Part Six

The first signs shall be unseen by all that cannot see. They shall be veiled, but shall do harm. They shall be hidden, but shall not hide.

And in time, the veil shall be lifted and all shall see. But by then, it shall be too late to stop the End.

The Lukasorn, 1437

Buffy

It wasn't that bad. That is, ignoring Riley wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Oh, I listened all right. I wanted to catch him if he slipped up, and the whole lab set up was kind of interesting, the trick is listening to the facts and ignoring the stupid jokes. There's a real art to it. Kind of similar to listening to teachers lecture, you get the important stuff and zone out all their boring stories.

But I digress.

So we were walking through the cells. He'd already showed me the control center, the "armory" (there was not one stake, crossbow or bottle of holy water in the whole place!) and the labs. The cells were divided into categories: There was a block for non-vampire demons, a block for vamps that didn't fight much, and the "hostile" block for the mean ones. You know, cause the others were so warm and fuzzy.

The weird part was, I actually recognized some of them. The demons were the oddest.

"We call this one the cyclops," Riley said, pointing out a small, one-eyed demon.

"Ertethick," I said, glancing over at it.

"What?"

"It's an ertethick. They're numerous in the sewers and other dark, wet places. They're pretty much harmless," I told him. He looked a little stunned, but nodded and moved on.

"We have names for all of them. This one's a Rick. You know, after Rick in Psych," Riley said, grinning. I arched my eyebrows at him. Rick wasn't exactly the brightest person ever, but making fun of stupidity wasn't the answer. Plus it was a cyuk demon, who pretends to be stupid to fool it's prey. I debated telling Riley this one was also harmless and he should let it go, but decided I didn't want to have to deal with it and told him the truth.

He looked a little pale.

That was the best part of the tour. It's amazing how much information my brain has managed to retain from the last five years. Giles would be proud, if only I could retain it when he was actually there to notice.

And then we got to the Hostile block.

I was walking along just fine, half-listening to Riley, when I looked up and saw him.

All the memories, no, dreams, I told myself, came rushing back and hit me, just in that one moment of catching his eyes.

In the next moment, I swung around and punched Riley in the face. Hard.

He fell down. I rushed over to Angel's cell and tried to reach him, but the damn force field shocked me. I punched frantically at the controls. "Buffy? What are you doing?" Riley asked in a groan from behind me. I left the panels and walked over, grabbing his shirt and hauling him up. I had trusted him. Not with my life, but I had believed him. And what did he do? He imprisoned Angel! I knew he was evil!

"Get him out," I demanded, holding him against the wall. He looked so utterly confused and helpless that I loosened my grip a little. Just a little.

"I-I can't. He's a Hostile, he..." I cut him off.

"He's not a Hostile you idiot! He's my friend. He has a soul!"

Riley stared at me uncomprehendingly. I felt the extreme urge to punch him again, but his nose was bleeding and I didn't want to get my hand bloody.

"Your friend? He's a vampire!" Riley exclaimed.

"Ya think?" I asked, pushing him up against the wall again. "I just told you, he has a soul. Vampires are only evil because they're demons. With a soul, they're just like you and me, except they can't be killed easily and they have to drink blood. And for your information," I continued, as I saw him open his mouth to protest that last one, "Angel hasn't killed anyone in over a hundred years!"

"Exce..." Angel began from his cell. I shot him a look and he stopped.

"And it wasn't him then anyway," I finished. Riley didn't look convinced. Which was fine with me. I didn't care if he was convinced, as long as he believed I would kick his ass if he didn't let Angel out.

"Why should I believe you? Maybe you're in league with him, that's why you know so much about demons," he said defensively.

"No, I've just spent five long, hard years fighting them. I've died. I've saved the world more times than you've appreciated it! I've gone through Hell and so has Angel, so get him out of the cage now or I swear to you Riley, I will make you wish I had let the world be swallowed into Hell!" I shouted, then turned and shoved him towards the cell lock. Glancing back at me with a white, bloody face, he punched in the code. Angel walked out, his eyes on me.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "They didn't hurt you?" He shook his head.

"I'm a little hungry. They tried to feed me drugged blood, but I could smell the difference."

