Chapter 16



Angel sat brooding at his desk, waiting for Wesley and Cordy. He heard the front door open as they came strolling in, bickering.

“Do you really believe that he would ever cross that line again?” Cordy asked as she sipped her expensive latte.

“I know that we should be looking into ways to either prevent it from happening, or contain him if we should ever have to. We must look out for ourselves as well as others.” Wesley juggled his laptop bag and coffee as the door swung into him.

When Cordy didn’t respond, Wesley looked up and saw an irritated vampire glaring at him. “Angel, good evening. I say, look at the time… I should get to work researching that… demon.”

“Yes, that demon… Right there with you, Wes. Time to hit the net for info,” Cordy said, following Wesley into the office.

“Wait, you two. I need to talk to you about something.”

“Does it have to do with a certain blond slayer, and a curse? ’Cause, we’ve been thinking about that too…” Cordy started, but was cut short before she could finish her sentence.

“No—Well, yes, in a way. No curse issues, so quit worrying about that. I got a call from Sunnydale. Willow’s been dabbling in the black magick and has done something with Buffy. Her body in is Sunnydale, but her soul isn’t. I have no idea what she’s done, but Spike is watching over her body, and Willow’s girlfriend, Tara, will be contacting the Oracles for help. Did I know Willow was gay?” Angel looked to them with a serious expression on his face.

“Yeah, I think I told you. What do we need to do from this end?” Cordy picked up a pad of paper and started scribbling notes to herself. “Did Tara ask for anything specifically?”

"Good Lord, Willow's a... a... Not that there's anything wrong with that..." Wesley choked out.

"Yes, Willow is batting for the other team, Wes. Let's focus." Cordy motioned for Angel to continue.

“She didn’t ask for anything. As a matter of fact, she gave me the brush off.” His ire was hard to stifle. “For some reason, she didn’t want me there. But, there’s no way I wouldn’t at least supervise what those kids are doing with Buffy.” There was no way anyone but him knew the best course of action. Ignoring Cordelia’s roll of the eyes, he went on. “She may need me and I want to be nearby when that happens. I’m planning to drive back to Sunnydale and keep my eyes and ears open.” Now Wes was rolling his eyes too, but Angel wouldn’t pay him more attention than he did Cordy. “I should be able to stay at the mansion on Crawford Street without anyone being the wiser,” he concluded smugly. He was sure he had read the situation right, Spike and his silly Sunnydale crew were in over their heads, and Angel wanted to be there to not only save the day, but to rub it in his Childe’s face. He was also sure that Tara must be naïve and had been fooled into trusting Spike. He needed to save Buffy and put Spike in his place.

“Angel, are you sure you should leave Angel Investigations? Business has been good lately; you are needed here. Besides, Spike and Tara should be able to handle this from there. I’m sure we’ll be the first they call if they need help.” Wesley did his best Giles’ impersonation by taking off his glasses and rubbing away imaginary smudges.

Angel turned and started walking up the stairs to his room to pack. “You’re wrong. Both of you. And I believe you’ll find that out soon enough.”



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Willow sat on the couch staring at the burn mark on the wall, wondering once again where she’d gone wrong. Scorch marks were everywhere, among the broken glass, shards of wood, and bent metal.

“I must be getting close. There’s no way I can’t get this right.”

She stood and shuffled over to the long table once more. Picking up a large, shiny, black stone, she caught her reflection on its surface. Her hair was now dark, and not returning to its original red hue, and the dark veins looked like she had them tattooed all over her body. Willow shrugged, figuring it was the price she had to pay for doing a favor for her friend.

“I hope she realizes all I went through for her when she comes back. She’s probably having a great time with that little girl, like a vacation.”

Her spell books were open all over the table, surrounded by vials and bowls of various things only available in the black market. There were several different skulls and what looked like a freshly killed rabbit lying between large, lit candles. The wax had melted onto its fur, causing it to adhere to the table, and its eyes had been sewn shut.

Willow stood near the rabbit once more, calling on any dark lord to assist her in bringing Buffy back. Her eyes were now as solid black as the shiny rock she held in front of her face, as she began to chant.

“I demand all who can hear to assist in the location and return of the soul of the Slayer. I call on you to show me where she is, and open a door to reach her. Is est viccis pro suus ut reverto!”

