Part Four
She’s no longer dazed, and she fights the creature outside, in the darkness. Away from the others. Away from those it might kill.
It attacks her, tackling her to the ground. She won’t be stopped like last time, and she covers her eyes. She’s only vaguely aware of the hypnotic flash. She strikes out with her legs, her kick sending the demon off of her and across the grassy yard.
The grass is slightly damp under her hands and knees as she scrambles away. She can hear the screaming from inside, behind her. She needs a weapon.
Her hands close on the wooden shaft of a shovel. Swinging around, she prepares to strike...
*Flash*
She’s frozen, disoriented. The demon’s weapon...it’s eyes...must break free...
There’s someone else out here. They scream her name, and the demon turns. The trance is broken. She’s free. Free to strike.
“Hey!”
The demon turns to look at the one it thought defeated. She takes that shovel, and with one thrust sends it right through the demon’s glowing eyes. It screams, clawing at its face, but she’s won.
There’s another flash of light, and she shields herself again. But this time, when she uncovers her eyes, the demon and its monsters are gone.
“I still say she’s evil.”
“Cordelia!” Wesley admonished in a shocked semi-whisper.
“What?” she defended herself. “I mean, the girl says she’s running from demons, right? Well, how do we know that? It could all be a set up. A trap. You know, she gets us all to trust her and then – bam! – reveals her true face.”
“That is highly improbable,” Wesley pointed out.
Cordelia shrugged. “I never had a vision that we were supposed to help her,” she pointed out.
“You don’t have a vision of every person in trouble in the city,” Gunn supplied.
“Well, no, but...” Cordelia looked decidedly frustrated. “Wouldn’t it be easier if she was evil?”
Wesley just shook his head. “Angel?” he asked, drawing the preoccupied vampire’s attention.
“She’s not evil,” Angel said quickly.
“See?” Gunn added.
“If she’s not evil, then what is she?” Cordelia asked. “I mean, it’s not like she’s normal.”
“No, she’s not normal,” Angel agreed. “She’s...stronger than I expected.”
Wesley got a thoughtful look on his face. “Perhaps...”
Everyone’s attention was on him. “Perhaps what?” Cordelia prompted.
“She could be a potential Slayer, never called and never found by the Watchers’ Council,” Wesley explained. “The Watchers are supposed to find potential Slayers before the age where they could be called, but as Buffy demonstrates, they don’t find everyone.”
“Which would explain her strength?” Cordelia guessed.
“Yes.” Wesley nodded. “It is not unheard of for such girls to display uncommon strength when in times of stress, even when they are past the age where they could be called.”
“It might also have something to do with why demons are after her,” Angel added.
“Exactly.”
Cordelia wasn’t done yet, though. “Doesn’t explain the whole amnesia thing,” she said.
“That, I’m sure, will eventually be perfectly explained by mundane means,” Wesley pointed out.
Angel moved away from the wall where he was leaning. “See what you can find out about this Consortium,” he said. “The sooner we find out who these demons are, the sooner we can find out why they’re after her.”
“Where are you going?”
Angel headed towards the stairs as he spoke. “I need to talk to Liz,” he said.
The remaining three were silent for a moment until Angel was gone. Then Wesley headed for the books, in research mode once again.
Cordelia remained where she was, staring at the stairs where Angel had gone. “I still don’t like it,” she said.
“I know you don’t.”
“I mean, who accepts a vampire as their friend that easily? And what in the world is going on in Angel’s head?” she said, clearly frustrated.
“I don’t have the faintest idea,” Wesley admitted. “One thing at a time though. The Consortium...”
“Right. Research.”
Liz wasn’t upstairs in her room, nor was she up on the roof. She was an incredibly discreet presence at times, and so Angel ended up doing a circuit of the floors of the hotel before coming back to the lobby and making his way out into the courtyard. She sat in the bright sunlight, her back to the door. Angel approached her quietly, only going as far as the shadows could reach.
“They think I don’t hear them,” Liz said abruptly.
Angel was startled. He wasn’t expecting her to be aware of his presence.
She turned to look at him and nodded slightly. That was all the greeting she gave before she continued speaking. “Why do you think that is?” she asked. “Am I like invisible or something?”
“No,” Angel said quickly. “They’re just not used to someone else being here who might overhear them.” He looked at the young woman seriously. “How did you know I was here?” he asked.
Liz shrugged. “I’m observant,” was all she said.
There was a long moment of silence between them. Liz stood up, leaving the sunlight to join Angel in the shadows against the wall.
Angel didn’t know quite what to make of her. He’d expected her to avoid him after she learned what he was. He hadn’t expected this odd consideration, her trust.... She was a mystery. “They have a theory,” Angel began at last.
“That I’m evil,” Liz said. Angel almost smiled at the disgusted expression on her face.
“No,” he said. “That’s Cordelia’s theory. And it’s been dismissed.”
“Oh.” She didn’t sound as relieved as he’d expected.
“Wesley thinks...that you might have been a potential Slayer.” At the young woman’s obvious lack of understanding, he explained. “One who is destined to fight vampires. There is only one at a time...under normal circumstances...but there are always several other girls who have the potential to be the Slayer. You’re too old now to be called, but....” He trailed off, uncertain of what else to slay.
Liz still looked confused. “And this is a theory why?”
“The other night...you fought better than I expected,” he said. “And it might also explain you knowing that I was here just now.”
Liz smiled very slightly. “I fight better than you expected?” she asked.
“Not many people can stand their own against vampires,” he explained.
An odd, pleased look crossed Liz’s face. “I don’t suppose we could test that,” she teased.
