'Maybe Wills and I should rethink our idea of therapy,' Kat thought wryly, ducking and spinning under a vampire arm as it flung out at her face. Her arms came up to block its next blow, but not fast enough to keep his left hand from getting close. The werecat hissed in discomfort as the vampire's claws came into contact with her cheek, scratching a faint line into her pale skin. Thoroughly pissed, the tiny brunette brought her leg up, swinging it around into a roundhouse to kick the vampire to the ground in a fit of anger. A quick stab later and dust was all that remained…of that vampire at least.
'One down, several to go,' her thoughts strayed as her eyes instantly sought out her companions. The group had managed to locate a 'small' vampire nest, and it was almost more than they could handle. Angel was holding off two at the moment, while Xander was going toe to toe with a big ugly brute. Back to back Willow and Cordelia stood, holding off as many vampires as they could with their deadly crossbows.
Kat barely had time to process this information before another cold body slammed into hers, causing her to fall backwards to the ground. Reacting on instinct, the brunette grabbed the vampire by the front of its shirt, pulling her feet up to kick out, causing it to be catapulted back off of her. Scrambling to her feet, Kat brought her arms up defensively as the vampire rose from the ground in one fluid motion. It swung with its right hand, intending to feint while bringing its left hand around to catch her unawares. Her arm coming up to block the right hand as it came at her, Kat caught the flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. Her panther instincts in full swing, she ducked under his punch, twisting her arm to her side and propelling the stake in her hand upward, driving it through the vampire's rib cage before it could take a step back.
Just as it exploded, Kat heard Willow let out a curse of irritation. Surprised that her normally polite hacker friend was resorting to foul language, the brunette whirled around…and cursed herself. Willow's crossbow had snagged somehow, leaving the redhead vulnerable to attack. Cordelia was fending off the vampires as well as she could with her own crossbow, but it was obvious that she was too preoccupied with keeping some of them at bay to assist the redhead. Already vampires were moving into place to take advantage of their misfortune; three or four of them were circling around to Willow's blind spot, ready to pounce any second now.
The perilous situation her two friends were in spurred Kat into decisive action. Without a moment's thought the werecat ran in Cordy and Willow's direction, borrowing speed from her panther side to propel her forward. As she drew closer she saw Willow, struggling with the triggering mechanism, glance over her shoulder and spy the vampires closing in on her. Kat watched as the redhead paled, releasing the crossbow with one hand and reaching for the vials of holy water she kept at her side. The young woman didn't stand a chance against that many vampires, but she was willing to take a few with her as she died.
Fear shot through the tiny brunette as she saw the look of determination flicker over Willow's features, something equivalent to her 'resolve face.' Images of her mother flashing before her eyes, Kat growled and called out to her friend as she drew near the vampires and her two friends.
"Willow, DUCK!" Wordlessly Willow obeyed the werecat's sharp command, flattening herself to the ground as Kat leapt over the redhead. Kicking out to each side, she caught two of the vampires off guard before landing in the midst of the pack. Her fists went flying, catching another in the face before the forth slammed into her from behind, and forcing the tiny brunette to the ground in a tangle of arms, legs, and hisses. She struggled to free herself, but a stray elbow caught her in the side of the head and her vision swam. Her last thought before the darkness enveloped her was that she was in deep, deep trouble.
* * * * * * * * * *
Finally dusting the last vampire he had been fighting, Angel heard Kat call out to Willow and whirled around just in time to see the daring werecat plunge herself directly into the middle of the vampire group that had surrounded Cordy and Willow. An inarticulate sound of dismay was ripped from his throat as he watched her go down, tackled from behind by one of the vampires and becoming entangled with the rest on the ground. When she was struck in the head by an arm, the sound became a full-fledged cry.
"NOOO!" The cry came out at the forefront of a deep-throated roar of fury, causing even the vampires to pause in their attack. They watched in horror as the world-renowned Angel of Death ran toward them at full speed, fear for his friend driving him to the limit. He crossed the yards that separated him from his foes in a matter of seconds.
Before the vampires could make a move to untangle themselves and run he was upon them, picking them up by whatever appendage he could grab and literally throwing them off of the tiny brunette. Xander, Cordelia, and Willow sprang into action, staking or shooting each body as it hit the ground. Finally, when he reached the bottom of the pile, Angel uncovered Kat, who was just starting to rouse. Quickly he took stock of her injuries, a growl rumbling deep in his chest as he caught the faint scent of blood from the scratch on her pale face.
As he watched her begin to stir, the rage he felt at seeing her go down did not dissipate. Rather, it burned with even greater intensity as he thought of all the things that could have happened to her had he not gotten there fast enough. Angel's eyes glowed in feral brightness as he thought about all the risks she took in battle, and the way she put herself in danger in order to protect others. His fists clenched tightly at his sides, the vampire swore darkly to have a few words with the kitten about her fighting style.
'I will not watch you die because of some reckless act of yours kitten,' he vowed, seething in rage as he watched the tiny werecat begin to open her eyes.
