Buffy the Vampire Slayer and associated characters are copyright Joss Whedon and Warner Brothers. No infringement is intended.

Part 1

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It was a strange night, Angel mused. Something about the way the sky looked was off. One couldn't normally see many stars in the night skies of Los Angeles, but tonight the firmament seemed even darker than usual.

Maybe it was just his mood.

Angel came home just before dawn, tired from a long and tough battle, and bumped into Gunn in the lobby. The young man seemed to be in a disgustingly good mood and was clearly excited about something.

"Angel, man, I gotta ask you, what is it with you and the chicks?"

"Gunn, I am very tired. Would you please tell me what you mean?"

Gunn grinned and motioned upstairs.

"I came by to ask you for help in outing some Vampires from the neighborhood. You weren't home ..."

"Obviously."

" ... but there is a pretty girl sleeping in your bed."

Angel was stunned for a moment.

"Could you repeat that, please?"

"There is a pretty girl sleeping in your bed. Man, you really attract them by the scores, you know?"

Angel shook his head. A girl sleeping in his bed? Either Gunn was seeing things or someone had some explaining to do. He knew that Wesley and Cordelia were conspiring to get him set up with somebody. Said he needed some loving company or such. If this was their doing, they would pay for it.

Well, just one way to find out.

"Want me to come with you?" Gunn asked teasingly as Angel started walking towards the stairs.

Angel ignored him and walked up to his bedroom. The lights were off, the heavily draped windows not allowing a single slice of approaching daylight into the room. Vampire eyes had little trouble making out the form lying on his bed, though.

If he were blind, he would have recognized her.

"Buffy?" He whispered.

The Slayer was lying in his bed, seemingly deep asleep. She was dressed very strangely. Black pants, black shirt, black coat. Angel looked down, knowing that he wore the exact same things.

Buffy was breathing evenly, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. She looked so very beautiful when she slept. A large part of him wanted nothing but to sit down and just watch her sleep. He hadn't seen her in months and their last few meetings hadn't exactly been cozy. Having her this close ...

He realized her cheeks were covered with dried tears. There were rings beneath her eyes and she looked like she hadn't even been close to a bed in days, if not weeks. Also, there was something off about her. Like earlier with the night sky, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Something about her was wrong.

He hated having to disturb her. The way she curled into his sheets made him want to believe that she had come here to … don't even think it, Angel. They were not meant to be, they could never be together. Nothing had changed.

Deciding to get it over with, he touched her shoulder, gently shaking her.

"Buffy? Please, wake up!"

It took a long time for her to stir, but when she opened her eyes and saw him leaning above her, she immediately came wide awake and threw her arms around him, burrowing her face in his chest and crying so hard that her entire body rocked with her sobs.

Angel, not knowing what else to do, wrapped his arms around her and let her cry, whispering soothing words into her ear and stroking her hair. He didn't know how long it took and neither did he care. She was the most important thing in the world to him and he would have held her for all eternity if that was what it took.

After some time her sobs became fainter and the tears dried up. Angel gently pulled her away from his chest to look at her. Her beautiful face was a mask of pain and sorrow. Seeing her like this made him want to weep, but he couldn't. He would be strong for her.

"Angel!" She whispered, looking at him like he was the only thing left in a world gone mad.

"I am here, beloved. Tell me what happened!"

Sniffing, she wiped some tears from her face with her sleeve and slouched down beside him. She looked confused, as if she didn't quite know where to begin.

"Take your time." He told her, gently wrapping his arms around her again. She leaned into his embrace, her fists curling into his shirt.

"I … I don't even know … Angel, it was …"

"Start at the beginning, Buffy. What happened?"

She sniffed again.

"It … it began with the killings. Within three nights six dead bodies had been found near Sunnydale Park, all of them young women. All of them had been drained, not of their blood like a Vampire did, but of their very life essence, leaving them dried-out husks."

Angel nodded for her to go on. Her voice gradually became steadier.

"Giles gave a long lecture about the possible suspects. The most likely according to him was a form of Incubus, a male demon presence feeding off mortal females. He also told me to be careful at least a thousand times, as those suckers seem to have the ability to mesmerize any female."

