LBSBSS 06
The old lust for blood and violence wanted Spike to rush in and join the fray. He was more than his instincts though, and he wasn't about to leave Xander and the French girl unprotected. So he settled in to watch the show, and what a show it was.
The vampires of this world were all about posturing and showing their power. They'd put off going for the throat to get in a few extra minutes of monologuing and looking pretty. A Slayer would have hewn through them before the fun could even start.
His lip curled. Anita Blake was the nearest thing this world had to a Slayer, and from what he could tell, she was close to becoming a monster herself. It wouldn't take much of a push to get her over the edge.
From their first introduction to this world, he'd been careful to keep Xander away from the vamps. His boy was a nummy treat, and the last thing he wanted was for someone to take an interest in Xander. Especially not Jean-Claude, as word on the street said that Anita had a serious jealous streak, one just looking for an excuse to kill the competition.
Spike wasn't looking to start a war with the locals, but he wouldn't hesitate if any of them looked sideways at Xander. And he had the advantage of numbers on his side.
Give him a week, and he could unleash a plague of vampires on this world. He wouldn't want to do it, as he was supposed to be redeemed, but he'd found that the soul hadn't changed who he was all that much. He was still love's bitch. And to protect Xander (or avenge him) he would unleash hell on Earth. It was in his nature.
"Spike," Xander said, snapping him out of his own head.
"It'll be all right," Spike said, keeping his eyes focused on the action in front. He trusted Xander to let him know if anyone was trying to creep in from the sides.
Jean-Claude and his vamps surrounded the room, but they were careful to stay out of the Kill Zone. Spike thought that was smart of them, as Anita seemed a bit too trigger happy. She didn't even seem to care that bullets could pass through bodies to hit the people behind her targets. She was like someone playing a video game, pointing and shooting, barely pausing to reload.
She'd shot Drusilla--and Spike didn't feel a twinge about that, he didn't--but for the most part the vamps managed to stay out of the way of her bullets. Which didn't mean she stopped shooting, it just meant she left more gouges in the bar and the plaster on the walls.
When her gun finally clicked empty, Spike nearly wanted to laugh. Looked like this world's Angelus wasn't stupid; he'd maneuvered her right where he wanted her: away from Jean-Claude and in grabbing distance of an angry looking Darla.
The vampires of this world could move fast and they had all kinds of supernatural powers the humans couldn't resist. They were the top of the food chain and they knew it. The only thing keeping them in check was all their in-fighting and the sheer numbers and ingenuity of the human race. From what Spike could figure, the advent of automatic weapons had been a serious lesson in humility.
Still, things were different for him and Xander. The vampires here might be able to fly and were pretty to look at, but the magic of this world was a dispersed thing, tied to biology and expressing itself in physical changes and relatively minor spells.
Near everyone had a bit of something extra in them, but in the end it was nothing to a world with a Hellmouth. There would be no reality-changing wishes or self-aware zombies. This world had laws that refused to bend and everything could be explained by science.
Spike was a demon wearing a human body and carrying a human soul. Xander was a Seer, more demon than human. They were outside of the natural order of things, something Spike realized when he watched the fight happening in front of him and saw only weakness.
Darla had Anita by the throat, easily holding the struggling woman. Jean-Claude's people froze, the room going breathless. Angelus' laughter rolled out, darkly delighted. He was already celebrating his victory.
"Well, this has been fun," Angelus gloated. "What are you going to do now, Jean-Claude? Your Human Servant involved herself in this fight, attacked us most viciously. No one would blame us if Darla were to snap her neck. You have been a most inhospitable host, after all."
"Let her go, mon ami," Jean-Claude said. Power blazed behind his eyes and his face gleamed like a mask, the humanity sucked back into his skin to let something else show. "There is no reason for us to fight. There was no reason for you to have troubled this place. Come back to the Circus and we can talk like friends."
"Where was the friendship before your human allowed herself to be caught?" Angelus tsked. "Weak, Jean-Claude, very weak. Everyone has been tiptoeing around about how you've become such a fearsome Master, yet here I am looking at you and all I see is that same weak sniveling thing Belle Morte used to lead around. Only now you let a human hold your leash."
Anita cursed and writhed in Darla's grasp, her words choking off when Darla squeezed. "Hush, little girl. The adults are talking."
Jean-Claude didn't glance at Anita, his eyes locked with Angelus'. "Why have you come here? Really?"
Angelus threw his arms wide. "Why, to visit my dear friend and see this wondrous New World. It has been a long time since I've visited the colonies and I wanted to see how they fared without me." He made a moue. "Not very well, I see. Upstarts like you think they can flout the rules and proper respect. Master Aurelius is most displeased."
"Is he talking about the Master?" Xander whispered.
Spike waved him silent, not wanting to draw attention. He should have known this Angelus would have the same instinct for focusing on what people wanted him to forget.
Angelus turned his head to meet Spike's eyes. "And what are you, that wears the face of our sweet William?"
Spike stared back at him, letting nothing show on his face. Inside he was scrambling for something to say. There was a part of him that would always cringe at the sight of his grandsire's displeased expression, bracing for the feel of boots and fists. Soul-having Angel had only managed to hit those buttons a few times, but this Angelus, while different, was startlingly the same. It made Spike's lies wither before he could think of them, and he hated the sudden heaviness in his cock, that simpering need to appease.
"He's a Doppleganger," Xander said, standing at Spike's side. "And he belongs to me."
"And who are you?" Angelus asked.
"True names have power. You may call me Xander, and this is Spike. We're fey."
Spike did not turn his head. He did not stare at Xander. He stood silent and watchful, letting Xander take the lead in this. But he was ready to respond if anyone made a move toward Xander.
