Mind Games - Ch. 5
Title: Mind Games
Topic: Angel
Pairings: Lindsey McDonald/OC
Summary: A mysterious figure comes to town, throwing both Angel Investigations and Wolfram and Hart for a spin. The catch? She's Lorne's "Niece"
Rating: T
Genre: romance, angst, action, sci-fi
Author's Note: And there you have it folks, this is the end. ^_^
She sat on his couch, her legs resting on his glass-top coffee table, her eyes staring into the blank television. A cup of soda was in her hands, but she hadn't taken a sip from it for at least ten minutes. She heard Lindsey scrambling around in his bedroom, taking the time to do everything that he hadn't been able to with just one hand. Examples include actually tying his ties, shoes, and anything else with strings.
He was happy, or at least feeling something relatively close to happiness, Sylvia knew that, for she felt it to. But that anger, that ever-present, dangerous anger was still simmering right below the surface. The Shifter knew who it was aimed at, but what she didn't understand was why. Why did Lindsey have this unchecked vendetta for the special vampire? No matter how far she dug into his soul, there was no answer, and that scared her. Because when you have nothing driving your feelings, especially one as powerful as hate, then you are bound to loose control.
There had to be a way to fix it. She could just kill him, like she killed Lilah, but that wouldn't help. Lindsey may think he wants Angel dead, and maybe it's the truth. But something else Sylvia knew was that it wouldn't change anything. He would still have that hatred, but instead of it being toward the vampire, it would be toward something else, possibly something a lot bigger than a depressed vamp.
"Why do you hate him, Lindsey?" Sylvia asked, standing up from the couch and lazily making her way back into the bedroom.
The said lawyer looked up from where he was currently standing, that position being in the bathroom next to the mirror. He was shaving, with his right hand. Sylvia cracked a smile at this, the little things in life.
"Who?" He asked distractedly, focusing on not cutting himself. His hand was still knew, and it had been a while since there was any flesh and blood there.
"Angel." Sylvia said impatiently.
There was no answer from Lindsey as he finished shaving, and Sylvia didn't push him. Still nothing as he rinsed his face, or just stared into the mirror. Finally he entered his bedroom and sat down on the bed, burying his face in his hands.
She shook her head. "You can't think of a good enough reason, can you?"
He looked up, zeroing in on her eyes, anger flashing through his. "The man ruined my life!"
"How?" She yelled. "By killing your puppy-love crush Darla? Or how about when he got you promoted at work? Yeah, I bet that ruined you!"
"He took my hand! Destroyed my clients, looks down on me and everything I stand for!" Lindsey was standing now, his new hand forming a pointing finger, which he was jabbing at Sylvia. She crossed her arms, standing her ground. He couldn't do anything to her, after all.
"You got your hand back, remember?" She shook her right hand just to make a point. "Lindsey, why do you care what he thinks? Why the hell do you care? You are part of something bigger than this 'sibling rivalry' you have with him."
He shook his head and started to pace around the room. She knew that he wanted to leave, but didn't want to deal with the headache. Literally.
"What do you want me to do, Syl? Forgive him?"
She laughed. "Hell. No."
Lindsey frowned, the anger almost gone, leaving confusion in its wake. "Then what?"
She shrugged. "Forget about him. He's just a pitiful little vampire, you're more important than him, destined for something better."
That caused him to freeze. "What could be bigger than stopping the apocalypse?"
Sylvia's smile grew ten fold, and a dark, evil force seemed to pulse from her. Lindsey knew he should be scared, but he liked it. For the first time in a long time, he didn't question himself when he felt the presence of something dark.
"Causing it."
Silence.
So that was it? His reason for being here? To bring the end of the world? He shook his head. "I….I can't just let him go, Syl."
What would he do if he didn't focus on that damn vampire? Lindsey wasn't sure he would know how to keep living if the one thing that kept him fueled no longer concerned him. It was pitiful, he knew, but he knew that for a long time now.
"If you think that killing him will help you, then do it."
Lindsey looked at her like she was crazy. A moment ago she was yelling at him to just let go, now she was telling him to kill Angel. Then he blinked, and the vampire was standing in front of him, that smug look on his face. "Kill me."
Lindsey shook his head, blinking fast, wanting Sylvia to come back. He knew that it was her standing in front of him, but the vampire looked so real, sounded so real. "I…I can't."