* * * * * * * * * *
Kat moaned, feeling as if a runaway truck had just knocked the wind out of her. Opening her eyes, she blinked a few times to clear away the blur that clouded her vision. As she attempted to sit up, her head throbbed painfully, causing the brunette to clutch it with both her hands. Dimly she was aware of a growling noise directly above her. Slowly, carefully, the brunette raised her head, bewildered green eyes meeting furious golden ones. Angel stood above her, his fists clenching and unclenching as he glowered down at the tiny werecat. His eyes burned with the intensity of a thousand suns, his face twisted in a vampiric visage of rage.
Confusion creased her brow, causing Kat to wince as her head protested the movement. 'What's he all Grry for?' Dimly she recalled Willow being in trouble, her reckless assault on the vampire group that was ready to ambush the redhead, then the blow to the head that had sent her into darkness. Hoping to diffuse the situation, she offered Angel a small smile. "Did we win?" She joked softly, believing he would lighten up. Her hope was quickly shattered as he grabbed her by the arms, hauling the tiny woman up to her feet as he snarled viciously.
"What in the hell were you thinking, you little hellcat! You could've been killed, drained dry in seconds! If I hadn't of been here, you would be dead now or worse. God, how could you be so stupid?" Angel fumed, his fear for Kat's life manifesting as a raging tantrum. It took all the control he could muster not to shake the tiny woman so hard that her fragile neck would break. As it was, he knew she would carry livid bruises in the shape of his fingers the next day.
Kat's face burned with embarrassment as Angel lectured her, in front of the other Scoobies no less, who were struck dumb as they witnessed Angel lose his usual self-composure. She had to admit it wasn't the smartest idea she had, leaping into the midst of a group of vampires, but a part of her bristled at his high-handedness, not to mention the way he called her stupid. Her own eyes blackening angrily, she wrested herself away from Angel's hands, anger overriding her headache's protest to her abrupt actions.
"Just a minute! First of all, I did what I had to do in order to save Willow from being munched on by those bloodsucking fiends. Secondly," she continued, her own voice rising in frustration as she stepped back in front of Angel, her dainty finger jabbing him in the chest hard, "I have survived for the past five years without your so called help. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, so don't you start assuming that, if it wasn't for you, I would be dead by now. I would have managed just fine!" The more truthful part of her quietly acknowledged his help was needed, but it was overruled by the stubborn, prideful part of the little werecat, which wasn't about to let him get away with berating her for her actions.
Angel forced himself not to take a step backward as the fiery hellcat bared her fangs and hissed out her rebuttal. He snarled as her dainty finger poked him in the chest and growled out a reply, "If you're so perfectly capable, then act like it! If you'd taken a split second to actually think instead of just leaping in and damn near getting yourself killed, you would've realized there was a better, safer way to handle the situation. I swear to any deity that will listen, you are just the most stubborn, idiotic, pain in the ass on this planet. Hell, Spike seems like a cherub next to you!"
A snort of laughter erupted from the group who was watching to proceedings, only to be abruptly silenced as Cordelia elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs. Her hissed reproach to him was missed, however, as Kat growled back at Angel. "Listen, you pasty-faced throwback to the Dark Ages. I didn't have time to think of some fancy maneuver that would have saved Willow from those vampires: it was act, or stand by and watch my best friend die before my eyes."
Her delicate frame trembled with the effort it took not to slap the sneer from Angel's face. Her voice hoarsened as she choked on her anger, "I. Will. NOT stand by and watch someone I care about die…not when I could've done something to save them." Her words, while caused by her painful memories of her mother, gave dangerous promise to the future. A chill seemed to loom over the group at her near prophetic words.
Angel was tempted to drop the subject, knowing how painful the memories of Kat's past were. His coffee brown eyes softened for a split second, but he steeled himself against the momentary weakness; knowing he had to teach her.
"I may be a 'throwback to the Dark Ages', but at least I know how to fight with my head instead of my heart. Giles needs to start training you like he did Buffy. I swear, I've never missed her clear-headed, quick thinking fighting style more than I do tonight. If you could just force those volatile emotions down you might be as good as she was someday."
Twin gasps of outrage escaped Cordy and Willow at Angel's callous remarks, their faces contorted into masks of fury over his treatment of their tiny friend. Xander just groaned, covering his face with his hands. He did NOT want to see what Kat would do to Angel…he was pretty sure the vampire would need a blood bank when she was through with him.
The werecat surprised them all though, going still as Angel's words echoed in her brain. Her lips parted, but no sound escaped. If possible, her porcelain face grew paler at his blatant comparison of her to the Slayer. She tried to swallow, but it felt like her throat had closed off, her anger and shock effectively choking off any snappy comeback she may have had. Taking a step back from the vampire, her hands dropped to her sides listlessly.
The old guarded look shuttered over her onyx-colored eyes, sealing off her emotions from the rest of the group. Finally finding her voice, Kat whispered huskily, barely able to find the words to speak. "Not everyone can control their dark side, as you well know, 'Angelus.'" Whirling about so she wouldn't have to see the look in the vampire's eyes, she hugged herself as she began walking away. "You really are a heartless bastard, you know that?" she called over her shoulder as she stalked away from the group, fighting the impulse to run as fast as her legs could carry her.
