TITLE: Body and Soul Trilogy - Reborn - Chapter 5
AUTHOR: Lysia
EMAIL: cricket818uk@wadnitt.fsnet.co.uk
FEEDBACK: Is essential. I can't write without knowing I'm getting it
right and constructive criticism is noted and used.
RATING: 15, for violence and mild sexual situations (because that's
what people seem to want!).
WARNING: Angst, violence. Light S/A comfort-type romance.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of them, but I'll give them back to Joss
when I've finished with them.
SPOILERS: Set sometime after 'Forever'.
ARCHIVING: Here. Anywhere else, just ask.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Final part in the trilogy. Spike, now called Will by
Angel, has recovered from the restoration of his soul and prepares
for a second attack on the vampires who cursed him.

Chapter 5

A glum silence descended on the Magic Box as the teams relayed what
they had learned on their respective patrols the previous night,
pieced it all together and ended up with zilch.

Giles and Wesley removed their glasses and began polishing them
rigorously before glancing at each other and cringing at their
identical actions.

"So," Giles sighed, leaning on the table. "What we're saying is that
we have no leads at all."

"We got zip," Cordelia replied, holding up her hands in defeat. "Not
a vampire all through our shift."

"Graveyard was empty when we got there too," Anya added.

Weary sighs were uttered all around the table, then the silence
continued. The only sound was that of a large military truck pulling
up in the street outside. Everyone looked up, confused, but Gunn got
to his feet with a proud smile.

"That'll be a delivery for me," he announced, brightening the
atmosphere with a little optimism. The weapons supplier Gunn had
contacted after the failure that was their first attack was providing
some very useful supplies.

Only Buffy was not cheered even a little by the arrival of vital
artillery. She stayed staring at the table and picking at the flaking
varnish on the edge. Giles studied her, concerned.

"Buffy, are you quite alright?"

Buffy shrugged half-heartedly. "Just worried," she muttered, not even
looking up. "I mean, I used to think I was good at this job."

"You are!" Giles insisted, ignoring the hustle and bustle as several
large wooden boxes were carried into the Magic Box and dumped on the
counter and the floor.

"I'm beginning to doubt that," Buffy sighed, leaning her chin on her
hand. "I mean, what happens when we attack vampires? You point me at
the bad guys and I pummel them. Now my pummelling skills are way off
and nobody knows where to point me. We can't even find out where the
bad guys are going to be! We suck at detective work and I'm still..."

"A little out of practise?" Giles volunteered.

"Pathetic," Buffy corrected sulkily. "What use is a non-pointy non-
pummelly Slayer?"

"You could be the moral support." Anya suggested cheerfully, a little
happier now she was inspecting the contents of one of the
crates. "We'll do the actual world-saving and you can just... make
everybody happy and still get some credit. Like Xander does."

Xander glared at his girlfriend. "Hey!"

Anya smiled sympathetically and patted Xander's arm. "Of course,
she'll have to be a lot happier than that to be as good as you."

Buffy groaned and buried her head in her hands as Xander once again
boasted about how many vamps he had staked and how Anya should
respect his contributions, whereupon the former vengeance demon
apologised profusely and promised to make it up to him with several
rounds of sex when they got home.

The Slayer was miserable. She felt weak and useless in a manner
disturbingly similar to how she had felt during that ridiculous test
the Watchers' Council had put her through on her eighteenth birthday.
She was half tempted to search Giles's house for more hypodermics and
stuff, but she knew it was the still the effect of the poison. When
she got hold of that Skull bastard she was going to... get her ass
kicked. Oh well, she could watch and laugh while the others beat him
up. Well, they'd probably do worse than she would. Angel and Spike
could...

She shuddered as those names flitted through her mind. She was
determined that they were not the cause of her bad mood. Why should
she care if Angel and Spike were together? She was totally over
Angel, and Spike... well, she'd never liked him in the first place.

The Magic Box door opened and Buffy looked up as - speak of the
devil - those two same vampires walked in. She avoided looking at
them, instead choosing to study the large rectangular crates that now
resided to her left.

