~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
-.Prologue.-
"Look, I don't have time to debate whose Apocalypse is bigger," Wesley
snapped tersely into the receiver. "We need help. You happen to have
the
required skills. You've also done this before."
As he listened to the agitated voice on the other end of the line, Wesley
grimly surveyed the faces of his allies, each of them looking as haggard
as
he felt. They'd barely survived from one disaster to the next. As it
was,
he, Gunn, Fred, Cordelia, Connor, and Lorne had been fortunate to escape
with their lives. Now in hiding, they tended each other's wounds in
a dingy
apartment that belonged to one of the freelance demon hunters Wesley
had
worked with during his ostracism.
"Yes, I understand the risk," Wesley acknowledged. "I'll prepare what
counter measures I can. How soon can--? Good...good...He's at the hotel.
Yes, the same one. Apparently, he doesn't consider us a great enough
threat
to merit relocating." As he shifted in his seat, a sudden, excruciating
pain
stabbed out from his cracked ribs -- a souvenir from Angelus. Hissing,
Wesley added, "So far, his arrogance has been warranted. Use extreme
caution."
With that, he hung up. Unable to muster anything even remotely resembling
hope, Wesley simply turned to his fellow refugees and announced, "She's
on
her way."
-.Duel.-
The lobby of the Hyperion hotel was silent. Once it had been a hub of
activity. Its walls had echoed with the cries of an infant, frivolous
chit-chat, heated arguments on how to kill this-or-that demon, and
even, on
rare, precious occasions, laughter. All of those sounds had fled with
the
people who had once made them, who had once considered this place their
home.
Home sweet home had turned deadly.
Those who ventured within did so at their own peril.
Without warning, the dead calm was stirred by a roaring whirlwind that
rattled the windows. A small but turbulent funnel cloud touched down
on the
expansive floor and slowly dissipated. In its place stood a slender,
red-headed woman.
Cautiously, she scanned her surroundings. Yet although she was alert
to the
danger she'd come to confront, she was unable to prevent her heart
from
skipping a beat when a dark, sinister, and all-too-familiar figure
suddenly
appeared scarcely ten yards away from her.
A sly smile indicated that he'd caught her sharp intake of breath.
"The last time I saw you here was when you came to tell me Buffy was
dead,"
he observed smoothly. With a mocking arch of his eyebrow, he taunted,
"So,
are you bringing more good news? Is it too much to hope that something
else
has killed her *again*?"
"Angelus," Willow murmured warily, steeling her nerves as she planted
her
feet more firmly in a fighting stance.
"Hello, Willow," Angelus responded with a grin that did nothing to mask
the
deadly cunning in his eyes. The exchange of pleasantries was a mere
formality in a battle that had begun the minute Willow set foot in
the hotel
-- a battle to the death.
"So," he continued, taking a step toward her. "I've gotta admit, I'm
a
little surprised to see you here. I mean, I might have expected the
Slayer
but instead," he gestured toward her, laughing in open condescension,
"they
send me an appetizer."
Stiffening, Willow clenched her fists and frowned. Hey! She was a bad-ass
Wicca!
"I'm not so sweet any more," Willow retorted in a low, even voice, although
she chided herself for letting Angelus push her buttons.
Angelus lowered his head slightly but regarded her with raised eyes,
the
posture of a beast poised to charge. He chuckled softly.
"Ooohh...baby wants to play."
That was all the warning Willow got. An instant later, Angelus was upon
her,
his powerful hand tightening around her throat. Willow kicked herself
mentally for not reacting more quickly since she was quite familiar
with the
speed of vampire reflexes. Nonetheless, she stayed focused. Harnessing
her
energy, she choked out a brief incantation which flung Angelus off
her and
halfway across the lobby.
It was the first time Willow had ever seen Angelus looked surprised.
Granted, she hadn't exactly had a whole lot of face-to-face contact
with
him...thank goodness.
She caught only a glimpse of shock-widened eyes before his expression
resolved into its more customary, shrewd, determined mask. Angelus
caught
himself before the momentum of Willow's blast carried him to the floor.
He
swept his gaze up and down the deceptively unassuming redhead with
renewed
interest.
"Somebody's been practicing," Angelus observed with a calculating gleam
in
his eyes. He folded his arms across his chest. "And I'd swear I caught
a
whiff of something pretty dark in there. My, my, Willow...You *aren't*
very
sweet any more, are you?"
