Hi guys!

I really hope you all like this! This story is kinda gonna be more special to me than my others, because this idea has been in my head since I was like, 10, and I first heard that Angel was gonna leave the show. And also, because it has a character in here that I have been using in a lot of my stories that aren't on fanfic, and I totally just made up, so I know her character a lot, lol, I'm talking like she's real. Anyway, I'm gonna try and get out at least 2 sequels to this, if anyone actually wants me to. Any thing you want added, I always listen to my reviewers!

I DISCLAIM EVERYTHING! NOTICE MY DISCLAIMLINESS

Pairings: DEFINITELY BA, everyone else, as in season 3, unless anyone asks for others?

Timing: end of season 3

Okay, here you go, my first chappie!

Chapter 1: New Arrivals

On the outskirts of town, the moon shone brightly, illuminating the grey sidewalks and black roads, the rustling trees and green plants, and the figure, walking silently. But only for a moment, before it was once again lost in the shadows.

Not too far away from that spot, in one of the many local Graveyards, there came the sound of a fight.

Buffy Summers crashed to the ground, the breath completely knocked out of her. But she had no time for pain, or injuries. She quickly pushed herself back onto her feet and whirled in the air with a vicious roundhouse kick that caught the ugly demon in its bulging face. She followed that with a double- fisted blow to its solar plexus, making it stumble back. She smiled in triumph for just a moment, before it caught her next punch in its slimy fist.

The demon, enraged, let out a terrible roar, and slammed its fist directly into the centre of her chest. With a grunt of pain, she smacked against the stone wall so hard that for one startling moment, she thought her heart had exploded.

'Boy, this demon is strong!' she thought to herself briefly before sucking in a deep lung-full of air and looking up in time to block the demons jab, and, using the palm of her hand, hit it in it's face, making it fall to the ground.

She got to her feet, her chest still hurting and taking a stake out of her pocket as she did. She scowled at the demon.

"That was my favourite ribcage!" she yelled, before plunging the stake deep into its heart.

Her victorious smile was replaced by one of disgust moments later as the demons pink carcass abruptly melted into a sticky black pool, which she was now standing in.

"Eeeeeeeewww!" she cried out, jumping back. She sighed.

"Well, that'll teach me to wear brand new shoes on a late night patrol through the cemeteries!"

She then proceeded to make her way past the graveyard, noticing the discomfort that the demon's blow caused her. Though of coarse, she knew that by morning, she would be completely healed, it was one of the perks of being the slayer.

One of the few.

A muffled cry coming from her left interrupted her thoughts. Buffy immediately started running, ignoring the pain in her chest, hoping that she could get there on time. She vaulted over the small wooden fence at the perimeter of the graveyard, willing herself to go faster, hoping against hope that she wouldn't be too late.

The cry became strangled, and abruptly stopped. Still Buffy ran, still she hoped, though she knew she was too late. She entered the clearing, just as the grotesque 'Vampire?' was disappearing into the shadows, and just as it's victim sank lifelessly to the grass.

Buffy hesitated just a moment, confirming that the young woman could not be saved, before taking off after the thing.

She had at first thought that it was a vampire, despite it's baldhead, covered with ridges. She had known that vampires grew more disfigured with age. And she had seen the blood dripping from its fangs, and it's bulging forehead over yellow eyes. But then she had noticed yet more fangs, protruding from its bottom jaw, and it's elongated fingers.

'But if it wasn't a vampire, what was it?' She asked herself, still in pursuit of the thing. She summoned every last ounce of her slayer speed and ran, ignoring the fiery protest in her chest. Not too far ahead she saw the figure dart behind some trees and she easily caught up with it. She didn't give it time to react as she plunged right into it, knocking them both to the ground. She quickly recovered, flipping back to her feet, before kicking the Demon square in its nose, throwing its head back. It growled, getting to its feet before she could advance further, and swinging it's fist at her. She dodged it easily, aware that the creature was testing her strength.

As she twisted away from it, she backhanded it before kicking it in its stomach, making it double over.

'Test that!' she thought briefly.

