Oncoming Train

Thursday, cont.d.

The knock on the back door was followed seconds later by the sound of two sets of feet. “Angel?” Xander called, sounding slightly out of breath. Had they walked from their apartment?

“In the living room,” Angel answered, moving to the safety of one of the chairs, keeping the youth in sight. Riley hadn’t stirred since the brief moment of semi-lucidity, his breathing slow and deep. Angel had become entranced listening to him breathe, perched on the edge of the couch, hand resting lightly atop the hard chest. It had all felt surreal, that he was dreaming of his ex-rival. He had needed the physical contact to re-affirm the reality of the situation.

Xander pulled him from his disquieted thoughts, rushing into the room with Spike trailing cautiously after. The sight of his rebellious childe jerked the older vampire’s attention from the ex-commando. Spike stayed in the doorway, eyes respectively averted though there was a stubborn set to his jaw. The icy blue eyes flicked to Riley, then briefly to his sire before latching onto his energetic lover.

“Spike.” They could spend hours of him establishing his dominance and his childe bucking that control, but he wasn’t in the mood for their old games. And there was Xander to consider, who probably wouldn’t understand, and who Angel had no passion to hurt.

The narrow mouth twitched. “Peaches.”

Well, at least his childe hadn’t changed into a complete White Hat. Angel sighed, a wisp happily, Angelus rumbling close to the surface, but content that he/they were the dominant male in the room. “Were you followed?”

The bleached head shook a negative as the body strolled into the room, making of the few feet a grand entrance. “We parked a few blocks away and hiked through the woods. How’s the hayseed?”

“Sleeping. Is Willow coming?” Both vampires looked to the couch where Xander was kneeling. Strong hands stroked the still face, pressed at the visible bruises. Riley didn’t respond to the contact and Angel resisted the urge to throw Xander across the room. “We called her on the way over. What happened?”

Keeping his explanation as short as possible, Angel explained the night’s events, tacitly leaving out the part where he’d thought Riley was a demon. Reaching behind him, he pulled the taser and syringe from his pockets, handing them to Spike. “Recognize anything? Whatever’s in the needle is what they used on Finn.”

Spike hissed at the sight of the taser, making his lover look over. “Yeah, this is their billy club of choice.” The petite blond pocketed the taser, never one to pass up any weapon, but refused to touch the needle. There was a haunting in his eyes that Angelus frowned over, but Xander’s protective glare warned him not to probe. Then the look was gone. “Best have Red look at that, Peaches. Might hap she can wiggle her fingers at it, make it talk.”

Setting the needle on the coffee table, Angel nodded. “Okay. So. Who wants to tell me what’s going on with Finn?”

Still kneeling next to his friend, Xander tensed, while Spike took a sudden interest in the floor. “Wh-what are you talking about, Deadboy?” A nervous hand stroked down Riley’s thigh, smoothing out non-existent wrinkles in the tight jeans. “The Initiative just don’t know the word ‘retired’ is all. We’re all worried about it, but don’t, we can take care of it.”

“We’ll talk more about Finn’s safety in a minute. I want answers about his super strength. Now, Harris.”

Xander twisted around, keeping a hand on Riley to steady himself. His eyes were angry and afraid. “This really doesn’t concern you, Deadboy.”

“It does now.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Harris.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, just tell Peaches already, Pet!” Spike’s sudden explosion didn’t stop the staring contest. Angel wasn’t surprised to discover the mortal was the dominant in the relationship, knowing the inherent submissiveness of his childe, but his jaw clenched to see the proprietary hand Xander kept on Riley Finn. Was the boy bedding both of them?

The demon growled at that, already inexplicably growing attached to the young man unconscious on his dusty couch, but Angel shook the feeling off. Finn wasn’t his, and whether he was Harris’, he would not submit to another alpha. He’d been invited into Harris’ territory, but he wasn’t going to let a twenty year mortal call the shots. He had a thirty year old Watcher to do that back home for him.

Changing tactics, Spike gracefully dropped into his lover’s lap and plastered the pressed mouth to his own. Xander gave a muffled squeak and sat fully, legs twisting to accommodate the exploring blond. Feeling somewhat the voyeur but unwilling to give up his living room to the two horny children, Angel sat and watched. Whispers passed along skin, Spike quietly persuading in his expert way until Xander acquiesced. The teenager pushed his lover to sit on the floor next him, keeping a possessive arm around the slim waist. Cheeks flushed and lips bruised, the boy still managed a convincing glare.

