Chapter 49
Wesley sat in his chair in front of Angelus' cage. Buffy had decided to go down with him to make sure Angelus kept to his word. She sat on the staircase banister staring at Angelus. He barely regarded Wesley as he stared right back at her.
"So, shall we start from the beginning?" Wesley asked. Without taking his eyes off Buffy, Angelus said, "Why not?"
"A year."
"1789."
"So you were in Prussia."
This time Angelus did look at Wesley. "You have been doing your homework. Those Prussian girls.. Must be the pastries. Worth the trip." He looked back at Buffy. "All that sweetness gets into their blood."
"Very interesting. At some point the Beast will appear?"
"Patience, Wes. I was taking a shortcut on my way to Vienna. Started feeling like someone was.. Watching me. There were troops around. I had run into them now and then. Not as sweet as the girls, by the way. But the little massacre I ran into: seriously lacking in military precision. Bodies, bodies everywhere and not a drop to drink. And so I followed the trail and there was your friend, the one you so cleverly call the Beast. We had a lot in common. But he already knew that. He'd been watching me. He staged the carnage to impress me."
"So he sought you out. Why?"
"Girl trouble. Thought I might be able to help him with a situation."
"How?"
"You've heard of the Svea Priestesses? Very powerful. Big into banishing. The Beast was next on their list. He couldn't touch them. Some kind of mojo. But a vampire could."
"So he wanted you to kill them."
"We had it all worked out. I'd scratch his priestesses and he'd scratch my back somewhere down the line.. A limited partnership."
"And?"
"I declined. He didn't ask twice. I probably could have been more diplomatic with my refusal but I'm not big with teamwork. Thought that was going to be the end of me but, like I said, girl trouble. So they just started up the whammy and.. There you have it."
"The Beast was banished. How?"
"Don't know. I was busy with the passing out."
"Is that everything you know?"
"Yup."
"You're lying."
"He's not." Buffy said.
"How do you know?" Buffy just stared back at Wesley. He nodded. "Yes well, time for research then."
"Go ahead. I'm not good in the book area. Just the slaying."
"What are you going to do?"
"Connor and I'll patrol. LA's a big demon circus out there what with no sun and all. I'm sure Faith's upset that I'm getting all the action up here."
Wesley patted Buffy's shoulder and walked upstairs. She watched him go and then turned back to Angelus when he clucked his tongue at her. "Shame on you Buff. Fooling your friends like that."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Buffy said, standing up and walking up to the red line that was the end of the safety zone.
"Pretending that you're so innocent in all this. I see right through it though. Why don't you just drop the façade right now and give into your dark side? I'm right here."
"I'm not fooling anyone. I'm not pretending. They all know what I've been through and they know it's hard for me."
"Except, they don't see what it's done to you on the inside. It's dirtied up your soul. Are you sure you still have one?"
"I still have one. Part of it's with yours in that jar."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep convincing yourself Buff. Eventually you'll get it right. And when you do? I'll be here. I'll ALWAYS be here. Always." Angelus started to laugh as Buffy walked up the stairs and into the lobby.
She walked over to the weapons cabinet and started loading down on stakes. Connor came over and started to do the same. They each strapped a spring loaded stake to their wrists and then headed out. Quietly, Buffy and Connor walked down the streets stalking their prey. They didn't have to go very far though. Three vamps attacked them near a newspaper stand.
A stack of newspapers stood behind Buffy. The headline read: Crime Wave Shuts Down City. Buffy snatched the top bundle off the top and threw it to Connor. He swung the newspapers like a brick, decking the first of the three vampires attacking them. The other two charged Buffy, one punching while the other one swung her around by the arms and into a group of high pressure gas cylinders. Buffy ripped the nozzle off one of the cylinders, sending a blast of high-pressure gas into the faces of the attacking vampires. They screamed in pain and staggered backward. Buffy pressed the advantage, kicking one to the ground and decking the second. The third vampire slammed Connor into Buffy and sent them flying into the wall of a nearby guard booth, stunning them long enough for the other two to grab them by the arms and immobilize them.
"Let me guess. Out-of-towners?" Buffy asked sweetly.
"Yeah. Tucson." Vamp one said.
