A/N: Oh, my! Look at this! You only had to wait two days for an update! Ha! I'm on a roll! Oh, how I missed this!

I want to say "THANK YOU!" to everyone who reviews! You guys are AWESOME and I love you dearly! Thank you, thank you! Getting as many reviews as I do is a great compliment, and I don't take them for granted. Thank you, thank you!

Random Disclaimer: (I don't own Buffy).

Me: Look-ee here! I updated after only two days!

Buffy: Yippie for you.

Angel: Buffy, be nice.

Buffy: Nice? Nice? She tried to pull you away from me last disclaimer!

Me: See? Not only is she high maintance, but she's clingy too!

Buffy: Hey! I am not clingy!

Me: Are too.

Buffy: Are not!

Me: Are too!

Buffy: Are not!

Angel: You both are, and I don't really mind, okay?

Giles: I hate to interrupt this teenage angst driven disclaimer, but can we continue on to the chapter?

Eye of the Beholder Chapter 29

"Ow! Oh, what are you nuts? Going around punching people?"

Buffy frowned at the demon in front of her. He wasn't acting very demon-y.

"People?" she questioned as she took of his hat, revealing his horns.

"So, what? I'm a demon. That makes it okay?" the demon pursued with a sniff.

Buffy and Faith raised their stakes, which spurned the demon into a rushed babble. "Whoa, hold it! Stake me now and you never find out what I got for ya, huh? Demon seeks Slayers, kind of unusual, huh?" he pointed out hopefully.

"Talk fast," Faith warned.

"How would you like to get your hands on the Books of Ascension?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Never heard of 'em."

The demon stared at them dubiously. "The Books of Ascension? Very powerful and I'm not talking about the prose. They deal with some, uh, dark stuff and the Mayor would hate for somebody to get a hold of it before he, ah, you know…"

"Don't know," Buffy shook her head. This demon was confusing. "Before he what?"

"Hey, hey, read 'em and weep, that's all I got to say," the demon waved off her question like the peddler he was. "Tomorrow, I get the books. Meet me here and if the price is right, I'll give the books to you."

Buffy's lips pursed into a thin line as she thought about his offer, though it really seemed too good a chance to pass up—she was willing to give just about anything for a bit of info on the Mayor. "Not really looking to trade with a demon," she couldn't help but voice her opinion.

"And if this were still a barter economy that would be a problem," the demon retorted without missing a beat. "I want cash, Princess. Five large for the whole set."

"So you can buy…I'm guess here…skin care products?" Faith guessed sarcastically.

"Plane ticket," the demon corrected. "Out of the Hellmouth before it's adios Slayer Loco. So, five G's, what do you say?"

Faith pretended to think. "I think 'die fiend' sort of sums it up, wouldn't you say?"

The demon peddler jumped up between them and ran off. Faith made the move to follow, but Buffy held her back. "Oh, let him go," she said with a sigh. "He doesn't look the 'threat to humanity' type."

"A demon's a demon," Faith argued frustrated. Buffy still didn't get it. Oh well, it was her loss.

"I'd like to know about these books of Ascension," Buffy explained as they walked through the cemetery, back towards the entrance. "Anything that would pin down the Mayor would be great," she continued.

"Yeah," Faith agreed, knowing exactly where she was heading after she left Buffy. "It'd be great."

"Alright." Doyle looked at the punching bag. "What do I do?"

Angel stared at the half-demon incredulously. "I don't know, hit it, maybe?" he suggested sarcastically.

Doyle continued to stare at the punching bag. "Um, any kinda technique? Any fancy stuff?"

"Just hit the damn thing."

Doyle punched the bag, barely causing it to swing back.

"Okay," Angel sighed. New tactic. "Imagine that it's someone's face. Someone you really hate."

Doyle thought for a moment and then threw a second punch. And then another…and another…and another…each punch growing in intensity until the punching bag was swinging.

This continued on for a few minutes before Doyle collapsed in exhaustion. Angel settled down beside his fellow Irishman, letting him catch his breath. "So," Angel said after a moment. "Whose face did you just break?"

Doyle took a deep breath. "There was this guy, real nasty fellow. Stole from me every day," he explained. "Never could stop him. He'd just come and take everything I had—every day for a year he tormented me."

Angel frowned. "When was this?"

"Second grade." Doyle was oblivious to Angel fighting a grin as he continued to explain. "Stole my lunch every day, every single day he stole it! Mum packed me cookies, you see. They were the best cookies and he stole them and everything else!"

