Spike's POV:

Mummm... So good. Angel is the best bed I've ever had. Our passion has warmed us, and he feels soft and comfortable beneath me. I laugh to myself. I should tell him that. That he is a big, warm, soft teddy bear. That will really piss him off. Maybe enough to defy me again. Still, this time was not just for fun, it was also to prove a point. I hope Angel saw it. He'd better, because next time I won't be so pleasant. Next time I could really lose him. I yawn and stretch. Oh, nice. I had forgot about this. My cock is still buried deep inside my Childe. Oh yeah! Great start to the day, well night.

Angel awakens to me pounding inside of him. He must feel sore from before, but he is taking it well.

"Spike!" He howls. His body clenches, and I moan deeply.

Oh, do that again!

"Childe, squeeze me hard!"

Angel gasps as I increase the pressure and he does as I ask. Neither of us lasts long, but this time I allow my Childe to bite me. He's still weak from the day before, so I give him this. Okay, I also get a kick out of it. My Childe's teeth are one of his best qualities. We both come instantaneously. The feeling of my orgasm and that of my Childe's, which I feel through the bond, is overwhelming. I don't know how I managed to survive without him. I don't want to ever again.

"Sire, forgive me," Angel murmurs into my hair as we lay in our post-coital bliss.

"I won't lose you, Angel," I warn him. I push his damp hair from his forehead. I have great taste in lovers, childer and well everything else. He has the face of an....

"Angel?"

Angel has started to pant erratically beneath me, and begins to sweat too. Which, of course, is a bad sign for vampires. I feel his body tremble and quake.

"Spike?" he pants. His eyes are wide and full of dread. What the hell is happening? Angel screams as his body undulates beneath me. Soon the force of his tremors throw me off the bed. It's like his body is being infused with great energy.

"Angel!"

A bright burning red light fills the room. It burns my skin and I'm thrown across the room, by whatever force is invading my childe. I feel my head split as I crash into the wall. I think I lost consciousness there for a second. When I come to, I jump to my feet to fight this threat to my Childe... but there's no one here. That force that threw me from the bed, seems to have vanished. The room is empty, but for myself and Angel. Who isn't where I left him. Angel was chained to the bed, but now he stands dressing before the wardrobe. It's like nothing had happened. I grab my jeans from the floor and pull them on.

"Angel?" I repeat, approaching him cautiously. Something happened here, I feel it. I don't exactly understand what I am feeling, but something is different. That light was powerful enough to throw me across the room, break his chains, but he is untouched. "Childe?"

Angel turns to face me and smiles. Something isn't right here, but I can't put my finger on it. "Spike, what happened? Oh, you hurt your head." He touches his own forehead, and watches my response.

I touch my head and feel the wetness of blood. I guess I was knocked out by the force of...of whatever it was. Still, why isn't Angel affected? Angel grabs my hand, and his tongue laps up the blood. Suddenly, behind us, the apartment door is flung open, and the rest of Angel Investigations storm in. All armed with very sharp stakes and bows.

"Spike! Angel! Are you okay? We heard this thunderous bang, it shook the whole hotel..." Wesley's voice trails off as he spots Angel, who continues to lick my fingers clean. This should feel erotic to me, but for some reason it doesn't. In fact, strangely enough, I am not getting turned on by it. All I can think of is that he doesn't feel right.

"Spike?" questions Cordelia, watching us strangely. She comes towards Angel, but I grab her hand. I pull my fingers from Angel's mouth, and stand before the humans - protecting them.

"Spike, what are you doing?" She tries to pull away from me to go over to Angel.

"NO!" I shout, and pull her back. I know. I understand now. Angel smirks at me.

"You aren't as stupid as I always thought, Spike," he laughs.

"Angel?" Cordelia turns to him, and looks into hard, cold eyes. Reminds me what Drusilla used to say of Angelus` eyes - `eyes like needles'.

"That's not Angel," I tell her, and pull her behind me again.

"That's right, Spike. You're house broken now." He laughs harder now. I hate that sound. I hoped to never hear it again. "Got a little chip so you can't bite the happy meals anymore." He howls at his own stupid joke.

"Who are you?" Wesley asks calmly. I can tell he's scared shitless and so can..

"Angelus is the name, pain's the game." Angelus fastens his silk shirt and tucks it into leather trousers.

Why the hell did I change Angel's wardrobe? That would have been a dead giveaway. He pulls on one of Angel's long leather dusters.

"I've gotta say, I'd love to stay and play with you kiddies, but I have a prior appointment. Don't wait up for me, and don't try to run either. I've just *got* to kill you now, don't I?" He laughs again. I think he's even more insane than before.

Gunn stupidly decides that now is the time to fight Angelus. The kid has got guts, but Angelus is quite capable of ripping them out with his bare hands. I grab the kid's jacket and pull him back.

"I'll be back for you, my little fuck toy." Angelus leans towards me and licks my cheek. I don't move, don't even flinch. I want to kill him, but I can't. He has my Childe's body. In a move only I can see, Angelus is gone.

"Why the hell did you stop me?" shouts Gunn. He grabs his weapons, and starts going after Angelus. I pull back his arm, but it sets my chip off. I yell, which conveniently catches their attention.

