Chapter 24 of Unexpected Losses

Willow frowned. She was in the room with Buffy, Xander, Hermione, Lupin, Giles, "Mad-Eye" and the black man whose name was apparently Shacklebolt. Sure, she wasn't the same type of witch that they were, but she had at least proven herself capable in the past few days. Luckily for her, no one seemed to be paying overmuch attention to her. Mad-Eye and Buffy were talking quietly, the young girl interested despite herself in what he had to say.

Shacklebolt was questioning Xander about helping out with the aide of neither magic nor any apparent special abilities. Hermione, still somewhat in a state of shock, stayed near Xander. Her normally inquisitive nature had been somewhat smothered in the events of the day, but she wasn't so far gone as to resist asking at least a few questions. Lupin and Giles had started and broken off several conversations, both of them desperate to find equal footing. It ended up with both of them talking about their respective charges.

Willow, wondering how she had changed so much in only a few months, snuck off. She'd certainly been getting almost too much practice with her invisibility spell lately. It was easy to find where all the distress was sourced. The more agitated people were along the way, the closer she got. She was lead deeper into the Ministry and had seemed to have been walking for quite some time by the time she saw someone she recognized.

It was the woman who sought out help in the Auror's department. Willow easily slipped past her and through another hallway. After a few more minutes of walking, there was no one there whatsoever. While that could've been an indication that she'd turned the wrong way somewhere down the line, she was pretty sure that it was because she'd gone in the right direction, and whatever was attacking people was nearby.

A deep growl sounded echoed around her, and she continued walking. Still invisible, a bit of courage stuck with her even when, normally, she would've turned back to seek safety. She continued slowly inching her way along until she heard a familiar voice shout. She ran forward, then, and through a few more empty offices. Finding herself in a large room that had many doors leaving, and almost nothing within, Willow paused, and lifted the spell.

On the far side of the room, in shadows, it lurked. Growling once more, it ran from one side of the room to the other, passing Willow on the way. Despite the warning bells it had set off, it didn't attack her directly, but merely ran past. It was humanoid, but seemed to move on all fours rather than stand as any person usually would. Knowing that she was probably being an idiot, she followed it.

"Willow!" Harry called, and the redheaded girl was tackled over as the creature growled again and flung past the area she'd been a moment before. Harry glared down at her, having had to nearly attack her to get her out of harm's way. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Good. Idiot." He replied sternly. "He could've killed you."

"It's a person, then?" Willow replied, ignoring the rebuke for the moment. Especially seeing as how she was internally giving herself the same comments. Harry nodded tersely, and glanced over his shoulder once more as the creature hid in the far corner of the room. He slowly climbed off of Willow and helped her up.

"We'd stun him, but he won't stay still long enough to do it." Harry answered. As if to prove him right, it crawled along the far wall. "He keeps to the shadows, but he seems perfectly normal. Besides the attacking people bit."

Willow kept her eyes on the creature, and gently took a few steps forward. "I'm assuming that everyone's been after him since they found out that he was here?" Willow asked.

"Yes." Harry answered. "Maybe he's getting tired." He brightened a bit at the concept.

"Maybe he thinks you're all trying to kill him." Willow countered softly. She made a gentle shushing sound as she approached the lowly growling form in the corner. Harry seemed to want to stop her, but a glare silenced him. Once Willow was close enough to see the creature properly, she paused and backpedaled several feet. Scrambling to her feet, she pulled Harry back a few feet.

It stopped growling though, and sniffed loudly the area Willow had just vacated. "A-Angel?" She asked quietly, eyes wide in fear. True to her word, the vampire was crouched on the floor, face twisted into a vampiric visage. He sniffed again, before grunting in an animalistic manner. "Angel, is that you?"

"Little." The vampire croaked lowly in what seemed to be very broken English. Willow blinked. Angel had called her "little one" for some time. It was odd to hear it in his present condition. It was odd that he recognized her. Did he get his soul back despite Buffy stabbing him? Did the spell transverse dimensions? Did Buffy know? Worse…had it happened before she stabbed him? If so, her hostilities regarding what had happened were far more understandable.

