[ yes, i am skipping the episode "go fish" because i'm impatient. gage was obviously not a serious thing as this is a spike fic. i just wanted her to have a little relationship experience. i also think the concept of her boyfriend turning into a fish is hilarious and know xander and oz have a field day making jokes when kitty's not around
again, no romance yet. BUT next chapter will have our first wholesome and fun spike/kitty interactions. enjoy and i look forward to your comments during the last half of this chapter ]
♡︎
YOU NEVER KNOW ANYTHING, KITTY.
[ 2.21 — 2.22 ]
Everyone's attention was on Xander as they sat around a table in the cafeteria. He had two fish sticks in hand, one with a toothpick through it like it was holding a stake as he re-enacted the fight from Buffy's patrol the previous night.
"Tell Angel I'm gonna kill him! No, wait. I'm gonna kill you!" Xander said, making his voice higher to mimic Buffy. Then he repeatedly stabbed the toothpick into the other fish stick meant to be the vampire. "Die! Die! Die!" Kitty giggled as he let the vampire fish stick fall, letting out a cry of anguish. "Aah! Mother!"
Cordelia looked at her boyfriend in amusement. "Is that it?"
"Yeah. That's it," he said, chuckling. "Scene!"
"That's exactly how it happened," Buffy agreed.
"Well, I thought it was riveting," Oz stated. "Uh, I was a little unclear about some of the themes."
"The theme is Angel's too much of a coward to take me on face-to-face," Buffy mumbled.
"And the other theme was 'Buy American', but it, uh, got kind of buried," Xander added, still playing with the food.
Willow looked at Buffy from her seat on Oz's lap. "Do you think you're ready to fight Angel?"
It had been a month since Jenny died. A lot had happened, and Buffy had seen Angel only a handful of times since then. "I wish people would stop asking me that. Yes, I'm ready. I'm also willing and able. Just the one test I might actually pass."
"Don't say that! You're gonna pass everything. I will get you through this semester if I have to sweat blood," Willow assured her.
"Do you think you're likely to? 'Cause I'd like to be elsewhere," Xander chimed in.
"It was only metaphor blood," she claimed.
"I think you'd sweat cute blood," Oz told Willow.
Willow smiled sweetly at him before turning back to Buffy. "Sixth period, after my computer class, we'll rock on chemistry."
"Ready to rock," Buffy agreed.
"Boy, Willow, you've really got the teaching bug — taking over computer class, tutoring," Cordelia noted.
"I love it," she said, grinning. "I really do."
"I think it's great to do that before you go out and fail in the real world. That way you're not falling back on something. You're falling, well, forward."
Xander rolled his eyes playfully. "And almost sixty-five percent of that was actual compliment. Is that a personal best?"
"Gee, Xander, what are you gonna teach when you fail in life? Advanced loser-being?" Cordelia shot back.
"I will teach zee Language of Love!" Xander declared, using a horrible French accent.
He reached for Cordelia, who squealed and tried to fight him off. "Don't touch me! You have fish hands!"
"Come, let me caress you!"
"Stop it!"
"Let me in!"
"No!" Cordelia protested, laughing. "Don't!"
"That's enough of that!" Principal Snyder snapped, coming across them. Xander and Cordelia instantly parted as he glared at Willow. "And you! Are we having a chair shortage?"
"I didn't read anything about... Oh," she realized. Willow slid off Oz's lap and into her chair. "I get it."
"These public displays of affection are not acceptable in my school. This isn't an orgy, people. It's a classroom," Snyder said angrily.
"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "Where they teach lunch."
Snyder glared at her. "Just give me a reason to kick you out, Summers. Just give me a reason."
As Snyder stormed off, Cordelia scoffed. "How about because you're a tiny, impotent nazi with a bug up his butt the size of an emu?"
"Sums it up," Buffy said.
"Don't you think?"
"Do you wanna come by my house tonight and study, too?" Willow asked Buffy. "Kitty's coming over so I can help her with history."
"Maybe," she said, shrugging. "I-I do have to patrol."
"Again? Do you really expect Angel to turn up tonight?" she asked.
"No, I don't expect him to," Buffy said, sighing. "But that's usually when he does."
"I'd rather be patrolling for Angel than studying," Kitty grumbled, pulling apart the fish sticks on her plate.
Everyone had taken turns helping Kitty study for finals. Giles even had her doing flashcards at the breakfast table — they weren't helping much, but still. And no amount of studying could help Kitty feel better about the fact she was going to have to go to summer school.
Snyder made it clear that she'd have to go no matter what she made on her finals. It was non-negotiable, and if she didn't pass her summer school classes, then she wouldn't move on to her senior year with the rest of her friends.
"Well, other than school work, how have you been?" Oz asked Kitty delicately.
As Kitty let out a pathetically sad sigh, Xander shook his head. "I don't know, Oz. Last week, her boyfriend turned into a sea monster and disappeared into the ocean with his other swim team sea monster friends."
About two weeks ago, Gage and the rest of the boys on the swim team started to get a little more aggressive and rude. Then the best swimmers on the team were being killed — well, actually, they were turning into sea monsters because the coach was giving them steroids via the steam in the sauna. Those steroids were what turned four members of the swim team — Gage included — into Gill Monsters before Buffy could stop it.
Kitty didn't take the news... well. There was lots of sulking and crying and begging Giles to find a cure in his books. But there wasn't a cure. Each night since, Giles drove Kitty to the beach and let her sit on the shore for a few hours. Gage would always show up — well, she assumed it was Gage and not one of the other swimmers. He stayed in the water the whole time, and they couldn't exactly communicate with each other.
As far as ways for a relationship to end, boyfriend turning into a sea monster was definitely one of the worst ways.
Oz nodded his head slightly. "So not... not doing good then?"
"Yeah," Kitty mumbled. "Not good."
