Darkening of the Light - Part 2

By superninja

All characters belong to WB and Joss Wheedon, Mutant Enemy, etc.

***

The dark, nasty apartment looked like it hadn't been cleaned in days.

Fine light from the street lamp outside filtered through the thin venetian blinds and cast an eerie light on the dingy carpet.

Cordelia relaxed for a moment, convinced that they'd finally both left her alone.

Huddled in the corner, she released her right arm from her left hand's grasp. It ached. She couldn't see it in the dark, but she was sure it was broken.

That crazy girl had started talking to her about the pretty pictures in her head. About Angel and how he had made a lovely painting of fire and blood, and how all the colors started to melt.

"They melted on me and Grandmother," she said with sudden graveness, and started to cry. "He'd liked to burn us along with the landscape," she sobbed. "And it was such a pretty picture at first…"

Darla had promptly told her to shut up.

She began screaming at Drucilla that she was telling Cordelia too much. She started smashing things, pulling objects off the furniture, the walls, and hurling them at them.

She nearly blacked out when a book had smashed into her temple, but she fought the darkness, afraid of losing consciousness and being totally powerless at her captor's hands.

Drucilla saw her whimper and slide against the wall, leaning over towards her and patting her gently on the head. Just like one of her silly dolls.

"There, there pretty sister. Grandmother doesn't mean such things. She's just stuck between a rose and a thorn."

"Oh, just shut up, Dru, you crazy bitch," Darla seethed. "She has no idea what you're talking about."

Cordelia saw the unflinching cold in Darla's gaze on Drucilla, and jerked as she turned it on her.

Drucilla seemed to whither beneath her gaze and responded in a voice that was so small it was barely audible.

"B-but she has colors, inside her head, like me."

"Yeah, I know," Darla deadpanned. "Maybe she's more useful than you are," she said, smiling wickedly.

Drucilla turned on Cordelia, her dark eyes staring at her with bloodlust.

"Grandmother doesn't like you, Sister. Maybe I shouldn't either."

"That's a good girl," Darla said.

"Besides, she's not your sister…yet."

***

Wesley was slumped in the chair, staring into space, the computer screen luminous in front of him.

Not a lead. Not a damn one.

It had been twenty-four hours, and not a sign, or a demand from her captors.

He didn't want to give up, but what if she was dead, or…worse?

Wesley couldn’t bear the thought of having to put a stake in Cordelia's heart, or watching someone else do the same. He was worn out, and felt his bloodshot eyes straining to shut.

Glancing over across the upstairs room, he spotted Gunn sitting on the couch with a similar expression.

"How are we supposed to find her on our own?"

Gunn's eyes flickered up to him, the expression on his face looking as if it might slide off and onto the floor.

"We can't. Angel, as usual, ran off to find her on his own. Now we're stuck here, in an office, while those two crazy vampires kill our friend."

"Cordelia would be glad to hear that," Wesley said, smiling weakly.

"What?" Gunn asked with genuine interest.

"That you called her friend."

"Of course she's my friend. She might be my dead friend about now. Or even my undead friend…"

His words drifted off and he suddenly stood and moved to the wall, kicking it hard with the toe of his boot over and over again.

"I HATE this!" he yelled.

"I do too," Wesley replied, then a thought dawned on him. "You get to the streets, and try to find out where they're operating," he said, rising with sudden energy from his chair.

"I told you, I already put in the calls, man! I would've known by now if my boys heard anything."

"I know, I know," Wesley pleaded. "But it's doing neither of us any good to sit here. You do what you do best, and I'm going to take a chance on someone who owes a favor."

"Wes, who owes you a favor? The local librarian? Jeesuz…I should've staked Angel's ass in that sewer when we had the chance."

"No, someone who owes Angel a favor."

***

Kate picked up the phone just before it rang. The red light had flashed for just a brief second, and instinct took hold.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver. Usually, she would be more formal, but something felt…

"Kate? This is Wesley. I don't know if you remember me, but I'm a friend of Angel's."

"Yeah," she said, sighing, and tensing, slid back into her seat. "What do you want?"

It came out a bit more harshly than she had intended, but there was nothing to be done now.

"One of my co-workers is in extreme jeopardy."

"And where's Angel?" she said pointedly, sitting back up in her seat.

"I need your help," he said, hoping his desperation came through over the phone.

Kate looked around the office, and put her hand over the phone to muffle their conversation.

"What do you need?"

"Cordelia. You know her, right?"

"Yes…the brunette with the crappy attitude?"

"That's her," he paused. "You remember Darla, correct?"

