't
fail, it was just a hell of a lot stronger than it was supposed
to have been. I'm not sure why this is happening but I think
that *together* we may just double the strength of any normal
spell."

With a groan, Wesley rubbed his temple as he felt a few more of
Drusilla's rambled words click into place. Both he and Joyce
had totally forgotten about that in the all excitement of the
fire, what Joyce hadn't mentioned was that he had also spoken
the words of the spell which meant his voice had totally
overridden hers during the spell casting. Meaning, effectively
Wesley had done the spell, not Joyce....sort of? At Angel’s
quiet queries, the frustrated man gestured for his lover to shut
up for a few more moments. Taking a deep breath, he informed
his friends of what was going to happen next.

"Right. Joyce and I will *both* do the spell in a few minutes.
I would rather experiment a bit more with this but like Francis
is saying, we don't have the time to fuck around. I mean really,
I don't know whether it's because I'm speaking through Joyce,
whether it’s Joyce’s actions as well as mine or the whole
package? I'm inclined to think it’s the whole package though
and as soon as we get this done, we test some theories."

============================================

The following day.

"How is he doing?" whispered Joyce to a concerned Graham. At
his shrug and raised eyebrow, the older woman nodded her head.
She was still coming to terms that they had the bleached vampire
back. Settling her gaze back onto the sight in front of her,
she wondered how long it was going to be before Spike was able
to walk again.

"Angel...Angel, do you need anything?"

"Yeah, more blood. Lots more, human."

Watching Graham leave the training room, the trainee witch
inched closer towards the two vampires before a warning growl
stopped her. At Angel’s apology, she gave the brunette a
hesitant smile knowing that the growl had been caused by one of
the many instincts that the older vampire fought to control each
day. Her weight shifted onto her left foot, the tired woman
looked on as Angel hovered over his last remaining Childe. One
that was in a horrific state.

"Angel, just leave Spike alone for the minute ok? I want you to
do something for me...go downstairs and tell Riley that you
won't be coming after him again, can you do that?"

"What? Shit...yeah, suppose I'd better. Riley's probably
already broken out the iron knickers...I didn't mean to growl at
him but Spike...you know?"

"I know, we all know. He's in the kitchen with Doyle...be
nice!"

With that, the older woman moved from the doorway in order for
the vampire to leave. Crossing over to the far side of the
training room, Joyce felt her gorge rising as she got a closer
look at the smaller vampire. Silently, she took in the numerous
atrocities that had been inflicted onto the bleached male as she
sank slowly into the chair beside the mattress the sleeping
vampire was lying on. Feeling tears well up as she glanced over
the pale form, she took in the missing foot, a thigh that was
half a size smaller than that of the other, fingers on one hand
that had re-grown to the second knuckle.

"You poor, poor man."

Unable to help herself, Joyce let her mind take her back to the
previous day. The second attempt of the spell had been
successful, the water from the wading pool instantly forming a
large wall in front of the spell casters and onlookers. This
time, only a single image of the vampire had been displayed much
to everyone’s horror. Everyone had finally been able to see
why the constant visions of Spike had upset Doyle so much.

The image had shown the bleached vampire strapped naked, in a
spread-eagled position, to a large operating table. They hadn't
been able to see much of the room Spike had been in but that
wasn't what they had been staring at. It had been the missing
body parts and numerous surgical clamps that had been imbedded
in the slim body. What had made Joyce throw up was the way the
vampires whole front had been cut from the base of his throat
down to his groin, the skin peeled back and held into place with
more clamps to expose his internal organs. Graham had rubbed
her back through it all, murmuring comforting words while Angel
had started to growl softly.

It was then that Spike had opened his eyes and looked towards
them. Joyce had stood with stomach heaving, just staring at the
blond vampire who was looking empty eyed straight back at them,
not once blinking. It had been a soft word that had scared them
all.

"Sire"

Spike had whispered as he had shifted his gaze to rest upon a
snarling Angel. An uproar had been caused by that one word.
Wesley had informed them all that it wasn't possible for Spike
to be able to see them, that the spell just didn't work that way
and that because both Joyce and himself had performed the spell,
it must have evolved somehow. As the friends had argued between
themselves, they had listened in horror as the bleached vampire
had quietly begged for them to help him. Wesley had quickly
come to the conclusion that the location spell had actually
mutated into creating a portal that led directly to whoever they
were intent on locating.

After only a few moments of discussion, Angel, Riley and Graham
had steeled themselves to step through the wall of water, Wesley
warning them to just get Spike out as they didn't have time to
dither around. It had been a stupid risk for the three men to
take, no-one knew just how long the portal would be open for
them. It could have closed off at anytime, stranding the three
men with Spike. So, the vampire and two humans had jumped
through the water, landing heavily on the concrete floor on the
other side, the portal being a good four feet higher than the
dirty ground on Spikes side.

Joyce and Wesley had stood watching them, urging them to hurry
all the while, Spike’s black t-shirt had been clutched between
them, Doyle had also hurried them along, not being able to see
anything but nevertheless, adding his support. She had watched
the three males struggle to release the vampire from the
restraints only to finally carry the whole table and Spike
through the portal, Riley getting back through first and pulling
it backwards with Doyle’s help as Graham and Angel pushed it
through.

As both Wesley and Joyce had come forward to help them carry the
table, the ex-watcher had let go of the t-shirt, causing the
water wall portal to gush back into the wading pool. Wesley had
immediately collapsed into unconciousness, eliciting more
snarling from Angel as Riley had attempted to move the older
human. The ex-soldier had promptly left the room when the
brunette vampire had gone into game face and taken a step
towards him, leaving Graham and Joyce to deal with the
situation.

Jerking back to reality as Spike whimpered in his sleep, Joyce
watched worriedly as the vampire's face scrunched in pain as he
attempted to move one of his thin arms.

"Its time to roll you over, I'm sorry Spike. I know its going
to hurt but we have to do it...I'll wait for Angel to get back
ok?" said Joyce softly. They had to roll the smaller vampire
from side to side every four hours to let his front and back
heal properly. He was suffering from pressure sores over his
entire back, buttocks and upper thighs from having lay on them
for so long. His four limbs stiff to move as they had remained
in the one position for months, Dr Sawyer reccommending daily
massage to loosen them up again. Spike had only been able to
tell them that he had been strapped to the table since being
taken before he had passed out with pain from being moved from
the table to the mattress on the floor. His opened front had
been the worst, Dr Sawyer had done a great job of doing the
stitches holding him together as small as possible. Unnecessary
really as Spike wouldn't scar, all wounds and scars eventually
disappearing. Jumping slightly as she realised that Angel was
standing beside her, Joyce looked up at the taller man.

"Hey Angel, Riley ok? How’s Wesley...still out like a light?"

"Riley's good..he..he understands why I snarled at him. Said he
forgives me for you know..before. Wes is still sleeping, not
too worried about it though, he will probably sleep for another
day...be really tired for a couple of more after that. Usually
goes like that after a big spell, why you aren't sleeping is
another question entirely?"

As the two friends looked at the small figure in the bed, the
brunette vampires watch beeped, signalling that it was time to
turn the bleached blond. As one, Joyce and Angel ignored the
small groans of pain as they tried to shift Spike as gently as
possible. Once it had been achieved, Angel gestured for the
human to follow him to the training room doorway. Quietly, the
older vampire informed Joyce of what he was going to do once
Graham got back with the human blood.

"I'm going to give Spike as much of my blood as I can handle.
It'll speed up the healing process for him. He's already pretty
strong because of the human blood that he was being drip fed but
Sire blood is the strongest healer around for vampires."

"God Angel, are you sure? Isn’t the human blood for Spike or is
that for you?"

"For me. I'm going to drink the human stuff myself..I know, I
don't ever touch it but in light of the situation, this is the
best excuse I'll ever have for drinking it again."

At Joyce’s smile, Angel hoped that he was doing the right thing.
He was going to take the opportunity to completely drain Spike
to point of almost dusting him then re-feeding him with as much
Sire blood as Spike could take, all the while re-enforcing the
Twilight Instructions. Giving the shorter woman an answering
smile, he suddenly hugged Joyce.

"Angel! Are you alright?"

"Yeah Joyce, I am. Spike is back....I still don't like him and
as soon as he opens his mouth again, we'll all be wishing he had
his jaw wired shut but it’s good, he's back. It's a good sign."

"Yes, it is isn't it? First we get everyone else back and then
we find out who did this. I want them to suffer for what they
have put us all through, I hate them for this Angel. I mean,
look at Spike, I know he's evil but nothing and no-one should
ever suffer what he's been put through but he's back and that
*is* a good sign"

"Nothing and no-one. They won't get away from answering for
this, we *will* bring them down....if it's the last thing I do."

"Last thing that anyone of us does."

Part Twenty-Six  

February 1, 2005

Hyperion Hotel

2.35 pm

"No, you heard right Graham. Twenty-four pints of blood ASAP
please. The drip seems to be working well and we want to get
more into him."

"Uuuhhh, sure. Be back soon...I'll take Joyce with me, she's
beside me anyway...sorry, you probably already know that...We'll
go now."

Not needing to respond, Wesley took his finger off the 'talk'
button on the internal intercom and turned back towards his
lover and Angel’s Childe. Both were sleeping for the moment,
Angel on one of the library's sofas that Riley and Graham had
managed to wrestle into the small elevator and up to the
training room while Spike lay on his side, entangled with the
thin sheet that covered him, still in a virtual coma.

Small smile adorning his face, the ex-watcher slowly made his
way over to change Angel's drip now that the current bag his
blood flowed into was almost full. Kneeling beside the dark blue
couch, he tried not to startle the brunette vampire with any
sudden movements, lightly running a hand down the well formed
black clad shoulder, touching the crook of Angels left elbow
and the needle inserted deep into his vein. Empty blood unit bag
gathered up, Wesley quickly switched the drip tube to the new
bag, the full bag closed off and lay carefully to one side.

"Wes"

With a strangled yelp of startlement, the younger human snapped
his head up to find that the brunette vampire was waking
although very groggy due to the massive amount of blood loss,
blood that was being replaced just as fast with human blood. For
every bag that Angel filled with his Sire blood for Spike, the
brunette vampire drank a double amount of human blood, bought
from the morgue at the hospital. Everyone had been worried as to
how the blood loss would affect the older vampire but
surprisingly, he was pretty much alright, just alternating
between dizzy, light-headed euphoria and sleepiness.

Upon finally waking for the first time since the location spell,
Wesley had been informed of what Angel had decided upon doing
for Spike. As soon as Dr. Sawyer had finished with the bleached
blond and had instructed everyone in how to move the smaller
vampire and provide the remedial massage, she had also given
them all, bar a still sleeping Wesley, a crash course on how to
work the drips. Angel had decided to bag as much of his potent
blood as possible, drip feeding it to the younger demon after an
initial feed directly from his body, something that the brunette
vampire had insisted on doing in private. The upshot of it all
was that Riley, Graham and Joyce were taking it in shifts to
change the drips and make sure that Angel kept drinking.

Now that he was awake, it was Wesley's turn to stay with the
vampires, taking over from Joyce after being shown what to do
himself. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to massage Spike, the
older woman having just finished as the ex-watcher had come to
relieve her. Angel was filling the bags a lot slower than a
human would, taking almost twenty minutes for each one while
Spike was being fed a bag every hour meaning that in-between the
changes, it gave Wesley plenty of time to work on finding a
spell that would protect Spike from being found via magical
means, something that Joyce had already started the search for.

Unable to resist, Wesley reached a hand up and patted at Angels
face, prompting a giggle from his lover. At Wesley's gesture,
the vampire nodded and grinned, confirming that he was indeed
hungry. Leaning in towards the older male, Wes softly pressed
his lips to the much cooler ones only to squawk in light protest
when Angel gripped his hair with a strong hand and forced
Wesley's head down towards his bulging crotch.

