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Hell is other angels

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    • "...Are you fucking kidding me?" King asked and stared at Cain.

    "Nope. That's the offer."

    I felt like saying fuck no and walk out. Considering the shit we'd been through so far, that was saying something.

    A tribe of S'it demons had moved into the tunnels beneath Houston. Nasty fuckers that you can't just shoot, either. They had to be killed with steel to the heart and we couldn't very well expect them to be polite enough to just stand still and take it from us. Fast, strong and even worse…

    Smart. These things weren't just big brutes with claws. They were just as smart as your average human. Smarter maybe. They were known to put that cunning to full effect, which made them hell to fight.

    And if that wasn't enough, their primary subsistence was human babies. Not that they said no to some choice bits of an adult either, like the brains and livers.

    I shook my head decisively, "No offense, boss, but we are not qualified for this. This is Slayer level shit. We are good, don't get me wrong, but not that good. If we go in there, we'll get ripped to shreds."

    "I know. And the Council knows. Which is why they are offering us backup, if we take the job. A Slayer and their Watcher."

    I bit back a curse under my breath. Could this get any worse?

    Without a soul, or not, I 'did' blow up Angel. Something told me that Buffy might not be happy with me.

    Well, I'm likely to survive at least, she didn't kill humans. But if she found out about Taz… Yeah that wasn't something I particularly wanted to think about.

    I frowned but nodded, "Even so. When do they get here?"

    "The plane from Borneo arrive tonight, so they should be here by tomorrow." Cain answered, shrugging his shoulders. "One way or another, we need to decide quickly."

    King crossed his arms, "Sorry boss. I'm out. No amount of money would be worth walking into a fucking S'it nest."

    "Fifty thousand dollars."

    King blinked.

    "Fifty thousand?" he asked with frown.

    "Each."

    "...Shit." Lazarus cursed softly, "That could..." she started to say and then trailed off. I glanced at her with a small frown.

    "Now I really, really don't want to do it." Princess said as he jumped up to sit on the hood of the car, "Because if they're offering that much, I doubt any of us are walking out of there alive."

    Cain shook his head, "They are offering half up front, half on completion."

    "Bloody hell." I cursed silently, "Boss, my highly tuned instincts are screaming trap right now. Big fucking trap with neon signs and smoke signals."

    He scowled and nodded, "Yeah. It's incredibly risky, but they are clearly eager to get this done. Ten times the normal fee and slayer backup. It's something they think is Important. They may be fucking assholes, but their money is good and they are on our side."

    "Ish, "I added, "Our side-ish."

    "Better than the other side at least." King grumbled and frowned before he nodded, "Fine. For that much money, I'm in."

    Lazarus nodded, "I'm in."

    "Laz?" I asked her with a frown, "This is not a good idea."

    She shook her head, "Need the money."

    I frowned deeper, "Ignore the money. It doesn't matter. The money is completely irrelevant if we aren't alive to spend it."

    "Sorry Saint."

    Trip had been silent until now. He looked at me for a long moment before he turned to Cain, "Fifty k?"

    "Hmm."

    Trip grimaced and then shook his head, "Fuck. It hurts, but no. Fifty big ones could do a lot, but like Saint said, if you are dead the money don't matter."

    Cain slowly nodded, "Vote is four to two. Trip, Saint... considering the job, you can walk if you like."

    I hesitated.

    The danger was extreme. But if they were flying in from Borneo, it was likely not Buffy. That left the demons. Big nasty things, like a cross between a xenomorph, a bear and a preying mantis. Even worse, they were way smarter than they looked.

    But the Council were clearly desperate to stop them, even if they didn't count on us walking out of there again, they were willing to spend enough money to make sure we at least considered walking into a damn blender.

    They also sent a slayer from across the world which meant Buffy was already busy in Sunnydale but this was still important enough to warrant Slayer level attention and the money to throw us at it. Which meant that Cain was right. This was Important, possibly cataclysmic level Important. Apocalyptic levels of important.

    Besides, they had saved my hide on numerous occasions. I owed them.

    Taziel?

    "Dangerous, my host. But I agreed with your analysis."

    "Shit," I finally cursed with grimaced, "I'm in. You stay by your partner."