Kate shrank at the thought. The woman that had convinced her that she was just an ordinary person like them, when in fact, she had been a vampire once and had tried to set Angel up under orders from Wolfram & Hart. Angel had set her straight, but it had been a hard road believing his stories.

"I know her. If I catch her again, I'm taking her in."

"Yes, yes…you can have her, by all means. If you can handle her, of course."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"My friends and I have alternative means to dealing with people of her, ahem, special persuasion. More permanent means."

"We're not having this conversation," Kate croaked into the phone, and then looked around the office again. It was empty, thank God.

"But continue…," she said. "I thought Darla was a human."

"She was," he answered. "But there's another player. A person from her past that restored her, ah…abilities. A rather nasty bit of business."

"Where is Angel again?" she asked. She was getting suspicious. Another set-up would not look good in her file.

"We're getting off topic," he replied with frustration.

"If you're not coming clean, I swear I'll hang up…"

"No! I'll tell you whatever you want to know, but Angel is the least of my concerns now. Cordelia has been kidnapped by Darla and Drucilla. Drucilla is the new player."

Kate nodded her head, finally understanding his intention.

"You want me to find them for you."

"Yes," he sighed relieved into the phone. "Well, if you can. I don't know if they'll rear their heads, but I want you to put out an A.P.B. I can give you a description. Also, they're apparently looking for local help. Any kind of recruiting going on"

"Understood. What do they look like again?"

"Well, Darla you know, but Drucilla is a medium-height brunette, slight accent, long hair, likes to speak in riddles a bit."

"Great," she answered. "Another crazy."

"Oh, quite insane," he replied.

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Of course."

An uncomfortable silence followed. Neither one knew how to close the conversation.

"Thank you," Wesley said. "Her life depends on it. And I promise…I'll explain everything when all this is over."

***

Angel found the demon again. That blasted busybody that always knew who was who and where they did what.

He was grateful he didn't drown the bastard in the sewer drainage. The thought had occurred to him. But he had proven helpful before, and with what was coming, he figured he could be useful in the future.

There was a need for useful people about now.

Angel had told Wesley and Gunn to find Cordelia on their own. He didn't want to stumble upon Darla and Dru with them in tow. It might prove to be a distraction for him.

He had to do what he had to do. He couldn't afford to have a handicap in the battle to come.

Darla had taken it too far. It had just been between them before, but now she had made it personal.

Why?

She was calling him out. Maybe testing his abilities.

Dammit! Why did she have to do this?

Now Cordelia's life was at stake. He hoped that she wouldn't take it that far, but his gut told him otherwise.

Cordelia as a vampire would not be a pretty picture. But the part that tore him apart was the idea of having to kill her along with those two.

Twenty years old. Darla and Dru had hundreds of years of undead lives between them. But sweet Cordelia was still new to the world.

And what was worse, she knew, she *knew* because of him that that eternal life was not a thing to covet. It was a curse. A part of him inside felt like crying for her…he hadn't felt that in years. The last time was with Buffy.

Maybe that's what Darla wanted. To bring out as much of him as she could.

She was in for a shock.

He had stalked the demon as he walked out of the bar, and into the alley behind it.

Angel glanced at his surroundings, and then pounced.

"Dude! Less than 48 hours! Give me a break!"

"You know!" Angel seethed at him.

"Man, why don't we just set up a hotline, and then whenever I know something…"

Angel shoved him against the brick wall, shutting his larynx.

The demon gasped for breath.

"No games. No chit-chat. I want to know where they are, and now."

"They were recruiting, but then they stopped," the demon stammered.

Angel slugged him in the face, breaking skin as the demon began to slide to the pavement.

"Dude…let me finished. Sheesh! They're still recruiting, but they're scared after what happened last time. A-A could of local yahoos were tracking them, to make sure that they were the real deal…they said they're holed up in an apartment in Santa Monica."

"Address?"

***

Darla was tired of this game.

She was so tired. And confused -- her head wasn't straight, but if she thought about it too long, she would become as useless as Drucilla.

That poor little creature, cowering in the corner.

Soon, she would make it all better.

The demon would spill his guts for Angel, as he always did. Her contacts had convinced her that he would. If he didn’t'….she would kill every last one of them.

Angel had dealt them a nasty blow the last round. She didn’t' take to being burned alive again, or whatever creative demise Angel could think up for her.

Darla was tired of waiting. The human was whining incessantly and it was near to driving her crazy. She didn't want to end up like Drucilla.

"Just let me go," she said. "Angel will come."

