Chapter Summary: Angelus storms out of the factory, and he goes on the hunt. Buffy and Giles hear a scream nearby on their way back to Giles' house, and a confrontation with Angelus ensues. Spike goes nuts back at Giles' place when Buffy and Giles aren't back by sunset.

Angelus stormed out of the factory and into the darkening night. After another vicious round of sex and violence with Drusilla to take his frustrations out on someone, he left the beaten and bruised vampiress to heal in their room. He wasn't in the mood to coddle anyone while he hunted. He was furious at being slighted out of what he felt was his due. He vowed that he would do whatever it took to regain what should have been his in the first place … the power of his line.

Without thought Angelus ripped the heads off of several fledglings just breaking through the ground. At the moment he was bent on death on destruction. Demon or human didn't matter to him. All who crossed his path would suffer the same fate, death.

Buffy and Giles drove down the Sunnydale streets on their way from the Summers' house back to Giles' place. "Can you drop me by Restfield?"

Giles turned his head from watching the road to look at Buffy. "Do you think that is wise, Buffy? I am inclined to agree with Spike about searching Angelus out at this point."

"I can't stop patrolling, Giles." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. "Even without the Angelus' threat, this is the Hellmouth. I still have other demons and vampires to keep from snacking on the citizens."

"And Angelus will know that. He'll be expecting you." Giles worried about Buffy. Her determination was admirable, but right now he'd rather have her safe. "We have a lot of planning to work on. Maybe we can find a way to return his soul before he does too much damage."

"Don't you think those gypsies would have done that already if it was possible?" Buffy pointed out what seemed rather obvious to her. "They wouldn't have made Miss Calendar leave. They would have had her do the spell."

Giles sighed. "You have a point. Perhaps it was just a bit of wishful thinking. He would still only be as restrained as before, but at least he wasn't killing innocents with his soul."

"Do we really know that?" Buffy asked. "We know he was drinking blood from the butcher's here in Sunnydale, but what do we really know about what's happened to Angel since he was cursed. All we know is what Angel's told us. I doubt he'd admit to turning or killing anyone after his soul was in place. He'd lose credibility with us, and he knows it."

Giles shook his head back and forth. "I am sorely longing for the days when everything was black and white in my mind. Was it all that long ago?"

Buffy patted Giles' leg in comfort. "I'm right with you there, Giles." She smiled. "As wiggy as this is, I wouldn't give up what's growing between Spike and I though to go back to that time."

"You are accepting your new status with him much more easily than I would have thought you would."

"I could say the same thing about you, Giles. It's not every day that a Watcher finds out that not only is their Slayer really a demon of sorts but that she's also bound to a master vampire."

"You've always kept me on my toes, Buffy." Giles secretly grinned. "You've never been a conventional Slayer. I should have expected that it would only get worse."

Buffy laughed. "Be careful, or I might think you don't love me anymore," She teased.

"Giles, that's so sweet. I …" Whatever Buffy was going to say was interrupted by the high-pitched piercing scream that broke the silence of the night. "Stop the car!"

Spike's hand fisted itself and beat on his thighs. "The sun set an hour ago. They should bloody well be back here by now."

"Maybe it took a little longer than they thought." Willow offered up the reason meekly.

"Only if they are still at your house. Giles isn't big on the technology." Willow frowned. "He doesn't even have a cell phone."

"He's going to get one after this if I have to strap it to his wrist." Spike cursed under his breath. Even Joyce's shriek of indignation at the string of curses was not able to stop them from continuing to flow out of Spike's mouth. "I swear if she's gone after Angelus, I'll kill her."

Buffy ducked under a few branches, and she darted around some of the shrubbery that littered the Restfield cemetery. A third of the way in from the road she found the source of the female scream.

Angelus dropped the now lifeless body of a teenaged girl to the ground. A similarly aged boy already rested at Angelus' feet. "When will these stupid humans realize that cemeteries after dark are not the time to visit their relatives." He sneered at Buffy. "Then again, if they wouldn't be so stupid you wouldn't have much of a job to do."

"I'm sure that you vamps would manage to still screw up my days either way." Buffy snarked back at Angelus. She stood ready to do battle in a strong and balanced fighting stance.

"Oh, we vamps?" Angelus threw his head back with a hearty laugh. "Tell me Buff, is our dear sweet Willie boy in that same category of vamps that you've put me in?"

"Not even close, Angelus. He isn't a murdering and arrogant idiot." Buffy started to advance on Angelus.

They were both so focused on each other that neither noticed the arrival of Giles from the side of their position. When Buffy saw Giles, she wasn't able to keep the shock from showing in her eyes. It broke the trance that seemed to be between her and Angelus.

Angelus turned around to face the older man. He grabbed Giles' throat and dug his claws into Giles' skin. He casually tossed Giles into a nearby memorial monument. The sound of several bones cracking as Giles' body hit the cement was music to Angelus' ears. "Ahh, such a sweet sound. Bet that will hurt later. If he lives long enough that is."

Buffy ran at Angelus. She managed to avoid the intended blow to her face when Angelus turned around right before she reached him. Buffy and Angelus exchanged kicks and punches to each other's bodies. Sometimes it seemed that Angelus made a little headway on the diminutive Slayer, but she always leapt right back into the fray and regained the ground she'd lost. After a half hour it seemed that no one was going to be the victor. Then the tides of luck changed in Angelus' favor.

Angelus caught Buffy off guard when a moan from her Watcher drew her attention away from the battle. He used the opening to kick Buffy into a nearby tree and pin her there. He quickly buried his fangs in her neck and tried to steal her life from her.