♡︎
Kitty was ready to scoop her brain out, but that wasn't an option as she sat in the computer lab with Willow and Buffy, going over chemistry work. Buffy was doing better than Kitty — though marginally — and Willow had her tutoring work cut out for her between the two.
With a loud groan, Kitty dropped her pencil and leaned her head on the desk. Buffy took her paper to compare their answers on the problem, only to discover they were very different and very wrong.
"This doesn't make any sense. Neither does," Buffy said, pouting at Willow.
"Well, sure it does. See—" Willow took their papers and looked them over with a frown. "Oh, no, this doesn't make any sense."
"It's senseless," Buffy said, shrugging. She poked Kitty with the end of her pencil, who lazily swatted her away without lifting her head.
"It is, but at least you know that, so you're learning," Willow said encouragingly.
"Yay me," she mumbled. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I mean, when in the real world am I ever gonna need chemistry or history or math or the English language?"
"Okay. I see your problem, Buffy. Kitty, I'm not... sure what you did to possibly get this," Willow admitted.
"The problem is that I'm a dummy," Kitty grumbled.
"And I'm a moron," Buffy added.
"Will you stop that? You're not stupid! You've just both had a lot on your mind," Willow told them, going into teacher mode. "You can learn this really easily, but if you're just gonna give up, then don't waste my time."
"Wow. You really are a good teacher," Buffy said, smiling.
Kitty managed a smile as well, turning her head so that she wasn't hiding in the desk anymore. It was the first time Willow had defended Kitty's intelligence, even if they all knew Kitty's problem wasn't that she had been distracted like Buffy.
"Okay. Look at this. A covalent bond, which means these two atoms are linked by this—"
As Willow started going over the mistakes with Buffy on her problem, Buffy sat her pencil down and it rolled off the desk and into the space between it and the filing cabinet. "Hold that thought," Buffy said, reaching for the pencil. "Okay. I'm Learn Girl."
"Okay," Willow began again, pointing at the paper. "So, see here—"
Except Buffy interrupted again, having an epiphany of sorts. "Deja vu."
"What's that?" Kitty asked.
"I have this perfect memory of the pencil and..."
Buffy dropped the pencil again and let it roll off the desk and in between it and the filing cabinet. This time when she reached for the pencil, she discovered something else there as well.
"Oh, hey," she said, holding out a yellow floppy disk. "You dropped this."
"It's not mine," Willow noted, taking the storage device. "It might be something of Ms. Calendar's."
As Willow inserted the disk into the computer on the desk, Buffy frowned. "This feels kinda morbid."
"I've gone through most of her files already," Willow said, wanting her to know there was nothing wrong with it.
"Does that make it less morbid or you really morbid?" she asked.
Willow sighed sadly. "I had to, to teach her class," she explained. She didn't really have a choice on the matter.
"Relax, Will. I was making with the funny," Buffy told her.
The two girls paid attention to the screen that was loading as Kitty remained lying on the desk. The file seemed to contain English translations of Romani scrolls. Buffy looked closely at it, wondering what it meant.
"Does that say 'restoration'?" Buffy asked.
"It's one of her spells, I think," Willow said, looking at Buffy who was still reading. "Ms. Calendar wasn't a practicing witch, but she did dabble—"
"Willow," Buffy interrupted. When she heard the urgency in her tone, Kitty sat up and looked at the computer as well.
It only took seconds for Willow to realize what they'd found. "Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy."
"Is that... is that what I think it is?" Kitty asked slowly. The words made just enough sense for her to get an idea.
"Yeah," Willow breathed out, eyes wide.
It was a spell that Jenny was killed for. A spell to restore Angel's soul.
♡︎
Giles, Xander, and Cordelia looked at the girls in disbelief as they handed over the printed-out spell. They didn't know this was even possible, let alone that Jenny managed to complete it.
"What are you saying?" Giles asked, cleaning his glasses.
"The curse," Buffy said, pushing the printout into his hands. "This is it."
"Looks like Ms. Calendar was trying to replicate the original curse. To restore Angel's soul again," Willow said.
Giles stared at the paper. "She said it couldn't be done."
"Well, she tried anyway. And it looks like it might have worked," Buffy said.
"So he killed her before she could tell anyone about it," Xander chimed in bitterly. "What a prince, huh?"
"This is good, right?" Cordelia asked. "I mean, we can curse him again."
"Um, well, this, um, certainly points the way, but the ritual itself requires a greater knowledge of the black arts than I-I can claim," Giles said as Buffy nervously paced.
Willow stepped up. "Well, I've been going through her files and, and researching the black arts, for fun, or educational fun, and I may be able to work this."
That concerned Giles, knowing how dangerous it could be. "W-Willow, channeling such potent magicks through yourself, it could open a door that you may not be able to close."
"I don't want you putting yourself in any danger, Will," Buffy told her.
"And I don't want danger," she said. "Big 'no' to danger, but I may be the best person to do this."
"Hi!" Xander said, getting up quickly. "For those of you who have just tuned in, everyone here is a crazy person. So this spell might restore Angel's humanity? Well, here's an interesting angle. Who cares?"
"I care," Buffy said softly.
Xander scoffed, unsurprised. "Is that right?"
"Let's not lose our perspective here, Xander," Giles said, not wanting anyone to start arguing.
"I'm Perspective Guy. Angel's a killer," Xander said, standing his ground.
"Xander—"
Buffy cut off Willow. "It's not that simple."
"What? All is forgiven?" Xander asked, clearly disgusted. "I can't believe you people!"
Cordelia got up and joined Xander's side. "Xander has a point."
Xander raised his voice, not really processing what she was saying. "You know, just for once, I wish you'd support me, and I realize right now that you were, and I'm embarrassed, so I'm gonna get back to the point, which is that Angel needs to die," he declared.
"Curing Angel seems to have been Jenny's last wish," Giles told him.
"Yeah? Well, Jenny's dead," he snapped.
Giles angrily stepped toward him. "Don't you ever speak of her in that tone again!"