Xander grinned at them cheerily. Apparently someone had been having a
few words with him about how to treat souled vampires. It wasn't
Buffy, so Buffy's assumption was that Anya had taken the liberty,
being as ex-demon. She'd probably understand.

"Well, hey, if it isn't Deadboy and Deadboy Junior. How's things, eh?"

Angel walked in and leaned on the counter. "Fine. And don't call me
that."

Will smirked at his Sire's nickname, then waved to the crowd of
people seated around the table and loitered by the bookcases.

"Well look at you," Xander commented. "All dressed up in your not-all-
black clothes and your not-quite-blond hair."

Will looked down at his outfit. "Yeah. Had a bit of a makeover.
Thought I'd outgrown the 'evil creature of the night' look."

Xander nodded. "My jeans look good on you."

"Better than your orange t-shirt, that's for sure," Will shot back.
Angel gave him a warning glare. "Um... thanks for the lends. Much
appreciated."

"So," Cordelia interrupted. "Do you know something or are we just
going to sit and discuss Spike's new look, not that I'd object. I
suggested the hair thing by the way."

Will chuckled at the former cheerleader. "Peaches here managed to get
some information about the big shindig Skull's got planned."

Angel gave Will a curious look. He slipped into his 'Spike' persona
so quickly whenever the others were around. Angel wasn't sure whether
to be concerned or pleased.

"Well this is marvellous," Giles exclaimed, the mood brightening even
more. "What have you found out?"

"Battle plans," Angel replied with a shrug, "layout, intentions, the
whole thing. I just don't know where. However, I did manage to beat
something out of Skull."

"Vital organs?" Anya inquired hopefully.

Angel stared at her. This woman was seriously strange sometimes. "Uh...
no. He said to watch the TV and that there'd be a news flash."

