This is a make believe story about make believe characters.

My story archive: http://www.asstr.org/~brd/

I'm not a fantastically obsessed fan of Buffy, Angel, or the Vampire
Chronicles so some liberties have been taken with both. I never liked the
Cordelia character so let's say she's still in Mexico.



Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Interview With The Vampire/Angel:The Prophecy Part 5
(no sex)
by Big Red Dope (bigreddope@hotmail.com)



With a relaxed sigh Warren pressed the last piece of the synthetic flesh to
his face and smiled as he admired his work. Lilah meanwhile sat at her desk
making phone calls.

"Good morning Lestat, sorry to wake you. I have a new proposition for you if
you're interested," Lilah said over the phone.

"I just got to sleep Lilah. Do you know what it feels like to drink too much
blood?"

"If you'd stay away from the whores and stop trying to be a ladies man you
wouldn't over drink."

"You're just jealous because I haven't slept with you."

"Hardly. Look how would you like to make thirty thousand?"

"Doing what?"

"We have a situation with Warren and one of his robots getting lose and
heading for Sunnydale. Warren will be on his way down their shortly to try
and stop her, but if she reaches the Slayer and her friends I want you to
help him keep them busy and keep them in Sunnydale. Kill them, maim them,
do whatever you want to to them, but just keep them in Sunnydale."

"When I kill Buffy I want an extra twenty thousand."

"If you kill Buffy I'll give it to you."

"Is it just going to be me and Warren or is anyone else going?"

"Someone's already on their way and should get there tomorrow."

Warren put on his jacket and reached into the pocket pulling out a disc.
He then tossed it onto Lilah's desk who looked at the c.d. which read
'Uber-Buffy'. "Actually there might be a fourth."

"How much are you paying the others?"

"Don't worry about it. Call Warren on his cell once you reach Sunnydale and
meet up with him somewhere. Nobody makes a move until everyone gets there."

"Whatever you say, though I can't guarantee anything if the Slayer finds out
I'm back in town. And when all is said and done I want a position in the
firm."

"We'll see. Let's take things one step at a time. Goodbye." Lilah hung up the
phone then looked at Warren. "Uber-Buffy? What's this?"

"The schematics and everything needed to build my new Buffybot. The Buffybot
I was going to use to create my army, but now that my warehouse is gone I
can't build them. You can, you've got the money and resources."

"Warren money's not an issue. The Senior Partners are already keeping any eye
on me, they're going to want to know what I'm going to do with a few hundred
of these."

"I don't need a hundred, just one. With the two vampires and the bot, I'll be
more than able to hold my own and takeover Sunnydale. And once I get my hands
on Tara and reprogram her, it'll make things all the easier."

"So what was this talk about a whole army of them?"

"I was being overly-dramatic, it would have been closer to a dozen or so and
it would have been overkill for my own amusement."

"Yeah, just don't over do it. We saw happened with Tara."

"My programming was just a little too good is all. It isn't anything that
can't be fixed."

"I hope so. Let's try not to have any more mistakes."

* * *

"Okay so let's say Dawn gets pregnant and gives birth to this creature and it
walks into the Hellmouth and becomes a god. What does Lilah want with it?"
Gunn asked as he, Fred, and Wesley sat around the lobby of The Hyperion.

"Power, world domination, why does anybody seek out these creatures?" Fred
replied slamming a book shut. "There's just nothing on fixing Dawn and
Claudia's violent tendencies other than with Lilah's blood."

"Buffy's sister, Angel's son, this isn't going to be easy," Wesley sighed.
"Though with Lilah, I think it's more about taking over Wolfram & Hart than
it is the world. Why would she want to? The firm's influence within the world
is undeniable."

"Kill the Senior Partners, take over the firm, control the world. I've got to
admit, she might know what she's doing this time," Fred conceded.

"If that's the case then why haven't the Senior Partners figured out what
Lilah's up to? You did, and aren't they supposed to know everything that's
going on?" Gunn asked.

"Quite possibly they do know and are just waiting to see if Lilah is
successful. If she is and the baby is born they'll kill her and raise the
child in their own fashion. They could mold the creature into their own
vision and use it to walk the earth and do their bidding. If they let this
creature become a god, then Angel would really have his hands full. You
saw how violent and aggressive Connor was, now just picture him a hundred
times stronger and invincible."

"Damn!" Gunn said.

"Do you think Connor would help Lilah then?" Fred asked.

"I don't know," Wesley said.

"Lilah's not making any deals with me," Connor's voice suddenly boomed in the
lobby. The three of them looked up to see him standing in the doorway.

"Angel's not here right now, so you're going to have to wait a little while
before he can kick your ass," Gunn said getting up.

"Look, I don't want to start anything. I just want to see my father," Connor
said fidgeting as Gunn walked towards him.

"If I remember correctly you said Holtz was your father, and you tried to
kill Angel," Wesley said getting up as well.

"Look, I know I was wrong and have made some mistakes, but I need to see
Angel."

"Charles, Wes, please don't start anything. Let's wait until Angel gets
back," Fred said.

"Fred, what are you doing? First you defend the vampires and now Connor,"
Gunn asked in a bit of non-belief.

"In case you haven't noticed our boss is a vampire and Connor is his son,"
Fred retorted.

"Wes, help me out here."

"I'm inclined error on the side of caution, but Fred is right. I think we
should stay put and let Angel deal with Connor when he gets back."

"Man, everything used to be so simple; stake the vamps beat up the bad guys,"
Gunn moaned.

"If Angel's fighting the good fight didn't make things less black and white,
Darla's pregnancy did," Wes replied.

"You knew my mother?" Connor asked his ears perking up.

