Possession
Author: Lilithangel
Email: abchainey@xtra.co.nz
Website: www.livejournal.com/users/lilithbint
Fandom(s): AtS
Genre: Supernatural
Pairings/Characters: Spike, Angel
and the rest of the Angel gang.
Rating: includes horror themes.
Disclaimer: don't own anything, not making any money from this, not
mine (but would keep them if they followed me home).
Warnings: none
really, no sex (shock horror) just something for Halloween.
Summary:
Set between Hell Bound and Life of the Party when Spike is still a
ghost. There were no ghosts in Wolfram & Hart due to Pavayne
feeding them to hell, so what happens with him gone?
* * * * *
Spike wandered the corridors that had been Pavayne's domain at Wolfram & Hart. They had been empty for a time after his capture but now Spike could feel a change. Halloween was coming up soon and despite the modern world it was still an ancient time when the veil between worlds thinned and allowed all manner of things through.
Everyone was wrapped in their own problems; only Fred still tried to find a way to bring him out of the hell existence he inhabited. Even though they had all been amazed and pleased that Spike had saved Fred none of the others seemed to understand what he had given up to save her.
Fred knew because he had let her see a little of the hell he was running from but although Fred had told the others they didn't really care. Angel saw it as only fitting and Spike knew that deep down Angel believed hell was what they both deserved.
Wesley and Gunn were slowly changing, being sucked into the subtle world of grey that Wolfram & Hart peddled so well, a world of compromise and making choices where nobody would win.
Lorne was wearing himself out planning some big bash for Halloween, Spike could see he was hanging on by a thread but nobody saw what he saw and nobody cared enough to ask him.
Angel was being Angel, making decisions for everyone with his own warped sense of guilt overriding everything. Spike could almost taste the secrets that threatened to overwhelm and smother him.
So Spike continued to wander the bowels of Wolfram & Hart nosing out the darkness that rotted the very fabric of the place. There was no mission down here for Spike, no reason for his presence except his all pervading fear of what awaited him beyond the thread of existence he still maintained.
The light here was a sickly yellow that could not battle the shadows that clung to the corners and crept across the walls swallowing light and sound. The air seemed to hang over him heavy and slow making it hard to move. Walls that he should have been able to slip through seemed to resist his movements forcing him to push through to escape.
Shapes flickered out of the corners of his eyes, black and twisted they suggested forms not quite human were standing just behind him all the time.
Almost out of hearing range he could make out the sibilant whispering that drew him further along the passages to where the light has finally lost the battle with the shadows.
The darkness gathered pushing heavy at his back forcing him onward until he was practically running toward the whispers knowing all the time that he didn't really want to find them.
When the whispering began behind him he knew he had no choices left.
He stopped running and found he was standing in the room where he had watched the man cut his own fingers off. The table was still there and he half expected to see the severed fingers there. Beneath the table he had just enough time to notice a faint symbol before he felt the chilling air surround him.
The whispering was sharper now but he could not make out any words only the feelings of hunger and need that dripped out of the air.
Slowly he turned to face what was behind him coming face to face with darkness. The whispering stopped abruptly and Spike felt a deep coldness fill his mind. A chilling nothing crept through his body freezing his limbs and emptying his thoughts to an icy stillness.
The whispering began again inside his head this time. Frozen in place Spike could do nothing to stop the creeping darkness that overtook him.
* * * * *
Angel sighed when Spike materialized in his office again and waited for the usual barrage of complaints and insults to begin.
When silence greeted him he looked up to find Spike standing there watching him.
"What is it now Spike?" Angel demanded in frustration. Spike simply stood there, Angel had a momentary impression of utter stillness and eyes blacker than midnight before Spike faded from view.
* * * * *
Wesley and Gunn were discussing a case when the temperature in the office began to drop. Their breath chilled as they spoke freezing as it tried to escape their throats.
The chill crept through their fingers and arms, snaking through their bodies pinning them to their chairs.
