CHAPTER ELEVEN

Buffy gently laid Faith down on the couch and growled angrily, her irrational fear of bugs in general subsiding quickly as she spun around, looking to see where it'd gone. She picked up the baseball bat that Faith had dropped and stalked her way around the apartment.

"Okay, come out you little freak of nature!" Buffy called out into the quiet of the small apartment. "I'm so going to make you pay for what you did to my…my girlfriend!"

Buffy sucked in a deep breath and spun around as she heard the soft flutter of wings behind her. Her years as a slayer had her senses honed in on one sound, but she'd been rusty lately, far too much. It took all her focus and she could feel the beads of sweat as they rolled down her back as she listened for the flutter of broken wings.

She walked around the apartment slowly, quietly, listening to every slight sound she heard. She stepped past the pile of dirty clothes that had been there long before she'd gotten there and pressed her back up against the wall by the open bathroom door. She glanced to her right and then to her left sharply, only just catching that thing out of the corner of her eye. She rushed across the apartment towards the door and waited, holding her breath as she listened to the sounds of the broken wings fluttering as they got closer.

"Aha!" Buffy laughed as she grabbed a hold of the bug tightly in her hand, mildly surprised it didn't immediately squish in her hand. "Hard one to kill, aren't you?"

"You can't kill me," the tinny voice squealed and she nearly dropped it as she heard the words so very clearly.

"Huh?"

She felt it bite her index finger and she stormed into the kitchen and held the thumb-sized, human-like bug on the counter while she reached out for the knives in the wooden block, pulling out the butcher knife with ease. What she heard next sounded like laughter and it chilled her, but it didn't stop her from moving quickly at stabbing the freakish human looking, talking bug against the countertop. Breathing heavily, she walked over to where the phone was and picked it up, stopping short when she was unsure of who to call, what number to call and she put the receiver back down.

After checking on Faith, who was thankfully still breathing, she searched through the cluttered desk and found an address book after unsuccessfully trying to find her cell phone. She stopped short again, wondering who she was going to call. Willow? Dawn? Giles? Groaning as she flipped through the mostly empty address book, she stopped when she reached the only page with a list of numbers on it.

"So," Faith said groggily as she slowly sat up on the couch and held her head with one hand. "I—I'm your girlfriend, B?"

"Faith, are you okay?"

"Feeling a bit woozy here," she shrugged as she tried to stand up and fell back down on the couch. "Don't worry about me. You find that little fucker or what?"

"It's currently trapped in between the counter and a sharp knife," Buffy replied and Faith laughed weakly as Buffy dropped the address book down on the desk and rushed over to her side. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Uh," Faith sucked in a deep breath as she closed her eyes for a second. "I need you to call Willow."

Buffy grimaced and she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because Willow was all too willing to strip Angel of his soul, or maybe it was because she was still feeling uneasy about being there in Cleveland and seeking their help. Faith frowned and she tried to sit up straighter with no avail. Buffy moved to help her, worried about the state she was in and what that thing did to her.

"You serious about me being your girlfriend, B?"

"Faith…"

"Yes or no?" Faith asked in all seriousness.

"Yes," Buffy nodded, not doubting it for a second. "I'm serious. Wasn't it obvious?"

"Now that that's all squared away," Faith chuckled weakly and she motioned for Buffy to get the phone. "Ya gotta call Will, B. If anyone is gonna be able to help us, help me, it's gonna be her."

Buffy nodded, frowning slightly as she leaned in to kiss Faith's forehead softly. She pressed her forehead against Faith's temple and sighed softly, recalling the words Faith had asked her hours before: "how did everything get so messed up?". She didn't know. She wished she knew. Before London, things had been simple if not complicated all at once.

Buffy moved from the couch quickly, grabbing the phone out of the kitchen and returning to Faith immediately. She handed her the phone and let her slowly dial a number, her hands shaking, twitching, showing signs of weakness Buffy knew she was trying so desperately to hide from her. As Faith handed her the phone, she lifted the receiver to her ear and waited as the call clicked through and the line began to ring.