"I'm sure they were great cookies," Angel put a reassuring hand on Doyle's shoulder.

Doyle nodded. "They were the best."

"Well—" Angel began but he was cut off by Doyle's pained gasp.

Angel waited anxiously for Doyle to return to the present. Doyle groaned as his eyes fluttered open. "What did you see?" Angel asked.

"Faith," Doyle rubbed his temples, trying to massage the vision induced headache away. "There's this demon—blood—an apartment."

"What does it matter that Faith killed a demon?" Angel asked confused. "She's a Slayer."

"There was something…important there," Doyle tried to remember. "A book."

Angel frowned dubiously. "Faith killed a demon for a book?"

"Don't look at me, I'm just the messenger," Doyle retorted defensively. "It's your job to figure this stuff out."

Angel sighed. This was still so new, so odd—saving people because Doyle got a vision. He didn't know why they needed saving, he didn't know who they were—he just knew they needed to be saved. And apparently, Angel was meant to be the person doing the saving.

"Okay, but you gotta give me more to go on," Angel told Doyle. "What did this guy look like?"

"Not the prettiest," Doyle began, but was cut off from saying anything more when Buffy came in.

"Hey, guys," Buffy smiled. "What's…" she trailed off as she felt the tension in the room. "What's up?"

"Doyle had a vision," Angel answered. "Faith killed a demon. Apparently, it's important that he doesn't die."

"Or doesn't lose the book," Doyle countered. "If that's why she killed him."

"The Books of Ascension?" Buffy asked, feeling her stomach plummet somewhere below her knees.

Angel looked up at her intently. "What do you know?"

"We met a demon on patrol," Buffy began to explain, but Doyle interrupted.

"Tell him on the way," he advised. "Don't think time is on your side…"

"Come on," Angel grabbed her hand and both of them hurried towards the Plymouth.

Angel jumped into the driver's seat and threw the car into drive the moment Buffy's door had closed. "Okay, tell me everything," Angel said as they drove.

"Go to Restful Cemetery," Buffy ordered first. "That's where we met him on patrol."

"Why didn't you kill him?"

Buffy shrugged. "He wasn't evil. He was, normal, I guess. Anyway, back on topic—he actually sought us out. He told us about these Books of Ascension and that they are about the Mayor or will help him in some way. I don't know for sure, but I know that they're important."

"Then why would Faith kill him?" Angel sighed as he pulled over to the curb outside the cemetery.

"You're going to track him?" Buffy assumed.

"Yeah."

"Got an idea where to go?"

Angel took a deep breath. There was an unfamiliar scent floating on the breeze, heading south. It wasn't vampire and it wasn't human. Angel was betting it was there guy. "Yeah, this way," he said as he grabbed her hand and began to follow the scent.

The scent led them to a little, slightly run-down apartment. Angel stopped at the doorway and cursed in frustration. "What is it?" Buffy asked worriedly.

"Blood."

Without saying another word, Angel entered the apartment and saw the dead demon on the floor—the Books of Ascension nowhere in sight. "We're too late."

"I thought she was getting better," Buffy lamented in the library. "I thought that, that maybe she was, you know, accepting what she'd done…"

"If we know anything about Faith, we know she's a good actor," Giles sighed in disappointment. "I'm afraid that this was always a likely possibility."

"She's much too volatile," Wesley agreed.

Angel was standing in silence, staring broodingly at the wall. Of all of them, he should have realized first. He should have seen something, anything that would suggest Faith hadn't stopped killing. He should have seen something. Angel muttered a stream of curses far too low for anyone to hear. This was his fault. He hadn't acted on Doyle's vision in time. He'd failed. And because of his failure, they'd lost the Books of Ascension.

And then that very night, Faith had come to him, blood on her hands, playing the perfect part of the horrified 'oh my God, what have I done?' girl. The worst part was that if Angel hadn't already known that she'd killed the demon and why, he would have believed her. Angel could tolerate many things, but being played wasn't one of them.

"Why would she take the books?" Buffy asked frustrated. "It just doesn't make sense. I mean, I know that there was no way we were going to pay five grand for them, but still…we would have gotten them another way." Buffy frowned as she stared at the table. "It just doesn't make sense," she repeated.

"It does if," Wesley began hesitantly. "If Faith is working with the Mayor."

"What?" Buffy balked at the idea. "No, no, no," she shook her head. "No, Faith wouldn't do that…"

"Buffy—" Giles began sadly.

