Chapter Four - Taking Care of Business
Lilah glared as Buffy swung her unceremoniously across her office, grounding her with a crash against a filing cabinet. "Will you get your grubby hands off my Gucci?" Lilah huffed, her eyes sparking in annoyance. "Looks like you'll be paying for my dry cleaning."
Casually Buffy folded her arms and smiled sweetly at Lilah. "Firstly sweetie, don't come the high and mighty with me," said Buffy. "I don't care what you're wearing. You're still a two bit slut who's got nothing better to do than terrorise me and my boyfriend." Then stepping menacingly closer, Buffy's hand flew to Lilah's throat, her nails digging into Lilah's windpipe. "Secondly, don't forget I'm the slayer."
As Buffy relaxed her grip slightly, Lilah wheezed loudly and gazed up at Buffy with slightly fearful eyes. "Okay, what do you want?" she asked.
"Oh, jeez, get with the programme. I'm like threatening you and you can't work out that I want information," Buffy mocked, making a show of straightening Lilah's jacket. "You really are stupid for a brunette - which would explain why you didn't recognise me." For a second, Lilah's face went blank, totally unable to comprehend why she should recognise Buffy. This was the first time she had ever heard of her, let alone met her, which was awfully strange considering her self-confessed proximity to Angel. "Oh, come on. You and your lackeys were watching my house for like weeks. You must have profiles on me or something," Buffy snapped, pushing Lilah to the floor and flinging open all the drawers of the filing cabinet.
"You won't find anything there," said Lilah confidently, rising gracefully from the floor. "Guess you're not big enough potatoes for Wolfram and Hart to care about."
Tearing through the heap of brown files, Buffy scoured furiously for one on her, as Lilah looked smugly on. Finally, she spotted her name. "Guess again," replied Buffy tartly, smiling triumphantly as Lilah gaped in confusion. It was fun having the upperhand. "Let's have a look see why you guys find me so interesting."
Picking the file up slowly, she opened it up to reveal a neatly typed report full of the basic facts of her life and recent resurrection. It was spooky how much the law firm knew about her: it contained everything from details of her friends and family and her slaying, to her childhood fear of hospitals. Then of course there were the surveillance shots she had expected, in which, she noted somewhat happily, she looked really good. Most chillingly of all though, was the way it recorded every graphic detail of her relationship with Angel, in cold, clinical fact. Buffy cringed as her eyes scanned the part of the report describing how Angel had left. Without the emotional context, it sounded like their relationship had not meant anything, that he had not loved her; that it had been easy for him to leave her. Rationally, Buffy knew that was not true but seeing it written like that brought the painful memories all back. She snapped the file shut.
"So Lilah, this is the time you start explaining sans your little memory lapse, or I start breaking nails," warned Buffy perkily, perching daintily back upon Lilah's desk.
Smoothing back her hair nervously, Lilah looked at Buffy plaintively. "You have to believe me. I don't know what these files are doing there. I've never seen them before," explained Lilah, beginning to panic.
Sensing the change in Lilah's demeanour, Buffy started forward, her smile predatory, like a cat's. "I should have known you wouldn't be a very good, liar," opined Buffy, as Lilah began to shrink back. She tensed as Buffy's hand caught her wrist firmly, and placed her firmly against the wall. "You see, it didn't really make sense that you wouldn't know me. And from what I've heard from Angel, you're not one to be all shy and unforthcoming. So that's how I knew something was wrong. You don't remember me because someone took your memory."
"Nice catch," said Lilah dryly, her face relaxing as she realised the immediate danger was gone. "So can I get on with preparing for my meeting now?"
As Lilah moved forward, Buffy again blocked her path. "Uh-uh, lawyer lady. Remember the information part?" chided Buffy lightly. "You see, me and Angel have this nice plan where we get a little little house with a white picket fence but until I find out what the Robed Demon and his boys are up to, that's a no can do."
Edging around Buffy, Lilah walked tiredly towards her desk. "Fine," replied Lilah. "I can take you to the White Room."