"Who is this, Willow?" Harry asked. Angel growled loudly at him, prowling nearer to him on all fours.

Immediately, Harry backed up, pulling on Willow's arm. The vampire launched himself at Harry, pinning the teenager underneath a very naked vampire. "Angel!" Willow gasped, grabbing the vampire about the shoulders and pulling. After a moment, he backed off, but not before baring his teeth at Harry and growling lowly once more.

"Hurt." Angel snarled quietly.

"Harry. Remember when I said I resouled a vampire?" Willow asked innocently. Harry nodded. "Meet Angel." She turned to the vampire, who didn't seem to have any outstanding urge to harm her, but oddly enough defend her from Harry, who he didn't trust whatsoever. "Angel. What happened? What's wrong?"

"Not real." Angel answered, his vampiric mask slipping into smooth features. "You're not real."

"Angel. You're back! How…how are you back? Buffy stabbed you. And you went through Acathla's portal…" Willow drifted off at the attention Angel gave her at his lover's name. "Remember Buffy?" She asked.

"I…I can't." Angel objected, backing away several more feet, shaking his head as if to clear it. His gaze finally landed on Willow, recognition alit them. "I tried to…Little One." He said softly.

"It wasn't you." Willow answered, understanding his unspoken apology. Angelus had tried to kill her. Had killed Jenny Calendar. She was sympathetic that he had to deal with that guilt on his own. In a hell dimension, no less. Had she taken a moment to realize what was going on, she probably would panic. Which was exactly why she wasn't thinking, and refused to stop to. "It was Angelus."

"I am Angelus." Angel answered, despite it not being the complete truth.

"Well. You're not trying to tear out my throat, so I'm going to disagree with you." Willow answered softly, a tone of amusement lacing her voice, despite the rather serious feeling she was attempting to communicate.

Harry seemed extremely confused with the given situation. Every instinct told him to grab Willow and get her away from the demon. But there she was, talking to the perfectly naked vampire, who seemed as if he was somehow broken. And talking about him trying to kill her, which was something else that Harry just didn't understand.

"You…you should be dead. If you're alive, you're dead." Angel said at Willow's last comment, and stared at her as if seeing her for the first time all over again. His comment would've been nonsensical if she hadn't been somewhat prepared for it.

"Angel, how long have you been gone?"

"I…I almost forgot…" Angel drifted off. Willow understood. He almost forgot her. Forgot about everything but the hell he was going to suck the world into when he didn't have his soul. "Buffy…where is she? Is she okay?" This last seemed to bring him entirely to reality. "Where's Buffy?"

"She's fine. She's here. Do you want me to get her, Angel?" Willow asked softly.

"Don't leave. If you leave…if you leave. Everything will go with you." Angel replied softly. Willow nodded blindly, unsure of how someone like Angel could be so broken. He had been in another dimension. In hell. After just regaining his soul. After trying to kill her and Buffy and killing Ms. Calendar. Willow was aware that in a portal time could've been extremely different. It had been months since Angel had been banished. It could've been thousands of years where he went. Unlikely that it was that long, but certainly long enough to reduce Angel to act more like a whipped puppy than the Master vampire he truly was.

Not even the smallest part of her wanted to abandon him.

"Get away from that demon!" Someone demanded from one of the doorways. An Auror, Willow guessed (as they seemed to be some kind of magic police), but not one that she knew.

"He's not a demon." Willow answered shortly. "Harry? Can you go get Buffy, Giles, and Xander? Please?"

"Will he hurt you?" Harry asked.

"I won't hurt Willow." Angel answered, offended by the idea. "I'm not--."

"Just go, Harry." Willow answered. "And hurry." In wordless acceptance, the Boy-Who-Lived fled the room, running quickly. Obviously, he didn't stop running once he'd left the room because it was scarcely ten very uncomfortable minutes before he returned, this time with Buffy on his heels. It took a few moments more for Xander and Giles to arrive.

