Chapter Eight: Say You're Sorry
"Oh, wow," Anna murmured once Paige was finished relaying her dream. "That's so...wow."
"It was pretty surreal, alright."
"And you found the...? Right on her...?"
"Yep," Paige replied, pulling the cross out of her pocket. She held it by the chain so Anna could get a better look at it.
"Holy hot tamales," Anna whistled. "So, according to Buffy, something's haunting Angel, and if he gives into it, he turns back into Angelus..."
"Which pretty much means that we're all dead."
"Nice."
"So, any ideas on what we can do?"
"Well, normally, I'd say we go to Ms. French or Giles, but since that's apparently out of the question..."
"How about we go to the mansion, do a little recon?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Maybe we can figure out exactly how this thing's getting to him," Anna mused as Paige opened the closet door. Making sure the halls were clear, the two girls left the closet.
"Buffy said that it -whatever it is- is taking the form of her."
"Something's impersonating a dead Slayer? Shouldn't be too hard to find. And when we do, I say we kill every inch of it dead."
"Sounds like a plan. Let's go."
"Wait, what, now?"
"Yeah, now. The others are in class right now-"
"-You mean where we should be?"
"And it's daylight out."
"Gotta love that sunlight," Anna muttered.
"You have stakes on you?"
"Of course. Leaving home unarmed in this town's like walking up to a vampire and asking to get bitten."
"Okay, just making sure."
"But I'm thinking we're going to need much more than a couple of stakes apiece. You know, in case we have to deal with Angelus, instead." Paige nodded and the two made their way to their lockers, pulling out their knapsacks and filling them with stakes, crosses, and bottles of holy water.
"Ready?" Paige asked, swinging her bag over one shoulder.
"Just about," Anna replied, handing her a small, black, rectangular box. "Walkie-talkies. I figure, in Sunnydale, it's probably better if we can communicate with each other at all times."
"Good thinking." Paige turned on hers and set it to low volume before clipping it on the inside of her jacket. "Now, let's get out of here before we're spotted." The Slayers crept quietly down the empty halls, senses on alert for anyone that could stop them. Anna pushed open the front doors, allowing a warm Californian breeze to waft into the school. She stepped ouside and nearly gave a yelp as Paige oh-so-causally nudged her behind a tall shrub.
"Ms. Iverns. Where are you going?" Anna groaned inwardly at the sound of Principal Snyder's voice.
"Nowhere," Paige replied sweetly.
"Right. Then why aren't you in class?"
"I've got a spare."
"Students don't have spares during third period."
"Really? Because on my schedule-"
"Detention, Iverns."
"But-"
"And you better hope each and every one of your little gang of miscreants is in their respective classes, or all of you delinquents will be in detention till you graduate."
"But-"
"Let's go, Iverns." Anna felt Paige slip her something before she was ushered away by Principal Snyder. Anna didn't move a muscle until she heard the sounds of two pairs of footsteps receding down the halls and the door closing shut behind them. Then she left campus as fast as she could.
"Daylight, my ass," Anna muttered miserably. Two minutes after she had landed on the other side of the wall that surrounded Sunnydale High, the sky had begun to cloud over. Five minutes after that, she was walking in a torrential downpour. She titled her head backward and pulled her long hair into a ponytail to keep it from blowing into her face.
She prayed that she wouldn't come up against vampires or demons now. In actuality, Anna Evans wasn't brave. She wasn't anything but a teenage girl who had become bored with the monotony of her life and wished for a purpose in life, a destiny, some greater meaning for her existence on Earth. And she had gotten her wish. Now she was a Slayer, a warrior for the powers of light. She fought back the forces of darkness and kicked vampire ass. And not once did not think about running away.
She wondered why she was Chosen, of all people. She wasn't brave like Paige, she wasn't confident like Faith had been. She was just a girl who fought because she had to, because if she didn't, she would most definitely die. For better or for worse, the line of the Chosen had been altered, and Anna was glad. She knew she couldn't have done the job if it was just her alone.
"Slayer Two, come in Slayer Two." Startled, Anna unclipped the walkie-talkie from her belt.
"Holy hot tamales, you scared the crap out of me!"
"Where's your Slayer nerves of steel?"
"Back in that nice, warm school with the rest of you. What's up?"
"Nothing much. I just wanted to see how you were doing."