Angel snarled and pushed Lindsey back, causing him to stumble. "Why not? You hate me, remember? So why not just finish it?"
"It's not you." Lindsey said.
Then Angel punched him. Right in the gut. Lindsey double over, but the vamp wasn't finished. His knee went into his stomach as well, and the lawyer hacked and wheezed, trying to stand up straight without a jolt of pain going through his stomach. "Yes it is. I'm the person who cut off your hand, stole your love, used her, then threw her out when I was done. You're nothing, Lindsey McDonald. I'd kill you myself, but it would be a waste of energy."
Lindsey growled and punched Angel in the face. But instead of stumbling back, the man absorbed the blow, laughing. At him.
Lindsey turned and kicked at his bedside stand, causing it to crack and splinter. He grabbed the leg that had fallen off after its bruising and smashed it against his leg to get a pointy and uneven edge. Then, with an inhuman-like cry Lindsey launched himself at the vampire, driving the stake through his heart.
Angel screamed and fell to the floor, his eyes turning purple. Then, the creature on the floor wasn't a vampire, instead it was Sylvia once again, a stake sticking through her heart, blood gushing from around the wound. She grabbed the and of the wood and yanked it back through her body, gasping as she did so. She threw the stick aside and collapsed onto the floor, passing out in a pile of her own blood.
Lindsey stood there, frozen, scared at what he had done. When he had thrust the stake through Angel's heart, he had expected to feel some kind of relief. Instead, he had felt nothing. No victory, not even sadness. In fact, the only thought that had crossed his mind was that he would have to get a new nightstand after this.
Sylvia, right before she passed out, felt something pull at her borrowed soul, and felt it leave her body. The woman smiled, and this time, it was a real, genuine smile. For her job was finished, Lindsey McDonald was fixed, his soul healed. He was ready for his destiny.
--Lindsey McDonald--
Sylvia's eyes fluttered open as she tried to focus on the room. She sat up slowly, her mind groggy and body heavy with pain, a pull coming from deep within her reminding her of the coming days. She glanced across the room to see Lindsey's bedroom door opened slightly. She didn't see the lawyer, so she sat up straight in order to have a better view of the place. Her head pounded from the quick movement, but she ignored it. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Sylvia noted the time and knew that Lindsey had to be at work for a few more minutes before coming back, seemed like she had been out a long time. However, giving the circumstances, a single day wasn't much when it came to healing a heart-stab wound.
She jumped off the couch and raced into the bedroom, pulling out a bag of Lindsey's and quickly filling it with anything of hers. The materials were thrown in the bag haphazardly, but she didn't care, they would be going into the closest trashcan as soon as Sylvia left the apartment complex. She wasn't connected to Lindsey's soul anymore, which meant that she wasn't the person she had been the past few weeks. Sylvia had to get rid of all the evidence that she was even there, including personal items.
It took her a little more than half an hour to clean the small flat of her presence. Bag over her shoulder, Sylvia left, her key sitting forlornly on the glass-topped coffee table. Sylvia guessed that she would have left with a heavy soul -seeing that the lawyer surely had been one of her more interesting lives- however, seeing that she didn't currently posses a soul, the feeling was impossible.
The elevator ride to the main floor seemed like it took forever, even though it was only a few seconds. Instead of walking out the front door, she slipped out the back, throwing the duffel bag into the large waste bin up against the wall of the building. Sylvia brushed her hands together, literally wiping herself of her previous life.
She scanned the parking complex, looking around for a car that would best suit her. Of course, the decision was difficult, seeing that she wasn't anybody at that moment, just a shell of a human with a brain, one that would soon starve without a soul.
She settled with a simple silver Lexus, nothing too fancy. She pulled on the door and it swung open, even though the lock was still in place on the car. Smirking, Sylvia placed her foot in the car, congratulating herself on such a good getaway. She hated dealing with hosts that were so clingy and wanting to thank her, or, most often, kill her.
"Syl!"
Sylvia cursed and removed herself from the Lexus. She could have just sat down, closed the door, and drove off, leaving the past where it belonged. However, something stopped her from leaving at that moment, and she turned to meet the lawyer than only days ago she had been deeply attached to - literally.