"I have met an Incubus once. Unpleasant fellow."

"It wasn't one, though. It was something else entirely."

"Just go on, Buffy."

She clutched him tighter and continued.

"So I was patrolling the Park, dressed a little more provocative than I usually do, hoping to set myself up as bait. Nothing happened for hours and I was about to call it a night. Then …"

Her voice broke and she started sobbing again.

"Did it attack you?" Angel inquired softly.

"I … I am not sure. Suddenly there was … God, it was so …"

Angel hugged her tighter, feeling the incredible confusion inside her head. Whatever had happened to her, it must have been traumatic.

"And … and when I woke up … I was still in the park and …"

She looked at him, her eyes blurry with tears.

"It was there."

"What was there?" Angel asked.

She looked down, her hands gesturing towards her clothing.

"This!"

Angel was confused. What did she mean? Her clothes?

"I don't understand, Buffy." He admitted.

Her hands clawed into the coat and shirt she wore, tearing at the fabric. Angel watched with wide eyes as what seemed to be leather warped and twisted under her hands, stretching like rubber. The black fabric rippled and pulsed, almost as if alive, only to fall back into its old shape when Buffy let go.

"It won't come off!" Buffy whispered, tears on her face again.

###

Part 2

Buffy shivered, even though she felt safer here than she had felt anywhere else these past few days. It was Angel, her Angel. His very presence calmed her, gave her the feeling that everything would turn out right in the end.

Why had she treated him the way she did? Why had she let him go away?

Angel carefully reached out to touch the … thing, she didn't have a better name for it. His fingers trailed across the fabric and it felt to her as if he was touching her bare skin. Electricity seemed to flow where his fingers touched her and she had to suppress the urge to moan.

"It feels like leather." Angel said.

She shook her head.

"Not to me. I barely feel it, it's like it's not really there. And … and it didn't look like this at first."

"How did it look?"

"It … I didn't even notice at first, because it made itself look exactly like the clothing I wore before it … well, you know. It only turned into this when I started … thinking of you."

Angel nodded, the deep commitment to help her clearly visible in his eyes. It soothed her. Angel would make it all right. She knew it.

"It appears that this thing is in some way responding to your thoughts."

He was only thinking out loud, but Buffy paled, thinking of the things she had not told him yet. She pushed down the urge to cry again. She had done more than enough sobbing for today. Angel was here. Everything would be all right.

"I tried to get it off," she whispered, hating how very much afraid she sounded, "but it wouldn't. It just wouldn't come off."

Angel held her, trying to be there for her.

"What did Giles say about this?" He asked.

Buffy winced. This was the question she had been afraid of. Angel saw the look in her eyes.

"You did show it to him, right?" He asked.

She looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

"Buffy, if you don't tell me what happened, I can't help you. What happened in Sunnydale? Why did you come here?"

Fresh tears rolled down her face and she leaned forward to burrow into his chest once more. Angel closed his arms around her. Something terrible must have happened.

"Angel, I …" She chocked, the words just wouldn't come out.

"Please, beloved. Tell me!"

She nodded, trying to look brave, even though she felt anything but.

"Okay. Here is what happened."

#

Buffy felt strange, which was probably not a good sign. She remembered very little of what had happened during the last few hours, which worried her even more. The only thing she still knew was that she had been hunting for a demon and suddenly been attacked herself.

Closing her eyes, she tried to remember what she had seen. Darkness mostly, closing in on her from all sides. Obsidian blackness attacking her, touching her. She remembered striking out, yet hitting nothing. She remembered panic, a feeling of helplessness so profound that she shivered just thinking about it.

She had woken up in the Park just a few minutes ago and no demon was in sight. She checked herself, but seemed unwounded. Had she driven it off somehow? Had it retreated for some reason? There was no way for her to know. The only thing she could do was get back to Giles and hope that he found out something.

Making her way towards Giles' apartment she remembered all the things going on in her life right now. Her mom in the hospital. A brain tumor. Dawn, her sister, yet not her sister. Glory, the demon that searched for Dawn. Spike, who obviously had developed feelings for her. Riley, whom she made feel more and more useless these past few months.

