When Buffy's soul is hunted by the greatest evil in creation only Angel can save her, but will he be in time?.This is a BTVS/Ats crossover.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, I don't want them, they make me cry too much. Joss and his people do the owning thing
SPOILERS: Everything up to TYF and then the story splits off into my own little world.
TIMELINE: A year after TYF
DISTRIBUTION: Great, just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Please.
RATING: R or 15 for the UK
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is a B/A story but does include B/R for a while. Sorry, but Riley is necessary to the story. Just keep in mind that I'm die hard B/A and have faith.
DEDICATION: Rosi, Deirdre, Leisa and Sunnyshine.

Prologue.

Angel swept Buffy up in to his strong muscular arms. The heavy smell of vanilla combined with Buffy's hot breath on his neck was sending shock waves of lust straight to his groin. He groaned in near ecstasy as Buffy's scalding mouth hungrily attacked his lips in a desperate attempt to gain entry.

Everything had happened so quickly, then on reflection, when it came to Buffy that was the only way it could be. First came the yelling, then the fighting and ultimately the fire.

The intense rush of desire that passed between the two soul mates startled Angel, causing his lips to part in a tormented gasp. Buffy took full advantage of the situation and slipped her warm tongue deep inside, an intense sigh reached right down to her toes as she rediscovered heaven. Buffy then proceeded to ravish every part of the vampire's cool mouth.

On reaching the master bedroom Angel was frustrated to find the door closed, too impatient to try the handle or break their kiss he kicked out at the obstruction using slightly more force then was necessary. The door exploded off its hinges and shattered in to a dozen assorted pieces.

Not bothering to inspect the damage Angel staggered over the wreckage, both he and Buffy giggling like naughty children

He proceeded straight towards his large bed in the corner of the room; Angel then lowered Buffy gently into the dark blue silky sheets. The contrast of light against dark was breathtaking even for a vampire that needed no breath. For a moment Buffy couldn't move, breathing deeply, her senses were totally engulfed by the unique masculine scent that was only ever Angel, she just gazed lovingly at the wonderful man in front of her.

Angel had never seen Buffy look more beautiful, a feeling of utter contentment stole over his soul as he tenderly smiled back at the woman he loved more than life itself.

Their eyes locked, both lost in a hundred different memories. The past the present and the future all blended together.

Buffy's overwhelming desire to touch him again became too great, unable to wait another second she reached up and ran her hands over the muscular contours of his perfectly formed chest. Her hands gliding smoothly over the expensive black silk shirt Angel was wearing. On reaching the tiny dark buttons her fingers trembled with anticipation.

Angel licked his suddenly very dry lips and watched as Buffy's hands started to caress his body. It was so incredible to feel her touch again, **How could he have denied himself this long**

After fumbling to undo the second button Buffy's attitude changed. She grabbed hold of the shirt and with a flick of the wrist she ripped it to shreds. Patience had never been her strong point and Buffy decided she had waited long enough, nothing was going to stop her from getting to Angels delicious body tonight.

Angel chuckled as the remnants of his favourite shirt fell to the ground.

" Sorry" Buffy purred almost, her wonderful lust filled eyes sparkling up at him.

With the annoying garment now out of the way Buffy continued her quest to reach his perfect skin. She shivered as her fingers skimmed lightly across the cool, pale flesh. Overcome with a serious need for intimate contact Buffy raised her mouth to Angel's chest and circled her tongue around the first coppery nipple she found, caressing it lovingly into a small tight bud.

Angel threw his head back and growled almost in pain. Buffy then moved her mouth to his neglected nipple and softly pulled it between her teeth.

The pleasure that simple act brought Angel was indescribable. In that one-second the long years of loneliness and heartache were forgotten.

" Buffy" he sighed deeply and ran his hands through the silky tresses of her long golden hair, winding the soft strands around his fingers Angel gentle pulled her mouth away from his chest and tilted her face back towards his.

I love you" Buffy whispered her eyes brimming with tears.

" I love you" Angel opened his heart and the million emotions he'd carefully locked away over the years spilled forth.

"I love you, I love you so much" he kissed her eyes, her nose moving to her earlobe and the soft flesh just below he slowly reacquainted his mouth with every part of her delectable face he could find

Buffy moaned and quivered as his cool lips pulled tenderly at her skin. Angel gradually worked his way back to her mouth and lost himself in the burning heat of her touch.

" I've waited for you, I've waited so long" he gazed deeply into sparkling hazel pools that he feared he would never see again.

Buffys eyes were like fire, burning with deep adoration and that adoration was directed straight at him, only for him.

