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Chapter Text

"Becoming"

Based on the Episodes Written by Joss Whedon and the Novel Go Ask Malice: A Slayer's Diary Written by Robert Joseph Levy

The following story is copyright © 2022 by Mark Moore.

In the cemetery, Buffy and Cordelia fought a pair of vampires. Buffy kicked one, and Cordelia kicked the other. One of the vampires rushed Buffy, and she flipped him over onto his back.

"Nice try."

The other one came at Cordelia again with a swing. She ducked it and punched him in the face, in the gut, and again in the face. He fell to the ground, dazed. The first one knocked Cordelia down and came at Buffy again with a kick, but she blocked it with her arm, backhand-punched him in the face, jabbed him in the gut, and grabbed his arm, twisting it up high and forcing him to his knees in pain. The second vampire got back up and rushed her. Without letting go of the first one, she cleanly jammed her stake into the other one's chest, and he fell over, dead.

Buffy turned her attention back to the one that she was holding and punched him in the face, making him roll away. "I want you to get a message to Angel for us. Tell him we're done waiting. We're taking the fight to him. You got that? Need me to write it down for you?"

The vampire got up and charged her. She grabbed him and pulled him around and down to the ground and immediately plunged her stake home.

"All right, I'll tell him myself." Buffy got up and walked over behind a gravestone, where she reached down to help Cordelia up.

Cordelia took hold of Buffy's hand, and Buffy pulled Cordelia to her feet.

Cordelia moaned. "Thanks." She rubbed her neck. "What is that, um...five vampires in three nights?"

"Yep. But no Angel. Are you, uh, really that anxious to come up against him?" Buffy asked her.

"I want it over with."

Buffy nodded. "I hear that. Oh, we better go." She sighed. "I haven't even started studying for finals yet."

They left the cemetery.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, a seventeen-year-old girl named Faith Lehane was walking down the street with her boyfriend, Kenny (also known as Killian, the lead drummer of her favorite band, Freak Wharf). Faith had long, dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was from South Boston and had had a rough childhood, but she had been taken away from that life over two months ago by Professor Diana Dormer of Harvard University. She was a sixty-year-old Brit, had short gray hair and blue eyes, and wore wire-frame glasses and tweed suits. Faith had initially mistaken her for a lesbian. Diana had informed Faith that she was a Potential Vampire Slayer, subject to possible activation immediately upon the death of the current Slayer. Faith had accepted it easily enough, because she had already encountered - and killed - a child vampire. At Diana's insistence, she kept her double life a secret from everyone, including Kenny.

"I'm sane enough to rejoin the band, so Freak Wharf are heading out on tour for a couple of weeks. Do you want me to bring anything back from out on the road?"

"Just give me one of those plastic globes with the snow inside, the tackier, the better."

"Anything for my girl."

Faith winked; she could tell he was kind of joking but kind of not.

He tried to cover it up. "By which I mean...I'll add you to the list."

Then Faith punched him in the arm.

He howled. "Damn, girl, you got a mean left hook! You're too strong."

Faith smiled. "Damn straight."

She thought she wasn't that strong, but maybe someday she would be.

The next day, Giles walked into the research lab at the Sunnydale Museum of Natural History. There was a large rectangular chunk of rock in the room. A female technician ran a brush across the rock. Dr. Doug Perren, one of the museum curators, was also in the room.

"Hello?" Giles asked.

Doug came to greet him. "Rupert Giles?"

"Yes."

"Doug Perren." He shook Giles' hand. "Thanks for coming."

"Oh, not at all. I'm...flattered to be asked."

"I spoke with Lou Tabor at the Washington Institute, and he told me we had the best authority on obscure relics right here in Sunnydale."

"Oh..." Giles laughed. "He may have, uh, exaggerated a little." He saw the obelisk. "Ah, is this the...?"

"This is our baby."

They approached it.

"Construction workers dug it up outside of town. Don't have a clue what it is. Any ideas?"

Giles touched and looked at the rock. "A few. None I'd care to share until I can verify." He noticed the runes on it. "You have, uh, carbon-dated it?" He inspected the writings.

"The results'll be back in a couple of days. I'll go out on a limb and say old."

Giles smirked and picked up a jar and a scraper. "Um, yes, it - it certainly...predates any, uh...settlements we've read about." He pointed. "Um, may - may I?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Giles leaned in and began to scrape at the corner of the obelisk, catching the debris in the jar. He dug into an apparent groove. A few scrapes later, he stopped and tapped the scraper clean on the jar. "I assume you've, uh, you haven't tried to open it."

"Open it?" Doug leaned over to see what Giles had discovered. "Ah, I'll be damned. I figured it was solid. What do you think is in there?"

Giles stared intently. "I don't know."

"Well...I guess we won't know until we open it up."

Giles considered. "Yes, but could I ask, um...would you wait? I, uh...I'd like to work on translating the text. It - It - It might give us an indication of...what we'll find inside."

"You don't want to be surprised?"

"A-As a rule, no."

"All right. You're the expert. But I'm pretty damn curious, though."

Giles removed his glasses. "Yes. Yes, so am I."

In the cafeteria at Sunnydale High, Buffy, Tara, Cordelia, Harmony, Amy, and Katrina were sitting at a table, eating lunch. Amy was sitting on Katrina's lap.

Cordelia sighed. "Angel's too much of a coward to take me on face-to-face."

"Do you think you're ready to fight Angel?" Harmony asked her.

"I wish people would stop asking me that. Yes, I'm ready. I'm also willing and able."

Buffy nodded. "And I'll be there to help you. Just the one test I might actually pass."

Tara was concerned. "Having some problems?"

Buffy nodded.

"Sixth period, after my computer class, we'll rock on your subjects."

Buffy smiled. "Ready to rock."

Tara kissed Buffy on the lips. Buffy parted her lips, and Tara stuck her tongue into Buffy's mouth.

Snyder came into the cafeteria behind them. "That's enough of that." He looked at Amy. "And you! Are we having a chair shortage?"

Amy slid off Katrina's lap and into her chair.

"These public displays of affection are not acceptable in my school. This isn't an orgy, people. It's a classroom."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah! Where they teach lunch."

Snyder glared at her. "Just give me a reason to kick you out, Summers. Just give me a reason." He walked off.

"How about because you're a tiny, impotent Nazi with a bug up his ass the size of an emu?" Cordelia suggested.

Buffy nodded. "Sums it up."

Cordelia nodded. "Don't you think?"

Tara smiled at Buffy. "Do you wanna come by my house tonight and study, too?"

"Maybe. We - We do have to patrol."

"Again? Do you really expect Angel to turn up tonight?" Tara asked.

Cordelia shook her head. "No, we don't expect him to. But that's usually when he does."

After school, Tara was tutoring Buffy in the computer science classroom. Jenny was sitting at her desk, working on her computer.

Buffy gave up in frustration and slapped down her pencil. "Waah! This doesn't make any sense." She pouted at Tara.

"Well, sure it does. See..." Tara took the paper and looked. "Oh, no, this doesn't make any sense."

Jenny stifled a laugh.

Buffy shrugged. "It's senseless." She played with her pencil.

"It is, but at least you know that, so you're learning." Tara looked at the problem more closely.

"Yay, me. Well, it doesn't matter, anyway. I mean...when in the real world am I ever gonna need chemistry or history or math or the English language?"

Tara shot Buffy a glance. "Okay. I see your problem."

"I'm a moron?" Buffy asked.

Tara gave Buffy a look. "Will you stop that? You're not stupid! You've just had a lot on your mind. You can learn this really easily, but, if you're just gonna give up, then don't waste my time."

Buffy was impressed. "Wow. You'd make a really good teacher." She smiled.

"Okay. Look at this..."

Jenny reached for a floppy disk from a tray on her desk, but it slipped from her fingers and fell into the space between the desk and the filing cabinet next to it. She looked over into the space and saw the disk - and another one next to it. She reached down for them and pulled them out. The second disk was an unlabeled yellow disk.

A sudden feeling overwhelmed her, and she inserted the yellow disk into her computer's floppy drive. The program on the disk started up, and the Rumanian text scrolled into the left-hand window. The translation program's percent-complete bar appeared, and the bar began to zip across the screen. Jenny watched as the bar reached the far side. It disappeared, and the English translation scrolled into the right-hand window.

Jenny stared at the screen in shock. "Holy shit."

Buffy and Tara looked at her.

"What?" Tara asked.

Jenny looked at them. "The restoration spell for Angel's soul. I found it."

Jenny printed out the spell, Buffy rounded up the gang, and they went to the library. Amy, Katrina, Harmony, and Cordelia were sitting at the table.

Giles walked up to Buffy, Tara, and Jenny. "What are you saying?"

"The curse." Jenny held out the printout. "This is it. I found the floppy disk on the floor in my classroom. Angelus must have knocked it out of the way while he was destroying my work...and thus failed to do so."

Giles took the printout and stared at it.

"This is good, right?" Cordelia asked. "I mean...we can curse him again."

Buffy paced, thinking.

Giles looked at Cordelia. "Um, well, this, um...certainly points the way, but...the ritual itself requires a great knowledge of the black arts."

"Got it." Jenny smiled at him.

Harmony was confused. "But you're not a practicing witch."

"No, but Tara and Amy are." Jenny looked at them. "What do you say, girls?"

Tara took the printout and looked at it. "I may be able to work this."

Giles was very concerned. "T-Tara...channeling...such potent magicks through yourself, it could open a door that you may not be able to close."

Buffy looked at her girlfriend. "I don't want you putting yourself in any danger, sweetie."

"And I don't want danger, but maybe if Amy and I split the work between us..." Tara looked at Amy.

Amy thought about it and looked at Katrina.

Katrina shrugged. "It's your decision, babe."

Amy looked at Tara. "I'm in."

Tara looked at Buffy. "What do you wanna do?"

Buffy sighed. "I-I don't know."

Cordelia looked at Buffy. "What happened to Angel wasn't his fault."

Buffy nodded. "True, but-"

"So we reinstate the curse." Cordelia looked at Jenny. "By the way, that's a really fucked-up curse. What were you people thinking? Or were you all as brainless as that Gypsy bimbo that Angelus killed? Angel's soul was gone. He wasn't responsible for what Angelus did. But you dragged Angel's soul back from the afterlife and made him suffer for Angelus' crimes."