"Knew of her, that she was a vampire like Angel," Fred answered. "The handful
of times she showed up she caused some trouble."

"How did she die? Do not lie to me."

"For reasons she only knew, shortly after your birth she staked herself.
Angel believes she did it because for a brief moment goodness entered into
her soul and she realized that she could never be the mother you needed,"
Wes answered.

"And did you see any of this or hear her say it?"

"No."

"So Angel told you?"

"Yes he did."

"And you believe him?"

"We have no reason not to," Fred replied.

"The bunch of you are fools. Holtz told me that Angel killed my mother and
wanted to kill me as well because I was too much of a threat to him. My real
father didn't want to raise me in a hell dimension but it was the one place
Angel couldn't find us."

"You're one sorely misguided boy," Gunn shook his head. "Wes was the one who
handed you to Holtz so you would stay alive. Every demon clan in the world
was after you not to mention Lilah and the goons at Wolfram & Hart."

"Don't you dare speak of Lilah like that! She was the one friend and the
only person who helped my father in this world. The rest of you tried to kill
him!"

"Speaking of Lilah, how exactly did you get away from her?" Wesley asked.

"I wasn't with her."

"Don't play games with us Connor. Warren and Tara happen to show up at the
same time you do. It could merely have been coincidence, but a funny thing
happened. A time freeze spell was cast and when the effects wore off you
three were gone."

"They kidnapped me and tried to force me to join Lilah's cause. I escaped
before we even got wherever it was they were going. It's going to take more
than those two to force me to go anywhere."

"And we should believe you because?" Gunn asked.

"Lilah may have helped my father out and they may have agreed to help each
other, but I owe Lilah nothing."

"Then why are you here?" Fred asked.

"Because I want to talk to Angel."

"More like kill him," Gunn replied sarcastically.

"Look, I don't owe any of you anything. For the last time I want to see
Angel. And if he's not here like you say I'll just wait then," Connor replied
sitting down on a couch.

"It's going to be awhile, why don't you leave and call back later?" Wes
offered.

"No, I think I'll wait right here. I don't have anything to do right now.
Where's the old man at anyway?"

* * *

As the elevator chimed to a stop and opened Lilah stepped out into the
weapons research lab at Wolfram & Hart. Walking across the main room with a
bubble envelope in her hand she stopped next to a grayed old man and handed
him the package.

"Does this have everything I need?" The man asked.

"The schematics, the personality programming, and the money we agreed on,"
Lilah responded. "How fast can you have this thing built?"

"It should take my people three days max to do it."

"I want it tomorrow morning."

"They only way that's going to happen is if we dropped everything now and
worked solely on your project."

"Then do it."

"You know Isaac comes down here three times a day to see what we're doing and
reports back to the Senior Partners. What am I supposed to tell him?"

"Don't worry about him or anyone else. I'll take care of it."

"Alright then we'll get started on it right away."

"Excellent, I'm in a good mood right now so I'll throw in a bonus if you get
this thing built quickly," Lilah said as she walked back to the elevator and
pushed the up button. A few moments later the door opened up and she was
greeted by an all too familiar face.

"Good afternoon Lilah, they told me I'd find you down here," Lindsey McDonald
smirked.

"What do you want?" Lilah asked annoyed as she got on the elevator and pushed
the button to the floor her office was on.

"I want in," he said pushing the Stop button.

"Into what?"

"The Destroyer, the False Sister, the creature that becomes a god. You know
that obscure prophecy."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do and so do the Senior Partners. Most everyone around here is
clueless, but you should know me better than that."

"Lindsey, I'm going to be as nice about this as I can," Lilah said pushing
the Start button, turning to face him, and placing her hand on his chest.
"Leave this alone and I'll keep you on."

"Aaaah! God that hurts!" Lindsey groaned as electricity coursed from Lilah's
hand into his body and he fell to his knees.

"Next time I'll kill you," Lilah said as the elevator door opened up and she
stepped onto her floor.

"Bitch," Lindsey mumbled dusting himself off and standing up as he pushed the
button for the ground level. When the elevator came to a stop and the doors
opened he started to step out, but was met with a punch to the face. "Angel!"
He muttered recognizing his attacker.

"Let's pay your partner a visit shall we?" he said getting into the elevator
and pushing one of the buttons.

"I thought we sealed the basement passage off."

"Shut up Lindsey and tell me what Lilah's up to and what do the Senior
Partners have up their sleeve?"

"Come on Angel, you know I can't just tell you things. That's not how things
work."

"Tell me what I want to know," Angel growled punching Lindsey in the face
after each word.

"Damn it Angel! You're not supposed to beat me up! I haven't attacked you or
anything!"

"That's really none of my concern right now is it?" Angel asked as the
elevator came to a stop and he pushed Lindsey out. "What is my concern is
that right now I have a vampire staying with me. Not just any vampire, but
Buffy's little sister. I know you're evil, but what upsets me and brings
out my bad side," Angel said as he threw Lindsey into a wall, "is that you
have the balls to go after Dawn and use her to fulfill some prophecy for
your own gain."

"Look, I had nothing to do with Dawn being turned into a vampire. Lilah's
working on her own here. She hired a vampire named Lestat to turn Dawn, and
then when she and that other girl feed off of Lilah in San Juarez they went
a little crazy."

"And you know this how?"

"I keep my ear to the ground, I know what goes on around here. Look as great
as the prospect of running this place seems, taking control of the firm they
way Lilah is trying to does have it's challenges."

"That's never been a problem for you before."

"I just don't want you and the Senior Partners placing a target on my back at
the same time."

"If what you say is true, then you have slightly longer to live than Lilah,"
Angel remarked solemnly as he threw Lindsey through a set of double doors.