"You can't fight Angelus. He'll snap your neck before you even touch him." I rub my sore head and stare at Gunn.

"Spike is right." Wow, Cordelia is supporting me! "I saw Angelus in Sunnydale. He killed a teacher of ours, he terrorised us for months, and then decided to suck the world into hell." She only knows the half of it. She doesn't know about what Angelus did to me, or to the victims he tortured and killed during that time. He was bad before, but now, I'm guessing he'll be unsurpassed at evil and brutality. Considering he's just spent centuries in hell honing his skills. My sire has always been merciless and heartless. Colder than any vampire that ever walked the earth. Yes, I know my beloved Sire well.

"We are all overlooking something here," interrupts Wesley. "Spike, you told us that Angelus no longer inhabited Angel. That the demon was dead."

"He didn't inhabit him. I never sensed Angelus anywhere inside my Childe. Angel was untouched by my Sire's evil."

"How do you know?"

"I took him out of his body. When a Sire drains a Childe to near death, it's like having an out of body experience. I was there, and the only thing I saw was Angel's soul."

"Then how did Angelus return?" ponders Wesley.

It hits me like a whiplash. I worked it out. It came just like a flash of light. Bloody hell, I was completely blind. Angel was almost right. He could see that someone was working against us at every turn. However, just like Angel, he didn't share his fears and just kept them to himself. He just continued to try and fight the good fight without bothering us. I get it now. I understand Cordelia's visions.

"Wolfram and Hart." I sit down heavily on the bed, my Childe and I share. "I told you about Sunnydale and Darla." They all nod. "They brought her back from hell; I think they brought back the essence of Angelus as well. Maybe even in the same way. That Vapros demon you had a vision about, Cordelia, I bet that they sent him to get a sample of Angel's blood and flesh. Since his body still walks, they would need something to draw him back into it."

"What do we do now?" Asks Cordelia, as she sits down beside me. I never realised how much she likes Angel. To her he is her best friend, almost as close as a brother.

"We kill him," answers Gunn.

"NO! You don't touch my Childe!" I shout. Wesley puts a restraining hand on my shoulder.

"Spike is right, we can't kill Angelus yet. We don't know what happened to Angel's soul."

Angel's soul! Oh, shit. I jump off the bed and accidentally push Cordelia back. She falls into the middle of the bed and lets out a loud shriek.

"Spike! Your bed is cold!" She jumps up and frantically rubs her arm. I can see her flesh turn almost blue and become covered in goosebumps. What the hell? What if... No, it couldn't. I open the bond I share with my Childe. I try to reach out and touch his consciousness. I expect to feel the evil of Angelus but I don't. In fact, I feel the same warmth and love I've always felt from him. It's like Angel never left. He never left! I don't feel Angelus, because Angel never left here. He was shoved from his body by the demon, but Angel the soul is still in this room. I can feel him.

"Spike?" Suddenly, I realise that all three of them are talking to me - trying to get my attention.

"Angel's still here," I tell them. "A light came and I was thrown across the room. We were both on the bed." Cordelia screws her nose up in disgust. "Angelus must have taken his body but Angel is still here." I point to the bed and the cold patch Cordelia felt. Wesley and Gunn obviously don't believe me, but Cordelia grasps the logic.

"Wesley, Gunn, put your hand here." She presses her hand on the side of the pillow. Both look suspicious, but they do as she suggests. Seconds and a couple of screams (from Wesley) later, both admit to feeling the extreme cold. I can see it too; their hands are blue.

"Why isn't he doing anything? Dennis is always moving stuff," comments Cordelia. She's right. The cold spot still hasn't moved from the bed. I haven't felt anything from Angel through the bond - just a presence, but nothing more. Suddenly, Wesley goes running off. We look at each other bemused. Wesley is one strange chap. Moments later, however, he returns holding a book, and what looks like an Orb of Thesulah.

"Hold this." He shoves the orb into my hands.

"What's this? It`s looks familiar," Cordelia asks staring into the clear orb.

"It's an Orb of Thesulah; I was er... using it as a paperweight."

"Guess it's pretty useless now that Angel's soul is secured."

Wesley looks a little guilty, "Actually, I was keeping in case we needed it for Spike."

"Hey!" I turn my attention back to the problem. "What are you doing?" I ask. He better not hurt my Childe's soul. Chip or no, I'll return the favour.

"I was researching Angel's soul, and how he can live in a vampire body, when I found this spell. It gives form to a dis-embodied soul that isn't dead. I made a point to remember it because..."

"Wesley, you have got to get a social life," laughs Gunn. Wesley looks bashful but continues to prepare the spell. I grab his arm before he starts.

"This won't hurt him?"

"No, it will just give him form and strength, so we can see him. Hopefully, it will enable him to communicate with us too." I nod, and let him start. I hope this works.