"Buffy!" Angel said aloud in a wondering tone at the appearance of the blonde Slayer. "Giles. Xander."

"Deadboy." Xander replied, choosing not to comment on Angel's sudden case of nudity. Expecting at least a glare for his comment, Xander was puzzled when he received a smile bordering on blissful at the comment.

"Angel. I assume that it is indeed you?" Giles asked coldly, not so welcoming as Xander was (given that the welcoming was in his own manner).

"Yes." Angel answered sorrowfully. His brow furrowed thoughtfully. "How did I get here?"

"Something we'd all like to know." Tonks asked. "And why you were attacking people."

"Attacking people?" Buffy asked Angel, barely past the confusion that assaulted her at seeing him.

"I thought they were trying to kill me." Angel answered, a touch embarrassed. "After more than three hundred years of it…well. I'm sorry. Was anyone hurt?"

"Three hundred years?" Giles questioned, despite any reservations he might've (and truly) had.

"In Acathla's portal time must run differently. I barely remembered anything about this place. Not after so long. Holding onto the memory was more painful than the relief it could offer. I thought all of you would be dead." Angel answered softly. Vampires tended to have excellent memories. They didn't fade with age, but he had been able to sort of turn off the memories that would resurface at every given opportunity. After sixty years or so, he demanded that they were, and with twenty or so more years of practice, it worked quite efficiently.

"You were through a portal?" Harry asked, his interest piqued.

Angel blinked, and then looked at him, as if seeing him for the first time. "Yes," he answered cautiously.

"Do you think…" Harry asked Willow.

"What?" Angel asked, confused.

"There was…a portal. Someone went through it. Don't know where it led to." Buffy replied shortly. "Angel, is that really you?"

"Buffy." Angel answered her softly. "I'm so sorry." He wasn't talking about someone going through the portal.

"How? I mean…what…you just came back or something? Got bored?" She replied in a hurt voice, not caring at all who was witness to her emotions.

"I was pulled out." Angel answered wonderingly. "I mean. At first I thought it was another of their tricks. But then…Willow was here. They'd never…they couldn't know. A while ago. I told someone. We talked about everything. Everyone. I was scared he told. Because he left. After we talked. He went through a hole."

"Angel, you aren't making sense." Buffy interrupted.

"I met someone there." Angel attempted to explain again. "He came and went a few times. He was human though. But when he went through a hole, he went somewhere else. But he didn't age. Wherever he went…time must have been slower. At least as slow as it is here. He and I spoke often. But then he didn't come back anymore. I couldn't follow him. They would've followed."

"Who would've followed you, Angel?" Willow asked, somewhat afraid of the answer.

"The demons. They would've killed him. I couldn't…" Angel drifted off, closing his eyes against the pain that confronted him. "He was the closest thing I had to a friend in there."

"Who was he?" Buffy asked.

"A star." Angel shrugged. Of course, most of the inhabitants of the room immediately assumed that he was either insane or delirious (if not both). He was rambling ineffectually, and didn't seem to speak to any of them in particular. Of course, Buffy held his attention the strongest. During breaks of his rather skittish speech, he'd merely stare at her as if expecting her to disappear into thin air.

"You made friends with a star?" Tonks spoke up doubtfully.

"He wasn't a star." Angel snapped irritably. "I don't…" He seemed embarrassed. "I don't remember his name. But he was a star. Dog star." He muttered that last under his breath. But loudly enough.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, feeling altogether like he'd been punched in the gut.

Angel shrugged. "I don't remember."

"Hey. Has anyone heard of something called the Powers That Be?" An eerily familiar voice questioned from yet another of the doorways. Languidly leaning against the door was an impossibility.

(a/n: that's it for this chapter. I'm sorry it was so dialogue-heavy. Hope everyone enjoyed anyway. The next one should be the last.)