Knightcurse

By Starway Man

Part III: Dis-Passion

Sunnydale, California. One week later

Angelus lurked in the alley, having just had a fresh meal. He watched as the vampire that Xander had become relentlessly stalked its prey.

The boy was fast, the centuries-old vampire had to admit that; and he was very quick on the uptake too.

Angelus smiled. He had almost forgotten what it was like to teach a young fledgling the ropes, and mold an inexperienced novice into a pure killing machine.

It was even better now than in the old days - the late unlamented Darla, his sire, had been around then, and to be honest - being the head of the family agreed with him completely.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts, the Scourge of Europe almost missed the kill and his grandchilde walking up to him afterwards.

"Having fun watching me, Deadboy?" Xander asked him, bringing him out of his momentary reverie.

"Yes," Angelus said simply and grinned.

Xander frowned. "What do ya want? What are you up to? 'Cause I know you hate me, just as much as I hate you - Soul Boy."

The older vamp let the insult pass. "Xander, Xander, Xander. Can't an old man worry about his favorite grandson?"

The former teenager looked sick. "You call me that again, I'm gonna puke, Angel."

The soulless demon laughed. "I mean, look around you. Do you know where we are?"

The younger vamp did so, and realized what Angelus meant. "Buffy patrols near here, nearly every night."

"Right. I also taught you to always guard your perimeter - now next time, follow my advice. Or else I'll hold Dru in my arms, as she cries over your ashes..." the dark-haired vampire laughed evilly, as he disappeared into the shadows.

Xander stared after him, cursing the fact his grandsire was right, before vanishing as well.

***

The next day at Sunnydale High, Willow and Oz met first thing in the morning, the redhead out of her mind with worry over Xander.

"It's been a week, Oz!!" she blurted out to her boyfriend, who was trying his best to comfort her. "I mean, something MUST have happened to him! Otherwise, we'd have heard something by now!"

The musician wordlessly agreed, as he held her tight. Oz knew that living in Sunnydale was very dangerous, and people got killed all the time here. < Look at what happened to Harmony last week, > the werewolf suddenly thought to himself.

But still, he knew he couldn't say that to Willow.

"We'll find him," Oz said simply, meaning every syllable.

Willow looked at her loved one, and smiled and hugged him. She didn't think she'd have gotten through this without Oz - her parents didn't care about her, Giles and Jenny were just as worried as she was, and Buffy...

Well, the Slayer had a lot on her plate right now.

Not only did she worry about Xander, but Angel, Spike and Drusilla had been far too quiet lately - and there was now a definite air of friction between her and her Watcher, as she felt betrayed by his acceptance of Ms. Calendar back into his life.

The blonde Chosen One joined Willow and Oz at the library, and asked them, "Anything on Xander?"

As the young couple shook their heads, Buffy felt frustration mounting. < Damn it... >

Just then Giles came out of the stacks, and addressed them wearily. "Oh, ah, g-good morning, all."

"Giles, what, did you stay here all night again!?" Willow asked, noticing his rumpled clothes.

"Well, um, yes."

Buffy said grudgingly, "Are you okay?"

Looking pained, the Watcher said, "As well as can, uh, be expected, I-I-I suppose. No news on, um, Xander then?"

Everyone shook their heads, and Rupert Giles sighed. "Buffy, I, I've been working on a-a-a spell. Something to make one's residence as vampire-proof as possible - I mean, we, we simply cannot afford to lose anyone else."

"Makes sense," Oz commented with a nod.

The British man then continued, "I was wondering, um - could you, uh, give a book I borrowed back to Ms. Calendar? I, er, gather you have computer science, next period."

Buffy had an incredulous look on her face and was about to make a wisecrack, but then she looked at everyone's faces. They were tired, worried and didn't need something like that to make things worse.

The Slayer sighed, looking at Willow, and the redhead told her what to do without words. "Oh, fine," the blonde girl grumbled. "Gimme."

The Watcher did so, and as she took the book...Buffy saw in her surrogate father's face a plea to bury the hatchet, that this was no time to carry grudges.