Angel's POV:

I can hear someone talking. It's muffled and far away. Strange. I try and listen harder, but I still can't hear it clearly. I try and move, but my body doesn't respond. Is this my punishment? Did Spike secure me? No, it doesn't feel like that. I feel empty. As if I don't exist... No. That's not right either. I feel a sudden panic. Something's wrong. I try and feel my body. Try and feel Spike's body above me. I know he was there a moment ago. I felt him on top of me and deep inside me too. We were warm from making love, and now... now I feel cold. A deep penetrating cold. A cold that makes it hard to think. I try to open my eyes, but to my horror I can't. The world is in darkness and I am deaf, motionless too.

I want to scream, but I have no voice. I am nothing. Bodiless, voiceless, sightless, deaf to the world. Oh god! Help me! Please! Spike! Sire, please help me! SPPPII

"IKKKE!" What the hell? I'm back on the bed. I'm me again. Hang on... This isn't right. I open my eyes and see the world. Everything is wrong. It's like my colour spectrum is all screwed up. Everything is red and green, along with a few strong blues. It's weird. I look up and yell... At first, I didn't recognise her. It's Cordelia - with green hair and red eyes.

"Angel?" My Sire speaking. That voice fills me with calm. I reach out blindly for him, but my hand touches nothing. I turn to him. Spike strangely looks the same. Apart from the demon's aura he is surrounded by. I back away. Strange, I don't seem to be able to feel the bed, either.

"Angel, can you understand us?" Wesley leans forward. He is strangely coloured too - blue eyes, red hair. Beyond him is Gunn - who is really weird - yellow skin. I stare at Wesley strangely. "Angel, do you know what happened to you?"

"Sire," I moan. Something's terribly wrong! I feel cold and empty all at once. Something's missing. I put my hands to my face - Oh god! I can see through my hands! I try to breathe to calm myself, but I don't.... I don't have a body! I have a shape, an outline, but that's all. OH, MY GOD!!

"Angel! Calm down." Spike reaches for me, but his hands pass through my ghostly form. "Angel, damn it, listen to me!"

I think I'm screaming. Something is wrong, all right - I don't have a fucking body! I'm some sort.... some sort of ghost!

"Childe! Bloody well pay attention!"

*****
Part 4: Spike's POV:

I don't believe it! As Wesley casts the spell, we all watch the bed in amazement. There before us, Angel starts to reappear. He's not in his body, of course, but we are seeing maybe something like an astral form. Angel's soul taking human shape. It's amazing. He isn't solid looking, but like some ghost you see on films. Just colours and an outline. Angel continues to get more substantial until he's like a see-through mirror image of his body. Thankfully, he isn't naked, but dressed - Wow! He's dressed all in white. White slacks and white shirt. Bare feet too. Hey, he looks good in white.

However, something is wrong with Angel. It looks as if he is fighting something - a nightmare? - he isn't fully awake, yet. I don't think he understands that he's bodiless. Suddenly, he screams. It sounds like the end part of my name. The ghostly body sits up and stares directly at Cordelia. I don't know what he sees but he's afraid of something. Then, I watch as my Childe comes to realise that he's not whole. It's a painful experience. I feel as if I need to hold him, comfort him. I ache to hold my Childe, but I can't touch him. All I have left is his soul. Angelus has his body.

"Childe! Bloody well pay attention!"

Angel is getting nearly hysterical, and I can't blame him. Still, I use that Sire's tone, and Angel stops screaming and looks at me. I sit down on the bed, and lean towards him. Angel backs away.

"Childe! Sit still!" I notice that Angel responds to my sharp orders. His astral body freezes and his eyes stare at me. I suddenly notice something different - his hair. It's long and dark. It reminds me of Angelus, but then I remember he was Liam first. This is a representation of Liam's human body. Looks the same to me - delicious. "Childe, can you understand me?" Angel doesn't speak just nods. His eyes never leave my face.

"Why is there two of you?" he asks suddenly. His voice sounds muffled, but still like Angel. I can't understand how that works, since he can't take in air to make sound with. Still, I have to trust in magic. What am I if not an unnatural magical creature?

"I don't understand, Childe?" I watch amazed as ghostly fingers reach out to touch me, but he seems to be reaching for something behind me.

Wesley suddenly clears his throat. Angel trembles and cowers away again. I snarl at the human for scaring my Childe. Until, I realise my instincts are working overtime when it comes to Angel. It's like I'm a bloody mother hen. I force the feelings of protection and possessiveness down, and turn calmly to Wesley.

"Spike, I think Angel can see your demon as well as your physical body." I look back at Angel to see he's staring at me again.

"Are you afraid, Childe?"

"No, you are my Sire." The words make me feel warm for a moment. I want to kiss him - I shall kiss him. I lean forward towards Angel, and his face moves to the side giving me access to his mouth. He opens it slightly, inviting me in. I touch ghostly lips. I feel... Hey, he feels warm. Why is he warm to me when to everyone else he's cold? Still, I'll ask questions later, at this moment I just want to kiss him. I feel a pressure on my lips, and a soft warm tongue pushing at my own.

"EWW! Spike!" shouts Cordelia. I snarl at her and she jumps back. Bloody Hell! I have to get a hold of myself and my emotions. Whatever has happened to Angel is affecting me too. Making me all soft and loving. It's sickening. It's unnatural. I'm the big bad, remember? I jump back away from Angel, and turn to the others. I nod towards the door and they get the message. When they have left, I turn to speak to Angel.