"Youth goth thoo be shithing me?"

"Suck."

Shaking his head, Angel thrust his hips up into Wesley's face in
an all too clear gesture, his eyes lighting up in anticipation.
He felt good, really good and it was all due to the human blood
he had been consuming over the past two days. The vampire took
in the exaggerated roll of Wesley's eyes and grinned harder as
he heard his zipper being undone. A glance at his Childe lying
on a mattress only a few feet away and he saw that the bleached
blond was still in a deep sleep. Not one that he would be
coming out of it any time soon, the huge amounts of Sire blood
being drip-fed to him having caused Spike to fall into an
ongoing black out. His aching erection forced the thought of
the blond right out of his head as Wesley gently nipped at the
head of his cock.

"Fffffuuuuuck!"

"Youth weeth."

A little clumsily, Wesley worked his tongue under the vampires
pale foreskin, twisting his tongue around the warming head while
his right hand crept under Angel’s cashmere sweater to softly
tickle a pale navel, the left hand keeping the zippers metal
teeth away from anything that could be snagged in-between them.
A quick look at a panting vampire and the ex-watcher was proud
to see that his lover was already in full game face, something
that turned Wesley on more than anything else. Head positioned
so that the younger man could rub his tongue scar into the
vampires weeping slit, Wesley knew that it would be only a
matter of a minute or two before Angel came down his eager
throat. Hearing Angel moan as he pulled away momentarily,
Wesley risked a look at the bleached vampire only to be
backhanded for daring to stop. Breath caught in his throat, the
ex-watcher demurely hung his head in mock shame, his own cock
begging to be stroked to completion while his cheek burned with
a sweet pain.

"Bad Wesley"

"Marshta?"

"Open wide"

Unable to stifle his own moan of pleasure, Wesley found himself
gagging slightly as the vampire rammed his hips upwards as he
wrapped his lips around the hard cock once again, the cool shaft
filling his mouth entirely. With one of Angels heavy hands
forcing his head down, Wesley immediately relaxed, taking the
throbbing organ deep down his throat. He paused for a bare
moment, almost coming in his pants as Angel both growled softly
and tightened his grip on Wesley's hair to painful proportions.
At Angel’s rough and fast guidance, the smaller man made sure
the almost seamless scar on his tongue rubbed along the
underside of the thick cock.

"Whore...do you like that? Do want me to fill that little girly
mouth of yours more? Mmmmm, fucking suck me..harder..harder.
Ooohhhh I'm gonna be giving you the biggest bitch slapping of
your life if you don't do as you're told...SLUT!"

Angel wished that he didn't have the drip attached to his other
arm, he wanted to wrap both his hands in Wesley's soft hair.
Wanted to make his lover cry in pain just from having his
beautiful hair pulled...and he knew full well that Wes wanted
the same thing. As he harshly whispered more demands, the
brunette could feel himself coming close to the edge. Only a
few more seconds, damn if he didn't feel good! With his demon
strength, he held the humans head still as he thrust his hips up
towards the wet warmth, shuddering in delight as he felt a fine
line grate along the underside of his cock. Soooo good!

"Almost..almost...swallow. Go on...Yeeesssss! Godamn SWALLOW!
Good..good boy, aren't you a good boy to drink me down like
that. You want to come?"

SLAP

At the feel of a large cool hand connect with his already sore
right cheek, Wesley had the pleasure to feel himself explode in
his new woollen trousers as he savoured the rich coppery taste
of Angels cum. The humiliation of having cum in his pants making
the orgasm all the sweeter for the ex-watcher. Thanking his
Master obediently, the ex-watcher dutifully tucked Angel back
into his trousers, only now wondering how the vampire could be
so horny after so much blood loss. Wesley shrugged his
shoulders, Angel was a vampire and it had probably been the
smell of his own blood that had gotten him hard, that and the
thought of another bag of human. Zipper wiggled a little in an
effort to get it fully done up, Wesley again gestured at the
vampire, asking if he was still hungry.

"Ravenous Wes...did I hurt you? No? Let me guess, not enough?"

Waggling his eyebrows at the vampire, the ex-watcher pointed
downwards, indicating the growing wet patch decorating the front
of his navy trousers. Angel reached over to squeeze his lovers
wet crotch, causing Wesley to squirm a little as the large cool
hand rubbed the cum into the trouser material more thoroughly.
Wesley laughed in both nervous humiliation and growing
anticipation as the brunette vampire promised to make the
ex-watcher do the same thing in public one day. The laughter
died quickly as a groan of pain came from Spike. Wesley nodded
as Angel quietly told him that the bleached vampire was still
buried deep in a restorative sleep and not to worry, Spike was
probably just feeling some of his injuries continuing to repair
themselves.

"Still going to take a lot of time until he's fully recovered.
Took a few weeks for my finger to be 100% and the bone was only
chipped. I mean, his foot is fucking *gone*! The whole bone
has to grow back, the muscles and tendons, skin..everything."

"Hoow wong?"

"Honestly? I don't know. He's just lucky to be old enough to
even regenerate lost limbs. The Master and Darla weren't
exactly forthcoming with all the little tidbits about vampire
physiology, I've never had a discussion about this with them and
lets face it, I can't now. Not just age either though; he's got
strong blood running through him anyway. He's a great
Grandchilde to the Master, very strong blood."

Nodding again at his lover’s words, Wesley rose from his knees
and made his way over to the corner opposite Angel and Spike,
ignoring the cooling wetness covering his crotch for the moment.
Large yellow cooler opened, the smaller male got out two
packets of blood. Mug taken up from the newly washed collection
gathering on one end of the trestle table, Wesley
carefully tore open a packet and poured the contents into a mug
before placing it in the microwave that took up the other end of
the table. Microwave set on high for a minute, Wesley stared at
the bleached vampire's uncovered back. He could already see
that most of the horrible weeping sores that had covered the
pale back were well on the way to healing fully, sores that
would have taken a human weeks to recover from. Jumping as both

the microwave and the timer that indicated Spikes rollover went
off, the slender man carried the mug of warmed blood over to the
eagerly awaiting vampire.

"You've got to roll him Wes, I mean I would but you know? Can
you do it yourself? Alright...don't scowl at me, I just asked."

"Yeth!"

"Sorry, I thought you might still be a little tired? No?"

Head shaken at the brunette, Wesley was not going to admit that
he was in fact still feeling drained from the location spell
that he and Joyce had performed a few days ago. As soon as he
had let go of the black t-shirt to help the others with Spike,
he had been out like a light, the switch shut off instantly. He
had only woken up a few hours ago, henceforth why Angel was
worried and he really had to find out why Joyce had been barely
affected when they had done the spell together. Breath taken as
he reached the smaller vampires side, Wesley knelt in front of
the pale form and rested a hand on Spikes bony shoulder.

"Hey Sthike, ull bwee caawful." whispered Wesley. He knew that
the vampire probably couldn't hear him but he felt that it was
necessary to tell Spike anyway. Reaching a hand up, he made
sure that the drip was switched off before gently rocking the
thin form. Rocking motions increasing, Wesley pushed Spike flat
on his back, trying to ignore the grunt of protest. It wasn't
the easiest way to turn the younger vampire but Wesley did the
best he could. Once the pale form was resting somewhat on his
right side, the ex-watcher looked closely at the marred back. It
definitely looked like Angel's blood was doing the trick,
another day or so and his back would be fully recovered.

With a glance at Angel, he saw that the older vampire was
watching him sleepily, finishing one yawn only to launch
straight into another. Spikes drip turned on again, Wesley saw
that the bleached vampires latest bag was almost empty. He
waited for a few minutes by the shorter mans side before
gathering up Angels latest bag of blood, fixing the drip up to
the full bag.

"Wes, I tried the Twilight on him last night.."

"Andth?"

His attention snapped back to Angel almost instantly, Wesley
crossed back to the blue couch, shoving the brunette’s legs to
one side so he could sit down. The ex-watcher listened as his
lover told him of how he had taken the opportunity to fully
drain the blond to the point of being almost dusted, Angel then
slitting his wrist and allowing his Childe to feed from him. The

older demon had made sure to re-instate the initial instructions
from so many years ago, this time in a softer, much gentler tone
of voice.

"I'm hoping that Spike will be less aggressive and rude to
everyone but like you said, it may just be his overall
personality. I just don't know...Christ, there is so much that
we don't know."

"Hoow didth ith go?"

"I hated it, every second of it. When a Childe feeds from you,
its usually one of the most pleasurable things a vampire can do,
secondary only to feeding from your Sire. It was hard, I had to
keep cutting my wrist for him to feed from because he couldn't
bite properly...his fangs still need to grow a bit more before
he can use them. I just had to sort of make sure my blood
dribbled into his mouth, didn't work too well actually."

"Thinth ith workthd?"

"Only time will tell really...Wes, you're getting easier to
understand. Mmmmm, you smell nice."

Eyes rolled as the larger brunette tried to yawn and giggle at
the same time, Wes thanked his lover somewhat sarcastically for
his kind words. Gesturing for Angel to continue with what
happened the night before. Wesley quietly nodded as he was told
of how Angel had fed Spike enough of the potent Sire blood for
the younger vampire to bypass the initial euphoria stage and
continue through the various stages until he had feed enough to
the bleached blond for him to lapse into a deep sleep. The
smaller human knew that the brunette was going to keep feeding
the blond Sire blood until the worst of the damage was fixed.
How long that was going to be was anybody's guess, Angel
providing him with the answer before he even had the chance to
ask.

"I'm thinking of doing the transfusions for at least another day
or so, then starting him back on regular human blood with at
least one bag of mine to every bag of human. I gotta admit
though, I'm shattered....and hungry again? Wes, could you?"

Agreeing, Wesley got up and prepared Angel another mug of blood
after changing the now full bag for another empty one. As the
vampire steadily drank the fragrant liquid, Wes could see the
brunette start to blink heavily, indicating that he was almost
asleep again. Mug taken from Angel’s hand, the slender man
watched as his lover succumbed to the lure of sleep, a slight
smile gracing the pale face. Once he was sure that his employer
was fully asleep, Wesley ventured downstairs to their bedroom
with the intention to change his slacks and get an icepack for
his aching cheek before gathering new reading material.

He wanted to see if there was some way to locate the bleached
vampires soul and study it before attempting to curse the
smaller man forever from having his soul returned. Wesley was
still puzzled as to why the PTB considered Spikes soul to be
worse than Angelus. As he walked towards the bedroom door, the
ex-watcher wondered how Joyce was going with her own research.

Part Twenty-Seven  

Febuary 16, 2005

Hyperion Hotel

3:12 pm

At the little girls bellow of rage, Cordelia sighed and
relented, giving Gonturan another piece of fairy bread.
Instantly she knew she had made the wrong decision, watching in
resignation as the happy child smeared butter, bread and tiny
coloured balls of sugar over her face and semi clean clothes.
Turning to Joyce, she asked the older woman to hand her a cloth
so she could give the munching toddler a face wipe.

"I can't believe how much they have grown...and they're such
lovely little girls, you should be proud of yourself Cordelia."

"I know. I love them to pieces. Would never have thought that
I would be such a Mommy. I mean I always planned on having
children some day but I didn't think that I would get two in one
hit, not to mention Christopher but...."

Falling silent, the brunette woman gave a protesting Gonturan a
thorough wipe with the damp cloth, making sure to clean her
fingers on both hands before the active youngster managed to
anoint most of the Hyperion with mashed bread. She was back. It
was something that she couldn't quite believe, expecting to wake
up each morning and find herself back in her tent. Two weeks.
Well, thirteen days to be exact. Thirteen days since a huge
shimmering wall had appeared in front of her, scaring both her
and Kimlai as they had washed the breakfast dishes in a barely
thawed stream.

