A/N: Thank you guys so much for your lovely reviews! They mean the world to me, and I am so grateful! Getting as many reviews for one chapter as I do, is amazing! Thanks! Okay, now that I've thanked you properly, I believe I can get a move on. This chapter was fun to write. There's a little surprise towards the end, which I find funny and I think you guys will like. Lots of action in this chappie too, though that was kind of expected with the cliffhanger I left you guys with, right? lol

Soooo...ON WITH THE CHAPTER!

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy. If I did...Angel would have punched Xander more, had more lines, and would have never left. I also believe that penquins have a great chance at world domination; I have a locket with no picture in it; I want to get a dog and name her Kitty; I am terrified of hand puppets; I think that Kirk beats Picard any day; I think that seagulls are strange creatures; Spiders haunt me; I believe that the Smurfs are really spies; I have a dog named Kono; I wish that Lt. Cmdr. Steve McGarrett was a real person; Vampires should NOT sparkle; My mind isn't twisted...merely sprained; And here's an awesome piece of advice: Never argue with an idiot. They'll just drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience; A wise man once said, "You can't fix stupid."; I have a picture of a wall...on my wall; Mac N' Cheese is the key to the universe; Jack Sparrow is real and totally hangs out in my closet; Merpeople are real...they're just shy; Waffle cones are the best...Still think I own Buffy?

Buffy stiffened at the sound of Andronikos' voice. It was still as low and sultry as she remembered. And still as deadly. Adrenaline coursed through her system, her fight or flight response kicking in. Buffy took a deep breath, squeezed Angel's hand, and then took a casual, but easily defensible stance. She wasn't running. She had Angel. She was invincible.

Angel remained silent, calculating. If Andronikos really wanted a fight, he wouldn't have shown up alone. But were they alone? Angel listened hard and surreptitiously surveyed their surroundings. There. Southeast. The faint smell of vampire that was not Andronikos. So he had brought friends. They were just waiting until he was distracted, so they could take Buffy. Angel smirked. He may not be soulless and evil anymore, but that hadn't meant he'd lost his touch at seeing nefarious plots.

"What?" Andronikos questioned with a grin. "No hug for me? Not even a little one?"

Buffy twirled her stake absently, casually, like she wasn't fazed in the slightest. But in reality, her heartbeat was frantic. Fear and adrenaline like fire in her veins. But she held it together. Angel was with her. Everything would turn out fine.

"Nah," Buffy replied shrugging. "I don't think so. See, call me crazy, but I have this whole rule about not hugging vamps that have tortured me."

Andronikos sighed, "I enjoyed our time together." He looked almost wistful as he turned to Angel. "You know that look they get on their face? When they're almost about to break? The pain. The anger. The hopelessness." Andronikos sighed before his eyes narrowed, ablaze with controlled fury. "You can't keep her safe, Angelus. I'll take her from you. Like you took Maria from me."

"You'll never touch her again," Angel replied coldly. He glanced at Buffy out of the corner of his eye. "Buffy, go southeast. There's a group of vamps waiting. No more than five I think. Think you can take care of that?"

Buffy's eyes narrowed. Sometimes Angel was just too smart. He didn't want her anywhere near Andronikos. She didn't need to be physic to see that. His entire body was tense. The hand that still held hers had dragged her back slightly behind him the moment he'd heard Andronikos' voice. So, he conveniently gets to send her away for a perfectly logical reason. Deal with the vamps that were supposed to sneak up on them when they were distracted. As much as she wanted to stay, to make sure he was safe, she also knew they were definitely pushing their luck if she didn't go deal with the cronies.

"Yep," she said as chipper as possible. "Sounds like fun."

Buffy gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and then he let her go. It almost killed her to do it, but she turned her back on both of them and began jogging toward the southeastern corner of the cemetery, leaving Andronikos and Angel alone.

"She truly is a beauty, isn't she Angelus?" Andronikos asked as he watched Buffy fade out of sight.

Angel said nothing.

Andronikos gave him an annoyed look, "Really Angelus? Now you're just being childish. What's she like when she's not in pain? I bet she's just a little ball of fun."

Again, Angel said nothing. He wasn't going to play these games. This was why Andronikos had come. He didn't want a fight. He just wanted to have a little chat. To taunt him—and if that happened to lead to a fight, then it would just be an added bonus. But Angel didn't have to worry about dying tonight. Andronikos wouldn't kill him until Buffy was dead. And since that was not going to happen, logically, Angel had nothing to worry about.