    That got a snort from Lazarus, "Fuck off, boyscout."

    "Fuck this, I'm out. Sorry Cain, but I'm not getting eaten," Trip said and put his hands in his pockets, "Vampires and the occasional demon is one thing, but this is trying to fuck a live-wire electric fence. Not doing it."

    Cain nodded, "I understand."

    Trip shook his head and started to walk away before he paused and looked at us, "Sorry guys. But if you have any sense, you change your votes. Dangerous is one thing, but I have seen S'it's. This is not something anyone make it through."

    I looked after him as he left. He wasn't wrong.

    There was a silence after he left before Cain sighed, "Go get some rest, meet back here at six tomorrow morning."

    "This is such a bad fucking idea." I groaned and turned to leave. Better get go over my gear, get something to eat and then sleep.

    By the time I got close to the motel, the sun was low to the horizon and the shadows stretched out across the parking lot. Man, I have to get a car.

    But first, let's get behind a locked door before the nightlife came ou... the back of my head erupted in pain and the sidewalk rushed up and punched me in the face as the world faded to black.




    AN// Big thanks to Vanathor for betaing this section. Excuse me if I missed a beta note somewhere, I think I got all, but I didn't get much sleep.
     
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    • Vampire!Hiver with a fallen angel

    Or,

    Did Lazarus turn on you?
     
    It shouldn't be dark yet by the description and I don't think any of the others would turn on him probably... they'd probably consider it to high risk 1 on 1.

    Which probably means this is a different party, maybe a Slayer for instance? Or something else not fun that has some reason to target him. Or perhaps he's being prevented from being on that mission as everyone will die?


    Or it could be that he's got a blind spot for robbers? And some one just took all his money?
     
    So were they originally getting paid 300k to split between them, or 50k each? Because if the former, that's 60k apiece.

    ...Not that money is that important, but still. And they better be arming up pretty heavy for this shit; heavier than crossbows, at least.
     
    I'm sort of expecting an apocalypse outcome where Hiver has to except the fallen angel to prevent a true apocalypse.

    Though there's always another possibility, namely someone else manage to get to the coin. Coins are meant to remain in circulation, they are meant to be to be found. Which is a really shitty outcome if Hiver has to risk taking up the coin or letting some other idiot have it.
     
    What is wrong with you people?
    -He lives in a world chock full of insanely dangerous creatures with a myriad of supernatural powers that would very likely like to snack on his everything-

    -NOPE IT WAS DEFINITELY THE ONE BEING THAT HASN'T YET HARMED HIM AT ALL.-

    Do you not see the problem with this conclusion?
     
    Wasn't Taziel supposed to warn him of ambushes?
    I mean just last chapter she started the chapter warning him about an attack from behind.
     
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    Vox De Harlequin said:
    NOPE IT WAS DEFINITELY THE ONE BEING THAT HASN'T YET HARMED HIM AT ALL.
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    That's why Fallen successfully corrupt and enslave mortal bodies and souls since ages beyond human memory - and will continue to do it until the last sentient being will end.

    Because Free Will allows us to willingly disregard the basic facts.

    Fallen are Manipulative. Patient. Evil.

    Edit. It would be stupid for Taz to act now though.

    Slayer is coming. Any sudden moves on it's part can very possibly be followed by a simple vision to Kendra (?) to dispose of the distabilizing factor. And since Slayers do have some kind of conceptual power-up to hunt down anything bad and ugly (like Taziels's evil face)? It won't be wise to switch hosts, directly influence Hiver with illusions or whatever.

    Why hadn't anyone thought about rubber bullets? Shot in Hiver's thick skull. Plausible explanation! It's 90s, not 40s, for the love of holy cows...
     
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    • Pain erupted from my head as it was forcibly jerked to the side, pulling me back to reality.

    Blood pooled on my tongue. I spat, trying to clear the metallic taste from my mouth.

    My head was pounding. Someone was saying, something, but I couldn't quite make it out.

    Silence dinned for a while, I had no idea how long exactly, as I tried my best to compose myself.

    Blearily I forced my eyes open. My world was pain, but I managed.

