From Darkness Comes Light                                                               Genre - ??                                                             Rating - PG 13                                                  Time-Line - After season 3 finale Disclaimer - Buffy the Vampire Slayer , its characters and related indica are copyright to 20th Century Fox, the WB network, Mutant Enemy (Grrr Arrgh) and Joss Whedon. I am in no way affiliated with any of these companies or individuals. Anything not belonging to the above belongs to me, unless otherwise stated. This fanfic belongs to me and is not to be taken or distributed without my permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scene – Night. A young woman is standing in front of a notice board in the lobby of a building, mailboxes on the wall next to the notice board indicate it is an apartment building. She is holding a box of donuts. "Ah donuts. The sweetest way to die." Jaxx said to herself as she stuffed the warm Boston Cream into her mouth. "Um, Excuse me." A soft voice came from behind her. Jaxx choked on the donut as she turned to face the source of the voice. Her eyes came upon a young man standing close behind her. He was devastatingly handsome and Jaxx felt her cheeks burn as she continued to choke down the donut. < Ommigod how embarrassing!! Jaxx control yourself >She scolded. "Yophh schared mne." She said as she swallowed the last bits of donut. "Sorry. I’m looking for the super. Do you know where I can find him?" He smiled at her as he spoke, obviously amused at her attempt to regain composure. "You’re looking at her. You must be the guy Tony told me about, you’re interested in the apartment downstairs. He didn’t tell me your name." "Angel." He extended his hand towards her and she shook it. Cold. Considering the August heat outside this struck her as a little odd. "Danielle Jaxx. Everyone just calls me Jaxx. Donut?" She offered him the box and he selected one. "Well follow me and I’ll give you the grand tour." She started off towards the elevator and he followed slightly behind her. They rode the elevator in silence the humid air sapping the energy she had for any small talk. As the doors opened when they reached the basement, a blast of cool air swept over them. Jaxx liked the basement this time of year. The building was early thirties construction and had central heating but the present owner hadn’t bothered to install air-conditioning, some apartments had individual units, but the rest of the apartments took on the attributes of a six storey solarium in the summer. The heat just seemed to accumulate from day to day and never dissipate, the wallpaper in the sixth floor hallway had even begun to slide off the walls as the glue melted. The basement was dark and cool, a welcome refuge from the heat. There were two basement apartments; one was quite a large studio-type apartment with two bedrooms, which belonged to Jaxx. The other was a small one bedroom place that had recently been vacated by a highly strung writer who had taken a swan-dive off the roof of his publisher’s downtown high-rise. "I haven’t had the opportunity to remove the previous tenants belongings yet, I can’t seem to find any next of kin." She explained as they stepped off the elevator and crossed the narrow hallway to the apartment door. "Do you have much stuff? ‘Cause I can move his stuff out if it's in the way." "I don’t have anything really. I got… um sick and lost it all." "Really? Bummer. Well actually I was going to give all this stuff to charity, but you can keep it if you like. Till you get some of your own." Jaxx opened the door and stepped aside so she could see his face as he looked around the apartment. The cops she had shown around had been in a shocked stupor when they had walked in, but Angel stayed stoic. "I guess he was a little bit "out-there"?" He said after a few moments. Jaxx raised her eyebrows. "Just a little? Trust me he was beyond "out-there" he lost track of reality a long time ago, actually I’m not sure he was ever in touch." Angel nodded his agreement as he walked slowly through the living area. The décor was surreal. Gafoe had painted the entire apartment to look the set of a B-grade slasher flick blood covered the walls, floor and ceiling. He had placed mangled and mutilated mannequins in various positions throughout the apartment. Jaxx had almost thrown up when they found his "rape/murder" victim in the bedroom, she decided against telling Angel about that. Angel caught sight of an arm that was sticking out of the garbage disposal and raised his eyebrows. "The former tenant was named Gafoe Stevetis. He wrote murder mysteries." She said, by way of explanation. "According to his publisher this was ‘inspiration’. If I had known he was doing this I’d have evicted him a long time ago. But don’t worry, the cops said it’s only stage blood. All I have to do is get rid of the mannequins, and give it a new paint job and it will be perfectly habitable for a sane person. I already have the paint: some nice I’m-not-a-homicidal-maniac pastels." Angel looked at a stack of books piled up on the coffee table as he spoke. "I guess you haven’t had too many people eager to rent?" Jaxx shook her head . "We’ll I guess I’ll take it…" Angel trailed off as he opened the door to the bathroom "… but that has got to go." He continued indicating the dismembered dummy that had been placed in a bath filled with bloodied water. Jaxx smiled at him. ***** Angel watched as the flames engulfed the bags of trash he’d thrown into the incinerator. He’d spent the day helping Jaxx clean out his new apartment. She had covered the two small windows with cardboard to prevent curious locals from getting an eye-full. He couldn’t blame her really. The previous tenant had been seriously disturbed and had decorated his apartment in a Hannibal Lechter type motif. Angel had seen worse, he’d done much worse to real people in his life as a vampire. But Gafoe hadn’t been a vampire he was just a man. It sickened Angel when he thought of humans committing such haenous acts. He had long ago accepted Vampire’s killing people, as Spike had once pointed out to him it was their ‘raison d’être’, their reason for existing. They had no soul, no compassion, and no regrets. He hated thinking that humans were capable of the same atrocities, that they could be completely soulless and still is called human? He hadn’t really wanted to live in the apartment after this man, but he had been desperate to get away from the abandoned factory he had been staying in and establish some sort of stable existence. The apartment itself was perfect for his needs, small, secluded, dark. He even found himself liking Jaxx; she was naturally warm and friendly. He could tell she didn’t like being in the apartment much though, what normal person would? She had been grateful for his offer to help her clean and repaint it, not so much she couldn’t do it, but she didn’t want to do it alone. He walked back to his apartment trying not to think about Buffy. She weighed heavily on his mind since he’d left Sunnydale. Cleaning this apartment had been the first distraction he’d had from thinking about her. Now he thought about it, this was the first time today she had entered his thoughts. It had been quiet since he’d arrived in LA, vampire activity was low as most of the locals had joined with the Mayor’s Ascension party and had been dusted. The lack of activity was a blessing of sorts as it allowed him to establish contacts without to many people, or otherwise, being aware of his presence. As he entered his apartment he spotted Jaxx, with her back to him, in the kitchenette repairing a hole in the dry wall. She was oblivious to his presence, engrossed in her work and singing, suprisingly well, to a song playing on the small portable radio she had positioned near herself. She was very attractive, in a tomboyish way. What struck him most about her, was her eyes, which were called gray, but to him looked more like quicksilver. Someone had once told him you could tell everything about a person from their eyes alone. When he looked in Jaxx’ eyes he had seen kindness and happiness, but at unguarded moments she showed pain and anguish. It was quite obvious Jaxx was a woman with secrets, which she guarded well. He looked at her and wondered if he would ever know those secrets and if she would ever know his.   Angel was startled into consciousness by a light knocking on his front door. If not for his vampire-sensitive hearing he wouldn’t have heard it at all. He had dreamt about her again, just as he had done every night for the past six months since his departure from Sunnydale, and from sometime before. Sometimes the dreams were a blissful escape from reality, others were a stark reminder of the truth. He had been at ease lately and his dreams had reflected this. He hoisted himself out of bed and pulled on a pair of black jeans he had carelessly thrown on the floor. He glanced at the antique grandfather clock as he passed through the living room towards the door. Three-thirty in the afternoon. Daylight. He hoped nothing terrible had happened. He looked through the peephole and allowed himself a slight smile at the sight of the person waiting patiently on the other side of the door. "Hi!" Jaxx greeted him brightly as he opened the door. "Oh. Did I wake you up? I’m sorry." "How did you know I was sleeping?" "Elementary my dear Watson: You’ve got that ‘rested’ look about you, and you told me you work nights, remember? Plus your hair is kind of smushed on one side." She smiled as he self-consciously raked his fingers through his dark hair. He had seen quite a bit of Jaxx in the four months since he had moved into the building. Apart from sharing the basement with her, Jaxx had confessed to being somewhat of a ‘night-owl’ herself. He often ran into her coming or going from the building, or sometimes he would find her in the lobby chatting to Len. Len was an old man who suffered from insomnia and thus spent most of his nights camped in the lobby watching the world go by through the safety of the double paned glass. Len would often stop Angel and ask him what was going on outside the view the glass provided him with. He had at first been reluctant to talk to Len, he hadn’t really wanted to get too chatty with anyone, but he had discovered him to be a rather interesting person with an immaculate knowledge of history that rivaled his own first-hand experiences. "Is something wrong?" Jaxx drew in a long breath before she replied. "I kind of need a favour. I mean if your not busy, You don’t have to its just that…" "Just that what?" "Well I need to do some work for Nathan Tryon in 3B, and he gets a little too friendly sometimes. It’s not that I can’t handle him, but maybe if I take someone in with me he won’t try anything funny." She looked uncomfortable, obviously not liking the position she had been put in. Angel had studied the building’s layout when he had first arrived to seek out any refuges within it should he ever have to leave his apartment during the day, though there was an access tunnel for the sewerage system right near his apartment, he liked to have more than one avenue of escape. 3B would be at the elevator end of the hall meaning the light from the small window at the other end of the hall would be of no threat. "I’d be glad to help. Let me just throw a shirt on." Jaxx snorted as he retreated toward his bedroom. "You’re already wearing more than he will be." ***** Angel stood in front of 3B, as Jaxx knocked politely on the door. He was now laced with apprehension. It hadn’t occurred to him until he was getting off the elevator on the 3rd floor that Mr. Tyron would have to invite him in. And if he didn’t Angel was going to have a hell of a time trying to think up an excuse to explain his inability to enter the apartment. The heavy door was suddenly yanked open and Angel and Jaxx were greeted with a full view of Mr. Tryon. Angel estimated him to be in his early forties. His red hair was balding on top but it was more than compensated for over the rest of his body, which looked to be a good three hundred pounds worth. Most of which Angel could see due to the fact Mr. Tyrone was clad only in a very small pair of black satin briefs, most likely in honor of Jaxx. Jaxx made no attempt to enter the apartment. "Afternoon Ms Jaxx." He smiled at her coyly before turning his attention to Angel. "Who the hell is this?" "This is Angel. He’s my assistant." "Hi." Angel said giving him a little wave. "You don’t need an assistant to fix some leaky taps. He’s not coming in." Tyrone stood defiantly blocking the doorway. "I’m teaching him the tricks of the trade he sort of an assistant come apprentice, and he goes where I go. Comprende?" Tryon swore under his breath. He looked at Angel through slitted eyes. "Alright you can come in. Wipe your feet." He grumbled. Jaxx smiled and entered the apartment. Tryon quickly moved in blocking Angel’s path as he followed her. "You shut the door." Tryon commanded before taking off after Jaxx who had made her way into the kitchen. Angel closed the door and headed towards the kitchen where Tryon was leaning heavily over Jaxx’ shoulder under the guise of demonstrating the faulty tap, but was instead staring down her T-shirt. The curtains had been drawn and the lights dimmed, Tryon definitely had plans for Jaxx other than a few fix-it jobs. Angel quietly prayed that Jaxx would be quick or he would succumb to the urge to kick his fat-pervert arse. ***** "You’ll love this place. The Sonnie’s has the best pizza there is. In this state anyway." Jaxx grabbed Angel by the arm and lead him into the small pizzeria. It had been after six when Tryon had run out of jobs for Jaxx to do in his apartment. She had insisted on buying Angel dinner to partly to thank him for putting up with Tryon for so long, and partly because she had been appalled when he told her he didn’t have a favorite food outlet. She assured him Sonnie’s would fill that void. The restaurant was small and the atmosphere friendly. It was busy at this time of night and Jaxx was quick to claim a booth for them, by sitting in it before the previous diners had managed to fully vacate it. Angel smiled at them apologetically as he sat opposite Jaxx. "That was subtle." He chided. "It’s a dog eat dog world. Manners went out the window along with common decency and human rights back in the 50’s. Actually it was probably way before that but nobody really paid any attention. The good Mr. Tryon is a prime example." "Aren’t manners and common decency the same thing? And Mr. Tryon is nothing more than sexual deviate, who really needs to pay more attention to Jenny Craig than he does to you." Jaxx tipped back her head and laughed. "Thank you for coming with me. I don’t think I could have handled three hours alone with him." "I don’t think he could have lasted more than a minute alone with you. It looked like he had some serious romance planned. Does he always act like