This story is a sequel to "The Replacement Slayer". The story is settled five years after the action of part one, yet the timeline broke from that of the show, so many things occurring in the Joss universe have never happened (though my favorite scene from "The Yoko Factor" did take place somehow, somewhen...).

The poem that is quoted in this story was written by Natasha Hellfire.

The mailman was about to stuff the letters into the mailbox, as the door of the old farmhouse opened, and he recognized a familiar figure. The woman was dressed in her usual, rather plain clothes which were best suited for farmwork.

"Mornin', Mrs Finn!" he shouted over, "I have loads of mail for ya today!"

She smiled at him. "Anything new or exciting?"

"One of them is a postcard from your brother."

"What's he writing?"

"I dunno, it's German! Anyway, here are a few bills as well, oh, and the latest copy of your cooking magazine."

She came over and took the mail from his hand. "Thanks, Joe! Say hello to Clara for me, will you."

"O'Course, Mrs Finn. Have a nice day!"

"Same to you, Joe."

Tasha went to the porch, quickly browsing the letters while she was walking, followed by four hungry cats, as usual. She shuddered for a moment as two arms gently closed around her from behind.

"What's new, love?", she heard Riley's voice close to her ear.

"It's a postcard from Daniel, he's in Bangladesh at the moment, and busy as usual."

"You must be proud of him being the supervisor of the works at his age."

"Building railways has always been his dream, I'm happy for him. Who would have thought so five years ago?"

"And who would have thought you'd be here with me?" he added tenderly.

Tasha sighed. "Seems so far away. Hard to believe it's been five years only."

*

"How is Paris?"

"Same as yesterday. I love it. Just wish you were here."

"Yeah. Me too. No, what am I saying? Don't listen to me. The company was right in sending you, you're the best person for the job. And we've passed the worst, you've done a great job for a year, and you'll be back in six months."

"Don't make me realize it is still that long. How are things going in Sunnydale, Will?" Tara asked.

Willow sighed. Tara sounded so near on the phone, yet she was so far away. "I'm fine, as fine as I can be without you, of course. Buffy's not that well."

"Why?"

Willow did not really know how to tell her friend. "It's about Spike."

Tara did not answer at first. "What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"Well, I told you the two of them were getting along quite well together. I had hoped so much for her she had found a bit of happiness with someone. And now that cursed chip is malfunctioning, after all these years."

"I'm sorry to hear that even the US army are no longer building for eternity."

"It was a coincidence Spike discovered it was not working any more, and now he just seems to go back to normal, after almost six whole years!" Willow was almost crying.

"I feel so sorry with Buffy," Tara said softly.

"He hasn't killed anyone yet," Willow said, "But we fear it's just a matter of time. And Buffy has conflicting feelings. As long as Spike was harmless, he was practically no vampire, but now he's a threat again, it's her duty to slay him! Tara, you weren't here when the... thing with Angel happened, but I was... and I know I can't put her through the same hell again." Her voice had sunk down to a whisper as she added, "I'm afraid it might break her."

There was a long silence. Finally, Tara said: "There might be a solution. Some spell I heard ages ago. But I entreat you to be patient and wait till I'm back, it requires a powerful witch."

"I AM powerful," Willow protested, "I'm no longer the amateur witch girl I used to be when we met in our freshman year at college. And if I wait for you, Tara, that's still six months! Maybe that's too late!"

Tara heard the panic in Willow's voice. Slowly she said: "Can you promise me you won't perform it if it seems too challenging to you? And you be careful if you do decide to do it?"

"Yes, yes, I swear," Willow agreed readily. She would even have sworn to jump from the Empire State Building if it had helped to persuade her friend.

"Will, we could..." Tara hesitated. "We could attempt to give Spike human feeling, compassion, true love."

"Restore his soul, you mean? You know such a curse?"

"Not exactly," Tara admitted, "I think the spell can give him a soul, but I'm not sure how this works. It's no curse, as you told me it was with Angel."

"I don't care what you call it, as long as it helps Buffy. Just tell me what to do."

*

"Susan, get here at once! I need my systems' administrator around when I'm using the new software."

"Coming." Susan hung up the receiver and got ready to help her boss out with his computer once again.

As she was walking down the corridor, she was greeted by several colleagues. To them, she was kind of mysterious, as she knew how to handle the problems that had driven her forerunners almost insane, and this respect showed in their behaviour towards her.

"Susan, so glad you're here!" Richard gave her a broad smile. "This is Mr Harding, our potential customer from Texas, I just wanted to show him the software when suddenly the whole thing crashed. Mr Harding, this is Susan, my systems' administrator, and the genius who created this programme."

"No problem," she replied. With her professional experience, it took her almost no time to localize the error. "This may take a while, I'm afraid I'll have to reinstall the programme."

"Never mind, meanwhile we'll have some coffee, won't we, Mr Harding. Irene! IRENE!"

But the secretary seemed unavailable.

"IRENE!" Richard yelled, then apologized to his guest, "I'll be right back," and left Susan alone in the office with Mr Harding.

"Doesn't work, huh?" Harding tried to start a conversation.

Susan was concentrated on her job. "Will work soon." She felt Harding stare at her all the time and began to feel uncomfortable.

"And after work?" Harding wanted to know.

"Nothing. Going home." She did not look at him, but went on with her work.

"Have a date for dinner yet?" he asked directly now. "We could go to some nice restaurant, if you like."

At this offer, Susan raised her eyebrows sceptically. "I do not usually mix up my private life with my work, Mr Harding."

"Oh, c'mon, it's high time you start with it! Don't make me beg, Susan."

"I'm sorry, Mr Harding."

The elder man's face went red. "Listen, you're nothing special. And your company wants me to become their customer. So you'd better be nice to me. See you at my hotel tonight, okay?"

Susan straightened her shoulders. "Mr Harding, I regret to tell you, but you're a dinosaur. Business today is no longer run like that. And I'd be grateful if you could let me do my work in peace, now."

However, the Texan millionaire did not give up that easily. He grabbed her arm to turn her around violently, then tried to clasp her waist, tearing at her blouse.

Out of a reflex, Susan used her other hand to unwind his grip. The crashing of bone could be perceived, and Harding whined in pain.

Susan threw him, who was stunned at her remarkable strength, against the wall, his head hitting the concrete very hard, and punched at his chin. Harding sank to the ground, groaning, tasting blood on his lips.

Susan stared at her own hands, still unable to believe she had done this.

Alarmed by the noise, Richard rushed in. "Jesus, what HAPPENED?" he asked in a shock.

"That bitch hit me," Harding pressed from between his bleeding lips, "I'll sue your company!"

"Richard," Susan pleaded, "He got..."

"Get out," Richard said in a low voice, "We'll talk later."

"He tried to..."

"GET OUT!"

Susan fled from the office, away from the colleagues who started gathering around the office to see what was the matter. She closed the bathroom door behind her and leaned against the cool wall, breathing deep.

She had broken Harding's arm with a single hand. The only time in her life she could remember having such strength was... five years ago, she thought and shivered.

Memories flooded her mind. How could she have forgotten? No, she had not forgotten, it was just that other things had occupied her whole attention, her career, everything had been more important than the images of that summer in California.

"No," she whispered, "It can't be this. It's not starting again. I was just the replacement, the probability of being needed once in my life was just zero point five per cent, but TWICE..."

Nevertheless, Susan decided to take the rest of the day off, rush home and make an urgent phone call. Just to make sure.

*

Cordelia closed the back door behind her.

"Thank God I'm here at last," she sighed, taking off the blond wig she had been wearing, "The traffic from Malibu was pure horror, and I was followed by at least four paparazzi on my way to the agency, and I got rid of all of them – but don't ask me how long this took! These guys really keep getting on my nerves." She threw herself into the next chair.

Wesley laughed. "I told you my name was good for your career."

She shrugged. "It's not the name, though I must admit I also like the sound of Cordelia Wyndham Pryce – quite aristocratic. It's my talent that made me rise from secretary to Daytime Award winner! But I'll never get used to the other side of being a VIP." She put her hair in order, then looked around inquiringly. "Where's Angel?"

"I'm here," his voice came from the door.

They had not heard him enter the room, yet they had got used to that.

"Angel!" Cordy's face lit up. "Great! I have important news for you, I already told Wes on the phone." She paused as he showed no reaction. "What? Aren't you curious at all?"

"Wait," Angel said, "They've fired you, and I get back my secretary?"

"Very funny," Cordy complained. "No! Of course not! Well, I'd love to tell you everything, but I'm dying with thirst!"

Wesley rose from the desk and headed for the corridor. "I'll get you some water."

Cordy smiled. "Thanks, love." Then she turned to Angel again. "You know what? I got a call today, they've nominated me for the Daytime Award, the TV oscar! For my brilliant performance as Marjorie in 'Love is forever'. Isn't that GREAT? I'm a star!"

"In a soap opera," Angel remarked.

"No, in a daytime series," Cordy corrected. She virtually danced through the room. "And I got three more offers for new productions, including a small part in the latest James Bond movie. Angel, I'm so happy!"

"That's wonderful, Cordelia," Angel smiled and embraced her.

Cordelia returned the embrace.

"Who else is nominated?" he asked.

"As far as I know, I'm the most likely candidate, the second will probably be Belinda Wilkins of 'Stars over Bay City'. Why?" Cordelia could not explain what made her feel uncomfortable, Angel's question, or the fact that his embrace seemed to tighten around her.

"Because I have to remember to send her my congratulations," he whispered, his hand wandering towards Cordelia's neck.

Every muscle in Cordy's body was tense. The tone of Angel's voice had changed towards something she did not want to think of. She tried to free herself from his grip, but could hardly move.

"Angel," she asked anxiously, "Are you all right? I mean, why would you want to send her congratulations when I'm going to win?"

He chuckled, something he had not done very often, as far as Cordelia could remember. "Because you won't be able to attend and claim your prize. I told you before you were a lousy actress, didn't I."

His words sent shivers through her. "Angel..." she pleaded. He held her away from him so she could get a look of his eyes.

"I see, Cordelia, you haven't forgotten. I was standing over there, in the dark, and you told me a very imaginative story about Holy Water. Too bad that this trick only works once."

Cordelia almost fainted. "Angel, tell me you're kidding! But... this isn't funny at all!"

"Not for you, granted," he replied. "Now you're the actress. Do you seek for eternal youth and beauty as well?"

"Oh my God!" she screamed, "WESLEEEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

*

Susan sounded worried. "I feel I'm getting stronger every minute, my slayer's instincts have almost developed to their full potential again. And they tell me something is wrong, and I'm needed. It is not normal my powers have returned, is it?"

"It is not exactly reassuring," Giles agreed, "Buffy told me the same story yesterday, she felt something was in the air that made her instincts sharpen. And she had nightmares, about Angel. I tried to call Wesley in Los Angeles, but I haven't been able to reach anyone at Angel's office. That is rather unusual, too."

"But Buffy's there to take care of whatever it is, isn't she?"

Giles cleared his voice. "Basically, yes. However, there must be a reason for your being... reactivated. Maybe it means she cannot handle this alone, whatever it is."

"What do you suggest?"

"Can you come here?"

"Should be no problem. After what happened at the office today, Richard said he wanted me to take at least two weeks off till the whole affair has calmed down. I attacked one of our richest clients." She sighed. "Welcome aboard. The emergency exits are..."

"Excuse me?" Giles asked, confused.

"It's all right, Giles. I'm going as soon as possible."

"Inform me about your arrival time. I will meet you at Los Angeles airport."

"I really appreciate that."

*

"She told me she would be on this flight, I don't understand," Giles wondered. He had been watching passengers arriving, however he had not spotted the replacement slayer among them.

A woman came up to him. Her long black hair was floating in the hot summer wind. She was wearing a tight black suit emphasizing the perfect curves of her body, with a leather jacket hung loosely about her shoulders. She had the air of a top model about her at first sight, beside the fact that she was probably slightly too small for a catwalk. "Hope you haven't been waiting for long."

Giles looked at her, puzzled. "You must confuse me with someone."

"No, I don't think so, Giles."

His eyes opened wide as he tried to recognize the woman. "SUSAN???"

Susan smiled. "I know, it's been a while."

"You have... changed."

"I bought some new clothes, yeah..."

"The gang will be... surprised," Giles said.

"Hope so," Susan replied, "Have you been able to reach Angel?"

"Unfortunately not yet. I already left ten messages."

"Then I'd suggest we drop by his office, maybe better than making another futile phone call."

*

The door had been left open. Everything was dark and calm at the agency. Not that it surprised Susan, she had expected a vampire's refuge no different. She entered the office alone, as Giles was still looking for a space to park his car, and was unwilling to risk a ticket.

"Hello?" she asked, but she got no answer. This could not be too surprising either, she had heard Angel's secretary was only helping him occasionally since she now belonged to the regular cast of a daily soap. Her husband Wesley was more or less organising the office alone. And the sun was still setting.

Curiously, Susan looked around. The desk near the window was tidy, almost pedantically organised, very... British, she thought.

She ventured through the empty rooms. She smiled at the rather chaotic desk in the back office. The desk was loaded with documents, which were yet somehow organised around the prominent centerpiece: the photograph of a blond woman. Susan had never met her, but knew it was the slayer, though this had to be an old picture, probably five or six years old. And he still kept it. Fixed to the frame, like a reminder, was a yellow post-it note, just one word written on it. "Shanshu".

Susan did not get the meaning of this, though it was visible it seemed to have an importance for its owner.

"Who let you in?"

The voice was familiar, and Susan turned around. "I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't mean to intrude."

He stood at the doorstep, fixing her with his dark eyes, not looking a single day older than in her memory. Like herself, he was wearing black leather, yet combined with dark red silk. His scent filled the air, as his shadow fell on the floor.

"Hi, Angel."

In his eyes, there was some recognition, but no real knowledge who she was. He seemed to reflect on it, then looked at her inquiringly, as his eyes wandered from her feet up to her face and back, lingering for a moment at the silver belt around her waist.

Susan felt uneasy as he traced her whole body with his eyes, but it also sent excitement through her. "You do recognize me, don't you," she asked reluctantly.

Then he smiled. "I never forget someone who defeated me in combat."

Susan relaxed a little. "I had expected nothing else."

"You've changed, slayer. You're just the shadow of your former self."

She tried not to let the heat rise to her face. "You're exaggerating... Let's change the subject."

"As you wish," he said, making no effort to conceal the disapproval in his words. "I suppose you're not just on vacation."

Susan sighed. "Wish I were! Angel, I've been reactivated."

He looked confused. "You mean --- you have the slayer's powers?"

"Don't worry, Buffy's okay. We don't know why I got them back. In fact, we don't know anything. I just had the clear feeling something was wrong, and as Giles told me, so did Buffy. He was worried because he could not reach you, Wesley or Cordelia, so he met me at the airport, and we came here straight from the plane."

"Giles is here?" Angel asked suspiciously.

"No, he's looking for a parking lot."

Angel seemed relieved. "You must be tired if you just came from the airport. Can I offer you anything?"

"A bed," Susan jested.

Angel never took his eyes off her. His voice was deep and soft, a subtle smile played around his lips as he replied, "That can be arranged."

This was definitely not the answer Susan had expected. The tension was perceptable in the room.

The bell broke the silence.

Susan looked away. "A cup of coffee will do."

Angel pointed at the door. "Suppose that's Giles. I'll open the door, please go straight downstairs to my apartment, the kitchen's on the left."

"Thanks."

*

Susan had found the coffee and was heating the water when Angel entered the kitchen.

"Where's Giles?" she asked.

"That wasn't him," Angel said, "Just a client. I made an appointment for next week."

"I see." She continued to make the coffee. After a while, she asked: "What do you think is ahead of us? Must be some great opponent if the Powers consider it necessary to make me a slayer again." She poured the boiling water into the cup.

"I have no idea," Angel said. Susan was taking the cup to put it on the kitchen table when he added in a low voice, "But I know you'll be even better now than you were five years ago. Do you still remember I said you brought my demon close to the surface when we fought? Fight me, Susan. Make me lose again."

Susan dropped the cup. It broke into a hundred tiny pieces, the coffee flowed over the floor. "Sorry," she apologized and kneeled down on the floor to gather what was left of the cup.

"Broken cockery brings you luck," he said, touching her hand.

Susan jerked away, cutting her skin with the broken china. She cursed silently.

Angel seemed concerned. "You've cut yourself, let me see to it."

"It's nothing," Susan refused, "Small cuts always bleed like hell."

Against her will, Angel took her hand. His reaction to the blood reminded Susan of what he was. Since she had seen him again, she had almost forgotten. She expected him to turn away in embarrassment, what he would have done five years before. But not this time. She was not the only one who had changed. He seemed no longer anxious to hide his instincts, on the contrary, he showed her clearly, as he lifted her hand to his lips.

This was too much. She jumped to her feet and backed away. "I'll go and see what takes Giles so long to..."

"Get here." He was not finishing her sentence. He was commanding.

Susan felt as if she was losing her mind as he pulled her close, enfolding her in his arms, as his lips touched hers. Do you get excited when I touch you in the night? Do you get excited when I meet you every night? You won't let the night pass you by. When your body's hot, the window's open wide. This moment's all you got in this race of life. When you feel the fire is getting close to you, hey baby, you know I'm lonely, too.

She felt passion flood her as she surrendered to the kiss, his kiss, like fire and ice, a kiss she had secretly longed for since the day she first saw him at the library of her home town, and now the reality of it overwhelmed her, shutting away all thought of if and when, timeless, turning her world upside down, freeing her from the shadows, demand, promise, desire, leaving her reduced not to genius, not to slayer, but to a mere woman praying it would never stop and he would hold her forever like this, drowning her, saving her, breaking her world apart and creating it anew, a perfect moment...

and too good to be true. The realization hit her like a shock.

Susan was left almost breathless as she had to mobilize all the strength of a slayer to break the kiss and free herself from the embrace.

"You're not Angel," she said.

Angelus looked at her with faked disappointment. "I should have known, this was too fast for that loser. Well, all right, I'm not him. I was just wondering whether you would notice before or after replacing Buffy in bed as well. Suppose you don't wanna have fun now? Thought so."

Susan hit him with all the strength she had.

Angelus went to the ground, gasping.

"Hope it was good for you, too," Susan remarked sarcastically.

"Guess I feel better than Giles upstairs right now," he retorted.

Susan rushed to the stairs.

"Yeah, go, slayer, and hurry! There are more people I have unfinished business with!"

She hardly saw Angelus move as he reached for the secret entrance to the sewers. She hated to let him escape, but as she did not know what he had done to Giles, she had to.

*

In the hospital's emergency room, Giles was cooling his head with tons of ice. "I should have risked the ticket and come with you in the first place."

Susan hid her face in her hands. "I should have listened to my instincts. They were warning me all the time, it was the way he looked at me, the way he behaved."

"There was no way we could know," Wesley said resigning. He had not yet regained full self-control. "I still don't understand how he lost his soul again! And Cordy... I mustn't think of it... He drained the life out of her and made me watch – with every scream from her, part of me died... the unspeakable terror on her face... her pale skin... I thought ... I thought she was dead!"

Giles put a hand on his shoulder. "The doctors are taking care of her. She'll be alright."

Susan looked at Wesley with resolution. "I will stop him."

Wesley looked doubtful. "But how? Angelus could be anywhere!"

Susan shook her head. "He said something like he had unfinished business with someone. I will find him, he will make me find him."

"How's your hand?" Giles asked.

Susan looked at her hand as if she had never seen it consciously before. "Just a scratch." She tried not to show how she felt, cheated, betrayed at the thought her slayer's blood was strengthening the vampire the very moment she talked, and she still felt his burning kiss. What worried her most was the fact she still longed for that touch. Even now.

*

It never rains in Southern California. One of the many myths that turned out as lies if you looked at them more closely.

Buffy Summers sat alone in the dark, pondering on her life, the rain adding to her depression. Her apartment was in a mess, as usual.

She had lots of work to do, and she would have thought of going on patrol, however she did not make a move.

It was the phone that interrupted her thoughts.

"Hello... where are you? What? Where? I'll be right there."

Buffy grabbed the rain jacket and her keys.

She opened the door.

"Buffy."

Buffy looked at the vampire in surprise. Since they had found out about the chip not working any longer, they had avoided each other. "Spike..."

"Thought we should talk."

Buffy straightened her shoulders. "I'm sorry, I don't have time for you right now, Giles just called, from an LA hospital. He's injured, he didn't wanna talk, I must go."

"You're distracted, you can't drive in this state of mind." Spike took her keys. "I'm driving." He gently put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry. I'm sure it was just a small accident."

Buffy looked at him in confusion. Their relationhip in the past few years had been complicated, sometimes they quarrelled, sometimes they had lost themselves in passion, but there had not been friendship or compassion, as he seemed to show now. Anyway, she had no time to think about it now. Something was wrong in LA. She felt. She knew.