    "Took you long enough. I almost thought you weren't going to wake up. It would have been a pity. This would not have been half as satisfying."

    I was in some sort of garage, one of those professional shops, not someone's home. There was an oil pit a couple of meters away and I was chained up, strapped to some kind of support beam, my arms held high above my head.

    I tensed against the cold metal against my naked skin. No give.

    This was not good.

    Even worse, I recognized the face of my captor. Terror gripped me, but I kept my face stony. Last thing I needed to do was give this prick even an inch. Show fear to a predator and they would eat you alive.

    Spike.

    William the Bloody.

    He had earned both those names. And I had killed the only thing he had ever loved. Drusilla.

    Well... shit.

    I struggled against the chains once more, as he watched. A cruel smile on his face, confident.

    No one knew I was here. I was not escaping from this. Not without a miracle.

    "Do you know who I am?" He asked and he moved faster than I could follow, grabbing my throat.

    "Spike." I growled out pitifully quiet, as his nails dug into my skin.

    "That's right." He said as he lifted me with what little slack my restraints allowed, "You killed Dru."

    Gzk.

    "I was thinking about being generous, here. A nice, simple spot of torture before I put you out of your misery." He said and squeezed, "But you were bloody annoying to track down so I had time to think. You killed Dru. So, no. I won't that kind."

    My vision started to darken as I struggled against the chains until I was suddenly dropped and collapsed, my arms screaming in pain as I gasped for breath desperately.

    "Instead I came up with something better." Spike said as he grabbed my hair, jerking my head so I had no choice but to look at him directly in the eyes.

    "I'm going to take a lesson from old grand daddy, I think. Seems fitting as a thank you for getting rid of the wanker for me." Spike smiled at me, this time genuinely. "I really do appreciate that, by the way. He really had it coming."

    The century old vampire swung around and sat on the chair he arranged in front of me.

    "I'm going to turn you. I am going to turn you, and you are going to kill everything you love as you drain and slaughter your way through the next hundred years."

    His previous expression turned malevolent, a cruel glee, as he tapped his fingers against his knee.

    "Then I'm going to find a way to give you your soul back. Only when you finally beg for forgiveness for your crimes will I grant you an end."

    No. No.No.

    I tried to kick him, provoke him, but the blasted chains wouldn't let me move.

    "I know why they called you William the Bloody." I spat at him, "Nothing to do with your diet, it's your poetry! Bloody awful!"

    Maybe if I make him angry enough, he'll slip up and just kill me. I didn't want to die. But even death was better than what he was planning. I was out of options.


    "Incorrect, my host." Taziel whispered into my ear.

    I ignored her. I'll rather die than pick the coin up.

    "As for your beloved Dru, she died... not to a slayer, not to a champion or in glorious battle. She died... by the hand of a mook, a nothing. She died loving Ang-EGHH!"

    Bloody hell. I barely saw him move from that chair of his. Spike pulled his first back. I think he broke some of my ribs.

    He snarled and grabbed my hair again, pulling me closer, "Won't work." He said and bared his teeth, "No escape."

    My neck erupted in agony as his teeth pierced my skin.

    Time froze and the pain disappeared.

    I tried to look around and Taziel appeared before me, putting her hands on the sides of my head, "Do not try to move, my host. You might hurt yourself."

    You did like she did in the book. Lasciel. Increased perception.

    Taziel nodded, "I did. It won't last long in real time, a couple of seconds. Anything longer and you might suffer permanent brain damage."


    Go away.


    Absently I heard Spike's voice once more. "You are going to die. Do you understand?"

    Bet my demon can kick his demons arse.

    "If you took up the coin, yes." Taziel agreed, "But you have not. I'm just an imprint. A shadow. If your soul is consumed, I die.

    Well, that's good to know at least. No vampire running around with the power of a fallen angel.

    That would have been bad.

    Then a thought hit me.

    Oh. So this was the Powers plan. This is why they allowed me to live. They needed a replacement for Angel for their plans to work. Whitler even said as much when he sent me out of Sunnydale.

    I didn't want a liquid diet. Even if I was right, how many would I kill before they restored my soul.

    I glanced at Taziel's shadow.