It was exactly what Willow would have expected Angelus to say. The
predictability of his taunt, rather than shaking her confidence, renewed
her
focus on the task at hand. Reaching into her jacket pocket, Willow
withdrew
the Orb of Thessulah she'd brought with her and cupped it in her left
palm.
The sooner she got this done, the better.
"Quod perditum est, invenietur. Te implor, Doamne, nu ignora aceasta
rugaminte. Nici mort, nici al fiintei," Willow began to chant.
The orb grew warm and glowed as she summoned Angel's soul.
"Lasa orbita sa fie vasul--"
A sudden blur of motion and sharp, stinging pain jolted Willow out of
the
ritual. Once again, she rued the blinding speed of vampire reflexes
as she
clutched her injured hand to her chest. Blood flowed from a shallow
slash
across her palm. She glanced at the floor to see a short dagger lying
amid
the glass shards -- the remains of what had been the Orb of Thessulah.
Stupid! She should have seen that coming.
Glaring at Angelus, she bit out, "That hurt."
He shrugged and slowly circled to her left. "Pain is a good look on
you,
Willow." Her eyes followed him as he continued around. "I can see it
now.
You try to bury it, but it's still with you, so close to the surface
that
all it takes is one, tiny scratch...That was what pushed you over the
edge,
wasn't it? Pure pain."
Willow felt the battle raging inside her. Rationally, she recognized
his
strategy. He was goading her in the hope that she'd snap. It didn't
surprise
Willow that a demon like Angelus could sense the darkness that lingered
within her, or that he would try to provoke her into releasing it.
But it
was hard to maintain her composure. Her own body betrayed her: tears
stung
her eyes and adrenaline pumped through her system, an involuntary,
physiological response to her wounded hand. Even as her mind struggled
to
maintain a calm, objective perspective, her body trembled with the
urge to
lash out.
"Actually, it started with boredom," Willow murmured tightly, pivoting
to
keep herself squared against the vampire who circled her. "And you're
rapidly becoming a bore, Angelus. Not a good idea."
"I don't know," Angelus countered with a smirk, his eyes locked with
hers.
"It sounds like fun. I'll bet you're a pretty wild ride when you let
all
that power come out to play."
Willow cocked her head to the side and matched Angelus's smirk with
one of
her own. "You think?"
She swept her right arm forward in a powerful arc. Fingers spread and
palm
raised, she fired a crackling bolt of energy at him. Even with the
inhuman
speed of his kind, Angelus barely leaped out of its path in time to
avoid
impact. The power of her spell crashed into the column just behind
the spot
in which he'd been standing and sent fragments of marble and dust flying
in
every direction.
When the dust had cleared, Angelus was standing impassively mid-way
up the
grand staircase, surveying the damage with approval. "Oh, you're definitely
much more fun this way, Willow. I wonder if anyone truly appreciates
how
powerful you are."
Willow shook her head and arched an eyebrow in bemusement. "Please.
Not the
poor-unappreciated-sidekick ploy," she chided, clasping her hands loosely
in
front of her. A faint, white-gold light glowed between her palms as
she
magically healed the gash on her left hand. Okay, so it was a little
show-offy, but she reasoned that she would have a better chance against
Angelus if she were injury-free. "I've had my taste of the spotlight,
and
it's not all it's cracked up to be. Neither is the power."
Angelus looked down at her, his eyes flashing suggestively. "Maybe you
just
never met the one who could show you how good it can feel."
Unable to resist taunting the arrogant vampire in kind, Willow mused,
"You
must be slipping, Angelus. I've already heard the
what-you-need-is-a-real-man line, and it was from a geeky, *human*
loser."
"Ahh, I see. And no doubt you scoffed in the face of misogyny?" Angelus
guessed, smirking at her as if he were indulging a small child.
It irked Willow that he still wasn't taking her seriously. Before she
could
check the impulse, she fired back smoothly, "No. I flayed him."
That got his attention.
But not in a good way. Willow instantly felt uncomfortable at the admiring
gleam in his eyes.
"Felt good, didn't it?" prompted Angelus, his voice laced with equal
measures of seduction and accusation.
"No."
"Liar."
Slowly, Angelus descended the staircase, his eyes riveted to Willow's
as his
hypnotic voice recreated the scene. "It felt right, better than anything
you'd ever done. But it wasn't enough...you felt empty...you needed
more..."
