AngelAD

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Las Vegas, New California- 2253

Angel looked from the rooftop down over the city, wondering if it was day or night. Not that it mattered. So many centuries of industry pumping smoke into the sky had created a kind of perpetual twilight over the entire planet. Vampires walked freely and openly through the streets all the time now, though with the advent of synthetic blood in the early twenty-first century, their status had changed, their threat effectively blunted.

Angel ran the tip of his finger along the edges of his lips, a nervous habit he had picked up about thirty years ago when he first noticed their shape was changing. His ears were changing too, lengthening toward points at the top. It was well known among vampires who lived long enough that eventually time would change the vampiric body, that it would take on the features of some animal. The Master, as he had been called, had been one who had acquired the characteristics of a bat, and Angel had heard of others who resembled goats or snakes.

Now his own long life was beginning to change him. As far as he could tell he was taking on the traits of a cat of some kind. He tried to imagine his appearance, maybe centuries hence, his nose turned up and flattened, slit down to a cleft in his lip, his eyes a glistening green, their pupils narrow ovals. Would he grow fur? he wondered. Claws? A tail?

As closely as he could remember, it was near to the five hundredth anniversary of his rebirth into this undeath, this vampiric state. And for the overwhelming bulk of that time, he had been utterly alone, a damned wanderer.

Except for those few bright years with Buffy, little more than an eyeblink in his long life, though they illuminated every other dark day. His life before, he knew, was only a journey towards her, and his life after, a testament.

"Christ, you never Goddamn change, do you!"

Angel turned to look at the speaker, who had come up behind him. "Hello, Spike," he said.

The blond vampire looked as he'd always looked, lean and rangy, still dressed in tight, black clothes. He was drinking a bottle of "Venom," a synthetic blood and alcohol mix that was favored by many vampires, and a dark-haired girl was hanging on his arm.

"Who's your friend," Angel said.

Spike smiled slowly, and began to wind the girl's long hair around his fist. "Beauty, isn't she," he said, then suddenly pushed her forward onto her knees. "Say hello, baby."

Angel darted forward and pushed Spike away from the girl. "Don't do that," he snarled.

Spike's arm drew back reflexively to backhand Angel, but at the last moment he thought better of it and pulled the girl away from Angel, instead. "Back off, Galahad. She's a Bio-effigy."

Angel had heard of them: simulated humans, part organic, part synthetic, made to order for a price.

Spike was stroking her face now, soothing her. Angel knew the effigies had some independent volition, but not much intelligence. He wondered how much of her behavior was programmed and how much self-motivated.

"I can drink from her," Spike was saying softly, almost to himself, "as much as I like. Do whatever I want, she's self-regenerating. Feel all evil again. She does whatever I tell her and she never talks back. Isn't that right, pet."

"If it makes you happy, Spike," she answered, her voice breathy and soft, like a little girl's.

"Got her at the Digital Circus," Spike said. "Best money I ever spent."

"I hope you're very happy together," Angel said dryly.

"Didn't expect you'd understand," Spike sniped, "but I hear they make boy ones, too."

Angel turned back to the cityscape below him. "You've been making that same joke for three hundred years," he said. "It's starting to get old."

"Yeah, well," Spike said, "when you change your act, I'll change mine."

"Did you want something, Spike."

"Nope," Spike said, "just introducing the new girl around the neighborhood. We'll always be connected, old sire, whether we like it or not." He pulled the effigy closer, kissing her fiercely. "Let's go, baby," he said, "find someone with a bit of life left in him."

Angel stared into the hazy, reddish sky, and touched his lips again. Oh yeah, eternity was going to be longer than he'd ever dreamed.

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