" I want you, I need you" Buffy moaned softly as Angel caressed her cheek. Her tiny hand reached out to unbuckle his belt. Angel made no attempt to stop her as her fingers slowly lowered the zip on his black trousers.

" I need you too I always have" Angel's confession slipped quietly over his lips, it was painfully true, he needed her more than he needed blood. He had tried so hard to let her go, he had fought such an internal battle but his lonely soul continuously call out for her and today her soul had called right back.

Buffy reached up behind her neck and untied the straps on her tiny lace top; it rippled seductively down her slender arms . Angel watched mesmerised as the flimsy piece of material revealed more of her tantalising flesh. In his eyes, Buffy's body was the most beautiful sight in the entire world. Her radiant skin was the colour of golden honey and he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life lost inside her.

On that thought Angel wrapped his arms possessively around her and pulled her semi naked body into his chest. Her flesh felt so hot it almost burnt his skin, it was the most welcome feeling Angel had ever known. It felt like after years of being lost in the wilderness he was finally coming home.

Passion ignited in both of them as the need to share their bodies became too strong to resist. Their first lovemaking after so many wasted years turned into a desperate frenzy of lust; they had been apart far too long for any other way. This joining was all about need, longing, and passion. Tenderness and love would come, but that would be later.

Angel lay his dark head back into the softness of the pillows totally sated He pulled Buffy's sleeping body deeper into his arms and snuggled closer feeling completely at peace. He turned his head slightly and smiled, Angel adored watching Buffy sleep. He just loved the way she sighed, whimpered and moved her body against his unconsciously seeking contact. He loved the way her long dark eyelashes swept over her eyes and flickered as she dreamt. But more than anything he loved watching her breathe; the simple rise and fall of her small chest mixed with the soft breath she exhaled onto his body filled Angel with pure joy.

He resisted the urge to grab his sketchpad and capture the look of utter bliss that had formed over Buffy's delicate features, Angel couldn't bear the thought of moving away from his lover's arms even for a second. So, storing the blissful expression deep into his memory he pressed a soft kiss to her hair instead. Buffy murmured, reached out her arm and snuggled closer to Angel's chest.

Angel felt the first stirrings of desire build as her body wiggled enticingly against his. He leaned over and softly pressed his mouth to Buffy's, nibbling gently at her lips. Buffy sighed and sucked Angels tongue deep inside her mouth, after a long satisfying kiss she pulled away smiling.

" That was nice"

Angel traced her features with his long fingers; he gently stroked the soft skin revelling in the warmth beneath his touch.

" I love you" he sighed truthfully. He had longed to say those words so many times in the past but had always been forced to hide them away. Now they were together again he wanted the whole world to know how much he loved Buffy Summers

Buffy smiled and slowly extracted herself from Angel's arms; she then slid towards the side of the bed. Angel immediately missed the warmth of her body. He leaned over and tried to persuade her to stay.

" Don't go" Angels voice filled with longing as he dropped tiny butterfly kisses along her bare shoulder blade.

" I have to, sorry." Buffy apologised without turning back; she reached over for her discarded clothes and started to dress.

Angel sat up and watched in disappointment as her glorious body was once again hidden in clothing.

" When will I see you again…Tonight?" He reached out to catch her hand, Buffy didn't move.

Angel left the bed and walked up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and pulled her back into his naked body. Closing his eyes he pressed his face into her hair and inhaled her scent. A fresh wave of lust caused him to growl as Buffy wiggled against his growing erection.

" Buffy, come back to bed" Angels body was already responding to the call of it's mate. He moved her hair to one side and pressed his mouth onto her throat, ignoring the smell of her blood flowing just beneath the surface he slid his cold tongue lovingly over the rough scar tissue of his old bite. He was then filled with a profound sense of male pride. Buffy had been with him first, in every way possible and nothing would ever change that no matter who had followed in his footsteps.

Buffy turned slowly in his arms, she reached up on to tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on the tip of his nose.

" Sorry lover, but the sex really wasn't that good " a humourless smile quirked at her lips.

Angel's eyes snapped open as if he'd been slapped; he stared into cold, black empty eyes.

"Oh God Buffy,your soul" he was stunned, he knew Buffy couldn't possibly be a vampire because he could still feel her heart beating, she was still so warm but it was very obvious she no longer possessed her soul.

" Got it in one baby and there was I thinking you were only a pretty face " Buffy pushed away with just enough force to break his grip.

Angel couldn't move, the pain in his chest where his heart used to beat multiplied with every word.