"Does she know everything you've done?" Andronikos asked, switching gears. It appeared that talking about the little blonde Slayer wasn't going to set him off. "Does she know the sheer amount of innocent people you've killed?" Andronikos grinned when he saw Angel tense even more. "Think about it. Does she know how many families you ripped apart? Does she know how they screamed? Begged for your mercy? Begged. Does she know how you laughed at their pleas?"

"Yes," Angel replied. His voice was flat, betraying nothing.

"And yet she still chooses to love you?" Andronikos asked, raising a sardonic eyebrow. "How could she love you? You're a monster. Like me."

"I ask myself that every day," Angel replied honestly. "But I am not like you."

"Of course you are," Andronikos argued, beginning to circle him. Angel moved accordingly, keeping the distance between them constant. "You just refuse to believe it."

"I don't kill innocent people," Angel retorted sharply.

"So you only kill the guilty ones?" Andronikos questioned with a smirk. "Who gave you the right to play God?"

Angel said nothing and Andronikos knew that he was close to getting Angel to snap. Just a little more fuel to the fire, "Does she know what all you'd do for her? That you'd kill for her? If it was between the redhead and the Slayer, who would you choose? You'd choose your Slayer of course. You'd let her best friend die—and she would hate you for it. Does she know that about you?"

"She loves me for who I am," Angel replied confidently. It was miraculous and completely irrational, but she did. It only made him love her more. "She knows."

Andronikos huffed in exasperation, "Well isn't she just an angel," he said mockingly.

They had been circling each other the entire time. Neither giving the other more ground. Both were tense—waiting for the right time to pounce. Andronikos hadn't come for a fight, but it never hurt to get to know your opponent just a little bit more. And if Angelus happened to lose an arm or a leg, Andronikos wasn't complaining. But couldn't Angelus make a move already? A slow fire began to burn in Andronikos' dead veins. Pent up revenge and anger and pain making him impatient. Tick tock. Tick tock. Time was passing. Angelus would not make the first move. He never did. He waited. And waited. The opportune moment. Andronikos didn't believe in waiting for the opportune moment. He believed in making them.

Andronikos stopped suddenly, and Angel mirrored the action, knowing what was to come. Andronikos flashed him a grin before letting out a vicious growl and leaping towards him.

Buffy paused in her jog, coming to a slow stop. She was at the far corner of the cemetery, directly southeast of where she and Angel had previously been. And yet, no one was here. Buffy looked around, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. Angel wouldn't send her on a wild goose chase. If he said that there were vamps here, then they were here. The question was where, exactly?

The sharp snap of a twig caused her to whirl around, fists raised. She relaxed when she saw that it was just a bunny. Buffy smiled and turned back around, "Okay vamps, where are…" Buffy trailed off as she became face to face with a male vampire, clad in a seventies purple sparkly jumpsuit. "You," she finished lamely. She backed up a little bit, but straight into the chest of another vampire.

"Great," Buffy sighed and turned back to the vampire in the jumpsuit. "Okay, first off. That oufit? Yeah, one word. Ewwwww…"

"And you," Buffy turned to face the vampire she'd backed up into. She looked him up and down. He was wearing black and brown. "I don't care what decade or century you're from. Black and brown together are just wrong."

Buffy positioned herself so she could really see all of her attackers. Though she'd talked to two of them, three more were slowly closing in, creating a loose circle around her. Okay, she could deal with this. Might be a little tricky, but she could do it. Improvise.

"Sooo…guys, and girl," Buffy added on tactfully as she realized one of the vampires was, in fact, a woman. Buffy addressed her. "Don't you hate it when we girls get left out of the introductions? It's so annoying, right?"

"We're hungry," one of the vampires said, and Buffy could tell he hadn't fed in awhile. He was looking rather skinny. "You're blood will make us stronger."

"Aw, shucks guys," Buffy smiled goodnaturedly. "And girl," she added quickly. "I'm not really in the mood for blood tonight? How about stake?" she smiled at her pun. Yep, it was good to be back.

Quick as lightening, Buffy spun and kicked one of the vampires in the jaw, sending him careening backwards into a tree that just so happened to have a pointy branch sticking out of its trunk. The vampire turned to dust, and Buffy smiled. It was definitely good to be back.

Buffy was brought back to reality when the vampire in the purple, sparkly jumpsuit punched her in the face. She rolled with it, though, using the momentum to spin and deal a wicked right hook that hit the vampire square in the temple.