Wrinkling her nose up, Buffy repeated, "The White Room?"
"Yes, that's the source of everything," stated Lilah flatly, heading towards the door "If you can't get your answer there, then no one can help you."
Following Lilah to the elevator, Buffy felt a small thrill of excitement. She was finally going to receive the answers she had been waiting for and solve this whole mess before things became any worse. Then she and Angel could finally start having that future they had been talking about. Still, it was still a mystery as to who had cast the memory loss spell on Lilah. It must have been Willow, she reasoned; this was a total Willow-like thing to do. Having a Wicca as a friend truly did have its advantages.
***************************
Lighting up a cigarette, Spike watched with interest as Wesley and Gunn glared at each other. It felt a little petty to be at all engaged by a run- of-the-mill male pissing contest, but Spike was bored; and hell, Spike was petty. He had a really good feeling that if they riled each other enough, this would all end with a spot of good old fashioned violence. Wesley really was one for the ladies: first Lilah and now Twig. Spike never would have guessed; okay, he would have, he was perceptive like that, but still. Always the quiet ones.
Vince nudged Spike excitedly, and rubbed his hands with glee. "So you thinking what I'm thinking?" he babbled. "Somehow I'm really thinking not," was Spike's dry rejoinder, as he looked disparagingly at the hyper vampire. Vince merely grinned in response. "Okay, what are you thinking?"
"That Wes will get his ass kicked, hands down," Vince predicted boldly, wincing slightly as Gunn grabbed hold of Wesley's collar and clamped down. "Oooh, that's gotta hurt."
Flicking his cigarette butt at Vince, Spike grimaced unapologetically. "If you don't shut it, the only one around here to be hurt is you," he warned Vince, as Wesley headbutted Gunn hard, to Fred's cry of shock. "Now it's just at the good bit. Nice one, Wes."
Just as Gunn had landed Wes with a right hook and was about to follow up with a second, Fred careened herself between them. Throwing her hands up in fury, she pushed Wes and Gunn back with her tiny arms and glowered at them both. "Just stop both of you. Now," she ordered, her voice trembling with emotion. Stepping forward, Gunn placed a tentative hand on her cheek, but she slapped it away. "Please. Please don't touch me," she murmured to a shocked Gunn.
"Baby, please," he pleaded, trying to appease her.
"No, Charles. I need you to leave me alone," she told him firmly, her face blanched. She began to walk slowly to the stairs, her head bowed. As she passed Wesley, he glanced regretfully up at her.
"I'm sorry, Fred. I didn't mean-" Wesley started, but was cut off by Fred's cutting expression. Averting his eyes, he tensed as he heard her steps echo mournfully up the stairs.
"Well, that was bracing," announced Spike brightly. "What you kiddies got next on the plan?"
Ignoring him, Wesley brushed past Gunn and headed for the kitchen. "I'm going to get some ice," he muttered, cradling his bruised jaw.
Without responding, Gunn merely turned and headed for the door, his expression unreadable. On the way out, he passed the returning Angel without a word, much to Angel's confusion. "What's up with Gunn?" Angel asked Spike, eyeing him accusingly.
"Woman trouble," Spike shrugged. "Something you'd know about."
Shooting him a warning glare, Angel took his crossbow from Connor and placed it on the table. "Whatever. I'm going to ring Buffy if anybody needs me," he said, walking towards his office.
Realising that Buffy could be found out, Spike knew he had to act fast. "No, I don't think that's a good idea. Buffy could be in the middle of something very important, you know," he covered quickly, blocking Angel's path.
Stopping in his tracks, Angel seered Spike with one of his trademark impatient glares. "Get out of my way."
Spike shook his head resolutely, standing his ground. "Can't do that. You're all distracted when you talk to Buffy and that's no good for finding out what the Robed Demon's been up to," he said, trying to inject as much reasonableness into his words as he could. "And anyway the lady made me promise to keep you focused, and I don't break promises to a lady."
Turning from Spike, Angel gazed longingly at the phone, then drew his vision away determinedly. "The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can be with Buffy," he told himself.
