All New Angel
Angel had
driven all around the town before deciding to come back there. He saw the
Bronze again, the ice-rink and even the movie theater, then went on to the
old mansion. Where Angelus had lived with Spike and Drusilla. Where Buffy
had hidden him when he came back from hell. Where he had stayed till he left.
The mansion
seemed to have been uninhabited since. There was dust everywhere, some spider
webs, but everything was intact. Even the couch still sat where he'd left
it, in front of the fire place. He swept away the dust that laid on it and
sat. A few minutes later, he got up and lit a fire, filling the room with
the glow of the dancing flames. He stayed up a long while up, watching the
hearth, as if he were fascinated by the fire and the orange light it projected
on the white walls.
When Buffy
got back home, her mother was back from work and Dawn was in front of the
TV with her friend, so she decided she'd take a shower and then talk about
demons.
She stayed
a long while under the hot water, as if it could have erased the feeling that
weighted on her heart. Again. She didn't like it, but she couldn't help it.
Even the idea of beating up a big demon soon didn't delight her… the
image of Faith crossed her mind, and she felt it was high time she thought
about something else. She dressed up quickly and went back to the kitchen.
There, she
found Joyce and Dawn already cooking, and concluded her sister's friend had
left. She smiled to her mom who looked up at her, and came closer to help.
- "Oh,
mom, you know what we'd like to do with some friends?" Dawn was saying
innocently, cutting some onions. She had to introduce her project gently,
if she wanted to success, and she knew it. Her mom wasn't particularly fond
of Los Angeles, and she was a bit the hyper protective type with her, which
could probably be linked to the fact that Joyce couldn't really protect Buffy,
with her being the Slayer.
- "Huh,
Dawn?" Buffy began. "Sorry to interrupt, I need to talk to you two."
- "No
prob. What's up? The Scoobys okay?" Dawn asked. Buffy usually didn't
feel the need to talk like this to her and her mother at the same time, unless
something was up, so Dawn knew she'd better listen and try talking her mother
into letting her going to LA later.
- "They're
good. It's just... Giles thinks a little group of demons is heading towards
Sunnydale. They should be here tomorrow or the day after."
- "Okay.
So, what, that's mean I can't go out and stuff?" Dawn exclaimed when
she realized that could mean she wouldn't be allowed to leave with her friends.
- "Basically, yeah. You have this bad tendency to be at the wrong place all the time, remember?" Buffy said. "Especially when it comes to demons. So, just try to avoid the woods and that kind of things."
- "Pff.
You're always doing that. I can never do whatever I want. I'm not a kid,"
Dawn sulked for one moment.
- "That's
nice, honey. Don't forget I'm not here tomorrow night, though," Joyce
noted. "I have to go to San Bernardino because the gallery is exhibiting.
But Dawn, I really want you to be careful."
Dawn rolled her eyes but said nothing, arms crossed.
- "Oh
yeah, right, I remember now," Buffy murmured.
- "Oh,
can I invite Kathleen then? If you're not here?" Dawn asked to Joyce.
After all, if she couldn't go where she wanted, she could still have someone
sleeping over.
- "I'm okay with it," Buffy answered. "I probably won't be home early, and if it can save me the whining..."
- "I'm
not always whining!"
- "There's
no problem for your friend," Joyce said, cutting off the argument. "Can
you strain the pasta, please Dawn?"
- "Okay..."
After dinner,
Buffy went to her bedroom to change and get ready for patrol. The moment she
stepped into the room, she knew something had happened. She gazed around,
but didn't notice anything. One of her window was still half-opened, so she
went to close it, and while she headed towards her desk, a detail was suddenly
obvious to her. The letter. It was *on* her notes. It had been moved.
- "Dawn!!"
A door opened
in the hall, and a few seconds later, Dawn passed her head through Buffy's
half-opened door, eyebrows raised.
- "Yeah?"
- "Did
*you* touch this letter?"
Dawn looked
at the envelope Buffy was waving, surprised.
- "No
I didn't," she said in a light tone. "I didn't even come in your
room. Y'know, that's the kind of thing you forbade me to do, so I don't and
I respect, despite my deep and without doubt definite stupidity."
- "Dawn,
don't mock me."
Dawn saw
her sisters was serious and came in, now curious to know what had happened.
- "Do
you know if mom touched it?" Buffy went on, suddenly looking worried.
If her mother knew she still wrote to him...
- "No,
I don't think so. She went to the garden right after coming back, but maybe
she came upstairs for a while, I dunno... I'm not always looking after mom,
y'know… But anyway, she never touches your stuff."
- "Someone
came into the house then. Dawn, you sure you didn't see anyone weird hanging
around the house, or anything?"
- "No,
I didn't. I'm not sure, I was watching TV, but... Buffy, maybe you just moved
it this morning while looking for somethin'?"
- "Yeah.
You're probably right."
