“Angelus? You want to be called Angelus?” Spike asked, incredulously.

“Well, that is my name, isn’t it?” Angel retorted, annoyed.

“See, Spike? He’s back.” Drusilla said.

“Back from where?” Angel asked, as he struggled to get up. “What the hell happened to me?”

“You were accidentally hit on the head with a baseball bat.” Dru said, innocently.

“Oh,” he grunted. “So where are we, anyway?”

“The outskirsts of Sunnydale. We are getting ready for a party.” Spike told him.

“Really? What kind of party?”

“A celebration. Everything is wonderfull.”

“Any special reason?”

Spike laughed. “You really don’t remember, do you. Well, this makes everything a hell of a lot easier.”

“Makes what easier?” Angel asked.

“The ceremony to make that damn soul of yours go away.”

“Spike, what the fuck are you talking about? I don’t have a soul. You know what? I am so hungry. It feels like I haven’t had a good meal in 80 years.”

“You could say that.” Spike said. “There is a human tied up in the room across the hall. She is just waiting to be fed on. I was going to use her as a snack, but you can have her.”

“Thanks, man.” Angel said. His face transformed.

“Hey moron,” Spike called to the vampire in the hall, “go get that girl and bring her here.”

The vampire did as he said and brought the frightened girl to Spike. “No, not for me, for Angelus.” The vamp looked confused. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

Angel grabbed the girl, who was sobbing with fear. “Please...don’t kill me.” her shaky voice pleaded. Angel pushed her hair off of her neck. He leaned in and sunk his fangs into her neck. She screamed, but quickly died away as he emptied her body. When he had drank every bit of blood he could, he dropped her lifeless body on the floor.

“Man, do I feel good!” He said.

“So do I.” Spike said. “So do I.”

Part 23 PG

“Have you guys found something out about Hope?” The Slayer asked.

“Yes, we have. Hope,” Giles turned to face the girl, “I want you to listen to this.” he read from the book. “There is only one slayer in each generation. She is the chosen one who has the skill and ability to fight and destroy the demons that walk the earth. However, if her power is not strong enough, she may obtain guidance or help. A slayer from the past may reach out to her by bestowing her power on to a girl of the age of 16. It is customary that she be of blood relation. The source of the power may come in a special origin, presumably in an item that was greatly significant to the slayer.”

“So does this mean that Mira has given Hope her slaying abilities?” Buffy asked.

“Yes, that is exactly what it means. There could be no other explination for everything that has happened in the last two days. Hope was sent here to fight along side you.”

Hope was shocked. “I...I don’t think so. I can’t fight with Buffy.”

Everyone was bewildered at her confession. “Why not?” Cordelia asked.

“Because I just can’t. I dont’ know the first thing about fighting.”

“But you're wrong. I saw you fight, Hope. You may not think that you do, but deep down inside, you have every instinct, every skill, every ability that I do. You may not fight as well as I can because you haven’t ever trained, but you can still fight with me.” Buffy stood up and felt a moment of dizziness. She almsot fell over, but Jenny caught her.

“Buffy, sit down and rest.” Giels ordered.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Buffy assured her watcher. “Come with me into the back yard.” They all followed her. She walked intot he middle of the grass. “Come here, Hope.” Hope walked over to where she was standing. Before she knew it, Buffy punched her. Hope stumbled back, but didn’t seem to affected.

“What was that for!” Hope yelled.

Buffy didn’t answer her, she just went after Hope. She did a roundhouse kick, but Hope ducked just in time. Buffy grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. Hope felt a surge of power and flipped Buffy over her head. She got up quickly, and pushed Hope into a tree. Hope freed herself of Buffy’s grasp, and kicked her legs out from underneath her and Buffy fell to the ground with a thud. She scrambled back up, and Hope punched her. Buffy stumbled back, and tried to kick Hope in the stomach, but she grabbed her leg and pulled the Slayer forward and went to punch her again, but Buffy blocked it and grabbed Hope and threw her over her head. Hope landed on the ground, and groaned.

Buffy walked over and helped Hope up. “See. You can fight.” She said.

Hope smiled. “I think I’m ready to kick some vamp ass.” The two girls laughed and turned to face the four shocked faces. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get a move on! We only have a few hours until sunset.”

“Well, first we need a plan.” Buffy said. She put her arm around Hope. “So, are you in? Will you fight with me?”

Hope thought for a moment. “You bet!” she said. The group went back into the house.

“Now Buffy, where is the house?” asked Giles.

“About 15 minutes outside of Sunnydale.”

“Well, we need to figure something out very soon. We could get there before the sunsets, or after. Which do you think would be better?”

“I think we should wait until sunset.”

“Good idea. That way we can get Angel out of the house.”

The six friends came up with a plan. Then, they waited.

Angel sat alone in the living room. Spike and Dru were off in the other room doing god only knows what, and vampires were roaming about. Angel didn’t feel right. He felt like he couldn’t remember anything. He knew that Spike and Dru weren’t telling him everything, but he didn’t know what they could be hiding from him. And for some odd reason, he almost felt *bad* for feeding off that girl. He couldn’t understand that. Last time he fed off someone......wait. When was the last time? < Think, damnit. THINK! > he said to himself. Angel felt frustrated. He didn’t know what was going on. He felt like something vitally important was missing from his memory. He thought about what Dru had asked him. “Do you remember Buffy?” and when he didn’t, she was strangely happy. < Who’s Buffy? Is she a vampire? > His head still ached from getting hit, and all of this thinking was making it hurt more. Something popped into his head. < Where’s Darla? Last time I saw her...she was with the Master. I wonder what they are doing. > He chuckled to himself. < Darla and I had some good times. > He sighed. He didn’t even know where they were. He knew that they were near the Hellmouth. He could feel it. < Oh well > he thought. < All of this can’t be too important. Just because it seems that I can’t remember the eighty or so years of my life should bother me too much. > The vampire looked at the clock. 4:00. Three hours till sundown. He couldn’t wait...he hated being cooped up in the house. < I wish I could go out into the sun. > That is another thing that was bothering him. He felt sort of--human like. He almost felt as if he *was* human, or that he had tried to be. < I need to lie down > he thought. He laid down on the only piece of furniture in the room besides a dirty old yellow chair--the dirty old brown sofa. He decided to kill off the time by sleeping. < I have nothing better to do > was his last thought as he drifted off into a deep slumber.

Spike and Drusilla sat in one of the bedrooms alone.

“Oh Spike, I’m so happy. Angelus is back with us.” Drusilla crooned.

“As long as his amnesia holds up till sundown, we are home free. I still can’t believe that he has forgotten everything.”

“He doesn’t even remember Buffy.”

Spiked laughed. “And that is the best part of it all. I can’t wait to see the look on her pretty little face when she sees him as the Master. It is going to be classic. You know, we should get a camera and take her picture. It will definitely be a Kodak moment.”

“Spike, do you like her?”

“Like who?”

“The Slayer.”

He thought about her question. “Of course not, luv. She is a pest. Once Angelus kills her, we can get on with our lives. We can rule the world.”

“Your lying to me.” She said, and turned her head. “I can feel that you like her.”

“No, I am not lying to you.” he tried to reassure her. “You need your rest. Do you want to take a nap?”

She yawned. “No, I want to stay awake.”

“Just lie down and close those pretty eyes. I will wake you up before sundown.” She did as he said. “Have a nice sleep, luv.” He stood up and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.