Jenny stared at Cordelia, helpless. "Yeah, that was pretty fucked up."

"Maybe not."

Everyone looked at Buffy.

"'There are countless ingredients that make up the human body and mind, like all the components that make up me as an individual with my own personality. Sure, I have a face and voice to distinguish myself from others, but my thoughts and memories are unique only to me, and I carry a sense of my own destiny. Each of those things are just a small part of it. I collect information to use in my own way. All of that blends to form a mixture that forms me and gives rise to my conscience.'" Buffy sighed. "I've been thinking...a lot...about what makes a person who they are. At first, I believed the line that Giles had fed me about a demon entering the victim's body and gaining control, and the actual person - the soul - had moved on."

Cordelia nodded. "Angel had told me the same thing."

"But what if it's not quite so clear-cut?" Buffy asked. "It's the same human brain, after all. The same electrical impulses."

"Angel does talk about the nasty shit that Angelus did as if he himself had done it. And it is the basis for his whole redemption shtick..." Cordelia thought for a moment and then shook her head. "But Angel said, when his soul was restored, he didn't remember anything that had happened for a while - until he accessed the memories stored in his brain."

Buffy shrugged. "The innocent soul re-entering the body and accessing the memories of the atrocities committed by the demon? Or the demon-influenced Angel with a human brain becoming momentarily disoriented by his soul re-entering his body? When it comes to theological shit like this, we can only make guesses, and we can rely on only the testimony of people forming thoughts with human brains."

Giles thought about that. "I see what you're getting at, Buffy. Hell, humanity has debated the existence of the soul itself for as long as humanity has existed."

Buffy nodded. "Right, and I still can't say for certain that I have one. I certainly don't feel like it, sometimes. I mean...what is a soul, anyway?"

Giles adjusted his glasses. "The - The immortal essence of the person; that which survives death."

Cordelia thought about that. "Y'know, Angel told me that he had no memory of the afterlife."

Buffy looked at her. "Maybe there's nothing. Maybe the soul goes into some kind of ether and just...stays there."

Tara tried to be optimistic. "Well, maybe for just a little while, until it's reincarnated...or - or something."

Cordelia looked at her. "Angel's soul was out of his body for a long-ass time. If it was gonna go into a new body, it would have done so already."

Tara felt depressed.

Amy forced a smile. "Maybe there is an afterlife, but you're not allowed to remember it upon returning to the mortal realm."

Buffy shrugged. "I dunno. Look, we can speculate all day, but the point that I'm trying to make is...maybe Angelus and Angel are one and the same. Maybe there's not much difference between humans and vampires."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Oh, my God." Cordelia looked at Buffy. "If that's true...you're the most prolific serial killer in history."

Buffy stared at her. "Thanks, Cordy, that makes me feel a lot better about myself."

Giles sighed. "This is a slippery slope that you're heading down. I'd advise putting the matter aside until Angelus is dealt with."

"But this goes to the very heart of what I am!" Buffy insisted. "I...I spared a vampire already."

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"When?" Harmony asked.

"At the beginning of the school year, when some of you were kidnapped to resurrect the Master. A vampire girl had been left as a decoy for me to find at the Bronze. I...tried torturing her for information. I scared her enough that she wanted to make a deal: she'd tell me where you were and swear off killing humans forever, and I'd spare her life...er...undeath. I agreed." Buffy paused. "Her name was Tara."

Tara was surprised.

Buffy shook her head. "Anyway, to be continued."

Faith was training with Sensei Kanno, who she had started with a few weeks ago, in jujutsu. He had brought armed combat into the moves that he'd been teaching her. Her favorite weapon was the tanto, which was like a knife or small sword. She had her eye on one special tanto at the dojo that was ivory-handled and kept in a matching ivory sheath.

He noticed her interest in it. "I might give it to you, if you advance further in your other techniques. You have a problem exploring the spiritual and philosophical aspects of the discipline, which carries over into other areas, especially now that we've started aikido training."

"Hey, just give me a shot. I'm willing to work at anything, especially if it gets me that knife."

He gave her a look.

"What, there's nothing wrong with the reward system, is there?"

He didn't reply.

"So what's the deal? How did you come to be involved with me? With the Prof?"

"My wife was killed by a vampire in Japan in the '60s, and that's when I started studying martial arts, eventually mastering nine different combat traditions and becoming a kind of personal trainer for Potentials - as well as three different Slayers over the past twenty years."

"So...the Watchers Council must love you, helping out with the heavy lifting and all."

He shook his head. "I don't do it for them. I do it for my wife. I do it for vengeance. Now, what are the four qualities you must attain in order to perform your duties, should you be called?"

"Agility, clarity, stamina, and strength, Sensei!" Faith replied confidently.

He nodded his approval. "Good. Very good."

"So...what do you think, you know, if I'm called?" Faith asked him. "Do I have the right stuff?"

"Let's work on your sweep and ankle lock technique, and I'll let you know at the end of the lesson."

But he never did. And she forgot to remind him.

In her room at home, Cordelia piled a bunch of stakes and crosses into her bag while talking on the phone with Buffy.

"Well, I'll do a couple of sweeps on the south side of town, and then we'll meet up in the park."

"Sounds good. So...what are you gonna do regarding Angel?" Buffy asked her.

Cordelia went over to her desk and grabbed a couple more stakes from the top-left drawer. "I don't know. I don't know what I wanna do."

At the bottom of the drawer, she saw the Claddagh ring that Angel gave her and stared at it sadly for a moment. She reached in for it and held it gently with her fingers, remembering.

"I'll - I'll see you in a little while, okay?" Cordelia turned off the phone and set it down.

She held the ring with both hands again and gazed at the design: two hands for friendship, a crown for loyalty, and a heart for love.

Buffy and Cordelia walked through the park on patrol and headed into some bushes. Buffy stopped and jerked her head aside when she heard something snap.

"What is it?" Cordelia asked.

"Shhh." Slowly, Buffy took a few more steps to investigate.

She heard another sound behind her and spun around to look. Nothing. Again, she took a couple of steps. Suddenly, someone came out of the bushes to stand right behind her. Buffy instantly pivoted around with her fist held up, ready to punch. She stayed herself when she recognized Kendra.

Buffy sighed. "You know, polite people call before they jump out of the bushes and attack you."

"Just wanted to test your reflexes."

"How about testing my face-punching? 'Cause I think you'll find it's improved."

"I was on my way to your house. Saw you walking. Couldn't help meself."

Buffy smiled. "Which begs the question, and don't think I'm not glad to see you, but...why are you here?"

Kendra started to answer.

"Oh, wait, no, let me guess. Your Watcher informed you dat a very dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale."

"Dat's about it."

"Great. So...you have any idea what this dark power is?" Buffy asked her.

Later, at the library, Giles walked out of his office, into the main room, where Buffy, Cordelia, and Kendra were waiting at the table. Tara, Amy, and Jenny were behind the counter, researching in a book.

"I've been on the phone to the museum. The artifact in question is missing, and the curator has been murdered. Vampires." Giles leaned on the table.

"And you're sure this was the tomb of Alfalfa?" Buffy asked him.

"Acathla. And yes, the information provided by Kendra's Watcher seems conclusive." Giles straightened back up.

Tara walked out from behind the counter. "Mr. Giles, please explain the whole 'he will suck the world into Hell' thing."

Giles put on his glasses. "Well, the, uh, the Demon Universe exists in a dimension separate from our own." He sat on the table. "With one breath, Acathla will create a vortex, a-a kind of, um...whirlpool that will pull everything on Earth into that dimension, where any non-demon life will suffer horrible and...eternal torment."

"So that would be the literal kind of 'sucked into Hell'." Buffy smiled nervously. "Neat." She frowned and turned to Tara, Amy, and Jenny. "Ladies, I think you should try the curse."

Cordelia nodded. "Yeah, totally."

Kendra shook her head. "Angel should be eliminated."

Cordelia turned on her. "Hey, back off, Miss Cleo!"

Buffy looked at Kendra as well. "Oh, we'll fight him. We'll kill him if we have to. But if we don't get there in time, or if we lose, then Tara and Amy might be our only hope."

"We have dis." Kendra pulled a sword from her bag. "Blessed by the knight who first slew the demon."

Giles looked at the sword, intrigued.

"If all else fails, this might stop it. I tink."

Giles approached. "Ooh. May I? May I?" He took the sword from Kendra. "Thank you. Well, l-let's, uh, hope all else doesn't fail." He looked at Jenny. "Um, how close are you to f-figuring out the ritual of the curse?"

"I need about a day."

Tara looked at Buffy. "This means I can't help you study for tomorrow's final."

"Eh, I'll wing it. Of course, if we go to Hell by then, I won't have to take 'em." Buffy was suddenly worried. "Or maybe I'll be taking them forever."

Giles looked at Buffy and Cordelia. "Angel has a ritual of his own to perform before he can remove the sword and awaken Acathla. With any luck, it should take some time."

The next day, Tara, Buffy, Amy, Cordelia and the rest of the class were taking one of their final exams. Everyone was intent on it. Buffy looked up and glanced around briefly, then turned her attention back on her paper. Everyone was concentrating on the test, and no one noticed a mysterious figure come in and pull a shawl away from its face.

"Tonight...sundown..."

Everyone looked up.

"At the graveyard..."

The teacher got up. "Excuse me..."

Exposed now to the daylight, the vampire began to smoke.

"You will come to him." He took the shawl off. "You will come to him, or more will die." He pointed at Buffy and Cordelia and ignited.

Buffy and Cordelia watched, taken aback by the vampire's direct approach at delivering his message.

"Tonight!"

The students screamed, jumped out of their chairs, and began to run from the room. Tara and Amy also jumped up but didn't run. Buffy and Cordelia remained calmly in their seats.

"His hour is at hand!"

He combusted in a flash of flame and smoke. Buffy and Cordelia just stared at the empty space before them.

Later, in the library, Jenny, Amy, and Tara were researching at the table. Kendra approached with her sheathed sword. Cordelia, Giles, and Buffy were up on the mezzanine.

Buffy looked at Giles. "She said more would die. We have to go."

