All New Angel

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

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.

 

Part 3