“Angel! Hi!” The words were said cheerfully, Willow’s pleasure at seeing
him clear. Angelus had to bite his lip in order to from laughing. This was
going to be too easy... like taking candy from a baby. Hmmm. That was
something he hadn’t tried yet. Of course, he had to wait; he had to take
care of the others before he went after Willow. Oh, yes, he had plans for
the little redhead. She would be, once and for all, his ultimate creation.

“Hello, Willow,” he said smoothly. “I didn’t expect you to be here,” he
told her as he stepped into Giles’s apartment.

“Well, if you had come just a few seconds later, I wouldn’t have been here,”
she told him with a smile. “I was just about to head to the magic shop for
supplies. Are you here to see Giles?”

“Actually, I am. I... Cordelia had a vision,” he lied. “It involves
Sunnydale, so I got here as quickly as I could.”

“Oh. Um, well, Giles isn’t here right now. Buffy and Riley are, though.
You do know about Riley, don’t you?” she asked a bit apprehensively.

Angelus tried to look all angsty and broody at the mention of Buffy’s new
boytoy, even though he really wanted to cheer. Kill the boyfriend, then
kill the Slayer. It was almost as good as his original plan to kill the
Watcher first, then go after Buffy.

“Yes, I know about Riley,” Angelus said in what he hoped was a sad voice.
Willow patted his arm consolingly, a sure sign that he was pulling off his
little acting bit. No, he hadn’t lost it.

“Do you want me to stay?” she asked, thinking that her presence could
possibly ease the tension that was sure to be in the room.

“No!” Angelus said just a little too forcefully. He wasn’t ready for her
yet. She was to be the last, which meant she couldn’t be around when he
killed the first. Well, the first in Sunnydale, he amended silently as he
thought of the three bodies he had left in the offices of Angel
Investigations. “I mean, no, that won’t be necessary. You should go... get
what you need. We’ll need you later, though.”

“Okay,” Willow replied in her usual cheerful manner before stepping out of
the apartment. “It’s nice to see you, though... even if it is a business
thing,” she told him as she walked away.

Smiling, Angelus watched her as she left before stepping fully into the
apartment. Apparently, Buffy had left the main room for a moment, leaving
her boyfriend alone. The vampire’s smiled widened at the unexpected
opportunity to leave the blonde Slayer a quick present. He’d kill the boy,
then her. He’d wasted time before, drawing out the mental games with the
Slayer... and what had he gotten out of it? A trip to hell and his soul
back. No, this time, he was going to end the game quickly, then move on to
what he really wanted.

Willow. He remembered quite clearly the demonic version of the girl from
the year before. Oh, yes, she would make a great eternal companion.

“Can I help you? Who are you?”

Angelus jerked out of his thoughts quickly at the sound of Riley’s voice.
The young man was currently standing at the edge of the couch. Smiling in
what he hoped was a placating manner, Angelus stepped nearer to the young
man. “I’m Angel... a friend of Buffy and Willow’s,” he offered with a
smile.

“You are?”

“Quite a... close friend, actually. Are you sure they haven’t mentioned
me?”

“Yes, I am,” Riley replied as he began to edge away from the stranger.
There was something about him that didn’t seem right. Something...
sinister.

“What a pity,” Angelus murmured before grabbing Riley, crossing his arm over
the young man’s throat and clamping his hand over Riley’s mouth, effectively
cutting off the blonde man’s scream. “You really should know who’s killing
you,” he said before sinking his fangs into Riley’s throat.

Shaking his head in disgust, he dropped the young man’s corpse to the floor.
“Uptight blondes. They just don’t taste right,” he lamented.

“Riley, is someone in there-” Buffy let out a strangled scream and dropped
the tray of drinks and snacks she was carrying as she saw the body of her
boyfriend. Her eyes flashed up to Angelus - still in game face - her
features a mask of shock.

“Hello, lover,” the vampire purred. “It’s been a long time. The last time
I saw you... let’s see. I believe you were about to kill me. This time,
things are going to be bit different.”

“Angelus,” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks and her voice
shaking.

“Right on the first try. I’m impressed. Maybe your stupidity is just an
act,” he said before striking out.

Buffy tried to ward him off, flailing wildly as sobs wracked her tiny body.
Riley. He had killed Riley.

And how had Angelus come back anyway?

Angelus slapped away Buffy’s almost half-hearted attempts at fighting him,
more than a little disappointed at how easily he was able to defeat her.
Within minutes, he had the blonde girl against the wall, his hand on her
throat. Tears were still streaming down her face, and her eyes were trained
on Riley’s body. Disgusted, Angelus decided that there was no purpose in
drawing this out. This weakling was not the Buffy he had known.
Apparently, she had really loved Riley. Oh, well. She’d be joining him
momentarily. Angelus twined his hand in Buffy’s hair, jerking her head back
and forcing her to look at him.