"Can't you hear what I'm saying?"
The two started to argue loudly, and Buffy rushed over to intervene. "Stop it! Stop it!"
They all shut up and glared at each other for a moment as Buffy turned away, clearly upset. Willow went over to her and spoke quietly. "What do you wanna do?"
Buffy sighed softly. "I-I don't know. What happened to Angel wasn't his fault."
"Yeah, but what happened to Ms. Calendar is," Xander stated coldly. "You can paint this any way you want. But the way I see it is that you wanna forget all about Ms. Calendar's murder so you can get your boyfriend back."
Refusing to listen anymore, Buffy left the library. Willow and Giles stared at Xander in shock as he went back to the table. He then cut his eyes to Kitty, who hadn't said a single thing since arriving at the library. She spent the whole time leaning against the front desk, away from them all.
"I notice you've been very quiet," Xander said. It was very rare the two disagreed or thought differently on something, so it was only natural to ask after she didn't take anyone's side in the argument.
Kitty nervously fiddled with the bracelet around her wrist. "Angel is — he means... you all know what he means to me. And I'd give anything to get him back, but that doesn't excuse what he's done. And J - Jenny aside, what if, while trying to do this spell instead of Buffy killing him, he kills more of us? So, I guess I — well, I don't know what I think. I just wish you wouldn't fight. We all need each other now more than ever."
"Is that the long-winded, Giles way of saying that you don't care?" Xander asked.
"I care. God, of course, I care about what happens to Angel," she said, frustrated tears welling in her eyes. "But I can't even begin to think about a decision like this. And if this is how I feel, then I can't imagine how hard this would be for Buffy. And so she doesn't deserve us making it any harder for her."
♡︎
Kitty couldn't lie and say that every other thought wasn't about getting Angel's soul back. She dreamed about having another karaoke night and laughing at the Bronze and him begrudgingly coming to support her cheering at football games. But she kept the longing desire to have Angel back in her life to herself, knowing that it'd hurt Giles and make Buffy's decision even harder.
She thought about saving Angel more than she thought about finals. And when Kendra showed back up out of the blue with instructions from her Watcher to help protect Sunnydale from a great evil, school felt nonexistent. And of course, it was a great evil that Angel and Drusilla were interested in.
Kitty sat at the table in the library, history study guide forgotten about as the others researched. Giles had been in his office for several minutes, checking on an artifact that could bring on the end of times, but finally came back out.
"I've been on the phone to the museum," he said, not looking happy. "The artifact in question is missing, and the curator has been murdered. Vampires."
"And you're sure this was the tomb of Alfalfa?" Buffy asked, coming up behind him.
Kitty scrunched her nose up. "Even I know that's the hair dude from The Little Rascals."
Giles sighed. "Acathla," he corrected. "And yes, the information provided by Kendra's Watcher seems conclusive."
Willow came from behind the circulation desk. "Okay, somebody explain the whole 'he will suck the world into Hell' thing, because that's the part I'm not loving."
"Well, the, uh, the Demon Universe exists in a dimension separate from our own. With one breath, Acathla will create a vortex, a-a kind of, um, whirlpool that will pull everything on Earth into that dimension, where any non-demon life will suffer horrible and eternal torment," he explained grimly.
"So that would be the literal kind of 'sucked into Hell'. Neat," Buffy said, clearly nervous. "Willow, I think you should try the curse."
Kendra stepped up and gave Buffy a look. "I tend to side with your friend Xander on this one. Angel should be eliminated."
"Oh, I'll fight him. I'll kill him if I have to," she told them, certain of her decision. "But if I don't get there in time, or if I lose, then Willow might be our only hope."
"I don't wanna be our only hope!" Willow whined, taking a step back. "Uh, I crumble under pressure!"
"Now what would've happened if Luke Skywalker said that when he was Leia's only hope?" Kitty asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"That message was meant for Obi-Wan, and he died," Willow reminded her. Then she let out a whine and shook her head. "Let's have another hope."
"We have," Kendra said, pulling a huge sword out of her weapons bag. "Blessed by the knight who first slew the demon. If all else fails, this might stop it. I think."
Giles approached the sword with great interest. "Ooh. May I? May I?" As soon as she handed it over, he inspected every inch of it. "Thank you. Well, l-let's, uh, hope all else doesn't fail." Then he glanced at Willow. "Um, how close are you to f-figuring out the ritual of the curse?"
Willow went over to her backpack to get the notes she'd made on the spell. "I need about a day, and an 'Orb of Thesulah'? Whatever that is."
"Spirit vault for rituals of the undead," Giles said, handing the sword back to Kendra before going toward his office. "I've got one. I-I've been using it as a paperweight."
"This means I can't help you study for tomorrow's final," Willow told Buffy.
Buffy shrugged. "Ah, I'll wing it. Of course, if we go to Hell by then, I won't have to take 'em." Then she frowned deeply. "Or maybe I'll be taking them forever."
Giles came back out with the orb in hand. "Angel has a ritual of his own to perform before he can remove the sword and awaken Acathla. With any luck, it should take some time."
"What kinda ritual?" Kitty asked, sliding on top of the table.
"Oh, it's to do with some chanting and a blood sacrifice," Giles said, glossing over the details. "Nothing to concern yourself with. What you should concern yourself with is studying. You have two finals tomorrow."
"Ugh," Kitty groaned, laying back on the table. "Grumble. Finals. Grumble."
"Stop grumbling and look over your chemistry study guide."
♡︎
The following day, Kitty sat in the English classroom taking her literature final. Every few seconds, she'd fidget or glance at Willow next to her, who was breezing through the questions. She stared down at a question she didn't remember the answer to, tapping the eraser of her pencil against her nose as she tried to think about who said a quote from A Streetcar Named Desire.
Kitty was desperate for a distraction, meaning she was one of the first that noticed when a woman covered in a shawl stepped into the classroom. Once she removed the shawl, Kitty saw that it was a vampire, and dropped her pencil in surprise.