Wesley managed to raise his head enough to see Spike standing in the corner watching them with a blank expression on his face. He struggled to speak but his throat twisted and tightened around the words, choking them off before they reached his mouth.
"Wesley..." Angel stepped into the room. He stopped when he took in the scene, the unnatural stillness of both men and the frozen looks of terror on their faces as they struggled to breath.
Spike's head turned slowly to stare at Angel and then he faded away again.
Angel looked at the space Spike had occupied in confusion but was brought back to the moment by the gasping breaths of the two men.
"What happened?" Angel rushed over to check on them.
"It got cold, really cold and then we couldn't breathe," Gunn managed to answer.
"And Spike was just standing there watching," Wesley added.
"It felt as if he was sucking the very life out of our bodies and we couldn't stop him," Gunn choked.
"Where the hell is going on? Wesley checked the books see if you can find anything, Gunn come with me, we need to find Spike," Angel slipped into command mode.
* * * * *
Fred was engrossed in something under a microscope when she became aware of something tickling at the back of her neck.
"Cut it out Knox," she said absently. When it continued she swatted one hand behind her to chase him away only to encounter nothing.
Turning around Fred looked at the empty lab suspiciously, spinning quickly when the tickle teased at the back of her neck again.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"Fred..." the tickle became a whisper.
"Spike?" Fred frowned in confusion.
"Be careful... not me..." the voice faded away as Spike appeared in the corner of the lab and Fred became aware of a chill pervading the room.
"Spike, that wasn't funny," she scolded him. Spike took a step towards her without speaking and Fred found she was backing away from him without knowing why.
She could feel the air chill around her, making it hard to breath. Spike moved closer and reached out his hand to her. As he brushed her cheek it was like cold burning. Her skin crackled like rice paper and she froze in place as the ice crept through her veins.
Angel and Gunn burst into the room, "get away from her Spike!" Angel growled throwing himself at the smaller vampire.
In a blink Spike vanished and Angel crashed into Fred's motionless form. Reacting quickly Angel attempted to cushion her as they tumbled to the ground.
"Are you alright?" Angel asked in concern. Fred nodded shakily unable to speak. "That's it," Angel snarled, "We are getting an exorcist."
"Wait," Fred croaked, "I don't think that was Spike."
"What do you mean?" Gunn asked as he helped her off Angel.
"Just before he arrived I heard a voice, it said it wasn't him," Fred explained, "it didn't make any sense at the time but I think it was Spike trying to warn me."
"Spike warned you that he was going to try and kill you?" Gunn asked blankly.
"It wasn't Spike, not really," Angel said suddenly, "the one person in this place he wouldn't hurt is Fred, something else is going on here."
Angel insisted that Fred come back up to Wesley's office with him and Gunn, determined that nobody would be on their own until this thing was caught and dealt with.
They stopped at Harmony's desk on the way for Angel to give her some orders.
"Harmony, notify everyone that if they see Spike they are not to approach him under any circumstance, he is to be considered dangerous until further notice," Angel explained.
They entered Wesley's office to find him surrounded by books.
"Nothing?" Angel asked unnecessarily as Wesley shook his head.
"There is no precedent for a ghost to act the way Spike is acting, even as unusual a spirit as Spike," Wesley answered.
"Well it may not be Spike that we are dealing with," Angel told him, explaining what Fred had experienced.
"He has to be somewhere," Gunn replied, "if it was him that tried to warn Fred then what is it that is wearing Spike's body?"
Wesley looked at Gunn with surprise, "you may have hit the nail on the head with that comment," he said excitedly.
"Possession," Angel added with understanding, "is there something that can possess a ghost?"
"And why would it want to?" Fred questioned putting her hand to the side of her face where Spike had touched her.
Wesley caught the gesture and hurried over to Fred inspecting her face carefully.
"I'm alright Wes," Fred reassured him, "Angel and Gunn arrived before anything happened."
"What did it feel like when he touched you?" Wesley asked curious to compare their experiences.
"Cold and it was like he was pulling the breath right out of me," Fred explained.
"And the heat," Gunn added shivering slightly, "the rooms chilled down like refrigerators and our bodies too."