He was useless, she realized with a start. He no longer had any super powers, yet he was not able to see that. He insisted on putting himself in danger, even though he couldn't handle it. He wasn't even good for sex anymore. She had too much on her mind and he was too busy feeling left out.

She didn't even love him.

When exactly had she come to that realization? She hadn't really loved him, not ever, but she had always been fond of him. He was a nice guy, always there for her. Thinking about him right now, though, the only things she felt was disdain.

Without realizing it she walked towards Riley's place, clenching and unclenching her fists, filled with the pulsing desire to do … something. She had no idea what, but she knew that Riley was not the man she loved and she wanted to rub it into his face.

Riley wasn't home, though. Walking back out onto the streets, she suddenly knew where to go. It was as if she could scent him in the air. She walked swiftly toward a nearby graveyard and made a straight line towards a crypt.

Inside the crypt two people were fucking. One was Riley. The other was a Vampire.

#

"After that …", Buffy continued, "everything is blurry. I … I am not exactly sure what happened, but …"

Angel cursed below his breath. Riley Finn was very lucky that he was nowhere near at hand right now, or the Vampire would have torn him to shreds right then and there. Instead he stroked his hand across Buffy's hair.

"The only thing I know is …", she sobbed, "… when I came to … the first thing I clearly remember after that … is blood."

#

Buffy stared at her hands, at her body, and fear the likes she had never experienced before held her in its iron grip. Her clothing had changed, it moved, it lashed out with her anger. Obsidian fabric reformed and rippled, billowing around her body like a huge coat or cape.

On the floor before her she saw a pile of dust and a dead body. Her hands and large portions of the floor were covered with blood. So much blood.

She didn't need to look down to know that the dead body was Riley. Pieces of the thing that covered her body were still reaching out, caressing the cooling flesh at her feet like a lethal lover. Buffy felt shivers run through her body and she realized that it was excitement.

Not hers, though.

She screamed and started tearing away at the thing, trying to rip it off her body, trying to tear it into little pieces. Her nails dug into the Obsidian fabric and where she touched it there was movement, warmth. It was alive.

It wouldn't come off. It just wouldn't come off. It seemed to grow directly into her flesh without any visible seam. There was no telling where it ended and she began. Buffy screamed again and her hands found the knife Riley carried in his boot. She slashed into the thing.

It parted around the cutting edge and reformed directly behind it. Buffy was frantic and cut into her own flesh. That produced a reaction. Suddenly she was taken off her feet, ripples of darkness enveloped her, surrounded her, and she watched as the wound closed before her eyes. It was pulled together by Obsidian tendrils growing inside her flesh.

#

"It's everywhere," Buffy cried, "it's inside me. Sometimes I can feel it move inside me, through me. God, Angel! It's like that thing has become me."

Angel could see that his beloved was shaken to the core and the worst thing was that he did not know how to help her. He had never dealt with something like this before. Something that had taken possession of the woman he loved and had apparently killed for her.

"I … I did not even feel bad about Riley." She confessed, sobbing. "It's like that thing is in my head as well. It took my feelings and warped them, used them. I could feel it killing him and it made me feel good, Angel."

Angel knew the feeling only too well.

"Do the others know?" He asked.

She shook her head.

"I ... I couldn't. Not after what happened. Angel, I am so afraid. This thing ... it's doing things to me. It's making me do things, reacting to the tiniest bit of anger. I … I couldn't risk it harming the others."

She looked up at him.

"I had to come to you, Angel. I didn't know where else to turn. I love you, Angel, and I hate myself for the things I said and did to you."

Looking down again, she shook her head.

"If you don't want to help me, I … I would understand that."

He gathered her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Don't be a fool, beloved. How could you even think I would refuse to help you?"

"After … after all said and …" She sobbed into his chest.

"It doesn't matter, Buffy. I love you, nothing will ever change that. I promise we will find a way to beat this thing, no matter what."

She just stayed there, curled up against him, sobbing, holding on to him as if she was afraid to lose herself otherwise.

