Greetings and Salutations. Okay here's another part of Phoenix Rising. Read the Author Note on Dark Future to get an understanding on what's going on. As usual I don't own this. Kitty and related X-Men characters belong to Marvel. Angel and related characters belong to Joss Whedon. Highlander belongs to Miramax and Dimension Films. Lady Death and related characters belong to Brian Pulido. Gargoyles Saga belongs to whomever it is that owns them.

He is the Vampire with a Soul, protector of the innocent.

Cursed for his crimes, he hunts his own kind to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

His name is Angel.

She is an X-Man, a product of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.

She is a mutant, gifted-or cursed-with the ability to walk through solid objects.

She was trained in multiple forms of armed and unarmed combat by Wolverine.

Her name is Kitty Pride, but the world at large knows her as Shadowcat.

         Kitty looked at the man who had stolen her heart. He slept soundly, something she had not had much luck in achieving. She kept dreaming of a sword, piercing her heart, repeatedly. But she didn't die. It hurt. A lot. Which gave her another thought. Dreams weren't supposed to hurt. This one did. She sighed and looked at the clock at the bedside. Eight in the morning. She groaned. She had a meeting. She had to represent Angel. He was in no shape to do anything this morning, not after that Carthag demon last night. She dragged herself out of bed, and walked past Connor's cot. The boy was awake. He stared at her. In the eleven months since she had moved in, Connor had taken a liking to her. It made things between her and Angel easier.

"Can't sleep either, kid?" She asked. He babbled happily as she picked him up. "Come on. Let's get some breakfast." She walked out of the room, Connor in her arms, and went down to the offices of Angel Investigations.

Fred walked out of the kitchen as Kitty stepped of the staircase. "Hi, Kitty." She said timidly. Six months and she couldn't get used to a mutant in the hotel. Her father had been strongly against the 'mutie freaks'. Added to her experiences in Lorns home world, she was not very comfortable around the young mutant.

"Morning, Fred." Kitty handed Connor to her. She knew the problem, Fred had told her when she first arrived. She acted as friendly as she could, she knew how experiences could change people. "How'd you sleep?"

"Alright." She took Connor and walked back into the kitchen.

"Don't worry." Cordelia said, from behind the desk. "She'll come around…or go psycho and kill us all."

"I don't think she'll go that far Cordelia." Kitty said with a lopsided grin.

"Don't be so sure." Cordelia said, holding up some paper. "This is the info for your nine o'clock." Kitty looked at the paper, and then stared at the name.

"Is this name right?" Cordelia took the paper and checked.

"Yeah, that's it. Why?"

Kitty looked at the name. "Someone I know."

"Friend?"

"Hardly." Kitty looked at the name one more time. Fred J. Dukes. "More like a constant pain. I hope you've reinforced the floors."

Cordelia looked at her. "Why?"

"They don't call this guy 'The Blob' because he's a ninety pound weakling."

Fred J. Dukes hurried through the door. A guy his side couldn't hide to easily. And, for once, hiding was all he could do. No way he could do anything against these guys. "Mister Dukes." The voice was icy, and familiar.

"Shadowcat!" He turned to face the girl he had faced many times. "What're you doing here?"

"Trying to help you, against my better judgment." Dukes stared at her.

"You're Angel?" He asked. No way.

"Relax, I'm just filling in for him." She motioned to a seat. "Angel had a tough case last night. He's resting. Believe me, if I were in charge, I wouldn't have even considered."

"I can understand that. But, this time, I'm not the bad guy."

"There's a switch." She sat down. Dukes remained standing. No way those puny chairs could hold him. "So, what's the problem."?

"This gonna sound weird, but…" He paused. She was gonna laugh in his face, he knew it. "…I'm being chased by demons." Kitty simply nodded for him to continue. "I smashed inta some kinda ceremony or somethin', some kinda summoning. A bug thing and some chrome dome. There were some suits there too." Kitty sat up.

"Suits?"

"Yeah. Lawyers from that Wolfram & Hart place."

"You sure?"

"Positive. I should know I've used 'em a couple of times myself."

"I'd believe it." She said, as she got up. She motioned him to follow. She walked over to Cordelia, who had obviously heard the whole thing. She was standing with her arms full of sheets. She looked Blob up and down.

"Downstairs?" She suggested. Kitty nodded.

"We'll tell Angel when he gets up."