*

Spike stopped the car so abruptly Buffy almost hit the windscreen. "WHAT?" she shouted.

Spike just said, "You should fasten your seat-belt, Buffy, it's dangerous to go without." Then he stormed out in the rain.

Buffy watched through the window panes what had attracted his attention. An elderly lady was standing next to her car, her clothes soaked with rain. She had a breakdown and had desperately been trying to make another car stop on the freeway to help her out. In this weather an impossibility.

Buffy's confusion grew while she was watching him change the tyre for the lady, then return to the car to get her his jacket. Normally, Spike would have increased his speed as he drove past the lady's car, and now he stopped to help a complete stranger.

"What's wrong with you?" Buffy asked aggressively when he returned.

"Buffy, we couldn't possibly have left her like that, alone in the rain with a broken car."

Buffy shook her head. "I don't get this. Never mind. Go on. It's still a long way."

*

Buffy stormed into the emergency room, followed by Spike.

"Giles!"

Giles rose from the chair, obviously still in pain. "Buffy. You needn't have come."

"What happened?" Buffy looked around. "Hi, Wesley. Where's Cordelia?"

Wesley did not reply.

"Where's Angel?"

No one said a word.

Giles pointed at Susan. "Buffy, this is Susan --- the replacement slayer."

Buffy did not understand anything any more. "The... what?"

"Spike. Still here." Susan said in a watchful, almost threatening tone.

Spike embraced her heartily. "It's good to see you again, slayer. How are you? I'm a bit worried, you look like you're working too much. You sure you get enough to eat?"

Susan stared at the vampire, disbelieving. "What have you been drinking lately?"

Spike laughed. "Oh, the chip, you mean. I hardly noticed. I don't need it. I'm not a wild beast, after all. But I'm forgetting what matters. Buffy, love, this must be strange to you."

Buffy looked disoriented.

"I'll explain," Spike told her, trying to sound calm and reassuring. "We should go to some better place, though. I'll check out where the cafeteria is, okay? I'll be right back."

Giles sought Buffy's eyes, his face a question mark. He lowered his voice. "So the two of you are... back together? He seems so caring!"

"I don't understand it either, Giles," Buffy admitted, "Yesterday we fought because I came just in time to stop him from draining the mailman, and today he's suddenly like that! On the way from Sunnydale, he stopped three times to help people with breakdowns on the freeway, when we got to the hospital he carried an old lady in a wheelchair up the stairs because the elevator was out of order, and he took a small boy to the information desk because he had lost his mom! He's so good it's almost repugnant! But we have other matters to discuss. You didn't answer my question. What's going on?"

*

The roar of the audience was heard even backstage. Almost half of Iowa seemed to have attended the opening concert of the US tour. Mona had never imagined it to be that strenuous. Yet she was glad he had joined her boyfriend on the tour, for it would give her the opportunity to visit some old friends. His Dutch manager and the advisors of Asmodis, as her boyfriend now called himself, had warned him that choosing Iowa as the starting point of the tour might spoil his image, that the conservative country population might feel offended by an artist who had chosen a demon's name as his nom de plume, but she had insisted, and so the matter was decided. And she had been right. They loved him.

Mona did not take the time to knock as she entered his dressing room. A mistake.

"I don't believe this!" she shouted and turned back.

"Wait! That was nothing at all, just an embrace between friends. I kissed her on the CHEEK only!"

The blond woman rushed from his embrace and fled from the room.

"Don't bother, I understand!" Mona shouted. "I suspected it for months! I just hadn't thought you'd go that far to push your career. I should have known she did not help you into the business because the Dutch are so generous and artistic."

"We're just colleagues! Angie's just my manager!"

"Sure! I bet you're telling her I'm just your songwriter!" She rushed into her own dressing room, tearing her suitcase from the closet and throwing clothes into it.

"Where are you going?"

"Meddling with the country population. Don't try to find me! I have a crisis, so I'm writing another bestselling novel! Those lyrics were getting on my nerves anyway."

*

"Don't you think you're exaggerating?" Tasha asked, "I'm sure they are nothing but friends."

"Maybe you're right and I'm overreacting. I'll call him later. But would you mind if I stayed with you a bit longer? I feel I truly need some time to relax, seeing something different, writing something other than lyrics for the next CD."

"Of course! I'm glad to have you here. Stay as long as you wish."

Riley did not seem too happy, however he did not dare to protest. He often had the feeling Tasha's friend did not truly appreciate their marriage, thought his wife had deserved someone better, and she often seemed overly intellectual to him, half of the time he did not understand what she meant. But Tasha's friends were his friends, had to be, and therefore were welcome to his home as well.

Riley Finn was not aware of the shadow of destiny hanging over him when he went to bed that night, did not know it would be the last night in a long time he should find a sound sleep, had no idea of the horrors that were in store for him, did not feel the dark presence that was drawing him inexorably towards his terrible fate...

*

Buffy was glad she was sitting. "And all that happened while I was in hopital? And no one considered it necessary to tell me?"

"We didn't want to upset you. You were injured, you needed rest," Giles tried to explain.

"It's so typical of you!" Buffy said, obviously disapproving. She sighed. "So, that was five years ago. Now I understand what made Riley break up and get married so shortly afterwards. And I thought it was my fault all these years. I reproached myself for treating him as a substitute for..." She stopped her speech. "Spike, don't you wanna add anything? You haven't said a word for at least ten minutes. Are you alright?"

Spike apologized. "I'm so sorry, love, I never told you. I was different then. I was a rogue. My God, I have a strong wish to contact Mona and Tasha to apologize. What have I done? I was impolite, more than that. I was a criminal. I DRUGGED them! And... oh my God, Susan, do you happen to have Mona's number? I must tell her I'm sorry."

Susan just smiled. "I don't think she is."

Spike seemed totally embarrassed and looked for some place to hide.

Buffy did not understand that for the very life of her.

"Long story," Susan told her.

"I don't get it," the slayer said, "And actually I don't care about details. Just the facts. I understand that you're my replacement, and you have the slayer's powers now, without knowing why. And you came here to help us. But you haven't told me what happened after you arrived, why are we at hospital, what happened to Giles' head and to Cordelia? Where is Angel?"

There was again the uncomfortable silence in the room. It alarmed Buffy.

Wesley was the first to speak. "Buffy, you have to be strong now."

"No!" she screamed, "Don't tell me! I don't wanna know!"

"Angelus," Giles said.

"No!" Tears were streaming down her face, but Buffy did not care, did not even notice. "He can't! He has a soul!"

"I took him for Angel," Wesley replied, avoiding Buffy's eyes, "I left him alone with Cordelia. He almost killed her. And me. The only reason he didn't was he heard someone in his office."

"Me," Susan added.

Buffy stared at her. "How long have you been here?"

"Just a few hours. Why?"

"The curse! You bloody bitch, you seduced him!"

Spike had to hold Buffy back, to prevent her from attacking Susan.

"No, Buffy," he said, "He already was Angelus when she arrived, she's nothing to do with it."

"I swear there was nothing between us," Susan assured her, "I definitely did not seduce Angel." He almost seduced me, but that is another matter.

"He is Angelus, you KNEW and you let him ESCAPE?" Buffy yelled, "No wonder you're just the replacement!"

"She had to let him go because she wanted to help me," Giles tried to calm the angry slayer, "She probably saved Cordelia's life!"

"Oh." Buffy fell silent. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Susan said. "I understand that must be hard for you. I think that's why I'm here. I'm not your competitor, Buffy. I want to be your friend."

"We're all tired and tense," Spike said, "It's no use trying to make a plan right now. The night is almost over. We should get some sleep, and then return to Sunnydale tomorrow. Then we can handle the problem more reasonably and efficiently. At day, Angelus can't do harm anyway."

Giles agreed and still wondered at the change of the vampire.

*

Angelus had found a remote and dark dwelling where he would not be disturbed till dusk. He knew he would rest, but did not feel the need to. The vampire felt the slayer's blood awaken his senses, increasing his strength, both mental and physical. If these few drops only could do this, what a difference would it make if he got a reasonable amount? He still tasted her blood, sweet and rich with adrenaline. Part of her had known he wasn't Angel. Her instincts had recognized the demon in him all the time. Yet she had let him take her hand and drink her blood, had returned his deadly kiss. She had felt the danger – and despised it. "We're not through yet, Susan," he said aloud. She wanted fire – she would get fire, he would make her burn.

What a child Buffy Summers was compared to her. Yet the jerk from Iowa had dared to touch his, the Demon King's, property. Big mistake. And he had cheated her and broken up with her while she was in hospital. Bigger mistake. If she was anyone's whore, then his, certainly not Riley Finn's. Angelus decided to prepare a particular surprise before he would set out for Iowa. Yet he could not go at once --- he still had unfinished business at Sunnydale, too...

*

The gang had assembled in the magic shop, as usual. After the courtesies had been exchanged, and Anya had chided Xander for staring at Susan all the time, Giles began to recount the events of the preceding night.

"Our problem is, we don't know where he's heading," he closed, "or what to do if we find him."

Buffy looked as if she had not slept at all. Spike held her in his arms, as if trying to protect her.

"It's clear," Xander said aggressively, "We've let him get away with it once. This time I would gladly stake him myself if Buffy doesn't have the guts to!"

"You're so cruel," Spike protested, "He's not responsible for his actions. It is the demon, the lack of soul. We must try to help him, to cure him from the blindness. I was blind as well. We know he will repent, we must support him. It is not hatred he needs, but compassion."

Xander stared at Spike, totally baffled. "What? Spike, are you insane? You don't seem like yourself today!"

Buffy raised her head. "What did you say?"

"I said Spike seemed like someone else today. He's so... nice!"

"Yeah," Buffy said thoughtfully, "He reminds me of someone I know..." She thought of Angel and burst into tears again, hiding her face at Spike's shoulder.

"Shsh," he tried to comfort her.

Buffy looked up at him through her tears, suddenly wholly attentive. "WHAT did you say?"

Spike seemed confused. "Actually, I don't know if you can call it SAYing. I tried to calm you."

"That's exactly it --- you've never done this before."

"Buffy, I clearly remember I did so before. Don't you remember the day Faith first killed a human being? How I tried to..."

"That wasn't you, that was Angel!"

"No," Spike protested, "I still see it before me..." He stopped abruptly.

"I never told you," Buffy said, breathless.

"True..." He saw the slayer with different eyes. His voice sank to a mere whisper. "Buffy, this is important. Can you remember... we were followed by Dru's minions, it was raining, your clothes soaked, we just made it to my apartment, I was afraid you might catch a cold, and there was an injury on your shoulder, and it was your..." His eyes opened wide in disbelief. "It was your birthday... That doesn't seem my memory. But I still see it with my own eyes, as if I had been there... Though I know I can't have been, I didn't even have the chip then. Help me, Buffy. I don't know if it was real... I'm so confused... I mean... what I did to you... what I did to the world... not even a saint could make up for all this pain... I didn't think I'd ever say this, but... my feelings, they're so intense, I've never felt before... I can't explain, yet... I love you, Buffy Anne Summers."

Instead of an answer, the slayer embraced him. She closed her eyes, ignoring the others, who tried not to look at them.

Finally she whispered: "You've got a soul, Spike. You've got Angel's soul."

Willow heard it as well. "Oh-oh."

Susan turned to the witch at once. "What do you mean, oh-oh?"

"I mean... nothing."

"Willow, if you know anything about this, tell us! We got no time. You've met Angelus, you know what he's like," the replacement slayer insisted. Though I bet you don't know how sexy he is... I really shouldn't think so.

Willow seemed afraid Buffy and Susan might strike her dead. "I didn't mean to do this... All my concern was for your happiness, Buffy!"

"My happiness? I don't understand."

"The chip... without it, Spike was going to be a full vampire again, a killer, and there would have been no future for you two. And then I talked to Tara."

"TARA?"

"She told me about a spell."

"What did she say?" Giles inquired, in the most strict tone he was able to produce.

"Well... now we KNOW how it works, Tara..." Willow murmured.

*

"Students are a pest." The caretaker of the UC Sunnydale had spent the afternoon removing chewing gums from the desks in the auditorium maximum.

If he was lucky, he would soon be rid of this nasty job. He had always regarded it as a springboard, but he had worked here for five years, and he was still the caretaker. However, he thought he had a good perspective if his application at the waste treatment plant was accepted.

He locked the auditorium and thought of his future with anticipation. Walking down the empty corridors, he saw his reflection in a window. He could have been a university professor. Well, after all, at least he was still good-looking.

"Mr Abrams, I suppose."

Parker shrank away. He had not heard anyone coming. Behind him, there was a visitor. Strange. A visitor at this time?

"Yes?"

"My name is Gordo. The waste treatment plant sent me. We have received your application, and we still have a few questions."

Parker smiled. "Of course."

"So, you're the caretaker."

"Yes. I've worked here for five years."

"According to our information, you were a student here first. We would like to know what happened."

Parker smiled apologetically. "Well, I changed my plans. I considered experience in the working world more important for the formation of my character than discussing philosophy in a purely academic context. But working with my hands was a therapy I owe my mental health to."

"Working with your hands. Collecting garbage. Repairing a disfunctional toilet. You can be honest, Mr Abrams. You failed in a few exams and were finally exmatriculated."

"I had different priorities." He raised his eyes towards the sky, putting on the melancholic look he used to employ to lure clueless girls to his bed in their freshman year. "I believe the key event was my father's death. It showed me what a poor consolation theory is."

The stranger agreed. "I know, such a tragic loss can change your life. I also lost my father when I was about your age."

"Did you really?"

"I was merely twenty-six. Was a horrible experience. I was lucky to have a girlfriend who helped me overcome the crisis. Do you happen to have a girlfriend? Are you married, Mr Abrams? You have to know, moral values are most important in our line of business."

"To be honest, Mr Gordo," Parker declared pathetically, "I haven't met the right woman yet. Sometimes I wonder if I chose rightly to live in celibacy, but one day I will look back and say it was worth the wait."

"You haven't met the right woman... yeah. Suppose sleeping with the Dean's daughter when you were only lacking one failure in examination before having to leave university was detrimental to your acedemic career... surely not the right woman."

Parker was shocked. Which direction was this conversation going to? And how did that man know about the affair?

"And she wasn't the only one, am I right, Mr Abrams? I may call you Parker, right? We have so much in common. We even have a girlfriend in common. I could tell you her name, but I'm sure you wouldn't remember anyway.

Parker considered this was getting weird. He decided to stop this conversation, even if it meant not getting the job. "Listen, I don't know what you're hinting at, and you know what, I don't care any more! If you don't want an honest, hard-working man with a high standard of ethics for your company, fine."

"Do you know what really is a pity, Parker?"

"No."

"That I've never worked as a garbage collector." Angelus sighed. "Perhaps then my character would be flawless. I'm afraid I'm one of those ruthless intellectuals. But now you've shown me the right way, now I see the light! Working with my hands, that is what I need. Thank you, Parker. I had almost started analyzing why you slept with my girlfriend and then threw her away like a used can. But you taught me that action speaks louder than words - so I'll simply have to kill you."

*

They were doing research. They had not moved away from the old and dusty books for hours. Willow knew Tara was doing the same in Paris at the moment. She had shouted at her, they had had a terrible row when Willow told her about the failure of her spell. If Tara ever would talk to her again would depend on whether they found something to reverse the spell. But who could have guessed the spell would take another soul away to give Spike one?

Xander grabbed the remote control and sat down on the floor in front of Giles' TV. "I need a break," he said. "Hey, the Simpsons are on!"

Nobody objected, though Buffy gave him a disapproving look.

"That's unfair! Once I turn on the TV, they're having a commercial!" He switched the channel.

"... though the First Lady emphasized she supported her children, the scandal of the President's daughters is still continuing. The President's daughters had posed in one of America's well-known porn magazines, as a protest against his Far East policy. Sunnydale, California."

"Local news. Louder!" Giles said.

"A cruel case of mutilation took place tonight in a normally calm and innocent small town community in the Golden State."

"Calm and innocent, I can't help but laugh!" Buffy said.

"Mr Parker A., caretaker at the University of California at Sunnydale, was mutilated in a merciless way after work in the early evening hours. He is currently being treated at Sunnydale Memorial Hospital. The police is looking for a tall white man between 25 and 35 years, who was described as particularly good-looking by witnesses. According to Mr A., who still is in a shock, he showed an especially sadistic behavior and introduced himself by the false name of Mr Gordo."

"Now doesn't that sound familiar?" Susan asked. "I just don't understand why he didn't kill that guy."

"I don't know," Buffy said slowly, "But Mr Gordo, that was a message for me, I suppose."

A knock at the door interrupted her reflections.

It was a parcel delivery service.

"Does a Buffy Summers live here?"

"No," Giles said, "But she is indeed here."

"I have an urgent delivery for her. Please sign here."

Giles took the parcel and handed it to Buffy.

Reluctantly, Buffy removed the paper around the box. She opened it and turned away in disgust immediately.

Giles looked at the content. "I... I'll get some ice and call Sunnydale Memorial."

Curiously, Susan stepped nearer. "Oh... I see. That is a detail they didn't give the press."

"What is it?" Willow asked.

"A gift from Angelus," Susan said sarcastically. "They talked about mutilation... well... suppose one could call it that."

"Is there a card attached?" Anya asked innocently.

Buffy's reply was pure sarcasm. "Sure, would be too plain without one. It says: TILL WE MEET AGAIN. YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED. I'd better not ask to what."

Susan took her jacket.

"Where are you going?"

"Checking out the parcel service. I'm sure he left traces."

"I'm coming with you," Spike offered.

"No, you're not. You stay here with Buffy and the others. I'll call you as soon as I know more. You keep researching spells."

*

Angelus had indeed left traces. As if he had wanted her to find him. After a moment's reflection, Susan decided against calling the others. Besides Buffy, they would not be a help, and in her current state, the slayer was far too emotional for such a mission. And she did not have time. He was sure to be on his way, wherever. He would not stay near Sunnydale for too long.

Susan's research led her to an abandoned factory building. Perfect if you wanted to avoid daylight.

Cautiously, she entered the building, concentrating on the cellar level.

A huge door attracted her attention. It was so obviously a hiding it was likely to be a trap. She kicked the door open.

"Hasn't your mother told you to knock before you enter someone's room? I could have been naked," the vampire greeted her.

"Would have been horrible, really. Hello, Angelus."

"Hello... slayer." Angelus smiled at her and offered her a seat.

"I prefer standing," Susan said.

"As you like. I could also offer you my bed, if that's what you're asking."

She tried to show him contempt. "You think you have a great sense of humour."

"Don't you agree?"

"Your little gift for Buffy – how thoughtful of you."

Angelus shrugged, uncaring."Parker is a trespasser on my territory. He should be grateful -
I could have killed him."

"Now you've castrated him instead. You knew he would suffer more that way."

"And it bleeds like hell," he added. "By the way, talking of blood, how's your hand?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, the wound has closed already."

"You've come without your army?"

"Did you think I was afraid of you?"

"Why are you here, slayer? Do you want to talk, or try to kill me?"

Susan faked disappointment. "Oh... no foreplay, you guys are all the same." She drew a stake and attacked.

All too soon she realized the situation was strikingly different from the fight she used to have with Angel five years ago. Sure, she was faster, more skillful, yet Angelus had her blood running through his veins, he was stronger than ever.

Not only did he wind the stake from her hand, he threw it at the wall with so much power it was shattered to pieces. Susan moved as if she had trained for months. Angelus tried to get hold of her arm, but she evaded his move and turned his arm over. He did not make a sound, though it had to be painful even for a vampire.

Angelus aimed at her side with his leg and hit her hard, Susan felt a burning pain, forbidding herself to scream. That gave her the moment she needed to parry his next strike and react accordingly. She pretended wanting to hit his face. The vampire raised his arms, leaving the lower regions of his body unguarded.

Susan could hardly believe her luck when she succeded in hitting him where it really had to hurt. "Parker's a fool, but that was for him!"

She tried to draw another stake, but he was faster and struck her over the face. Susan fell backwards, managing to regain her balance in the very last moment, yet feeling blood trickling down from her lip. She heard his arrogant laughter.

Stars still dancing before her eyes, trying desperately to regain orientation, she hissed, "Bastard!"

"Bitch," he replied and rushed at her.

Susan tried to avoid the attack, and then --- there was the wall.

Angelus right before her, the wall behind her.

"To use your words, slayer: Hope it was good for you, too," he said, full of himself, pressing her against the impenetrable stones behind her so hard her shoulderblades hurt. "What are you gonna do now? Or rather, what am I gonna do now?"

He was watchful. She had no chance to move. She was weakened by combat, he was angered by insult and strengthened by her blood. There was no way she could defeat him now. It was over.

Susan was not willing to give him the pleasure he was anticipating, she would not cry, she would not beg for her life. It was pointless, anyway. He would torture her, slowly, painfully, drain her, kill her. If she was lucky.

