A/N:Hey guys! :) I don't usually update two chapters at once considering I don't often write that far, but I'm doing it now because this part of the story was originally supposed to be in the last chapter, but the chapter ended up way, way too long to the point I'm sure no one cared enough to read it seriously. xD It was really bad haha, but I hope the readers enjoy this double chapter! :) I'd say it probably won't happen again, but xD I can't promise that with me because I always write a lot more than I expect myself to lol.

Last chapter ended with Buffy passing out and we're gonna see the fallout of it in this chapter. Like I said before, I don't intend to follow canon to an absolute "T" since there is no point writing a fanfiction if you do that. This is how the A&F title in S9 could've went if Buffy was inserted like I still firmly believe she should've been. I've stated my reasons why before. This chapter is the game-changer for a while and this is where Buffy's really messing up the canon Angel & Faith undertones. I was actually pleasantly surprised when this idea to change some of the plot hit me xD and I'm just really glad to finally show this direction because I thought it was a really, really good one and made a lot of sense. :) I'll let the readers decide of course. XD XD

Also, this chapter is going to show a lot more Bangel interaction and some more progression. I've said many times before this isn't technically considered a romantic B/A story since I'd feel uncomfortable writing Buffy showing romantic feelings for Angel when I'm still as confused over if she still has them as I was when I first started this story (Sad I know, but true. :( I go back and forth on it a lot and I'm just waiting for the answer to that in S10). I find it believable for Buffy to be confused over her feelings for Angel after S8, considering she's really angry but then she feels bad for him and then goes back forth on those two emotions it's hard to really define it lol. However, is she really confused over him in canon? When she knows the whole story, maybe but I can't be sure. :/ The aim of this fanfic is really just to repair Buffy and Angel's relationship to point she trusts him and genuinely cares for him without wondering if he deserves it or not. I don't want it be rushed, but don't want that ignored either. Who really knows what S10 will hold for the Bangel fans, so I'm just going to go with this story for now. :)

Anyway, this chapter has more Buffy/Angel interaction and you see they get some form of an even ground for a little. Or, at least, Buffy sorta does. XD It's still complicated and strained like it's supposed to be, but she starts to really think about her relationship with Angel this time and wonders more about how she feels about his choices and him as a person. You see progress, but like I said a lot of times I'm sticking to my canon interpretation of her behavior so thinking she'll suddenly have an epiphany and brush off Angel's choices is a little bit 'not her' to me, even if she knows the entire truth. However, Angel does a lot of really sweet things for Buffy in this and I think you'll like it! (I do xD Angel's just so nice to Buffy and everyone ... he's so adorkable. c:)

Oh and the ending of this chapter ... it's going to be a surprise for some of you. Maybe not everyone xD, but the ending is really, really fun! :D It makes you want to read the next chapter, trust me. ;)

Disclaimer:I don't own the Buffyverse. All credit goes to Joss Whedon and Dark Horse for the comics. I also have no credit for writer Christos Gage's work on Angel & Faith. For if I had any power, you would see that Buffy would be in A&F for S9 only (obviously lol), Spike would be a lot more developed as a character past his love for Buffy, and Faith would eventually have more of a life instead her only friend being Angel.

Constructive Criticism and OCCness opinions/warnings are very much appreciated! :D


Unforeseen Consequences

~~Buffy~~

**Inside Buffy's Consciousness**

Buffy's mind went black, fully slipping out of wakefulness as the burning pain became too much. For a little while, there was nothing. Her thoughts were empty and she hadn't felt like she was anywhere. However, that almost peaceful state was abruptly squashed as another feeling came over her, enveloping her. It was different than that intense prick of agony she had felt while she was awake, in fact to Buffy it barely hurt her. The feeling was more ... malevolent. More calculating, power-hungry, and the weirdest thing of all ... it felt like she was overcome by another type of force. A strong, unpleasant force.

Yet, any sense of figuring out what was happening to her was lost too fast. The evil presence was overcome by even stranger occurrences. Buffy only dimly saw it, but a mirage of images assaulted her mind. She thought she saw hoards of zombies trying to attack innocents and behind them was a very large, very scary-looking demon. Buffy had never seen this demon before, but she just knew she was looking at Eyghon the Sleepwalker in his true form. More images appeared, overwhelming the blonde slayer as she saw a flash of Eyghon-possessed "Ethan Rayne'" buying an estate, some quick glimpses of Whistler and two unfamiliar people, and at last a disturbing scene of slayers being caught by Eyghon and unleashed upon society.

Buffy didn't know how, but she could easily identify the messages beyond these mental pictures. Eyghon wanted absolute power and a growing number of zombies to keep that up ... but he needed magic to make their bodies last longer and he needed slayers to make his army be even stronger and long-lasting. And who was big on causing an apocalypse and returning magic in the process? Well, at least that explains why she was seeing Whistler in this random jumble.

Dimly, Buffy regained faint consciousness and she tried to move. However, she soon found couldn't because the evil presence was pushing her down. It surrounded her so powerful, the blonde slayer could do absolutely nothing but submit to it. Buffy still saw blackness, failing to see what was happening to her, and stayed stuck in place. Just when she was about to try to resist again, the blonde slayer paused when she suddenly felt another feeling. It wasn't the suffocating force on her nor was it that strange but intense ache Eyghon had on her back. It was sharper, a little painful, and ...

**Outside Buffy's Consciousness**

"Ow!" Buffy responded automatically, sitting bolt upright as a dull pain lanced through her. The slayer clutched her right arm, a newly-long but shallow cut splitting her shirt as blood oozed out of it. Turning her head to look, the blonde recognized Faith and Nadira standing over her while the rest of the slayers were keeping a distance away from her. Faith was gazing at her impatiently, holding a sword and twisting it repeatedly in her hand; it had fresh, red blood on it's tip.

Seeing the sword and the blood, Buffy glared at the brunette. "What the hell are you doing, Faith?" She demanded angrily, still rubbing her arm.

"Welcome back, B." Faith responded dryly, but she was still more serious than usual. "Angel brought you over here when you were knocked out, then you got taken over by Eyghon's mind-rape. Had to wake you up." The brunette explained curtly, adjusting her crossbow in it's carrier and gesturing to her sword. Her dark eyes flitted nervously towards the two destroyed doors a ways away from them as sounds of the zombies and guttural roars came from there. "Don't sweat it. Same thing happened to me." She told her dismissively.

Buffy blinked, finally starting to put some things together. Did Eyghon knock her out to get her as one of his slayer soldiers? And what was up with those weird pictures? She couldn't help wondering, recalling the images she had stamped in her mind while she was out. Rising to her feet, Buffy gave a double check to see if she still had her weapons. The battle axe was still tied securely to her waist in it's holder, but her sword was long gone. The small slayer figured she had dropped it when Angel had (probably) practically thrown her at Faith.

"We need to get the hell out of here! Eyghon's no bloody joke, y'know!" Nadira snapped to Faith desperately, gesturing to her fellow slayers behind them still huddled far away.

"Wait ... where's Angel?" Buffy asked them demandingly, her tone sharp as she stared intently at the two slayers in front of her. Do not tell me he was that stupid trying to cover us alone ... I told him I was supposed to do that! She thought in frustration, angered at the reminder that if Eyghon hadn't caused that weird back-pain to make her unconscious, she would've been out there already!

"Covering us." Faith informed her in a clipped tone, eyes flicking anxiously back to the doors as more noises of battle came from it. Looking back at Buffy, the dark slayer's face scrunched up urgently. "We gotta go, B! Angel can't keep it up forever!" She argued fiercely, gesturing for the blonde slayer to move as she prepared to make a run for it.

Angry but not at all surprised her suspicions were correct, Buffy gave a tense nod. "Faith. I want you to take Nadira and the other slayers out of her as fast as you can." The small slayer ordered seriously, her expression determined. "Keep going and make a break for the car. I'll help distract Eyghon until you're clear." Buffy clarified sternly, her mind made up. She didn't care what Angel said. She was not the type of person to let him battle against such a demon alone even if he was covering them.

Faith's eyes widened incredulously. "Are you serious, B?!" The brunette slayer exclaimed dubiously, looking extremely doubtful and even a little worried. "You're too screwed up to try fighting that. You even passed out! Look at you." Faith continued on, making a gesture with her arm to Buffy. Nadira looked on, her brown eyes narrowed in an unfriendly manner.

Buffy couldn't deny the truth in Faith's concerns. Her body was weak (mostly from that intense burning sensation earlier) and she had a lot of scratches on her that bled more heavily than others, but it was not enough of a reason to give in. Angel needed help and he couldn't do it alone. "Do as I say, Faith. Get out of here. Now." Buffy reiterated more fiercely, her tone leaving no room for argument as she glared at her. "Me and Angel will be right behind you." The blonde added determinedly, praying Faith listened.

"You're worried about him? That bastard?" Nadira remarked angrily, scoffing at the idea and glowering at her former general.

Right. I forget I'm dealing with 'Nadira the Anti-social Slayer'. Buffy mocked in her thoughts, rolling her eyes as she quickly felt exasperated at the brunette. Honestly, couldn't Nadira just let go of her grudge in this situation? Meeting her displeased look, Buffy stared at her in annoyance. "I'm just trying to keep you alive." She justified strongly, her tone full of frustration and impatience.

Nadira didn't say anything, her hostility gradually lessening reluctantly as she saw a point in that. Turning to Faith, the fellow brunette grabbed her arm roughly and tried to pull her in the direction of their escape route. "Listen to her, Faith. Buffy can hold her own." She commented matter-of-factly, almost showing respect for the blonde slayer. "I need to get my friends out of this rotten hellhole." The British slayer added determinedly, her voice marked with exasperation and urgency as she gave Faith another harsh pull.

Faith resisted a second longer, looking doubtful. Finally, the dark slayer looked back at Buffy. "Take it easy, B." Faith relented reluctantly, still sounding slightly worried. "See ya on the flip side." The brunette added humorlessly. After Nadira tugged her again even harder, she glanced at Buffy one more time before breaking away to the others. Nadira followed and all four slayers in front of her sped off and disappeared through the exit.

Relieved to see that Faith listened to her, Buffy turned in the other direction and took off back to the heart of Eyghon's lair. Irritation surged throughout her as she ran faster back, angry at herself for getting unconscious and angry at Angel for having to cover them in the first place. If I just reacted faster ... didn't let Fake Giles get to me ... I would've been the one out there. Not him. She recognized fervently, her resolve unwavering.

She also knew Angel would fight to the ends of the Earth to have her stay out and knowing him, he'd probably try to push her out of the fight the minute she arrived. Yet, Buffy, as always, did not care about that. Even right now, her unresolved issues with Angel over Twilight and Giles didn't matter at all in this moment. All she wanted was to make sure Angel gets out alive and that she can manage to properly distract Eyghon despite her injuries.

Buffy dimly pondered on what Eyghon had done to her to make her feel that type of intense agony and in one spot alone. It was like something had been digging into her skin over and over, stabbing her with knives but getting burned too all at once. However, the blonde pushed any serious consideration aside. Whatever Eyghon had done or his reasoning, Buffy simply hoped it wouldn't cause her any problems as she fought with Angel.

Reaching the entrance and going through the busted up doors easily, Buffy's green eyes surveyed the room warily. Other than the fact they were in shambles from all the fighting, she also saw tons of Eyghon zombies still in the room. They weren't doing much and she wondered if Eyghon had them on standby as he fought with Angel. However, one of the most disturbing sights was she recognized Daphne and Maggie in the crowd. Taking another glance, she realized they weren't like the other Eyghon followers. He possessed some of Faith's slayers ... can't help them now. The best bet is to regroup and come back later. She thought reluctantly, feeling disgust well up inside her at Eyghon for possessing these innocent people's bodies.

As she continued her quick look around, Buffy saw no sign of Angel or Eyghon's true form. She hoped that meant he had escaped already, but something inside her was doubting it. Stepping farther into the massive room, Buffy's eyes upturned toward a completely demolished side of the wall. It was the type of damage that could only come from an extremely huge figure. Unwillingly, a impressed smile curved her lips. Angel must've made an escape somewhere over there with Eyghon right behind him. Way to make an exit, Angel. Buffy thought lightly, but then regrouped her logic and slipped back into her serious mode.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Buffy dashed across the room and right into the thick of the zombies vicinity. She had no choice. They all surrounded the massive opening and she had to go that way if she was going to help Angel. Not even wasting time to pun, the blonde slayer cut through the crowd. The undead zombies noticed her and immediately tried to get her, but Buffy was too determined despite her weakness.

Using her battle axe, she cut off at least three of the zombie's heads and shoved the others away to make room for her to get out. Dapnhe and Maggie also attacked her, but Buffy couldn't slow down. Punching Maggie to get her away and hitting Daphne with the hilt of her axe just enough to knock her out, the blonde slayer's path was cleared for her somewhat.

Just as Buffy was only a yard away from the obliterated side of the wall, she momentarily froze when she saw Eyghon-possessed Giles stand in front of her in a way to block her. The blonde's mixed emotions warred within her, his face bringing back a mingled sense of guilt and sadness when she saw that wasn't really her Giles. Ugh, she hated so much when she had to fight the people she loved or at least people who looked like them. Buffy got considerably better at that through her battles with Angelus many years ago, but every time that happened again (which it always did) it still wasn't easy on her emotionally.

"Giles" was smirking at her again, moving his arms away from his body in a 'bring it on' gesture. " So you regained consciousness, after all. How brilliant." He drawled out, picking up a nearby sword off the ground. "However, I'm sad to say I cannot let you pass here. I have other plans for you." "Giles" said firmly, looking way too taunting.

Buffy narrowed her eyes at him, recalling him saying something like that before in her haze of agony that made her unconscious. "You mean part of your Slayer army?" The blonde pointed out in an overly light tone, referring to the unsettling images she had seen when she was possessed. "Been there, done that. It doesn't really work for me." Buffy quipped jokingly, raising up her battle axe and clenching her other hand in a fist. She so didn't have time for this. Just because he had Giles' body did not mean she would let herself get distracted. Not the way Faith had.

"The aspect in this that you fail to grasp is that you have no choice." Fake Giles responded quite flippantly, a pointed edge in his voice. "Eyghon already has you. It's only a matter of time until you submit." He revealed boldly, the confidence and arrogance in his tone both pissing Buffy off even more and making her nervous.

"What?!" Buffy questioned impatiently, her green eyes narrowed in a glare. What's he talking about? Is it that weird possession? Or that pain in my back earlier? God, I am so tired of supernatural forces trying to control me! The blonde slayer thought, both stumped and irritated. It wasn't that long ago she had Twilight on her hands and now, conveniently, she had Eyghon the Sleepwalker. Did the complications in her life just never end? What exactly had Eyghon done to her that made him so unworried?

Quickly though, Buffy shook off her puzzlement and reigned in her purpose. I can't keep this up. Angel needs me out there. The slayer reminded herself, suddenly worried that the souled vampire was hurt too severely.

Tucking that in as a motivator, Buffy gripped her axe and rushed Fake Giles. He raised his sword to block the axe, but the small slayer was not messing around. As he used his other hand to strike her, Buffy ducked and deftly kicked him in the stomach in the opposite direction with much of her slayer strength. "Sorry, Giles." Buffy stated sarcastically as his body slammed into the wall so hard there was a human-sized hole in it. "But I'm not really up for a watcher-slayer training session today." The blonde punned further, her serious face contrasting with her witty tone.

Before the imposter could recover, Buffy fled and disappeared into the path from the crushed wall. After just a few seconds, she pinpointed Eyghon's gigantic form she had seen in her images while she unconscious. Her tenseness returning, the slayer sought out Angel to see if had escaped him or not. That hope plummeted when she saw his much smaller form in the claws of Eyghon. The souled vampire was struggling, but she could see he was still alive. Not wasting another thought, Buffy bolted as fast as possible as she drew closer and closer to the battlefield.

As soon as she got there, she heard Eyghon's growl and deep voice throw threats at Angel in his hand. "I'll dismember you. Make your friends die in agony while your limbs grow back and are cut off again!" Eyghon's rumbling and demonic voice warned furiously, sounding so infuriated and self-assured it was enough to convince anyone he was telling the truth.

Ignoring her wounded body, Buffy used her small size to her advantage and weaved right beside the demon without even being suspected. Reaching his arm, the blonde slayer leaped up on tired legs and managed to get several feet in the air almost to his shoulder and slashed up with her battle axe. She heard a satisfying tear as his reptilian skin bleed. Eyghon let out a furious growl and turned it's head to look at what had attacked him.

Buffy was already out of sight, falling to the ground in the grass. She landed in a harsh crouch, using her arms for balance to save herself from falling on her face. She winced a little as she felt refreshed soreness in her tired limbs, but it was the only choice she had. If she hadn't leaped up there, who knows what condition Angel would've been in. Now ... now it was time for the distraction part, something she was really good at.

Standing up, Buffy smirked when Eyghon's eyes landed on her at last. "Y'know, for an all-powerful demon, you have a lot of anger in you. Issues and damage, much?" The blonde slayer provoked glibly, forcing her expression into one of mock concern. "Do I need to sign you up for therapy? Maybe something like a demon's reformation camp. It think it could work for you." Buffy continued on in mock thought, her smirk widening when she noticed the fury in Eyghon's face.

"THE SLAYER!" Eyghon shouted, even more enraged. Angel was still in his claws and even from this distance, Buffy could tell how shocked he was that she was actually here and not knocked out somewhere like he had last seen her. "Slayer! I despise you as much as the vampire with a soul. You helped ruin me last time!" He referenced, his sharp teeth showing clearly as he talked down at her. "Because of you, I have no magic to my aide. I have to make plans with others to get that magic!" Eyghon revealed angrily, his demonic eyes gleaming dangerously.

"Like I haven't heard that one before." Buffy quipped flippantly, her mocking smirk unfaltering. Tilting her head to her side, she looked up at him. "Y'know what? Forget therapy. I think you need counseling if all you're gonna do is whine to me." The small blonde insulted bluntly, but she did not let her guard down.