She had almost fainted when Riley and Graham had stepped through
and told her that they were taking her home, screaming in
delight when she realised that she could see Wesley and Joyce on
the other side of the wall. Angel hadn't been able to
participate much in the rescue, as it was daytime where she was
and being a vampire, he would have been pretty much dusted.
After talking to her companion, she had told the two ex-soldiers
that Kimlai needed to go and get the twins before she could
return. Through the portal, she had told Wesley about what had
happened to her and the twins since being taken, reassuring her
friends that none of them had been hurt in anyway.

Ultimately, things had been fine. Kimlai had returned quite
quickly with the twins and her owner. Everyone had been
surprised to find that Wesley spoke a language very close to the
demon’s own and the ex-watcher had managed to convince the
shaggy creature that Cordelia and the twins actually belonged to
him and that he only wanted his rightful goods returned, Riley
dashing back through the portal and getting a photo of Wesley
and Cordelia as proof of ownership. She had been a little
shocked upon seeing and hearing Joyce speak for the younger man
but she had kept quiet, knowing that she would get the full
story later on. Her master had been quite sad to see her leave
and to be honest, she had really liked the tall red-haired beast

and would miss him, the family and Kimlai. She had said her
goodbyes amidst a few tears and hugs, her owner included and had
excitedly stepped through the portal to the Hyperion.

"Alright..alright, back to the play room with you both I think."

Child gathered up, Cordelia followed Joyce and Aiesha from the
kitchen to the lobby, giving David Nabbit a smile as he
continued to instruct Doyle in how to use a Dictaphone with foot
pedals. Pausing, she watched as her soon to be husband slowly
typed on the Braille computer. Her smile grew as Doyle got all
of the other man's instructions right. She loved Doyle with all
her heart and she was proud that the Irishman hadn't let himself
fall into a pit of self-pity. Upon seeing him for the first
time since being taken, she had been horrified by what had
happened to him, crying in a mixture of anger and sorrow but
overall, relief that he was still alive and relatively unhurt.

She had refused Doyle’s attempts to break off the engagement,
stating that although she was upset about his appearance, she
loved him and he wasn't getting rid of her that easily. It had
taken a few days before Doyle had accepted that she really did
want to still marry him, longer for him to let her touch his
face. Cordelia had only been allowed to touch the horrible
scarring earlier in the morning after they had made love for the
first time since she had returned. Standing quietly, she
absently jiggled a squirming girl up and down on her hip as she
watched her fiancee turn to face her.

"Hey Princes, who have you got there?"

"Ginny. Shay's with Joyce...I'm going to put them to bed for a
little while then you and I are setting a date for this wedding
Mister. No more fussing around. I don't care what I wear, an
old potato sack will do me just fine as long I'm Mrs. Francis
Doyle."

"Gee..already the nagging missus aren't we?"

Doyle swiftly caught his betrothed's hand as he felt a sharp tug
on one of his earlobes, giving the long fingers a lingering kiss
as he felt a wave of happiness flow over him. His Cordy had
returned to him. Healthy, whole and with bossy personality still
firmly intact, something that Doyle hadn't even realised he had
relied on so much until he had been taken. Cordelia could cut
through a diamond with the acid tongue she had in her head, the
only one who could match her was Spike and quite frankly, the
Irishman had been excited when the vampire and ex-cheerleader
had started sniping at each other over a minor issue. It had
been like old times. Almost.

Head cocked as he listened to Cordelia walk to the elevator, he
chuckled when the two girls emitted matching screeches of
anguish at leaving the much loved hotel lobby. They were going
to adopt the girls as soon as their marriage was legal, relying
on a priest from the Christian Refuge to perform the ceremony
with one of Kate’s contacts being able to fiddle papers in City
Records with the adoption. For a price, something not quite
legal. At David’s request, the now normal colour Irishman gave
an exaggerated sigh and gently pressed the 'play' button on the
foot controls for the Dictaphone, continuing to type out the
notes for David's last board meeting.

============================================

Head cradled in his hands, Spike sat on Xander's bed, hating the
disturbing scenes his mind was throwing at him. Scenes that
were showing the brunette dead, being raped or worse, being
pulled apart limb from limb and watching his own flesh get
eaten. The blond hoped that the brunette was alright but he knew
that in all reality, Xander was probably getting fucked for all
he was worth right that minute. Spike was hoping that being
taken a second time hadn't tipped the shy boy into the nuthouse,
like Drusilla. A pang of sorrow washed over him as he thought of
his Black Princess, snorting to himself as he recalled what he
had read of her last words. He really needed to take another
look at what was written, see if he could make more sense out of
it than what had been made so far. Dru's future ramblings had
always been tricky and had a tendency to bite you on the arse if
you weren't careful.

Scratching at his still tender stomach, the bleached blond
gingerly ran a finger down the slim scar that ran from the base
of his throat to his groin. He was healing, the scar had
flattened out in the past few days, going from an angry red
raised slash to a smooth pearly white stripe. Would be gone in
another two or three days thought the vampire, wishing his foot
would hurry up and grow a little more. His fangs were almost
their original size, his thigh having finished healing the day
before. How did he know? He was no longer feeling the constant
pins and needles running from his hip to his knee, something
that he was thankful for.

He still had waves of pain rolling through his abdomen as his
intestines grew back, the doctor had told him that his whole
large intestine and about half of his smaller one had been
removed, along with his left kidney and pancreas. It wasn't
what he had wanted to hear but then again, it had been his own
fault, he had asked Dr. Sawyer and she had told him. Thank
Christ his fingers had grown back entirely and his limbs no
longer needed their daily massage as of a few day's ago. Meant
he could use the crutches Angel had gotten for him after Spike
had broken the wheelchair the older vampire had first appeared
with. Something that his Sire was going to be pissy about until
he decided on his next brooding subject.

"Sodding wheelchair...like I'm gonna use *that*? Peaches must
have been brain damaged when Slag turned him...hang on, maybe
Woos sucked too hard and there’s nothing left in his cock to
think with?"

Stomach rumbling, the bleached vampire shifted his legs over the
edge of the bed, setting the aluminum crutches upright so he
could stand. With a grunt, Spike hefted himself upright,
wobbling for all he was worth. Another rumble of his stomach
and the demon slowly clacked out of Xander's bedroom and down
the hallway, the metal bracelets clanking against the crutches.

It had been Joyce who had hit on the idea of retrieving the
bracelets and necklace that had been buried with Theo, everyone
agreeing with the idea even if it had been rather unpleasant,
especially when they realised just how the jewellery was going
have to come off. Angel had sent Riley and Graham to Sunnydale
later the next day after arranging with Willy to get someone to
dig them up, the ex-soldiers waiting just outside Sunnydale
limits for the barkeeper to hand them over.

In what had been a suprise, they had found out that the necklace
and braclets had been able to be taken off like normal
jewellery. Wesley putting it down to the fact that Theo was
dead, therefore any glamour was now totally gone which is why
there were now clasps included in the silver links. Spike had
whole heartedly put them on after Wesley had told him that they
should protect him from being found by any magical means, the
ex-watcher coming to the conclusion that the vampire had been
held by a Warlock who used the dark arts. The instant he had
put them on, he had expected the clasps to diasappear but it was
something that was yet to happen.

Wesley had been giving Spike his daily massage the day after
Cordelia's return, the vampire grumbling about how much of
Passions he had missed when Joyce had come into the bedroom to
ask if Spike wanted her to bring up some of the roast she was
cooking once it was done. He hadn't been able to help himself,
he had started to weep the instant he smelt the rosemary and
thyme that Joyce hadn't washed from her hands properly. Both
Wesley and the older woman had tried to calm him down but all he
had smelt was the herbs, the closer she had come, the more
hysterical he had gotten. He had honestly thought he was
alright and that his experience hadn't affected him much. Spike
had bellowed for the smell to go away, swearing and making
threats to kill until he had prompted the chip into blacking him
out.

Upon waking again, he had been surprised to see Wesley and his
Sire sitting at his side, gently asking for him to explain what
had just happened and Spike had told him everything he could.
Told them about his 'host' and how the man had smelt like
rosemary and thyme only when something was going to be taken
from the vampire. The younger vampire had been amazed to see
Angel get angry after being informed that no anaesthetic had
been used and that the only way the vampire had been able to get
pain relief was to make enough threats for the chip to shock him
into unconsciousness. Silence had descended upon the room as
Wesley had slipped into deep thought, Angel looking at him with
pity until Spike had given his Sire a two fingered salute which
had made the older vampire smile, prompting a small one of his
own.

Spike had been unable to stop himself from feeling nauseous when
Wesley had told them of what he thought the younger vampire had
been held for. The ex-watcher had explained that some magic
orders used human body parts as ingredients, almost always the
dark arts. Wesley had reluctantly told the vampires that
because their species was hardier than a regular human, Spike’s
organs and body parts probably gave better spell results. That
the younger demon had been nothing more than a never ending
supply of body parts and that they shouldn't be surprised if
there was another vampire already in Spike’s place. The
bleached vampire had been pleased to see Angel throw a tanty and
kick in a closet door, usually it was the older vampire kicking
Spike’s arse.

The bleached blond knew that Joyce and the younger man hadn't
been able to locate Xander or Christopher with the spell they
had performed for himself and the others, nor had they been able
to locate Willow. It was assumed that she had a set of the
jewellery as well. After all, she had been born on the Hellmouth
like Xander. Why Cordelia hadn't been made into a demon whore
puzzled them all although they were relieved that it hadn't
happened. Everyone was waiting for Doyle’s next vision of the
red-haired witch, hoping that it would show him a location or as
Spike had sneered, a street sign.

He was just thankful that he had been found first and he was
curious himself to find out why the PTB had wanted him found so
quickly. In what had been a surprise to himself, he had
answered all of Angel and Wesley's questions about his human
life as truthfully as possible. The bleached vampire had told
them that he had been quite a sickly child, confined to bed for
most of his younger years. The ex-watcher and his Sire had been
more than a little disturbed to learn that he had also suffered
from numerous dizzy spells right up to the time he had been
turned. When questioned about the uniform Angel had seen him in
on the night of his turning, the younger demon had been not in
the least bit embarrassed to tell the larger vampire that he had

in fact been an apprentice confectionary maker, specializing in
boiled sweets, working in the shop that his uncle owned. Angel
and Wesley had eventually given up on the questions after it had
been made clear that the bleached blonde’s human life had been
fairly ordinary, falling back once again on the numerous old
tomes that were stored in the library to find out more about the
mysterious 'Soul of Blood'.

On a whim, the bleached blond decided to see if Joyce would make
him a hot chocolate, the beverage didn't taste as good if he
made one himself, thoughts of Xander pushed aside for the moment
as he struggled to open the elevator's sliding door while trying
to stop the crutch underneath his left armpit from sliding to
the floor.

========================================================

"Unbelievable!"

The Warlock couldn't believe that such a simple spell had failed
yet again. It was a beginner grade spell as far as he was
concerned, nothing to it. First the Irish half demon and now the
vampire, both being unable to be seen in the scrying bowl. He
had no idea of why he couldn't perform such a simple
incantation. At first he had put it down to his latest
apprentice being unworthy of further tuition after her numerous
attempts had failed but after trying the incantation himself,
Tomas realised that April had in fact done everything correctly,
thus saving the apprentices life in the end. Poor April, she
had been convinced that she was destined for a flotation tank
and it had taken the Englishman hours to persuade the young
woman that she was to continue her studies.