"So what are we waiting for?" Angel looked to see Wesley clutching an icepack to his jaw, his expression unusually cold. Knowing that Wesley would not respond well to intrusions in his private life, Angel chose not to comment.
"Let's go see Lilah," Angel said simply, heading for the sewers to avoid the just breaking dawn. In silence, Connor, Wesley, Spike and Vince followed, the tension palpable. As they left, Fred curled up on her bed, her arms clutched around a pillow. A few rooms down, Lorne slept peacefully. Team Angel was looking shakey.
******************************
Anya sat down on the stairs of the basement, her face a picture of confusion. She looked from Willow to Xander, to Dawn, then back to Xander again. "So you're telling me that Buffy is in LA but Angel doesn't know? Is he in some way deficient?" she questioned.
Giving Anya a filthy look, Cordy snapped, "No, he's not deficient! Just Buffy-whipped, dumbass."
Blatantly ignoring her, Anya gazed at Xander and pressed, "But I don't understand. If his soul is bound, why aren't they both upstairs both having hot monkey sex? Moaning and groaning in ecstasy is an essential part of all make ups." With that she looked meaningfully at Xander, who fairly squirmed in embarrassment.
Suppressing a giggle, Dawn explained, "Buffy's in LA to protect Angel. She thinks he needs extra help on this Robed Demon thing."
"Plus they already had the hot monkey sex," added Cordy, rolling her eyes at the memory. "It was all I could hear all night."
Willow looked sharply at Cordelia, who immediately shut up. "Then maybe you should try ear plugs," she suggested. "They work for me."
Changing the topic swiftly, Xander asked Willow, "So are we going to get a- moving on this research? Time's a-wasting." "Jeez, who are you? The new Giles?" commented Cordelia, cattily.
Standing up and placing her arms possessively around Xander, Anya responded bluntly, "Giles is in England, so he's not dead. There can't be a new Giles. And anyway, Xander would make a great Giles."
Noticing the spark of lust in his girlfriend's eyes, Xander gripped her closer, feeling his own excitement increase. "Err, me and An will just go make a start on that research. Now," he mumbled, practically dragging Anya up the stairs after him.
"Hmm, I'll bet," said Dawn, smirking.
"Dawn!" Willow reprimanded, a little surprised.
"What?" countered Dawn, annoyed at the looks of surprise on Cordy and Willow's faces. "Like I don't know what they're up to."
Leaving that conversation, Cordy returned to the matter at hand. "So what are we going to do about research? Try some standard demon databases, go through some of Giles's old books?"
"All of the above," replied Willow, her expression growing serious. "I'm really worried about Buffy being on her own in LA. We can't afford to slack on this."
"She'll be alright," reassured Cordy. "She's got like slayer powers."
"Yeah," said Willow quietly, her worry still evident. "Let's go get this done."
As they began to trail up the stairs, Dawn looked questioningly at the unconscious demon. "What about him?"
Continuing to walk, Willow flailed her hand out behind her, sending a ball of blue energy crackling into the demon. "Don't worry. He's not going anywhere," she commented dryly, as extra chains grew around the demon. There was no way that their strongest lead would slip from their sight.
***************************
So the White Room was exactly how it had been described: white. Buffy's eyes blinked up in awe at the total absence of any other colour, at the way the air seemed to shimmer. Something in it filled her with peace, and she closed her eyes, her memories drifting back to her time in heaven. At least she thought it was heaven. There had been no fear, no pain, no doubt, just love and she had been bathed in it. Sometimes even now, the loss of heaven made her sad.
"You're thinking this is like heaven. Wrong," a small girl's voice sounded, causing Buffy to snap open her eyes. Before her, she saw the figure of a young girl, dressed in a cotton dress, the picture of innocence except for the malevolence clouding her eyes. "Maybe not," Buffy answered openly, folding her arms. "But I'm thinking we're not here to discuss me."
The little girl gave a tinkly laugh and gazed mockingly at Buffy. "On the contrary, this is all about you," she corrected. "And, of course, that delectable vampire of yours."