The daughter of Hank and Joyce Summers sighed. < What a week I'm having... >

***

After the other students had left, Buffy slowly came up to Jenny Calendar's desk. A memory surfaced in her mind; the last time she'd been there, it was after discovering the truth about who Janna Kalderash was and almost strangling her.

The Slayer blinked, forcing the memories away. < So not what I need now. > "Hey."

Jenny looked confused. "Hi." As Buffy looked at Jenny a moment then averted her eyes, the computer teacher continued, "Uh, is there something that...did you want something?"

"Just wanted to give you Giles' book back," and the Chosen One laid it on the desk. "Look...I know you feel badly about what happened, and I just wanted to say..."

"What?"

Buffy couldn't help it - she got mad. "Good. Keep it up."

"Don't worry, I will," the computer teacher replied, unsurprised at her attitude.

Holding up her hand, the Slayer suffered a feeling of guilt over what she'd just said. "Oh, wait. Um...I know Giles is going through a hard time. And that he's worried about Xander, just like all of us..."

"Still nothing new, then?" Jenny interrupted, a worried frown on her features.

"No. I mean, he doesn't say anything about it, but I know he doesn't need my 'tude about you two getting back together right now. And I'm glad for his sake you two sorted stuff out - it's not like I want him to be lonely. I don't want anyone to."

Jenny leaned forward, a sliver of hope on her face. "Buffy, you know that if I have a chance to make this up..."

Buffy interrupted her at once. "We're...good here. Let's just leave it." As she walked off, the gypsy watched her go sadly.

***

Far away, Xander and Drusilla were together naked in bed. "Oh my, kitten," the female vampire purred, "I 'aven't felt like that, ever since Spike and I last played with our favorite branding iron."

The Xander vampire laughed. "What do you see in him, anyway?"

Drusilla was about to answer him, when she started to moan and groan. "Dru, what is it?"

His sire got out of bed and bent over in pain, breathing hard. "The air. It worries. Someone...an old enemy is seekin' help...'elp to destroy our 'appy home. Ohhhh..."

Xander didn't get it. "What's that mean?"

Dru started to shiver. "No, no, no..." she started putting her clothes on, as Xander followed her example. "Dirty, dirty, dirty soul. Mustn't touch. Not my family. No..."

Her childe finally got it. "Ms. Calendar is gonna make with the magic mojo, and soulify? Come on, we gotta take care of this."

Drusilla looked hesitant. "What about Spike and Daddy?"

Xander snorted. "Like they'll be any help! All Angel ever thinks about is how to get into Buffy's pants again before he kills her, and Spike's useless till he gets out of that damn chair!"

So saying, Xander dragged her along out of the factory. A short while later, Spike came rolling into the main room. "Dru?" he called out.

"Not here," Angelus smirked, as he stepped into the light. He handed his duster to one of their minions, who then promptly faded away into the shadows. "My money says she's with Xander."

"And they're doin' what?" Spike demanded, instantly getting furious.

"Each other, probably," the older vampire laughed in the blonde's face. "Come on, Spike, what do you think? Remember what you and Dru first got up to, back in 1880?"

'William the Bloody' had perfect recall, and Angelus couldn't help himself. He continued, "I heard them at it, before I paid a little visit to Buffy's house. By the way, Joyce now knows her sweet little girl isn't a virgin anymore. But getting back to Xander, I gotta say - I was impressed! I mean - who'd have thought a twerp like him, would have turned out to be such a Viking in the sack?"

Spike was shaking with rage so badly, he would have gotten up and eviscerated Angelus if his legs had been working. Instead he grabbed one of Drusilla's dolls off the table, and vengefully tore it to pieces.

"Have a good evening, Rollerboy," Angelus taunted him before heading off towards his room, with the feeling of a job well done.

But what he had actually done was to make Spike hate Xander so much, there was no avoiding his destiny now.

***

After Janna had paid a visit to the tarot shop that would one day become known as the Magic Box, and bought an Orb of Thesulah - a spirit vault for the rituals of the undead - she went back to the school to work on her computer program.