Angelus twitched as he stepped off the elevator onto the eleventh floor and turned in the direction of his room. Something had felt awfully peculiar as soon as he'd reached the hotel lobby, something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"That's the last time I drink from a street whore," he muttered to himself as he stumbled down the hallway, using the wall to brace himself from falling. "What the hell was she on, anyway?"

"Sir, are you okay?" An elderly man asked as he walked past, stopping short as Angelus stumbled again. "Sir?"

"Get out of here," Angelus growled as he pushed himself off the wall and continued down the hallway. "What the hell is going on here?"

Shaking his head, he stopped short at the corner, his feet stumbling as he fought to make it the rest of his way to his own room. Instead, he found himself stumbling and struggling along to the room Josef was staying in. He crashed through the door, laughing defiantly as he brushed off the dust and splintered wood from his clothes and spun around to face a startled Josef sitting at the desk in front of the window.

"Hey…buddy," Angelus chuckled as Josef rose fluidly from the chair, clutching a freshly carved stake against his chest. "Whatcha gonna use that for, hmm?"

"Oh um—I-I—"

"Cat got your tongue?" Angelus sneered and he glanced back at the broken door. "Don't even think about it," he said as he looked back at Josef, tasting his fear. "You know what they did to me, don't you?"

"Y—yes."

"Heh heh," Angelus chuckled as he took a step closer to Josef, watching as he jumped back, startled. "Good, maybe you can help me out here for a minute, buddy."

"Why would I help you?"

"That is not the correct answer."

Josef trembled as Angelus reached out and snatched the freshly carved stake out of his hands and threw it across the room. He grabbed him by the front of his jacket and stared into his scared, tear-filled eyes.

"Let's try this again, hmm?"

"What do you ne—need me to do?"

"Hmm, let me see," Angelus said as he dragged Josef towards the broken doorway, still feeling a little unsteady on his feet, but it passed. "Shut up and walk," he said as he shoved the man out into the hallway and poked him in the back, motioning for him to head down the hallway.

He was going to kill him, just like he wanted to, just like Tarek him wanted to, but there was something else, something else nagging at him. It was like a voice inside his head, one he couldn't quite hear. Angelus shook his head hard and poked Josef in the back again, motioning him to turn the corner in the hallway. He grabbed a hold of the back of Josef's jacket and found the keycard to his room, or rather Angel's room, and unlocked the door.

"Get in," Angelus growled and he shoved Josef into the dark room. "Sit down and shut up," he said, moving quickly into the room after him and he hit the switch on the wall, turning on the lights. He grabbed the trembling warlock and shoved him down on the hard wooden chair he yanked out from under the table. "Don't move."

He barely caught the nod of Josef's head before he walked over to the worn looking suitcase at the foot of the bed. Curiously, he picked it up and tossed it on the bed and unzipped it, grinning in delight as he saw that Tarek had provided a few tools of torture for him.

"He doesn't trust you, you know," Josef said quietly and Angelus whipped around to look at him.

"No, the one he doesn't trust is you."

"I suppose he's already gone through with the summoning?"

"I could care less about the summoning," Angelus snapped and he grabbed the skinny, curved dagger and walked over to him. "It has nothing to do with me, so you know, don't care. In fact, I'm all for a little bit of torture when it comes to them."

"Those things are dangerous," Josef said, the trembling in his voice fading as Angelus pressed the tip of the dagger against his left cheek. "He thinks he can control them, but he has no idea how to stop them once he's bored of them."

"Hmm? Is that so?" Angelus glared down at the man, the warlock, the traitor.

"What is this favor you want from me?"

"It's not a favor per se," Angelus said, watching as the tip of the dagger pierced his skin and the thin line of blood that rolled down his cheek was positively enticing. "This spell, hmm?"

"The immortality one," Josef asked and he stifled a laugh. "You want to know where the rest of the spell is?"

"Sure."

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you anything?"

"Let's just say it makes a difference as to whether I kill you slowly and painfully, or I let you go," Angelus replied, trying hard in vein to keep the smile from curling over his lips.

"Le—let me go?"

