Title: Rematch
Author: Medea
Email: medealives@hotmail.com
Website: http://members.fortunecity.com/medealives/index.html
Pairing: Willow/Angelus
Rating: R
Disclaimer: All BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon and crew. I'm just taking them for a spin.
Feedback: Please, although your tact and diplomacy will be greatly appreciated.
Summary: Willow is called to Los Angeles to restore Angel's soul. Angelus isn't going quietly.

-.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