"Well that's a blessing. They have these chips to make you unable to hurt anything. I'd just love to see you utterly helpless," I said, rolling my eyes. The oddest vulnerable look crossed his face and was gone in a split second.

"What exactly are 'they' anyway? And I thought you two were friends," Angel said, motioning to Riley. I glanced at him and frowned. How would Angel know who Riley was?

"I wouldn't call us friends. Maybe acquaintances. And how would you know anyway."

"I saw you..." he said, trailing off. "When I was here before."

"Right," I said awkwardly. Riley was staring at us with a pathetic expression, trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose. Shaking my head I pulled out a kleenex and handed it to him.

"Sorry about that. But you deserved it for locking Angel up," I said, in a not-so-apologetic tone. He took the kleenex without a word. I turned back to Angel. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I came to warn you..." He stopped and glanced at Riley. I sighed.

"Let's get out of here. We can go to Giles' house. I'll explain about all this on the way." I turned to Riley again. "I'm going to believe that this was all a mistake. However, if I find any evidence suggesting you didn't wholly believe Angel to be evil, I will destroy the Initiative completely. You may tell Professor Walsh that. Call it a promise. Now, would you please show us out? I've had just about enough white for one night, thank you very much."

Angel

The first second I saw her, when she stared at me with those big, wide eyes, I doubted if she would save me. I didn't think I deserved it.

Of course, Buffy would save anyone, no matter what they deserved.

I admit, it was nice to see her beating someone up for me. I guess it showed that she cared. Which, to my rational mind, is a terrible thing, but to my unbeating heart is all that matters. We walked to Giles' house in awkward silence broken once in a while by Buffy telling me about the group called the Initiative, those who had captured me.

It's impossible to express how difficult it was to walk beside her. I hadn't eaten in two days. All I could think of was her soft skin, the memory of her blood pulsing inside me. The feeling of being one with her, of tasting the essence of her life.

I needed blood, and I wanted hers.

I controlled myself of course, and didn't let her know what I was feeling. God, I hated myself for even feeling it. For what I am.

In two hundred years, my memories of humanity had faded. But now I remember again. I remember what it's like not to crave blood. Not to need it. I remember what it feels like to have your own blood flowing in your veins, your heart beating.

Giles looked relieved when he opened the door. "Cordelia called to make sure you were all right," he said in explanation as we came inside. "She was worried."

"And you didn't tell me about this why?" Buffy asked.

"I knew if you saw him you would tell me. I didn't want to worry you." Buffy rolled her eyes.

"I should call," I said, looking around for a phone. Giles pointed to one in the kitchen.

"Worry me? How do you think I felt finding him locked up in the Initiative's cells?" Buffy demanded as I picked up the phone. I dialed quickly, trying not to listen to her voice.

"Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless," Cordeliašs voice said cheerfully.

"It's me," I said.

"Thank god! Why didn't you call? Where have you been? I had to turn away a paying customer! And John's like, completely wigging. Apparently he's had more visions, but he won't tell us. And Doyle had another vision and he's not talking to anyone!" Cordelia exclaimed without a breath.

"Slow down," I said. "What happened?"

"Well, yesterday Doyle had a vision, and then spent like an hour muttering about how he couldn't believe it. And then John had a vision and refused to tell us about it! And now they're both downstairs sitting across from each other not saying a word! Where the hell have you been?!"

"Calm down," I said firmly. "I was captured by this upstart group of vampire hunters that didn't realize what I was. Buffy just got me out. I'll be back as soon as I can, all right?"

"Okay, no skulking around Sunnydale, do you hear me? I need you!" Cordelia demanded.

"As soon as I tell them everything, I'll come right home," I promised.

"Okay," she said grudgingly. "Well, go do that now. And say hi to everyone for me."

"Will do." We said goodbye and I hung up the phone, turning back to Buffy and Giles.

"They need me back in L.A.," I said, trying not to stare hungrily at Buffy. I wanted to drink in the sight of her, but I wanted to drink in more than that and I shouldn't even think of it. "But I have to tell you what's been happening."

"Okay, share," Buffy said, sounding subdued. I looked up and met her eyes.

"The end of the world is coming. To Sunnydale."

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