"Den I should go wit you."

Buffy faced Kendra. "No. I need you here just in case." She headed for the stairs. "We can take care of ourselves." She went downstairs. "And look, as long as Angel's fighting us, then he can't do this end-of-the-world ritual thingy, and that's a good." She reached the table. "Ladies, what do you think?"

Jenny looked over their research. "We just want to cross-check-"

"We don't have time. If this is gonna work, it has to work now."

Jenny nodded. "Okay. Then we need maybe a half-hour once we're all set up."

Giles looked at the shelves. "Which means you just have to hold Angel off. Don't let him close on you." He pulled out a book. "If the curse succeeds, you'll - you'll know."

He tossed the book down to Jenny. Jenny checked the title and handed it to Tara.

Cordelia walked downstairs and looked at Buffy. "Why don't we just wait here to find out if it worked, see if he phones us?"

"We can't risk him killing any more people. We better go." Buffy started out.

Cordelia shrugged and followed her. "You're the Slayer."

Kendra cleared her throat. Cordelia ignored her.

"Good luck!" Amy called.

"Thanks!" Buffy called back.

Tara looked at Buffy. "Be careful."

Buffy turned and walked back over to her. "I will." She kissed Tara on the lips and started out again.

"Here..." Kendra grabbed a stake from the table.

Buffy stopped and looked back.

Kendra came over to her and held up a twisted but very sharp stake. "In case de curse does not succeed, dis is my lucky stake. I have killed many vampires wit it. I call it Mr. Pointy."

"You named your stake?" Buffy asked in surprise.

Kendra was a bit embarrassed. "Yes."

Buffy smiled. "Remind me to get you a stuffed animal." She accepted the stake from Kendra and looked it over. "Thanks."

Kendra sighed. "Watch your back."

Buffy left the library and caught up with Cordelia.

Faith sneaked Kenny up to her room for sex. She closed and locked the door, turned on the light, and started stripping.

Kenny smiled in amusement and took a gulp of his beer. "You're in a hurry."

"It's fucking, baby. I'm always in a hurry. Besides, you're leaving on tour tomorrow, and I wanna make sure you remember what you're coming home for." Faith pulled down and kicked off her jeans, leaving herself naked. She looked at the beer bottle and frowned. "I wish you wouldn't drink, though."

"Why not? You do."

"Yeah, but you know I have 'issues around drinking' because of my mom, but that doesn't seem to stop you from pounding it back until you pass out every night." Faith almost regretted bringing it up, and she hated playing the goody two-shoes, but it had been driving her crazy, and there was more than one reason that it was bothering her.

"What's the big deal?" Kenny eyed her worriedly. "It's not like I'm a mean drunk or anything."

Faith stared at him in concern. "It's not good for you. It's going to fuck with your meds."

"Not a problem." Kenny took a long swig of beer. "I'm not taking my meds anymore."

"Are you fucking crazy?!" Faith exclaimed in shock. "You're totally schizo! Drinking is just going to make you more crazy!"

"Well, sorry, but you know what? We don't all have our own personal Mary Poppins to come flying in on her magic umbrella to take care of us. Some of us have to solve our own problems."

"So, what, you're just going to start hallucinating again or whatever, full tilt boogie? Isn't that, I don't know, gonna start bothering you?"

"That's what the drinking's for." Kenny tilted the lip of the bottle in her direction. "Anyway, baby, stop worrying about me. Let's just have some fun tonight. I'm not going to be back until next month."

Faith playfully punched him in the leg. "I'm going to miss you."

"Thanks." Kenny rubbed at his new charley horse. "I think."

Faith took the bottle and gulped down the rest of the beer while Kenny stripped. She walked over to her bed and pulled down the cover and sheet. Kenny got onto the bed and lay on his back. Faith grinned, dropped the bottle on the floor, got on the bed, lay between his legs, and took his cock into her mouth. She sucked him eagerly, bobbing her head up and down.

Buffy and Cordelia walked through the cemetery, watching all around as they went.

Angelus walked out from behind a small mausoleum. "Hello, lover. I wasn't sure you'd come."

"After your immolation-o-gram? Come on, I had to show."

Angelus smiled at her. "You certainly are becoming. Did you get all dressed up for me?"

Cordelia ignored him. "Shouldn't you be out destroying the world right now, pulling the sword out of Al Franken or whatever his name is?"

"There's time enough. I wanted to say goodbye first. You are the one thing in this dimension I will miss."

"This is a beautiful moment we're having. Can we please fight?" Cordelia asked.

"I didn't come here to fight."

Cordelia raised her eyebrows. "No?"

"Gosh, I was hoping we could get back together. What do you think? Do we have a shot?"

Cordelia gave him a look.

"All right. We'll fight." He rushed at her.

Faith had to wait a while after Kenny cummed in her mouth for him to get it back up. Finally, it was time for round two.

"Okay, hop on, baby."

"Where's the condom?" Faith asked him.

Kenny made a face. "Aw, shit, I forgot."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Then up the ass it is."

"C'mon, baby, it's not a big deal, is it? Come on."

"No, fuck you, I'm not getting pregnant!" Faith told him. "You know the rule: if no business up front, then party in the back."

Kenny sighed. "All right."

Faith opened the drawer of her night stand and took out a tube of lube. She opened it and squirted some on his cock. She also squirted some on her fingers and lubed her asshole.

Finally, Faith mounted Kenny and spread her ass cheeks. He pressed his cock at her anus. She carefully took it in. As it filled her, Faith gasped in pleasure. She slowly started riding him.

Faith moaned. "Yeah, that's it. Fuck my ass."

In the library, Amy and Tara were sitting cross-legged on the table. Before them was Giles' spare Orb of Thesulah within a sacred circle and surrounded by candles, bones, and stones. Amy cast some stones. She looked at them and then gave Jenny a nod.

Jenny consulted her printout. "Ceea ce este pierdut va fi găsit."

Amy concentrated. "What is lost will be found."

Tara swirled incense into the air.

"Nici mort, nici al fiinţei."

"Neither dead nor of being."

"Invoc spiritul pasajului."

"I invoke the spirit of the passage."

Cordelia ducked a punch from Angelus and came up behind him. He spun around to block her return swing. He blocked another jab from her and punched her in the face. He followed up with a left hook, and Cordelia lost her balance and nearly fell down. Angelus grabbed her by the back of her coat and threw her over onto the ground.

Cordelia rolled away and onto her back and looked up at him. "Come on, ladies." She swiftly got back to her feet to continue fighting.

Buffy restrained herself and held back. She knew this was Cordelia's fight. Still, she couldn't help but worry for her friend. She clutched Mr. Pointy close, ready to stab Angelus if need be.

In the library, Kendra guarded the main doors.

"Te implor, zeilor; nu ignoră aceasta rugăminte!" Jenny recited.

"I call on you, gods; do not ignore this supplication!" Amy exclaimed.

Suddenly, a vampire came out from the stacks and attacked Giles from behind. The main doors flew open, and Kendra spun around to defend as two more vampires walked in. Giles elbowed the vampire on his back, knocking him into a bookcase, and pointed to the steps as a fourth vampire appeared from the stacks.

"Get out! Go!" Giles told everyone.

Amy and Tara got off the table. They and Jenny made for the stairs. Kendra punched the first of the two vampires to reach her. The fourth one jumped and landed on Giles' back, pulling him down, over the mezzanine railing, and into the table. Amy and Tara ran up the stairs. Having punched down the one vampire, Kendra grabbed the other and shoved her into the wall. The first one got up and rushed in to fight. Giles grabbed a vase from the table and smashed it over his attacker's head. A vampire rushed Amy, but Amy sidestepped him. He spun around, grabbed Amy, and shoved her into a bookcase. The one down below hopped up onto the table, ran across it, and leaped over the railing above. Tara saw him coming and hid behind a bookcase. The vampire didn't stop and just pushed the case over. Tara got out of the way just in time, and the books and case landed on the floor. Tara did a roundhouse kick to the vampire's face, knocking him out.

The vampire that Kendra was fighting ducked her swing. Amy's opponent grabbed her arm, looped his own around it tightly, and pulled down, breaking it. Amy yelled out in pain. Kendra ducked a roundhouse kick from her enemy and blocked several swings. Amy grabbed her tormentor's hair and smashed his head down on the railing. Below, Giles ducked a swing and punched the vampire in the gut. Kendra landed two punches in the face of her attacker. Giles pounded his assailant on the back, but he just roared and spun around with a punch to Giles' face, knocking him out. Amy picked the dazed vampire up and shoved him into the other one going at Jenny, knocking him down.

"Go!" Amy grabbed her broken arm and winced in pain.

Jenny and Tara ran out through the stacks. Amy watched Kendra's opponent punch her in the face, but Kendra ducked and backed into her and came up holding back the vampire's head. She plunged her stake into her heart, killing her. Amy winced again in pain. Kendra looked around for her next target. She saw the one going for Giles and rushed over to pull him off. She shoved him around to the floor. He tried to get up, but she just punched him back down. He tried again, and she grabbed him and threw him through the window, into Giles' office. Just then, another one tackled her from the side.

In the cemetery, Cordelia punched Angelus, but he took it in stride. She swung again, but he grabbed her arm and held on tight. She swung with the other one, but he grabbed it, too, and then pushed her away.

"Jeez, is it me, or is your heart not in this?" Angelus asked her. "Maybe I'll just go home, destroy the world."

Buffy walked over to him. "Well, I think Mr. Pointy'll have something to say about that. Come on. Let's finish this. You and me."

Angelus chuckled. "Y-You bitches never learn, do you? This wasn't about you. This was never about you." He chuckled again.

Buffy realized the trap was set for the others and began to run. "Shit! Cordy, come on!"

Cordelia ran after her.

"And you fall for it every single time!" Angelus yelled after them.

Buffy and Cordelia ran like mad to get to the school. They raced through the park, leaping a bench as they ran.

In the library, a vampire punched Kendra, and she stumbled but regained her footing. Up in the stacks, the other one came at Amy and punched her in the face, knocking her out.

Faith was frantically fucking Kenny with her asshole, sliding up and down his cock. "Yes! Fuck me!" She leaned over to his ear. "Fuck my ass!"