"Sure, why not," Angelus shrugged and he moved the knife across his skin and licked over his lips as more blood trickled down Josef's cheek.

"He'll find me and kill me himself."

"Not if you go to that little red-headed witch. I'm sure she'll help you out with whatever it is you can't do yourself. Thought you were a pretty powerful warlock yourself, buddy? Or was that just you talking up your game, hmm?"

Josef turned his head away from him and it only angered him further. He grabbed his jaw hard and forced the warlock to look at him. The dagger in his hand started to grow hot, so hot to the point where he dropped it with a pained growl.

"Magic tricks," Angelus spat as he leaned in close. "That's all you got there, buddy? A bunch of magic tricks?"

He didn't give Josef a chance to speak as he wrapped his hands around his throat tightly, watching curiously as he sputtered and tried to remain calm despite the fact that he could hardly breathe. Angelus leaned in closer, licking over the blood that tricked from the cut he'd made along Josef's cheek and he grinned as he leaned back, easing up on his hold, but not completely.

"I've eaten a warlock before and I gotta say, you don't taste near as good as he did. I wonder why that is?" Angelus asked and he pondered for a minute, that nagging feeling in the back of his mind clouding his thoughts. He shook his head, irritated more so than ever and he tried not to let it show. "Oh wait, let me guess, you really aren't as powerful as you claim to be. Is that it?"

"N—no," Josef sputtered, gasping for breath as Angelus tightened his grip again. He shook his head no, his face going red from the entire lack of oxygen. With a roll of his eyes, Angelus tore his hands away from his neck and grabbed on to his shoulders as he watched Josef struggle to catch his breath. "No, I'm not," he said after a few minutes and he inhaled sharply. "Tarek gave me borrowed power. But he who shall give shall taketh away."

"I take it those are his words?"

"Yes," Josef replied sheepishly.

"You're simply pathetic, aren't you?" Angelus asked and chortled as he slapped Josef's cut cheek. "So, have you thought about it?"

"Thought about what?"

"Do I need a tape recorder just so I don't have to drone on, repeating myself for you? The spell, where is it?"

"There's a—a tool," Josef stammered and it wasn't good enough. Angelus grabbed his cut cheek and squeezed hard, clamping his other hand over Josef's mouth to muffle the screams. "There's a tool that's used to locate each piece!"

"What kind of a tool?"

"A wand, an old wand forged by Tarek himself."

"Okay, I'll bite," Angelus said and he leaned in close until he could feel the bursts of Josef's hot, panicked breath on his face. "Where is this wand?"

"There's a cave—"

"There are lots of caves everywhere. Hey, hey! Listen to me," Angelus growled as his face morphed as his anger rose. "Be very, very specific. I'm only giving you one chance. My patience is wearing thin and I'm not exactly known to be…gentle."

"The Cliffs of Moher. The cave it…it's hidden in the cliffs. There—there's an old castle about half a mile from the path that leads there."

"Now," Angelus said as he pushed Josef back, the chair threatening to topple. "Was that so hard? Hmm?"

"Are you going to let me go?" Josef whispered, his voice sounding not that of a twenty-something, but that of a child. "I told you what you wanted to know. Are you going to let me go? Please…"

"Let you go?"

Angelus was struggling. He didn't know why and it was frustrating him, angering him further. As he tried to reach out for Josef, he felt a force inside of him, something was stopping him. Magic. With an angered roar, he struggled to move, to grab a hold of Josef and snap his skinny little neck and Josef watched in horror as he was rooted to the spot and fighting against himself. Then he started to hear the familiar ring of a telephone and he glanced at the phone beside the bed. It wasn't that. It wasn't there. It was somewhere else. Somewhere wherever the person who was controlling him was.

"Oh that bitch!" Angelus groaned as he pulled at his short hair. "I should've killed that little red-headed witch when I had the chance!"

As suddenly as the ringing started it stopped and he breathed heavily, his whole body feeling heavier and heavier. He clenched his fists at his side and forced himself to move against the force that was controlling him, keeping him rooted in one spot.

"If you think for one minute that you're shoving that soul back in this body, you got another thing coming, bitch!"