The vamp smiled and moved in for the kill but Connor kicked him hard in the face. As he went down, Buffy and Connor broke free from the other two. Buffy triggered her spring-loaded stake on her wrist and quickly killed one of the vampires as the other one got to his feet and charged. Connor leapt onto the roof of the guard booth at the last instant. The vampire's momentum carried him headfirst through the booth's glass window, shattering it. The creature slid back out of the booth onto the ground, stunned. Buffy back-flipped over away from her vamp and slammed her stake home, leaving nothing but dust. The last vampire charged Buffy with an enraged snarl and knocked her stake free. Connor jumped down off the roof and beat him back with a rapid flurry of punches, then lifted him up and hurled him 20 feet into the air where he slammed into a billboard and dropped to the ground. Connor picked the stake up off the ground and smiled cruelly at the vampire as it got to its feet.
"Welcome to LA." Connor said. He threw the stake and embedded it in the vamp's chest. It turned to dust.
Buffy came up behind him, shaking her head. "Tourists."
Connor turned to look at her, but instead saw five more vamps walking up. "Mom."
Buffy turned to look. "You'd think they'd go to Disneyland or on a tour of Universal instead of bothering us."
Connor chuckled and they jumped into action. Two hours later they were headed back to the Hyperion. Both of them were bruised and bloodied. The gang was in the office researching, so they didn't hear Buffy and Connor walk in. They slipped up to their rooms and changed their torn clothes. Buffy swept her long blonde hair up into a French twist and slipped on a pair of black leather boots. Connor met her at the elevator and they rode down.
"Buffy! Connor! When did you guys get back? We didn't hear you come in." Cordy said.
"Just now." Buffy said.
"What've we got?" Connor asked. Buffy smiled at him, proud that he was taking some initiative in the group.
"The priestesses live in Pacoima." Cordy said.
"Let's go." Buffy said. "Connor, Wesley, you're coming. The rest of you stay here and watch Angelus. Maybe do some more research on the Beast if you can. Oh and Xander?"
"Yeah?" Xander asked, looking up from the computer.
"Call Sunnydale and see if everything is ok."
"You got it."
Buffy, Connor, and Wesley headed out. They took Wesley's SUV to the house which was in a nice little residential area. They headed up the front walk and up to the door. A small sign next to the door read: Svear Mon.-Fri. 11am-4pm. Wes rang the bell, but no one answered.
"Looks like no one's home." Connor said.
Wesley knocked loud on the door. When no one answered, he reached down and tried the knob. The door swung open. "It's open." They walked over the threshold. "Hello? Anyone home? Hello?"
"Nordic priestesses?" Buffy called.
All three spread out and looked around. Connor saw a set of family pictures on the mantle showing a husband, wife, and their children. "So the mom's a priestess?" he asked.
"I think all the women in the family are from what Wes told me." Buffy said. She looked through some bills on a table and then sniffed the air. "What is that?" She looked into the living room and stared in shock. Wesley and Connor saw her expression and followed her gaze. The entire family had been slaughtered, parents and children alike. They lied strewn about the living room. Their clothes were smeared with gore.
"We're too late. Again." Wesley said.
"How does the Beast know exactly what we're going to do? It's like he's psychic." Buffy said.
"Maybe he is."
"Or he's been watching us at the hotel." Connor said.
"Angelus could have sent him a message. Some kind of demon Morse code." Buffy said. Wesley checked the body of the little boy. "No, these people have been dead for a few days. Angelus had nothing to do with this."
"Which means by the time the shaman was going all chanty on Angel, it was already too late."
"You mean they've been here like this.. For days?" Connor asked.
"With the chaos outside, probably no one even noticed they were gone." Wes said.
Buffy shook her head sadly. "We should have seen this coming."
"Of course the Beast would go after the priestesses. Let's have a look around, see if there's anything useful. Then we should call the police." Wesley stepped over to a desk and picked up a narrow piece of parchment. "A banishment incantation. At least, I think it is."
"Then they were trying to get rid of the Beast."
"It seems so."
Connor was unusually affected by the sight of the bodies in front of him. He looked away, into the kitchen, and noticed a calendar hanging on the wall beside him with "Daddy's birthday" marked on it. It suddenly became too much for him and he bolted for the door.
"Connor!" Buffy called, running after him.
Connor ran down to the street and leaned over into the bushes. He vomited, then kneeled there, heaving and gasping. Buffy followed him out, then sat down beside him when she saw what happened.