that around you?" "Ever since I moved in about two years ago, and when I became super he started breaking stuff so I’d have to go up there and fix it." Angel was about to reply when a waitress walked up to their booth and Angel found himself staring into a familiar pair of brown eyes. "Cordelia?" He was dumbfounded in a city this large he could run into one of Buffy’s friends, and after only six months. "Angel." Was all she managed to reply, obviously stuck in the same state of bewilderment. "You guy’s know each other? Whoa it IS a small world after all." Jaxx stated in amusement. "Would you like to join us?" She asked Cordelia. Sounding genuinely eager to experience her company. "Uh no I can’t I have to work. What would you like to order?" Cordelia replied finally finding her voice. She pulled a small notepad out of the pocket of the small apron wrapped around her waist. Cordelia worked here? Angel couldn’t believe it he thought she lived off her Daddy’s American Express card. "Well if you have a break or something you’re more than welcome. Um…What would you like Angel?" "You’re the expert what do you recommend?" Angel suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. The first time he had been out in public with anyone besides Whistler and he’d gotten caught. His heart dropped, Cordelia would blab about this. Thanks to the reliability of the grapevine Buffy would probably know about his new ‘friend’ in a matter of days. He groaned inwardly. He would have to try and talk to Cordelia privately and set her straight. Then it occurred to him that this might not be such a bad thing. He whole-heartedly expected to spend at least the rest of eternity brooding over his lost love. He expected Buffy, however would move on with her life just as she had done after she sent him to hell. If she thought that he was over her it would be easier for her to get over him. Or maybe she’d be hurt that he had replaced her so quickly. Ugh! He mentally banged his head on the Formica tabletop, when had things gotten so difficult?! It was a draw between the night he’d met the wrath of the Romani Gypsies or the night he’d first seen Buffy. "Angel?" Jaxx’ voice penetrated his thoughts, and he realised both she and Cordelia were looking at him. "Sorry. What was that?" Angel felt sure he was blushing even though he knew it wasn’t possible. Jaxx looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Never-mind." She told him and turned towards Cordelia "We’ll have a Junket Jumbo Pizza and a side of fries. And a pitcher of beer to wash it down." Cordelia scribbled down the order and hurried off. Angel felt a weight lift off his shoulders. "Ex-girlfriend?" Jaxx inquired looking pleased with her deduction. "Close. She’s a friend of my ex." Angel felt his heart tear just saying the word ‘ex’. "I guess that explains why you went off to fairyland. You think she’s gonna tell your ex she saw you out with some ravishing brunette, that would be me, and you’re afraid of what she’s gonna think. Easy fixed, when she comes back with the food just tell her I’m a lesbian and ask her if she wants to go out with me on Friday." "You really think she’d buy that?" Angel asked < Well this IS Cordelia we’re talking about it could actually work. Oh don’t be stupid Angel. > He answered himself. "Maybe, maybe not. Either way it’s always a hoot." "You’ve done it before?" Angel was incredulous. "Hell yes. I love screwing with people’s minds, or more accurately their inhibitions." "That’s cruel." < You can talk hypocrite > Angel accosted himself. "Yes, but it’s funny." Jaxx beamed at him with a smile he couldn’t help but return. ***** Angel cursed himself as he and Jaxx walked back towards their building, he hadn’t been able to catch Cordelia alone to tell her about his relationship with Jaxx but he would go back tomorrow night she shouldn’t be able to do too much damage in one day, he hoped. He was grateful that he’d talked Jaxx out of the lesbian routine that would have been a million times worse to explain. As they rounded the corner onto Nixon, both Angel and Jaxx stopped short at the sight of several police cars and several other emergency vehicles parked in front of their building all with lights blazing. Angel could smell the pungent odor of fresh blood. Lots of it. He exchanged a worried glance with Jaxx as they both took off at a run towards the building. As they approached Angel could see the entire scene was chaotic, there were cops, paramedics, firemen, reporters and curious onlookers everywhere. He noticed a small group of residents, including Len off to one side and directed Jaxx toward them. She and Angel discretely pulled Len off to one side. He looked pale in the dim light and Angel sensed his pulse racing. "Len, what happened?" He asked calmly. Len looked shaky, Angel grabbed his shoulders to steady him. "We’ll here I am sittin’ in the lobby ‘bout ten thirty and I gets’ the call of nature so I go upstairs do my business and when I come back not more’n ten minutes later somebody done repainted the lobby with fat-man." "Fat-man? What you mean Nathan Tryon?" Jaxx squealed in disbelief. "Tryon’s the word." Another tenant named Angel didn’t know interjected. "The cops have been looking for you Jaxx. They want to get into his apartment." Jaxx turned towards Angel, she looked ready to faint, Angel sensed he heart rate picking up its pace. He let go of Len, and both he and the other tenant returned to the group. "I’ll go with you." He answered to her silent plea. "Bless you." It was almost dawn when Angel returned to the sanctity of his apartment. He had sensed his visitor a soon as he stepped off the elevator and groaned inwardly. < I don’t need this. Not now. > "What do you want Whistler?" He addressed his visitor. "How did you know it was me?" "You should really change colognes, I smelt you from the elevator." "You know what? You irritate me! It’s lucky we need you or I’d dust your arse." "I believe you’ve told me that before. Is there a purpose to this visit or did you just come here to iterate how much you don’t like me?" Angel was growing impatient with the other immortal, he felt sure that Whistler could probably drive people and demons alike to suicide just by making conversation with them. "As a matter of fact there is a very important reason I have graced your threshold. Although I didn’t expect to be kept waiting, where the hell were you?" "Sorry Mom. Didn’t you see the mess upstairs?" "I saw it. I would have thought you’d avoid all the ruckus." "I was with Jaxx. She was understandably distressed about it. Besides that we were the last to see him alive, I had to give the cops a statement." "Jaxx?" "The super. She lives next door." "I know who she is. That’s the reason I’m here." ***** Meanwhile back in Sunnydale. "UMMPHH." Rupert Giles felt the wind knocked out of him as he crashed to earth. "Is there something troubling you Buffy?" He asked the young slayer "You seem a little …agitated." "I’m fine." She replied as she helped him to his feet. "So I deserved that kick then?" "No. Giles its not you. Its just…." She trailed off and stared at a spot on the wall behind Giles. "Yes it would probably be better if you just kept this all bottled up inside. Good. Just the way you should." "Nice attempt at the funny Giles." She gave him a weak smile that did nothing more than convince him there was definitely something bothering her. He hadn’t seen her like this in months. It had taken her some time to adjust to Angel’s second departure, despite it being his decision to leave. Summer had been the worst. There had been little demonic activity in Sunnydale after the Mayor’s ascension had been thwarted so for the fist time since being called the slayer had nothing to do. Though Buffy had constantly wished for this to happen it could not have come at a worse time. Since starting college Buffy had started to pick up somewhat, and she had recently started dating again. A rather annoying young chap named Hal, who according to Xander was a ‘talking jock strap’. Thinking back, Giles realised Buffy had a habit of being unusually harsh in their sparring when she and Angel were having relationship problems. He concluded that Hal must be the reason for her recent temperament. "My Dad’s getting married." The statement shocked Giles from his thoughts. Ok he hadn’t been that far off. But this was more serious than boyfriend troubles. "What?" "He called last night and told me he is getting married next month, he wants me to be a bridesmaid. He invited Mom too. I don’t think she’s gonna go. I think I should though. Y’know meet the woman, make small talk, check whether she’s human. I don’t need another "Ted" incident." "Forgive me but shouldn’t you be happy for your father? You seem a little unenthusiastic." "I guess I always had that little bit of hope that my parents would realise what a terrible mistake they made getting divorced and they’d get back together. My Mom dating was one thing but a marriage kinda kills the fantasy." "Yes I imagine it would." Giles collected his thoughts for a moment. "I assume the wedding will be in Los Angeles?" Buffy nodded "So you’ll be taking Hal then?" "Hal? I dunno I don’t think he’s quite prepared for the meeting-my-father part of the deal. I thought you guys could all draw straws or something, the winner gets cake." ***** "What do you mean Jaxx is the reason you’re here?" Angel demanded even thought he doubted he was going to like the answer. "Before I met you my job was keeping an eye on this kid in a little town called Amelia, its in Virginia. Three years ago something happened and she disappeared off the face of the earth, after which I was commissioned to find you. When I came down here I ran into your neighbor." "And you think it’s the same girl?" "Those eyes aren’t easy to forget." He had a point. "If Jaxx is this girl, why didn’t she recognise you?" "She’s never actually met me. I watched her, it was more of a documentation type deal. Not like with you, every job is different." "Uh huh. And I’m supposed to believe it’s just an amazing coincidence that I moved in next door to her?" "Well yeah. I don’t know how it happened. Cosmic forces at play? Who the hell knows." "So why are you so interested in her? She’s not an immortal. She’s good at fixing things but I don’t see how that warrants a keeper." "You’re right she’s not immortal. Not yet anyway. She has a gift Angel, or several depending on how you look at it. She has what parapsycologists like to call ‘Psi’. So far we have evidence to suggest ESP, telepathy, etc etc. Basically this kid is a wealth of physcic gifts and she isn’t like those hacks you see on TV. This girl has power, lots of it and she hasn’t really got what you might call control over it. We need to make contact, she needs our help to control this otherwise there’s gonna be a lot more of what you saw upstairs." "Whoa. Are you suggesting Jaxx did that?! Impossible. That would have taken an immense amount of concentration, and I was with her all night I think I would have noticed her going into a meditative trance." "Unconscious thought. This is what I’m trying to tell you. She is has immense ability, like nothing you have ever dreamed about. All it would have taken would be one thought and boom. Fat-guy sauce all over the lobby. She may not have even been aware she did it until after or even until you guys got back here and she saw it. Did you notice anything strange about how she acted?" Angel narrowed his eyes at Whistler. He knew more than he let on, as always. There was no way his moving here was an accident of fate, nor was it that Whistler should choose to tell him about Jaxx now, after all this time. "You’re holding out on me Whistler. There’s more and we both know it. Tell me." He ordered. The look on Whistlers face was one of indecision. He stared at Angel for a moment and blew out a sigh. "Alright. I guess if you’re this close I should warn you." Whistler settled himself on the couch and motioned for Angel to take a seat. "Jaxx’ real name is Rosalyn Roberts. I’ve been watching her from the time she was about 8 months old. Father unknown, mother died from an asthma attack when Jaxx was a toddler. The only surviving relative was her mother’s brother Francis Jacob Roberts. Not somebody voted most trustworthy to raise your only child. But to his credit the guy did a pretty good job considering what he was up against. We know he knew about what Jaxx could do, at least some of it. When she was nine we tried to ‘acquire’ Jaxx. The two guys they sent to do the job met very violent and inexplicable deaths, not much unlike your boy upstairs. They concluded the girls beloved Uncle Frank caught them trying to take off with her, he freaked and nailed them both. A second attempt three years later proved this theory completely wrong, this time Uncle Frank was taken out of the picture and four guys were sent to retrieve Jaxx. All four turned up dead and both Jaxx and Uncle Frank disappeared. I found them two weeks later in Missouri, and life went on pretty normally, the suspicious goings on that had plagued Amelia, didn’t appear to follow them. Then three years ago she vanished without a trace. No evidence to suggest any demonic meddling. I searched around for a while came up with nothing and got assigned to you. Next thing I know she smiles at me while I’m walking down the hallway. And that is all I know. Any questions?" "Yes. If you were content with watching her while she was a kid, why did you suddenly decide to kidnap her?" Angel wasn’t really sure about who or what Whistler represented. He said his purpose was to balance good and evil. Angel suspected him to be pretty low on the ranks of whatever it was he worked for. He was yet to meet any other representatives besides Whistler, and yet if Jaxx had killed six of them led him to believe they were not all immortals. This intrigued him, he had wondered about their motives in using him to help Buffy, when he was certain they knew about the clause in his curse, yet had provided no warning. He had relayed this suspicion to Whistler shortly after his arrival in LA, naturally Whistler had denied it, but Angel was still suspicious and was careful what he told Whistler. It had been a mistake to trust him. Angel thought he’d been dealing with Whistler when there had obviously been a higher power leading him. Knowing this higher power condoned the kidnapping of a young child further fueled his doubts about their motives. "I had nothing to do with that decision. My job was to watch her and report back. I didn’t even know about either incident until after they happened." < Then you mustn’t have been watching too carefully could you? > Angel could plainly see Whistler was lying, he had watched Jaxx, had under estimated her and now wished to take no responsibility for the murders that had ensued. Typical Whistler. "So why did you decide to tell me this?" < AS if I didn’t already know. > "We need you to make sure she doesn’t disappear again." "Not to mention gaining