“Okay, I’ll tell, but only you. Do not go blabbing to Cordy. Only Scoobies know. Got it?”

Angel nodded. “Yes. So what’s wrong with Finn?”

“Nothing.” Xander grinned at the vampire’s glare of disbelief. “He’s not fixable. He’s not even broken, at least not the way you’re thinking. Remember Dr. Walsh?”

“The one who created Adam and neutered Will?”

Spike stiffened. “Here now! Ain’t nobody neutered. Decided to try vegetarian.”

The two brunettes snorted, but let the defense stand. “Anyway,” Xander continued, “Walsh was psycho about making the perfect soldier, a la Adam. Turned out she was spiking the soldiers’ three squares to make them stronger, faster, better Marines. Ri’ was her pet project, got the special treatment, special injections. Screwed him up,” the boy tapped the side of his head, “in a lot of ways. After Walsh died, the experiments stopped, but some of the changes in Riley were permanent.”

“The enhanced strength.”

“Yeah. The Initiative wasn’t just in Sunnydale and a buddy of his convinced him to go back in, to let them help. He worked for them, they put his head back together, try to make him normal again.” He glanced back to the supine figure above him. “At least they got his head screwed back on.”

Next to him, Spike angrily shook out a cigarette. “Like they tried. Bollocks. They wanted Riley-fucking-Superman-Finn.” The lighter flickered and smoke blew into the air. “Can’t lose their poster boy for ‘be all you can be’.”

Angel sat back. “That’s the army.” He ignored the finger his childe flashed him. “So Riley was a successful experiment?”

“Yeah.”

“Earlier. He said, Finn said, they must have used something new. A new sedative?”

“Must be. Soldier boy shakes stuff off pretty fast. It’s a real challenge to get him toasted.”
“’Spensive is what it is.”
“So why isn’t Ri’ awake yet? He can drop a hangover,” Xander’s fingers snapped, “like that.”
“Angel?” Willow’s voice came from the main hall. “Spike? Xander?”

“She used the front door.” Angel stated, staring at his unobstructed view of Riley Finn as Xander clambered to his feet and dashed from the room to meet his friend. Sprawled on the floor, Spike sniggered smoke bubbles. “What?” Angelus snapped.

His childe lazily waved an encompassing hand. “My Xanpet ain’t the only one with a taste for blondes, eh? But then, we already knew that.”

“He’s not how I remember him.”

“’Cause he ain’t. That bitch broke‘im, usin’ his own flesh. Re-worked ‘im from the inside out. Made him like a paper doll you can dress up. Commando. Slayer’s sextoy. Demon hunter. The soldiers didn’ try fixin’im. Liked what they had. Just stopped’im from breakin’ more. Still just a paper doll.”

“He has bite scars on his arm.” Yes, he had noticed that, a tattooing of scar tissue across thin flesh. Blood surged to his groin and Angelus purred.

The blond vampire writhed, closed his eyes. Grinned. “Yeah. Wore that dress too. But that was him goin’ over. Tryin’ his own hand at breaking.”

The conversation dropped itself when Willow came charging in, aimed at the helpless youth on the couch. “Oh. Riley.” Without breaking stride or looking, the young witch stepped over Spike and settled onto the edge of the couch. “Hello, Angel. What happened?”

Taking a deep, unneeded breath, Angel launched into his story for the third time. Maybe he should type up a memo. Learn to type. Wesley said it was good to learn new skills, set goals, make accomplishments. Get paid for it. Did he have any goals? Bury himself balls deep in Riley Finn. Should he memo that goal? Finn might want to know.

“Angel? Angel, are you listening to me?” Blinking back into the living room, Angel shifted in his seat, trying to hide the evidence of his sudden erection. Bad demon. Angelus snickered.

“Ehm, Willow, yes?”

The redhead held up the needle. “I might have a spell to draw the drug out of Riley. He’ll be good as new Riley. Or turned inside out Riley, but he won’t, no worries. Maybe you two should go find Xander? Horrible retching noises will be bad, but otherwise, come back in ten minutes.”

“Um. What?” She was going to turn Riley inside out?

“Red, you sure about this?”