"Connor?" He didn't answer. She sighed and looked up. "The sun should be up. It's different, isn't it? Dead demons are just a big blob of oozing mess. Vampires turn into dust like they were never anything at all. But humans.. It's different. Harder to understand."
"That's not.." Connor said.
"What?"
"The family.."
Before he could say anything else, a vampire leapt from the shadows and attacked. Connor and Buffy were instantly on their feet, beating the creature to the ground. Behind Connor, a second vampire landed in front of Buffy and punched her to the ground. Buffy spun and staked it. Connor beat his vampire back with a rapid flurry of blows, then lifted it up and hurled it into the street. It looked up just as an SUV slammed into it at full speed. The car screeched to a halt with Wesley driving and Buffy and Connor jumped in. Buffy looked behind them and saw three more vampires closing in.
"Come on!" Buffy said.
Wesley punched the gas and the car shot off down the street. They sped through the dark LA streets and headed towards the hotel. Once there, the three dashed inside.
"What happened?" Gunn asked.
"Vamps." Connor said.
"They didn't get the Svear?" Fred asked.
"No. The Beast did. Slaughtered the entire family." Wes said.
"Guess he found a way to kill them after all." Xander said.
"So much for our big priestess rescue." Gunn said.
"Are we sure Angelus doesn't know anything more? I mean, maybe we should talk to.." Fred asked.
"No. I think he's told us everything he's going to." Wes said.
"Which means our last-ditch plan, turning Angel into a soulless monster, it's a bust. If Angelus can't help us.." Gunn said.
"It's time to bring back Angel." Buffy said.
"We'll need the shaman." Wesley said, heading towards the phone.
As everyone went about their business, Buffy slipped down to the basement. Angelus detached himself from the shadows and looked at her. "Here I thought you'd be halfway to Georgia by now."
"I told you I'd be back. I'm back." Buffy said.
"How'd the little field trip turn out? Priestesses still feisty?"
"We found a little boy, his sister, mom, dad, grandma.. All dead."
"Oh, God. I'm always missing the fun stuff."
"The Beast butchered them."
"So? Did you bring me back a souvenir? Maybe a stray baby toe?" Buffy stared at him. "Come on, Buffy! Where's your sense of humor?"
"Guess I lost it."
"Well, don't blame me for your little debacle. I told you everything I know."
"I know, but it's too late."
"And whose fault is that? Doesn't matter. I showed you mine. Now it's time to show me yours.. Again."
"The deal was, you give us information, we save the world, you get me. Well.. World not saved."
"You know I'm just going to let this go."
"I know. But I'm not seeing a whole lot of other options.. With the big steel cage and all."
"Won't be in here forever."
"About another hour actually. Forgot to tell you the best part. We're putting your soul back."
Angelus chuckled. "Not gonna happen."
"Oh, but it is. Just in time for the primo apocalypse that's coming. Too bad. I know how you love those."
"Been looking forward to it all day. Still am."
"Thing is, you're never coming back. Angel and I are going to make sure of that."
"We'll see."
Buffy stepped closer to the cage. "I told you Angelus, you're nobody. Just a disease. And Angel can't wait to be rid of you."
Angelus looked her up and down lasciviously. "I think I'll start with the twins. I just love a woman with nice ripe thighs." His arm shot through the steel bars, his fingers a mere inch from Buffy's throat. She just stared impassively at him, not so much as a flinch.
She smiled cruelly at him. "Not even close."
Angelus' calm façade cracked for the first time as Buffy turned and headed for the stairs. "The more you piss me off, the longer I'll keep you alive. And I know you're a screamer."
Buffy walked back upstairs and headed into the office. "Okay, let's.." She broke off when she realized they are all staring at her. "What?"
"Angel's soul.. It's gone." Fred said.
Buffy stared wide-eyed at the empty safe. Everyone stared at her as tears welled in her eyes. "You guys didn't let him out did you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then where the hell is it?"
"We don't know!" Xander said.
Buffy stared at the safe again in shock. She would have fallen to the floor if Gunn hadn't caught her. He carried her over to the couch where she curled up in a ball in the corner and started to rock herself as tears fell down her cheeks.
"What're we going to do?" Fred asked.
They all stared at the broken Slayer on the couch. With Angelus here to stay for longer than any of them had planned and Buffy out of commission for the moment, things looked almost hopeless.