As the vampire spoke, she finally had everyone's attention, Buffy included. "Tonight. Sundown. At the graveyard."
Ms. Beakman stood up to get her to leave. "Excuse me—"
The sunlight coming in from the window hit the vampire, who began to smoke. "You will come to him. You will come to him or more will die." The vampire pointed directly at Buffy as she ignited in flames. "Tonight! His hour is at hand!"
The students all screamed and jumped out of their chairs to run away as the vampire combusted. Kitty stood but didn't run, just watching with Willow, Xander, and Cordelia. Buffy remained seated, stunned but still unphased.
Kitty stared at the pile of ash and burned clothes on the floor. "So - so, do I have to finish this test?"
As it turned out, when a vampire interrupts a final and spontaneously bursts into flames, said final is rescheduled. So, despite the coming threat of Angel, Kitty skipped alongside the others as they went to the library to fill Giles and Kendra in.
Buffy was raring to go, sundown only a little ways away. Hopefully, Willow could get the spell to restore Angel's soul ready while Buffy stalled him. Everyone was rushing and researching to get everything Willow would need for the spell.
"She said more would die. I have to go," Buffy told Giles, who was wary about her going.
"Den I should go wit you," Kendra offered.
"No. I need you here just in case," she told her. "I can take care of myself. And look, as long as Angel's fighting me, then he can't do this end-of-the-world ritual thingy, and that's good. Will, what do you think?"
Willow glanced at all her research. "I just want to cross-check—"
"We don't have time," Buffy interrupted. "If this is gonna work, it has to work now."
"Okay. Then I need maybe half an hour once we're all set up," she said.
"Which means you just have to hold Angel off," Giles said. "Don't let him close on you. If the curse succeeds, you'll, you'll know."
"Why don't you just wait here to find out if it worked, see if he phones you?" Cordelia asked.
"I can't risk him killing any more people," Buffy said. If she didn't show up at the graveyard, him lashing out in anger was a very possible outcome. "I better go."
"Be careful, Buff," Kitty told her. "A - and bring him back if you can."
Buffy nodded to her. "I will."
Before Buffy could leave completely, Kendra grabbed a stake off the table and ran over. "Here," she said, holding up the sharp and twisted stake. "In case de curse does not succeed, dis is my lucky stake. I have killed many vampires wit it. I call it Mr. Pointy."
"You named your stake?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kendra smiled, a bit embarrassed. "Yes."
"Remind me to get you a stuffed animal," she said, accepting the stake. "Thanks."
"Watch your back," Kendra instructed.
"I guess this is it," Cordelia said, looking at Kitty. "She either kills Angel, or Willow brings his soul back. But it'll all be over tonight."
"Yeah," Kitty said, anxiety weighing on her chest. "All over."
♡︎
Just after the sun set, the gang had everything ready for Willow to perform the spell. She was sitting cross-legged on the table with the Orb of Thesulah inside a painted circle with a bunch of bones and candles and rocks. After throwing a handful of tiny stones into the center, she nodded to Giles.
Giles began reading from a book in Latin while Cordelia swirled some burning incense around the air. Kitty and Xander watched silently from the side, having nothing to contribute. Kendra was busy guarding the door.
"Not dead nor not of the living," Willow began to chant. "Spirits of the interregnum I call. Let him know the pain of humanity, gods. Reach your wizened hands to me. Give me the sword—"
A vampire arrived suddenly, coming from behind the bookshelves and attacking Xander and Kitty. Then two more came through the door and another crashed through the window.
"Get out! Go!" Giles shouted at Willow and Cordelia, who were the farthest from harm.
Kitty couldn't run as she and Xander fended off the vampire attacking them. Neither had a stake, so Xander kicked it against a bookshelf. It got back up and rushed to him, but Xander sidestepped him. The vampire spun and grabbed Xander's arm, turning him around until they heard the sound of his bone breaking.
"Xander!" Kitty shouted, hearing him scream. She threw herself at the vampire, knocking him off Xander as they tumbled to the ground. The vampire got up first and grabbed her by the hair, throwing her against the table.
Having recovered a bit, Xander used his good arm to grab the vampire and shove it across the library, right into a vampire that was going after Cordelia. It gave the girl time to flee. She was the only one lucky enough to get away. Willow was crushed under a bookshelf, Giles was knocked out, and Kendra had three vampires to fight.
Kitty scrambled for a stake on the table and then called for Xander. "Behind you!" she shouted while throwing him the stake. He whirled around and plunged it into the vampire's chest just as it punched him in the face, knocking Xander out as his opponent turned to ash.
There were only three vampires left, all of whom were surrounding Kendra. As the only other one still conscious, Kitty crawled over to check on Giles, who had a gash on his forehead. And as she did, the library doors swung open, and Drusilla sauntered in.
Before the three vampires could gang up on Kendra, Drusilla clapped her hands to get their attention. "Enough."
As the three vampires backed off, she waved her fingers at Kendra, beckoning her to fight. Kendra made the first move, which Drusilla dodged before punching her, knocking her to the ground. The fight went on with both getting many good hits, but it ended with Drusilla pinning Kendra against the circulation desk.
Drusilla stared down Kendra intently. "Look at me, Dearie." She extended two fingers to hypnotize Kendra. "Be in my eyes."
"Don't! Shut your eyes, Kendra!" Kitty shouted. "Don't — ah!"
One of the vampires came to her and grabbed her neck harshly, the other hand over her mouth.
"Be in me," Drusilla continued. A few seconds later, Kendra was completely under her spell, swaying back and forth and following Drusilla's every move.
In one swift move, with an evil smile on her lips, she swiped her nails across Kendra's neck, slitting her throat. Kendra grabbed her bleeding throat and fell to the floor, choking on her blood.
"Night-night," Drusilla said, kissing the air around her.
Kitty's cries of anguish were muffled, watching as Kendra died. Then Drusilla turned toward her fellow vampires.
