Hey everyone, Happy Halloween! It's Erin again, buffygirl52789 at the guild and here at fanfiction. I hope you like this chapter, it's probably not my best work but I tried to make it interesting, and I snuck in a few moments for my favorite couples XD Good luck everyone who has yet to write their second chapter!!

Chapter 8

Everyone just stared at Illyria for a few moments before Spike stood up.

"Well I don't get why we're just sitting here," he said. "Big Blue says that there might be not one, but two big bads, and we've been here for two weeks without accomplishing next to anything."

"That's not true, we've...accomplished stuff," Willow said awkwardly, glancing to Tara for help.

"I never thought I'd say this, but Captain Peroxide has a point," Gunn said, standing up. "So we think that Faith might be in town. I say we go look for her."

Giles nodded slowly. "That couldn't hurt. Gunn, why don't you take Spike and Illyria to go search for Faith."

"What are the rest of us supposed to do?" Angel asked impatiently.

"We should spread out. The more ground we can cover, the faster we'll find her," Connor spoke up.

"I think it's time we go back to the warehouse," Buffy said. She had been avoiding the place ever since that night, but besides the demon they had captured and the earthquake, that had been the only unusual occurrence since they had arrived. "Something big was going down that night, with the sacrifice. I'll bet that the same vamps were responsible for our earthquake."

"I'll come," Angel said quickly. Buffy smiled.

Spike frowned. "Maybe I should-"

"We need you with us," Gunn said, glancing from Buffy to Angel to Spike. "I think they can handle it on their own."

"Connor and I can come," Dawn said hopefully.

Buffy shook her head. "No, I don't want you anywhere near that warehouse."

Dawn looked indignant. "Come on Buffy! I've barely been out of the house since we got here! You used to let me fight in Sunnydale," she protested.

"Dawn, you know this is different. We don't even know what we're up against, I want you here. Besides, you've been helping a lot with the research," Buffy said weakly.

"You know, it's not fair. I think Dawn is capable of handling herself," Connor said, crossing his arms. Dawn smiled slightly.

Buffy blinked, surprised at his jump to defend her sister. "I want her here."

"Well then I'm staying too," Connor said, sitting down firmly. There was a brief, awkward silence.

"W-willow and I could try a locator spell. To find Faith," Tara said timidly.

Wesley nodded. "That's a good idea. Although I'm afraid we don't have all the supplies."

"Anya and I are on it," Xander said. "What do we need?"

"I'll write it down," Wesley said, reaching for a piece of paper.

"You ready?" Angel said to Buffy.

She nodded, pulling on her coat and sticking a few stakes into the pockets. "As I'll ever be." Then the two of them headed out the door, while Spike glared jealously behind their backs.

A few minutes later, Xander and Anya had left to get the ingredients for the spell, and Spike, Gunn, and Illyria had set off to find Faith. Giles and Wesley were pouring over books in the living room, muttering to themselves occasionally. Willow and Tara busied themselves cleaning up from the earthquake, and Connor was looking around the room, realizing Dawn had disappeared. He walked down the hall and found her in one of the bedrooms, staring out the open window into the night.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

She looked up. "Thank you. Not just for defending me in there, but for saving my life earlier."

He felt himself blush slightly. "Don't mention it."

"It's just really unfair, you know?" she said suddenly. "I mean, back in Sunnydale I felt like we were finally getting somewhere. Buffy wasn't being so protective. But as soon as we fly across the ocean, she's back to her old self." She sighed. "I think it's because of your dad. It really messes her up, being around him."

Gradually, everyone had figured out that Connor was Angel's son. The Angel Investigations crew and Willow, who had met Connor while helping to reensoul Angelus, had filled in a few blanks for the others, and now everyone pretty much knew, although the topic had never really been discussed. And frankly, Connor wasn't that eager to.

"They used to be really in love, huh," Connor commented simply.

She nodded. "I think they still are. But now things are different. And Spike being here isn't making it any easier."

"Does Buffy love Spike too?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Dawn shook her head. "No. She cares about him a lot, but I know she doesn't love him the way she loves Angel. Maybe tonight they'll finally get the chance to work out some of their issues."

"Maybe." There was a brief pause in the conversation.

"But it's like, when is she going to realize that I am seventeen years old? I can take care of myself," Dawn said, sounding frustrated.

"Well I think you seem very capable, and your sister is a fool not to see it," he said softly.

She turned to face him slowly, smiling. "But I still don't regret coming to London."

"Why?" Connor asked, hoping he knew the answer.

"Because I met you." She inched closer to him. "I feel like you see me differently than everyone else does. And the other night? When you kissed me?" She came to a stop only inches from him. "That was the best moment of my life."

"Mine...too.." he said, leaning in until his lips met hers. The kiss quickly deepened, and they wrapped their arms around each other. They fell back sideways onto the bed before breaking apart due to a desperate need for oxygen. They broke apart and lie on the bed, facing the ceiling.