her trust so you can help her reach her full potential?" Whistler seemed startled, which mean his deduction had been spot on. "If you can convince her we can help her it would be beneficial to all those involved" Whistler replied after some thought. "Hmmm. Is this before or after she turns me into liquid mass? Forget it. If she wants to disappear that’s her decision and there isn’t a damn thing I’m going to do to stop her." Whistler sensed this meant the end of the conversation and started to leave. "Just one more thing." Angel called after him "What makes you think Jaxx is going to be immortal?" Whistler opened the door and turned to face Angel. "Intuition." He smiled as he closed the door behind him. "Bullshit." Angel said as he headed for the door. It was time he and Jaxx had a little chat. For our struggle is not Against flesh and blood, But against the rulers, Against the authorities, Against the powers of this Dark world and against the Spiritual forces of evil in The heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12 Jaxx was standing in her open doorway when he entered the hall. He took a stab in the dark. "You were expecting me?" "Yes." She answered softly avoiding his eyes. She turned and retreated into her apartment leaving Angel stranded at the door. He’d have to come clean about being a vampire if he told her about the invitation thing. But something in him sensed she knew she was making a display of power for his benefit. "You may come in." She called from deep within the apartment. Angel closed the door behind him and moved into the apartment. "Jaxx?" He called unsure of where she disappeared to. "You know what I am don’t you?" It was a dangerous question, but he needed to know. Suddenly she appeared by his side, she lifted her head and stared in his eyes for a moment. "Yes. I’ve met one of you kind before. He was not nearly as friendly." She reached up to the neck of her sweater and pulled it aside to reveal the scar on her neck. Bite marks. Angel examined his shoes for a moment. Vampire activity discussions always made him uncomfortable. "I’m sorry." He said, not really sure how to respond to this revelation. "Why?" She placed her finger under his chin and lifted his head till their eyes met "You aren’t the one who bit me. You can’t hold yourself responsible for the actions of others Angel." "How did you survive?" Angel stared deep into Jaxx eyes and realised the answer before she had a chance to respond. "I didn’t. Your friend told you I disappeared three years ago. I didn’t disappear Angel, I died." "He said you… when they tried to take you…" Angel trailed off not knowing how to address the fact she may have been responsible for six deaths. "Why didn’t I kill it? Sit down I’ll explain what I’ve concluded about what I am and what happened." "Why are you willing to tell me all this? You know about Whistler, how do you know you can trust me?" "Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to look a gift horse in the mouth?" "Nothing is ever free." Jaxx smiled as she sank onto her sofa next to Angel. "I see in you someone I can trust. I saw it in you the night we met, even before I realised you are a vampire. You’re a kindred spirit Angel. I can see some of the things you’ve done through your eyes, your unconscious shows me things, you don’t realise it but they are enough to show me that you are probably the only other being in this universe who knows how I feel. To have done the things I’ve done and to care." It suddenly occurred to Angel that he had once said those exact words to Buffy never imagining someday he’d meet someone who shared that pain. "You can read my mind?" "Not read exactly. I can see your memories. Some call it retrocognition. The knowledge of something after its occurrence. I don’t need telepathy to see them Angel. You project them strongly enough for me to see. I only see what you let me see, I would never invade your mind on purpose, to me it is like the mental equivalent of rape, invasion without permission. I like you too much to subject you to that." "But you can do it?" "Yes" "If you didn’t read my mind, how did you know about the conversation I just had with Whistler?" Jaxx pointed to the wall over her left shoulder. The wall was shared between their respective apartments. At the far corner Angel could make out the old-fashioned grille of the heating duct. "Sound carries clear as crystal through there. I usually keep it covered so I can’t hear, but I saw your friend sneak in earlier this evening and I couldn’t help myself, sorry." "You didn’t mean to kill them then? The men that tried to abduct you?" "No. I didn’t even realise it was me until the second time it happened. Frank told me psychic gifts are uncommonly strong in my family. He led me to believe he was responsible for the first incidence. But the second time there was no mistaking it was me. I was just a kid and I was petrified of those men I didn’t even have to try to hurt them. Fear did it for me. I had known about Whistler for a long time, but he just watched I didn’t think he was stupid enough to try any thing. I was wrong. After we left Amelia it was pretty hard on both Frank and me, knowing that I was responsible for what happened. I spent the rest of my natural life trying to repress all that I had done and was capable of doing. Though it wasn’t much of a life. I was reluctant to be around people for fear of causing them harm. I got my high school diploma and college degree by distance education. I hate being confined. But in some ways I guess you could say I’m an agoraphobic. I used to go out late at night because I was less likely to run into any one." "But you ran into a vampire." "Yup. I was completely off my face, which wasn’t all that uncommon for me, and he snuck up on me. I had done such a good job repressing my abilities I was rendered completely helpless and the vampire took this opportunity to kill me. I woke up in the park the next morning, sans hangover not that I noticed then, thinking it had al been a dream. I went home and got on with my anti-life, it was a couple of weeks before I realised something wasn’t kosher. That was when my guide showed up, he told me I was one of the ‘star children’ and that I was immortal. "Star Children?" Angel had studied a lot of supernatural lore but he’d never heard of this. "I know the name sounds a little hokey. According to my guide ‘Star Children’ are those who remember that they are connected to other worlds and realities, those who can tap into their higher gifts. Any way I thought he was full of BS, he gave me this big speech about how I would be taught how to control my ‘gifts’ etc and his ramblings started to sound way too much like the plans Whistler and his cohorts had for me so I fled. Everything was fine until I walked into Gafoe’s apartment six months ago, the day he died. He had asked me to come over and do some repairs and I’d told him I’d be there at about Five PM, but I my other plans fell through and I went early that morning. He wasn’t home so I used the master key. You know what I saw when I went in. Except for two things. Number one the cops did me the favour of removing the most grotesque dummy that he’d left in the bedroom, I’ll spare you the details. Number two was this." Jaxx reached over the sofa and retrieved a thick leather bound notebook, she passed it to Angel. He opened to the first page and was greeted with the book’s title and unholy purpose ‘The Murder of Danielle Jaxx by Gafoe Stevetis’. Only following pages were numbered methods of murdering Jaxx, detailed and complete – some including diagrams, others had Polaroid’s of the dummies that had littered Angel’s apartment. Angel’s stomach turned as he flipped through the book. He was unable to conjure a response. "Charming isn’t it? He thought up two hundred and thirty seven ways to kill me. Planned each one in intricate detail before moving to the next and wrote it in that little book. I took the book and came back here. I just sat for hours thinking about how this man I barely knew had spent his days, his nights his life thinking of ways to kill me. And why? For what purpose? According to the book, simply because I lived next door. Sometime around three in the afternoon I somehow convinced Gafoe he could fly, and that’s just what he did off the roof of the publisher’s building. I watched him do it. I watched him scream with ecstasy and flap his arms like little wings as he plunged to his death. That must have been how Whistler got a bead on me, and had you move in. The police called it suicide, but maybe Whistler knew I was here and saw an opportunity to get close, I don’t know." Jaxx stopped and looked at Angel for a moment to let him process this new information before continuing. "It was different this time though. I’d never been able to see it through their eyes and I’d never seen from that far away. I woke up my power Angel, and it got a hundred times stronger while it was napping. I’ve tried to repress it again but now it’s here it won’t go away and that scared me to death. I took you to Tryon’s with me so I wouldn’t feel threatened by him, you weren’t there to protect me, you were there to stop me from killing him. At Sonnie’s when we were talking about him I for a moment wished him dead, one moment I visualised him exploding into a billion pieces. I willed it and it came true, it took every ounce of my self-control to keep it relatively together until everyone left. It was easy to kill him, too easy, and for such a piss-weak reason. I can’t control it anymore Angel, not on my own." "And you want me to help you. Jaxx I’d love to help you in any way I can, but honestly this is way over my head." "You don’t see what I see. You have yet to realise you full potential. That which they see but keep from you, to keep control of you." "I don’t understand, what do you see?" "I see your soul Angel. Returned to you by the Romani and by the witch the soul you were never meant to lose. You carry the soul of the Star Children Angel. I can see it, any descendent could. You were always meant to be here, in this time to stand against evil, never meant to grow old in yours. They too see your soul in its pure form, yet they keep this knowledge from you, despite the pain it could have prevented. They claim their motives to be that of balance of darkness and light but in truth they service only their own self righteous agenda" "How do you know all this?" Angel was incredulous, he could feel rage swelling up inside him. He had no doubt Jaxx was telling him the truth her eyes assured him of that. They had used him for their own purpose. All the pain he caused to Buffy, Giles, the Scoobie gang, his victims, he thought of Jenny Calendar and pain stabbed in his heart. "Whistler, I searched his mind for answers, he knew all of what would happen, yet did nothing. It haunts him." "You scanned him? I thought you didn’t do that." "He projected guilt, but I needed to know more. I needed to know the whole story, he knew much, but not the whole. Besides he had it coming. His time is passed. It’s up to us now." "What is?" "We have to put the wrong things right. Including you." "I can’t wait to hear how you’re gonna do that." ***** "Sixty-seven bottles of beer of the wall. Sixty-seven bottles of beer…." Buffy stared out the window of the bus, grateful she had made Xander take the aisle seat. She had already threatened him twice about the singing, but he had chosen to ignore her citing the vast amount of potential witnesses sharing the bus with them. "C’mon Buffster you need to get into the road trip spirit. Sing with me." Xander was overflowing with excitement at being chosen to accompany her to her father’s wedding. Xander was one of her best friends and she loved him dearly but after only forty-five minutes on the bus with him she was ready to commit murder one. "Xander if you sing one more syllable I am going to tear out your larynx, and I’m sure every single person on this bus would thank me." "Not a big road trip person huh?" Xander was a potential poster child for insensitive males at the best of times and this wasn’t nearly the best. "I can’t wait till we get to LA. I wonder if we’ll meet anyone famous. I have the feeling this is going to be a trip to remember. Don’t you feel it Buffy? The anticipation, the excitement, the beaches, the teeny tiny polka dot bikini’s! Or better yet what’s in them!" Buffy felt something all right, the overwhelming sense of impending doom. She had at first attributed this to the thought of having to play nice to her father’s fiancée someone she’d never met and already hated. But it was deeper than that, more sinister than an evil stepmother could ever be. It was big and every turn of the bus wheels was bringing her closer towards it. This part of the story contains a contradiction to the episode "The Wish" when Angel is dusted. "Wer zu Lebzeit gut auf Erden wird nach dem Tod ein Engel werden den Blick gen Himmel fragst Du dann warum man sie nicht sehen kann…" Angel leaned over the front seat and punched the volume down on the CD player. He had been sitting in the car backseat for two hours listening to the same German heavy-metal band and he couldn’t take it anymore. Although he liked all types of music, he preferred listening to stuff he actually understood, not to mention the volume Jaxx was playing it was about to make his ears bleed. "Do you even know what they are singing about?" He asked Jaxx as she threw him a filthy look. "Nope. Well actually I do know Engel is German for Angel, maybe the song is about you." She smiled at him in the rear-vision mirror and then focused back on the road. Angel sat back and returned to his own thoughts. Over the last month he and Jaxx had been researching a cure for him. They had even enlisted Cordelia’s help, with her rationale that if Buffy wasn’t around he wasn’t likely to turn into the ‘icky-psycho-killer-guy’ and therefore it was safe to be around him. She and Jaxx had quite surprisingly become good friends, despite Jaxx’ complete lack of dress sense and social graces. They had discovered that if in fact Angel did posses the soul of a ‘Star Child’, would mean a ‘real exorcism’ would remove the vampire demon from him. Ordinarily the exorcism of a Vampire would cause the person hosting the demon to turn to ash, as the demon was the entity holding the mortal body together when it was removed the body fell apart. According to their research the immortality the star children meant that Angel, as a vampire, could not be killed by some traditional mean and thus when the demon is exorcised from him he will not turn to dust, at least not in theory. He and Jaxx were now on their way to Sunnydale to see Giles. Angel had decided against calling ahead, as he was Giles least favorite person, Giles wasn’t going to be happy to see him either way. He had figured Giles may be reluctant to help them, Jaxx had offered to forcefully change his mind if he refused, but Angel had declined, he had already screwed with Giles’ mind and wasn’t about to do it again. They had timed it so they would arrive in Sunnydale at dusk giving them the entire night to work with Giles. Unfortunately this meant travelling during daylight, to combat this Jaxx had purchased a new black Ford Explorer and had all the windows heavily tinted. Angel could only speculate where the money for this came from, however it was a lot more inconspicuous than using black spray paint as was standard practice for vampires. Jaxx suddenly stopped singing to the new CD she was playing and began to stare at an oncoming bus as the car began to follow her eyes into the bus’s path. "Jaxx?" No answer. "JAXX. BUS!" Still Jaxx did not respond. Angel reached over the seat and yanked hard on the wheel, bringing the car back on the right side of the road narrowly avoiding the bus. Angel kept his hold on the wheel with one hand and gently shook Jaxx with his free hand. His face was close to hers and he could see her eyes were blank, unseeing. He shook harder. "Jaxx, snap out of it!" Suddenly Jaxx blinked and stared at him. "Maybe you should pull over and let me drive. Then you can tell me why you almost ran us into that bus." Jaxx nodded her agreement and steered the car towards the shoulder. She parked and slid across to the passenger side and Angel climbed into the driver's seat, glad he’d had the insight to purchase some sunglasses before they left. They traveled in silence for a while, Jaxx was obviously rattled by what had happened. "Well?" He asked. "Someone on the bus… lots of thoughts…distracted me." "That happen a lot when you pass people?" Jaxx nodded "I guess that explains why you didn’t have a car." Jaxx nodded again. She was holding something back. They continued the rest of the trip in silence. ***** Giles sighed as his brain registered someone knocking on his door. He put down the book he had been perusing and got up to answer it. He had been looking forward to a quiet night alone, he hoped nothing ghastly had arrived to cause havoc, he just wasn’t in the mood to fight. He opened the door and the figure standing before him dashed all his hopes for an uneventful evening. "Angel." He greeted his visitor, trying no to show his surprise. "Hello Giles." Suddenly a young woman leaped out of the darkness behind Angel and stood next to him in the doorway. She looked amused and addressed Angel. "You were right. He doesn’t look at ALL happy to see you." Angel looked back at her with a bemused expression and she gave him a big cheesy grin. Giles stared at them in shocked silence. Questions were popping into his mind at a million miles an hour he didn’t even know where to begin. This was a very strange turn of events, then again this was Sunnydale it was to be expected. Angel saw his confusion and introduced him to the strange young woman. "Giles this is Danielle Jaxx. Jaxx this is Rupert Giles." "It’s a pleasure to meet you Rupert." Jaxx gave him a bright smile he couldn’t help but return. "Likewise Miss Jaxx. Um forgive me, won’t both come in." Angel indicated for Jaxx to go ahead of him. Always the gentleman, if nothing else Angel had perfect manners. Giles attributed this to Angel’s upbringing, he had assumed from his mannerisms and obviously educated mind Angel had come from upper class society, though he’d never proven it. There was no information on the man Angel was before he became a vampire, the Watcher diary’s first entries about him were dated more than twenty years after he became a vampire. Other than his Irish origins who Angel really was and what he did until the early 1770’s was a complete mystery. There were of course all kinds of rumors, but the only person who would ever truly know was Angel. "Its just ‘Jaxx’ OK, none of this ‘Miss’ business." "We’re sorry to intrude Giles. Is this a bad time?" Sorry. That word always stuck him funny coming from Angel. "No worse than any other." He answered shortly. Angel looked at his shoes obviously uncomfortable, yet Giles found himself feeling sorry for him. Giles could see the differences between Angel and his evil alter ego as clear as day in the anguish on the young man’s face. Angel suffered greatly over Jenny’s death, as well he should, but sometimes Giles still pitied him not that Angel would ever know that. A few moments passed before Angel responded. "I – we have a story to tell you Giles, you may want to sit down, it will take awhile." Giles listened in awe at the tale Angel and Jaxx laid out for him. When they finished he sat in silence slowly taking in all they had told him. He removed his glasses and cleaned them slowly before returning them to his face. "You actually want me to believe all of that?" He asked finally. "That was the plan." Jaxx answered sharply. Angel rose from his seat the expression on his face gave away no clue as to what he was thinking and Giles heart skipped a beat. "Thank you for your time Giles. I am sorry to have bothered you." Angel said softly. He then turned and headed for the door. Jaxx was surprised by this looking from Angel to Giles and back to Angel. "You’re leaving?! We drove all this way for story-time and now you just wanna go home?" "He doesn’t believe us. There is no point staying." Angel replied and yanked opened the door, scaring the life out of Willow and Oz who had just arrived and were about to knock. Jaxx however was not distracted by their arrival and continued after Angel. He turned to face her as she barreled towards him. "You can’t give up that easily! So he doesn’t believe what we told him, we’ll have to show him then!" With that Jaxx produced a sharp wooden stake from under her jacket and before he had time to react, drove it deep into Angel’s heart. End part 5 The partial song lyrics at the beginning are from the song "Engel" by Rammstein from the "Sehnsucht" album. < English Translation >- Angel Live in virtue, no desire In the grave an angel’s choir You look to heaven and wonder why No one can see them in the sky   "OMMIGOD!" Screamed the two strangers in unison as they watched Jaxx impale Angel on a stake. Angel let out a strangled cry and crumpled to the floor clutching at the stake sticking out of his chest. Jaxx turned to Giles. "I rest my case." Giles wasn’t listening, he was too busy watching Angel. "Isn’t he supposed to go ‘poof’ now?" Asked the young girl in a shocked high-pitched voice. < She knows about Angel. > Jaxx thought, < lucky, you could have staked him in front of the Avon Lady, Idiot! > Angel gave a pain-filled groan as he yanked the stake out of his chest and dropped it on the floor. Jaxx knelt down in front of him, he was obviously in immense pain but alive nonetheless. "Thanks for the warning." He hissed at her. "Well I’m sorry." She retorted quickly "If I’d thought about it long enough to warn you I wouldn’t have done it!" Angel grunted at her and passed out face down on the floor. Giles had finally recovered and was now at Jaxx side. He picked up the stake Angel had discarded and examined the blood on it, he then turned his attention to the expanding pool of blood forming underneath Angel’s fallen body. "Shouldn’t we help him Giles?" Asked the mystery girl. Giles looked at her and her companion as though seeing them for the first time, after a moment he regained his composure. "Yes, yes of course. Willow, Oz come in quickly and close the door god forbid the neighbors should see this they already think I’m crackers." By the time they had moved Angel to the couch the wound in his chest had closed somewhat, though he remained unconscious. While Giles explaining the situation to his other guests Jaxx knelt down beside Angel. After she had confided in him about the people she’d killed, she told him about a small sparrow she had once found when she was about eleven. It had fallen from its nest in the large Siccamore tree outside her bedroom window and was obviously dying, Jaxx had felt so sorry for the tiny bird she had just held it in her hands and cried. But as she held it the bird began to move as its broken body righted itself even growing slightly, she had opened her hands and watched in terrified awe as the bird flew away. It was the only time she had ever done something like that and it had been a long time ago, but Jaxx felt sure that if she had enough strength to stab her friend, she could heal him too. She removed the cloth that had been placed on the wound to absorb the blood and laid her hands on his chest. He was cold and his blood seeped through her fingers. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated hard on the soft flesh underneath her hands. She could feel the blood still running through her hands and opened her eyes. Nothing, the wound had not been healed. Jaxx sat there for a moment concentrating on Angel, yet at the same time thinking about how she’d felt holding that tiny sparrow in her hands. Suddenly the flesh beneath her hands became warm and she could feel the rough edges of the wound blending until they once again became smooth and whole. Jaxx lifted her still bloodied hands to reveal Angel’s chest apart from the blood there was no evidence of the wound. "Wow that was something you don’t see…ever." Came a voice from behind her, the boy Giles had called ‘Oz’ was standing close behind her left shoulder. Jaxx had been concentrating so hard she hadn’t noticed her audience. She turned towards them, trying to think of an explanation. "Well…I figured it was the least I could do. After all it was me who stabbed him." Giles was gaping at her again, she felt sure she alone had taken more than ten years off his life in one night, she realised she had never displayed her gifts in front of people who’d lived to discuss it before. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable among these strangers and prayed Angel would wake up soon. "Angel said you had strong psychic abilities, but this is amazing. Do you heal people often?" Giles queried her as he ran his hand over Angel’s chest where the wound had been. "Only once before, and it wasn’t people it was a bird." "Fascinating." He replied in disbelief of what he’d seen. Angel groaned as began to regain consciousness, he opened his eyes and looked at the four sets looking back at him. He sat up looking confused, he looked down at his chest and then at Jaxx waiting for an explanation. "Remember the bird I told you about…" She trailed off indicating the absence of the wound on his chest. "Does it still hurt? Do you feel OK?" "I feel fine." He assured her and Jaxx mentally let out a huge sigh of relief. She wasn’t sure what she’d have done if he hadn’t survived. Run most likely. "Its really lucky you guys stopped by, cause we could use a little help, actually more than a little we need lots of help." Willow said out of nowhere and everyone turned to look at her. "What do you mean?" Giles looked confused. "That’s why we stopped by." Willow continued "There were lots of mean looking vampires hanging around that monument thingy in the park and they were up to something suspicious-like." "Where’s Buffy?" Asked Angel. Giles and Willow looked at each other daring the other to answer. Jaxx suspected she already knew the answer. From what Angel had told her about the slayer and what she’d seen, she was certain it had been Buffy that had distracted her earlier that afternoon. Buffy had been on the bus, it was her thoughts Jaxx had seen. No mortal thought had ever invaded her mind like that, but she suspected it Angel’s presence had something to do with it. They had an extremely powerful connection. Jaxx had decided not to tell Angel about this yet as she wasn’t quite sure what it meant. "Buffy went to LA, her Dad’s getting married." Oz finally answered. "Oh. So where did you say these vampires are?" ***** "What are they doing?" Willow whispered. She and Angel were now concealed behind a group of trees that edged the small park they were watching a group of vampires that had formed around the civil war monument that was situated in the centre of the park. Oz and Jaxx had stayed behind with Giles to research what might be going, while Angel had wanted to see for himself what the vampires were up to. Willow hadn’t really wanted to come back but she figured she was as safe with Angel as she would be with Buffy. "I don’t know." Angel replied. This was not normal vampire behavior, they were just standing there some were having conversations others were alone. They were all wearing their demonic visage (i.e. the vampire face) and appeared to be waiting for someone or something. The group’s attention suddenly turned to a car that had pulled up along side the park they moved forward quietly and gathered around the car as someone got out. Angel could not see a face but a strong voice rose in the dark night. "Brothers and Sisters, our time of exile has come to an end! In less than three days demons will once again rule the Earth and all the dimensions as we did before the time of man!" "But what about the slayer?" A voice rose from the crowd leading a chorus of doubts. The speaker laughed. "The slayer? You are demons of the night, how can you be afraid of one puny mortal girl?" The speaker moved further into the crowd, Angel could see he was covered in a black shroud making him impossible to identify. "Put your fears to rest friends the slayer has been taken care of. Tomorrow night she will face death by the hand of one who gave her life. The time draws near, go now, prepare as the blue moon rises WE WILL BE GODS!" A cheer rose from the crowd as the shrouded figure returned to his car and left. The vampires then quickly dispersed and Angel and grabbed Willow and they ran back towards Giles apartment. ****** Back at Giles’ apartment. Giles’ was having trouble concentrating on the text in front of him, his mind was boggling with the very idea of the young woman sitting across the table from him. Angel had told him that Jaxx was an immortal who possessed psychic abilities. This assessment had been a drastic understatement however it was like Angel to hold back on information particularly of a personal nature. Giles had watched in awe as she healed Angel. He had never seen such a miracle performed and with such apparent ease. It would have taken at least three strong witches and hours of incantations to produce the same results, yet Jaxx hadn’t even breathed heavily. He was certain that she possessed a great power, he wanted to ask her about everything she’d done, maybe even to demonstrate she was definitely an amazing discovery the Watchers Council would kill to have an ally such as Jaxx. Too bad he would never tell them about her. Giles looked up from the book to find Jaxx staring at him. < Can you hear me? > Thought as he looked back into her eyes. "Only when you want me to." She replied aloud. Giles was shocked, he hadn’t realistically expected an answer it was frightening and exhilarating at the same time. Oz looked up from the book he’d been reading. "Huh? Did I miss something?" "You’re a telepath too?" Giles asked "Sometimes. People project their thoughts around