"Right," Buffy muttered, not looking up. "Let's do that then."

~~~~~~~~~~

Hours dragged by. The team took it in turns to watch the television,
flicking from one channel to the other and sticking to local news
footage. Willow and Tara had long since packed all the magic
ingredients they needed and taught Wesley the new spell. Angel had
divulged what useful plans he had managed to glean and Wesley had
then located a story in the Watcher's Diaries strikingly similar to
Skull's plan."

"World domination?" Cordelia exclaimed.

"Again?" Buffy shrieked. "Don't these demons ever get tired of this?"

"The original plan wasn't intended to be world domination," Wesley
explained, flicking through the relevant pages. "A group of vampires
simply took over an island in the middle of the Pacific, killing and
turning all humans. No-one has ever gone there to check as the
vampires slaughter anyone who goes near it. Skull's plan appears to
be similar, but in this case he won't be stopped by geography. Once
Sunnydale is conquered the vampires will spread to the next town
until..."

"Everywhere gets overrun by vamps," Cordelia concluded with a
sigh. "This is not good."

"This is why we're going to stop them," Wesley replied assuredly.

Meanwhile, Gunn was showing Angel and Will the new weapons.

"Air rifles," Angel observed, picking up one of the sleek steel
rifles.

"You got that right," Gunn agreed, removing a small box of
bullets. "But this is the new part."

He opened the box and tipped the bullets out onto his hand.

"Wooden bullets, with gins adapted for rapid fire. Just aim for the
bad guy and pull the trigger. Odds are he'll be dust."

Gunn hitched the rifle to his shoulder and attached a long line of
wooden bullets. Will backed away when he found himself looking down
the barrel.

"Don't point that bloody thing at me," he muttered.

Gunn grinned at him and moved it away.

Willow patted Will on the arm and smiled reassuringly. "It's okay
Spike. He's good with weapons and stuff. He wouldn't shoot you by
accident."

"Actually," Angel informed Willow, "Spike likes to be called..."

"Thanks, luv." Will was speaking to Willow, not him. "I feel safer
now."

Gunn set about packing the rifles into holsters and clipping in the
bullets while Angel led Will over to one side for a moment.

"What's with you?" he asked, confused at Will's sudden reversion back
to his Spike-like behaviour. "You won't let me tell them that you've
changed your name, you're acting all smarmy and irritable again and
you're practically ignoring me. It's like you never changed. Was it
something I said?"

Will shrugged. "I dunno," he sighed. "I s'pose it's just... even though
I've got a soul I don't wanna bare it for everyone. It's safe hiding
behind Spike. I don't think I'm ready for everyone to see the real
me. That's a privilege I reserve for you."

Angel couldn't stop the smile that threatened to spread across his
face. "I'm honoured." He wanted to give Will a hug right there in
front of everyone, but sensed a few people might be rather
shocked. "By the way," he added, "I'm sorry about earlier... when I
pushed you away like that. I didn't mean to be so... and if I hurt you..."

Will looked away, embarrassed. "'S okay. I get it. Too dangerous, I
know. I just..." he paused as Angel reached out and held his hand,
their fingers curling together instinctively, both hoping no-one
could see. "I just wish we could be close sometimes without you
bloody panicking about it. I mean, credit me with some self control."

Angel cringed and squeezed Will's hand a little tighter. "It's not
just you - it's me. I don't trust myself around you." He looked
around briefly to check if anyone could hear, but the others were
engrossed in watching the telly for news flashes, admiring and
learning how to work the new weapons or discussing strategy.
Satisfied that he would not be overheard, Angel continued. "You don't
know how you make me feel. You're amazing, and you're mine, and
that's a pretty powerful attraction for a guy like me whose love-life
has been really limited for the last century. I mean, you think
you're frustrated now, you wait a hundred years or so."

Will laughed quietly, his gaze falling upon their joined hands.

"Um, guys?"

Buffy's voice startled the two vampires, who leapt away from each
other thinking they had been caught.

The Slayer just looked at them blankly and gestured towards the
television. "I think you should take a look at this."

Angel and Will breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, their contact had
been passed off as a quiet little reassuring word to one side. Buffy
didn't suspect anything. Everyone turned and looked up at the screen
as a news reporter standing outside the Sunnydale Town Hall gave a
live account of events which looked increasingly disturbing.

"... the vast army of gunmen who appeared to have broken into the town
hall via the sewers. Those people still trapped inside are reported
to be still alive, but the leader has issued a statement saying that
a group he requested to be present at this attack must arrive to
confront him within the hour or he will start shooting civilians.
There is dispute over whether these people are from some sort of
political movement, but a few eyewitness testimonies report that
their faces are deformed, and some are even claiming they're not even
human. As yet, the police teams have not been able to..."

"I think we've found our man," Buffy announced. "Okay... let's go."

Her words were brave, but her voice was unsure and wavering. The
Slayer knew that she was not at full strength, even as she packed her
air rifle and other weapons and prepared to leave with the others.
This was frightening.

She wanted to cuddle up to Angel for comfort so he could tell her
everything would be okay, just as he used to in days gone by, but now
he was preoccupied with someone else.

"What if the same thing happens again?" Will murmured, his hands
shaking as he packed his weapons.

Angel frowned and rubbed his Childe's back soothingly. "You'll be
okay, I promise. We'll be able to help the people, and don't worry
about having to fight Skull."

"I'm not," Will muttered, a stern frown on his face. "I can't feel
pity for him any more. He deserves anything we can throw at him."

Angel wanted to hug Will for his bravery, but Will looked up and
noticed Buffy staring at him. Not wanting to give anything away, he
shrugged Angel's hand from his back and went out to the waiting cars
outside with Angel following.

Buffy sighed and watched, following soon after. She tried to bury the
pangs of jealousy she felt at seeing the gentle touches the two
vampires had been exchanging throughout the morning. There were more
important things to do now.

~~~~~~~~~~

The group arrived outside the town hall in twenty minutes. A vast
crowd had gathered around the town hall, including a team of
policemen, but it was clear that the situation had reached gridlock.
Buffy approached an officer standing at the line of red and white
tape stretched across the street.