"Childe?" He looks up at me with wide, beautiful, dark eyes. I can't stop myself from touching his ghostly cheek. He feels so warm. Not cold like the others felt. "My beloved Childe, I want you to stay here. I need to speak to the humans. Understand?" Angel nods and his hair moves across his face. I almost reach out and touch it. Damn it. It's happening again! I pull myself reluctantly from Angel's body. If I don't leave now, I don't think I will.

I shut the bedroom door behind me and move into the living area. Strange, the feelings of protection for my Childe remain just as strong away from him. Wesley must have buggered up the spell. I'll damn well kick... er, speak angrily at him for doing this to me. Bloody chip.

"What's wrong with Angel? Man, he was freaking," Gunn chuckles.

"Wouldn't you freak if you just lost your body - again - to the demon that killed you?" I snap back, growling softly.

"Spike's right. Angel is clearly distraught. I just hope it doesn't affect his mental balance until we can get him back into his rightful place," Wesley says trying to calm the situation.

"It's not his rightful place," I admit softly.

"What? Angelus took Angel's body.."

"No." I look at Cordelia. "That was Angelus' rightful body. It's the body of a demon. Angel was only a soul that inhabited it. After he became human, it became his body again. Angelus died, but when I turned Angel into a vampire, his soul was attached to that body so no demon could inhabit it. His body will accept Angelus as the rightful owner - not Angel the soul."

"What are we going to do then?" Cordelia slumps down into the chair.

No one has an answer. We just stand there in silence. What is there to say? What are we going to do with Angel's traumatised soul? He surely can't remain like this forever, can he? No! I refuse to let that happen. I will burn Wolfram and Hart to the ground, unless they tell me how to save my Childe. I will suck the blood right out of their hearts. I will..

"Spike? Are you all right?" Wesley is looking at me strangely. I put a hand to my face. I can't remember going into game face.

"Watcher, this is all your fault!" I rave as I pull out a fag. I feel restrained somehow, so I start to pace. "That spell went wrong, it has made me feel all.... all protective and..." I can't stand this!

"Well... er... Spike that spell would not have affected you." What? But all the emotions I am feeling? What are they?

"It had to."

"Spike. I think you're feeling your own emotions," says Cordelia softly.

Oh no. No! You don't start that with me. I'm the big bad. I don't admit to love and stuff. I'm not all touchy-feely. I'm the big bad, okay! I'm.. I touch my cheek. A crystal-like tear sits on my fingertip. Oh, Shit!

"I think we should all go now. We'll try and find out how we can help Angel, while Spike looks after him."

I grunt my affirmative to Wesley as the humans hurry out of our apartment. I feel calmer now they have gone. They were making me feel excessively protective of Angel. I kept watching them, seeing if they would try and hurt him. I hate this. I hate feeling like this. This is all Angel's fault.

I storm into the bedroom and... Angel is just lying there on the bed, all ghostly and transparent. He has curled into a fetal position and I can hear his soft sobs. I can't imagine what he must feel like. To have your body re-possessed by the demon that used your hands to kill so many people. I sit down beside him and touch his soft hair. I can't feel the actual strands, but I feel a warmth under my hand.

"Angel, Childe," I whisper. "Sit up, I need to talk to you." Angel doesn't sit up, but moves nearer to me.

"Sire, help me," he moans. "Please hold me."

"I can't, Angel." My fingers touch his arm. I feel no actual flesh there, just the warmth again. I press harder and my hand passes through his arm. "I can't touch you." Angel jumps away from me.

"No, I felt something," he exclaims in a desperate voice. He sits up and holds his hand out. He doesn't move as I place my hand next to his. I move forward and feel that warmth again. Still, my hand passes through his, as if passing through fog.

"I felt a warmth, nothing more."

"Sire?" Angel leans forward. His beautiful body shining with an invisible sun. Wow! How did he get naked so quickly? Oh, forgot. Astral clothing. Angel's body is almost ethereal. Shining, smooth and perfect. "Let me touch you... please Sire, I need to feel you."

"Yes, Childe," I murmur. I'm so caught up with the sight of astral Angel that I can't think straight. Without even realising it, I strip out of my jeans and climb back on the bed. Angel lies on his side and I face him. I can see the room through his form, but I can feel him here with me. He leans forward and kisses me. Again, I feel that heat invade my mouth and something moving inside. I can't actually say it feels like a tongue, but it feels just as good.

I close my eyes and lose myself to the sensations Angel is causing. I feel hands on my chest or at least a heat in the shape of a hand. It presses against my skin and through me! I open my eyes and look down. Angel's hands are passing into my body. It's amazing. Every nerve ending in my chest is being stimulated. I groan and watch as my cock hardens between us. Angel is watching too and he grins up at me.

I turn on my back as Angel's warm essence moves down my body. I feel him, deeper and deeper inside. Then something moves around my cock. The very air around it heats up and I am encased by something that squeezes my length. Squeezes me stronger than any internal muscles. The slight pain increases my passion. I close my eyes and groan loudly. This is bloody amazing. It's unbelievable. It's.. OH! Something moves lower to my hole and I feel that heat again. I spread my legs automatically and the heat moves nearer. Oh.. I feel him trying to get inside of me. I feel a heat pressing into my hole, stretching me. Stretching me wider than any cock. He knows what I like too well, the pain and the pressure. I moan and groan loudly. I'm beyond trying to talk. I can't even control my body. I just move as the sensations take over me.