“Bye, bye, lover,” he whispered before using the leverage he had to twist
her neck, breaking it and killing her. Sighing, he stepped away from her,
letting her body crumple to the floor.

“That wasn’t nearly as much fun as I thought it would be.”

The sound of someone approaching had Angelus leaping for the door as it
opened, hiding behind it.

“Buffy, I’m- Oh, my God,” the British voice breathed.

Laughing cheerfully, Angelus slammed the door shut as he flung Giles into
the room, sending the man flying over the couch. “Hello, Rupert,” he said
with a grin, making sure to show plenty of fang. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Angelus. You... what... oh, God, Buffy,” the former Watcher stuttered, as
his gaze went back to the fallen Slayer. Her neck was turned at an almost
obscene angle, and the girl was clearly dead. He turned back to the
vampire, hatred burning in his eyes.

“Finally. It looks like someone’s actually going to fight. The Slayer and
her boyfriend... well, I didn’t even work up an appetite,” he told the man
conspiratorially.

“You bastard,” Giles spit out, lunging for the object of his anger. Angelus
sidestepped him easily, grabbing his arm as he passed and using the other
man’s own momentum to throw him into the wall. Sighing, he stepped over to
the fallen Englishman and kneeled down next to him.

“You know, you people really are making this far too easy. I should have
just done this two years ago. Then there would have been no hell, no
soul... I could have been happy. But no, I had to draw things out, play my
games. Well, learn from your mistakes, I always say,” he said to Giles,
ducking as the man threw a punch. “Uh-uh-uh. That is not nice. You’ll
have to be punished,” he said with a grin before flipping Giles over and
twisting his arm brutally behind him. He sighed happily at the sound of
bones breaking, then glanced down at the man.

Giles was unconscious.

“You people,” Angelus said with an annoyed shake of his head before placing
his hands around Giles’s throat and squeezing harshly until the man stopped
breathing. “You’re just no fun anymore.”

Wiping his hands on his pants, he stood, looking around at his three latest
victims for a moment before heading towards the door.

“Nothing like making up for lost time. I wonder if Xander will scream...”

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow walked down the street, a bit concerned. She was glad Angel was
back, but she was worried about Cordelia’s vision. She knew enough to
realize that if the Powers That Be were sending Angel, then it had to be
bad.

But that didn’t mean that they weren’t going to win. They always did.

They had to.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

“Hey, Deadboy, what are you doing here?”

Angelus had to fight a smirk at Xander’s opening line. Some things just
never changed.

Fortunately, he wasn’t one of them.

“It’s... it’s Buffy. Cordelia had a vision, and Buffy’s in danger,” Angelus
improvised, forcing himself to sound worried about the blonde Slayer. “I...
I can’t find her, and I need your help. Can I come in?”

Xander seemed to contemplate that for a moment, then finally nodded. “Come
on in,” he said as he turned and went back into the house.

He missed the grin that lit Angelus’s face as the vampire crossed the
threshold.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow hummed softly as she headed for Giles’s apartment, her bag of
supplies swinging back and forth.

“Hey, guys!” she called cheerfully as she opened the door. “I’m... back.”

Her back dropped to the floor as Willow fell to her knees, already in tears.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Spike paced restlessly, trying to figure out what was going on. He felt...
strange. Oddly uncomfortable, as if something didn’t fit right. Something
was just a bit... off. Something was wrong. He hadn’t felt this way
since...

Oh, no.

Spike ran out of the crypt, his duster billowing out behind him.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Xander had definitely screamed. And his little girlfriend? Quite the
screamer herself. She might have been fun to keep around, but she had tried
to stake him with a two-by-four. That, of course, couldn’t be left
unpunished, so he had tied her up and forced her to watch Xander’s violent
death, then went to work on the girl.

That had certainly been fun.

Whistling to himself, Angelus made his way back to the apartment, stopping
when he heard a muffled sound. Crying. Smiling, the vampire stepped
closer, looking in the apartment through the open door.

Willow had returned. And now it was time to make her his.

“Hello, little one,” he said silkily as he stepped into the room.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Spike ran as quickly as he could, trying to make it to Giles’s before his
sire did. He had gone to the girls’ dorm first, trying to warn Willow and
Buffy that something was wrong, but they hadn’t been there. Then, he had
gone to Xander’s.

Xander.

The boy had been beaten to death, beaten so badly that Spike had nearly
gagged at the sight. The girl, the former demon, had quite obviously been
tortured, and it had appeared that Angelus had used the chain saw.

And now he would be after the others: Giles, Buffy... Willow.