The vampire was getting impatient. "What, you've lost your speech?"

"Talking to an ignorant bastard like you is no use," she said.

"Try me. Try to convince me why I shouldn't kill you."

She shook her head. "It's not worth it."

"You're not realizing your situation, slayer."

"I'm perfectly aware of my situation, I assure you." At least I'm aware that I'm losing my mind. You'll kill me any moment, and all I can think of is how deep your eyes are, and how I feel each muscle of your body as you force me against the wall.

"Don't try to impress me, it won't work. I know you're not that cool and determined. I can smell it." His hand went up against her head, she knew the gesture from vampires, had often seen it in combat. They used it to finish an enemy off quickly. Should he have so much mercy? At least her death would be fast and rather painless – he would break her neck.

"Close your eyes," he said.

"No," Susan refused, "I want you to look in my face as you kill me."

He pushed her head to the maximum her spine could take. "Close. Your. Eyes."

Angelus' face was unreadable. What difference would it make?

Abandoning thought, she closed her eyes.

She only realized she had full freedom of movement minutes after she had flung herself in his arms, after she had felt his fingers running through her hair, as he kissed the blood away from her injured lips. Later she never knew how she suddenly felt soft satin sheets instead of a cold stone wall under her skin. She was caressing her death enemy, a soulless vampire she was bound to destroy, and who had after all no more the strength to kill her than she had to drive a stake into his heart. Like from far away, she heard something heavy hitting the ground, and at the same time felt less encumbered (it took her weeks until she was able to return to the room to get her things), then the sound of cloth torn apart. [Devil, you have no idea how expensive polo-necks are!]

"You should have killed me when you could," she said, catching her breath.

"I knew you would suffer more this way."

His lips were moving over her neck, right above the aorta. Part of her could not believe she allowed it without even the slightest attempt to fight.

"Suffering, is that all you can think of?"

A silent scream went through her mind as his fangs grazed the surface of her skin. Then he looked at her from his fully vamped out face with fiery eyes. "Not suffering." He pinned her down on the sheets violently. "Desire is."

Desire. Thousands of movies had been made, even more books had been written about it, crimes committed in its name, yet none she could think of would ever provide an explanation for these forces, primal, as old as mankind, lying beneath the surface of so-called civilisation, only released by maybe one in a million couples. Everyone longed for finding the one who would awaken them – why did it have to be a vampire?

As if he guessed her thoughts, Angelus asked: "You still with me?"

"They want to return your soul."

"They can't."

"They will."

"You'll prevent."

"Why?"

"You know."

"Tell me."

"Desire."

"Desire?"

"The old story. No matter if slayer or demon."

Opposite forces were fighting over Susan, desire and pride, passion and honor, woman and slayer. She kissed her death angel, knowing it had to be the last time, for now and forever.

"You're right. If I stay for one more minute, it won't matter." With these words, she fled from his embrace and ran to the door.

Angelus made no attempt to stop her. "You can't change me, and you have to accept it. You'll come back to finish off what you've set in motion. But you'll always wonder anxiously if I still want you then."

"If you do, it will kill us both."

*

"Why didn't you call?" Giles asked, upset, when Susan returned to Giles' house to report. "I worried!"

"Sorry, mom," she said sullenly.

"Have you had any luck?" Buffy wanted to know. She watched the other slayer suspiciously. Her hair was wet from a shower, she wore different clothes that were of a shining white color, and a silk shawl.

"No," Susan lied, "I couldn't find evidence. I stopped the search because it was getting late."

"I see. That's why you had time for a shower. Giles, could you leave us for a moment?"

The former watcher was about to protest, but Buffy looked as if she was not to tolerate objections. So he left.

"Where's Spike?" Susan asked.

Despite the situation, Buffy smiled. "Buying ice-cream for me." Then she was serious again. "You saw him. Don't deny it, I know."

"You're right, I was there," Susan said shortly, trying to leave for the kitchen.

Buffy stepped in her way. "Why didn't you call? It was foolish to go alone! He could have killed you!"

"He could," Susan confirmed, "But I can handle him."

With a quick movement, Buffy tore away the shawl and exposed the wounds on Susan's neck. "Do you understand this by 'handling him'? You let him bite you!"

"Just like you," Susan remarked.

"THAT was a completely different thing!"

"Why?"

Buffy looked as if she wanted to fight. "Because I'm The Slayer!"

Susan was in no mood to justify her actions to anyone. "So am I."

"Why did he let you leave? Did you sleep with him?"

"Are you talking from experience?"

It was hard for Buffy to control her temper. "Partly," she admitted, "Angel's dark side can be quite convincing. Don't let him drag you along. How am I supposed to be your friend if you don't trust me, Susan?"

How was Susan to explain to her that it was basically this dark side that attracted her? Would the other girl ever understand? Slowly she realized there could only be one winner in this race, Angel or Angelus. Angel was her friend. True. And yet, Angelus was to her what Angel would never be. She knew whose side Buffy was on. But on whose side was Susan?

"Was it at least worth it?" Buffy asked, "Did you find anything useful?"

"Im not sure," Susan admitted. "I talked to him about Parker."

"You did... what? Talk to Angelus?"

"Well, at least I tried. He called Parker a trespasser on his territory."

"If that was his motive, I don't want to think of what he will do to Riley. Pack your bags, Susan."

"Iowa?"

"Iowa."

*

Riley enjoyed having the spacious house for himself all day. There was nothing for him to do in the fields, the day belonged to him, for Tasha and Mona had left early for the marketplace. It was a long ride to the nearest town, so they had set out before sunset. Riley, as a farmer's son, was used to getting up early and wished them a pleasant day. He jogged around the estate for half an hour before he returned, first to have a shower, then to the kitchen to have a nutritious breakfast. He loved this habit – this way, you did not waste your whole day, but used your time efficiently so you could concentrate on the vital issues in life as soon as the sun was up.

The door-bell rang. Tasha had probably forgotten her handbag again, with her money and keys. How often had he told her to put a note near the door so she could not leave without? What would she do without him?

Shaking his head, but still in a good mood, Riley went to open the door.

"How often have I told you..." As the door stood open, he recognized his visitor. "Angel," he said with surprise.

"Good morning to you, Riley. It has been a long time."

Riley nodded. "What leads you here?"

"I have important news for you. Don't you want to invite me in?"

Riley hesitated. "You should have called. See, we already have a visitor. Mona's here."

"No problem, I'm not staying, the sun will be up soon, anyway. Come on, Finn, you do have a few minutes, don't you?"

Riley remembered his first encounter with the vampire too well to ask him in without premeditation. On the other hand, their last cooperation five years ago had not been a total failure. "Nothing serious, I hope," Riley said.

"No, not at all! Everything's perfect! I'm just here because I wanted to invite you, and I have a few questions on how you organized your wedding."

"Our wedding?"

"Yeah, my fiancée is quite romantic, so I came to learn from the best."

"YOU are getting married?" Riley was becoming more and more curious. "Someone I know?"

"Not Buffy, if that's what you thought. We're just old friends. I already sent her a small gift with my invitation. So, can I come in?"

One of Tasha's cats approached, curiously. She stroke around the visitor's legs, then withdrew with a shriek.

Riley watched it with uneasiness. "Well... no, I don't think so. Your story sounds odd, and Kitty is disturbed some way."

"You're watchful, huh?" Angelus said. "I'm not angry, I understand, considering your experiences. But I was just asking because I'm so polite. Nice doormat, by the way."

In a shock, Riley looked at the classical American doormat:

WELCOME

FEEL LIKE HOME

Angelus entered the house and knocked Riley out.

*

Mary Theresa V. could hardly stand the heat of the late Iowa summer. She should have called her daughter, Tasha could have met her at the airport. Yet she had been reluctant to do so, and had finally decided against it, since they had only had poor contact for the past five years. It had been hard on her mother that her virtuous child had married an outsider without her family's or the congregation's consent. She had never met Riley Finn, however the fact that he was unwilling to give up his traditional Baptist background and become a witness, had been enough for her to refuse attending her daughter's wedding. All Tasha's reassurances that there was a stable congregation at her village, and that she truly loved Riley, had been in vain. Her heart had hardened against her daughter, who for the first time in her life had insisted on going through with something despite her mother's disapproval, until... in fact, it was Daniel who had made her break the silence. Visiting from Bangladesh, he had confronted her with his native Bangladeshi fiancée. She had raged against him, reproached him, but when she had finally got to know the girl, she had slowly begun to change her mind. It was Daniel who had convinced her to make her peace with her daughter as well. But how could she have phoned after all this time? If she wanted to talk things over, she would have to meet her face to face.

Besides, this would give her the opportunity to finally meet her son-in-law, of whom she had stubbornly even refused photographs. Mary Theresa could not help it. She had to enter the house and hope her daughter was there. As far as she knew, Riley spoke not a word of German, and her own English was poor.

She tried the door-bell.

*

Angelus was disturbed in his plans with Riley by the sound of the bell. Reluctantly, he went to the door. He saw an elderly woman with two suitcases. If he did not mistake the family likeness, it had to be some relation of Tasha's. Well, this could be fun. He opened the door.

"Can I help you, Madam?" he inquired politely.

"Oh... I wont to sea my dotter... Tasha...?" she tried to make herself understood.

Angelus' face turned into a broad smile. He switched into her native language immediately. "I'm afraid she's not here, she's gone to town with a friend of hers," he replied in perfect modern day German. Sometimes Angel was good for something – after what had happened five years ago, he had taken measures to get up to date with his foreign languages. Knowledge Angelus could use now.

"I'm relieved you speak my language," Mary Theresa answered, glad to switch back to her mother tongue, "I'm sorry we have never been introduced. I'm Tasha's mom. Actually, I've come to talk things over with my daughter, and of course, with you, Mr Finn. We all make mistakes."

Angelus was puzzled for a moment – how could anyone take him for Riley Finn???? -, but he did not show his surprise. He smiled and took her suitcases. "I'm so happy we meet at last. Please, come in. I'll take care of your baggages. Tasha will be so glad to see you. She suffered a lot from the long separation, Mrs V..."

"Please, we're one family. Call me Mary Theresa."

She did not notice the vicious note in his voice when he said, gathering all his charms and enchanting her with his manners and appearance, "Then call me Riley. I insist."

*

Tasha and Mona had great difficulty carrying the bags from town. "Riley! Honey, I'm home!" Tasha called, "Could you help us with the bags, love?"

No reply.

"Strange," Tasha said, "No Riley, and no cats. My babies should be hungry by now, they always get their food at six o'clock p.m. sharp. But today was such a long day!"

"It was," Mona agreed, "I hadn't planned either to stay there till evening. Time flies." She closed the front door with her foot, walking towards the kitchen with Tasha.

Tasha stopped abruptly as she noticed a familiar figure in the living room.

"MOM?" she asked in disbelief.

"Little one," her mother said, touched.

Mona discretely took the bags to the kitchen, giving them a few minutes alone, before she returned to the living room.

When she came back, Tasha and her mother were seated on the sofa, almost dissolved in tears of joy.

"You remember Mona," Tasha said.

"Sure," her mother said sourly [Had Tasha still not given up seeing that woman?], but not wanting to interfere with her long lost child again.

"Hi, Mrs V. This is a surprise. What led you to Iowa?"

"Mom came here to talk, and to meet Riley," Tasha told her enthusiastically.

"He's so kind," Mary Theresa told them, "He's upstairs, preparing a guest room for me. And he never gave me insult, though I disregarded him as my son-in-law for five years..." She broke off, embarrassed.

"That's over now," Tasha added softly.

"He was so polite, such a nice, charming man," her mother continued, "It was such a warm welcome. He's so educated, almost intellectual, he has so many ideas about the world, more than I had expected of a farmer's son."

Educated? Mona thought. Well, Riley had a highschool diploma, but what did that say? He also had a college diploma, but he had finished his studies in Iowa, with a sports scholarship, so what did that say? She personally did not consider Riley an intellectual. Obviously Tasha's mother did. Whatever made her happy!

Tasha seemed to think the same. "Well, he's not exactly a college professor, but... I guess you're right, he has a good general knowledge."

"And he's so charming, no wonder you fell for him at first sight. Though I must tell you a handsome face does not account for a flawless character. Yet, if you permit your old mother the remark, your husband is extremely good-looking."

Mona was a bit puzzled. Riley was not her type, she had accepted Tasha's choice, but who would consider Riley Finn a knockout?

"Oh... do you think so?" Tasha asked in astonishment. Granted, Riley was not ugly, but he was not Sir Galahad either.

Tasha's mother had not yet reached the end of her panegyrics. "He does a lot of sports, doesn't he?"

"Well... he goes jogging."

"Ah... however, little one, what surprised me most was how well you taught him German in five years."

Tasha was confused. "I didn't know Riley speaks any foreign language at all! Mom, excuse my asking, but are you sure you did not imagine that part? I think you are exaggerating, just a little, I mean, Riley is a good husband, but..."

Her mother was about to protest, when Angelus entered the room. "Ask him yourself, little one, here he is," Mary Theresa announced proudly.

Angelus greeted the three women with a broad grin. "Your room is ready, waiting for you, mom," he said, then turned to Tasha. "As I see, my loving wife has returned."

"Angel," Tasha said with surprise.

"I understand you're happy in your marriage," her mother interfered, "But you really shouldn't call him an angel, a good Christian does not believe in superstitious legends of supernatural beings."

Tasha ignored her. "Angel, what are you doing here? Where is my husband?" she demanded.

"You could say he was busy," Angelus replied viciously.

Mona's face went pale. "Tasha," she gasped.

Tasha ignored her as well. "You should have called, Angel," she reproached him, "How are we supposed to have room for three visitors at the same time?"

"TASHA," Mona tried to stop her, looking around for something wooden.

"And why did you tell my mother you were Riley? Why do you call her mom? Is that supposed to be funny? Really, Angel, I..."

"HE'S NOT ANGEL!" Mona shouted desperately, losing her self-control, "He must be Angelus!"

Angelus gave her a look of mocked admiration. "You've always been a fast learner, Mona, haven't you? Congratulations, not even Susan realized that until she had almost let me ... but let's leave it there."

"Susan?" Mona asked, suddenly very frightened.

"Yeah, the cute little replacement slayer. No, don't worry, she's all right. Perhaps a bit... needy, that's all. At least until now."

"What did you do to Riley?" Tasha yelled at him.

His evil smile replaced the answer.

Tasha raised her hand to slap him, but Angelus caught it and almost broke her arm, making her whimper in pain.

He shook his head. "You should have been cleverer than to try this." His eyes met Mona's. "And you, don't look around for something you could use as a stake. You'd be dead before you could even rise from the sofa."

Mona shuddered. She decided it would be wiser to stay where she was.

Tasha was not that reasonable. "When Susan's done with you, you will regret!"

His eyes flashed. "When I'm done with her, I will have hit her so hard she'll scream for peace." He let go of Tasha's arm, tossing her back to the sofa.

"I don't get this," Tasha's mother complained.

"He's a killer, he's probably murdered Riley," Mona replied in a low voice. Not low enough for the vampire not to hear. He glared at her. "What do you think I am, a wild beast? No, Mona, I'm civilized. Of course our precious Riley is still alive. However..."

Though Tasha seemed to ease a little at the assurance, Mona felt even more uneasy. She understood Angelus was playing with them, and probably with Susan. They could only hope to survive until Susan would come to their rescue. She closed her eyes, hoping Tasha would be wise enough to shut up, not to take the challenge.

She was not.

"However... WHAT?" Tasha asked.

Angelus chuckled, as if she was going exactly where he wanted her.

"However," he continued, "I don't think you want him back, do you? Your mom readily accepted me as your husband, why don't you follow her example?"

Tasha's face went white with anger. "How can you say that?"

"Your cluelessness is cute, somehow," Angelus replied, "I bet you went to the altar as virgin... oh, no, sorry, I keep forgetting Jehova's witnesses have no altar. Oh, and I also keep forgetting you let Riley fuck you before you were married."

The color of Tasha's face went from white to deep red.

"Is that true?" Mary Theresa asked in a shock.

She seemed to find the fact more severe than that they were at the mercy of a demon who might kill them all any instant.

"You can't prove it," Tasha retorted, angry, but more insecure than before.

"You seem such a good girl." His voice had sunk to a velvet tone that made Mona shiver, as she saw how he was stalking her friend. Yet she dared not interfere.

Angelus fixed Tasha with his burning eyes. "But who knows what lies beneath the surface?" He reached into his pocket, dragging to the light a piece of Tasha's underwear.

"Where did you get this from?" Tasha shouted.

"From your bedroom closet."

"You searched my..." Tasha's voice broke as Angelus waved a few sheets of paper at her.

"I did, and I found very interesting things. I must admit I'm flattered."

"Stop it," Tasha said, challenging.

"I knew marrying Riley Finn was a hardship, but I didn't know how good you are at consoling yourself. Do you want me to read this aloud?"

"Don't," Tasha interrupted him, now more pleading.

He stepped behind her, caressing her neck with two fingers. Tasha shrank away, but that did not stop him. "Don't be ashamed," he said, almost sounding like the reassurances of a lover, but with mockery sounding from every word, "I understand you'd rather have me than Riley. You wanted me the first time you saw me. Happens to the best of us."

"Not even if you were the last man on earth," Tasha hissed at him.

"I see you want me to refresh your memory. So I'll read to you a bit." Angelus settled himself comfortably in an armchair. "I felt his eyes examine me from head to feet and back," he quoted, "He touched my body with his look and rested on my neck."

Tasha closed her eyes in shame, realizing she could do nothing now to prevent the torture that would follow.

Angelus continued to read. "Damn was he attractive!!! There are three exclamation marks here, Tasha. As I said before, I'm flattered."

"Don't you think it's enough?" Mona asked in a low voice, attempting desperately to ease Tasha's pain in hearing her fantasy revealed to everyone.

"The best is yet to come." Angelus took the position of an actor on stage as he kept reading from Tasha's private thoughts. "But such lovely eyes I can't resist... I nearly started to curse... When he approached 'cause instead to run I stayed and drank his sight... Personally, I find this one a bit pathetic, don't you agree? Besides, it has to be instead of running, you can't use the infinitive here."

Mona tried to suppress a giggle, despite the situation.

"I think I can skip the next part," the vampire went on, enjoying every expression of pain on Tasha's face, "Let's come to the part when you offer me Susan, Mona and her boyfriend for food. Why should you take me when there are so many others for free? There's a man and two girls, young, fresh and alive. Let me just change clothes and then we can go. He asked: May I watch you? And I shouted: No! Not very realistic either, well, you WOULD want me to watch. Builds a certain tension, though. Especially when you're adding I take your hand like a lover would do."

"You're so full of yourself," Tasha retorted, almost in physical pain from the demeaning way he treated her, "I never had fantasies about you."

He laughed. "Not at all. That's why you refer to me as your mate, your sweetheart, your love. Let's face it, you can't deny it."

"Little one, you didn't really write this work of porn, did you?" her mother asked in agony.

"Every single line, I assure you, mom," Angelus replied for Tasha.

"Who's telling you I didn't mean Angel?" Tasha made a last attempt.

"You," Angelus told her, "Seems you don't remember. He'd like this so-called Angel to be dead. So, that's me, isn't it?" He saw her suffering, and he enjoyed every part of it. But if she had thought she had passed the worst, he would prove her wrong. He pulled her resisting body from the sofa, fixing her in his arms, using just enough force she was unable to move. Then, again like an actor on a stage, lowered his face on her neck. When he raised it, he was fully vamped out. Tasha's mother cried in fear, Mona shared her feelings, though she had seen vampires before. She prayed silently to whatever God there was to lead Susan their way before it was too late for Tasha.

But Angelus had no intention to kill before satisfying his need for the pain of others. "I want you, you are mine, his bite came much too fast, This was the first kiss in my life, and it also was my last. Really, you've seen too many movies."

He sank his fangs into her skin, making her scream with agony and consciousness of death and darkness. He took just enough blood to make her so weak her legs did not carry her weight any more, and she fell on the floor to his feet. "How do you like being demon queen now, Mrs Finn?"

Mona jumped from the sofa to care for her friend. "It's just the shock," she quickly assured Tasha's mother, then tried to lift Tasha to the sofa.

Angelus bent down. "May I help you?"

"Keep your hands off her," Mona hissed, not caring about the consequences. She realized her mistake when he cruelly put his hands around her neck. "Do you wish to join our queen here? Listen, girl, you don't know what you're involved in. I don't care for you or your friend, actually I came for Finn. I just tried this on his wife when I noticed the effect the reading of her beautiful poem had on him."

"You read this to Riley?" Mona gasped, unable to imagine anyone could be so cruel.

"I would even make him watch as I fuck and turn his wife." For a moment, he seemed to consider the possibility, then changed his mind. He lifted Tasha's motionless body on the sofa with easeness. "But I'm not interested. I'm just interested in the Slayers. And you had better keep out of my way."

