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The Watcher's Secret	By : falasta Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > Het - Male/Female > Angel(us)/Buffy > Angel(us)/Buffy Views: 4246 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-The Watcher's Secret
- 1
�Prologue

The dust settled comfortably among the books
in the Library at Hemery High in Los
Angeles was rarely disturbed.� The
books it surrounded themselves were even more settled, even more ancient.�
Some, extraordinarily old, were written in languages and created by races now
long extinct.� They had spent their lives shut up in dark vaults, only occasionally
touched, brought out and read by researchers nearly as ancient and dried out as
the books themselves.
But lately the dust had begun to be
disturbed in a most unaccustomed way.� Adolescent fingers had pried open the
volume, hot tea splattered on the pages, and the library itself began to have
something of freshness about it.� But today no hint of that newness was
present.� The elegant wooden furniture contained two Englishman looking a
perfectly matched to the environment as they could be.� But something else,
something so vague it could hardly be called present at all, was
drifting through the air and hiding in the stacks.� The two men below were completely
oblivious to the sinister presence, except that they felt an unaccountable
chill for the sunny Los Angeles day.
�You have been seeing signs then, I assume?�
Rupert Giles glanced up from his cup of
tea.� �What signs?�
Quentin Travers set his own cup aside and
looked indulgently at his former prot�g�.� It was no secret that Rupert Giles
had been placed in California as a sort of exile from the rest of the
Watcher�s council, and that he had been deemed most appropriate to deal with
the most untraditional slayer that had been left orphaned in Los Angeles.�
But Travers knew that however radical and quietly rebellious Giles could be, he
had never disobeyed a direct injunction from the Watcher�s council.�
�Come Giles, there is no need to pretend
that you don�t know what I am referring to.� We at the Council have been
tracking your Buffy Summers since she was called.� Well, at least after Merrick
deigned to inform us of her existence.� I believe it may have been months after
she was actually called.�
�Buffy does not know how long she was the
slayer before Merrick found her,� Giles replied tranquilly.� �But I
have�had�high respect for Augustinus Merrick.�
Quentin rolled his eyes, ever so slightly,
and gave a quiet snort.� �After abandoning the council?� His mother was a
dangerous radical, and half insane into the bargain.� She was shut up as a
lunatic when Merrick himself was only fifteen, and he followed her directly
into the same madness.� By the time he did leave, he was convinced that he was
actually the reincarnation of all the Watchers of all the slayers for the last
four millennia and raving about finding the lost Chosen One.�� Quentin cleared
his throat and went on.� �But I�ll ask my question again, Rupert.� What signs
have you noticed?�
Giles wished he was anywhere but here.�
While in exile in California he had longed for England, but now found himself,
for the first time in years, wanting to be away from a library.� With a
resigned sigh he picked his teacup back up.� �Buffy has been rather�listless�of
late.� She hasn�t stopped patrolling, and hasn�t mentioned anything to me,
otherwise.� I can honestly say, Quentin, that I see no need for Council
interference.�
Quentin leaned forward, his voice how but
still patient.� �We know Miss Summers is the One, Rupert.� There is no question
of that.� We are here to make sure that all goes smoothly, and safely, for the
slayer.
The teacup in Giles hands barely avoided
being crushed as Giles looked up at his mentor with a slow building bitterness
in his eyes.� �Smoothly?� Safely?� Do you have any idea what you are talking
about?� What Buffy must . . . �
Quentin raised an eyebrow.� �Calmly,
Rupert.� You know that this has been done for thousands of years.� Your slayer
will not be permanently harmed in any way.
The other Watcher stood up stiffly.� �Buffy
is in my care, Quentin, and I would appreciate if the council were to recognize
my own responsibility and jurisdiction in this matter.� I can assure you, I
will guard Buffy with my life.� Good day, Quentin.�
With an amused sigh the older man heaved
himself to his feet.� Quentin Travers really was fond of Rupert Giles�Giles
reminded him of himself when he was young�but he was impossibly subjective when
it came to his slayer, Buffy.� �The council will remain here, Rupert, out of
the way.� We will merely monitor the situation for now.�� Giving Giles an
amused glance, he left.
Giles nodded curtly.� There wasn�t anything
he could do about it; the council had ultimate power in these matters.� He
could only hope to protect Buffy as much as was in his power.