Every morning and afternoon since the vampire had been
discovered missing, Tomas and April had performed the location
spell to try and find out where the creature was but so far,
nothing. Even Tomas' use of a newly souled vampires whole
internal system, leaving only the heart, had proved fruitless.
April had been sure that using another vampires parts would
prompt the spell into action, the restored soul giving it an
extra kick. Tomas had to hand it to the girl, she was good and
came up with some astounding ideas. Hopefully, this one would
graduate.

Peering into the bowl of blood, Tomas saw that nothing had
appeared in the shallow liquid. With a sigh, he tipped the
blood into a plastic bag, tying the top in a knot so that it
didn't leak before he got back to his apartment. It would give
the chocolate cake frosting a richer taste, so much nicer than
the usual cream cheese frosting these Yanks always raved
about. He just hoped that Holland's wife appreciated the offer
of the cake. Poor dear was feeling a little under the weather, a
lovely lady really.

Once the spell components were cleared away, Tomas knew that he
was going to have to get another vampire either tomorrow or the
day after, the one he had was almost wiped out. He had been
disappointed to find that the one Wolfram and Harts private
squad had procured was too young to regenerate any lost organs
or limbs, her blood too weak and diluted to be very effective
for spell casting, obviously a minion Sired by a minion itself.
He had literally struck gold with William the Bloody. The
vampire had been of a good age and lineage not to mention
chipped against hurting any humans, a useful thing to have if he
had managed to get free one day. Lindsay also had nothing left
to prod the souled Angel with either, unable to threaten the
older vampire with bodily harm to his only remaining Childer
should he refuse to retrieve any requested items. How the older
lawyer was going to ensure Angel's continued help was another
question entirely.

The Warlock knew that the bleached vampire had been taken via
magical means, there was no other way that the male could have
been stolen but how, was the thorn in his side. No matter
anyway, he had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment,
he could puzzle over the vampire later.

Tomas shoved the thought into the back of his mind as he left
the main casting room, walking down the carpeted hallway and
stopping at the last door on his left. Punching in the security
code in the keypad next to the heavy metal door, the Warlock
quickly waved his fingers in a pattern that signed for the
protective spell barrier to let him through the now unlocked
security door without causing his brains to dribble from his
ears and nose. Once stepped through the doorway, Tomas made sure
that the solid door was locked behind him, the protective spell
re-instated.

Glancing around the room, the dark haired man smiled with
satisfaction, the time was almost near. William the Bloody's
strong blood had made finding the last few items a lot easier
for the Warlock. Had cut down on a lot of the false leads. The
Englishman now had all the items he needed to start calling
forth and storing all the souls that the Wolfram and Hart
original senior partners wanted. Once he had achieved this, he
could then concentrate on looking for the one person in the
world who was capable of hosting the multitude of souls. Someone
who had been born without a soul of their own, an empty vessel.

Tomas walked over to the long list of names that was blu-tac'd
to one wall of the bombproof room, shaking his head over some of
the people who had been included in the list. Murderers,
thieves, artists, pedophiles, rapists, teachers, army officers.
There was even a few Nobel Prize winners on the list. Everyone
who had been included on the list had been or still was the
elite in their chosen profession, some were still alive but that
didn't matter. As soon as he started to remove their souls,
they would die of a massive heart attack. Done carefully
enough, the body could be kept alive but the law firm wasn't
interested in that, they would have no further use for the
physical body once they had the soul.

Why Wolfram and Hart wanted to construct a 'Soul of Blood' was
beyond him but then again, he really didn't care as long as he
got paid and didn't get killed in the process. As he finished
reading the long list, Tomas wondered if he should put Mother
Teresa's or Ghandi's name on the bottom just for a joke, Holland
would get a laugh out of it. Pity that Lindsay couldn't bring
himself to loosen up around the Warlock, the older lawyer would
more than likely appreciate the joke as well but Tomas knew that
the other man was frightened of him. Tomas wasn't too sure why
but he suspected it was because he had been caught staring at
Lindsay's ears one day. He hadn't been able to help himself from
telling the other man just how lovely they were, something that
had made Lindsay pale, the older man having not come to visit
the Warlock’s inner sanctum since.

With that thought in mind, Tomas wondered if he should make a
cake for Lindsay as well, maybe strawberry frosting instead of
chocolate.

Part Twenty-Eight  

Febuary 18, 2005

Hyperion Hotel

4.56 pm

"Uhhggg, nothing in this one either. God, I'm so tired of
looking in these books," sighed a weary Cordelia. The brunette
woman had wanted nothing more than to just spend the whole day
in bed with Doyle, doing nothing but dozing in each others arms
in-between long bouts of love making. Unfortunately, reality had
punched a hole in those dreams via two hyperactive toddlers,
grocery shopping for the week and research on souls. Glancing
over at a vampire who was growing more annoyed by the moment,
she asked Spike how he was going with his current book.

"This sodding thing is useless as well, bloody book is all about
how to see your auras or some other bullshit. We're getting
nowhere fast."

"I know...why the PTB can't just whap open a book at the right
page is beyond me. I mean they can do just about everything
else, you'd think that if the 'bloody soul' or whatever it is,
is so important, that they would get off their butts and help a
bit more."

"Because that would be called common sense, remember, these are
the same wanky twats that killed the only one who even had the
remotest chance of understanding this bloody rot. Fuckin’
morons, should've let Dru hang on for a bit more....could've had
a yap to her, fine tuned this drivel," replied the bleached
blond, nodding his head in agreement. Slightly stunned that he
was actually having a civil conversation with the girl for the
first time they had known each other, he could tell from her
face that she was feeling the same way and was waiting for him
to call her something vile so that they could get back into the
realms of normal.

"Right then, speaking of fat arses, how about you get off those
binty buns of yours and get me a coffee? Ah..ah..ah, invalid
here...see? Crutches, I *can't* carry an effin' drink back up
here can I?"

"Hmmm, and your point would be?"

"Bitch."

"Really? Thanks, I think that's the nicest thing you've ever
said to me...are you hitting on me?"

"Fuck off Slag..go on, go and get some 'wife' practice and make
the superior sex a coffee...Oi! Don't hit me, save your foreplay
for the Mutt."

Giving the younger woman his usual leer and two fingered salute,
he made sure to wipe off a dribble of cold coffee on his mug
before handing it to Cordelia as she passed by him on the way
downstairs, copping a slap across his upper arm for his
attitude.

"Bloody hell, what is she on, steroids? Bint never hit like
that before," he muttered to himself, one hand rubbing his upper
arm. Felt good to have his sparring partner back, Cordelia was
the only one who could give him a run for his money in the
hotel. As far as he was concerned, trying to get a rise out of
Graham was like poking road kill with a stick, nothing would
happen and he was more interested in discussing the man’s
endowments with Joyce...that is if he could get her tipsy enough
one night. Riley...well really, why even bother? Wesley had
been marked as off limits by Angel and he really didn't want any
of his bones broken in the near future by a pissed off Sire just
because he had dared to taunt the gimp, no matter how tempting
it was.

Angel was still fair game and so was Doyle, Joyce was someone
that he could talk to about anything and he admitted that she
was his friend, besides she was currently coming up with some of
the dirtiest jokes he had ever heard and he was loving each one.
The twins, well, it was amazing the filthy language kids picked
up these days. With a sigh, he pulled himself out of his
thoughts, glancing back down at the large book covering his lap.
Pages flipped as fast as he could skim the words, the bleached
vampire knew that continuing to look through the book would
prove useless but he also knew that Pansy Arse Wes would know
instantly if he had put the book down before reaching the end.

How the younger man could tell was something that continually
puzzled Spike but after being caught out each time he had done
it and having to sit through the Poof’s lecture about how
important the research was each time, he made sure that he was
at least looking for the two key words, blood and soul. After
Wesley and Angel had learned of his human life, the two men were

no longer so sure that the 'Soul of Blood' applied to him.

"What hell would I do with an f'ing soul anyway? Hang on..I
know, stake meself...be buggered if I'd prance around like the
wanna be Batman downstairs, not even if Robin’s arse was thrown
into the deal."

Head shaken, the bleached vampire shut the finished book and
threw it across the room, punching the air with one fist as he
watched it disappear down the side of the huge pot that housed a
rather droopy palm tree. Spike couldn't wait for Weakly to have
a panic attack over not being able to find the book and anyway,
he had only agreed not to verbally taunt the stick thin
ex-watcher. Just because people had put their lives on the line
to save his didn't mean that he was going to cut them any slack.

While he was wondering when his coffee would arrive, the vampire
reached over to the coffee table and picked up another book.
Groaning when he saw that the title was in French, he mentally
slapped himself for having reminded Angel that Drusilla had
managed to teach him something in her more lucid moments. Even
though the psychic vampire had done it out of her desire to be
read to rather than any thought to if he had wanted to learn
French or not, Spike had eagerly jumped at the opportunity once
he had seen that it had gotten him away from a few bedroom
sessions with Angelus and Darla.

"Where the sodding hell is that coffee, what did the stupid cow
do, start digging a friggin well for the water?"

Book opened to the first page, the vampire froze as a gurgling
sound came from the baby monitor sitting on the lamp table next
to the couch that Cordelia had so recently vacated. Spike
relaxed when he heard the brunette woman’s soft voice soothe a
girzzling toddler back to sleep. At least he knew why the drink
was so slow in coming, grimacing when he thought of how cold it
was going to be. Still, the bitch had made herself useful and
that was the most important thing, the half-breed should be
thankful that the vampire was making an effort to get the woman
used to her wifely duties. The bleached blond couldn't suppress
a snicker when Cordelia whispered into the baby monitor that his
coffee was coming and not to whinge when he got it.

First chapter finished, Spike kept skimming the words, only
looking up when his drink finally arrived. Sure enough it was
almost stone cold but after a warning look from an expectant
brunette, he kept his mouth shut. Time passed slowly, the quiet
atmosphere of the library only broken by weary sighs coming from
opposite ends of the room.

"I think I've got something. It doesn’t actually say 'Soul of
Blood' but it is describing a person who is born soulless.
Apparently, the unfortunate person who is born without a
permanent soul of their own can 'host' any soul that is placed
in their body without the usual battle between their own and
the intruding one. The one that is sent into them can stay
indefinitely because there is nothing already there to force it
out. Well, that makes not so much sense to me...how about you
Blondy?"

"Don't ask me, ask Wankley. He's the head honcho with all this
crap. About sodding time something came up...he still up on the
third floor with Joyce?"

Nodding to the question, Cordelia told the vampire that the two
magic users were still erecting magic wards to each floor of the
Hyperion, doubling the protection for every single room. After
it had been decided that a Warlock had been in possession of the
bleached vampire, Wesley had launched into paranoid mode. The
ex-watcher and his voice advocate going from room to room and
setting up a barrier spell that prevented any magic item from
entering or leaving the room, the silver jewellery that Spike
wore made into the only exclusion. Each spell was taking almost
two hours as Wesley had had to work in a few clauses for safety
reasons such as the special jewellery, he had also included a
dampening effect that would stifle any attempts of magic use
in a room or hallway once the wards were in place, something
that could only be lifted and replaced again by a key word while
visualizing the area to be affected. One that everybody had
memorized.

Spikes room had been first, the spell taking almost all day as
Wesley and Joyce had tried to iron out the kinks in the spell.
The only rooms left were the unoccupied ones and the hotel
lobby, the sheer size of it ensuring that both Joyce and Wesley
would be out of action for a few days, the reason why it was
being left until last. After a bit of trial and error, it had
been found that spells were doubled in strength when Wesley and
Joyce performed the finger actions together with Wesley reciting
the words through Joyce, arms linked so that they touched. That
way, Wesley had found that he didn't end up blacking out, the
energy drain was shared equally between them. Any other way and
Wesley risked copping the full brunt of the spell drainage once
it was over, although Joyce was proving to be quite capable of
producing rather effective spell results by herself.