"No!" Buffy interrupted, denying the idea. "No, she wouldn't! She's a Slayer! She's good, she's…"

"She's not you, Buffy," Angel spoke gently, cutting her off.

"But—"

"She's not you," Angel repeated again, coming to stand in front of her. He traced her cheekbone lightly with his fingertips. "I'm sorry, Buffy, but I think Wes is right."

"Yes," Giles sighed as he took off his glasses and cleaned them with the hem of his sweater. "Yes, it does appear to be so."

Buffy closed her eyes tightly for a moment, and when she opened them she was determined, pushing aside her disbelief and focusing on the present. "Okay, then. Faith's gone to the dark side. Any idea how long she's been working for the Mayor?"

"I'd say not too long." Angel fell into the chair next to Buffy with a huff. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in the chair. "But you can learn a lot of information quickly. There's no telling how much she knows about the Mayor's plans."

"But she knows more than we know," Wesley pointed out. They were all silent for a moment as they thought. "We need to figure out a way to find out how much Faith knows about the Mayor's plans," he voiced what they were all thinking.

"How to go about that though, is the question," Giles stared at the tabletop as if he expected the answer to appear within it. "I believe it's safe to assume that some trickery will be involved."

"There's no way Faith will tell us on her own," Angel shook his head. "She thinks she's found her place. She's not going to do anything to throw that away."

"We'll have to make her believe that she has the high ground," Wesley said, his brows furrowed in thought. "She has to feel confident, in control."

"But how?" Buffy asked them quietly, the sadness and bitter disappointment in her tone making Angel's chest tighten painfully.

Suddenly, a mist of smoke appeared back in the book stacks, causing everyone to look up in shock. Out of the smoke a man clad in black robes became visible, though only the blue skin of his face and the yellow of his eyes were seen.

Giles strode forward, gave a little bow, which the strange being copied.

"Rupert Giles," the man said in a deep voice.

Giles smiled. "Mage," he greeted. "How is the family?"

"Prosperous," the Mage answered, and Buffy thought he might be smiling underneath the black of his veil. "I call on you out of courtesy. I have been summoned to perform a spell by your Mayor."

Buffy stiffened in her chair, her eyes narrowed into thin slits. She opened her mouth to speak, but Angel put his hand over hers, and shook his head slightly. Buffy frowned but complied, staying quiet.

"Really?" Giles raised his eyebrows. "May I be so bold as to inquire what type of spell?"

The Mage nodded. "He wishes me to take away a vampire's soul." He looked at Angel. "And the vampire is present."

"No!" Buffy protested, ignoring Angel's staying hands and rushing to Giles' side. "No, you can't!"

The Mage stared at her for a moment before looking at Giles. "The little one is troubled. Why?"

"She is in love with the vampire," Giles explained. "If you release his soul, you shall unleash a plague of despair and destruction upon this town."

The Mage seemed troubled by this. "I have given my word."

"Please!" Buffy begged. "Don't! The Mayor's evil! He's just trying to get Angel out of the picture!"

"The Mayor is evil?" the Mage looked back to Giles, who nodded.

"Yes. He has plans for an Ascension, yet we do not know when," Giles explained. "However, we have reason to believe that it will be sooner rather than later."

"This troubles me," the Mage said. "But I have given my word that the vampire's soul shall be removed."

"No!" Buffy wailed something akin to panic crawling in her chest. She couldn't go through that again. She couldn't. She couldn't see him again.

"Buffy," Angel said softly, coming up behind her and gently taking her arm and pulling her back away from the Mage and Giles. "It'll be okay," he assured her, even though he was fighting back his own panic.

Buffy clung to him tightly, burying her head in his chest. The Mage watched their interaction with interest, before looking back at Giles. "Your little one loves him."

Giles nodded. "My friend, I have a favor to ask of you."

"I am in your debt," the Mage replied with a nod of his own. "Tell me of this favor."

"I ask that you not take this vampire's soul. I ask that you only make it appear to be so." Giles waited for the Mage's answer, barely breathing. He was counting on the fact that Mage's always fulfilled a debt. They were a noble race, and Giles hoped that this would work in his favor.

"I shall do so," the Mage finally answered. He looked to Angel and Buffy and then back to Giles. "Your Mayor wishes the spell be done tonight. He has enlisted the help of the other Slayer."

Giles nodded. "Thank you, my friend."