"Good to see you finally showed up," Lilah greeted Angel from behind her
desk. "Don't worry security hasn't been called."

"Perhaps they should so they can save your ass."

"Please Angel, you think you can waltz in here and threaten me with mean
words? Your idol threats don't scare me."

"Give me your blood and I'll let you live."

"You know if you had just handed over Dawn then we wouldn't be having this
conversation and I wouldn't have to hurt you and your friends," Lilah
countered, "But I'll give you one last chance. Walk out of here right now
and bring me Dawn and I'll let you live."

"No."

"Have it your way then," Lilah smiled snapping her fingers. Suddenly the
blinds on the windows shot up and the windows opened filling the room with
sunlight. "Interesting."

"You... You should be dead Angel," Lindsey stuttered as he climbed back to
his feet.

"So how is that vampire can stand in direct sunlight and not die?" Lilah
asked.

"You've got your tricks and I've got mine."

"It seems were at a stand still, oh and stop picking on poor Lindsey he
really has nothing to do with any of this. Everything that has happened and
will happen is because of my work."

"Hmm... So you wouldn't mind if I killed Lindsey then?"

"I wouldn't no, but two things first Angel. One I think the Senior Partners
might have something to say about you killing him, and two you're Angel. You
can't kill a human without the guilt even if he is evil as hell."

"That was before you decided to go after Dawn. There is just so much you can
do to a person before you push them over the edge. Don't make the mistake
thinking that this is Angelus talking. He's not coming back anytime soon, but
I'll still be here and be ready to make your life a living hell if you don't
stop this now. Give me your blood to cure the girls and this ends right
here."

"And even if I agreed to that Dawn would still be a vampire."

"Don't worry about that."

"The Shansu prophecy doesn't apply to Dawn."

"I know."

"I think I know where you're going with this, but as long as Dawn is
impregnated and gives birth before she becomes human again then I'll be a
happy camper."

"That's not going to happen."

"Oh, but I think it will. Try as you might Angel you're not going to stop me
this time," Lilah raised her hand briefly in the air and bolts of electricity
shot from it striking Angel in the chest sending flying through the air and
out into the hallway. "Lindsey make sure Angel gets out."

"But Lilah-"

"Now," Lilah said sternly as she pushed a button on her phone. "This is Lilah
Morgan, get maintenance to my office right away."

Breaking off a pointy shard of wood from Lilah's doors Lindsey walked into
the hall where Angel was getting back to his feet.

"Well Angel it's time to go," Lindsey said pressing the piece of wood to
Angel's back as he led him onto the elevator.

"So when did Lilah get her powers?" Angel asked as the elevator started
towards the ground floor.

"Hurts like a bitch doesn't it? She got me this morning. I didn't know she
had gone Electro until today."

"You know I'm not going to kill you here Lindsey, why the stake at my back?"

"I know you won't but I might decide to kill you instead."

"And risk having the wrath of the Senior Partners on you? I doubt it. We both
know they want me alive so they can try and get me to fight their fight. I do
have a question for you though."

"What's that?"

"Do you like being human?"

"What? What are you talking?"

"Do you like being human as opposed to say a vampire?"

"A vampire? Please, they may be quicker and stronger, but they're stupid and
tend to get themselves killed quickly."

"So I'm an exception? Nobody's killed me yet."

"You said it yourself, the partners want you alive. You know that if they
wanted you dead, you'd be dead."

"Perhaps."

"You're an exception to a lot of rules Angel and you know it."

"Perhaps you could be one too," Angel said pushing the Stop button.

"What're you doing Angel? Senior Partners or not I will kill you. Start the
elevator back up."

"You know Lindsey, that's no way to talk to your sire," Angel said before
sliding out of the way of the spike and grabbing Lindsey's hand, bending it
backwards, forcing him to drop the wooden instrument.

"God damn it Angel! What are you going to do??? Kill me here at the firm???"

"Not quite," Angel replied sinking his teeth into Lindsey's neck drinking his
blood.

"God no! What're you doing to me?" Lindsey screamed as Angel drank from him.

"Lilah can't be bargained with, but perhaps you can," Angel replied after
drinking Lindsey's blood for several minutes.

"Go to hell Angel! There's no way I'm going to help you bastard!" Lindsey
yelled holding his neck.

"Yes you are," Angel said as the elevator came to a stop and opened up.
"Now's not the time or place to discuss this though."

As Angel and Lindsey stepped out of the elevator several nearby security
guards readied their tazers and stakes when they saw Lindsey's bite marks
and the blood on Angel's lips.

"Stop! Let us through! I'll be fine!" Lindsey ordered the guards as they
stepped near them. They stepped down and the two of them walked out the
front door untouched.

"Why-" Lindsey began as he fainted and fell to the sidewalk unconscious.

"Get up," Angel said slapping him around a bit.

"Shit man, what did you do to me?" Lindsey asked getting up.

"Just get up."

* * *

"God this sucks," Dawn moaned as she and Claudia sat chained to the walls of
The Hyperion basement. "I'm so bored."

"Patience Dawn, it's only a matter of time. We'll be out of here soon
enough," Claudia replied.

"How do you know? You know what a pansy Angel is. He's going to keep us here
until he makes us good again."

"No he won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Trust me, I know."

"Okay so where are we going once we get out of here?"

"Once things have calmed down you'll be going back to Sunnydale," Wesley
said as he made his way down the steps towards the girls carrying two glasses
filled with blood.

"Good afternoon Wesley. How are you today? It's good to see your face again,"
Claudia greeted him with chirpiness in her voice.

"How are you two ladies doing? It's time for you to feed," Wesley replied
wearily setting the glasses down in front of the two.