"Well, don't just sodding well sit there...go and show the
Poof’s arse boy and see what he has to say about it?"

"Wow..still making with the nice. Is it...David, what's wrong?"

"What? You still fucking here? Don't you have a company to
run, new Dungeons and Dragons movie to wank over....OW! Don't
hit the invalid, you stupid trollop of a bitch."

"Uhhh, I retired three years ago...keep going in because I get
bored at home, you know..help out a bit. Anyway, Francis just
had a vision of someone...Todd I think was the name he gave me.
Who's Todd...is there really a new D&D movie out? Wank...that's
the same as drool isn't it...just 'wank' being the English term?
Wonder if Kate wants to go? Ouch!"

The bleached vampire rolled his eyes as Cordelia shoved the
nerdy billionaire out of the way in her rush to get downstairs
and gather the details on the latest vision, Spike once again
rubbing an abused upper arm. His attention turned to the deep in
thought man, wondering how anybody so naive could be wealthy
enough to be able to retire at 35 and also be dating a hot piece
of arse like Kate Lockley. Barely able to suppress a snigger,
the demon did his best to answer the younger man with a straight
face.

"Yep, you're right...wank, drool..it’s all the same meaning. Use
it a bit, slot it in where it fits..anyway, Todd's one of the
kids we busted out of Eternal last year..you know, Mathew?
This'll be the first bit of info on them since they were bloody
well taken for a second time....Hey, be a pet and pass me the
crutches? Ta mate."

"Don't suppose you would go to the movie with me if Kate doesn't
want to...don't think D&D is her thing actually, doesn't quite
wank over it like I do...have you ever played yourself?"

In what was quite a rare occurrence since being turned, Spike
found himself speechless and just stared at the goofily grinning
man, the vampire standing motionless while balanced on his
crutches. Just how had Cordelia let this one slip through her
fingers? Why settle on a half-breed when quite obviously here
was a man that every woman wanted to be seen with? Grimacing,
he bit back the almost overwhelming amount of one-liners and
acid tinged expletives that were battling to make themselves
known to David Nabbitt, knowing that everyone in the hotel
including Joyce would be fighting to be the one to stake him if
he managed to offend their benefactor too much. So, going
completely against the grain, he said nothing and twisted his
face into a deeper grimace.

"Spike..Spike are you alright? Your foot hurting again?"

"Wha..nah mate, everything's fine....the movie..ummm, not really
my type either but thanks anyway."

"Oh...well, how about playing? I just got this new..."

"NO! Fuuuthanks again. Look, take this book to the twit upstairs
and I'll see how the Mutt and Slag are doing."

With that, the bleached vampire clacked out of the library as
fast as he could before David decided to try and bond some more.
He really did want to find out what Doyle had seen, curious to
know why the PTB would send a vision of one of the boys from
Eternal. Elevator reached, Spike sighed in relief as the small
lift started its journey downwards before the retired
businessman could enter the confined space with him.

==============================================

***WARNING***

***Character Death and unpleasant things ahead***

2.36 am

Last of the onslaught of demons dealt with, Graham found himself
still keyed up and ready to do battle with anything that came at
him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched as Riley and
Angel tried to subdue the one remaining demon without killing it
while the smaller ex-soldier slowly circled the main room with
his pump action shotgun at the ready.

"Christ Angel, just grab it will you?"

"Speak for yourself!"

The brunette vampire ducked and rolled as a set of massive
retractable claws whistled towards him, grunting in protest as
the creature managed to kick him in the ribs. Amnruth demons
were hard to grab hold of, especially when extremely pissed off
and no doubt about it, this one was. Riley was all for just
blowing its head off but Wesley had insisted that he wanted one
brought back to the hotel so that he could question it as to how
it had possession of Todd. They had been able to deal with the
other seven demons easily, Graham and Riley showing off their
skill at now being fully re-trained using their opposite hands
and had downed the demons in a matter of seconds, all with clear
head shots.

"Ri..Angel, step back"

BANG...BANG

Howling in agony, the mauve skinned Cyclops collapsed to the
ground as Graham blew both its knees apart. Unable to help
himself, Angel sympathised with the creature for a few seconds
before grabbing hold of one flailing arm just as Riley attached
himself to the other. Telling the two men to watch themselves,
Graham gave the demon a solid whap across the back of its head
with the shotgun butt, pausing for a moment to see if it was out
cold before he gave it another hard smack just for good measure.

"Thanks Gra...why the hell didn't we do that to begin with?"
panted an exhausted Riley to a shrugging game-faced vampire.
Demon hogtied with steel wire construction rope and rolled to
one corner of the blood drenched room, Angel told Graham to look
in the basement, Riley in the attic and upstairs rooms while he
checked out the ground level and to hurry, they had to be out
of the place before someone reported the gunshots. All men were
hoping that the boy was still alive and in one piece but after
hearing what Wesley had been able to tell them about the demons,
they weren't expecting much.

Stairs climbed slowly, the tall blond kept his shotgun aimed
forwards, sweeping the weapon from side to side as he stepped
into the upstairs hallway. Inspecting each room thoroughly,
including the toilet, Riley informed Angel and Graham that the
upstairs was secure, using the new Navy SEAL armed forces only
communications devices Graham had picked up a few day's ago.
Amazing what you could get your hands on when you joined a rifle

club made from ex-military types, something both Riley and
Graham had done in the hopes of being able to track down the men
who had turned Giles' wake into a bloodbath. No go with locating
the mercenaries as of yet but it was paying off with the amount
of specialized electronics and weaponry that had suddenly become
available to them.

Attic given the all clear, Riley gave a quiet chuckle as he
listened to Angel push every button in an effort to tell the two
ex-soldiers that the ground level was also clear only to start
back downstairs when Graham requested that Angel and Riley meet
him at the basement door. Trailing behind the brunette vampire
as they made their way towards the kitchen at the farthest end
of the house, Riley found his pulse rate increasing as Angel
suddenly clapped a hand over his nose and started gagging.

"Jesus...God!"

"You should smell it when I open the door...there's no light
down there and I can't find a torch...Angel, you go first,
you've got better eyesight in the dark," grimaced Graham,
pinching his nostrils shut with one hand, his expression
shifting to a bare smile as he watched his best friend do the
same when the blond took a big hit of the rotten odour emanating
from the behind the basement door.

"Riley..gaackk, there's a torch in the..cough...aaggh..car
trunk."

"Right, on it."

As Riley dashed back out of the house and towards the classic
car, Graham watched as the brunette vampire continued to dry
retch from the obnoxious smell. It was bad, quite possibly one
of the worst stenches he had ever had the opportunity to smell
but the smaller ex-soldier thanked god that he didn't have the
enhanced senses of the vampire. All three men had winced at the
foul odour that radiated from the old farmhouse the very moment
Angel had parked the car outside but compared to what was behind
the solid basement door, it was quite nice.

"Angel, go upstairs to the bathroom and see if there is any
Vicks or some other chest rub. If there is...bring it down."

Chest heaving, the brunette nodded thankful for the opportunity
to get away from the smell. He knew what was making the odour,
decomposing bodies as well as a few other things he didn't want
to think about, and he knew that they would find the houses
original inhabitants down in the basement. How many other
unfortunate people there were was the question. The smell was
too strong for just one or two bodies. Bathroom reached, Angel
wrenched open the cupboard. Throwing things left, right and
centre, he almost whooped in triumph when he located a small tub
of Vicks behind a home pregnancy test. Steps taken three at a
time, Angel ran back to the kitchen with the jar, placing it on
the kitchen bench. The vampire watched as the smaller man
twisted the lid off the jar and held it towards Angel as he
started to cough again.

"Right, smear this under your nose, it'll hide the smell a bit."

"Oooh..it..aarggk..stings."

As he finished smearing the steadily heating ointment underneath
his nostrils, Angel found his torch shoved at him, allowing
Riley and Graham to do the same with the Vicks. With his double
blade axe in one hand and torch in the other, the vampire held
the beam of light steady as Graham opened the basement door. As
one, the three men took a step backwards as the stench hit them
full force. Riley recovered first, giving the brunette a small
shove towards the stairs while both he and Graham followed the
vampire down into the basement.

"Uhhhh..."

The torch beam slowly showed the three men a countryside hell.
Wherever the light fell, there was a body in a decaying state.
Bottom of the stairs reached, both Riley and Graham found
themselves being violently ill, the vampire sounding like he
wasn't far behind them. As the smaller ex-soldier stood upright
again, chest heaving, Graham felt in his trouser pocket for
the tub of chest rub. Smearing another layer underneath his
nose, this time, he poked a finger full up each nostril,
ignoring the burn as the menthol and camphor soaked into the
sensitive tissue. Once Angel and Riley had followed his
actions, he slipped the jar back into its place while everyone
tried to get their bearings in the crowded space.

"Riley..Graham, there's..urrgh..*two* heartbeats down
here...one's...argck..almost gone...the other almost off the
scale....There! Look there, that's where the weak one’s coming
from."

Trying not to slip on the slimy flesh and rancid bodily fluids
that were decorating the basement floor, Angel quickly made his
way over to some of the more recently deceased corpses. Lifting
a few out of the way, Angel assisted by the two ex-soldiers so
that they could get to the heartbeat. What met their eyes as
they shifted the last one was horrifying. There, buried half
underneath the newer corpses was Todd.

"Oh God...Hey there..Todd..."

Graham honestly didn't know what else to say, what did you say
to someone who was in the process of dying because their
internal organs were leaking in a liquefied state from their
anus? The boy was lying on his side, his back facing the shaft
of light, giving the three men a clear view of the lumpy clotted
blood and tissue that flowed over the dirt encrusted thighs.
How Todd could still be alive was astonishing but the slow rise
and fall of the equally filthy chest was evidence enough. As
Angel and Riley moved a few paces away to his left, Graham knelt
down beside the youth, gently touching the young face. There
was not a sound from Todd, nor did he acknowledge their presence
in any way. The youth just stared straight ahead at the wall
infront of him, his blue iris' almost totally eclipsed by his
pupils.

Shifting the naked youth slightly only produced a deep sigh and
slow blink, the gory tide prompted into flowing faster. A hand
waved in front of Todd's face did nothing, a touch to his pupil
producing another slow blink, not the twitch that Graham had
hoped for. Wesley had told them that the demons sperm was
acidic, pretty harmless in small amounts, usually only causing
an uncomfortable sting. In large amounts, it would build up and
eventually eat away at the insides of the recipient and
liquifying, killing them in the end. No-one had wanted to know
just how the book's writer had known that, they just knew that
they had to get to the youth before it was too late, Doyle’s
vision having shown the demons repeatedly raping the boy.
Something that had distressed the Seer immensely, not to mention
everyone else when he had described it.

"Angel...Angel? He's gonna die isn't he?"

"Yeah Graham, he is...soon."

"Sure?"

"Yeah"

CRACK

The smaller ex-soldier gently twisted the youths head back the
correct way, laying Todd's head against the concrete floor
again. There was no way he was ever going to feel guilt or
regret for doing what he just had. Graham had given Todd the
kindest death he could. Rising to his feet, he gave the youth
one last look before he went to help Angel and Riley find the
other heartbeat. A glance at the vampire and he saw an
expression of understanding in the brown eyes even as Angel
switched back to his gameface just as he was feeling Riley
squeeze his shoulder. At an unspoken command, the three men
started to move towards where Angel had pinpointed the other
heartbeat as being, ignoring the swarming flies that crowded
over anything they could.

"Hey..it's alright..we're here to help you, you can come out
now..don't be afraid."