"Let's get what we came for, dears," she ordered.
The other two vampires took the unconscious Giles and dragged him from the library. The one holding Kitty hauled her to her feet, pulling her along as well. Kitty fought against him, but it was useless with his vampire strength.
"No, no! Let us go!" Kitty shouted, managing to shake the hand over her mouth away. "What do you want with us?"
Drusilla smiled and waltzed up to Kitty, tilting her head. "Angelus wants to play."
Then Kitty was hit across the back of her head, darkness overcoming her as she fell unconscious.
♡︎
Wherever Kitty was, it was cold, which she knew before she even opened her eyes. She was also lying in a heap on an uncomfortable floor. Someone was singing softly, which is what woke her. Not just someone — Angel.
"You mixed me up for good right from the very start. Hey, go play Robin Hood with somebody else's heart."
Kitty's head rolled to the side as she opened her eyes. She was in a dark room somewhere, with not much in it other than a few pieces of furniture. Spike was the first person Kitty saw, sitting in his wheelchair by the door looking particularly uninterested. Drusilla was twirling around the room to the singing. And Angel was lying on the floor next to Kitty.
He let out a fake happy gasp when he saw Kitty awake. Angel sat up quickly, making Kitty sit up as well, scooting back a little.
"There she is! Boy, I forgot how much you love your sleep," he said enthusiastically. "Look at this. Best friends reunited at last."
"You're not my friend," Kitty said quietly.
Angel pouted mockingly. "Is this about the bracelet? I'll gladly take it back if it'll make you feel better."
She flinched as Angel grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward. He nearly broke her wrist as he pulled the old friendship bracelet off. Then he slipped in on his own.
"There," he said, tightening it with a smile. "Now, something that best friends do is share. So, do you want to tell me how to complete the ritual to wake up Acathla?"
Kitty frowned. "I'm not telling you anything."
Angel sighed and sat back in his heels. "That really bums me out, Kit. You used to tell me everything."
"I told Angel everything, not Angelus."
"I am Angel as I was meant to be. I was so hoping you could accept that," he said, shaking his head. "I mean, I accepted you. I let you into my tortured, soul-filled heart faster than that little Slayer."
"Do you have a point?" Kitty asked, shaking a bit. She remembered how Giles said he'd lash out at those who made him feel more human.
"Did you know that the first smile I smiled since getting saddled with that soul was because of you?" Angel asked, raising an eyebrow. "It makes me wanna throw up now. Do you remember?"
Kitty shook her head hesitantly, unsure of where this was going.
Angel put his hand to his heart in mock hurt. "You don't remember. That hurts, knowing I didn't mean as much to you. Well, let me paint you a picture. The Bronze, just us. I was brooding because Buffy went all 'you're a vampire, and we could never be' on me — barf. So, you dragged me to the dance floor after putting on a song. You got so into it, and I couldn't help but smile at the irony. Now you remember? Remember the song?"
"W - what do you want?" Kitty asked him.
"I guess you don't remember. That's okay. I'll sing it for you," he said tauntingly. "Stupid Cupid you're a real mean guy," Angel said, emphasizing each syllable.
Then he grabbed Kitty's shoulder so tightly that the bones fractured. Kitty groaned in pain, and her wings manifested in response to the pain — exactly what Angel wanted. He eyed the white feathers excitedly.
"I'd like to clip your wings so you can't fly," Angel whispered, pulling Kitty closer by her injured shoulder.
Angel drummed his fingers along the top of Kitty's right wing before quickly snatching a feather and plucking it. Kitty screamed out, never having felt pain like that — like he pulled off a limb.
"Wh - why're yo - you doing this?" Kitty asked. She'd have fallen over if Angel wasn't keeping her upright. "What do you — ahh!"
Kitty choked on a scream as Angel ripped out another feather. "Tell me about the ritual," Angel instructed.
Shaking her head, Kitty began to sob, hardly able to breathe from the pain. "I don't - I don't know. I do - n't know. Please, stop," she begged. "I d - don't know."
Angel gently brushed his thumb across her cheek, pulling her close until their noses were nearly touching. "I know," he said softly, a false look of remorse on his face. "You never know anything, Kitty."
Then he closed one fist around her throat and the other around a wing, crushing the top bone. Kitty's scream got stuck in her throat as her vision went black for a moment.
"Angel," Spike suddenly interrupted. "This is a waste of time. If she doesn't know, move on to the other. Or need I remind you—"
"Don't tell me what to do, Spike," Angel snapped angrily. His hold on Kitty's throat tightened.
Kitty whimpered as Angel kissed the tears off her cheeks. "S - stop," she begged, too weak to pull away.
"Oh, I can't stop. Not now," Angel said. Each time his fingertips brushed her wings, her breathing would pick up, terrified of him maiming them even more. "Us best friends have so much catching up to do."
♡︎
Buffy walked through the park, her head down as she tried to avoid being seen. The police wanted her, believing her to have killed Kendra and put Willow in the hospital. Unfortunately, though, every officer in Sunnydale was searching for her.
It wasn't long before a police car stopped and an officer got out, aiming his gun at Buffy, who didn't run. "Hold it right there! Put your hands on your head! Do it!"
Buffy stared at the gun, knowing she had no right to hurt a human. But as she raised her hands, the gun was knocked from the officer's hands. His attacker then slammed his head against the car, knocking him out. He remained unconscious on the hood of his car as Buffy's rescuer turned around.
"Hello, cutie," Spike greeted, a smug smile on his face.
But as soon as Spike took a step, Buffy immediately punched him twice. He grabbed her shoulders to restrain her, but she kneed him in the gut.
"Now, you hold on a second!" Spike exclaimed, shoving Buffy backward. When she pulled out a stake, he put his hands up in surrender. "Hey! White flag here. I quit."
"Let me clear this up for you. We're mortal enemies. We don't get time-outs," Buffy snapped.