themselves, like an aura only bigger, these thoughts I can see or hear as clearly as though they had been my own. Sometimes I can block them out completely sometimes I can’t." Before Giles had a chance to respond Oz piped up. "Wicked. So you could like know what colour underwear everyone is wearing and stuff?" Jaxx smiled. "Only if that is what they choose to share. It is mostly subconscious thought. I can read a persons mind but its not pleasant for either myself or the other person." "Yeah I guess it would be weird. Do you do other stuff like Willow uses her head to float pencils and stuff?" "You mean telekinesis? Yeah that and a lot of other stuff. Some of the things I can do I don’t even know if they have names for." "And you’ve had this power your whole life?" Giles had never heard of anything like this before, but he would have to check his books. "Yes, as long as I can remember. It much stronger now that I’m um, well you know. It seems to get stronger every day…" Jaxx suddenly got out of her seat and headed for the door. "What-what’s going on?" Giles asked as Jaxx opened the door just in time for Angel and Willow to come flying through it. "My God what happened?" "Park…Vampires…Blue Moon kills Buffy with live hands!" Willow wheezed as she tried to regain her breath. Giles looked at Angel who was not nearly so out of breath. "There was a meeting in the park. Its not good news." Giles sighed as he hung up the phone. After Angel had relayed what had happened in the park, he had put everyone to work researching while he had attempted to reach Buffy. "Still no answer?" Asked Willow "None, I’m sure the numbers Joyce gave me are correct. What is the use of having so many bloody phone numbers if you don’t answer the damn things!" Everyone stopped and looked at Giles. "You could try Cordelia. Maybe she could find them." Angel suggested. "Excellent. What’s her number?" "I don’t know." Giles gave Angel a glare that could have wiped out a small army. "I know the number at Sonnie’s she should still be there." Jaxx interjected. Giles looked at his watch. Ten-thirty. It seemed much later. "Who’s Sonnie?" "Sonnie’s is the restaurant where Cordelia works." There was a knock at the door. Giles gave a ‘why-me’ look and handed the phone to Jaxx while he went to answer the door at a loss as to who it could be. < So much for the quiet night alone hey Rupert? > He opened the door and was shocked to see Joyce and Buffy’s boyfriend Hal standing on his stoop. He was too stunned to speak. "Giles what is going on?" Joyce demanded as she pushed past Giles into the apartment. "Why don’t you come right in?" Giles said under his breath. "Whoa. You guys having a party? Any one tap the keg yet?" Asked Hal chuckling at himself. He received only a room full of icy stares. "Jeez though room." Silence. "Joyce what are you doing here?" Giles broke the silence. "Well I was curious as to why you were so anxious to get in touch with Buffy. I asked Hal and he didn’t know so we decided to come here and ask you." Giles did a mental grimace. Hal obviously hadn’t been informed about Buffy being the slayer, trying to explain the situation to Joyce without disclosing Buffy’s secret would be impossible. Not to mention the fact he wasn’t sure how Angel would react to Buffy’s new boyfriend. He silently prayed there would be no blood shed, particularly his own. Luckily Jaxx had relinquished the phone to Angel and disappeared. From the sound of his voice he was obviously having a hard time rationalizing the situation with Cordelia and was too busy to take much notice of Hal and Joyce. Unfortunately Hal and Joyce had noticed Angel, though Jaxx was still nowhere to be seen. Angel hung up the phone and turned to Giles. "Did you reach Cordelia?" Giles hated the thought that Cordelia was their only hope, he suddenly wished he had more faith in the girl she had come through before she could do it again, maybe. "She is looking." Angel was immersed in darkness despite the many lights burning in the room, so his reaction the new arrivals was lost. It had always amazed Giles how shadows followed Angel around a room, both metaphorically and physically. He could feel the tension in Angel’s voice, he had most likely made the connection between Buffy and Hal. "Hello Angel." Joyce said, her voice was tight. She was obviously not pleased to see him though she usually kept her emotions controlled Angel’s presence seemed to unnerve her somewhat. "Joyce." His reply was stale, no emotion. "Uh has anyone else noticed we’re short somebody?" asked Oz in an attempt to break the tension. "Where did Jaxx go? She was just here." Willow was surprised apparently they hadn’t noticed Jaxx disappearance. "Jaxx who?" Asked Joyce "Does she have something to do with this? Or is this something to do with you?" she asked Angel. Angel said nothing. "Well?" Joyce demanded. "Joyce sit down I’ll explain the situation." Giles interjected quickly "Angel if you could find Jaxx?" Angel nodded and quietly exited the apartment. Giles was surprised at this, he had thought Jaxx had wandered upstairs. She couldn’t have walked through the door, he’d have seen her. Apparently Willow had the same thought. "How come he went outside? She didn’t go out the door. I didn’t see her go out the door. Did you guys see her go out?" "See who? And who the hell was that guy? What the hell is going on here?" Hal’s voice was an octave above normal, he was extremely upset at being out of the loop. "Jaxx is Angel’s friend. Angel is Buffy’s ex-boyfriend. Giles can tell you the rest, he’s much better at telling." "Thank you Willow." Giles replied, not really sure it was meant to be a compliment. "He’s Buff’s ex? Wow Mr. Personality no wonder she never talks about him." Hal turned to Giles "So tell us this story already I’m dying from the suspense." ***** It wasn’t hard for Angel to find Jaxx. She was leaning against the Explorer, which they had parked on the street in front of Giles’ apartment block. She had expected him to follow her out and as usual Angel waited for her to explain her actions. Jaxx had a habit of making unpredictable exits, just like him albeit not nearly as often. "Sorry. It got crowded." Angel understood. He wasn’t a fan of large gatherings either. "Five people is over my limit for new acquaintances for one night. Who were the last two any way?" "The woman is Buffy’s mother Joyce. Giles called the other one ‘Hal’. I think he is Buffy’s…" "Boyfriend?" Angel didn’t answer. They both knew he was. "Forget him. He looks like a world class wanker. I mean that, honestly as a representative of the female gender not just because I’m trying to cheer you up. And what kind of a name is Hal any way? Sounds like dog food." Angel smiled at her. He looked at the car behind her. What he really wanted to do was jump in and haul-ass back to LA. Buffy was in trouble and he needed to be there to help her, she needed him. "We should probably make a start back to LA. Sooner we get to Buffy and save her life the sooner we can be back here to thwart world domination by the undead." "You don’t miss a thing do you?" Angel hadn’t been surprised that Jaxx knew what he was thinking, he found thinking loudly was a lot easier than speaking and a lot more subtle than throwing her in the car. ***** "I’m going with you." "No." Angel told Joyce defiantly. When he had returned to Giles apartment to give him Jaxx’s carphone number Joyce had insisted on accompanying them back to LA. "I am going Angel and there is nothing you can do to stop me." "Don’t bet on it." Angel scowled at her. Joyce was taken aback. He’d always gone out of his way to be extra nice and non-threatening around her because of Buffy, but now she wasn’t there he felt there was no need for such restraint. "I told you we should have just racked off." The familiar amused tone of Jaxx voice wafted across the room. She had made entered as quietly as she’d left before, unnoticed by anyone and probably by dubious physical means. She strode across the room and parked herself at his side. "Angel’s right. You shouldn’t come. That guy said the slayer would be killed by someone who had given her life. That ‘someone’ doesn’t necessarily mean her father. So unless she’s adopted that would put you in the game." "How DARE you!" Joyce retorted "How dare you stand in front of me and suggest I could be capable of killing my own daughter!" "You tried to burn her at the stake." Angel leaned in close to Joyce "Or have you forgotten about that." Joyce looked at him for a moment before bringing her hand down hard across his face. He’d hit home with that one. The others had been politely trying to ignore them but the slap echoed around the room and they were all now staring at Joyce, shocked by her actions. Angel looked at Joyce she was obviously in the same state of shock as the others. Angel was surprised too, he hadn’t suspected Joyce was capable of such a display of emotion. Giles was the first to speak. "Joyce, you were not completely in control when that happened, it wasn’t your fault." Giles was using his little-kid-wielding-an-Uzi voice in an effort to keep Joyce calm "But Angel has a point, perhaps it would be wise if you weren’t near Buffy if only for one night." "How could you be defending him?! He tried to kill you! He tried to kill Buffy." Joyce was bordering on hysterical now, she was screaming at Giles wildly flailing her arms around. She turned back to Angel her face was flushed in anger, he could hear her heart racing as the adrenaline surged through her. She narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice. "Judge not lest ye be judged yourself. I know what you are and the things you’ve done, what makes you so much holier than thou that you can stand here and accuse me of hurting my daughter." "I’m not her mother." Angel anticipated Joyce’s strike this time and stayed her hand before it reached his face. She struggled to free her hand but was no match for his strength. "Enough!" cried Jaxx "As entertaining as your domestic foibles are we really need to get the lead out." Angel looked at Jaxx and then back to Joyce, he dropped her hand and made his way to the door with Jaxx following closely on his heels. "Angel could we stop for munchies on the way cause I can feel my arteries starting to unclog, they need a refill." Meanwhile in Hank Summer’s apartment LA Buffy’s stomach was doing somersaults. They were almost at her father’s apartment where her soon-to-be stepmother was waiting. Xander was in the front seat talking her fathers ear off about something, meanwhile she was in the back debating whether to throw herself out of the car and run back to Sunnydale. She mentally kicked herself < C’mon Buffy you’ve battled vampires, thwarted demons and averted mass annihilation on several occasions, surely you can handle one little step-mother >. "Ahh home sweet home." Said her father grinning broadly. She returned the smile hoping it looked enthusiastic. She listened to Xander and her father talk more on the way up to his apartment, she was glad that Xander was keeping him distracted that way she didn’t have to go to the effort of making small talk. < A closed mouth gathers no foot > she reasoned with herself. If she said something stupid in front of this new woman she’d have to move to Alaska, and that would put an even bigger hole in her wounded social life. Although there would probably be less demon activity up there, vampires weren’t known for their fondness of extreme coldness so there was a plus. Buffy took a deep breath as her father opened the door to his apartment, and Xander gave her a reassuring look as they entered. "Oh HI!" A bright voice cried and Buffy found herself face to face with a scantily dressed redhead who looked no older than herself. She silently prayed Xander would have the presence of mind to render her unconscious before she attacked her father’s future wife. No such luck, he was too busy ogling her barely concealed breasts. Buffy’s father however noticed the dumbstruck expression on her face and explained. "Buffy this is Victoria, she is Colleen’s daughter. She wanted to meet her new sister." Hank smiled and placed his arms around both girls hugging them to him. "And her new sister’s good buddy Xander." Added Xander joining in the hug. Buffy suppressed the urge to chunder all over them and even managed a weak smile. < Ugh. Three days of this is gonna be hell >. ***** "It was such a hoot! And then Hank said the funniest thing…" Buffy stifled a huge yawn. She’d been listening to Hank and Colleen stories for three hours straight. For two people who’d only been dating for four months they had an excess of boring anecdotes. "Buffy are you OK?" Her father asked seeing the yawn. "I’m just a little tired, its been a long day, that bus trip rally took it out of me." This from a girl who survived on an average of less than four hours sleep per night. Yet Colleen and Victoria had literally sucked at least 20 hours of life out of her. It was almost midnight and they were back at Hank’s apartment after going through an excruciating dinner. Some time during which her father had had the fantastic idea that Buffy should spend the night at Colleen’s house so they could ‘bond’. Buffy still felt uneasy and didn’t like the idea. Colleen laughed like a hyena but other than that she seemed o.k. Buffy had given her a thorough grilling during dinner and found out she was a PR lady for some big corporation and she had two children from her first marriage, Victoria and a 12 year old boy named Derek. Derek was still at his father’s house though Colleen had assured Buffy he would be at the wedding. Buffy got the impression Derek was as hesitant about this as she was but he was a lot less polite about it. Victoria on the other hand was having a great time, presently she was practically sitting on Xander’s lap on the couch. She had been all over him since they had arrived, Buffy knew her type a slut in a Catholic schoolgirl outfit. It made her glad she hadn’t brought Hal, so at least she didn’t have to see her boyfriend acting like a dog in heat. It made her yearn for Angel, his eyes never strayed, he would have just smiled politely and told Victoria to piss off though in not so many words. She mentally slapped herself in the forehead. She had to stop thinking about Angel. He was gone and not likely to ever return, yet she still kept her window open at night just incase he was to pop in, she also found herself comparing Hal to him. Angel was superior to Hal in every way she could think of, she knew she didn’t love Hal but she kept him around anyway not really knowing why. "Oh Buffy you just have to see the pictures from out trip, Hank where are they?" Colleen’s exuberant voice shattered her thoughts. "I’ll get them." Announced Victoria as she jumped from her chair and bounced down the hall to her Hank’s study. Victoria entered the study and spied the photo album on a far shelf when a blinking light caught her eye. Hank’s answering machine. Laughter from the kitchen wafted