Something to translate the ancient Romanian liturgy of the soul curse into English, to be able to eventually give Angel his soul back.

Jenny had no way to know that Drusilla and Xander were hot on her heels, and that the female vamp had already killed the shopkeeper.

Giles then appeared, and stood in the doorway of her classroom. "Hello, Jenny."

The technopagan was startled. "Oh! Hi."

The Watcher then stepped into the room. "You're working late."

"Special project."

"Oh," the Englishman looked interested. "What on?"

Jenny looked at him. "Rupert...okay, I wasn't gonna say anything yet, but I may have some news. Good news..."

"That, er, sounds nice," Giles frowned. Just then the computer chirped, and Giles glanced at the screen. "Is, is that Romanian?"

"It's the curse," Jenny said, as Giles glanced sharply at her. "Angel's soul curse. I think-"

The machine made another noise, and the teacher went back to her computer. She tapped a few keys, and then looked up at the screen.

A short while later, a percent complete window appeared over the Romanian text, and the bar zipped across it. "Come on, come on..." Jenny muttered, as Giles looked on, baffled.

The bar then disappeared, and the English translation scrolled up next to the original text.

Jenny exclaimed, "That's it! It's gonna work!" She then hugged Giles. "This...will work."

"Angel...will be cursed - just as before?"

The technopagan started to print out a hard copy. "My best guess is, with some help...yes."

"H-happiness clause and all?"

Jenny stopped, and looked at him. "Rupert...I don't know how to delete that part, without nullifying the curse."

Giles frowned. "You mean...ah. Buffy won't like that. A-as if she hasn't enough on her mind right now, what with Xander..."

"Someone mention my name?"

Both grown-ups turned around in astonishment, as they heard that unmistakable voice. "XANDER!!" they both exclaimed at once.

"Where have you been?" demanded Giles immediately. "Everyone's been worried sick..."

"Oh, here and there," the vampire said casually, as he walked into the room. "So, what have you two lovebirds been up to?"

"Don't change the bloody subject!" Giles almost yelled. "Willow's been m-mortified, and Buffy's been-"

At the mention of the Slayer's name, the gypsy noticed a fleeting expression of disgust on the boy's face. It was almost nothing, but taken in conjunction with his disappearance, and his new clothes...the teacher was reaching a conclusion, one that she didn't like at all.

Without taking the time for thought, Jenny reached into Giles' jacket pocket and tossed his cross to Xander.

The vampire instinctively caught it and then dropped it, roaring in pain. Vamping out, Xander glared daggers at Ms. Calendar. "I'm gonna kill you real slow for that, you BITCH!!!"

Rupert Giles, who was not a Watcher for nothing, simply grabbed his beloved's hand and they raced out the door, managing to reach the safety of the library before Xander caught up with them.

"I'm calling Buffy, so I advise you to get out!" Giles yelled out to the undead creature, who was trying to break in through their barricade. He then got on the phone, and called the Slayer's house.

Having suffered through the 'talk' about sleeping with Angel from her mother, Buffy was glad for any excuse to get away. "Yeah?" she answered the phone.

"Buffy, i-it's me, Giles! Jenny and I are in the library - there's a-"

The phone went dead, but Buffy could guess the rest. "Willow!" she called.

As Willow came in with Joyce Summers, Buffy made up a quick story. "It's Jenny! She's in the hospital!"

Joyce looked concerned. "What? Who?"

"Oz can drive us there," Willow said, catching on. "Uh, g'night Mrs. Summers."

"Good night, dear," Joyce said absently. Then she turned to her daughter. "Who's Jenny?"

"A friend," Buffy said. "Mom, I know I'm in the doghouse here, but could I-?"

"Oh, all right," Joyce surrendered with a gesture. "But home before midnight!"

"I promise," Buffy muttered hurriedly, as she grabbed her jacket with the concealed weapons and left with Willow.

***

Later in the library, Xander had gone, apparently realizing the futility of trying to kill everyone without backup. And when Giles and Jenny met up with the teenagers, they told them everything.