"You want to go a round, pet, I'll have a gay old time of it. You want to stop Angel, we're gonna have to play this a bit differently," he told her.
Buffy didn't lower the stake but did listen. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about your ex, pet. I'm talking about putting him in the bloody ground."
She couldn't help but laugh. "This has gotta be the lamest trick you guys have ever thought up."
"He's got your Watcher. Got bored with the Cupid, and right now, he's probably torturing him."
"Bored of what?" Buffy asked in alarm. They hadn't seen anything of Giles or Kitty since the attack at the library. "What do you want?"
"I told you. I want to stop Angel. I want to save the world," he said, rolling his eyes at how ridiculous it sounded. Buffy noted that he didn't bring up Kitty again.
"Okay. You do remember that you're a vampire, right?"
"We like to talk big. Vampires do. 'I'm going to destroy the world.' That's just tough-guy talk. Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood," he said, sitting on the hood of the police car and stealing a cigarette from the officer. "The truth is, I like this world. You've got dog racing, Manchester United, and you've got people. Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It's all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision. With a real passion for destruction. Angel could pull it off. Goodbye, Picadilly. Farewell, Leicester Bloody Square. You know what I'm saying?"
Surprisingly, Buffy did understand. She nodded, lowering her stake. "Okay, fine. You're not down with Angel. Why would you ever come to me?"
"I want Dru back," he admitted, taking a long drag of his cigarette. "I want it like it was before he came back. The way she acts around him—"
"You're pathetic," Buffy couldn't help but say. Spike angrily punched her, and she hit him right back. "I lost a friend tonight!"
"I wasn't in on that raiding party—"
"And I may lose more! The whole earth may be sucked into Hell, and you want my help 'cause your girlfriend's a big ho? Well, let me take this opportunity to not care," she spat.
"I can't fight them both alone, and neither can you," he reminded her. Buffy decked him again, this time hard enough to draw blood.
"I hate you," Buffy stated.
Spike narrowed his eyes at her. "And I'm all you've got."
The police officer began to stir, drawing Buffy's attention. "All right. Talk."
Spike nodded and turned to the officer. "I'm just gonna kill this guy." Buffy cleared her throat in disbelief, earning an eye roll from Spike. "Oh, right."
"Let's get inside," she ordered, not wanting more officers to show up.
♡︎
Things continued to go downhill for Buffy. As if working with Spike wasn't bad enough, a vampire attacked while Joyce was present, meaning she had to tell her the truth about being a Slayer. Once safely in the house, Buffy left Joyce in the living room with Spike to process while she called to check on Willow and Xander at the hospital, filling them all in.
"Xander," Buffy said as soon as Willow handed the phone to the boy. "Angel and the others are holed up outside town. You remember that funky-looking mansion you showed me that time?"
"On Crawford Street. Sure," he said. He'd taken Buffy and Kitty there when they were still new in town. "That makes sense. What's the drill?"
"I'm gonna hit it come daybreak," she told him.
"You'll need backup."
"No. You stay there. I'm covered."
Xander nodded, though he didn't like the plan. "Do you, um, do you think Giles and Kitty are still alive?"
"I think they are," Buffy said, frowning. She had tried to ask Spike more about Kitty and Giles on the walk to her house, but she couldn't get much. "I just wish Giles was here to tell me what to do."
Back in the living room, Joyce was sitting on the couch while Spike sat uncomfortably in a chair. Spike looked around at the decorations, not particularly caring for them.
"Have we met?" Joyce suddenly asked, a spark of recognition on her face.
"Um, you hit me with an ax one time. Remember?" Spike gestured like he was holding an ax. "Uh, 'get the hell away from my daughter.'"
"Oh," she said, letting out an awkward chuckle. Spike sighed in boredom. "So, do you, uh, live here in town?"
They were saved from awkward small talk when Buffy entered the room, her arms crossed. Both stood immediately.
"I-is Willow all right?" Joyce asked.
"Yeah. She's fine," Buffy answered before looking at Spike. "All right, talk. What's the deal?"
"Simple. You let me and Dru skip town, I help you kill Angel."
"Angel?" Joyce questioned. "Your boyfriend?"
"Forget about Drusilla. She doesn't walk," Buffy said.
"There's no deal without Dru."
"She killed Kendra."
Spike grinned in surprise. "Dru bagged a Slayer? She didn't tell me! Hey, good for her!" When he saw the annoyed look on Buffy's face, his smile dropped. "Though not from your perspective, I suppose."
"I can't believe I invited you into my house," Buffy scoffed.
"So you didn't kill that girl?" Joyce asked, relieved.
"Of course not," she said, hurt that her mother would think that.
"Did she explode like that man out there?" she asked.
"She was a Slayer, Mom."
"Like what you are."
Having enough, Spike pulled Buffy to the side. "Look. This deal works for me one way. Full stop. Me and Dru for Angel."
"Honey, a-are you sure you're a Vampire Slayer?" Joyce asked, not helping at all.
"I'll take her out of the country. You'll never hear from us again, I bloody well hope," Spike promised.
"Fine. Get back to the mansion. Make sure Giles and Kitty are all right," Buffy said, ignoring her mother who was asking if she'd tried simply not being a Slayer. "Be ready to back me up when I make my move."
Spike nodded and walked to the door. But what Buffy said next stopped him.
"If Giles or Kitty dies, Drusilla dies," she threatened. When she saw the concern flash across Spike's face, she stepped forward. "What?"
"Believe me, pet, when I say that if I were Angel, I'd have just killed her once I found out she didn't know anything."
Buffy furiously shoved Spike up against the way. "How dare you? She's my fr—"
Spike grabbed her fist and pried her grip off his coat. "You won't be saying that when you see her. Trust me. Killing her would've been showing her kindness."
♡︎
When the sun came up, Buffy made her way to Angel's mansion, walking along the abandoned back road. She had Kendra's sword wrapped in a cloth and a stake in hand.