"I promise we'll find a way." He whispered.

Buffy fell back into uneasy sleep and Angel held her all through the day.
 

###
 

Part 3
 

Angel walked down the stairs to see Gunn smirking at him.

"Well? She is a hottie, right?"

The Vampire grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the wall. Gunn found himself face to face with the demon.

"Her name is Buffy and if you say another bad word about her, I'm gonna rip your throat out, got it?"

"Got it man, cool it!"

Angel put him down, surprised at the intensity of his reaction. Gunn was a friend, he hadn't meant anything by it.

"Sorry, Gunn. It's just ..."

"Did I just hear the B-word?"

Cordelia walked into the lobby, followed by Wesley.

"B-word?" Wesley asked. Cordelia looked at him, annoyed as always.

"B as in Buffy. You know? The girl that always makes him miserable?"

Wesley nodded, understanding. Gunn just looked at them, confused.

"She is upstairs." Angel said.

"Oh, great!" Cordelia yelled. "She has been here twice before and both times was a disaster. Is she aiming for triple crown now?"

Angel just ignored her and walked over to the phone, dialing Giles' number from memory. The ex-Watcher picked up after the third ring.

"Yes?"

"Giles, it's Angel."

There was a pause and Angel could almost smell the worry that radiated off Giles.

"It's about Buffy, Giles."

"Is she with you? We haven't seen her in days and what with ..."

He stopped. Angel knew what he had been about to say.

"I know that Riley is dead, Giles. Buffy told me."

"Is she all right? We feared that whatever demon killed Riley might also have ..."

"Giles, it's a bit more complicated than that."

"How so? What's wrong with Buffy?"

"It's hard to explain over the phone, Giles. Suffice to say that Buffy is okay at the moment, physically at the least."

"I'll be in L.A. in two hours, Angel. I'll bring the others."

"I don't think that's the best idea, Giles. It's ... complicated."

"What do you mean? Angel, if anything has happened to Buffy ..."

"I said she was all right, Giles. As far as circumstances allow anyway. Right now she is terrified and she doesn't want to see any of her friends."

"But why? Angel ..."

"Giles, please! Trust me!"

There was another long moment of silence, the Angel could hear Giles sigh.

"Very well. Just please, keep me apprised."

"I will. And Giles, please look up anything you can find about demons and the likes that bond with people and can make themselves look like clothing."

"Clothing? Angel, what ...?"

"I wish I knew, Giles. I wish I knew. Just do it, okay?"

"Will do. I'll call as soon as I got something."

Angel put down the receiver to find everyone looking at him.

"Care to let us in on why hurricane Buffy is passing over L.A. again?" Cordelia asked.

"Something happened to her and she came for help. Just let it be Cordy, okay?" Angel said as Cordelia was about to open her mouth again.

"Okay, okay! But, really, I mean, she dumps you, she rubs her new boyfriend in her face, and now she comes crawling for help?"

"Her boyfriend is dead, Cordelia."

"Oh!" That managed to shut her up for several moments.

"What was that about demons that mimic clothing?" Wesley asked.

"Sounds like something for Barbie Queen here." Gunn remarked.

"Hey!" Cordelia yelled at him.

"Shut up, all of you!" Angel yelled at them, which produced silence in the lobby.

"Okay, listen up", Angel explained to them, "Buffy is here because she needs help and I intend to give it to her. Wesley, I want you to research demons that bond with people ..."

"... and mimic clothing?" Wesley asked.

"Right. The rest of you better not be around for a while, because ..."

"Angel?"

Everyone turned to see Buffy walk down the stairs, looking sleepy. Her clothing, or what appeared to be her clothing, looked exactly like Angel's.

"Oh, great," Cordelia sighed, "back for two minutes and they're dressing alike."

Buffy just stared at Cordelia and it actually made the ex-cheerleader fall silent. A bad feeling spread in Angel's stomach. Someone gasped as the black leather coat Buffy wore suddenly started to ripple and change.