"Tell me what?" They turned and watched as Angel walked down the stairs. He walked over and faced Dukes. "Who's this?"

"This is Fred J. Dukes. Mister Dukes, this is Angel." Kitty said professionally. What she wanted to say was, "This is The Blob. He's one of those evil mutants I told you about." But she bit her tongue. Angel held out his hand. Dukes grabbed it.

"Pleased ta meet ya." He said, as friendly as possible. This little matchstick was going to stop Wolfram & Hart?

"So, what's the problem?"

"He's had a run in with Wolfram & Hart." Kitty said. Angel rolled his eyes.

"Oh boy, here we go again." He turned to Cordelia. "Alright, call Wes and Gunn, tell them we got one of those cases." He turned to Fred, who had just walked out of the kitchen, Connor in her arms. "Help Kitty set up weapons." He took Connor from his arms, and looked at the large man. He couldn't fight if he worried about Connor. "Can I trust you to look after my son?" Dukes looked at the boy. He was kinda cute, it wouldn't do to let Wolfram & Hart to get their slimy claws on him.

"I'll watch the kid. Ain't no one gonna get 'im, not with the Blob around." Then he realised what he said. Angel merely nodded.

"Figured that's who you were. Just make sure Connor stays safe," He put on his vamp face. Dukes stared. What the hell was this guy? "or we see if that rather impressive bulk can stop a vampires fangs." Fred gulped.

"Sure, don't worry about a thing." Vampire? Looks really can be deceiving, Dukes thought, as he took Connor. "I'll take care of the little tyke, no problem. Right, Connor?" The baby gurgled at him, then yanked on one of his many chins. Angel nodded.

"Alright, head down into the basement. Position something heavy on the trapdoor." He looked at Dukes weakly. "Sorry."

"No worries. Heavy, I can do." He threw a grin at Shadowcat. "Just ask her. Nothin' moves the Blob."

"Alright, then. Let's get to work." Kitty nodded, headed towards the weapons cabinet, then stopped.

"Oh, yeah. He said he busted in on some kind of ceremony, a summoning." She said. Angel turned to Dukes, who was gingerly making his way down the stairs into the basement.

"We're going to need a description of the ceremony. We need to find out what they're up to." Dukes nodded, and slowly disappeared, Connor in his arms. The boy was waving his arms excitedly. Angel shook his head. Maybe he should hire Dukes as a baby sitter.

"Angel!" Cordelia cried. He turned to see that she had collapsed, writhing in pain. Angel sighed. The Powers That Be may have released him from the clause, but the visions kept coming. He moved to her side, just after Kitty and Fred. "AHHH!" Angel looked worried. Cordelia had had some bad visions, but this one seemed more intense than usual. Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped. "Ow, ow, OW! Damn that hurt!"

"You all right?" Asked Fred. Cordelia looked at her like she was nuts.

"No, I am not okay. That one nearly blew my brain out the back of my head." She rubbed her temples, then got down to business. "Attack, here, tonight. 'Round ten. A big guy with a big sword. Didn't look like a demon, but you can never be too sure." Angel looked at her.

"Wolfram & Hart?"

"Think so."

"Alright." He looked at Fred. "Call Wes and Gunn, tell them to get their asses over here. Kitty, prep weapons." She nodded. He gave her a brief look. How many times had she experienced something like this? He didn't know. He just wished he could have given her the normal life she craved. He looked at Cordelia. "You alright?" She nodded. "Right you help Kitty. Much as I hate to admit it, neither Dukes nor Connor are safe here. We have to find a way to get them both out of here safely." Kitty nodded then had a brainwave.

"We can call Professor X, see if he has anyone strong enough to teleport the two of them over a long distance." Angel nodded. Brilliant. But where to send them?

"Sunnydale." He said. Kitty nodded.

"I'll call the school first, see if they have any one that might be able to help."

"And if they don't?" Cordelia said. Kitty thought for a moment.

"Then I might have to make a long distance phone call." Angel looked at her suspiciously.

"How long distance?" He asked.

"You don't want to know." She got up, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and moved into the office.

"Angel." Cordelia said. "The guy with the sword, he's gunning for Kitty." Angel starred at her.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I didn't think she needed to hear that." Angel nodded. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, not after it took so long to find her.

"Does she die?" He asked. Cordelia shrugged.