Buffy was headed from the girl�s room back
to�yuck�history, when she spied a small red headed figure crouched next to the
double doors to the Library, peering in through the crack between the door and
the wall.� Unable to help herself, Buffy closed in with her best slayer
stealthiness and poked her friend in the back.
The figure gave a �meep!� and an impressive
jump.� �Buffy!� It�s not nice to sneak up and scare your best friends!�
Buffy grinned and then tried to see inside
the library through the tiny opening.� �What are you doing, Will?� Can�t we go
in?�
Willow
gave a guilty smirk.� �Um, I was just about to go in, when I through the window
that Giles was in there with someone�� Buffy peered into the room and indeed
saw Giles and another strange tweedy man standing up and talking.� �So I�ah��
Buffy looked up and rolled her eyes.�
�Listened in at the door?�
Willow
nodded brightly.� But before they could get back to spying the doors opened,
nearly squashing them against the wall.� It was the older man, and he went
straight for the exit and left the school.
A few moments later Giles came out, looking
unhappy, and immediately descried the girls.
�Buffy, Willow.� How nice!�
Buffy and Willow looked incredulously at
each other as Giles took a long breath of the fresh air that came in through
the open window and flashed them a wide smile.� �Ah, Southern California weather.� How lovely�.�

Shoving desperately she managed to catch his
knee and the vampire toppled over.� Without thinking, and for the first time in
her life, she ran away from a fight.� There was nothing in her mind but pure,
mind numbing terror.� Her body felt heavy and drowsy, but she finally reached
her� house, and without pause swung herself into the branches of her bedroom tree.�
She could hear he angry snarls of the vampires below as she frantically
scrabbled to the roof and finally through her window.
Once inside, she curled up on the carpet
where she had landed, her breath coming in short gasps, and her body shaking
all over.� What the hell had happened back there?� One moment everything was
normal, and then . . . that gripping agony.� Buffy, like all slayers, felt
cramping pains when vampires were near, but this was unlike anything she had
ever felt.� And she still felt almost sick.
Resolving to talk to Giles in the morning,
she crawled into her bed and tried to fall asleep.� All night she dreamed of
being caught in quicksand with vampires and demons of all sorts closing in
around her.� Desperately she cried out for Giles to save her, but he only
looked at her in his strict, English, tweedy way, and then turned his back on
her and disappeared.� And just before she was about to be swallowed, staring in
shock where Giles had just left, she woke up with a start.
Can�t die in dreams, and all that, she thought.� What is going on?