"Um... hi," Buffy said awkwardly. "We're here to see... we're the guys
the um... terrorists wanted to see." This was so strange, she thought
to herself.

The officer eyed her curiously. "Right..." he muttered dubiously. "I'll
just get on the radio to the guy in charge."

Buffy and the others waited patiently as the policeman contacted his
boss. Soon a plump grey-haired man hurried over, followed by a news
crew. His face fell when he saw the Scooby gang and he glared at the
officer who had radioed him. "Are you sure these kids are the ones
we're supposed to send in?" he asked in disbelief.

Buffy nodded assuredly. "Yeah. Believe me, we know more about these
guys than you could possibly imagine." She glanced at the camera the
news team were pointing at her. "Skull, if you're watching this,
you'd better not go killing any civilians."

"Sir?" an officer called over from a nearby car. "We've had
confirmation from the terrorists that these are the people they want
to see."

The police officer in charge sighed wearily and eyed the Scooby
gang. "I still don't want to send these kids in," he announced
glumly. "Those guys have been taking our SWAT teams apart in seconds.
How the hell will this lot survive?"

Buffy smiled. "Let's just say I've handled this type of thing before."

"Yes," Anya agreed. "We fought these exact same people only last
week. Of course we nearly got killed..." Xander elbowed her in the ribs
and she fell silent.

"We'll be okay," Buffy promised the policeman, telling herself as
much as him.

The policeman looked back at the town hall. "It doesn't look like
I've got much of a choice," he muttered sadly. "They want me to send
you in, so I think you'd better pay them a visit. If you need any
help..."

Buffy waved him away and took a deep breath as she led the team past
the red tape barriers and across the street. There were various gasps
of astonishment at the sight of a group of 'civilians' going into the
building and a few policemen called message of good luck over to them
as they walked past.

"Alright guys," Buffy announced, removing her rifle from her weapons
satchel. "This is it."

The doors swung open in front of them and the group made their way
in. The vampires were standing around the room with their guns honed
on the Scooby gang but did not fire. Willow, Tara and Wesley stepped
forward first, ready to raise a barrier if the demons did attack.
Angel and Will hung back, surveying the room for possible exits so
they could try and locate the hostages. Being vampires, they would be
unharmed by gunfire from the enemy.

"Glad you could make it." Skull swaggered forward, gun slung over one
shoulder and Christia clasped to his side. "I take it you know what
this is all about now."

"Indeed we do," Wesley replied, gripping a sprig of herb in readiness
to begin a protection spell. "A friend informed us of your plan and
I've done some background reading. You're an odd case: a vampire who
wants to take over the world and needs Watchers to publicise his
achievements. It's quite... pathetic really."

Skull raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you're just jealous. I mean why not
send you back to your old Council to spread the word? Other than you
lot the only fame vampires get is in stupid tabloid magazines no-one
takes seriously. This way everyone will be afraid of me, as they
should be when my army spreads through-out the world, destroying
everything in its path, killing those who...."

"You are so full of yourself," Buffy sneered at him, raising her
rifle.

Skull sniggered. "A gun?!" he spluttered, highly amused. "You know
bloody well that won't hurt me."

Buffy grinned. "Wrong."

She fired and the wooden bullets flew. Skull realised at the last
minute, grabbing a nearby henchman and using him as a vampire-shield.
The poor vamp was dusted, but Skull was only a little peeved.

"That was rude!" he snapped. "Kill her!"

Once more, the vampires opened fire in some strange replay of the
events at the mansion. The barrier was raised once more and Myst
dashed forward to break it, as she had done previously.

"Spare the Watchers but kill the others," Skull barked at her and
other gunmen. "Turn any fighters if you can."

Willow grinned when she saw the vampire witch approaching. "Just try
it missy," she smirked, holding the barrier up with ease as Myst ran
into it, beating her fists against the wall in frustration when she
couldn't break through. "Not this time!"