down the hall as she turned down the volume on the machine and hit playback. Six messages, all for Buffy. Victoria pressed her finger down on the delete button, she then leaned behind the desk and pulled the phone plug from the wall. "No distractions." She whispered quietly to herself before retrieving the album and returning to the kitchen. ***** "This cannot be happening." Angel rubbed his temples, he had been shut up in his apartment all morning, his agitation had spawned a massive headache. Cordelia and Jaxx had just returned from Hank Summers apartment, it was almost three in the afternoon and they still hadn’t made contact with her. "They must have left early or something, there was just no one there." Cordelia repeated forcefully. Angel knew this wasn’t her fault but it was easy to lay blame when he was confined to the basement until sundown. Jaxx had suggested he might be immune to sunlight as he was to stakes but he hadn’t wanted to chance it, at least not today. "But we did manage to find out where the reception is, it starts at four-thirty so if we leave now we can be there when they arrive." Jaxx added. "How did you find that out?" Jaxx chuckled. "When fate shuts the door, go through the window." Angel smiled, and Cordelia looked confused at their personal joke. On their way back to LA Angel had queried Jaxx on her disappearing and appearing acts at Giles’ and she had confessed that she’d discovered she could move through glass and other transparent substances. She told him she was working on solid objects such as bricks too but hadn’t achieved much more than bruising. "Shall we go then?" "Certainly." Replied Jaxx. "I can’t go to a wedding in this outfit." Cordelia wailed "Can we stop by my apartment on the way?" ***** It was almost five-thirty when the wedding party reached the hall. Due to traffic and a hysterical mother-in-law they had been somewhat delayed. The hall looked like an oasis to Buffy as they pulled up outside. A refuge with a fully stocked bar. As she walked into the hall in the fading sunlight Buffy noticed a black Explorer parked at the curb. She didn’t recognise it from those in the wedding party and she was suddenly hit by the uneasy feeling in her stomach again. She looked around for Xander to ask his opinion, she caught sight of him entering the hall with Victoria, who was now practically surgically attached to him. She looked around and grabbed Derek who had walked up behind her. "Derek do you know who owns that car?" she asked indicating the Explorer. "What do I look like, a valet?" came the snide reply as he released her hold and walked off. Buffy looked at the car again, she could make out the silhouettes of at least three people inside. She considered going over to investigate for a moment, < You’re paranoid Summers > she thought as she turned on her heel and walked into the hall. Meanwhile in the car. "Damn! She almost came straight to us." Angel had been willing Buffy towards the car as he watched her through the darkened windows his heart had skipped a beat (metaphorically speaking of course) when she had started towards the car. < Its never that easy > he reminded himself when she turned and walked away. He looked at Jaxx. "You couldn’t have helped her a little?" "I tried, she is as stubborn as you are. We are going to have to go in and get her." Cordelia groaned loudly in the backseat. "I was afraid you were going to say that. Let me guess who gets to be the bait if any ugly drooly guys show up." "C’mon Cordy do it for your country!" Jaxx gave Cordelia an enigmatic smile. "As arguments go, that was really lame." "Alright then if any ugly drooly guys show up Angel will open up a can of wupp-ass on ‘em. Won’t you Angel?" Jaxx gave Angel a friendly thump. Cordelia looked at Angel for a moment and sighed. "You better not let me die. I can’t die dressed like this." Jaxx snorted "You can’t go to a wedding in that outfit, you can’t die in that outfit, you can’t do anything interesting in that outfit why the hell are you wearing it?" Cordelia ignored Jaxx and focused on Angel. "So what I just go in there and tell Buffy she’s in mortal danger and leave right?" "If you can, at the very least try to get her attention and try to be discrete ok, we don’t know how it’s going to happen…" Angel paused and considered this a moment "Don’t eat anything, and don’t talk to strangers, Jaxx and I will be watching your back." Cordelia looked at Jaxx. "Oh yeah that makes me feel sooo much better." Cordelia climbed out of the car and headed for the hall’s entrance. "You think she has a chance?" Jaxx asked Angel but he didn’t hear her, he was busy watching something outside. She leaned over his shoulder and followed his gaze towards three people loitering in the alley next to the hall "Angel?" "They're here already." "Vampires?" Angel nodded. "Isn’t it still a little bright?" "The sun has set. It’s direct sunlight that kills us. As soon as the gloaming starts we’re safe." "Gloaming?" "The ephemeral time between day and night." Angel’s gaze remained focused on the three vampires "I’ll follow them, you keep on Cordelia." With that he was gone, out of the car and making his way towards the alley. ***** "And now the newlyweds will share their first dance as husband and wife!" A cheer ran through the crowd as Hank and Colleen entered the dance floor and began to waltz. Buffy suppressed the urge to throw up. She’d been here for over an hour and the only interesting thing that had happened was Grandma Summers falling asleep on her shoulder and drooling on her new dress. She looked around to see if Xander had returned yet, she hadn’t seen him since he and Victoria had walked in the hall. Buffy was thinking up creative phrases to say to Xander when a noise above her head caught her attention. She raised her head towards the big dome skylight in the roof a nanosecond later the glass shattered and two men fell through. Several people in the hall screamed and the band stopped playing. Glass rained down on the tables beneath the skylight. One of the men landed on his back on the solid wood table, the other in a crouching position beside him. Their impact sent food and wineglasses flying, a wooden stake landed near her feet, she barely noticed as she focused on the man crouched on the table. Angel. She couldn’t believe it, she caught his eye and stared at him dumbfounded, unable to move. Suddenly the other man on the table began to move, he rolled off the table and launched himself at her. A single word, vampire, flashed through her mind as he caught her midsection and toppled them both. On the ground the vampire aimed his fangs at her jugular, her slayer senses kicked in at last and she gave him a head-butt which sent him flying backwards into Angel who had retrieved the stake and now plunged it deep into the demons heart. The vampires eyes widened in horror as he exploded into a cloud of ash. The room was silent, seventy or so people were staring at Angel and Buffy. A young woman in street clothes sidled up next to Angel and slapped him on the back. "Way to make an entrance!" the guests now stared at her, as did Angel. "Thanks for making an appearance. What took you so long?" Angel asked. "I thought I saw Elvis." She replied dryly. Angel stared at her not amused. "I was looking for Cordy, it’s like she disappeared into snobby air, I can’t find her any place." The mystery girl continued. Angel looked at Buffy. "Have you seen her?" he asked as casual as if they were talking about the weather. Buffy was incapable of speech. Angel was here, he’d killed a vampire at her in front of her father, at his wedding, he had brought his new girlfriend AND Cordelia and now Cordelia was missing. Just when she’d thought her day couldn’t get any worse Angel shows up flaunting his new chippie. How could he do this to her! What ever happened to eternal love? A part of her brain started to reminder she was dating Hal but she ignored it. Buffy looked at the girl she was attractive, about 5’10" with long dark hair that hung loose and almost reached her ass, she also had the most stunning eyes Buffy had ever seen. She was wearing Black jeans, purple Doc Martens, a purple T-shirt and a ¾ length black leather coat. Buffy recognised the coat, it belonged to Angel, it was one of his favorites. Angel waved his hand in front of Buffy’s face. "Buffy are you ok?" He asked concerned. Buffy looked in his eyes and felt herself turn to mush. No matter how hard she tried he always broke through her defenses, sometimes without even trying. "Fine, peachy, never been better. What were we talking about?" "Cordelia, have you seen her today?" "No. Maybe she went off with Xander. He disappeared a while ago." "I doubt it she nearly blew her stack when she saw him with that redhead." The mystery girl again, Angel looked at her. "Trust me." She continued and Angel nodded his understanding. Buffy frowned, angry at their communication skills Angel mistaking this for confusion promised to explain fully at a later time. He was interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream from the back of the room. Angel and Buffy hustled towards the source of the scream, when another one arose from the other side of the room and then another somewhere in the crowd. Buffy surveyed the room, it was full of vampires- the waitresses and waiters, the band, and a few walk-ins off the street, she couldn’t fight this many, even with Angel she still was devoid of weapons having left them in her father’s apartment. "Jeez somebody really has a bug up their butt about you. They sent an entire freakin’ army!" cried Angel’s friend from where they’d left her across the room. "We can’t fight all these guys." Buffy whispered to Angel. "We’re not supposed to." He replied. "Listen, just fight off as many as you can but whatever you do don’t go near your father." Great thought Buffy all I need right now is for Cryptic-guy to make a comeback. She gave Angel her best ‘Huh?’ look and he shoved a stake into her hand "Trust me." He told her as several of the vampires closed in on them. They were trapped leaving the rest of the vampires free to feed on the guests, Buffy hated feeling helpless, but hatred was good she could use hatred. She and Angel fought hard dusting countless vampires, suddenly there were none left, Buffy was confused. "Did we scare them off? I could have sworn there were more than that?" Buffy asked Angel as they surveyed the debris. It had been a long time since she’d fought this hard maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. "Ahem." Angel’s friend had once again appeared at his side. "When was the last time you saw a vampire spontaneously combust?" Buffy snorted. Who the hell did this wench think she was! "You didn’t even move." Buffy sneered at her. The girl gave her a hard look. "I didn’t have to." She replied quietly and walked away. Buffy stared after her. Boy did Angel have some explaining to do. Buffy looked around and spotted him crouched over a body. She started walking towards him but froze when she realized who the body belonged to, a strangled cry escaped her throat. No, it couldn’t be she began to move towards him. Angel stood and grabbed hold of her before she reached him. She struggled against Angel but he wouldn’t budge, she gave up and collapsed in his arms. "Daddy." She cried feebly reaching her arm out towards his limp body. Angel hugged her close. "I’m sorry Buffy there is nothing we can do. He’s dead." He said softly as she dug her head into his shoulder and began to cry. ***** Jaxx wandered down the dark hallway opening doors and calling Cordelia’s name. She’d already searched the entire building once and hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Cordelia, she’d probably run as soon as the fight started. It occurred to Jaxx she may have retreated back to the car. Jaxx looked at the end of the hallway, there was only a utility closet left, she doubted that Cordy would be in there but she figured anything was possible. She called Cordelia’s name tentatively as she approached the door. Jaxx cursed herself for still being so afraid, after all she was dead it wasn’t like anyone could hurt her now. She opened the door slowly and recoiled in horror as two bodies fell out. One was the redhead they’d seen earlier with a guy Jaxx assumed was the one known as Xander, her eyes were open wide, unseeing, dead. Jaxx swallowed hard as she looked at the other body, Cordelia’s. She crouched near Cordelia, she had blood on her forehead some one had hit her hard, she quickly put her hand on Cordy’s neck to check for a pulse and almost fainted with relief when she heard a slight groaning coming from her. Jaxx gave her a slight shake. "Cordy, wake up. WAKE UP!" Cordelia obeyed and opened her eyes groaning again louder this time. "Cordy what happened? Who hit you?" Cordelia closed her eyes and passed out again, Jaxx shook her harder and called her name again. Suddenly Jaxx was aware of another presence behind her, a barrage of images flashed through her head, she tried to turn towards her assailant but he was too quick, and suddenly the world plunged into darkness. ***** Angel was still comforting Buffy when Xander barreled into the hall he made a beeline for Buffy and Angel. He put a concerned hand on Buffy’s shoulder. "My god Buffy, I’m so sorry are you ok?" Buffy shook her head still pressing into Angel. "No of course stupid question, I’m sorry." Xander berated himself. "We should get out of here, they won’t give up this easily." Angel spoke softly, not wanting to upset Buffy and also not wanting the surviving guests to hear him. "We have to find Jaxx and Cordelia first though." "No we don’t." The sharpness of Xander’s reply caused Buffy to look up. "I mean I saw her, she said to go on without her, she was going to wait for the paramedics with Cordelia. That’s where I was see, I got cold cocked by somebody, and when I woke up I was stuffed into a utility closet with Cordy next to me." He gave a little chuckle "Just like old times. But really Jaxx said to take her car and go, she even gave me the keys." Xander produced Jaxx’s keys from his pocket and wiggled them in Angel’s face. Angel grabbed the keys, it struck him a little odd Jaxx would trust a stranger, even if it was Xander. But he was too worried about Buffy’s safety to dwell on it and they set off towards the car. ***** Angel decided it would be better to take Buffy and Xander back to his apartment rather than her father’s as it would be the first place he would look if he were trying to kill her. He made Buffy some tea while Xander called Giles to report what had happened. Angel looked at Buffy, she was sitting on his couch staring into space. He moved over and sat beside her gently cradling her in his arms. The days and months they had been apart seemed to fade away as he held her, it seemed like only yesterday that they’d been sparing in the old mansion, talking fighting, trying to ignore the enormous amount of sexual tension that ran like high voltage power lines