Suddenly, Xander came running out of the bushes on the hillside and jumped into the street, startling Buffy.
"Xander!" Buffy exclaimed. She told him to stay at the hospital where he was safe.
"Cavalry's here," he declared, holding up a rock in the hand that wasn't covered in a thick, white cast. "Cavalry's a frightened guy with a rock, but it's here." Buffy held up a stake. Xander immediately dropped the rock and took the stake. "That's better."
"You're not here to fight," she said, walking toward the mansion. "You get Giles and Kitty out, and you run like hell, understood? I can't protect you. I'm gonna be too busy killing."
Xander eyed the sword. "Now, that's a new look for you."
"It's a present for Angel."
"Willow. Uh, she told me to tell you..."
"Tell me what?" she asked.
Xander paused, deciding against letting her know that Willow was going to try the spell to restore Angel's soul — he didn't want Buffy to pull her punches because of it. "Kick his ass."
In Angel's mansion, he stood before the statue of Acathla, armed with the correct knowledge of how to wake him from Giles.
"Now, Acathla, you will be free," Angel said, accepting a dagger from Drusilla. He drew the blade across his palm, drawing blood. "And so will we all."
Buffy crept up behind one of the vampires standing guard and in one swift movement, decapitated him. The others looked at her as he crumbled to ash. "Hello, lover."
"I don't have time for you," Angel said in a bored tone.
"You don't have a lot of time left," she shot back.
"Coming on kind of strong, don't you think? You're playing some deep odds here. Do you really think you can take us all on?" he asked, scoffing.
"No. I don't."
Spike stood from his wheelchair behind Angel and hit him across the back of the head with a metal rod. As Spike continued to wail on Angel, another vampire rushed at Buffy. Drusilla freaked out over the mutiny and tackled Spike. Xander then came into the room and surprised the vampire fighting Buffy with a punch. The distraction gave Buffy the upper hand while Xander then rushed off to find Giles and Kitty.
"I don't want to hurt you, baby," Spike said to Drusilla. She grabbed him by the throat and shoved him into the wall. He retaliated by punching her in the face, knocking her down. "Doesn't mean I won't."
The first one that Xander found was Giles, who was tied to a chair and clearly out of it. He rushed over and began untying him. "Giles! Giles!"
"Xander?" Giles asked weakly.
"Can you walk?"
"You're not real," he muttered.
"Sure, I'm real."
"It's a trick. They get inside my head, make me see things I want."
Xander finished with the ropes and looked at Giles. "Then why would they make you see me?"
Giles considered it for a moment. "You're right. Let's go."
He groaned as Xander helped him stand. "Come on," Xander said, leading him toward the exit. "I'll find Kitty next."
Giles swayed and nearly came to a stop. "K - Kitty? She's not - not here."
"Yes, she is. They took her too," Xander explained. "Must have kept you two apart. Once you're in the sun, I'll come back and get her. Buffy and Spike are stopping Angel."
"Spike?"
"Yeah, literally not enough time to comprehend that team-up," he said, shaking his head.
As Buffy continued to fight her vampire, Drusilla swiped at Spike with her nails, clawing his cheek. While they were all distracted, Angel took the last few steps to Acathla and grabbed the sword in his chest with his bloody hand. Just as Buffy killed the vampire she was fighting, a bright light emitted from the statue as Angel pulled the sword out.
Drusilla looked away from her fight and gazed at Acathla happily. "Here he comes."
Spike used the distraction to come up behind her and wrap his arm around her throat, cutting off her air supply. And as soon as Drusilla passed out from lack of Oxygen, Spike picked her up and left Buffy and Angel and the end of the world behind. He rushed to the garage where his car was, ready to make his escape.
However, Xander ran into him on the way there.
"Hey!" Xander snapped, grabbing his shoulder. "Where the hell is he keeping Kitty? I've run through practically every room."
Spike scoffed and shook his hand off. "I don't have time—"
"Make time, or I have no problem breaking Buffy's deal and shish-kebabing your girlfriend," Xander threatened, a stake pointed at Drusilla.
Spike grumbled before looking back down the hall. "Second floor. The red door with a lock on it. Key is behind the painting to the right of it."
Xander nodded and ran off.
"Oh! And tell the Slayer if she survives that I had nothing to do with her!" Spike shouted. "Don't need her hunting us down!"
Back in the main room, Buffy was facing off against Angel, each with a sword in hand.
"You almost made it, Buff," Angel said. But he'd already completed the ritual. It was only a matter of time before Acathla woke.
"It's not over yet," Buffy said, wielding her sword. She was ready to put an end to it. To Angel.
"My boy Acathla here is about to wake up. You're going to Hell," he told her.
"Save me a seat," she shot back.
Buffy lunged forward with her sword, but he parried the blow and made his own move. "Say, do you think I'll get to bring my things with me?" Angel asked, ducking as Buffy went for his head.
"What? Wanna take those raunchy leather pants with you?"
"Oh, I was thinking more along the lines of wall decorations," he said, chuckling. Buffy jumped back to avoid his sword. Then he pointed the blade across the room, at the wall. "I've done some redecorating."
Against her better judgment, Buffy looked in the direction of the sword. She nearly screamed at what she saw, Angel laughing at the horrified look on her face.
Haphazardly nailed to the wall was a set of blood-soaked wings.
Xander flew through the mansion, taking the stairs two at a time as he searched for the red door as Spike described. When he found it, he tore the painting next to it off the wall, fumbling for the key hanging on the back of the canvas. Then he unlocked and tore open the door.
Kitty wasn't tied to a chair like Giles. In fact, she was on the ground, perfectly free to get up and walk away had she only been awake.
"Kitty. Kitty, I'm gonna get you out of here," Xander said, running over to her. "Giles is already—"
Xander froze, his veins turning to ice and bile rising in his throat at the gory scene. Fresh blood was still trickling from the wounds and to the ever-growing pool of blood that Kitty was lying in. The back of her shirt was torn to shreds, giving him a clear view of her back.