I think I can hear someone screaming. I don't know whom. My orgasm rips through my body in a flash of bright light and heat. I feel my cold cum spray my stomach, and the heat inside spreads throughout my body. An instant later it's gone. I open my eyes and see a grinning Angel above me.

"You didn't ask permission," I gasp.

"Sorry." He laughs softly and lies down next to me.

"Punish you later," I reply. At this moment I have no desire to move. I feel pretty fabulous - warm and sated.

"What's going to happen to me, Sire?" Angel asks softly. I don't answer him. This time I don't have any answers.

"Spike!" Cordelia rushes into the bedroom, throwing the door wide open. "Spike! You have... Oh God! Scarred for life!" She screams.

"Don't you ever knock, woman?" I yell back, and make a grab for my jeans. I notice Angel's wearing those white clothes again. Lucky sod; Cordelia didn't get a look at him.

"Hey! Don't call me woman!" My abusive term makes her forget for a moment that I'm still trying to pull my jeans on, and she wags her finger at me when she notices again. "Oh! I'm going to need counselling after this." She turns away again, covering her eyes.

"What do you want?" I demand. Next to me, Angel is smiling, and I throw him a dirty look.

"There is something on the news about Angelus."

What? Angelus would never be so careless. I pull on a T-shirt and rush past Cordelia. She runs behind me, down the stairs and into the office.

Wesley holds a miniature TV while Gunn watches over his shoulder. "You just missed it." Wesley turns the TV off. He looks up at me, but then gasps and jumps to his feet. I turn, and behind me is Angel's ghostly form, which floats down from the ceiling. Cool! Looks like he doesn't need to use the stairs, just floats down one floor to the next.

"Ah, good, Angel. Well.. ur.."

"I know Angelus has done something," Angel reveals in a sad voice.

"You do? How? Can you feel him?"

"No, I know him. I spent over a hundred years with him in my mind. He's totally psychotic. I think I can guess what he has done. He has turned on those who brought him back, hasn`t he?" Angel tries to sit down on the chair, but isn't quite successful. He seems to float half on it and half in it.

"Yes," Wesley says sitting back down. "They just found Holland Manners at his home. He was having a party there when someone slaughtered all the guests. There were two survivors - Lindsey and Lilah. I suppose Angelus considered that he might still need them." Wesley looks down at his hands as if he doesn't want to say the rest.

"Angelus did something," Angel comments. I can see the fear in his eyes. He blames himself for what Angelus has done. What Angelus has done with his hands, his fingers, his body.

"He massacred them. Ripped them to pieces, mutilated them, and that's only what the reporter said. We can only imagine that the reality will be a lot worse than what they report to the public."

"Angelus is most likely trying to get back into the swing of things. He loves the perfect kill, the perfect torture. He enjoys inflicting pain even more than the killing." Angel's voice is calm, but through the bond I can feel his disgust, his fear and the grief he feels from knowing his own hands did this.

Angel's POV:

There is a long silence while the humans think of the evil Angelus has done. All the horrid, sordid actions they are imagining him committing have most likely actually happened. I feel Spike watching me. I think he's thinking the same. Dreading what his Sire might have done - will have done. Angelus is totally out of control. He has never been this careless, so public about his killing. He wasn't stupid enough to advertise; being careful is how he/I lived to be this age. That's now another concern for me. If the police catch Angelus it will be another massacre, or he could end up in a nice east-facing cell. Then I'll never get my body back. I wonder how long I can exist like this?

"Uh.. Angel? I... er... I think you had better stand up."

I look to Cordelia and see wide frightened eyes. What does she mean? I look down and observe my astral body starting to sink through the seat. It feels kinda strange, like I'm dissipating. Oh Shit! I jump up, but it feels like I'm being pulled deeper into the chair. Finally, after a struggle, I manage to stand.

"What the hell is going on?" I shout. I'm scared and I have every right to be - the chair nearly ate my astral body!

"Angel, how you do feel?" asks Wesley calmly.

"What is happening to my Childe?" Growls my Sire standing before me. I think Spike's protecting me from Wesley for some reason. I feel Spike's anxiety and worries through the bond. He's just as terrified as I am.

"I think Angel might be growing weaker. In many ways he is like dead soul, which means physically he doesn't belong here. The longer he`s out of his body, the more he`ll just fade to... er.. nothing."

"Dennis still lives in my house."

"Yes, because he's tied to it. Dennis is bound to that house physically. Angel isn't bound to a physical form, house or body. I think the only bond he has to this earth is the Sire/Childe bond that he shares with Spike."

"I'm only here because of Spike?" Wow! In fact, I'll say that again - Wow! Spike turns to face me. I see panic in his eyes. I see his fears of losing me, his fear that he might not be strong enough to hold me here. I never realised he loved me like this. His hand reaches out and touches my cheek. Of course, he doesn't feel me, just the warmth of my form. It's strange... when the others touched me, it was cold.