- "Why
is it so important? Is it a letter for Matt?" Dawn asked, suddenly interested.
- "Dawn,
that's my business. And don't talk to me about Matt. That guy really isn't
worth it, how many time do I have to tell you that?"
- "I
know, but... still, there was all this time when you always babbled about
him and all. Sometimes there are some cool stories about exes getting back
together, like in these pinks books I… Anyway, as you still see him every
day at the ice-rink, I just..."
- "I
don't see him anymore. He went to work to LA. They all go... And LA is like,
the top ten of the destinations," Buffy added, and she got lost in her
thoughts for a moment.
- "Oh."
Dawn stayed
silent for a moment, not sure how to understand what Buffy meant.
- "It's
a letter to a boy, still, huh?" she finally went on.
- "I
said that was none of your business."
- "But
I'm right."
Buffy looked
at her sister, irritated and amused at the same time by her perseverance.
She knew Dawn sometimes felt a little excluded because she didn't really know
what her past was, or her mother's, and she wished the monks had left her
more memories about the family than the ones of the year when she arrived.
She also knew that Dawn often asked Willow to tell her past events. And she
wasn't mad at her sister for that. It was just hard sometimes, because it
reminded her of things she would rather forget.
- "Yes.
You're right."
- "Do
I know him?"
- "No."
- "Oh,
is he new then? What's his name?"
- "He's
not new," Buffy sighed. Was she really having this conversation with
Dawn? She never talked so obviously about Angel to her sister. The only subject
she didn't want Dawn to know about. "It was a long time ago. A very long
time ago. So long he probably forgot about me."
She knew
it wasn't true -she didn't want it to be true, but she really didn't feel
like talking about it with her sister at the moment.
- "Oh.
Why did you write to him then?"
- "I
don't know."
Buffy lowered
her head, and Dawn finally stopped asking questions. She would love to know
more, what was the guy's name, was he cute, when were he and Buffy together,
was he nice or worse than Matt, where was he now, but she knew Buffy didn't
want to talk about it. She hated that, not understanding or knowing something
important that had happened before she came. Because that boy was important,
obviously. She wasn't even sure that if she talked about Riley to Buffy, Buffy
would close like that. And yet, Riley was the one who counted the most for
Buffy. To her knowledge. She thought she'd ask Willow the next day who this
mysterious guy was, and how she could talk about it with Buffy. But for the
moment, better not to say anything.
She began
walking towards the door, watching for a reaction from Buffy, but there was
none so she left the bedroom wishing Buffy a good night. Her sister answered,
in a neutral tone. Buffy was absent, thinking about something else, and Dawn
didn't insist.
Alone in the bedroom again, Buffy crumpled the letter and threw it through the room.
Angel took
a blanket from the car, and put it on the old couch. At the same time, he
took the sandwich he bought earlier next to the movie theater, and began eating
it while thinking about what he would do the next day. He had managed to stay
away from Buffy this day by finding some stuff to do, but he knew Sunnydale
had limited amusements, and that if he made the big mistake of meeting her
in the street, he would be unable to resist approaching her, talking to her.
This behavior made him despair. He knew Buffy wouldn't necessarily be happy
he was back just because he wanted to, yet he went on hoping. After three
years, he thought he had managed to forget her, to get over her, but this
was even more wrong than expected. Vampire, the idea they didn't have any
future, and that there was the gypsy spell, had allowed and helped him to
leave and try to move on. But now...
The sound
of a brake, then of a door slamming abruptly got him out of his thoughts.
Suddenly, Cordelia came in, big bag in hand, which she put on the ground at
the entrance.
- "Cordelia?
What the hell are you doing here? I told you that..."
Cordelia
was about to answer when a little boy came in and rushed towards Angel. He
had dark brown hair but his eyes were limpid blue, and he was dressed in black,
his pants as well as his sweater, which had a V-neck. He was obviously smiling
but his face still seemed very serious and a little gloomy.
- "Angel!"
- "Hey
Danny. What are you doing here, boy?"
Angel kneeled
down to have his head at the same level as the little boy's, and he had took
Danny's in his.
- "Cordelia
said you went on a trip, but you said you would never leave me. And you said
that now, you were less strong, and I don't want you away. I told Cordelia
that I wanted to go with you, and she agreed and so she drove Gunn's car here.
Because Cordy's the man," Danny ended by smiling at Cordelia.
Angel got
up again and turned towards Cordelia, who was smirking.
- "Gunn
and Wesley aren't..."
- "Gunn
and Wesley aren't here. They didn't want me to bring Danny, coz they said
it was even more dangerous, but, as you can see, I didn't really listen to
them. They say hi, and... oh yeah, come the hell back right now!"
- "Cordelia, don't get worked up. There's no reason to-"
- "Oh yeah, there is! Remember last time you did a fixing on a girl?? Cos we do!!"
- "I know. I'm sorry. But it's different. I..."