"That's the part I don't get. I see him stab her, and then I see her kick his butt. I don't know which ones going to happen."

"Maybe both." A gravely voice said. Angel turned to the doorway. It couldn't be… "Hello, Angelus. How've you been?"

"Not too bad. You?"

"Can't complain. Thought you might need some help." Cordelia stared at the man. Definitely not a high paying customer. That coat was a major fashion no-no, the grey hair in a ponytail didn't bear commenting about.

"Excuse me for asking, but…who're you?" The man grinned.

"Where are my manners? Connor MacLeod, of the Clan MacLeod, at your service." He made a courtiers bow like he had lived through that era. "I met your friend with the overbite problem a while back."

"What did you mean maybe both?" Angel asked. "Is Kitty…?"

MacLeod shrugged. "Not sure. Either way, we have to watch her, just in case." Angel nodded. MacLeod turned to Cordelia. "Tell no one else. Better if as few people know as possible. We three should be enough." The other two nodded. "Right then, we'd best prepare."

Kitty hung up the phone. No luck at the Institute. There was one more chance. She pulled the number out of her pocket and dialled. "Come on, come on, pick up."

"Hello?"

"Forge, hey, how are you?"

The former X-Man, former leader of X-Factor, Forge, sat up straight. "Kitty? That you?"

"Who else? I wish this was a social call, but I need a favour."

"Shoot."

"You got a way to get in touch with Strong Guy?"

"Guido? Yeah, think I've got something around here. Why, what's up?"

"I need to ask him a favour. Well, actually, I need to ask Lila a favour." Forge's curiosity was suddenly piqued.

"What's the scoop?" Kitty explained the situation. "The Blob? Are you sure?"

"This from the guy who got Mystique and Sabretooth working for him." Kitty said. "You're really not in the position to lecture me, bub."

"Point taken. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks. We really need this by tonight."

"I'll get right on it." They said their goodbyes and hung up. Forge shook his head. Logan had said her new man was a vampire with a soul who helped the innocent, but Fred J. Dukes was hardly an innocent. He walked into his workshop and pulled out his old X-Factor communicator. A few minor adjustments, hook it up to his satellite feed, and it may do the trick. He just hoped Guido was listening.

Guido was leaning against one of the supports back stage. His pal, Lila Cheney, intergalactic mutant rock star, was just finishing of the latest in a string of concerts through the Shi'ar system. The audience included Empress Lilandra herself, so Lila was pulling out all the stops. That's when it happened. He kept the old communicator from his days with X-Factor as a momento of happy days on earth. He never actually expected to answer it again. He moved back into Lila's dressing room and pulled it out of his pocket. "Uh, hello?"

"Guido, it's Forge." Guido nearly dropped the device.

"Forge?! What…how?"

"Take it easy, Guido, I don't have much time. Kitty called, she need's a favour." Forge quickly outlined the problem. "I know it sounds screwy…"

"Don't worry, I'll try and talk Lila around. If not, well, we are in the Shi'ar system. Maybe I can borrow a ship."

"Alright, I'll give Kitty the news."

"Oh, and Forge?"

"Yeah Guido?"

"Good to hear you."

"You too, big guy."

Guido put the communicator back in his pocket and walked out to meet Lila. How was he going to explain this to her?

Kitty walked out of the office, smile on his face. "Alright, they've got a lift." She walked over to Angel. "You can call Sunnydale." Angel stared at her.

"Why me?"

"'Cause I organised the teleporter." She said. She sidled up next to him. "Besides, I don't want to be the one that has to tell Logan he's protecting the Blob." Angel groaned.

"All right, I'm going." He walked into the office just as Wes and Gunn walked in.

"Where's he goin'?" Gunn asked. Kitty headed over to the weapon's cabinet. Cordelia, Fred and MacLeod were already making weapons preparations.

"Making arrangements for Connor's protection." She said. She picked up a pair of kitana and strapped them to her waist. "How do I look?" She asked.

"Like someone's about to get their ass kicked and I'm glad it ain't me." Replied Gunn. Kitty grinned.

"Guess we get to see exactly how well Logan taught me." She looked over to the new face, what was his name…Connor MacLeod. He was sharpening a sword of his own. It was also a kitana, but his was a lot more fancy. There was an animal head of some type at the end of the ivory hilt. "You know how to use that thing, or is it just for show?" MacLeod grinned. If he didn't know how to use it after centuries of fighting, he'd never learn. He kept that thought to himself.