between them. Only now she was with him did he truly understand how much he had really missed her, how much he needed her. It bothered him though, the cloaked figure had predicted Buffy’s death being by the hand of someone who’d given her life, yet both her parents were now out of the picture. Joyce was still in Sunnydale and Hank was dead. Hank had been killed by a vampire, but even Angel had been a vampire long enough to know that even if Hank had been 'changed' it was unlikely he would awaken tonight. So had the cloak-guy been wrong? It was possible after all Buffy had defied prophecy before. Angel’s thoughts went back to the night two years ago when the Master had risen. It suddenly hit him that she had fulfilled prophecy, as the Master had killed her but he and Xander had revived her. Realization dawned on Angel moments before the dark night engulfed him. ***** Buffy gave an uncharacteristic scream as the impact of wood on Angel’s head sent them both sprawling onto his coffee table. She rolled onto her back to face their attacker, she gasped at the sight of Xander standing behind the couch wielding a quaterstaff. Xander was clearly not himself, his boyish features were disfigured horribly. His skin hung off his face looking like worn leather, his hands were wrinkled the fingers elongated and tipped in long black nails, his eyes glowed red bulging from their sockets. "No, Xander." She mewed. The creature before her smiled revealing a mouth full of huge rotting teeth. "Time to die, little girl." It crooned at her in a deep demonic voice. Buffy slid her eyes in Angel’s direction he was face down on the coffee table, unconscious, meaning she was on her own. Her first thought was to find a weapon. She dimly remember Xander going to Angel’s bedroom to call Giles, that meant he’d gotten the staff from the bedroom < Angel must keep his weapons in the bedroom > she rationalized. She needed to get to the bedroom, but in order to do so she would have to go through the Xander-monster and this wasn’t an attractive prospect. The Xander-monster began to move over the couch looming above her, she was backed up against the coffee table and he closed in, bearing down on her blasting her with his foul breath as he stopped, his face just inches away from hers. He wrapped his coarse hands around her throat. As she struggled against him her hand fell upon Angel’s leg and beneath it she could feel the unmistakable shape of a dagger that Angel had tucked into his boot. She frantically pulled it from its sheath, she hesitated a moment before plunging it deep into the monster’s heart. It let out a bloodcurdling scream as it released its grip on her and fell backward on to the couch. Buffy was on her feet in an instant, leaping the couch and racing towards Angel’s bedroom. She was just inside the doorway when the monster threw himself at her, they landed on Angel’s bed, the bounce from the mattress allowing Buffy to throw him off balance, she kicked him hard in the face for good measure, stunned he fell to the floor. Buffy scrambled across the bed to a large chest situated on the far wall, it was similar to the one Angel had stored weapons in at the mansion, she figured it was a safe bet it was where his present cache was located. She reached the chest and grabbed hold of the large padlock preparing to break it off when the Xander-monster grabbed her from behind and threw her into the wall, the force causing the padlock to come free in Buffy’s hand. The creature once again loomed over her as she fell to the floor, on his chest Buffy could see a large symbol that looked like a demon figure. The quaterstaff came across on the monster’s head hard sending him in a back flip over the bed. "RUN!" Cried Angel as he moved in for another strike. She didn’t like to leave Angel, but she knew it was her the monster was after. She rounded the bed and hurtled through Angel’s apartment, she was out in the hallway before she realised she was unarmed. She ran towards the elevator frantically searching for a weapon, her eyes eventually located a fire-axe in a glass case. "I’d call this an emergency." She quipped to herself as he broke through the glass with her elbow. She yanked the axe from its case just as Angel and the monster crashed through the wall into the hallway. The demon kicked Angel clear and focused on Buffy, Angel hoisted himself up on all fours. "Destroy the symbol!" he bellowed at her. < I’m sorry Xander > Buffy closed her eyes as she swung the axe deftly over her head. The axe caught and Buffy looked up to see the axe embedded in a pipe above her head. Water began to spray from the fractured pipe and as she pulled the axe free the aged metal joint on the wall gave way sending a gush of water straight at the demon, hitting him squarely in the chest. The pressure of the water sent the monster tumbling backwards, collecting Angel as he went. The two ended up in a pile near Angel’s front door neither moved, the water from the pipe made a spectacular waterfall over them. Buffy spied the shut-off for the pipe and using all her strength against the rusted wheel, managed to close off the valve. The pipes groaned and the water slowed to a drip. Buffy sloshed down the flooded hall to where Xander lay unconscious on top of Angel. A strange shimmer began to emit from Xander’s chest as she approached. < The demon > she reasoned as it began to take form as soon as she could make out a head she swung the axe hard, this time it neatly slicing through the demon’s neck sending it’s head toppling to the floor. Angel started to move as she knocked the remainder of the demon’s body off Xander, he looked up at her. "Get him off me would you. I don’t want anybody to get the wrong idea about us." A slight smile played at the corners of Angel’s mouth. Buffy grabbed Xander and lifted him off Angel, she rolled him on his back his normal features had returned and the symbol on his chest was now no more than a faded outline. She and Angel kneeled beside him. "Is he gonna be ok?" she asked tentatively, not sure if Angel could provide the answer she wanted. "Should be. The mark is gone so he can’t be possessed again if there are any others. We should get him inside before the residents start coming down here to complain about the water going off." "We should probably get rid of the dead guy first." Buffy indicated the head and body of the demon lying several meters apart. They left Xander in the hall while they disposed of the demon in the incinerator down the hall, Buffy watched in amazement as the hot yellow flame turned flourescent blue as it engulfed the demon. "Are they supposed to do that?" She figured Angel had seen it before as he didn’t seem all that impressed. "Dunno, I’ve never met one of these guys before." Buffy could do nothing more than send a look of disbelief in Angel’s general direction. It had been a helluva night and she didn’t feel like making the effort of a full on glare. Xander was still unconscious when they returned. Angel hoisted him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried him back into his apartment. He gently laid Xander on the couch before surveying the damage in his apartment. "Destructo-girl strikes again." Buffy announced grimly indicating the mess. Angel wrapped his arm around Buffy’s shoulders and pulled her close, planting a kiss on her forehead. "The main thing is that you’re ok. The rest can be replaced, you can’t." The passion and heart felt honesty in Angel’s words tore through what remained of Buffy’s heart. He still loved her, but did she still love him? Yes. Endlessly, effortlessly. She raised her mouth to his and kissed him deeply. Buffy and Angel were still locked together in their passionate embrace when Xander regained consciousness. They were too immersed in each other to notice him wake up. "Where am I?" he asked startling them both. The last thing he remembered was Victoria and he sneaking off for a quiet moment in a broom closet. He ran his fingers through his hair and realised it was wet, in fact he was completely soaked to the skin and he had no idea why. "Could someone help me out here? I seem to be riding the confusion bus." Instead of answering Buffy gave him a tight hug. "I’m so glad you’re ok." Xander looked over at Angel suddenly realizing it had been over seven months since he’d last clapped eyes on the dead-guy. Which raised the question why were they suddenly blessed with his company. "Me too." Xander replied making the best of the physical contact in front of Angel. Disappointed that the vampire didn’t seem all that disturbed, obviously not feeling threatened by his relationship with Buffy. < Wait till I tell him about Hal > thought Xander, while he was thinking of something whimsical to say while slipping in a reference to Buffy’s new boyfriend he was hit with a flood of memories. He and Victoria, the closet, the vampires that had burst in and held him while some ugly guy drew on him, and then the guy had disappeared and Xander had been filled with the insatiable desire to kill. He had taken the closest life he could find, Victoria. He had snapped her neck like a brittle twig, the sound echoed through his mind. He let go of Buffy’s embrace and sank to his knees. He had killed Victoria, Cordelia, and another girl, he clearly remembered stuffing all three into the closet. Then he’d tried to kill Buffy. He doubled over clutching his stomach as the memories came back to him. He’d wanted to tear out her heart and watch it stop beating. He’d fought her, fought them both, he remembered crashing through the wall with Angel, he remembered Buffy swinging the axe, he even dimly recollected the ruptured water main. He buried his head in his hands, not wanting to look at their accusing eyes. "What have I done?" he whimpered softly into his hands "Victoria, Cordelia…that other girl. I killed them." He looked up at Buffy "I tried to kill you." "It wasn’t you. It was the Maskim." Angel’s voice was matter-of-fact. "And don’t worry about the other girl I’m sure she’s fine." "How do you know that? I hit her so hard. She’s dead, she has to be." Xander’s voice broke and he buried his face in his hands again. "I know because she’s already dead." Xander and Buffy stared at Angel in astonishment. "She’s a vampire?" Asked Buffy incredulously. "No. There are lots of different kinds of immortal. She is one of the ‘other’s. I’ll explain later." "What’s wrong with now?" Buffy sounded upset. But Angel remained calm. "We should probably go and get her, and Cordelia." < But she’s dead. I killed her > Xander felt a tear roll down his cheek, he swiped at it before anyone noticed. "But it’s over now right?" He pleaded to Angel "I-I couldn’t, I didn’t…Buffy is still alive so that Mask-thing failed right so they leave us alone now?" "Maskim," Angel corrected "No it’s not over. The Maskim is a demon assassin he was sent by someone else. The someone else we still have to go back to Sunnydale and save the world from." ***** Giles’ Apartment – Sunnydale "…Uh huh…mmm…yes…I understand…yes…Goodbye." Giles sighed as he hung up the phone and turned towards the four sets of eyes eagerly awaiting the dreadful news he had just received from Angel. He felt especially awkward with Joyce’s presence, as she was likely to become somewhat hysterical at the news of her husband’s death. He had to focus, there were much bigger problems to be concerned about. In less than forty-eight hours the entire world was to be plunged into eternal darkness by some as-yet-unknown entity. Unfortunately they also had no idea where or how this entity was going to strike. Giles hoped that the use of the Maskim demon in the attempt on Buffy’s life would be a clue to discovering the identity of the mystery-figure. The Maskim were very rare, thought to be extinct in the Middle Ages though there were sparse rumors of their continued existence during the Renaissance. Very few people in the modern world were aware they ever existed let alone finding a live one and sending into civilization. Angel reported all the vampires had been slain and the demon had been cremated thus ruling out the possibility of interrogation of any of them. Though the combination of vampire and Maskim was intriguing, as they were sworn enemies. Giles hadn’t realised he’d been thinking so long until Hal’s voice broke through his thoughts. "I’m not getting any younger y’know Giles, ya gonna tell us what’s going on or should I go start a retirement fund?" Giles vehemently disliked this young man, the desire to pummel him was almost irresistible. Giles remained calm however, he needed to keep focus on the task at hand. He decided to take Angel’s advice and revise the story somewhat as he relayed it to keep the calm among everyone else. "Buffy is fine, the assassin has been thwarted and they are on their way back. In the meantime we need to find out anything we can about demon assassins known as the Maskim. I think the Keynsian Chr.." "That’s it?" Interrupted Hal. He still had a lot to learn about protocol amongst their group. "You were on the phone for a good half-hour and that’s all you’ve got to tell us? Come on man, you’re holding out on us, and I for one am not going to stand for it." Hal leaned in close in an attempt to intimidate Giles with his burly physique. Giles was more angered than intimidated by this arrogant bully tactic. "Is that a threat?" Giles asked calmly, his demeanor making Hal all the more furious, just as it was intended. "I want you to tell us what is going on and if I have to take that information by force I will." Hal cracked his knuckles in front of Giles’ face to punctuate his threat. Giles was beyond mad now, after years of being bullied in school he wasn’t about to take it in his own home, and especially not from a Yank. "Your presence here is purely one of privilege, don’t forget that. You are the most expendable of anyone here and the least conscious of your position in the grand scheme of things. If you don’t like it leave, the front door is that way." Giles pointed towards the front door while keeping a steely gaze on Hal. "Otherwise sit down, shut up and research." Giles was surprised at how forceful his outburst had been, as was Hal who quietly backed down and took a seat at the table behind a pile of books. Giles rarely exercised his authority like this and felt uncomfortable with the connotations of doing so. However in this situation he felt the circumstances warranted some sort of aggressive action, might as well be his aggression. "Ok, where was I? Ah yes the Keynsian Chronicles, early twelfth century, should be a good place to begin." ***** The trip back to Sunnydale was quiet and remorseful, as everyone was left to think his or her own thoughts. Occasional groans from Jaxx were the only thing to break the silence. She had accepted that Xander hadn’t been responsible for his actions when he hit her, however she still felt the need to complain loudly about the ineffectiveness of Aspirin on the undead. Xander had hit her hard enough to crack