And then Faith started to get a feeling like something was different all of a sudden. And then she knew - and panicked.

All of a sudden, there was a rush of energy, of adrenaline, running through her. Her body was humming, alive, overwhelmed, filling up with strength, with power.

"Fuck!" Faith screamed primally, having an orgasm and cumming all over his chest.

Faith's anal sphincter muscles clamped down hard on Kenny's erect penis, breaking it. He screamed in pain.

"Omigod, help!" Faith got off him, ran to the door, unlocked it, and opened it. "Help! Prof, help!"

"Faith?" Professor Dormer ran into the room. "Faith, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I hurt Kenny! Help him!"

Professor Dormer ran from the room to call an ambulance.

Buffy and Cordelia ran across the school grounds. Buffy threw open the door, and they rushed into the hall. They rounded a corner and ran down the hall. They barged into the library and stopped.

They looked around at the damage, and then Buffy saw Kendra lying on the floor. She ran to her and skidded down next to her on her knees. She felt for her pulse, found none, and realized she was dead. She took her hand. Buffy reached up to Kendra's face with her other hand and stroked it gently.

"Freeze!"

Buffy and Cordelia looked back and saw a police officer pointing his gun at Buffy.

"Put your hands up. Back away from the girl slowly."

Another officer came in behind the first, gun drawn and surveying the scene.

Buffy slowly got to her feet and raised her hands. "Look, I didn't do anything."

"Do it! Now!"

The second officer holstered her gun and crouched down to feel for Kendra's pulse. "This one's dead."

"What about up there?" The first officer nodded toward the mezzanine.

Buffy and the second officer looked up at the stacks and saw Amy lying unconscious on the floor behind the railing.

"Amy..." Buffy started to go to her.

The second officer grabbed her and pushed her back. "Get her out of here!"

"Wait! Just see if she's okay! Please!" Buffy begged.

The second officer handed her off to the first and then went to check on Amy.

"Hey, wait just a minute, asshole!" Cordelia objected.

"Cordy!" Buffy warned her.

"You shut the hell up and stay right where you are!" the first officer told Cordelia. "We'll be questioning you shortly!"

Cordelia stared helplessly at Buffy.

Buffy gave her a faint smile. "It'll be okay. Angelus set this up. We both know it."

The first officer led Buffy out of the library. Buffy offered no resistance.

"Please. You don't understand."

"You'd do well to keep your mouth shut, missy."

They turned down the hall and saw Snyder coming down, followed by two more officers.

"But I didn't do anything."

"Why do I find that so very hard to believe?" Snyder asked.

The officer looked at the other officers. "In there." He looked at Snyder. "You know this girl?"

"Buffy Summers. If there's trouble, she's behind it."

Buffy got angry. "You stupid little troll. You have no idea!"

"Attitude problem. Serious."

The officer looked at Buffy in surprise. "So...it's you. We finally got you on something."

Buffy faced the officer. "Look, I just wanna know if my friends are okay."

"All right, that's enough." He spun her back around and got out his handcuffs.

"Agreed." Buffy pulled away from him, took out her wallet, opened it, spun around, and showed him her identification. "This is a supernatural situation. The dead girl is named Kendra. She was a Vampire Slayer, just like me. No doubt, the vampire known as Angelus orchestrated her murder and called the police to implicate me."

The officer stared at her identification. "You expect me to believe that?"

"It's true. Call Detective Stein."

"Detective Stein."

"He's my primary contact in the department."

"I'm surprised you didn't name-drop Chief Munroe."

Buffy shrugged. "He's too busy to deal with me, apparently."

The second officer came out of the library - with Cordelia right behind her.

"Let her go. This one vouched for her."

"She told me a wild story. Gonna have to call to confirm."

"How's Amy?" Buffy asked.

Cordelia walked over to her. "They called an ambulance. She's gonna be taken to the hospital."

Buffy nodded. "Ride with her. I'll follow as soon as this shit's cleared up."

Cordelia nodded.

Faith had somehow managed to put her clothes back on before the paramedics arrived. Professor Dormer had sent her into the living room to wait, but Faith could hardly sit still.

Diana walked into the living room and put a glass of water into Faith's hand. "Here, drink this."

Faith brought it halfway up to her lips before it shattered in her hand, the glass spraying everywhere across the floor.

Diana gasped. "Good Lord." She took Faith's hand in hers, opening up the palm and laying it flat.

Faith watched a cut open up across its surface, but it didn't hurt.

"Your hand." Diana looked up at her.

They met each other's eyes. Faith knew Diana could tell she wasn't fazed by her wound. For a few seconds, they just stared at each other in complete shock.

"Faith, do you know what's-"

"Don't." Faith pulled her hand away from her.

Diana looked hurt.

"Sorry. It's just that...I'm really freaked out about it all of a sudden."

"Of course, of course, you must be. This is-"

"I'm totally juiced, like I'd bitten down on a power line." Faith nervously and frantically rubbed her hair rapidly with her hands. "I need a moment." She closed her eyes, letting her head drop between her knees.

Diana let Faith sit in silence for a couple of minutes as she listened to the sound of the blood rushing to her head. Everything - her heartbeat, her breath, the ticking of the grandfather clock on the other side of the room - all of it seemed so loud all of a sudden, pressing, crowding into her head, invading. She felt like screaming but practiced the deep and round breathing that her sensei taught her, and everything slowly started to return to normal.

"How do you feel?" Diana finally asked, sitting down next to her on the couch.

Faith was scared. "Powerful. Alive. Like I could kick some demon ass." She stood up, searching her racing mind for the right words to describe this new sensation. "I feel...I don't know..."

"Chosen."

"Yeah. Chosen."

Buffy walked into the hall outside the emergency room at Sunnydale Memorial Hospital. On the wall, she found a slot with a few patient histories and checked the names on them. There were none that she was interested in. She continued down the hall. She checked another series of slots for names on paperwork but found nothing. Further down the hall, she turned down the left passageway. Behind her, Amy walked up and touched her on the back.

Buffy gasped and spun around but was very relieved to see her standing there. "Amy!" She hugged her tightly. "Ohhh..."

Amy hugged her back, and they held each other for a long moment, then Buffy let go.

"I was so worried; I didn't know if you were okay."

Amy held up her arm in a cast. "I'm okay...all things considered."

"Well, what about the others?" Buffy asked urgently. "Are they okay?"

"Tara and Ms. Calendar escaped for sure, but I haven't heard from them yet. I don't know about Giles."

Buffy was angry with herself. "I never should've let you guys try to do that curse. Angel must've known."

Buffy and Amy heard some footsteps behind them and turned to see who it was, and they saw Katrina walk in.

Amy walked over to her. "Hey."

"Hey."

They kissed and held each other close.

Then Tara and Jenny arrived, followed by Cordelia, who had gotten a coffee.

Tara ran over to Buffy and hugged her.

Buffy hugged Tara and kissed her on the lips. "You okay?"

Tara nodded. "We ran. I think we made it through three counties before we realized nobody was chasing us. Not too brave."

"It was the right thing to do."

"Did Giles keep up with you?" Amy asked them.

Jenny looked at her. "I didn't see Rupert."

"Is he in the hospital?" Buffy asked Amy.

Amy shook her head. "Not that I've seen."

"He wasn't in the library." Buffy gave them a very concerned stare.

"Mm..." Giles stirred a bit and exhaled. "Ohhh..." He lifted his head.

Giles was lying on the floor in a mansion. Angelus was lying on the floor, facing him and waiting for him to regain consciousness.

"Hi, Rupert. I wasn't sure you were gonna wake up. You had me worried." Angelus hopped to his feet.

Giles stood up slowly. "What do you want?"

"I wanna torture you. I used to love it, and it's been a long time. I mean, the last time I tortured somebody, they didn't even have chainsaws." Angelus strolled past Giles, over to Acathla.

Giles turned to watch him and saw the stone demon with the sword protruding from its chest.

Angelus noticed Giles' stare. "Oh, yeah. Acathla. He's an even harder guy to wake up than you are. I mean...I performed the rituals, said all the right phrases...blood on my hand. Got nothing. Big doughnut hole for my troubles. I figure you know the ritual. You're pretty up on these things. You could probably...tell me what I'm doing wrong." He approached Giles. "But honestly, I sorta hope you don't..." He stopped in front of him. "'Cause I really wanna torture you." He stared evilly at Giles.

Buffy looked at Cordelia as they walked toward Giles' apartment. "I don't suppose you feel any stronger."

It took Cordelia a moment to get what Buffy was asking. "No. Sorry. Not me."

The door to Giles' apartment was ajar, so Buffy and Cordelia just walked right in.

"Giles! Giles!" Buffy looked around but didn't see him.

"I don't think he's here."

Buffy and Cordelia pivoted around to face a man with short black hair and a New York accent coming down the stairs from the loft. He wore a fedora.

"Who are you?" Buffy asked him.

"Whistler."

"What are you doing here?"

Whistler reached the base of the stairs and pointed at Cordelia. "I'm waiting for you."

"Why?" Cordelia asked him.

"'Cause I need a date to the prom."

Cordelia was not in the mood for jokes right now, so she took the two steps over to him, grabbed him by the throat, and shoved him up against the wall. "I have had a really bad day, okay? If you have information worth hearing, then I am grateful for it. If you're gonna crack jokes, then I'm gonna pull out your rib cage and wear it as a hat." She let go of him.

"Hello to the imagery! Very nice." Whistler grew serious. "It wasn't supposed to go down like this." He moved away from the wall. "Nobody saw you coming. I figured this for Angel's big day. But I thought he was here to stop Acathla, not to bring him forth. Then you two made with the smoochies...now he's a creep again. Now, what are you gonna do? W-What are you prepared to do?"

"Whatever I have to."

"Maybe I should ask...what are you prepared to give up?"

Cordelia sighed. "You don't have anything useful to tell us, do you? What are you, just some immortal demon asshole sent down to even the score between good and evil?"

"Wow. Good guess." Whistler grinned.

Cordelia stepped up to him. "Well, why don't you try getting off your immortal ass and fighting evil once in a while?"

She and Buffy started to leave.

"The sword isn't enough. You gotta be ready. You gotta know how to use it!"