The other three vampires converged on her, surrounding her as best they could. The two in front of her sprang forward, but Buffy simply stepped to the side, grabbing the vampire closest to her as he flew through the air, and redirected his flight straight into the vampire that had been sneaking up behind her. Both vampires went sprawling, and Buffy returned her focus to the other vampire that had landed right next to her. She spun around, stake in hand, ready to plunge it into the vamp's heart, but her hand was caught. The other vampire in front of her advanced on her, his eyes blazing with hunger. Buffy jumped up and kicked the vamp with both feet, sending him flying back.

Buffy glanced out the corner of her eye and saw it was the vampire in the sparkly jumpsuit that had caught her wrist. Annoyed with both the vamp's untimely interruptions and egregious fashion sense, Buffy elbowed the vamp in the gut, freeing her wrist. She flipped in over her shoulder, and pinned him to the ground. Buffy grabbed the vamp by the lapels of his jumpsuit and staked him.

Slightly out of breath, and ignoring the slight soreness in her ribs, Buffy readied herself to finish the final three vampires. The woman growled and leapt at her, but Buffy stood her ground. She waited until the last possible moment before raising her stake, impaling the vampire. However, when she exploded into dust, it sprinkled in her eyes, causing her to close them in a vain attempt to keep them from stinging.

Her eyes watered, but she fought the urge to keep her eyes closed. Everything was a little blurry due to her watery eyes, but she figured that a slight distorted blur coming at her with fangs was a vampire trying to kill her. Buffy ducked and the vampire sailed over her. While on the ground, Buffy swung her leg out, knocking the remaining vamp off his feet. She scurried over the vamp before he could move to get up and plunged her stake into his chest. Buffy didn't need to see the vampire clearly to hit it in the heart. It was all muscle memory.

Buffy wiped her eyes on the sleeve her coat and blinked furiously. She looked around and didn't see anyone. However, she knew she was not alone. She could still feel the remaining vampire, lurking. Trying to stick to the shadows. Waiting to make a move. Catch her off guard. Kill her.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Buffy sang as she tightened her grip on her stake. "I swear I'll make it quick."

A slight rustling from above caused Buffy to look up. The vampire jumped down from the tree, landing on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Buffy watched helplessly as her stake rolled out of her once secure hand. The vampire immediately bent its head toward her.

"I'm not supposed to kill you," he said in a low, gravelly voice. "But he never said I couldn't have a little fun. Just a bite. It won't hurt. Much."

Buffy frantically reached for her stake as the vampire inched closer to her neck. She was not getting bitten again. Well, she wasn't opposed to being bitten again, but that was different matter entirely. And something that she should not be thinking about when she was about to get bitten by the wrong vampire.

Buffy reached for the stake. She could practically feel her shoulder straining against the tendons and ligaments that held it in its socket. Just a little closer. Her fingertips brushed the tip. She could feel his breath on her neck now. It was now or never. With one final attempt, Buffy grabbed the stake, and quickly raised it, stabbing the vampire in the back. He turned to dust just as she felt his fangs against her neck.

For a moment, Buffy simply laid there, her breath coming in gasps. That had been close. Too close. But she'd done it. She was fine. She was the Slayer. And she had just kicked some serious vampire butt on her first night back. Yep. She was good.

Buffy got up quickly, brushing the dust and dirt and grass off of her coat. Her night was not over yet. Just then, Buffy heard a sharp growl. The sound tore through the night, and into her gut. Angel.

Angel was prepared for Andronikos. He sidestepped just as Andronikos was close enough, and grabbed the vampire's arm as he sailed past. Angel gave it a sharp tug and the satisfying roar of agony that left Andronikos' lips made Angel smirk. Angel spun, his grip vice like on Andronikos' arm, but then he let go, sending the vampire flying half way up a tree. With a loud crack, one of the heavier limbs on the tree broke off, falling to the ground, landing only a few feet in front of him.

Andronikos dropped down from the tree, his entire right arm hanging at an awkward angle because of his newly dislocated shoulder. Eyes never leaving Angel, Andronikos reached over with his good arm and yanked his shoulder back into its socket, a sickening pop echoing in the still night air.

"You'll have to do better than that," Andronikos chided, keeping the pain out of his voice. "You'll never keep her safe if you fight like this."