"Well, I'm about five feet away from the mansion," Anna replied, staring up at the looming building. "Gotta tell you, I'm having a major case of the wiggings right about now. There's something not quite right about this place."
"Yeah, it doesn't exactly have a history that inspires warm, fluffy-bunny dreams. That's where Angelus and his flunkies used to hang out, and where Acathla was called forth, not to mention where Angelus killed Buffy-"
"Paige, how do you know all this?"
"Xander told me."
"Ah. Well, I'm hoping to find whatever it is that's bugging our friendly neighbourhood vampire."
"Still upset?"
"I'd feel better if I could kill something." The night before, Ms. French had told her how the Watcher's Council required her presence back in England. She had left in the morning, her absence in Sunnydale indefinite.
"Well, good luck with that. The minute I can, I'm gonna join you."
"Oh, yeah. You've got detention with Snyder."
"So've Willow and the rest of 'em. They're pretty upset. And when you do make it back to school, try not to let Snyder see you. He has it in for you."
"Did I mention how brilliant your plan is?"
"Slayer," a demonic voice growled.
"What was that?" Paige asked sharply. A foot from Anna stood what looked to be a goat-vampire hybrid. He had horns and cloven feet, but the visage of the vampire remained unchanged.
"Slayer," it growled again.
"Not exactly too sure," Anna said to Paige, clutching a stake in one hand. So nervous was she that the wood bit into her skin, drawing blood. "Seems to know who I am, though. Think I'm gonna call him Ugly Vampire-Goat Guy."
"Why 'Ugly Vampire-Goat Guy'?"
"If you were here, you'd know why."
"I am Kakistos," the ancient vampire boomed.
"What'd he say?"
"Apparently, his name's Cats-and-Toast."
"'Cats-and-Toast'," Paige mused.
"I dunno, might've Khaki Toast." Anna kept her eyes on Kakistos at all times.
"'Khaki Toast'," Paige repeated wonderingly.
"He's got a bunch of vamps. Six, seven on either side of him. ...So, Cats-and-Toast," Anna told the vampire, clipping the black box onto her belt, "what do you say we get on with this?"
"You think you can defeat me?"
"How many times have I heard that line? Next time, you might wanna think about a line that's not so played out," Anna shouted over the rain.
"I have killed Slayers before," the old vampire taunted. "Only two months ago, I got rid of one that was a particular pain in my ass."
"Faith," Anna murmured. Hope you somehow heard that, Xander. Then she had no more time to think about the fallen Slayer because Kakistos' vampires all rushed her.
Listening in on the conversation from Paige's walkie-talkie, the Scoobies heard that last little bit with surprising clarity, considering the pounding of the rain kept drowning out Anna's and Kakistos' voices. They took in the fact that it was not Angel who had killed Faith, but some other vampire, whom Anna was with this very minute.
"Oops," Xander murmured, his embarrassment drowned out by the sounds of battle from the other end of the line.
Half-running, half-dragging herself, Anna moved as quickly as she could, oblivious as to where she was going. The vampires came at her, and she dimly registered taking out four or five, before one had grabbed her from behind and decided to take a nice chuck out of her neck. She elbowed him in the face, but with her most-likely-broken leg coupled with the recent blood loss, she knew that if she didn't hightail it out of there, she there would be a new Slayer arriving in Sunnydale the next morning.
"Damn, damn, damn," she muttered, the rain coming down harder than ever. She used to enjoy when it rained, welcomed it, even. Now, she cursed it. She gave a small yelp when she tripped over a pair of black boots. Pulling out her stake, she lowered it when she saw who it was.
"You."
"Me. Come on." She let him help her up, and swinging an arm around his shoulder, she made it inside the mansion without seeing anymore vampires.
"Thanks," she replied as he set her down in front of the fireplace. The warmth of the fire stopped her shivering, and slowly began to dry her soaked-through clothes.
"Why were you coming here? ...I saw you coming through the window," he added on seeing her blank stare.
"Just came to pay you a visit...welcoming commitee your idea? Sorry, bad joke," she mumbled after seeing his face fall.
"I remember you from that night a couple of days ago. ...Might've been weeks. Time doesn't really have meaning for me anymore. ...I take it you found the high school?"
"Yep. Hellmouth High's really the place you want to be." He smirked, recalling the times he spent in the library with Buffy. "Actually, I have to warn you about something. I'm Anna, by the way."
"Angel."
"I know."