Taking Eyghon's distraction, Angel quickly cut some of Eyghon's fingers holding him with his sword. The demon let out a roar of surprise and fury, looking back to glare at Angel. The souled vampire was faster, slipping out of his grip and leaping down back to ground. He landed somewhat more gracefully in the grass than Buffy had, but it was still a harsh jump and he had to stop a moment to regain his bearings. Fixing his eyes on the blonde slayer, he ran up to her with surprising speed.

The moment she could see his face clearly, Buffy saw the overwhelming relief in his eyes as he looked her over. "You're okay ..." He observed softly, hist tone breathy. However, it didn't took too long for his relief to wear off when he remembered the situation. "What the hell are you doing here, Buffy?!" Angel demanded impatiently, showing uncharacteristic anger towards her. He looked badly beaten, his earlier clean white shirt ripped in some areas as blood stained it. His leather coat was also damaged, the very edges of it torn and frayed from battling for so long.

"Your welcome." Buffy responded glibly, not taking her eyes off Eyghon.

"You're not supposed to be here." Angel mentioned firmly, glaring at her in frustration. "You were supposed to be with Faith and the others. Whatever Eyghon did to you, you're too weak to fight in this." The souled vampire argued stubbornly, his expression frustrated and if she looked hard enough, worried about the strain she was putting on herself.

You wouldn't let me be here if even if he didn't do that to me. Buffy thought knowingly, remembering quite clearly their petty argument on who was going to stay as bait and who was going to leave. Leaving the comment unsaid, she just rolled her eyes at him and shrugged dismissively. "Let's just say ... there was overruling of orders involved." The blonde slayer responded flippantly, deliberately making her voice sound nonchalant just to piss Angel off further.

"SLAYER! VAMPIRE!" Eyghon addressed furiously, taking slow progress to them despite the distance. "Slayer, I will use you as my personal pawn. There will be no escape from me. Your fate is already sealed." The demon roared, his tone dripping with hatred and bad intentions.

Buffy observed this, unable to stop a slight feeling of nervousness well up inside her. This was the second time Eyghon had mentioned this to her and it was really starting to get to her. Was he talking about something else? She wondered if he was just talking about the slayer army he wanted to build or was it something a lot worse? Every time she thought this over, it always led back to that burning pain on her back before ...

Her pessimistic considerations were silenced when she heard a grunt from Angel beside her. Turning her head, she recognized that the souled vampire was clutching his stomach. Hurt and discomfort crossed his face. "Spike ..." He muttered lowly, sounding pain-filled.

Confusion sliced throughout Buffy, causing her to frown at him questioningly. "Spike? What about Spike?" She inquired quizzically, staring at him in utter puzzlement as she tried to make sense of why the other souled vampire could possibly be brought up.

Angel clenched his teeth, either from pain or frustration. "No, spike." Angel corrected in mild exasperation, holding his stomach as he forcefully yanked something out of him. Buffy inspected it, seeing a two-foot long clawed spike of Eyghon that had been embedded in his stomach. Blood spattered down his shirt heavily from the exit wound and blood lay thickly on the spike's edge.

Oh. Well, that suddenly makes a lot more sense now. Buffy thought in mild embarrassment, not liking that she had one of her occasional dumb blonde moments. However, she pushed it aside when she noticed Eyghon advancing on them at uncomfortable rate. "I think it's about time we got out of here." She pointed out seriously, already tensing her muscles to run in the opposite direction.

Angel's only response was a nod. Without any more words, the two bolted away from Eyghon and into safe cover. As they were running, Buffy dimly saw the souled vampire tossing aside the spike with his blood on it and trying to speed up his pace. It wasn't that easy. Both her and Angel were pretty badly injured, though the blonde got the feeling Angel was more hurt than she was given the gaping hole in his stomach. Again.

Eyghon's booming voice reached them as they fled, seeming too close for comfort. "I'll kill your friends! You'll see them tortured! Degraded!" The possession demon screeched mercilessly, his tone sounding more of a growl than an actual sentence. "And I'll grant them just enough awareness to know what's happening! To know they have you to blame!" Eyghon taunted viciously, his voice so loud now Buffy worried he was gaining on them.

Forcing her worn-out legs to move even faster, Buffy and Angel continued to run and run without pausing or looking back. She didn't know how long they were running, but Buffy spotted Angel's red car on a ridge on a down-trodden road. As they drew closer, the blonde slayer recognized the back door was open and Faith was extending her hand to pull them safely inside.

"Hurry!" Faith urged persistently, casting a nervous glance at Eyghon close behind them.

Spurned on by desperation, the two of them climbed the small ridge that granted them freedom. Angel was in front of her and before Buffy could even react, the souled vampire grabbed her hand forcefully and almost threw her ahead of him into Faith's grasp. The blonde slayer gasped a little in surprise, but caught the brunette's hand firmly as the she hauled her inside swiftly.

Abandoning Buffy as soon as she was in, the dark slayer reached her hand out again. Buffy looked on in horror as she noticed how close Eyghon was to them, but his gigantic hand closed on air as Faith pulled Angel in as well. The souled vampire narrowly missed the clutches of Eyghon, but got safely inside as Faith closed the door immediately.

Nadira, who was driving the car, swiftly put it in drive and pushed on the accelerator as fast as possible. Within moments, the small car was moving away from Eyghon and as Buffy gave a quick glance behind her, she noticed that Eyghon wasn't following after him. His hulking form was far-off in the distance with people she guessed where his zombies.

Relief hit Buffy, but she looked back with a serious face. "When I was in there ... I saw some of the slayers." The blonde pointed out levelly, keeping herself from showing her concern. "It's too late to get them now, but we have to come back later for them. Figure out a way to break the control." Buffy suggested matter-of-factly, frowning in thought.

"We already know, B." Faith informed her, a frustrated look on her face. She was sitting in the very middle of the car with Angel on one side and a slayer called Lauren on the other. "He's got our friends out there as human shields. And anything powerful enough to hurt him is gonna take them out too." The brunette slayer noted, sounding annoyed and confused.

Buffy was thoughtful, trying to think of ways that might free the slayers and anyone else he had under their control. "What about pain?" The blonde slayer suggested, looking at everyone to see what they thought. "Maybe it could distract them. Wake them up from going all minion-y. That's what you guys did for me and Faith, right?" The blonde argued, but she couldn't help but doubt her own reasoning. Beating the crap out of the slayers earlier hadn't woke them up. They just still kept coming.

"Wait." Angel cut in, staring at Buffy in confusion. "You were possessed?" He checked, the slightly puzzled tone of his voice indicating he hadn't seen it. Buffy guessed that had happened just after Faith and the other slayers were starting to retreat. Angel wouldn't of seen it since he just saw her unconscious before. She couldn't help wondering how exactly he had gotten her out there with all the Eyghon zombies and "Giles" running around, but she kept the question to herself.

Nadira spoke up from the driver's seat, completely cutting off Buffy before she could explain what happened to her. "That trick only works when you're in early stages and not a complete Eyghon bitch." The brunette clarified bluntly, her eyes fixed on the road. "I'd say we wait a bit for that part and rather focus on the weapons." She suggested tartly, her accent sharpened with meaning. "We need better ones and a whole lot of them. Machine guns ... explosives." Nadira stated seriously, already looking like she was imagining killing those zombies again as she glared at the rearview mirror.

Ugh. I wish I could just outlaw guns sometimes ... Buffy thought in protest, slightly scowling as her distaste for any kind of guns used in battle. It wasn't that long ago she had almost got shot working with Kennedy. Again. If it wasn't for the lucky set of blanks in there, she would've been.

Shaking off her thoughts, the blonde slayer tried to think. She knew a lot now on what Eyghon is planning. Buffy soon figured out there was a psychic link between Eyghon and those he possessed. Still, the blonde slayer couldn't help worrying about that warning he had given her. That 'she was already is'. Did he do something to me? Buffy wondered fretfully, again thinking back to how profound that pain in her back had been. It didn't hurt now really, but it was still really worrying for her.

Buffy's troubled thoughts were silenced when Angel finally spoke up. "We need more information on this. We have to fight smart." The souled vampire declared soberly, looking very focused. "Nadira, head for London. We need more magical items, and most of our useful ones were stolen." Angel informed them, causing the blonde slayer to glance at him in surprise. When had that happened? "Right now we need Alasdair." He told them solemnly.

The blonde slayer almost expected Nadira to refuse or respond with cursing, but surprisingly the young brunette slayer's only response was a tense nod and she sped up her pace. At this point, they were on regular roads and highways. Eyghon's estate in Guilford was far behind them and they closer to the more civilized streets. Buffy didn't know where they were exactly given her sparse information on places in England, but she hoped they would get there soon.

Registering the other part of Angel's words, Buffy remembered that this man called Alasdair was supposed to be extremely intelligent and knowledgeable on supernatural creatures. He was also one of Giles' old friends. So ... what? He's basically their version of Giles? The blonde connected in some curiosity, noting how she used to have Giles for that when the Scooby Gang was fighting demons or stopping apocalypses. Used to.

Buffy sighed a little as they drove in silence. Now that they were so close to capturing Eyghon and freeing Giles' last piece of his soul, it was reminding her that if things worked out, she'd have to make a decision on Giles' resurrection. It came so much more sooner than she wanted it too, but then there was a part of her that was relieved. Relieved that the sooner this Giles business was done, the sooner she could go back to San Francisco and her slayer duties. Back to trying to find a foothold in life, back to staking zompires, and back to helping out Dowling's police force. It all seemed so appealing to her, but there was one aspect Buffy finally fully registered. What about Angel?

It wasn't as simple as just leaving. Even though she had never told anyone this, Buffy had promised herself she would give Angel that chance to prove himself enough for her to forgive him and maybe get back to how things were. Maybe. She still wasn't sure and if she was honest, she wasn't sure she wanted to be. For almost all day, especially in the heat of battle, Buffy had forgotten she had a grudge against him and treated him fairly normally. Normal until she remembered why she was mad.

However, Buffy wasn't unreasonable or heartless. She had seen how Angel held his own against Whistler despite their history and the temptation to do another Twilight affair. She had seen his willingness to make things up to Faith after losing her slayers and that he had cared more about Faith's feelings than his own life. It wasn't like Angel had been a jerk to Buffy this entire time. Aside from not telling her everything and trying to 'over-protect her', he had mostly respected her issues with him and her desire to be involved for Giles. He had even let her wait to see if she wanted to resurrect Giles despite the fact she might decide against it. He had given her comfort when Whistler's manipulations made her miserable. Despite everything and despite her harshness to him, Angel was consistently nice to her and sweet just like he had always been.

Yet, was that really good enough to erase what happened with Twilight so easily? The memory of Giles' death was so strong and she found herself reflexively jumpy every time she was too close to him as if he would hit her or something. Buffy did not see Angel as the one who literally killed him, but it was his face that accomplished the act and she couldn't let her walls down. Maybe that's why she couldn't look at him once too.

It was more than that though. Angel's choices had led to Giles' death and the deaths of innocent slayers, whether he was manipulated or not. I can't just ... just forget that. I shouldn't. Buffy thought, her mind a whirlwind of conflict, torn between wanting to fix things with Angel and wanting to keep a distance from him. She wasn't sure if this was a terrible thing on her part, but the blonde slayer knew that her anger against him had softened the past few days. At least enough where she could, sometimes, forget what he did until it reappeared again.

Still, Buffy knew in her heart some part of her had not forgiven him yet. She knew it, but there was still some guilt in there all the same. Is it wrong of me to blame him that much when I'm the one screwed up too? It was our fault, not his fault. She reflected, a troubled frown on her face. Buffy blamed herself as much as she did Angel for what happened, it wasn't like she had ever viewed the situation as just his fault. Yet, she was angry with him despite it. Was that fair? Did she have a right to judge him?

Confused with her own conflicting heart, Buffy couldn't stop herself from looking at Angel. He was looking out the window. A torrent of almost every emotion hit her there: anger, sadness, guilt, care, respect, and forgiveness. The blonde didn't know which one was stronger, but having all these emotions toward one person was overwhelming. Staring at him a moment longer, the small slayer gazed at him forlornly. Angel ... how long will it take for me to forgive you?

**30 minutes later: Alasdair's House**

Eventually, the car came to a screeching halt in front of a large but quaint house. Staring at it curiously for a second, Buffy was the first to open the door and step out of it. She made an attempt to stretch her injured, stiff muscles, but stopped with a wince when the movement jarred several of the cuts on her legs and arms uncomfortably.

The car ride home hadn't helped that at all. Since Angel's new car was very, very small in comparison to his old one, it barely had enough room for five people and definitely not enough room for six. Meanwhile, Buffy was forced to literally stand at an awkward angle so her head wasn't hitting the roof of the car and in the process making her muscles scream in agony. The blonde slayer hadn't complained to anyone but herself, considering she'd rather stand than sit on anyone's lap, especially Angel's. Surprisingly, he hadn't reacted at the uncomfortable angle she had been in aside from concerned and regretful looks he gave when he thought she wasn't looking.

Inspecting her wounds absently, Buffy noted that the worst wounds was the deep cut on the side of her thigh and the other on her side. Judging from the aching soreness in her shoulder, the small slayer guessed she had popped that out of place in her battle against real Eyghon. All in all ... she was sore, but she'd heal. That spot in her back was still tender from the burning pain, but it had lessened a lot for reasons unknown to Buffy. Her clothes, on the other hand, definitely not as enduring. Buffy would've went to her hotel to change her outfit, but the crisis with Eyghon overpowered her distaste for frayed clothing.

Forgetting her pain, the blonde slayer blinked curiously at the structure in front of her. "So that's old Alasdair's place, huh?" Buffy questioned out loud flippantly, her hands on her hips.

"The dude ain't that bad." The brunette responded casually, getting out of the car and standing close to Buffy to look at the place. "A little old and little annoying, but he's cool. Angel says we need him a lot." Faith added again, crossing her arms. "As long as this guy knows how to help against Eyghon, I'm all for it." She clarified dismissively.

Nadira was standing a distance from them, narrowing her brown eyes at the house suspiciously. "How do we know this bloke Alasdair lives here? How do you know Angel didn't lead us into a trap to kill us all?" The brunette slayer suggested wary, looking as unfriendly as usual. One of her slayer friends, Sara, was standing by her side and looked nervous at the question. Buffy rolled her eyes at the one of the most stupid questions she had heard lately. Clearly this slayer knew absolutely nothing about Angel and was blinded by hatred.

"Just chill, Nadira. This place is safe, take it from me." Faith tried to say reassuringly, but the edge of irritation in her tone making it into a failed effort. "Remember what you said earlier? Fighting each other's not an option in this." The dark slayer reminded her pointedly, her expression showing a rare degree of sternness.

Nadira glanced at Faith, glaring at her in typical anger and resentment. However, instead of saying a rebuttal, she shrugged her shoulders reluctantly. "Whatever. Truce for now until we get my friends back." Nadira stated meaningfully, but her voice still making her come across as difficult. The brunette slayer then started to walk over steadily towards the door, but paused when Sara wasn't following. The formerly nervous slayer looked annoyed, glowering at Buffy a little through her rounded glasses.

"Saving our friends or not, I do not like working with our 'general' one bit." Sara complained impatiently with her accent, pointing at Buffy standing a few feet away from her.

Defensiveness and irritation quickly ignited inside Buffy, but she forced herself not to say anything over that. Like she learned long ago, her former slayers would hate her as much as they wanted no matter what reason she gave. They weren't going to believe her and if they did, she'd still get crap about it. "Okay. Guilty for ending magic and having the Slayer Organization go ka-boom." Buffy consented straightforwardly, her voice edged with exasperation at more unwarranted hate she was getting. "But y'know what, Sara? I'm not General Buffy anymore and what's done is done. It doesn't matter right now." The blonde argued dismissively, her green eyes disapproving. "So I suggest you get your head on straight and save Daphne and Maggie. Truce for now, right?" Buffy offered pointedly, her expression serious and persistent.

"Save the criticism for later, Sara. Buffy's not the issue at the moment." Nadira agreed in surprisingly calm tone, shooting the blonde slayer a grudgingly understanding glance before looking back to her friend. "I'd rather rot in hell than work with Angel on this too. But if it can save our friends, we must." The young slayer conceded, piercing her fellow slayer with a determined expression.

Sara looked reluctant for a moment, then nodded her head firmly. Without looking back at Buffy, the brown-haired slayer followed after Nadira and reached the door. Faith quickly reacted, already moving over towards the door as well. However, she paused when she noticed that neither Buffy, Angel, and a third slayer named Lauren weren't following her.

"You guys comin' or what?" Faith asked, her doe-eyes wide with questioning as she turned around to look at the three of them.

"Um, yes! I'm going, Faith." Lauren agreed somewhat nervously, walking back over to Faith. Lauren was a girl with short, but perm-ish brown hair and green eyes. She was wearing a white dress with a light blue, buttoned jacket on. Lauren glanced over her shoulder, bringing Buffy's attention to Angel standing a slight ways from the car. He wasn't making a move to go inside with everyone and the blonde slayer really couldn't make out what he was doing. It looked like he was holding a cell phone, but he wasn't doing anything with it.

As Lauren hustled towards the doorstep next to Nadira and Sara, Faith was looking at Angel with a perplexed expression on her face. Before the brunette could call the vampire over, Buffy offered instead. "I'll get Angel. You just go inside with them." Buffy informed her in a clipped tone, feeling her own curiosity mingled with impatience. She just really wanted to dress her wounds and get a good look at her back to see if it was wounded because her body was really starting to hurt like hell.

Faith frowned for another second, then shifted to resignation. "Whatever, B. Just don't take forever." The dark slayer agreed almost uncaringly, turning away from Buffy and following after the other slayers with a leisurely pace.

After Faith went the other way, Buffy ignored her stinging injuries and strutted over to Angel. Walking over to him, the blonde slayer noticed more on what the souled vampire was doing when he came into clear sight. Stopping only a few feet away from him, she realized why the vampire wasn't doing anything with his cell phone. Angel was just standing there and glaring at it, looking extremely annoyed and almost like he wanted to murder it.

Not truly expecting that, Buffy crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side innocently. "Technical difficulties?" She asked lightly, but her expression was probing. "Or does the 200+ guy just not have a thing for phones?" The blonde slayer quipped jokingly.

