(This part, third person POV)
When Giles and Buffy entered the main office of the hotel they were greeted by both Cordelia and Wesley, who were sitting on the sofa, looking at Angel's still form on another sofa, opposite from them. Buffy put Spike down next to Angel, then sat down on his other side and took his hand protectively. Surprisingly, both vampires had nearly identical expressions of anguish on their faces. "Any leads?" She asked quietly.
"None as yet." Wesley shook his head, "There are still several books we haven't checked. Rupert?" He rose and the former watcher joined him in the library. Buffy and Cordelia sat there, worried, until Buffy snapped that she couldn't stand it anymore and went to help Giles research, with Cordelia trailing behind her. After two hours of research, the only conclusions they had reached were that the vampires were probably affected by a kind of possession or spell that wasn't in any of the books. Also, they seemed to be sharing the nightmare, or the possession, between them, moving simultaneously and in the same way. The researching party had moved to the living room so that the humans could keep an eye on the vampires. Right before seven am, the sun rose.
Just as Buffy moved to close the curtains and keep the sun out, both vampires arched their backs and screamed, a keening shriek that made the hair on the back of Buffy's neck stand and made Cordelia drop her cup in alarm. After that, both were completely silent and still.
"Now what?" Cordelia asked fearfully, and with a slight note of irritation in her voice, "They've been at it all night, and now..." She waved her hand at them, "Looks like whatever it was is over, but what do we do now?"
"We keep researching, Cordy, until we find something we can do to help them." Buffy opened the next book a bit too forcefully, sending up a cloud of dust.
"But what if we can't do anything?" the other girl asked, "What if they stay like this forever?"
"Then- Angel!" Buffy was saved from answering when Angel moved slightly, lifting his head and looking at the other blearily. Buffy sat down gently on the edge of the sofa next to him, and touched his shoulder lightly. He blinked at her.
"Buffy? What- Oh, God..." His eyes widened, then filled with tears, "Dru..." He put his arms around Buffy instinctively, and buried his head in her shoulder, trembling violently, "Dru..."
"Angel, what happened?" Buffy asked, surprised at his distress, "What happened to Dru?"
"They killed her." Angel looked at the humans, his eyes haunted with endless sadness, "They killed Drusilla."
%%%%
Buffy held Angel and stroked his hair until he calmed down enough to talk, looking worriedly at the others over his shoulder. None of them had seen Angel like that, except for that time he got back from Hell...Buffy shuddered at the memory. After almost half an hour, Angel looked up again, wiped his eyes, and gave them a slightly embarrassed look. "Sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about," Buffy nearly kissed him, but remembered just in time that she really shouldn't. "Just tell us what happened to you. And why."
"It's..." Angel took a deep breath, "Kinda hard to explain. Someone, or someones, went and killed my Childe." His voice hardened in anger. "They captured her, tortured her, and left her out in the sun to die, which she did, of course." He clenched his hands and unclenched them with difficulty, barely keeping his demon under control. "Bastards. Dead Bastards, when I get them."
"I'm sorry." Buffy tried to sound sincere but couldn't. She was sorry to see Angel sad, but was more than slightly relieved that his insane Childe was dead. She was a lot less dangerous as a pile of dust. "But why were you and Spike pulled into it?"
"Where is he?" Angel asked, looking around until his eyes found the blond vampire, still out cold on the couch. "I'm glad you brought him over. He's going to need people around when he wakes up."
"Do these people have to be us, though?" Cordelia stage-whispered. Both Buffy and Angel glared at her, and she shrugged a half-hearted apology.
Angel sighed and passed a hand over his eyes. "Drusilla was connected to both of us by blood, and she used that connection to draw strength from us and share her pain. If we hadn't helped, she'd have died from the shock to her system hours ago. We both...we both felt her die." A stray tear found its way down his face, "My last Childe..."
"Your last?" Wesley asked with a researcher's curiosity.
"Yeah." Angel's eyes clouded in pain and regret as he walked down memory lane, sharing history with the others.
"I only made five vampires worth mentioning-the others were simply minions. First there was Penn- you've met him, Cordy. I turned him about a month after Darla gave me permission to. I'd had my eye on him for weeks before. Must have been 1780 or so. We were happy, just the three of us." He smiled sadly, "He died last year, and I was there with him. I nearly did it myself, but Kate beat me to it. Then there were Annie and Constance...Beautiful Parisian streetwalkers. I turned them together, right after the revolution. They lived like sisters, were never apart for more than a few days." Angel stopped for a moment to calm himself before continuing, "They were together when a Russian Slayer killed them in 1859. Penn was long gone by then, left to look for his own way. I was...Mad with grief." He closed his eyes in remembered pain, and Buffy hugged him again, "I became crueler than ever. Even Darla was impressed. I found the Slayer, fought her and killed her. Slowly."