"Mmm. ...What did you come to warn me about? Or didn't you get the memo? You hate me."
"Do I? That's news to me." She turned to face him, allowing the fire to start drying the back of her shirt.
"You were going to kill me that night."
"You were going to kill Xander," she countered. "Listen. I know you're a vampire. But, as I've been informed, you're also one of the good guys."
"And who told you that? Couldn't have been Xander, since he's president of the 'We Hate Angel' club."
"Treasurer, actually. His leadership skills are less than stellar." Angel managed a small smile.
"You...you remind me of her."
"Because of my fantastic wit? I think it's a Slayer thing."
"How come you didn't stake me already?"
"I thought we went through this already. You're a good guy. Good guys, I don't kill. ...Is that why you saved me? 'Cause you wanted me to off you?"
"Maybe," Angel responded off-handedly. "Maybe I thought you needed help. Even badass Slayers like yourself need saving once in awhile." Anna chuckled.
"Oh, yeah. I'm a real badass, running away like that. Anyway, I better tell you what I have to, before Cats-and-Toast's boys find me-
"You mean Kakistos?" Angel asked sharply.
"Yeah. Him. Goat Guy. Son of a bitch killed Faith -the Slayer-"
"-Who came before you. Yeah, I remember her."
"At least all charges have been dropped on you."
"Didn't know I was a suspect," he muttered, tossing her a sword.
"I...I have absolutely no tact," she muttered to herself wonderingly, standing up, placing most of her weight on her left side, so that her right leg hurt less.
"So, what exactly is this message you have to give me?" Angel asked after a moment of quiet.
"Oh, yeah. Something's haunting you," she replied, fighting an invisible opponent with the sword.
"Know what? I could've told you that myself," he responded miserably, the memory of Buffy's cruelty still fresh in his mind.
"Did you also know that it's not who you think? The thing that's playing you. Because that's what it is. Some demon or something that's screwing you over, trying to get you to give in to the evil. ...Paige, the other Slayer, she had a dream. She saw Buffy. Buffy told her...well, just know that you've got a guardian angel, Angel."
"Buffy," he murmured, recalling the night when something had stopped the Slayers from killing him.
"Not just her. You can think of Paige and myself and your guardians, too, if you want to. Buffy wants us to help you, to protect you."
"She's...?"
"A Higher Power, apparently."
"But -why? I killed her, and she still...why?"
"If I told you that she loves you, would that really be a revelation to you?"
"You don't understand. I'm a monster. I killed Buffy."
"Keep saying that all you want. I don't believe you're a monster anymore than she does, and neither does Paige. I think...do you wanna know what I think?" Angel shrugged his shoulders and she took that as a 'yes'. "I think you're trying to convince yourself. Angel, from what I understand, when you fought Buffy, you weren't you. You didn't have your soul. So here's the thing. I think Angelus is the monster, but not you."
"But he is me! He's within me, just waiting to get out-"
"He may be in you, but that doesn't make him you. I realize, an eighteen-year-old girl who cuts half her classes to save the world doesn't exactly have a lot of insight and stuff, especially when that girl's me. But I know that you're not a bad person, Angel." A few moments of silence, then:
"Couldn't have said it better myself."
"Paige! ...You look like hell," Anna commented. Her friend was soaked and bloody, sporting a nasty gash on her forehead.
"You're not looking any better." Anna's neck was caked with dried blood and her leg was twisted at an odd angle.
"Eh."
"Got jumped by some vamps on the way. Figure they were Ugly Vampire-Goat Guy's minions."
"Oh, she means Cats-and-Toast," Anna clarified for Angel.
"You mean Kakistos."
"Whatever. Once, just once, I want non-weird-sounding names."
"It would be helpful," Paige agreed. "Anyway," she said to Angel, "you take in any of what Anna said?"
"But how do I-?" He was silenced once Anna pulled Buffy's cross necklace from her pocket.
"I found it on her grave, the morning after I had the dream. Tell me you believe us now."
"The-the...whatever, that's been coming to me, it's not really Buffy?"
"Now he gets it."
"But...just so you know, Angel...our opinions don't necessarily reflect those of the Scoobies..." Paige began tentatively.
"You're saying they still don't trust me?"
"We're saying that we haven't told them," Anna replied bluntly. "But we figured you should know that we've got your back."
"How touching. The Slayers have allied with the poor, tortured vampire. Oh, but I see it isn't just any vampire."
