The Return, Chapter Nine ~ The
                   Return
 
 

From: "Little Slayer" <little_slayer@hotmail.com>

Author: Little Slayer
Email: little_slayer@hotmail.com or little_slayer@buffymail.com
Title:  The Return
Distribution:  Anyone can have it.  Just ask.
Rating: PG.
Author’s Note:  Sequel to The End.
Feedback:  If you don’t send feedback, I’ll sick Faith on you like a
dog on a bone.  Or in her case a dog on a…okay, I’m not going to
finish that, but you all get the point.  Actually, no, I can't sick
her on you because of one really important reason…
Disclaimer:  I don’t own him!  Uh, her.  Or Buffy, Angel, Giles,
Willow, Joyce, and everyone else.  They’re all in here.  I don’t own
Angel’s nickname of Peaches.  The only thing I own is Mya.  She’s
mine.  I created her.  And so I can easily destroy the skanky little…
uh, oops.  All the Buffyverse people belong to Joss Whedon and anyone
else who legally owns them.  Anybody who has been either A) mentioned
on BtVS, or B) seen on BtVS, I don’t own.  I do own a few people but
am too tired to name them.
Dedication:  To Paul.  I’m an evil bitca. *EG*

Chapter Nine, The Return

        “Hey Slayer,” Spike called out.  “Fledglings at eight
o’clock.”  Buffy looked to where Spike motioned and then pulled out a
stake.
        “Finally, some fun,” Buffy muttered while Angelus, Spike, and
Dru all fell in line behind her.  She stepped out of the shadows and
into the cloudy moonlight.  Startled, the two vampires stopped
stalking their prey, a young couple out in the park, and looked at
Buffy.  “You know, with all the weird stuff that goes on here, you’d
think that people’d know better than to go out at night.”  The couple
turned to see the vampires in full game face, then took off running.
        “You just spoiled our supper,” the taller of the two vampires
hissed.
        “Yeah, it seems I have a habit of doing that,” she replied.
Growling, the two vampires leapt at her.  Buffy ducked and swept her
leg out, catching the tall one in the knees and dropping him to the
ground.  Quickly, she rolled over, staked him, and flung herself up
onto her feet.  The other vampire looked down at the dust at Buffy’s
feet then slipped a knife out from his side.  “Since when do vamps
use weapons?”
        “Since you and your little,” he paused and looked at Angelus,
who was leaning against a tree.  “Your little lap dog have come back
to town.”  Angelus growled and slipped into game face.  He moved
through the dark like a panther and circled the vampire.
        “Mistake number one,” Buffy said.  “He’s not my lap dog.”
        “And what’s mistake number two?” the vampire asked.  He
tensed and then, screaming, dissolved into dust.
        “Not running,” Drusilla muttered, standing where the now dead
vampire was, holding a stake.  A cold chill ran through Buffy’s body
and she looked behind her.  Nothing.  Just some bushes.  But she
couldn’t help but shake the feeling that someone…or something was
watching her.
        “What is it?” Angelus asked.
        “I’m not sure.  I just…I had a weird feeling someone was
watching me,” she murmured.  “Probably my imagination running away
with me again.”  Angelus looked to where she was staring and frowned.
        “Probably, but maybe not,” he said.
        “Well, I’m not scared.  I have to be the only Slayer on
record to have her own little vampire guards,” Buffy said smiling at
him.
        “Yeah,” Spike announced.  “C’mon ducks, let’s finish patrol.”
They continued through the park.  Again and again the same feeling
ran through Buffy’s spine.  *Probably nothing, but may as well
mention it to Giles.* she thought.