"I thought I told you not to speak."

"Angel will come, regardless," Cordelia answered. "You're just stalling."

"Oh, that's so brave," Darla countered. "But I want to see him suffer, and so…you have to wait."

"Your pictures will be golden when I bite you. Grandmother promised me."

Cordelia shrank from Drucilla's grasp, and hugged the wall for comfort.

"You know," Darla cried, "You've been whining non-stop about your arm. You won't feel it anymore, once you're whole. In fact, you'll be young and beautiful forever…now isn't that something to live for?"

"So you're going to vamp me?" Cordelia asked.

"Maybe," was Darla's reply, briefly glancing over at Drucilla, full of anticipation.

Cordelia thought she was going to die before now. But maybe dying was better. She was irrational now, without food and water for several days. The truth of her fate was a decision she had to discern.

"Y-You have no soul," Cordelia sputtered.

Drucilla was just confused. Darla seemed to be troubled by her statement.

"What's a soul? Just another burden in this miserable existence. Did Angel tell you how much fun he had before he had the "gift" of a soul," she asked.

"No," she said, staring back at the two women before her. Darla's eyes were glowing with anger, and Drucilla maintained her confused expression.

"He doesn't like to talk about it," Cordelia continued. "Must have been a great time for him to be so interested in forgetting."

"Oh darling," Darla sneered back at her. "You have no idea. Why would he talk about it to such loathsome creatures…creatures that couldn't even relate?"

"You're just all messed up, aren't you?"

Darla's triumphant sneer turned to anger in a swift second.

"Shut up! What is it with you people?" she said, looking for something to smash, but finding nothing, clenched her fists in a rage.

"I'm the one that has the power here, not you! I hold my life in your hands, and you're just throwing little one-liners at me like it will change anything."

She leapt towards Cordelia and dragged her to her feet, slamming her against the wall.

"Honey, you're either going to die tonight, or you're going to have eternal damnation along with the rest of us!"

Drucilla started to giggle.

"I like the damnation part."

***

Angel checked the perimeter, carefully trying to spot a vantage point without making his adversaries aware he was out there.

This time he was going to finish what he started.

Up until this point, he was content to drive them out slowly, after wearing down their emotional defenses. Darla was the one he wanted, and he needed her weak in spirit and body to finish the job.

But she had crossed the line taking Cordelia, involving his new life in their old one.

Darla and Dru were going to die. He could take them both…

Wait.

The thought echoed over again in his mind.

"Wait. Wait. Wait."

Cordelia could be one of them now. He didn't want to be played for a fool again. If she had been turned, then he would have to deal with her too.

If she had been turned, maybe he would kill her first. He would have to, or it could become a factor in his losing the battle. She would be relatively weak if she'd been newly turned.

They hardly had time to complete the ritual, and a newly buried and risen vampire was half as strong as an old one.

"You thought that about Darla, too," his inner voice answered.

"No," he said to himself aloud. "I was weakened by emotion…that's why she got away from me."

Never again.

Darla would not use Cordelia against him that way. It was no kind of tribute to the woman she one was. Cordelia would want her to fight Darla tooth and nail, until it was ended.

Now to matters at hand.

There were no fire escapes, and only a few windows that were covered in blinds. It was an older building, probably from the 50s, and there was only one way in or out.

He would have to go in right through the front and play it cool.

Noise from the entrance disrupted his chain of thought, and he crouched as a couple emerged, dressed for a night on the town.

Tension was coursing through his body. He closed his eyes in a moment of meditation to release it. It would do no one good for him to go in there on edge. He had to be the picture of calm.

A vampire could sense things regular people couldn't.

***

Wesley had fallen asleep at the desk, emotionally and physically exhausted from his efforts.

The phone rang twice before it woke him up, and he jerked to his feet and grabbed the receiver, almost sending the phone toppling to the floor.

With dexterity he thought he'd left in his dreams, he caught it before it hit.

"Hello?" the agitated voice asked from the other end of the phone.

It was Kate.

"Yes! Yes, I'm here," Wesley yelled into the phone.

"I got a tipped from a freak we picked up off the street. He'd been beaten up pretty badly. A couple of patrollers found him in an alley responding to a domestic disturbance at a bar."

"Freak as in vampire or demon."

"You're the expert, not me. Let's just put him in the non-human category. They're still trying to find a holding pen for him. The rest of the regulars freaked when they tried to put him in with them."

"What did he say?"

"He was pretty forthcoming. Surprisingly so for someone who's supposed to have one up on us."