A small hand silenced the protests. “I can do this. Sorry. Bad witch humor.” Then, before any other action could be taken, she turned back to Riley and swiftly chanted her spell. In Cyrillic, no less.

Angel started out of his chair when seconds after the witch fell silent a faint mist began seeping from Riley’s body. He ignored his childe’s cursing and crab-crawling to safety, barely covering the distance as the lithe body jerked, violently spasming. Riley’s mouth gasped open, pained moans quickly escalating into screams. Willow tumbled to the floor with a blithe shove and the vampire put his hands to the arching body.

“What did you do?” he snarled. The strong back was painfully bowed, straining, and vampiric strength was overcome by the agony Riley howled out. The mist that touched him felt wet and slid quickly past, condensing in the needle the witch still clutched in her hand.

“It’s almost all out!” Willow cried.

Another pair of hands came down, sire and childe forcing the mortal body to relent. “It’s enough!” Riley’s heart was beating so hard it could have been gripped in his hand, Angel felt it so fiercely through the space of bone and tissue. His scream of well-imagined torment sliced through Angel’s control of Angelus, loosening the restraints as the demon thrashed, enraged at their impotency.

“Red!” And their terror must have gotten through because the witch shouted something lilting and the mist dissipated back into Riley’s clothes, back into his skin. The scream mumbled down to a moan and the youth went limp, strings snipped from the manipulating sticks.

Angelus was on the witch instantaneous with Riley’s release. Lifting her with a hand around her neck, pressing her painfully into the coffee table, he leaned over her. Breathed in her sudden fear and snarled, “If you ever do something like that again without my expressed permission, your life and all the misery it can contain will be prioritized to the top of my to-do list.”

The girl stared up into the vampire’s yellow eyes and fumbled for an apology. “I- I’m sorry, Angel. I di-didn’t know that was going to happen. Sorry.” Tears threatened the corners of her eyes, then spilled down, perhaps from understanding at last there was no one left to save her from the monsters she surrounded herself with.

Stupid. Powerful and stupid. He let her go, turned back to the couch to see his childe cradling Riley, the larger blond curled child-like in Spike’s lap. The smell of sweat and something bitter was permeating the air. Angel wanted to take Spike’s place, to comfort the sleeping youth, to know the security of possession as those long muscles trustingly relaxed into him once more, giving over to his strength. However, he didn’t have that acquaintance so he returned to his chair, unwilling to leave the room, but understanding the dynamic. As it stood for now.

Minutes passed and he noted Willow picking herself from the floor, though he didn’t observe her wary movements. She was peripheral and soon she left altogether, doubtless in search of Xander. Without taking his attention or eyes from the meditative motions of Spike’s hand on that T-shirt draped back, he listened. Couldn’t hear Xander’s heartbeat in the house. Stretched a little farther and caught his panting breath in the woods, coming closer. The boy had gone somewhere, possibly to his car, or to see if Willow had been followed. The witch was headed towards the garden, heart rate still a little fast. Had he scared her that greatly?

Good. Terror was healthy for the soul, keeping it from wandering paths to damnation. From phone calls with Giles, he’d heard mention of her increasing powers, but he doubted anyone appreciated the magnitude of raw power she was displaying. Including Willow herself. If this was how things stood now, he couldn’t leave until he was certain someone exerted sufficient control over the witch.

Xander returned to the house and shortly to the room, carrying two duffels. Dropping the bags, he took in the room, then turned to the older vampire. “What happened?”

Maybe he’d missed a memo himself, the one that elected him narrator. “Willow performed her spell.”

Nodding, the boy looked around. Amusingly, he glanced everywhere, including the ceiling. “So where is she?” he finally asked.

“She needed to breathe.”

Angel had decided to omit the violence of the spell, to spare the children’s friendship, but Spike held no such compunctions. “Damn near killed’im. Bloody menace.” The tone of voice was harsh, but the blond kept his volume low, loathe to stir the weight in his lap.

“What’s in the bags?” Angel asked, to distract from the pain and concern in the boy’s eyes.

“Hmm? Oh, clothes. We keep a change of clothes in the car, just in case.”

“In case of what?”

“You know. Demon gore, sleepover at Dawn’s, dirty underwear. I figured we’d stay here tonight, since the Initiative probably have our place staked out.”