*****

        “What’s wrong?” Willow asked.  Angel and Giles looked at each
other than at the Slayerettes, who were now very interested in what
was written in the old book.  “Well?”
        “It seems Angel has found some rather…disturbing
information,” Giles started.
        “Disturbing…like how?” Xander asked.
        “You remember how Buffy freaked during Spring Fling when she
found out she was gonna die?” Angel asked.  As one, the room nodded.
“Well, something to that degree.  Well, something exactly like that.”
        “You mean…Buffy’s gonna die?” Willow asked.  Not able to find
his voice, Angel just nodded.  “But, no, she can’t die.  We just got
her back.  True, she’s changed…a lot, but hell will do that to you.
She can’t die…she just can’t.”  Oz moved next to Willow and wrapped
his arms around her.
        “Shhh, it’ll be okay,” he whispered.  “She was supposed to
die two years ago and she didn’t.  She won’t die, she’s Buffy.”
        “I’m afraid there’s more to it,” Giles said.  “It says that
one of her friends will betray her.”
        “We would never do anything like that!” Xander exclaimed.
        “Not one of us,” Oz said.  “But what about Spike or Dru or…”
        “My evil other half,” Angel finished.  “Angelus.  Spike and
Dru wouldn’t betray her, their too loyal.  But Angelus, you’d have
nightmares for the rest of your lives just to know a tiny part of
some of the stuff he’s done.”
        “She trusts him,” Willow said.  “She doesn’t trust anyone
without good reason.”
        “She’s too trusting.  That’s her only fault,” Angel said.
        “We have to warn her,” Giles said.
        “And if she doesn’t believe us?” Xander asked.
        “We kill him,” Angel replied.
        “Yeah, like she’ll really trust us after we kill off one of
her ‘friends’,” Cordelia said.  “She’ll probably take off and let us
deal with the end of the world ourselves.”
        “Cordelia may have a point,” Giles said.  “Buffy is loyal
like that.  If something happened to one of her friends by one of us,
she’d never give us the time of day.”
        “He seems to care about her,” Oz said.  “Maybe if we show him
the prophecy, he’ll help us convince her.”
        “That might not be that bad of a plan,” Giles said.  “Okay,
we’ll do that.  When the others get back from patrol, we’ll show them
the prophecy and…see what we see I suppose.”

*****

        Yawning, Xander picked up a book titled Vortexes To And From
Hell And Other Fun Activities.  Frowning at the title, he leafed
through it while Willow typed furiously next to him.  Cordelia had
fallen asleep in the stacks earlier and Xander had covered her with a
blanked they used when Oz was in his wolfy state.  The werewolf in
human form had booked about an hour earlier because Dingoes had a
late gig at the Bronze and Giles and Angel were pouring themselves
over some foreign books in Giles’s office.  Finding nothing useful in
the book, Xander sighed and picked up his can of Mountain Dew.
        “Hey dork boy,” Angelus said from next to him.
        “Ahhh!” Xander shrieked and dropped his can of pop in his
lap.  He looked up with wide eyes while fumbling to pick up a cross
that was five feet away.  He relaxed when he saw Buffy looking at him
with a concerned but amused look on her face.
        “Are you alright Xander?” she asked.
        “Sheesh Buffy, don’t let him do that!” Xander said and let
his breathing go back to normal.  Then he noticed the cold carbonated
liquid slowly seeping into his pants.  Turning a shade of red, Xander
picked up his can of Mountain Dew and then stood up.  “Uh, excuse
me.”  Xander rushed out of the library and to the bathroom; Buffy
stifled a laugh, but then she, Spike, Dru, Angelus, and even Willow
burst into a fit of giggles.
        “What’s going on out here?” Giles asked, walking into the
main room of the library.  He stopped once his eyes landed on Buffy.
“Oh, Buffy, good, you’re back.”
        “Hi…Giles,” Buffy said between giggles.
        “What’s so funny?” Angel asked, stepping out from behind
Giles.
        “Nothing, just,” Buffy started.
        “That little wanker wet his pants,” Spike muttered.  The
entire group started to laugh again while Angel and Giles could only
raise their eyebrows.
        “I walked up behind Xander and said hi and he dropped his pop
in his lap,” Angelus explained.  Angel smiled a little.
        “You know, you really ought to be ashamed of yourself,” Buffy
said with a mock scolding tone.  Angelus just shrugged.
        “That guy really bugs me.  I couldn’t help myself,” Angelus
snickered.
        “I know the feeling,” Angel muttered.  Angelus’s eyes
widened.
        “Okay, now I know I need help.  I just agreed on something
with soul boy.  Ack,” Angelus said as a shiver ran through him.  “I’m
forever scared.”  Buffy smacked him on the shoulder.
        “Behave,” she said.  He bent down so he was ear-level to her.
        “That’s not what you said before,” he whispered.  Buffy’s
eyes widened and he just smirked at her.  Buffy regained her
composure and looked at Giles, still a little flushed.
        “Patrol was good.  We bagged five vamps,” she said.
        “Anything in particular happen?” Giles asked.  Buffy shook
her head.
        “No.  Found the vamps and killed them.  Dru had some good
puns though, does that count?” Buffy asked.  Giles shook his head.
        “Uh, no, I’m afraid not,” he replied.
        “Buffy kept getting this feeling we were being followed,”
Angelus said.
        “Oh yeah, that,” Buffy muttered.  She continued after
noticing the interested looks she was receiving from Angel and Giles.
*God he seems to be better at the Watcher stuff than Giles,* Buffy
thought about Angel.  *Freaky.*  “It was way weird.  Like someone was
following us, but wanted me to know.  Or else they were just really
bad at following people.”  Angel and Giles exchanged looks.
        “Anything else?” Giles asked slowly.
        “Yeah,” Buffy said.  Again they perked up.  “You two are
given me the wiggens real bad.  What’s the what?”
        “Uh, well, we’re just, nervous, because of the…uh, Hellmouth…
situation,” Giles stuttered.  Buffy’s eyes narrowed and then focused
on Willow who was nervously clacking away at her computer.
        “Wills?” she asked.  The hacker looked up, wide eyed, and her
mouth dropped open.
        “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you I didn’t know
anything, would you?” Willow asked.  Buffy shook her head.  “Darn.
It’s nothing Buffy, really, just…just a little prophecy.”
        “Like what?” Buffy asked.
        “Maybe you ought to sit down,” Angel suggested.  Frowning,
she looked at him.
        “I’m fine the way I am,” she replied evenly.
        “Remember the prophecy at Spring Fling?” Angel asked.  “Well,
it’s sorta like that.  Except it has a little more detail.”  All at
once, the air came whooshing out of Buffy until she felt like she was
going to collapse.  And then a strange calm settled over her.  *I’m
in shock,* she realized.  Buffy remembered how people always told her
that people who go in shock don’t know what’s going on.  *They’re
wrong.  They do, it just hurts too much.*
        “So I’m gonna die?” she asked.  Angel nodded.  “Okay.  I’ll
see you guys tomorrow, right after sunset.  We got a warehouse to
attack.”  Without another word, Buffy turned and walked out of the
library.  It was only until she was alone did she rush through the
halls, tears streaming down her face.
        “What are the details?” Angelus asked quietly.  Giles looked
at him then at Angel, barely able to tell the two apart.
        “It says a friend of hers is going to betray her,” Angel said
looking hardly at him.
        “So of coarse you guys deciphered it as me,” Angelus
muttered.  “Interesting.”  Then he looked into Angel’s eyes with a
cruel look on his face.  “Don’t you think?”
        “I was the one to put your name to it,” Angel said, standing
taller.
        “Oh really?  I just wonder about one thing.”
        “What’s that?” Angel asked.
        “How interesting do you think it’ll be when I’m the one
holding Buffy, telling her everything will turn out fine, and you’ll…
be here with the Watcher and your books.  Think about that, why don’t
you,” Angelus hissed with a glare, barely able to keep his demonic
face from exposing itself.  Stunned, Angel just stood there as
Angelus walked towards the doors.  “Excuse me, I have a Slayer to
find.”