Angel closed his eyes, his dark head bowing as he felt the backlash of his thoughtless words wash over him. So quietly it almost didn't reach the ears it was intended for, he replied, "I know, sweet kitten. But sometimes you have to be heartless and cruel, or risk being hurt later when your kindness makes your loved ones weak." A pink tear rolled down the smooth plane of the vampire's cheek as his large form blended with the shadows, and a moment later Angel was gone.
Kat turned at his words, watching the vampire slink away into the night. Her eyes a myriad of colors and emotions, she took a deep, unsteady breath and resumed her troubled walk away from the graveyard. Neither vampire nor werecat remembered their human friends, who stood staring at the spot the couple had vacated moments before.
Finally, when both could no longer be seen, the rest of the patrol group began to move. Xander stood still, staring at the spot Kat and Angel had vacated. Slowly he turned toward his girlfriend and Willow, who were both glancing in the direction Angel had taken, faint smiles etched on their faces. "Ok, what just happened here?" he asked, his confusion evident in his voice. "Have we just crossed into the Twilight Zone or something?"
"Are you blind?" Cordelia screeched, gesturing with both her hands in the directions Kat and Angel had gone. "It's so obvious!" Huffily, the cheerleader waved her hands in the air as she tried to explain to her obtuse boyfriend, "Angel cares for Ms. Kitty, and is scared to death of it. So, when she nearly gets herself killed, he goes all ballistic because he doesn't want her dying on him."
"Uh…right," Xander replied, his voice laced with sarcastic doubt. "And what's with Kat then hmm. Don't tell me she's falling for Dead Boy there." He chuckled at the thought of Kat and Angel being an item; his laughter soon died away as he caught the looks on Willow and Cordelia's faces. "Oh come on guys! It…that's insane!"
"Is it?" Willow spoke up, raising an eyebrow at her childhood friend. "I don't think so Xander. Just look at how they act. Kat takes whatever Angel says very seriously, even though we both know she can usually shrug off anything someone says to her because she has a very thick skin when it comes to insults. And yet, every time he makes some comment, whether its her clothing or her fighting style, she takes it very much to heart."
"And let's not forget Angel's mile-wide jealous streak," Cordelia added as Willow nodded on. "I have never seen that vampire growl so much! I'm starting to think he's a bear, or at least he's becoming part cave man. I mean did you see the way he stormed out of the library tonight?" Cordelia shook her head at the vampire's earlier actions while Xander looked at both girls like they had lost their marbles.
"Are you two nuts or something?" He shook his head, trying not to think about what they were suggesting. And yet a tiny part of him couldn't help but admit that they might just be right. "Look, even if what you are saying is true, and I think the jury is still out on that one, that still leaves two questions." When neither of the women offered to answer for him, or even asked, he continued. "First, what about that pesky soul of his? We don't want them getting too close and then bam, Hello Angelus, now do we?"
Willow and Cordelia exchanged an uneasy look; that was one of the snags in their idea. Crossing her arms over her chest, the redhead glared at Xander, determination flaring in her green eyes. "We'll just have to find a way to make his soul permanent. And it's not like before, with Buffy and Angel. Angel didn't know the consequences before."
"Ok, that leads to my next question…what about Buffy?" Silence greeted the teenager's question, laced with tension and unspoken words. Finally, when he could stand it no longer, he continued. "Suppose she actually comes back, what then? Is Dead Boy over her, or would he just cast Kat aside and pick up where they left off?" A trace of disgust entered into Xander's voice, his feelings on the subject apparent…he did not think the Slayer and the ensouled vampire belonged together. Sighing, he rubbed his face with one hand, frustration and sadness flickering in his eyes. "I just…I don't want to see anyone get hurt, alright?"
"No one is going to get hurt Xander," Willow tried to assure him, coming up to pat her childhood friend on the back. "We're just trying to get two people to admit they care for each other, not throw two unwilling people into a relationship neither one wants. What could be the harm in that?"
Xander hesitated, and then shrugged. "I don't know Wills. I just have a very bad feeling about this." He glanced in the direction Kat had gone, wondering why he was so worried about a relationship between the vampire and the werecat. They would make a cute couple, and honestly he didn't begrudge Angel any comfort he could find with Kat, just so long as Angelus didn't make another appearance as a result. Still, as the two girls led him out of the cemetery, a slight shiver rippled through the teen's body like the cold hand of Death. He had no idea why, but he felt like they were at the beginning of a path that could end up hurting one of his friends…maybe even killed.
As Cordy and Willow began to chat about getting Angel and Kat together, Xander tuned them out, his thoughts straying to the blonde who had abandoned them all when she sent the souled vampire to Hell. Over the past months he had come to accept the fact that she would never return, and it became harder to care about what she was doing, or how she was for that matter. His last thought was a prayer, offered up to any god he could think of with some compassion for all the group had been through.
'Please…please don't let Buffy come back.'
* * * * * * * * * *
That night, in a dark motel room, a young woman dreamed of fire. It was everywhere, consuming her and enveloping her, scorching her fair skin with its infernal heat. Taking a step back, the young woman tried to escape the flames, to escape into the cool darkness of oblivion that existed beyond the fire. The flames responded, rising angrily to box her in, imprisoning her with her fate.
