Angel and Buffy belong to the show, all others and plot to me. All feedback is welcome
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Part Three
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Angel's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the chessboard, the only thing on his mind was the challenge of winning the game. Mentally he went through every move he could possibly make, while the old man sitting across from him waited, immobile. In fact he was too still to be human. Appearances could be deceiving and they certainly were in this case. While he looked like he was Angel's senior by forty years, the gray haired vampire was actually twenty years younger than his friend and opponent.
His roaming eyes caught sight of his white queen and Angel's heart snagged. No, don't think of her, not now. She's out of your life, she chose to leave. Ouch. Shouldn't have thought of that. Bad thought. But still, it was the truth. He hadn't forced Buffy to go, he had done everything in his power to help her and make her want to be with him forever, but she'd still left. He didn't even now why. She had written a letter explaining a part of it, but it didn't look right on paper. . .
Well, this was great. Five years later and he still couldn't play a simple game of chess without thinking of her. And now his concentration was shot.
Angel sighed inwardly and leaned back in his chair. To the wrinkled vampire in front of him he said, "Listen Daniel, do you think that we could take a break? I can't concentrate tonight."
The distinguished looking vampire, with a soul as a plus, nodded amiably and said in his refined British voice, "Of course Angelus. We shall continue our game tomorrow, if you like." He smiled slightly, but the friendly expression didn't reach his eyes. Like the rest of the damned souls that made up the Family, Daniel's eyes were ancient and sad, burdened with the guilt of decades of ruthless murder.
Angel half-smiled back and, with a nod, rose from his chair and left the underground room. Many of the Family had strange living spaces. Some were above ground, some below, decorated in the strangest ways with articles gathered over the years. Daniel himself had a huge sword hanging on his wall that he claimed had severed the head of Queen Anne Boleyn, or as the French called her, "La Reine Sans Tete." How he got a hold of it, since she had died centuries before he had walked this earth, Angel had no clue. He would give them this though; the homes of the Family were always interesting to visit.
The members of the Family themselves were of course much more noteworthy. The Family had been started centuries ago by a priest who, in his wanderings across Europe, came across the most remarkable thing. A vampire with a soul. As it turned out, a clan of gypsies was giving vampires back their souls. Not all of them, for some reason, but some. After finding a few other lost and grieving demons, the priest, amazed by the guilt he saw in their eyes, decided to create a sort of Brotherhood. He called it simply the Family and into it was accepted every demon with a soul.
As time wore on, the gypsies' spells were lost with the deaths of the Old Ones, and so was the only hope restoring a soul. But the Family was firmly entrenched in Europe, Asia and parts of Northern Africa, with hundreds of vampiric members. That wasn't a lot, considering how many demons were walking the earth, murdering people every night, but it was better than nothing.
Angel emerged into the cool English night from the door leading down to Daniel's place. He glanced around out of habit, then walked down the winding road towards down town. The stars winked brightly in the velvety blackness and with his keen eyesight, Angel picked out all the constellations easily. He hadn't learned them while he was drinking the blood of breathing humans, but after, when his nights weren't filled with the thrill of the hunt.
He grimaced at the memory and pushed it away as he turned a corner and reached the large house the Family had acquired. It was literally huge, with few windows and large, heavy oak doors. It was a housing for some of the members and one of the priests that still recorded the lives of the Family. The priest assigned to London was actually a woman named Elizabeth. The house was used as a head quarters and temporary living place for passing vampires. About fifteen other vamps other than Angel were staying there right now.
The handsome vampire pushed open the heavy doors and entered quietly. He was walking down the dimly lit hall (dim since vampires aren't too fond of light) when a man poked his head out of a doorway. "Elizabeth requests that you see her in the library as soon as possible."
Angel barely nodded in acknowledgement and turned the corner instead of heading for the huge stairs leading to his rooms farther away from the others. A few doors down the long hallway, he entered the large library with books on every wall and big chairs and tables arranged neatly all around the room.