Wesley whispered to the codex and opened the book, "an entity that can possess a ghost and then steal heat and breath from humans," he mused as he read.
"He seemed to want to avoid Angel," Gunn noted, "every time Angel was there he ran away."
"I don't breathe and I have no body heat," Angel theorised, "so I am no use to him."
"But why run?" Wesley asked still reading, "unless..." he stopped and read intently. "It would help a great deal if we knew what had happened and where it happened," Wesley commented as he read, "did anyone see where Spike went or know what he has been doing since Pavayne was captured?"
"He would pop in to see me in the lab but he didn't mention anything, after Pavayne he seemed resigned to his existence," Fred said sadly.
"He would sit in on briefings with me occasionally," Gunn added.
Angel looked at them in surprise, "I thought he was bugging everyone as much as he was bugging me."
"No man, he saved the annoyance especially for you," Gunn grinned, "except for the shower thing..." Gunn subsided with embarrassment at the looks from the others.
"He used to look so sad when I tried to get him to tell me why you two hate each other so much," Fred commented.
"What did he tell you?" Angel demanded, upset that Spike only spent time around him to annoy him (even if he didn't want Spike around anyway).
"Nothing much, just said it was ancient history and looked sad," Fred answered in surprise.
"Here it is," Wesley interrupted excitedly, "the Prenothian entity, believed to be the spirit of an ancient demon race it has been without form for thousands of years it requires heat and breath to take physical form... but it can't be," Wesley stopped, "it was trapped in another dimension millennia ago. There has to be something else."
"If it was this spirit, how could it have gotten into our dimension and why would it have possessed Spike?" Angel pressed.
"An access way?" Wesley theorised.
Angel stopped pacing and turned around, "that's funny," he commented but before he could say anything Spike materialised again in front of them.
Spike seemed more solid than before and his eyes were so dark Angel could almost see the room reflected in them. Spike stared coldly at Angel and then swept his gaze around the room.
Angel had a sudden memory of Spike talking about being down in the basement and the ghosts he had seen there and it made him wonder what else could have been hiding down in the bowels of Wolfram & Hart.
Spike's attention suddenly shifted and he stared at a corner of the room before disappearing again.
**
Spike fled through the walls of Wolfram
& Hart feeling the
darkness that followed him all the time at his heels, hunger and hatred
there was nothing else. He could only hope Angel and the others could
figure out what was happening and stop it before it was too late. Spike
could tell the creature had fed and was gaining strength; soon it would
be too late to stop it.
**
Angel led the others out of Wesley's office, he was still not sure how he knew that Spike was heading for the basement but it was all they had to go on.
A medical team were in the foyer lifting a body onto a gurney. Rushing over Angel was horrified to see that it was Knox and he was quite obviously dead. His face was ashen; his lips were blue and pulled back in a rictus of terror, his limbs were twisted hands raised as if to ward something off. Wesley pulled Fred's head to his chest when he heard her cry of distress.
"What happened?" Angel demanded.
"Spike," Harmony replied in shock, "he backed Knox into a corner and touched him, just a touch and Knox crumpled."
"Oh my god," Fred sobbed into Wesley's shirt, "poor Knox."
"Let's get going," Angel said grimly, "Wes are you sure you can stop this thing?"
"If it is the Prenothian demon then yes," Wesley replied equally grim, "but we will have to contain him first."
"I have an idea about that," Angel answered, "Gunn I need you to go to Maintenance and see if they can turn the heat off to the basement, if it is drawn to heat then hopefully cold will slow it down."
"Gotcha," Gunn headed off.
"Wes, Fred are you prepared for this?" Angel asked, "I will try and hold him long enough for you to recite the ritual before he can touch you but it could be dangerous."
"Spike sacrificed his chance to be corporeal for me," Fred replied firmly, "he deserves to be saved."The chill pervaded the room again
heralding the arrival of his doom
and darkness oozed into the room. The spark that remained of Spike
turned to face the creature that wore his form, feeling the heavy
maelstrom of malevolence that swirled behind the once blue eyes. With
resignation Spike realised that Angel was not going to make it in
time...