Josef used that moment to leap up from the chair and make a mad dash for the door and it was in that moment that Angelus fell forward, the hold, the force that had overtaken him, suddenly gone with a blink of an eye. He moved quickly, far quicker than the wanna-be warlock and grabbed him by his jacket collar.

"And where do you think you're going?"Angelus said and chortled as he wrapped an arm around Josef from behind. He chuckled lowly and sniffed the fear rolling off the trembling man. "You know, they always taste better when they're terrified. Must be the rush of adrenaline and whatever else fuels the fear, huh? What do you think?"

"No…please…please don't…please…"

"God, I just love it when they beg!" Angelus grinned and he sunk his fangs deep into Josef's neck, closing his eyes in pleasure as the warm rush of blood flowed into his mouth.

"Ooh I don't ever want to do something like that again," Willow groaned queasily as she held her head, feeling the room spin around her as Giles caught her before she fell off the table.

"Did he—"

"No," Willow shook her head. "He didn't kill Josef. I—I don't think he did. I severed the connection. I—I could feel how angry he was becoming and I couldn't hold on for much longer."

Not that it made what she forced Angelus to do any better, but at least they had a location of the very specific tool that had helped Josef find the first part of the immortality spell. Giles helped her over to lay on the couch, her head still spinning, her mouth dry and her insides felt like they were on fire.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Water?" Willow replied weakly. "Water would be great."

Giles grabbed a bottle of water he'd already fetched for her off the end table and unscrewed the cap, helping her sit up so she could drink a few sips. She sighed in relief and sat up on her own. On the table, the quartz crystal she'd used was smashed to tiny pieces, like it'd been hit with a troll hammer. The magic it'd taken, the power of it, it'd been almost too much for the powerful and strong crystal to handle.

"I—I need to finish," Willow said as she tried to stand up, but Giles, being concerned about her well-being after what he saw her go through, shook his head no. "Giles, we can't just have Angelus running around out there!"

"I am positive one of your apprentices can handle—"

"No," Willow said sharply. "No, I don't want them doing that spell. It needs to be done properly, without any hiccups. It's me or we send Faith out to track him down and kill him."

Giles sighed and the look he gave her told her he knew she was right. She just needed a few minutes to recover, but what scared her was in those few minutes and the twenty that would follow to prepare the spell that would put Angel's soul back into his body was more than enough time for Angelus to kill innocent people.

"Did I hear the phone not too long ago?" Willow asked as she vaguely remembered hearing her desk phone ringing. Giles nodded. "You didn't answer it, did you?"

"No, I was rather more concerned about you."

"What if it was important?" Willow asked with wide eyes as she got up from the couch quickly, shaking off the slight dizziness she felt as she stormed over to her desk and picked up the receiver. Sure enough there was a message and she hit the button and waited.

"Hey, Will, it's me," Faith said as the message played. Willow noticed she sounded…winded and kind of out of it and it made her worried. "Something real crazy just happened to me and B. I think you oughta come down here and see for yourself."

"Oh Goddess…" Willow sighed as she hung up the phone.

"What is it, Willow?"

"Something happened to Faith and Buffy, she didn't say what, but she said something real crazy just happened to them."

"I don't understand. That could mean anything."

"You should've heard her, Giles. She didn't sound like herself at all," Willow said and she felt the heavy worry settling in, making her stomach flip and flop around in somersaults. "What are we supposed to do? What if they're in trouble?"

"They're slayers, Willow, I am sure whatever it is, they can handle it themselves. Calling you is just a precaution when there's—oh dear lord."

"What?"

"The summoning! It has happened," Giles said and he picked up the phone and dialed a number quickly. After a few seconds he spoke quickly to the person on the other line. "Are you positive? Why on bloody earth haven't you informed me that it's happened yet? I see, yes, thank you."

"Giles?"

"Did we ever get the information from Josef of the type of summoning spell he had given Tarek?" Giles asked and Willow, with wide eyes, shook her head no. "Blast! Well, I fear we may be too late. If you're no longer in control of Angelus and the summoning has happened—"

"Josef could be dead," Willow finished for him quietly, frowning. "Oh, Faith was right. This was a bad idea!"