"Yeah. You know how to use those?" Kitty pulled the two swords from their sheaths, and showed off a few of the moves Logan had taught her, ending in a scissor position around MacLeod's neck, without realising how dangerous it was. To both of them.

"I think I have some idea." She commented. Then she felt the point of his sword at her stomach.

"You left yourself open." He said pointedly. She grinned and replaced her swords back into their sheaths. Connor went back to sharpening his.

"We got a problem." Angel said as he walked out of the office. Kitty took one look at his face and groaned.

"Logan's being stubborn again, isn't he?" She asked. That man could be so pig-headed when he wanted to.

"He said he's not having Dukes anywhere near Sunnydale, no questions asked."

"Great! Just flaming great. Why couldn't that idiotic, son of a…" Kitty let off a few choice words as she went into the office. MacLeod watched her as she left the room. This was going to be interesting.

Cordelia obviously thought so, too. She rushed over to her desk and turned on speakerphone.

"Summers residence?" Dawn answered. More like the hotline, she thought.

"Put Logan on." Kitty's voice came down the line, and she did not sound happy. Dawn gently placed the phone on the table.

"Logan, another one for you." She said. She heard a pair of groans from the lounge room. Logan stormed into the hall and snatched up the phone. Dawn snuck up to her room. She did not want hear this.

"Yeah, what?" Logan growled. This had better be good.

"Nice manners, Logan. I was hoping Buffy would be a good example for you." Kitty said in a neutral tone.

"Kitty?" Logan glared up the stairs that Dawn had climbed seconds before. "How are you?"

"Well," Kitty began. Logan noticed she sounded agitated. Never a good thing. "we've got something big going down, Angel was trying to get some civilians out of the way and you're even more pigheaded than usual!" By the end of the sentence she was yelling. Logan winced, glad she was in LA.

"Kitty, I'm not havin' the flamin' Blob within a hundred miles a' Buffy, an' that's final."

"Couldn't you at least take Connor? He's just a baby, or are you going for the 'like father like son' line of thought without even meeting the kid." Buffy walked in.

"What's wrong?" She mouthed. Logan rolled his eyes.

"Kitty's losin' her temper." He whispered.

"Look, Logan, I don't like the idea of helping Dukes anymore than you do, but he has promised to look after Connor, plus he's run afoul of Wolfram & Hart. If you won't take Dukes, at least take Connor?" She asked. Logan turned to Buffy and explained the situation quickly, leaving out the fact that Angel had called about the same thing before she had got back from training with Giles. Buffy thought about, then grimaced.

"Here we go again, lost causes are us." She said. "Tell her we'll take them both. I'll organize something with Nathan and Rachel." After their run in with the Dragon, the two time lost Summers had decided to stick around, just in case. Logan turned back to the phone and gave Kitty the news.

"But he'd better behave himself." He warned.

"I'll let him know. And Logan? Thanks."

"Don't mention it, darlin'. When're ya comin' down to visit?" He asked.

"As soon as we've kicked some more lawyer tale. Gotta go Logan. Take care."

"You too, kid. Ya need any help…"

"I'll call." Logan hung up the phone. Kitty thought for a moment.

"Show's over, guys." She said. "Get back to work." Her comment was greeted by a surround sound bout of laughter from Angel, as Cordelia quickly turned off speakerphone. Kitty grinned. It was as bad as living at the Institute.

It was five to ten. Guido and Lila had come and gone, taking Connor and the Blob to Sunnydale. Everyone was armed in some fashion, waiting for the bad guys. Angel was by Kitty's side and had secretly vowed to stay there. He was not going to let her die, he wouldn't lose her.

But that, of course, was the intention.

Lila turned to the large man next to her. He was an Immortal. He was also on the Wolfram & Hart payroll. They were across the street from Angel's hotel. "Just remember, no matter who's in there, you take out Shadowcat first." The big man looked down at her.

"Alright, for the thousandth time."

"Just make sure you remember." She grabbed him by the arm as he turned away. "This whole attack is to get rid of Shadowcat. If you can get the seer, that's good too, but that's your primary objective. And Angel stay's alive, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah." He said as she let his arm go. He shook his head. If she didn't work for Wolfram & Hart, he would have killed that cow long ago. He turned to the team they had given him. "Alright, ladies." He said. "Let's get this over with." They moved in. There was no movement from the hotel. He grinned. This was going to be easy.