Angel raised his head at the sound of her voice, for the briefest of seconds looking embarrassed. "No, just ..." The vampire denied immediately, but it didn't take long for him to go back to glaring at his phone in irritation. "Just calling someone I don't want to." Angel muttered under his breath, the amount of displeasure in his voice enough to make Buffy raise her brow at him.

"Who?" The blonde questioned curiously.

Angel glanced up at her, his expression a mixture of vexation and resignation. "You'll ... find out soon." The souled vampire answered vaguely, sounding reluctant and tense. It was strange to Buffy, but that admission only seemed to make him even more bothered. His glare strengthened as he looked at something past Buffy, then back to his phone. The blonde doubted his anger was directed at her, but why did she get the feeling he didn't want her to know who it was?

"Gee, can you vague it up for me?" Buffy remarked sarcastically, giving him an unimpressed look. If Angel had acted normal about it, then maybe she wouldn't be pushing this but it was obvious this was getting to him.

The vampire didn't respond right away, almost seeming stubbornly defiant. Finally, he relaxed and he sighed. "It's just a precaution. We're going up against Eyghon soon and if today was clear enough, it's not going to be a walk in the park." Angel started to explain resignedly, a grimace building on his face as he looked at her again. "So I figured we needed some back-up." He finished unwillingly, still sounding reluctant and looking mildly annoyed.

Which explains the 'why', but not the 'who'. Buffy noted in her head, gazing at the vampire questioningly. The blonde slayer was still not sure who he was trying to call, but she could tell from his behavior that this wasn't a thing he would let her know easily. Buffy was slightly tempted to continue to prod, but she didn't care enough to know.

"Just go inside, Buffy. Dress your wounds." The souled vampire urged firmly, his voice switching from irritation to gentleness. "I'll be in there soon once I'm done with this." Angel reassured her calmly, seeming a lot more even-tempered than he was just a few moments before.

"I don't know ..." The blonde slayer drawled out, pulling an expression in mock-thought. "If I leave, you might end up smashing your phone. Or who knows? Maybe glaring at it is a new way of communication." Buffy pondered jokingly, unable to resist teasing that small slip up of his.

Angel granted her a small, fond smile. "It'll be okay." The vampire stated in reassurance, going along with the joke.

Buffy looked at him briefly, then uncrossed her arms. "Lucky for you I'm tired." The blonde slayer admitted dismissively, already turning the other way to walk over to Alasdair's door. Just as she walked a few more steps, Buffy halted when Angel's voice called her back. The tiniest bit irritated but willing, the blonde slayer turned around again and was slightly surprised to see his concerned and serious expression.

"One more thing." Angel began levelly, staring at her searchingly. "Back when we were fighting ... Eyghon did something to you." The souled vampire reminded her, almost prompting Buffy to groan when realized the direction he was taking this. "And it wasn't like what he did with the other slayers. He made you unconscious without even batting an eye, Buffy." He stated forcefully, his dark orbs so painstakingly serious and worried at the same time.

Buffy didn't say anything, a wave of frustration and discomfort crossing through her. She knew Angel was right in what he was saying, but she didn't want to talk to anyone about it until she figured out what happened herself. However, since he was there and had clearly saw the depths of pain she had felt in that moment, it was just typical of Angel to press on this topic. Lucky her.

Wanting to avoid this, Buffy schooled her features in disinterest. "So I had a little demon-induced back-pain." She responded, forcing her tone to sound flippant. "It was a thing, but it's over. Eyghon's apparently only good at making you feel like an old lady." The blonde slayer quipped in an overly light tone, trying to brush off how uncomfortable and nervous she actually was over what Eyghon did.

Angel didn't say anything, giving her look of disapproval. "Don't do that." The souled vampire replied firmly, sounding mildly frustrated as he gave her a knowing look.

Buffy didn't like this, but she couldn't run away from it. "Do what?" The blonde slayer questioned after a brief pause, her face impassive.

"Turn something into a joke just 'cause you don't want to talk about it." Angel pointed out bluntly without hesitation, stating it as fact. "Buffy, Eyghon singled you out for a reason. You heard what he said back there. He needs you for something." He reminded her forcefully, his dark brown eyes stern with stubbornness. "It's not over and you know that."

Buffy felt her reluctance to speak on this further dying a little, shifting into resignation. Looking away from his eyes, the blonde slayer forced herself to speak. "It was ... weird. Like getting stabbed and burned, but just in one spot. I don't know what he did to me." She admitted tensely, her nervousness and worry spiraling in her heart. "But I'm fine now. It doesn't hurt." The blonde added quietly, but still didn't look in his eyes.

Angel was giving her an extremely unconvinced look, not believing she was fine. "That doesn't mean it's not getting to you. What he did isn't just going to go away like that." He reasoned matter-of-factly, though he seemed worried now. "Whatever Eyghon wants from you ... we need to figure it out tonight." He deduced firmly, his face showing just how adamant he was. "But later. You need to take care of your injuries first." Angel said strongly, his brown eyes looking concerned.

Relief and discomfort tugged into Buffy's mind. She was glad she was getting away from this conversation, but she didn't like that Angel was determined to check what's wrong with her. It wasn't like she didn't think it was serious, but she wanted to put everything together on her own. Get over it, Buffy. Either way, you're gonna have to spill something. Angel's right. Eyghon wants a piece of Buffy and that basically means I'm involved in this. Heavily. She thought to herself resignedly, wanting to sigh at how ridiculously complicated her life just became after she thought it couldn't get worse.

"You go." Angel reiterated a little distractedly, putting his attention back on his cell phone. "I ... need to make a call." He forced himself to say, but his voice was tense and he looked like he had a faint scowl on his face at the even the idea of doing this.

Still not understanding Angel's repugnance for calling someone, Buffy shrugged off his odd behavior and nodded curtly. Not saying anymore, the blonde turned back and took the steps leading back to Alasdair's place and closer to fixing her still mildly bleeding wounds and figuring out what the hell had happened to her back because of Eyghon.

Looking back one more time, Buffy saw Angel still in the same position. He had the phone to his ear though this time and appeared to be talking to someone, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. It looked like the vampire had forced himself to make the call, after all.

Quickly looking away, the blonde slayer felt mental and physical exhaustion bombard her as the idea of talking with Angel over her "Eyghon issue" was already draining her. Why was it that the moment she arrived in London, she was always around Angel? Like always? She didn't even get Angel breaks half the time, ergo also meaning "emotional breaks." It was so tiring at this point, her issues with him not withstanding. Going over Eyghon crap and my random black-out ... sounds like fun ...


~~Buffy (cont.)~~

The small slayer stood in front of a mirror, uselessly tugging at her blonde hair as she tried to make it more respectable. Like almost everything she was wearing, Buffy's neat ponytail had been messy and it was absolutely horrible for her to look at. She wondered if she could take a shower here, but she hadn't asked Alasdair earlier and she didn't want to abuse his hospitality. Faith had already filled Alasdair in on their current situation with Eyghon the Sleepwalker and Alasdair agreed to give them temporary shelter until the possession demon was properly dealt with.

In the process, Buffy had got her first impression of Giles' old friend Alasdair Coames. He had been surprised to see her in London once she introduced herself as Buffy Summers (he had heard of her; big surprise), but he was very polite to her and seemed to come off as someone she could trust. He looked like he was older than Giles had been when he died, but he kind of reminded her of him given his precise language and expertise on magical items and beings; she could see why Angel went to him for more insight. Alasdair's magical winged cats and fairies around the place was a little strange, but the blonde could say she liked him. She had asked him if he was once a watcher based on his tweed clothing, but Faith clarified him as an "archmage". She didn't quite know what that was despite her experience, but concluded it was just a fancy way of saying witch or warlock.

Meanwhile, Nadira's introduction to the old man had been more strained. She had openly glared at him in suspicion and bluntly asked him if he was up to something, which Alasdair wholeheartedly denied. Finally, Nadira had given him another distrustful glower before ignoring him to ask Lauren to help her bandage her injuries. Angel came inside a little later, his irritation almost gone as he informed Alasdair of Eyghon's abilities and the possibility he could help, but was stopped when Faith told the vampire to stitch up his wounds first before figuring how they were going to take care of Eyghon.

Buffy privately agreed with the brunette, but didn't voice it and instead asked Alasdair if he had a empty room she could use to bandage her injuries and clean up a little. The old man had politely showed her the direction and just as Buffy prepared to walk out of the living room, she had noticed Angel watching her with a serious and worrying expression. It didn't take any thought for her to see he was wondering about her black-out earlier, but Buffy pretended not to see it and left the room without a word.

As soon as she had walked into a Alasdair's spare room, Buffy had locked the door and uncomfortably stripped off her torn shirt and jeans until she was just in her bra and underwear. She managed it, but her body was still really sore and some of the cuts were still bleeding. Having brought up some of the bandages Alasdair had out for everyone, the blonde slayer was forced to awkwardly wrap up the long, shallow cut Faith had given her earlier by herself instead of having someone else do it. Asking Faith would've be embarrassing, asking Nadira was sure to have her be difficult with it, asking the rest of the slayers would just give her more criticism, asking Alasdair would've been awkward, and asking Angel ... just no. Saying that, Buffy had resolved to treat herself.

After properly fixing up her arm, Buffy had proceeded to forcibly put her shoulder back into place with some of her slayer strength. It had hurt and left part of shoulder sore, but the small slayer quickly got over it. After taking care of the rest of her cuts on thigh with more bandages, Buffy had put her jeans and boots back on. She was currently trying to fix her hair up a little despite the fact it was pointless considering how close they were to another battle.

Stopping, Buffy sighed and dropped her hands to her side in defeat. Her hair didn't matter ... it was just another way to distract herself from what she really had to do. That pain on my back earlier ... I need to figure out what happened. The blonde thought tiredly, scrunching her face in a pout as the realization hit her.

There was no denying she wanted to know what the hell Eyghon had been trying to do, but a part of her was worried about it. So worried in fact Buffy had deliberately made no attempt to get a good glance at her back and focus on her more minor injuries. What was up with him? 'He already had me' ... Whatever he did, I'm not gonna let him use me. Buffy thought stubbornly, disgust welling up inside her at this demon for trying to control her. Trying to take Giles' soul and not give him any peace in the afterlife. She wouldn't let him win.

Forcing herself to turn away from the mirror, Buffy looked back at her brown shirt. When she had come in here, she had thrown it carelessly on the bed in her desire to start bandaging up her wounds. Moving up toward the bed, the blonde picked up her torn shirt and observed it cautiously. Aside from the long tear on her sleeve, the front of looked okay if not a little dirty and frayed. Taking a breath to steady herself, she proceeded to turn it over to see what the back looked like. Did it have a rip in it too from the intense agony she had experienced by Eyghon?

The minute she turned it over, Buffy's green eyes widened in shock. The back of her shirt ... was untouched. It had no hole in it at all from what Eyghon had done to her. In fact, aside from the dirt, it looked as normal as when she had first put it on. Blinking a little in disbelief, the small blonde touched the spot in the shirt she had felt that agony just to be sure she wasn't imagining it. It felt like it always did. There really was nothing there.

Still gripping the shirt tightly, Buffy frowned in puzzlement. Okaay ... this just went 'injury' weird to 'nutcase' weird. The blonde slayer reflected quizzically, trying to make some sense of this. Did Eyghon's attack on her have some sort of inner affect? It didn't go through clothing like it usually did? There wasn't too many demons out there who could do that. I'm not crazy. Something took me out. Me! That's not an every day thing. Buffy thought firmly, not able to completely push aside the sting of frustration at herself. It took a lot of power to make her unconscious and even more than that if she was unconscious long. Honestly, she couldn't even completely touch her surprise that she had actually been knocked out today. Angel had been right earlier. He knew that didn't happen to her much and it was right to take it seriously.

Unable to resist her restless questions any longer, the small slayer set down the shirt and put it back on the bed. Walking over to the mirror close to her, Buffy stood in front of it and stared at her reflection for a minute. Pausing to brace herself, the blonde turned around halfway to get a better look at her back. The pain had been right in the middle on the top near her shoulder blades. Satisfied with the position she was in, Buffy stared at the mirror to see if she could see any kind of wound or burn on it to confirm Eyghon had left some sign of injury on her.

Anything she had expected to see was as far off from reality as it could get. There was no burn or blood or any sign of injury there like she thought ... it was something else entirely. Buffy's green eyes widened in horror and numb shock, dread rapidly filling inside her as she struggled to come to terms with what she was seeing. The black mark looked vaguely like a trident, but was choppy-looking with a twisted swirl on one side and a longer spike shape on the other. It covered a good portion of the spot between her shoulder blades, the exact spot where she felt such excruciating agony she had had blacked out. It was a mark she never thought she'd see on her again.

"No way ... It can't be." The blonde slayer muttered out loud to herself, still looking horrified. It's the ... the Mark of Eyghon. The mark that was on Giles and leads to Possessionland. On me. Buffy recognized numbly, trying to touch the twisted mark on her back. She barely reached it and when she did she felt a small lance of pain shoot through her that immediately made her pull her hand back. It was brief, but it was that same pain she had felt at such an overwhelming degree she couldn't function earlier. There was no denying it now.

But I ... I don't have it anymore! I removed it when ... Buffy tried to deny in disbelief, but it took less than a second for reality to come crashing down at her again. This mark ... it wasn't like the last time she had it. Ethan Rayne had put it on her in an effort to save his own life from Eyghon and take hers instead many years ago, but she had gotten rid of it immediately by tattoo removal. She didn't have it anymore. That is, until now.

Startled at the revelation, Buffy backed away from the mirror and sat heavily on the bed near her shirt to think. She was right. It wasn't like before. It had been a hundred times more painful and Eyghon had deliberately put it back on her by his own demonic power. It turned out he had knew all along she had once had it on her, no matter how brief it was. To return what I lost ... that's what Fake Giles meant. And those cryptic 'I already have you' comebacks. He thinks he owns me now. The blonde slayer reflected, anger and disgust slicing through her numb shock. How dare that demon try to control her? How dare he personally damn her like this? Why was it always her?

Buffy couldn't believe she hadn't treated this as seriously as she should've. While she very much hated to admit this to herself, Angel had been absolutely right about it not just going away. Honestly, she should've known all along that removing a supernatural tattoo that bound you to a manic demon wouldn't be that easy. What angered her the most was that if she didn't kill Eyghon, then when she died she would be suffering the very same thing Giles was. Being a slave to a possessed demon, under torture while he used her body to help build his army and kill innocent people. How could she let this happen? Why couldn't she have fought this off better?

Still, there were several questions buzzing throughout Buffy's mind despite her fury. Why did he wait until now to give her this mark again? Could it be removed again for good or was it now a permanent part of her skin? Did it have any new limitations to it since Eyghon had his own body? Could he only control her when she died or could he do it any time? Could he give this mark to anyone or was she an exception because she had once had it before? Most importantly, why did Eyghon target her? What did he need from her? There were so many questions swirling itself in the blonde's psyche, it was overwhelming and only making her more angry, confused, and tired.

Before Buffy could begin to sort out any explanation for all of this, she was forcibly pulled out of her thoughts when she felt a firm knock on the door. Turning her head to look, the blonde frowned a little. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now. Not only she figured out why the hell she had the Mark of Eyghon planted on her back like she was some sort of property to him.

"Buffy." Angel's muffled voice drifted to her from behind the door. The minute she heard that, Buffy's frown deepened into an frustrated scowl. "Can I come in?" The vampire asked politely. "We need to talk." He clarified, this time his voice more firm.

For a moment, Buffy just glared heavily in annoyance at the door. Talking to anyone right now bothered her, but talking to Angel specifically was even more irritating than that. The worst part was she knew why he was here. The souled vampire had been dead serious when he said he wanted to figure out what had happened to her back and the annoying thing was she knew she couldn't sway him off it. Right then, Buffy pettily wished she hadn't fallen unconscious just so Angel wouldn't have an undead heart attack and turn this into a much bigger deal than it actually was. At least that way, Buffy could sort through this on her own terms instead of having Angel up her ass; something he was very good at in general.

As she debated whether to answer or ignore him, the souled vampire knocked again more strongly than before. "Buffy, I'm serious." Angel persisted through the door, his muffled voice sounding slightest bit exasperated. "I know you're in there." He remarked pointedly.

Accepting that Angel wasn't leaving, Buffy gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes and pushed off the edge of the bed. "Fine. Just wait a sec." The blonde slayer answered as she raised her voice a little, absolutely positive she had failed in hiding her irritation. Giving one more anxious glance at the mark on her back, the small slayer grabbed her torn shirt off the bed. Being careful with her bandaged arm, Buffy slipped her brown shirt back on and eased her injured muscles a little. They were healing already, but still a little sore.

Straightening her clothes and hair again, the blonde slayer walked over reluctantly and unlocked the door. Opening it, Buffy saw Angel standing right in front of her with his serious face. He was wearing his white button-up shirt again, but it looked cleaner and wasn't stained with his blood after getting that spike jammed in him. Buffy guessed that meant he had just finished bandaging up himself too.

Looking up at him, the blonde slayer blinked. "What do you want?" Buffy prompted dully, though to be fair she was mostly humoring him. She already knew what he wanted to talk about. All the more reason to avoid it now that she actually knew what was wrong with her.

Angel's eyes flicked her over, looking like he was trying to check something. Then they rested on the long rip in her right arm, showing some signs of the white bandages she had underneath it. "You fixed yourself up. Good. That makes all of us." He pointed out calmly, then gave Buffy a expectant look. "Are you gonna let me in or not?" He questioned pressingly, causing Buffy to remember she was still blocking the doorway.

"Still thinking it over." Buffy quipped dryly, only half-joking. She looked at him a moment more before moving out of the way to let him pass through. "I invite you in this room." The blonde slayer joked sarcastically, doing a gesture to the inside of the room. She was still just humoring him. Buffy knew as well as he did an invitation would be unnecessary.

Angel frowned at her, looking like he wasn't sure if she was joking or not. Swiftly recovering, he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Before he could say anything, Buffy straightened up some of the sanitization bottles she had used to disinfect her wounds and the wet wash clothes she had used to wipe the blood off of them. Putting them in a neat little spot near the bathroom sink in the bedroom, the blonde slayer turned back to look at him questioningly.