*****

        Buffy curled up in her blankets and stared out the window.
She barely even heard the doorknob to her bedroom open and Angelus
slip in.
        “Buffy?” he asked.  She did nothing more than scoot over as a
sign that she was awake and that he was welcome.  Swiftly, he dressed
down to his boxers, his normal sleepwear, and climbed in beside
Buffy.  She curled up next to him and began to cry.  “Shhhhh,”
Angelus soothed.  “It’ll be okay.”
        “I don’t want to die,” Buffy murmured into his shoulder.
        “You won’t.  I promise,” Angelus said.  “I’ll protect you.
Hey, now you have two guardian angels.”  Angelus couldn’t tell if the
sob she emitted after that had a small laugh or not, but he ignored
it.  “Just get some sleep.  We have a long night tomorrow.”  Without
another word, Buffy fell asleep next to Angelus, who had wrapped a
protective arm around her.

*****

        “Do we have to go there?” Buffy whined.  She looked once
again out the open window at the night as Angelus and Spike gathered
all the weaponry in the house.
        “Yes,” Angelus muttered.
        “But I don’t want to go back to the library.  Why can’t we
just call them and say meet us there?” Buffy asked.
        “Because Slayer,” Angelus started.  “We need to show them
that I didn’t off you in the night while you slept.”  Buffy glared at
him and began to pace.  She was still furious that everyone,
especially Angel, had the audacity to accuse someone she trusted like
that.  Angelus glanced at her, feeling just a bit odd about telling
her what Angel had said to him and not he to Angel.  *Oh well,* he
thought and shrugged the feeling away.
        “Fine,” she growled.  “We go the library and then to the
warehouse and kill all the vampires.  Then we Bronze.”

*****

        Mya smiled as she listened in on the conversation going on
inside of Buffy’s house.  So, the Slayerettes, including her Angel
thought that Angelus was going to kill Buffy?  What a perfect way to
complete her plan.  Quietly, Mya hurried off into the night air.  She
had a vampire to track down and make a deal with.

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