About ten of the troopers fell in the first two seconds, mostly humans. They had been hit by a storm of crossbow bolts as soon as they had entered the hotel. The Immortal had spied his target, as well as another Immortal, someone he knew well. He made his way towards her. He was a little sorry he could not…play with the mutie a little before he killed her. Her back was towards him. The vampire was busy on another side of the hotel. Easy, he thought, as his sword came up. Just as it was about to connect with her neck, the blade stopped with a clang. At first he thought the other Immortal had stopped it. But then he had a look. The girl had done a full spin, blocking his blade with one of her own. The other was moving towards his heart. A useless gesture, he thought as he stepped back, but painful if it connected. "I'm impressed." He said. "It would seem the vampire has taught you well in such a short amount of time." Shadowcat sniggered.

"Angel's got nothing to do with my sword skills." She said. He seemed relaxed, so a cheap shot wasn't all he had. He was also older than he looked, his eyes told her that. The rest of him looked about twenty-one. "Ever heard of Wolverine?" She struck out with of her kitana. He blocked one, but missed the other. Scarlet slash appeared across his stomach, and then disappeared. He grimaced and struck, knocking one sword out of her hand. Shadowcat gripped her remaining sword in both hands.

"No." He answered her question. "But then, it won't matter, to anyone, who trained you, because you will soon be dead." Shadowcat gritted her teeth.

"I've heard that before." She said, and charged. She used her phasing powers to her advantage, his sword going through her body with no effect. She grinned. "What's the matter, never fought a mutant before?"

"Not really." He said. A knife flashed in his hand. "I admit you are better than I expected. Good thing I did some research." He threw the knife. As it passed through her body, she felt a stabbing pain through her body. She crumpled to the ground. Her assailant walked up to her. "The knife was made of adamantinum." He looked around. His team had been reduced to only a handful. That handful was concentrating mainly on the vampire, but they wouldn't hold long. MacLeod and two humans were making there way towards him. It meant he couldn't be as thorough as he usually was. He thrust his sword through her heart. Her body convulsed, her eyes on him as he removed the blade. "Goodbye." He said, as he turned to the door.

"KITTY!" The last of the invaders went flying as Angel witnessed her death. He rushed to her side, holding her close. "No, please. Not again." He whispered. He checked her pulse, her breathing, trying to find some sign of life. Nothing. Her dead eyes stared up at him. Tears fell from his face as he closed them. He had failed her. "I'm sorry." He said, as he placed her gently on the ground "Goodbye, my love. I shall join you soon." Then he stood, and turned towards the door. MacLeod stood with him.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I think you know." Angel said with determination.

"Angel, he was an Immortal. You can't beat him."

"Then at least we will be together." He started walking towards the door. Then MacLeod felt it. A rush of energy and power. The Buzz. He looked towards Kitty's prone form. The wound was healing.

"Angel, look!" Angel turned just in time to see the wound fully heal, to hear her heart begin to beat. He watched as her chest heaved, up and down. He walked back to her. It couldn't be.

"Someone want to explain what the hell is going on here?" Gunn asked.

"Kitty is…an Immortal." MacLeod answered. "Like myself. I suspected, but…" They watched as Angel moved back to her side. He lifted her head gently.

"Kitty?" He whispered. Her eyes fluttered. Warmth filled her form again as her eyes opened once again.

"Angel? What…" She looked around. The entire team stared at her. "I'm…alive? But how?"

"I'll explain later." MacLeod answered. "Right now you need some rest. The first time tends to take a bit out of you." Angel picked her up. She snuggled closer to him. Angel turned to the others before going up stairs.

"Someone better tell Logan." They stared at him as he carried her back to their room. They looked at each other.

"Well, don't look at me." Gunn said. "I do not wanna try and explain this to that guy."

"I'll do it." MacLeod said. "It'll be easier if I do it." He began to walk towards the office. "I know what's going on." He added as he disappeared inside. They all looked at each other.

"I'll get a broom." Said Fred, looking around the lobby. Cordelia stood there, looking at the stairway.

"Something wrong?" Wesley asked.

"I saw it happen." She said shakily. "Well, the her dying bit, anyway. And then, I saw her nail that guy." She shook her head. "I had no idea that was what was going on." Then she looked towards the office. "But he did." She walked purposefully towards the door MacLeod had just disappeared through. It was time for some answers.