"You killed a Slayer?" Giles was surprised, "It's not in any of the records."
"I don't talk about it much." Angel shrugged, "She's listed as KU- Killer unknown. She disappeared for a while, then reappeared- a bit of her in every European capital. I took the head with me to London." He saw the disgusted look on Buffy's face, "I'm sorry, but you asked. I'm not proud of anything Angelus did, but I can't deny it. He was evil. I'm not him." He took her hand, and she squeezed it back. "In England, I started to stalk Drusilla. She was the sweetest girl you could imagine, when she lived. Pure, and beautiful, and good. She was going to join a convent. I destroyed all that. I followed her, talked to her at night, pulled every ugly thought and forbidden desire out of her. I drove her insane. The night, before she joined the convent, I turned her." He sighed again, "She was like a child, only her little games were deadly. I loved her deeply, despite her insanity. The only other vampire I turned was Martin- another Frenchman. I turned him in 1845 or thereabouts, and he'd left by 1850. I felt him die sometime in the 60's. He drank drugged blood, and figured it would be interesting to check if he could see the sun for once. You can guess the rest. It's funny..." His eyes filled with tears again, "In those last moments, Dru was saner than I've ever seen her-completely clear and lucid. Her last thought-" His voice broke, "Was that the sun was so pretty...Just as she remembered it. Oh, God..." He buried his face in his hands, his body shaking with silent sobs.
"Wait-" Cordelia said suddenly, unable to stand the tense, grief-filled silence anymore, "What about Spike?"
"He's Drusilla's, not Angel's." Buffy answered before the vampire could speak, "But I suppose he is considered your Childe, 'cause he's a part of your bloodline, right?"
"Spike is a special case." Angel shook his head slightly, "A rarity among vampires-he has two Sires."
"The records haven't been very clear about that, now that I think about it." Giles said, "I should have thought about asking you a long time ago."
"He is fully Drusilla's Childe- she drained him, and gave him her blood. That alone would make him automatically mine as well, but this is Dru we're talking about. Nothing was ever normal with her. Oh God," Angel groaned, "I'm already talking about her in the past tense. Anyway, when it was time to let him drink her blood, Dru panicked. Some of it did get into him, but not enough to turn him into a full vampire. He'd have ended up a brainless minion, like the others. I knew she wanted a new plaything, and that I'd have to put up with her tears for weeks when she realized it didn't work, so I let him drink mine and vamped him completely. Sometimes I think that was one of the worst mistakes I ever made." He looked at the comatose vampire, "Then again, most of the time I don't. And now he's the only one left, and he's going to be a wreck when he wakes up. Feeling your Sire die is very traumatizing."
"But you killed Darla, and Penn died- how come you're not freaking out?" Cordelia asked.
"Neither of them established a mental connection at the moment of Final Death. If Darla had, I wouldn't have been able to kill her, probably. Or if I had, I would've killed myself almost immediately afterwards. As it were, you didn't see me when I got home that night. The same with Penn."
"You were broodier than usual for days, if I remember correctly, but I thought that was because Kate found out about you being a vampire." Cordelia nodded.
"Oh, no, I was OK with that."
"Who's Kate?" Buffy asked casually.
"A cop. She used to be a friend of Angel's." Cordelia replied flippantly, ignoring Buffy's jealous glare.
"There's nothing going on between us." Angel added quickly, "Not after..." He couldn't bring himself to tell Buffy how he'd nearly killed Kate. Buffy forced herself to smile.
"You're allowed to have a relationship, Angel. We're not together anymore. Just as long as you don't lose your soul again, yeah?" She said lightly.
"Yeah, 'cause that would be real shitty, mate." The slightly hoarse voice interrupted them, and they all turned to stare at Spike. The blond vampire seemed to be undisturbed by the sudden change in his surroundings, or by Angel's presence. He certainly didn't look traumatized, Buffy thought. He got up, stretched himself, and headed for the door without saying another word. He was halfway down the hall, heading for the lobby, when Angel caught up with him.
"Spike, where are you going?"
"They killed my Sire. I'm gonna find 'em and kill 'em." He explained rationally.
"Spike, stop!" Angel yelled, seeing his grandchilde advancing towards the sunlight outside. The younger vampire ignored him and moved on, down the stairs to the ground floor. "Stop right there!" Angel used a tone that he hadn't used in years- the Master's voice that brooked no argument and required no response other than "Yes, sir." Spike hesitated for a moment, then stopped, still facing away from Angel.
"What is it?" He asked tiredly.
"It's half past seven, boy. The sun's shining. If you go out now, you'll burn." Angel explained slowly, as if talking to a child.