Recognizing he had closed the door for privacy, Buffy felt all of her suspicions come full circle. Angel was definitely here to talk about her back-pain earlier that he maybe took even more seriously than her, meaning she was going to have tell him about her newly-returned Mark of Eyghon. The blonde slayer already knew once she got around to that part, there wouldn't be a term possible to describe how deadly serious he was going to take that information.

"Ooh, door-closing." Buffy noted in a forced airy tone, crossing her arms as she gestured to the door. "We must be getting right down to business, huh?" The blonde slayer quipped further, trying to avoid this conversation with humor. Not that that technique would work on Angel when he was like this, but at least she could say she tried.

As she expected, Angel remained unaffected by her humor. "Do you know what Eyghon did to you?" The vampire asked outright, getting straight to the point as he gazed at her urgently. "If Eyghon's targeting you, we have to know why." Angel reasoned matter-of-factly, his tone leaving no room for another option. Great. That meant she was definitely not getting out of this.

Buffy didn't respond, avoiding his eyes as best she could. She was torn between what her head was saying and what her feelings were saying. Logically, she knew the best option was to tell Angel about the mark and how it might complicate things in their upcoming battle with Eyghon. However, she didn't know how she was supposed to tell someone that when she could barely handle the knowledge herself. The idea of how everyone would take it, especially Angel, just stressed her out.

Standing in front of the mirror, she shuffled her boots absently. "It depends on your definition of 'know'." Buffy mumbled noncommittally, still not looking up at him. That wasn't a lie. She knew what was wrong with her, but she didn't know the full circumstances of what it could mean for her and their conflict with Eyghon.

Angel walked up a few more paces close to her. "Buffy, look at me." He demanded forcefully, his usually calm voice tinged with frustration. Unwillingly, the blonde slayer forced herself to and saw the restrained desperation on his face. "Tell me what he did to you." Angel insisted powerfully, his voice adamant.

Feeling uncomfortable with the strength of his persistence, Buffy awkwardly gave a tiny shrug of her shoulders. "It's not a big deal. I can figure it out by myself." The blonde slayer muttered lowly, unable to resist the urge to evade this conversation. Buffy couldn't help it. She didn't like talking about things unless she completely understood it. She preferred something like this to be on her terms, but somehow she doubted she was going to get that thanks to Angel.

At her response, Angel looked even more frustrated. "Buffy, you passed out. In the middle of a battlefield." The souled vampire reminded her forcefully, his tone edged with meaning as he stared at her in disapproval. "If I didn't react in time, you wouldn't be here." Angel declared straightforwardly, his look urging her to open up about it. "This isn't something you can just shrug off and expect to go away." He pointed out matter-of-factly, looking so desperate for her to tell them what was wrong with her.

Buffy still didn't say anything, knowing he was right but not wanting to admit it. She knew she was being childish, but it was hard for her to grasp what exactly Eyghon had done to her. She had only just realized it ten minutes ago, how was she supposed to admit it to anyone else? That wasn't the only issue though. It still wasn't easy for Buffy to open up to Angel aside from that one instance about Twilight and Giles, but that was only because she had been so miserable. The echo of Twilight and the damage it had wrecked on her relationship with Angel was still there.

"Buffy ..." Angel addressed again, his voice softer and more gentle this time. "I know it's not easy for you to trust me. And I know you can't just forget everything I did." The vampire began understandably, though Buffy thought she detected a note of sadness in there. "I never said you have to forgive me, but you need to let me help you." He pointed out, his quieter voice getting firmer as he stared at her seriously. "If Eyghon wants something from you, I can't let him get it. We need to know everything if we're going to beat him." Angel argued matter-of-factly, his dark brown eyes urgent.

Buffy stared at him silently, so many conflicting emotions running through her as saw his desperate expression. The blonde slayer knew he was right about that. Having the mark of Eyghon on her specifically was so very crucial to know, even more so considering it might alter their attack plans. Though Buffy also knew that wasn't the main reason Angel wanted to know what he did to her. There was another one, one he deliberately didn't say. Angel was just worried and didn't want anything to happen to her. It was no different from the first day she met him to now.

Yet, he wasn't trying to express his feelings too overtly because every time he did, she wouldn't acknowledge it and say nothing. All because she had her issues with him and refused to ever act normally in this instances. In that very moment, Buffy just knew this. It reminded her of earlier when Angel had wanted to kiss her and she had snapped at him so harshly. She had never meant to do that and she couldn't explain it, but she felt guilty saying that to him. It was like an indirect way of getting angry for Angel for his feelings for her or at least, that's how she felt he took it. Now he was back to his low self-esteem problem again and probably believed Buffy would not accept him again. Angel had felt guilty for his own feelings and had immediately went back to keeping a distance from her.

Going over all of this, Buffy felt a strange torrent of emotion engulf her. For some reason, the very idea of Angel constantly withholding himself with her because he was afraid of her reaction made her sad and even guilty. Is it really his fault as much as I say it is? Aren't I to blame for everything too? She thought again, feeling so confused with her mixed feelings.

"Buffy, please." Angel begged, his dark brown eyes imploring as he stared at her. This time, the vampire didn't bother to hide how anxious he was over Eyghon's sudden interest in her.

Finally, Buffy's walls cracked. It didn't matter right now if she forgave him or not and she shouldn't let that get in the way, even if it was only partially. Even right now, the blonde slayer still trusted that Angel genuinely cared about her and loved her despite everything he had done to hurt her. Buffy could honestly say that was the one thing about him she had never questioned, even on the day Giles died. So was there really any harm in telling him the truth? Aside from his irritating habit to over-worry over Buffy (her petty reason), she logically had to tell him if they were going to figure out Eyghon's plans. So what if she hadn't figured it out first before talking about it? Angel made bad decisions, but she still believed he was smart in things like this at least.

Forcing her defenses down, Buffy crossed her arms again and gazed at him seriously. "I'm still trying to sort some stuff out, but ... Eyghon didn't injury me. It's not like an open wound or any of that stuff really." The blonde slayer admitted at last, keeping her voice level as she tried to explain this in a way that Angel wouldn't freak on her.

The souled vampire stared at her dubiously. "That doesn't make sense." He concluded instantly, sounding disbelieving. " I was there, Buffy. You couldn't even stand up." Angel recalled seriously, looking like he wasn't sure whether to believe her or not. "And you're not the type to get knocked down like that." He pointed out matter-of-factly, giving that suspicious look that said he was trying to analyze her.

"That's what I said." The blonde slayer muttered out loud to herself, feeling a surge of frustration at the blow to her pride. Forcing it aside, Buffy looked back at him. "Hard to believe, I know, but he didn't. He did something a lot worse than that." She replied, a grimace gathering on her face as the realization Eyghon just made her his eternal pawn sink in.

Angel's expression still looked questioning, but he appeared to believe at this point she was telling him the truth. He gazed at her expectantly with narrowed eyes, waiting for her to continue the explanation.

Buffy bite her lip unconsciously, feeling uncomfortable. Now this was the hard part. "Do you remember the other day when I brought up the Eyghon tattoo? That I had it on me once a long time ago, but I got rid of it?" The blonde slayer referenced awkwardly, her green eyes serious. "Well, let's just say my refund deal took a downward spiral into 'no refunds'." Buffy deadpanned dryly, but any humor she tried to express in that remark just wasn't there.

Angel appeared to understand her odd explanation. "He gave you the Mark of Eyghon ..." Angel murmured in realization, his expression suddenly spiking in intense seriousness some several degrees. After a pause, the vampire found his voice again. "It makes sense. After all those years, he was able to recharge his power. Returning a Mark of Eyghon on someone would be child's play for him." The souled vampire reasoned logically, but his calm exterior was suddenly broken as a wave of frustration crossed his face again. "Damn it!" Angel cursed angrily, looking unbelievably irritated.

Buffy didn't respond at first, getting the vague sense he was blaming himself for what happened to her. "He has something against us, Angel. You remember what he said to us." The blonde slayer reminded him, working the gears in her brain. "Maybe that's why he wants me. To get his 'revenge'. Be one of his undead solders like Giles and Ethan Rayne." She suggested somberly, a dry smirk curving her lips suddenly. "When are they gonna learn I just don't do army?" The small slayer quipped in overly light tone, trying not to show how nervous she was about that.

"He won't get that far. He's dead." Angel responded fiercely, a surprising amount of a threat in his voice as he stared at her somberly. Buffy could already tell that the souled vampire was not kidding in any way whatsoever. Pausing for a moment, the vampire looked calculating. "You have the mark, but that doesn't mean we know everything. Eyghon ... he's on a whole another playing field right now." Angel pointed out grimly, looking thoughtful. "We have no idea how much that mark can cost you. We can't think things work the same way. That means we have to expect the worst." The souled vampire concluded bluntly, his serious expression marred with worry as he looked at her.

Buffy sighed, feeling unbelievably annoyed with herself that she couldn't of done better to stop this. "That's what I was thinking." The blonde agreed tiredly, not for a second comfortable enough to think her Mark of Eyghon was the same as Giles' had been. "But there's a lot more than that." She started, deciding that it was time to explain the weird images she had seen. "Earlier, after my Eyghon black-out, Faith told me I was possessed by him for a second. She woke me up before it could take me over, but not before I saw these weird snapshots or something." The blonde slayer began, an confused frown on her face as she recalled the experience. "It was like a HD, Surround Sound, thing I dunno, but ... it's like I saw what he was thinking." Buffy recapped awkwardly, almost wincing how parts of that sounded like nervous babble. "I think I got the scope on his Big Bad plan and why he chose me. It's not just revenge. That's just the bonus." Buffy finished explaining, looking at it warily.

Angel listened silently, his brown eyes narrowed in wariness. "Was that because of the possession or the mark?" The vampire inquired cautiously in a slow voice, looking at her intently. She wondered just how much all of this was disturbing him, even though he wouldn't show it.

"I have no idea." Buffy admitted, feeling greatly distressed. She was glad she got more information on Eyghon to help the others and maybe free Giles' soul, but she had never expected she would end up being the target too. If only she knew was going on sooner, maybe this wouldn't of happened if she did.

The vampire nodded slowly, absorbing all her information with an unreadable expression. "We'll talk about that later. For now ..." He trailed off meaningfully, pausing as he stared at her intently. It didn't talk for a few more moments, still not showing what he was thinking as he tried to sort everything out. Finally, his stoic silence was broken again. "Your mark ... it's on your back, right?" Angel checked, his face back to being very serious. "How does it feel? Any lingering side-effects? Pain, pulled muscles, soreness?" He listed in a firm tone, his dark brown orbs staring at her face intently.

Not sure what he was going with this but playing along, the blonde slayer's face scrunched up in frown. "That's what's weird. It doesn't feel normal, but it doesn't really hurt." Buffy answered honestly, thoroughly confused at that reminder. "It went from 'blacking out' pain to 'no pain' so quick, I would've thought I was crazy if it wasn't for the 'knocked unconscious' part. I mean, it didn't even damage my shirt." The small slayer clarified, gesturing to her back. She paused briefly, suddenly looking troubled as she remembered something. "There was this one thing, though." Buffy recalled, reverting back to looking serious. "When I was looking at it earlier, I like barely touched it and it hurt. Like that 'burning-stabbing-burning-back to stabbing' feeling again. It wasn't as strong, but still." She described, feeling worried. Was that normal? She wished she could ask Giles if it was supposed to feel like that, but unfortunately her watcher's wisdom was lost to her.

Angel nodded again, his pensive face breaking as he suddenly looked anxious. Buffy could tell he was thinking the same thing she was. There was a few moments of silence until suddenly the souled vampire looked at her. She thought she saw a shadow of nervousness flit across his face, but he apparently choked it down and was replaced with determination. "Buffy ... I know you might not like me asking this, but can I ... see it?" He finally forced himself to say, his voice starting with confidence but ending with discomfort.

The blonde slayer couldn't say anything, too shocked and rattled to manage to a word out. He wants to see the mark ... but it's near my shoulders. Meaning ... Buffy couldn't finish the thought, too appalled and as nervous as Angel to do so. Basically, the souled vampire was asking her to take off her shirt so he could "look" which translated into her being half-naked and in a bra. If her Angel jumpiness wasn't so bad and her relationship with him wasn't complicated, maybe she could deal with this request better. Right now ... on the inside, she was freaking out.

"What?" Buffy managed to utter through her shock, her green eyes wide.

Angel looked even more uncomfortable, but he cleared his throat. "I just need to see it. See if anything's off with it ... if Eyghon did something with it to make it hurt like that." The souled vampire tried to explain, looking embarrassed but not enough to think he wasn't going to do it. "I'm just ... worried." He admitted honestly, seeming awkward but sincere.

Finally, his words were reaching her enough to snap her out of her numb panic. "I-It's fine! More than fine!" The blonde slayer stammered out in a fluster, waving her arms a little as she struggled to deal with this. God, this was worse than when she asked about the Tooth of Ammuk! "No Eyghon tricks here. Really. I'm dandy." Buffy pointed out in a forced light-hearted voice, trying to force down her nervousness. It wasn't that she even believed her own words, but she just did not want to get into a full-blown awkward situation with him again.

She thought she saw his lips twitch in a smirk for a second, but it was gone so quick she couldn't tell. "Buffy, the way you got the Mark of Eyghon wasn't normal. I doubt Giles or Ethan got it that way. Like I said, we can't look at this the way we did before." Angel argued logically, and despite his nervousness she could tell he wasn't joking about this. "You said it hurts when you touch it. I need to get a look at it." The souled vampire reiterated again, this time sounding more firm.

Why did she tell Angel that? If she'd known he would take this direction, she would've lied and said it felt fine. Now it was too late to take that back. "I already looked at it." Buffy stated quickly, gathering her wits together to stop her senseless babble again. "It didn't look too bad. Just your average Eyghon mark. No inspection needed." The blonde tried to reassure him, hoping he would just take that and leave her alone.

The vampire gave her a long, unconvinced look. "Buffy, it's on your back. How can you get a good look at it to know for sure?" Angel pointed out reasonably, immediately wanting to make the blonde growl in frustration at the good point. Why did Angel always try to beat her with logic? Finally, he sighed. "Either way, someone's going to look at it. The others need to know that you have the Mark of Eyghon if we're going to figure out how it works." He revealed seriously, not even looking that nervous anymore. "And if you'd rather have Alasdair look ..." Angel offered pointedly, trailing off.

Annoyance and defensiveness was beginning to well inside Buffy at his refusal to drop this. "How about no one?" She shot back heatedly, her biting tone edged with irritation. Was that really the only reason Angel wanted to look? He was worried about her? Or was it because of a less noble reason?

Angel looked at her tiredly, then sighed. "You know that's not an option, Buffy." He disagreed absently, but he looked torn between understanding and his own concerns. After another pause, he seemed to make up his mind. "It'll only take a minute. I promise it'll be over quick." The souled vampire said reassuringly, though he still seemed uncomfortable.

He took a step towards her, but Buffy immediately took a step back and glared at him. "Unless you wanna lose an arm, I suggest you back off." The small blonde slayer threatened angrily as she pointed at him, narrowing her green eyes at him suspiciously.

The souled vampire paused, glancing at her tiredly. "Look, it's not what you think. I just need to see if something's different about it. Maybe you missed something." Angel reiterated stubbornly, though he was going back to that uncomfortable face that he was actually trying to do something like this. "If you want Alasdair to study it, then fine." He offered once more, sounding respectful but making it clear he would make sure someone looked at it.

"Faux-watcher guy?" The blonde slayer supplied, scrunching her face up in distaste. If anything, that option sounded even more uncomfortable than Angel looking at it. "I barely know him." Buffy remarked matter-of-factly, unimpressed with the option.

"Okay." The souled vampire agreed, throwing his arms out slightly. "What about Faith?" Angel suggested persistently, giving her a pointed look as he waited for her response to that. He really wasn't giving up on this, was he?

Buffy was about to outright deny that idea, but then she stopped and gave herself a moment to think that over. Faith was a more comfortable option than Alasdair, but she wasn't sure she could deal with the brunette. Something in that scenario told her it wouldn't be easy for her either. Imaging Faith's perplexed and awkward expression at the request suddenly made her not want to do it. Never mind the fact that she had long-standing issues with her that made her not fond of that idea by itself. Buffy concluded she could get out of this "check my mark" thing if she convinced Faith not to do it and just tell Angel she was fine. She suspected she could easily make that happen, but the blonde's serious side that was genuinely worried about the Mark of Eyghon made her resist. The vampire was right. It was better someone else looked at it to check it and the only person that made the idea slightly less unbearable was ... Angel.

Still, it didn't make it any easier. Buffy couldn't stop herself from scowling at the vampire's patient expression as the realization that she was actually considering it hit her. There was so many reasons this was rubbing her the wrong way. She had gotten better at being around him, but being half-naked in front of him was a step too far for her Angel jumpiness. Even though things were not as strained between them as they were when she first got here, it still was there and strong. Admittingly, it was also hard for her to stomach considering the last time she was with Angel pre-London ... she had been half-naked and (twilight-influenced or not) things happened. It also showed he wanted to kiss her not too long ago and because of that, Buffy couldn't trust him as much on this as he wanted her to.

Finally, Buffy forced herself to answer when she realized he was still waiting for her to say something. "... I don't want Faith doing it." The blonde slayer muttered ill-temperedly, still glaring at the vampire slightly then she really couldn't believe she was about to let him do this. Something was wrong with her, wasn't there?

"Then that leaves me." Angel brought up again, looking like he was tired of having to argue this still. "Look, Buffy, I'm not letting this go until I'm sure about the Mark of Eyghon." He declared firmly, fixing her with stern brown eyes. Buffy strengthened her glare, angry that her suspicions had been confirmed. "I'm doing it to see what it looks like. If it looks different. I swear." The souled vampire insisted earnestly, the look on his face almost enough for the blonde to believe him. He looked away from her for a second, seeming the slightest bit exasperated. "Besides, it's nothing I haven't seen before." Angel muttered in a low tone, more to himself than Buffy.

Catching that last sentence, the blonde glared at him even more furiously. She felt like she was blushing, but she hoped she wasn't and that was just her over-thinking things. The upsetting part was he wasn't lying and to some people, Buffy was over-reacting way too much to this but she couldn't help it. Quickly pushing away any further thoughts about the vampire's off-hand comment before she remembered things she didn't want to remember, the blonde forced herself to respond again.

