Diabolique had learned little from the prophecy, and was annoyed. Standing in the shadows of the library, she watched the
Watcher say a cute little, "Oh, dear" and smiled. Her smile faded, though, and she was overcome with the emotion of self-pity.
Not one she usually indulged in, but this time she'd make an exception. Her first assignment, and already she'd lost her subject.
No, this was not something she wanted on her resume. If only she hadn't stopped to save that rabbit from being run over by a
truck and had assumed that Buffy would be okay... but then, Buffy's presence had just disappeared. There was no mental
locater beep in her brain, and it was almost as if Buffy had never been born. But she reasoned,if Buffy had never been born,
then Giles wouldn't be worried, Willow wouldn't be so not-shy, and vampires would've taken over the world... so
something must've happened to her... She assumed that Buffy would be okay. How bright of her. *Note to self: Never
assume. It makes an 'ass' outta me and loses the slayer.*
*Oh, yeah, but back to the crisis at hand...*
Giles looked around to be sure Diabolique was gone.
*Uh-huh, like he can find me if I don't wanna be found.*
"Damn!" the librarian swore, sounding more British than usual. "She's gone!"
Xander, to give him credit, was taking this all in stride. "What did you mean, she's going to kill Buffy?"
Giles sat down, upset. "Well, I can't be sure... but, if I knew her name, I could confirm her, uh, status."
Xander, confused but glad to be helpful, provided the name. "Diabolique." Giles looked at him with morbid interest. "I'm
allowed to have knowledge!" the boy exclaimed, slightly offended.
Giles sighed. "Oh, dear."
"I didn't think that it was that suprising."
"No, uh, her name. You see, uh, in Spanish, the word for death is 'Diablo'. Her name is a slight variation on that, 'Diabolique'.
This confirms my suspicions exactly."
Xander chewed his lip, worried. "And, what exactly would those be?"
"She's the Angel of Death."
Xander was now worried and confused. "Come again? 'Cause, you know, I thought that you said that she was the Angel of
Death."
*Uh-oh,* thought Diabolique.
Giles scurried over to one of his library shelves and pulled a thick, heavy-looking book out, flipping through it as he spoke.
"Yes, uh, she, uh, takes people's souls onto the astral plane that they belong on. Essentially, the cliched heaven and hell. Ah," he
exclaimed as he found what he was looking for, "here it is. Uh, she's quite old... older than Angel... and most other vampires, for
that matter. Generally un-liked by the other angels because of her... uh... attitude towards... well... everything. She's, uh, very,
um, agressive, but yet, ah, a, um, pacifist."
"Y'know, this is an entrancing conversation and all, but back to Buffy... you know, the missing Slayer?" Xander sat on the table,
worried about his friend and not-so-secret crush.
"Uh, yes, um, Buffy. Well, she's probably with Angel now--"
Angel picked that very moment to burst into the library, spikey hair a bit wilder than usual. "Has anyone seen Buffy?"
Diabolique grinned, finding amusement everywhere in everything. *The timing--I couldn't have written it better myself if it
had been some crazy fanfic on the web or something.* Remembering the situation, however, the smile slipped from her ever-more gloomy face, and she turned back to eavesdropping on the conversation at hand.
Giles head whipped around. "She was supposed to have been with you!"
Angel panicked, almost angry at himself for not stopping Diabolique. "She never showed up--dammit, it's all her fault!"
"I sense we're not talking about Buffy anymore, so, back to the problem at hand..." Xander prompted.
Giles had lost interest in Buffy, gaining intrest in the girl now brought up. "What do you mean?"
"Diabolique... she caused this, I'm sure, somehow. I don't know how, but somehow she did."
*Hey, wait just a cotton-pickin' minute! *
Xander seemed to have the same thought. "No, no, no, not Diabolique. You remember her... your friend? The big cage? Me
being rescued..."
*Well, brownie points for Xander.*
"She... earlier this evening, she told me that she couldn't find Buffy, and wanted my help. When I wouldn't help her, she got mad
and stormed off... I think she's going to kill Buffy."
*WHAT!?!*
"Hey, I gathered that the Angel of Death only deals in souls, not the death of people! Isn't that, like, against the rules, or
something?"
"Or something," Giles commented drily.
"Diabolique was never one to follow the rules," Angel added, anger darkening his voice.
*Down, boy.*
"Oh, dear. Uh, do you have any idea where she might be?"
*C'mon, c'mon, angel needs a new pair of wings...*
"Tonight is a big night for vampires, if the Slayer is alone..."
*Uh-huh...*
"So, are you saying... she's dead?" Xander squeeked.
"No," Giles muttered. "Only if she's lucky."
Angel nodded in agreement. "Spike and Dru probably have her locked up for the ceremony in the warehouse on 14 and Main."
*Bingo! Five in a row! Houston, we have coordinates, now... we just need a map... She walked through the library walls in
search of Buffy and a map to the twisty-streeted Sunnydale.*
Xander jumped up. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Giles held him back. "Uh, we, uh, should have some sort of, um, plan. Barging in would probably get us all killed..."