"That's not pig's blood is it?" Dawn asked rhetorically.

"You know Angel doesn't drink human blood."

"How can he drink this filth?" Dawn bitched.

"You'll have to excuse Dawn, she's still new at the vampire thing. One day
she'll realize that sometimes you have to make do with less."

"I must say Claudia that your attitude has certainly changed in the last day
or so. Can I ask as to why?"

"Dawn and I certainly don't want to be here, nor do we want Angel or any of
the rest of you to try and change us back, but right now there's no point
in fighting with you guys especially since we're not in any position to do
much."

"That's awfully big of you Claudia, but I've dealt with much smarter and more
cunning creatures than you. Nice act, but I've seen it before."

"Wesley you misunderstand me. I'm not trying to pull anything on you. I just
want you to have a good day is all."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," He replied as he turned to leave.

"When do we get to walk around and stretch our arms?"

"When you start behaving. Do you want the blood or not?"

"I'm not hungry," Claudia answered.

"And I'm not drinking animal blood," Dawn replied.

"Fine, we'll try this again later," Wesley said taking the blood and leaving
the basement.

"That certainly worked out," Dawn said sarcastically.

"I wasn't trying to do anything. I was just messing with him."

"So when do we get out of here?" Dawn asked.

"When the weak link arrives."

"Who's that?"

"Fred."

"But she's probably the smartest of the bunch."

"It doesn't matter, she wears her heart on her sleeve so to speak. If you
can't beat them, get them to join you."

* * *

"Well they've decided not to eat," Wes said as he emerged from the basement
and placed the blood in the refrigerator.

"Still angry and moody?" Gunn asked.

"Not really. Claudia seems rather chipper today, though I suspect it's only
to mess with me. However Dawn apparently frowns upon drinking pig's blood."

"She's a vampire, it's in her nature," Connor said. "Human blood is like a
fine Chardonnay and everything else is looked upon like Zima."

"I didn't realize they had fine wine and Zima in the hell dimension," Fred
replied.

"They don't. Lilah likes to drink wine with her dinner, and she made a
comment about a Zima ad in a magazine."

"I thought you said you escaped from Warren and Tara?" Gunn said perking up
at Connor's slip up.

"I did."

"But not before you had dinner with Lilah."

"Right."

"So you escape from Warren and Tara's clutches so you could go have dinner
with Lilah who they were taking you to see in the first place?" Wesley asked.

"Seems a little far-fetched doesn't it?" Connor asked with a smirk.

"A bit."

"Ok look. The truth is-"

"We've already got the truth Connor. You're working with Lilah," Gunn
interrupted.

"Ok, you got me. I screwed up and you caught my lie. Yes I'm doing a favor
for Lilah as a favor to my father, and when I'm done I get to kill Angel ok?"

"Not okay. Get out before Angel gets back."

"Or else what?"

"We're going to have to make you," Wes warned.

"Do you three honestly think you can take me on? I could slaughter all of
you right now and take Dawn long before Angel gets back."

"What's wrong with you Connor? You'd try to kill the three of us just so you
could get back at Angel?" Fred asked in disbelief.

"Only if you got in my way. I have no problems with any of you, but threaten
physical violence on me and we're going to have a problem."

"Do you really think you could beat us?" Gunn asked.

"I know I could. The girl's not a fighter, you fight with your emotion
instead of your head, and Wes tries hard, but he comes up just a wee bit
short, though the weapons do make up a lot for his lack of talent."

"Connor get out you're not fighting anyone," Angel shouted from the front
door as he carried Lindsey in over his shoulder.

"Angel where have you been? You just took off this morning." Fred said.

"And what's he doing here?" Gunn added noticing Lindsey.

"Lindsey's going to help us get the blood we need from Lilah," Angel answered
sitting Lindsey down on a couch.

"No I'm not," Lindsey faintly laughed. "I'll be dead in a few minutes..."

"No you won't," Angel replied slicing his right hand with his fingernail and
placing the cut to Lindsey's mouth.

"Oh god Angel what are you doing?" Fred asked in disbelief as Lindsey started
sucking blood from his hand.

"No... This is not good... Gunn get something from the weapons chest," Wesley
cringed as he stepped backwards towards the weapons cache. "Angelus is back!"

"I would, but it's locked and I don't have the key!" Gunn shouted.

"Damn it Wes I'm not Angelus! I'm still Angel! Not help me get Lindsey to the
boiler room and chain him before he turns."

"Charles here!" Fred shouted throwing him the key.

"You turned a human into a vampire and you're claiming you're not Angelus?"
Gunn asked unbelievingly as he unlocked the weapons cache tossed a crossbow
to Fred, a sword to Wes, and armed himself with an axe.

"Look if I was Angelus Lindsey would be dead and so would you," Angel
grumbled dragging Lindsey by himself. "When I get back I want those weapons
put up."

"No," Gunn said definitely. "You're not the only danger here. Connor's
working for- Hey where'd he go?" Charles said looking for him.

"He must have slipped away during the commotion," Wes said.

"Do you really think that's Angel? I know Lindsey's evil and all, but I
thought Angelus was the one who turned people into vampires not Angel,"
Gunn said.

"I don't know, I think it might be Angel. He does have a point, Angelus would
be out here trying to kill us instead of locking Lindsey up in the boiler
room," Fred replied.

"Yes, but Angelus is far more ruthless and cunning than anything we've faced.
It could all be an act," Wes said.

"For the last time I'm not Angelus," Angel replied exasperated.

"Prove it," Gunn replied.

* * *

"Her name was Lola she was a showgirl with yellow feathers in her hair and a
dress cut down to there she would meringue."