Huffing in irritation and crossing her arms, Buffy narrowed her eyes at him warily. "If you try anything ..." The small blonde started to threaten, her tone laced with warning and restrained anger.

"I won't!" Angel immediately denied steadily, almost looking offended at the suggestion. "I'm just checking the Mark of Eyghon. Testing it, maybe figuring out something along the way. That's all it is." The souled vampire insisted vehemently, staring at her pointedly with a stern brown gaze.

Buffy stared at him cautiously, certain she still had a glower on her face but decided to take a chance and see if it was telling the truth. If she was completely honest with herself, Angel wasn't the type to do things like that from what she remembered about him but it still didn't change his feelings for her. That alone was enough to make her suspicious and second-guess his motives to be on the safe side. Hopefully, Angel managed to view this professionally instead of a more inappropriate way but time will tell.

Still wondering if she was making the right choice, the small blonde slayer gave a grudging shrug of her shoulders. "Fine. Just get it over with." Buffy grumbled in displeasure, deliberately not meeting his eyes. If Angel did anything, she would hurt him. Very badly. She was not even exaggerating about it this time, trust her.

Angel blinked at her, seeming genuinely surprised she had agreed to it. She couldn't blame him; she was surprised herself. Recovering quite quickly, he had walked closer to her in slow caution as if he expected her to back away from him again. By the time he was directly in front of her, Buffy still wasn't looking him in the eyes.

"I'm really sorry about this, Buffy." The souled vampire told her, sounding genuinely regretful. "I know how uncomfortable this is for you. I'm not trying to force anything, but I'm just ... this Eyghon mark is serious." Angel carried on, sounding like he was torn. "You got it under different circumstances. Someone needs to look at it and-"

Getting the sense he was seconds away from nervous babble, Buffy waved her hand to make him stop talking. "I get it. Having the mark is a biggie and all the doom-and-gloom it implies." The blonde slayer recapped dismissively, not wanting to make this take any longer than he should. Besides, if all he was going to do is keep talking like that, then he was making this situation even more awkward for her. It was almost funny to Buffy. It was like he had lost all of his stoic control and confidence he had when he was arguing with her the moment she had actually agreed to it.

Angel still looked unsure, gazing at her doubtfully as he still couldn't make himself do anything. Noticing this, the blonde slayer rolled her eyes and nodded her head again so it would get the point. He relaxed a little, but she could see he wasn't too comfortable doing this. The vampire seemed like he was now fully getting the implications of doing this and it was making him exceptionally nervous.

Afterwards, Buffy turned away from him awkwardly so that her back was facing him. Feeling extremely uncomfortable herself, she waited for Angel to do or say something but she got nothing as the moments dragged on. She almost wondered if he had froze on the spot. Her awkwardness heightening her irritation, the blonde slayer was about to snap at him to get on with it but it looked Angel had got himself together at this point.

"Okay ... where on your back is the mark?" He inspected finally, almost managing to sound normal except for the slight sheepishness laced into his voice if you paid enough attention.

"Higher up. Right between my shoulders." Buffy informed him curtly, forcing herself to focus on something else so this situation wouldn't get to her too much. It didn't help when she remembered she still had her shirt on, meaning one of them had to take it off. Perfect. Just when she thought she could handle this.

"Right up there?" Angel echoed, sounding uncomfortable as he too seemed to realize what one of them had to do. From the sound of his tone, Buffy guessed he had hoped it had been lower.

"You're the one who wanted to do this." The small blonde reminded him pointedly, not losing the irony of this. Angel had sounded so determined earlier, now he seemed like the most timid and unsure guy she had ever seen.

"I'm going to." He confirmed firmly, surprisingly sounding more confident then before. "It's just ... do you want to take it off or should I?" Angel questioned uncertainly, sounding sheepish and mildly embarrassed.

Buffy paused, thinking that over. She wasn't sure if she trusted Angel enough to take off her shirt and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be one to take it off either. Either way, she would still feel in entire discomfort of this situation so she didn't really understand if it mattered which one of them did it. More importantly, she just wanted to get this over with. Buffy also got the vague feeling if she said she was taking her shirt off, she would never do it because she was that uncomfortable.

Her choice kind of made up, Buffy shrugged. "Does it matter? You're just checking my Eyghon mark, right?" The blonde slayer brought up, able to play the situation off by purposely nonchalant. Thinking for a moment, the blonde slayer just made a decision. If Angel did anything, she would hit him. It was as simple as that. "Go ahead, Mr. Confidence. See if my mark is 'out of order' or something. " Buffy goaded him, purposely making her tone light and semi-sarcastic. She was almost amused by how completely unsure he was about doing anything, even something as simple as this.

There was pause. She couldn't see Angel's face, but she guessed he was either shocked or nervous again. "Are you sure?" He finally asked, the level of uncertainty in his tone extremely obvious.

Exasperation streaked through her at how long he was making this take. "Yes, Angel. I don't care." The blonde reaffirmed, her tone marked with impatience. "Just this get over with before I reconsider." Buffy threatened meaningfully, entirely serious about that. If Angel was just going to keep freezing, then he was wasting her precious time.

The vampire didn't say anything to that, but he wasn't doing anything either. The blonde could just picture the souled vampire staring at her unconfidently, expecting her to either walk off or refuse him to do this. Trying to maintain her extremely thin strand of patience, Buffy forced herself to stay still as she waited for him to move. There was another pause and at this point, the slayer was about to leave if she had to stand here any longer.

However, luckily Angel seemed to summon the will to move. Buffy felt his fingers on the back of her shirt and he slowly started to lift it up. At this point, Buffy's impatience to get this over with was replaced with discomfort and awkwardness at the realization that he was actually doing this. The most amazing thing was that she letting him do it. It was only to check her mark because she was worried about it herself, but it didn't change the knots that were in her stomach and she vaguely felt an urge to push him away because of her "Angel issues" but she stopped herself when she remembered it was important and if Angel tried anything, she'd take care of it.

The vampire's progress was slow and she felt Angel stop a few times for some reason, but he eventually lifted the frayed brown shirt up until it was high enough that she could take care of it. Glad he finally got somewhere, Buffy pushed away any remaining nervousness and discomfort she had. Taking it over, the blonde slayer felt Angel's hands let go too quickly for it to be normal but gave little thought to it as she shoved the rest of her shirt over her head. The movement jarred her injured arm a little, but it wasn't too bad since her slayer healing was already in play.

Having to stop to take in the outrageous fact that she was half-naked and wearing only her bra and jeans in front of Angel, Buffy forcibly took a breath and tried to fight the urge to run. She also felt the vague urge to strike the souled vampire, but she guessed that one had more to do with her unresolved issues with him.

Crossing her arms unconsciously over her chest but keeping the shirt firm in her grip, Buffy tried to turn her head to see what he was reaction was. He hadn't said anything in a while. "So ... what? Got anything?" The blonde slayer broke the silence at last, somehow managing to keep her voice flippant instead of the raging sea of awkwardness she was feeling inside.

" ... It's definitely the Mark of Eyghon." Angel confirmed after a pause, his voice actually sounding dead serious instead of that embarrassed tone he had used not too long ago. It surprised Buffy for a second, but at least it made it obvious the vampire hadn't done this for kicks. That tone of voice indicated he was not taking any of this inappropriately even the littlest bit.

"Which I told you." Buffy couldn't resist reminding him, her tone almost mocking. "Is there anything else, y'know, 'off' with it?" The blonde slayer questioned sarcastically, purposely making fun of the exact words he had used not too long ago. Honestly, she thought making jokes was the only way she could get through this.

"This isn't a joke, Buffy." The souled vampire argued in mild frustration, sounding full of disapproval. He paused another second, then spoke up again. "It looks like your skin is burned around the edges of it. I guess that explains why it felt like a burn." Angel observed cautiously, sounding like he was very concerned. She could already picture him staring at it with narrowed eyes, trying to figure it out. "But there's this one thing ..." He tried to say, trailing off in frustrated bewilderment.

The slayer listened intently, a slice of worry cutting through her as she wondered what he exactly could he be talking about it. So Angel actually found something weird after all? That ... wasn't good. "What is it? Are you actually telling me something's wrong with it?" Buffy asked firmly, her tone sharp with urgency as she waited for him to continue.

Angel didn't answer right away, thoroughly irritating her further. Just when she was about to snap again, he found his voice just in time. "It's the Mark of Eyghon, but something's different about it. It's not much, but it's there." He started reluctantly, sounding worried. "It's ... the line in the middle of it is a lot longer than it usual. You probably wouldn't even notice it unless you were looking." Angel deduced reasonably, letting out a sigh behind her. "I wish I could say I know what it means, but I don't. I just know it's not good for you, Buffy." He admitted regrettably, the degree of concern in his voice slightly startling her.

Hoping Angel was just being his usual overly anxious self, the blonde slayer tried to think of an explanation. "Wait. Maybe it was just a Eyghon inker mistake." Buffy suggested in a forced light-hearted tone, trying to push down her anger and desperation to find a another reason that won't make things even more complicated for her. "Like he wasn't paying attention and-" Buffy tried to continue, but she immediately cut herself off when she felt Angel's fingers gently trace the tattoo on her back. As soon as she registered it, she felt a stinging pain scorch her on that part of skin. The same pain she had felt before when she last touched it.

"Ow!" Buffy exclaimed impatiently, a irritated frown on her face as she turned halfway for a second to swat his hand away in frustration. "No touching!" The blonde slayer remarked angrily, glaring at him briefly before she realized what she just did. Immediately, she turned away from him and crossed her arms over chest uncomfortably in embarrassment. The blonde slayer just hoped he didn't see anything, but then there was voice saying there was no point caring about that considering he'd already seen her with much less clothing than this.

"Does that feel like an inker mistake?" Angel asked her pointedly, his tone of voice indicating she had just proved his point. "It hurt, right? Like it did before." The souled vampire observed matter-of-factly, causing Buffy to realize where he was going with this and not say anything. "I told you before, Buffy. Facing Eyghon with the same expectations the first time doesn't stand now. It won't help." He reminded her seriously.

Buffy sighed. There was no point in making this situation simpler than it was, especially considering deep down she had never believed it was that simple. So things just got worse ... can't say I'm surprised. She thought somewhat bitterly, feeling her returning anger over trying to be controlled by Eyghon returned. Putting on her brown shirt again self-consciously, the small slayer turned back around to face Angel. He still looked as somber as he ever did, but it looked like he was trying to think.

"I know, Angel." She confirmed for him tiredly, her facial expression serious as she looked at him. "So Eyghon probably tried out some new tricks on me. All the more reason to figure it out before he tries pulls something on us." Buffy suggested fiercely, her green eyes clear and her voice adamant. If Eyghon believed she was going to go down without a fight, then he was dead wrong. She was not going to let this mark get in the way of killing this demon and saving Giles' soul. So things got more complicated? That wasn't going to slow her down.

Angel didn't respond right away, looking calculating. "We don't know enough about this. How the mark functions or how much control he has over you. Everything's different now." The vampire thought out loud, his eyes narrowed. "We need Alasdair. Maybe he knows more than us." He deduced reasonably, his somber expression softening into concern as he stared at Buffy. "I'm sorry this is happened to you. We'll figure it out." Angel told her reassuringly, his voice gentle. "I won't let him do to you what he did to Giles." He swore determinedly, the adamant and conviction in his tone enough for almost anyone to believe him.

"You mean I won't let him do that to me." The blonde slayer couldn't resist correcting, her green eyes hard and as stubborn to a fault as ever. Buffy understood Angel cared, but he had to see she wasn't going to be sitting around doing nothing either. She had never been like that in her calling as a Slayer and she wasn't going to start now.

The souled vampire stared her, a genuinely amused smirk crossing his face. "Something like that." Angel responded in a slightly lighter tone, causing to hear the teasing undertones in his voice. He stared at her for a moment longer before he looked back at the door, the teasing moment gone as his expression resolved into seriousness. "We've been in here a while. I think we should join the others. Explain things." The vampire suggested firmly, looking back at Buffy with a pointed look. "There's a lot we need to cover before fighting Eyghon." Angel said meaningfully, the way his dark eyes flickered over her and rested on the angle of her back telling her he was talking about the Mark of Eyghon.

Buffy understood, suddenly feeling exhausted. The blonde slayer didn't know how she was supposed to explain things as complicated as somehow getting the Mark of Eyghon and then tying that with their battle plans in their counter-attack against him. Imaging their reactions was too much for her, especially considering Angel was probably never going to leave her alone now that he knew she had that strange mark on her. Honestly, she almost wanted to avoid it but her serious and reasonable side wouldn't let her.

"You mean telling everyone I basically have a mark from our biggest Big Bad without knowing if it can control me at any time?" Buffy recapped dryly, a tired smirk on her face as she wasn't feeling any humor in it. At Angel's solemn look and non-verbal answer, she sighed slightly as the realization fully sunk in."Yay me."


~~Angel~~

Angel stared intently into Alasdair's eyes, his determination unwavering as he prepared to explain everything to the old archmage. The moment he saw the Mark of Eyghon on Buffy's back, he knew that the way of handling this needed someone with more supernatural insight then himself despite his experience over the centuries.

He was so frustrated and worried, he wished he could've done something to spare Buffy going through this. Now, if they didn't take care of Eyghon soon, the blonde slayer might be going through the exact same thing he was trying to save Giles from. Was it wise to assume Buffy could remove it again like she did the last time? Angel didn't know. He just knew he was afraid to judge Eyghon with the same standards like he did back then so many years ago. Maybe he was just being too pessimistic, but the souled vampire couldn't let himself believe it was that easy.

After leaving the room Buffy had cleaned up in, Angel had without hesitation pulled Alasdair aside she he could talk to him in private. Faith had noticed and immediately tried to see what he was doing, but he had firmly told her to just make sure the rest of slayers were properly patched up and that he'd explain everything later. The dark slayer had been wary, but she had conceded to his order and left to go back to Nadira and the other slayers. It wasn't that he didn't trust Faith. Angel was just not keen on dropping all of this on her and the others without knowing the full circumstances of the situation. He had to have a clarification to what was going on with the blonde slayer before he could tell anyone else and he suspected Buffy had similar feelings.

Once telling the slayer he was going to talk to Alasdair, Buffy had immediately demanded to go with him. Believing that he would have more progress with the archmage this way, Angel had agreed to have her come along. After she had brought down her disinfectants and remaining bandages back to Alasdair, both slayer and vampire had faced the old man in a more private area near the kitchen.

"Alasdair ..." Angel began solemnly. "You know about our fight with Eyghon. He's powerful, vindictive, and we have to know all we can about him to win." The souled vampire declared matter-of-factly.

"Yes. I am aware of Eyghon's rising threat." Alasdair confirmed, looking at both of curiously. "But must we discuss this with the rest of us? They all must know the demon's tactics and abilities as well, yes?" The old man mentioned, sounding a little bit puzzled as he narrowed his eyes at them.

"Which won't help them until we understand it." Buffy said pointedly, her expression serious. "Also, sidebar, we're kinda dealing with some ... complications." The blonde slayer muttered meaningfully, looking like she was a little frustrated with this. Angel wondered if she was blaming herself for getting the Mark of Eyghon, but he hoped she wasn't.

Alasdair looked surprised, then he sobered a little. "Complications?" The British man repeated, staring at the blonde in mild wariness and guarded curiosity.

Angel exchanged a slightly anxious glance with Buffy, then looked back to the archmage. "It's going to be a lot to handle. It's better if we sort it out first before telling everyone." The souled vampire explained uneasily, knowing he wasn't stopping himself from informing them of Buffy's mark but getting the feeling not all of them would respond to it well. Preferably the slayers Sara and Lauren. They made it perfectly clear their dislike of the blonde because she ended magic, but he hoped they didn't jump to criticize her again over something she couldn't help.

"Here's hoping riots don't break out." Buffy supplied jokingly, but the tired, forced smirk on her face indicated she as worried of their reactions to her as he was.

The archmage appeared to take their words much more seriously now, his old eyes staring at the two of them probingly. "It's true Eyghon's powers and maneuvering is far more advanced than in the past. If what you say is true and he has his true body, there's no telling what he would do. it's best to be cautious with it." Alasdair assessed thoughtfully, glancing at the slayer and vampire. "By your tone, it appears he's already made a move. I'll do what I can to see if I could help." He reassured them sincerely, giving Buffy and Angel and expectant look.

The souled vampire nodded his thanks, pausing to see how he could word this. "Back in our last battle with Eyghon ... he attacked Buffy in particular. It was like he wanted something from her." Angel started somberly, remembering his complete panic at seeing Buffy fall unconscious in front of him without even knowing what caused it. "She got knocked down, but it turns out Eyghon wasn't done with her yet." He recapped cryptically, feeling a wave of anger inside him that Eyghon had done this to Buffy of all people. He meant what he said before. Angel wasn't going to let Buffy endure what Giles did, no matter what.

Angel was about to elaborate, but Buffy's warning look silenced him. She wanted to take this over herself. "I got over it, but it turns out Eyghon left me a little parting gift." She revealed in forced light tone, contrasting with her somber expression. She paused for a second, biting her lip in nervousness. Finally, she continued. "Do you ... know anything about the Mark of Eyghon?" The blonde slayer questioned hesitantly, her wide green eyes looking at him anxiously.

Shock crossed across Alasdair's face, his mouth open slightly. "Y-Yes. It bounds you eternally to Eyghon as his minion to carry out-" The old man broke off, noticing Buffy's extremely uncomfortable expression. "Buffy. Do not tell me you have it on you?" Alasdair questioned, looking a little horrified and shocked. When the blonde slayer avoided his eyes and said nothing, the archmage continued. "It's usually given willingly during a ritual. How is it-" Alasdair started to say, looking absolutely flabbergasted.

"Yeah, well. Looks like he's reinventing himself." Angel cut off dryly, noticing how uncomfortable he was making Buffy by his extreme reaction. "And it's not the same mark either. It's a little different. The line in the middle's a lot longer and I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean." The souled vampire clarified bluntly, just wanting the old man to calm down so Buffy wouldn't feel so scrutinized.