Something flickered in the smoldering depths of the flames, drawing her eyes even as she knew she wouldn't like what was in there, that she should look away. Compelled, she watched as a figure came into focus, kneeling on the ground. Green eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the tortured body of Angel kneeling on the ground, his arms flung out to the sides, held in place by invisible bonds. A small whimper lodged itself in the back of her throat as she saw the damage inflicted on his marble body. Bare to the waist, the vampire's back was a mass of scars, long lashes of blood that cut deep, nearly to the bone. Even as she watched, he cried out in pain, more lash marks appearing on his back, drawn there by some invisible foe.
Hesitantly she took a step forward, her hand extended toward the tortured vampire. Instantly the flames responded, leaping to obscure her vision of Angel and scalding her hand in the process. A hiss of pain escaping her lips, she took a step back quickly, her arms coming up in front of her face to protect its fair skin from the blistering heat of the fire. As the blaze died down she peered through her arms cautiously, bringing them down slowly. The scene beyond the fire had changed, but she was still compelled to watch helplessly. It was Angel, no longer tortured, but fighting a force she could not see. A hideous black monstrosity, it hissed and spat at him, slashing at the handsome vampire with its vicious claws. Angel winced as one or two of them scored, ripping the fabric of his black tank top and connecting with the pale flesh underneath. Then, slowly, the creature shimmered and began to change. Now a young woman stood where the dark creature had been. Hazel eyes, dark like cold emeralds, glittered dangerously as the slight woman launched another assault at Angel, while beyond the flames the other woman continued to watch, powerless to help the vampire.
Vampire and woman clashed in a flurry of arms and hisses, slashing and ripping into each other with feral intensity. A lump lodged in the onlooker's throat; she tried once more to move beyond the flames, but they held her prisoner, barring her from helping Angel fight the demonic woman, who seemed to possess supernatural strength. They continued to fight, blood dripping down both bodies and painting the floor in grisly detail, until both opponents were locked in a deadly embrace. And then, without warning, Angel snarled and his head swooped down, taking the other woman's lips into a fiery kiss.
Choking back a sob of bitterness, shock, and betrayal, the onlooker shook her head in rapid denial of the scene unfolding before her eyes. The flames surrounding her responded to her anguish, crackling and leaping high into the air, obscuring the couple from her view. And yet the image was firmly imprinted on her mind, along with others: Angel and the woman, staring at each other with tender looks. Angel, touching her neck gently, a pale scar made by a vampire bite barely visible against her pale skin. Angel and the woman dancing sweetly together at the Bronze. The images melted into each other, until she was unable to tell where one began and the previous ended. Over and over the images of the vampire and this woman fighting, kissing, and fighting assaulted her mind, causing her to stumble backwards, shaking her head in vehement denial.
So intent was she in escaping the horrible images that the young woman felt something collide into her back suddenly. Whirling about, her eyes widened as she saw Xander and Willow standing before her, their silent eyes accusing. A cold mask of anger twisted Xander's features into a gruesome mask, twin to the expression on Willow's face. Slowly the young man's arm rose, his finger pointing straight at her in accusation before moving on to point at the scene beyond her vision, the one she had just witnessed. His voice was implacable as he intoned, "The two shall become as one. And the hate which beget love will again beget hate."
Her heart wrenched painfully as Willow repeated Xander's actions, pointing past the young woman and sharing her own words of import in a voice devoid of emotion. "Be Warned! The choosing is at hand!" Her words rang out in the air, drowning out the roar of the eternal flames surrounding the tiny woman and piercing her to the core. Their words reverberated in the room, echoing in her ears and mingling with the images that were imprinted in her mind, until the young woman was forced to her knees, her hands pressed to her temples as she trembled violently. The lump in her throat disappeared, and she leaned back, her hands tightly fisted at her sides as she howled her denial into the night....
"NOOOOOOO!" With a cry of outrage, Buffy bolted upright in her hotel bed. Shaking like a leaf, the ex-Slayer glanced around the dark room, taking in giant gulps of air in order to quell the raging inferno inside of her. Green eyes blinked in confusion before realization finally dawned on her. Trembling hands reached up to hug herself tightly as the blonde fought to shake the last visages of her nightmare away.
'It was just a dream,' she told herself over and over again, unconsciously starting to rock back and forth in an effort to calm the storm of emotions inside of her. But she knew it wasn't just a dream...Slayers never 'just' had dreams, they had visions. Someone or something wanted her to know that Angel was alive...or might be alive.
'But I killed him!' she told herself, her eyes wide and child-like as she stared into the darkness. 'Or did I?' The question burned inside of her, awakening all the feelings she had thought she had buried over the past few months. Suddenly the desire to see her friends, her home, overwhelmed the tiny ex-Slayer...not to mention the need to find out the answer to the doubts and questions she had regarding her vampire lover.
Uncoiling herself from the tight ball she had been in, the blonde reached for the bedside phone. Grabbing a phonebook, she flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for, and then began dialing the number. As she waited for the other end to pick up, the lingering images from her nightmare flashed behind her eyes. Her mind shied away from thinking about the young woman who had been with Angel in her nightmares...the dark-haired one with the feral eyes.