"We have to find a way of getting to Angelus," he says turning back to the humans. "I won't let my Childe die." I hear the determination and fear in his voice - I think the others hear it too. To their credit they don't say anything. They know Spike well enough to understand that he denies feeling protection and love towards me.

We tried to think of ideas, but none where forthcoming. How can we corner an insane, very violent master vampire? What do we do with him when we have him back here? It's not like we can stake him. Then I'll have no body to return to. And I want one. I don't want to cease to exist. Back in Sunnydale I would have willingly died, but now... now, everything is different. I like my life. I like being with Spike. I love being with Spike. I might brood and dress in dark clothing, but I don't want to lose what I have. We have to find an answer to getting my body back! We have to!

*****
Part 5:

Warning: Contains rape scene (very short - one line) & admission that rape had occurred.

LA Hospital:

Lindsey opened his eyes, very slowly. Every muscle and bone in his body felt abused and broken. His mouth was swollen, and it was hard to swallow. One eye he was unable to open, so he just tried the other. The world came into painfully bright focus and Lindsey realised he was in a hospital. No where else had florescent tubing this bright. The pain he felt was beyond anything he'd ever known. Anything he'd ever dreamed of.

He gasped as he remembered what had happened. It was supposed to be a celebratory party. Celebrating their success on bringing Angelus to Wolfram & Hart's team. Oh, what stupid naive children they were. They believed that they could control Angelus - control the most evil demon to ever walk the earth. A demon with 150 years of murder and mayhem under his belt, and a definitive knowledge of how to create the most exquisite pain. A demon driven insane by 100 years of being confined and controlled by a human soul. Lindsey understood now. They were amateurs; children playing with fire. Well, they just got burned.

Angelus had locked them in Manner's cellar. They had no hope of escape. The first kill he had made, he drained of blood and broke his neck. The second one, he got a little more creative. This one he eviscerated, drained, and then broke her neck. On and on it went. Angelus was finding new ways to butcher and kill. In a detached manner, Lindsey could see the perfection and care Angelus took with each body. How he carefully carved them up. How he gently removed each organ with deadly precision. How he took their bodies, his member ripping them in two - it didn't matter if they were alive, partially alive or dead.

Lindsey had watched as Angelus had worked methodically through his colleagues one by one. Each kill more vicious than the last. He had perceived that Angelus was saving the most creative kill for last - for him. Or maybe Lilah. Angelus had left her too. When the screams and cries of mercy had ended, when the last man was dead, Angelus had turned to the both of them. He had smiled and Lindsey had never been so terrified in his life.

What had happened after that was a total blur. He remembered feeling Angelus' fists. The vampire's teeth sinking into the warm skin of his throat. He remembered Angelus' hands ripping at his clothing and his body. He remembered the pain in his rear. Everything becomes even more distorted then, distant. All Lindsey could remember was pain - unforgiving, unending pain. Pain from which he begged to be released.

Then he was here. In this hospital, in this bed. His body had never felt so broken. He didn't want to see what Angelus had done to him. He couldn't look. He felt like screaming, like his mind had finally given up and had chosen the easiest escape - insanity.

"Hi, there. Looks like you're awake." Lindsey's first thought was what a stupid thing to say. "How are you feeling?"

Lindsey realised that a nurse was leaning over him. She was young, and smiled brightly. Still, kinda thick, because did it look like he could be feeling anything but pain?

"Hurts..." He tries to speak. His jaw aches, but he doesn't think it's broken. "Pain... killer." Please give me something, his mind screams. The nurse does as he requests, and seconds later he can feel the wonderful high of morphine seeping through his body. Finally something other than pain, he thought.

"You are so lucky to be alive." The nurse starts talking again. "I don't know what could ever drive anyone to do what happened in that room." She shivers. "He must have been totally sick, deranged or something."

Oh great, I get the thick nurse who's also sensitivity retarded. I'm lawyer, I should sue, Lindsey laughed silently but suddenly he thought about what the nurse was actually saying.

Oh yes, Angelus was deranged all right - he was bloody insane. He was the most vicious demon to ever walk the earth and I invited him here, thought Lindsey. These thoughts only made the pain worse, so Lindsey tried not to think about what happened.

"You know, you just wish that you go out and just shoot these people, send them to hell where they belong."

The nurse leaves Lindsey alone. He feels tears gathering in his eyes, but he can't understand them. The words return inside his brain.

*Send them to hell.*

"Oh god! What have I done?" cries Lindsey. He has no answer.

Spike's POV:

The police scanner has been busy all night. Angelus is leaving a bloody trail wherever he goes. Soon we will have to do something more drastic. Still, I can't face the thought of killing my Childe's body. I can't trust myself not to stop the humans from doing that. Even if it meant fighting the chip - I won't let them kill him.

I turn my attention back to the book on ghosts that I'm trying to read. Well, I'm actually pretty much failing at that, because it's in Greek and it has been nearly a hundred years since I was in that area of the world. I didn't learn the language very well then, either. We English expect everyone else to speak English too - Well, they should! Okay! So I admit I'm not brilliant at learning languages - well, human ones that is. Still, Angel can read it, but he can't turn the pages. My Childe is growing weaker by the hour. I wish I could go out there and find Angelus. The trouble is, what do I do when I find him? Also he's going around the city with no direction at all. There is no logic or motive behind his killings. It's insane. Well, I suppose that is only logical - Angelus himself is far from sane.