Buffy, Willow and Oz were all completely shocked.

Even though the mortal children had anticipated the possibility, to have actual confirmation that one of their own had been turned was horrifying.

Horrifying for Willow, at the thought of having lost her best childhood friend.

Horrifying for Oz, at the possibility that the Xander vampire might go after his girlfriend.

Horrifying for Buffy, as she now not only had to kill Angel - which she'd failed to do a number of times - but she also had to kill someone who looked like her Xander-shaped friend.

It was almost enough to make her lapse into catatonia.

Jenny looked at them all and then at Giles, before deciding to share the developments about the curse. "Uh...Rupert, why don't you tell them what else happened tonight, while I go get my printouts?"

"I'll go with you," Oz said, grabbing a crossbow and escorting her out.

"Yes, well," Giles said, removing his glasses and tiredly rubbing his nose. "Jenny, has, uh...uh..."

"Spit it out, Giles!" ordered his Slayer.

"The soul curse. Jenny's managed to...uh, with the aid of that dread machine, reconstruct it."

Willow was the first to react in joy. "That means - that means we can get Xander back! Oh - and Angel too!"

Oz and Ms. Calendar arrived back. "You told Oz?" inquired Giles, as they put down the herbs, the Orb and the printout.

"Yes," Jenny said absently. "Excuse me, but I need to study this..." she bent over the papers, that contained the transliteration annals for the ritual of the undead.

"When can we do the curse?" Willow wanted to know.

"Well, we need to set up..."

"Something occurring," Oz interrupted. "Uh, are you sure you wanna do this?"

They all looked at him in surprise. "What?" squeaked Willow.

Oz shrugged. "I'm trying to look at the big picture," he said in that calm, collected voice that was so his. "How do you think Xander's gonna feel, once you give him his soul back?"

Giles scratched his head. "Well, he..."

Oz said quietly, "You think he'll thank you for it? Or that he'd prefer you to dust him?"

There was a shocked silence, as everyone considered his words. Finally though, Buffy broke it. "We're doing this. End of discussion."

"Buffy..." started Giles.

"NO," the Slayer said firmly. "I'M the one who has to live with killing Xander, if it comes to that. If there's any chance to avoid it, I'm biting. If he ends up wanting to stake himself, we can deal with - afterwards."

Jenny came up to them and said, "I know what to do, but we may have a problem."

"Uh, what?" Giles asked.

The gypsy sighed. "The curse...the last time, the elder woman of my clan performed it, and she was highly skilled in magic. I dabble a little, but I don't have that kind of power. I'm a technopagan, not a witch."

Giles looked at her. "Well, I..."

Jenny looked at him lovingly. "Rupert, I know you've done some spellcasting, but this is FAR beyond that. And you." The gypsy sighed again. "When I first came here, I investigated who might have that kind of magical potential. There were two people, according to the tarot cards I read, the bones I cast, even according to the tea leaves thing..."

"Who?" Buffy interrupted.

"The first is a girl named Amy Madison..."

"Forget it," Willow said at once. "Her Mom was like a witch, and an amateur psycho. She's the last person that'd help us, with something like that!"

"Then we have only one choice," Jenny finished up.

"Who?" asked the hacker.

"You, Willow."

Everyone was stunned. "What?" demanded Buffy. "Are you nuts?"

"Hey!" said Willow, hurt. Then she looked at the gypsy. "Are you nuts?"

Ms. Calendar sighed. "Willow, the fact is...like it or not, you have the potential. And you're our best bet to do this."

The teenager looked unsure. "I do? I am? But, uh..."

"How dangerous is this?" Oz suddenly demanded.

Everyone looked at him, shocked at his tone. Willow smiled, though. "Oz. It's okay."

"But if you-"

Buffy banged on the table, and everyone shut up. "Will," the Slayer said slowly. "you don't have to do this. What I said earlier..."

"Buffy," Willow gave her the 'Resolve Face'. "Stop. Resolve Face, see? This is the only way not to have to kill Xander. I'm doing it." The redhead looked around at everyone else. "Let's set up - right now."