Wesley sat in his chair in front of Angelus' cage. Buffy had decided to go down with him to make sure Angelus kept to his word. She sat on the staircase banister staring at Angelus. He barely regarded Wesley as he stared right back at her.
"So, shall we start from the beginning?" Wesley asked. Without taking his eyes off Buffy, Angelus said, "Why not?"
"A year."
"1789."
"So you were in Prussia."
This time Angelus did look at Wesley. "You have been doing your homework. Those Prussian girls.. Must be the pastries. Worth the trip." He looked back at Buffy. "All that sweetness gets into their blood."
"Very interesting. At some point the Beast will appear?"
"Patience, Wes. I was taking a shortcut on my way to Vienna. Started feeling like someone was.. Watching me. There were troops around. I had run into them now and then. Not as sweet as the girls, by the way. But the little massacre I ran into: seriously lacking in military precision. Bodies, bodies everywhere and not a drop to drink. And so I followed the trail and there was your friend, the one you so cleverly call the Beast. We had a lot in common. But he already knew that. He'd been watching me. He staged the carnage to impress me."
"So he sought you out. Why?"
"Girl trouble. Thought I might be able to help him with a situation."
"How?"
"You've heard of the Svea Priestesses? Very powerful. Big into banishing. The Beast was next on their list. He couldn't touch them. Some kind of mojo. But a vampire could."
"So he wanted you to kill them."
"We had it all worked out. I'd scratch his priestesses and he'd scratch my back somewhere down the line.. A limited partnership."
"And?"
"I declined. He didn't ask twice. I probably could have been more diplomatic with my refusal but I'm not big with teamwork. Thought that was going to be the end of me but, like I said, girl trouble. So they just started up the whammy and.. There you have it."
"The Beast was banished. How?"
"Don't know. I was busy with the passing out."
"Is that everything you know?"
"Yup."
"You're lying."
"He's not." Buffy said.
"How do you know?" Buffy just stared back at Wesley. He nodded. "Yes well, time for research then."
"Go ahead. I'm not good in the book area. Just the slaying."
"What are you going to do?"
"Connor and I'll patrol. LA's a big demon circus out there what with no sun and all. I'm sure Faith's upset that I'm getting all the action up here."
Wesley patted Buffy's shoulder and walked upstairs. She watched him go and then turned back to Angelus when he clucked his tongue at her. "Shame on you Buff. Fooling your friends like that."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Buffy said, standing up and walking up to the red line that was the end of the safety zone.
"Pretending that you're so innocent in all this. I see right through it though. Why don't you just drop the façade right now and give into your dark side? I'm right here."
"I'm not fooling anyone. I'm not pretending. They all know what I've been through and they know it's hard for me."
"Except, they don't see what it's done to you on the inside. It's dirtied up your soul. Are you sure you still have one?"
"I still have one. Part of it's with yours in that jar."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep convincing yourself Buff. Eventually you'll get it right. And when you do? I'll be here. I'll ALWAYS be here. Always." Angelus started to laugh as Buffy walked up the stairs and into the lobby.
She walked over to the weapons cabinet and started loading down on stakes. Connor came over and started to do the same. They each strapped a spring loaded stake to their wrists and then headed out. Quietly, Buffy and Connor walked down the streets stalking their prey. They didn't have to go very far though. Three vamps attacked them near a newspaper stand.
A stack of newspapers stood behind Buffy. The headline read: Crime Wave Shuts Down City. Buffy snatched the top bundle off the top and threw it to Connor. He swung the newspapers like a brick, decking the first of the three vampires attacking them. The other two charged Buffy, one punching while the other one swung her around by the arms and into a group of high pressure gas cylinders. Buffy ripped the nozzle off one of the cylinders, sending a blast of high-pressure gas into the faces of the attacking vampires. They screamed in pain and staggered backward. Buffy pressed the advantage, kicking one to the ground and decking the second. The third vampire slammed Connor into Buffy and sent them flying into the wall of a nearby guard booth, stunning them long enough for the other two to grab them by the arms and immobilize them.
"Let me guess. Out-of-towners?" Buffy asked sweetly.
"Yeah. Tucson." Vamp one said.