"Kakistos," Angel growled, his game face on. At that moment, Anna was truly glad that she and Paige had made peace with the vampire, because she wouldn't want to have to come up against him in a fight.
"Angelus."
"He's not," Anna said forcefully.
"Oh, yes. That's right; you've got a soul," he sneered. "But where was your soul when you killed that Slayer?"
"Stop," Paige demanded.
"You truly are pathetic, Angelus. A charity case, for Slayers, no less."
"And you're just a little too much of a chatterbox for my taste." Paige threw her stake with accurate precision, and it hit him square in the heart.
"Asshole," Anna muttered, waiting for him to dust. Except he didn't. Kakistos pulled the stake out and it dropped to the floor with a clatter. "Um, is it too late to take back that 'asshole' comment?"
Oz could hear the sounds of battle, yells in both pain and victory. After Anna and Paige's declaration of support to Angel, Xander had stormed out of the library, and Cordelia had faithfully followed. Oz had to admit that he was also upset that Paige hadn't told them where Anna was headed, nor what she was going to do. But even though they were all upset at being left out, the fact remained that Kakistos was now after the Slayers.
Giles, upon hearing Kakistos' name, went into full research mode. He also went to make a call to the Watcher's Council, to update Anna's Watcher on the what was happening. Willow had been trying to find a spell to use against the ancient vampire, and since Xander and Cordelia had left, that left him to man the walkie-talkie and report what was happening.
Oz winced when he heard one of the Slayers -he wasn't sure which- cry out in pain.
"God! That was my leg, you piece of -oh, thanks, Angel."
"Anytime." Not only until he heard a particularly loud scream did Oz take action.
"Giles!"
The vampires came from all directions, but that's what the Slayers were for, after all. Kakistos, for some reason, seemed intent on going after Angel, so Paige and Anna resigned themselves with taking out his lesser minions.
"You know, when my Watcher explained to me exactly what a Slayer was, I never figured I'd be on sidekick duty," Paige yelled over the noise, staking a vampire.
"You've gotta admit, though, Angel's more than a match for Kakistos." Angel was matching Kakistos blow for blow, and Anna was amazed at his fighting skills. It was as though he could anticipate his opponent's every move.
"Yeah, well, he has over two centuries of fighting experience. You and I put together have less than a year."
"Well, when you say it like that..." Anna swung the sword in an arc and decapitated her last vampire. "Paige, catch!" She tossed the sword and the other Slayer caught it expertly and decapitated the last vampire in a single movement. Anna saw movement out of the corner of her eye. "Paige, move!" But it was too late. Kakistos fell near her, and seeing the Slayer was closest to him, began to resume his battle with her, instead. He kicked at her leg, and Anna heard bone crunch.
"God!" Paige shrieked. "That was my leg, you piece of- oh, thanks, Angel." Angel had flipped Kakistos away from her.
"Anytime." With the thought of Faith in her mind, Anna did a roundhouse that sent Kakistos into Angel's fireplace.
"I hope he burns in Hell," she said quietly.
"Well," Paige quipped, "at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that he burned in Angel's fireplace."
"Oh...um, sorry about all this, by the way." Angel's place was now completely trashed.
"It's alright. I've seen it in worse conditions."
"Well, how would you feel about relocating for a little while?" Paige asked, glancing at Anna from time to time. "That is, if you don't mind."
"Fine with me," she said, raising her hands.
"What are you guys talking about?" Angel looked from one Slayer to the other.
"Whatever's messing with your mind...I highly doubt it was that oaf Kakistos," Anna sniffed, and Angel managed a small smile because she'd actually gotten the name right.
"So that means it's still around," Paige continued. "I really don't think it's safe for you to be by yourself, especially here, of all places.
"So how 'bout you come crash at our place? Ms. French, my Watcher, she had to go to England for something or other, so we have the apartment to ourselves. If you want to come...can we rewind that last little bit and ignore how much it sounded like a come-on?" Anna asked meekly, blushing slightly. Paige shook her head, grinning.
"Point is, we can make sure you're not heading off to the land of the crazies again. And if you try anything-"
"Perfect gentleman," Angel replied, both of his hands up.
"I guess that means we got ourselves a new roommate."
"Chains? You didn't mention chains," Angel said nervously, eyeing the manacles bolted to the walls.
"Oh, that's just to keep you restrained if you decide to go all homicidal on us," Anna chirped pleasantly.