Angelus had only managed to take a few large mouthfuls from Buffy before the Slayer within kicked into overdrive. The Slayer roared and pushed Angelus away from her with all of her combined strength. She felt another surge of power come to her through her link with Spike. Not even the pain of Angelus' fangs ripping out of her throat mattered to the enraged Buffy. Her fangs grew, and her silver eyes flashed angrily at the master vampire.

"What the Hell?" Angelus stumbled back away from Buffy. He stared at the changes in her face, and his demon trembled. It seemed terrified over the changes it witnessed in the woman before him. His drive for survival kicked in.

Buffy watched Angelus with confusion. She couldn't figure out why he just stopped fighting her. She was itching to continue the fight. When she licked her lips in anticipation of her next attack, she realized that her fangs had elongated. Instead of fear and revulsion at what part of her was showing, she started laughing. "What's wrong, Angelus? Never seen a Slayer before?"

Unprepared for the Slayer's next attack, Angelus went flying into the side of a large stone crypt. He picked himself up off the ground, darted around the side of the crypt and took off in a vampiric sprint to get away from Buffy as fast as he could. He had no idea what the hell happened to the Slayer, and he needed to know before he risked his unlife again. The last kick from the changed face Slayer was more powerful than any of the others she sent his way. He was worried that he wouldn't have been able to beat her as she was. He was a sadistic bastard, and he always cared about protecting his own hide before anyone else's. He wasn't going to risk his unlife unless he knew he would win.

"Fraidy vampire!" The Slayer/Buffy chased after Angelus for a little bit. Then, she remembered that her Watcher was still unconscious where she'd fought Angelus. Her worry over Giles' well being won out over her need for vengeance and death. She hastened back to find Giles and get him back home.

Spike beat his fists against the back of the couch. His claws shredded the cloth covering it. "Damn it!" He screamed out. He felt so helpless. The brief panic he felt through his link with the Slayer sent him into a frenzy. He'd fallen over the back of the couch in an attempt to force his legs to move. Now he sat on the floor taking his frustrations out on the piece of furniture.

"Maybe we should go look for the Buffster. If Deadboy Jr. here is going nuts, it can't be good." Xander looked over at Joyce and Willow.

"No," Joyce immediately answered. "If Buffy is having a hard time, we aren't going to be of much help." She was unable to keep the true motherly worry off her face. Having to deal with these situations face to face was a lot different than reading about them in books. These weren't nameless accounts of battles, Slayers, humans, and demons. This was her daughter that was involved.

"She's right, Xander. We don't even know where she is." Willow wished that she had a better suggestion to offer. She was just as upset about Buffy being in trouble as she was to see Spike in such turmoil. No matter what she thought of vampires in general, Spike was clearly suffering pain and worry over Buffy's safety. His caring for her best friend was written all over his face. Buffy's pain was Spike's pain, and Willow's concern for them both could not be hidden from showing on her face.

"I hate just sitting here." Xander didn't approve of Spike's involvement in their lives, but that didn't mean that he cared for Buffy any less. They'd been friends for close to two years, and that meant a lot to him. He couldn't ignore the pain that Spike seemed to be going through. 'Maybe he does care for her, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a bloodsucking fiend that should be staked.' His own jealousies flashed across his face, and he stubbornly refused to allow himself to be swayed in Spike's favor.

Still showing her Slayer face, Buffy carried Giles back to his car. She'd started to feel her fangs recede, but she needed the extra strength to help her get Giles to safety the quickest way possible. Buffy felt like the Slayer within understood her unspoken plea for help, as the Slayer merged back into the foreground until Giles was safely tucked away in his car.

Buffy slipped behind the wheel of Giles' car. She hated driving. She wasn't very good at it, and she was afraid to do it. Demons she could kill without fear. Navigating streets, stoplights, and road signs petrified her. "Hang on Giles." She revved the car a little before she put it into gear. The car lurched forward in short jerks that caused Giles to moan in pain. "Sorry Giles."

Buffy did her best to remember the way to Giles' house. The 10 minute trip was the longest of her short life, and she hoped that she didn't have to do it again any time soon. She ran into the house quickly. "Mom, Giles is hurt. I can't get him to the hospital. Just getting here from the cemetery was hell."

Joyce jumped to her feet. She knew the situation was bad if Buffy had actually driven a car. She tightly gathered her daughter into an embrace. "Oh my poor Buffy. Are you all right? Spike has been going nuts."

"Yeah, Giles needs to get to the hospital though. He got thrown into a tombstone." Buffy cringed at the memory of the sound of bones cracking. "I think he has some broken bones."

"All right." Joyce grabbed her purse off the counter. She rushed outside to the car and took off for the hospital. She didn't want to leave without having her questions answered, but Giles needed her help more badly than Buffy.

Chaos ensued amongst the present Scoobies who tried to crowd around Buffy for their hugs. Willow and Xander babbled off all their concerns. They surrounded Buffy until the snarl of an enraged master vampire sent them scattering away from her.

As soon as Buffy entered the house, Spike nearly collapsed with relief to see her safe. He'd later feel bad that he'd barely spared a thought for the Watcher that Buffy said was injured. All he cared about was getting to his beloved. He pulled himself across the floor with his hands and arms. When he couldn't get past Xander and Willow, the former had literally kicked Spike in the head to push him away from the trio that was when he lost it. He made sure that his presence was known vocally.

"Spike!" Buffy gathered her beloved vampire in her arms. She worried about him being on the floor, and she wondered what happened while she was gone. She had only a moment to worry before she felt Spike's fangs in her neck.

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