- "I
don't like the place," muttered Danny, ignoring the conversation going
on between the two adults. "I feel danger. There are demons." He
frowned. "I feel very bad demons."
- "Danny,
Sunnydale is on a Hellmouth," Angel explained. "That means there
are demons everywhere, and all the time. You don't have to worry about it."
- "I
know. Cordelia told me in the car. But I feel a more powerful demon. You know
I'm not making it up, huh?" Danny said, looking up at Angel, worried
that the latter wouldn't understand him anymore.
- "Yeah,
Danny, I know," Angel reassured him. "Look, tonight we're just gonna
rest quietly, then tomorrow we'll go to see someone who knows the city and
the demons staying here, okay?"
- "Okay,"
Danny answered automatically. He was already focusing on something else.
Angel smiled
a little and ran his finger through Danny's hair, while the little boy sat
on the couch and glanced around.
- "Still,
I don't really like the place. Your apartment in Los Angeles is way better,
sorry to say that. Here it's really dirty and dusty."
Angel smiled
and turned to Cordelia.
- "Cord,
we have to be careful, you're rubbing off on him," Angel said. "You're
gonna ruin his destiny."
- "At
least, he does have principles," Cordelia pointed out, not sure whether
she should joke with Angel or keep the disaproval attitude.
- "Don't
tell me about principles," Angel said. "You're the one who turns
up when I asked you to stay in LA."
- "And
*you* are the one leaving when we *all* decided it was better you stayed.
Jeez, we were supposed to go shopping to find you new clothes!" Cordelia
sighed, finally putting her handbag to the floor. "You have no more reason
to keep the 'dark on dark' style, and running away won't prevent you from
your shopping duty, mister."
Angel didn't
seem to have heard her. He was looking at Danny who left the couch and who
was now standing in front of the fireplace, frowning.
- "And
Danny... he's gonna pose a problem," Angel said in a low voice.
- "Angel,
he's nine. If he was less than three, I'd understand... but there's no prob
here. You'll explain, she'll understand. If she didn't become bozo, which
is an option to take into consideration..."
- "Cordelia,"
Angel stopped her, turning his attention to her again.
- "Sorry.
I mean, Angel, this wasn't a good idea to come. Things have changed, see what
I mean? I don't want you to suffer again. You're just out of a hundred years
of mental torture, why do you want to get back into it so fast? Believe me,
shopping was a better plan."
- "I
know that. I mean, not the shopping part. But... I can't help it. I need to
see her. To tell her."
- "Y'know,
it's funny how you changed while staying the same person. You're still lonely,
still Mr. I'm-brooding, but you're so different."
- "Yeah.
Maybe." He paused, as he seemed to think about something else. "I'm
gonna call Gunn and Wesley. You think they'll still be at the office?"
- "Probably.
Oddly, the helpless keep on coming, especially during the night. Couldn't
you tell them we're out of business for a while?"
- "Oh,
I need to call Kate too... jeez, she really needs explanations."
- "You
think? After all, she's just one of your friends who you had on the phone
two days ago and who you weren't even able to *tell* that you're not a vampire
anymore. Oh yeah, I also forgot the part where *you* said you were gonna call
her and you didn't. Jeez, what's wrong with you Angel?"
- "Does
she know I left?" Angel asked, looking worried.
Cordelia
didn't answer straight away, and looked down a moment.
- "Uh,
in fact... she kind of left too."
- "What?"
Angel exclaimed.
- "Hey,
don't look at me like I was the one responsible for all that! This morning
she stopped in, before Danny got up. She wanted to see you, obviously, because
you didn't call her back, so we explained you were away for a few days. She
told us she was sent to Sunnydale on a special case, and that as she knew
you were from there, she wanted to have some info on the town, the hotels,
and all. So we didn't tell her that was precisely where you were, because
we thought we were gonna make you come back, I gave her some info and Wesley
gave her Giles' address just in case, and she left for Sunnydale."
- "What?" Angel repeated.
Giles was
drinking his last cup of breakfast tea before leaving for The Magic Box when
someone knocked on the door. Surprised, he went to open it. He had decided
with Buffy, Willow and Xander that they'd meet at 11 at the store, and there
was no reason they'd come more than 3 hours earlier.
On the doorstep,
he discovered a young blond woman, who didn't look a day over thirty, and
who he absolutely didn't know.
- "Good
morning," he began. "May I help you?"
- "Good
morning. I'm Kate Lockley, detective in the LAPD." She took her badge
out to strengthen her words. "Are you Rupert Giles?"
- "Yes.
I am. Is there something wrong?" Giles frowned.
Kate put
her badge back in her pocket and smiled.
- "Oh,
no. Everything's fine. It's just... I'm on a case here, and... I don't know
this town at all. I'm a friend of Angel and Wesley Whyndham Pryce, he's the
one who gave me your address. He said you could be useful and give me good
advice."