"Cordy, I think you should go." Angel said without taking his eyes off Buffy. His beloved's face was growing darker, anger clouding her eyes. She had told him that the thing responded to her thoughts and emotions and that became evident right now.

"Cordy, run!" Angel yelled as the leather coat lost its shape, reformed, and surged toward Cordelia in the form of a dozen Obsidian tendrils.

Cordelia screamed.
 

###

Part 4
 

Angel's mentioning of a demon that could mimic clothing struck a chord with Rupert Giles. It took him twenty minutes to remember where he had heard something like that before. It then took him another half hour to reach the Magic shop and find the book he was looking for.

The next ten minutes he spent skipping through the pages, cursing the time it took him to translate the ancient language inside his head. Finally he found the chapter he had been looking for.

Exactly one hour after Angel's call Giles had a pretty good idea what had happened to Buffy and his blood ran cold. He picked up the phone, but no one answered at Angel Investigations.

One hour and two minutes after Angel's call Giles jumped into his car, thanking the Lord that he no longer drove that old Citroen, and drove toward LA as fast as he could.

#

Angel shoved Cordy to the side as the Obsidian tendrils came surging toward them and put himself in harm's way. He didn't know what that thing could do to him, but he would not allow it to harm his friends. It had already used Buffy to kill once, there would not be another.

Buffy, still standing on the stairs, blinked as if waking from a dream and saw what was happening.

"No!" She yelled.

The tendrils came to a stop inches from Angel's face, hovering there like snakes waiting to strike. Angel looked past them at Buffy, who still stood on the stairs, looking frightened and confused.

"Angel?" She asked. The tendrils snapped backwards, toppling a chair and smashing into the receptionist desk on the way, and molded back into the black coat. No one noticed that the phone got crushed as well.

"Leave!" Angel told the others. "Now!"

No one argued for a change. Angel never took his eyes off Buffy, only the sound of receding footsteps told him that everyone else had gone. Only then did he slowly walk up the stairs and towards Buffy.

"Angel, I ...," she began, confused, "... I ... was angry at Cordelia and ..."

"It's okay," he said, tenderly touching her shoulders, "no one was harmed. You stopped it."

"But ... but I ... almost ... my God!"

She crumbled into this arms, shivering. Angel held her tight, wishing there was something he could do. This had to be Buffy's worst nightmare. Becoming a danger to her friends and family, becoming one of the monsters she always fought.

"Help me, Angel! Please!" She cried into his chest.

"Whatever it takes, beloved. Whatever it takes."

Having his arms around her, Buffy felt perfectly safe. He would make it right, he just had to. Angel would never betray her with another, he would always be there for her, no matter how cruel she treated him.

She felt warm, almost fuzzy, and suddenly Angel's grip around her lessened. He coughed and she opened her eyes.

"Buffy!" He said, looking down the length of her body. Buffy followed his gaze and felt the blood rush to her cheeks.

"Oh my God!"

The black clothing had vanished. She could see the last threads of Obsidian fabric retreat into her skin, vanishing into her body. It left her completely nude in front of Angel.

Angel took no – or almost no – time to admire the view. He took off his coat and draped it around Buffy's shoulders, covering her nudity. She took the clothing thankfully, resisting the urge to draw in Angel's scent that saturated the fabric.

"Why did it vanish?" Buffy asked after overcoming the initial surprise.

"What are you feeling?" Angel asked.

"Safe. Protected." Buffy admitted after a moment.

Angel nodded.

"Whatever this thing is, it reacts to your emotions. You felt safe, so I guess it considered you out of danger and ... I don't know, went to sleep."

Buffy clutched Angel's coat tightly around herself. She was afraid, so very afraid. How could she possibly control this thing if it reacted to her every emotion? She couldn't afford to grow angry at anyone, otherwise the thing would try and kill them. When she felt safe, it left her nude.

"I really hate it!" She murmured.

"I think the safest thing would be for you to just stay inside and not around people until we figure out what this thing is." Angel said.

Buffy nodded, allowing him to lead her up the stairs again. She didn't know what to do, but she trusted Angel. He would make it right.

Angel brought her to his room, searching through the closet for anything she could wear. Having her this close and undressed was definitely not a good idea. The long separation from her had not lessened the way he desired her.