Connor sat down and placed his hands in his head. Why did he volunteer for this? He didn't even know the telephone number. He shook his head and looked at the ceiling. How could he not have known? Usually, it would have been easy, but something had been blocking him. Why? How? What the hell was going on? And more importantly, how had Thomas gotten involved?

Suddenly, the door burst open. "Alright, pal," Cordelia said. The others had trailed close behind. "it's time for a game of twenty questions."

"It seems that you know what just happened." Said Wesley.

"Yeah." Fred backed him up. "Kitty's a friend, so we want some answers."

"And we better get 'em, or else we're gonna open some whup ass on you." Gunn said, hefting the axe he was carrying. Connor looked at them. They were a motley crew, but they were also as close as a family. Good, he though. Kitty would need the support.

"Very well." He said, getting to his feet. He made his way out office door. They followed. "I am an Immortal, a being of near limitless life. The only way to kill one of my kind is to take their heads." He stopped and picked up a knife that had been dropped during the battle. "Anywhere else…" He plunged the knife into his heart. They stared as he pulled it out, and the wound healed. "Kitty is one of us."

"Why didn't she tell us?" Asked Cordelia.

"She probably didn't know." MacLeod explained. "Immortals start off as normal humans. Unless their Immortality is activated by a violent death, they will live and die a human."

"So she only just found out tonight?" Fred asked. Her initial fear of what Kitty was had been put to rest that night. Seeing the look on her face after coming back, so much like a confused child, she knew that Kitty was normal. Well, more or less.

"You knew, didn't you?" Cordelia accused.

"I suspected, after I overheard you telling Angel the part of your vision you didn't tell her." A troubled look spread across his face. "Ordinarily, I could have told whether or not she was a pre-Immortal, but it felt like something was blocking me. In any event, it looks like I'll be hanging around here for a while."

"Why is that?" Asked Wesley.

"I'll have to teach her what she needs to know about her Immortality, about the rules, about the Game." They all gave him a confused look.

"Game?" Cordelia asked. "What is that, some Immortal sport?" Connor shook his head.

"I've already told you to much. Anymore could be more dangerous than it already is."

"What about the guy that offed her?" Asked Gunn. "Do you know the bastard?" MacLeod nodded slowly.

"His name is Thomas, and I thought he was a friend."

England, 1632

         Connor walked down the lonely, London road. It had been almost a year since he and Duncan had parted ways. He had wandered around, slowly making his way back to Scotland. There was something he had to do there. Then he felt it, the Buzz. . He groaned silently. He had been hoping for a peaceful night, without a battle. He turned to face his adversary. He was tall, and stocky, with dark hair and eyes. "Connor MacLeod?" The stranger asked. His voice was deep. Connor drew his sword.

         "What of it? I've never known an Immortal to care about the name of their adversary." MacLeod eyed him suspiciously. Something about the man made him feel…uneasy.

         "I'm not here to fight. I have an offer for you. Some friends of mine have been looking for you. They've asked me offer you a job on their behalf." Connor looked at the man.

         "A job, really? And who are these friends of yours?"

         "I doubt you've heard of them." The man said nervously. He hadn't expected this possibility.

         "Try me."

         "Very well." The stranger said, clearing his throat. "Alexander Wolfram and Jacob Hart." Connor looked at him. Was he completely insane?

         "You are wrong about one thing, I have heard of them, and what I have heard disgusts me." He brought his sword up in front of him. "Your 'friends' are demon worshipers, who sacrifice mortals and Immortals both to the ravenous hungers of their patrons. I would never help such people." The man shrugged.

         "Pity." He said, and waved a hand before drawing his own sword. He waited a few minutes, then looked around.

         "I'm afraid your friends won't be joining you." A voice said. The owner stepped out of the shadows. He was tall and blonde. A highland sword hung at his side. "The dangers of working with mortals." He said. Connor grinned.

         "Well then," He remarked. "I guess it's just you and me now, eh?" And with that, he charged. The battle did not last very long.

         Afterwards, the youth had introduced himself as Thomas, one of Ramirez's earlier students. The two Immortals walked into a bar to speak of happier days, and soon became fast friends.

         The next morning, they parted ways, promising to do it again someday. They kept in touch for fifty years, before Thomas dropped from sight.

Hyperion Hotel, today.