Buffy started forward, but the little girl halted her with a shake of her head. "Okay, that I already knew," Buffy said, showing signs of impatience. "So what's new?"
"You want to know how to stop them? Well you can't," the little girl chastised Buffy a little petulantly. "Gwah Ra Kal will come, and he will want your blood."
Eyeing the child sceptically, Buffy again moved closer. "Why?" she questioned.
"To open the mouth of hell," the child said slowly, as if she believed Buffy was very stupid. "Why else?"
"What do they want with Angel?" Buffy pressed, feeling the colour drain from her face.
Gleefully, the girl looked at Buffy and placed her hand upon Buffy's. Buffy shuddered, repulsed at the ripple of evil that travelled through her. "It is he will spill your blood," she told Buffy.
Buffy shook her head, taking her hand away. "I don't believe you," said Buffy. "Angel would never hurt me."
"Believe what you like, but history will repeat itself," the little girl predicted doomily. "He will feed on you again." Then with a wave of her hand, Buffy was thrown out of the White Room, landing hard on the street outside Wolfram and Hart.
Hauling herself up, she began to walk aimlessly, her head full of muddled thoughts. Despite her best efforts, the child's words had chilled her. All her life Buffy had fought against fate, against prophecy and had tried to live by her own free will. Now after she had felt the touch of that girl, Buffy was filled with a sense of impending fate, the notion of choice seeming futile. She and Angel, it seemed, were destined to be ripped apart.
Lost in her darkness, she did not notice an equally bereft Gunn walk past her. Gunn, however, was jolted from his thoughts and looked up and stared at her in shocked recognition. "Buffy, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked her.
At the sound of his voice, Buffy span round, her face half frightened at her discovery. Without another look, she took off leaving Gunn watching her, stunned. Shaking his head, he sprinted after her, calling her name. He had to catch up with her and quick. If Angel found out his girl was here and Gunn had let her evade him, well, trouble would just be an unpleasant side effect. Right now, Gunn had enough trouble all of his own.
To Be Continued.
Lilah glared as Buffy swung her unceremoniously across her office, grounding her with a crash against a filing cabinet. "Will you get your grubby hands off my Gucci?" Lilah huffed, her eyes sparking in annoyance. "Looks like you'll be paying for my dry cleaning."
Casually Buffy folded her arms and smiled sweetly at Lilah. "Firstly sweetie, don't come the high and mighty with me," said Buffy. "I don't care what you're wearing. You're still a two bit slut who's got nothing better to do than terrorise me and my boyfriend." Then stepping menacingly closer, Buffy's hand flew to Lilah's throat, her nails digging into Lilah's windpipe. "Secondly, don't forget I'm the slayer."
As Buffy relaxed her grip slightly, Lilah wheezed loudly and gazed up at Buffy with slightly fearful eyes. "Okay, what do you want?" she asked.
"Oh, jeez, get with the programme. I'm like threatening you and you can't work out that I want information," Buffy mocked, making a show of straightening Lilah's jacket. "You really are stupid for a brunette - which would explain why you didn't recognise me." For a second, Lilah's face went blank, totally unable to comprehend why she should recognise Buffy. This was the first time she had ever heard of her, let alone met her, which was awfully strange considering her self-confessed proximity to Angel. "Oh, come on. You and your lackeys were watching my house for like weeks. You must have profiles on me or something," Buffy snapped, pushing Lilah to the floor and flinging open all the drawers of the filing cabinet.
"You won't find anything there," said Lilah confidently, rising gracefully from the floor. "Guess you're not big enough potatoes for Wolfram and Hart to care about."
Tearing through the heap of brown files, Buffy scoured furiously for one on her, as Lilah looked smugly on. Finally, she spotted her name. "Guess again," replied Buffy tartly, smiling triumphantly as Lilah gaped in confusion. It was fun having the upperhand. "Let's have a look see why you guys find me so interesting."