Buffy watched Angel rummaging through his closet and had trouble breathing. A minute ago she had been too shocked and confused, but now she was almost painfully aware of his proximity and her state of undress. His own black shirt stretched over his muscled chest, the black pants molded perfectly over his behind as he bent down.

The world narrowed down to Angel standing in front of her, thinking about anything else became difficult. She felt something move beneath her skin, inside her body, but she didn't pay attention to it. Desire swelled up inside of her.

When Angel turned around, a large black shirt and a pair of jogging tights in hand, he was confronted with a sight that would have taken his breath away, if he'd had such a thing.

"Angel!" Buffy murmured, her voice hoarse with passion.

His coat was on the floor, forgotten. The Obsidian fabric returned, flowing out of her skin like water, dancing around her body. Angel was reminded of an oriental dancer, swirling veils around herself with every motion. Buffy did not move, though. She stood still as the thing rippled around her and looked at him in a way that left no room for misunderstanding.

"Buffy ..." he began.

Black tendrils reached out for him, not in a threatening way as before, but like a lover's hands. Angel inched back, not wanting to anger her, but he stood with his back to the closet door and could retreat no further. The tendrils touched him tenderly, opening the buttons of his shirt.

Buffy walked closer, the thing moving with her, and Angel had a hard time thinking about the threat she might pose to him. His eyes could not help but follow the sleek curves of her flesh, the way her skin gleamed in the soft light of the room.

She reached him and her fingers reached out to unbutton his pants. Angel wanted to move his hands to stop her, but the moment he touched her he forgot why he wanted to stop her. Obsidian fabric flowed around them both, sealing them off from the outside world, and Angel could not think of anything but the girl he loved more than life itself.

Buffy's hands slid across his chest, drawing him in, and their lips met in a passionate kiss.

The blackness around them rippled with joy.
 

###
 

Part 5
 

Angel awoke without a clear memory of exactly when he had gone to sleep and looked around the room. There was something strange about it, something off. He hadn't lived here that long, but he knew that this was not the way the room was supposed to look like.

Everything was too dark, too black. The wallpapers certainly hadn't been black before, had they? Angel liked black, it suited his mood most of the time, but a black on black room would have been taking things a bit too far.

He looked to his side, remembering that Buffy had come to him yesterday. With a start he remembered what they had done and ice-cold fear gripped him. The curse. Angelus. What if ... at that moment he got his first look at Buffy and what he saw chased all potential happiness and bliss from his body.

Buffy's face was a picture of contentment and happiness. She seemed to be sleeping without a care in the world. Her face was one of the few parts of her body he was able to see.

The black thing had woven itself around her like a spider web, or maybe a butterfly cocoon. She hung inside an intricate construct of darkness and shadows, the Obsidian fabric hugging her like a lover. It had spread throughout the room and touched everything.

It also touched him, Angel realized with a start. The pillows, the covers, everything was covered with the blackness, it surrounded him on all sides. Angel breathed a tremendous sigh of relief when he found no instances of it actually entering his body. Still, what was going on here?

"Buffy?" He tried to wake her up, touching her face, gently shaking her. The black thing did not react, neither did his beloved. She kept on sleeping, smiling in whatever dreams she had, and was oblivious to his presence.

Angel rose carefully, trying not to touch the thing anymore than he had to. His shirt and pants were on the floor where he had left them hours ago, though he could not quite remember how he had come to lose them.

He and Buffy had always had more heat between them than was good for them, but he was sure that this time had been more than a loss of control. The thing, it had driven them somehow. Angel remembered only parts of it, but he did remember that thing rippling in an almost orgasmic manner when Buffy and he had fallen into one another.

Vampire hearing suddenly picked up voices outside the door. Several voices. There was also the dull sound of someone knocking against the door. Repeatedly and not gently. Angel walked over and saw Obsidian tendrils retracting out of his way, making a way towards the door.

"Gee, thanks!" He mumbled.