Soon a bored female voice issued from the receiver, "Greyhound Bus lines. Destination city and state please?" Buffy took a deep breath, then told the woman in a voice as calm as a winter breeze.
"Sunnydale, California."
'One down, several to go,' her thoughts strayed as her eyes instantly sought out her companions. The group had managed to locate a 'small' vampire nest, and it was almost more than they could handle. Angel was holding off two at the moment, while Xander was going toe to toe with a big ugly brute. Back to back Willow and Cordelia stood, holding off as many vampires as they could with their deadly crossbows.
Kat barely had time to process this information before another cold body slammed into hers, causing her to fall backwards to the ground. Reacting on instinct, the brunette grabbed the vampire by the front of its shirt, pulling her feet up to kick out, causing it to be catapulted back off of her. Scrambling to her feet, Kat brought her arms up defensively as the vampire rose from the ground in one fluid motion. It swung with its right hand, intending to feint while bringing its left hand around to catch her unawares. Her arm coming up to block the right hand as it came at her, Kat caught the flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. Her panther instincts in full swing, she ducked under his punch, twisting her arm to her side and propelling the stake in her hand upward, driving it through the vampire's rib cage before it could take a step back.
Just as it exploded, Kat heard Willow let out a curse of irritation. Surprised that her normally polite hacker friend was resorting to foul language, the brunette whirled around…and cursed herself. Willow's crossbow had snagged somehow, leaving the redhead vulnerable to attack. Cordelia was fending off the vampires as well as she could with her own crossbow, but it was obvious that she was too preoccupied with keeping some of them at bay to assist the redhead. Already vampires were moving into place to take advantage of their misfortune; three or four of them were circling around to Willow's blind spot, ready to pounce any second now.
The perilous situation her two friends were in spurred Kat into decisive action. Without a moment's thought the werecat ran in Cordy and Willow's direction, borrowing speed from her panther side to propel her forward. As she drew closer she saw Willow, struggling with the triggering mechanism, glance over her shoulder and spy the vampires closing in on her. Kat watched as the redhead paled, releasing the crossbow with one hand and reaching for the vials of holy water she kept at her side. The young woman didn't stand a chance against that many vampires, but she was willing to take a few with her as she died.
Fear shot through the tiny brunette as she saw the look of determination flicker over Willow's features, something equivalent to her 'resolve face.' Images of her mother flashing before her eyes, Kat growled and called out to her friend as she drew near the vampires and her two friends.
"Willow, DUCK!" Wordlessly Willow obeyed the werecat's sharp command, flattening herself to the ground as Kat leapt over the redhead. Kicking out to each side, she caught two of the vampires off guard before landing in the midst of the pack. Her fists went flying, catching another in the face before the forth slammed into her from behind, and forcing the tiny brunette to the ground in a tangle of arms, legs, and hisses. She struggled to free herself, but a stray elbow caught her in the side of the head and her vision swam. Her last thought before the darkness enveloped her was that she was in deep, deep trouble.
* * * * * * * * * *
Finally dusting the last vampire he had been fighting, Angel heard Kat call out to Willow and whirled around just in time to see the daring werecat plunge herself directly into the middle of the vampire group that had surrounded Cordy and Willow. An inarticulate sound of dismay was ripped from his throat as he watched her go down, tackled from behind by one of the vampires and becoming entangled with the rest on the ground. When she was struck in the head by an arm, the sound became a full-fledged cry.
"NOOO!" The cry came out at the forefront of a deep-throated roar of fury, causing even the vampires to pause in their attack. They watched in horror as the world-renowned Angel of Death ran toward them at full speed, fear for his friend driving him to the limit. He crossed the yards that separated him from his foes in a matter of seconds.
Before the vampires could make a move to untangle themselves and run he was upon them, picking them up by whatever appendage he could grab and literally throwing them off of the tiny brunette. Xander, Cordelia, and Willow sprang into action, staking or shooting each body as it hit the ground. Finally, when he reached the bottom of the pile, Angel uncovered Kat, who was just starting to rouse. Quickly he took stock of her injuries, a growl rumbling deep in his chest as he caught the faint scent of blood from the scratch on her pale face.
As he watched her begin to stir, the rage he felt at seeing her go down did not dissipate. Rather, it burned with even greater intensity as he thought of all the things that could have happened to her had he not gotten there fast enough. Angel's eyes glowed in feral brightness as he thought about all the risks she took in battle, and the way she put herself in danger in order to protect others. His fists clenched tightly at his sides, the vampire swore darkly to have a few words with the kitten about her fighting style.
'I will not watch you die because of some reckless act of yours kitten,' he vowed, seething in rage as he watched the tiny werecat begin to open her eyes.
* * * * * * * * * *
Kat moaned, feeling as if a runaway truck had just knocked the wind out of her. Opening her eyes, she blinked a few times to clear away the blur that clouded her vision. As she attempted to sit up, her head throbbed painfully, causing the brunette to clutch it with both her hands. Dimly she was aware of a growling noise directly above her. Slowly, carefully, the brunette raised her head, bewildered green eyes meeting furious golden ones. Angel stood above her, his fists clenching and unclenching as he glowered down at the tiny werecat. His eyes burned with the intensity of a thousand suns, his face twisted in a vampiric visage of rage.