A short while later the sacred circle was drawn, the herbs and incense were burning and the ritual proceeding. The curse was said, the Orb glowed with a mystical light, which then faded.

The people gathered within the library then waited, to learn the fruits of their labors.

***

A short time earlier at the Bronze, Cordelia was dressed in one of her best outfits, and looking absolutely spectacular. More than one jealous girlfriend had hit their boyfriends, who were openly drooling at her.

But the brunette, although she would have normally enjoyed such attention thoroughly and accepted it as her natural right, wasn't in the mood tonight.

Because she was moping alone.

< Pathetic much? > the cheerleader asked herself sarcastically, as she nursed her fourth soft drink. < What is WRONG with you? >

Of course, Cordelia knew the answer to that - but she didn't want to admit it, even to herself. Even though, she couldn't get the image of a certain dark-haired boy out of her head.

< Unbelievable, > her mind kept trying to talk sense into her. < So you broke up with Xander. Big whoop! Spank your inner moppet or whatever, but get over it! >

Looking around the club, Cordelia could see various couples snuggling together or making out. She sighed, fingering his locket that she was wearing yet again this evening.

Fuming, the May Queen then thought to herself, < This is ALL Buffy's fault! If she hadn't made the jerk marginally more cooler by hanging with him, I would never have looked twice at the guy! >

Suddenly Amy Madison joined her. "Hello, Cordelia," the girl said simply.

The head cheerleader did a double take, noticing that Amy was now a brunette. "That's a new look for you," she said, inspecting the other girl with critical eyes.

Amy smiled, patting her hair. "You like it?"

Cordy nodded slowly. "Goes better with your eyes, definitely. So what's up?"

"Uh, I thought you looked like you could use someone to talk to. And I also just wanted to say goodbye."

Cordelia looked at her in confusion as Amy continued, "This is my last night in Sunnydale - after what happened to Harmony last week, I finally convinced my Dad for us to move to San Francisco. I don't want to live in this town anymore."

"Fine," Cordelia shrugged, getting up. "Have fun, or whatever." Blowing the other girl off, the cheerleader paid the bill, went outside, got into her car and drove off.

Not far away, Xander was driving along in his own car, the previous owner of which he had killed at the local Espresso Pump. "Damn, damn, damn!!" he continually cursed, heading back to the factory, upset over his failure at the school.

Suddenly he felt weird - like something was hunting him. Ignoring it after checking the car, the vampire was then hit by the soul restoration ritual full-force, as his eyes glowed orange.

The feelings he had were literally indescribable. The demon felt the ecstatic pain, as its body became a war zone...

Blanking out, the former teenager lost control of the car and crashed into a tree. If he'd been human, he would have been killed instantly; but as it was, Xander only ended up unconscious.

It was under these circumstances, that Cordelia Chase found him again.

Stopping her car, the cheerleader looked on at the sight of the accident, aghast. She was about to call 911 for an ambulance on her cell phone, when Cordy spotted Xander's groaning body halfway out of the wreckage. < Xander!? >

Stunned, the girl was unsure what to do, when she dropped her phone and it smashed into pieces on the ground. Cursing, she pulled Xander out of the car and into her own vehicle.

< Where do I go now? > Cordelia asked herself. < Sunnydale General, or the library - which is closer? >

Hearing Xander muttering Willow's name, she decided on the latter and headed for Sunnydale High.

When she arrived there, carrying Xander (who felt ice-cold to her touch) to the library, Cordelia yelled out, "Giles! Somebody! Could I have a hand here?"

As the gang came outside, Willow screamed, "CORDY! Are you insane?"

The brunette couldn't understand her fear. "What is your teenage trauma? I found Xander, it looked like he was in a car accident! So, help me - like, now!"

Giles and Oz took Xander off her hands, but to Cordelia's surprise they immediately put him into the book cage, and quickly locked it behind them.

"Are you people seriously mental?" Cordelia demanded. "He needs medical attention!"

"You don't know?" Buffy asked, amazed.

"Know what?"