~
The Watchers' Secret ~

�Giles, I need to know what�s happening.�
�Buffy, I�m sure you�re just feeling a
little under the weather.� No doubt you�ll feel fine in a day or two.�
Buffy grabbed his arm and dragged him to the
side of the hall.� ��Giles, something�s wrong.� Really wrong.� Last night�it
was like all my strength just disappeared.� Like it was drained out of me
somehow.� It happened in a flash.� Can�t you research it?�
Clearing his throat, Giles glanced away from
her, but in that instant Buffy had seen a flicker of something like guilt flash
across his face.
�You know!� she hissed, staring at him
incredulously.� �You know, and you never said a word!�
�Buffy,� Giles raised his hand in warning a
gestured to the library.� He made to touch her shoulder but she flinched away
harshly, looking at him with a look of such shock and betrayal.� He pushed down
the sadness that had welled up in him and followed her into the library.
He busied himself pouring a cup of tea as he
tried to sort out exactly how he was going to explain this to her.� Finally,
the cups full, he took a breath for courage and turned around to face his
charge.
�Buffy,� he began, looking so shamefaced
that she couldn�t help but feel most of her anger melt away.� �Buffy, I�m so
sorry.�
Giles motioned for Buffy to sit down.
"I can explain this situation to you,
Buffy, but it is a complex and rather�well, simply put, I was hoping I would
never have to�"
"It�s okay, Giles.� Buffy leaned forward
in her chair. �Just tell me why I�m losing my power!�
�I will. But you must let me finish.� Giles
closed his eyes, leaning over the table for a moment. Then he took a breath,
and began:
�Slayers and vampires have been deadly
enemies since the beginning of time. The slayer has always been a girl, chosen
a few years after she begins to menstruate. The slayer has strength and
enhanced coordination, generally somewhat greater than most vampires. Of
course, it depends on the slayer. Every so often comes a slayer more powerful
than the others, one whom only a master vampire could hope to beat.�
At this point Giles paused, cleared his
throat, and took a long draught of tea. Buffy sniffed and frowned at a scratch
on her hand. She looked up when he didn�t continue.
�So, what about those super-slayers?�
�They are not necessarily �super-slayers�,
as you call them.� Giles rubbed his forehead. �Their power is more subtle. They
occur once every century, at a random time. And it is on these girls that the
entire race of Slayers depends.
�Slayers are not connected genetically�their
power does not go through families or children�except in one instance. The
first child born to one slayer in each century will become a slayer the moment
her mother dies, even if the girl is a child or an infant.
�But these slayers cannot bear children
fathered by a mortal man. The only being that is able to impregnate these
slayers is a vampire Master.�
Buffy, who had bean leaning forward and then
back again throughout this little speech felt a tiny knot of horror clench at
her heart. She had an inkling of where her Watcher was going with this, and
wasn�t sure she wanted to hear the rest.
�For the last three thousand years the
vampires have come from the Order of Aurelius, which is the most powerful clan
in the demon world. The Master is the most recent head of this order��
Giles broke off as Buffy leapt out of her seat.
�You had better not being saying what I
think you�re saying,� Buffy spat out, a colder look on her face than the
watcher had ever seen. �Are you�are you implying I might have to sleep
with a vampire. With the Master?� Her face twisted in
revulsion even as she said the words.
Giles stood up immediately as she made to
run away from him. �Buffy,� he said firmly. �Buffy, I am not saying
you need to have, ah, relations of any sort with the Master.� His own gut
twisted at the thought. �You need to sit down until I have explained
everything. Please.�
Buffy looked over at him, and his heart sank
as he saw the look of wariness and distrust on her face. However, she sat
back down in the chair and looked emotionlessly at him. �Well?�
Giles took a breath. �I say the Master
is the head of the Order of Aurelius, but that does not necessarily make him
the appropriate,� Giles cleared his throat and glanced away a little, �Ah,
sire, for the next slayer. Since the eighteenth century there has been
the same one vampire, the Master Angelus, the demon with the face of an angel.�
Buffy made no interruption but an
inscrutable expression crossed her face.
�Angelus has been know for more than two
centuries as the Scourge of Europe, and was considered one of the most vicious
demons to walk the earth the last three hundred years.� He looked to
Buffy, whose eyebrows had raised at this pronouncement.
Giles continued. �In 1798 the Slayer
came from Norway. In 1898 she lived in China, but
was actually later killed by�� Giles abruptly stopped. �And of course, in
1998, we have you.�
Buffy�s expression was definite now.
It was one of deep disgust, and behind it fear. She gave him an angry,
incredulous look, then promptly ran from the room.

Buffy crept noiselessly through the doors of
the library, and quickly ascertained that it was deserted. She had spent
the last three hours running through the streets of Los Feliz nearly to
downtown L.A. before collapsing in utter exhaustion. She sat
on a bench and dully watched the traffic go by until finally boarding a bus and
heading home. Giles she completely refused to face. The idea that
he could propose something so ludicrous, so sacrilegious, confused and
frightened her. But she wasn�t stupid. No matter how much she hated
this idea, Giles obviously had told her for a reason and she planned to find
out more about it.
Without asking her Watcher, of course.
Willow
periodically sneaked into this office to steal Giles� more dangerous books, and
had informed Buffy that he stored all the Watcher�s diaries in this hidden
place as well. It took Buffy 10 seconds to pull down the journals for the
girls Giles had mentioned. She carried them carefully into the stacks and
settled down in a corner to read.