Picking the file up slowly, she opened it up to reveal a neatly typed report full of the basic facts of her life and recent resurrection. It was spooky how much the law firm knew about her: it contained everything from details of her friends and family and her slaying, to her childhood fear of hospitals. Then of course there were the surveillance shots she had expected, in which, she noted somewhat happily, she looked really good. Most chillingly of all though, was the way it recorded every graphic detail of her relationship with Angel, in cold, clinical fact. Buffy cringed as her eyes scanned the part of the report describing how Angel had left. Without the emotional context, it sounded like their relationship had not meant anything, that he had not loved her; that it had been easy for him to leave her. Rationally, Buffy knew that was not true but seeing it written like that brought the painful memories all back. She snapped the file shut.
"So Lilah, this is the time you start explaining sans your little memory lapse, or I start breaking nails," warned Buffy perkily, perching daintily back upon Lilah's desk.
Smoothing back her hair nervously, Lilah looked at Buffy plaintively. "You have to believe me. I don't know what these files are doing there. I've never seen them before," explained Lilah, beginning to panic.
Sensing the change in Lilah's demeanour, Buffy started forward, her smile predatory, like a cat's. "I should have known you wouldn't be a very good, liar," opined Buffy, as Lilah began to shrink back. She tensed as Buffy's hand caught her wrist firmly, and placed her firmly against the wall. "You see, it didn't really make sense that you wouldn't know me. And from what I've heard from Angel, you're not one to be all shy and unforthcoming. So that's how I knew something was wrong. You don't remember me because someone took your memory."
"Nice catch," said Lilah dryly, her face relaxing as she realised the immediate danger was gone. "So can I get on with preparing for my meeting now?"
As Lilah moved forward, Buffy again blocked her path. "Uh-uh, lawyer lady. Remember the information part?" chided Buffy lightly. "You see, me and Angel have this nice plan where we get a little little house with a white picket fence but until I find out what the Robed Demon and his boys are up to, that's a no can do."
Edging around Buffy, Lilah walked tiredly towards her desk. "Fine," replied Lilah. "I can take you to the White Room."
Wrinkling her nose up, Buffy repeated, "The White Room?"
"Yes, that's the source of everything," stated Lilah flatly, heading towards the door "If you can't get your answer there, then no one can help you."
Following Lilah to the elevator, Buffy felt a small thrill of excitement. She was finally going to receive the answers she had been waiting for and solve this whole mess before things became any worse. Then she and Angel could finally start having that future they had been talking about. Still, it was still a mystery as to who had cast the memory loss spell on Lilah. It must have been Willow, she reasoned; this was a total Willow-like thing to do. Having a Wicca as a friend truly did have its advantages.
***************************
Lighting up a cigarette, Spike watched with interest as Wesley and Gunn glared at each other. It felt a little petty to be at all engaged by a run- of-the-mill male pissing contest, but Spike was bored; and hell, Spike was petty. He had a really good feeling that if they riled each other enough, this would all end with a spot of good old fashioned violence. Wesley really was one for the ladies: first Lilah and now Twig. Spike never would have guessed; okay, he would have, he was perceptive like that, but still. Always the quiet ones.
Vince nudged Spike excitedly, and rubbed his hands with glee. "So you thinking what I'm thinking?" he babbled. "Somehow I'm really thinking not," was Spike's dry rejoinder, as he looked disparagingly at the hyper vampire. Vince merely grinned in response. "Okay, what are you thinking?"
"That Wes will get his ass kicked, hands down," Vince predicted boldly, wincing slightly as Gunn grabbed hold of Wesley's collar and clamped down. "Oooh, that's gotta hurt."
Flicking his cigarette butt at Vince, Spike grimaced unapologetically. "If you don't shut it, the only one around here to be hurt is you," he warned Vince, as Wesley headbutted Gunn hard, to Fred's cry of shock. "Now it's just at the good bit. Nice one, Wes."
Just as Gunn had landed Wes with a right hook and was about to follow up with a second, Fred careened herself between them. Throwing her hands up in fury, she pushed Wes and Gunn back with her tiny arms and glowered at them both. "Just stop both of you. Now," she ordered, her voice trembling with emotion. Stepping forward, Gunn placed a tentative hand on her cheek, but she slapped it away. "Please. Please don't touch me," she murmured to a shocked Gunn.