Quietly gesturing towards a relatively un-crowded dark corner,
Angel highlighted the area with the torch, while Riley and
Graham started to shift the few bodies in the way in between
being ill, the two humans thanking the higher beings that they
were wearing gloves even though they had been donned so they
didn't leave any fingerprints in the house. As they struggled
with a fairly large corpse, Angel kept up the re-assuring words,
wondering just how many bodies had been thrown into the
basement. So far, he had counted thirty-six and he knew there
was more. It looked like the demons had been residing in the
dilapidated house for a few weeks or more, abducting and
fucking anybody that had crossed their path. The vampire was
pretty sure that most of the immediate neighbours were amongst
the dead.

"Yep...you'll be home soon, back with your family...safe and
sound," stated Angel, almost choking again from the stench. As
if on cue, a thin wavery voice broke through the dank air.

"Aaaaangel?"

"Shit! Christopher...is that you?"

Instantly, Riley and Graham found themselves almost thrown out
of the way as the brunette vampire shoved past them in an effort
to reach the child buried under a badly decomposed black man.
Body hefted out of the way at last, Angel bent down and gathered
up the small boy, grinning like mad as he switched from
game-face to human.

"Are you alright Christopher...are you hurt?” asked the anxious
vampire, hugging the dirty naked child to his chest in a strong
grip. Unable to help themselves, the three men found themselves
laughing in relief as Christopher complained that he was hungry
and that he wanted a drink of water. Riley couldn't believe
their luck, Doyle’s vision certainly hadn't indicated the
man/child's presence, just the unfortunate Todd's. Torch and
axe taken off the vampire, Riley and Graham gave the crowded
basement one last sweep before stopping to remove the dead boy's
jewellery for Wesley to study. Once done, the two men ventured
back upstairs.

With a hastily washed and clothed Christopher clinging to Angel
and Graham in the backseat and a still unconscious demon in the
trunk of the classic car, Graham set off on the two and a half
hour drive back to the Hyperion.

Part Twenty-Nine  

Febuary 29, 2005

Various places,

3.25 am

***Warning***
***References to Child Sex***

Wesley
++++++++

We're in deep trouble and it’s only going to get worse. Things
are coming to a head finally between Angel and the much despised
Wolfram and Hart. Truly a group of people that make Angelus
look like an advertisement for Mother Teresa's Nanny Graduate of
the Week.

The most disgusting thing of all is to find out that we are all
just pawns in some sick plan that they are slowly unravelling.
None of us are too sure of what is going to happen but knowing
the law firm, it’s going to be catastrophic. Angel is almost
beside himself again with stress, I did something really silly
tonight and I'm hoping that it’s not going to rebound. I slipped
him a few sleeping tablets tonight in a glass of bourbon, the
foul taste of the liquid hiding any trace of the drug. He hates

bourbon, says that it reminds him of fly spray, it apparently
has the same smell. To get him to drink it, I told him that I
wanted to get fucked by a redneck and that smelling bourbon on
him would bring a little more reality.

He just slammed it down with only minor whinging and then
proceeded to chat me up with the worst Southern accent I have
ever heard. I had to keep kissing him to hide my laughter until
he fell asleep. Only drugged him so I could have a restful sleep
myself, I'm sick of him tossing and turning. It's all he's done
for the past week and a half. Even if he feels that he doesn't
need sleep, I do. I could just move into another room for a few
nights but that would just make him worse and more than likely
snarly at everybody. Something that no one deserves, especially
at a time like this.

We are all on edge about how Todd's death is going to affect the
future. Was he supposed to have a child somewhere down the
line, one that may have joined the good fight? Graham is trying
not to let the boy's death affect him but how can you just brush
aside something like that? I'm to blame for that really. I
couldn't help but shout at him, completely ignoring the fact
that he had done the best thing for the poor lad. Even after
Angel told me that Todd was going to die, I still blamed Graham
for murdering the boy. Surprisingly, it was Spike that made me
see sense. Took me aside and calmly told me that I was a wanker
and that maybe Todd's death was meant to be. Told me that maybe
it was Christopher that was meant to have children one day and
not Todd. He likened the boy to a dog, said that if you knew an

animal was going to die and was suffering, you would put it down
to save it more pain in the end. Graham was just doing the
same.

It stunned me that William the Bloody could put things into such

perspective. Of course, less than two seconds after I had been
nearly floored with such wisdom, I learnt that I was nothing
more than a limp wristed fag and since his Sire was getting
blown everyday, Spike didn't see why I couldn't blow him as
well. Needless to say, the bonding moment was shot to
smithereens. That was this morning and I still have to apologise
to Graham for being so callous. As soon as I do that then maybe
Joyce will start to talk to me again. The only one who will,
apart from Angel, is Christopher.

Apparently I'm an uncle now to the small boy/man. Doyle and
Cordelia are now Mum and Dad to him, something that he is
delighted in. I only wish that the title came under better
circumstances. The first night that Christopher came back, he
had a nightmare so he climbed into Cordelia and Doyle’s bed.
Snuggled down in-between them and everything was fine until
Doyle sneezed and spiked out. He then broke their hearts, he
said it was ok for Francis to have sex with him because the half
demon was nice and Christopher liked him. It was almost a repeat
of Xander, how the boy was so used to being abused, he really
didn't understand that there were other ways to live.

It had taken until the early hours of the morning for both
Cordelia and Doyle to make Christopher understand that no one in
the hotel was going to have sex with him. At first, they told
him it was because everybody was his friend and friends didn't
do that. Both Cordelia and Francis were ill after the small boy
had told them that his workmates at Sanity were his friends and
they had sex with him. Although they hadn't wanted to ask, they
hadn't been able to help themselves and they ended up learning
that Xander had indeed had sex with him.

Doyle had then told Christopher that all the men in the hotel
were actually his Uncles and that uncles didn't have sex with
their nephews. The small boy had cried because he wanted to
call Doyle Dad, something that Cordelia and Doyle had readily
agreed to. Upon learning what the small boy had told his new
parents, everyone including Spike had been horrified. We're now

more than ever concerned about Xander and the other boys’ mental
health. I wouldn't be surprised if having to do such dreadful
things has pushed them all into a hole that they can't climb out
of again. I only hope that Randall suffers for what he has
managed to do to so many lives.

It had really come as little surprise to learn of Wolfram and
Hart’s involvement with the club, Sanity. They had organized
the whole thing apparently including the auction. Angel and the
two ex-soldiers had cheerfully beaten the information out of
Todd and Christopher’s original buyer. The Exeth demon had
gifted the boys to the pack of Amnruth's after they had
performed a few tasks on the other demon’s behalf. We now know
that Lindsay McDonnell is Randall’s main contact at the law
firm.

After managing to find another boy, Leo, and having a talk to
his buyer, we have been able to put numerous pieces together. We
now know that Wolfram and Hart are behind everything that has
befallen us. They organized the kidnappings a second time
around and helped Randall set up Sanity. Tomas is a Warlock in
the firm’s employment, the reason why Angel’s demon contacts
have been reluctant to talk with him. Apparently, they had been
threatened with ending up in some sort of flotation tank in
which the man keeps his spare body parts for his work. He is
also the same man who had possession of Spike for so long. With
that in mind, we are very sure that it is the law firm that is
giving us the phone orders, after all, they would have had
access to Spike in order to blackmail us. We also suspect that
there is a tie between Wolfram and Hart and the 'Soul of Blood',
what exactly, we're not too sure.

We still don't quite know what the 'Soul of Blood' is but we do
know that it is to go into Spike unless there is a way to curse
him forever from being able to host a soul. Joyce and I managed
to cast enough spells and chant some incantations to learn that
Spike was indeed born without a permanent soul of his own. It's
quite sad actually, my theory is that he suffered dizzy spells
all his human life because he had numerous souls flitting in
and out of him over the years. The dizziness occurring as his
body tried to adjust to each one. Certainly, when we tried to
call forth just his in order to talk to it, we got flooded by
too many to actually count. Unfortunately, they were unable to
help us any with the 'Soul of Blood'.

Angel, Riley, Graham, Spike and myself are working on a way to
get to both Lindsay McDonnell and Randall Hargraves. We need to
find Sanity's boys faster, something that I'm sure Randall can
help us with. Also, we need to find out more about this 'Soul
of Blood' and what is so bad about it, apart from its name that
is. I just wish we could talk more with Leo but the poor boy is
deep into denial that there are demons. How he has actually
convinced himself of such a thing is beyond me but we do know he
wasn't born on the Hellmouth, which indicates there is more than
just the one kidnapping ring operating around the state. I'm
sure that both men can help us get into contact with the
organizers of the operations.

We're not naive enough to expect that we can totally wipe out
the slavery rings but if we manage to wipe out a few, it’s a big
step. I have to admit that I'm scared. Wolfram and Hart are no
lightweights in the field of making mischief, instead they seem
to have invented it. They are completely ruthless in whatever
they do. We have managed to stop them a few times over the
years, which is why they split us up and had Angel running all
around town for them. In all reality, why we are still alive is
another question. I know that if I were in their position, I
would have had all of us disposed of at the first opportunity.

And that most certainly is a thought that scares me the most.
What possible plans do they have for all of us? If they have
managed to unsettle us so much in the past, then they won't
hesitate to do it again. Because we don't know exactly what we
are dealing with, we are particularly vulnerable. I'm not the
only one scared. We all are. We're scared but we're also angry.

===============================================

Spike
=======

I'm scared. Yep, me. William the Bloody, murderer, rapist and
part of the Scourge of Europe. Disabled Will. The body bag of
spare gibbies.

Won't tell Peaches and the rest of them though. None of their
business really. But I am. I don't want a soul especially one
with a poncy dumbfuck name like the 'Soul of Blood'. I think
that the Watcher knows I'm scared, he watched me real close at
the meeting in the library this afternoon. When I went to give
him the usual finger, he just looked at me and gave me this
little half smile and such a quick nod, I really didn't think I
saw it at first. Didn't end up giving him the finger, just sort
of nodded back.

Wolfram and Hart.

Big building full of pricks that has even my poofter Sire
quaking in his boots. That was what really tipped me off that
things were heading up shit creek. Definitely no paddle in the
near future. Pretty sure it’s a barbed wire canoe as well.
Nothing scares Hairboy. Well, nothing up until now. As long as
the Angel of Painfulness has been in L.A., the law firm has been
a thorn in his side. Used to laugh at some of the things he
would rant and rave about at the 'Find Xander' meetings. His
voice would go all high, like a teenage girl who just discovered
she has tits.

Not laughing anymore.

I'm certainly not finding anything funny about being born
without a permanent soul. Woos reckons that’s why I was so sick
as a kid. I was apparently like a lightening rod, sucking souls
into me like a black hole. One comes in, makes me dizzy until I
was used to it, it then gets shoved out again by the next one, I
get dizzy until I get used to it and so on.

When those filthy gypo's cursed Angelus with a soul, they could
only put his back into him because that was the only that would
fit into his body. Even if they had tried to give him another
person’s soul, it wouldn't have worked because it wasn't
designed to fit in his body. With mediums it’s a bit different,
they can channel other peoples souls, host them for a bit in
their bodies but only until their permanent soul pushes it out
again. Wes reckons some people are born with this ability
naturally, others can learn it if they have a strong enough mind
to suppress their own souls to allow another to come into them
or some such rot.

I'm scared because Wes thinks that anybody's soul can fit my
body. If the soul resides long enough in my body, it will
eventually influence how I act and think. It would be able to
stay as long as it liked because I don't have anything already
in me to tell it to piss off again. Worse if the soul was bound
to me from ever leaving. Like Angel’s soul.

I won't be me anymore. I'll be whoever the soul is. I could be
the old man selling newspapers on the corner of 42nd street or
some twat from Australia who choked to death on a sausage roll.

I could even be Drusilla or at least that’s the general theory.