"And that was the last I heard of him." Connor said, finishing the story. "About five years before I met Angelus. I thought he had been killed."

"Yeah, well obviously not." Gunn said.

"I don't know how this could have happened, he seemed like the kind of person that would never get involved with people like Wolfram & Hart."

"People change." Angel said, coming down the stairs. He had heard the whole story. He also realized that no one had called Logan. He made his way to the office. He stopped at the door and turned to MacLeod. "Will you train her?" He asked. Connor nodded.

"It's the least I can do." He said. "If I had challenged Thomas that day, this would never happened." Angel shook his head.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. If it hadn't been him, it probably would have been someone else. At least we have some idea who we're up against." He said, and walked into the office. How was he going to explain this to Logan?

"She's WHAT?" Logan exploded. Angel moved the phone from his ear. "You were supposed to take care of her, fang features! When I get 'a hold of ya…"

"Logan, calm down…"

"Calm down? Ya tell me Kitty's dead, then ya tell me calm down? I'm gonna rip ya throat out." Logan fumed.

"Logan, I said that she'd been stabbed, not that she was dead." Angel said. He always hated talking to Logan. The man hated him, and in situations like this, he was unreasonable.

"What's the flamin' difference?" Logan yelled into the phone. "Dead is…"

"Logan, she came back!" Logan stopped and stared at the phone like it had just bit him.

"She…what?"

"She came back. She's from a race of Immortals. She never knew before today, no one did." Angel calmed down. "I've got a friend who's the same, he's in the lobby. There are a few things he has to teach her, but…other than that, she's fine. A bit shaken up, but healthy." Logan listened calmly, and turned around as Buffy came in. She looked at him questioningly.

"Does she need any help?" He asked.

"Not sure," Angel said. "but be on stand by, just in case."

"Got it." Logan said. After a few more minutes Logan hung up. Buffy put her arms around him.

"What's up?" She asked. Logan began filling her in, wondering how Kitty was feeling.

She looked up at the ceiling, running the whole thing through head, over and over. How had it happened? She heard the door open. She watched as Angel entered. He came over and sat next to her. "You all right?" He asked, concerned. Kitty nodded.

"Someone told Logan?" She asked. Angel grimaced.

"How could anyone stand him? He's so…"

"Stubborn? Hot tempered?" Kitty put in. "He's just worried about me. So am I." She sat up. There was no pain where the wound had been, not even a scar. "What happened? I was dead; I felt the sword go through my heart. How…" Tears overwhelmed her as she buried her head in Angel's chest. He put his arms around her, trying to think of something he could say that could make it better, but no words came.

"You should get some sleep." He said, laying her back on the bed. "Then we'll get some answers."

"Stay with me?" She asked, more begging than anything else. Angel stroked her hair.

"Always."

Connor watched as they came down the stairs the next afternoon. No one faulted Kitty for sleeping that late. After what had happened, it was understandable. "Good afternoon." He said, walking towards them. Kitty looked at him nervously. But then, she was looking at everything and everyone that wasn't Angel nervously. MacLeod held out his hand. "We need to talk." He said. Kitty tightened her grip on Angels arm. MacLeod shrugged, and sat on the lounge in the lobby. "Take your time, but not too much. Your assailant will return to finish the job, and if you aren't ready…" He left the sentence hanging. Kitty stared at him. She could feel something, just beneath the surface, something old, and powerful. She turned to Angel.

"Don't go too far, 'kay?" She needed to know that he was close.

"Kitchen alright?" He asked softly. She nodded and sat across from Connor.

"Excellent, let us begin." He said.

"How about we start with what the hell happened?" She said, calmly, but barely in control. Connor knew how she felt. He explained about her Immortality, about how it had activated. Kitty shook her head. "Why me?" She whispered. "Wasn't being a mutant hard enough without adding this?"

"There is no explanation for why people receive Immortality." He explained. "I wish it were otherwise. In any event, there is much more to this than living forever." Kitty groaned.

"The catch. There's always a catch." She glared at him. "So, what is it this time?"

He looked at her. She might just have a chance, he thought. "The Game."

Kitty looked at him, confused. "What game?"

Connor looked at her. There was a sadness in his eyes. "Immortals exist to take part in the Game. The rules are simple. When Immortals meet, we battle. To the death."

"But…" Kitty began, but Connor cut her off.