The vamp smiled and moved in for the kill but Connor kicked him hard in the face. As he went down, Buffy and Connor broke free from the other two. Buffy triggered her spring-loaded stake on her wrist and quickly killed one of the vampires as the other one got to his feet and charged. Connor leapt onto the roof of the guard booth at the last instant. The vampire's momentum carried him headfirst through the booth's glass window, shattering it. The creature slid back out of the booth onto the ground, stunned. Buffy back-flipped over away from her vamp and slammed her stake home, leaving nothing but dust. The last vampire charged Buffy with an enraged snarl and knocked her stake free. Connor jumped down off the roof and beat him back with a rapid flurry of punches, then lifted him up and hurled him 20 feet into the air where he slammed into a billboard and dropped to the ground. Connor picked the stake up off the ground and smiled cruelly at the vampire as it got to its feet.
"Welcome to LA." Connor said. He threw the stake and embedded it in the vamp's chest. It turned to dust.
Buffy came up behind him, shaking her head. "Tourists."
Connor turned to look at her, but instead saw five more vamps walking up. "Mom."
Buffy turned to look. "You'd think they'd go to Disneyland or on a tour of Universal instead of bothering us."
Connor chuckled and they jumped into action. Two hours later they were headed back to the Hyperion. Both of them were bruised and bloodied. The gang was in the office researching, so they didn't hear Buffy and Connor walk in. They slipped up to their rooms and changed their torn clothes. Buffy swept her long blonde hair up into a French twist and slipped on a pair of black leather boots. Connor met her at the elevator and they rode down.
"Buffy! Connor! When did you guys get back? We didn't hear you come in." Cordy said.
"Just now." Buffy said.
"What've we got?" Connor asked. Buffy smiled at him, proud that he was taking some initiative in the group.
"The priestesses live in Pacoima." Cordy said.
"Let's go." Buffy said. "Connor, Wesley, you're coming. The rest of you stay here and watch Angelus. Maybe do some more research on the Beast if you can. Oh and Xander?"
"Yeah?" Xander asked, looking up from the computer.
"Call Sunnydale and see if everything is ok."
"You got it."
Buffy, Connor, and Wesley headed out. They took Wesley's SUV to the house which was in a nice little residential area. They headed up the front walk and up to the door. A small sign next to the door read: Svear Mon.-Fri. 11am-4pm. Wes rang the bell, but no one answered.
"Looks like no one's home." Connor said.
Wesley knocked loud on the door. When no one answered, he reached down and tried the knob. The door swung open. "It's open." They walked over the threshold. "Hello? Anyone home? Hello?"
"Nordic priestesses?" Buffy called.
All three spread out and looked around. Connor saw a set of family pictures on the mantle showing a husband, wife, and their children. "So the mom's a priestess?" he asked.
"I think all the women in the family are from what Wes told me." Buffy said. She looked through some bills on a table and then sniffed the air. "What is that?" She looked into the living room and stared in shock. Wesley and Connor saw her expression and followed her gaze. The entire family had been slaughtered, parents and children alike. They lied strewn about the living room. Their clothes were smeared with gore.
"We're too late. Again." Wesley said.
"How does the Beast know exactly what we're going to do? It's like he's psychic." Buffy said.
"Maybe he is."
"Or he's been watching us at the hotel." Connor said.
"Angelus could have sent him a message. Some kind of demon Morse code." Buffy said. Wesley checked the body of the little boy. "No, these people have been dead for a few days. Angelus had nothing to do with this."
"Which means by the time the shaman was going all chanty on Angel, it was already too late."
"You mean they've been here like this.. For days?" Connor asked.
"With the chaos outside, probably no one even noticed they were gone." Wes said.
Buffy shook her head sadly. "We should have seen this coming."
"Of course the Beast would go after the priestesses. Let's have a look around, see if there's anything useful. Then we should call the police." Wesley stepped over to a desk and picked up a narrow piece of parchment. "A banishment incantation. At least, I think it is."
"Then they were trying to get rid of the Beast."
"It seems so."
Connor was unusually affected by the sight of the bodies in front of him. He looked away, into the kitchen, and noticed a calendar hanging on the wall beside him with "Daddy's birthday" marked on it. It suddenly became too much for him and he bolted for the door.
"Connor!" Buffy called, running after him.
Connor ran down to the street and leaned over into the bushes. He vomited, then kneeled there, heaving and gasping. Buffy followed him out, then sat down beside him when she saw what happened.