Mona nodded slowly, unable to trust him, wanting him to leave.

"Stay downstairs," he ordered, "Perhaps I'll join you later... for a drink."

*

While Mona tried to repress the panic that was building up inside, Asmodis had no idea about his girlfriend's serious situation.

After she had stormed out, he took off the false beard he usually wore on stage. She had gone, just like that. It had just been a kiss on the cheek, pure friendship, but she had gone. His first impulse was to run after her, forgetting he was still wearing the beard. Normally, his fans did not recognize his every day face, but this way, of course, he had run straight into a crowd of them. Now, having given uncountable autographs on CDs, posters, t-shirts and naked arms, he was nothing but tired. He would take care of matters tomorrow. He had never made efforts to ask for Tasha's address. Why should he? When she had settled down in the States, he had not even known he would ever have the money to go there, and afterwards, she would have refused contact just because of his stage name. Jehova's witnesses did not exactly approve of Asmodis, Lord of Destruction. He wanted to get himself a drink. He cursed silently. Jack Daniels, Johnny Walker. did the hotel management take any guest for an anonymous alcoholic? Was he really supposed to go down to the bar to get an orange juice, or even better, a cup of hot coffee? He had just decided on using the phone to terrorize some poor wretch at the room service, when a knock at the door stopped him.

"I'm having a lucky day today, must be the tax inspector," he grumbled, then said: "Come in."

The door was opened, and one of the guys from the band, maybe 25 years of age, was about to enter. He wanted to enter, but the moment his foot touched the threshold, he was violently thrown back by an explosion of greenish light.

*

The gang had declared Giles' hotel room in Iowa as headquarters. With this opponent, no one was inclined to make a move without a proper strategy first.

"Are you okay?" Spike asked gently, caressing Buffy's hand.

"What? Oh, sorry, I was thinking... I'm okay, thanks. Just wondering where he'll take Riley. I'm worried 'cause nobody answers the phone."

"There may be many reasons," Giles tried to ease her tension, "They might be eating out."

"Yeah," Buffy admitted. Or being eaten out. "If he has got them... he won't stay at their house either. He will take them to a safe place where the sun never shines."

Willow was clicking through the websites nervously, pushing her laptop to its limits. "Here it is," she finally announced, "That's probably it." She turned the laptop to show the others. "I found this article in the news archive of the local paper. This is an estate that belonged to an old Iowa family, it was sold after the Civil War. Seven years ago, there was quite a scandal because the owner, who is said to be an eccentric Californian businessman, wanted to change the architecture, but the mansion is a monument of local history, so the authorities wouldn't let him."

"Seven years ago," Buffy said slowly, "That was when Angel lost his..."

Spike nodded. "I remember the family. The father and brothers died in the war, the mother afterwards, of a broken heart. The twin sisters were left with debts and only the decaying mansion. Angelus took their estate and paid their debts. Afterwards, he turned one of the girls and made her drain her sister." He broke off, the memory overwhelming him with pain. His eyes were shining with moisture when he looked up at Buffy. "Their names... I remember... Heather and Charlotte... I never touched a cent of all this blood money, believe me."

"I do believe you," Buffy said softly, cradling the vampire in her arms. "Do you think you'll find the way?"

"I couldn't forget it if I wanted. I could find the way blindfolded."

"Fine." Buffy rose from her chair. "Willow, Giles, keep researching and try to reach Riley on the phone. I'm off to Riley's to warn him. Xander, Wesley, wanna join me? Susan, Spike takes you to the mansion."

"You shouldn't separate," Giles protested.

"We have to," Susan disagreed, "We are sure Angelus is at one of these two places, and we must not lose a second. If we go to Riley's first and he has already taken him to the mansion, it could be too late. And if we head for the mansion, we might lose the chance to prevent he gets Riley at all."

*

The man dressed in white robes regarded The Entity in respectful silence for a while.

"Are you sure you want me to do this? He's only human. And to make things worse, he thinks himself pretty cool by chosing a demon's name for his stage name. He's one of those New Age freaks. Our cause does not concern him."

The light before him shimmered more brightly. The voice came from nowhere, and resounded from all directions at the same time.

"This is why We chose him. No one will foresee this way. He is not a warrior, he possesses no magic, he has never hunted down a single demon. Could we wish for a better ally in our cause?"

"I will obey, though I have my doubts. I will produce the message."

The light dissolved, the echoes of the voice died slowly.

The robed figure rose and sighed. "As if I hadn't done enough already. First, I'm dissolving into my atoms for Angel's sake, then I'm risking my life replacing the oracles slain by some powerful dark force, and now I have to put up with a would-be country singer who thinks he's Gary Cooper. Couldn't I have served the Light by being born a lamp seller?"

*

The light flickered even through the thick walls of the safe in the office rooms of Angel Investigations, Los Angeles. Then it was gone. Yet something else was gone from the safe as well, unnoticed by the world.

*

The girl bowed. "Welcome, my lord. It has been a long time."

He laughed the dark laugh she had missed for decades. "Seven years, and my patient girl is not telling me she's waited that long?"

She bowed again. "Seven years since your very short last visit were a short time when I had to wait for irretrievable decades after that regrettable incident. But I have maintained the estate for all this time. Be welcome, my lord, to your home." Her eyes lit up. "I see my generous lord has brought a present."

"Not for you, dear, just a toy for myself. Don't worry, you shall have your reward later."

Had the girl been alive, she would have blushed. But as matters were, she smiled and gave way to her creator.

"We are not to be disturbed. Prepare for a banquet, dear, we are going to have guests soon."

*

"I'm sorry, Oz," Asmodis said, with a trace of regret, but also amusement. He wiped out one of the chalken magic signs. "You can come in now. You should remember to shout your name before crossing the threshold by now." Since the events Mona had told him about five years from now, he had studied the world of magic. He had not acquired much knowledge, for his domaine was technology rather than the occult, however, his knowledge satisfied his need to secure his rooms from the children of the night. Unfortunately, the spell included his guitarist Oz, who had been a werewolf once.

"And you should remember to change your demon ban so I don't practice flying every time I have to see you. Besides, it takes me helluvan effort to avoid lycanthropy then – just imagine the headlines: WEREWOLF STALKING HOTEL."

Asmodis knew Oz was just kidding. He was in control now. The years of meditation in Tibet and the power of the items he had brought along from there prevented him from transforming unvoluntarily.

And even more. Since his last stay at a Tibetian cloister, he could even control his actions when he allowed the beast in him to break through. The human mind had triumphed over the wolf, but the wolf was still there, as the magical barrier made him feel.

"You know I don't have a clue how to do it. I have gained my 'wisdom' from books, I don't have any supernatural powers, I can't modify spells. I've studied them for self-defence, since that slayer thing with Susan, and getting the old tomes was hard enough, believe me. But I don't have anything else to do with magic, whatever color, and to be honest, I don't want to. It's bad enough Mona was involved in the whole affair at that time, but I'm not gonna intensify contact with magic more than I have to. I'm a singer, not a sorcerer."

Oz nodded slowly. "Where's Mona, anyway?"

"Gone."

Asmodis had hoped for Oz saying anything. Any consolation was welcome. But Oz kept silent. He had never talked much. After a few minutes, Asmodis broke the silence.

"Why did you want to see me? Usually, you prefer being alone after a concert."

"For two reasons, actually. I wanted to give you an address. And then... there was this piece of pergament. It was in my guitar case, out of a sudden, with your name on it."

Asmodis examined the pergament more closely. It was only one sentence, in a language that sounded familiar and was yet so incomprehensible. Yet he was almost sure he knew it. From the time he had not realized that the money in music business was not to be made with Irish Folk. It was Celtic, definitely, though maybe an old dialect. He could pronounce it, but he did not understand.

He was still concerned with the text when Oz rose and headed for the door.

"Oz, which address did you want to give to me?"

"Doesn't matter, can wait until tomorrow." Oz had the feeling he should not give Asmodis the address and phone number of Mona's friend Tasha tonight. He closed the door from the outside.

Asmodis flung himself in the armchair again. What a day! First, Mona runs away, then the lack of soft drinks, and now this message.

"What the hell does that mean?"

Suddenly, there was a voice behind him.

"I think I can explain that."

*

"Who's there?" the girl asked from the darkness of the corridor.

"Just let me pass. Angelus is expecting me," Susan said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't know anyone of that name. I am the housekeeper here, I am supposed to know."

"Spare me your lies." Susan's hand closed around the stake as she pushed the door open by force.

A girl of no more than seventeen years stood in the corridor, pale, long red curls, clothed in a robe that did not fit a housekeeper. It was dark red velvet, cut tightly around the curves of her body.

As Spike's gaze fell upon the girl, he froze. "Heather..." he whispered. "Holy God, what have I done?"

Heather looked puzzled first, then she laughed in a devilish way.

Susan decided it was enough. She drew her stake openly, which made Heather step away from the door, and passed the threshold. Spike tried to follow her, but could not get in, barred by an invisible wall.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting that," Susan apologized, "Come in, Spike."

But he still could not pass.

"Your invitation is not valid here," Heather explained, "This is my lord's house. This wretch has no admission. Keep your stake in place, slayer. I will lead you to my lord."

"Do you want me to call Buffy?" Spike asked.

"Wait here," Susan ordered.

"Are you sure?"

"If I'm not back in twenty minutes, call Giles."

She followed the female vampire into the darkness.

*

Asmodis was confused and felt uneasy. The man in white robes, who had introduced himself as belonging to the oracles (whatever that might be), at least was not from the dark side. No one, neither vampire nor demon, would have been able to cross the barrier unnoticed without visible pain. Therefore, he could assume he had been telling the truth. But why me? Why was he chosen to be involved into a war between light and darkness? And then, the man had given him a magic item that was supposed to bring about an event of highest priority. At least when united with a spell and the blood of Amun-Re (whoever that might be). Unfortunately, these cryptic words were all the information he had got. Not a word about the nature of the event. He was himself just a messenger, the stranger had defended himself, how the hell was he supposed to know?

Asmodis would have to learn by himself. Well, he had to get in touch with the curious Englishman Mona had told him about anyway if he ever wanted to find out Riley's (and Tasha's) address.

He could inquire the detailed meaning of the item then. What about his tour? He hoped Angela would show understanding if he postponed one or two of his shows. He completely forgot about the fact that Oz had actually wanted to give him something.

Sometimes being part of the oracles was not too bad after all. He had made Oz forget about giving the address to Asmodis. So he would have to contact Giles. There was no way of escape. "We'll see if he's up to it."

*

Tasha shrank away from Mona's touch as she regained consciousness.

"It's just me," Mona tried to sound as reassuring as possible.

"Where..."

"I don't know, he's gone for the moment, but he's left minions to guard us."

"Where's my mother?"

"You're weak, try not to speak."

"You must tell me the truth!"

"He dragged her away. I don't know where. Don't worry too much, I'm sure help is on the way." At least I hope so.

At the top of the stairs, Heather drew back discreetly, gesturing to Susan the direction. Susan went the last part of her way alone.

Tasha's mother lay on the floor of the attic, whimpering. Angelus bent over her to continue his torture.

"Leave her alone." Susan's voice cut the air like a knife.

Angelus refrained from his work and looked up at her. "It took you long to get here, lover."

"Nothing new? No new title? Lover was Buffy's doubtful privilege, if I'm not mistaken," Susan answered coldly, trying not to show she was not that cold after all. She remained before the threshold, as if she feared getting too close might be a mistake. Angelus had stood in the middle of the room, but now he approached the threshold where Susan was standing.

Angelus chuckled. "Slayer as well. What about you, Susan? Looking for some way to set yourself apart? Some way to be different?"

"Like you from Angel?"

Angelus' eyes darkened. Susan knew she enraged him just mentioning the name. And she enjoyed it.

However, the vampire did not take the challenge. Yet. He took a step towards her.

"Close enough," Susan said.

Angelus did not care. With a quick movement, he brushed her hair away from her shoulders to disclose her neck. "It won't scar," he said with disappointment.

"Oh, I'm so sorry your precious mark is disappearing."

"I could renew it."

"Over my dead body."

"If I have to. Though I'd rather not waste your blood like that. Too good to be spilled."

His remark sent shivers through Susan's body. Her slayer's instincts tried to shut out the memories that flooded her now. But it was pointless.

Angelus knew.

"Where are the others?" Susan asked.

"You can't be serious, you don't want Riley back, do you."

"I am serious."

"Me too."

"Where's Riley?"

Angelus laughed with contempt. "Why don't you try a military camp?"

Susan sounded calm, resolved, and very dangerous. "Where's Tasha?"

"If it were her choice, she'd be in bed with me."

Was there a point in talking to Angelus at all? She should just cross the threshold and attack. "You got ten seconds to tell me where Tasha is."

He shrugged. "Well, lover, I might. But I don't think she does couples."

Part of Susan was almost speechless, but she did not allow that part to take control. "Nine."

"Susan, I'm really getting tired of this."

<I never forget someone who defeated me in combat.> "Eight."

"If I don't tell you, what are you going to do to me?"

<Can I offer you anything? - A bed. -That can be arranged.> "Seven."

"I know you can count."

<Broken cockery brings you luck.> "Six."

"Why do I always have to fight you when there are so many other things to do?"

<Suppose you don't wanna have fun now? Thought so.> "Five."

<What are you gonna do now? Or rather, what am I gonna do now?> "Four."

<I know you're not that cool and determined. I can smell it.> "Three."

<Close.Your.Eyes.> "Two."

<I knew you would suffer more this way.> "One."

<The old story. No matter if slayer or demon.> "Zero."

Susan stood there, like she was fixed on the ground. Angelus had known she would not attack. He did not laugh at her. He just stood there, not saying a word.

"Time's up," Susan said.

"The question is: For whom? You're trying to be a slayer, but you don't see you're just a replacement, used and thrown away, while you could be so much more. You depend on your concept of honor, adapting it from Buffy, but you don't have your own concepts. What is it you want, Susan?"

Throw you to the ground, drown in your eyes, living for each and every of your deadly kisses. "I want to see you turn to dust at my hands."

His voice had sunk down to a whisper, yet it rang in her ears. "Because you think my image wouldn't haunt you for the rest of your life? You will rise in the morning, and the first thought of your day will be that moment, you will go to bed at night seeing my face before you. You will have many love affairs, just to avoid sleeping alone in the shadows, but you will compare every touch to mine, and none will match. You will wake up screaming my name. You will wonder why you killed me, why you followed the letters in dusty books instead of listening to your inner voice."

She held his gaze. "My 'inner voice' is the devil whispering to me, right now."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Can you run the risk, slayer? Even if I was the devil, you would go to hell with me. You are obsessed with me, Susan, and you hate yourself for it, because it makes you realize how much you are drawn to the darkness, and it is destroying you. You hate yourself, and you hate me, because you can see yourself in my eyes."

Every bit of irony and self-love had vanished from Angelus' face. He regarded her seriously, still his eyes seemed to read her mind, and, he was correct, she saw how she was mirrored in them. She could see the tension in his muscles, the grace in his movements, his image burning itself into her memory for ever. Susan tried to hide all this from him, weakness was the last thing she could afford. "Once you're gone, I won't waste a single thought on you."

"That's what Buffy thought, too." He had approached until two steps before the threshold where Susan still stood. He tore open the silk shirt he was wearing and bared his chest. "Your choice, lover. Kill me – if you can."

Susan was breathing hard, thoughts running through her head like a rollercoaster, her eyes still locked with his, he was so close she could almost touch him, the stake still in her hand. Cross that damn threshold and finish him off while he's still so self-assured he'll never expect you to strike while he does not defend himself, her slayer's instincts cried.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked, his voice full of tenderness she had not thought him capable of. Again, Angelus reached out for her, unprevented, and kissed her softly.

If she had expected he would try to use the opportunity to wind the stake out of her hand, she was proved wrong. He made no such attempt, and this was exactly what made the situation so cruel. His lips on hers, not possessive as they had been, but sensitive, feeling, caressing like a summer wind.

Once more she felt herself drifting away in his kiss.

After a seemingly endless moment, he let her go, straightening his shoulders.

"Is there anything you would like to tell me now?"

Susan's voice nearly failed her when she whispered: "Close your eyes."

Then the incredible thing happened: Angelus closed his eyes.

Susan's hand trembled. She stepped over the threshold, targeting the stake at his heart, and pushed with all her strength.

*

Asmodis' call at the magic shop in Sunnydale had been futile. A gossiping girl called Anya was in charge of the shop, telling him Mr Giles was not available at present. Talking to her for over an hour, he finally got what he wanted: the name of the hotel in Iowa Giles was staying at. When he called there, Willow answered the phone. After he had explained his cause, they agreed to meet. As Oz had refused to join him, for he was not prepared to meet Willow again – at least not yet -, he arrived at the hotel room alone.

"Willow, I suppose."

"And you are...?"

"I called, I'm Asmodis."

Willow drew a crucifix and pressed it on his chest.

When he did not react and just gave her a questioning look, she nodded with visible relief. "Ah, yes, please, come in."

She closed the door behind him very quickly. The witch smiled apologetically: "You can't be too careful these days."

Asmodis looked puzzled at her alertness, but he did not remark on it.

"You have the lines and the item with you?"

"Here you are."

Willow examined the box he handed her very carefully. Reading the strange lines, she frowned.

"Did you find anything on this Amun-Re?" Asmodis asked.

"Not much. What I've found is no more than legends and campfire tales, hardly any precise facts. He is supposed to have been a Lamia, a vampire demon, and an elder of his kind."

"Did you say vampire demon?"

"Yep. The Lamia are said to have created the vampires we know today. Amun-Re inspired a cult in ancient Egypt. Some even say, he originally came from the lost continent of Atlantis. Legends say the Egyptians adapted many myths from Atlantis, and the vampires were its legacy."

The color was fading from Asmodis' face. With his very limited ideas about magic, he had been able to secure his room, maybe ban a vampire as well, but as it sounded, a powerful demon such as Amun-Re was more than just a little demanding. His chances ranged somewhere between poor and utterly impossible. Even with help from Oz and Willow. No, let Doyle deal with matters alone! If the freak thought he could use him as a pawn, he would prove him wrong. He would ask Willow for Tasha's address and get the hell out of here.

Asmodis told Willow about his little row with Mona and the problem he needed Tasha's address.

Willow's face went ghastly white when she struggled for words, and he suspected he would not like her answer.

*

Tara saw from her window lovers walking hand in hand through the ancient quartier of Montmartre.

She craved for fresh air, but serious as matters were in America, she could not afford to lose a second. Again, she turned to the piles of dusty books before her. As she sat down at the desk again, one of the books fell to the floor, open. Tara sighed as she picked it up. The archaeology book she had been reading. No, this would have to wait. She had to read magical books in search of something that might help Angel. Tara put the book back on the shelf.

She had just sat down again, when a loud noise disturbed her. Looking around, she saw the book she had just put back in place had fallen out once more.

Tara had been a witch for too many years to consider it a coincidence. "The classical version of a readme file," she murmured, picked it up and resumed her reading.

*

Unable to watch, Susan closed her eyes. The force with which she had driven the stake forward was too much. As there was no longer his body before her, she let herself fall to the floor into the dust [his dust – my God, what have I done?]. She was still trembling, trying not to think of what she had done, trying not to cry, and failing in both. Her body shook with silent sobs. She was glad Buffy had not been there.

She had triumphed, but was unable to enjoy it. It was his self-assurance that killed him, the slayer in her justified herself, He treated you like an ordinary woman, but you did not succumb, you should walk out of here proudly, not lie in his ashes and cry.

He did not even attack me, he made no attempt to defend himself, I did not even look in his eyes as I killed him, how could I do this? her other self cried out in despair.

She did not hear the approaching steps, she only noticed the consoling hand on her shoulder minutes after [typically, the cavalry never arrives until the hero's done all by himself!], when, after various futile attempts, she had managed to gather her self-control at least so much she could stop new tears from falling. She would have preferred if nobody had seen her like this. A slayer crying for a vampire she killed herself – ridiculous. A shame. She could not look at Spike's face that moment. "Spike, thought there was a barrier for you, how did you get in now?" she finally asked.

Instead of an answer, the vampire drew her close from behind and rocked her in his arms. Obviously he did not expect a slayer to be the strong one in every situation. Susan began to calm down.

Why had she never noticed how muscular Spike was? And hadn't he been dressed in leather when they had left?

Susan was startled.

She hardly dared to raise her eyes, and when she finally did, she met the vampire's gaze --- but not Spike's. Susan ran her fingers through the dust on the floor, as if reminding herself of its reality, then she looked at his face again.

"I must tell Heather to keep the attic clean as well. Old, dusty house."

"Angelus," she whispered, not trusting what she saw.

"I'm truly impressed," Angelus said, "I didn't think you would do it."

"But... the stake... I KILLED you!"

He chuckled. "Go on. Look for your stake."

Susan looked around. The stake was nowhere to be found.