Alexandra has, I believe, at last
accepted her fate. She has spent the last three nights praying to God to
save her soul from what is to befall her, and has made full confession and
penance. She has shown exceptional control of her emotions and is docile
and obedient. Angelus will arrive just after sundown. Preparations
are in place.
Buffy�s blood ran cold as she read the
emotionless words. So was this her fate? To be brainwashed and fed
to a vicious predator?

Indeed we were surprised when the
Scourge appeared to us in place of Nest, who now refuses to leave his
underground lair. The vampire Angelus has only walked the night for sixty
years. This demon must have immense power to overrule the Aurelian
Master. His bearing is gentlemanlike and courteous, although I was able
to perceive the evil behind his eyes. He has the bearing of an
exceptionally handsome man in the prime of life. It chills my heart to
think of giving my darling girl over to this monster.
Buffy bit her lip. Now the watcher
sounded�remorseful? He definitely sounded more like a human being
here. Did Giles think this way? Was this going to be her fate? She
smiled grimly. She�d like to see them try.

The report of my slayer as she keeps
her vigil alone after the Consummation. I need note that my hand trembles
as I write these words, but keep this record to aid the Watchers and their
charges after me. Alexandra went peaceably with the master away from her
home. By her words the vampire took her in a carriage to a large house,
and carried her himself to his inner chamber. As she was powerless
against him, he took her into his bed and forced her throughout the night, awakening
her many times during the subsequent day to do the same. She has, with
great reluctance and shame, revealed he abused her most unnaturally, and
partook of her virgin�s blood as well. My dear wife tends to her, and
Father Luc has heard her confession. She was drained of much of her
blood, but I am certain she will recover to full strength shortly. We
await proof of the conception.
The book dropped to the floor as its reader
leaned over, one hand to her mouth, feeling suddenly ill. The words
seemed to burn through her brain. He forced her throughout the night, abused
her most unnaturally. She leaned against the cool carpet. He
forced her . . . Deep breaths as tears came to her eyes. Please
Giles, please, don�t do this do me. But as sickened as she
felt she had to read the rest; she had to know. Slowly, she picked up the
second volume.

�
* *
Giles stared at the bottle mulishly.
He desperately wanted to get as drunk as hell, but the damned bottle refused to
move itself into his grasp, and he couldn�t reach it from his position on the
floor. That was his place, after all. He had no right to stand in
the presence of his slayer�even if she wasn�t, technically, in the room at the
moment. Sighing, he slumped against the wall. Usually the Cruciamentum
(the Torture, how quaint) was the worst trial of a Watcher. But no, his
vibrant, spirited, compassionate slayer would be forced to lay with her worst
enemy, and to bear a child destined to die young from that union. He
buried his face in his hands. Buffy was just barely seventeen, and
pure. They were always pure. Her first experience would be at a
demon�s hands.
The Watcher wept.

�
* *

Xiaoming ran into the Vampire with
the Angelic Face last night. I feel that I was remiss in not keeping her
inside, but the council has specified that a slayer cannot rely on her power
alone. Nevertheless I feel uneasy having her wander the dangerous night
with her strength.
�I hope you feel guilty, you pompous prig,�
Buffy muttered to the journal. This was the first time this woman had
claimed that the slayer was anything but a machine to be used. She was
morbidly fascinated by the narrative. It was like watching a high speed
wreck in slow motion.