- "Ah,
certainly. Just let me lock up. I'm afraid I was on my out to work, but you're
welcome to accompany me."
- "Thanks for giving me some of your time," Kate smiled.
Giles took
his jacket and his key from the counter, still surprised. Since when did Wesley
give his address to people? Already his phone call to tell him a human Angel
was on his way to Sunnydale was surprising, but this was even more confusing.
- "You're
welcome. Uh... do you know Angel well?" He asked while locking his door.
- "Enough
to know he's a vampire, if that's what you're asking."
- "Oh,
good," Giles said. "Because... I should tell you that Sunnydale
is a bit like Miami Beach, only for the vampires. They all tend to come here.
You have to be careful."
- "Oh,
thanks for the warning. I learnt to manage with vampires and some other evil
things, and I'm trying to get rid of them, but I wouldn't say that's my specialty."
- "Well,
that's kind of mine. Why are you on a case here?"
- "A
story of a killer who escaped a few months ago. Camillo Castiglioni. The Sunnydale
police faxed us in response to our APB about the escapee. It seems like Camillo
has been spotted in the area, heading towards Sunnydale. So here I am."
- "I
heard about it," Giles said, realizing that this killer was probably
the human the unit's Council told him about. "My own sources also spotted
him."
- "Your
own sources? Are you a PI?"
- "Oh,
no, not at all." Suddenly, Giles came up with an idea. This woman knew
about demons, and she was apparently more equipped to deal with the killer
than he and Buffy were. Maybe it would be best to work with her. "As
I said, I'm more like a demon specialist. If I heard about the killer, it's
because my sources seem to think he's coming along with some demons."
- "I'm
afraid the police aren't able to spot that kind of killer yet," Kate
answered, smiling. "And you're going to neutralize these evil things?"
- "Yes,
that's the plan. And, I was thinking, combining our forces might be very useful,
in the sense that I won't have to deal with a human being, and your men won't
come across the demon. I'd rather to avoid being the one to secure them a
lifetime of psychological treatment."
- "Sounds
good," Kate agreed. The idea of dealing with evil things with her men
and without Angel was scary in more than one way. Especially since she wasn't
on familiar ground anymore. "Plus you seem better informed than I do
on many points. It is true that police departments are rather slow to react.
Especially in LA."
- "Oh,
I honestly think they can't beat Sunnydale's. Police here are never where
they have to be."
- "I
guess that's why I'm here," Kate concluded smiling.
As they crossed
the street, Kate looked up and glanced around her.
- "This
little town looks nice. Too bad police are so blind."
- "Hum.
Sunnydale is quite nice during the day, but we don't die of animation. During
the night, it's a different problem. I think we have, proportionally, the
highest rate of mortality in California."
- "So,
lock yourself up when the sun is down, and life is beautiful?"
- "In
a way. But the cafes are nice in the evening. If you stay a bit, I'll show
you the Espresso Pump. Very pleasant place. I sing there sometimes."
- "Oh,
you sing?"
- "Yes.
Between two demons, when I have some free time in my hands."
Kate laughed,
and Giles stopped in front of the door of The Magic Box.
- "Here
we are. That's where I work."
- "I
see. You're really Mr. Supernatural here," Kate pointed out while examining
the shop window.
- "Yes,
in a way. Look, my friends and I are going to meet soon to talk about our
exact plan together, to fight the demons I talked about. You could come back
tonight, we'd see what we decided and we could work out a common plan against
my demons and your killer, couldn't we?"
- "
'Sounds like a good idea." She paused. "Okay, I should let you work.
Thanks for all and... see you tonight, then."
- "Drop
by at 5, the shop closes at this time today."
- "No
problem. Bye."
- "Have
a nice day."
Kate went away calmly while Giles opened the door into the store, agreeably surprised by the meeting, but still a little astonished she wasn't aware of Angel's transformation. Angel wasn't really a people person, but shouldn't his friends know about it? Giles quickly erased the thought of his mind; after all, that was none of his business, and he didn't how close to Angel Kate was. He was a lot more worried about Angel telling the news to Buffy, because he knew Angel probably didn't come back to take advantage of happy sunny life in Sunnydale.
Buffy woke up later that day, because Dawn avoided shouting through the house
at 7. She felt better than the evening before, and ready to fight some vampires.
Once she had eaten and dressed, she glanced one last time around her bedroom,
saw the crumpled letter and threw it away, then went out after putting on
some peach perfume. She shouldn't brood about Angel. It didn't bring her anything,
it never had, so it was better she just put the letter behind her and forget
about it.
Downstairs,
Dawn was on the phone and Buffy just waved at her when she left. Once she
was outside, Buffy took a deep breath and walked away with a smile. 'Look
nice, think cool, and get over this stupid letter,' she thought, and she began
thinking about what she could do after the meeting at the Magic Shop.