"Okay Angelcakes that's enough," Lorne interrupted as Angel sang the Barry
Manilow hit. "I appreciate you trying to sing a different song, but please
let's keep the butchering to a minimum."

"And? I told you I was still Angel."

"Well to be honest that's hard to say."

"What do mean it's hard to say? Either he's Angelus or not," Wesley said.

"Let me put it to you this way. He's definitely not Angelus yet, but
everything about him is cloudy right now so I can't say he's Angel either.
At least not the one we know."

"What does that mean?" Fred asked.

"You said Lindsey's locked in the boiler room about to turn right? While
Angel hasn't lost his soul, turning someone into a vampire isn't him. He
refused to turn Darla and she was dying."

"I don't like this," Gunn said.

"Well too bad. We need Lindsey to help us get Lilah's blood so we can change
Dawn and Claudia back."

"What makes you think he's going to help us? You know vampires have no
souls."

"You're familiar with the curse the Gypsies put on me aren't you Wes?"

"I know of it, why?"

"You're going to put the curse on Lindsey and give him his soul back."

"This is madness Angel. You're one step away from losing it and having
Angelus return," Wesley protested.

"I know Dawn is Buffy's sister and they mean a lot to you, but do you think
this is really the best thing to do?" Fred asked.

"No you don't know Fred! None of you do! They're a part of me that you'll
never understand! I owe them this much!"

"You better calm yourself Angel," Gunn growled.

"I gotta do what I gotta do to get by. It's not always pretty or what you
want to do, but sometimes you have no choice. You should know that better
than anyone here Gunn."

"Guys let's turn the testerone down a bit and calm down," Lorne said trying
to calm everyone. "Look Angel, let's say Lindsey does help us and gets
Lilah's blood and Dawn and Claudia are good again, we've still got three
vampires on our hands."

"Then we'll make them human again," Angel replied non-chalantly.

"How? It's impossible. The Shansu prophecy only applies to you, and even then
it's a myth," Wesley replied.

"There is another way. I was human once before, but I didn't do anybody any
good in that form so I had The Powers That Be turn back time."

"But I thought that's what you wanted. You could go back to Sunnydale and be
with Buffy," Fred said.

"I can't be human again, not as long as Wolfram & Hart are around."

"But they'll be around forever."

"I've been a vampire for two hundred years, what's a few more?" Angel sighed.

"So when do you plan on telling us how to cure vampirism?" Gunn asked.

"After Dawn and Claudia tone down their violent tendencies."

"Okay kiddos, with all this vampire talk let me ask the obvious question. If
Angel walked in through the front door like you said, how did he do it during
the middle of the day with the sun out? I thought vampires frowned upon that
sort of thing," Lorne said.

"With this," Angel replied pulling a medallion from under his shirt.

"The Gem of Amarra," Wes and Fred mutter at the same time. "Where did you get
it?" Wesley asked.

"An aquantice gave it to me a few years ago. I was going to destroy it after
an incident with Spike and a vampire named Marcus, but I hid it instead just
in case."

"That's great but what does it do exactly?" Gunn asked.

"It's a Holy Grail of sorts for vampires," Fred answered. "It protects them
from all of their weaknesses like sunlight and stakes to the heart."

"So why haven't you brought it out until now?" Lorne asked.

"Like I said, there was an incident and it nearly fell into the wrong hands."

"So where do we go from here? What's the plan?" Wesley asked.

"We wait until Lindsey turns, you place the gypsy curse on him, and then we
put him to work."

"What about Connor? He came by before you showed up and said he wanted to
talk to you, but he slipped up and made it known he's working for Lilah."

"Gunn, I want you to keep tabs on Connor, track his movements, let me know
anything suspicious that he's doing. Start at Lilah's and Wolfram & Hart. If
he's working with her, those are the places he'd most likely be besides here
trying to kill me. Try not to get into any confrontations with Lilah."

"She won't cause any problems if she knows what's good for her," Gunn said
confidently.

"Need I remind you this is the same woman who had her blood drained by two
vampires and is still alive somehow. Also she's got this whole electricity
thing going where she can shoot it out of her hands. Lorne I want you to
check around see what's going on in Sunnydale. There's no telling what
Warren and Tara are up to."

"Gotcha," Lorne replied.

"Wes I want you to get the curse ready to place on Lindsey. He'll be waking
soon."

"Right," Wesley mumbled. "I need to get some supplies. I'll be back soon."

"What do you want me to do?" Fred asked.

"Have the girls fed yet?"

"No they haven't. Claudia wasn't hungry and Dawn thinks drinking animal blood
is beneath her," Wesley called out from the front door.

"Well then check on them to see if they want to feed now. I'll be in my
office on the phone."

As everyone departed Fred took the two glasses of blood out of the
refrigerator and headed towards the basement. As she took a few steps down
the creaky stairs Dawn and Claudia took notice whispering to each other. Fred
stopped four steps down and initiated the conversation.

"Dawn, Claudia, are you ready to drink? Angel asked me to bring you some
blood."

"Claudia's still not hungry and is sleeping, but I'm ready to drink, even if
it's pig's blood," Dawn called out.

"You won't have to drink blood for much longer," Fred said as she started
down the rest of the stairs. "Soon you'll be human and living in Sunnydale
again."

"Can I ask you something Fred?"

"What is it Dawn?" Fred sighed.

"Why does everyone act like it's so bad to be a vampire? No death or disease,
we get to live forever. It seems like a good thing to me."

"Those people you killed on the bus and that cop, did you two enjoy killing
them?"

"That cop raped Claudia."

"And those people on the bus?"

"Nah, they didn't do anything. We were just hungry, though we did kill some
of them for fun."