Angel was slightly surprised, but he’d honestly been wondering just how good a fighter Liz was ever since she’d joined in that battle. “If you want to step inside, we could give it a try,” he said.
Liz grinned. “I promise not to hurt you,” she teased.
“Just go ahead and try,” Angel shot back, leading the way back into the hotel. Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn barely noticed the two of them as they crossed the lobby, intent on their own research. Angel led her down into the basement, to the makeshift gym.
“Cozy,” Liz said, wrinkling her nose slightly at the dust and darkness.
“It works,” Angel replied. He stood in the center of the open floor, waiting for her. Liz looked at him hesitantly. “You wanted to see if you could beat me, right? So....”
The young woman grinned, then slipped into an easy, practiced fight stance. Angel had only a second to wonder just when and how she’d learned to fight before Liz did just as he’d asked. He simply blocked her moves, not attacking in turn. Her form was obviously well rehearsed. And the blows Angel did not manage to avoid had more force to them than he’d been prepared for.
That wasn’t what really threw him off guard, though, was something else entirely. Every move she made, he knew. He could have predicted what she would try when. It was like rehearsing patterns he’d left behind.
It was like sparring with Buffy.
His distraction cost him. Liz kicked the back of his legs abruptly, sweeping them out from under him. Angel hit the floor hard.
“Enough,” he gasped, climbing to his feet.
Liz dropped out of her fighting stance and relaxed. “Did I hurt you?”
Angel shook his head. “No. Uh...you did fine.”
Liz scowled at him. “You didn’t even fight back.”
“I wanted to observe your style,” he said flatly. Observe it he had; she and Buffy could have had the same instructor.
Liz looked at him in confusion. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?” she asked.
Angel shook his head. “I just...” He stopped himself. “Go get cleaned up. I...have a phone call I need to make.”
It took Angel several minutes to get up the nerve to actually pick up the phone. He steeled himself with a deep, unnecessary breath and dialed the phone number he had memorized but had sworn he’d never dial again. Not as long as things still stood as they did, that is.
On the other end, the phone rang twice, and Angel’s tension mounted.
The line connected suddenly. “Hello?” The voice was a bit breathless, and it wasn’t any of the people Angel had expected. She sounded young, considerably younger than Buffy. Angel found himself unable to reply at first.
“Hello?” the girl said again. “Listen, if this is a prank or a sales call...”
“No!” Angel said quickly. “It’s not...uh, I’m calling for Buffy.”
The girl did not reply. Instead, Angel heard her pull the phone away from her mouth and scream, “BUFFY!”
Angel winced, even though he had not been the recipient of the brunt of the yell. Seconds later, there were the brief sounds of the phone being exchanged.
“Hello?”
For a moment, Angel could not say a word at the sound of Buffy’s voice. He took another deep breath, “Buffy,” he said gently.
Silence on her end for another long moment. “Angel,” Buffy said at last, her voice curiously flat. Angel felt instantly uneasy. Then her voice changed again, pulling away from the phone. “Dawn! Go away!”
The girl’s laughter faded in the background.
“Sorry,” Buffy said after a moment. “So, um...why are you calling?”
Angel swallowed. There wasn’t much he could say before getting right to the business of the call. Certainly nothing he should say. “I have a question,” he said.
“Okay,” she replied, sounding a bit wary.
“Did you – when you lived in L.A., but after you were Called – fight with anyone?” he asked.
Buffy chuckled. “I’m the Slayer. I fought with lots of people.”
“No,” Angel said, trying to correct his statement, “did you fight side by side, I mean. Another student of your first Watcher, maybe?”
“Um, no...” Buffy replied in confusion. “No one. Why?”
So much for that idea. “There’s a woman...” Angel began.
Buffy made an indecipherable noise. “Not the best way to start, Angel,” she warned.
“Not like that,” he said quickly. “She’s someone I’m trying to help.”
“And what does this have to do with me?”
“She remembers nothing of who she is,” Angel explained. “I hoped you might have an idea. Her...fighting style is exactly like yours.”
“She fights with you?” Buffy asked, sounding quite surprised.
“She came to my rescue,” he admitted. “I had to find out what she knew of fighting after that.”
“Oh, of course,” Buffy muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “So, she...fights like me?”
“Almost exactly,” Angel said. “Fighting with Liz is eerily like when we used to train together.” A hint of wistful nostalgia crept up on Angel, readily apparent in his voice.
“Don’t,” Buffy said firmly.
“Don’t what?” Angel asked, confused.
“I can’t reflect on old times with you,” she said sternly.
“I didn’t mean it that way...”
“You didn’t?” she asked, disbelieving. “’Cause any second I could here you going, ‘Gosh, Buffy, I missed that,’ and that’s a road I’d rather not travel right now.” She sighed heavily. “Whatever. Is that all you wanted to ask me?”
Angel was completely flabbergasted. “Uh, yeah, it was.”
“I don’t know her,” Buffy said firmly.
“Buffy-“
She interrupted him. “Please...don’t call me again, Angel.”
“Buffy...?”
“I’m moving on, remember?” she pointed out. “Calls like this really don’t help either of us.”
“It’s business...” Angel tried.
“Call Giles with business,” Buffy said, sounding tired and emotionally empty. “He’s business man.”
Her cold tone pained him more than he’d admit. “Buffy....”
“Promise me, Angel. Please.”
Angel swallowed hard. She was right. He was right. He should never have called her. “I...I’ll call Giles from now on,” he forced out.
“Good,” she said sharply. She was silent for a beat. “Goodbye, Angel.”
The line went dead before he could reply.
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