Fifteen minutes
later, she reached the center of Sunnydale and its stores. As she wasn't late
at all, she took the time to hang around, stopping in front of some shop windows.
But Sunnydale wasn't overflowing with interesting stores, and she was ready
to turn back towards The Magic Box when she stopped. A hundred of feet away,
it was... she would have sworn, it was him. It was his posture. His clothes.
His hair style, and his hair. His long, black coat. Except that he was in
the sunlight. And he was carrying a child in his arms.
*Jeez, you're
going completely crazy,* she murmured to herself, quickly turning back. Her
heart was racing now, as if the vision had scared her. *What's wrong with
you?* This was getting completely stupid. It was like for the last week, everything
suddenly reminded her of Angel, and she was beginning to find that really
exhausting. Couldn't she think about something else? Still, she turned around
one last time, but several people were now blocking her sight, and she couldn't
see the man anymore. She shook her head, covered her face with her hands for
one moment, and hastily walked away towards the magic store.
- "Hey, can I get some new toys, soon?"
- "Danny,
your birthday is on July 3rd. You can wait a month."
Comfortably
settled in Angel's arms, Danny was still watching the window of a toy shop,
looking as if he were thinking a great deal.
- "Yeah,
but here, I don't have anything to play with," he finally said. "I
left everything in your apartment."
- "You
know what?" Angel said. "You're damn too clever, Peter Thomas Brotley."
- "Don't
call me that!" Danny pouted.
- "I'm
joking, Danny." 'Wow, who would think I'd be joking by myself one day?'
he thought. "So, are we going? Cordelia's waiting for us at the clothes
shop, and after lunch we have to see the person I told you about. And if I
could put you back on the ground, I'd be happy. No supernatural force anymore,
remember? You're not the heavy type, but still."
- "Okay.
When do I get my toy?"
- "We'll
be back this afternoon."
- "Okay
then."
Danny returned
to the ground, a satisfied smile on his lips, and took Angel's hand while
they headed towards the car. Angel, suddenly feeling strange, turned around,
and it seemed to him that he recognized a figure walking away. He took a deep
breath, and turned his attention back to Danny who had stopped walking.
When Buffy
arrived at The Magic Box, Willow and Xander were already there, talking about
Xander's last try to chat up a woman, while Giles was taking care of a customer.
She came in and met her two friends in the back room.
- "Hey
guys!"
- "Hi
Buffy. How are you doin'?" Willow and Xander greeted her.
- "Good.
I feel up to kill some vamps. Where are the ones you talked about, Giles?"
she asked him, as he entered the room.
- "It
seems like they're going to be in Sunnydale tonight."
He disappeared
in the main room again when the little bell tinkled.
- "Willow
is going to try to locate the demons in town," Xander said. "Apparently,
more reliable than Willy. Or at least, it whines less."
- "This
is cool stuff," Willow explained. "We're calling Thespia. Anyway,
there is a color for every type of demon, and Giles knows the Titan's color.
Tara and I tried once, but it didn't work."
In the shop itself, Giles sold a bottle of holy water to a young lady, and
said good bye to her.
- "Hey
Giles, did you find anything about the Titan?" Buffy asked in a loud
voice so Giles could hear her.
- "That
was what I was informing Willow and Xander of just before you walked in,"
Giles said, coming back into the back store with some sand. "The Titan
is an extremely dangerous demon when you bother it, but it's lonely. Usually
it lives isolated, in the deep woods, and it spends most of its time sleeping.
It wakes up approximately every three months, feeds and gets back to sleep.
The legend says that, during a war at daggers drawn , between good and evil,
in Nebraska a few centuries ago, the Titan was supposed to be the major arm
of evil, but that evil lost because of it, because the Titan left after it
had fed enough."
- "And
I found the origin of the name," Willow said with a proud smile. "It
seems to be one of the oldest demons known. It's originally from Greece, you
guessed that. I mean, you know, with the Greek legends and beliefs, the Titans
into the Earth and all, you know?… And my book said that it was named
coz of its appearance, it's huge and scary, y'know, and the first men who
dealt with it thought it was one of the Titans that had escaped. Or maybe
the myth of the Titans came after the first meeting of men with the Titan…
Giles, do you know which?"
- "Hey,
more important question here!" Xander said, raising his hand. "What
does it feed on?"
- "It
sucks lives up," Giles said calmly, sitting near the table where Willow
had already gathered some ingredients for her spell. "It has quite powerful
magical powers, including one allowing it to establish between its victim
and itself a magic beam, and with this beam it can make the forces and life
of its opponent pass up to him."
- "Uh.
Bad beast," Buffy noted, as she took off her bag and put it on the ground.
- "Fair
enough. In fact, I'm kind of worried," Giles said, taking off his glasses.
"There's actually lots of things I don't know about it."
- "But
why is it coming here, if it usually stays in its woods?" Willow asked.