"It is far too late to change things now, Willow. What's done is done," Giles replied calmly. "In our line of work, decisions will be made whether they turn out to be good ones or bad. In the end, every choice we all make will have consequences. What we do afterwards can change the end of the outcome, but unfortunately not the start of it."

Willow shook her head. She was filled with conflicting emotions and something didn't feel right about the way Giles was acting. "Who did you call?"

"Pardon?"

"Who did you just call, Giles?"

"I don't see how that—"

"Who?!" Willow yelled and Giles stood there, completely expressionless. With a shake of her head, she picked up the phone and hit the redial button, keeping her eyes on Giles as the line rang twice before it was picked up.

"Bollocks, what is it now, Rupert?"

"Spike…?"

Faith poked at the faerie with a pencil, the body still pierced with the knife and unmoving. It had been an hour since she called Willow and with no response, she and Buffy started going through with some research of their own on Faith's laptop and found the closest thing to what that thing was, a mythological faerie, it's roots in fairytales and folklore.

"This can't be the real thing," Buffy said from the breakfast bar as she clicked through different pictures on the website she'd found. "These things just don't exist."

"If they don't exist, what the hell is this thing on my counter with a knife through it's body?"

Buffy furrowed her brow and kept clicking through the pictures. Faith poked at the faerie again, lifting the small, delicate looking arm up and pulled the pencil away, watching as it flopped back down lifelessly.

"I think it's dead."

"Didn't Nadia say her brother summoned these things when they were children?"

"And these things killed their parents? They're fucking bug-sized. No way they could kill two grown humans. Ain't possible by all bounds of logic and you know that, B," Faith replied and she sighed in frustration, pushing herself away from the counter and walked over to stand behind Buffy. "This ain't like Willow not to call me back," she said, frowning as she checked her cell phone and then double-checked to make sure her land line was still working. "I'm starting to get worried here. Maybe we should go down to HQ and see what's going on?"

"And leave that thing here?"

"It's dead, B!"

"We don't know that for sure! You hit it, hard, with a baseball bat and it was still alive after that. It shouldn't have been alive after you hit it, Faith!"

"Well, fuck, what do you wanna do then?" Faith asked, her mounting frustration getting to the better of her, not to mention she had a crippling headache and she had no doubt was from the black dust the faerie had blown in her face. "Man, I'm starved."

"Then eat, baby."

"With that thing on my counter? I don't freaking think so!"

Buffy turned on the stool and wrapped her arms around Faith's waist. "You're adorable when you pout. Has anyone ever told you that before?"

"Just now," Faith chuckled and she moved to stand as close as she could to Buffy, smiling as Buffy wrapped her legs around hers. "Ya think I should call her again?"

"Is there anyone else you could call?"

"Used to be able to rely on Nadia, but after all the lies, I don't think I can trust her anymore."

"But she's the only other person we know who has ever seen these things, if they are even the same things that her brother summoned years ago," Buffy reasoned and Faith rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Come on, it isn't like she's pretending to be on our side, right? If she wasn't on our side, she wouldn't have come clean about the things she kept from all of you, right?"

Faith scratched at the back of her neck and shrugged. Buffy did have a point. She sighed heavily and welcomed Buffy's soft lips as they captured her own in a sweet, tender kiss. She felt Buffy smile against her lips and just for a moment she felt the world fall away and all she could see, feel, and think about was the woman she no longer could deny she was head over heels in love with. She smiled too and it made Buffy pull back a little just so they could look at each other.

"What?"

"Nothing, B."

"You went somewhere else, didn't you?"

"Somewhere else with only you on my mind, babe."

Buffy kissed her again, keeping it short and sweet. "Are you going to call her?"

"Gonna call Willow again. Nadia is a last resort option right now," Faith replied and she hesitantly picked up her cell and hit the speed dial that went to Willow's cell, not her office. It rang twice before it was answered. "Yo, Will, we got a bit of a problem."

"You're telling me," Willow replied in a hushed whisper. "I'll be there as soon as I can."