Torn Between Two Lovers
By: Dreamscape205

Part six

Angel was thankful that Willow remained unconscious while he carried her through the streets of Sunnydale. Once at his apartment, he hoisted Willow over one shoulder to dig the keys to the apartment out of his pants pocket. After struggling with the lock for a moment, he finally pushed the door open and carried Willow directly to the couch. He gently laid her down upon the soft leather, placing a pillow under her head for comfort.

Willow didn't stir, and this worried Angel considerably. He found no open wounds on her head or her shoulders. Chase had taken the full brunt of the blow from the table, Willow had merely been knocked down. The only explanation was that she had been weakened by the encounter with Chase.

The vampire wandered into the kitchen, returning with a cold cloth and placed it on Willow's forehead. She stirred, mumbling something unrecognizable and turned onto her side, drawing her legs up into the fetal position. Angel knelt beside her, retrieving the cloth which had fallen to the floor during her movement, placing it on her neck. He tenderly brushed aside the tendrils of hair that covered her cheeks. "What's happening to you, little one?" he whispered.

A loud pounding on the door startled Angel from his crouched position. He leaped at the door, looking almost like an animal pouncing on its prey, demanding, "Who's there?"

"Just who do you think it would be?!" a voice barked from the other side of the door.

Angel opened the door without hesitation, and Buffy rushed past him, and stood over Willow's prone form. Buffy was breathing hard; she had run to Angel's from the Bronze. "Your friend...what's his name... took Xander...how's Willow?" she labored, as she tried to catch her breath.

"Count Chasjove Logoczy," Angel stated simply. "Chase." He moved back to sit on the arm of the couch above Willow's head and began stroking her hair. "And he's not my friend," He spat.

"So...you *do* know him?" Buffy questioned. < Come on, Angel. I don't have time for fifty questions. > She placed her left hand on her hip and gestured to him with her right, "Look, spill it. Whatever you know, just get it out on the table. Two people's lives are at stake, and we don't have time for the cryptic guy routine."

Angel's head snapped up, glaring at Buffy, "You don't have to tell me what's at stake." A low growl escaped him as he stood to face her, "So, Chase has Xander? Let me guess...he wants to exchange?"

Buffy nodded, her eyes resting upon Willow's sleeping face, "Yes, he wants Catherine, I mean Willow, brought to him tonight. I don't even know where to find him." < What am I going to do? Willow's in mental danger...Xander's in mortal danger. > Plopping herself into a nearby chair, she said, "I need to call Giles. Before I do...I want you to tell me what you know."

Angel began pacing around the room. "As I said, his name is Count Chasjove Logoczy, but the name he currently uses is Chase Logan. Seeing him tonight made me understand what had been bothering me about Willow for so long. His wife, Catherine, and Willow, they are almost identical."

Buffy frowned, "You knew Catherine, too?"

"Briefly," he nodded, concentrating on his memories. "I met her just before she was killed over two hundred years ago. Chase never got over it and vowed he would find Catherine again. I didn't believe he would ever find that certain someone he would use to replace her." His pacing increased and he lashed out, more to himself than to anyone, "Why didn't I see it? How could I be so forgetful?"

"Angel, that was a long time ago. Memories fade," she offered him a half smile, "please, tell me more."

Angel's expression became forlorn as he recounted the details of his past. "I was in Budapest around the year 1787, Chase had staked that territory decades before, and it's customary to report to the HVIC when you arrive. That was when I first met Chase and Catherine." Angel continued to pace as he talked.

"HVIC?" Buffy's head cocked sideways as she watched Angel pace the room.

"Head Vampire in Charge," Angel stated flatly.

"Clever. Keep talking."

"The townspeople were holding their yearly festival to celebrate harvest. I had arrived in Hungary for just that reason...easy pickings. Drunk and happy people become careless people," Angel explained uneasily.

"Um...I guess," Buffy frowned.

"Anyway, the festival lasted five days and I didn't want to wait until the final evening to indulge in a mass feeding. I just wanted to rush out and devour whatever I came in contact with. It didn't take long to charm Catherine into joining me," Angel concluded.

"I can imagine," Buffy scowled, "I suppose Catherine could have used 'the face of an angel brought out the devil in me' excuse."

"Clever," Angel returned her earlier barb, "should I continue?"

"Please."

"It was only the second day of the festival, and townspeople were not quite as careless as I'd hoped. When Catherine and I began the rampage, it didn't take long for them to come to their own defense. They attacked us in mobs, fighting with any and every weapon they could find. I managed to escape with only a few cuts and bruises that healed quickly...Catherine was not so fortunate."

Buffy sat upright in the chair, "What happened to her?"

"She lost her head...literally." Angel said matter of factly.

"Ugh...not a pretty story. Remind me never to ask you to tell me any bedtime stories." Buffy quipped. "Anyway, that explains how you know Chase and why he dislikes you."

The Slayer turned to see that Angel had resumed his post by Willow, gently stroking her hair. Buffy was still unsure of how she felt about the two of them together, but that thought faded as she saw the pain he was in. She went to him, enveloping him within her arms in an attempt to comfort him, "We'll find a way to bring her back, and to save Xander."

Angel nodded and attempted a weak smile as Buffy pulled away and walked to the desk to picked up the telephone receiver, "Time to call Giles...we need to fill him in on what's happened to Will."

The telephone was answered almost before the first ring finished, "Uh...hello, this is Rupert Giles."

"Giles. We've got a problem."

"Hmmm? Well, what is it this time?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, well, it appears that the new vamp in town has a yen for redheads," Buffy retorted.

"He has Willow?" Giles' concern emanated over the telephone line.

"No. Xander."

"Xander's hair is brown," Giles was clearly confused.

"Very observant...I guess that's why you're the Watcher." Buffy joked, but the humor fell short.

"Buffy, be serious!" He scolded.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. Anyway, we managed to get Willow away from him, but he's done something to her mind. During the fight he knocked Xander out and took off with him after telling me to bring him Willow in exchange. Giles, he believes Willow is the reincarnation of his dead wife, Catherine."

"Oh, my..."

"That's not the half of it. Apparently, Willow now thinks she's Catherine, too." Buffy continued to relate the events of the night to Giles.

When she was finished there was a moment of silence on the line before Giles spoke, "We could try hypnosis. I'm afraid I don't know all that much about reincarnation, but it may restore her true consciousness."

"It's worth a try. Please get here as soon as you can."

Just as the receiver was laid in its cradle, Willow began to stir. Her eyes flew open and she began to survey her surroundings. She noticed the girl at the club who had tried to stop her from joining Chase, and then her eyes fell upon the handsome man who was standing next to her. "Angelus," she spoke aloud.

Startled, Angel spun around in the direction of the voice, "Willow!" But the eyes that stared back at him were not the eyes of the young woman he had become so completely enthralled by. These eyes were cold and distant.

'Catherine' sat up, "Angelus, how could you forget who I am? After all...we shared my 'death' together." She stood and walked towards Angel. As she neared him, her hand rose to gently touch his cheek, "But, fear not, darling Angelus, we will share in your death soon..."