Cordelia flipped him off. She followed Buffy out the door and slammed it behind her.

Buffy and Cordelia walked through the park.

"What do you think our next move should be?" Buffy asked Cordelia.

Cordelia shrugged. "You're the Slayer."

Buffy shrugged. "Well, I'm a Slayer, not the Slayer."

Cordelia looked at her. "No, Buffy, you are, because..." She didn't feel the need to finish the sentence.

"The Slayer line no longer runs through me, Cordy. Another Slayer must have been activated. It's just a matter of who...and where...she is."

Suddenly, Spike showed up. "Hello, cuties." He smiled.

Spike took a step toward Buffy, and she immediately decked him twice in the face. He grabbed her by the shoulders to restrain her, but she brought her knee up into his gut.

"Now, you hold on a second!" Spike gave her a good shove away from himself.

Buffy reached into her coat and pulled out a stake.

Spike jumped back and held up his hands in surrender. "Hey! White flag here. I quit."

"Let me clear this up for you. We're mortal enemies. We don't get time-outs."

"You want to go around, pet, I'll have a gay old time of it. You want to stop Angel...we're gonna have to play this a bit differently."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Buffy asked him.

"I'm talking about putting him in the bloody ground."

Buffy chuckled and lowered her stake. "This has gotta be the lamest trick you guys have ever thought up."

"He's got your Watcher. Right now, he's probably torturing him."

"What do you want?" Buffy asked him.

"I told you. I want to stop Angel." Spike snickered. "I want to save the world."

"Okay. You do remember that you're a vampire, right?" Cordelia asked him.

"We like to talk big." Spike indicated himself. "Vampires do. 'I'm going to destroy the world.' That's just tough-guy talk." He stepped over to Buffy's van. "Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood." He sat on the hood. "The truth is...I like this world. You've got...dog racing, Manchester United. And you've got people. Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It's all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision. With a real...passion for destruction. Angel could pull it off. Goodbye, Picadilly. Farewell, Leicester Bloody Square. You know what I'm saying?"

Buffy nodded. "Okay, fine. You're not down with Angel. Why would you ever come to me?"

Spike stood and took a drag off his cigarette but didn't look at her. "I want Dru back. I want it like it was before he came back. The way she acts around him-"

"You're pathetic."

He punched her in the face.

Buffy punched him right back. "I lost a friend tonight!"

"I wasn't in on that raiding party."

"And I may lose more! The whole Earth may be sucked into Hell, and you want my help, 'cause your girlfriend's a big ho?" Buffy asked him. "Well, let me take this opportunity to not care."

"I can't fight them both alone, and neither can you!" Spike told her.

"I'm not alone. I've got Cordelia."

Spike snickered. Buffy punched him hard in the jaw, making him flinch. He straightened back up and felt his jaw, checking for blood.

Buffy stared at him. "I fucking hate you."

"And I'm all you've got."

Buffy looked down briefly. "All right. Talk." She went over to the driver-side door and unlocked it. "Let's get inside."

In Angelus' mansion, Giles was sitting in a chair with his hands bound behind his back and bleeding from rope burns. Angelus was sitting in a chair and watching Giles as he cleaned his glasses. He breathed on the lenses, polished them clean, and inspected his work.

"Rupert, buddy...I'm here to tell you...I'm impressed." Angelus chuckled, dropped the cleaning cloth, got up, and went over to Giles. "Hey. Uh..." He slid the glasses onto Giles' face. "How you holdin' up?"

Giles looked up at him weakly. "Never...better."

"Glad to hear it." Angelus kneeled next to him. "Now..."

Giles breathed painfully.

"Tell me when it hurts." Angelus smirked.

Buffy and Spike eyed each other as they and Cordelia headed up the walk to Buffy's house.

Just then, Joyce pulled up in her Jeep and saw them from her open window. "Buffy?!"

Buffy gave her a glance but went right back to watching Spike.

Joyce stopped the car. "Where have you been?" She got out. "Are you okay?" She ran over. "The police were here! I've been looking for you!"

"It was a misunderstanding. Cordy and I got it cleared up. Mom, let's - let's go inside, and I can explain."

Joyce was hysterical. "Who is this man?" She looked at Spike. "Who are you?" She looked at Buffy. "Are you okay?"

"Mom!" Buffy yelled in frustration, then she calmed down a bit. "I'm - I'm okay."

"Buffy, terrible things have happened. What were you doing?"

"You know what? Why don't we go inside, and - and we can talk about this?" Buffy nodded and started toward the door.

Spike and Cordelia followed.

"I'm - I'm not sure how I feel about this."

Buffy turned around to face her. Suddenly, a vampire rushed across the porch; pushed Buffy, Cordelia, and Spike aside; and jumped down the steps at Joyce, ready to fight. She screamed and did some fast backpedaling. Buffy grabbed him by the shoulders from behind and forced him around to face Cordelia. Buffy pulled out a stake while Cordelia gave him a series of punches to the face. Cordelia's last blow sent the vampire spinning around and staggering away. Buffy thrust the stake into his chest, and he instantly died. Joyce just stared in shock.

Spike stepped down from the porch and looked at the body. "One of Angel's boys."

"Yeah, probably watching me." Buffy looked at Spike. "Or you." She looked at Cordelia. "Or you."

Cordelia shrugged. "Yeah, well, he won't get a chance to tattle on us now."

A short while later, Buffy and Cordelia were in Buffy's kitchen, sitting at the island and on a conference call with Tara and Amy (who had been discharged from the hospital).

"I'm sorry we didn't get to cure Angel."

Cordelia smiled faintly. "Don't be, Tara. It just wasn't meant to be. I know I'm never gonna get him back the way he was. It just makes it easier."

"I guess. Any luck finding Mr. Giles?" Tara asked.

Buffy smiled. "Yep. I got a lucky break."

"What?" Tara asked her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Oh, c'mon, tell us!" Amy begged.

Buffy suppressed a laugh. "Spike has agreed to help us!"

"You're fucking kidding!" Amy exclaimed in surprise.

Buffy laughed. "I shit you not. Angel and the others are holed up outside town in a funky-looking mansion."

"On Crawford Street?" Amy guessed.

"That's the one."

"That makes sense. What's the drill?" Amy asked.

"We're gonna hit it come daybreak."

"You'll need backup."

"No. You stay away. We're covered."

"Do you, um...do you think Mr. Giles is still alive?" Tara asked her.

"I think he is." Buffy paused. "I hope he is. Anyway, we'll be in touch. I love you, Tara."

"I love you, too, Buffy."

All of the girls said "Bye." Buffy ended the call. She and Cordelia stood up and left the kitchen.

As they made their way through the dining room, they could hear the conversation between Joyce and Spike in the living room.

"Have we met?" Joyce asked him.

"Um...you hit me with an ax one time. Remember? Uh, 'get the hell away from my daughter'."

"Oh." Joyce let out a little chuckle.

Spike sighed with boredom.

"So, do you, uh, live here in town?" Joyce asked him.

Buffy walked into the room with her arms crossed. Cordelia was right behind her. Joyce sat nervously on the couch with the toes of her shoes turned in. Spike was sitting in an adjacent wicker chair. Joyce lifted her glass, took a sip of her drink, and winced at its strength. Upon seeing the girls, they both got up.

"All right, talk. What's the deal?" Buffy asked Spike.

"Simple. You let me and Dru skip town, I help you kill Angel."

Joyce was confused and looked at Cordelia. "Angel? Your boyfriend?"

Buffy shook her head. "Forget about Drusilla. She doesn't walk."

"There's no deal without Dru."

"She killed Kendra."

Spike was surprised. "Dru bagged a Slayer?" He chuckled. "She didn't tell me!" He looked at Joyce, smiling. "Hey, good for her!"

Buffy gave him a look.

Spike lost the smile. "Though not from your perspective, I suppose."

"I can't believe I invited you into my house."

Joyce was relieved. "So you didn't kill that girl."

"Of course not. Why would you-" Buffy immediately shut up and glared at her mother.

"What?" Spike asked her, curious.

Buffy firmly shook her head. "Never mind."

"Oh, there's a story there."

"Shut up, Spike!" Buffy warned.

"Look." Spike pulled Buffy aside. "This deal works for me one way. Full stop. Me and Dru for Angel. I'll take her out of the country. You'll never hear from us again, I bloody well hope."

"Fine. Get back to the mansion. Make sure Giles is all right. Be ready to back us up when we make our move."

Spike walked around her toward the door.

Buffy looked at him. "If Giles dies..."

Spike stopped and faced her.

"...she dies."

He gave her a final stare and headed out the door.

"We should call the police." Joyce headed for the kitchen.

"They're up to speed on the situation."

Joyce stopped and faced her daughter.

"You thought I was guilty?" Buffy asked her, angry. "Jeez, feelin' the love in this room!"

"No, I didn't think that."

"Bullshit!" Buffy exclaimed. "You heard about a connection between me and a homicide and automatically assumed I was guilty!"

Joyce turned and headed for the kitchen. Buffy and Cordelia followed.

They entered the kitchen, and Joyce reached for the bottle of Jack Daniel's on the island.

Buffy took the bottle from her mom. "Admit it!"

"Well, can you blame me?!" Joyce yelled. "You already murdered my boyfriend!"

"I know! I fucking know!" Buffy yelled back. "And I'm gonna live with that for the rest of my life! But are you constantly gonna think the worst of me?!"

"You're goddamn right I am!" Joyce told her.

"Fuck this, we've got shit to do." Buffy put the bottle back on the island.

"Do what? Buffy, what is happening?" Joyce asked her.

"The end of the fucking world!" Buffy replied.

"What?!" Joyce asked in shock.

"Just have another drink." Buffy turned away from her mother and started to walk off.

Joyce threw her glass aside in anger, and it broke on the floor.

"Don't you talk to me that way!" Joyce yelled, enraged.

Buffy stopped in her tracks.

"You don't get to just dump something like this on me and pretend it's nothing!" Joyce told her.

Buffy looked at her. "I'm sorry, Mom, for everything, but I don't have time for this." She started for the door again.

"No! I am tired of 'I don't have time' or - or 'you wouldn't understand'."

Buffy stopped and faced her.

"I am your mother, and you will make time to explain yourself."