"I found something!" shouts Cordelia, running into the office.

"What, a new pair of shoes?" I grunt. I don't even feel strong enough to put the effort in my joking. She just rolls her eyes at me.

"No! I found Lindsey. He's still alive and so is Lilah. They are in a hospital not far from here."

Within seconds, we all rush out to the car. Angel follows keeping close to me. I am his only link to the world, so I'm not about to let him out of my sight. We make the hospital in good time and manage to get on Lindsey's floor. Cordelia spins this tale about us being family, but they are only allowing one person in at a time. I decide to go first. Actually, it was more like, "I'm going first, what are you going to do about it?" They back down after a flash of fang, and I get my way.

My Childe floats in from the window as I enter Lindsey's room. I might be a vampire, but when I see Lindsey's body it actually sickens me. I've known Angelus personally and up close for a long time. I've seen so much of what he was capable of in that time, but this... This is worse. More deranged, more revolting. It looks like Angelus has carved signs and symbols into Lindsey's chest. His body is broken ,and black from bruising. I smell internal blood still flowing from his back passage. Angelus certainly went to town on him. You have to wonder why he left him alive. Then again, I remember Drusilla - he turned her so she could suffer an eternity of torment. Maybe death was too simple for them.

I turn to Angel and I see the horror in my Childe's ghostly eyes. I can hear his silent screaming, feel his pain.

Angel POV:

I did this. This is my fault. Oh god, look at him! Angelus has nearly ripped him apart. My hands did that. Me!

"Childe." I hear Spike hiss at me. I pull myself together and face him. I see sorrow in his face, but there is no blame in his eyes. "Angel, getta hold of yourself!" he commands.

I look down, immediately noticing what Spike is referring to. My body - well, astral one - is slowly vanishing with my anger. I have to stay in control. Otherwise I might just drift off altogether.

"Angelus!" cries Lindsey from the bed. Spike's voice must have awakened him. He tries to escape my presence, but his broken body won't let him.

"Lindsey, it's me, Angel." He doesn't seem to understand and looks even more frightened. It's like he doesn't perceive that I'm translucent and drifting apart - he just sees my face. The face I share with Angelus. I don't even think he realises Spike is here either. He only has eyes for me. The one who did this - the one who carries my face.

"Lawyer, that is my Childe - not Angelus!" Spike touches Lindsey's shoulder and the frightened man turns to face him for the first time. After a moment I think he believes Spike. If they know that much about Angelus, they should also know that Spike hated him. That he wouldn't willingly be with him now.

Lindsey stares at amazement at me, finally noticing my form. "Angel? You're a.."

"Ghost, yes we know," sighs Spike.

"When *your* people sent Angelus back into my body, I was thrown out. The strong Childe/Sire bond between Spike and I was the only tie that kept me in the physical world." I don't think Lindsey is exactly listening to what I'm saying. He just keeps staring at me, his eyes moving up and down. Trying to see through me, around me. Finally he smiles.

"Weird," he laughs softly and lays back. "It's strange that you should come to me. I was the one to bring Angelus back. Why are you here?"

"Not because we like you," Spike answers back. "But you know how Angelus was brought back, and therefore you are going to tell us how to return him back to hell again."

Lindsey laughs. "You have to kill him." He chokes and coughs as his laughter disturbs broken bones.

"No! I'm not killing my Childe! Give me another way!" shouts Spike. He tries to grab Lindsey's throat, but the chip immediately sends him to his knees. He yells and grabs his head. I try and touch him, comfort him but I can't. My hand passes through his body. I am helpless.

"Damn it!" Spike snarls as his face changes into that of the vampire and he growls at Lindsey. "You did this! Now give me a way to save my Childe!"

Spike's POV:

I hope this works. If not, I'll rip this fucking chip out and kill Lindsey myself. The only way to get my Childe back, according to the lawyer, is for him to reclaim his body himself. Sounds easy, but it's far from it. When we have arrived back at the Hyperion, I inform the rest of Angel Investigations what Angel and I have discovered, from our conversation with Lindsey. We have decided on a plan - our only plan. This plan is:

1) To get Angelus here (don't know how yet.)
2) Get close enough, (that I, the Sire of his vampire body, can bite him, (still haven't worked out how the hell I get near enough to do that.)
3) Angelus undergoes an out-of-body experience, (I've used this method before when I tried to determine whether or not Angelus still existed.)
4) Angel fights for control and wins.

Yeah right, that's so easy... NOT!

"This is more impossible than your previous plans, Spike," Angel comments.

"Hey! My plans are always great!" I slump into Wesley's chair and sulk. Still, I can't really get my mind into sulking, because Angel is becoming a great concern for me, his body is fading fast. I don't think he will see dawn the rate he's going.

"We have to think of a way to get Angelus here..." Suddenly, as if on queue, all the lights go out.