Two long, jagged wounds ran from the tops of her shoulder blades to the middle of her back. The skin was torn and protruding bone showed just where the wings had been cut from her body.
"Oh, god," Xander whispered.
His hands shook as he looked away from the lacerations and at Kitty's face. He brushed the hair off her sweaty forehead, and she didn't even stir. Given the amount of pain she must have been in, of course, she passed out.
Xander didn't want to move her, afraid to hurt her even worse. But she needed a hospital more than anything, no matter how hard this would be to explain. So, after taking a deep breath, he scooped Kitty up in his arms, trying his best to not touch her wounds.
"Don't worry, Kitty," Xander whispered, knowing she couldn't hear. "Buffy's gonna kill that sick son of a bitch for you."
♡︎
And Buffy did kill Angel — about thirty seconds after his soul returned to him in order to keep Acathla from waking. But no one had seen or heard from her since to know that he was himself when he died.
They were all too busy recovering. Though Willow was still healing from her head wound, both she and Giles were released from the hospital the next day — Kitty was another story they preferred to not think about.
Because the world didn't end, that meant life had to go on. Giles, Xander, Willow, Cordelia, and Oz all stood outside the school — well, Willow didn't stand, as she was sitting in a wheelchair pushed by Oz. The doctors didn't want her overexerting herself. At least Giles was on his feet, however unsteady.
"Willow, are you sure you should be out of bed?" Giles asked her.
"Look who's talking," she said, earning a smile from him.
"Any word?" Cordelia asked. They were expecting Buffy to come to school, but she was a no-show.
"You guys haven't seen her either?" Xander asked.
"No," Willow said sadly.
"But we know the world didn't end, 'cause check it out," Oz said, gesturing around them.
"Well, we, uh, we went back to the mansion. I-it was empty, um, and Acathla was, was dormant," Giles told him. Having seen Kitty's wings nailed to the wall made him sick.
"I think the spell worked," Willow told them, referring to the soul restoration spell. "I felt something go through me."
"Plus the Orb did that cool glow thing," Cordelia added.
"Well, maybe it wasn't in time. Maybe she had to kill him before the cure could work," Xander guessed. He couldn't exactly stick around to watch the big fight, needing to get Giles and Kitty to safety.
"Well, then, she'd wanna be alone, I guess," Oz said, shrugging.
"Or maybe Angel was saved, and they want to be alone together," Willow said, thinking on the bright side.
"Perhaps," Giles said, not thinking it to be true.
"Well, she's gotta show up sooner or later," Cordelia said. "We still have school."
"Yeah." Willow looked around, trying to spot Buffy. "She'll be here in a while."
"So, what's the word on Kit?" Oz asked.
"Well, her X-rays are definitely gonna end up in some anatomy textbooks," Xander muttered.
The doctors were under the impression that Kitty was born with additional bones on her spine. She spent hours in surgery, them shaving down most of the wing bones, fixing the nerve damage, and patching up the gashes on her back.
Giles rubbed his forehead and sighed. "They're, um, they've kept her sedated, but plan to bring her off the morphine drip this afternoon. She should wake up soon after."
"We can all come over after dinner," Willow suggested. "You know, cheer her up and entertain her."
"Uh, p - perhaps wait until tomorrow," Giles suggested. "I don't want to overwhelm her. There's no, no telling what she remembers and what mental state she'll be in. So, I'd prefer if it were just me in the room."
"Gotcha. Put a hold on the flowers and balloons and stuffed animals," Cordelia said.
Giles raised an eyebrow. "A - actually, she's quite fond of stuffed animals. I could bring them with me."
"And let you take all the credit?" Xander asked, scoffing. "Yeah, right!"
♡︎
The steady, annoying, beeping of a heart monitor lulled Kitty out of her hazy, medically-induced sleep. She was in a hospital bed, lying on her stomach instead of her back.
And even without opening her eyes, Kitty knew what was wrong — what was missing. It didn't hurt physically, not with how much medicine they had pumping through her. But it hurt in a different way.
Kitty slowly opened her eyes, shifting her head to the side to see Giles sitting in a chair next to her. He had a book in his hand but noticed as soon as she moved, putting the book away. He moved to the edge of his seat and leaned down to be at eye level with her.
"Guess the world didn't end," she said, her voice scratchy. They'd put a breathing tube down her throat during surgery, which left it sore.
"No, no it didn't," he said, managing a sad smile. "It seems Buffy succeeded in stopping... Angel."
"He - he's gone?" Kitty asked, a tremble in her voice. Giles nodded in confirmation. He watched as a single tear fell from the corner of her eye. "They're gone."
Giles took in a breath and nodded again. "Do you feel any pain?"
"It - it's like they're there. Like I can still feel them, but they're not," she told him. More tears fell as her throat tightened. "He took them. He took my w - wings."
Kitty choked on a sob, and Giles was there in an instant, wiping away the tears that were quickly replaced with more.
"I'm so sorry that this has happened to you, Darling," he told her, his own eyes watering. "I should've done more to keep you safe."
Kitty shook her head a little, knowing he wasn't to blame. "Like what? Lock me in a tower?"
"That doesn't sound so bad," he muttered.
She didn't have it in her to smile. Kitty eyed the cuts on his face that had only just begun to scab over. "Are you okay?"
"I've been better," he admitted. "We've all been better, but we're alive and that's what matters."
"Don't feel very alive," Kitty mumbled, her chin wobbling. "H - how am I — without my win — what am I supposed to do?"
Giles sighed heavily and tucked her hair behind her ear comfortingly. "You'll heal, open the presents that the others will bring you tomorrow, do some physical therapy for your back, and go to summer school as planned. And you'll be safe now."
"I'm conflicted," Kitty said, leaning against his hand. "Kind of rude to excite me with presents then bring me back down with summer school."