She felt for the veole's of Holy Water and her spare stake under her clothes, and the crucifix around her neck – none of them was there.

"You closed your eyes when you pushed the stake forward," Angelus explained, clearly amused, "So you couldn't see it dissolved into its atoms as soon as you crossed the threshold, as well as your other nice toys. It's simple in its way, just a magic barrier placed right over the threshold, modified with some spells. Was originally intended to keep Jehova's witnesses out."

"You tricked me," she shouted.

"Well, one must take precautions when in love."

*

They were sitting on the floor, staring at each other, watchful, waiting for the other one to make a move.

"What, that was your whole plan, slayer? Walking in, slaying at first strike?" Angelus asked after a while.

"That was what I had in mind," Susan admitted.

He seemed amused. "And what are we going to do now? For the protocol, you've tried to kill me, you've done your sacred duty, I've disarmed you."

She regarded him with the same unreadable eyes that suited him so well. "How could I ever forget?"

"You're happy it didn't work."

"I'm not!" Susan protested violently.

"No, that's why I found you crying."

"From relief."

"Maybe you can deceive Buffy, but not me."

"Maybe I never intended to." I must be crazy, talking puns with someone... something that wants to kill me.

"You and Angel were friends, right? Why can't we be friends as well?"

Friends. The Scourge of Europe talking about friendship with a slayer! How long would she still bear his hybris?

"Can't you see I'm trying to help you?"

"By driving a stake into my heart, yeah, thanks, great help."

"You know what I mean."

He laughed. "A clone slayer's concept, again! Salvation!" Without warning, he vamped out and closed his hands around her shoulders so hard she knew without question they would show serious bruises. "Still don't see what I am?"

Holding his gaze, though she was mad with fear, disarmed as she was and strengthened by her blood as he was, she replied: "I know perfectly well who you are. Still don't see what I am? I'm the slayer, and I'll fight you while there's still one drop of blood in me!"

Susan realized what she had said when his fangs broke her skin, and she felt life flooding from her, felt his triumph, his arousal when her blood began to flow through his veins. Again, she was drifting, slowly, but steadily, and different this time, all panic and emotion dying, and all she could feel was a dreadful, calm silence taking possession of her. Images flashed before her mind, like dreams in a fitful fever, and she did not even have the feeling of the shadow of death hanging over her when she realized she did not give a damn what he did to her. L'angelo della morte. The angel of death.

Then it suddenly stopped. Her eyes had to adjust to the light again when he forced himself to stop, still in game face, with an animalistic look in his eyes. "To be born again, first you have to die." [Author's note: quotation from Salman Rushdie, "The Satanic Verses"]

With a last effort, Susan replied: "Then kill me – if you can."

*

Buffy cursed. "The bastard has tricked us!"

"I still don't get it," Xander said in confusion.

"You're such a child, Xan! He excluded everyone from the damn house except Susan! That Spike couldn't follow was never a matter of invitation, of course Spike would have been able to enter another vampire's house if there had not been black magic at work. He has set some kind of force field, the Devil knows how!" Buffy felt so much like kicking some vampire's ass, preferably that of Angelus, but there was no way entering the manor without employing a stronger magic. "Let's call Willow, and pray we're still in time."

*

While Willow and Asmodis were still arguing and she was trying to prevent him from taking the measures he considered appropriate, the phone rang.

"Willow Rosenberg?"

"It's me."

"Buffy, had any luck?"

"Nothin'. There was no one at Riley's. Then Spike called, Susan entered Angelus' manor alone and didn't come out again. When we got here we found there's a magic barrier over the doorstep. None of us can enter, the barrier was open for Susan only. Nice little trap for her." Buffy grimaced. "We need some spell to get in. Probably he holds the others hostages."

Willow's voice was trembling. "Buffy, I'm afraid it's not that simple. There are billions of magic barriers and force fields, it can take weeks to figure out which..."

"Is it more like an invisible wall or a static field?" Asmodis asked.

"What?" Willow asked in disbelief.

"What?" Buffy shouted into her cellphone, "Who's there with you, Will?"

Asmodis took the receiver from Willow's hand. "Hi, I'm Asmodis, I'm Mona's boyfriend, and I know the slayer... sorry, the replacement slayer. Tell me, is it more like a wall or a static field?"

"It's an odd feeling when you touch it, like walking out in the hot sun when you come from an air-conditioned room."

"Do the margins shimmer in pink color?"

"Nope."

"When you breathe against it, does it change in any way?"

"Xander, breathe against it... no. Not really."

"Does the interior of the house seem black or just dark?"

"Black as hell."

"The spell is called Andariel's Gateway."

"How did you know?" Willow asked, fascinated.

Asmodis smiled despite the seriousness of the situation. "I've experimented with barriers to protect myself for the last five years. I read about the Gateway, but I chose another spell because the Gateway required a dead toad, a peacock's feather and a cangaroo's excrements, and I really did not know where to get the latter..."

"Could you please exchange recipes later?" Buffy shouted, "How can we lift the spell? May I remind you it's not just Susan, but probably also Riley, his wife and your girlfriend who are trapped within Angelus' manor?"

"No need to remind me of that," Asmodis replied sourly, "I never thought of lifting a barrier, just building one."

"Great," Buffy remarked.

"Maybe we just have to say somethin' like 'Open Sesame', and we're in?" Xander suggested.

"Shut up!" Buffy demanded.

"What he says is not that stupid," Asmodis agreed, "Many old banning spells are linked to a verbal code that opens the door for the next person that tries to enter after the words were spoken."

"Arabian Nights in Iowa," Buffy remarked sarcastically. "Think about it, Spike – what did you or Susan say before she tried to enter?"

Spike thought about it for a while. "When Heather opened the door, Susan said Angelus was expecting her."

Buffy took a deep breath. "Angelus is expecting me." Then she hit the barrier. "That obviously was not it," she said.

"Try 'Spare me your lies'."

Xander watched with uneasiness how this attempt failed as well.

Spike and Buffy tried various fragments of the dialogue, as many as Spike could remember, always with the same result.

Xander, also beginning to lose patience, leaned against the invisible wall before them, while Buffy and Spike sat in the grass, disappointed and discouraged.

"Must be something else, my love," Spike tried to console Buffy.

"Bullshit! I'm the slayer, and I can't do a fuckin' thing 'cause that bastard's chosen some pretty clever key, and I'm too stupid to figure it out!"

Xander, still holding himself upright only by leaning against the wall, sighed. "Well-roared, lion."

"That's not a game, Xander," Buffy glared at him angrily.

"You're right," Xander agreed, "If you don't get in there soon, then...then he might think of turning Susan... turning a slayer... Holy God."

With a loud bang, Xander fell on the hard floor of the manor, hitting his back hard at the threshold.

"That's it!" Spike cried happily, "When I saw Heather, I recalled how she was made a vampire, and I said, Holy God, what have I done, and Susan entered!"

Xander rubbed his aching back. "Couldn't you have remembered that two minutes before?"

Buffy took her cellphone again. "We're in, thanks."

"But there's still something we must talk..." Asmodis began.

"We can talk later." Buffy hang up. "Nice password, Angelus. So fitting. Holy God," she said, and entered the building.

"Holy God." Spike followed her into the darkness.

*

Susan's words lingered in the air. Then kill me – if you can.

Her heart was a living beat in her chest, she knew there was no way to turn back now. It was perceptable with every single one of his movements he was not human at all. He possessed a dark aura, a grace so perfect it had to be lifeless, neither angel nor devil. She had made an offer to the demon king, and now he was to claim it.

His hand touched her face. "Are you afraid of me, slayer?" he asked in a low voice.

"No," she replied softly, "Just of myself."

Angelus touched her, slowly, but unmistakably claiming her, somewhere between reluctance and pain.

She did not have to wait for the vampire to take the challenge.

Angelus took her blood slowly, cherishing every sip of the precious slayer's blood. Susan was too weak to fight him now. All the time, he whispered soothing and tender words to her, and held her in a tight, painful grip when the darkness threatened to close around her. He saw she could not hold on for much longer. Buffy was sure to come to her rescue, but it would be too late, they first had to figure out how to cross the magic barriers.

Angelus realized the woman in his arms was dying, would be dead by then, if he did not turn her now.

"To be born again, first you have to die," he whispered to her again. "Just say a word, and I will save you."

"You will bring me across, you mean."

He smiled down at her, his face morphing back into his human appearance. "I'm just trying to help you."

Susan shook her head. "Your choice, lover. You can't kill me."

"You know I can, just like you could drive the damn stake into my heart," Angelus said bitterly.

Instead of an answer, Susan managed to lift her body with the last bit of strength that was left to her and kissed him, feeling the fire consuming her one last time. She looked up at him, into those unforgettable dark eyes. "Is there anything you would like to tell me now?"

Angelus' voice was rough and deep when he replied: "Close your eyes."

Susan closed her eyes. He will not kill me, she thought, she felt inside.

His lips gently brushed the abused skin on her neck. "You did a better job than being just the replacement," he whispered, "Your only mistake was to fall for someone unable to return what you feel."

She pressed her body against his, felt the difference in temperature was not as great as it had been. "You will wake up screaming my name, you will compare every touch to mine, and none will match."

Angelus hesitated just for a moment.

A moment too long.

"Do you cheat on me thus, lover?"

Angelus let go of Susan and turned around to face Buffy, who watched him from the threshold. He smiled. "Holy God," he said sarcastically.

"It's a trap, Buffy," Susan gasped, "This threshold is a barrier, it will disable your weapons..."

Buffy threw a veole of holy water at Angelus and watched it dissolve into thin air as it crossed the barrier.

Angelus chuckled. "I'm two steps ahead, ex-lover. Come in. Don't you dare?"

Buffy made a step forward, but Spike's grip drew her back. "Not without weapons, it's too dangerous."

"Oh, are you afraid your slayer might suffer?" Angelus laughed, "I'm generous, Spike – you can keep the soul. It's not a curse now, so it's time your little princess gets laid..."

Buffy headed for the threshold again.

"Don't listen," Spike entreated her, "He just wants to provoke you, you can't slay him if the barrier destroys your weapons!"

Buffy drew her stake. "Come here and fight in the corridor, or are you afraid?"

"What, nothing happened so far? Buffy, I'm astonished! No sex, now he's free to spoil the act with as many repugnant vows of eternal love as you may wish? Or are you undecided what you like better – your oh-so-wonderful-soul in a body that's simply not in my league, or someone who could truly give you what you need?"

"It's not worth it," Spike said, trying to sound as calm as possible, though he himself was raging at the insult. "Let him go, we must make new plans first."

Angelus headed for the window. "We'll see each other." His last look back seemed to reach right through Susan into the very heart of her. "And you will beg me to take your life."

*

Xander felt the chill running down his back as he saw Buffy tending to Susan, and he realized how pale the skin of the other slayer was.

"We were just in time," Buffy said calmly. She looked up at him with questioning eyes.

"We found an old woman who seems to be Tasha's mother. There's no one else in the house," Xander confirmed Buffy's fears, "Wherever he took Mona, Tasha and Riley, they probably were never here."

*

"Of course," Tara said to herself, then almost dropped her phone as she seized the receiver an dialled a very long number. The moments it took to establish the line seemed an eternity, a painful waiting, until she heard the soft music of the other witch's voice. "Willow Rosenberg."

"Did you say 'une âme' or 'son âme'?"

"Tara?"

"The spell! What did you say, Will?"

"I'm not sure."

"You said 'une', n'est-ce pas? The spell did not take HIS soul, SPIKE'S soul, from the ethereal sphere, it took a soul, anyone's soul, Angel's soul. You got it all wrong, Will. Can you hand the phone to Buffy, please?"

"I can't," Willow apologized, "She's not here. She's gone to a residence belonging to Angelus. Susan and Spike are there as well. WHY?"

"I think I found something. A way out. A spell."

"Great! Tell me! I'll perform the spell."

"I'm afraid it's not that easy. There's a little problem."

*

"Do you have any idea about what you did?" Buffy shouted, "As a slayer, you may do anything, but never, never EVER let them win without fight!"

"I did fight," Susan defended herself, "But his barriers surprised me!"

Buffy's eyes flashed with anger. "I would have flung myself from the window before I would let him have me!"

"Buffy," Giles said uneasily, "You shouldn't reproach Susan like that, I'm sure she feels awful anyway, and I'm sure she's sorry."

"SORRY?" Buffy glared at him, "SORRY? No, Giles, just 'sorry' is not
sorry enough. He's doubled his powers by now, there's nothing that can make a vampire as strong as a slayer's blood. He's outthere, Giles, and he will keep killing if I can't stop him."

"We."

Buffy turned around. The word had come from Asmodis. On any other day, the slayer would have ignored it, but she was angered, tense and irrational. She raised a brow. "We?" she asked, "I'm a slayer, but what are you gonna do, keep singing until Angelus surrenders? Great plan."

"Buffy," Willow began.

"No," Buffy cut her off, "I see you're worried about your girlfriend, but to defeat Angelus, you need more than a little knowledge of magic barriers. That's none of your business, let me do my work."

Asmodis regarded the slayer with an amused smile. The little blonde could be quite cute, especially when upset, and if he had been a single --- no, these thoughts must not be thought... He pushed the idea away and replied: "If you listened to Willow for a moment, you would see that's precisely what I was trying to do."

"Giles!" Buffy glanced at her former watcher for support.

Giles nervously adjusted his glasses. "Well, Buffy, I must admit Mr... Mr Asmodis... could be of use indeed."

Though the watcher made clear he disapproved of his stage name, Asmodis was contended to see the watcher's esteem of his presence. "I had a visitor," Asmodis explained, "and there was something he left."

Giles opened a small box and let Buffy see its contents.

"A bug?" Buffy asked confused.

"A bug! No, Buffy, a scarab!" Giles corrected her, sounding shocked.

"All right, all right, my mistake," Buffy apologized, "To put it in British words, biology's not my cup of tea."

"Not mine either," Asmodis admitted, "But I knew it was a holy symbol in ancient Egypt."

"You Europeans put too much emphasis on decaying ruins and old books," Buffy remarked.

"I called Tara," Willow told her, "And she found information on it." Embarrassed, she avoided Buffy's eyes. "My spell failed because I said something wrong. The spell was an old French one, from Norman times. I really thought I was good at languages. But... Tara traced my steps, and..."

Buffy stared at her friend, anticipating what might come, with an angry tension.

Willow looked lost and helpless. "What I meant to say, give Spike his soul so he can love Buffy."

The slayer's eyes were opened wide. "And... what did you say?"

"It's just slightly different... I said: Give Spike a soul who loves Buffy. So the spell took the nearest soul that fit."

Buffy was so shocked she let herself fall on the sofa. "I guess that explains what's happened." As she thought about it, another thought entered her mind. That means he still cares... after these years... She tried keep her voice from trembling, so her next question sounded several tones deeper than her usual pitch. "And did Tara give you the reverse spell?"

Willow's shoulders trembled. "The... oh, you mean... reverse... well..."

"There's none," Asmodis finished her sentence.

Buffy shot from the sofa, glaring at him.

"Hey, it's not MY fault," Asmodis defended himself, "However, there might be something else. I don't really understand the... hierarchy of powers, but my visitor explained that this scarab, united with the blood of Amun-Re, could bring about an important event. I know, worse than Delphi's Pythia."

"Amun-Re is among the oldest vampires we know about," Giles explained.

"Another Gonzo," Xander sighed.

"Not exactly. Amun-Re is a Lamia demon. There is a component in their blood that keeps them timeless. And that might open time for us as well. If one could return to the point before Willow's spell failed..."

"I would become soulless again, the monster I was, " Spike said gloomily.

"No," Giles diagreed, "It will mean you never got Angel's soul in the first place, the reality of this timeline will be deleted."

"And I will never know what I lost," the vampire replied.

Buffy put her arm around his shoulders. "Listen, Spike, you can't keep this soul, it's not yours, the memories you have are Angel's."

Spike frowned. "So he was right."

"Who?" Buffy asked, confused.

"Angelus. He's right in saying you don't want me now I don't have Angel's perfect body and his handsome face. Oh, that's so cheap of you, Buffy." He pushed her away.

"That's not true," Buffy protested.

"Then why did nothing happen though we could be together now? You were never interested in me as a person, all you care about is an empty image."

"And all you care about is sex!" Buffy yelled.

"We'd better withdraw," Giles suggested to the others in a low voice.

"I wanna see that!" Xander protested.

"No, Giles, stay, I'm going!" Spike sprang from the sofa, rushed out and slammed the door behind him.

Buffy kept silent for a moment. Then she straightened her shoulders and turned to Giles. "Tell me what to do."

Giles cleared his voice. "You'll need to find this vampire and somehow get his blood. And then bathe the scarab in it. Then a circle of three women has to say some magic words at the same time to open the gateway to the past."

Buffy nodded. "Doesn't sound too difficult. Okay, that Amun-whatever might be a little challenge, but, hey ya know I fight best when I'm angry." Glaring at the door, she added: "And, believe me I am. And the circle of three women, that's easy, me, Susan, and Willow." As Buffy realized nobody was responding, and the others were staring at the ground not to have to meet her gaze, she demanded: "Or is there something you haven't told me about?"

Willow made an effort, her voice no more than a mouse's. "I can't be part of the circle. The three women must be..."

"Virgins? Well, guess I'm out then, too," Buffy giggled.

"No, not virgins," Willow admitted.

"What else could it be?" Buffy wondered.

Again, it was Asmodis who was the only one to address her. A single word had seldom been so striking. "Slayers."

"Three slayers?" Buffy asked. "The spell requires three slayers?"

"That was why they reactivated me," Susan realized.

"So far, so good," Buffy said, forcing herself now, after biology, into mathematics, "but, Susan and myself, one and one make..."

The gang looked up. Buffy whirled around, facing the door.

The dark-haired woman smiled radiantly. "Hi, B."

*

"We have by no means solved all the secrets of this spell. The greatest secret may be where Amun-Re dwells."

*

Nurse Collins brought a huge bouquet of flowers to the room. "That'll brighten up the room," she remarked admiringly. "From your husband. Nice guy."

"He is," Cordy confirmed. "My favorite flowers."

"My shift is over, is there anything else you need, Mrs Pryce?"

Cordy smiled. "No, than...." She was never to finish the sentence. Vision struck her, she lost orientation, the room before her disappeared, and she found herself in the middle of a press conference, among hundreds of reporters, faces in a crowd, a man that made her shiver, a black tie, a crashing computer, and...

then she was back. Cordy held her aching head. "Well, thinking about it, I could use something against my headache... and a phone."

*

Faith looked more than sceptical. "And you're sure Cordelia's... accident caused no permanent brain damage?"

Wesley gave her a scornful look. "You and Angelus, that would be a perfect match." Even five years after she had almost tortured him to death, he had not come to like her, how much she might have changed.

"Creepy," Buffy admitted.

"I admit it sounds improbable," Wesley conceded, "But Cordy's visions have never deceived her so far."

"If she's right, we have a problem," Susan said thoughtfully.

Willow looked up from the computer monitor. "The press conference starts at nine. I still can't believe I'm using a browser developed by Amun-Re to get this information."

"Yeah," Asmodis agreed, "Though I always suspected Phil Yates was the devil himself. How else could he have built up an enterprise as huge as Macrotronics with so bad a concept?"

Susan was concerned about another matter. "How are we to get past the security? I mean, the man is among the richest in the world, he's awfully well protected."

"Hey, where's your self-assurance, Sue?" Faith asked, "We are slayers! We'll find a way."

"I'm sure you will," Xander confirmed. He turned to Buffy and Susan, and asked pleadingly: "Do you think, when you're there anyway, you could get me a copy of the new operating system, Whoknows 2005?"

"I can get you the CD," Susan said, "But don't come running to me if you lose your data."

*

Faith fixed the entrance pass saying "PRESS" on her top. "Blue is definitely NOT my color," she remarked.

"I'm sorry we didn't have the time to copy a pass that matches your outfit," Buffy replied snappishly.

Susan gestured them to silence. She secretly admired Willow for finding an appropriate hack on the web that allowed them to copy the official press ID cards of one of America's most renowned computer magazine in almost no time.

The only difficulty was to pretend someone like Faith was an expert. She regarded the other woman sceptically. Faith looked much older than her age, yet she was quite a beauty and wore clothes that appeared rather bold to her.

Susan looked around until her eyes found the rather unspectacular-looking guy, balding, quite small for a man, with thick glasses, who was among the richest men of the whole civilized world. And one of its most dangerous demons, she made a mental note.

The press conference began at nine o'clock sharp. The slayers had managed to secure positions in the front row.

They watched the presentation of the new operating system, saw how it crashed several times, and the press conference was finally interrupted to restart the server. They watched Yates withdraw as well.

"We won't get a better chance," Buffy said and headed for the exit.

"Which way, ladies?" one of the security guards stopped her.

