Title: Baby Doll
Author Restive Nature
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel the Series. They belong to the almighty Joss and I just play with them for my own amusement before putting them away neatly.
Spoilers: Buffy Season Three "Amends"
Summary: A teenage girl with mysterious ties to Angel helps him with his Christmas Amends.
Chapter Fourteen
Who The Hell Is This?
"So after Spike agreed to kill you, then what?"
"Then I met you," Dylan shrugged. He remembered well enough their first meeting.
*****
Angelus had swaggered out of the apartment his soul-full self had procured. It was delicious, seeing the indecisiveness on Buff’s face. As if she couldn’t quite believe that her beloved Angel could actually be like other men. He was going to have fun with this girl. In the past, he’d been a fan of torturing his victims, always would be. But he had learned that the best torture was mental. And the best way to perform was to know the victim. And thanks to the wimp’s stalking skills, Angelus now knew his enemy better than she knew herself. All that reconnaissance was now for one thing and one thing only. To utterly destroy her before he finally killed her. Or turned her, he wasn’t sure yet which he preferred.
He knew that Buffy was deeply afraid of being turned into the very thing he fought against. It was just one of the little tidbits that he’d uncovered. He grinned as he’d ducked down into the sewers that would lead him back to the factory. The best part of this torture he was readying himself for was that he didn’t really need to exert himself at all. Buffy had so many fears and things she felt guilty about, that he was offered a plethora to choose from. He’d started with her own inadequacies about her femininity. Her fear that she was unlovable, given that her father had walked out on her. And now Angelus had proven what a bastard Angel was. He’d been after one thing and once he’d gotten it, Buffy was dropped. He’d twisted the knife quite a bit in her heart and had had a hard time not giggling at the pain in her eyes. It really was delicious.
He thought as he walked, planning his next step. He’d made Dru and Spike hold off with their plans with the Judge. If he were honest with himself, he was half hoping that the Judge would be a washout. Certainly the demon was powerful. But it remained to be seen how things would go. He was privy to the Scoobie gangs information pertaining to the demon. He sneered quickly at the thought of the childish name they’d given themselves. No weapon forged would take the demon down. He had to resign himself that he might not get the chance to further torture his latest lover. But, on the other hand, Buff seemed to have extraordinary luck outwitting apocalyptic demons. So he would be prepared either way. If the demon managed to destroy this town, he’d dance on the bitch’s grave. If not, well then his fun would begin.
But part of him wanted just another taste of Buffy’s pain. He backtracked towards town. Spike and Dru could wait a little longer. He needed a little more fun. So, when night fell he made his way into the school. He knew the group well and knew that they’d be here, preparing themselves to face the Judge. They’d research until there was nothing left to go through, then start all over again. He glanced around. Maybe he’d burn this place to the ground when he was done. Angel had liked it too much. It was full of Buffy. The place where she spent so much of her time. It was easy to trap Willow, using simple words to lure her in. But then that damn teacher showed up, then Buffy, catching him in a crossfire. He didn’t accomplish exactly what he wanted, but he got the message through. It was one thing when it was between her and him, but he let her know that he knew her weak spots. Her little friends were fair game.
But the teacher bothered him. How had she known that he was no longer Angel? Buffy hadn’t figured it out that morning. It hit him then, the vague feeling from Soulboy’s point of view. The teacher’s features fell into place. The damn woman was a Gypsy. Angelus grinned malevolently. Where there was one, there was usually another. And if he couldn’t play with the little girl, he’d extract a little revenge from the clan he despised. He searched around the school carefully, until he caught the teacher’s scent. It was easy enough to backtrack to the last place she’d been. A small apartment building. Within a few moments, he had used his preternatural speed to catch the door before it shut behind the unsuspecting person leaving the building. He tracked the scent down to the basement suites. He stopped before the door. He reached out to test it and to his delight, found it unlocked. He twisted the door handle and the door sung inward, creaking on its old hinges.
