Perfect Imbalance 2: The Mystery of the Immortal

Disclaimer: Okay, I own nothing of or relating to "Angel" or Oscar Wilde's novels (because of brief mentioning) so be nice and don't steal whatever is original in the story that's mine (and don't act stupid, because you know what it is)

GOD HOW I HATE SCHOOL! Now, I'm sorry to all of those who wanted a quick update, but I've just started school again and I've had little time for anything else. So thank you to all who put up with my overly late updates!!!

Ch.4

Lien placed a cup full of red liquid in front of Spike. Having been led through winding halls and numerous rooms, the almost dizzy vampire just stared at it.

"Here," Lien told him as he took a seat opposite, "Drink, it'll make you feel better."

Spike continued to stare at it for a moment, but then he decided to pick it up. Bringing the glass to his nose, he breathed in the scent of the blood inside.

"I don't drink human blood," he stated plainly as he set it back down.

"What?" Cise laughed from the opposite wall he was leaning on.

"I don't drink human blood," Spike repeated.

Cise was silent for a moment, but then began to speak.

"You're a vampire right?"

"Yes."

"And you've lived a long time, right?"

"Yes."

"So why in the 'ell do you not drink blood?"

"I don't drink human blood," Spike explained, "Haven't in awhile."

"Then wha' do you drink?"

"Pig's blood."

Cise made a face of questioning, but then was silenced by a wave if Lien's hand.

"He's ensouled," he clarified, "But you need not have this blood weigh on your conscience. It is the blood of one that still lives, no death involved."

Spike still looked at the glass warily.

"You can trust my word, if nothing else you can trust," Lien told the blond vampire as he pushed the glass towards him, "Here,"

Spike looked at the glass, to Lien, and back to the glass again. 'Why shouldn't I trust him?' he thought, 'I could've been killed already if they wanted to..'

Deciding that he could trust the guy, Spike took the glass in his hand, sniffed it once, and took a large gulp. Feeling the rush of the human blood in his system, he quickly took another gulp, and another…..and another until he finished it all. He set the glass down and stared into space, the blood in his system giving him a rush.

Lien chuckled, "I take it you would like more?"

Spike managed to nod his head.

"Good."

Sair tried to sleep, but wasn't too surprised to find that she couldn't. She tossed and turned for a good two hours before she gave up on it and decided to get out of bed.

The young immortal walked over to the window and laid her forehead on the cool glass. Watching the cars and buses go by on the daytime street below, she laughed. She was still used to sleeping and living like a vampire, even though she wasn't one anymore. Funny how ironic it was. How she felt she would never get used to it when she was a vampire, but now was used to it when she was an immortal.

"Yes, things are funny like that sometimes," someone said behind her.

The young immortal spun around, her back to the window, and gasped at who she saw.

Leaning against the door to her room……was Dorian Gray.

"This stuff is jus' great!" Spike half-yelled, having a bit of trouble controlling the volume of his voice.

Lien laughed a bit, "Yeah, other vampires tend to think that as well."

For the past thirty minutes, they had been giving the blond vampire all the blood he wanted, succeeding in getting him quite drunk on the sensation of human blood. And now, sixteen glasses later, Spike was quite drunk.

The blond vampire laughed for no reason at all, "Yeah…"

"So, what can you tell me about the immortal that you know?" Lien asked him.

"Immortal? I know a lot of 'em…" Spike trailed as he took another gulp of blood, "What do you put in this stuff? Is it Jack Daniel's or something?"

"No," Lien dismissed, "Well, name off the immortals that you know."

"Well, there's Dru, who I haven't talked to in God knows how long…Hell, I don't even know if she's still alive!" he started laughing, but then continued, "Then there's Angel, the bloody great big pouf, and that stupid idiot Harmony and-"

"No, don't tell me the vampires, you know. Tell me the actual immortals that you know," Lien emphasized as he crossed glances with Cise, who stood passively in the corner.

Spike stared at him for a minute, and then took on a look of surprise, "Oh! That!"

Lien nodded, "Yes, please tell me."

"Well, there's this one girl that I know…." Spike trailed as he emptied his glass and stood up with it.

Cise went to move to sit him back down, but Lien waved him to stay still.

The blond vampire laughed a bit, "You know, I don't think I recall her name…….something weird……I forget.."

Lien stood up, "Well try to remember."