Buffy gave him a radiant smile. "Excuse us, we're press, we're doing a special feature on Whoknows 2005. And we thought Mr Yates might be inclined to give us a private interview."

The guard burst out laughing. "Yeah, sure. Just like all the other guys here. What d'ya think a press conference is for?"

Faith pushed Buffy aside. "Let me take care of this, B. Listen." Faith turned to the guard with the most seductive gestures she could provide. "We would like a VERY private interview. Actually, Mr Yates called our agency himself and requested us. Ya know, there are rumours Mr Yates has certain... preferences, and, as you can see, we're in three, and if you force us to verify our identity, with all the press around, and anyone gets it by chance, this conference WILL be in the headlines, but not for the operating system, I'm afraid."

Buffy's eyes opened wide. Faith told such a story without blushing? Yet the guard blushed, murmured an apology and let them pass.

"You told him we're prostitutes!" Buffy protested in a shock.

"But it worked, so don't YOU get worked up," Faith replied.

"What shocked me was that he readily believed us. I wonder if that's what we look like, I mean..." Buffy remarked.

They walked down the corridor and finally found a door with a sign saying "Office Mr Yates. No Admittance."

Susan tried the handle. "It's locked."

"Step back," Faith said, "I'll use my universal key."

Susan stepped back, and Faith smashed the door with her leg. "Open."

The slayers entered the office.

Yates shrank from behind his computer. "Who let you in?" he inquired, "I said I'm not giving exclusives, what do I pay those guards for?"

"Your guards obviously accept you pay for other things as well," Faith remarked.

Yates looked at the girls closely, then at the smashed door, then turned to Faith again. "You're the Slayer," he said matter-of-factly, not very impressed, "But since when do slayers have friends?" He stared at Susan, then at Buffy. "All three of you are slayers. Three slayers at the same time."

If they had expected he would be afraid at the realisation, they were deceived.

"Good," he said, "I haven't tasted a slayer's blood in twenty years. You're so busy when you're in the IT business."

"Yeah," Susan sighed, reflecting on when she had had her last holiday.

"To cut a long story short, Amun-Re," Buffy took over, "We came for YOUR blood."

Amun-Re chuckled. "A time spell, so that's what you need. All right --- I love games, at the moment I'm playing the latest edition of Cara Loft. May the best team win – oh, and good luck, slayers."

Buffy attacked. Amun-Re blocked her attack by just stretching out his hand and threw her back with telekinesis.

Susan and Faith attacked together, but they were little more lucky as small sparks of lightning were sent from the demon's fingers.

Susan felt the electric shock very hard, she realized she had not fully recovered.

Buffy faked an attack, and while Amun-Re concentrated on her, Faith rushed at him from behind – just to be caught by the fire wall he had built up in a fragment of a second.

"You're ruining my carpet," he complained, "That'll cost you a fortune! Too bad you don't have a medi pack with you."

Faith never knew how he came to the knife he thrust into her side, or if it materialized out of thin air.

"This way, we'll never win," Susan said. She reached for his desk and moved the mouse. The computer reacted to her skilled fingers at once. While Amun-Re was busy with the two other slayers, she typed the magic words that were intended to save Angel's soul from eternal void:

"No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Amun-Re shouted and rushed to his computer's rescue – too late to save his data, but just in time for Faith to grab the knife and thrust with full force. "Game over!"

Amun-Re's blood streamed over the blade.

"Should be enough for the ritual," Buffy said and put the knife into a plastic bag.

Yates was no longer looking like the skilled magician demon he had seemed during the fight. He was still crying over his computer.

"What about him, don't you wanna finish him off?" Faith asked.

Susan looked sceptical. "He doesn't seem to pose a threat, all he's interested is IT, even his magic is stolen from a computer game. We can leave him alone with the pieces of his dream, I think."

Buffy nodded. "What a loser."

"Yeah," Susan agreed, "He doesn't even use his own operating system." She pointed at the large pear logo at the back of the monitor."

*

"I'm sure he did not harm your mother," Mona tried to comfort Tasha.

"But why isn't she here with us?" Tasha's voice was full of pain and fear.

"I bet he used her as a trap for Susan," Mona suspected.

Tasha burst into tears. "How am I ever to explain this to mom? I'm lost! I betrayed everything I believed in. I'm not allowed to give my blood to anyone, I am to be obiedient to my mother and to my husband, and yet I failed in all."

At the sound of this, Mona really got upset. "I don't get this! Are your doctrines all you can think of now? Don't you think you have an immortal soul to fear for?"

"We don't have souls, it's a myth, when we die, we fall asleep and are awakened as we were on Judgment Day," Tasha said mechanically.

Mona glared at her. "Fine, tell that Angelus!"

"Tell me what?"

His voice came out of nowhere, and it silenced Mona at once.

"I asked a question," Angelus said.

"It wasn't important," Mona whispered.

"You should really speak aloud, dear, a low voice is a typical sign of poor self-assurance."

"Then you probably don't have to worry about it," Mona murmured.

Luckily, the vampire ignored that remark. "So, what were you two talking about? Hope you didn't get bored without me."

"We were talking about souls," Mona replied helplessly.

"That don't exist," Tasha added.

Angelus looked puzzled for a moment, then he chuckled. "Why, that's interesting, my queen, tell me more about it."

Tasha cast her eyes down as he called her his queen.

"I'm sure you don't wanna hear that," Mona remarked.

Angelus smiled enigmatically. "I appreciate your talent for diplomacy with someone who might kill you, but let her speak this time."

Tasha looked a bit insecure, but as he encouraged her again to speak of her religion, she was unable to resist temptation. "On Judgment Day, those who are just will be awakened by God."

"Those who are just – Jehova's witnesses, you mean," Angelus added.

Tasha thought for a moment. "Not necessarily, there might be others, too."

Mona turned her eyes to the ceiling. Did Tasha really think Angelus wanted to be informed about her religious attitudes? Didn't she see he would use every single word against her? Did she think she could make him a witness?

"And the part about the souls?" he inquired.

"There are no souls," Tasha said, "There never were."

"I see." Angelus stepped away from the wall where he had been leaning. Mona watched it with growing concern. He came towards them. "And the thing about blood? That's your specialty, isn't it?"

Tasha shook her head, clearly offended. "I don't like the way you ask your questions. We reject blood transfusions because the Holy Bible says you must not accept blood. And it's so risky nowadays, with diseases, and there's nothing you couldn't do with natrium solution as well."

Angelus stepped behind the sofa. "And you follow that directions in any case?"

"They are God's word, and, yes, I follow them," Tasha said, full of conviction.

The vampire bent down, so he was exactly between the two young women. "Let's say someone who is quite close to you needed a transfusion." His hands closed around Mona's shoulders. "Let's say, Mona suffered of a dangerous loss of blood. And you were the only available person whose blood could be used."

Mona almost fainted as he lifted her from the sofa and put her on her feet. He examined her neck carefully, as if looking for the spot where her skin was especially thin and suited for a bite.

Angelus vamped out.

Tasha covered her eyes with her hands.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you," he commanded.

Very slowly, Tasha raised her eyes.

Angelus' voice was sharp, threatening, a portent of death when he asked: "Would you deny her? You would let her die. Wouldn't you?"

Mona's life passed in her mind like a movie. A horror movie.

Then, suddenly, Angelus released her.

He walked from the room without a further word.

Overwhelmed by relief, Mona sank to the floor.

Then he turned around to look at her, his face the air of human again.

And a sick, perverted part of her that Tasha would have reproached her for wondered what it would have been like to feel his fangs, it was said that a vampire's victim felt as much satisfaction as the vampire himself...no.

As if reading her mind, Angelus smirked. "If I were you, I'd re-think my concept of the term 'friend'."

*

Willow gathered the items within the magical circle.

Faith handed her the bloody knife.

"Where's my CD?" Xander asked.

Susan sighed and gave him the CD.

Xander was confused. "That's not Whoknows 2005. That's the latest Pear operating system, King OS."

Susan shrugged. "Well, that's what Phil Yates uses." The remark set Xander thinking for the rest of the week.

"So, now we can open the portal, I'll go through and prevent Will from saying the spell, and all will be fine," Buffy resumed. Then she noticed the concern on the faces around her. "What?!"

"It's not that easy," Giles said.

"Why?"

"No human being can venture through the portal, not even a slayer. The timeshift would kill you, and even if you survived, it would make you age faster than you can imagine. Only someone who does not age could do it."

"A vampire," Faith concluded.

"Spike," Buffy suggested.

"There is a problem with that, too," Willow said.

Spike cleared his voice. "If I went through the portal with Angel's soul and prevented the spell, my other self in the past would remain soulless. I can't do it, Buffy, I was blind, and now the soul makes me see, and all I see is you. I can't lose my soul again. It would mean losing both myself and you, and the thought of this is more than I can take. And you would be left with nothing, neither Spike nor Angel. Losing the love of your life is hard, but losing it twice is too much even for a slayer. Buffy, I love you too much to let this happen."

For a moment, Buffy was overwhelmed by this declaration. Then her eyes darkened. "There will never be another vampire prepared to go through this portal for us. So Angel's fate is sealed."

"Not necessarily," Asmodis disagreed.

Did this guy always have to contradict her? "What?" she asked suspiciously.

"Angel would go, wouldn't he? If he had his soul, I mean."

"But he doesn't have it, that's the point of all this time travel talk, just in case you haven't noticed! Hobby magicians! If you want my advice, don't give up your job."

But Asmodis had not finished his explanations. "He could have his soul, or, at least a soul. We know Willow is able to give a vampire the next loving soul available. If there was someone with a soul near Angelus when the spell was performed, and his soul left the body in exactly that moment the words are spoken, then his soul would enter Angel's body, and he could go through the portal and prevent everything."

"And how is the soul to leave the body?" Xander asked.

"The person in question would have to die. Let's say, of a vampire's bite."

"That would be too high a risk. If anything goes wrong, the person in question would lose his soul completely. The timing would be too difficult. No one could manage such a degree of precision," Faith said.

"A slayer could," Asmodis said.

"And the circle of slayers that must speak the spell?" Buffy asked.

"The word circle is used metaphorically. The three Slayers do not have to be in the same room. They just have to speak at precisely the same time."

"Another insecure factor," Wesley added, "No one could possibly be asked to do so foolish a thing."

"I'll do it," Buffy said. "I'll let Angelus kill me and give him my soul."

"No," Susan interfered, "He knows you loathe him because he mocks your love for Angel with his very existence. He would suspect. If I do it, he won't have a clue. He thinks I'm under his spell, and part of me really is, more than I would ever wish to admit to myself."

"It's too high a risk to run," Buffy disagreed, "I can't let you do this. If there is just one mistake in the timing, you'll die! Angel would never ask this of you for his sake."

"Angel would not hesitate if it were the other way round," Susan insisted. "He would give his soul for anyone involved in this, including myself."

Faith let her breath out. "Wow. Angel did risk a great deal for me, but to tell the truth, I wouldn't do this for him."

Buffy talked herself into fury. "Angel is not the Slayer, he has no sacred duty!"

From a look in Susan's eyes, Buffy knew the other woman was so resolved no one would stop her. So Buffy's voice softened as she asked: "Are you sure you want to do this? The cost could be your life."

"Whenever a slayer dies, a new one is called. If I die in trying this, then be it – they will sent a... a replacement."

*

Once more, Angelus had made sure Susan would have no difficulty in finding his new dwelling. She had soon figured out that a sentence like "To be born again, first you have to die" had been a little pathetic for the vampire's style.

Asmodis thought about it for quite some time until he remembered Mona's quoting the sentence to him years ago, when she was writing on her dissertation about the Satanic Verses.

It took Willow only half an hour to find how the hint could lead them to Angelus. "The person saying this is named Farishta, a word meaning 'angel'," she explained, "And one of the turning points in the novel is when he rescues his death enemy at a place called Shandaar Café. There is a Café called The Shandaar a bit out of town."

"A brilliant sense of humour," Buffy remarked sarcastically, "So that guy rescues his death enemy, huh? And afterwards, happily ever after?"

"Not exactly," Giles replied, "He kills three people, including his ex-girlfriend, whom he hurls from a skyscraper, and then he shoots himself."

"Oh." Buffy coughed nervously. "I see what he likes about the book."

*

"What are you saying, does my little scenery meet your taste?"

Mona looked down at the oriental carpet he had placed Tasha on, and the silken bonds around her ankles and wrists. "Well, I think your interpretation is... interesting. Apart from the fact that you've assigned Tasha to the role of Rekha... and the fact that Rekha is dead before the plot begins..."

"Ah, you're right, that's a detail I almost forgot... but I'll correct my little mistake later. I have to prepare for my role as the Archangel."

Mona almost did not dare to ask what part he intended for her.

Again, it seemed he guessed her thoughts. "You're Ayesha, of course," he said.

Mona quickly remembered there were three women of that name in the novel. The first was a demon-like queen, the second a prostitute, and the third drowned by trying to follow Moses' example and make the Arabian Sea part before her. She admitted she did not like either of the roles.

*

Buffy and Faith had let Susan leave only under protests. Asmodis had provided a tour bus, so they could be as close as possible to the Shandaar Café when doing the ritual.

The establishment was run down, as it had been empty since its last owner went out of business due to the unprofitable remoteness of the place.

Buffy took the other woman by the shoulders. "Good luck. Remember, we're right here."

Susan nodded.

The sun had set. Out of town, so far away from the city lights, they could see every star of the country sky. A sight almost beautiful.

Spike unwrapped the crossbows with wooden bolts. He handed one of them to Asmodis. "Do you know how to use this?" he asked.

"Well," the singer replied, "At least in the virtual world." He considered the idea for a moment, then he put the heavy crossbow aside and provided himself with stakes, crucifixes and Holy Water. "I'll stick to these," he explained.

Willow joined Asmodis, Xander followed Spike in search of the hostages.

Susan parted with them at the entrance of the Shandaar.

She knew she had to go on her own.

*

Asmodis and Willow stood before the large wooden door to a room upstairs.

"We'll have to open it," Willow said, "But what if HE is in there?"

Asmodis opened the door... and burst out laughing.

Tasha, in a very elegant oriental dance outfit, was tied to the floor, sitting on an expensive carpet.

"Don't laugh," Tasha protested, "Rescue me!"

"Shall I really? This would be the perfect opportunity to get rid of you, leaving you to the vampire..." Tasha's shocked expression showed him she did not hear the jest in his words. "But no, that would mean you'd haunt the earth forever, I can't do this to the world." Still shaking with laughter, he freed her from the apparently uncomfortable, ridiculous position. "Do you know where Mona is?" he asked.

*

Spike and Xander had reached the cellar by then.

Behind several doors, they found nothing but empty rooms.

One of the doors, however, bore a large sign saying "POOL".

Cautiously, they opened the door --- and saw something fall into the water of a huge pool.

Spike rushed to the pool and helped Mona to get out of the cage that had fallen into the water.

"He put her into a cage, placed it above the water and linked the construction to the door mechanism," Xander admired the technical side of the cruel joke.

"You find that funny?" Spike chided him, "She could have drowned!"

Mona pushed her wet hair aside. "Well, apparently the Arabian Sea did not part for me," she said sarcastically. Knowing herself safe now, her panic faded. "Good to see you again, Spike."

Spike had almost forgotten. Had he been alive, his face would have been deep red. As matters were, he shyly cast down his eyes and tried to appear smaller than he was by not keeping his shoulders straight. "I'm so SORRY!" he burst out. "The caffeine... I used the situation... What I did was irresponsible!"

Mona laughed. "Wish I could agree, but for my part, I still don't remember anything. When this is over, I'll invite you for some coffee. Perhaps with my boyfriend as well."

Spike looked extremely shocked.

Xander glanced from one to the other. "What are the two of you talking about?"

"Coffee," Mona said sheepishly, "Or what did you think?"

*

"Back again?" Angelus did not even bother to turn around.

"You knew I would come back."

"Of course. The rivals meet for showdown at the Shandaar Café. I told you I wanted to save you. It's a pity you brought those losers along, so you didn't find my little surprises. I guess that means all that's left is my wedding gift."

"Wedding." Susan said it as if it was an obscenity. Which it was, in a way.

"Metaphorically speaking. Your wedding to darkness - that was what I invited Buffy to, with my little present. She's not with you?"

"Which wedding gift?" Susan insisted.

"Riley, of course. Don't tell me you would have preferred a necklace."

"Where is Riley?"

"Oh, Susan, don't spoil my surprises! You can't open the presents before you're wedded. Tradition wants it thus."

"I never cared about traditions."

"But I do," Angelus said. He turned around and fixed her with his eyes. "And you can't be wedded without shedding blood first."

Susan pretended she was not conscious of the double meaning and tried to ignore Angelus' examining looks. "Color's returning to your cheeks, you're recovering. You look awful."

"Why, thanks a lot. Angelus, I'm not back because I would enjoy your literary allusions. No way. I really thought you would not kill me. But you would have done it, you are unfeeling. That is the secret of it, isn't it. Being evil just means being unable to love."

Angelus stared at her. Was this the same girl he had easily conquered only hours before? He tried not to show his surprise. He looked at her from a winner's perspective, showing pride, superiority. "So you're telling me you love me," he stated with contempt.

His words hurt. They almost made Susan think her decision over. If she succeeded, she would win a fight against evil once more, and she would regain a friend [and lose the prospect of ever having more than a friend in him]. If she failed... she must not fail. "I can only congratulate you," Susan said, "You had no need to kill your enemies, you achieved even more. You did not kill Tasha, you made her life hell on earth because you mocked the fantasies she had about you, and you ruined Riley's memories by reading the poem to him, at least in case he will ever overcome the shock. Tasha's mother is still in a frenzy, I'm not sure if her mental health will return one day. True, Buffy will be chasing you for a while, until she realizes she no longer needs her nemesis. Her Angel is with her, and sooner or later she will understand and accept your freedom is a small price for her personal happiness. Human beings are selfish and emotional, vampires are calculators and manipulators, and that's what makes you win in the end. But you are not satiated – the ultimate kill gives you no thrill, no pleasure, and you think, if you kill once more, it will be perfect, but it never is."

When she had ended, there was a deadly silence in the room.

Angelus was speechless. Then the thought came to him as a sudden relevation.

"You're not here to fight."

"A fight I could not possibly win. It's not that I wouldn't feel it, Angelus, the power of the Chosen One in my body. It cries to me to get myself a weapon and attack you, and if I die in the fight, another slayer's waiting round the corner. But I won't accept so simple a fate. I've come to question everything."

"So what do you suggest... SLAYER?" Angelus asked, contempt, arrogance and... curiosity in his tone.

"Good is the order we have to believe in to survive, evil is the energy that urges us on. Energy without order leads into chaos, but order without energy is static and deprived of life." She walked up to him with all the grace and dignity she could master. Susan bared her neck and made him look at the wounds he had left.

"This time it will scar," Angelus announced, visibly taking pride in it.

"Finish what you've begun."

He lowered his face until it was right over her skin and whispered: "What if I don't want to?"

Susan bit her lip so hard a few drops of her blood began trickling down from it, then she forced his lips on hers and kissed him violently.

Her blood seemed to burn him from within like the first rays of morning sun.

"You want me to die for you," Susan said.

Angelus shook his head. "Don't just die for me. Die with me." [Author's note: Allusion to an aphorism by Oscar Wilde; note to non-native speakers: to die with someone refers to what the French call 'petit mort']

Susan never pronounced an answer.

*

"What the hell takes her so long? Something's wrong!"

Faith grabbed Buffy's arm. "Sit down, B. I'm sure everything's fine. We must stay here, she needs us for the ritual. If we don't speak exactly at the same time, she's lost, so don't make things worse."

"How will we know the time is right?"

Faith shrugged. "We're the Slayers. We're supposed to know."

Buffy hesitated, then sat down. "Still, she's been with him for more than an hour. I wonder what they're doing."

*

In the novel, the Shandaar Café was burning when the archangel and the devil met, one risking his life for his enemy. The Shandaar Café in the US state of Iowa was not surrounded by physical flames, however it was burning, consumed by an apocalyptic fire.

Every now and then I fall apart. [Author's note: Bonnie Tyler, "A total eclipse of the heart"]

Angelus thought about it just for a moment. Then his fangs tore her skin apart, like an animal, he fed from her, he feasted, in pure ecstasy of the taste of her sacred blood, the blood he would consume with a perverted sense of respect until the spark of life would escape from her.

He did not feel the cold blade of the sickle knife until it cut his skin.

Susan closed her eyes, desperately hoping her timing would not fail her, and drank.

As Angelus realized what she was doing, he burst into triumphant laughter. "Now you've taken the decision from me."

The life that flowed from her to him, pushing his power to the limit of even an immortal creature, his poison giving her eternal youth, joining her to darkness as he had joined it so many decades ago, slowly, but steadily transforming them, uniting them in a circle of life and death, of hot passions and cold-blooded murder.