Inside he could see an older man, seated in a chair, his back to the door. The rest of the room was fairly Spartan. Angelus remained quiet. And the old man began to speak. Unwittingly, he uttered the words Angelus needed. A simple invitation to come in. So he did.
‘Yes indeed, torture was fun,’ he thought to himself a few minutes later as he artfully smeared blood over the wall. It was a message to both Buff and the teacher. Another little jab to the girl’s skills in the bedroom, or lack thereof and a hit on the teacher. She didn’t do her job and look what happened to the old man. He didn’t bother to wash the blood from his hand as he left, just licked it off as he walked. He avoided the usual places that he’d haunted before in effort to find the Slayer. It was time for the next part of the plan.
When he arrived back at the factory, Drusilla was waiting for him. She seemed overly nervous. "Hey Dru, miss me?" he leered at her. She grinned in response. Her arms came around him and he let her hug him.
"My Angel," she sighed, the pulled back. "I have a surprise for you."
"Really?" he continued to leer. He reached for the revealing neckline of her empire waisted gown. "Because they’re really not much of a surprise to me anymore."
"Grr," she growled playfully, stepping back. "Bad Daddy. Maybe later."
"What’s my surprise then Dru?" She took his hand and led him to the main room. He could see Spike, in his chair and another figure seated at the table. The girl, he now realized, stood up quickly, nervously. He smiled.
"Here she is," Dru grinned, looking fondly at the teen.
"Well, well Dru," he grinned ferally as he slowly approached the girl. She was nothing amazing, but Dru probably wasn’t thinking about that. He had decades of mayhem to make up for. Dru was probably eager for him to get back on board. So he’d obligingly give her a show. "I see you’ve taken to having your meals delivered. Very thoughtful of you."
"Er, mate," Spike tried to gain his attention.
"Not now Spike," he growled, keeping his attention on the teen. He could see her trembling and was intrigued, for he didn’t really smell much fear on her. Perhaps she didn’t know what he was. Time for a little fun. He let his demon face emerge, watching her carefully.
"I’m serious Angelus," Spike tried again. Angelus turned to fix him with a deadly glare. Perhaps after this meal, he’d take a moment to formally re-introduce the younger Vampire to his rage. It had been too long since he’d taught Spike a lesson.
"And I said not now boy," he growled. He caught the look that passed between Spike and the girl. Something definitely there that he hadn’t been aware of. Had Spike made a pet out of this girl? He inhaled her aroma, but it seemed to be purely feminine. Then he realized that she’d been hanging around with Dru for a while. But that no longer mattered. Obviously Dru wanted him to have her, so he would. He gazed at her, tilting his head to the side in a manner he knew others had found engaging. "No need to be afraid, my dear." Her sense of fear emerged again, but then it was swiftly shut down. It amazed hi that he couldn’t sense it at all, and he knew it had to be there.
Who was she that she didn’t fear him? He ran through and quickly discarded a few ideas. Since he couldn’t have Buffy right then t torment, maybe he could make a poor substitute from this one. "What’s your name?" There was no answer. His hand moved slowly up her arm, but with the swiftness of a viper on the attack was squeezing around her throat. "I said, what’s your name?"
"What does it matter?" the girl ground out. Her eyes were glittering, as hard as diamonds. Angelus was secretly amused. The little girl had grit.
"It doesn’t matter," he purred. "But introductions are proper. I my dear, am Angelus."
"I already know who you are," she wrinkled her nose, as if a bad scent had finally drifted her way.
"Ah, I see Spike and Dru have been bragging about me again," Angelus grinned.
"Haven’t heard a word about you," she denied. He was about to call her on it, but he could see the truth in her eyes.
"Then maybe we should remedy that," he muttered.
"Why bother?" she taunted. "I already know everything I need to know about you."
"And what exactly would that be?" Angelus growled.
"That you’re nothing," she spat. His hand dropped her instinctively. He’d never been treated this impudently in all his time as a Vampire. Even when he’d been cursed.
