Chapter 5:

When Buffy woke from her latest nightmare, woken by, of all things, Angela's beautiful voice, she was convinced that she had finally gone mad.

Angela's quiet little apartment had become the site of a heated battle between Angela (who was dead and could not possibly be here) and a white-haired girl that Buffy had never seen before in her life, but who fought with a strength and skill that was definitely more than human. Maybe this was all still a part of that nightmare she thought she had woken up from.

The Vampire Slayer found herself sitting on the bed, naked except for a black silk sheet, and could do nothing but watch as the battle went on, trying to wake up.

This was more like it, Ashley mused. She probably should not be relieved that a demon had decided to attack an innocent, but at least it was finally behaving the way it was supposed to. The Slayer had no time to wonder how the creature had managed to enter this apartment. Maybe the Watchers had been wrong about the whole invitation thing. Seeing her how she leaned over the sleeping girl, preparing to bite her, was all Ashley needed to explode into action.

The vampire moved fast, evading her surprise attack that could have ended the battle before it began. Ashley was still getting used to her new senses, but this demon felt old to her. Old meant powerful. A small part of her wondered whether she was ready for a fight like this. So far she had only faced newborn vampires, never one who moved so fast and struck back at her with such strength.

It was too late for second thoughts, though.

Ashley attacked again, throwing punches and kicks at the vampire, who blocked all her strikes and responded in kind. They went back and forth in the limited space of the apartment, smashing a couch table and a picture hanging on the wall in the process. A side glance showed that the girl who had almost ended up as a meal had woken, staring at the scene before her with wide eyes. Ashley guessed that she was older than herself, but suddenly the Slayer felt positively ancient compared to this girl who had probably never suspected that the monsters might actually be real.

A painful blow from the vampire, who was now in full demon face, sent her reeling, crashing into a wall. She was back in the fight a moment later, though, lashing out with every fighting technique the Watchers had drilled into her. The vampire seemed to be familiar with those, though, and Ashley found it impossible to lay a hand on her.

Looking into the face of the vampire, madness blazing in those demon eyes, Ashley could not help the feeling that this was a fight she was going to lose.

Angela realized that she was losing control. The girl who had tried to ambush her had to be a Slayer, no other explanation was possible. An inexperienced one, though, probably called when Kendra had died. The demon inside her did not care, though. It only knew that someone was trying to hurt it and that someone had to die.

Angelus roared with fighting madness and Angela found herself swept away on a crest of demonic fury.

Willow was on her way to make her nightly visit to Buffy, debating how much to tell her best friend about today's events. Giles had called her just before she left her home, telling her that the new Slayer was in town, along with her Watcher. He had also told her that said Slayer was currently walkabout, which left both the Watchers with their fair share of worry.

She was not thinking so much about the new Slayer, though, but rather about how Buffy might react. Should she tell her that she had been replaced? No, not replaced! No one could ever replace Buffy. Just ... a stand-in. Someone to take care of things until Buffy got herself back together. Yes, that was what it was, nothing more.

Still, Willow was not certain that this was something that Buffy needed to hear. Or maybe it would make her feel better to know that the streets were safe in her absence? Or maybe she would think that she was no longer needed here and ... and do what she had almost done a few days ago. No, she could not tell her. Willow shook her head for emphasis even though there was no one around but herself.

Nothing to tell, she resolved. Business as usual. Once Buffy was better she would be ready to learn about Ashley, but not any earlier than that.

Willow was about two steps away from the front door of Angela's apartment when said door suddenly exploded outward, raining shards down on her. Two shapes were rolling over the floor, both of them female, both of them dressed in black clothing. Willow did not know the white-haired girl, but she needed only a second to recognize the dark-haired woman.

"Angela?"

Buffy heard Willow call out in surprise from the outside. What was Willow doing here in this dream? Maybe this was not a dream, but rather some sort of hallucination. Maybe she was seeing two people fight and none of them was Angela, she was just imagining it. Or maybe ...

Without another thought Buffy leaped off the bed, stopping just long enough to grab a shirt and cover the worst of her nudity. Maybe this was not a nightmare. Maybe this was real. Why should Willow react to something that was not?

The fight had spilled to the outside and Buffy saw that Angela was winning. The white-haired girl, strong but obviously inexperienced, was driven back step by step, a look of desperation spreading on her face. When Buffy looked at Angela she could not suppress a gasp.

Angela's demon face was warped with fury, eyes blazing, hissing at the girl in front of her. For a moment the world around Buffy seemed to waver, memories of fighting against Angelus superimposed over the present. She remembered struggling against the demon, being driven back by his superior strength and speed. Angela had saved her, though. She had reunited with the monster to save her and then sacrificed her life to save the world.

Buffy looked at the snarling demon again, just in time to see the white-haired girl stumble. She was off-balance just long enough for Angela to slip past her defenses and deliver a thundering uppercut that took her off her feet and left her sprawled on the floor, dazed.

Angela moved in for the kill.

Ashley tried to lift her arms, tried to do something to defend herself, but her body refused to respond. The world around her was spinning, her eyes unable to focus, but she did see the black shadow of the vampire coming toward her. This could not be it, could it? She had only been the Slayer for a month, she could not die yet! She knew Slayers all died young, but not this young!

A cold hand grabbed her by the throat, pulling her off the ground with inhuman strength. Ashley was fighting for breath, trying to find the strength to break free, even as the vampire's fangs were moving closer to her throat. Not like this! Please, not like this!

Suddenly the fingers vanished, fresh air filling her lungs once more. She crumbled back to the ground, her knees buckling when nothing held her up anymore, and for a moment the world consisted of nothing but the sweet air in her lungs and the fading adrenalin rush when she realized she was still alive.

All of this gave way to confusion, though, when she saw why that was the case.

"Angela?" Buffy searched the face before her, still not entirely sure that all of this was not just a dream, but willing to assume it was not. Angela was back, she had come back to her.

Or had she?

The vampire growled, the demon face still prominent on her features, her eyes blazing with rage. Those were Angelus' eyes, she realized. Demon fury mixed with bloodlust. She had gone through a portal into Hell, Buffy reminded herself. God alone knew what she had experienced there.

"Angela, it's me, Buffy!"

Slowly, so slowly that Buffy wondered if she might just imagine it, Angela's demon face began to fade, melting back into her human features. Reason returned to her eyes, humanity regaining its hold. Buffy could practically watch as Angela fought down the demon that had taken control during the fight.

For a long moment the two of them just looked at each other, neither saying anything. This was not a dream, Buffy realized. This was real. Angela was back.

"Hi," Angela finally said.

A moment later they were in each other's arms, Buffy burying into the larger woman's embrace, the tears she had spilled so often this last month breaking free once more. This time they were tears of relief, though. Angela was back. Everything would be all right now.

Feeling the Slayer's body pressed against hers, sensing the immense joy Buffy felt upon having her back, chased the remains of Angelus from Angela's mind. This was home, yes. She had made the right decision to come back.

Whatever else happened now could be dealt with.

Things like that white-haired Slayer who slowly got back to her feet and looked at them all with eyes full of questions.

"Somebody want to explain this to me?"

TO BE CONTINUED