Susan felt how she was slowly drifting across, how Death's dark wings were closing around her, and her soul was preparing to leave her to make way for a demon that would walk around with her body. Though her surroundings were fading from her blurred sight, she sought his eyes. "Indeed," she said. "Anal'h natrac'h - ut vas bethat - doc'h nyell yenn vvé."

*

"Now," Faith said calmly.

"And if it's too late?" Buffy whispered. "Or too early?"

"It's now," Faith replied.

Then the two girls took each other's hands and recited:

*

Angelus did not understand until it was too late. With fascination and pride, he watched as the slayer's eyes lost their gaze, her grip around his shoulders loosened, and the pain of crossing over killed her.

Nearly at the same time, his new Childe's face slowly began to vamp out. It has never been that fast, he thought with astonishment. But I never turned a slayer before.

Then the pain came, without warning, and sharper than a stake driven through his chest. "No!!!!!!!!!" the demon in Angelus screamed as he felt how he was pushed away by a soul stronger and brighter than he could have imagined, he fought, frantically, and knew it was futile. In a last effort to defeat the soul that was taking control, he moved in wild convulsions.

Then it ended. And he felt no more.

When Buffy carefully entered the room, she found him sitting on the floor, Susan's lifeless body still in his arms.

He sensed the slayer's presence. "Buffy," he said.

"Good to see you, Angel."

"She gave me her soul. Her memories are still faint, but I feel them." He glared at her with reproachful eyes. "Why did you let her do it?"

" 'Cause she didn't let me do it." Buffy looked away. "I planned to, like Susan."

"Not quite," Angel replied thoughtfully, "You would have done it for me only. She did it for Angelus, too."

"We must keep an eye on her," Buffy said matter-of-factly, "She has begun to transform. As a vampire, Susan would be twice as dangerous as Angelus. We can only hope this reality can still be altered. "

Angel rose slowly, his head spinning, his legs aching. Only then did he see the huge green portal in the middle of the room. "What's that?" he wondered.

"I'll explain."

**********************

"Oh. My. God." Faith had seen much in her years as a slayer, but Angelus' latest bizarre scenery was a new record.

She found Riley in a secured room in the dungeons below the cellar of the Shandaar Café. Angelus had flooded the room with the recitation of Tasha's poem, and Riley was forced to listen to it all over again and again.

Riley's skin was bruised, his dried blood was smeared all over his face and had soaked the cloth of his shirt. Angelus' scornful laughter still resounded in his ears and he would never forget what the vampire had said. When the door was opened, Riley looked at Faith with a sudden expression of fear.

"You're safe, he's gone," she said.

Angelus' voice still thundered through the room from the tape.

"Turn this off," Riley managed to say.

It took Faith some moments to figure out where the controls for the speakers were. "Are you okay?" the slayer asked, concerned.

Riley pointed to the floor.

Not until now Faith realized the pattern on the linoleum was not a pattern, but a writing. She turned her head to be able to read:

I'M ONLY SECOND CHOICE

She shrugged. "Odd sense of humour. So he made you write that a thousand times, huh?"

"Ten," Riley corrected, "Ten thousand times. With my fingernails. And my own blood. Not without making me notice it's a wonderful literary allusion to some guy who wrote porn in prison that way."

"De Sade," Mona notified him. "And he used his fingernails and blood because the staff of the prison had taken paper and ink away from him to make him stop writing."

"Thanks for the tuition," Riley replied sarcastically.

Faith helped Riley up from the floor. "Can you walk?"

"Hope so." His first steps were still insecure.

Tasha by then had heard the noise from downstairs and rushed into Riley's prison cell. She flung herself in his arms. "Thank the Lord you're alive!"

Riley pushed her away. "Leave me alone."

"Riley," she asked in confusion, "Are you okay? You look pale."

Suddenly energy returned into his eyes. He took something from his pocket and flung it at her. "Can you explain that?"

Tasha picked up the item. Color faded from her face. "That's not what it looks like."

"Look at what he forced me to do," Riley yelled, "Second choice, that's what I was to Buffy, and that's what I am to you!"

Faith took a closer look and realized the item was a claddagh ring.

"No," Tasha protested, "I bought this ring before I ever set eyes on you!"

"Yeah, but after you set eyes on HIM! Buffy had one like that, too. But none of you had the courage to tell me what it means, it took Angelus to tell me it means you are taken!" Again, he pushed her away and tried to hobble to the door.

"The ring had nothing to do with him, I wanted to tease Mona!"

Riley glared at her. "You expect me to believe that? No, Tasha, I may not be an intellectual, but I'm not a fool either. This time, you went too far. And then, the poem. A decent young woman wouldn't write smut like that."

"I had to," she defended herself, "It was a joke!"

"Sure, and fantasies of a vampire's bite have nothing to do with penetration in the other sense of the word!" At the door, he turned to look at his wife, who was dissolved in tears now. "You're such a coward. If you wanna be his whore, fine – but then you can't be my wife. You're just a cold-hearted ice-maiden in desperate search of good hopping."

"Riley, wait!" The tears were running down her cheeks in streams, flooding away her badly attached eye-shadow.

"It's over, Tasha. I'm leaving. I know when I'm not wanted."

"You can't let it end like that! Don't let him come between us," she cried.

"I don't even think you married me for my sake. Probably you did it to justify you had premarital intercourse. Bet you wouldn't have been that fussy about HIM!"

Faith raised a brow. Well, that was interesting.

Riley's anger disappeared from his eyes. Now, they were full of disappointment. "I can't remember you ever told me the three magic words that should be at the heart of every marriage. The three words that bind a man forever to his vows. Can't you even say them now?"

"I... I... Riley, please don't make me say that now in front of all these people."

He shook his head. "All I'm asking are three little words."

"The three words. Okay." Tasha took a deep breath. She could not even look in his eyes as she said: "I am pregnant."

*

Angel saw the pulsating green light of the time gate before him. Thoughtfully, he regarded the small scarab in his hand.

"Good luck," Giles said, "If you don't succeed, may God have mercy with us all."

Riley cleared his voice. "Uh... Angel?"

The vampire looked at him questioningly.

"If you don't succeed in stopping Willow before Angelus appears... would you tell him something from me? Tell him to kill me."

Angel was confused, then decided Riley was still in a state of shock due to what Angelus had done. Angel stepped towards the gate.

"Wait!" Buffy yelled and rushed at him.

"Buffy, what...?"

"Don't speak," she said in a low, but determined voice, "Just listen. There's something I have to say. This timeline will be deleted, except your memories, right?"

"At least it was like that the last time," Angel confirmed.

Buffy frowned. "What do you mean, the last time?"

Angel realized his mistake. "Just a saying, I meant, that's what literature says."

"Right. Angel, Willow's spell failed in this timeline because she said 'Give Spike a soul that loves Buffy.' No, don't say anything now. But..." She looked in his eyes as if she would never see him again, "... Angel, if you still do, then stop meditating and FIGHT for it."

Angel's eyes showed surprise and something Buffy had not seen in them for years... hope. "This timeline will be deleted?" he inquired.

"Right," Buffy agreed.

He gently caressed her cheek. "I've always been a fighter."

She watched the gate take him away.

"Uhm----"

Giles looked at Riley questioningly. "What?"

"Giles, I know this may not be the perfect moment, but--- exactly HOW MUCH of this timeline will be deleted... I mean... the little... PROBLEM I have with my wife..."

Giles took off his glasses and began to wipe them. "I'm afraid you've had that... little problem, as you call it, for a little longer than the time Angel lost his soul. So his going backwards in time won't change anything about that."

Riley nearly fainted.

Xander patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Congratulations, Daddy."

*

Opening her eyes, Susan saw Angel disappearing through the gate.

"You can't just go!" she yelled.

"Attention!" Faith screamed, "She's regained consciousness!" Faith tried to stop Susan, but was thrown aside with an easiness that no demon had ever been able to produce when a Slayer was concerned. Faith landed on her backbone, the pain shooting into her nerves. "Buffy!"

Buffy rushed at Susan, but she had underestimated the strength of a vampire who had been a Slayer in life. She fared no better than Faith.

Watching with horror how the other woman made her first steps as an undead with doubled slayer abilities, they could not prevent her from following Angel through the shimmering gate.

The gate flickered briefly when the undead Slayer passed through it, but there was no change to the pulsating green portal thereafter.

"What are we to do now?" Buffy was not exactly known for giving up easily. However, this time, she was at a dead end. Literally.

"How could you let her follow him?" Giles reproached her.

"Feel free to stop a Slayer Vampire," Faith replied sarcastically, "You saw we were no match for her, and I can't see how we could change anything now."

"Angel will find a way," Buffy insisted.

"Of course, Superman on his way," Spike retorted.

"More likely she'll find a way to activate Angelus TWICE in the past," Xander agreed, "So all we've done is made things worse!"

*

That morning, Buffy Summers was very surprised to find a well-known visitor at her door. "Angel. What are you doing in Sunnydale? And at this hour? You'd better come in, the sun's about to rise."

"Thanks." Embarrassed, Angel tried not to look at Buffy, who had opened the door dressed only with a towel.

Buffy looked down. "Oh, yeah, sorry, I was just having a shower, I got up early today to go jogging before sunrise. Bad habit I picked up from Ri... well, just come in."

Angel nodded. "I wouldn't have come if it wasn't important."

"Must be important if you traveled all the way."

"You have no idea how far I traveled. Buffy, something horrible is going to happen if we don't prevent it."

"How horrible?" the Slayer asked, "End-of-the-world-horrible?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Oh... okay." Buffy pointed at the door to her bathroom. "Just let me get dressed, I'll be ready to save the world in a minute." She tried not to stumble over her own feet and concentrated on not letting the heat rise into her face. With Angel around, she suddenly felt about six years younger, a high school student in her senior year, wondering if he'd take her to the prom. Buffy had a curious feeling. She had met Angel several times during these years that had passed, yet she had never felt quite like that, as if their first kiss had only been yesterday.

"We mustn't lose a minute," Angel said.

"Thought so," Buffy replied.

"We've lost six years already."

Buffy's heartbeat seemed to stop. "What?" she asked.

"You've heard me."

She felt his burning gaze resting on her naked shoulders.

Then, suddenly, he was behind her, closing his arms around her, turning her around to face him. The towel fell to the floor.

For a moment, Buffy surrendered to his kiss. Then she broke it and rested her head against his shoulder. "Angel," she sighed, "How I've been longing to hear you say this. If it weren't for the curse..."

"Curse? What curse?"

Buffy looked up at him. "Angel," she asked confused, "You mean...?"

"I mean there's no curse now to keep me away from you... lover." Angelus vamped out.

Buffy woke in her bed, her nightdress soaked with sweat, her cheeks wet with tears. The same nightmare again, the third night in a sequence. Buffy sought the display of her alarm clock. Two-thirty. She sighed and grabbed the phone. "Sorry, Giles," she said and dialled the former watcher's number.

It took long until she heard him pick up the receiver and murmur his name, still enfolded in some dream. "Rupert Giles."

"Giles, it's me. I'm worried about Angel."

"The same dream?" Giles asked sleepily.

"For the third time."

"We'll call Angel Investigations tomorrow morning, all right?"

"But..."

"Buffy, please, calm down. I'm sure everything is just fine. It is natural you have these dreams, your birthday is approaching."

"Giles, I'm not crazy. I don't need a shrink, I need a WATCHER."

"You sure do, but... please, not at two-thirty in the morning."

*

"Can you promise me you won't perform it if it seems too challenging to you? And you be careful if you do decide to do it?"

"Yes, yes, I swear," Willow agreed readily. She would even have sworn to jump from the Empire State Building if it had helped to persuade her friend. The thought was odd, somehow. Had she thought this before?

"Will, we could..." Tara hesitated. "We could attempt to give Spike human feeling, compassion, true love."

"Restore his soul, you mean? You know such a curse?"

"Not exactly," Tara admitted, "I think the spell can give him a soul, but I'm not sure how this works. It's no curse, as you told me it was with Angel."

"I don't care what you call it, as long as it helps Buffy. Just tell me what to do."

Tara felt uncomfortable giving the other witch so mighty a power... besides, she had a strong feeling of déjà vu... "Are you sure I haven't given you the spell before?"

Willow sounded puzzled. "When was that supposed to be?"

"Forget what I said, I'm just a little tired. The job, you know. Do you have pen and paper?"

"Yep, go on."

*

Codelia's heart was beating wildly as she picked up the receiver. "Cordelia Windham-Pryce."

"Hi, this is Trish, from the production management. Just wanted to ask if your address is still valid, so we can send you the script."

"Does that mean... I have the part???"

"Congratulations, Cordelia. You're the new secondary Bond Girl."

Cordelia let out an enthusiastic scream.

"What about the address?"

"Yeah, of course, it's still the same – thanks for the call." Cordy hang up and dialled Wesley's number from her cell phone.

"Angel Invest..."

"Wes, I have the role! I'm going to kiss David Duchovny!"

"Whom?" Wesley asked, puzzled.

"Oh, come on, you know, the good-looking actor who starred in Superman and took over James Bond last year – the scandal, an American playing the British agent!"

Wesley shrugged. "Whoever, as long as you don't forget about kissing me, I'm happy for you."

"I'll be home soon, we're just doing the last take, and then I'm driving down. May take a while, rush hour, y'know. Don't tell Angel anything yet, it's supposed to be a surprise, right?"

"I won't spill your secret. Can't wait to see you." Wesley blew a kiss into the phone.

Angel passed him by and shook his head. "Hope that was none of our clients."

*

Angel cursed the phone. The line was engaged all the time, and so much depended on his reaching Willow in time, before the spell took away the soul of his alter ego in this time line.

Not for the first time he wished the rumors were true that a vampire could shapeshift into a bat to cover huge distances by air. Yet he would probably have to drive to Sunnydale in an old-fashioned car if he was still unable to reach anyone. He did not travel through time to be an eye-witness to his own crimes.

*

"Mr Harding, I regret to tell you, but you're a dinosaur. Business today is no longer run like that. And I'd be grateful if you could let me do my work in peace, now." Even while she spoke, Susan had the feeling she was reading from a textbook, not inventing the words, as if they had existed before.

In this state of confusion, it took her a moment to realize Harding grabbed her arm to turn her around violently, then tried to clasp her waist, tearing at her blouse.

Out of a reflex, Susan used her other hand to unwind his grip. The crashing of bone could be perceived, and Harding whined in pain.

Susan threw him, who was stunned at her remarkable strength, against the wall, his head hitting the concrete very hard, and punched at his chin. Harding sank to the ground, groaning, tasting blood on his lips.

Susan stared at her own hands, still unable to believe she had done this. Then she suddenly felt a presence so close it made her catch her breath, she felt as if she was driving down an American freeway in a car with dyed window panes, she smelt the desert sand and felt the heat around her being absorbed by her dark clothes... As if she existed in two places simultaneously. And she sensed fear. She was scared to death of something going on.

Alarmed by the noise, Richard rushed in. "Jesus, what HAPPENED?" he asked in a shock.

"That bitch hit me," Harding pressed from between his bleeding lips, "I'll sue your company!"

Susan stood like paralysed, too much caught in the vision. "Richard," she managed to say, "I need a vacation."

*

This time, Susan called Giles directly from the office. He needed a moment to recover from the shock of hearing Susan's voice after these years, and the second shock that she had obviously been reactivated.

"It sounds silly, I know," she assured the former Watcher, "but at the moment I'm driving down a country road heading for Sunnydale, I can't explain, but I see it even though I'm some thousand miles away. Something is happening, Giles, I know."

"It is not exactly reassuring," Giles agreed, "Buffy told me the same story yesterday, she felt something was in the air that made her instincts sharpen. And she had nightmares, about..."

Susan interrupted him. "About Angel. You tried to call Wesley in Los Angeles, but haven't been able to reach anyone at Angel's office. Right?"

"Why... yes, that's right," Giles said, astonished. "How did you know what I was going to say?"

"I have no idea. But I knew what you would say even before I called you. Must have something to do with being a slayer."

Giles cleared his voice. "However, there must be a reason for your being... reactivated."

Susan sounded very resolved. "All right, I'm on my way to Sunnydale, Giles. I'm taking the next flight to L.A. available."

"Inform me about your arrival time. I will meet you at Los Angeles airport."

"I really appreciate that." While saying the words, Susan still felt she had made this very appointment before. Thoughtfully, she hang up. Her head was filled with confusing images, pictures that made no sense at all, she saw herself looking out on the dirty road from the eyes of a man, she felt a china cup falling form her hand that simply was not there, and she felt the strong presence of a man though her last date had been so long ago she could not even remember. "Please, let me be wrong," she whispered.

*

"Doctor Green, I mean, not that I doubt your competence, but... you're sure there is no mistake? There's no organic reason?"

Doctor Green smiled at the young woman reassuringly. "No doubt, no error. Congratulations, Mrs Finn. You're having a baby. I'd suggest we fix another appointment in two weeks to check the state of our little patient, okay?"

Tasha's heart was beating hard in her chest. She had suspected, but now she heard her hypothesis confirmed, it struck her with surprise anyway. "Oh... okay," she gasped.

"No need to be worried, Mrs Finn, you and your husband will have nine months to get used to the situation. And, if you don't mind my saying so, I've known Riley since I delivered his mother of him, and he's always wanted a big family, so it's time you got started. It's normal to be nervous."

Tasha nodded and was pushed out of the surgery.

She felt for the cell phone in her handbag. She had to call Riley and share the news with him immediately.

Then the phone rang.

"Hi, it's me, Mona."

"Hi, Mona! What a coincidence you're calling! There's something I must tell..."

"I have important news, Tasha. Can I stay with you for a few days? Please, I'm really desperate, I need some distance between Asmodis and his stage and myself. Please, can you talk to Riley and ask him if I can visit you?"

Tasha sighed. Telling Riley the news would have to wait for a few days if she wanted to have Mona at her house without having her caring husband about her all the time. She would tell him later. Well, they had nine months, after all. A few days less would make no difference.

*

Willow noticed the scent of the flavoured candles was spreading over the whole room. Time she got started. She sat on the floor, with her legs crossed. Before her was a photograph of Buffy. Visibly. Willow had taken it herself and knew perfectly Spike was embracing the Slayer from behind, but as the camera was operating with mirrors, he was nowhere to be seen on the picture.

She sighed. Too bad Buffy's relationship with Riley had not worked out. Things would have been easier. But as things were, this spell might help her anyway.

The witch prepared to say the words in the ancient Norman French.

*

Angel did not waste time locking the black cabriolet. He headed straight for Willow's apartment --- when he was stopped abruptly by a dark figure stepping out from behind a bush.

"Whom do we have here."

"No, Spike, not today," Angel refused, "I must talk to Willow, NOW."

Spike laughed. "You think me that stupid? You'll turn right and see Buffy."

Angel shook his head. "Let me pass, I don't have time for your games now."

"In case you haven't noticed, old man," Spike said, "Buffy is my girlfriend now, you went out of her life years ago, so if you wanna see her, first see me."

Angel hesitated. He could not evade the younger vampire without leaving the small stripe of shadow on the sun-flooded grass. And Spike was not likely to let him pass. So Angel tried to push him out of the way to Willow's apartment, yet Spike was not the vampire to be rid of that easily.

"Not. That. Fast."

"Spike, I really don't wanna hurt you, but..."

"Big words for such an old man. I may be a little out of practice at killing people, but I'm real' good at kickin' a demon's ass, and that's what you are, however desperately you're trying to be human." His attack came fast and aggressively.

*

Willow blew out the candle.

she recited in the antique language variety, pronouncing every word carefully to avoid mistakes, as if encouraging herself she was powerful.

The rat behind her was moving nervously in her cage.

*

Angel fought desperately. Normally, Spike would have been no challenge for him, but with the merciless sun surrounding the spot in which they were fighting, he had to be careful throwing him around to avoid condemning the other vampire to a fiery death, if not for Spike's, at least for Buffy's sake.

His adversary, however, made no such efforts and tried to push him past the limits of the sheltering darkness.

*

Willow concentrated. From here, she had to adapt the words to fit her purpose.

*

Angel finally shook Spike off and leaped for the door.

*

Willow took a deep breath.

"No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Angel's desperate cry made Willow knock over a candle, and she screamed in pain as the hot wax flowed over her bare hand.

Angel clasped the astonished woman's shoulders and yelled: "What did you say so far?"

Willow's eyes widened in fear. "I don't understand..."

Behind them, Spike appeared in the door. "Angel, wait," he gasped.

Angel glared at him. "Don't make things worse!"

"Just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't exactly give you a warm welcome."

Angel let go of Willow's shoulders. "It's too late," he said, sounding so melancholic Willow nearly panicked.

"What's going on?" the witch asked, afraid of hearing the answer.

"Congratulations," Angel replied, sounding as if pronouncing the apocalypse, "You've just turned Spike into a saint. But at what cost?"

