AN: Thank you to everyone who has left a review, and everyone who continues to read this story, even though it is a little rough around the edges. I truly do appreciate you giving your time to this story, and I will continue to give you mine in return by writing it, for all of you who are continuing to read it. That being said: all recognizable characters do not belong to me, they are owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox. I’m merely borrowing them for a short while to entertain myself, and other fans of the ‘verse. I got the transcript of Becoming Part 1 from www.twzttv.com, which was transcribed by Alexander Thompson. I tinkered around with it a bit to suit the story. Anyways. . welcome to Chapter Six of ‘Truth and Lies!’ Read all about it, you’re in for a bumpy ride. . .

Chapter Six

“God, are you disgusting!” the small man with the felt fedora said as he stepped into the stinking alley, glaring at the man dining on a rat in a corner of the cramped space, facing the alley wall, his back unprotected.
“This is really an unforgettable smell. This is the stench of death you're giving off here. And the look says, uh... Crazy Homeless Guy. It's not good.” he chuckled.

“Get away from me.” his hair was matted and disheveled, far from the arrogant vampire he’d once been. The rags he wore hung off of his skeletal frame, as blood dripped out of the sides of his mouth, golden eyes glaring up at the annoying little man from where he sat, huddled on the floor as he turned towards the intruder.

“What are you gonna do, bite me?” gasps and jumps back “Horrors! A vampire!”demonic eyes flashed in anger.

“Ah, but you wouldn't bite me on account of your poor, tortured soul. It's so sad, a vampire with a soul. It's so poignant.”

Angel looked at him, confused by his teasing. “Who are you?”

“Let's take a walk. And a decent meal, a shower, and some clothes. You’re gonna need it, Angel.”

“Are you here to help me?”

“No. I’m here for her.”

“Good. Call me Angelus.”

“Right on, Papa!”

Angelus slammed him up against the alley wall. “Never, ever. . . say that. Understand?”

“Got it, Soul Boy.” his only response was an angry growl.

* * * * * * * * * *

England, 1865–One month later

“Hey! Anybody home?” the small man asked the seemingly empty house.

“What are you doing in my home, demon?” the vampire growled, yellow eyes flashing at the little man in the odd clothing.

“Well, ya see, um–I know about the kid.”

Angelus wrinkled his brow, confused by the small man’s manner of speaking. “What are you, demon? You speak very strangely, are you a traveler?”

“Am I a–a time traveler?”

“Yes–that. Are you?”

“In a way, yes. I’m a messenger for the Powers.”

“Lizzie?” he growled the question, demon face resurfacing.

“Yes, your daughter. They know about her.”

“Who?”

“Everyone, Angelus. You haven’t exactly kept the girl a secret.”

“She’s my daughter, and I love her. She’s MINE. Why would I hide her? The safest place for her is with me and my mate, by our sides, where we can protect her from everything that walks, crawls, oozes, slithers, and stakes. She is ours, and noone, not even the Almighty Powers That Be, will take her from us, and our protection. Now Get. Out. Of my home!” he bellowed.

“Angelus, if you keep her, she’ll die.”

“What do you mean by this?” he hissed. “Do you not think that they will hear you? Don’t you understand that there are others here, others who will become upset by these lies?” he growled. “I, however, will merely kill you, Messenger for the Powers!”

He couldn’t die, he knew he couldn’t. Not unless the Powers willed him to, but in the face of the little girl’s father, he was terrified for his life.

“Angelus, I just need to talk to you. The name’s Whistler, I’m a messenger for the Powers That Be. If you keep your daughter with you, she will die. And soon. I don’t know if you noticed, but, there aren’t many vampire children runnin’ around. All it takes is a special human and a powerful vamp during the right time of year, but normally, vamps don’t really play too much with their food, and they don’t normally let the girl live after they’ve finished playing with her, if ya know what I mean.”

“These vamp kids? They’re a rarity. And there are a lot of demons that would do more than just kill to get their slimy hands on one. There’s a lot of rituals that need that extra-special ingredient, and a lot of vampires who wonder just how one would taste.”

This was when Angelus lost control, when he thought of another vampire piercing the flesh that he and his mate had claimed as theirs, as family. Eradicating that special connection the three of them shared.

“How do you know that she will die?” he growled, fangs gnashing together.

“We have seers. One of them saw her death, if she stayed with you. And the death of your mate. The only path is to give her to me, I’ll relocate her, here in England. You’ll know where she is, and you can visit here. You and your mate can travel the world, see everything that a human dreams of seeing in their lifetime, and bring her pretty things.”

“But what if, all I want is my daughter? What if we had better protection for her? Were less conspicuous?”

“Angelus, it’s time that we let her go. We’ll destroy her, like everything we touch. We walk, eat, and breath death. It is our gift, to end their suffering, to make them into something better than what they were. Our daughter, is better than whatever we could ever try to change her into. We can’t keep her, Angelus. We knew we couldn’t, not like this. It’s so hard to control, the need to make her like us, to keep with us always. And you are a master vampire! I am only five years out of my grave, it’s hard to stay away from her, to tell the demon that it cannot hurt her. Because it loves her too. And the minions!”

“Angelus, think about it.” the short man said, taking off the strange hat he wore. “The two of you are her parents, you love her. You live in a mansion surrounded by other vampires, many which are older than your mate.” he tossed her a kind smile.

“Your daughter is going to mature. Going to become. . . a woman. She’ll start bleeding, not from a wound. She’ll begin her cycle. With vampires, blood is everything, especially life, and passion. What will happen when your 13 year old daughter begins to bleed? How will it affect your minions?

Or you? Could you stand knowing that your daughter is leaking blood down her legs, and there’s nothing you can do, when your first instinct is to seal the wound?

The minions! Your kind are always looking for a mate, and what could be more of a prize than the daughter of your own sire, untainted, human, flesh? To be closer to your sire, in a way that none of the clan can? And your mark won’t hold up against someone searching for a mate, not when you haven’t sought to mate with them, in the physical sense.

And you would destroy the both of you if you tried to, in her best interest or not. You would never be able to look her in the eye again, knowing what you had done, what you had taken.”

He let out a deep sigh. “The only thing you can do, is give her to me. I’ll keep her safe, I’ll make sure she’s looked after. She’ll never forget who you are, she’ll always remember you, and I’ll never lie to her. She’ll know where you are, and you’ll know where she is. All you need to do: is drop in to say ‘hello.’”

“She needs this. And so do the two of you, Angelus. You and your mate need a hunt, a real hunt. And you can’t do that while worrying about the little one at home. Just think of me as the live-in babysitter.” he said with a grin.

“Babysitter?” he was confused, the man spoke in English, but his words were put together so strangely, it made his head spin.

“You’ll understand one day. And Elizabeth needs this, too. She needs her own life, she has a path to follow, it’s my job that she sticks to it.”

He looked from his mate, to the demon trying to take away his daughter. “Just–let me say goodbye? We’ll leave in a week, you can have her then.” he bounded up the stairs to his daughter’s room, scenting the tears on her cheeks, and willing away the blood-tinged tears in his own eyes as he heard his mate collapse, sobbing, on the landing. He ran past her without a glance.

AN: Alright, thanks guys for reading! I meant to get this out a few days ago, but I’ve been sick. And working. I’m not completely happy with it, it seems awkward to me, so I’ll probably edit it a bit sometime this week. I just wanted to get something up for you guys who are following the story. I promise, you’ll see how everything comes together, I think it’s already pretty obvious. Wish me luck on the next chap!