Angel growled sharply and leapt at Andronikos. They began to dance. A complicated, violent trade of punches and kicks that would only seem like a blur of movement to anyone watching. One of Angel's punches hit true, a wicked crack sounding as Andronikos' jaw broke.

But Andronikos barely broke his stance, and came back at Angel sending a cacophony of punches, all of which Angel blocked. But then Andronikos flipped behind him and soon he had Angel's arms pinned to his sides. Then a searing pain emanated from his shoulder, as Andronikos sang his fangs into his flesh. Angel used Andronikos' own weight against him and flipped him over his back...

"What are you doing here?" an elderly, withering voice called.

Both Andronikos and Angel looked up shocked, all thoughts of their bloody battle gone as both vampires focused on the elderly groundskeeper a few yards away from them. The old man held a lantern in his hand, close to his face, as if that would make a difference. Angel could see the man's partially cloudy eyes. The old man was half blind.

"Answer me you two," he said sternly. "What you youngsters doin' here?"

"Uh," Angel stammered. He glanced at the gravestone nearest him. Eileen O'Hare. Born 1922. Died 1992. "Just visiting my grandmother."

The old man looked at the tombstone, then back at Angel. "You one of Eileen's grandkids? Charlie? That you?"

"Uh yeah," Angel said somewhat nervously as the old man approached him and looked in the face.

"You sure have grown up. Haven't seen you since you were a boy," he said fondly.

"How can you see anything out here?" Angel asked despite himself. He was curious.

"Boy, I've been in this graveyard longer than most of the bodies buried here. I know it like the back of my hand, if I could see it," the old man chuckled before he glanced to where Andronikos had just been.

"Where'd your friend go?" he asked.

Angel glanced over to where Andronikos had been, unsurprised to find him gone. "He's shy," Angel replied with a slight smirk.

"You two need to quit rough-housin'. No good can come of it. That's what my Bonnie always said," the old man said fondly. "Told me that for seventy years."

An honest smile lit Angel's face. What he wouldn't give to grow old. Him and Buffy. Seventy years. Finding more and more reasons why he loved her each day. That would be a life.

"Angel," Buffy huffed out of breath as she jogged up beside him. "Are you ok?"

"Well now who do we have here?" the old man said curiously easing over to stand in front of Buffy. He held the lantern up to get a better look (if he could see anything in the first place). "Well aren't you a pretty little thing?"

Buffy giggled. This old man was so cute! "Thank you sir," she said kindly.

"Blonde hair?" he asked.

"Yep."

"Long?"

"Yep."

"I bet you got pretty green eyes. Bet they sparkle," the old man said and Buffy laughed.

"I don't know if they sparkle," Buffy replied. Her enhanced vision allowed her to see that the man was impaired.

"Well, Charlie," the old man said looking back at Angel. "You better take your little lady home. Graveyard's a dangerous place to be at night," he warned, but it was more of a scold.

"Yes sir," Angel smiled. "Goodnight."

Angel offered his arm to Buffy, and she took it smiling as he led the way back to the mansion.

Willow frowned as she looked over her various spell books and the disk that still held Ms. Calendar's Restoration Spell. What was simple in theory was proving to be much more complicated in reality. If the conclusions Willow was drawing were right, this was going to be difficult. Not so much to remove Angel's soul. After all, its always easier to break something than put it back together. It was the simple question of how she was going to have to make Angel's soul permanent that was the stickler.

According to her research, she needed a conduit. Buffy's Claddagh ring. Check. Buffer for the conduit. Rosemary. Check. Three spellcasters. Not check. Need one more person. Blood given willingly. Check pending, since this was her secret project and she couldn't exactly waltz up to Buffy and ask her if she'd let Angel feed from her.

So how was Willow going to find another spellcaster? Giles could do it, but he didn't fit the criteria. The three people needed to be specific. Willow was representing Buffy. Tara would be representing a third party. Completely non biased. She simply wanted the good for both of them. They needed someone to represent Angel. He had to be a friend. But which one of Angel's friends could be of any help?

Willow slapped her hand to her forehead as the answer came to her. She picked up her phone and called L.A. Giles wasn't the only Englishman she knew.

Yay! How do ya like that? We had Buffy kicking vampire butt again. Andronikos being all creeptastic and evil. And then the old man! That was totally my muse ordering me to do that. I had to! I thought it was funny. Big fight. Angel just got bitten (ouch). Then here's the old man! And then finishing it all off with witchy Willow...gosh...I love writing...

You guys are the best!

Reviews bring me great joy,

Kayla