"Stop," Willow demanded, grimacing involuntarily at the shameful memories
that flooded back to her. She fought to keep her temper.
"No," he answered flatly, still prowling toward her. "You killed again,
didn't you?"
Willow's breathing grew increasingly rapid and shallow as she shoved
the
fear down into the pit of her gut. She'd known this would be a danger.
Even
now, she still hadn't fully come to grips with her power or her past
actions. Her emotions were volatile, and it hardly surprised her that
Angelus had detected her weakness and was trying to exploit it.
She just hadn't expected it would be this hard to contain the feelings.
"I said stop," Willow repeated more insistently.
A feral grin stretched across Angelus's face. "Make me."
Instantly, Willow's arm shot out and her entire body tensed with power.
Before she could strike, however, Angelus leaped high overhead, tucked
into
a dive with superhuman grace and landed, catlike, on his feet beside
the
weapons cabinet. Swiftly, Willow spun to face him. In a blur, he yanked
open
the door and seized an axe. Even as the axe left his fingertips and
hurtled
toward her, a protection spell formed on her lips.
"Deflect!" Willow barked, snapping her hand up and sweeping it to the
right.
The axe followed, hurtling away from her until it slammed into the
wall, the
blade almost fully embedded.
She had scarcely a split-second to recover before Angelus hurled five
throwing stars at her in rapid succession. The first managed to nick
her
shoulder right as she braced her hand in front of her and shouted,
"Drop!"
The other four fell harmlessly to the floor.
Willow hissed in pain and clutched at her bleeding shoulder. Her heart
pounded and adrenaline throbbed through her entire body, but what worried
Willow most was the power raging to break loose from her control. She
could
feel her discipline slipping beneath the pressure of Angelus's assault.
The
darkness battered against every restraint she exercised, driven to
work its
will through her.
As if he'd read her mind, Angelus goaded her, "Not bad, Willow. But
I'll bet
this is child's play compared to what you could do if you really let
go."
With deadly precision, he aimed a spear at her chest and threw it with
a
demon's might.
"PROTECT!"
The voice that summoned the defensive shield was not her own. Willow
watched
with detachment as the spear glanced off the invisible barrier she'd
raised.
Her eyes were black.
When she spoke again, a dissonant, hollow chorus erupted from her mouth.
"You have no idea of the extent of my power."
Echoes of the commanding statement hung in the air. Willow's panic rose
as
she felt her consciousness slipping from her body, as if she were observing
from without while the darkness strengthened its hold.
No longer wielding weapons, Angelus gazed at her with naked admiration
that
bordered on hunger. "Oh, but I welcome it," he insisted in a low, seductive
purr. "And I'd love to show you exactly what you can do with it. I'll
bet
you'd do me proud, Willow."
Angelus took a step toward her, his own eyes nearly as dark as her own.
"Giles never appreciated what you could do, did he?"
The barrier dissipated as Willow waged an inner struggle with the force
of
her magic. Just...a little...more...Almost...had it...
"He probably told you what a disappointment you were," Angelus pressed
his
advantage, drawing nearer and nearer. "Faithful little Willow let the
power
go to her head."
Almost...come on...
Willow trembled, just barely maintaining her fragile control as Angelus
stopped before her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Bowing his
head,
he whispered against her neck, "Let it go, Willow."
His hands ran suggestively down her arms before slipping around her
waist in
a loose embrace.
A slight tremor shook her voice as she whispered back, "Are you sure
you
really want that, Angelus? Do you want to play with fire?"
A sinister chuckle rumbled up from his chest, "Positive."
Willow felt his features shift against the tender column of her neck
as
Angelus let his demon emerge. Cool, ivory fangs tickled her skin.
"You know...there's a reason I always looked up to Giles," Willow murmured,
focusing all her energy on centering her mind. "He taught me one of
my most
important lessons."
"What's that?" Angelus asked. Without waiting for her answer, he bit
down
hard, sinking his fangs deep into Willow's flesh.
Willow let out a choking gasp at the searing pain. Screwing her eyes
shut in
agony, she bit out, "Keep your enemies close!"
Suddenly, Willow's eyes snapped open in triumph as her back-up plan
fell
into place. Just as Giles had lured her into drawing energy from him
during
their battle -- energy that had ultimately led to her defeat -- so,
too, had
Willow counted on Angelus stealing away her life's essence. For as
he drew
her blood into his body, he took something else in as well.