Alasdair appeared to gain more control of himself, but he still looked somewhat shocked. "Y-yes. Let's see ..." The old man began, tightening the glasses around his eyes somewhat nervously. "I've heard Eyghon is able to give the Mark of Eyghon to another by himself, but it has to fit certain circumstances. For years, I've regard that idea as a myth." Alasdair explained, eying Buffy in both intrigue and uncertainty.

Buffy forced a tired smirk on her face. "But here I am. Breaking myths." The blonde slayer quipped humorlessly as she did a gesture to herself, still looking as unsure in this situation as ever. "But you said circumstances, right? What kind? 'Cause obviously something happened." She questioned seriously as she crossed her arms, her fervent tone breaking through her genuine discomfort with the topic.

The former archmage had his hand on his chin, looking thoughtful. "I might have to double-check my references to be sure ... but as I recall, Eyghon must be at his true power to pull off such an affair. Yet, even then it must have more requirements." Alasdair theorized somberly, glancing at the slayer pressingly. "The host must've had the Mark of Eyghon on them at one point or another. Yet, this is rarely used. Not many people with the Mark of Eyghon removed their marks. For as long as he is alive, it could always come back. Escaping Eyghon is supposed to be irreversible." He revealed matter-of-factly, his tone calm and intelligent.

Angel listened to this with growing dread, starting to put the pieces together. Buffy had the mark once. Even if it was only a little bit. That was enough for Eyghon to track her and mark her. He thought seriously, a wave of concern and anger hitting him as this news. He probably should've expected this, but part of him had been hoping Alasdair hadn't have to relay such unsettling news to Buffy. I don't get it. If she removed it once while he was still alive, isn't possible for her to do it again?

Looking at Buffy, he saw a flash of annoyance cross her face. "Thanks so much, Ethan Rayne." Buffy muttered lowly to herself, thought the vampire could still make it out. Quickly recovering, the blonde slayer fixed her stubborn green eyes on Alasdair. "I had it on me a long time ago, but it was barely even a day. Like, seriously, that hardly qualifies as Eyghon minion material." She argued defiantly, getting over her discomfort and starting to get more focused on this topic. "And there's another thing. I removed it. It's been off me for nine years. Am I missing the Eyghon logic in this?" Buffy furthered heatedly, her throwing up her hands impatiently. She's getting defensive. She doesn't how to deal with this. Angel observed, glancing at her in sympathy.

Alasdair frowned, looking like he was a little confused. "Removing the Eyghon mark is only possible when the demon has died. Or, at the very least, severely weakened close to the point of death." The old man pointed out matter-of-factly, sounding slightly puzzled at the blonde's words. "As for the rest of it, Eyghon is a terribly vengeful and power-hungry demon. He rarely forgets a face with his mark no matter how it is adminstered." The archmage stated calmly, prompting the blonde beside Angel to look even more angry. "However, it is strange that he was so fixated on giving the mark to you. Have you done something to wrong him in the past?" Alasdair inquired curiously, his old eyes staring at her in expectation.

"Only making him run off into hiding after nearly getting his ass kicked." Buffy retorted bluntly without hesitation, almost glaring at the old man. Realizing what she had just said, the small slayer frowned awkwardly. "Oh." She added lamely, starting to put all of it together now. Recovering quickly, the slayer returned to her stubborn expression. "So that explains my totally unfashionable new accessory, but we need to focus on the now. As in how the hell is the mark functioning with Eyghon's new power-up." Buffy demanded forcefully, glaring at the man pressingly for answers.

"What she means is ..." Angel butted, casting a glance at Buffy to see how obviously worked up she was. Talking to her like that wasn't the best idea and she was being a little too forward with this. "Her mark doesn't look the same. It has that longer line than how it was before. We were wondering if you knew what that meant." The vampire explained in a calmer tone, staring at Alasdair intently. "Does it have more power over her now that Eyghon has his real body? We need the answer to that before we can try anything. " Angel finished firmly, carefully concealing how desperate he needed to know. He already was considering the idea that Buffy stayed out of the final battle with Eyghon, but if he did have more control over her, then Angel was definitely keeping her out of it.

Alasdair's expression looked regretful. "I'm afraid I can't really say." The archmage admitted guiltily, staring at Buffy in particular cautiously. "I don't recall a situation like this being recorded. I have no explanation for this longer line on the Eyghon mark, but I do feel it's safe to say it will not be anything beneficial to you." He elaborated matter-of-factly, crossing his arms. "I would advise to be wary of this revised Mark of Eyghon. It's entirely possible his control over his victims has strengthened." Alasdair warned sagely, pinning them with a serious gaze. "Perhaps if I have study your mark, I can gather more-"

"Oh no." Buffy rejected fiercely, doing a crossing gesture with her arms as she stared at him defiantly. "I think I've just about had it with old timers trying to sneak a peek at me." The small blonde slayer referenced somewhat crossly, her green eyes flickering towards Angel in meaning. The vampire felt discomfort shoot through him at what she was implying and avoided her eyes nervously. While he certainly didn't regret looking at it, he would admit the experience had been very taxing on him mentally and it had absolutely nothing to do with worry.

Looking back to Alasdair, she glared at him slightly. "If there's nothing you can tell me about my mark that can actually help me, then I guess this was just a big waste of my time." Buffy retorted impatiently, causing a flicker of surprise and nervousness to flash across the old man's face. Before either of them could say anything, the blonde slayer whirled around and stalked out of the kitchen.

Shooting the archmage an apologetic glance, Angel quickly scurried after her. Seeing Buffy in the middle of the hallway leading toward the living room, the souled vampire grabbed her arm firmly to stop her. "Buffy, wait." He requested, feeling both worried at her reaction and trying to get her to understand Alasdair was only trying to help her.

Buffy huffed in frustration and turned around to look at him. Annoyance and distress was shining in her eyes as she angrily pulled her arm roughly out of Angel's grasp. "All I got out of that between the English stammers is that I'm apparently screwed and have absolutely no information on how much control this thing has me." The blonde slayer recapped in annoyance, letting out an irritated breath as she mildly glared at the souled vampire.

"He was only trying to help." Angel offered quietly, his gaze understanding and sympathetic. Truthfully, part of him expected Buffy to have trouble dealing with the Eyghon's control. She was calmer about it at first, but seeing how little anything could help her understand this situation must've awoken her temper again.

The small slayer glanced at him in frustration. "I'm not letting Eyghon get away with this, Angel." Buffy voiced firmer, her green eyes full of defiance and determination. "I am not anyone's minion and I'm definitely not one to a demon. I'm killing Eyghon and I'm saving Giles. I'm not letting him use me!" The blonde stated vehemently, her tone hard with conviction. "I don't care what I have to do." Buffy declared confidently, looking utterly serious.

"And we will." Angel reassured her, keeping his voice placid and gentle so she could calm herself done a little. "Look, at least we got explanation on why it happened. We don't know the affects, but we'll figure that out along the way." He pointed out reasonably, making sure to keep his patience with her on this. "I understand you're upset, but we can't do anything about it now." Angel added seriously, looking at her to see any signs that she was getting her composure back.

Buffy's face twisted in frustration for a second, convincing the vampire she was going to argue again. Finally, her frustration melted in disgruntled resignation. Pausing for a second in thought, the blonde slayer glanced up at him. "We're not telling the others about this. If we don't know anything about this, then there's no point making everyone freak out too." Buffy stated levelly, her green eyes stern as she gazed at him. "Right now I suggest we go back to battle planning." The blonde slayer declared, her determined look saying she wasn't going to change her mind about this.

Angel paused for a second, a little bit unsure. If they told the others the truth about Buffy's Mark of Eyghon, then they'd have more eyes being cautious with the demon and alert them to any possible setbacks that might come up through the complications to the slayer's tattoo. Yet, most of the vampire found himself agreeing with Buffy. If even telling them might help, there was still a good chance it wouldn't too. He didn't want Buffy to endure the hostility and distrust from Nadira and the slayers more than she already had. He wouldn't mind telling Faith, but he knew that the slayer he loved didn't want her to know either by her words.

Making up his mind as Buffy stared at him persistently, Angel nodded. "It'd only cause more problems than help." He agreed levelly, his dark brown eyes serious. "If we learn anything new or if the situation comes up, we'll tell them. For now, it's between us." Angel stated firmly, a bit relieved when he saw the tenseness in the blonde's posture lessen a little. She still looked unhappy and slightly irritated, but it seemed like that (for now) Buffy was more at peace with it.

"We might never have to." Buffy replied determinedly, crossing her arms and glancing at Angel sharply. "Eyghon'll be a bit too busy being in the ground to try to try out his possession trick." The blonde threatened levelly, though he could tell by the slight anger in her face she was furious at what Eyghon had done to her. Angel wished it could've been him getting the Eyghon mark than her, but it wasn't possible and the demon was determined to get his revenge on him another way. He made that perfectly clear.

Still, even though Buffy was confident, Angel couldn't help being worried. Surely it couldn't be that easy to kill the demon? Today was enough proof of that. It wasn't just that, though. Now that the slayer had the Mark of Eyghon on her, it just complicated the situation much more than before. There was no telling what could happen, though he knew it would never be Buffy's fault. What if Eyghon could control her at any time? Take her over during battle again maybe? Or something worse. He pondered, unsettled by his dark thoughts.

He would do absolutely everything in his power to free Buffy from Eyghon's grip just like he would do the same to free the last part of Giles' soul from him. Yet, was it the right choice to involve the blonde slayer in their upcoming battle? It wasn't just for practical reasons. If he's was honest, it mostly came down to the fact Eyghon had easily overcome her today and she almost died if he hadn't been there. Angel couldn't help thinking Eyghon could do far worse than that and he didn't want Buffy to get possessed or hurt again. Though he knew the blonde would absolutely furious about this decision, he couldn't help how he felt about it.

As the two walked through the halls into the direction of the living room where Faith and the rest of slayers were, Angel couldn't stop himself from glancing worriedly at Buffy. I'm sorry, Buffy ... but I think it's better all-round if you aren't involved in our final battle with Eyghon. Trust me, it's the best option. I don't want Eyghon to get his hands on you again. The vampire thought sincerely, though he still couldn't help feeling a little guilty. He knew Buffy would not take this in stride at all, but that didn't change the fact he had to do it. However, he carefully hide any of this thoughts from view and schooled his face into seriousness so the blonde slayer wouldn't question what he was up to.

Together, the two of them walked into the living room as they prepared to make their plan against Eyghon. Scanning the room, he found Nadira sitting on the couch with slayers Sara and Lauren. Lauren was currently helping her dress one nasty wound on Nadira's arm while Sara just looked on with a mildly worried expression. Faith was standing up talking to Alasdair, much to Angel's slight surprise.

Alasdair looked almost as normal as ever despite their last talk together and was currently appearing to read a very large, very old scroll. It didn't take too long for the vampire to recognize it was a map on Eyghon's abilities from long ago and he couldn't help wondering if the archmage was searching for more information on Buffy's new Eyghon mark. Though that thought quickly reminded him that he hadn't told Alasdair to keep the blonde slayer's mark a secret.

Feeling urgency grip him, Angel quickly walked up into view to stand next to Faith were Alasdair was. Buffy had followed close behind him and was currently eying both the archmage and vampire warily. He wondered if she too remembered they hadn't warned him about not alerting the others about the consequences of her last Eyghon injury.

"Well, look who's here." Faith drawled, putting a hand on the table in front of Alasdair. "Been wonderin' where you two were. It's about damn time you got out here." The brunette noted in a light-hearted tone, though Angel could tell from the curious look she sent the vampire that she wanted to know what he had talked with Alasdair over earlier. At least that probably meant the archmage didn't tell the dark slayer about the Eyghon Mark, though that still didn't entirely relieve him.

"About time?" Nadira's voice called from the couch, sounding incredulous. Angel sent a brief glance at her to see she was glaring at the two of them. "It's more than about time. We should be off our arses and out to attack Eyghon, not in here licking our wounds." The brunette slayer argued vehemently, her accent tinged with impatience.

"Which you can't do until you have an actual plan." Buffy corrected pointedly, a meaningful note to her voice as she glanced at the slayer in mild exasperation. "Running in blind usually ends in dead slayer." The small blonde reminded her bluntly, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. "Lucky for you that's what we're here for. Battle plans." She clarified lightly, her unserious tone contrasting with her determined expression.

Not caring enough to listen to Nadira's response to that, the souled vampire ignored their conversation and walked around the table Alasdair was stationed at. Ancient scrolls littered the table, holding information on both Eyghon and more demons inclined to possession. By the time he reached his side, the old man raised his head and glanced at him cautiously.

"Yes?" Alasdair prompted politely, though had a wary look in his eyes.

"Alasdair ... about what we talked about." Angel started solemnly, his dark brown eyes intent and unrelenting. "Don't tell them." He finished simply, gazing at the archmage cautiously but meaningfully as he waited for his response. He hoped Alasdair would understand and not make a big deal out of it. Angel respected Buffy's wish to keep it a secret and wanted him too also.

Alasdair's small eyes widened in surprise, but the quickly narrowed into confusion. "Why? Wouldn't it be pivotal to-" He tried to protest, sounding opposed to the idea.

"Please." Angel requested meaningfully, his tone level and calm but his eyes serious. It wasn't just Alasdair who had second thoughts about keeping it from everyone, but he found that Buffy still had a point and since it was her mark, it wasn't finding it in him to betray the blonde's privacy like that until he absolutely had to.

Alasdair still looked uncertain, seeming like he wasn't about to listen. After the two stared at each other steadily, the old man's misgivings lessened and he let out a tiny sigh. "Yes, well ..." He muttered quietly, sounding tired. "We must analyze Eyghon's next move carefully either way." Alasdair pointed out reasonably, the look in his eyes telling the souled vampire he had relented entirely to his wishes.

Glad, Angel moved away from him and stood back around the table near Buffy and Faith. Faith was staring intently at the old man as she waited for him to say anything about Eyghon and from her lack of suspicion, the souled vampire guessed she hadn't heard his small discussion with Alasdair only moments before. Buffy was glancing at him sharply, showing she had known all along what he had asked him. Angel gave a tiny nod of reassurance, prompting the blonde slayer to reluctantly relax slightly and fix her attention on Alasdair.

"So ..." Buffy began meaningfully, crossing her arms. "Got anything nifty in those bunch of scrolls?" The blonde slayer quipped lightly, though she had a distant look in her eyes as she stared at Alasdair and the scrolls he had littered on his table. Angel couldn't completely make out what she was thinking, but he got the sense she was unhappy.

"Hmm ..." Alasdair hummed to himself, still staring intently underneath his glasses at one of the scrolls he was holding. He looked like he was deep in thought, though he knew Buffy had said something to him.

Almost sighing, Angel felt himself grow concerned again as he thought over everything that happened in their last attack with Eyghon. It wasn't just Buffy's Eyghon mark he had to deal with, but two of Faith's former slayers were taking by Eyghon too and possessed. Not only that, but he still had to get that final piece of Giles' soul back of course. Eyghon's causing so much problems ... I wish I knew where he was earlier. Maybe all of this trouble for them wouldn't happen. He thought to himself, feeling guilty. He wished he had followed his concern earlier and not let Buffy come along because at least that was one problem he could've stopped from happening. Now the best bet they had was to kill Eyghon and hope Buffy didn't get possessed again.

Focusing his attention on Alasdair again, Angel glanced at him worriedly. "Are you sure there's a way to break Eyghon's hold on people?" He couldn't stop himself from asking, crossing his arms and keeping his voice serious. All the trouble with Nadira's slayers and most notably Buffy's Eyghon mark was really starting to get to him.

"Only by killing him." The archmage responded simply, raising his eyes from the scroll for a second to give the vampire a brief, knowing glance. He understood what had caused the vampire to ask.

"Bonus." Faith suddenly said, smirking a little at him. "We were going to do that anyway." The brunette slayer informed him flippantly, having one hand on her hip and the other on the table.

"Really not much of a problem here." Buffy supplied in agreement, a smirk of her own crossing her face as she looked at the archmage pointedly.

Alasdair saw frustration cross his face for a second, but he composed himself and set the scroll on the table. "That is not good news." He argued firmly, seeming unimpressed with them. "The only method of permanently killing Eyghon is to decapitate his true body. Otherwise, he can reincarnate into another victim." He informed them seriously, his eyes stern. "All the while you fight him, any of you killed or knocked unconscious instantly becomes one of the enemy." Alasdair warned them sagely.

Angel saw emotion flit across Buffy's face, but it was gone so fast he couldn't read it. "Which we know." The blonde slayer reassured him, her expression thoughtful. "I think we're gonna have to-"

"Are you saying we should just abandon our friends?" Nadira shouted indignantly, cutting off the older slayer's words and fixing an intense glare on Alasdair. She was standing next to Faith, having moved over here at some point during the conversation. In between Angel and Faith, Buffy looked greatly annoyed and gave a roll of her eyes.

"Not at all." Alasdair quickly denied, staring at the girl as if she had offended him. "Simply that you must fight intelligently." The old man clarified, moving away from the table for a second. All four of them watching him curiously, Alasdair opened up a cabinet nearby and picked up a blade. It looked sharp and well-polished.

Walking back over to them, he handed the sword at in reach for any of them to grab. Angel eyed it in intrigue for a second, then carefully gripped the sword and turned it to observe it. "With weapons like these." Alasdair informed them.

Angel turned it over again, studying the swirly gem that was embedded in the top of the hilt. That's a magical item ... I'm guessing this sword's a lot more powerful than most. We're going to need this to win. He thought expertly, already pegging himself to be the one to finish off Eyghon. He had to. He owed that to Giles and ... Buffy. Angel still refused to have the blonde slayer be involved too heavily when the battle with Eyghon came, though he wasn't sure how he was going to break that to Buffy. It really didn't matter how he told her because either way, she was going to be furious with him.

Buffy was peering at the sword curiously, looking impressed. "Some extra-juiced sword?" The slayer noted, her green eyes fascinated. "Works for me." Buffy added with a shrug, reaching out for Angel to hand it over to her. The souled vampire hesitated, remembering his exact thoughts a moment before, but gave it to her anyway when he told himself there was no harm in having her hold it.