Spike scratched the back of his head, "Hmmmm…..I think it was…"

Lien leaned in forward towards him a bit to listen.

"I remember!" Spike said as he slammed down the glass on the table, breaking it, making the glass jagged, and throwing a very large piece straight for Cise's head.

His head whipped back with the force of the blow, the glass lodging itself in his forehead, and he crumpled to the floor. Not wasting any time, Spike vamped out and jumped over the table to Lien. Jumping over and getting around him, the blond vampire captured him in a choke hold. With a animalistic roar, he wrenched his hands in both directions and felt the man's neck snap.

Lien fell to the ground limply and Spike vamped back to normal. He took a moment to collect himself and to regain his bearings.

'Now, I have to get out of here…' the blond vampire thought, kicking over the table he was sitting at, out of his way and wrenched open the door to run out, 'Now where the hell do I go?'

Spike looked around for a second, then ran down the left hall.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Sair yelled as she looked on at the visitor that was supposed to be dead.

"Looking around your place," Dorian said as he leaned forward off of the doorjamb, "Pretty nice, but I must admit, I've seen better."

"No, I mean, what are you doing here?" the young immortal replied shakily.

"I just wanted to see you again.." Dorian replied with a smile, "You know, catch up on old times?"

"Very funny."

"Always good to start off conversations with a joke."

"So I hear."

Dorian smiled and casually put his hands in his pockets, "So, you're doin' quite well for yourself here. I love the place, nice but full of personality."

"Enough of your talk. What are you and why are you here?"

"Always to the point I see."

"Yes."

Dorian laughed again and took a few steps forward, "Well, I think I'll answer the first question…"

"Alright."

"To be concise and to the point, I'm a ghost."

"A ghost?"

"Yes, what part of immortal do you not understand?"

"I guess I missed the lecture," Sair replied curtly.

"Hm, I know you're angry with me-"

"You think I shouldn't be?"

"No, you have every right to, but you don't know the full story of it."

"Well pardon me, but I was fighting to save my brother."

Dorian stopped studying a little trinket on Sair's dresser, "You know, that was always something that seemed funny to me. Why do you refer to Spike as your brother, if he's not of your flesh and blood?"

"I think the blood part's covered and it's none of your business anyways."

Dorian laughed, "Ah, that's the way of the vampire isn't it? Stick with a group until you get tired of them, then move on right?"

"It's not like that."

"Maybe not now, but in a few hundred years just watch, Spike will soon drift away from you. Just like everyone else you know-"

"Will you just shut up?"

"Oh, did I strike a nerve?"

Sair sat down on her bed, "Forget it. Now will you please just answer my other question?"

"Eager to end the conversation?"

"Why would I lie?"

Dorian smiled and then walked over to the bed, towering over the young immortal, but then kneeled down to be level with her.

"I'll tell you, but first I want to tell you the reason this all happened?"

"What?"

"You becoming an immortal, and everything else…."

Sair stared at him.

"Please, just listen."

The young immortal kept staring, but nodded once in acquiescence.

"Thank you," Dorian began, "Ever since I laid eyes on you, I knew that you were meant for something more than being just a vampire."

"Oh how did you come to that decision?"

He hung his head for a minute, but then raised it again, "I knew how much you hated it. How much you hated the prowl, being a creature of the night, not being able to see the sun again, or ever resemble a human. All of it, no matter how much you pretended, you despised."

Sair looked into his eyes, for once showing real interest in the conversation for once.

"And I knew…that if I could give you something of your humanity back, it would-it would be so wonderful to see you happy," Dorian told her with a smile, "I don't know what happened….I used to be…so selfish….but then when I thought that I could see you truly happy for once, I decided different I guess.

"So then I decided what I would do, but I knew that you wouldn't, willingly, want to have your humanity back, or just a piece of it. I knew the demon in you would never let me. So I decided to play the bad guy, which I had played so many times before.

"I saw my opportunity in Lucia. Well, you know what happened. I figured if I made you hate me. If I made you, hate the fact that you were a vampire, maybe I could……"

"Make me want to be human?" Sair's voice creaked, she felt the lump in her throat forming.

Dorian sighed and nodded, "I knew that even if it was against your will, you would be happy."

Sair lowered her head.

Dorian held her hands, "Please tell me I was right. Just please, please, please tell me I was right…."

The young immortal was silent for a moment, but then she looked into Dorian's eyes, her own starting to tear up.