"Yeah. You have a point, there. I guess I can wait a few hours then." Spike nodded, and turned to the nearest room. "See you after sunset. Until then, leave. Me. Alone." He growled. "Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid."
"See that you don't." Angel threatened. Spike snorted in derision. The door to the room he chose was closed and locked before Angel could stop it. He glared at the door, sighed and left.
"He wants us to leave him alone, but I'm really not sure we should." Angel reported when he got back to the upper floor. "I think we both need to sleep on it."
"Go get some sleep, Angel." Buffy said reassuringly.
"Yeah, we'll hold down the fort." Cordelia added, "We won't wake you unless it was a matter of life and undeath."
"If you can make bad puns, everything's fine." Angel gave them a tired near-smile, "But I still don't feel too comfortable...Buffy, could you keep an eye on room 105? Spike's shut himself in there, and I want to make sure he doesn't get out and do something silly like getting himself staked." He tried to contact Spike's mind, but was shut out with more force than he'd expected.
"Sure. I'll make sure he stays in, or with one of us." Buffy patted his arm. "Go. Sleep. We'll see you after sunset." Angel nodded and went to his room with his eyes already half closed. He made sure the room was completely dark, then allowed himself to burrow under the covers and sink into a warm oblivion, in which his family was whole and happy. He whimpered as, one by one, they all disappeared, leaving him alone. Nearly alone- there was still one, taunting him and tormenting him, and he protested the unfairness of it. Of all my Childer, you have to leave me the one who rejects me? He asked the Powers, Why him? Why me? The Powers just smiled enigmatically, as usual giving away nothing. In his dream, he wondered why Cordelia hadn't had a vision about Drusilla...Then decided it didn't matter. It had happened, and he couldn't change that. The issue resolved, he settled into a calm, dreamless sleep.
%%%
When Angel woke up, much later than he usually did, he asked Cordelia the question.
"I don't know. I don't have any control over the visions, you know." She replied, "Probably for the same reason Doyle didn't see Spike get chipped, or himself die." She frowned. "Sometimes those Powers are real bastards. Or," she tilted her head to one side and looked surprised, "Maybe they shared most everyone else's opinion about Drusilla and thought she was better off gone."
"Who are these 'Powers' you keep talking about?" Giles asked quickly, less because he didn't know and more because Angel looked like he was either going to burst into tears again, or tear Cordelia's head off her shoulders.
"The Powers That Be. They give me the visions. I guess they didn't want Angel to do anything about it. They're weird like that." She replied. Angel took a deep breath to calm himself, nodded and went to the fridge to get himself something to drink. He put the container of blood in the microwave, and remembered that someone had to get Spike something as well.
"Where's Buffy?"
"Still watching Spike's closed door. He hasn't even tried to get out."
"That's funny." Angel frowned, "Spike would normally be climbing the walls after a whole day alone in an empty room, even if he is as depressed as he should be."
"Maybe he isn't..." Wesley started, stumbling over the words, "Maybe he isn't as deeply affected as you were-as you thought he is."
"I don't think even Spike would be that heartless. He loved Dru more than I did. She was the center of his universe for over a century, and even if they did have an ugly breakup, he still cared about her. I mean, just the fact that he's closed himself off like that indicates that he's hurting." The vampire shook his head. "I'll go see if I can talk to him." He walked down the stairs, sending his thoughts out to search his youngest descendant's mind, and found an unusually open mind in turmoil, but not in pain. There was no feeling of closed space, and Angel sped his pace slightly, worried. He found Buffy dozing against the door to room 105. She started awake at the sound of his steps.
"Angel. Hi. What time is it?"
"After ten. Has he tried to leave?"
"Nope. I've been leaning against the door all day. He couldn't have left without waking me up. I was kinda tired." She explained, standing up.
"OK." Angel jiggled the handle, and the door opened easily into an empty room. He swore in anger. "He got away. Dammit!" He punched the wall.
"But, but I watched the door!" Buffy protested.
"Yeah, but he was gone by the time you got here. Probably slipped out in the time it took me to send you down. Damn." Angel hit the wall again in frustration, "I always underestimate his intelligence. And we have no way of knowing where the hell he went!"
****
I don't think I've ever seen Angel this angry or worried. I may have, but I can't remember it. As it turns out, he has an impressive vocabulary when it comes to swear words- in several languages, too. He made Wesley blush. It took me about five minutes to get him to stop pacing and cursing the air, and explain to the others what happened. They were suitably not concerned. Seriously- Spike is a big boy, and he's been to LA before. He can take care of himself. Angel didn't seem to understand that.
"Angel, just calm down." I tried again, "He'll be back. He probably just went out to get cigarettes or something." That didn't sound convincing even to me.