The chandelier in the foyer of the mansion began to sway again, as the swirling winds rushed through the broken windows of the long abandoned building. A demonic roar filled the air as the ground started shaking. A red horned beast appeared on the stone’s surface, and threw its head back and laughing at Willow.

“You should have known better than to dabble in practices you aren’t trained in, stupid witch. You have yet to pay the price! Or will the Slayer pay the price for you?” His laughing continued as the stone exploded, cutting long bleeding gashes into Willow’s face, and shattering half of the table, sending its contents flying.

Willow collapsed on the floor, fighting to keep conscious, unaware that Angel had been just outside and had seen the entire spell and its huge backfire.


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Angel had arrived in Sunnydale just after midnight, and had made his way through town to the mansion. He’d been surprised to find it inhabited, and even more so by Willow. He hadn’t recognized her at first, but as she started to speak, he recognized her voice and her plea.

He waited to see if she was all right, before driving himself to Revello Drive to share his findings with Tara and Spike. Plus, he wanted to see Buffy for himself.


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Angel had to park across the street, as Spike’s DeSoto took up the only available space behind Joyce’s old Jeep. Buffy’s bedroom light was on, and Angel could see Spike through the sheers that blurred the view. There were lights on in all the lower level rooms, and he could detect movement in the dining room. He got out of his car, and made his way to the front door. He pushed the doorbell and waited.

Having sensed Angel was near; Spike had made his way downstairs, before he even heard the doorbell. He had peeked in on Dawn in her room; she was sleeping with her headphones on. He waited for the ring, and then sing-songed, “Be right there!” as he stood picking at the flaking nail polish on his fingers.

“Open the door Spike. I want to see Buffy, and we need to talk about Willow.”

Spike opened the door and leaned on the inside of the doorjamb. Smirking, he greeted him, “Top o’ the morning to ya, Liam. How is it that you find yourself in SunnyD at this hour?”

Angel tried to push Spike out of the way, only to find there were wards on the house. Strong ones. He brushed himself off like he had dirtied his hands, and looked into the kitchen at a blonde he’d never seen before. “Spike, I need to speak with you and Tara. Can you let me in?” He looked to the kitchen, but the girl he assumed was Tara had disappeared.

Spike looked at an invisible watch on his arm, “Hmmm well, it’s a bit late. Maybe we could reschedule. Say tomorrow, at high noon? How does that sound?”

Angel growled and his fangs erupted. “This is no time to be playing games, Childe. Willow is out at the mansion, practicing the blackest of magicks, calling on demons from the underworld for help. Someone needs to do something about her!”

“Well, big and broody, we are working on the Oracles’ gift right now, and to be honest, Willow is a big girl. She can take care of herself, and if she can’t, well… Let’s just say, I have another bird I am a little more concerned with right now. But, hey, if you feel up to the challenge, you go right ahead. If you insist on helping, I am putting you on “Willow patrol”. We are a little busy here taking care of Buffy and preparing for the meeting with the Oracles.” With that, Spike shut the door on Angel’s surprised face and went to check on his girls. Tara, Dawn, and Buffy were his only concerns right now, but he had to admit that it was fun chatting up Angel on the porch. He was concerned about what Willow was doing, but he needed to focus on Buffy. Tara had wards on the house if Willow was focused on them, and Angel might actually be a help.


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Angel stood there dumbfounded and furious. Were they all turning their back on Willow? Judging by what he had seen, Willow was capable of doing great damage, and Spike was being foolish to ignore that. Buffy surely wouldn’t like that. Figuring he might earn some brownie points with Buffy, he made his way back to the mansion to save Willow from herself, just like he had done with Faith. He would take her back to LA with him and help her. Be the do-gooder that he wanted Buffy to see.


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Buffy had dozed off for just a second when she was awakened by a twig snap. Quickly she was on her feet, ready for another battle. No tinglies, probably just an animal.

Her heart was racing in her chest as she started on the way back. She needed to make it to the creek before it was too dark to see at all. She was healing, but she was a mess.

At the water’s edge, Buffy stripped Kaia’s body and waded out into the waist deep water, splashing her wounds to clean them. She rubbed the blood and filth from her skin and washed away her primitive feminine hygiene products, too tired to collect and burn them.

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Kahn watched Kaia strip herself of her hides and walk into the water. The moon highlighting her skin to the most beautiful pale shade of blue made him realize that she would be his that night. There, by the water, he would take what she’d been trying to deny him.


Latin translates to: It’s time for her to return.

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