"Where are they?" Wesley said, tired of casual conversation. He would still need time to track down Gunn.

"They're at an apartment in Santa Monica," she replied. "I'll give you the address."

She dictated over the phone as Wesley scribbled it down.

"God thank you, Kate," he said, gathering his things up, and throwing on his jacket. "Our agreement stands. When this is done, I tell you everything."

"HOLD ON!" she said sternly. "I'm coming with you, and having backup ready…"

"NO!" Wesley yelled. "I trust you but I don't know your men. If those two feel compromised for even a moment, they'll kill her. Darla is irrational, and she may do something unexpected…"

"Then let me come with you," she shot back.

"Please. We are used to dealing with these matters. Let us handle it, and whatever falls on us afterwards, you can enforce the law to full effect."

Kate went silent over the phone.

"I'm begging you…"

"Alright," she replied. "But if you can't handle the situation, if innocent bystanders are hurt, I'm holding you and your team personally responsible."

"Agreed."

Wesley waited for a pause, and then quickly hung up and dialed Wesley's pager.

He prayed he answered right away. His heavy heart told him they were running out of time, faster than even he could comprehend.

***

Angel shoved the door open with a thud and stood at the berth of the darkened room.

His shadow took on a ghastly cast, leaning out on the floor before him.

"Invite me in," he said coldly.

"Maybe," Darla said confidently from the darkness. There was a hint of frustration in her voice.

"Good," Angel thought. "Things aren't going her way."

"Cordelia," he said aloud.

No sound. Not a scratch or stir.

"Come in Grandfather."

Drucilla's voice echoed towards him, and he stepped into the room.

There was motion in the far corner, sickening, like the sound of a creature dragging across the carpet.

The smell of blood hit him instantly. Angel felt himself beginning to panic, but played it cool.

"What's wrong, darling?"

Darla's voice reached out to him, full of malice and mirth.

"They always say the night is full of smells," she continued, her nails dragging against a wooden surface.

"What do you smell now?"

Stone-faced, he stared her down.

"Well, what do you smell?!" she yelled, pounding her fist on the desk.

"Death," he replied evenly.

"Mmmm," Drucilla purred. "Not quite yet, but it's filled my nose with a lovely aroma."

"Shut UP!" Darla said at her through clenched teeth.

"So you left her alive?" Angel asked, and then continued when she remained silent. "Good. It would've only made things worse."

"Is she alive?" she asked. "Or somewhere in between?"

Angel could see Darla clearly, and Drucilla was crouched at the end of the room, mothering over someone…Cordelia…

But the sofa obscured her, making her condition an unknown to him.

"What did you do to her?"

The tension was finally starting to leak from his voice. He wanted to lose it, to just leap towards them both and snap their necks.

"Have a look for yourself," Darla said, stepping aside and opening her arm invitingly.

Angel hesitated, his fingers running over the launcher at his wrist, reading a stake for Darla if she tried anything sudden.

Taking heavy step after heavy step forward, he made his way past the couch, to the scene on the floor before it.

Blood. So much blood. And it was Cordelia's, but it was mixed with Drucilla's as well.

His eyes traced the path of blood to its end where it met the wall and the body that lie there.

Cordelia was slumped against the wall, her head cradled in Drucilla's arms.

Drucilla looked up and gazed into Angel's eyes. There was something unexpected there.

Sorrow.

"I'm sorry, Grandfather," Drucilla started. "But she didn't take to Grandmother's milk. I tried to give her some of mine, but she fought me."

Darla started laughing behind him.

Angel wondered if insanity had finally taken hold of her.

"She's dying, you know," Darla began. "Just like I was, trapped in that human shell. But then Drucilla came along and made me all better."

"She's not like you!" Angel yelled at her. "It's not about anyone else! It was about us…and now you've ruined any chance there was of ever bringing that full circle." He cried. "Before I wanted to save you, and now I just want to kill you," he said, turning on her.

"Oh, and you didn't before? Or was I just a puppet in your precious quest for humanity? I was once as a god, then humbled to face your awful judgement. Well, look on it now, Angel or Angelus, or whatever you're going by these days! Look down on that frail creature and see the gift you bestowed on me!"

"Drucilla," Angel said, ignoring Darla. "I have no quarrel with you. Leave and take Cordelia to a hospital now."

Drucilla looked startled and confused by the suggestion, her eyes flickering from him to Darla.

"I-I can't, Grandfather. Grandmother would never forgive me…"

"She's NOT your Grandmother, Drucilla!" Angel yelled. "She's never was. Wolfram & Hart brought something back that was never meant to be."