Infuriated, Myst began desperately trying to use magic to drain the
power from the barrier. She was a strong enough witch to defeat
Willow easily, but with Tara and Wesley also supporting the barrier
this was not an easy task for the demon. The magic burnt her skin,
made her quake with effort.

Skull left her, dragging Christia after him as he took shelter in an
alcove from the hail of bullets.

Angel and Will slipped through the barrier from the inside easily and
ran over to the sets of doors. Bullets from enemy guns zipped past
them - some even hit them, but didn't harm them.

Will burst into a small room to one side - a conference room by the
look of it, with its large table surrounded by chairs. A group of
vampires turned and faced him, snarling viciously. Will opened fire
and the wooden bullets dusted the vamps who were too slow to get
away, sending the others racing out of the room in fear.

"That's right!" Will yelled after them. "Who's pathetic now?!"

A few more vampires met their demise under his fire and Will felt a
glow of pride. He was killing the bad guys - making amends for what
he had done in his past. His gaze fell on the cowering group of
humans in the corner. There were about twenty, bound and gagged and
all looking bloody terrified.

Without a word, Will leaned down and untied them. No promises of
safety this time, no reassuring chit-chat. Will was just going to get
them out of here as quickly as possible.

Skull looked up from his hiding place as a few of his men dashed out
from the room where he was keeping the hostage, some of the vampires
turning to dust before his eyes. How could one of the humans have
gotten through the rain of bullets to that room? Only a vampire could
have...

Skull's gaze hardened and his vampire face was forced to the
fore. "William."

Furious that his Sire had dared to show up and threaten his plans
again, Skull stood up and stormed over to the room, grabbing a few of
his Childer to shield himself. The vampire squirmed out of his grip,
trying desperately to dash for cover as the bullets flew past.

"Don't run, you bloody cowards!" Skull hissed, barking out orders to
the others to hold their ground and fire back. The henchman in his
grasp screamed in protest before being dusted.

"Skull, where are you going?!" Myst shrieked, in pain from the effort
of protecting herself and trying to defeat this new protection spell
her enemies were using, her own magic hurting her now as it was used
at such a rapid rate.

Skull ignored his witch friend and dashed into the conference before
the Slayer's gang could shoot him. His anger flared further when he
saw his Sire helping the last of the hostages to escape through the
window.

Will turned and faced his Childe, a blank look on his face. "Henry."

Skull snarled in anger. "William."

Will lowered his rifle slightly and Skull tossed his aside, knowing
the metal bullets wouldn't harm the vampire.

"To tell you the truth, William," Skull announced thoughtfully, "I
didn't expect you to show up. From what I heard, you were a wreck."

"I got better," Will replied flatly. "I couldn't let you hurt all
these people."

Skull laughed. "Well hark at you - vampire fighting evil. What will
we hear of next? You gonna kill me then, ya ponce?" He moved closer
until Will's rifle was mere inches from his chest. When his Sire made
no move to kill him he grabbed the barrel of the gun and twisted it
away from him. "I knew you couldn't do it. You can't kill me. Too
much of a chicken. See, you haven't changed."

Will still didn't move and Skull went to wrench the gun from his grip
so he could shoot his Sire and end his miserable existence, but he
couldn't wrench it out of his grip. The cocky grin vanished from
Skull's face and Will managed a cheerful smile.

"No, Henry," he agreed softly. "I can't kill you." He tugged the gun
back and chucked it out of the window. "Doesn't mean I won't fight
you though."

With both of them unarmed, Will flew at his Childe landing punches
and kicks with bone-shattering ferocity. Skull fought back, breaking
Will's nose even as he was driven backwards against the wall. Will
leapt back and smashed one of the chairs across the conference table.
He grabbed a broken chair leg and lunged at Skull again for a second
attack.

Back in the main part of the town hall Myst's magic had drained.
Willow watched as the vampire witch tired, expecting at any moment
for her to give up, but still she continued.

"Myst, we should retreat!" one of the gunmen suggested in desperation.