Buffy just laughed at the torment and confusion in the vampire's face she turned on her heels and walked slowly towards the broken door.

After stepping over the debris she stopped abruptly and turned her head back towards Angel. The evil sneer on her once beautiful face shattered his heart.

Blowing him a long seductive kiss her black dead eyes flashed red with fire.

" Bye loser"

*****

Angel gasped and sat up, taking deep unnecessary breaths. If his heart had been beating it would have jumped right out of his chest in fright. His whole body trembled as each vivid detail of his nightmare became clear.

It was just a dream, just a dream" he repeated trying to rationalise his fear. Slinging his long muscular legs over the side of his bed Angel sat with his head cradled in his hands. He still wasn't quite convinced. The dream had felt so real, so much detail.

Angel had often dreamt of Buffy over the years, apart from when he was being haunted by the first evil his dreams of Buffy had always brought him relief. His recent dreams usually involved sunlight, light fluffy situations that Angel knew would always be impossible but still brought comfort to his lonely empty life. But this, this was so very different, this dream had been dark and seriously disturbing. The closest he could remember to this fear was the wedding dream he had experienced just before leaving Sunnydale. That dream had been so bad it had convinced him to leave Sunnydale and Buffy forever, this new dream was a million times worse. He paced around the room trying desperately to shake the haunting images from his mind but they stayed fast.

Angel crossed the room and picked up the phone, he dialled a few numbers but then replaced the receiver. A call wouldn't be enough, this time he had to go in person. He knew now - without a doubt - that this was no ordinary nightmare. This dream was a warning, or worse a prophecy.

Buffy was in serious danger; something out there in the darkness was hunting her very soul.

****

Part 1

Spike stood beneath a jet of steaming water, scrubbing at his cold pale skin.

" Bloody Slayer" he cursed for the fifth time in as many minutes, the harder he scrubbed the angrier he became.

Snatching a bottle of bright yellow liquid from the bathroom shelf, Spike squeezed a large quantity into the palm of his hand and then worked a rich lather into his bleached blonde hair. As the soap bubbles cascaded down his face the vampire continued to massage them into his blistered skin.

It just wasn't working, no matter how hard Spike scrubbed he could still smell that bloody awful stench on his skin. He shuddered as the memory of the last few hours replayed in his head like a bad B movie.

*******

"SPIKE!... DUCK!" Xander had called out the warning loud enough but, unfortunately, not quite in time. Small glass bottles of holy water had sailed across the room exploding just above Spike's head. The potentially fatal liquid splashed all over the vampire's leather duster, causing him to run screaming from the magic shop in agony.

Buffy, Riley and Xander had discovered him in the alley behind the shop a few minutes later, frantically ripping off his burning clothes. Hardly able to hide their amusement, the three humans walked towards the semi-naked vampire.

*****

Once outside in the cool night air, the only thought on Spike's mind was stopping his skin from melting. Quickly stripping down to his black jeans he was finally free of the vile burning liquid. But the pain in his badly blistered hands was agonising.

" Dammit all to hell " he muttered as he thrust his arms into a convenient barrel of rainwater close by. The vampire's burnt flesh hissed as it was submerged in cold water. Spike rested his head against the dank alley wall and sighed deeply.

Wondering for the millionth time when his life had turned to shit, the sorry looking vampire continued to sulk. Nothing ever went his way these days, Spike truly felt as if the whole world was against him and he knew **as long as he had that blasted chip in his head** there wasn't a sodding thing he could do about it.

The sound of approaching footsteps alerted the vampire's sensitive hearing to the presence of the Slayer and her sidekicks.

That's when his life had turned to dross.

**That bloody bitch and her pathetic boy toy, it was their entire fault. If he could just get this damn chip out of his skull he'd have the whole lot of them for dinner, especially the Slayer**

Spike turned, his face distorted with rage

" If you laugh I'll bleedin'…"

Howls of laughter cut off the end of Spike's empty threat

The dejected vampire reached down and picked up what was left of his still smouldering duster. He shook it a couple of times but the damage had already been done.

" It's not funny, just look what that sod's done to my clothes" he muttered through clenched teeth.

Buffy stifled the giggle that was bubbling inside her.

"Sorry, Spike. The owner thought you were a vampire he didn't realise you were there with us. He was trying to protect himself, he's really sorry" Buffy tried to offer an explanation as to why Spike had suddenly become target practice.

The only trouble was, Buffy's condescending tone was the final indignity

" What do you mean he thought I was a vampire…I AM A BLOODY VAMPIRE" Spike exploded as his human face transformed into the demon beneath. He violently kicked out at the nearest trash can, the loose lid flew down the alley crashing loudly, scaring a curious tomcat into the middle of next week.