Apparently the vampire took pleasure
in revealing his claim on her. He did not attack her, and left before she
could move a strike against him. Xiaoming actually woke me from sleep to
confront me about his words. As I calmly explained the situation, she
became completely unmanageable, and began shouting at me in her language.
I could pick out only a few words, but the message was clear. She then
disobeyed my orders and left the house.
Buffy liked this slayer. She had
spunk. Maybe she had refused to go through with this idiotic
ritual? But hadn�t Giles said that the next slayer had to come from
her? Maybe this girl had proved him wrong. �You show her girl,� she
murmured under her breath. She turned the page, and then suddenly there
were pictures.
The demon with the face of an Angel,
indeed. The faded sepia colored photograph revealed a man of
exceptionally sculpted features, masculine and imposing, yet beautiful.
His eyes and hair were dark. Buffy found herself mesmerized by his
unnerving stare, before remembering that it was only a picture. She
turned the picture over to look at the others. They were of two women,
both very beautiful. One light haired, looking smug and disturbingly Cordelia-like,
and the other dark haired with a strangely tranquil look on her face.
There was no doubt in the slayer�s mind that both women were vampires.
Darla and Drusilla, was written on the back of each, respectively.
Apparently Angelus had found women to match him both in looks and evil.
She suppressed a shudder, but slipped the picture of Angelus into her coat
pocket, before picking the diary up again.

It has been two days, and the
Consummation time has arrived. I have not seen Angelus, but know he must
be close. He will be driven irrevocably to the slayer, and she will begin
to seek him out as well. Xiaoming has disappeared, and I am nearly
frantic with worry for her.

Xiaoming came home this
morning. She would not speak to me. Angelus came to our house after
sundown and snarled in demon face outside the threshold. I went upstairs
to my charge and found her shaking violently in a corner of the room in her
sleeping garments. Distressed at her condition, I tried to comfort and
calm her, but she continued as if I was not even in the room. The
servants (who knew never to issue invitations) had huddled into a mass in the
main room, listening to the roars of the vampire outside. And while I
stood there, trying to calm them, Xiaoming came downstairs. She was
walking with great reluctance, as if every step pained her, with a look of fear
and longing on her face. She walked slowly but steadily toward the demon,
and then nearly ran across the threshold into the embrace of the vampire.
Angelus attacked her in a flash, and before I could even move, they had
disappeared.
The journal abruptly ended, even though many
blank pages remained. Buffy frowned at it. What had happened to
this watcher? And why did she care? Sure, she seemed to care about
this slayer in the end, but wasn�t she condoning this whole horrible situation
to begin with?
She felt tired: body, mind, and soul.
Once again she pulled the picture of Angelus out of her pocket; the dark eyes
seemed to bore into her. She really hadn�t seen any man that looked
remotely like him before. With a feeling of impending doom, she put the
books back and headed for home.

~
Enter Angel ~
Whistler never said she was beautiful.
Angel kicked back and leaned against the
cold cement with a heavy sigh. The room was nothing more than an
abandoned sewer tunnel that stank to high heaven and teemed with spiders the
rats were afraid of. The vampire didn�t even notice. He had spent
the last ten years living in worse places. At least here he had something
to occupy his mind.
The trip was supposed to be quick and
painless. See whatever this strange little man/demon wanted to show him,
and then go back to being a street rat in New
York. Or maybe stay in L.A.
After all, change was good for the soul. He snorted.
He hadn�t known what a soul was until he saw
Her standing in the sunshine. The little golden girl manifested
everything that was the exact antithesis of his world of darkness and
demons. Life, growth, friends, romance, and beauty�how long had it been
since he had seen a girl, a woman, with any emotion besides lust or fear?
He was mesmerized by this slip of humanity shining so candidly and innocently.
Oh, she was beautiful. She became even
more so with moonlight glinting on her hair, turning it silver, her body
learning to move in graceful, powerful sweeps of death. He watched her
fumble adorably as she learned her craft, watched trancelike in terror, and
only by the most powerful restraint kept himself from coming into her room at
night and crawling into her bed to hold her while she cried herself to sleep.
The actual reason for his arrival in sunny
Los Angeles began to creep forward, but his mind skittered quickly away from
the thought. Not yet, he told himself. He wasn�t quite ready to
deal with that thought yet. The memories of his demon�s worst sins still
sent a shudder of horror and remorse through him. Not to Buffy. He
couldn�t possibly . . .
Shut up! He shook his head rapidly and half
growled. Surely there was some way around this. Standing up
abruptly, he stomped down the tunnel. He had to do something about his
hair.