"W-where are you goin'?" Lindsey asked, standing a few feet away from the Shifter, his hands deep in his pockets. Sylvia almost smiled. Almost.
"I'm leaving, Lindsey. I'm not using your soul anymore. I fixed you, so I have to move on."
The lawyer shook his head, taking his hands out of his pockets in order to run his hands through his hair. He couldn't let her leave, not now. Everything in his life was actually going right for a change, and he knew that it was because of her. He felt confident for the first time in his life, and only a few hours ago he read through Angel's file without the anger he normally felt simmering beneath his chest. He was back on track, and it felt good. "You're still employed at Wolfram and Hart."
Sylvia laughed. "I'd like to see them come after me. It would be fun."
She gave an inhuman grin, reminding Lindsey once again that the woman in front of him wasn't human, or demon, for that matter.
He felt tears prickling at his eyes, and blinked rapidly, trying to stop them from coming. He was a man, and men don't cry. Not ones whose destiny is to bring around the end of the world, at any point. "Syl…please. I love you."
She snorted. "Yeah, you loved the person whose been living with you the past few weeks. I'm not her anymore, Lindsey. I don't have a soul anymore."
He shook his head, but she continued. Sylvia didn't know why she was explaining the reason for leaving the lawyer, and that feeling inside of her, she never felt anything like that before without a soul. In fact, she never felt anything without a soul before. That was kind of what those things were for. "I have to find another soul, or I'll die."
"I can get you one, the Senior Partners…"
"The Senior Partners are jokes, Lindsey. They pull strings, claiming power that isn't theirs to take. Don't go to them with all of your problems." She started to walk forward, but stopped. "I have to go, Lindsey."
He shook his head, outstretching his new hand toward her. "Wait."
Sylvia paused, giving Lindsey what he needed. He closed the space between them in two large steps, grabbing the Shifter by her shoulder and spinning her around so that she faced him, pulling her into a kiss.
They stayed like that for a few moments, then the scene was broken and Sylvia pulled back. Her face was stunned for a moment and she brought her fingers up to her lips before placing them on Lindsey's cheek. She closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly sideways. When she reopened her eyes they were purple, a deep, pure purple. She gave a genuine smile. "Goodbye, Lindsey McDonald."
Then, everything went to hell.
The sound of a projectile being released from a weapon was heard, and then Lindsey found himself on the floor of the parking lot, Sylvia's body on top of him. Lindsey's eyes opened wide in shock as he struggled to get up. "Syl? Sylvia!"
No response. He gently pushed her off of him and watched as she landed with a deadening thump onto the pavement. Her eyes were open, staring lifelessly at the sky. They were still that pure color of purple, that perfect color of purple. The smile she had been wearing was stuck on her face, being held in place by the arrow that was sticking out of her skull right between her eyes.
Lindsey tried to let out a hoarse scream, but his throat wouldn't work. He picked Sylvia up, cradling her body in his chest. His thumb stroking her cooling flesh, he numbly said her name over and over again. The blood seeping out of the back of her skull was soaking into Lindsey's suit, but he was past caring. He thought she was invincible, immortal. His eyes fell upon the arrow, and through the haze of surprise and shock, his mind recognized the symbols etched onto the weapon. It was an ancient device that the Powers That Be granted to humans when they wanted to get rid of ShapeShifters. The only thing that could kill them, and even then they had to be showing their true form.
Lindsey, his new hand shaking, closed Sylvia's eyelids, blocking her dead purple eyes from staring holes into his face. He closed his eyes, screwing them shut for several seconds before opening them, glancing in the direction that he thought the arrow had come from.
The lawyer's eyes were drawn to a balcony located on the second-to-top floor on a sky rise across the street. Standing in the shade of the overhang was Angel, his black coat ominously still as he stared directly into Lindsey's eyes, the vampire's face showing no regret, or emotion of any kind. In his hand was a crossbow.
Lindsey gently laid Sylvia's dead body on the pavement, the pool of blood growing larger beneath her. He stood up straight and smoothed the wrinkles out of his blood-soaked tie, his eyes turning hard and cold, a powerful darkness brewing on the surface.
Lindsey raised his hand toward the vampire, giving a half wave.
That was twice now; that the damned vampire had taken away someone he loved. But this time Lindsey wasn't going to just sit around and cry. Not even close.