- "Wants
to meet the Buffster?" Xander suggested. "Some demon *are* suicidal,
y'know."
- "I
don't know," Giles admitted. "I think the human might be influencing
it."
- "How
do I kill it?" Buffy asked.
- "That's
one of the things I don't know," Giles said. "I'm also not aware
of how it establishes its connection with its opponent, nor when, nor if it
prepares for it. This demon isn't supposed to show up."
- "I
guess it doesn't fear the basic stuff, like a stake through the heart, sunlight…,
huh?" Buffy said.
- "For
sure, not the sun. Some ax blows are probably strong enough to kill it, but
to hit it you have to come near it, and that would be risking your life,"
Giles explained.
- "Once
the connection is established, how can you break it?" Willow asked, interested
by the magic aspect of the demon.
- "I
don't know. Probably by killing the Titan," Giles assumed, before adding,
"Unless killing it while someone's connected also kills that person."
- "I
like when you give some big piece of help like this one," Xander pointed
out. "Shouldn't that stupid unit help us in *that* kind of situation?"
- "Their
sources aren't preciser than mine," Giles answered, slightly raising
his glasses.
- "Maybe
if you put yourself between the Titan and the person," Willow proposed,
still thinking about the earlier problem.
- "Sacrificing
yourself?" Buffy translated, doubtful.
- "Yeah,
that was pretty much the idea," Willow said.
- "In
both cases, someone dies," Xander pointed out.
- "Yeah,
right. Unless," Willow said, visibly coming up with another idea, suddenly
waving her hands, "the interposer isn't human. The Titan doesn't feed
only on human, does it Giles?"
- "No,
it doesn't," Giles answered. "Quite the opposite indeed. It is kind
of a harmless demon. Any life, any power can feed it. When it wakes up, it
attacks whatever it finds, and if it isn't enough, it comes closer to humans.
And if it meets a demon, it feeds on the demon."
- "Hum-hum.
It doesn't really have a sense of family loyalty," Xander noted.
- "Kind
of," Buffy agreed.
- "And
once it's asleep, how do you wake it up?" Willow went on.
- "Its
sensitivity grows up with time," Giles explained. "First days of
its sleep, you could move it without it realizing. After, I'm not quite sure."
- "So
we could send it to sleep, and move it, lock it up somewhere!" Willow
concluded with a smile.
- "Or
more simply, kill it once it's asleep," Buffy pointed out.
- "Yeah,
right," Willow admitted. "But my way was more pacifist."
- "And
how do you put it to sleep?" Xander said. "Sing him 'Silent Night'?"
- "Well,
you need to feed it," Giles said.
- "Which
doesn't help us, as we have to find someone or something to feed it with,"
Buffy shrugged.
- "Huh...
aren't there some suicidal people in Sunnydale? We could put an ad in the
newspaper," Xander proposed. "Willow, you could do that. You work
there now."
- "Xander,
be serious for once..." Willow smiled. "And be useful: help me prepare
the ritual. Giles, everything's gonna be ready," Willow warned, as she
finished doing the square representing Sunnydale .
- "Perfect.
Xander, Buffy, can you take care of the shop while I'm doing this with Willow?"
- "No
prob," Xander answered with a smile, getting up, as Buffy. "I'm
Versatile Man."
Willow and Giles sat down, and Willow handed him some sand. Buffy and Xander
glanced at each other, and headed towards the main room of the store with
a smile.
Giles was
looking for his stock of light dust when he heard the small bell of the front
door tinkle. He got up, and had a last glance around the little dark room.
The day had begun well. The spell with Willow had worked very well and they
were now sure the Titan wouldn't hit the town before the next day. Plus, it
was only past one o'clock and he already had ten customers, which was a good
average. Summer break seemed to be a good time in Sunnydale to try magic...
Giles mentally congratulated himself for telling Buffy, Willow and Xander
not to come back before five, because that would allow him to tidy his last
delivery, and maybe even to start his stock list. He briefly thought Tara's
help would have been useful this day, and he passed the curtain that separated
the storage room of the store.
- "Good
morning," he said.
- "Wow,
I had never seen a store like this. You like magic, don't you?" Danny
pointed out as he took a small bottle from a shelf and examined it.
Giles was
surprised to see a little boy alone in his shop. Dawn had been the youngest
he had ever seen in, due to the fact the store usually scared kids more than
anything else -or maybe it was just the parents who didn't want their children
to hang out in the shop. Yet, the brown haired boy didn't look afraid at all,
or even excited by being in a magic shop.
- "Indeed,
I like magic," he answered. "Aren't you with your parents?"
Danny turned
and looked at Giles with his big limpid blue eyes, giving Giles the feeling
he was reading inside him, then he turned his attention back to the shelves.
It seemed to Giles that he knew the kid, but he would have sworn he never
met him before.
- "My
dad's coming. He had to check something in the car... He knows I'm here."
