"Buffy, I don't know how you keep up your stamina when all you eat is salads all the time. I mean, come on, don't you ever just want something with calories and fat and stuff?"

Buffy's laughter sounded through the cafeteria. "Sure I do Cassie. But I have to be an example to my students." Buffy lowered her voice and leaned toward her friend, "And I keep plenty of chocolate and ice cream stocked in my fridge upstairs."

They both laughed. "Yes, I'm sure you do Buffy. Have you heard the rumors? I guess there is supposed to be some special visitor arriving tomorrow. The council is adding special security and everything. The rumor is he's some sort of warrior. Whether a champion for the good or not, no one seems to know."

"I haven't heard anything. But then you know that I am kept out of the loop as much as possible by the council. They only inform me when they need some big bad slain, or an apocalypse averted," Buffy replied.

"Well whoever it is, I want to know. I am going to be doing some research in the room across from the council's court," retorted Cassie with her eyebrows dancing. "I plan on knowing just who enters the court before all the other junior watchers. And as soon as I know, I'll be sure to pass the information to you Buffy."

"Thanks Cassie. But I could care less and it'll probably turn out that this warrior is some guy in a suit that has been locked away in a cavern with some boring ancient text for 20 years. Ooh, very exciting! Unless he really is a baddie. Then I'll just introduce him to Mr. Pointy," she said with a giggle.

"Oh, Buffy! You're incorrigible!" The two friends laughed and continued their lunches.


The next day while getting ready for her late afternoon class, Buffy could not shake this feeling that she was having. It was this warning twinge that she got in her stomach when a vampire was near. But this was different. There was something familiar about it. Almost like when she had felt like, well when she felt like he was near. But that couldn't be. He was gone forever. 'Great,' she thought. 'Now the dreams are going to start coming in the day. Just wonderful.' Buffy pushed the feeling aside and went back to preparing for the next class.


Angel entered the council building through the sewer access. He took in his surroundings with a quick glance and followed the three men who had brought him here. Then he felt it. That little tingle. The feeling he had gotten whenever she was near. 'Impossible,' he thought sadly, 'Buffy died long ago.'


Cassie sat across from the corridor watching the doors straight across the hall. She was quietly turning through the pages of a book, pretending to be reading it. She was determined to see who would be entering into the council's chambers. She heard the large wooden doors at the far end of the corridor swing open, then slowly creak closed. The faint sound of footsteps coming her direction filtered down the corridor.

She discretely peeked over the top of her ancient book and saw a group of councilmen and security leading a man into the room. 'He's very handsome,' she thought to herself. Tall, dark, and mysterious. He wore his hair like they used to in the 21st century. Sort of spiked with a carefully obtained look of dishevelment. He glanced through the doorway toward her. He had piercing, chocolate eyes that flashed with amber and seemed to look right into the heart of her. He was like a hunter assessing his quarry. His look eased as he dismissed her as a threat and turned his eyes to the council chambers. She counted herself lucky that he didn't seem to consider her dangerous. She felt very intimidated just by that one glance. He swept into the room with a swirl of his long, black duster and the doors closed behind him and the security detail following.

Once her heart slowed down and she regained her faculties, the man seemed familiar to Cassie somehow. Since he was a warrior, she wondered if she had read about him somewhere. She definitely recalled seeing a picture of him now she thought about it. Just where she had was the question. She couldn't remember his name or if he was a champion. Wait, he lived in Los Angeles, his position for the powers was currently in good standing, but texts had hinted at something more. Some sort of darkness lay in his past. She still couldn't remember where she had read all this. It must have been in a watcher's diary, of that she was pretty sure. The information in her head was too complete to be otherwise.

She hurriedly put away the volume she had been pretending to read and moved toward the section of watcher's diaries. She was going to figure out who this mysterious man was and what he was doing here. For once, she wanted to be the first to know.

Cassie was becoming frustrated with her lack of finding any information. She was into diaries too old to contain any information on the mysterious man. He looked to be in his late 20's and these diaries dated back over a hundred years. Much too old to contain any information on him. On a whim, she chose one more diary off the shelf and returned to her chair. As she was setting the book on the table, a piece of paper slipped out and drifted to the floor. Upon picking it up, Cassie realized that it was a drawing. She turned it over and her eyes widened in shock. The drawing showed a couple gazing deep into one another's eyes. They looked to be very much in love. It was the man she was looking for, but what shocked her was the woman with him. It was Buffy.


Buffy was in the middle of teaching one of her favorite defensive moves, when the door to her training room flew open. "What the?!" Buffy began angrily until she saw it was a very frazzled and shocked looking Cassie. "Cassie, what's the matter with you? I'm in the middle of class."

"Buffy! You have to come now! You have to see!" Cassie gasped.

"What? Who?" But before Buffy could ask any more questions the junior watcher grabbed her and pulled her out the door leaving a stunned class in her wake.

In the elevator on the way down, Buffy tried to get answers from Cassie, but all she would say was 'in the council chambers.' She didn't know quite what to make of it except thats where they were going and where this someone was. As the doors opened to their floor and they stepped out, Cassie turned to Buffy.

"He's here."

"Who Cassie?" Buffy asked gently, leaning toward her.

"Angelus, I mean Angel," she softly replied.

Buffy reeled back in shock. The color drained from her face and tears quickly sprang to the corners of her eyes.

"It can't be. He's gone," she murmured almost to herself.

"It is. I saw him," Cassie replied, but before she had finished Buffy had taken off down the corridor running at full slayer speed.


"We cannot fulfill this prophecy. It clearly means you. We need your cooperation, and we hope your discretion," Walker finished.

"But who is the other mentioned in the prophecy?" Angel asked. "You said it might mention someone else, but you won't tell me who. Until you tell me who it is, or who you think it is, my answer is no."

"We are not permitted to reveal this person to you at this time, for the sake of all involved. But if you persist in knowing, then we shall have to find an alternative means without your help."

"Great then. I'm going back to L.A." Angel said and turned to leave. Before he could reach the door, it busted off its hinges and pieces of splintered wood flew into the room. Angel ducked and spun to miss the debris flying toward him, drawing his broadsword in one swift move. Ready for battle, Angel returned his vision to the scene in front of him. What he saw took his breath away. Buffy was framed in the broken doorway.

"Buffy?" he whispered as only he could ever say it. It couldn't be her. But it was. That familiar tingle he always had when she was around was there, manifesting it truly was her in the pit of his stomach. His prized and beloved broadsword clanged to the floor.

"Angel!" she replied with a half strangled cry. And then they were crushed in each other's embrace. Neither realizing that they had both scrambled over obstacles to reach each other. All they felt was each others arms around them. His cool cheek pressed against her warm one. Her feet swinging off the ground with his strong arms supporting and lifting her. The loving mantra coming from his mouth, repeating her name as though he believed that if he stopped saying it, she would disappear.