Let the games begin.
Topic: Angel
Pairings: Lindsey McDonald/OC
Summary: A mysterious figure comes to town, throwing both Angel Investigations and Wolfram and Hart for a spin. The catch? She's Lorne's "Niece"
Rating: T
Genre: romance, angst, action, sci-fi
Author's Note: And there you have it folks, this is the end. ^_^
She sat on his couch, her legs resting on his glass-top coffee table, her eyes staring into the blank television. A cup of soda was in her hands, but she hadn't taken a sip from it for at least ten minutes. She heard Lindsey scrambling around in his bedroom, taking the time to do everything that he hadn't been able to with just one hand. Examples include actually tying his ties, shoes, and anything else with strings.
He was happy, or at least feeling something relatively close to happiness, Sylvia knew that, for she felt it to. But that anger, that ever-present, dangerous anger was still simmering right below the surface. The Shifter knew who it was aimed at, but what she didn't understand was why. Why did Lindsey have this unchecked vendetta for the special vampire? No matter how far she dug into his soul, there was no answer, and that scared her. Because when you have nothing driving your feelings, especially one as powerful as hate, then you are bound to loose control.
There had to be a way to fix it. She could just kill him, like she killed Lilah, but that wouldn't help. Lindsey may think he wants Angel dead, and maybe it's the truth. But something else Sylvia knew was that it wouldn't change anything. He would still have that hatred, but instead of it being toward the vampire, it would be toward something else, possibly something a lot bigger than a depressed vamp.
"Why do you hate him, Lindsey?" Sylvia asked, standing up from the couch and lazily making her way back into the bedroom.
The said lawyer looked up from where he was currently standing, that position being in the bathroom next to the mirror. He was shaving, with his right hand. Sylvia cracked a smile at this, the little things in life.
"Who?" He asked distractedly, focusing on not cutting himself. His hand was still knew, and it had been a while since there was any flesh and blood there.
"Angel." Sylvia said impatiently.
There was no answer from Lindsey as he finished shaving, and Sylvia didn't push him. Still nothing as he rinsed his face, or just stared into the mirror. Finally he entered his bedroom and sat down on the bed, burying his face in his hands.
She shook her head. "You can't think of a good enough reason, can you?"
He looked up, zeroing in on her eyes, anger flashing through his. "The man ruined my life!"
"How?" She yelled. "By killing your puppy-love crush Darla? Or how about when he got you promoted at work? Yeah, I bet that ruined you!"
"He took my hand! Destroyed my clients, looks down on me and everything I stand for!" Lindsey was standing now, his new hand forming a pointing finger, which he was jabbing at Sylvia. She crossed her arms, standing her ground. He couldn't do anything to her, after all.
"You got your hand back, remember?" She shook her right hand just to make a point. "Lindsey, why do you care what he thinks? Why the hell do you care? You are part of something bigger than this 'sibling rivalry' you have with him."
He shook his head and started to pace around the room. She knew that he wanted to leave, but didn't want to deal with the headache. Literally.
"What do you want me to do, Syl? Forgive him?"
She laughed. "Hell. No."
Lindsey frowned, the anger almost gone, leaving confusion in its wake. "Then what?"
She shrugged. "Forget about him. He's just a pitiful little vampire, you're more important than him, destined for something better."
That caused him to freeze. "What could be bigger than stopping the apocalypse?"
Sylvia's smile grew ten fold, and a dark, evil force seemed to pulse from her. Lindsey knew he should be scared, but he liked it. For the first time in a long time, he didn't question himself when he felt the presence of something dark.
"Causing it."
Silence.
So that was it? His reason for being here? To bring the end of the world? He shook his head. "I….I can't just let him go, Syl."
What would he do if he didn't focus on that damn vampire? Lindsey wasn't sure he would know how to keep living if the one thing that kept him fueled no longer concerned him. It was pitiful, he knew, but he knew that for a long time now.
"If you think that killing him will help you, then do it."
Lindsey looked at her like she was crazy. A moment ago she was yelling at him to just let go, now she was telling him to kill Angel. Then he blinked, and the vampire was standing in front of him, that smug look on his face. "Kill me."
Lindsey shook his head, blinking fast, wanting Sylvia to come back. He knew that it was her standing in front of him, but the vampire looked so real, sounded so real. "I…I can't."