And it’s one that should be tested out because Dru is the only
one who can make real sense of this twaddle. First thing in the
morning, I'm gonna have a word to the Bobbsey Twins of magic and
see what they can do. We need an inside word on this.

I just hope that they can get rid of her again. Don't get me
wrong, I adore my Wicked Plum but I don't want her in me
forever. I don't look good in velvet empire style dresses and
that’s a theory that’s been tested.

Most of all, I'm scared because if Angel and the others can't
stop Wolfram and Hart, then I'm gonna get staked. The firm needs
me if they want to dabble around with souls and unless there is
another person in the world without a soul of their own then
they’re gonna come looking for me any day now.

Ironic that they had me under their noses all that time.

In the end though, me getting staked is gonna be the easiest
solution for them all.

===============================================

Xander
=======

He promised me that he would find me.

And he hasn't.

I was so sure that he was going to come walking through the
doors of Sanity on auction night. He was going to be flanked by
Wesley, Angel, Riley, Doyle and the other one, Graham. Together,
they were going to fight their way through all the demons, axes
and swords sweeping from side to side as they made their way
towards me. All the demons who were bidding at the auction
were going to drop to their knees in fear of Angel and Spike;
beg their forgiveness.

They were going to deliver justice to Randall for being the
monster that he is. I was so sure that I was going to see Angel
smash Adam into the ground before delivering the killing blow.
Angel was going to have to do it because Spike can't hurt
humans. Spike was the one who was going to find clothing for me
and wait until I got dressed while the others did the same for
the rest of my workmates.

Spike was going to let me hold his hand in the car back to the
Hyperion. We were going to have cake the next day in
celebration of us all being free and the wicked witch being
dead. I was going to stay safe with Spike forever, he was going
to look after me and he wasn't going to let anyone hurt me
again. Christopher was going to live with Doyle and Cordelia and
everyone else got to go home to their families or the Christian
Hostel. I was so sure that it was going to happen.

Spike promised he would find me.

He did, he really did promise.

Spike wouldn't lie to me.

He was going to kiss me when he saw me again. I was going to
see Mrs. Neal three times a week and go to the library with
Wesley twice a week. Cordelia was going to talk with me each
night after dinner and Christopher was going to watch TV with
me.

He is going to find me, I know that but it’s hard not to cry.

I know because that’s what I'm doing now.

I'm crying because Spike promised.

Part Thirty

March 4, 2005

St.Martins Cigar Bar - Men only.

11.21 am

"Join me in a cup of tea?" enquired a crisp English voice. At
the other man's nod, Joyce gestured at a passing waiter,
indicating for him to approach the table. Looking down for a
brief second, the older woman idly brushed at a non-existent
speck of dirt on her charcoal grey slacks. As the waiter
finished crossing the small distance to the table, the witch
ordered a pot of Earl Grey tea to be brought to the white linen
clad table. Once the waiter had smiled his approval at the
order, she turned her attention back to the man sitting opposite
her.

"Well Jerome, lets you and I discuss a little business while we
wait for our refreshments...you know, I've never been here
before and I must say I'm definitely thinking of coming again"
drawled Joyce with an almost careless glance around the cigar
smoke filled room. Heart beating almost out of her chest, she
let her eyes skim over the two laughing men only three tables
away. Momentarily reassured by their presence, she casually
rested a large forearm across a well muscled thigh as she
crossed her legs. Almost instantly, she found she had to
suppress
the desire to ask if it was the correct etiquette for a man to
cross his legs in the presence of fellow men. However, as she
wasn't told to reverse the action, Joyce gave Jerome a slight
smile as he extolled the virtues of relaxing every few weeks in
the men's only cigar bar.

"Mmmm, yes you're quite right. Completely lovely...Now
business?"

"Yes of course. What exactly is your client looking for?"

Taking in the silver-haired gentleman opposite her, Joyce
wondered just how someone, a human himself, could cause so much
misery to members of his own species. As she let Wesley's voice
flow through her, the older woman wished once again that she
hadn't been put in her current position. Conducting a business
deal with Randall Hargraves or as he was now calling himself,
Jerome Sheridan, was not something she had ever wanted to do.
The only thing consoling her was the knowledge that if she
managed to pull it off without any hiccups, she would be able to
lead the L.A. team to the man's current pit of depravity.

"That's the thing, he's actually not too sure. He does know that
he wants one from the Hellmouth, easier to adapt, right? Yes,
thought so"

Her head nodding as Randall explained that he had just got his
first batch of stock, Joyce had to concentrate on resisting the
temptation to attack the smooth-tongued man. With that thought
in mind, the woman realised that she was in fact the appropriate
choice to meet face to face with Randall - anyone else would
have
given into the urge. Conversation broken temporarily as the
waiter arrived with the tea, Joyce was slightly awed to see how
large her hands were as she attempted to grasp the delicate
teacup handle without snapping it off. As Angel's soft voice
vibrated inside of her right ear, thanks to the latest issue
army satellite communications device, the witch took a sip of
the fragrant brew as instructed, Wesley staying silent for the
moment.

"Mmmm lovely. Please, continue....You were saying that you can
make their looks to order..How?" gently asked the crisp accent
as Joyce furrowed her brows in compliance to the brunette
vampire's instructions. Thank God they had practised this sort
of thing before the actual meeting. Joyce hated to think what
would have happened if she had had to face Randall without being
allowed to get used to the glamour and various communication
devices. For the previous two days, Joyce had been officially
male, looking like a cross between Giles and Wesley. Your
average tweed wearing upper class Englishman.

In an effort to save its own skin, Leo's buyer had offered to
organise a meeting with the former brothel owner, an offer that
was immediately accepted. Angel had been all set to meet with
the older human until they had realised that Randall would
recognise him, Wolfram and Hart no doubt showing the pimp who
had freed the whores in the first place. Glamouring Angel had
been the next option but in a weird twist, it had been
discovered that the magic didn't cling too well to essentially
dead flesh, the new image tending to dissolve after a few
minutes. It had then been time for plan C - Someone else.
Doyle,
Wesley and Spike were immediately out of the question, as were
Riley and Graham as the two ex-soldiers proved unable to act
their way out of a paper bag.

That had essentially left Cordelia and Joyce. With Randall
expecting to meet with another male, the choice had been
narrowed to Joyce. It had been decided to use the voice talent
to everybody's advantage. So, for the next two days, Joyce had
been given a crash course on how to act like a male, once the
glamour had been applied. She had then had to get used to the
tiny ear piece and Angel's voice instructing her what to do
whilst she projected Wesley's voice.

The ear-piece wasn't the only piece of electronics the two
ex-soldiers had managed to pick up through one of their new
contacts. Joyce also had a small microphone taped to her chest
which transmitted straight to Wesley, Riley and Graham's ear
pieces. Angel and Wesley were keeping an eye on her via a link
to the small camera placed in the briefcase that Riley had
carried in with him, courtesy of David Nabbit's laptop computer
skills in a hotel room opposite the club. The only real
protection she had though, was an equally glamoured Riley and
Graham pretending to relax and soak up the atmosphere only a few
tables away. The whole point to the exercise was to get Randall
to agree to both Joyce and her 'client' going to view what was
available, a rush deal.

As she was instructed to take another sip of the Earl Grey,
Joyce smiled and nodded again as Randall told her about some of
the permanent changes he could arrange. Stomach churning at the
thought, she threw the first spanner in the older man's plans
for
her 'client'.

"Ahhh. That's a slight problem. My...client...is extremely
sensitive to any vibes that glamour projects. Yes, I
know...rather unfortunate. Quite allergic to them, actually his
whole..family..is. So, he would be after something quite natural
if possible"

"Right..Right. Well then, that makes it a little more
difficult. What I have at the moment is two white and blond, two
tanned and dark with the other white and light brown. All
natural, not going to change them until the deal's made"
admitted
Jerome, smiling at his customer. After a brief hesitation, the
former brothel owner told Joyce that both herself and her client
could come and choose from the available stock providing she
paid a deposit, nodding in satisfaction when the answer was a
suggestion of half the usual sale rate. If her client failed to
find his current stock to his liking, then the deposit would
ensure that the customer would have the first choice from the
next batch.

Another few minutes discussion about the money arrangements and
the older woman was quite amazed that the whoremonger didn't
want the deposit in cash, preferring to do things over the
internet. At Angel's instructions, she pretended to think it
over for a moment before giving Randall a wide grin and nod.

"Fantastic, you can just give the account details to my lawyer
when you arrive. He'll take everything from there...
Just out of curiosity, what type of client is he?"

"Yomlm. One thing though, because he's so allergic to the
enhancements, I do need to ask that you shut everything down
from the time he arrives till the time he goes....You will be
compensated for any incidents occurring due to this" came
Joyce's
immediate reply.

Three tables down, Riley and Graham gestured and nodded at each
other, simulating conversation even as they listened to Joyce
and Randall's transaction. Neither of them were happy for the
older woman to be so close to the action but there wasn't any
other option other than just clubbing the older man over the
head and then beating the information out of him once he
regained consciousness. Something that everyone really wanted
to
do but with so many lives at risk, they couldn't take that
option. As the two men continued to listen, they shot each
other a small cold smile as the former brothel owner indicated
that Lindsay McDonnell would be at the meeting in three nights
time.

It was going to make everything so much easier. Two birds with
one stone.

=======================================
Same time

Hyperion Hotel,

Stepping out of the lift and turning to her left, Cordelia
walked towards Leo's room, a plate of sandwiches held in one
hand
while her other grasped a glass of protein enriched milkshake.
With a wide smile plastered to her face, the brunette woman took
a deep breath to prepare herself for trying to have a talk to
the Asian youth. Plate and glass balanced in one hand, she
rapped twice on the doorframe, waiting to be acknowledged.

"Who is it? Who..who's there? You..you're there, why? Why are
you there? What's that? You're one of *them* aren't you?" came
the rapid fire questioning, the dark haired male angling his
head wildly in an effort to see if anyone was behind her as he
sat on his bed. Once established that she was alone, he leaned
back against the wall again, turning his unblinking gaze upon
her face while he idly picked at the hem of his pale blue shirt.

"Hi Leo, good to see you...I've got some sandwiches here.
There's cheese and pickled onions, peanut butter and jelly and
there's also some honey and banana. I wasn't sure what you'd
like...How are you today?" said Cordelia gently. The plate was
placed on top of the dresser, just next to the milkshake.
Standing beside the doorway, the brunette woman stood passively
as the slim youth continued to stare at her.

"Do I look hungry? Am I? Why are you feeding me? You're just
going to keep me forever and let me starve to death...You're a
thing..like the *others*"

"Honey...if we planned on starving you, we wouldn't feed you.
Please eat, you'll get sick if you don't. Leo...I'm human, just
like you. Just like Christopher and Robin and Wesley..like your
Mom and Dad..You can go home to them soon ok?"

"LIAR! You lie..Everyone lies! I know what you are..I *know*
where I am...as soon as I eat, I'm gonna be sleepy and I don't
want to be sleepy. You're gonna hurt me"

"Leo..we are *not* going to hurt you. Remember, Angel, Riley
and Graham came and got you off the demon an...."

"LIARLIARLIARLIAR! Yes, you are. There are no such things as
demons...only *those*. I know you put stuff in those sandwiches
and you're going to make me sleepy and I don't want to be"

"Yes, you're right. These sandwiches are going to make you
tired and then you'll go to sleep. Tell you what, I'll just
take these away ok?" asked Cordelia with a serious face, unable
to smile even as it looked like the reverse psychology was going
to work again. As she made a move to pick up the plate of
sandwiches, Leo's brow furrowed, the youth telling her that she
was lying again and that she really wanted him to starve to
death. Head nodding at the accusations, Cordelia worked up a
sad smile as the slim male got up from his bed and walked over
to the dresser.