Xander looked at Angel and Giles, who were looking at each other. "So, should I call Willow, or what?"
*****
Diabolique found the warehouse, a difficult thing to do in the dark. She checked her watch. A Casio, water-resistant, black
plastic, and very durable. *Hmmm... an hour until sunup... I can't wait... I must look now.* Gliding through the walls, she
swept over the place, searching for Buffy. Voices reached her ears, and she paused in her search. Who was here? She closed
her eyes, listening. *Angel... Giles... Xander... Cordelia... Willow... I smell a trap... I smell a lawsuit the legal department's
never gonna believe if the vamps do what I think their gonna... uh, oh.* With super-human reflexes, she whirled around and
silently jumped onto a pile of boxes. *Uh-oh... uh-oh...*
*****
Angel felt the attack coming... he sensed it... vampires, surrounding the group... the words, "Uh-oh" echoed in his mind, his own
thoughts, yet someone else's thinking. "Everyone, look out!" he cried, too late.
The vampires decended, closing in in a ring on the poor group of searchers. Giles had a crossbow, Willow was armed with holy
water, and Xander and Cordy were going on less-conventional methods, but whatever worked, worked.
The vampires were unmerciful. Xander was the first one to go, which was the only thing that saved his life. Thrown against the
wall, he slumped to the ground, unconcious. Willow, with her holy water, was beaten and beaten, and saved from a bite on the
neck by Angel, who was armed with stakes. He would have checked on her condition, but he was suddenly overcome with
vamps from every side. From the corner of his eye, he could see Giles cracked on the head and then shot with his own
crossbow. Ironic, he thought, belatedly, as he watched his girlfriend's father-figure slump to the ground. "Giles!" he cried out,
too late, as a vampire decended onto the figure. A vampire that was quickly dusted.
Her form was good, if odd, and Cordelia noticed this from behind a box. Unfortunately, however, she was soon discovered by
a hungry vampire who had decided to leave the fray. "Help!" she screamed, running towards Diabolique. "You,
Buffy-wanna-be, help!"
Diabolique gave a powerful roundhouse kick as the remaining holy water that Willow had been carrying was unceremoniously
dumped on poor Angel. With a scream, he crumpled to the ground, where he was continuously kicked until another vampire
could find a stake... somewhere. Cordelia was hit by a falling beam of wood, and her head slammed into the ground with a
bloody crack.
"Angel!!!" Diabolique screamed, her mind suddenly focused. As she closed her eyes, all her surroundings suddenly were
replaced with a crystal-clear image of what she was to do. With a motion of her hands, all the wooden fragments lying on the
ground lifted in unison, and as she made a pushing motion to the sides, imbeded themselves into bad vampires' hearts.
Raising her head and opening her eyes, she surveyed the damage around her. Some of the party were faring badly... some were
worse. The blood and gore surrounding her was remanicent of a war, which was exactly what was occuring. A war of good
and evil... and sometimes it's a thin line. Summoning all of her strength, she found the new power of what she was supposed
to do.
*****
Xander opened his eyes cautiously, moving his head a little. Yes, that was going to hurt later... Hell, it hurts now... okay, not a
problem, don't think... He noticed Diabolique bent over Cordelia, blood everywhere. "No..." he managed to croak out. He
had to stop the Angel of Death from taking Cordy! He watched, helplessly, as the angel gently traced a symbol on the other
girl's forehead with her index finger. The symbol lit up, and in the light that spread, the wounds and cuts healed. Pulling himself to
his feet, he stumbled over to his girlfriend and their savior. "Thanks..."
She nodded, mutely, and proceeded to trace the same symbol on each of the other's foreheads, excluding Angel. They rested
peacefully, unknowing of the changes taking place. Kneeling, she made the dreaded last round: Angel. Bending over him, she
touched his burning skin. With a glance to the windows, dirty as they might be, she noted the time. Almost sunrise, and no cover
in sight. Bowing her head, she silently did one thing that she rarely did: she prayed. *Please, God, give me the strength to help
him.* Reaching down, she covered his face lightly with her hand. "Dona Nobis Pachem." Pulling her hands back, she stood up.
"Rise," she commanded in a bitter voice. "Rise and follow." Angel, in a trance, slowly rose to his feet, the burn marks from the
water still evident. Taking his hand, she quietly ushered him into the day.
Xander, as much as he disliked the vampire, felt he should say something.
"Uh, you do know that he's a vampire, right? And vampires die when they touch sunlight?"
Her head turned back to look at him, and her eyes blinked back sudden tears. "I know." She faced forward again,leading the
un-suspecting Angel into the dawning light.
Xander bowed his head, holding tightly the hands of the sleeping Willow and Cordelia. "He doesn't deserve it," he called after,
knowing he couldn't stop it.
But they were gone.