Angel snarled and pushed Lindsey back, causing him to stumble. "Why not? You hate me, remember? So why not just finish it?"
"It's not you." Lindsey said.
Then Angel punched him. Right in the gut. Lindsey double over, but the vamp wasn't finished. His knee went into his stomach as well, and the lawyer hacked and wheezed, trying to stand up straight without a jolt of pain going through his stomach. "Yes it is. I'm the person who cut off your hand, stole your love, used her, then threw her out when I was done. You're nothing, Lindsey McDonald. I'd kill you myself, but it would be a waste of energy."
Lindsey growled and punched Angel in the face. But instead of stumbling back, the man absorbed the blow, laughing. At him.
Lindsey turned and kicked at his bedside stand, causing it to crack and splinter. He grabbed the leg that had fallen off after its bruising and smashed it against his leg to get a pointy and uneven edge. Then, with an inhuman-like cry Lindsey launched himself at the vampire, driving the stake through his heart.
Angel screamed and fell to the floor, his eyes turning purple. Then, the creature on the floor wasn't a vampire, instead it was Sylvia once again, a stake sticking through her heart, blood gushing from around the wound. She grabbed the and of the wood and yanked it back through her body, gasping as she did so. She threw the stick aside and collapsed onto the floor, passing out in a pile of her own blood.
Lindsey stood there, frozen, scared at what he had done. When he had thrust the stake through Angel's heart, he had expected to feel some kind of relief. Instead, he had felt nothing. No victory, not even sadness. In fact, the only thought that had crossed his mind was that he would have to get a new nightstand after this.
Sylvia, right before she passed out, felt something pull at her borrowed soul, and felt it leave her body. The woman smiled, and this time, it was a real, genuine smile. For her job was finished, Lindsey McDonald was fixed, his soul healed. He was ready for his destiny.
--Lindsey McDonald--
Sylvia's eyes fluttered open as she tried to focus on the room. She sat up slowly, her mind groggy and body heavy with pain, a pull coming from deep within her reminding her of the coming days. She glanced across the room to see Lindsey's bedroom door opened slightly. She didn't see the lawyer, so she sat up straight in order to have a better view of the place. Her head pounded from the quick movement, but she ignored it. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Sylvia noted the time and knew that Lindsey had to be at work for a few more minutes before coming back, seemed like she had been out a long time. However, giving the circumstances, a single day wasn't much when it came to healing a heart-stab wound.
She jumped off the couch and raced into the bedroom, pulling out a bag of Lindsey's and quickly filling it with anything of hers. The materials were thrown in the bag haphazardly, but she didn't care, they would be going into the closest trashcan as soon as Sylvia left the apartment complex. She wasn't connected to Lindsey's soul anymore, which meant that she wasn't the person she had been the past few weeks. Sylvia had to get rid of all the evidence that she was even there, including personal items.
It took her a little more than half an hour to clean the small flat of her presence. Bag over her shoulder, Sylvia left, her key sitting forlornly on the glass-topped coffee table. Sylvia guessed that she would have left with a heavy soul -seeing that the lawyer surely had been one of her more interesting lives- however, seeing that she didn't currently posses a soul, the feeling was impossible.
The elevator ride to the main floor seemed like it took forever, even though it was only a few seconds. Instead of walking out the front door, she slipped out the back, throwing the duffel bag into the large waste bin up against the wall of the building. Sylvia brushed her hands together, literally wiping herself of her previous life.
She scanned the parking complex, looking around for a car that would best suit her. Of course, the decision was difficult, seeing that she wasn't anybody at that moment, just a shell of a human with a brain, one that would soon starve without a soul.
She settled with a simple silver Lexus, nothing too fancy. She pulled on the door and it swung open, even though the lock was still in place on the car. Smirking, Sylvia placed her foot in the car, congratulating herself on such a good getaway. She hated dealing with hosts that were so clingy and wanting to thank her, or, most often, kill her.
"Syl!"
Sylvia cursed and removed herself from the Lexus. She could have just sat down, closed the door, and drove off, leaving the past where it belonged. However, something stopped her from leaving at that moment, and she turned to meet the lawyer than only days ago she had been deeply attached to - literally.