The Mage said nothing. He simply walked backwards a step or two and then disappeared in a light cloud of smoke. All was quiet for a few seconds until Wesley burst out, "Good Lord! A Mage! Giles, you're friends with a Mage!"

Giles looked at Wesley, amusement dancing in his eyes behind his glasses. "Yes."

"How is he in your debt?" Angel asked curiously.

"I introduced him to his wife."

"Well, I'm happy for your matchmaker skills Giles," Buffy smiled tiredly. This encounter had been draining. The mere idea, however shortly entertained, that Angel would lose his soul was draining. Buffy leaned into Angel, so much so that he was supporting the majority of her weight.

"Alright," Wesley rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If the Mage makes it appear as though Angel is Angelus once more…" he trailed off. "We have to use that misconception to our advantage."

"The Mayor probably hopes that I'll join him," Angel theorized. "Apparently, he hasn't done his homework. I'd never work under anyone."

An idea popped into Buffy's head. It was a good idea. It was a terrible idea. It was both. It would be painful, but it would work. "I have a plan," she said quietly.

Everyone waited for Buffy to continue, but when she didn't, Giles prompted her. "Yes?"

Buffy sighed, stepping away from Angel. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at a spot on the wall. "Angel would pretend that the Mage's spell worked."

"Buffy…" Angel began slowly.

"I know, Angel, I know," Buffy cut him off quickly, fighting back tears at the egregious task she was appointing him. "But if you pretended to be Angelus, you could meet the Mayor. You know that that's what they want. They want Angelus on their side. They know it will help them and torture me." Angel flinched at the word torture. "And Faith—" Buffy paused. "Faith has always been attracted to you. Angelus would just turn her on more."

"Buffy—" Angel protested, but it was weak. He knew she was right.

"We wouldn't have to fool them for long," Buffy talked over him. "Just long enough for you to find out all you can."

"I wouldn't spend any time with the Mayor," Angel argued. "I'd come right after you."

"They know that," Buffy replied. "That's their plan, I think. They want me and you out of the picture."

Angel swallowed. "They want me to kill you."

Buffy barely had the courage to meet his gaze, and when she did she flinched at the immeasurable pain and torment in Angel's eyes.

"Faith would want to accompany you," Wesley said quietly, looking at Angel. "She harbor's a deep resentment toward Buffy. I think she'd think she was on the higher ground."

"Confident enough to gloat," Buffy said quietly, her eyes never leaving Angel. Slowly, she closed the distance between them. She ignored that they weren't alone in the room, placing both hands on his chest. "Angel," Buffy pleaded softly. "I know it will be hard, and I hate to ask you to do this, but—"

"It will work," Angel finished for her, meeting her gaze, tender agony reflected in his eyes. "But what about you?" he asked as he cupped her face in his hands. "This will be just has hard on you, if not harder."

Buffy nodded. "I know, but," she trailed off, trying to find the words. "But it will work," she said numbly, realizing that there were no words to describe what she was about to go through.

Buffy and Angel were silent as they entered the mansion. Neither voiced the fact that it would be dark soon. Without any prelude, the moment they were in the room, Angel's lips were on hers. Buffy's lips parted of their own accord, letting Angel deepen the kiss without a second thought. Angel's hands slid down her back before slipping underneath her shirt. Her skin felt like it was hot as flame against his cool touch, and a low growl that was almost like an appreciative purr resonated in Angel's throat. Buffy heard the telltale rib of fabric and knew that her shirt was now in pieces on the floor, but she didn't care. Her hands flew to the buttons on his shirt, and she wasted no time in yanking it open, causing buttons to fly everywhere.

Her hands skimmed over his shoulders, across his chest, down his stomach. She undid his belt and tossed it towards the far corner of the room as she and Angel fell onto the bed. Angel's lips trailed down her neck, nipping and sucking as his hands ran down her body.

This time, their love wasn't all about love. It was about claiming. It was primal. She was his, and he was hers. Nothing was going to change that. Not Faith. Not the Mayor. No one.

Later, Angel and Buffy both sat in the closet, both of them looking at the antique trunk in front of them. They hadn't mentioned its contents since the night Angel had told Buffy to bring the chains, but tonight they were going to need those chains once again.

The key in Angel's hand felt too heavy. It always did.

With a sigh, Angel unlocked the trunk and lifted the lid. He stared at the trunks contents. Chains. Chinese marble pokers. A few other favorite torture devices he had utilized over the years. There were clothes too. Leather pants, silk shirts. There were stacks upon stacks of bills, all of various currencies. None of this was his and yet it was.