Confusion creased her brow, causing Kat to wince as her head protested the movement. 'What's he all Grry for?' Dimly she recalled Willow being in trouble, her reckless assault on the vampire group that was ready to ambush the redhead, then the blow to the head that had sent her into darkness. Hoping to diffuse the situation, she offered Angel a small smile. "Did we win?" She joked softly, believing he would lighten up. Her hope was quickly shattered as he grabbed her by the arms, hauling the tiny woman up to her feet as he snarled viciously.
"What in the hell were you thinking, you little hellcat! You could've been killed, drained dry in seconds! If I hadn't of been here, you would be dead now or worse. God, how could you be so stupid?" Angel fumed, his fear for Kat's life manifesting as a raging tantrum. It took all the control he could muster not to shake the tiny woman so hard that her fragile neck would break. As it was, he knew she would carry livid bruises in the shape of his fingers the next day.
Kat's face burned with embarrassment as Angel lectured her, in front of the other Scoobies no less, who were struck dumb as they witnessed Angel lose his usual self-composure. She had to admit it wasn't the smartest idea she had, leaping into the midst of a group of vampires, but a part of her bristled at his high-handedness, not to mention the way he called her stupid. Her own eyes blackening angrily, she wrested herself away from Angel's hands, anger overriding her headache's protest to her abrupt actions.
"Just a minute! First of all, I did what I had to do in order to save Willow from being munched on by those bloodsucking fiends. Secondly," she continued, her own voice rising in frustration as she stepped back in front of Angel, her dainty finger jabbing him in the chest hard, "I have survived for the past five years without your so called help. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, so don't you start assuming that, if it wasn't for you, I would be dead by now. I would have managed just fine!" The more truthful part of her quietly acknowledged his help was needed, but it was overruled by the stubborn, prideful part of the little werecat, which wasn't about to let him get away with berating her for her actions.
Angel forced himself not to take a step backward as the fiery hellcat bared her fangs and hissed out her rebuttal. He snarled as her dainty finger poked him in the chest and growled out a reply, "If you're so perfectly capable, then act like it! If you'd taken a split second to actually think instead of just leaping in and damn near getting yourself killed, you would've realized there was a better, safer way to handle the situation. I swear to any deity that will listen, you are just the most stubborn, idiotic, pain in the ass on this planet. Hell, Spike seems like a cherub next to you!"
A snort of laughter erupted from the group who was watching to proceedings, only to be abruptly silenced as Cordelia elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs. Her hissed reproach to him was missed, however, as Kat growled back at Angel. "Listen, you pasty-faced throwback to the Dark Ages. I didn't have time to think of some fancy maneuver that would have saved Willow from those vampires: it was act, or stand by and watch my best friend die before my eyes."
Her delicate frame trembled with the effort it took not to slap the sneer from Angel's face. Her voice hoarsened as she choked on her anger, "I. Will. NOT stand by and watch someone I care about die…not when I could've done something to save them." Her words, while caused by her painful memories of her mother, gave dangerous promise to the future. A chill seemed to loom over the group at her near prophetic words.
Angel was tempted to drop the subject, knowing how painful the memories of Kat's past were. His coffee brown eyes softened for a split second, but he steeled himself against the momentary weakness; knowing he had to teach her.
"I may be a 'throwback to the Dark Ages', but at least I know how to fight with my head instead of my heart. Giles needs to start training you like he did Buffy. I swear, I've never missed her clear-headed, quick thinking fighting style more than I do tonight. If you could just force those volatile emotions down you might be as good as she was someday."
Twin gasps of outrage escaped Cordy and Willow at Angel's callous remarks, their faces contorted into masks of fury over his treatment of their tiny friend. Xander just groaned, covering his face with his hands. He did NOT want to see what Kat would do to Angel…he was pretty sure the vampire would need a blood bank when she was through with him.
The werecat surprised them all though, going still as Angel's words echoed in her brain. Her lips parted, but no sound escaped. If possible, her porcelain face grew paler at his blatant comparison of her to the Slayer. She tried to swallow, but it felt like her throat had closed off, her anger and shock effectively choking off any snappy comeback she may have had. Taking a step back from the vampire, her hands dropped to her sides listlessly.
The old guarded look shuttered over her onyx-colored eyes, sealing off her emotions from the rest of the group. Finally finding her voice, Kat whispered huskily, barely able to find the words to speak. "Not everyone can control their dark side, as you well know, 'Angelus.'" Whirling about so she wouldn't have to see the look in the vampire's eyes, she hugged herself as she began walking away. "You really are a heartless bastard, you know that?" she called over her shoulder as she stalked away from the group, fighting the impulse to run as fast as her legs could carry her.
Angel closed his eyes, his dark head bowing as he felt the backlash of his thoughtless words wash over him. So quietly it almost didn't reach the ears it was intended for, he replied, "I know, sweet kitten. But sometimes you have to be heartless and cruel, or risk being hurt later when your kindness makes your loved ones weak." A pink tear rolled down the smooth plane of the vampire's cheek as his large form blended with the shadows, and a moment later Angel was gone.