He opened the door to find Wesley, Gunn, and Giles standing outside. Cordelia was nowhere to be found, which didn't really surprise Angel. She had gotten more than a little scare just a few hours ago.

"Giles?" Angel asked. "Why are you here?"

Giles barely paid attention to him, trying to see into the room. He caught a glimpse of the black thing wrapped around Buffy and tried to get past Angel. The Vampire made no move to stop him, but the ex-Watcher found his way barred by a score of Obsidian tendrils, growing across the door like poison ivy.

"What happened in there?" Giles yelled at Angel.

Gunn looked at the rumpled state of Angel's clothing and smirked.

"Pretty obvious, ain't it?"

"You didn't ..." Wesley began, questioningly.

Angel looked down.

"God!" Wesley whispered.

"What's the matter?" Gunn asked.

"Don't worry," Angel told Giles and Wesley, "with that thing in there, I don't think perfect happiness is an issue this time."

Wesley nodded reluctantly, Giles didn't even pay attention. He stared at the barred door and the sleeping form he could just make out beyond it.

"You found out something, Giles." Angel said. It wasn't a question.

Giles looked at him, blinking, as if only now realizing that he was there. The ex-Watcher looked down, taking his glasses off to polish them.

"I am afraid so. I have found some information on this thing. It's called Obsidian Shadow and it is a form of demonic symbionite."

"You sure you don't mean parasite?" Angel asked him.

"Not in the strictest sense. Apparently the Obsidian does not do any physical harm to its host, unless the host is too weak to stand its presence. Quite the opposite actually. It protects them form bodily harm and strikes out against the host's enemies."

"It has a very loose definition of enemy, though." Wesley said.

Giles nodded.

"Wesley told me what happened with Cordelia."

"The thing reacts to her emotions," Angel said, "and not just the negative ones."

The three men looked at him questioningly.

"I am not sure I can explain it. There has always been a strong ... connection between Buffy and me. A few hours ago, though, it was as if my thoughts were pushed aside, everything but my want for her was no longer important."

Giles nodded. He seemed to have expected, or rather feared, something like that.

"The Obsidian is a form of emotional Vampire, Angel. It feeds off its host's feelings. Both the negative and the positive ones. The stronger the emotions, the better it likes it."

"Which means that it is actively causing strong emotional reactions within her. Turning slight irritation into murderous rage."

"And sexual attraction into hormonal overdrive?" Gunn remarked.
 
Angel gave him a dark stare, but did not respond. Gunn didn't know Buffy like the rest of them did, but he was worried as well, Angel could smell it.

"Any way to get it off her?" Angel asked.

"There are only two known ways for an Obsidian to leave its host. One is when the host dies, either by natural means or because it can't take the strain the symbiosis puts on it."

"The dried-out bodies in Sunnydale." Angel said, remembering what Buffy had told him.

"Yes," Giles said, "apparently they were not strong enough to survive the bond. Buffy is the Slayer, though. I think she could survive it for an indefinite period of time."

"What is the other way?"

Giles looked at the floor.

"The symbionite must leave her of its own free will. Which it will only do when it finds ..."

"... a worthier host." Angel concluded.

"Yes." Giles nodded.

Someone the Obsidian could take over instead. Someone as strong and enduring as the Slayer, but with even more emotional issues.

"I guess I have to take it from her, then." Angel said.
 

###
 

Obsidian, part 6
 

Giles shook his head.

"I am afraid that will not be possible, Angel."

"What do you mean?" Angel asked. If the only way for Buffy to be free of the Obsidian was to take the thing upon himself, he would do it in a heartbeat.

"The Obsidian will not bond with you, Angel. I am not sure why, but throughout all the records I found of its existence, it has only taken to women."

Angel shook his head.

"We have to find a way. I have to help her and ..."

"It already has you."

"What?"

Giles sighed, polishing his glasses again.

"It does not simply feed off the emotions of the host, Angel. The Obsidian can also use emotional connections the host has with those around her."

Angel remembered what had happened just a few hours ago. He and Buffy, compelled towards intense love-making, while the Obsidian had rippled around them.

"It's already feeding off me then." Angel concluded.

