Roomies

Disclaimer: The characters of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series Universes (Angel, Cordelia, Spike, Xander, Doyle, etc…) are the creation of Joss Whedon and are, therefore, the property of him, Mutant Enemy (Grr, Arg), and 20th Century Fox (and all other affiliated parties). No money is gained from this work as it is created purely for the enjoyment of others. Please do not sue.

AN: Constructive criticism and friendly fedback are always appreciated. Flames will be used to warm my toes.


~Part 4: A Demon’s Reputation~


“Ah – CHOO!” Sniffling sounds followed the loud exclamation.

Angel rubbed his nose tiredly and began gathering together the spell components. As he threw each item into the pack, he muttered darkly, “Oh, yah, now I’ve really scared them. Watch out evil creatures of the night, the big bad ‘Ah-Choo’ is out to get you!”

The sound of dragging feet echoed down the long corridor as some of the many creatures drawn to magic came out to investigate. The magical atmosphere was incredibly alluring though no demons approached. The obviously pissed vampire that was at its center deterred any demon from getting too close.

The magic surrounded Angel with a soft glow that illuminated his face and shoulders. The glow lingered for a few moments before lowly dispersing. Angel sighed in relief then growled as his nose began to tingle. He had just enough time to shove his pack in a cubby hole before he called out explosively, “Ah – CHOOY!”

Angel glared into the darkness in the direction that the slight snicker had originated from. He knew that he wouldn’t seek out the pitiful excuse for a demon mostly because he really wasn’t up to being teased about his sneeze.

Vampires didn’t sneeze. It came with the not having to breathe deal but Angel had always been overly sensitive to the magics. He had never been able to not breathe around magic and when he did, he sneezed. Since he was the one with a magic-blanket the sneezes were worse and lasting longer than usual.

“AHHHHHHHH – CHOOOOOOOOOOOY!”

Angel shook his head and pushed forward his human mask. Having lost face during a sneeze wasn’t exactly pleasant but it was a good indicator that he was nearing the end of his sneeze fit.

~~~

The endless maze of sewers finally brought Angel to his intended destination. He found himself in what only could be described as a junction. Asides from the tunnel that he came from there were openings to four separate tunnels. The junction itself was a large chamber with nothing but open space. There was also a foot of sewer water that Angel knew was going to ruin his Giorgio Armani shoes.

The sound of heavy footsteps and gurgled breathing was the first thing that reached Angel’s senses. The rancid smell of burnt flesh hit him next. In an attempt to find the vampire that he knew would be there, Angel closed his eyes and stretched his senses as far as they could go. At the very edge of his enhanced senses he heard a slow heartbeat. The heartbeat confused him because he could also feel the power associated with the age of a Master vampire not far from it.

Two misty red eyes met him halfway through a large chamber. The smell of the demon reminded Angel of the battlefields during the First World War: the stench of dead flesh and some kind of mould that he related to the many sicknesses that had plagued the battle field. The demon was covered in slime. Its mouth hung open displaying row upon row of razor sharp teeth that made it impossible for the demon to close its mouth. It didn’t have much for bodily structure. It looked like a potato with feet and four arms though two of what looked like arms were, more than likely, tails. The picture that Cordelia had found just didn’t do the nastiness of this particular demon justice.

Angel didn’t even bother to try and hide his presence. He kicked a stone and watched it fly and hit the demon square in the forehead. The way the rock stuck to the demon didn’t surprise Angel. There was very little about demons that did surprise him after his two hundred plus years.

“Vampyr!” The single word was growled in thickly accented English. “Scum!”

The silence that followed was daunting. Angel let the anger that welled within Angelus soak into his soul and fuel him for the on coming fight. He didn’t dare allow his demon to come out and play but he did draw upon its power.

“Nothing more but scavenging mice – or… cockroaches! You come, hunt, torture, destroy, eat, fuck, and leave to find more! Never stop. Trail of blood follows wherever! Creatures give us bad name. Because you, scavengers, demons viewed as evil no matter food of choice. I have yet met a Vampyr that does not follow unchanging agendas.” A roar that Angel guessed was supposed to be a laugh erupted from the Mouragh.

Angel shrugged and pushed forward his demon visage. He tilted his head to one side and let forth a bored expression. “You speak of my kinds’ torture, yet you torture in kind? To torture is a part of our makeup. It’s what we were made to be. You can’t have a certain part of a demon and then turn it away because of another. Our blood and our minds are based in the kill, the torture, the sex, the blood… we can’t exist without those qualities. You must see that there is family, structure, intellect and more that hold us together. We may act as uncontrolled but we do have someone to answer to.

“I look at the More-aff and all I see is a hypocritical demon who enjoys torturing with the belief that they are ridding the world of scum. How is it that you can get away with torturing a vampire and yet vampires are scorned for torturing those they view as prey? The sharing of blood brought vampires forth and so, in blood, they live on. You bring any bad name upon yourself because of how you treat the vampires that you manage to contain.

“Vampires act on instinct as all creatures on Earth do. You say that you are ‘respectable’ and can rise above that little voice that we all have. If you are so smart – if you can control your demon, than why do you torture us because we don’t bother to?”

The Mouragh watched him with now smoking red eyes. The anger surrounded it thicker then its smell. “Dare you question?”

Angel shrugged. “Why not? Some torture can be pleasurable. Yours isn’t.”

Suddenly a shock of blue and purple light flew in Angel’s direction. The light shimmered and connected with the vampire’s chest. A cloud of smoke gathered and the silence that followed seemed as if it were holding its breath.

“Is pain that gives pleasure Vampyr?” the Mouragh asked. In its mind it saw the question as rhetorical. It turned as if to leave.

A growl escaped Angel before he gritted out, “It kinda tingles.”

The Mouragh spun around and let out a fierce snarl. “What have you done!?”

Angel grinned and sauntered around the edge of the chamber in a purely Angelus fashion. His broadsword lay across his shoulders and his face still managed to hold that bored look even though he was obviously amused by the demon’s comment. “You see, I happen to have some friends that are very good when it comes to the magics. I spoke with them and they said that you would probably try and use the stuff to take me out. Since anything that I could throw at you magic-wise would do pretty much nothing they came up with a plan. They thought the best thing to do was put the magic on me. Now you have to fight my way because your magics have no effect on me.”

“I will spell break!”

Angel let out a cold laugh. “How? By using your magic? I’ve already told you that any magic you try on me won’t work!”

The Mouragh seemed to consider this. After a moment its jaw dropped in a kind of wolfish grin and it said, “Then we fight.”