"W-where are you goin'?" Lindsey asked, standing a few feet away from the Shifter, his hands deep in his pockets. Sylvia almost smiled. Almost.
"I'm leaving, Lindsey. I'm not using your soul anymore. I fixed you, so I have to move on."
The lawyer shook his head, taking his hands out of his pockets in order to run his hands through his hair. He couldn't let her leave, not now. Everything in his life was actually going right for a change, and he knew that it was because of her. He felt confident for the first time in his life, and only a few hours ago he read through Angel's file without the anger he normally felt simmering beneath his chest. He was back on track, and it felt good. "You're still employed at Wolfram and Hart."
Sylvia laughed. "I'd like to see them come after me. It would be fun."
She gave an inhuman grin, reminding Lindsey once again that the woman in front of him wasn't human, or demon, for that matter.
He felt tears prickling at his eyes, and blinked rapidly, trying to stop them from coming. He was a man, and men don't cry. Not ones whose destiny is to bring around the end of the world, at any point. "Syl…please. I love you."
She snorted. "Yeah, you loved the person whose been living with you the past few weeks. I'm not her anymore, Lindsey. I don't have a soul anymore."
He shook his head, but she continued. Sylvia didn't know why she was explaining the reason for leaving the lawyer, and that feeling inside of her, she never felt anything like that before without a soul. In fact, she never felt anything without a soul before. That was kind of what those things were for. "I have to find another soul, or I'll die."
"I can get you one, the Senior Partners…"
"The Senior Partners are jokes, Lindsey. They pull strings, claiming power that isn't theirs to take. Don't go to them with all of your problems." She started to walk forward, but stopped. "I have to go, Lindsey."
He shook his head, outstretching his new hand toward her. "Wait."
Sylvia paused, giving Lindsey what he needed. He closed the space between them in two large steps, grabbing the Shifter by her shoulder and spinning her around so that she faced him, pulling her into a kiss.
They stayed like that for a few moments, then the scene was broken and Sylvia pulled back. Her face was stunned for a moment and she brought her fingers up to her lips before placing them on Lindsey's cheek. She closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly sideways. When she reopened her eyes they were purple, a deep, pure purple. She gave a genuine smile. "Goodbye, Lindsey McDonald."
Then, everything went to hell.
The sound of a projectile being released from a weapon was heard, and then Lindsey found himself on the floor of the parking lot, Sylvia's body on top of him. Lindsey's eyes opened wide in shock as he struggled to get up. "Syl? Sylvia!"
No response. He gently pushed her off of him and watched as she landed with a deadening thump onto the pavement. Her eyes were open, staring lifelessly at the sky. They were still that pure color of purple, that perfect color of purple. The smile she had been wearing was stuck on her face, being held in place by the arrow that was sticking out of her skull right between her eyes.
Lindsey tried to let out a hoarse scream, but his throat wouldn't work. He picked Sylvia up, cradling her body in his chest. His thumb stroking her cooling flesh, he numbly said her name over and over again. The blood seeping out of the back of her skull was soaking into Lindsey's suit, but he was past caring. He thought she was invincible, immortal. His eyes fell upon the arrow, and through the haze of surprise and shock, his mind recognized the symbols etched onto the weapon. It was an ancient device that the Powers That Be granted to humans when they wanted to get rid of ShapeShifters. The only thing that could kill them, and even then they had to be showing their true form.
Lindsey, his new hand shaking, closed Sylvia's eyelids, blocking her dead purple eyes from staring holes into his face. He closed his eyes, screwing them shut for several seconds before opening them, glancing in the direction that he thought the arrow had come from.
The lawyer's eyes were drawn to a balcony located on the second-to-top floor on a sky rise across the street. Standing in the shade of the overhang was Angel, his black coat ominously still as he stared directly into Lindsey's eyes, the vampire's face showing no regret, or emotion of any kind. In his hand was a crossbow.
Lindsey gently laid Sylvia's dead body on the pavement, the pool of blood growing larger beneath her. He stood up straight and smoothed the wrinkles out of his blood-soaked tie, his eyes turning hard and cold, a powerful darkness brewing on the surface.
Lindsey raised his hand toward the vampire, giving a half wave.
That was twice now; that the damned vampire had taken away someone he loved. But this time Lindsey wasn't going to just sit around and cry. Not even close.
Let the games begin.