"No! Don't you bloody dare!" Myst growled, clearly in agony. "Skull
said to stand ground. Are you going to disobey our master?"

"But you can't break the barrier!" another vampire shrieked from her
hiding place behind a marble pillar.

Is one last ditch effort, Myst closed her eyes and raised her hands,
drawing power from some reserve to break the barrier. Willow felt the
barrier give a little and heard the vampire scream in pain in her
attempts. The Scooby gang braced themselves...

Then, before their very eyes, the powerful demon burst into flame.
She screamed in agony, collapsing on the ground, then was gone in a
bright white flash.

Willow stared in horror and disbelief. The witch had literally burnt
herself out with her own magic. Tara sidled up to Willow, wringing
her hands awkwardly. "Um... would that happen to us if we tried to
drain someone else's spell?"

"I don't know," Willow replied, her voice little more than a
squeak. "But let's not try it, huh?"

"Ding dong the witch is dead," Xander muttered under his breath.

The vampires also backed off a little. Yet another one of their
leaders had fallen, and their chances were looking bleak. Buffy
raised her sights to the crowds of slowly retreating vamps.

"Time to clean up the rest," the Slayer announced, her confident
soaring.

Wooden bullets rained down upon the remaining vampires and dust
showered onto the floor.

Skull was surviving the fight easily, but his Sire's strength and
stamina was surprising him. "Why aren't you on the floor begging for
mercy yet?" he sneered, giving Will a sharp punch in the gut.

Will smacked Skull across the head, sending his Childe sprawling
across the conference table from the force of the blow. "I suppose
you thought it'd make me weaker," he hissed at Skull, pinning him
down to land a few more punches. "Give a vampire a soul and he's
helpless right? Can't bear to be alive any more. Can't fight anything
because of the memories. Can't feed. Can't do nothing." He grabbed
Skull by the collar and smashed his head on the table a few times,
all the frustration finally coming to surface. Anger with Henry
Carver for humiliating him, and with Skull for sending a mob after
him and creating a rift between Angel and himself that had taken
years to heal. "You thought this would kill me, didn't you?"

"That was the intention..." Skull muttered, eyeing Will curiously,
wondering what had brought this sudden courage on. He didn't feel the
pain, but he was beginning to feel weak and disorientated from the
relentless beating.

"But I can hurt you," Will smirked, flinging his Childe off the table
and sending him crashing onto the floor. "You may not be able to feel
pain, but I know you can't keep this up forever. And don't think I
have any qualms about doing this to you. You're more evil than any
demon I've known. You deserve everything you bloody get!"

"You abandoned me," Skull spat, blood dribbling from his
mouth. "Don't you even feel the slightest bit guilty about that?
Don't you want me to forgive you? Aren't you going to beg me and tell
me how sorry you are?"

Will grinned. Skull couldn't play on his conscience any more. "I
don't need your forgiveness," he informed the vampire firmly. "I've
got something better. I've got a soul, and a Sire who cares for me,
even though you made him hate me."

Skull gave Will a plaintive look. "Better a mean Sire than no Sire,
right?"

"It's not going to work," Will told him. "I know you don't even want
me to be your Sire. You can't make me feel guilty about that."

Skull sighed and rolled his eyes. "Bugger." With a violent shove, he
pushed Will off him, sending his Sire crashing to the floor. "Suppose
I'll just have to kill you instead." He grabbed another piece of
broken chair and lunged at the vampire on the floor.

Angel rushed into the conference room from the main hall. "Will -
I've got the rest of the hostages out. The vampires had retreated and
the team have..." He froze when he saw Will struggling with Skull, the
younger vampire holding a stake dangerously close to Will's chest.
Furious, Angel grabbed Skull by the throat and, without even a
thought, picked him up off the ground.

"What the bloody hell?!" Skull shrieked, kicking out at Angel.

"Get the hell away from my Childe," Angel spat, flinging Skull across
the room. Skull landed with a thud against a filing cabinet.