"That's why being a vampire is bad. You lose your souls and become demons."

"But I thought you all were insisting that this was some condition to do with
Lilah? If that's the case we're evil creatures with or without a soul."

"I'm pity you, because once you're human again the memories of killing those
people like you did is going to start eating at you. It's going to bother you
until the end of time like it does Angel," Fred said.

"Hey Claudia wake up and get a load of Fred. She's trying to talk vampire
semantics with us," Dawn said shaking a seemingly sleeping Claudia, but
Claudia didn't move. "Hey Claudia wake up!" Dawn said louder this time
again shaking her. "Claudia... Claudia!" Dawn screamed violently pounding
the blonde's body.

"What did you do to Claudia Dawn???" Fred shouted.

"You locked us up down here and let her die! You killed my best friend!" Dawn
shouted restrained by her chains as she tried to lunge at Fred.

"Wait a second, Claudia's not dead! If she was her body wouldn't be here!"
Fred suddenly realized.

"Then tell me what's wrong with her! She's not moving and she's not
responding to anything I say or do!"

"I don't know how to revive a vampire, force the blood into her mouth while
I go get Angel," Fred said bending over to hand Dawn the two glasses of
blood.

Suddenly Claudia lurched up and grabbed Fred by the neck pulling her to the
ground.

"Claudia what are you doing??? Stop it!" Fred screamed as the blond vampire
wrapped part of the chain around her neck.

"Stop fighting Fred and I won't kill you," Claudia hissed. "Dawn get the
keys!"

"I don't have them," Fred choked out as the chain tightened around her neck
and Dawn searched her body.

"She doesn't have them Claudia," Dawn conceded.

"That's just too bad," Claudia sneered knocking Fred unconscious by slamming
her head into the concrete floor.

"So what do we do now?" Dawn asked as she and Claudia sat up.

"Did she have anything in her pockets?"

"Just some change and a paper clip."

"Good, hand me the paperclip."

"What're you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to get us loose," Claudia said as she began to twist the small
metal item before fishing it into the cuffs binding her to the chains. Within
a few minutes the first locked popped open and soon the second one as well
and Claudia was free. She then set Dawn free and both vampires stood up
stretching and yawning a bit.

"So what do we do now?" Dawn asked.

"Teach Angel a lesson," Claudia replied running up the stairs to lock the
basement door.

"What about the others? Won't they notice Fred's been gone for awhile?"

"Probably, but then we'll get to see how far Angel's willing to be patient
with us. Trust me Dawn we'll get out of this just fine."

"Excellent, I've been dying for some fresh blood," Dawn grinned baring her
fangs.

"Not quite yet Dawnie, let's get her chained up first," Claudia said before
they shuffled Fred's body around and chained her to the wall. Then Claudia
sat down in front of Fred and began to lick away the blood from the small
cut on Fred's head. A few minutes later Fred started to gain consciousness
moaning as she did so.

"Oh man, my head hurts..." she mumbled to herself.

"Don't worry Fred soon the pain will be gone and you'll be one of us,"
Claudia said.

"Dawn, Claudia, what are you doing?" Fred murmured as she pulled on the
chains around her wrists.

"We're going to see how much patience Angel has with us, and you're going to
help us leave," Dawn answered.

"Patience? What are you two talking-God no!" Fred gasped as Dawn and Claudia
bared their fangs and sank their teeth into opposite sides of her neck
drawing blood.

Fred squirmed agonizing as the two vampires drained blood from her body. Dawn
was the first to bring her head up. She let out a satisfied sigh smacking her
lips licking the blood from them. Claudia then followed suit giggling and
looking down at the petrified girl.

"Why..." Fred moaned dizzy and falling in and out of consciousness.

"Because we can. You're one of us now," Claudia grinned with blood dripping
off her lips. She used her fangs to slice her wrist open then fed it to Fred.

Dawn and Claudia grinned devilishly as Fred drank from Claudia's wrists with
hungry enthusiasm. As the blonde fed the soon to be vampire Dawn leaned over
and kissed Claudia on the lips licking off Fred's blood.

"You know Claudia it's been almost two days since the night in the cabin,"
Dawn smiled wickedly.

"Yeah, I've had that itch too ever since we killed Thad and his flunkies,"
Claudia smiled eagerly. "What do you say, right here right now with Fred
since she's one of us now?"

"Not in the basement, let's find a nice comfy bed first."

"It's still daylight, so are we going to get out?"

"Let's see if Fred can help us," Claudia said shaking an in and out of sleep
Fred. "Hey Fred let's get out of here. How does Angel get out during the
day?"

"There's... There's a secret tunnel to the sewer down here. Angel told me
about a manhole under an awning near the bus station. There is a motel right
next door we can stay at if you want..." Fred muttered before temporarily
passing out again.

"Hey Fred wake up!" Claudia shouted shaking her again. "Where's this tunnel
at?"

"The chains that we didn't use on you... by themselves in the corner... pull
on them twice..." Fred muttered before fainting again.

"Is she going to be alright?" Dawn asked. "Something's wrong here."

"My guess is since she had both of us feed on her she needs to drink from
both of us," Claudia replied as she yanked on the designated chains and a
portion of the wall slid open.

Dawn slit her wrist like Claudia had and fed Fred. With in a few minutes Fred
was finally awake for good and sitting up.

"Let's go," Claudia hurried the two. "Let's get to the station before the
others find out you're missing."

"Everyone's gone right now, except Angel and he's on the phone," Fred
replied.

"Can you make it on your own?" Dawn asked.

"At least to the hotel I told you about. I don't feel my best right now. We
can't stay there though."

"Why not?" Claudia replied.