"Then why are you shackling me now?"
"It's just to generally keep you restrained," Paige offered, closing the lock on the one around his leg.
"Am I always going to chained up like this? Because if I am-"
"No, you won't be," Paige assured him. "But as cool as you seem, Angel, we really can't afford to take risks. When both of us are around, then cool. But when we're not-"
"I get chained up?"
"Fast learner," Anna quipped, snapping the locks on his left arm. "Ooh, doorbell." She left to go answer it.
"These things feel kind of uncomfortable."
"Hey, be glad we let you have the long chains. You can move around a lot more with those-" She stopped talking, seeing Anna return, clearly upset, with Xander in tow.
"He wants to talk to Angel by himself," she explained. Paige frowned.
"Listen. We don't have time for vendettas, okay? Something's-"
"Messing with Deadboy's mind? Yeah, I know. We heard your little conversation. I just...there are just some things I wanted to tell Angel. No weapons, I promise," Xander said. Both Slayers eyed him, then looked at each other.
"Okay, fine. We'll be in the kitchen." Xander nodded, then the two left, closing the door behind them. The dark-haired teen took a deep breath before beginning to speak.
"I -well, we, all of us, we heard the conversation you and Paige and Anna had, before Kakistos came in. Paige and Anna have walkie-talkies, and I think Anna left hers on...anyway, I heard what you guys said, and there are some things that I understand now. Some things that I wouldn't let myself understand, because if I did, then there'd be nothing I could do about what...happened to her. But the point is, I get it now. You may look like him, you may share his memories and all that crap, but you're not the bastard that killed my friend. And...oh, crap. I should've done this on the phone. Apologizing's easier that way." Angel smiled a small smile.
"Xander...it's okay."
"No, no, I gotta say this...okay: I'm s-sorry for blaming you about Buffy's death. As much as I hate you -and I still really hate you- I know that you loved her, and you wouldn't hurt her. Oh, this whole you-Angelus thing is confusing."
"You're telling me."
"But if for some reason you get a happy again and you turn back into Angelus," Xander added, opening the door, "I will kill you."
"Good to know," Angel replied as the door closed with a loud thud.
"...So, in short, I'm sorry." He looked sheepishly at the Slayers. "Since Buffy died...I think a part of me died, too. I had all this anger and hate inside me. But when you said you had that dream...and then with the cross...anyway, you guys were right about Angel, and I figure I owed you an apology."
"It's cool," Anna assured him.
"You probably think I'm a big jerk. I mean, I haven't exactly been welcoming since you got here, neither of you."
"Not a big jerk. Maybe a little one."
"I can handle that. ...But you, Anna-"
"What'd I do?"
"You did get all of us in detention for the rest of our young adult lives."
"Oh, psh. That. I'll fix that on Monday."
"And may I ask how?"
"It involves switching my schedules for this semester and the next one," she smiled. "I'd give you more details, but I'm wiped. I'm going to bed." She high-fived Xander goodbye.
"So," Paige asked, "are you tired?"
"Not really."
"How 'bout you call Cordy and the rest of them and we can watch movies till dawn, or something? Ms. French left us with satellite."
"Point me to your phone," Xander said eagerly, his eyes lighting up.
Anna yawned and finished blow-drying her hair. No matter how many times she had scrubbed, she couldn't get the scent of wet cemetery out of her hair. Feeling utterly exhausted, she couldn't wait to get under the covers of her bed. The only problem was, there was somebody in front of it, blocking her path.
"I gotta say, the Watcher's Council definitely didn't spring for a place this nice for me. Well, in retrospect, I guess you must've been a better Slayer than I was. I mean, you lasted more than two days in Sunnydale, so I guess you're entitled to some benefits." Anna opened her mouth, then closed it again. "I heard you killed Kakistos," she continued, her voice husky and low. "Good on you. Hope you tortured him a little. I mean, the bastard did rip me limb from limb."
Anna was silent for a moment, then gave a little yelp. She turned on her heels and bolted down the stairs. Everyone was watching a movie in front of the big-screen television. Xander and Cordelia and Willow and Oz were on the large couch, while Paige and and unchained Angel sat on the floor in front of them.
"Anna!" Paige called, looking up. "Though you were going to bed?"
"I-I was, but..." She looked at each of them. "What would you say if I told you there was a dead Slayer in my room?"
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
