fandomhigh | The Library (Thursday)

"Can't I just skip to the hiding-in-shadows time?" Angel asked as she dragged him along. "Ow - watch the jacket."

"You're practically indestructible, and you whimper about a little pushiness? Prima donna." She manhandled him into one of the chairs at a table off to the side, then dragged over one of her twirly stools like she was conducing the Inquisition.

"So. Darla. Drusilla. Tell me *all* about them. Leave out the sex details. I don't care. Leave in the parts about where they are and how much they want Angelus back."

"Okay," Angel steepled his hands in front of him. "But the sex details are the best bit.

"Darla: sired me. Dru: sired by me. Both nuts in their own way except Dru's the fun kind where you think unicorns are real. As for how bad they want Angelus back..."

Angel tilted his head thoughtfully. "Okay, you know how much you like annoying me? Imagine that, only about a thousand times more and without using the knives that tickle."

Parker leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Fabulous. Mr. Phale and Mr. Crowley both said they'd gone to so much trouble to soul you, they're not about to let anyone undo it, but I like extra insurance. And your 'girls' can cause enough collateral damage that their success is nearly secondary." She grimaces. "*Why* do they want Mr. Leather-Clad Poseur back so badly? And if it was just the sex, skip to the part about where you think they are now."

"They want Angelus back because they consider him the real me," Angel said. "Dru especially. She hates me for taking Angelus away from her. As for where: easy. In town. Apparently chatting with Bel if Marty's report is any indication."

Parker sighed, and rubbed her eyes. "I was hoping Aeryn was wrong. She spotted Darla at Caritas, and I recognized the description." She folded her arms, taking a moment to study him intently. "That stupid loophole in the curse. 'Perfect happiness.' How did you find out about it? How solid is it? How much of a risk? Forgive me, but if I'm looking for way to Scotch-tape it shut, I'd like to know what to loko for."

"I'd tell you how but you just told me not to talk about that," Angel said, giving her a look that clearly said Do you need me to elaborate?

Parker rolls her eyes so far up into her head she's practically showing only whites. "Without the specifics, Wings: why did you take that kind of risk, if you knew what would happen? I get how celibacy sucks, but come on, there's lots of bases before home plate. What the hell were you thinking? 'Immortality is only bearable if I boff a blonde now'?"

"That's a theory," Angel said, looking ready to roll his eyes himself, "or alternatively when I got cursed the gypsies weren't thoughtful enough to tell me there was a loophole?"

Parker points at him, eyes gleaming. "Ha! So. You were just wandering around, fell in luuuuuv, had sex, and ... poof? No soul?" She twirls back and forth on her chair, considering. "So could it even happen that way again? Can you even be perfectly happy, knowing about that clause?" She frowns. "And why the hell didn't they tell you? That makes absolutely no sense at all."

Angel rubbed his face tiredly. "Welcome to my world. If you want the sense of it... I dunno. Ask a gypsy."

"Good thing I know one." Parker grinned triumphantly, remembering Miss Calendar. "Okay. So. Would souling Drusilla or Darla, assuming we could even do that, solve the problem?" She tapped her toes on her chair, and tilted her head. "You turn into Captain Soul Train; do they become good, with souls? Or is not worth the incredible bother, not to mention setting Drusilla on fire again?"

"Not worth the bother," Angel said. "It's not a fix it. I had the soul for over one hundred years before I used it to make something of myself. Even then the only reason why was because Buffy inspired me. There's no point to souling all the vampires of the world. There's one answer for pure evil and that's to kill it. End of discussion."

Angel slapped his hand down onto the table to drive the point home. Then he frowned. "What do you mean you know a gypsy?"

"The new psych teacher is Romany. Or Romanii?" Parker tries to get the pronunciation perfect, then makes a note to follow up on that. "She knew all about the curse, and the disinvitation spell, so hopefully she'll have some information about the motivations of the Kalderash. It's at least worth asking."

Pondering his earlier statement, Parker's eyes narrow. "So if there's no chance for you with Summers, due to curse issues, what's motivating you to do the Hero Thing now? Are you going to bail and walk into the sunlight?" She grimaces. "Last week, I would have been okay with that, but now...."

Angel looked at her curiously. "Now...?"

She glowered at him. "Mr. Phale nearly died helping with that spell. Lorne drank himself *ill* after having to read your soul and your past together. Tara's being threatened by Belthazor. You going away wouldn't change any of that, or make it better, but it would make it all... pointless."

Parker glanced away. "And, I said I'd take on whatever came out of that spell. I didn't like that it was going to hurt whoever Liam was, or is. Maybe the ends can't justify the means. But they can make them bearable." She looked up, still sullen. "So you should stay."

Angel nodded, as though he felt her words to be fair.

"I don't do good to impress Buffy. I never did. I did it because she inspired me. She had so much less than I did and embraced her destiny with courage the likes of which I'd never seen. She taught me what being good was all about. Yeah, I fell in love with her. I still love her. But I'm not in this for her. I do good because she showed me how to want to be good."

Parker went quiet for a couple minutes, thinking, watching him.

"And that's all? You're just going to Champion away, for, I don't know, the rest of your life?" She studied him carefully. "Unlife. Undeath. Whatever. For the rest of your vida loca, you're willing to do that?" Her lips thinned. "And if you change your mind? Even with the soul? Mr. Crowley seems to be counting on that."

"It's what I do," Angel said. "I fight the good fight or I'm nothing."

If there was ambiguity to those last few words, Angel didn't seem bothered by it.

"Not reassuring at all," Parker said. "But don't think that the 'nothing' part of that can't be done. If it has to be."

She sighed. "Is there anything else we should be doing, aside from finding and staking Darla and Dru? And I didn't plan on having to *keep* having to worry about half of JA after you were gone. They're falling apart nicely, but it's still not enough."

Grumbling, she added, "Do you know how sad it is that the only super-powered declared Good Guy at Fandom is you? All the rest seem oblivious to what's going on."

"Yeah I noticed that," Angel said, some of his ~~brooding~~ previous somberness leaving him. "Even when I was Angelus. Everybody wanted to stop me and yet nobody really did anything about it. That is, except for you and Marty. I'm thinking that needs to change."

"Oh, reeeeally," Parker drawled. "What, you think we ought to take out ads? 'Join the Forces of Sweetness and Light? We'll give you better doughnuts than JA'?"

She smirked, then blinked, thinking of something. "Hang on. I forgot, Professor Tick is a Good Guy. We just didn't ask him for help because, well. Professor. Maybe he'll have some ideas."

"Back in Sunnydale, Buffy had a group," Angel said. "Watcher, witch, Slayer, vamp with a soul - " he pointed to himself " - and Xander but what can you do? Point being, shared resources. That's exactly what Angelus was trying here. As soon as he came to Fandom he knew the smartest thing he could do was gather up the best of the evil and make them work together. Why can't good do the same thing?"

"Because we're less obsessed and socially deficient? And half of us seem to be dating the bad guys?" Parker said, then reluctantly nodded. "But I see your point. Angela and Marty and I were so busy not getting caught, we didn't think of looking for other help.... Maybe that was a mistake." Her face went grim. "Okay. I have some people in mind. I'm sure you do too. Marty probably does." She flicked a narrow glare his way. "You're still being watched. But...." She shrugged. "Again. Might as well make lemonade."

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