"Baby, please," he pleaded, trying to appease her.
"No, Charles. I need you to leave me alone," she told him firmly, her face blanched. She began to walk slowly to the stairs, her head bowed. As she passed Wesley, he glanced regretfully up at her.
"I'm sorry, Fred. I didn't mean-" Wesley started, but was cut off by Fred's cutting expression. Averting his eyes, he tensed as he heard her steps echo mournfully up the stairs.
"Well, that was bracing," announced Spike brightly. "What you kiddies got next on the plan?"
Ignoring him, Wesley brushed past Gunn and headed for the kitchen. "I'm going to get some ice," he muttered, cradling his bruised jaw.
Without responding, Gunn merely turned and headed for the door, his expression unreadable. On the way out, he passed the returning Angel without a word, much to Angel's confusion. "What's up with Gunn?" Angel asked Spike, eyeing him accusingly.
"Woman trouble," Spike shrugged. "Something you'd know about."
Shooting him a warning glare, Angel took his crossbow from Connor and placed it on the table. "Whatever. I'm going to ring Buffy if anybody needs me," he said, walking towards his office.
Realising that Buffy could be found out, Spike knew he had to act fast. "No, I don't think that's a good idea. Buffy could be in the middle of something very important, you know," he covered quickly, blocking Angel's path.
Stopping in his tracks, Angel seered Spike with one of his trademark impatient glares. "Get out of my way."
Spike shook his head resolutely, standing his ground. "Can't do that. You're all distracted when you talk to Buffy and that's no good for finding out what the Robed Demon's been up to," he said, trying to inject as much reasonableness into his words as he could. "And anyway the lady made me promise to keep you focused, and I don't break promises to a lady."
Turning from Spike, Angel gazed longingly at the phone, then drew his vision away determinedly. "The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can be with Buffy," he told himself.
"So what are we waiting for?" Angel looked to see Wesley clutching an icepack to his jaw, his expression unusually cold. Knowing that Wesley would not respond well to intrusions in his private life, Angel chose not to comment.
"Let's go see Lilah," Angel said simply, heading for the sewers to avoid the just breaking dawn. In silence, Connor, Wesley, Spike and Vince followed, the tension palpable. As they left, Fred curled up on her bed, her arms clutched around a pillow. A few rooms down, Lorne slept peacefully. Team Angel was looking shakey.
******************************
Anya sat down on the stairs of the basement, her face a picture of confusion. She looked from Willow to Xander, to Dawn, then back to Xander again. "So you're telling me that Buffy is in LA but Angel doesn't know? Is he in some way deficient?" she questioned.
Giving Anya a filthy look, Cordy snapped, "No, he's not deficient! Just Buffy-whipped, dumbass."
Blatantly ignoring her, Anya gazed at Xander and pressed, "But I don't understand. If his soul is bound, why aren't they both upstairs both having hot monkey sex? Moaning and groaning in ecstasy is an essential part of all make ups." With that she looked meaningfully at Xander, who fairly squirmed in embarrassment.
Suppressing a giggle, Dawn explained, "Buffy's in LA to protect Angel. She thinks he needs extra help on this Robed Demon thing."
"Plus they already had the hot monkey sex," added Cordy, rolling her eyes at the memory. "It was all I could hear all night."
Willow looked sharply at Cordelia, who immediately shut up. "Then maybe you should try ear plugs," she suggested. "They work for me."
Changing the topic swiftly, Xander asked Willow, "So are we going to get a- moving on this research? Time's a-wasting." "Jeez, who are you? The new Giles?" commented Cordelia, cattily.
Standing up and placing her arms possessively around Xander, Anya responded bluntly, "Giles is in England, so he's not dead. There can't be a new Giles. And anyway, Xander would make a great Giles."