Whatever the Slayer was about to say, it was forgotten as Xander regained complete consciousness, and the souled vampire took stock of the situation. "Where am I?" he asked in confusion.

"Xander," Giles looked at him sternly. "You're in the library."

The undead creature looked at him, and tried to get out of the cage. "Hey, G-man? Why am I locked in?"

"That's what I want to know!" demanded Cordelia, as Willow started crying.

"Cordelia?" asked Xander in confusion. Then he noticed Willow in tears. "Hey Wills," he said gently, "come on, let's quit with the waterworks here!"

Buffy looked at Giles and Jenny. "Are you guys sure..."

"He doesn't remember," Jenny said, interrupting her. "But according to the stories of my people, in a few moments, he will."

"Remember what?" Xander asked. The last thing he remembered was coming out of the Bronze that night...

And that, of course, was when the memories hit him like a hurricane.

"NOOOO!!!" the souled vampire screamed, hitting the cage as everyone recoiled. His game face, appearing like a tragic death mask.

Cordelia screamed, "He's a vampire?!" before running out of the library in horror.

Xander himself was not in any better frame of mind, as he curled up into a fetal position and started muttering, "Oh God, oh God, oh God..." over and over again.

Giles quietly opened the cage, and beckoned the young vampire to come out. But Xander just sat there, almost catatonic, as the memories of all the people he had killed started to haunt him for the rest of his unlife.

The others then gathered in Giles' private office. "I, uh, believe it's worked," the librarian said tiredly.

"Yes, I think so too," Jenny agreed, looking at her favorite student. "You did it, Willow."

The redhead stopped crying long enough to say weakly, "That's a good, huh?"

"Yeah," Oz said, squeezing her hand as Willow smiled at him. "We're all proud of you."

"What about Cordelia?" Buffy suddenly asked.

"The werewolf shrugged. "Heard her car screeching out of the lot. Best guess is, that she's gone home."

"We better check on Xander," Willow then decided, still greatly concerned about her old crush.

But as they went out, they saw the cage was empty, and Xander was gone.

"DAMN IT!" Giles cursed. "W-what was I thinking? I should never-"

"Rupert," Jenny said, calming him down. "We have other things to worry about."

The British man looked at her in confusion. "Uh, what?"

"Angel," Willow said, catching on and stopping her sniffling. "If he finds Xander, and realizes we can curse vampires now..."

"He'll try to kill us, before we can do it to him," Buffy finished up. The Slayer looked at Willow and asked her, "Wills, if you think you can, we should do the ritual for Angel now."

Giles looked worried. "That, that may be dangerous, after channeling those magicks so recently..."

Willow interrupted him, "No, Buffy's right! And besides, without a soul Angel might kill Xander now! The sooner the better, before anyone else gets hurt."

So saying, the White Hats once again set up for the magic ritual.

***

At the abandoned factory, Drusilla was rocking back and forth, just as Xander had done in the book cage and muttering, "Oh God, oh God, oh God..."

"Dru, will ya stop takin' the name o' the Lord in vain?" Spike snapped, his patience exhausted after ages of listening to the mantra. Angelus, also bored, for once agreed with him. "Now what gives, my ripe precious?"

"It's my kitten," the crazed vampiress was almost crying. "He's not my kitten no more. The White Knight's come back..."

Angelus was the first to realize what she meant, and burst out laughing. "They restored his soul?" the soulless demon chuckled, not thinking about the ramifications.

"What?" demanded Spike.

Angelus kept laughing. "Take it from someone who knows, Spike - that's a fate worse than staking!"

The platinum-blonde vampire thought about it, and realizing the truth started to grin and chuckle himself. < The little wanker won't be around no more, if he's now anything like Angelus was back then, > the demon thought to himself. < He - hang about! >

"You stupid git!" Spike then roared at Drusilla's sire. "If they could do it to HIM, what makes ya think they won't do it to US!?"

Angelus stopped laughing.

And right on cue, he started screaming as his human soul was once again entrapped within Liam's long-dead corpse.

Dropping to his knees, the vampire that was now Angel again looked around in confusion. The last thing he remembered was being in bed with Buffy - what was he doing here, with Spike and Dru?

