January 22, 1998:
Cassandra entered her apartment about an hour before dawn. She was glad to be home after her trip. About two weeks before, Cassandra had decided to take about a week and get out of town for a small vacation. She wanted to go somewhere away from the Hellmouth for a bit. Ever since she had moved into town, Cassandra had, on many occasion, been involved in the Slayer's fight. It was a good fight, but it could get taxing. Even though Cassandra had thoroughly enjoyed her week in New Orleans, she was glad to be back.
Before going to bed for the day Cassandra checked her messages. Most were work related. However, a couple messages were not. One of them was from Willow. "Hey Cassandra, just wanted to let you know that we are planning a surprise birthday party for Buffy tonight. I know you are out of town, but just in case you get back in time, we would love for you to join us. Call me or Giles if you can come. Cassandra checked the date on that message, it was yesterday. *Oh well, I had better get her a gift. It's only polite.*
While a few other messages played, Cassandra went into the kitchen to grab a bag of blood from the freezer. She hated drinking de-frosted blood, but she had not been able to get any fresh blood since she had gotten back. As Cassandra popped the bag in the microwave she barely caught the tale end of a message from Giles. Quickly Cassandra went into her living room to replay it. "Cassandra, it's Rupert Giles. I know you might not be back in town yet. However, just in case you are back, I was wondering if you had seen Buffy or Angel. Some things happened last night, it seems that Spike and Drusilla are trying to put a very powerful demon together called The Judge. I assume you have heard about him, so you know what kind of power he has. Buffy and Angel went out to where Buffy believed that Spike and Drusilla are at, to gather information. Ever since then, they both have not been seen. If you see either one of them, please let me know."
*Damn! The Judge, this is really bad.* Cassandra then noticed the time, it was almost six am. *Well, nothing I can do about it now.* Cassandra then got dressed for bed. However, it took her a while to get to sleep. Her thoughts were consumed by the fact that the Judge was being put together. If what she had heard about the demon was true, the town was in a lot of trouble. Also, other thoughts plagued Cassandra's mind. She could not put her finger on what it was. It was a vague feeling of dread that did not seem connected to her worries about The Judge. Almost like she knew that things were going to end badly. Finally Cassandra drifted off into sleep, with her worries still plaguing her mind.
"Hello Cassandra." Cassandra spun around quickly to the source of the voice. She saw Angel leaning up against the door frame.
"Angel, what's going on?" Asked Cassandra.
Angel smiled. Cassandra noticed right away that this smile was not the nice smile of the soulfilled Angel. It was the demonic grin of the unsoulled Angelus. "Well that's not a very nice way to greet your sire Cassandra."
Hearing his voice, she was convinced that this was Angelus. The souled Angel had a different tone to his voice. His entire demeanor was different. "Why are you here?"
Angelus smirked. "I've always been here."
"You haven't been in control though. I bet it burns you up that his soul is in control and you are not." Said Cassandra with disgust evident in her voice.
Angelus nodded. "Yeah, I haven't been in control. Until now."
"What are you talking about?"
"I have a question Cassandra. Are you still afraid of me? I bet you are." Angelus then moved toward Cassandra and stopped when he was just inches from her. He grabbed her hands and started caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.
"I'm not afraid of you. Anyway, you are just a figment of my imagination. I'm only dreaming. You can't do anything here." Cassandra said, trying to keep confidence in her voice. Even though, her fear was coming out in her voice and Cassandra hated it but could not stop it.
Angelus bent down to Cassandra's ear and whispered. "Maybe, but when you wake up you will find out that I am very real." Suddenly, there was a sound in the background.
"What is that?" She asked her sire.
"Your wake up call."
When Cassandra woke up, she found out what the sound was that she heard in her dream. It was her telephone. Looking at the clock, Cassandra noticed that it was 5:25pm. Still really freaked out over her dream, Cassandra slowly picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Cassandra, good thing you're back in town. Did I wake you?"
Cassandra recognized the voice. "Angel?"
"Yes, sorry to wake you but something has happened. Have you heard what Spike and Dru are up to?"
Cassandra was really worried at this moment. All she could think about was her dream. *Does it mean that Angelus has returned?*
"Cassandra? Are you there."
"Sorry Angel, I guess I haven't quite woken up too much yet. You said something about Spike and Dru. I got a message about it from Giles. They're putting The Judge together." Cassandra tried to dismiss her dream as just a nightmare, however while talking to Angel, she could not help but feel that something was different. It was in his voice.
"Yeah, we need to discuss this. How about I meet you somewhere? You're apartment?"
"No, not here. How about Willie's?" Cassandra's suspicion was not going away. She did not want him at her apartment. He had not been invited there yet, and for some reason, she did not want to invite him now. Cassandra had a bad feeling about all of this.
"Ok, in a half hour?"
"Yeah, I'll see you then." Cassandra answered then hung up the phone. *Am I just getting paranoid? It was just a dream. A really scary dream.* Cassandra tried to reassure herself. However, it was not helping. She got up to start getting ready for the meeting. *I guess I'll find out if anything is going on.*
Willie's Bar:
6:03pm
As soon as Cassandra entered the bar, she saw Angel sitting in one of the booths in the back. She made her way over there, ordering a drink on the way. "Hello Angel." Greeted Cassandra politely.
"Hello, I'm glad you could come."
"So, what's the deal?" She asked while sitting down across from him. "Giles said that you and Buffy went missing last night, what happened?"
"We were discovered at Spike and Dru's. We had to get out of there fast."
Cassandra nodded. She then noted her companion's appearance. He was dressed different than usual. *What the hell? Is he wearing leather pants?* His demeanor was different as well. Just like her dream, the tone of his voice was different than the souled Angel. Cassandra's suspicions were mounting. "What's going on? You seem different."
He smiled. "How am I different?"
Cassandra noted that his smile was the same demonic smile that greeted her when she first met him. The smile that, at the time, made shivers run up and down her spine. "How did it happen? How did you lose your soul, Angelus?"
Angelus laughed. "I guess I never could fool you."
Cassandra just stared at him in shock. "Dear God, you're back."
"Yes, I'm back. Aren't you happy to see your sire?"
Quickly she got up, "Not really, I hoped that you were gone for good. That is what I get for hoping I guess."
Angelus grabbed Cassandra wrist before she could walk away. "Where are you going? I sure hope that you are not going to run off and give away my secret."
Cassandra wrenched her wrist from Angelus' iron grasp. "I was planning on it." She spat out bitterly.
Angelus shook his head. "I don't think so."
"You arrogant son of a bitch! How do you think you can stop me? Kill me, because that is the only way it is going to happen as far as I can see. Even then, killing me will prove much more difficult."
"Oh no Cassandra, I don't want to kill you. However, I can slow you down." Suddenly Angelus clapped his hands and vampires started coming out from everywhere. There must have been at least eight or ten.
Suddenly Cassandra got in a defensive posture. "You work fast Angelus."
"If you excuse me, I have things to do." Angelus then turned to leave.
After he left Cassandra glanced at all of the vampires that were just about to attack. *Oh, this should be fun.*
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