her skull open but Jaxx being immortal meant this usually fatal injury had become nothing more than a pounding headache. Cordelia hadn’t been so lucky. She had suffered a cerebral haemorage, thanks to Jaxx this had been reduced though due to her own injury she had only been able to manage to downgrade to a severe concussion, still Cordelia would recover fully. Angel was glad they had detained her at the hospital as her complaining and bitching at Xander would have made the trip unbearable, besides that he felt that Xander had suffered an awful lot for one evening, as had Buffy and they deserved a little quiet time. Shortly before they arrived back at Giles apartment Angel noticed Jaxx squirming and clutching at her head in the rear vision mirror. "Jaxx, are you alright?" He asked worriedly. Jaxx shook her head violently and then began to scream. Angel jumped on the brakes, but before the vehicle had stopped Jaxx had jumped out and was writhing on the ground still clutching at her head and screaming. Buffy, Xander and Angel all exited the car and joined Jaxx on the road. Jaxx suddenly quieted and sat back on her haunches. Angel began to move toward her but as he did so she let out one final ear-piercing scream. A blast wave knocked Angel, Buffy and Xander a good ten feet away from her as all the store windows simultaneously exploded in a spectacular cascade of glass that showered the entire street. The windows on the Explorer strangely stayed intact. Angel jumped to his feet and ran to Jaxx, she was lying facedown on the pavement. "Jaxx, Jaxx!" He gathered her up in his arms and held her tightly, hoping the she wouldn’t juice him by mistake. She opened her eyes and began to speak softly between gasping breaths. "Must stop it…everyone’s dead…all dead…everybody…its soooo dark." Jaxx closed her eyes as she continued to breathe heavily. "Stop who? What the hell is going on? Who’s dead?" Buffy leaned in and Jaxx grabbed hold of her hand causing her to jump slightly. She opened her eyes and looked at Buffy. "He sees what I see, he saw what I saw, we watched you die." Jaxx passed out in Angel’s arms as all her strength had finally drained from her. Why me? Why always me?" Buffy paced around Giles’ living room. She’d morphed back into slayer mode now and was spoiling mad. "Well you are the chosen one." Giles pointed out. "Oh gee and what a glorious gift for me to have. I got kicked out of school, sent my boyfriend to hell, got my father killed and I get to fight evil every other day. Not to mention the fact my mother will probably never speak to me again." "I thought she took it rather well." "Well enough that when I go home I’m gonna find all my stuff sitting on the sidewalk." Her mother had taken the news of her ex-husbands untimely death rather badly actually. Her only response had been to tell Buffy it was all her fault and then she’d left. Angel had discreetly followed her, just incase she should chance on any vampires. "Shouldn’t we be focusing on the demon?" Willow offered shyly "I mean he is going to…" "Yeah I know Wil. Demon hell-bent on destroying the world and once again I have to slay it and keep the world safe for the rest of you." "Not ‘you’ Buffy, ‘we’ like all of us. This is a group effort." "And just exactly what have you done so far, Group?" Willow looked hurt but Buffy was beyond caring. They had gone too far this time. Demons had targeted her mother before, but Buffy had always been there to save her. She’d been right there when her father was being drained of his blood yet she hadn’t noticed until it was too late. She’d failed. She would find this demon no matter how long it took and she was going to kill it, but for now she would direct her anger at the people she loved. Buffy looked up to see that Angel had returned and was watching her with a quiet intensity that ordinarily would have lightened her heart, but at the moment was downright irritating. "Well?" She demanded of him "Well what?" "My mother…" "Oh she’s fine. A little peeved. She headed straight for the liquor cabinet, but I guess that’s understandable." "You should know." "Stop it. Right now." Giles interjected loudly. "Willow was right Buffy we need to focus right now. You can’t let your grief control you, to beat this demon you will need to be in top form." "He’s right." Another voice joined in the conversation. Buffy watched Jaxx as she descended the stairs from Giles’s bedroom where she’d been resting "If he can get in my head he can get in yours, he’ll use grief, guilt anything against you." "You said you saw me die." Jaxx nodded "His fantasy. He knows the Maskim attempt failed. He was imagining himself as your executioner." "And I’ll be his." Buffy stated defiantly. ***** "Hey. I think I found something" Xander piped up. Giles scooted around the table and began to read over his shoulder. "The Blue Moon…blood of the seven…eternal darkness. This certainly looks promising." "Blood of the seven?" The slayer asked "Uh yes. According to this the ritual must take place on the night of a blue moon, using the blood of seven night demons to plunge the world into an eternal darkness in which their kind would reign supreme." "That would explain the vampires," Angel added "But we saw more than seven." "Maybe they were gonna draw straws to see who gets to destroy the world." Xander said to no one in particular "No actually I think they all have their own purposes…" Giles looked up from the book "according to this the ritual requires human sacrifices…" He looked back down to the book and added quietly "Quite a lot of them." "How many is ‘a lot’?" Willow asked hesitantly. "Three each, twenty-one in all. They will drink the three then the demon conducting the ceremony will take the blood of the seven unto himself and turn the day into night forever." "Is it possible that a human could conduct this ritual?" Angel asked Giles perused the book some more, he could see no indication that the ritual must be conducted by a demon. "It appears it could be, why do you ask?" "The mystery-man we saw, he could have been human." "But you said you couldn’t see him." "Couldn’t see his face, but his behavior, how he was dressed, how he arrived, would suggest he had something to hide. Like a heartbeat." "A heartbeat that can be stopped." Buffy got to her feet "Load up gang. We’re going hunting." "Are you sure you want to do this?" Angel asked Jaxx as they made their way towards the park. "I can handle it." "Are you sure, I mean you're already weak and…" "Stop worrying about me and worry about yourself. I have to learn to control my power and there's no time like the present." Angel knew better than to argue with Jaxx and if she thought she could handle what was coming, who was he to argue with her? They looked like a small army walking the deserted streets of Sunnydale. Buffy striding confidently in the lead, followed by Giles, Xander, Willow, Hal and Oz all armed to the teeth, with Angel and Jaxx bringing up the rear. Buffy stopped suddenly a block shy of the park. "We need to scout the area, see what kind of numbers we're dealing with, find out where the sacrifices are being held then we take flanking positions around the park. Any questions?" Hal tentatively raised his hand "What if they see us coming?" "We move fast, they won't have time to react." Hal didn't look convinced. In fact he looked incredibly pale. He's not ready for this, Angel thought. He'd probably wet his pants then die of fright the first time he came face to face with the undead. Angel would have thought the same about Xander, Willow or Giles when he'd first met them yet they had proven time and time again they had what it took to survive. Still if Hal was still alive when this was all over it would be a small miracle. "Okay Angel you go that way," Buffy ordered pointing to her left "and I'll take this side." Angel nodded his assent. "We should hurry, they might have started already." ***** Hidden in the shadows Buffy had a clear view of the scene in the park. The cloaked figure Angel had described was standing next to the monument in the center of the grass, the seven chosen vampires stood before him in ceremonial robes whilst their sacrifices were surrounded by a group of vampires. They had already staked several guards to gain their flanking positions, but by her count there was still anywhere between 17 and 20 vampires here, plus the mysterious hood guy whom they knew nothing about. The odds weren't that bad against them, and its not like she'd never beaten impossible odds before. Besides that the mystery guy, was responsible for her fathers death and there was no way she was going to let him live. Buffy felt a light tap on her shoulder. Xander. They were all waiting for her signal before commencing the attack. Buffy nodded and Xander handed her a crossbow. She aimed it directly for the mystery man's heart and pulled the trigger. The arrow sliced through the air and the mystery man cried out in pain as it caught him in the left side of his chest, just beyond the heart. Damn! Thought Buffy, her sights must have been off. Well it was too late to dwell on it now. Buffy leaped from the bushes sucker punching the first vampire that came towards her. In her peripheral vision she could see Angel and the gang in similar stages of attack, all holding their own. Two more vampires advanced, Buffy gave the first a vicious head-butt and staked the second without breaking her stride. 'Let the others finish the vampires' she thought as she looked around for the hooded guy. He was nowhere to be seen. Knocking vampires and terrified civilians out of her way Buffy jogged towards the monument where she'd hit him with the arrow. On the grass in front of the monument lay the dark cloak that had hidden his face, a few meters away lay the bloodied arrow. Suddenly Buffy was tackled from behind, her face colliding with the cold stone at the base of the statue sending lighting up the side of her face. Buffy felt the cold hands encircle her neck and begin to squeeze. She pushed hard against the stone flipping on top of the vampire, cracking its face with the back of her head. Momentarily stunned the demon released its grip allowing Buffy to move into a defensive position. In a fluid movement she produced a stake from within her clothing and rammed it deep into the vampire's dead heart, barely taking time to notice its face. Buffy sprang to her feet, scanning the fleeing people for her mystery man. A flash of red caught her eye as a man disappeared into an alleyway. Buffy raced after him, reaching the alleyway she rounded the corner at full speed seeing the familiar face only a split second before the darkness enveloped her. ***** "Yeah go ahead and run home to Mamma you wimps!" Xander cried as the last of the surviving vampires ran into the night. "Where's Buffy?" Angel inquired of no one in particular. It had been a ferocious fight and despite his efforts to keep an eye on her she had disappeared. "I saw her near the monument" Oz offered. Everyone looked towards the monument, there were several motionless bodied near it. Most had gotten away but some of the sacrifices hadn't been so lucky and were now scattered on the grass. It was hard to tell if any of them were Buffy so Angel walked closer trying not to look at the faces of the victims. He hated their faces, every time he closed his eyes he would see the faces of those he'd killed or failed to save. All he wanted was to get rid of the faces. The others followed Angel towards the monument, its cold stone scene eerily similar to the one just fought. There was no sign of Buffy. Giles picked up the discarded cloak that lay in the grass and examined it. "He must have escaped in the commotion." "But she hurt him." Angel stated indicating the bloodied arrow. "So he is human." "Smells human." "Smells human? What did you do walk up and sniff him? How the hell could you know that he's human?" Hal demanded standing inches from Angel's face. Angel was surprised to see he'd survived the fight, despite one arm hanging limply at his side. He leveled his gaze at Hal and replied calmly, "I'm not." "WHAT?! You're not human! What the hell is going on here!" Hal grabbed Angel's shoulder as he turned to walk away, instinctively the vampire turned and slammed his fist into the side of Hal's head. The jock crumpled and fell to earth. Angel watched him for a moment until he could see the shallow movements of Hal's chest as he continued breathing, he then turned and continued to walk away avoiding the eyes of the others as they stared at him in a shocked silence. "Uh, Angel, where are you going?" Jaxx asked as she jogged up beside him. "I'm going to look for Buffy. She didn't just disappear into thin air." Jaxx gently took his arm, possibly trying to avoid Hal's treatment, and brought him to a halt. "Wouldn't a collective effort be better?" Angel looked over his shoulder at the Giles and the gang, they hadn't moved, he looked back at Jaxx, "It will be faster if we split up." "Ok I'll go with you, they can go…" "No." Angel interrupted forcefully, Jaxx looked hurt at his rejection "I travel faster alone." He said by way of apologizing. Jaxx stared at a moment, they both knew she wouldn't change his mind. "Fine, but I am leaving at dawn. You aren't there you walk home." Angel gave a slight nod and walked away. He didn't get far before he heard Oz's distinctive voice holler, "FOUND HER!" Angel turned and ran towards the alleyway where the group was huddled around Buffy's body. She lay face up, her eyes closed and a small trickle of blood seeped from her forehead. Giles was crouched over her, his fingers on her neck checking for a pulse. Angel felt pain rip at his heart as he looked at his fallen beloved. "She's alive. We need to get her out of here." Giles looked at Angel, it was a moment before Angel realised Giles wanted him to carry her. Angel moved forward and gently lifted Buffy's limp body. No one spoke as they headed for the hospital. ***** "She's got a concussion. I'd like to keep her overnight for observation." The doctor said as he scribbled on Buffy's chart. "Do you mind if I ask what happened?" Giles looked at Buffy's sleeping form. "Someone hit her." "I figured that much." The doctor opened his mouth to speak again when Willow appeared at the door and motioned to Giles. Giles excused himself and joined Willow in the hallway. "What's wrong?" "We can't reach Buffy's mum, all we get is the answering machine." Willow replied looking worried. "She's probably still steaming over what happened tonight," Giles glanced at his watch "or possibly she is asleep, its four a.m. Buffy will be awake soon, no sense in worrying her." "I suppose." "What about our evil-guy?" Asked Xander. "Probably left town as soon as we ruined his party." "You sure?" "I would." This seemed to satisfy the young man. Angel rejoined the group, handing Giles a cup of bitter coffee. He looked in the door at Buffy. "She'll find him." "I know." Giles sighed following Angel's gaze "Or she'll die trying." The End