*

Angelus did not care how he suddenly came to control the body. He just knew the soul he loathed and feared was gone. And he felt a consuming hunger, a need for blood, and he certainly did not feel like using the poor substitutes the soul was calling nourishment. He heard the voices of the arrogant would-be actress and her naive husband upstairs.

"I'm here," he said, trying to sound as shy as his alter ego.

"Angel!" The actress smiled at him. Her veins were pulsating beneath her skin, she was excited. Good. Excitement gave human blood a special flavor. "Great! I have important news for you, I already told Wes on the phone." She paused as he showed no reaction. "What? Aren't you curious at all?"

"Wait," Angelus said, unable to supress a sarcastic remark, "They've fired you, and I get back my secretary?" Why do I have the feeling I said that before?

"Very funny," Cordy complained. "No! Of course not! Well, I'd love to tell you everything, but I'm dying with thirst!"

Wesley rose from the desk and headed for the corridor. "I'll get you some water."

That was better than he thought. He could drain them one after the other. He did not care about Cordelia's pointless chatter, he barely listened to her talk about a ridiculous award she planned to win. Finally, she ended her childish enthusiasm shouting, "Angel, I'm so happy!"

Angelus could not hear it any longer. "That's wonderful, Cordelia," he replied in a meaningful voice and embraced her, as a traitor, emprisoning her in an iron grip with no chance of escape at all.

Cordelia returned the embrace.

"Who else is nominated?" he asked.

"As far as I know, I'm the most likely candidate, the second will probably be Belinda Wilkins of 'Stars over Bay City'. Why?" Cordelia seemed to get uneasy in his arms. Good.

"Because I have to remember to send her my congratulations," he whispered, his hand wandering towards Cordelia's neck. Smooth skin. Sweet blood.

"Angel," she asked anxiously, "Are you all right? I mean, why would you want to send her congratulations when I'm going to win?"

He chuckled. A scene crossed his mind, when they had last met, and she pretended to throw Holy Water in his face, which unfortunately had been enough to distract him. But not this time. He still had unfinished business with her. Sadistically, he added: "Because you won't be able to attend and claim your prize. I told you before you were a lousy actress, didn't I."

"Angel..." she pleaded. Wonderful. She would begin to beg, to humilate herself, he loved that part. Time to remind her of the old story.

"I see, Cordelia, you haven't forgotten. I was standing over there, in the dark, and you told me a very imaginative story about Holy Water. Too bad that this trick only works once."

Cordelia almost fainted. "Angel, tell me you're kidding! But... this isn't funny at all!"

"Not for you, granted," he replied. "Now you're the actress. Do you seek for eternal youth and beauty as well?"

"Oh my God!" she screamed, "WESLEEEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Angelus groaned from pleasure as he fed after six years of seclusion.

*

Buffy, alarmed from the sounds of fighting out in the street, came running to the open door of Willow's apartment.

She backed away as she saw Angel. "Hi," she said, surprised.

Angel looked up from sad eyes. "Hi," he replied.

"Angel." Buffy met his gaze. Then she frowned. "Angel?" she asked, now getting insecure. Then her eyes fell on Spike. "ANGEL?" she asked, disbelieving.

Despite the situation, Angel was proud of her. Her instincts never failed her, she still felt his presence.

The Slayer stared at them in confusion. "You are Angel..." she said, fixing Angel with her eyes, "But there's something---someone else, I can't explain, but you're not my Angel. Not completely." Turning to Spike, she added, "And you are Angel... and you're Spike, too... at least in a way... I don't get this! My nightmare..." She glared at the witch. "Willow, don't get me wrong, but... did you DO anything?"

"Me?"

"I'll explain this to you later," Angel said, "But for now, we must warn Wesley and Cordelia, and Giles must be informed."

"Giles is not here," Buffy said, "He said he needed to get something from the airport."

*

Doyle regarded The Entity in respectful silence for a while.

"I wait for your instructions, and I will obey."

The light before him shimmered more brightly. The voice came from nowhere, and resounded from all directions at the same time. " Manipulating time is not that easy when the memories of The Enlightened Ones are concerned. Their memories come to them as feelings of déjà vu, of visions, but they hardly ever get lost in the turmoil of time. Their future selves are still part of them. At this point, We will have to intervene if necessary. There will be a slight change of plans. "

*

The door had been left open. Everything was dark and calm at the agency.

Susan knew for sure she had never seen this office, but she saw the rooms in the mind's eye before she even tried the door. Again, this sense of déjà vu. I've been here before.

"Hello?" she asked, but she got no answer. The rooms would be empty. Angel would be downstairs. She supressed the instinct to venture through the rooms and remained where she was. "Angel?" she asked.

Angel appeared from downstairs, as expected... no, as she had known. He just stood there, fixing her with his dark eyes, looking as young as ever, dressed in black leather, combined with dark red silk. His scent filled the air, as his shadow fell on the floor.

"Hi, Angel."

She's the replacement slayer, and her blood's even sweeter than Buffy's, though I can't smell it right now beneath her heavy perfume, Angelus suddenly thought, having no idea how he knew, as his eyes wandered from her feet up to her face and back, lingering for a moment at the silver belt around her waist. "Hello, Susan. You look beautiful."

She tried not to let the heat rise to her face. "You're exaggerating... Let's change the subject."

"As you wish," he said, "I suppose you're not just on vacation."

Susan sighed. "Wish I were! Angel, I've been reactivated."

He looked confused. "You mean --- you have the slayer's powers?"

"Don't worry, Buffy's okay. We don't know why I got them back. In fact, we don't know anything. I just had the clear feeling something was wrong, and as Giles told me, so did Buffy. He was worried because he could not reach you, Wesley or Cordelia, so he met me at the airport, and we came here straight from the plane."

"Giles is here?" Angelus asked suspiciously. He could not use the annoying Watcher now.

"No, he's looking for a parking lot."

"You must be tired if you just came from the airport. Can I offer you anything?"

A bed, Susan was about to say. Yet she decided against the joke, the way Angel looked at her made her lose her sense of humor, this was not funny, she felt the tension between them. "A cup of coffee will do."

Why did I expect her to say 'a bed'? Too bad she didn't say it, I would have had an appropriate answer. The door bell interrupted his train of thought. Angel pointed at the door. "Suppose that's Giles. I'll open the door, please go straight downstairs to my apartment, the kitchen's..."

"... on the left," Susan completed his sentence. Well, you did not have to be a prophet to know this, most kitchens were on the left, weren't they?

*

Susan had found the coffee and was heating the water when Angel entered the kitchen.

"That wasn't Giles," Angelus said, "Just a client. I made an appointment for next week."

"I see." Susan concentrated on what she was doing, she was making coffee. Again, a vision of broken china crossed her mind. Why did she think she would drop the cup, no matter what she did? Demonstratively, Susan put aside the china cup and took a plastic mug out of the cupboard, then poured the boiling water into the mug.

"Why are you doing this, Susan?" Angelus asked, he sounded almost angry.

"Doing what?" Susan replied.

"You planned to take the cup, not that mug."

He was right, but how could he know? "I changed my mind."

"No, you didn't." Angelus took the china cup and cast it down on the floor. It broke into a hundred tiny pieces.

For a moment, none of them said a word.

"That's what it was like," Susan broke the silence after a while, "I took the cup, you said something, I got nervous and dropped it. We went through this before, didn't we?"

Angelus nodded reluctantly. He stared down at the pieces of the cup.

"Broken cockery brings you luck," they said unison.

"I know you well, Susan," Angelus said.

"And I know you," Susan replied, "Angelus."

For a moment, Angelus considered denial, then the more pressing question won:

"You know?"

"I knew only seconds after I saw you today."

"Then I must no longer pretend." Angelus' features morphed into game face. Against Susan's will, he took her hand. "You're so excited your hand's almost as cold as mine 'cause you know you'll let me kiss you against better reason."

Susan allowed the vampire to pull her close, enfolding her in his arms.

"Not this time. I can't go through this again," Susan said, and tried to free herself, but he was prepared and did not let her back off.

"What do you mean, you can't?" Angelus asked, "You slew me!"

"I saved you. And you drained me."

"I brought you across."

"This won't get us any further."

He kissed her hair seductively. "You needn't suffer this again now we both remember. We could shorten the whole thing. I could turn you now."

"No, you couldn't."

"Try me."

Susan laughed, she laughed like she had never laughed before. "Feel my heartbeat, Angelus," she said. Susan led his hand to her chest, his touch sending little shivers through her.

Angelus enjoyed the touch of the leather he liked to wear himself. "The jacket's too thick for me to feel it," he finally said.

Susan pressed his head against her neck. "Can you smell my blood beneath my skin, Angelus?"

He shook his head. "The scent of your perfume's too heavy for me to smell it." Angelus got upset. What did she think she was doing, playing some game? He would teach her what it meant to play with the Scourge of Europe.

Susan loved it. The stalker was being stalked. She laid her hands around his head, forcing him to meet her gaze.

Angelus was stunned. Well, she was a Slayer, but how come she had such strength in her hands?

"You can't make me yours, Angelus," Susan whispered, her eyes showing a golden sparkle, "because I'm yours already." Her forehead morphed into ridges, her teeth lengthened into fangs.

"You're from the future!" Angelus backed away. "You're not the Susan of this timeline!"

"What, don't you like your creation?"

At the sound of this cynical voice, Angelus whirled around to face Angel.

"You?" he asked.

"You told me I'd have to die to be born again," Angel said, "So I died."

"No! Susan died!"

"I am Susan."

Angelus looked from Angel to Susan, then back to Angel. "That's impossible!" he yelled, "You can't be Susan!"

"Close, but no prize," Angel admitted, "It's just Susan's soul."

Susan walked slowly from Angelus and took Angel's hand.

"What's your game?" Angelus growled, "You're of my party, you're soulless!"

Susan slowly shook her head. "You made me soulless, but I have a soul now."

"You can't, you're a vampire!"

Angel's voice was cold and in control, with a notion of ridicule. "Of course, and vampires can't have souls."

"But if you're Susan," Angelus said, confused, "Then who..." He stopped, looking into her eyes. "WILLIAM?????"

Susan smiled."Long time no see."

"HOW?" Angelus exploded.

"Doyle," Angel explained, "The Oracles. When they saw the journey to the past would not help, they taught Asmodis the spell that brought William back from the aether into the next available body – which happened to be this one."

"Liars! Both of you!" Angelus was sure they were playing some trick on him, but his mind had begun spinning around from the confusing stories they were telling, so he decided to seek shelter and headed for the secret exit to the sewers.

*

Faith used her 'universal key'.

"Not you again," Amun-Re sighed, "Do you have any idea how much it costs me to have this door fixed after you barbarians are done with it?"

"We haven't met before in this reality," Faith reminded him.

"So what? I'm timeless, and you're a pest in every possible timeline."

The Slayer did not waste time with politeness. "Shut up," she commanded, "There are some friends in real trouble, and if I have to drain your body of every drop of blood to help them, believe me, I will!"

"You're so rude," Amun-Re protested, "I'm in the time travel business, what makes you assume I should know anything about soul magic?"

Faith showed an evil grin. "What makes you assume I should care?" She lifted up the brand new computer and cast it to the ground where it exploded in sparks and broken glass fibres.

"You're sadistic," the demon complained.

"Tell me what to do, and you're rid of me for good!"

"Nothing ever is for good, little slayer. You should know by now."

"I don't have the time for this. Let me get right to the point. 'Thou art Amun-Re,'" Faith quoted, "'Lord of Theben, thou free'st those thrown into Duat. Thou art the one that cometh when thou art call'd by your name. Bless'd who may sit before Amun. Amun saves the poor. He giveth his breath to those he loves. Thou art Re who rises in the sky, and thou art Atum who created mankind. Whenever Amun rises, mankind cometh to life. Their hearts do live when they see him'."

For a moment, the demon was lost in nostalgia. "Yeah, that's what they called me in Egypt back in the good old times. How do you happen to know, who I did not even assume could read at all?"

"Thanks," Faith replied dryly, "But if I wanted to listen to an old man's memories of the good old times, I'd go to Giles. These verses say you have the power to give life, to make hearts live!"

"You learnt your lessons well. Must have taken you long to do this research. Well, you called on my name, and I hope I was helpful."

"HELPFUL?" Faith yelled, "You didn't say anything!"

"I just opened a channel. The rest, your friends must do. Ask your dusty librarian. He will surely agree I said enough."

*

"There is a legend," Giles indeed agreed with the demon's statement, "in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Amun-Re was mingling with the people when the goddess Isis sent him a poisonous snake. The snake bit him, and he lay dying with a fever. No god could help him. Isis promised that he would be healed by pronouncing his name, which had been a secret up to then. When Amun-Re could not bear the pain any longer, he told Isis his true name, and everything that made him great went into her body. Isis called forth the poison, and Amun-Re survived, but he had sacrificed everything to her because she always knew who he was, and his essence had been a part of her."

"Poison," Willow spoke her thoughts aloud, "Could be a metaphore for vampirism, for demonic essences. And Amun-Re's power could be his immortal soul."

"This would mean," Buffy concluded, "Spike and Angelus just have to SAY THEIR NAMES, and everything will be alright? How likely is this?"

"That's not the question," Giles replied, "The question is: What choice do we have?"

*

Angelus' way was abruptly barred --- by Spike.

"Not so fast. I believe I have something that's yours."

Seeing into the eyes of Angel's own soul behind Spike's burning gaze was too much for Angelus. "What do the three of you want?" he hissed.

"I came from the future to prevent you'd be here," Angel said, "But it was too late."

"My soulless body followed Angel through the gate, assuming he was you. A tragedy, if one considers how powerful I am as a vampire. The Powers watched over us. They sent the Asmodis of this reality a message about how to modify Willow's spell, how to give me Spike's soul."

Completely inappropriate, Angelus began to laugh. "What do you expect now? That I fall to my knees and beg forgiveness for my sins? Nice try, Slayer --- or whatever you are now. I mean, this situation is so absurd! Susan in Angel's body, Angel in Spike's, Spike in Susan's – and I'm the only one that's happy! What makes you think you could ever clear up this mess?"

Spike turned to Angel. "Giles sends you a message. He says: 'Thou art Amun-Re, Lord of Theben, thou free'st those thrown into Duat. Thou art the one that cometh when thou art call'd by your name.'"

Angel nodded slowly. "I understand."

Susan looked at him with doubtful eyes. "What will happen to us? I mean, we are from a future that will not exist if Angelus and Spike, who belong to this time, follow the instruction."

"The truth is, I don't know," Angel admitted, "But I assume Time will regulate itself. There will be no more than one reality. You can claim your soul now, Susan."

Susan closed her eyes and said her name. She felt how her own soul slowly returned to her body. When she opened her eyes, Angel was gone.

"I don't care what happens to me," Spike said, "As long as I can stop you." Then he said his name.

Susan, now in full control of her own body, made an insecure step towards him. "Say your name," she commanded, "Spike is in no need of two souls."

"And I don't even need one. You can't force me to say anything, Susan!" Angelus shouted triumphantly.

Then he suddenly felt Susan's strong presence, as she forced him aside and fought for control over the body she now shared with the demon. He realized he had invited her to his body by saying her name.

Susan felt how strong the demon was, how he struggled against her for survival, but she finally broke the chains and managed to gain control for a short moment. A moment that was long enough to say one word: Angel.

*

"To know I existed twice in one time is still hard to believe," Susan said, "but it's the only explanation for what happened. You know, being in your body, then in my own, then fighting over control with Angelus --- these are things I saw, ever since I hit Harding in the office. When my alter ego from the future had said your name, my feeling of schizophrenia stopped at once, but I still have the memories from both timelines. Your alter ego from the future was right, time really regulated itself in a way. Though I wish I wouldn't remember things that never happened."

"After a while, you get used to this," Angel assured her.

"Sounds as if you'd gone back in time before," Susan asked curiously.

"Me? No, of course not," Angel protested.

Buffy entered the room. "Susan, you're missing your flight!"

"Right. Coming."

A short silence followed.

"I'm no good at saying good-bye," Susan said at last.

"Neither am I," Angel admitted.

"So I'd suggest we just say 'Until next time'." She held out her hand.

Angel realized the grip of Susan's hand was no longer as firm as it had been. She was going back to normal. "Hope there will not be a next time too soon, I mean, with your being a replacement slayer."

Susan smiled. "We both know what Doyle said. We'll meet again."

Angel sighed. "I want you to know... I appreciate what you did. In another time line, of course, but for me it's still real."

"I see what you mean. The memories I have from that alternative universe are as real to me as any other thing I remember. Hard to believe they technically never existed."

"What still exists is our friendship," Angel replied, "And you'll have my loyalty forever due to what you've done."

Susan made no effort to prevent him from embracing her, though she experienced an almost physical pain when his arms closed around her and she rested in the embrace just for a moment, enjoying the illusion before it was shattered to pieces by the reality of Angel's presence. She was glad to see he was back to normal as well, the world was once more safe from the Scourge of Europe and had one warrior for the light back. Yet she could not help it, loyalty and friendship were just two sides of the claddagh.

"Are you ready?" Buffy's voice broke the silence once again.

Susan tried to get distance between Angel and herself, otherwise she felt she would have to fight back tears she would not be able to explain. "Sure," she said, "thanks for taking me to the airport, Buffy."

"Hey, no problem," Buffy said cheerfully, "We're friends, aren't we?"

Angel handed Buffy Susan's suitcase. "Are you sure you don't want me to take this, isn't it too heavy?"

Buffy laughed. "You're forgetting who you're talking to, I'm strong enough to carry both the suitcase and you."

Susan headed for the door. Sooner or later, Buffy and Angel would be getting back together, she just needed to look at them, the way they eyed each other, the way they talked, and she could tell what they felt. Her friends. Her no more than friends.

Buffy took the suitcase as if it didn't weigh anything at all.

*

Oz carefully felt for a magic barrier with his fingertips. When he realized with surprise there was nothing to prevent him from entering, he crossed the threshold. "So you're back." He had never talked much.

"Regards from Willow," Asmodis said.

"Thanks." He paused. "No barrier?"

Asmodis grimaced. "Well, to tell the truth, I've had more of magic in the past few days than I ever actually wanted to know. So I've decided to give it a break. Anything new?"

"Angie's furious because you postponed the concerts, but everything else is fine."

"Can we start again tomorrow night?"

Oz shrugged. "I'll be here."

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" a polemic voice came from the door.

Oz turned around. "Hi, Mona," he said, then looked at the other woman questioningly.

Mona greeted him. "Oz, this is Tasha, she's staying for a few days."

"Hi," Oz said.

"I need rest, you can't torture my nerves with your noisy music!" Tasha complained.

Asmodis led Mona and Oz outside for a moment. "Just about HOW long will Tash stay?" he asked.

Mona shrugged. "I'm not sure. We still don't know how much Riley will remember when he's out of hospital. What we recall from the other timeline differs between individuals."

Oz frowned. "Timeline?"

"A little spell," Asmodis explained, "We lived through a week twice."

"Oh, okay." Oz took it for granted as if Asmodis had told him about something very common.

"This whole tour is totally chaotic, but what else to expect from you?" Tasha's comments of complaint could be heard.

Asmodis sighed. "Are you sure her pregnancy is for real in this timeline?"

"I'm afraid so," Mona replied helplessly, "Though I must admit the thought of a little Tasha or a little Riley, or rather a combination of both, SCARES ME TO DEATH."

*

Angel followed them downstairs where the gang were waiting.

Susan embraced them one by one, promising to stay in touch, exchanging a few words with everyone.

Spike shook her hand. "So long, Replacement. I'll take care of Buffy and Faith, so we won't bother you again too soon. By the way, having a soul is not that bad, after all, don't you agree?"

Susan looked sceptical. "I, for my part, would prefer not to remember one can exist without one."

Faith just grinned. "There's still one thing I can't explain," she said so loud that all attention in the room must be focused on her, "When you were at Angelus' lair to get yourself killed, I mean, you were there for more than two hours, I wonder what was going on there. What the hell happened?"

Susan hesitated. The others pretended not to be interested at all, but she knew perfectly everyone was listening closely, especially Buffy. She tried to catch Angel's eye, but he was standing in the shadows, his face unreadable. He would have made an invincible poker player, she thought. Well, but she herself wasn't too bad at that either. So Susan just smiled and said: "Good-bye, Faith."

Faith was stunned.

Willow sighed. She realized if anything unusual had happened at Angelus' lair during these two hours, it would remain a secret.

Xander was disappointed. So no bloody, raunchy sex at all. But what else to expect from someone as boring as Angel and the replacement slayer?

Buffy showed a satisfied smile. Of course nothing had happened. Not everyone's imagination was as sick as Faith's.

Angel seemed surprised to see people look at him with visible disappointment. "What?" he asked, "You didn't expect any other answer, did you?"

On the doorstep, Susan turned to look back again. "Ah, by the way, Angel..."

He frowned. "Yes?"

Susan smiled. "Nice tattoo."

THE END