Something that Willow drawn into herself even before leaving Sunnydale,
but
that had to be invited back willingly by its rightful host if the spell
were
to succeed without an Orb of Thessulah.
His soul.
With a jolt, Angelus sensed that something was wrong and attempted to
pull
away.
"Quod perditum est, invenietur," Willow chanted, gripping Angelus's
head and
holding his mouth to her neck. "Lasa me sa fie vasul care-i va transporta,
sufletul la el. Asa sa fie! Acum!"
A circle of light surged around both of them as the spell was completed.
Angelus roared in pain as the soul firmly seated itself within him
and he
became Angel once again.
At last, Willow released him and he collapsed to the floor.
She looked down on the shivering, newly restored form of her old friend.
A
tear moistened her lashes as she whispered, "And for the record, Giles
*is*
proud of me."
-.Epilogue.-
Willow rested on a velvet-soft lounge in the lobby, tired and drained
from
her confrontation with Angelus. Angel sat beside her, staring pensively
at
his hands which were steepled before him.
Two of Angel's colleagues, who had introduced themselves as Fred and
Gunn,
were busy sweeping up the fragments of the column that Willow had damaged.
Cordelia had hovered protectively around Angel for a while, then raced
after
a sullen young man who had spent a full ten minutes glaring at Angel
before
storming out of the hotel. Willow wasn't quite sure what that was all
about.
Wesley approached her with a small bowl. Smiling sympathetically, he
extended it to her and asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Pretty wiped," Willow acknowledged, returning his smile with a weaker
one.
She glanced down and saw that the bowl contained a syrupy mixture of
green
herbs flecked with something that looked like lavender.
It smelled suspiciously like aloe vera body wash. Dubiously, she lifted
her
eyes to Wesley's.
His smile broadened and he assured her, "This should restore some of
your
strength and help you regain a sense of balance. Cheers."
Willow sighed and tipped the contents of the bowl into her mouth. To
her
pleasant surprise, it tasted like rosemary. She licked her lips and
handed
the bowl back to Wesley with thanks. He admonished her to be sure to
get
some rest, then withdrew, leaving her with Angel.
After a brief pause, the inevitable apologies began spilling from Angel's
lips.
"Willow, I am so sorry..."
"Angel, it's okay. No permanent damage done," she insisted, offering
him a
warm smile.
Grimacing awkwardly, Angel countered, "But I nearly pushed you over
the
edge...I felt the power you're struggling with. I know what it's like
to
deal with something like that, to fight it every day. And I almost
drove you
to--"
"It wasn't as bad as you think," Willow interrupted, placing a hand
over his
and squeezing gently. "Besides, this isn't something that will ever
go away.
I made some bad choices, and now it's part of who I am. So I have to
learn
how to deal with it, even under pressure. You know?"
For the first time that evening, Angel relaxed and smiled back at her.
"Yeah, I know."
They sat in silence for several moments, grinning and enjoying the company
of a friend -- a luxury which hadn't figured in either of their lives
for
quite some time. All too soon, thoughts of their respective battles
to stave
off world destruction intruded on the moment and dimmed their smiles.
Willow
lifted her hand from Angel's.
"Well, you're all soul-having again, so I should get back. They might
need
me," she said, rising to her feet.
Angel stood as well and peered earnestly at her. "Thanks, Willow...for
bringing me back."
Willow's smile surged back to life and her eyes twinkled fondly. "Hey,
what
are friends for?"
She stepped back a few paces, distancing herself enough from Angel so
she
could begin the incantation that would take her back to Sunnydale.
Suddenly, Angel blurted out, "Maybe we could visit some time...as friends.
To talk. After everything...if the world doesn't end."
Willow tilted her head and regarded him thoughtfully. "I'd like that,"
she
admitted. "I think it might help me to talk to you, you know, about
how to
deal with everything."
Angel's posture relaxed and he smiled at her again. "Besides, I'm going
to
live forever. It's not like I don't have time for a cup of coffee."
Willow laughed heartily as she summoned the whirlwind that would carry
her
back to Sunnydale.
Yet even as the Hyperion faded from sight, she knew she'd be back. She
wasn't entirely leaving, really.
She and Angel had left a small part of themselves with each other.
THE END