"I know what you mean, when I'm around you, I just...I can't think about anything else," he said, panting slightly.

"Connor," she said softly, rolling towards him so they could meet in another kiss.

"You feel so good," he muttered, face buried in her neck.

Suddenly Dawn sat up, her eyes big. "Come away with me."

"What?" he asked, unsure of what she was talking about.

"When this is over. When Buffy kills the big what's-his-face demon guy, we can run away together. I'll be eighteen in another couple of months, and I can finally be free to do what I want. And the best part is, we'll be together," she said enthusiastically, squeezing his hand.

He stared at her in surprise. Just as he opened his mouth to respond they were interrupted by the sound of Giles clearing his throat loudly. They looked up, moving apart quickly.

"Uh..Dawn, Connor, we could use some help preparing the locator spell," he said awkwardly.

They nodded quickly. "Sure," Dawn said, rushing to help. Connor followed in her footsteps, leaving Giles to clean his glasses wearily.

"Why is it of such importance that we find this Faith?" Illyria asked, sounding bored as per usual.

"Because she's a slayer. And we think they might have done something nasty to her to cause the earthquake," Gunn explained.

"Who is this 'they' that you so often speak of?" she asked.

"The Big Bad. Whatever got us to this damn city in the first place," Gunn said, starting to get exasperated. He glanced over at Spike. They had been walking for over ten minutes now and the blonde vampire hadn't said a word.

"This is useless. She's probably already dead," Spike said, sounding angry at no one in particular.

Gunn raised an eyebrow. "You're just bitter because Angel and Buffy are out making with the patrolling. Together," he said dryly.

Spike shot a look at him. "You really think that bothers me? She can have the big poof," he muttered under his breath.

Gunn cracked a smile. It was different seeing William the Bloody all nervous and jerky. He decided he could get used to it.

"Well I'm not seeing anything. Actually...I'm not seeing anything." Gunn stopped, realizing something. "Do you realize that we've been walking through the not-so-great part of town for fifteen minutes now and we haven't seen one vamp?"

"They know," Illyria said suddenly. "They know, and they flee."

"Flee from what?" Spike asked, not really in the mood for cryptic.

She looked at him. "From the dark force that has arisen. Other creatures of the night fear his power."

"Is this some kind of weird demony sense thing? Because you are trippin," Gunn said, eyebrows raised.

"I can sense it too. A great power, fearsome to some. But it does not threaten me," she said coolly.

"Does anything?" Spike muttered under his breath. He sighed and raised his voice to a normal level. "Do your great demon senses know anything about our missing slayer?"

Illyria shook her head. "No. But I suspect she may be in danger, as are all of you."

Buffy and Angel walked along in silence for several minutes before either of them dared to speak. This was some of the first real alone time they had gotten in the two weeks since they had arrived, and Buffy was determined to use it to get some answers. The first subject that popped into her mind was that of Connor.

"You know that you never told me about him," Buffy said quietly.

Angel looked guilty, somehow understanding what she had meant. "So I guess that means you figured it out."

She looked at him with an expression that clearly said 'duh.' "We all figured it out a long time ago. It's pretty obvious you know. You can see the family resemblance, right down to the disturbing fascination with my sister." She stopped, looking at him. "But I still wish I could have learned it from you."

"I'm sorry. I just..." He sighed. "Look, Buffy, this has been painful enough. Just being around you. And things with me and Connor aren't exactly peachy. I guess I just put off the subject until it was too late. And I'm sorry. You deserved to hear it from me."

She nodded. "Apology accepted." They started to walk along again, now on the same block as the warehouse.

"I've missed you," he said suddenly, before he realized what he was saying.

She looked up in surprise. "I...I've missed you too."

Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, and began a frustrated rant. "Angel, you have no idea how messed up I am right now. When I got here, and Giles told me he had called you, my heart started beating really fast. I thought it was a mix of nerves, dread and excitement. But guess what? I'm still waiting for it to stop. And then who do you walk through the door with but Spike and your teenage son." She paused, running her fingers through her hair. "You just have no idea how hard it's been. And on top of all my confusing, painful emotions there is some 'dark force' in town that we still know jack squat about, and there's also the matter of my teenage sister who likes to believe she's older than she is flirting with your teenage son." She stopped and took a breath. An awkward silence followed.

"That pretty much sums it up," Angel said after a long moment. "Believe me Buffy, it is almost impossible for me to be around you."

"Gee, thanks," she said, insulted.

He looked frustrated. "You know I didn't mean it like that. But it's just so hard when you are this close, and you look so tempting, and everything in me wants to just reach out and take you but I know I can't."

She took a step closer to him. "Why not? Angel, you know what moment I've dreamed about almost every night since the last time I saw you?" He remained silent, already knowing her answer. "That kiss, back in Sunnydale, when you came to help me. I was so mixed up then and I let my guard down for just a few, wonderful seconds and thanks to that I have been able to survive the past year." She realized that as she was speaking she had moved even closer to him. "When I see you, I know I'm supposed to feel pain, but a part of me that's too big to ignore still jumps for joy whenever I'm in the same room as you. I can't ignore that," she whispered.