Willow.

With renewed strength, Spike ran even faster.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow leapt to her feet, terror evident on her face. “Angelus,” she hissed
out.

“In the flesh. Did you miss me?”

“You bastard. You killed Buffy... and Giles... and Riley,” she said in a
trembling voice, her eyes on the door.

“And a few others,” the vampire replied with a smirk. “And now I’m going to
kill you. You just won’t stay that way,” he told her as he stepped closer
to her... and stumbled forward as a heavy book smacked him in the back of
the head. “What the...?”

Willow didn’t waste time trying to form a response, instead diving past the
vampire, thankful she’d had enough strength to float the book at him and
desperate to stay alive. She couldn’t let him turn her into a killer. She
couldn’t let him win.

Angelus lunged for the redhead, grabbing her ankle and pulling her down as
she went for the door. He cursed and let go as she kicked him in the face
with her other foot and scrambled to her feet. He hadn’t expected Willow to
be the fighter of the group.

The vampire snarled as he got to his feet and grabbed her hair, flinging her
headfirst into the wall next to the door. Willow winced as she made
contact, then used her momentum to push herself out of the apartment,
falling to her knees just outside. Crying and cursing, she stumbled to her
feet, only to be grabbed from behind.

“Going so soon?” Angelus asked, leaning in to sniff her neck. She shuddered
as she felt his tongue sweep down the length of her throat. “Delicious,” he
told her huskily. “Did you know I can actually taste your fear?”

“Can you taste my rage, too?” Willow managed to ask him before jerking her
elbow back, aiming low and hitting him in the groin while simultaneously
kicking behind her with as much strength as she could muster, taking out his
knee.

Angelus grabbed his injured anatomy as he fell to his knees, crying out as
he landed on the injured knee. Swearing and snarling, he lunged out once
more, no longer caring about turning Willow, only wanting her dead. She had
hurt him, wounded his pride. And for that, she would pay. His flying
tackle knocked her down, and Angelus immediately rolled off of her, jerking
her to her feet and slamming her into the wall, causing her to hit her head
with enough force that she was knocked unconscious.

“No! Willow!”

Angelus turned at the sound of the voice, and he almost immediately found
Spike’s fist in his face. The younger vampire pounded at him frantically,
wishing he had killed his sire back when he’d had the chance a couple years
ago.

“Looks like the little boy thinks he’s a man,” Angelus said with a slightly
maniacal laugh as he caught the younger vampire’s fist, twisting his arm
behind him. “You’re on the wrong side, Spike.”

“Shut up, you wanker,” Spike hissed as he broke free, turning to face his
sire. He could hear Willow’s rapid heartbeat, and he knew there was still a
chance to save the redhead. He glanced towards the door, taking note of the
bodies in the apartment beyond, and he knew it was too late for them.
“You’re not going to get Willow.” Angelus laughed, then shook his head.

“Don’t place any bets on that one, boy,” he replied before attacking.

Fists went flying as the two snarling vampires went after each other with a
vengeance. Both landed numerous punches, taking it as hard as the were
giving it. Soon, however, it was apparent who the winner would be. It
quickly became clear that Spike, after so many months without fighting,
simply wasn’t as strong as his sire. Smiling, Angelus backed his wayward
childe up to the fountain outside of Giles’s apartment, forcing him against
it.

“Looks like you lose, Spike,” he said with a smirk before slamming Spike
down with all his might. The blonde vampire’s head and shoulders went into
the fountain, hitting the hard bottom, while his legs hung over the side.
Angelus used his own weight to force Spike’s lower body to the ground,
nearly sitting on him and causing the younger vampire’s spine to take the
brunt of the injury, and the older demon smiled as he heard the telltale
crunch that signaled broken bones. Angelus pulled his injured childe from
the fountain, dropping Spike on the ground before turning to find Willow.
Angelus blinked rapidly and clutched his stomach as a wave of nausea hit
him.

Frowning, the vampire stumbled slightly, unaccustomed to the odd feeling
that was hitting him. His mind searched for a reason, and he moaned as he
remembered both Wesley and that idiot actress - what had her name been? -
explaining to him that he had been drugged. And Wesley had also said...
what was it that he had said? That it would wear off? No... that couldn’t
be it. Moaning slightly, Angelus grabbed his head as he fell to his knees.
He curled in on himself for a few minutes, then slowly raised his head,
taking his hands away from his face.

Scared and confused, Angel looked over his shoulder, trying to figure out
just who was breathing so harshly. Spike was lying just a few feet away,
pain etched on his handsome face as he took in unnecessary breaths. As
memories began to hit him full force, Angel turned his head, searching
frantically...

And his eyes fell on the broken body of Willow Rosenberg.