"I told you."

"Well, I just don't accept that!" Joyce replied haughtily.

Buffy stepped closer. "It's upon us, whether you accept it or not."

"Well, it stops now!" Joyce yelled angrily.

"No, it doesn't stop! It never stops!" Buffy yelled.

"Well, then send Cordelia or one of your other girls!" Joyce told her.

"I'm the fucking Slayer!" Buffy told her. "Do - Do you think I chose to be like this? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is? I would love to be upstairs, watching TV or fucking my girlfriend or...God, even studying! But I have to save the world...again."

"No. This is insane." Joyce took Buffy by the shoulders. "Buffy, you need to delegate."

Buffy threw off her mom's arms. "What I need is for you to chill. I have to go!"

Joyce shook her head. "No. I am not letting you out of this house."

"You can't stop me."

Joyce grabbed her. "Oh, yes, I-"

Buffy shoved her mother back into the island violently, making her knock over several things. She paused for a moment to reflect on the irrevocability of that action, stared at her mother's shocked face, and then headed for the door, opened it, and stepped out.

"You walk out of this house, don't even think about coming back!" Joyce yelled angrily.

Buffy just gave her a long stare and left. Cordelia gave Joyce a brief look and hurried after Buffy.

The two of them headed for Buffy's van.

"Cordy, can I crash at your place tonight?" Buffy asked her.

"Of course. So what's the plan?" Cordelia asked her.

Buffy took out her keys and unlocked the driver-side door. "Tomorrow morning, we go to the mansion, you fight Angel, Spike will keep Drusilla in check, and I will help each of you as needed."

"I get priority, right?" Cordelia asked her.

Buffy smiled and opened her door. "Yes, my queen."

Buffy got into the van and unlocked the passenger-side door. Cordelia got into the van. The girls closed their doors and fastened their seatbelts. Buffy put the key in the ignition.

"You bring the sword?" Cordelia asked her.

"Fuck!" Buffy exclaimed. "The police must have it. Wait, no, I didn't see them take it. It must still be at the school. Fuck!" She sighed. "Okay, we'll stop there on the way to the mansion, and I'll run in and grab it."

"Okay." Cordelia paused. "Buffy...what your mom said..." She paused again. "Did you really murder Ted? I mean...not just kill...but murder?"

Buffy was silent for a moment. "Yeah. In my heart, I'd wanted him dead. I used him striking me as an excuse to pummel him far beyond merely subduing him. And then, when I'd knocked him into the hallway, I went out and punched him in the face. He tripped to end of the hall and regained his balance. I followed him. When I saw him standing at the edge of the staircase, I made one final kick, sending him falling to his death. I might not have been thinking about that, specifically, but what else could I have reasonably expected to happen?"

Cordelia took a moment to take all of this in. "Yeah, well...serves him right."

Buffy didn't reply; she just started the engine.

It was close to midnight when Diana drove herself and Faith down Brattle Street in her shiny new Porsche; Faith wasn't sure exactly where they were going. She had gotten worried for a moment, because that was the way back to Belmont, until, halfway down a darkened block, Diana cut the engine.

Diana pointed at a long black gate on the other side of the street. "This is the north entrance of Mount Auburn Cemetery."

Faith could just make out, through and over the bars, the tips of crooked gravestones jutting out from a landscaped hilltop.

"It's the final resting place of some of the most prominent of your countrymen: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Winslow Homer, Longfellow..."

Faith chuckled. "Heh. Those sound like porn names."

Diana made a disapproving face. "The cemetery is also the epicenter for vampire risings and sightings in the greater Boston area. It will become your second home, requiring that you inspect the grounds, nightly if possible, keeping a watchful eye on freshly dug graves and any disturbances that may indicate demonic activity, vampire or otherwise. Tonight, your lifelong war on the undead truly begins. Are you ready, Faith, to accept your destiny?"

Faith opened the glove compartment and pulled out a stake. "Fuck yeah. Let's go find shit to kill."

It didn't take long. One of the iron bars on the fence was loose, and Faith popped it out from where the post met the crossbar and bent it up, so she and Diana could slip through.

They weren't in the cemetery five minutes before they saw a lone figure passing through the gravestones about a hundred yards ahead of them, his pale face shining in the moonlight; he turned in their direction for just a second, but it was all that Faith needed to see his bloodsucking fangs.

"Bingo." Faith moved to cut him off before they lost him.

"Faith, wait."

Faith went ahead, anyway, the thrill of the chase, along with the new hum in her blood, the new strength and speed, all of it making her feel warm, high, alive.

She jumped up onto a gravestone and used it as a springboard to launch herself the last few yards toward the vampire, landing on his back hard, knocking him to the ground. She raised her stake, but, as she went to stick it deep in his back, he flipped over and was now on top of her, pinning her arms over her head and leaning in to bite her. She started panicking, forgetting her training, dropping her stake as he held her wrists.

Fortunately, Diana saved her, driving a stake of her own into him and killing him.

Faith got up. "Thanks, Prof. You saved my ass."

"You'll get the hang of it. Just try not to freeze up. Go forward with the knowledge that everything you need is inside of you: the agility, the clarity, the stamina, and the strength. It's all there; just trust in that. Allow your instincts to move you through combat. Remember who has the power." Diana looked over Faith's shoulder then.

Faith turned. Two more vampires, having spotted them, were approaching fast.

"And here's your chance to use it."

Faith nodded and, retrieving her stake, assumed the formal battle stance that her sensei had taught her as Diana stepped back and flattened herself against the side of an old mausoleum.

Faith held her stake back in one hand, her other forearm crossing her and facing forward, ready to push back a frontal attack. "Okay, gents, time to get some wood."

The first one lunged at her, but she sidestepped him, spinning around and delivering a roundhouse kick right to the jaw just as he was turning back in her direction; she could hear a snapping sound as he went down. The next one managed to tackle her, but she rolled with it, using his momentum to right herself before sending him over her back and his head into a gravestone, which split right down the middle. The first one barely had time to get up before she punched him in the chest, hard, then grabbed his skull and drove it into her raised knee. He pulled back, and an arc of blood sprayed from his nose, spattering across her face. She didn't flinch, though, instead surging forward, thrusting the stake into him with all of her strength, so hard that it went all of the way through him, the tip coming out the other end.

They were now face to face, practically kissing. His eyes, wide with shock, looked at the fresh hole in his chest, then back at her. She laughed and shoved him off the stake, and he fell to the ground, dead. Now, the second one was up and running, but she ran after him, cutting through the rows of tombstones before catching him against the fence as he tried to scale it. She grabbed him by the back of his suit jacket and yanked him down, staking him in the back. He fell to the ground, dead.

Faith leaned against the fence and caught her breath while Diana made her way over to her, a little smile on her face.

"Congratulations. It seems you're a natural, as they say."

"That's me." Faith slid her stake into the inside pocket of her leather jacket.

Amy smiled. "Thank you for meeting with us, Ms. Calendar."

"Of course." Jenny handed each of the girls a can of regular Pepsi.

Amy, Tara, and Katrina were sitting on the couch in the living room of Jenny's apartment. It was early the next morning, and they had gathered there before school.

"So Buffy and Cordy are going for the big showdown, huh?" Katrina asked. "Wish we could help. You know, without dying."

Amy looked at all of them. "I wanna try again."

"Try what?" Tara asked.

"The curse. We never got to finish it. Maybe we can restore Angel's soul."

Katrina looked at her girlfriend worriedly. "I don't like it. You're talking about fucking with powerful magic, and you're weak."

Amy smiled weakly. "I'm okay."

"Look, it's not a good idea."

"This can help Cordy and Buffy. If we turn Angel back soon enough, we can stop him from ever awakening Acathla."

Katrina sighed and relented. She kissed Amy on the lips. "Be careful."

"I will." Amy looked at Jenny. "Ms. Calendar, go to Buffy and Cordy. Tell them what we're doing. Maybe they can stall."

"Right." Jenny walked away in determination. "I'm coming, Rupert."

In Angelus' mansion, Giles was still tied to his chair and hung his head weakly.

"You know, I can stop the pain. You've been very brave..." Angelus put his hand on Giles' shoulder. "...but it's over." He walked behind him. "You've given enough." He leaned down to Giles' ear. "Now, let me make it stop."

Giles was panting and shaking with pain. "Please!"

Angelus kneeled to face him. "Just tell me what I need to know."

"In order...to be worthy..."

"Yeah?"

"You must perform the ritual...in a tutu."

Angelus glared at him.

Giles didn't back down. "Pillock!"

Angelus stood up. "All right. Someone get the chainsaw."

Spike wheeled himself into the room in his wheelchair. "Now, now, don't let's lose our temper."

"Keep out of it, sit 'n' spin."

"Look, you cut him up, you'll never get your answers."

"Since when did you become so levelheaded?"

"Right about the time you became so pig-headed. You have your way with him, you'll never get to destroy the world. And I don't fancy spending the next month trying to get librarian out of the carpet. There are other ways."

"Enlighten me."

"Hmm." Spike looked behind himself. "Drusilla? Sweetheart?"

Drusilla came in behind him and walked up to them.

"Do you want to play a game?" Spike asked her.

She put her arm on his shoulder, and they both looked over at Angelus.

The main area of the library was cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape. Buffy walked in and just grabbed and pulled down the tape. As she headed toward the table, she looked down at the chalk outline of Kendra on the floor and passed it slowly, careful not to step on it. When she reached the table, she looked for a moment, and then she reached under the table, pulled out Kendra's large duffel bag, and set it on the table. She went through it.

"You do know this is a crime scene, don't you?"

Buffy looked up at Principal Snyder approaching.

"But then...you're a criminal, so that pretty much works out." Snyder stopped walking.

"Not in the eyes of the law, I'm not."

"In case you haven't noticed, the police of Sunnydale are deeply stupid." Snyder took a few steps closer. "It doesn't matter, anyway. You've proved too much of a liability for this school." He took a breath. "These are the moments you want to savor. You wish time would stop, so that you could live them over and over again." He smiled smugly. "You're expelled."