"Connor?" He didn't answer. She sighed and looked up. "The sun should be up. It's different, isn't it? Dead demons are just a big blob of oozing mess. Vampires turn into dust like they were never anything at all. But humans.. It's different. Harder to understand."
"That's not.." Connor said.
"What?"
"The family.."
Before he could say anything else, a vampire leapt from the shadows and attacked. Connor and Buffy were instantly on their feet, beating the creature to the ground. Behind Connor, a second vampire landed in front of Buffy and punched her to the ground. Buffy spun and staked it. Connor beat his vampire back with a rapid flurry of blows, then lifted it up and hurled it into the street. It looked up just as an SUV slammed into it at full speed. The car screeched to a halt with Wesley driving and Buffy and Connor jumped in. Buffy looked behind them and saw three more vampires closing in.
"Come on!" Buffy said.
Wesley punched the gas and the car shot off down the street. They sped through the dark LA streets and headed towards the hotel. Once there, the three dashed inside.
"What happened?" Gunn asked.
"Vamps." Connor said.
"They didn't get the Svear?" Fred asked.
"No. The Beast did. Slaughtered the entire family." Wes said.
"Guess he found a way to kill them after all." Xander said.
"So much for our big priestess rescue." Gunn said.
"Are we sure Angelus doesn't know anything more? I mean, maybe we should talk to.." Fred asked.
"No. I think he's told us everything he's going to." Wes said.
"Which means our last-ditch plan, turning Angel into a soulless monster, it's a bust. If Angelus can't help us.." Gunn said.
"It's time to bring back Angel." Buffy said.
"We'll need the shaman." Wesley said, heading towards the phone.
As everyone went about their business, Buffy slipped down to the basement. Angelus detached himself from the shadows and looked at her. "Here I thought you'd be halfway to Georgia by now."
"I told you I'd be back. I'm back." Buffy said.
"How'd the little field trip turn out? Priestesses still feisty?"
"We found a little boy, his sister, mom, dad, grandma.. All dead."
"Oh, God. I'm always missing the fun stuff."
"The Beast butchered them."
"So? Did you bring me back a souvenir? Maybe a stray baby toe?" Buffy stared at him. "Come on, Buffy! Where's your sense of humor?"
"Guess I lost it."
"Well, don't blame me for your little debacle. I told you everything I know."
"I know, but it's too late."
"And whose fault is that? Doesn't matter. I showed you mine. Now it's time to show me yours.. Again."
"The deal was, you give us information, we save the world, you get me. Well.. World not saved."
"You know I'm just going to let this go."
"I know. But I'm not seeing a whole lot of other options.. With the big steel cage and all."
"Won't be in here forever."
"About another hour actually. Forgot to tell you the best part. We're putting your soul back."
Angelus chuckled. "Not gonna happen."
"Oh, but it is. Just in time for the primo apocalypse that's coming. Too bad. I know how you love those."
"Been looking forward to it all day. Still am."
"Thing is, you're never coming back. Angel and I are going to make sure of that."
"We'll see."
Buffy stepped closer to the cage. "I told you Angelus, you're nobody. Just a disease. And Angel can't wait to be rid of you."
Angelus looked her up and down lasciviously. "I think I'll start with the twins. I just love a woman with nice ripe thighs." His arm shot through the steel bars, his fingers a mere inch from Buffy's throat. She just stared impassively at him, not so much as a flinch.
She smiled cruelly at him. "Not even close."
Angelus' calm façade cracked for the first time as Buffy turned and headed for the stairs. "The more you piss me off, the longer I'll keep you alive. And I know you're a screamer."
Buffy walked back upstairs and headed into the office. "Okay, let's.." She broke off when she realized they are all staring at her. "What?"
"Angel's soul.. It's gone." Fred said.
Buffy stared wide-eyed at the empty safe. Everyone stared at her as tears welled in her eyes. "You guys didn't let him out did you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then where the hell is it?"
"We don't know!" Xander said.
Buffy stared at the safe again in shock. She would have fallen to the floor if Gunn hadn't caught her. He carried her over to the couch where she curled up in a ball in the corner and started to rock herself as tears fell down her cheeks.
"What're we going to do?" Fred asked.
They all stared at the broken Slayer on the couch. With Angelus here to stay for longer than any of them had planned and Buffy out of commission for the moment, things looked almost hopeless.