"Because Angel will check the hotel first for us and he knows the owner so it
won't take long for him to find us."

"That won't be much of a problem will it Claudia?" Dawn smiled.

"Not at all," Claudia grinned back. "Now let's get out of here."

* * *

Buffy was going to be upset all right, pissed off even, but while Fred fed
the girls Angel had finally decided it was time to completely tell her what
was going. Although he still had Claudia and Dawn in his possession, things
were starting to get out of control as evidenced by what he had done to
Lindsey and his plans for him. He dialed the ten numbers to Buffy's house
and waited while the phone rang.

"Summers' residence."

"Hey Willow it's Angel. Can you get Buffy?"

"Yeah just a second."

Angel waited as he heard Willow scream for Buffy who he heard jump down the
stairs in a mad dash for the phone.

"Angel please tell me you have some good news!" Buffy said almost pleadingly.

"Nothing new to tell you, everybody's still feeling the same."

"Then why did you call?"

"Has Giles told you anything about a prophecy?"

"A prophecy... No... Why?" Buffy asked dreading the answer.

"There's a lawyer at Wolfram and Hart named Lilah Morgan who I've had
multiple run-ins with. She stumbled upon an obscure prophecy regarding The
Destroyer and the False Sister. My son Connor and Dawn respectively. To make
a long story short Lilah hired Lestat to turn Dawn into a vampire so the
prophecy could be fulfilled. Several weeks ago she basically fooled Wes into
turning Connor over to Holtz who raised him in the hell dimension for Lilah.
Now Connor's back, grown up since the hell dimension's time rate is faster
than here on earth, and he wants to kill me. Lilah meanwhile needs him to
impregnate Dawn so she'll give birth to a creature that she'll take to the
Hellmouth to make into a mortal presumably to kill the Senior Partners at
Wolfram & Hart and take over."

Angel heard nothing but silence on the other end of the phone.

"Buffy? You still here?"

"So let me get this straight. Some bitch at Wolfram & Hart wants your son to
impregnate my sister so she can give birth to some creature needed to take
over the firm?"

"Yes."

"You son of a bitch!" Buffy screamed.

"Buffy please listen-"

"Shut up Angel! Shut up! Just tell me one thing."

"What?"

"How long has Giles known about the prophecy?"

"I'm not sure, but he had some idea when we called him."

"Soulless, evil, I don't care what she is right now, but I'm coming up to get
Dawn! Damn it Angel! Of all the shit you've down to me this is the worst!"
Buffy screamed before slamming the phone down on the desk.

"Great," Angel mumbled as he dialed Buffy's number again. When he heard the
other end pick up Angel started talking before Buffy could.

"Buffy please don't hang up and listen to me."

"It's me again," Willow said.

"Willow get Buffy on the phone."

"She told me to hang up on you when you called back."

"Willow please listen to me for a moment."

"Buffy's very upset now and talking about going to L.A. What's going on
Angel?"

"Willow listen to me very carefully. Buffy told you about Warren and Tara
right?"

"Yes she did."

"Ok look. Someone at Wolfram & Hart needs Connor and Dawn to mate so Dawn can
give birth to a creature that can be used to kill the Senior Partners. As
best as we can tell given your history with Warren they resurrected him to
cause problems in Sunnydale and keep everyone busy down there. Warren
presumably then resurrected Tara to get back at you. They're both coming down
there to kill you Willow. Buffy needs to stay in Sunnydale because I don't
think they'll be coming alone. That's not the way Wolfram & Hart works."

"Buffy's going to L.A. no matter what anyone says."

"Willow please try to keep her down there if you can. In the mean time get
the others and prepare for the worst. Warren is hell-bent on taking you out
and taking control of Sunnydale."

"We'll do what we can Angel, but just please get this situation with Dawn
straightened out."

"Thanks Willow. We're doing our best here."

"I know you are, even if you're keeping secrets."

Angel hung up the phone thinking as things started to go from bad to worse.
After several minutes of pondering Angel noticed Fred wasn't back.

"Hey Fred where are you? I need you to research something for me."

Angel's voice echoed through out the lobby, but he received no answer. He
then headed for the basement where Claudia and Dawn were being held but found
the door locked.

"Fred are you in there?" Angel shouted banging on the door. "Fred!"

Angel kicked the door repeatedly until the lock broke and the door swung
open. He hurried down the stairs stopping at the bottom as he laid his eyes
on the two knocked over glasses with the spilled blood on the floor. Angel
then notice blood drops on the floor near the chains that had bound Dawn and
Claudia. He slunk to the floor when picked up Fred's scent instead of theirs.

* * *

"Angel... Angel! What're you doing down here?" Wesley shouted at him "I got
everything I need to place the curse on Lindsey. Uhm... Where's Claudia and
Dawn?"

"They escaped," Angel mumbled climbing to his feet.

"Who did? Where's Fred?"

"They killed her."

"Who killed her? What're are you talking about?"

"I let Fred come down her by herself to feed them and they killed her."

"No... Tell me you're lying. Tell me you're lying!"

"She's one of them now. She's a vampire."

"Ok... ok... So she's not dead dead yet. Are you sure she's a vampire?"

"She's drank their blood. I can smell it."

"What about the cure? You said you had one for turning Dawn back into a
human?"

"I'll find Fred and bring her back here," Angel said getting up. "I can't
do anything until she turns though. Fred could die if we tried to stop the
process now."

"Do you know where she is? What are we going to tell Gunn?"

"We aren't telling him anything, I will. In the meantime I want you to get
everything ready for Lindsey. I'll have Fred back here by tomorrow."

"What do you mean you'll have Fred back here tomorrow?" Gunn asked from the
basement doorway.