Wesley looks up. "Cordelia, you paid the electricity bill, didn't you?" Cordelia huffs, but I raise my hand for silence.

"Quiet," I hiss, as I sniff the air. Something strange. I feel my Childe's presence, but it's like he is in two places at once. "I don't think we need a plan - Angelus is already here." As soon as the words leave my mouth, the humans dive on the weapons cabinet. In truth, I knew Angelus would be back to kill them, but I hadn't thought it would be so soon. He's impatient which he never was before. "Angel, go and check around - see if you can find him." Angel doesn't question me - which he usually always does - meaning he must be growing weaker. He leaves silently. It's weird watching him float up through the ceiling.

"Spike, can you sense Angelus?" whispers Wesley.

"Not really. I can just feel his body's presence. I am his Sire, we are bound by blood, but I don't have ties to Angelus the demon."

"You forget you are my Childe, William."

Oh, fuck!

Angel's POV:

I make a quick check around and through the hotel, but I can find nothing. Maybe Spike's wrong... then I feel it too. A strange pulling sensation. It could be that I can sense that my body is near. I move downstairs, sticking to the shadows, and then remember I'm a damn ghost. I float through the walls until I arrive in the lobby.

"I own you, William, you know that. We have unfinished business. There is that little incident with the lead pipe. Also there's the whole fucking my body thing. Your punishment is just going to go on and on, forever." His laugh is cold and hard.

Angelus stands covered in blood and gore at Wesley's office door. His actions are wild and his words insane. He continues giving a rundown on what he is going to do to Spike as I edge nearer. I don't think he knows that I survived. That I am still here - in a saner form than he. I'm not sure what I can do, but... wait a moment. Cold. When the humans touched me they felt cold. Only my Sire felt warmth. As if the bond or the love between us, changes the sensations of our contact. Everyone else is cold, the heat of my love for Spike must make me warm to his touch. Or it could be just different between Vampires and humans, which means I'll just heat Angelus up. Shit - I'll just have to take the chance. Hopefully I can get near enough to Angelus to freeze him. Well, it's a long shot, but it's all I have.

"Don't think I don't know you're here, Angel."

Oh no, this can`t be happening!

"What do you think you can do to me? Stare me down?" He laughs as he turns to face me. His glazed eyes are feral and unbalanced.

"I'm not helpless," I answer back.

"You're nothing. You always *were* nothing. You were just a useless, drunken, whoring bastard when I found you. I made you great. I made this face feared throughout the known world! You made me a laughing stock." He snarls and his fangs drip blood from his latest victim. The guilt is almost overwhelming. How can I take my body back, when he has done all this? When he has killed so many and in only one day?

"You're the idiot, Angelus!" I dive at him and pass into his body. Angelus screams as the cold burns him. His arm and part of his face turn blue. I try to move deeper, but I can't for some reason. I feel as though I am being drained of all my energy. I think it's killing me! Suddenly, Angelus is thrown from my grip and across the room. Spike moves like lightening over him, and starts kicking and hitting. My friends follow and attack Angelus too. He underestimated their combined strength, and he doesn't have a chance. With only a few injuries, Angelus is finally bound and secured.

I know what I have to do now. I have to fight to regain my body. Fight the demon Angelus for ownership of it. I have reasons now to want to live - to want to keep going, but I don't know if I am strong enough to win. The demon has no weaknesses; it doesn't stop and it doesn't give in. Also, there is the added factor of Angelus being totally insane. Still, we have to do this quickly because I'm fading fast. That trick with Angelus took too much out of me.

"Spike, quickly drain him." Everyone stares in horror as my ghostly body fades even more. Now my feet aren't even visible. Angelus howls as Spike bites hard into his neck. Spike's fangs sink in and he starts to drink deeply. Quickly, Sire, please. My legs are vanishing now.

"Spike!" Cordelia shouts frantically. She wants to help me so much, but she can't. She is my friend and I know she cares. She looks so angry at her own helplessness. I try and smile at her, but suddenly everything vanishes.

I arrive in a barren landscape. Everything looks burned and destroyed. It's almost like hell. I turn around and around, but for miles I can see nothing. Surely Angelus has to be here for me to fight him? Or maybe Spike's failed. Maybe this is where I end it. Suddenly, behind me there is a roaring sound; it even makes the earth tremble. Seconds later, I am pushed into the burnt soil by a force landing on my back. I kick and roll away, jumping to my feet. Looking down, I see a green skinned demon. His face is horned, and sharp, long, fanged teeth grin at me and red eyes glow with malice.

I am assuming that this is Angelus - the demon. I steady myself and prepare for his attack. He doesn't move, however, and just watches me. It's like Angelus is dissecting me with his eyes, planning my destruction.

"You think you have a right to my body?" he growls. "You should have died nearly three centuries ago. You are weak and foolish. You have no hope. Give up now."

"You talk too much, and you are always so full of shit," I growl back. It doesn't have the same effect as it usually does. Then I remember that I am a human soul. I had a human body. Which means I won't have the strength of the demon before me. Oh Fuck! A part of me wants to run, but I have nowhere to run to. This is between my demon and me. This could be my last fight. My only sorrow is that I didn't say goodbye to Spike.

*****