"Come again?" he growled. She didn’t move away from him, stood toe to toe with him.
"You heard me," she taunted. "You come swaggering in here, your so called reputation held in front of you like a shield, when there is really nothing there but a self-involved piece of crap. You’ve been out of the game for a long while. You’ve got a lot to catch up on. You think killing me will cement your big bad image? I have news for you. I’m just a kid. Nothing."
"You’ve got that right," Angelus growled warningly. Who the hell was this girl to talk to him this way?
"But here’s the news flash," she went on. "I’ve seen much, much worse than this pathetic caricature in front of me right now. In fact, you just don’t scare me one bit." Angelus glared at her. He couldn’t believe the little idiot was actually taunting him. And worse, using the truth to do it. In a way, he had to admire her. But he was tiring of this game quickly.
"Then I guess it’s my turn to tell you what I see," he smirked. He paused a moment. "I see a corpse." His teeth flashed in the candlelight of the room. But before he could descend, another hard body had inserted itself between them. His eyes flared when he saw Dru staring up at him. He glanced down and saw that Spike had also gotten closer than he normally would have dared. That alone told him that something really wasn’t right about this situation.
"Angel, no," Dru whimpered. He could see the tears in her eyes. He baked off for the moment. The girl wasn’t going anywhere. He needed to find out what the hell was gong on here before things went any further. There was obviously something about the girl that he didn’t know. And he intended to find out. Once he was far enough back, Dru turned to the teen. "Dylan, go to your room."
The use of her name was enough to get her to move. Dru didn’t use her name, preferring to call her Baby, or Baby Doll. So she hurried to do her bidding, but spared one last glance at Spike. Her eyes were clear. She expected a visit from him soon. And he gave one small shake of his head to acknowledge that he knew what she wanted of him.
"So what the hell is all this?" Angelus growled.
"I was trying to tell you earlier mate," Spike spoke up. "Dylan is a seer. We were going to turn her, but Dru said she wouldn’t keep her visions if we did."
"A seer?" Angelus scoffed. "Yeah, pull the other leg."
"It’s true," Drusilla told him softly. "She predicted your return." Angelus stared down at the insane Vampiress. She wasn’t lying to him.
"Really? What else?"
"She knew, right down to the bloody day it would happen," Spike continued. "And she knew about my accident before it happened." Angelus simply raised an eyebrow at that. He wouldn’t have called Spike ending up in a wheelchair an accident. That was stupidity on the blonde’s part. "And she also predicted a battle, sometime this spring." Angelus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Plus, Dru’s sort of adopted her," Spike played the trump card. "Can’t very well harm her little doll now, can we?"
"You adopted a human Dru?" he spoke derisively. Then he turned to Spike. "And you let her?" There was no reply; not that he expected one.
"She has power my Angel," Dru breathed. "So much power. And she’s my baby doll." They stared at each other a moment, before he grudgingly gave in. He didn’t care that the girl was a Seer. What he did care about was not having his ears abused by Dru’s voice. Really, he remembered that much about her that when she was upset, it was best to reach minimum safe distance. With her insanity, she was unpredictable and difficult to control in the best of times.
*****
"That was a hell of a first meeting," Dylan recalled dryly.
"I always wondered," Angel admitted. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Well, I mentioned that I asked Spike to kill me if it came to that, right?" He nodded. "Well, when you came in, he’d just promised to. And then, when you wouldn’t permit him to interfere, I guess I decided on the spur of the moment to just get it over with as quickly as possible."
"So that’s what the taunting was about?"
"Yeah, I figured that the angrier he got, the more likely he was to just kill me and get rid of the annoyance."
"You do realize that I might have just as easily decided to draw out a long torture just to teach you a lesson." She shook her head no.
"That would have meant I was important to him, and I wasn’t," she offered softly. And he couldn’t disagree with her.
Chapter Fifteen
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