Drusilla got up off the floor, and pointed at him with rage-filled eyes. "You're not my Daddy anymore! You're the Angel-beast!"

Spike didn't need to hear anything more - he gestured to the other vampires and yelled, "KILL HIM!"

But even though Angel was confused, there was nothing wrong with the 245-year-old vampire's instincts and he fought off his attackers, before running off into the night.

But before he'd gotten far, the memories came back - and Angel howled in pain, falling to his knees, before scrambling up and skittering away, his mind telling him to get to some place of safety.

Huffing and puffing, Angel arrived at his old apartment, and he was so distracted over what had happened he didn't even notice the presence of another vampire, until he heard the moans coming from the floor.

The older vamp switched on the lights, and was surprised to see Xander blinking in pain. "Ow!" the younger vampire growled. "What-?"

Then he saw Angelus, and sprang to his feet with a growl and a stake in his hand.

"Xander, no! It's me, Angel. They, they gave me my soul back, just like they did you..."

The 17-year-old wasn't convinced. "How do I know that? You could be trying to trick me..."

"Xander," Angel said tiredly, "I'm 245 years old, and you've been a vampire barely a week. If I was still Angelus, you'd be dust by now."

The boy considered that. "Persuasive. Not conclusive, here."

Angel sighed, the burden of his crimes too much to bear. He walked to Xander and his fellow souled vamp recoiled, until Angel got to his knees and said, "Please, kill me."

The young man couldn't believe it. "What?"

"You know what I'm going through," the ancient vampire whispered. "You're the only one that can. Please, if that's what it takes to convince you - do it."

Xander looked at him, before dropping the stake, screaming and starting to trash the apartment. Angel got up, and just waited for the boy to vent his rage.

"What were you doing here?" he then asked, when Xander was done. "This is the first place I would have looked for you."

His interlocutor shrugged. "I couldn't stay at the library, and I couldn't go home. This was the one place I could think of, that meant...safety. At least for tonight."

"I know what you mean, and what you're going through..."

"Do you?" the boy challenged him. "Did you die a virgin?"

Angel was confused. "What-?"

"Yeah, 'cause I did, you know," Xander started to pace like a caged animal, as he ranted on a subject very important to him. "My first time was with Drusilla!"

The older vamp shrugged. "Well, then, you've made love at least once in your life..."

"Knock it off, Deadboy! That had nothing to do with love! You know what Dru's like - we just went at it, like animals. And THAT'S all I'll ever have to remember, for the rest of eternity?!"

Angel could sympathize with how the boy felt. "Xander..."

The dark-haired young man shook his head. "I can't live like this. That's why, I'm gonna like kill myself in the morning."

Angel instantly got worried. "NO!"

Xander looked at him, "What the hell do you mean, 'no'? What business is it of yours?"

The older souled vampire thought furiously. "When I got my soul back, I was with Spike and Dru," he temporized. "And when she told us what had happened to you, Spike and I laughed. My money says he's still laughing at you, and Drusilla's probably joined him by now."

The young vamp looked at him, knowing what Angel was trying to do. "Look, Deadboy..."

"I need your help to stop them. It's as simple as that, Xander. Are you gonna abandon your friends and take the coward's way out, or are you at least going to help me do that much?"

Xander sighed. He hated the fact that every time he spoke with the other vampire lately, he couldn't argue with the logic of Angel's arguments. "No promises, Deadboy, but I'll think about it."

As Xander started to leave, Angel asked him, "Where are you going?"

"To find somewhere else to spend the night. I know you need your space."

The Irish-born vamp grunted in surprise. "Any ideas where?"

The American-born one shrugged. "I was thinkin', maybe some crypt in a cemetery."

Angel shook his head. "I noticed an abandoned mansion on Crawford Street, on my way here," he said slowly. "If you decide to hole up there, I won't tell anyone - not even your friends."

Xander then smiled in pain, and did something he thought he'd never do. "Thanks, Angel," he said, before disappearing out the door.

Part 4