"Buffy," he said quietly, as her lips moved closer to his own. When they met any shred of doubt he had in his mind vanished without a trace, and he quickly deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her.

Just as the kiss grew extra passionate and hands started to roam, there was a loud crash followed by two figures stumbling out the new, gaping hole in the side of the warehouse. Buffy and Angel quickly jumped away from each other, fixing their clothes and assuming a fighting stance.

"Hey B," Faith gasped. "Angel."

"Faith," Buffy said, her eyes wandering for the first time to the figure that was half supported by Faith. The dust was starting to clear from the hole that had presumably been made by Faith, and she gaped when she recognized him. "Oz? Oh my God, what happened?"

"I came to town because I heard this was where the party was. A couple vamps grabbed me here, I got into another room where I found old Oz here in a cage. Had to smash a hole in the wall to get out, so best bet is that they are on their way right now," she said quickly. She made eye contact with Buffy. "We need to get him out of here. I don't know what they did to him."

Buffy nodded, her mind spinning. It was extremely hard to concentrate on formulating a plan with the memory of Angel's lips on hers so fresh in her mind. "Okay, you can take him back to Giles and the others, Angel and I can stay and-"

"I'm afraid we're going to need a new plan," Angel said slowly. Buffy looked up and saw a group of about 7 vamps starting towards them from the other side of the warehouse. They did not look happy.

"Anya, I am just saying that it's not very polite to call his magic shop a disgrace to the industry just because you didn't like his price on snakeskin," Xander said as he walked through the door with Anya.

"That price was twice what I charge! I was simply letting him know that he was not a very good businessman," she replied indignantly.

Willow walked over to them. "You got the ingredients?" she asked.

Anya sighed, handing her the bag. "Yes, but you were completely ripped off. And don't even get me started on his pricing of salamander root!"

Willow took the ingredients out of the bag and began setting them up around the map that was lying on the floor. "This should show us exactly where Faith is. And we have enough ingredients to do a locator spell for demonic energy afterwards. There are only a few modifications."

Tara looked down, remembering the first time they had tried the spell to locate demonic energy. She had been so afraid that she had demon in her that she had botched the spell on purpose.

Willow sat down in front of the map once it was ready, Tara next to her. Dawn, Connor, Giles, Wesley, Anya, and Xander stood off to the side.

"Goddess, lead us to our fellow warrior, Faith. Let the light lead us to her side," Willow said simply, her hand joined with Tara's. A moment later a tiny speck of light appeared on the map.

"It looks like she's at the warehouse," Willow said. She glanced at Giles. "Is that a good or a bad thing?"

Giles sighed. "Assuming the evil that resides there doesn't know of her presence, then it is good, because Buffy and Angel will surely run into her. But if they don't return soon, we should go in search of them."

"But if the bad guys found her first, she could be being held prisoner or something," Dawn said.

"We cannot rule it out," Giles said thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, Willow and Tara were rearranging the ingredients for the next spell. "This one is a little more complicated. But it should give us some idea of what exactly is in the warehouse, and how powerful it is." She sat back down, rejoining hands with Tara.

"Thespia, we walk in shadow. Walk in blindness. You are the protector of the night," Tara began.

"Thespia, goddess, ruler of all darkness, we implore you . . . open a window to the world of the underbeing," Willow added. They both blew the powder in their hands over the map.

"With your knowledge may we go in safety. With your grace may we speak of your benevolence," Willow finished.

The others watched in expectation. Nothing appeared to be happening, until all of a sudden the map started shaking violently. Willow and Tara began to shake as well.

"What's happening?" Xander asked nervously. "Are they okay?"

"I'm afraid the spell isn't working correctly. I've never seen this happen before," Wesley said. Before anyone could do anything, a sudden gust of wind came up from the map and sent Willow and Tara flying backwards into the wall. They slammed into it and crumpled to the ground. Then the map suddenly burst into flames.

"Willow!" Xander yelled, rushing to her side. Giles and Anya joined him, while Wesley and Connor ran to stamp out the fire.

Willow moaned slightly, coming back to consciousness. "Wha...Tara..."

"I'm okay," Tara said quietly, while Anya helped her sit up. "What happened?"

"The spell got out of control," Wesley replied. The fire was put out, but faint smoke still drifted through the room. Connor was cleaning up the remains of the map.

Willow looked at Giles, terror in her eyes. "Giles, whatever it was is really powerful. I could feel it. I think it was too much for the spell to take."

Xander and Anya helped Willow and Tara to the couch, while Giles slowly removed his glasses. "The force must be very dark, possibly ancient."

"And, most likely un-living in the warehouse where Buffy, Angel, and Faith are," Xander said slowly. Everyone looked up, realizing that he was right.

"So what do we do now?" Willow asked, rubbing her arm where it had hit the wall.

Connor reentered the room. "We get ready. For war."