"But she looks and smells like my Granny," she babbled.

"You know that Darla died in Sunnydale, Drucilla. This thing," he spat, looking back for a moment at Darla, "This *thing* died years ago. She was never supposed to be."

"Don't listen to him, my little girl," Darla said soothingly. "He's only trying to confuse you."

"You're different now, Grandmother," she said. "The handsome man said that it would be just like old days," she pleaded. "And I was so alone! Spike ran away to lick the Slayer's boots."

That comment took Angel off guard, but he shelved it for another time.

"But it's not. It's not the same…you're so full of fear now," she put her hand to her head and swayed. "Caught between a rose and a thorn," she said weakly.

Darla screamed and ran towards Drucilla.

Angel tried to stop her, but she shoved him out of the way with the strength of a madwoman.

Darla pulled Drucilla to her feet by her hair and screamed at her.

"Stop saying that! What does it mean?! You don't know, you're crazy! And now I'm crazy because of you!"

Angel unsheathed the spike held on the tensile spring at his wrist.

"I'm not human, Drucilla! I'm not! I don't have a soul!"

Drucilla whimpered as Darla gave another jerk of her head to bring them into eye contact.

"Look at me! I'm your Grandmother! We spent so many centuries together. All that beautiful chaos, and now you turn on me! Damn you, damn all of you!"

Drucilla shrieked as Darla pulled the wood paneling lining the floor loose with her free hand and dragged a sharp spike up to her chest, pressing it against her heart.

Drucilla began to cry.

"Please, Grandmother…don't," she shut her eyes tightly as a shadow suddenly loomed over them both.

"Goodbye Darla."

Angel plunged the spike into Darla's heart as she jerked spasmodically, and then burst into ash before their eyes, coating Drucilla in the substance.

Her large eyes stood out even more against the ash against her.

"Grandfather," she flinched, bringing her hands to her face. "Please, I don't want to die."

Angel stood poised over her, the stake again at ready.

"Go," he said. "Get out of here before I change my mind. I never want to see you again."

Drucilla stood still for a moment, and then lit to the air like a bird, rushing from the room, a fit of sobbing in her wake.

***

Wesley and Gunn watched as Drucilla ran down the stairs of the apartment complex.

Both exchanged a look as Wesley headed for the apartment, and Gunn…

"What are you doing?!" Wesley yelled at him, and grabbed him by his jacket.

"I'm going to go kill that psycho vampire," Gunn said.

"No, you're coming with me, let her go."

Gunn gave him a look, and then they both rushed up the stairs to the apartment above.

***

It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Wesley squinted, and looked around the empty room. No one was there.

Gunn glanced over at him, and then began sifting over the room.

A moan escaped into the air, and Wesley moved on impulse towards the noise.

In the back of the room, Angel was crouched over a body.

He could tell by the shoes it was Cordelia.

"Gunn!" he yelled out.

The man was at his side, and they both advanced, standing over the vampire bent over their friend.

"Angel?" Wesley asked tentatively.

He didn't answer, just remained bent over the girl whose body was prone like that of a corpse.

"Angel!" Gunn yelled.

Wesley looked over at Gunn, who was rigidly staring at Angel below. Wesley had to diffuse the situation, and fast. Gunn was at his wit's end. Come to think of it…so was he...

"ANGEL!" Wesley yelled.

Angel turned towards them, his face languid staring up at them.

His shirt was open, and a thin trail of blood ran down his chest.

He had his game face on; his unearthly eyes were glowing in the blackness.

"Cordelia," Wesley asked. "Is she alive?"

Angel stared at both of them, his eyes blank. Heavy breathing wracked his chest; it pounded as though he was out of breath.

Wesley looked down at Cordelia and saw her face. Covered in…

"No…" Wesley cried.

Gunn didn't understand what was happening. He glanced to Angel and then back at Wesley.

"Dear God, tell me you didn't…" Wesley began, and then slid to the floor. "How could you!?" Wesley yelled.

The Brit launched himself at Angel, and Gunn, still confused, held him back.

"What the hell is going on?!!!" Gunn yelled.

Angel looked up at them, unblinking, as Cordelia lay like a corpse on the ground.

"Did he kill her?" Gunn said in shock.

"No," Wesley sobbed, his eyes filling with tears. "Dear God, no…"

Angel came to himself and his face slid away to reveal his human disguise below.

He gulped in a breath of air, like a man who almost drowned. Wesley looked over at him with despair, as Angel's eyes filled with tears.

"We have to bury her. She'll rise soon…"

To be continued