**
Angel moved swiftly along the corridors of the basement with Fred and Wesley close behind. Fred held tight to Wesley's arm but refused to turn back. Even as the very air tried to push them back and the light pulsed weakly against the shadows. The temperature was beginning to drop signalling to them that Gunn had succeeded in turning off the heating.
"This way," Angel said confidently.
"How do you know?" Wesley asked Angel.
"I'm not sure," Angel confessed, "I just know somehow."
They came around a corner and saw Spike standing in a doorway with his back to them. He turned slowly to face them and, sickened by the knowledge that Spike was solid due to sucking the life out of Knox, Angel dove at the blond vampire driving him into the room beyond.
As soon as Angel touched Spike the chill drilled into his body. Spike snarled wordlessly at Angel and attempted to throw him off. Angel clung on and they rolled across the floor and knocked the table flying. Spike was strong but Angel managed to keep hold.
Wesley and Fred rushed into the room and Wesley gasped at the symbol revealed under the table recognising it as a powerful summoning rune. He opened the codex quickly and began to chant.
Spike howled and tried to ram Angel into the wall. Locking gazes with Spike Angel felt he was being sucked into the darkness that resided there and he knew that Spike was not inside. An ungovernable rage swept over Angel at the thought that some creature was lodged in this familiar form, even one that annoyed him as much as Spike did.
Angel hurled the body across the room and leapt after pinning it to the floor directly over the symbol scratched there.
Wesley continued to chant his voice rising in intensity as the shadows began to swarm into the room and cluster around the two vampires struggling on the floor.
Suddenly Angel flew across the room as Spike convulsed strongly. Out of the corner of their eyes Wesley and Fred saw a spark of light leap from Angel to Spike.
Spike rose to his feet and then froze as light began to stream from the symbol and held him in place. Angel picked himself up from the floor and moved to stand with Wesley and Fred.
Wesley finished the chant and the light flared. Another howl of rage was ripped from Spike's throat and a stream of darkness fled from his mouth as he collapsed in a heap outside of the symbol.
The darkness pulsed and writhed as it attempted to escape the cage of light that surrounded it but the light slowly began to shrink wrapping the darkness in a net that was attached to Spike by a thin glowing line.
Suddenly the line fizzed like a trail of gunpowder and with a flash that blinded everyone the darkness vanished.
Angel blinked furiously to clear his vision, Spike was still lying in a crumpled heap on the floor but the symbol that had been scratched into the surface was gone.
"Spike," Angel reached out but his hand went right through the smaller vampire.
Fred and Wesley joined Angel on the floor next to the body of the blond, "Spike," Fred whispered urgently, "Is he..."
"Spike," Angel raised his voice slightly "come on, I know you're there somewhere."
The faintest of movements in one hand then a barely audible groan released the tension from Angel's shoulders.
Spike turned his head carefully and they could see the normal vivid blue had returned to his eyes.
"Took your bloody time getting here," he groaned, "damn thing nearly had me."
"Thank heavens," Fred sighed, "we thought we had lost you."
"We can't get rid of him that easily," Angel grumbled but he could not hide the look of relief in his eyes as the blond sat up painfully.
"Who would have thought it would hurt as much being a ghost as when I was solid," Spike grumbled.
"Perhaps you could tell us how that demon managed to cross over," Wesley questioned curiously.
"Don't ask me mate, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, story of my life really," Spike sighed, "and don't ever let me inside Peaches' head again, that hurt more than anything."
"My head?" Angel demanded, "How did you get into my head?"
"Bloody demon kicked me out of my own ghost, was kind of just floating around, couldn't communicate with anyone, it was hell mate. Then I fell into your brain and it was worse," Spike shuddered at the memories.
"You are going to have to explain everything that happened to you," Wesley said excitedly as they all left the room.
When they had gone there was a slight scratching noise as the symbol
slowly reappeared on the concrete floor.
THE END