He was ready to kill.
TBC...
The vampires of this world were all about posturing and showing their power. They'd put off going for the throat to get in a few extra minutes of monologuing and looking pretty. A Slayer would have hewn through them before the fun could even start.
His lip curled. Anita Blake was the nearest thing this world had to a Slayer, and from what he could tell, she was close to becoming a monster herself. It wouldn't take much of a push to get her over the edge.
From their first introduction to this world, he'd been careful to keep Xander away from the vamps. His boy was a nummy treat, and the last thing he wanted was for someone to take an interest in Xander. Especially not Jean-Claude, as word on the street said that Anita had a serious jealous streak, one just looking for an excuse to kill the competition.
Spike wasn't looking to start a war with the locals, but he wouldn't hesitate if any of them looked sideways at Xander. And he had the advantage of numbers on his side.
Give him a week, and he could unleash a plague of vampires on this world. He wouldn't want to do it, as he was supposed to be redeemed, but he'd found that the soul hadn't changed who he was all that much. He was still love's bitch. And to protect Xander (or avenge him) he would unleash hell on Earth. It was in his nature.
"Spike," Xander said, snapping him out of his own head.
"It'll be all right," Spike said, keeping his eyes focused on the action in front. He trusted Xander to let him know if anyone was trying to creep in from the sides.
Jean-Claude and his vamps surrounded the room, but they were careful to stay out of the Kill Zone. Spike thought that was smart of them, as Anita seemed a bit too trigger happy. She didn't even seem to care that bullets could pass through bodies to hit the people behind her targets. She was like someone playing a video game, pointing and shooting, barely pausing to reload.
She'd shot Drusilla--and Spike didn't feel a twinge about that, he didn't--but for the most part the vamps managed to stay out of the way of her bullets. Which didn't mean she stopped shooting, it just meant she left more gouges in the bar and the plaster on the walls.
When her gun finally clicked empty, Spike nearly wanted to laugh. Looked like this world's Angelus wasn't stupid; he'd maneuvered her right where he wanted her: away from Jean-Claude and in grabbing distance of an angry looking Darla.
The vampires of this world could move fast and they had all kinds of supernatural powers the humans couldn't resist. They were the top of the food chain and they knew it. The only thing keeping them in check was all their in-fighting and the sheer numbers and ingenuity of the human race. From what Spike could figure, the advent of automatic weapons had been a serious lesson in humility.
Still, things were different for him and Xander. The vampires here might be able to fly and were pretty to look at, but the magic of this world was a dispersed thing, tied to biology and expressing itself in physical changes and relatively minor spells.
Near everyone had a bit of something extra in them, but in the end it was nothing to a world with a Hellmouth. There would be no reality-changing wishes or self-aware zombies. This world had laws that refused to bend and everything could be explained by science.
Spike was a demon wearing a human body and carrying a human soul. Xander was a Seer, more demon than human. They were outside of the natural order of things, something Spike realized when he watched the fight happening in front of him and saw only weakness.
Darla had Anita by the throat, easily holding the struggling woman. Jean-Claude's people froze, the room going breathless. Angelus' laughter rolled out, darkly delighted. He was already celebrating his victory.
"Well, this has been fun," Angelus gloated. "What are you going to do now, Jean-Claude? Your Human Servant involved herself in this fight, attacked us most viciously. No one would blame us if Darla were to snap her neck. You have been a most inhospitable host, after all."
"Let her go, mon ami," Jean-Claude said. Power blazed behind his eyes and his face gleamed like a mask, the humanity sucked back into his skin to let something else show. "There is no reason for us to fight. There was no reason for you to have troubled this place. Come back to the Circus and we can talk like friends."
"Where was the friendship before your human allowed herself to be caught?" Angelus tsked. "Weak, Jean-Claude, very weak. Everyone has been tiptoeing around about how you've become such a fearsome Master, yet here I am looking at you and all I see is that same weak sniveling thing Belle Morte used to lead around. Only now you let a human hold your leash."
Anita cursed and writhed in Darla's grasp, her words choking off when Darla squeezed. "Hush, little girl. The adults are talking."
Jean-Claude didn't glance at Anita, his eyes locked with Angelus'. "Why have you come here? Really?"
Angelus threw his arms wide. "Why, to visit my dear friend and see this wondrous New World. It has been a long time since I've visited the colonies and I wanted to see how they fared without me." He made a moue. "Not very well, I see. Upstarts like you think they can flout the rules and proper respect. Master Aurelius is most displeased."
"Is he talking about the Master?" Xander whispered.
Spike waved him silent, not wanting to draw attention. He should have known this Angelus would have the same instinct for focusing on what people wanted him to forget.
Angelus turned his head to meet Spike's eyes. "And what are you, that wears the face of our sweet William?"
Spike stared back at him, letting nothing show on his face. Inside he was scrambling for something to say. There was a part of him that would always cringe at the sight of his grandsire's displeased expression, bracing for the feel of boots and fists. Soul-having Angel had only managed to hit those buttons a few times, but this Angelus, while different, was startlingly the same. It made Spike's lies wither before he could think of them, and he hated the sudden heaviness in his cock, that simpering need to appease.
"He's a Doppleganger," Xander said, standing at Spike's side. "And he belongs to me."
"And who are you?" Angelus asked.
"True names have power. You may call me Xander, and this is Spike. We're fey."
Spike did not turn his head. He did not stare at Xander. He stood silent and watchful, letting Xander take the lead in this. But he was ready to respond if anyone made a move toward Xander.
He was ready to kill.
TBC...