Buffy reached into the bag and pulled out the sword blessed by the knight that first slew Acathla. She held it up and turned it in her hand. Snyder looked at it, looked at her, and gulped. Buffy gazed at the polished blade, started out of the library, and leaned the blade into his face as she passed him. He bent back nervously and watched her go. This time, she made no attempt to avoid the chalk markings on the floor.

In Angelus' mansion, Drusilla kneeled behind Giles, patting the sweat from his forehead. "Is that better?" She patted more. "Hmm?" She pulled away the cloth. "Poor thing." She ran her finger down his cheek. "Let's see what's inside." She ran her hand up the back of Giles' head and over the top. She closed her eyes. She gasped and removed her hand. She leaned over to Giles' ear. "Of course." She stood up and went around to his other side and held up two fingers to hypnotize him. "Look at me."

Giles turned his head weakly to look away, trying to resist.

Drusilla came around the rest of the way in front of him, waving her fingers. "Mm-mm-mm-mm."

Finally, Giles could no longer resist and looked at her.

Drusilla waved her fingers around some more and drew them in toward her own eyes. "Be...in me."

In his weakened state, Giles quickly fell under her spell.

Drusilla looked into his eyes and smiled. "Hmm. See with your heart."

She covered his eyes with her hand; when she took it away, he saw Jenny kneeling before him.

Giles smiled. "Jenny!"

"Shh."

Giles tried to get up. "We have to get out of here."

"No-no-no-no-no. Slowly." She brushed her hand over his temple, down his cheek, and over his lips.

Giles stared into her eyes.

"Did you tell Angel? About the ritual?"

Giles was breathing erratically. "No." He was desperate. "We have to get...him away from Acathla."

"Why? Is he close to figuring it out?"

Giles nodded, anxious to go. "Later."

"Tell me what to do."

Giles looked at her, helpless and confused.

"It's all right. Just tell me what to do."

"We have to get Angel away from Acathla."

"Angel himself? He's the key?"

"H-H-His - His blood..." Giles paused. "H-He mustn't-"

"Shh." She kissed him. "Mm."

They kissed passionately. Giles was in pure bliss. She stopped kissing him.

"Sorry. I was in the moment."

Giles opened his eyes; saw Drusilla, Angelus, and Spike; and realized he'd been tricked.

Cordelia walked into Giles' apartment and looked around. She entered the kitchen and saw Whistler there, checking out the refrigerator.

"Whistler. What did you mean, the sword isn't enough?" Cordelia asked him.

Whistler found a bottle of beer. "You know, raiding an Englishman's fridge is like dating a nun. You're never gonna get the good stuff."

"Tell me how to use it."

Whistler took a swig and looked back at Cordelia. "Angel's the key." He closed the fridge. "His blood will open the door to Hell. Acathla opens his big mouth, creates a vortex. Then only Angel's blood will close it. One blow will send 'em both back to Hell. But I strongly suggest that you get there before that happens, 'cause the faster you kill Angel, the easier it's gonna be on you."

"Don't worry about me."

"It's all on the line here, kid."

"I can deal." Cordelia left.

Cordelia walked toward the mansion at a determined pace with the sword wrapped in a cloth. Buffy followed right behind her.

Suddenly, Jenny ran up to them. They stopped walking.

"Ms. Calendar!" Buffy exclaimed.

"I'm here to help."

"You're not here to fight." Buffy started walking. "You get Giles out, and you run like fucking hell, understood? I can't protect you."

Jenny started walking and stared at her. "I didn't ask you to."

Cordelia started walking as well. She pulled off and discarded the cloth. "Well, don't count on me to help you. I'm gonna be too busy killing."

Jenny looked at the sword. "That's a sweet sword, Cordy."

"It's a present for Angel."

"About that..." Jenny paused. "Amy told me to tell you that she and Tara are gonna try the spell again. Stall, if you can. Buy them some time."

Cordelia looked at Buffy in surprise. Buffy looked at Jenny and nodded.

Cordelia looked at Jenny and nodded as well. "All right, Mama Bamayama, let's hope your juju works."

In Jenny's living room, they had everything set up on the coffee table: the Orb surrounded by the candles within a sacred circle. Katrina stood on one side and waved burning herbs and incense over the Orb. Tara stood on the other side, holding the printout of the Rumanian curse. Amy sat on the floor, behind the coffee table.

"Are we ready?" Amy asked them.

Katrina nodded. "Stinky herbs are a go."

Tara nodded. "Ready."

Drusilla handed Angelus a knife.

"Now, Acathla...you will be free." Angelus drew the blade across the palm of his hand and winced in pain but didn't take his stare off the demon. He dropped the knife. "And so will we all."

Cordelia walked in quietly behind another vampire. She raised her sword and decapitated him with a single swing. His body and his head fell to the floor. Drusilla and Angelus turned their heads to look.

Cordelia met their gazes. "Hello, lover."

"I don't have time for you." Angelus seemed bored.

"You don't have a lot of time left."

"Coming on kind of strong, don't you think? You're playing some deep odds here. Do you really think you can take us all on?"

"No. I don't."

Buffy arrived. Spike got up out of his wheelchair behind Angelus with a determined look on his face and whipped him hard across the back with an andiron. Angelus cried out in pain and collapsed to the floor. Drusilla twisted her head to look at Spike. He continued to whale on Angelus as hard as he could. Buffy started for Drusilla, but another vampire attacked her. She spun around to face him, but he punched her, and she fell to the floor. She tripped him when he came at her again and maneuvered to her feet, ready to fight. He came at her again with a series of punches, all of which she easily blocked.

Spike kept pounding on Angelus. "Painful, isn't it?" He kept swinging the andiron.

Drusilla began to freak and jumped on Spike, taking him down to the floor with her. Buffy's assailant backhand-punched her in the face, and she went staggering into a chair by the wall. She quickly recovered to block another swing, brought her knee up into his gut, and kicked him in the face, knocking him to the floor. She spied a pile of broken wood fragments and went to it. The vampire got to his feet just as Jenny walked into the room and surprised him with a punch. Buffy picked up a suitable piece of scrap wood and got back into the fight. Jenny backed off to go look for Giles. The vampire ducked a roundhouse kick and blocked another kick. Spike and Drusilla got up from the floor and faced each other off.

"I don't want to hurt you, baby."

She grabbed him by the throat and shoved him into the wall.

Spike slapped her arm aside and punched her in the face. "Doesn't mean I won't."

Amy cast her stones and gave Tara her cue. Katrina kept waving the burning herbs and incense.

Tara consulted the printout. "Ceea ce este pierdut va fi găsit."

Amy concentrated. "What is lost will be found."

Katrina swirled incense into the air.

"Nici mort, nici al fiinţei."

"Neither dead nor of being."

"Invoc spiritul pasajului."

"I invoke the spirit of the passage."

Jenny pushed aside a curtain to another room and found Giles still tied to a chair. "Rupert!"

Giles' head was tilted back, and he was very weak.

"Rupert!"

Giles lifted his head slowly. Jenny crouched behind the chair and began to untie the ropes.

"Jenny?"

"Can you walk?" Jenny asked him.

"You're not real."

"Sure, I'm real."

"It's a trick. They get inside my head, make me see things I want."

Jenny untied the ropes and went around to look into Giles' face. "You're just gonna have to trust me."

He groaned as Jenny got under his arm and helped him out of the chair.

"Come on."

They made their way through the main hall as fast as they could and out the door. Buffy and the vampire continued to fight. Drusilla swiped at Spike with her hand and left four parallel scratches across his cheek. She followed up with a punch that knocked him to the floor. Buffy was still fighting the vampire. She blocked a kick from him, punched him, spun around, and punched again, and he fell onto his back. Buffy quickly followed him down with her stake and jammed it into his chest, killing him.

Cordelia ran back into the room, having chased Angelus all over the mansion. Suddenly, a blindingly bright light emanated from Acathla, and Buffy looked up from her kill in time to witness Angelus pulling the sword from the demon's heart. With a few telltale sparks, the light was suddenly gone. Angelus whipped the sword around in his hand and held it up to look at it. Cordelia scrambled toward him with her own sword.

Drusilla looked up from her fight and gazed at Acathla with a smile. "Oh...here he comes."

Spike came up behind her and grabbed her around the throat with his arm, choking her.

Cordelia held up her sword and faced off with Angelus. He held his own, ready to fight her also.

"You almost made it, Cordy."

"It's not over yet."

"My boy Acathla here is about to wake up. You're going to Hell."

"Save me a seat."

She thrust at him with her sword, but he parried and swung around with a thrust of his own, which she also parried. They clashed blades several times, and Cordelia ducked a wide arcing swing from him. They faced off again and traded one thrust and parry after another. Angelus tried another arcing swing from above, but she easily ducked and sidestepped out of the way. They faced off again in front of Acathla and traded a few more blows. Angelus tried a swing from above a third time, and again Cordelia ducked it and escaped to the side. She jumped up on a low table and swung at him again. He parried and swung at her legs. She jumped up and over his blade and landed on the floor. He tried for her legs again, but she blocked his attempt with her blade.

Again, they traded several swings, and Angelus tried a wide swing again and this time cut her superficially on the arm. He tried to take advantage of her distraction and came at her with his sword held high, intending to swing from above, but she dropped to the floor and rolled out of the way, so he only managed to smash a bowl on a table behind her. Cordelia kicked his legs out from under him and scrambled back up. He turned to face her, still on his knees, and swung three times in rapid succession, all of which she parried. He swung a fourth time, and this time Cordelia knocked his sword into the table with her parry and pinned it there. He backhand-punched her in the face, and she spun away. He pulled the sword from the table and swung it hard at her. She blocked it with hers and kicked him in the gut, making him double over. She jumped over him, into the clear, and raised her sword to continue the fight. He thrust, and she parried. Then he kicked her in her sword arm, and she stumbled back a step.

Amy got weaker as she chanted and breathed heavily.

Katrina was worried. "Amy?"

Tara was worried as well. "Are you okay?"

Without warning, Amy's head snapped back, and she looked up with her eyes wide open. Her head snapped back down, and her eyes stared into the Orb.

"Te implor, zeilor; nu ignoră aceasta rugăminte!" Amy chanted in Rumanian as though possessed.

Katrina looked at Tara. "Is this a good thing?"

Tara shrugged helplessly. "I call on you, gods; do not ignore this supplication!"

