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When he awoke at last, the first thing that Angel was aware of was that he was in the old warehouse near the dance club. The next was that he was inside a cage of solid steel.
Angel scrambled into a sitting position, looking around with wide, frightened eyes as he recalled the events of the past few hours. He took a moment to rub at the back of his head, which was still sore from where Tessa had slammed it against one side of the mausoleum's crypt.
Standing, Angel moved to test his confines, finding it was constructed too well to escape from. Finally, he turned away, leaning against the bars sadly. "Buffy?" he whispered, mostly to himself.
The last thing he expected was for someone to answer him, but Tessa did just that. "She lives still," the vampiress said with a smile. "Our intention wasn't to kill her, merely injure her... We'll leave her demise up to you."
If looks could kill, Tessa would have been dead from the fierce one Angel gave her. "I'll do nothing of the sort," he growled. "Not even at your bidding."
Lorenzo stepped from the shadows at this, looking equally amused. "Brave words coming from someone who once upon a time showed no mercy to anyone, Angelus," he said. "I remember it as if it were yesterday..."
Angel was sure Lorenzo would have gone on reminiscing if Cordelia hadn't entered at that point, still outraged at the way Jenny had gotten the better of her. Angel fell back to the floor of the cage at this, stunned at his former friend's visage. It was something he hadn't been prepared for.
Lorenzo turned to look at his new fledgling, instantly knowing that Stefanie was still alive as well. In a rage, he rushed at Cordelia, wrapping one hand around her throat. "You failed!" he spat out.
Cordelia moaned. "She had a jar of holy water with her," she explained. "If not for that, Stefanie Marks would be a memory now... It wasn't my fault!"
After a long while, Lorenzo let her go, turning away. "Oh, well, it does not matter, as long as she's the only slayer we have to contend with." Turning his attention back to Angel, he added, "As for you, let's see how well your resistance hold after a few days of being starved, Angelus." He took a few steps closer, stopping just inches from the cage. "Our kind can only go so long without blood. By the time your precious Buffy is brought here..." Lorenzo started to laugh at this, not bothering to complete the thought.
Angel paused, raging inside at the prospect. If they meant to punish him for being what he was, they couldn't have picked a more cruel one to deal out. He wouldn't be able to hold back after a few days, not even for the woman he loved.
Angel leapt forward, reaching through the bars of his prison for Lorenzo's throat, but the vampire king stood just beyond his grasp. After a long while, Angel turned away in a fury, the sound of their laughter cutting into him.
"Good luck, Stefanie. You're our only hope now," he murmured, wrapping both arms around himself and looking around as if to catch the faintest glimpse of the world beyond these walls...
They were in the waiting room of the hospital for what seemed forever, waiting for news of the girl they had come to know and love. During this, Giles did his best to console Stefanie on the night's events thus far.
"I failed," Stefanie said simply. "Buffy and Angel... I should have seen this coming, should have done more. Instead, I let him get taken, let her get seriously injured."
Giles sighed. "You didn't know this would happen," he told her. "Or when it would... That was the problem with this prophecy. None of us knew what to expect!" He paused, taking a deep breath and trying to compose himself. "At least we know a little now. One slayer, Buffy, has fallen, and apparently, Angel and Cordelia are the friends who will be used to defeat you... I know it's hard, Stefanie, but you'll have to be strong to end this."
Stefanie felt the tears begin to flow. "Giles, I can't kill them," she sobbed. "They're my friends!"
Giles sighed again. Being a Watcher had required him to guide his slayers towards their goals, but it didn't tell him how to handle this situation. "Angel at least can be saved," he said, a gentle note creeping into his voice. "Nothing can be done to change who he is... But Cordelia's a vampire. She may look the same to you, but she's pure evil now. Simply put, the Cordelia you know is dead."
Stefanie nodded numbly, knowing that duty prevailed over her personal feelings; it had been refusing to believe that back in the 60s that had cost Steffi her mortality. But it didn't stop it from hurting any less. She looked up at Giles, more words on her lips, but stopped when she became aware a doctor was approaching them.
Stefanie and Giles stood, almost as one. "How is she?" Stefanie asked. "Is she going to be all right?"
The doctor sighed deeply, signaling that the news wasn't good. "Miss Summers suffered a pretty bad concussion and blow to the spinal cord," he said. "And, from what we can determine, someone moved her after she was injured, which made it slightly worse. She's stabilized for now, but she's in a coma... Best case scenario, she may wake up paralyzed from the waist down. Worst case..."
Stefanie's hand flew to her lips, guessing what he was about to say. "She'll die," Stefanie said in little more than a whisper. "Won't she?"
The doctor hesitated a moment, then nodded slowly. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Would you like to see her now?"
Both Giles and Stefanie said yes, and the doctor led them to the room Buffy was stationed in. It was saddening to see the once bright and vivacious slayer looking so silent and vulnerable. Giles broke down at this point, his shoulders shaking with quiet sobs.
Stefanie moved to embrace him, providing as much comfort as she could. Throwing a glance at Buffy, she murmured, "I'm going to get the ones who did this. Find them and wipe them out one by one... Even if I die doing it, anything will be worth knowing you're safe from all this."
Looking up at Giles, Stefanie said, "Stay with her." Then, she turned to leave, ready to vent her rage out on any vampire in her path. Whether she obliterated them all or met her own end, Stefanie wouldn't rest until it was over...
To Be Concluded in Killer Instincts