She gripped it firmly, holding the hilt with both hands and looking up at it. She studied it for a moment in interest, then focused her attention back to everyone else. "Anyway. As I was saying ..." Buffy continued on meaningfully, sending a pointed glare at Nadira who just scowled. "We can't be lightweights on this one. We have to analyze his moves carefully and definitely don't just jump in." The blonde slayer informed them matter-of-factly, but her stern gaze looked like it was more of warning to Faith and Nadira than anyone else. " 'Cause if you do, you're either dead or Eyghoned." She said bluntly, putting the sword down but still holding it firmly in her hand.

Alasdair nodded, looking impressed that she had such a good handle on the situation. Angel guessed he had figured she was treating this the way Nadira might have. "In his pure form, killing him will be easier said than done." The old man agreed tiredly, looking worried for a second. "Still, if anything can accomplish this task, it is the weapons in my armory." He pointed out a bit more confidently, but still eyed them in concern. "But suppose he doesn't want to take the chance? What if he choses to take the captives he has and go into hiding again?" Alasdair fretted doubtfully, sounding uncertain.

"He won't." Faith spoke up quite confidently, her hands on her hips with a serious expression on her face.

"Not gonna happen." Buffy also said firmly as the same time as Faith, looking thoughtful until she realized her and Faith had said the exact same thing. "Wait. What makes you so sure, Faith?" The blonde slayer prompted in puzzlement, looking extremely surprised.

It was then that Angel recalled Buffy had told him she had been partly connected to Eyghon during her brief possession to figure out much of his plan, but at the time the souled vampire had been more worried about the Eyghon mark than that. He had decided to let Buffy elaborate on it later, but seeing the two slayers refuse Alasdair's idea so confidently without hesitation made him wonder. Faith got knocked down too until Nadira woke her up ... does that mean the connection to Eyghon's ideas was just the possession? Not the mark? He pondered seriously. Angel couldn't really explain it, but that made him feel relieved.

Faith blinked, looking confused. "Before Nadira cut me ... I was part of him." The brunette revealed, staring at her blonde counterpart in bewilderment. "It was just for a second ... but I saw what he wants." She further elaborated, crossing her arms as she eyed Buffy's slightly astounded expression strangely. Finally, something clicked in her mind. "Wait, did you see something too, B?" The dark slayer questioned pressingly, gesturing to Buffy and staring at her in intrigue.

The blonde slayer didn't say anything, nodding her head in understanding. "If you're under Eyghon's control, you have a psychic connection to him." Buffy murmured slowly, her tone of her voice full of realization. Looking back to Faith, she granted her with a more urgent expression. "Remember when you cut me to walk me up earlier? I went through the same thing. The whole 'weird but vivid almost dreamscape' thing." She elaborated quirkily, making an arm gesture as you spoke.

"Damn, B! You're kidding!" Faith exclaimed roughly, her dark eyes wide in surprise. "Well, nice to see at least one good thing came out of being Eyghon's bitch for the day." The brunette remarked bluntly, raising up her hands as she shrugged the shoulders slightly.

"Can one of you please get the bloody point?" Nadira broke in impatiently, eying the older slayers impatiently. "I'd quite like to know what's going on with that monster already, thank you very much." The brunette retorted pointedly, throwing up her hands as she stared at two of her former leaders demandingly.

Angel glanced at the hateful slayer out of the corner of his eye, feeling mildly exasperated with the rude girl who wanted him dead. Resisting a sigh, Angel fixed his gaze back on Faith and Buffy. "Faith. Buffy." The vampire addressed calmly, his voice patient. "What did you see?" He questioned levelly, his face serious as he waited for them to say something.

Faith and Buffy glanced at each other, silently asking them which one of them wanted to explain. After another moment, the two slayers turned away and looked back at Angel and Alasdair.

Faith was the one who spoke up first. "Eyghon got his payback. But after the seed was smashed, he was stuck here. Cut off from his kingdom." The dark slayer began, looking deep in thought. "So he decided to re-create it here on Earth." She revealed levelly, immediately prompting Angel's seriousness to intensify as he was beginning to understand. "In his big-boy body, he's a lot more powerful. He can play Master of Puppets with a whole mess of undead or unconscious folks at once." Faith clarified, looking disgruntled for a second.

Her annoyed face dissipated some when she fixed Angel with an firm look. "Angel, you thought Ethan Rayne's body got burned up with all the other evidence in that bunker. But Eyghon possessed a sleeping soldier ... got inside ..." She revealed, crossing her arms. "And marched zombie Ethan out like he was a prisoner transfer." Faith described matter-of-factly, but she was slightly scowling at the idea. "Ethan was never reported dead. He was Eyghon's face in the human world. He bought a base of operations. Started putting together an army." She recapped, looking uncharacteristically serious now.

"That 'army' Faith's talking about was what saw at Eyghon's hideout." Buffy butted in, not looking the slightest bit surprised at her brunette counterpart's words. "Why he took some of the slayers." She clarified levelly, her face scrunched up in thought. "Buut there are setbacks." She revealed, a curve of a dry smirk on her face. "Our #1 Creepy Crawly demon can't stay in a human body for too long unless he wants it to implode." The blonde slayer stated confidently, but her smirk died a little as she continued on. "The ones he owns Giles, Ethan Rayne, unconscious ones ... they'll eventually wear out too." Buffy revealed seriously, a shadow of discomfort in her eyes. Angel couldn't tell if it was because of Giles being taken over or the fact that she could be next. "Earlier, back when we were fighting him, Eyghon mentioned magic. He blamed me for taking it out of the world. I'm sure some of you can relate to that." She referred to, another smirk on her face during her last sentence.

Angel couldn't help gazing at the direction of Lauren and Sara. Lauren looked uncomfortable at that reminder, while Sara had an angry scowl on her face at Buffy from her place still on the couch. The souled vampire wished she didn't poke fun at that fact when she knew the reaction she was going to get from them, but then he remembered that was just her nature.

Buffy tilted her head to the side, her face back to focused. "Despite his serious anger management issues, it turns out he actually has a reason for that." The blonde pointed out matter-of-factly. "He needs the magic to preserve his dead victims. The more magic he has, the better it'd be. I guess you could call it a supernatural discount." She stated lightly, looking thoughtful.

" 'Cept the discount comes with tax." Faith punned with a smirk, taking over from Buffy. "There's not much magic going around these days. So he hooked up with some folks who want to change things." The dark slayer continued on, immediately prompting dread to seep through Angel when he got the meaning. I'm not surprised ... doing a thing like starting an apocalypse to bring magic back has got to come with some trouble. Whistler couldn't do that without some help. The vampire deduced logically, but he couldn't help a streak of annoyance course through him at that idea. He could try to take them both down, but an alliance would make things more complicated. And dangerous.

Meanwhile, Faith carried on without hesitation. "Whistler, Pearl, and Nash." She revealed, confirming Angel's unpleasant suspicions. "Gave them all the magical items he could get his hands on." The dark slayer elaborated further, her face dead serious at this point. At this clarification, the vampire felt himself get even more somber.

"And once again, the medal for 'Most Likely to Cause Trouble' goes to ... Whistler." Buffy supplied pointedly, her tone thick with mockery and disgust. Looking at the slayer he loved, he noticed the deep-set scowl of anger and annoyance on her face at the mention of the half-demon. It reminded Angel how much she hated Whistler for manipulating her life and his intentions to cause a large-scale apocalypse. He couldn't share her feelings. He still wanted to save the person who had helped him have a purpose in life, but he understood why the blonde slayer despised him so much.

At the small slayer's heavily irritated tone and Faith's explanation, Alasdair observed the two of them in intense bewilderment as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Quickly remembering that the archmage did not know anything about this beforehand, Angel decided to fill in him. "They're trying to create some sort of ... plague from the stored energy in magical items." He began, still feeling unsettled at that idea. "It'll bring magic back by making it part of us. We'll evolve." Angel elaborated, a serious expression on his face. " 'Cept the couple billion who die." The souled vampire finished bluntly, his tone grim and matter-of-fact.

"And guess what happens to them?" Faith supplied seriously, crossing her arms with a mildly worried frown on her face.

Alasdair's face lighted with horror, looking rather taken aback. "Oh no." He murmured mostly to himself, sounding nervous and somewhat frustrated.

"Eyghon's army suddenly gets an advancement in numbers." Buffy clarified somberly, a serious look on her face as she appeared to be thinking over all of this information to find some sort of solution to it.

Faith nodded in agreement. "That's the deal. Eyghon gets a continent. And billions of magic-soaked zombies to populate it with." The dark slayer stated confidently, then gave a tiny shrug of her shoulders. "Sure, even they'll wear out sooner or later. But as long as people die, he'll get more where they came from." The brunette pointed out levelly, her frown deepening. "He'll be the new world order's first superpower. And create a Hell on Earth."

Nadira was staring at Faith, looking frustrated and bewildered. "Then why does he want us? Our friends?" The young slayer demanded, throwing up one of her arms as she spoke. "I got the feeling he lured us there specifically. If he just wants bodies for his army, there's easier prey." The brunette argued meaningfully, looking at the Faith, Buffy, and Angel pressingly.

"Why go for the easy prey when you can get something even better?" Buffy answered, her green eyes very serious and thoughtful. "He doesn't want that, Nadira. He wants slayers." The blonde slayer declared confidently, tone entirely matter-of-fact. At this, Angel couldn't help feeling uneasy as he watched her. "Think about it. After I smashed the seed, we still kept our slayerness. All because it was inside us or something." She recalled off-handedly, her gaze distant. "There's more to Eyghan's bad guy scheme than that, though." She continued on, her voice firm. "We're really strong and there's still a lot of us around. Being a slayer means power." Buffy stated levelly without a waver, though Angel saw that distant look in her eyes again. "And he wants to build an army ... capture slayers. 2 + 2 equals ..." The blonde slayer finished, trailing off meaningfully as she looked at them.

Nadira's confusion died slowly as she absorbed the blonde's words, looking a little frustrated but glancing at her former general with a look that could only be interpreted as respect. It seemed like Buffy's confident and deep explanation had impressed the trademark difficult, bad-tempered slayer enough to calm down at least. It seemed like to Angel that, out of the slayers in this room (excluding Faith), she had been surprisingly less hostile towards Buffy's presence and never appeared to blame her for the end of magic. As of right now though, the slayer Lauren just seemed extremely nervous over this reminder while Sara looked shocked at the blonde's words. Were they really that quick to forget how Buffy had led them faithfully for two years-and-a half despite all of the complications? Angel didn't understand it.

Meanwhile, Alasdair was also staring at the slayer in surprise. It looked he couldn't believe that someone as young as Buffy was to be that intelligent and good at figuring out problems when it was the right time for it. However, neither Angel nor Faith were shocked at all. They had long since respected Buffy's way of doing things and valued her insight.

Yet, Angel couldn't help feeling worried despite himself as he registered Buffy's deduction. It was no surprise to him that Eyghon wanted to have an army of slayers under his possession, but he wondered just how much the blonde slayer herself fit into that. Unlike the rest of them, she was given the Mark of Eyghon that would ensure far greater consequences than just the usual possession. Buffy's right ... Eyghon needs slayers to increase his forces. And Buffy's the strongest one of them. Angel recognized, feeling anxiousness grip him on the blonde slayer's behalf.

It made entire sense for the small blonde to be targeted the most outside of revenge and he wasn't sure if he could take that risk. There was no denying Angel had sworn he would kill Eyghon for Giles and Buffy, but what if he somehow failed? What if Buffy was taken over by Eyghon for good simply because he allowed her to go along with this? It was so dangerous and the risk for her was just too high. Once again, despite Buffy's preference, he could not find it in him to be comfortable having her play a part in the final battle with Eyghon. There were just so many ways it could go wrong.

Staring at the Buffy's unreadable expression, Angel wondered if she was having the same concerns about this as he was or at the very least had the thought cross her mind; even though she would never admit it.

Resisting a sigh, Angel forced himself to clear his mind. Letting himself brood over Buffy's safety was not what he should be doing right now and he knew it. He had more important things to like help clarify some things for everyone in order to prepare themselves for battle and make sure he had a proper stock of weapons and strategies in order should the worst happen. It didn't have the privilege to be distracted.

Getting focused again, Angel raised his eyes to the group seriously. "Eyghon's not stupid. He doesn't trust Pearl and Nash." The vampire brought up straightforwardly, tone firm. "Whistler, maybe. He's all about balance and making half the planet hell might be part of his plan to make the other half paradise." He conceded matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest. "But he knows Pearl and Nash don't like sharing power. They won't trust him anymore than he trust them. Greed recognizes greed. He's afraid they'll try a double-cross." Angel stated seriously, his dark brown eyes level and thoughtful. "Like Buffy said, Eyghon wants slayers. He needs an army of superhuman warriors whose bodies are infused with magic so they'll last." He elaborated further, quickly picking off where she had left off.

Buffy was listening to him intently, nodding in her head in agreement. "If Pearl and Nash make Eyghon jumpy, then that might come in handy for us later. A 'just in case' deal." The blonde slayer supplied firmly, a determined look on her face. "Now Eyghon's the biggie. He already has a lot of victims powering up his 'Army of the Damned', but he's not done yet." She pointed out logically, staring at him urgently. "We need to kill him before he can get any more. After that ... we'll free the people he already possessed." Buffy stated confidently, her gaze flickering at Nadira and the other slayers to let them know she was talking about their friends.

Alasdair's eyes flicked between Buffy and Angel nervously. "You do realize that he'll be taking advantage of the fact that you don't want to hurt his thralls while they have no such restrictions." The arch mage reminded them cautiously, looking at them in uncertainty.

Angel was unfazed. He had already thought this through beforehand. "That's why I'm looking for weapons we can use to disable them without causing any permanent damage." The souled vampire informed him calmly, looking at Alasdair pointedly. "Got any hand-cuffs?" Angel asked him questioningly, wondering if there were any more weapons around he could use to help him.

"The cabinet to the left." Alasdair referred to, pointing the direction it was.

Angel silently acknowledged him before walking over the brief steps towards the cabinet and opening it. He hoped that maybe Alasdair had something that could maybe fight off further possession from Eyghon. It was not just for the remaining slayers, but Buffy as well. There was still no guarantee over how much control the demon could have on her or if it was the same as it used to be. However, Angel couldn't help doubting his own hope. If there was such a item, then Alasdair was sure to have told him earlier with Buffy when they were discussing the Eyghon mark.

As he peered into the cabinet intently, the vampire noticed that Buffy had followed him and was standing right by his side. She was also staring at the magical items, her green eyes questioning but intrigued. He could tell that she was trying to figure out which one of them might help stave off Eyghon's control, but he also wondered if she was also thinking about her own situation that could maybe easily follow this route.

Away from the two of them, the others were already pulling weapons out of Alasdair's personal stock. Nadira had chosen a medium-length sword, Sara a spiked club, Lauren a flail, and Faith an axe. Buffy still had the magical sword gripped firmly in her grasp as she peered at the cabinet, reminding Angel that he had yet to ask for the sword back since he was only one meant to use it. Meanwhile, Alasdair was on the side opposite Buffy and Angel, also staring at the items he had in the cabinet.

"Do you have anything that can ward off possession?" Angel finally questioned seriously, staring intently at the stock. He still mostly doubted it, but there was that part of him that hoped he was wrong. Beside him, Buffy's interest sharpened several degrees and she glanced at the vampire intently; he guessed she got the double-meaning of why he was asking.

"By a demon reaching out from a distance, a hell dimension, yes. But nothing that Eyghon, at close proximity, won't be able to overcome." Alasdair replied regretfully, looking sympathetic but cautious as he glanced at the two of them out of the corner of his eye.

Bitter disappointment hit Angel, but he forced himself to hide it. "I was afraid of that." He answered lowly, keeping his tone calm and firm. It looks his only option was to improvise and deal with what he had at his access already. It still bothered the vampire more than he liked he had absolutely nothing to help him save Buffy and the other slayers from Eyghon's possession, but he'd accept it and just fall back on his plan to kill the demon. Problem with that was it was lot easier said than done.

Nearby, Buffy huffed in irritation and scowled. "So basically this is about as useful as fancy jewelry?" The blonde slayer compared in irritation, frowning at the magic items below her. "Pretty to look at, but not worth the time." She muttered dryly, but she didn't look the least bit joking or even forced joking. Angel wondered if she had hoped there would've been something in there to help her.

"Now I wouldn't say that, my dear." The British man disagreed quickly, looking somewhat offended at the slayer's analogy. "They have uses, just not meant specifically for these battle conditions." Alasdair pointed out reasonably, pushing his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose as he stared at the blonde slayer sternly.

Buffy just gave a shrug of her shoulders, looking disinterested. "Like I said. Jewelry." The small slayer repeated lamely, but she seemed to quickly overcome her mild annoyance as she seemed to sober up again. "Guess we'll just have to go back to Plan A: Taking down Eyghon and getting everything back to normal." She pointed out matter-of-factly, then suddenly a slight smirk pulled at her lips. "Doesn't sound too hard." She quipped glibly, but her light tone indicated she was being sarcastic.

"This is a very serious matter." Alasdair countered meaningfully, frowning slightly at the young blonde. "You will need to fight intelligently. Each with specific roles." The archmage started seriously, his small eyes sweeping over the group. "Ladies, your focus must be Eyghon's minions. Those of you with edged weapons, slay the walking dead. Those with blunt weapons and restraints, attack your living friends. Remove them from the fight." He instructed matter-of-factly, sounding stern and unyielding.

"By 'ladies', I hope you're not meaning me ..." Buffy suddenly butt in, staring at the magic sword again as she turned it in her hand a moment. After realizing what she had just said, she frowned. "Okay, that sounded really weird, but anyway." The blonde slayer voiced out loud awkwardly, quickly recovering from her strange statement. "I want to be the one chopping off Eyghon's demon-y head. Call it ... a headotomy." Buffy punned lamely, but Angel knew well enough to know that despite her light tone she was utterly serious about that. "It's a little risky, I know, but I've gotten out of tight spots before." She pointed out easily, this time her expression serious.