Standing by one of these tables was a forty-ish woman with slightly graying, brown hair and sharp blue eyes. She glanced up as Angel entered and removed her glasses while gesturing for Angel to take a seat with a strange half-smile. He sat, feeling uneasiness stir in his gut.
Elizabeth chose a seat across from the vampire and arranged her hands neatly on the table. "Angel, I have important news for you that I thought you should know," her British accent was crisp and her eyes held his unwaveringly. "Now, whether you act upon this news or not, I wish you to know that I and everyone else will stand behind you and offer whatever aid we can to you."
Angel accepted this with a slight, non-committal nod. A knot was forming in his throat as he wondered what she knew. She didn't keep him waiting.
"As we all know, when you re-entered the Family in Rome five years ago, you arrived there with the former slayer, Buffy Summers. She intrigued all of us, for three reasons. One, she was only half vampire, and that has never occurred before or since, to the best of our knowledge. Two, she was the first vampire to have a soul in nearly a century. And three, she was, and obviously still is, incredibly important to you."
She waved her hand for him to be quiet and continued, "It isn't any of our business what went on between you two, though, I admit," she smiled, "That you did stir up quite a bit of gossip. But when she left, she struck a great blow to you, one that we thought would heal with time. But it hasn't and we all share the same sentiment that it won't any time soon."
Angel was surprised by some of this. He had no idea that the Family knew so much about his feelings for Buffy, since he had done his best to keep them hidden. Apparently, his best wasn't good enough.
Elizabeth reached over and picked up a thin blue folder and placed it between them. She went on softly, "You know of the troubles the Slayers have been having since your Buffy 'died'. They were dropping like flies, and there is no clue as to why. They just didn't have enough time to train, I suppose." Angel felt a stab of sympathy for the girls that had been forced into the same life Buffy had led. They deserved more.
"But that pattern has been altered. The current Chosen One, Abigail McKimmley, has survived for about a year now, longer than the last five. And I think I now have the answer as to why." She stared directly into his eyes, "Members of the Family have seen her with a companion. They describe her as blond, 5"3, slim and an incredible fighter. She has displayed vast amounts of strength and enormous skill. We think that she has taken Abigail under her wing, protecting her in ways her Watcher cannot."
Angel felt his insides knot up and his mind raced ahead to what he knew she was going to say. Every fiber of his being felt like he had been freed after five long years of absolute confinement.
"Angel," she said quietly, "It appears as if this mystery girl is your Buffy Summers."
* * *
He closed his eyes, trying to desperately to hold his emotions in check. He felt like he would cry for joy, for relief, for pain, anger, sorrow, love and happiness. His entire world was once again being picked up and shaken like a snow globe.
Elizabeth tapped the folder resting between them. "Here are the reports our members have filed and a plane ticket, should you decide to seek her out yourself. She and the Slayer are living in southern Ontario, Canada, near Toronto. You can contact the members there and they will show her to you. Right now, Myo and Rachelle are assigned to that area."
The aging woman sighed aloud and moved slightly. She knew how much this would affect him and so it affected her. When you became a part of the Family, you became exactly that. A part of a family. Their pain affected you and it hurt you worse when you knew there was nothing you could do to help. Well, almost nothing.
"Angel, I do not want to push, merely comfort you." Angel looked up, as if he found it surprising that he would need comfort from her. She carried on anyway, "If you do go to her, and you come to an agreement, I and all the other priests wish you to know that we would accept the girl with open arms and offer her whatever help we could. It must have been very difficult for her, these past years, learning to live with her way of life."
Angel thought bitterly, surprising himself. Silently, he reached over and picked up the folder, then rose from his chair and walked to the door.
Elizabeth sat up straight, startled by his sudden movements. "Angel?"
The 247-year-old vampire turned and looked at her. "Yes?" he asked in a strained voice. "I've got some packing to do."
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