�
* *
Author�s note: I�ve always wondered who
takes care of Angel�s hair. You can�t tell me that he cuts it himself
without a mirror�someone must have (at least at first) cut and styled it for
him. And since most human barbers and salons are filled with mirrors,
there must be a thriving demon underground for stylists. Heck, if there�s
a karaoke bar for them . . .
�Can I help you?� came a bored voice to his
right. Angel whirled around to face a teenage girl with shocking pink
hair blowing bubblegum the same color with a huge book in front of her, and a
stack of fashion magazines piled on top of it.
�Uh, I need a hair cut?� Angel began
hesitatingly. The girl had blown a bubble nearly as big as her
face. He was morbidly fascinated by it. Would it explode?
Apparently the girl was an expert. The bubble quickly disappeared as she
openly chewed it while staring at him.
�Pretty pricey here,� she remarked. �Sure
you can afford it? We don�t serve tramp vampires, you know.�
�I�m not a tramp,� Angel said
impatiently. �Just because I actually feel sorry for what I�ve done and
don�t treat the populace like the all-you-can-eat bar and enjoy torturing
puppies in my free time��
�Jeez,� the girl interrupted with a roll of
her eyes. �Why are vampires so sensitive? Look, you want a
consultation right now? I�ve got a 2:00 open.�
Angel shut his mouth. �Sure.�
�Right.� The girl swept the fashion
magazines off the tome on the desk, and then erroneously produced a feather
quill and bottle of ink. �Marie had a cancellation. I guess the
client got torched by a mob last week. What�s your name?�
Angel gave his name, and the girl wrote
something down, and then motioned through a purple velvet curtain that hung
behind her.
The world around him was suddenly
blinding. White and soft greens surrounded beautiful furniture and a tinkling
fountain. Before he could protest he had a tall mug of warm blood in his
hand, and was settled on a high backed sofa with a coffee table full of fashion
magazines in front of him. The whole aura was making him nervous.
There wasn�t a mirror in sight. Seeing nothing else to do, he finished
his blood (human, wonderfully warm human blood), and the resulting guilt, and
picked up one of the magazines.
He was trying to decide which style would
make him look the least idiotic when he heard a voice next to him.
�Mr. Angelus?� Angel quickly turned to
look at the demon beaming in front of him. It was a pretty vampire, not
in game face, with blue streaked black hair and a white coat.
�It�s an honor to meet you Sir. I�m
Marie. I could hardly believe it when Tina said she recognized you.
Do you remember Tina? She said she was one of your minions once, back in
the 1880�s. Was maid to some lunatic vampire? She was kind of
shocked to see you. But I can see it�the grunge look, you know?
Sometimes you just have to go back to those demon roots. But looking for
a change now, right? I�m thinking a modern but classic look for
you. Something to set off those cheekbones . . .�
Angel was far too confused by the demon�s
endless chatter to register exactly what was happening. Before he could
reply to any of her questions he was covered with a sheet and having warm water
sprayed over his scalp. Pushing disturbing thoughts out of his mind he
resolved then to relax and enjoy the experience.