    Help me. Help us. Don't you want to live?

    "Of course I do, but I am limited! You have to pick up the coin!"

    Never.

    Taziel looked frustrated and snarled, shaking her head, her wings folding around her, "I have no more power than you do. Maybe if you had magical training there would be something..." she said before she trailed off, "...But you do have some talent. Not a lot, just enough to be a decent one trick pony if you really practiced and found your niche. Most likely soem sort of geomancy considering how stubborn you are. But you have enough power that if boosted with Hellfire..."

    What?

    Taziel shifted closer, spreading her wings, "Listen to me, my host. There is still a chance, blood is one of the strongest spiritual conduits in existence.That's why vampires use it to reproduce and he just ingested a large amount of yours. Crash course time in simple thaumaturgy." She regarded my seriously.

    "I need you to do exactly as I say. If you pull this off, we might live. The first thing you need to remember is that the words does not matter..."


    Time returned to normal and I clamped my eyes shut as the pain crashed down on me again. I let it, it flooded through me and I pulled at it. The pain, the fear, the fury. The frustration and the anger.

    I pulled at it all, concentrating it into a little hard sphere of hatred in my mind, infusing it with will and purpose, pulling at what little power I had, like she taught me, tasting the blood on my lips, the sharp iron growing more potent to my senses.

    "Spike. Fuck fate." I said quietly.

    The vampire pulled back and looked at me in surprise as I opened my eyes again, glaring at him

    "Firaga!" I snarled, letting the power go. It lashed out and my blood sung with power in my veins. The stench of sulfur filled the air.


    And Spike screamed.


    He jerked back and arched his back, stumbling back as flames licked out of his mouth, burning through his chest before he collapsed into a pile of dust.

    I collapsed against the chains, the relatively easy spell draining everything I had as I almost blacked out.

    Now I was just bleeding from the neck.

    Much better.

    Taziel stroked the side of my head and then slid her arms and wings around me in a hug as the world faded to black.



    AN// Big thanks to Vanathor for betaing this section.
     
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    • damn. gotta applaud the balls it takes to refuse to pick up the coin even when it looks like he's gonna die.
     
    Damn. That was a clever trick on Taziel's part.

    He should still take the damn coin, though. Taziel keeps doing better and better in the running for most pleasant fallen angel.
     
    Seylerius said:
    Damn. That was a clever trick on Taziel's part.

    He should still take the damn coin, though. Taziel keeps doing better and better in the running for most pleasant fallen angel.
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    No. Hiver's doing the right thing at an admittedly accelerated rate. He's corrupting Taziel's Shadow, but he needs to be careful that she doesn't do the same to him.

    Edit: So I'm not the only one who uses -ara or -aga for their spells <.<
     
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    Ellf said:
    No. Hiver's doing the right thing at an admittedly accelerated rate. He's corrupting Taziel's Shadow, but he needs to be careful that she doesn't do the same to him.
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    I'm skeptical. Dresden is unique in many ways, one of which is his tendency to Name things. A big part of what allowed Lash to become a separate entity is that Harry insisted on identifying her a distinct from Lashiel. Names are hugely important to angels, we saw how Uriel reacted when Dresden tried to give him an abbreviation instead of a nickname. Harry gave his shadow a Name. Lash was able to act against her nature because Harry gave her that choice.

    Hiver has been treating Taziel's shadow as literal hellspawn. He constantly invokes the name Taziel and denies that she is any different from her progenitor. Hiver might know, intellectually, that a shadow can be turned, but he has taken none of the necessary steps. We know for a fact that, at the moment of her creation, Taziel's shadow was malevolent. The shadow behaves the same way now as she did when she was first created. Maybe Hiver really has managed to turn the shadow against her creator, but when a benevolent shadow is indistinguishable from a malevolent shadow you have to assume that it is malevolent.
     
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    Ellf said:
    No. Hiver's doing the right thing at an admittedly accelerated rate. He's corrupting Taziel's Shadow, but he needs to be careful that she doesn't do the same to him.
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    There's also the possibility of corrupting each other of course. Which may or may not be good.

    Also I'm not sure where his non-belief of creator might end up as well... Seems like it could be of some import.
     
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