“You’re probably right. Why don’t I collect Tara and Dawn? The soldiers won’t recognize my car.” It would mean leaving Riley when he’d worked to keep the boy in sight since he’d found him, but the safety of all the Scoobies had to come first. “You can take Finn upstairs, find rooms for yourselves.”

“Okay. Xander picked up the bags. “Spike?”

The blond vampire stood without effort, shifting Riley’s weight to a manageable bundle. “We can use my old room, pet. Put the hayseed in the room over.” Ice blue eyes locked with smoldering yellowish brown as he rubbed his cheek into the fall of soft hair, lightly scent marking as he smiled at his sire. “Later, Peaches.”

***

Tara and Dawn were waiting for him at the back of the store, each with a magical bag of goodies. On guard beside them was the disturbing sight of the Buffy android. The girls hid at the sight of the unfamiliar car, but then Dawn recognized him. With a shy smile of welcome, the teenager stepped out of the shadows. Tara uncertainly followed, the android glaring over her shoulder. “Angel?” The girl stopped at the car door, bag tight to her chest.

“Yeah, Dawn, it’s me. Get in the car before we’re seen.” He reached over and shoved open the door for her. A frown still marred Tara’s pretty face, but the blonde witch slipped into the back seat, tugging the android with her. Dawn settled into the passenger seat, shoving the bag to the floorboards between her feet. “Put your seatbelt on.” The admonishment was automatic, as was the girl’s unthinking obedience. Unlike everyone else who’d ever tried to get the high-spirited teenager to do anything, he’d never argued, cajoled, or threatened Dawn into what he wanted of her. It was an unexplained mystery, but it had saved her life when he’d lost his soul. Angelus had carried an almost fatherly fondness for her, insuring her protection from both the master vampire and his minions.

“Who is this?” The android had Buffy’s voice, but the words were stiff, lacking her inflections. Angel’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, eyes staying locked on the street. To look in the rearview mirror and see his ex-girlfriend sitting there, yet knowing it was just a poor facsimile, was a torture he chose to forego.

Dawn twisted in her seat to talk to the android. “It’s Angel. He’s a vampire, but he’s also a good guy. So no staking. Understand, Buffybot?” Good God. Angel visibly winced at the creature’s name, and silently swore to never address the thing. The android sounded puzzled, but agreed not to stake Angel and that ended that conversation, Dawn shifting to face the vampire. “How’s Riley?” She asked him.

Stopping at a red light, he glanced over to meet her saddened gaze. There was too much pain there and he accepted the rush of guilt at leaving her here, in this nightmarish town where she had to live and pretend with a robot wearing her sister’s face. He’d left them all, trusting Giles or The Powers That Be to keep them safe all these months, mortal children and one immortal childe taking up the task only a Slayer should have had the strength for. Behind Dawn, Tara held herself tightly, brittle eyes locking with his before the witch slid minutely and gracefully hid behind a fall of blond hair. He’d failed to protect his old love’s most prized possessions, his own as well if he gave it thought, but steps were being taken to rectify, to make amends.

“He’s going to be okay.” The light changed and he took his foot off the brake.

“You don’t mind . . .” her voice trailed off, hesitant.

Should he try smiling to reassure her? “I can’t promise we’ll be best of friends, but I won’t hurt him.” Unless he asks me to, and Angel shook his head. This sudden obsession confused him, made him want for his Watcher. Wesley would arch an eyebrow, purse his lips, mumble something vague and then wander off to his texts to solve the problem. Without his Wesley security blanket he was left to go on instinct, and his instincts had to be on the fritz because they were screaming to claim the boy as his own.

“Good, because I’d hate to have to hurt you.” The tone was so different it threw the vampire, unexpected vehemence blanking his mind.

“What?”

“Riley doesn’t need you going all vampy on him, and frankly, neither do I. He’s all Buffy left me, I mean, she left you too, but you’re going to be gone, like yesterday, so don’t even think of hurting him. He’s got enough crap going on to have to deal with you.”

Who knew the girl would have such hen mother tendencies. “Dawn-“

“She means it, and so do I.” Tara’s quiet voice overrode him, surprising in its strength. “It’s so hard to know who his is sometimes, to not assume because we just don’t know anymore, but you’ll make it worse if you, if you try to pick a fight. So don’t. Just, don’t.”

“I promise, Tara. The past is what it is. I promise things will be different between me and Finn.” Way different if he saw matters his way.

TBC.