She made to knee it in its face, when it abruptly straightened and swipe kicked her feet from under her. She fell to the ground, and it was immediately over her, dragging her up by her neck, before punching her. Buffy grabbed its wrist, kicked him hard in the face, and it dropped her, howling in pain. She scrambled to her feet and side stepped, as the creature dove for her and spun around behind it.

The thing didn't have time to look back, before she buried her stake deep into its unbeating heart. It cried out in anguish, kicking her away from it, and ran away, loping off through the trees. Buffy frowned. It hadn't exploded into dust, and she was sure she hadn't missed the heart, she never missed. Hardly ever, anyway. She was the slayer.

She walked back to where the woman's body lay. It was unearthly quiet, and as the figure lay almost tranquil in the grass, Buffy felt intruding as she examined her neck. Sure enough, she found the puncture marks that she knew so well, but on the other side there were yet more. Four puncture holes for the four fangs that she had seen in that things mouth.

The woman was wearing a UC Sunnydale jumper; she must have been a student there. Buffy had seen more dead bodies than she would care to count, but she never got used to it, especially when it struck so close to home. She would be attending UC after the break, and she couldn't help wondering whether this girl might have become a friend. It was far fetched, but still, she couldn't help but wonder. She had been wondering a lot since... well, since before.

Buffy sighed, "Look's like another case for super watcher." She said to herself, Giles was sure to have some book or other that told her what she was dealing with. But she would tell him later, for now, she just wanted to go home and sleep.

As Buffy took off, back to her house, the figure watched from the shadows, a small smile playing on her lips and an evil glint in her eyes. Then, once again, she was lost in the darkness.

.......

She walked

Down the dark passageways, a candle in her hand, she crept silently along the stone corridors, until she reached the chamber. It too, was stone, and it too was dark, the candlelight flickering across blood red drapes and the mahogany table, placed in the centre of the underground room.

She rarely slept, haunted as she was by what they had done. Her obsession was understandable, if unjust. For many years, centuries, even, she had been waiting to take her revenge, had been waiting for the right moment to do exactly the opposite of what she had been sent to do.

Now she unsheathed a long, vicious dagger.

"Alana" she hissed. The knife-edge gleaming in the candlelight.

In the darkness, someone whimpered. She laughed to herself, the low flat laughter of those whose revenge is all that they can see and held the knife in the flame of the candle, before bringing it down, in one smooth motion. The silence was complete. Not even the victims breathing permeated the quiet, for he no longer had breath to give.

.....

Buffy climbed through her bedroom window, as she had done many times before, being careful not to wake her mother, in the next room. Her mother knew about her being the slayer, but that didn't mean she liked it. Buffy preferred not to worry her mom without reason, she couldn't help with the things that her daughter went through every day. And sometimes, Buffy wondered if she would.

'No.' Buffy shook her head, 'don't think like that' she told herself. Since that night when she had been kicked out of the house and ran away, she had often wondered about her friends, her family. What would it have been like if she had simply stayed gone? If she had never come back?

'Well,' she told herself, 'You wouldn't have known that Angel had come back.'

But she knew it wasn't true, she knew that, somehow, even if it defied all logic, she would have known.

She wasn't really unhappy that she had come back, she knew that she was simply speculating on many different things, mostly ending in the same question:

'Would it have made him stay?'

Every night, she would think up all sorts of different scenarios, what could have happened had she done this, said that. And in some ways, this helped her, because she knew, that there were unlimited alternate realities, and for every wrong decision she made, somewhere, there was a Buffy that had done everything right. Maybe there, Angel would have stayed.

Buffy shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She had to stop doing this. She couldn't change it, she couldn't do anything about the fact that he left her.

She changed into her pyjamas, and crawled under the covers, where she lay, thoughts charging unrelentlesly through her head, until finally, she fell asleep, where she dreamed of her angel, and their happily ever after. But not for long. Slayers dreams, are never good dreams for long.

.....

Okay, that's it, people, please review, I would really love any feedback that you have. If you want anything at all changed, I will definitely consider it, any pairings that you want added? Less/more action/drama/angst/fluff? Anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask. Constructive criticism always appreciated! :)

Luv Angie : )