"Really, Angel, Spike is a grown...vampire, and he wants some space." Surprisingly, it was Giles who was defending Spike. "We should be kind enough to give him the privacy he needs."
"Maybe he just didn't want to see you." Cordelia added. I shot her a look, but she continued, "I mean, we all know he doesn't like you much, and last time you two had a family reunion..." I glared at her when Angel closed his eyes with a pained look, but she just had to finish, "He's probably scared that you'll want revenge."
"Then he'd have waited until sunset, and just left from where he was. He knew I wouldn't hurt him. I just know he's out there, trying to get himself killed, or drinking himself into unconsciousness. I have to find him." Angel said desperately, "I lost all the others. I can't lose him too."
"So do the mind-connection thingie you have." Cordelia waved her hand vaguely.
"I can't. Well, I can, but I can't get anything clear out of him. Every time I get close, he kicks me out. I keep...Kept in touch with all my Childer, but he's too strong now."
"Do you have any idea where he could have gone?" I asked, trying to get him out of the funk and into some constructive action. Oh God, I'm thinking like Giles. This can't be good for me.
"One or two. If he saw as much of Dru's memories as I have, he knows of a place, like a fight club for demons. It seems like a good place to start."
"When was she in LA?" Giles asked, "Because the club might not be there-"
"She was here a couple of months ago. She and Darla." Angel replied.
"Um..." That threw me for a loop, "Didn't you kill Darla?"
"I did." He said sadly, "But a group of-"
"Nasty creepoids." Cordy supplied. He looked at her gratefully.
"Found a way to revive her. Only she was human, and dying. Then Drusilla turned her again, and they both tried to bring Angelus back. It didn't quite work, as you can see." He said bitterly, "But it nearly did. I was very close to the edge for a while. Then they left. I don't know where they are. Or, more correctly, where Darla is. Oh..." Angel thought for a moment, then added in a tight voice, "I just realized that it's possible that Darla is also...Gone. I don't have a bond with her, and...No..." He shook his head hard, and the look of despair in his eyes nearly broke my heart. Then his face hardened, "We have to find whoever it was and make them pay." OK, now he looked positively scary. Whoever those guys are, I don't envy them.
"Yeah, but first you need to find Spike, right?" Cordelia was trying to distract Angel from the whole vengeance track, and since it seemed to be working I didn't try to help.
"Yeah, before he gets himself killed." Angel nodded.
"Why are you so sure that he'll be suicidal?" Wesley asked. Sometimes, I don't understand those Watcher types. They have no tact.
"Because he loved her." Angel repeated for the millionth time, slowly and clearly.
"Demons can't love." Oh, God, not that again. I thought Wesley, as a Watcher, would know. Giles gave him this disgusted look. See? Giles understands.
"Yes they can." I said before Angel could explode at them. "Demons can love, Ok? 'Well, but not wisely.'" I quoted, then flushed as I realized what I was quoting. Giles and Angel looked at me funny, but for different reasons, I hoped. What would Angel do if he found out about Spike's crush on me?
"Buffy? What's wrong?" He asked now, and I couldn't lie. Here goes nothing.
"Um..." I recounted what had happened a month earlier, when Drusilla had visited. "And the last I saw of her, she was slinking out of the crypt into the night." I finished, looking at the others warily. Giles looked worried, and slightly hurt that I kept some details from him earlier. Cordelia looked disgusted, but fascinated. Wesley...he was a mix of the two-both worried and interested. Finally, I turned to Angel. He looked strangely resigned.
"So that's what it was all about." He sighed, slumping in his couch. "I should have known."
"Known what?" It was my turn not to understand.
"Dru...She spoke to me, through our bond. She told me that she still loved me, but was angry with me for...things I'd done." It was clear he wasn't about to share what those things had been, "And she told me to tell Spike that she still loved him, too, but was furious with him for something she wouldn't tell me about, and her parting gift would be making us both hate each other. Now I know what she was talking about." He looked at the ceiling. "Damn."
"What are you going to do about it?" I asked quietly. Angel tends to be jealous, even if we aren't officially together. Just look at what he did to poor Riley.
"I don't know yet." He stood up and drained the last of the blood in his mug. "Let's find him first. Then I'll decide."
"How much backup will you need?" Cordelia stood up as well. It almost hurt to see what a good team they make. His reply made up for it, though.
"I'll take Buffy. It's not a good place for humans to be for very long. You three stay here. We'll be back by sunrise."
"We have to start going back to Sunnydale." Giles reminded me, and I scowled at him. This was more important than patrol. The gang could take care of themselves for a few days. I told him that, and he nodded in understanding. "Very well. But remember that you have other responsibilities. Dawn misses you."
"I've only been gone 24 hours. The witches are probably spoiling her rotten." I smiled, "Let's go."