"You kept it all," Buffy said quietly. "Why?"

"It's not all of it," Angel shook his head. "Not nearly."

"Why?" Buffy repeated. "Why keep it?"

"I don't know," Angel replied truthfully. "I guess it's just a part of me, he's a part of me—a darkness, but a part of me nonetheless."

They were both silent for a moment, staring at the contents. Buffy had questions of course, but she wasn't sure if she wanted the answers or if she wanted Angel to go through the pain of answering them, if he would actually answer them anyway. So, Buffy reached in, grabbed the chains and then slammed the trunk lid closed. She took the key from Angel's hand, locked the trunk, and then placed the key back in his palm.

Angel looked at her curious and confused. Buffy offered him a small smile. "I'm not worrying about the past. The present's kinda more my thing." She leaned into him. "Presently, you're here, with me, soulful and fancy-free."

A laugh that was both incredulous and exasperated at the same time slipped from Angel's lips, and he shook his head. He offered her a hand, and they left the closet and the past behind, focused on the present.

"I love you," Angel said as he kissed her temple. "Don't forget that."

Buffy smiled. "I'll never forget."

Angel was pacing. It'd been dark for two hours and Faith hadn't shown up yet. He was getting anxious. Actually, he was a long way past anxious. He hated this, but he knew it would work. He hated that he knew it would work.

The slight creak of the mansion door alerted him to Faith's presence, and Angel turned to face her. "Faith."

"Hey," Faith offered him a small, almost impish smile. "Sorry I busted in last night."

Angel wasn't really in the mood to hear her false apologies. "What do you want, Faith?"

"Look, I'm not so good at apologies," Faith began as she moved towards him. "Mostly because I think the world's out to screw me and I think I'm more owed than owing." Faith shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. Angel had to admit, Faith was a good actress. "But I was thinking about last night and I wanted you to know that I was really sorry."

"It's alright, Faith," Angel consoled, playing his part perfectly.

"No, it's not alright," Faith argued firmly. "Yeah, I was freaked and I needed somebody, but you're with Buffy. I should know better."

Angel couldn't argue that. "Yeah, okay."

Faith was now in arms reach, and Angel couldn't stop himself from backing away. Even though he knew what was coming, even though he knew he wasn't going to lose his soul, he couldn't help the instinctual precaution.

"You don't trust me," Faith stated.

Angel wanted to agree with her, but he had a part to play. "It's not that…"

"Hey, no problem," Faith said, letting just enough dejection into her tone that would cause anyone to want to comfort her. "Join the club."

"Look, Faith, I know what you're going through and how hard it can be," Angel said easily. It was scary how easy it was to do this, how natural it was to trick Faith, to play a part. It was just like Angelus. "It's important you have someone who's been there and who understands what you're going through." Angel grasped Faith by the shoulders and turned her around to face him. He looked at her reassuringly. "Look, I want to trust you…"

Suddenly, Faith smirked, dropping her façade. Angel hated the coldness in her eyes. "Chump," she taunted before throwing a vial of blood on his shirt.

Angel sensed someone else present and looked up to see the Mage. Angel said a quick prayer, hoping that he wasn't about to lose his soul, even though the Mage had given Giles his word. "Faith!" he pleaded as the Mage started to chant.

"I wanted to do this the old-fashioned way," Faith told him with a casual, faux-regretful sigh. "But, hey, your loss," she pitied him. "Lucky I've got some tricks Buffy don't know yet."

"You don't have to do this," Angel tried again, some genuine anxiety slipping into his voice. He knew that the Mage's spell was reaching its climax.

"I know, but it's fun," Faith smiled. "Relax. It'll be over soon."

Bright light shot out from the Mage's hands and engulfed Angel. Angel didn't fight as the magic lifted him off his feet. He played his part perfectly. The lights soon faded and the Mage disappeared. Angel let himself fall to the floor in a heap, vamping out. He felt Faith touch his shoulder and jumped to his feet. Then, he made himself do one of the vilest things he'd ever do for the rest of existence. He kissed Faith hard, forcing his tongue into her mouth, though judging by the way she melted into him, she didn't mind in the slightest.

Showtime.

And so it begins! I hope you guys liked this chapter! I'm particularly attached to the end. Okay, next chapter two amazing things happen! One: Epic B/A lines. Two: Angel punches Xander.

Doesn't that just make you smile?

Lots of love,

ArthursCamelot