"Yes," Giles said, "You and everyone else in the vicinity that Buffy has a strong emotional connection to."

Angel sighed. "So we would need a female someone who is as tough as Buffy, has lots of emotional issues, and no emotional connection to her."

"We also have to consider the fact," Wesley said, "that the Obsidian is very powerful. I would not want it to be bonded to someone that is emotionally unstable and aggressive."

Angel knew that Wesley was talking about Faith, but he had never really considered her. The dark Slayer was on her way back towards the light, if slowly, and Angel could not burden her with something like this. It would destroy her and they'd be right back where they started.

"Best way would be to just destroy it." Gunn said.

"I hear you, Gunn," Angel said, "but considering that it has spread itself through Buffy's entire body, how do you intend to accomplish that without killing her?"

Gunn was about to say something that Angel probably did not want to hear, when a scream came from inside. Giles started toward the door, but had to move back or be run over by Angel. The Obsidian tendrils moved out of his way and he was in the room in a flash.

Buffy was wide awake and staring in horror at the thing growing out of her body, flowing through the room. The Obsidian reacted to her panic, seeing itself as the source of it, and folded in upon itself, withdrawing back into her body.

By the time Angel reached her and gathered her into his arms, the last of the symbionite had vanished somewhere below her skin, safely out of sight. Buffy was clutching Angel with desperate strength, her heart beating so fast it threatened to burst from her chest.

"My God!" She whispered.

"I am here, Buffy!" Angel said, holding her tight.

"What is happening to me, Angel?" She asked him, looking up at him with frightened eyes.

Angel looked over at the door, where Giles was standing, unsure of what to do.

"Giles found out some things." Angel simply said.

Buffy finally saw him and a mixture of relief and fear flowed across her face.

"Giles?" She asked, hesitantly.

He came forward, smiling.

"I know what happened, Buffy. I am here to help."

"Giles, I ... Riley ..."

Angel saw the pain in her eyes and couldn't help a pang of jealousy flooding through him. Riley Finn had been an idiot, not worthy of his beloved. He had betrayed her and Angel would have liked nothing better than to make him pay for it in person.

Unfortunately the Obsidian had beaten him to it. Riley was dead and Buffy blamed herself for it. Even from beyond the grave Riley was still hurting her. Angel almost growled.

"The Obsidian killed him, Buffy," Angel said, "not you."

"Obsidian?" She asked, tears in her eyes.

"The thing, it's called Obsidian Shadow. It amplifies and feeds off your emotions."

She looks at him, her eyes wide.

"Then ... then it was my anger at Riley that ... that ..."

Angel grabbed her, holding her tight again.

"You were angry at him for betraying you, Buffy. That was all. You didn't kill him. That thing did, there was nothing you could have done to prevent it from happening. You didn't even know it was there."

"He is right, Buffy," Giles said, "you have nothing to blame yourself for."

Buffy nodded, shaking. Angel knew she would need time to get over this, but he would be there for her. No matter what happened, he would be there.

"Can you get it off me?" Buffy asked Giles, her voice desperate.

Giles looked down, unable to meet her eyes. He didn't need to say anything.

"We will find a way." Angel tried to assure her. Buffy sank into his arms.

"I can't stay like this, Angel," she whispered, "afraid of even the slightest urge. I'd rather be dead than like this."

"Don't say such a thing!" Angel said, caressing her hair.

Angel saw Giles and the others quietly retreat from the room, leaving them alone. Angel nodded at them. They would continue the research and try to find a way to get this thing off his beloved.

He couldn't leave her side, not now. God alone knew what the Obsidian would do with Buffy in the state she was in. Angel wondered whether sadness, desperation, and guilt were also emotions the demon could consume. He hoped the thing would choke on it.

"Don't leave me, Angel!" Buffy whispered.

"Never!" He told her.

Somewhere below Buffy's skin the Obsidian Shadow rested, filled with the glorious buzz of emotions. It had truly chosen a worthy host this time, so strong and full of emotions. The closest human equivalent to what he felt for his host had to be love. She was its mate, bonded for all eternity.

It would never, ever let this one go.

Go to Part 7