Watching Leo sniff at a sandwich before taking a tiny bite, the
brunette woman's smile got a little bigger as the youth started
to convince himself that he was being poisoned. Every time that
Leo opened his mouth to say something, no-one was sure what was
going to come out. The dark haired male was currently convinced
that there were no such things as demons and that he was being
held prisoner by creatures that wore human skins. Creatures
that were either going to starve him to death or poison him.
How Leo could believe in 'creatures' but not demons was worrying
to say the least.

Cordelia turned and left the youth to his mutterings, secure in
the knowledge that even if most of the sandwiches were left
uneaten, Leo would have at least finished a glass full of one of
Wesley's special protein drinks. As she glanced down at her
watch, she realised that it was almost time for Robin's former
owner to come for a visit, a large smile gracing her face as she
felt her heart skip a beat. It was nothing short of a miracle
that Robin had been bought by such a kindly demon. Leo's former
owner had led Angel and the others to the Trunth demon only
three day's ago. The three men had burst into the demons
apartment, weapons at the ready, all gung-ho and anxious to
deliver justice to the obviously evil demon and rush the
victimised youth to safety.

What they hadn't counted on was, Robin leaping in front of the
slender white and grey mottled creature in order to protect it.
The two males had clutched at each other, screaming wildly,
terrified by the weapon wielding intruders. Both Robin and W'nth
trying to calm each other down in between telling the vampire
and
two ex-soldiers not to hurt the other. Finally, Riley and Graham
had managed to separate them amidst tears and wailing from them
being torn apart, the youth fainting under the stress. It had
been the demons quiet pleading for them not to hurt Robin that
had made the three men re-evaluate the situation, thinking that
there might just be more than what it looked like.

So, they had waited for Robin to regain consciousness while the
lightly furred demon had done its best to tell the men about his
relationship with the youth. Angel, Riley and Graham had been
staggered to find out that the two had been more or less
involved in a romantic nature since the demon had discovered
Sanity only a few day's after it had first opened. W'nth had
admitted that it had been a case of love at first sight for him,
Robin taking longer to feel the same. The demon had told the
trio of how he had asked to buy Robin everyday with Randall
always refusing, therefore leaping onto the opportunity when it
presented itself.

Robin had confirmed everything once he had come around, begging
the three men not to hurt the demon. After more discussion and
tears, the youth had agreed to come back to the Hyperion for his
own safety but only if W'nth could visit daily. Once back at
the hotel, Robin had told them everything. About how he had
been 'encouraged' to leave the house, the re-training process
and the events leading to the auction.

Head shaken, Cordelia walked down the second floor corridor
until she reached Robin's room, knocking lightly at the door.

"Come in..Is he here yet?"

"Hey Robin and no, he isn't yet but he won't be too far away.
Wow, you look good...Dressing to impress, hmmmm?" grinned the
brunette woman. With a glance, she took in the light camel
slacks and dark grey knitted pullover, noting that the youth
blushed at her words. The very idea that Robin could find love
after all he had been through, especially with a demon, was
something that was giving hope to everyone regarding the boy's
future.

"I want to look nice for him. He..He's good to me" came the soft
reply, Robin smiling shyly as the blush deepened. Ducking his
head as he giggled slightly, the blond sat on his bed and
reached for his shoes and socks.

"You don't have to stay with him just because he's good to
you...I mean you can go home, back to your parents. I'm sure
that you two are always going to be friends?"

"No. I can't go home. Not again. If I get taken again, its
going to kill my parents and sister. You haven't called them
yet
have you?" asked Robin, suddenly anxious. "Even if I don't get
taken, the never knowing if and when is just going to drive them
to an early grave. It's better if they think I'm dead"

"You can't be serious? I know that you're not loopy like Leo
but that is just stupid...I'm *sorry* but it is"

"If I'm dead, they can go on with their lives. They can weep
over a photo each birthday, Christmas and Thanksgiving. They
can tell my nieces and nephews all about me an....I'm finally
happy and I have someone who loves me. He's ugly and furry and
he's spotty. He has really bad breath in the morning,
especially after he's eaten anything with pesto sauce the night
before...and he never closes the shower door so the bathroom
floods each time and he always forgets to replace the bin liner
bu.."

"But, just because you think you owe him for being nice to you
doesn't mean you should deny your family from ever seeing you
again. What about if you have children, how can you deny your
children their grandparents?" asked Cordelia, arms crossed over
her chest as she looked at the youth with compassion. She knew
that Wesley, Angel and even Joyce had been down this track with
Robin before but it didn't hurt to try it again. Everyone
wanted to be sure that Robin was only staying with the demon out
of love and not obligation but from what they had seen, love was
definitely a major factor in the relationship.

"Please..as I was saying, I'm happy because he loves me. He
told me that the first time he hired me and he didn't lay one
finger on me. Not the first time, not the second time and he
didn't touch me the third time either. He waited for me to touch
him and it took a while. There..there was a hi..hire that hurt
me so badly and all Adam did was yell at me and I was hurting
because both my arms and my right leg were broken. W'nth wanted
to hire me straight afterwards but Adam said he couldn't until
after I was better." whispered Robin, his gaze focused on the
wall just behind Cordelia. Fingers playing nervously with his
shoelaces, the youth continued.

"He stood up to Adam but when that didn't work, he bribed one of
the Keepers to sneak him through to my sleeping cubicle for a
few hours. He cried....he sat on the floor next to my mattress
and cried. I was in so much pain but all I could think was that
I was happy to see him. *He* made me happy. How do I tell my
Mom and Dad that I'm gay? Better yet, in love with a demon?
What do I tell them when they ask why I'm not getting any
older?" demanded the youth in soft voice, barely above a
whisper, a few tears falling from his bright blue eyes. "I feel
like you're all trying to break us up and that's not fair...What
I have with W'nth might not last for ever but...I want to see
where it goes. Please, I want the chance to do it"

"Oh Robin...I..I'm sorry, we're not trying to break you up. I
just so don't want you to make a mistake. You really do love
him,
don't you?" softly enquired the brunette, wiping a tear away
from her own eyes.

"Yes" stated Robin, rising from the bed now that his laces where
tied tightly. Face wiped free from the tears, he sniffled into a
tissue while offering the box from his bedside table to
Cordelia.

Hands smoothing down the front of his pale slacks, he asked the
woman if he was presentable, earning himself rolled eyes and a
snort from the older human.

"Yes..Of course. Come on, he's probably already down in the
kitchen and having a stress attack because you're not down there
yet...I wonder how he went today?" mused the brunette as Robin
tried not to show how much he wanted to run down the stairs.
God, if all had gone well with W'nth, Xander should be back in
the Hyperion the next day. The demon had met with a few of his
friends who knew which demons had brought some of the other
boys, Scott, Aiden and Ashley, the last two being sold together.


W'nth wasn't too sure where the rest of the boys were but had
been horribly distressed when he had learnt about Todd's death,
vowing to help Angel get the others back, something that had
helped the demon become somewhat accepted. Surprisingly, it
hadn't been that hard to do. The lightly furred male was one of
the nicest people that Cordelia had ever known. Still, with that
in mind, she had asked everyone to keep an eye on Christopher
whenever the demon was visiting the hotel as she wasn't too sure
what would happen if they were left alone together and she
really didn't want to find out either.

Smiling to herself again, the brunette woman felt the excitement
well up again at the thought of Xander returning to the
Hyperion. She knew that everyone else was excited as well.
Christopher had been asking when the younger man would be back
every waking minute that he wasn't occupied with reading to the
twins. Angel and Spike however, had acted weirdly upon learning
that Xander would be back at the hotel in only a few days.
Spike had growled, snapped and snarled at everyone who tried to
tell him it wasn't a good idea for him to help collect Xander
from his buyer. The blond demon had steadily worked himself
into what could only be termed as a fit of hysterics, vampire
style.

After yelling and insulting everyone hadn't worked, Spike had
vamped out and started making odd little whine/growl noises that
rattled right in the back of his throat, looking directly at
Angel. The two vampires had stared at each other for a good
minute, Angel being silent while the smaller demon continued to
make the thick watery sounds. In a move almost too quick to
register, Angel had suddenly been only a few inches away from
his Childe, standing in front of him also in full game-face.
Cordelia still didn't really believe what had happened next.
Angel had spoken to the younger male in a firm voice, full of
command. He had said only two words. 'Childe' and 'No', and
without one bit of argument, Spike had dropped his head and
nodded, the whining noises stopping instantly.

Cordelia knew she hadn't been the only one staring at the
vampires, and she also knew that she wasn't the only one
wondering just how Angel had made Spike obey him without beating
him into the ground.


====================================================

Tomas' Inner Workroom

Same time

"Well, thank goodness that's all done!" exclaimed the bone-weary
Warlock. Arms lifted from his sides, he flexed his fingers while
rotating his wrists to alleviate the muscle soreness. Something
that he felt in every fibre of his body. Shoulders also rotated
a few times, he winced as he heard the bones creak and groan
before finally feeling a crack between his shoulder blades when
he hugged his arms to his chest in a tight grip.

"Ahhhhhh...sooooo goooood. Bloody tired though"

Neck cricked from side to side a few times, the dark-haired male
awkwardly rose from his knees to his feet, swaying a little as
the blood rushed to his head. His legs made themselves the
centre of attention as pins and needles scurried their way from
his buttocks to the very tips of his toes. Lip bitten in an
effort not to start squealing from the unpleasant experience,
Tomas stiffly walked around the blood drenched room, feet
squelching in the soggy wet carpet.

He was thankful that most of the hard work was over now. All
the
souls that Wolfram and Hart wanted were now stored in their
transitional vessels, a place that they would stay before being
combined into one soul and transferred into the appropriate
host.

"Soul of Blood....yep.." snorted the Warlock, smug in the
knowledge that their was no way for the law firm to keep an eye
on him, not with all the cloaking magic at work. He still had
no idea of why the senior partners wanted to dabble in something
so stupid but then again, as long as he got paid, then Tomas
really didn't care. Who cared how many psychos and insane
genius' were crammed into one body? Taking a long slow look
around the small room, Tomas was once again astounded at how
much blood had been used in the rituals. Almost a pint for each
soul had been splashed around the room, coating the floor,
ceiling and walls, not to mention his own entire body.

The blood that had called forth all the required souls had
brought the darkest aspects of the personalities to full
fruition, binding them to the forefront of the soul while all
the more 'human' qualities had been suppressed to the point of
being non-existent. Whoever was going to host the 'soul', was
going to be certifiably insane once the body adjusted properly.
With the type of personality mix of the souls that had been cast
into their temporary homes, Tomas wouldn't be surprised if the
host broke free within a year and managed to destroy most of
America single handedly. Of course, Tomas would be hopefully
closer to finding his brother and returning them both to England
before jumping to a much safer dimension.

With a sigh, Tomas knew that he would have to rest for at least
another week or two for him to be strong enough to start the
search for the one born without a soul. The pins and needles
finally beginning to diminish a little, the Warlock took a look
around the deep crimson room, wondering how long it would take
April to finish cleaning the blood from the walls and ceiling.
Bare foot raised, he grimaced slightly as the thick liquid
dripped from his small toes. He needed a shower and then a long
soak in a bath with some camomile oil to help him relax and the
carpet certainly needed replacing.

A groan as he glanced at the fifty two various statues and bowls
that currently hosted the souls and Tomas caught himself
thinking about how long it was going to take him to actually
pinpoint the correct host. He would have to cast the spell
world wide first and then each day, he would have to tweak it in
order to narrow the spell down. It had to be done very gently
so as not to tear the spell apart or even let it develop a
minute rip, he would have to have patience. He only hoped that
the senior partners would continue to be so willing to give him
space and time.

They were not 'people' that he wanted to get impatient.