Buffy bit down hard into her bottom lip as she continued.

" But Spike he thought you were a real vampire, he didn't know you've been… well you know" her eyebrows quirked

" De fanged ?" Riley offered helpfully.

Buffy looked at her boyfriend and the pair burst into renewed laughter, the pathetic look on Spike's face just made the situation funnier.

Spike had never felt so humiliated in all his unlife.

** Well apart from the continuous ass kicking he'd received at the Slayer's hands over the years. Oh, and then there was the time that Drusilla left him for a chaos demon and then…**

"Enough" Spike slammed his wet hands against the shower wall in temper.

"Will this hell ever end?" he moaned in self-pity. Holding his hands up to his nose he shuddered in disgust.

"Ewwwwww"

** The rotten stink clung to his skin like a leech** with that thought the self pity kicked in again ** Even leeches got more warm blood these days then he did** he reflected sadly.

Picking up the soap he continued with his scrubbing.

When Spike was satisfied that all traces of the holy water had left his skin he turned off the water. Grabbing one of Xander's large blue bath towels, he wrapped it around his trim waist.

At least Xander had cared enough about his injuries to offer the use of his shower.

**Saying that, he knew the little twit had offered more out of guilt then anything else**

After all was said and done, Spike had only been at the magic shop that night to help them out.

**Ok, he was being paid for his help but that wasn't the point. The last thing he'd expected was an Acid bath for his troubles. And, if that wasn't bad enough, the Slayer and that GI Joe reject had laughed themselves stupid**

Running a comb through his wet hair Spike watched in fascination as a small glass tumbler on the shelf in front of him started to vibrate. His interest grew as the glass jumped up and down and worked its way slowly to the end of the shelf where it proceeded to smash to the floor

"Neat!" He grinned as the bottles on the above shelf joined in, within a few seconds the whole room was moving.

" Bloody hell it's an earthquake." Spike shouted and grabbed for his trousers. The last thing he needed was to be pulled from the rubble of Xander Harris's basement, naked. He had a reputation to consider and the bloody bitch of a Slayer would never let him hear the end of that one.

**But an earthquake, that would be just great. There hadn't been a really good 'quake for years ** Spike felt his adrenaline kick in at the thought of all those wonderful casualties.

**At last he might get a decent meal for a change and if he was really quick some of the dead might still be warm** Spike felt his poor empty stomach growl and licked his lips in anticipation.

Sadly, Spike's happiness was cut short when the bathroom floor began to swirl in front of him and totally ruined his earthquake theory. He was forced to hold onto the walls for support as the room shook more violently, his eyes then widened in surprise as a vortex appeared in the middle of the floor.

When the shaking eventually subsided Spike walked towards the swirling hole and curiously peered over the edge. He jerked back as a small dwarf like demon ascended.

" Wow! Now that's a really neat entrance" Spike laughed, he relaxed when he noticed the small demon seemed no obvious threat.

** Maybe dinner had arrived after all **

" You have been summoned, Vampire. *He* wants to see you at once"

Spike looked into the face of the small repulsive demon, apart from being **an ugly little sod** there was something very sinister about it. He looked closer and felt the intense heat it radiated Spike was then drawn to the creature's face, in place of eyes there were just slits of burning fire.

This was a demon of the purest form, an infestation from hell itself.

" And does this *He* have a name" Spike didn't like the feel of this situation one little bit. He knew, only too well, that pure demons rarely left the nether world.

" Stop acting like an imbecile vampire. Stupidity will not be tolerated, so move yourself"

" Sorry shorty, but I'm a bit busy at the moment" Spike sneered at the dwarf like creature.

** Who the hell did he think he was talking to? Spike was his own man, he didn't take orders from other demons especially when they were only four feet high**

" Then maybe I can help you change your mind" the demon raised an ugly claw and a bolt of fire shot straight at Spike. The nimble vampire threw himself across the bathroom straight into the wall to escape being fried for the second time that day.

" Okay, Okay, I get the picture" he reluctantly moved towards the edge of the vortex, the heat pouring through was amazing.

Turning around one last time to consider if escape was feasible Spike's eyes met the evil stare of the dwarf.

Spike knew he had two choices, Jump or be incinerated. He didn't fancy either.

Talking one last step he looked down at the swirling floor.

" Goodbye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester Bloody Square" He muttered and jumped in, followed closely by the demon.

Immediately the vortex closed.

Go to Part 2