* * *

Angel came out washed, scrubbed, and gelled
within an inch of his life. Marie had taken away his clothes and insisted
on providing him with at least one decent outfit. His next stop was a
clothing store. He had seen a leather jacket that had piqued his interest
in a window just now this way . . .
He heard something. From the alley a
few steps ahead came muffled growls and the sound of flesh hitting flesh.
His spine tingled, and he knew the vampire slayer was near. Two death
screams later he carefully looked around the corner into the alley.
Right into the eyes of Buffy Summers.
Buffy was nearly dead on her feet by the
time she had finally finished dusting the last two vampires. It was
almost four in the morning and she had been hunting all night. The
beautiful, proud face of the demon Angelus refused to leave her head. The
tales of the ravished slayers played in her mind over and over again.
There had been plenty of game that night and she slew until even her slayer
strength gave out.
And then she saw the eyes.
There was do doubt who was staring
transfixed at her. The hair was shorter, but the finely cut features,
straight nose, high cheekbones and deep eyes were the same.
Buffy was only thrown for a moment.
She fixed him with a glare and took a defensive stance. �Who are you?�
The vampire held up his hands in an attitude
of surrender. �I�m not here to hurt you,� he said in a low voice.
Buffy didn�t move. �You�re a vampire.�
Angel dropped his hands. �I�m not what
you think.� He took a step forward and his mouth quirked a bit. �It
took you a *little* longer than it should have to take out those vampires, you
know. Honestly, I�d heard so much about you��
�Get back!� Buffy spat. �I know who
you are. You�re Angelus, the skirt�search�something of Europe��
�Scourge� Angel said helpfully.
�Whatever,� Buffy scowled, momentarily
thrown off. �Anyway, you�re evil. I�ve real all about you.
You�re evil and bad . . . and . . . . stop staring at me!�
Buffy was tired, irritated, and extremely
annoyed that this seemingly monstrous demon looked so delicious and wasn�t
snarling and attacking her like he was supposed to.
�Sorry,� said Angel, not looking repentant
at all.
Buffy was feeling rather confused. She
held her stake loosely in her hand, wondering what to do.
Angel stepped forward, his eyes boring into
hers. �I was Angelus,� he said quietly. �Everything you know about
me is probably true.� He stopped advancing, and stood in front of her.
�So you�re evil.� she said, trying to be
flippant. �Is there a point here?�
�I have a soul,� he said, even more
softly. �I was sent here to help you.�
A harsh noise broke the silence and Buffy
turned sharply toward it. Only a cat struggling out of an overturned
trash can. When she had whirled back around the alley was empty.

* * *

~
Twinkie�s Revenge ~
�Buffy?�
The slayer blinked, and shook her head
slightly as Willow�s concerned wake came into focus. �What?�
Willow peered into her friends face. �Are
you okay? Xander and Cordelia just went at each other�s throats right
there��the redhead pointed to about ten feet away where the pair looked to be
literally strangling each other. An interested crowd was gathering
already.
�Oh God,� Buffy muttered as she ran
over. �Xander!�
�It was nothing but hormonal insanity Xander
Harris!� came Cordelia�s angry shrieks. �Disgusting, pathetic,
loser! I can�t believe I ever even looked at you!�
�Yeah, and its not like I got a lot out of
it, Miss Let�s-Kiss-With-the-Lights-Off!�
�Hey!� someone yelled. �Snyder!
You guys are in for it!�
Both Xander and Cordelia�s faces immediately
registered panic; Buffy quickly grabbed her friends arm and dragged him of,
Willow following.
�Geez Xander,� Buffy hissed. �What is
it with you two? Can�t you just leave her alone?�
Xander rolled his eyes. �Look, maybe
we shouldn�t have gotten physical, but I can�t stand the girl! It�s like
every time I look at her I have this overwhelming urge to either rip her hair
out or kiss her senseless. Since I can�t do one....� he trailed off.
Buffy rolled her eyes and Willow gave a tiny
sigh. She knew she couldn�t compete with Cordelia Chase. Her eyes
wandered across the quad to a lone guitarist picking at the strings. Her
face began to perk up a little. But she turned back to her friend. Xander
had spotted Snyder and made tracks for the snack machine.
�So how did you know who he was, anyway?�
Willow flopped down on the grass and Buffy landed beside her.
�I stole some of Giles old Watcher diaries,�
�Buffy!� Willow grinned. �That�s an
abuse of confidential information.�
Buffy grinned back. �That�s what you
get for telling me Willow�now we can both steal things from Giles. It�s
only fair! Anyway there was a picture of him.� Buffy leaned heavily
against the trunk of the tree behind her. �God, Willow, if you could just
see him. He�s so�just�gorgeous. I�ve never in my life seen a
guy so incredibly good looking. Except that he was *really*
annoying. He walked in and started ragging on my slaying.�
�And he said he had a soul?�
�I don�t know�I guess so.�
Willow leaned her head on her hand, a little
wrinkle on her forehead. �Do vampires have souls?�
Buffy looked down at her coffee. �I
don�t know,� she said again softly. �I mean, he didn�t try to attack me
or anything.� Buffy privately thought that was a good thing. She
was barely conscious today and had been utterly exhausted last night.
�We should ask Giles,� Willow was saying.
�Ask Giles what?� Both girls looked up
to see Xander, who promptly dropped down between them. �For you, my lady,�
he said to Buffy, �I got this just for you.� He was holding a Twinkie.
�Um, thanks Xander.� Buffy took the Twinkie
and hastily hid it in her backpack. �I�ll save it for later.�
�Cool,� Xander said happily. �So, what�s
up with Giles? Is there some new nasty out there for you to slay?
Ooh, can we have pizza afterwards? Here, Will.�
Willow took the half ho-ho her friend
offered her, and Buffy shot her a sympathetic glance.