- "Oh.
Ver-very good."
Giles almost
felt uncomfortable in front of the boy's ease.
- "You
also do fake magic," Danny noted when he noticed a rabbit's leg. "I
prefer real magic."
He turned
towards the chicken's legs and took one, frowning. The door opened, making
the bell tinkle again. On the verge of greeting the customer, Giles looked
up.
- "Good-
Angel?"
Danny turned
towards Angel, another bottle in hand.
- "That's
dangerous," the boy declared. "It's for fighting Fyral demons, but
it burns. Wesley taught me."
- "Danny,
wait," Angel said. "We're not here for this."
Angel looked
up at Giles, who seemed more confused than anything and who had put his glassed
back. The resemblance between the kid and Angel was… striking.
- "Hey
Giles. I'm sorry for coming," Angel apologized. "But I need to talk
to you. Buffy isn't there, right?"
- "No.
She doesn't know you're in town, does she?" Giles asked.
- "No...
not yet. I'm going to see her tonight, and I know this is a bad idea,"
he added before Giles could say anything. "That's not why I came. I need
some information about the demons."
- "What
about him?" Giles asked in a low voice, pointing Danny out, who had put
the bottle back in place. "Is he your...?"
- "Giles,
I'm gonna explain everything," Angel cut in. "But we have be fast
and it's pretty long."
- "I
feel danger," Danny said, suddenly paying attention to the conversation
between Giles and Angel. "That's why we have to be fast. I know when
a demon is around, and I feel a big demon here."
Giles took
his glasses off and rubbed his eyes for a moment, a little overwhelmed by
the events.
- "Let's
go in to the back room then."
Kate had
gone back to the police station after her meeting with Giles, and there she
gathered her men and told them they were off duty for the day. Her superiors
had confirmed to her Castiglioni wouldn't reach Sunnydale before the next
day, and there was no point tiring her men with patrolling. She spent the
morning gathering her files on Castiglioni and reading them again. She wasn't
surprised to discover it was mentioned that, when he was first arrested, his
house was full of talismans and magic items. It was noted in the details section,
but if Camillo really hung around with demons as Wesley's friend said that
morning, Kate thought that black magic could be more than a hobby for him.
She had had
lunch with a young policewoman who had originally worked under detective Stein's
orders, before he died. The two women had met the day before because the officer
was on duty when Kate arrived, and they got on well. The policewoman told
Kate too many things happened in this town for the police to be everywhere
all the time, and that lots of people died without them understanding why.
She had been working there for a pretty long time, and explained to Kate that
even the police department had been shaken up by two deaths that remained
unexplained: Mr. Finch's, a deputy of the former Mayor, and especially detective
Stein's, who had been her superior.
As the officer
had to be on duty after lunch, Kate visited the town (which she obviously
didn't find extremely lively), and ended drinking a coffee at the Espresso
Pump, where she stayed until it was time to go back to this Mr. Giles. She
found him closing the store, and greeted him.
Giles slightly
startled and turned around, ready to face Wesley, Quentin Travers, or even
Faith, why not, everyone seemed to pass the word around these days. He was
relieved to see Kate, and smiled.
- "Oh,
good afternoon. Did you have a good day?"
- "Yeah,
thanks. The Espresso Pump is nice, I'll remember that."
- "I'm
pleased to hear this. The others are already there, if you'd care to join
us...."
Kate followed
Giles inside, and found Xander in the main room, gathering holy water in a
basket. He turned around and greeted Kate, soon imitated by Buffy and Willow
who appeared just after. Buffy frowned a second, having the feeling she knew
Kate, but she couldn't remember when or where she could have met her. Buffy's
face also seemed familiar to Kate, and she made a mental note of it, without
wondering any further. Plus, she was quite surprised to see that Buffy, Willow
and Xander were in their twenties. She had expected Mr. Giles' friends to
be a little old, since Wesley and Angel weren't exactly young, but she didn't
make any comments.
- "These
are Buffy, Willow, and Xander," Giles introduced. "And let me introduce
Kate. She is a friend of Wesley's," he explained to his three young friends,
careful not to mention Angel, and praying that Kate wouldn't either. "She's
working at the LAPD, and here to arrest the killer coming with our two demons."
- "Oh,
the human with the Titan?" Willow said.
- "Yes,
that's it," Giles confirmed.
- "As
it isn't really a good idea that my men meddle with evil things, Mr. Giles
said we could organize a common plan," Kate summed up.
- "In
fact, here is what we found," Giles began explaining to Kate. "There's
a group of vampires in front of the trio including your killer, and these
vampires are really close to Sunnydale now. Probably in the woods around the
town. As we wouldn't like to deal with all the demons at one time, we thought
about taking care of the vampires tonight. The group with the two demons and
the killer remains very strange. We think that the human has the power to
influence at least one of the two demons. We don't know what the second demon
is yet, but he seems to be chasing the human."