Kat turned at his words, watching the vampire slink away into the night. Her eyes a myriad of colors and emotions, she took a deep, unsteady breath and resumed her troubled walk away from the graveyard. Neither vampire nor werecat remembered their human friends, who stood staring at the spot the couple had vacated moments before.
Finally, when both could no longer be seen, the rest of the patrol group began to move. Xander stood still, staring at the spot Kat and Angel had vacated. Slowly he turned toward his girlfriend and Willow, who were both glancing in the direction Angel had taken, faint smiles etched on their faces. "Ok, what just happened here?" he asked, his confusion evident in his voice. "Have we just crossed into the Twilight Zone or something?"
"Are you blind?" Cordelia screeched, gesturing with both her hands in the directions Kat and Angel had gone. "It's so obvious!" Huffily, the cheerleader waved her hands in the air as she tried to explain to her obtuse boyfriend, "Angel cares for Ms. Kitty, and is scared to death of it. So, when she nearly gets herself killed, he goes all ballistic because he doesn't want her dying on him."
"Uh…right," Xander replied, his voice laced with sarcastic doubt. "And what's with Kat then hmm. Don't tell me she's falling for Dead Boy there." He chuckled at the thought of Kat and Angel being an item; his laughter soon died away as he caught the looks on Willow and Cordelia's faces. "Oh come on guys! It…that's insane!"
"Is it?" Willow spoke up, raising an eyebrow at her childhood friend. "I don't think so Xander. Just look at how they act. Kat takes whatever Angel says very seriously, even though we both know she can usually shrug off anything someone says to her because she has a very thick skin when it comes to insults. And yet, every time he makes some comment, whether its her clothing or her fighting style, she takes it very much to heart."
"And let's not forget Angel's mile-wide jealous streak," Cordelia added as Willow nodded on. "I have never seen that vampire growl so much! I'm starting to think he's a bear, or at least he's becoming part cave man. I mean did you see the way he stormed out of the library tonight?" Cordelia shook her head at the vampire's earlier actions while Xander looked at both girls like they had lost their marbles.
"Are you two nuts or something?" He shook his head, trying not to think about what they were suggesting. And yet a tiny part of him couldn't help but admit that they might just be right. "Look, even if what you are saying is true, and I think the jury is still out on that one, that still leaves two questions." When neither of the women offered to answer for him, or even asked, he continued. "First, what about that pesky soul of his? We don't want them getting too close and then bam, Hello Angelus, now do we?"
Willow and Cordelia exchanged an uneasy look; that was one of the snags in their idea. Crossing her arms over her chest, the redhead glared at Xander, determination flaring in her green eyes. "We'll just have to find a way to make his soul permanent. And it's not like before, with Buffy and Angel. Angel didn't know the consequences before."
"Ok, that leads to my next question…what about Buffy?" Silence greeted the teenager's question, laced with tension and unspoken words. Finally, when he could stand it no longer, he continued. "Suppose she actually comes back, what then? Is Dead Boy over her, or would he just cast Kat aside and pick up where they left off?" A trace of disgust entered into Xander's voice, his feelings on the subject apparent…he did not think the Slayer and the ensouled vampire belonged together. Sighing, he rubbed his face with one hand, frustration and sadness flickering in his eyes. "I just…I don't want to see anyone get hurt, alright?"
"No one is going to get hurt Xander," Willow tried to assure him, coming up to pat her childhood friend on the back. "We're just trying to get two people to admit they care for each other, not throw two unwilling people into a relationship neither one wants. What could be the harm in that?"
Xander hesitated, and then shrugged. "I don't know Wills. I just have a very bad feeling about this." He glanced in the direction Kat had gone, wondering why he was so worried about a relationship between the vampire and the werecat. They would make a cute couple, and honestly he didn't begrudge Angel any comfort he could find with Kat, just so long as Angelus didn't make another appearance as a result. Still, as the two girls led him out of the cemetery, a slight shiver rippled through the teen's body like the cold hand of Death. He had no idea why, but he felt like they were at the beginning of a path that could end up hurting one of his friends…maybe even killed.
As Cordy and Willow began to chat about getting Angel and Kat together, Xander tuned them out, his thoughts straying to the blonde who had abandoned them all when she sent the souled vampire to Hell. Over the past months he had come to accept the fact that she would never return, and it became harder to care about what she was doing, or how she was for that matter. His last thought was a prayer, offered up to any god he could think of with some compassion for all the group had been through.
'Please…please don't let Buffy come back.'
* * * * * * * * * *
That night, in a dark motel room, a young woman dreamed of fire. It was everywhere, consuming her and enveloping her, scorching her fair skin with its infernal heat. Taking a step back, the young woman tried to escape the flames, to escape into the cool darkness of oblivion that existed beyond the fire. The flames responded, rising angrily to box her in, imprisoning her with her fate.
