Chapter eight

After Buffy left William in the library, she fed Catherine a half-hearted excuse about needing air and after putting on her jacket to guard herself against the bitter London December night, she rushed out the door before Catherine could say anything about an escort. Despite her numerous layers, the cold bit into Buffy almost as soon as she left the house. She wandered aimlessly, trying to distract herself from the numbing cold and her conversation with William. Many things had become clear in her mind in the last few minutes. First; it was freezing, second; if she hadn't been in love with William, she was now and last; she was going to have to break his heart. Sometime during their little exchange in the library, she had fallen in love with him and all his future incarnations, despite their past, or rather future in this case. And she also knew that she couldn't stand in the way of William's destiny. He was destined to be turned by Drusilla, destined to become a bloodsucking fiend, destined to kill two Slayers, destined to get his soul back, destined to fall in love with her . . . .again. And it didn't matter how much she loved him, she couldn't change that, she had stepped in the way of fate too many times to know it never ended well. As she was caught up in her seemingly endless pool of thoughts, she heard an all too familiar voice disguised behind a thick Irish accent.

"Now, now, what is a pretty young lass like yourself doing wandering the streets alone?" Buffy whirled around and found herself face to face with Angelus.

"Oh crap" she said. It was just her luck that she would find herself on a dark deserted street with the Scourge of Europe.

"Come now, don't be like that, I just want to talk." He advanced on her but Buffy stood her ground, she had faced Angelus before, in worse circumstances than this.

"Oh come on, Angelus, I bet you say that to all the girls you meet in the dark allies." A brief look of surprise flashed across his face, before being replaced by deceiving kindness.

"Well, if you know my name, I think it's only fair you tell me yours."

"You'll know it soon enough" His handsome face slid into the distorted vampire face she knew all too well.

"I think not", he grinned, his glowing yellow eyes flashing evilly. Buffy crossed her arms and stood her ground, refusing to back down.

"Oh, so is this the part where I run screaming and you ravage me limb from limb?"

"That's pretty much what I was thinking; make sure to scream really loud." Angel rushed her and she sidestepped him.

"Yeah, I don't think so" He swung around and aimed a punch to her abdomen. She took it, hard and the wind rushed out of her. She gasped in pain as the whalebone holding her corset up crushed her lungs even harder then usual. Taking advantage of her weakness, Angelus sent a roundhouse kick hurtling towards Buffy's head. With some difficulty, she dodged it and kneed him directly between the legs. Man or demon, that move always hurt.

"Whoops, did I do that?" she said, with mock concern. While he was bent over, she elbowed him in the neck and he fell to the ground.

"You see, I have this anger problem and it causes me to violently lash out at other people" Raising her foot, she brought it down, hard on the back of his head.

"Wait, what am I saying? You're not a person." Catching Buffy by surprise, Angelus's leg came up, catching Buffy in the back, while she stumbled; he flipped himself up onto his feet. After they exchanged a series of punches and kicks, it was becoming increasingly obvious that Angelus was gaining the upper hand; the corset binding Buffy's ribcage was taking a lot out of her. He managed to grab both her wrists and bind them to her chest and moved in for the kill.

"See, lassie, I only wanted to talk." Buffy could feel his putrid breath against her neck and she was struck with a sudden wave of nausea.

"Now, this isn't gentlemen-y behavior, now is it?" A cool crisp female voice came over to them. Angelus whirled Buffy around until they were facing the owner of the voice.

"Becky?" Buffy asked, incredulous.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Angelus answered her question for her, snarling wildly.

"Slayer." Buffy couldn't believe her ears or her eyes. Becky was standing in front of them, clearly in attack position with a large stake clutched in her hand.

"Oh Christ, do the surprises never end?" Buffy was getting sick and tired of all the little surprises that kept popping up everywhere she turned. Becky didn't wait for them to say anything else, instead rushing Angelus, forcing him to release Buffy in surprise. The brunette Slayer executed a perfect roundhouse kick that got the vampire right in the jaw, Buffy joined in, kicking him in the back. Becky looked at her in surprise, but Buffy just shook her head and put her hand out for another stake, which Becky obligingly slapped into her palm. The two Slayers proved to be too much for the vampire and he was soon driven to his knees. Becky raised her stake, aimed directly at his chest.

"Wait!" Buffy screamed, knowing that if Becky killed Angelus now, the fabric of time would be irrevocably torn.

"You can't kill him" Becky gave her a confused look. Angelus took advantage of the distraction and scrambled to the end of the alley.

"Well, ladies, this has been a wonderful experience, but if you don't mind I'll be on my way. He bowed deeply and fled from them, not looking back.

"Do you mind telling me what that's all about?" Becky asked, eyes flashing violently. Buffy sighed,

"It's a long story. Come, let's get back home. I'll tell you everything there."