"Lăsa orbită să fie vasul care-i vă transportă sufletul la el."

Katrina was freaked out. "Hey, speak English!"

"Shh!" Tara hushed her. "Let this Orb be the vessel that will carry his soul to him."

At the mansion, the fight had moved out into the atrium. Cordelia hit the ground and scrambled back to her feet as Angelus slowly advanced. She thrust, and he parried. She spun around and swung at him, and he blocked her. Her sword bounced off his and fell with the tip onto the low wall of a planting bed. Angelus stomped on the blade before she could raise it again and knocked it from her grip. He spun around and elbowed her in the face, knocking her back into a stone table, which collapsed and fell with her.

Deep thundering growls and noises came from Acathla as he began to wake.

Cordelia was backing up against the wall without her sword while Angelus slowly and deliberately advanced on her, holding his. Angelus played with his sword, idly pointing it at Cordelia. She looked up at him, frightened.

"Now that's everything, huh?" Angelus asked her. "No weapons...no friends...no hope."

Cordelia closed her eyes and steeled herself for whatever was coming.

"Take all that away...and what's left?" Angelus drew the sword back and thrust it directly at her face.

Buffy arrived just in time. With lightning-fast reflexes, she swung up with both arms and caught the blade between the palms of her hands. "Me."

She shoved the blade away from her, and the hilt of the sword hit Angelus in the face. He staggered back, and she hopped to her feet and kicked him in the chest. He stumbled back even more, and she reached down and picked up Cordelia's sword. She tossed it to her friend. Cordelia caught it, swung it around, and thrust at him, but he managed to parry. They exchanged several blows, blocking each other. Cordelia spun around and swung her sword down at him from above. He held up his own to block, but she hit it hard, and he fell to one knee. She swung again, and he blocked. She spun around with a roundhouse kick to his side, and he collapsed to the ground.

Cordelia kicked Angelus, and he went flying through the door, hit the floor, and rolled to a stop. Before he could get all of the way back to his feet, Cordelia leaped in and swung her sword at him. He almost missed parrying her blow, and he stepped back to get his footing. They exchanged a few more swings. Angelus missed a block and got sliced on his hand.

The coffee table lurched hard.

"Aşa să fie! Aşa să fie! Acum!" Amy chanted.

"So it shall be! So it shall be! Now!" Tara translated.

Angelus had dropped his sword and held his cut. Cordelia did a high kick to his face, and he fell backward into Acathla and landed on his knees before her.

"Acum!" Amy exclaimed.

"Now!" Tara translated.

The Orb glowed brightly for a brief moment and went dark. Amy suddenly relaxed and looked around blankly.

Cordelia raised her sword to dispatch Angelus but stayed herself when he suddenly gasped loudly and groaned in pain. She saw his eyes glow bright red for an instant and go back dark. He looked up at her but quickly collapsed to the floor, crying. Cordelia stared down at him but still held her sword raised behind her.

Angel raised himself back up, his eyes heavy with tears, and looked into her eyes. "Cordelia?" He started sobbing. "What's going on?"

She just looked at him, confused but not yet ready to lower the sword.

Buffy also stared at him, uncertain. "Careful, Cordy."

Angel looked around a bit and got to his feet. "Where are we? I-I don't remember."

Finally, Cordelia slowly lowered her sword. "Angel?"

Angel saw her wound. "You're hurt."

She looked down at her wound and felt his gentle touch on her arm. She ignored her cut, looked back up at him, and stepped closer.

Angel embraced her tightly. "Oh, Cordy...God."

She still wasn't completely sure that it was true but accepted the hug.

"I...I feel like I haven't seen you in months."

Finally, she accepted it, closed her eyes, and breathed out a deep sigh.

"Oh, my God, everything's so muddled. I..." Angel held her even more closely. "Oh..." He sighed deeply and kissed her on the shoulder. "Oh, Cordy..."

She cried into his shoulder and hugged him back. Behind him, Acathla let out a low rumble. Buffy stared in shock as Acathla's face contorted. His brows angled down, his eyes glowed red, his mouth opened grotesquely, and the swirling vortex to Hell opened, small at first, but growing steadily in size and emanating a deep, red glow.

"Cordy!" Buffy exclaimed.

Cordelia let go of Angel, saw the vortex, and looked into Angel's face. "Oh, God, no."

"What's happening?" Angel asked her, confused.

Buffy walked up behind Cordelia and put her hand on top of Cordelia's sword hand. "Cordy, you have to..."

"Shh. Don't worry about it." Cordelia brushed her fingers over his lips and across his cheek. She laid her hand on his cheek and kissed him softly.

He returned the kiss, and it became more passionate. Behind him, the vortex had grown to about five feet across and continued to get larger.

Cordelia broke off the kiss and looked deeply into Angel's eyes. "I love you."

"I love you."

Cordelia touched his lips with her fingers again. "Close your eyes."

She nodded reassuringly, and he closed his eyes. She tried hard not to start crying and kissed him again gently. She stepped back, drew back her sword, and thrust it into his chest. His eyes whipped open in surprise and pain, and a bright light emanated from the sword. She stepped away from him. He reached out to her and looked down at the sword thrust completely through him. He looked at her imploringly, completely bewildered by this turn of events. She could only stare at the sword protruding from his chest and slowly stepped further back.

"Cordy..."

Behind him, the power of the sword began to swirl into the vortex. Cordelia stepped further back, still looking only at the sword in his chest and not into his face. The vortex had enlarged to about twelve feet across, and the two energies began to interact. Angel still held out his hand to Cordelia. When the vortex finally met him, it suddenly closed into Acathla's mouth without so much as a spark, taking him with it. Cordelia stared at the stone demon for a long moment, a light of awareness dawning in her eyes as she truly realized what she had done, what she had lost. She began to sob, her heart breaking. She dropped the sword.

Buffy walked over and swept Cordelia up in a big hug. Cordelia hugged Buffy and sobbed into her neck.

Buffy drove Cordelia home at her insistence. They hugged again, and then Cordelia went into her house without another word. Buffy went to her house, sneaked inside, and packed her most important possessions. Then she went to Jenny's apartment and rang the doorbell.

The door opened. Jenny was standing there.

"Buffy, you made it!" Jenny exclaimed.

"Yeah."

Jenny stepped aside. Buffy walked into Jenny's apartment. Jenny closed and locked the door. Tara, Amy, and Katrina were sitting on the couch. Giles was standing nearby.

Tara stood up, ran over to Buffy, and hugged her tightly. "Thank Goddess!"

Buffy hugged Tara tightly and kissed her passionately on the lips.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked her.

"Yeah, except..." Buffy paused.

"Except what?" Tara asked her.

"Snyder expelled me."

Tara sighed. "Oh, shit."

They released each other.

"Where's Cordy?" Katrina asked Buffy.

"She's safe." Buffy looked at all three of her friends. "The spell worked."

Amy grinned. "I'm glad! So Angel-"

"Angel's in Hell."

"What?" Amy asked in shock.

"Angelus had already awakened Acathla, and the portal to Hell had opened. Cordy reunited with Angel, and then she thrust the sword into him and sent him to Hell." Buffy started crying. "God damn it, this is so fucked up."

Tara felt bad. "We should check on her."

Buffy shook her head. "She wants to be left alone." She looked at Giles. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better." Giles paused. "And you?"

Buffy shrugged. "My life is shit. I got kicked out of school - again. My relationship with my mom is destroyed. I can't go back home."

Tara looked sadly at her girlfriend. "I'm sure, if you explained to your mom-"

"No. We had it out last night. She made her position perfectly clear." Buffy paused and sighed. "I gotta get outta here."

"And go where?" Jenny asked her.

Buffy shrugged. "I dunno. L.A., maybe. See my dad and Dawn. I'm not sure. I just gotta get out of this fucking town - at least for the summer."

Soon, they were standing outside by Buffy's van.

Buffy looked at all of them. "When I get back, I don't suppose any of you would be willing to take me in."

Jenny looked at her. "I'm sure all of us would, but you should try reconciling with your mother first."

"Take care, Buffy." Amy hugged Buffy.

Buffy hugged Amy. "I will."

They released each other.

Katrina hugged Buffy. "Sunnydale won't be the same without you."

Buffy hugged Katrina. "Thanks, Trina."

They released each other.

Buffy looked at Giles. "If the new Slayer is located before I return, maybe request she come here?"

Giles adjusted his glasses. "Well, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather have the old Slayer."

Tara put her hands on Buffy's cheeks and kissed her full on the lips. Buffy hugged Tara.

Tara finished the kiss and hugged Buffy. "Take as much time as you need, sweetie. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too."

They released each other.

Buffy took one final look at all of them, and then she got in her van, started the engine, and drove off.

She got onto a two-lane road leading out of town. She drove past a sign that read "NOW LEAVING SUNNYDALE" and, underneath that, "come back soon!"

Cordelia was lying on her bed in her bedroom, watching TV and crying.

There was a knock at her door.

"Go away!" Cordelia cried.

"Cordy, it's me, Harmony. Ms. Calendar called and told me what happened. Can I come in?"

Cordelia sniffed. "Yeah, all right."

The door opened, and Harmony walked into the room. She closed the door behind her.

Cordelia didn't say anything. She had the remote control in her hand and was staring at the TV. Harmony walked over and lay down to Cordelia's left on the bed. She looked at the TV. It was her recording of Cordelia's performance from her birthday party in January. Cordelia pressed Play.

"To be in love
Must be the sweetest feeling that a girl can feel.
To be in love,
To live a dream
With somebody you care about like no one else:
A special man,
A dearest man,
Who needs to share his life with you alone,
Who'll hold you close and feel things
That only love brings,
To know that he is all your own."

Cordelia started sobbing uncontrollably as she she remembered all of the good times that she'd shared with Angel and how, in the end, she'd been forced to damn him. She broke down in tears. Harmony gently put her arm around Cordelia and hugged her close.

"To be my love,
My love must be much more than any other man.
To be my love,
To share my dream,
My hero, he must take me where no other can,
Where we will find
A brand-new world:
A world of things we've never seen before,
Where silver suns have golden moons,
Each year has thirteen Junes;
That's what must be for me
To be in love."