Protest and fear swirled so strongly inside Angel, he was certain he was showing. "No, Buffy." Angel voiced right away, his tone steady and leaving no room for argument as he gazed at her almost sternly. He knew Buffy would demand to be the one to kill him, but he hoped so much he would be wrong. Yet, the small blonde was never one to take things quietly. She has to know how dangerous that is. She knows better! But she's taking this too personally. He reflected in slight frustration, feeling dismayed and nervous. Angel had no intention of including Buffy in this fight when she had the Mark of Eyghon, but how could he tell her this without her somehow taking it as an insult?

Alasdair's small eyes widened underneath his glasses. "Absolutely not." The archmage denied instantly, looking appalled at even the suggestion. "Taking Eyghon head-on in your case is a fool's errand and will only end as being one of his victims." He argued logically, sounding slightly shocked that the young blonde could be that reckless. "You may be powerful, Buffy, but you are not free of Eyghon's control." The archmage reminded her sternly, fixing her with a firm look. "Some could argue you are the most vulnerable." Alasdair stated in a much quieter tone, his voice and the look he gave her full of unspoken meaning. Angel agreed, but he couldn't help inwardly wincing at fact he had told Buffy this to her face so easily. Clearly, he was not used to handling her at all.

"Are you mad, Buffy?" Nadira spoke up harshly, narrowing her brown eyes at her former leader in disbelief. "And here you are telling us to be the careful ones." The brunette slayer mentioned in a pointed tone, sounding full of her characteristic ill temper and scorn.

"Gotta hand it to you, B." Faith started somewhat lightly, but she was looking at her blonde counterpart nervously. "You've said a lot of crap before, but this one's definitely out there." The dark slayer stated doubtfully, scratching the back of her head with one hand as she stared at Buffy uncertainly.

A flash of annoyance crossed the blonde's face, but she apparently tried to choke it down. "Look, I know it's dangerous and can go way off into a very, very bad situation ..." Buffy admitted reluctantly, but she was still staring at them with her characteristic fire. "But I won't let Eyghon get me. I can handle myself." The small slayer stated reassuringly, sounding confident of it.

"Buffy, you're not thinking clearly." Angel argued bluntly, irritated at her in spite of his nervousness and understanding. Didn't she get how reckless and dangerous this was for her? The Eyghon mark alone made that absolutely clear. "It's too dangerous for you to go fight him like and you know it." The souled vampire carried on meaningfully, earning Buffy to glare at him in challenge and annoyance.

Alasdair was giving her a long look, then sighed heavily. "You're misunderstanding this, Buffy." The archmage began seriously, looking at her unsurely. " You cannot promise that when you got caught before and with injuries no less. You are very much at risk." He reminded her sternly, immediately prompting the slayer in question to scowl slightly and look away. He paused a moment, giving a expectant look at Angel. "Angel is the only one immune to Eyghon's possession, thanks to demon already inside him. He will have to be the one to kill Eyghon, not you." Alasdair revealed levelly, sounding calm but staring at Buffy warily.

Buffy glanced back at Angel in displeasure, then looked away and glared at air. The souled vampire could tell how angry and upset she was by this information, but it almost seemed her defenses were cracking a little as she let herself appreciate Alasdair's logic even slightly. Angel's frustration was disappearing and he couldn't help looking at her worriedly, still not too keen on how he could possibly have her stay out of the fight so Eyghon couldn't possess her through her mark. If she would react like this simply being told not to kill Eyghon, then how would she react if Angel told her she had to stay out of it completely? The mental picture of it wasn't one the souled vampire wanted to live, yet he knew he probably would.

As the small slayer continued to say nothing with a slight scowl on her face, Angel's worrying on whether or not she would back down would prove to be too much. Maybe she needed a little more coaxing, more logical reasons to have her see she couldn't kill Eyghon on her own. It wasn't his main reason for wanting to do this by a long shot, but he hoped it would break through Buffy's defiance. Angel figured she needed more than Alasdair's logic and he got the feeling that Angel himself simply telling her it was too risky without an explanation wouldn't work on her. As for telling her to stay out of it completely ... he was still working on that part. He'll get to that ... later.

"Buffy, listen to us." Angel pleaded, keeping his voice low but urgent. "I know you're the type for being on the frontlines, but not in this. " The vampire continued on firmly, staring at her seriously. "You know what happened in your last fight with him. You're susceptible to him. Maybe even more than everyone here." He pointed out reasonably, prompting Buffy to give him a slight glare with narrowed eyes. It looked like she did get the hidden double-meaning in Angel's words, but he wasn't going to make it overt. "You're the strongest person in this room and that's not good if he gets full control over you." He stated instead without hesitation, keeping his voice calm and reasonable. It wasn't like he was lying. Even if she didn't have the Eyghon Mark, Buffy would still be too risky to have possessed given her amazing strength. Their odds of winning would be far worse.

Buffy didn't say anything, still stubbornly glaring at him through narrowed green eyes. Yet, something inside Angel told her that the blonde slayer was pushing aside her personal feelings and seeing he had a point. He wasn't a point she liked, but it was still true. She still didn't stop glaring at him, but when her defensive posture lessened and she looked disgruntled but resigned, Angel knew he had won.

Letting out a heavily annoyed sigh, Buffy looked mutinously at Alasdair. "I'll leave Eyghon to Angel. I'll just ... fight with the other slayers. Make sure none of them get all wonky." The blonde slayer conceded grudgingly, though she still seemed greatly unsatisfied with the idea. Meanwhile, Angel couldn't help feeling guilty again as he heard how much she believed she was going to be involved. Could he let her? He sometimes swayed, but in the end he didn't think he could. It was too dangerous for her and if her mark activitated under Eyghon with some new ability, it would jeopardize the whole plan. While he was worried about Buffy, it was strategically unwise for the battle as well.

Hiding his inner conflict, the souled vampire reached out his hand towards her. "Great. Now think you can hand me the sword?" Angel asked in slightly pointed tone, keeping his voice normal and trying to clear his mind of his worries. Buffy's large green eyes blinked at him in mild surprise, causing Angel to smirk a little in amusement. It looked like that Buffy had maybe forgotten she was still holding it.

Buffy frowned, then lifted up the sword with two hands to inspect it again. "I don't know. It looks better on me, don't cha think?" The blonde slayer responded whimsically, a somewhat teasing smile on her lips that matched her light-hearted voice. Hearing this, Angel couldn't stop his smirk from widening as he observed the cute gesture.

Alasdair observed her, an mildly exasperated frown on his face. "Buffy, you must stop being difficult." The archmage reprimanded, his voice firm and stern once more. "It has to-"

The blonde slayer's disbelieving, somewhat annoyed look silenced the old man. "You really don't get my sense of humor, do you?" Buffy commented dryly, giving him an unimpressed look. Alasdair looked understandably embarrassed at this for being called out, but quickly cleared his throat and regained his composed.

Buffy ignored the man and then reached the magical sword until Angel grabbed it from her. Taking it and sensing that it didn't really feel that heavy, the souled vampire shifted it into his hand and thought for a moment as he figured out what his next move was. I can try to take down Eyghon, but it's not going to be easy and it can't be just me. Or the slayers. He thought matter-of-factly, recalling the unsettling reminder of the call he had made earlier with a slight grimace. The call he really hadn't wanted to make especially with Buffy with him, but Angel figured he was desperate.

Propping the sword up harmlessly against his shoulder, the vampire looked at the group solemnly. "Still, even with a magical sword, I don't stand a chance against the demon in it's pure form. Not alone." Angel admitted seriously, resisting the urge to grimace as he was getting closer to revealing who exactly he had invited here to help him with Eyghon. He hoped Buffy would remain in the dark over it and have no idea who it was the entire time, but he knew that was just his wishful thinking.

"Which I figured." Buffy answered quickly, sounding unsurprised. "But I'm not really seeing the point here. Sure, we can't get up close and personal with Eyghon. But we can help a little, right?" The small slayer responded firmly, though was glancing at the souled vampire with a cautious gaze. "Or am I cut off from that too?" Buffy questioned rhetorically, her tone unfriendly. Angel almost winced at just how close the blonde slayer had unintentionally gotten to his eventual plans.

"We're hardly footballer's wives." Nadira retorted firmly, holding her sword tightly and giving Angel a glare as if he was trying to write her off as useless and meant to stay out of everything.

"Not what I meant." Angel quickly corrected, his tone more annoyed than what he intended it to be. He guessed it was the fact that he was actually almost talking about who he called. "You're all incredibly capable ... and like I said before, that's a problem if Eyghon turns you." He reminded them seriously, almost positive he had a fully exasperated expression on his face now despite his efforts. "I'm immune. But I needed ... to call someone else to come. Back-up, I guess. Someone who can help." He forced out reluctantly, his tone tense and bothered. Angel probably should've been more clearer with who he was talking about, but he found he couldn't do that with Buffy standing right there. And yes, despite everything, he was still that petty.

Buffy was staring at him, her green gaze cautious. "You mean that someone you called earlier, but wouldn't tell me who?" She recalled, her tone edged with meaning and slight annoyance. "What's up with that, huh?" She inquired in mock innocence, crossing her arms and fixing Angel with a prompting look he found he couldn't look directly at.

Because I didn't want you to know I brought him here. Angel answered her question silently to himself, feeling annoyed with the way this was probably going to go. Truly, despite his issues with Buffy, he had preferred it if he had never called him to come to London to help him fight Eyghon so it wouldn't complicate his time with her even more. Now it was too late and he'd have to put up with ... just everything he didn't want to. He did say he was still as petty as ever, right?

"I didn't ... you'll find out yourself." Angel muttered noncommittally, still not looking her directly in the eyes as he tried to control how irritated he was with Buffy trying to make him talk about this when he wasn't. In fact, he had absolutely no intention to until Buffy saw it for herself when the other vampire got here. Yay for him. Angel briefly wondered if he looked like he was sulking.

Buffy looked surprised for a second, then she gave him an annoyed look. "Geez. What got you all pouty and growly all of a sudden?" The blonde slayer questioned in genuine confusion, though the level of irritation and frustration with him for not giving a straight answer was still heavily detectable to Angel's ears.

Faith was staring at him in her own bewilderment. "Well, whoever it is, we need people we can trust. Who'd you have in mind?" The dark slayer snapped at him, the tinge of frustration to her tone even rivaling Buffy's. "Harmony? She'd sell us out fast'n-" She tried to say, sounding greatly indignant.

"Not Harmony." Angel corrected curtly, hardly able to believe Faith could think he could be that stupid in calling Harmony. "It's ... it's just someone else." The vampire reiterated in irritation, still not having it in him to say the vampire's name when Buffy was right next to him.

Just when Buffy and Faith were probably about to force him to give answer that actually informed them on things, the souled vampire felt a familiar smell hit his nose in the direction of the doorway. Annoyance and displeasure shot through him as quickly as he recognized it and he couldn't help flashing a brief frustrated glance at Buffy who still seemed lost and greatly irritated with him. I can't believe I'm saying this ... but I actually don't want Buffy here now. Angel growled to himself in his thoughts, feel torn between his pettiness and his logic. He just ... he just didn't want one of them here!

Unfortunately, an unwelcome voice flitted to the Angel's ears and he almost sighed in frustration. "Right then. No more weepin' and moanin', everyone." An aggravatingly cocky and taunting voice said, pushing the door open. Looking up at him in resignation, Angel saw the familiar but irritating form of his grandchilde and rival ... Spike.

Pushing the door open all the way, Spike continued his bravado. "Spike's here to ..." The bleached-blonde vampire's words immediately fell flat as he saw a better glimpse of everyone in the house. The younger vampire's blue eyes widened in shock and disbelief. " ... Buffy?" He choked out, the normally confident vampire looking absolutely astounded and even horrified.

Risking a glance at the blonde slayer beside him, Angel recognized Buffy's expression nearly mirrored Spike's. Her mouth was slightly open and her large green eyes were huge with surprise and bewilderment. "Spike?" She called out, her tone extremely puzzled and numb with shock. Blinking her eyes rapidly to make sure she wasn't imaging it, Buffy quickly gave a side glance at Angel. "You brought Spike here?" She questioned him in a daze, sounding absolutely incredulous and numb at the same time.

Angel didn't take his eyes off a still stunned Spike, a displeased and ill-humored expression on his face. "Don't make me regret it." The souled vampire replied simply, this tone flat. He dimly wondered how much he was going to go through with Buffy and Spike here, but there was something inside of him that was saying it was going to be a taxing and aggravating experience.

Spike's blue eyes were wide, still entirely taking off guard and floored with the "sudden" appearance of the blonde slayer they both loved. The blonde vampire blinked a few times, his shocked state gradually receding. Spike's eyes flicked over Buffy, a curious degree of frustration and irritation skirting across his face as he stared at the slayer. He clenched his teeth slightly and looked down in displeasure; it almost appeared to Angel he was moping. "Bloody brilliant." The bleached blonde vampire muttered to himself.


A/N:I told you the ending of this chapter would be fun and leave you guessing. xD I'm guessing this was a really predictable ending for those of you who read the A&F issue when Spike actually shows up, but I thought that you'd like the way this chapter ended nonetheless. I really enjoyed writing it. XD

I know Buffy woke up quite quickly instead of being passed out for a long time (which would've happened if Faith hadn't woken her up from the possession), but I wanted Buffy to have a greater part in the planning of the battle of Eyghon and I deeply enjoy showing that side of her character that makes her so quick to save anyone no matter what the risk and how she immediately took off because she couldn't leave Angel fighting alone. I didn't mention it last chapter, but I like how Buffy and Angel argued over being the bait for Eyghon because they're the same in their self-sacrificing and protective natures for other people. It's somewhat surprising, but I can list multiple similarities between Angel and Buffy that parallel them to each other (ironic lol). :)

Buffy's thoughts on Angel while in the car ... ooh, the conflict. XD Yes, finally Buffy is making some more headway in her relationship and really actually thinking about it instead of avoiding it like she always prefers to. You see she acknowledges all of the good things he's done for her and others since she got here, but she's still holding back over forgiving him. Like I said last chapter, this is a very heavily moral/relationship with Angel issues that makes her so conflicted. I hope I made that come across well. :) Though you see that she breaks down her walls a little when she spills everything about the Eyghon mark because she knew this at least: She trusts his love for her, she trusts that he cares, she trusts that he only tries to do the right thing so she told him. It may not be much, but I thought that really pays homage to how Buffy views Angel despite everything. While Buffy made a leap in this and treats him considerably more normally, her conflict and forgiveness issue is still not over. She has a few more trials to go. The next few chapters is heavily tied into that. ;)

Angel's behavior with Buffy in this ... it was just really sweet to me. :3 He spends the whole chapter trying to help her and protect her no matter what she feels for him and I just love that about him and the B/A relationship in general. I figured there was no way possible Angel wouldn't demand to be involved when he saw her pass out in front of him so we get to see him push her out of her comfort zone for once. Angel has very low confidence w/ Buffy after Giles died so never tries to push her, but you see him get over that a little because he wants to help her so badly. He understands how she feels, but Angel doesn't let that stop him. "I never said you had to forgive me, but you need to let me help you." - Favorite line of Angel's in this. :D Angel just doesn't screw around when it comes to Buffy's safety, even under those circumstances. ;)

And yes, Buffy's "complication" is that she has the Eyghon Mark back on her back (sorta xD). I've never understood how Buffy was able to remove that mark that easily in S2 considering Eyghon was revealed to be alive. Since his death was retconned, I figured I had make that bit make sense. Eyghon's at full power and he was able to put it on her again as an act of revenge and power-hungriness. But Eyghon's stronger now so what are the new limits he has on it beside dooming Buffy to eternal torment like Giles? That's the question and that's what Buffy's conflict is now. Angel's worried and wants her to stay out it, but will Buffy listen or is Angel worrying over nothing? Next chapter's gonna be the reveal. :P As for the whole Angel "I need to look at your mark" thing ... I feel like it's in-character for Angel to ask that since he worries a crap-load about Buffy, but I'm worried I made Buffy OCC by agreeing. Though Angel's nervousness at the start was epically perfect, that's so him to me. XD But I find Angel mature enough to overcome his attraction to Buffy the moment he actually sees the mark because he's not a pervert and would worry a lot more instead of thinking she's hot or something. xD Still, Angel's initial reaction to that situation is so funny because you know what he's thinking the entire time and he's just like "No, I can't do that." XD XD Putting Angel in awkward situations are so fun srsly his reactions are flawless lol.

Angel's pettiness ... definitely another hilarious Angel moment to me. xD He refuses to tell Buffy he's calling Spike for help until the very end (literally lol) and then he gets mad when Spike gets here because he knows it might ruin his time with Buffy lol. I know Angel didn't have as much trouble calling Spike in the comics, but that Angel didn't have Buffy posted in London with him. XD She changes how he reacts. I don't want anyone to expect Angel to act as bad as he did in Atvs S5 over Spuffy because as jealous and petty as he is, I don't think Angel's selfish enough to act like that when he doesn't really have a right to (In his mind, Buffy might hate him, never forgive him etc.). Remember, he's extremely unconfident about Buffy now so he really can't be that much of a show-off to Spike. Yet, Angel's still petty, jealous, loves Buffy, and Spike's his rival so ... next chapter's gonna be fun. xD

As Spike's appearance himself, I always knew the moment I saw his entrance in A&F #18 I wanted to end a chapter in this story just like that. xD It's just so perfect and I think even better now that Buffy's involved. ;) Buffy, Spike, and Angel together again lol. However, I want to give my Bangel readers a warning. I am not *anti* Spuffy at all and even if I was, I would still write how it is in canon. I actually respect the Spuffy relationship and even enjoy it despite being B/A. If Angel suddenly died in canon, then I would want Spike to be with Buffy. I'm a Bangel fan that never bashes Spuffy post-S6 and doesn't bash Spike because I really like them. So next chapter ... if you expect Spuffy bashing, you're reading the wrong fanfic.

NEXT CHAPTER: After the surprising appearance of Spike, Buffy and Angel respond accordingly and deal with it in their own way ... though it is not easy for either of them. Buffy's complicated relationships with both vampires is quick to revive itself and as much as the blonde slayer is irritated over this, she tries to fix her attention on killing Eyhon and freeing Giles from the demon (as well as keeping in mind her new Eyghon mark) However, more problems arise as they head off to battle ...