- "I
read Castiglioni did magic before he was arrested," Kate pointed out.
"That's maybe why he could do something to the… Titan, right?"
- "Yeah!"
Willow suddenly exclaimed, excited, and she calmed down when Kate gave her
a strange look. "Maybe he cast a spell on him or something."
- "Right…
that would explain why the Titan is so active..." Giles murmured.
- "And
so, Castiglioni's arrival is still planned for tomorrow? The department said
it was tomorrow afternoon," Kate said.
- "Yes,
actually it is. We're looking for a way to divide the killer and the demons...
if he cast a spell on the Titan, it may be hard."
- "At
least, we can already deal with the vampires," Buffy said. She didn't
look happy that Giles shared so much with a woman they didn't really know,
which was understandable.
- "You're
right. Let's go," Giles agreed.
He turned
towards Kate.
- "Can
you drop by again tomorrow morning? I'll need you to bring a police radio,
so we can communicate easily."
- "I
can come with you to help with the vampires tonight, if you like. And I'll
have mobile contact units by tomorrow without any problem."
- "Oh,
okay. Come along."
Giles finished
closing the store, while Buffy took some weapons and Xander the basket of
holy water and stake.
- "So,
you're a friend of Wesley's?" Xander asked as they were all leaving.
- "Yeah,
that's it," Kate answered. As Giles didn't mention Angel earlier, she
just assumed the three young adults didn't know him. "He's working with
someone I know well. So we see each other from time to time."
- "Oh.
You live in LA?" Willow asked, also interested by getting to know this
woman.
Buffy had
lagged behind a little with Giles.
- "Giles,
why did you tell her everything?"
- "Buffy,
she knows about the vampires. This alliance will make things easier, we won't
have the human to deal with."
- "Yeah,
but... I dunno, it's weird. I have the feeling I've seen her already somewhere,
and that it wasn't a good memory."
- "Buffy."
- "Okay,
you're right. I'm imagining things," she gave up, but the feeling didn't
leave her.
After a thirty-minute
long walk under sunlight and trees, they reached the mansion.
- "What,
here, again? Jeez, can't the vampires be original for once and choose another
place?"
Buffy took
a stake out and now walked more slowly. As the sun was still shining, the
vampires couldn't be anywhere but in. Soon they stepped into the mansion and
found the vampires biting a woman.
Buffy started
the fight, soon followed by Kate. Xander, Willow and Giles each had a stake
and a bottle of holy water in hand, ready to use them as quickly as possible.
A vampire began to chase Xander, and Willow tried to draw its attention to
her. Buffy had staked one of the five vampires, Giles and Kate together staked
another, but the three left looked like they had more stamina (including one
that had lots of stamina to run, as it didn't stop chasing Xander). When Kate
began having trouble with her vampire, and Xander felt he couldn't run long
now, Angel appeared, caught Xander's vampire and beheaded it. Xander, too
tired to scream or anything, just fell down and lay on the ground breathing
heavily, his eyes widening when he realized who just saved him. Buffy had
thrown her opponent to the ground and turned around, conscious that something
was going on.
- "An..."
The vampire
in front of her got on its feet. It was already getting on her nerves before
Angel arrived, and now he was here, she wanted above all finish with the vampire.
Angel never came to Sunnydale without a purpose, she knew it so why was he
there this time?
Angel had taken over for Kate, who couldn't keep up with the fight. Breathing heavily, she grabbed a bottle of holy water to help Angel, joining Giles, while Willow was trying to lend a hand to Buffy. Xander was still sitting, not recovered from his long run, plus he just assumed Angel could perfectly take care of the vampire alone.
However,
he was puzzled to see Angel had much more trouble than usually. His blows
didn't seem to hit as hard, and he almost seemed to be out of breath. That
wasn't normal.
Suddenly,
the vampire tried to jump to the left to avoid Angel's punch. But the latter
saw it, and caught his opponent's shirt. Unbalanced, the vampire fell to the
ground and rolled. Angel didn't let it go, and saw they were coming closer
and closer to sunlight. He made a last effort, rolled with the vampire into
the sun.
Buffy had
vaguely seen the fight between Angel and the vampire, and she had noticed
they were dangerously getting closer of the end of the roof's shadow. When
she saw them roll into the light, she couldn't help shouting.
- "ANGEL!"
The cry was
even louder because Kate screamed at the exact same time.
To everyone's
amazement, except Giles', only one of the two turned into a living flame.
Angel just jumped to the side to avoid the fire and came back inside the mansion
looking at the vampire turning into dust.
Buffy was
looking at Angel coming back, unable to move, or do anything. He didn't burn...
He didn't burn. The sentence was echoing into her mind, stopping her from
thinking straight.
The vampire in front of her soon realized she was thinking about something else. And suddenly, Buffy saw the vampire's fist approaching, and everything became black.