Noticing the spark of lust in his girlfriend's eyes, Xander gripped her closer, feeling his own excitement increase. "Err, me and An will just go make a start on that research. Now," he mumbled, practically dragging Anya up the stairs after him.
"Hmm, I'll bet," said Dawn, smirking.
"Dawn!" Willow reprimanded, a little surprised.
"What?" countered Dawn, annoyed at the looks of surprise on Cordy and Willow's faces. "Like I don't know what they're up to."
Leaving that conversation, Cordy returned to the matter at hand. "So what are we going to do about research? Try some standard demon databases, go through some of Giles's old books?"
"All of the above," replied Willow, her expression growing serious. "I'm really worried about Buffy being on her own in LA. We can't afford to slack on this."
"She'll be alright," reassured Cordy. "She's got like slayer powers."
"Yeah," said Willow quietly, her worry still evident. "Let's go get this done."
As they began to trail up the stairs, Dawn looked questioningly at the unconscious demon. "What about him?"
Continuing to walk, Willow flailed her hand out behind her, sending a ball of blue energy crackling into the demon. "Don't worry. He's not going anywhere," she commented dryly, as extra chains grew around the demon. There was no way that their strongest lead would slip from their sight.
***************************
So the White Room was exactly how it had been described: white. Buffy's eyes blinked up in awe at the total absence of any other colour, at the way the air seemed to shimmer. Something in it filled her with peace, and she closed her eyes, her memories drifting back to her time in heaven. At least she thought it was heaven. There had been no fear, no pain, no doubt, just love and she had been bathed in it. Sometimes even now, the loss of heaven made her sad.
"You're thinking this is like heaven. Wrong," a small girl's voice sounded, causing Buffy to snap open her eyes. Before her, she saw the figure of a young girl, dressed in a cotton dress, the picture of innocence except for the malevolence clouding her eyes. "Maybe not," Buffy answered openly, folding her arms. "But I'm thinking we're not here to discuss me."
The little girl gave a tinkly laugh and gazed mockingly at Buffy. "On the contrary, this is all about you," she corrected. "And, of course, that delectable vampire of yours."
Buffy started forward, but the little girl halted her with a shake of her head. "Okay, that I already knew," Buffy said, showing signs of impatience. "So what's new?"
"You want to know how to stop them? Well you can't," the little girl chastised Buffy a little petulantly. "Gwah Ra Kal will come, and he will want your blood."
Eyeing the child sceptically, Buffy again moved closer. "Why?" she questioned.
"To open the mouth of hell," the child said slowly, as if she believed Buffy was very stupid. "Why else?"
"What do they want with Angel?" Buffy pressed, feeling the colour drain from her face.
Gleefully, the girl looked at Buffy and placed her hand upon Buffy's. Buffy shuddered, repulsed at the ripple of evil that travelled through her. "It is he will spill your blood," she told Buffy.
Buffy shook her head, taking her hand away. "I don't believe you," said Buffy. "Angel would never hurt me."
"Believe what you like, but history will repeat itself," the little girl predicted doomily. "He will feed on you again." Then with a wave of her hand, Buffy was thrown out of the White Room, landing hard on the street outside Wolfram and Hart.
Hauling herself up, she began to walk aimlessly, her head full of muddled thoughts. Despite her best efforts, the child's words had chilled her. All her life Buffy had fought against fate, against prophecy and had tried to live by her own free will. Now after she had felt the touch of that girl, Buffy was filled with a sense of impending fate, the notion of choice seeming futile. She and Angel, it seemed, were destined to be ripped apart.
Lost in her darkness, she did not notice an equally bereft Gunn walk past her. Gunn, however, was jolted from his thoughts and looked up and stared at her in shocked recognition. "Buffy, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked her.
At the sound of his voice, Buffy span round, her face half frightened at her discovery. Without another look, she took off leaving Gunn watching her, stunned. Shaking his head, he sprinted after her, calling her name. He had to catch up with her and quick. If Angel found out his girl was here and Gunn had let her evade him, well, trouble would just be an unpleasant side effect. Right now, Gunn had enough trouble all of his own.
To Be Continued.