�
Buffy woke up the next morning feeling like
she had had an extremely long and not particularly nice dream.� Her lapse of
strength, Giles� completely ridiculous story, that vampire in the alley�it
seemed impossible to focus on vampires and darkness when the sunshine was
streaming in so brightly through the window.� Buffy yawned and blinked at the sunlight,
then gave contented sign as she proceeded to burrow back under the covers.
She bolted upright when she heard screaming
outside her door.� She was struggling to disentangle herself from the covers
when she saw who it was.� �Cordelia?�
The brunette burst into the room and planted
herself directly into front of Buffy�s bed.� Buffy could see her mother
hovering in the doorway.
�This is it!� Cordy shrieked, placing her
hands on her hips.� �It�s all your fault.� It�s always your fault.� Whenever
anything weird happens it only because I�m hanging around with you freaks.�
�Cordelia��
Cordelia stabbed her finger towards Buffy.�
�You fix it.� I don�t care what it is, I don�t care what you do with it, just
get rid of it.�
�Get rid of what?�
The other girl glared at her.� �The
thing�that demony�ghosty�witchy�whatever thing in my closet.� And you�d better
do it now because��
�God, Cordelia.�� Buffy finally managed to
throw off the covers and stalked over to the taller girl.� �Can you at least
stop screaming long enough to tell me what�s wrong?�
Cordelia glared daggers back at her for a
moment, and then snorted.� �All I know is, one moment I�m in my closet trying
to decide whether to where my Jimmy Choo stilettos or the Manolo Blahniks, and
the next there�s this�thing�next to me.�
At the following silence Buffy leaned
forward and looked at Cordy expectantly.� �What kind of�thing?�
Cordelia pressed her lips together and
looked away for a moment.� It struck Buffy that Cordelia actually looked truly
frightened.� She remembered that she had resolved to try and be understanding
of Cordy�s situation.� She moved to the bed and sat down.� �Hey,� she said
softly, �I�ll figure out what it is.� Did you see what it looked like?��
Sitting next to her, Cordelia looked down at
her hands for a moment.� �I don�t know what it was,� she said quietly.� �I was
just turning around to grab my necklace when I saw�something�right there.� I
thought it was a person, maybe, but then it was gone.�
�It disappeared?�
�I don�t know.� It was just gone.�� Cordelia
looked up at her and Buffy realized that Cordy wasn�t just scared, she was
terrified.
�Cordy, it�s going to be okay,� she
whispered, giving the girl�s hand a squeeze.� �Slayer girl to the rescue,
right?�� Cordelia gave her a shaky smile.
�Buffy!�� Both girls turned to see Buffy�s
mother in the doorway.� �Cordelia, your mother�s on the phone.� She wants to
know if you�re�alive�were her words.� Something about you screaming and running
out of the house?�
- 1
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The Watcher's Secret