Something flickered in the smoldering depths of the flames, drawing her eyes even as she knew she wouldn't like what was in there, that she should look away. Compelled, she watched as a figure came into focus, kneeling on the ground. Green eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the tortured body of Angel kneeling on the ground, his arms flung out to the sides, held in place by invisible bonds. A small whimper lodged itself in the back of her throat as she saw the damage inflicted on his marble body. Bare to the waist, the vampire's back was a mass of scars, long lashes of blood that cut deep, nearly to the bone. Even as she watched, he cried out in pain, more lash marks appearing on his back, drawn there by some invisible foe.
Hesitantly she took a step forward, her hand extended toward the tortured vampire. Instantly the flames responded, leaping to obscure her vision of Angel and scalding her hand in the process. A hiss of pain escaping her lips, she took a step back quickly, her arms coming up in front of her face to protect its fair skin from the blistering heat of the fire. As the blaze died down she peered through her arms cautiously, bringing them down slowly. The scene beyond the fire had changed, but she was still compelled to watch helplessly. It was Angel, no longer tortured, but fighting a force she could not see. A hideous black monstrosity, it hissed and spat at him, slashing at the handsome vampire with its vicious claws. Angel winced as one or two of them scored, ripping the fabric of his black tank top and connecting with the pale flesh underneath. Then, slowly, the creature shimmered and began to change. Now a young woman stood where the dark creature had been. Hazel eyes, dark like cold emeralds, glittered dangerously as the slight woman launched another assault at Angel, while beyond the flames the other woman continued to watch, powerless to help the vampire.
Vampire and woman clashed in a flurry of arms and hisses, slashing and ripping into each other with feral intensity. A lump lodged in the onlooker's throat; she tried once more to move beyond the flames, but they held her prisoner, barring her from helping Angel fight the demonic woman, who seemed to possess supernatural strength. They continued to fight, blood dripping down both bodies and painting the floor in grisly detail, until both opponents were locked in a deadly embrace. And then, without warning, Angel snarled and his head swooped down, taking the other woman's lips into a fiery kiss.
Choking back a sob of bitterness, shock, and betrayal, the onlooker shook her head in rapid denial of the scene unfolding before her eyes. The flames surrounding her responded to her anguish, crackling and leaping high into the air, obscuring the couple from her view. And yet the image was firmly imprinted on her mind, along with others: Angel and the woman, staring at each other with tender looks. Angel, touching her neck gently, a pale scar made by a vampire bite barely visible against her pale skin. Angel and the woman dancing sweetly together at the Bronze. The images melted into each other, until she was unable to tell where one began and the previous ended. Over and over the images of the vampire and this woman fighting, kissing, and fighting assaulted her mind, causing her to stumble backwards, shaking her head in vehement denial.
So intent was she in escaping the horrible images that the young woman felt something collide into her back suddenly. Whirling about, her eyes widened as she saw Xander and Willow standing before her, their silent eyes accusing. A cold mask of anger twisted Xander's features into a gruesome mask, twin to the expression on Willow's face. Slowly the young man's arm rose, his finger pointing straight at her in accusation before moving on to point at the scene beyond her vision, the one she had just witnessed. His voice was implacable as he intoned, "The two shall become as one. And the hate which beget love will again beget hate."
Her heart wrenched painfully as Willow repeated Xander's actions, pointing past the young woman and sharing her own words of import in a voice devoid of emotion. "Be Warned! The choosing is at hand!" Her words rang out in the air, drowning out the roar of the eternal flames surrounding the tiny woman and piercing her to the core. Their words reverberated in the room, echoing in her ears and mingling with the images that were imprinted in her mind, until the young woman was forced to her knees, her hands pressed to her temples as she trembled violently. The lump in her throat disappeared, and she leaned back, her hands tightly fisted at her sides as she howled her denial into the night....
"NOOOOOOO!" With a cry of outrage, Buffy bolted upright in her hotel bed. Shaking like a leaf, the ex-Slayer glanced around the dark room, taking in giant gulps of air in order to quell the raging inferno inside of her. Green eyes blinked in confusion before realization finally dawned on her. Trembling hands reached up to hug herself tightly as the blonde fought to shake the last visages of her nightmare away.
'It was just a dream,' she told herself over and over again, unconsciously starting to rock back and forth in an effort to calm the storm of emotions inside of her. But she knew it wasn't just a dream...Slayers never 'just' had dreams, they had visions. Someone or something wanted her to know that Angel was alive...or might be alive.
'But I killed him!' she told herself, her eyes wide and child-like as she stared into the darkness. 'Or did I?' The question burned inside of her, awakening all the feelings she had thought she had buried over the past few months. Suddenly the desire to see her friends, her home, overwhelmed the tiny ex-Slayer...not to mention the need to find out the answer to the doubts and questions she had regarding her vampire lover.
Uncoiling herself from the tight ball she had been in, the blonde reached for the bedside phone. Grabbing a phonebook, she flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for, and then began dialing the number. As she waited for the other end to pick up, the lingering images from her nightmare flashed behind her eyes. Her mind shied away from thinking about the young woman who had been with Angel in her nightmares...the dark-haired one with the feral eyes.
Soon a bored female voice issued from the receiver, "Greyhound Bus lines. Destination city and state please?" Buffy took a deep breath, then told the woman in a voice as calm as a winter breeze.
"Sunnydale, California."