"Yes….."

Dorian sighed in happiness and laughed, "Oh, thank you…thank you so much…."

Sair just remained silent, but she had a smile on her face.

"I'm just so glad…."

"Me too.."

Dorian smiled at her, but remembered that he grasping her hands in a more than impersonal manner. He quickly made his hands become ghost-like again and pulled them through her own. He stood up and put them in his pockets.

Sair swallowed and regained herself for a moment, "So, you're a ghost?"

Dorian walked over to the window and looked outside, "Yes. You see, immortals never truly die, we just get cut off from the living when we give up our power to someone else, but I can become corporeal whenever I like, I just prefer my non solid form, makes things easier."

"Ah…"

Dorian sensed her disappointment, "Never fear, becoming a ghost like me, is very peaceful. You're free to roam different dimension, places, as you feel. It's almost like being on a never-ending vacation, I guess, for lack of a better analogy."

Sair managed a small laugh, but then turned serious for a moment, "But why are you're here? Why now?"

Dorian lowered his head, "All I wanted to do was make you happy, I never thought that it'd turn into this…"

Sair stood up and walked over to him. She put a hand on his shoulder, turning him towards her, "What is it?"

Dorian picked up his head, "There are other immortals, some of which I believe took your brother Spike."

"Who?"

"I know of them, but I never affiliated with them. I was always on my own, but they are all in a group of their own."

"But why did they take Spike?"

"To get to you," Dorian stated, "I thought that they wouldn't care if I had given my power to someone else, but there was something else I forgot completely."

"What?" Sair asked.

"….It's a ritual, something they perform every thousand years. Every time, they make a sacrifice to their immortal god an immortal soul. To keep the world safe from harm."

"I don't think it worked, there's been a lot of Apocalypses."

Dorian shook his head, "That was never out of the immortals' hands, they knew if need be, they could deal with it and keep the earth safe. Now me, I never really cared about that sort of thing, but….they did. Their sacrifices stopped the world from being totally annihilated."

"So what does this have to do with me?" Sair asked.

Dorian took a breath, "They usually summon their god for the sacrifice with all of the immortals in the world present, but, they apparently don't like to send out for people in a civilized manner. You could see why."

"I don't think many would respond to an invitation that could possibly lead to their death," the young immortal responded.

Dorian laughed, "Yes, most of them already acquiesce to participating in the ritual, but some do not care to. You being one of them, luckily, they can't track you like they can the others. A small trait I passed on to you."

Sair smiled.

"So, I guess they went after your brother to try to get information on you."

"Do you know where they are? Who they are?"

"Sair, it was a good two hundred plus years since I've met them. They could've changed their location and the members could've changed completely for all I know."

"Can't you go to them? You know, spy on them?"

"Unfortunately no, they've kept their location very secret. No one knows where they are except for them, and they're untraceable."

Sair lowered her head in dismay.

Dorian tensed for a moment, "I have to leave now."

"What? Why?" the young immortal asked.

"I can't be found."

"By who? What's coming?"

"Look, I don't have much time, but I'll tell you what I know. When I met the immortals, the oldest was named Lien. He was as selfish as I was, so I doubt that he would give up his power to anyone. Try searching for him, alright?"

"Will I see you again?" Sair asked.

"I promise you I will make sure of it," Dorian said with a smile and he hugged the young immortal.

Sair felt the warmness of his body for a millisecond before he disappeared completely and she was hugging air.

Just then, Angel came in through the door, "Sair!"

She stood where she was for a moment, before she finally answered, "What is it Angel?"

"Are you alright? A couple of people reported that there was someone yelling in here," the vampire asked.

"It was just a dream," the young immortal lied.

"Oh," Angel said, "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, thanks…"

"Alright," he said, ready to leave.

"Angel," Sair said.

"What?"

"Ask Fred to search for the name Lien."

"What for?"

"I think that may be the person that took Spike."

"What? How do you know?"

"….just call it an immortal's intuition."

Angel stopped for a moment, but then nodded his head.

"Alright. I'll tell her to get right on it," he said as he left and closed the door.

Sair nodded, "Thanks…"

Author's note: Oh my god!!! Where did that come from?? Makes you wanna cry huh? Poor Dorian, all he wanted to do was help Sair!!! WAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Welp, thanks for putting up with my late update, but high school's tuff! Anywho, tell me what you think! I relaly hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for more!!!!