"She's gone," Wesley answered.

"Obviously, but why would Angel have to bring her back?"

"She took off without telling anyone. She came down to feed Claudia and
Dawn earlier, but something happened and the three of them are gone," Angel
answered.

"What do you mean they're gone?"

"Somehow they got her under their control and forced her to help them
escape."

"They killed Fred. They turned her into a vampire," Wesley suddenly butted
in.

"Wesley I said I'd take care of this," Angel snapped at him.

"Lilah wants Dawn pregnant, you turned Lindsey into a vampire, and now Dawn
and Claudia have turned Fred into a vampire. Things are getting way out of
hand and you know it!" Wesley screamed.

"No, Fred's not a vampire," Gunn said.

"Yes she is," Wes reiterated.

"No she's not, did you see her turn? Either of you?"

"Fred's blood is on the floor where the girls had been sitting earlier. And
I can smell it. Fred's been fed and drank from her sires," Angel said.

"You son of a bitch!" Gunn shouted jumping over the railing and landing next
to Angel.

"We'll get her back and fix her," Angel said.

"Yeah, just like you've been able to help Claudia and Dawn," Gunn said
grinding his teeth and clenching his fists.

"I'm only going to say this once Charles. Be careful," Angel said furrowing
his eyes.

"Angel, Gunn, this is not the time or the place for this!" Wes shouted.

"Isn't it Wes? Angel tried to kill you remember? And now he's let Fred die."

"That was not his fault."

"Yes it is, and what's he doing siring new vamps? That sounds like Angelus
to me."

"I'm not Angelus!" Angel screamed.

Suddenly loud screams and metal objects crashing rang throughout the hotel.

"Lindsey, he's turned. You ready with the curse Wes?"

"Yes, but this is not the way to get things done."

"Lindsey can get close to Lilah and get us some of her blood."

"No way Angel," Charles challenged blocking Angel from the basement door.

"Get out of the way Gunn."

Without warning Gunn reached back and punched Angel who took a few steps back
and had a small tumble.

"Do that again and I'll really hurt you," Angel growled.

"If you're going to let Fred die, then Claudia's going to stay dead," Charles
said before punching Angel again.

As the vampire stumbled backwards Gunn ran out of the basement and towards
the boiler room. He found a newly vamped Lindsey thrashing about trying to
get free. He shut the door and locked it before turning his attentions
towards Lindsey's restraints.

"Mr. Gunn, so good to see you again," Lindsey cordially said quickly losing
the vampire face for his unexpected visitor. "So how's you're friend doing
with that children's shelter she runs? That's blood money she took from
Angel."

"Shut up Lindsey!" Charles shouted as he undid the vampire's bindings.

"Curiosity strikes me and so I must ask why you're setting me free? That's
not part of Angel's plans I'm sure."

"Just get the hell out of here!" Gunn screamed as he paced in the boiler room
shaking at the thought of what Fred had become.

"I owe you a favor one day Mr. Gunn, but now that I have a demon inside of me
instead of a soul so good luck collecting."

Lindsey smiled rushing out of the boiler room as Gunn wailed punching the
wall. As Lindsey left the room he crossed paths with Wesley and Angel.

"You're not going anywhere Lindsey," Angel snarled.

"Yes I am, though if I were you I'd check on your boy in there," Lindsey
smirked pointing towards the boiler room. "I don't know why, but he's losing
it."

"FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!" Gunn's voice rang through the hotel.

"See? I'll be seeing you two later I'm sure."

Lindsey darted out the front door into the night sky as the two remaining
members of Angel Investigations headed towards the source of the scream.

In the boiler room Angel and Wes found Gunn slumped against one of the walls
with bleeding hands. On the wall opposite him were the spots that he had
punched and broken leaving his blood. Gunn was sniffling, halfway between
crying and shocked silence.

"Dear god Gunn, what did you do to yourself?" Wesley asked concerned.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"Then why'd you let Lindsey go? He was the key to get Lilah's blood." Angel
demanded.

"You took Fred away from me!" Gunn screamed.

"She's not dead Gunn!"

"She's a fucking vampire! It's close enough!"

"Hey if you have problem with me let's hear it. You're this angry tough guy
until you get confronted then you turn into a big pussy!"

"Oh man if you want a fight you got one!" Gunn shouted leaping to his feet
then lunging at Angel.

Gunn and Angel were quickly on the ground rolling around exchanging punches.
As Gunn managed to roll on top of Angel he started with a flurry of punches
that pelted the vampires face. He keep punching Angel even as Wesley
struggled to pull him off. After a few minutes he ran into some luck and
temporarily separated them.

"You two cut this out right now god damn it! I'm sure Fred would be proud to
find you fighting over her condition that neither one of you had anything to
do with!"

"She's a vampire! Last time I checked not too many of them got to keep their
souls. It's just a matter of time before she starts killing people and we
have to stake her!"

"Fred's going to be fine for now. Not only does she have her vampire strength
she's smart ass hell too," Angel sighed standing up and dusting him off.

"We're going to find her and your going to bring her back," Gunn glared at
Angel. "You know how to make her human again don't you?"

"Yes."

"And Wes you can give her her soul back right?"

"With time and the right preparation I think I can, but just now I've never
done it before which is kind of why Lindsey was going to get his soul back
first."

"So you don't really know what you're doing?"

"Charles we're going to save Fred. I just hope we can get to her before she
starts killing for fun and feed."

"Fred's going to be fine. We'll search for her first thing in the morning,"
Angel said.

"Do you know where she is?" Wes asked.

"I have a pretty good idea."

"God... Fred a vampire... She wouldn't hurt a fly and now she's one of them."
Gunn murmured.