He helped Will to his feet just as Skull recovered, whipping his
bandanna from his head to reveal the gaping wound. "What about
this, 'Spike'?" he snarled, pointing at the wound. "Do you feel
guilty about this?"

Will shuddered, backing up against Angel slightly, but then steeled
himself, refusing to feel sorry for this evil thing. "No," he
snapped, lunging at Skull and grabbing him by the collar lifting him
clean off the floor.

A startled gasp from the doorway made Will freeze for a moment. He
looked up and saw Christia staring at him in dismay.

"Cecily!" Skull screamed, using her human name as he writhed in
Will's grasp. "Do something!"

Christia just stood there and watched as Skull and Will struggled,
punching and kicking whenever they could. Angel rushed to aid his
Childe and together they managed to send Skull crashing against a
huge cabinet, which promptly toppled and came tumbling down on top of
the beaten and bloodied vampire.

Christia managed to rush forward at that point and Will grabbed a
stake from his belt. Christia held a hand up in a defensive gesture.

"There's no need for that," she told him firmly but softly. "I won't
hurt you."

Will glanced at Angel, who was digging amongst the rubble of the
cabinet to locate either Skull or a pile of dust. When he did
eventually find the vampire, he hadn't expected him to be in the
amount of distress he appeared to be showing.

"Thought you couldn't feel pain," Angel muttered as Skull hissed and
roared, struggling to stand.

Christia noticed her lover's anguish, but still did not rush to his
side. She looked at Will in awe. "You beat him?"

Will nodded slowly, still focussed on the battered figure lying
amongst the rubble. "Don't kill him," he whispered, appealing to
Angel.

Angel simply nodded and continued to survey Skull's condition. "No
point," he concluded after a moment. "He can't hurt us: He's
crippled."

Will shuddered and declined from checking on Skull's injuries
himself. "Well there's a bit of irony for you," he muttered under his
breath, looking up as Christia laid a hand on his arm.

"My God, William," Christia murmured, looking at Will in surprise,
respect, and almost... admiration. Her affected cockney accent had
gone, and she spoke just as she had in her mortal days when Will had
first known her "You beat the leader of the greatest warrior Order in
vampire history. It would appear I under-estimated you. You really
have changed from the bumbling poet I once knew." Her hand moved up
to his face and he stared at her, hypnotised...

Angel hauled the crippled Skull out of the heap of metal, glass and
books, doing his very best to ignore the blood seeping from his
shattered legs. Will was right - there was a sense of irony in this
situation. He glanced up at his Childe, feeling a pang of jealousy as
Christia planted a kiss on Will's cheek. His jealousy faded when Will
pushed the vampiress away, but fear rose to take it's place when
Christia lunged forward with a stake, intent on getting revenge on
the man that had injured her lover.

"Will - look out!" The words were out of Angel's mouth just in time.
Will spun around in time to see Christia's attack, quickly whipping a
stake from his pocket and driving it into her chest. It was a reflex
reaction, a survival instinct driving him to kill rather than be
killed, but as the former love of his life crumbled to dust before
his eyes Will couldn't stop the grief-stricken cry that tore itself
from his lungs.

Cecily was dead.

Angel flung Skull to one side, leaving the vampire to howl in
emotional pain as Angel rushed to his Childe. Skull screamed and
yelled but it did no good. Angel simply ignored him and held Will in
his arms.

"It'll be okay, Will," he whispered, stroking Will's dark blonde hair.

"Oh God, Cecily," Will sighed, bewildered and clearly in shock. "I
didn't want to do that... Why did she make me do that? The battle was
over. She didn't have to..."

"It was her choice, Will," Angel assured him, praying Will wouldn't
be so upset this time. He wasn't in the fragile state he had been in
during the last attack, so things were looking hopeful. "I promise
everything'll be fine."

Will's response was to turn his head and rest it on Angel's shoulder,
cuddling against him for comfort. "I know."

Somehow, through this little gesture, Angel knew everything would be
okay.

~TBC~