"You are only Immortal for as long as your head is still attached to your body. You lose that, you don't just die. Your life essence, your power, everything you are, is transferred into the victor. It is called the Quickening. With each head you take, you will become stronger. So it will continue until only two remain. Those two will battle for the Ultimate Prize." He looked her in the eyes. "For in the end, there can be only one."

"So, that's it? That's all there is?" Kitty asked. "Kill or be killed?" Connor nodded. "How long have you lived?"

"Over four hundred years." He answered. Painful memories came unbidden. "I was born on the Scottish Highlands. When my Immortality manifested itself, I was labelled a demon, and in league with the devil. Those who are closest to me have died over the centuries. Only two remain." He shook his head.

"Isn't any place safe?" There had to be some place she could rest, try and sort out what the hell to do next.

"Holy ground." Connor said. "Churches, cemeteries, these are the only places where we can find sanctuary, for it is against the rules to spill blood in these places."

"And I thought being a mutant was tough." Kitty turned as Angel came back from the kitchen, a plate of sandwiches in his hands. "Thanks." She said as she grabbed one and wolfed it down. Then she turned back to Connor. "Anything else?"

"There are some Immortals who care only for the Game, head-hunters, who will take even the newest Immortals to bolster their strength." He grabbed a sandwich and nibbled it thoughtfully. "And then, there are the Watchers." Kitty and Angel groaned audibly.

"I've had run ins with them before." Angel explained, seeing Connors confused look. The Immortal chuckled.

"Ah, them. Wrong Watchers. The ones that watch Immortals cannot interfere, although, once you know who your Watcher is, they can be a great source of information." Kitty gave a lop-sided grin.

"Great. You've obviously never heard of Uatu." She rolled her eyes. "Anything else?"

"Yes. Training." He looked at her seriously. "You have great skill, but you need to be trained by an Immortal if you are going to survive out there for any length of time." She glared at him.

"What if I don't want to be a part of this?" She asked suddenly. "What if I don't care about some stupid prize? Taking peoples heads, just to absorb their life energy? I don't want any of this! All I ever wanted was to find the perfect guy and settle down, no more weirdness, no more risking my neck for people who would rather see me dead. Why does that seem so impossible?" She stood and stormed out. Angel started after her, stopping her before she opened the door. He didn't even think about the fact that it was daytime.

"You all right?" He asked. She leaned back into his arms. At least she got part of what she wanted, she decided.

"Yeah, I just need time to straighten things out."

"Need I remind you of the last time you needed to 'straighten things out'?" He asked with a grimace. Kitty smiled at the memory.

"As I remember it, we scared the crap out of some third rate Merlin wannabe." She said, and then reluctantly pulled herself out of his arms. "I just need to think, sort some things out," She grinned again. "get out of here before I rip your friends head off with my bare hands." She gave him a quick kiss, waited for him to move out of where the sun would soon shine, and then opened the door. "I'll call if I need anything." She said and left. Angel wondered if he would see her again.

Kitty walked around the streets of L.A aimlessly, subconsciously keeping a mark off all the churches she past, just in case. She thought about what Connor had told her. It wasn't fair. Things were hard enough as it was, and then this had to happen? She started thinking evil thoughts about whoever decided these things. Why did it have to be her?

"Well looky here." A voice said. She turned around. Great.

"Whaddya want, Creed?" She asked, exasperated.

"A rematch with yer boyfriend, no interference. And here I thought this'd be a great day fer sight seein'." He grinned. "You just made my day darlin'." Kitty stared at him. He pointed to the alley next to them. "Get in there."

"What's wrong, afraid someone will call the cops?" She said. She didn't particularly care what this creep tried. Wasn't like he could kill her.

"Nah. Just don't want the kiddies ta see what we're gonna do." He said, pushing her into the alley. "Remember what I said back in Sunnydale?" Kitty shivered.

"I'd die first." She said. She felt Sabretooth's claws slide through her gut.

"Pity." He said as she fell silently. "We coulda had a real good time, darlin'." He turned to leave. Then he heard movement behind him. Nah, couldn't be.

"What, you leaving the party all ready?" Creed turned around. There was Kitty, standing, wound gone. Alive. "The 'funs' just getting started." The look on his face was a mixed look of shock and horror. It made Kitty think that maybe being an Immortal wasn't so bad, after all. Maybe.

"What the hell…?" Creed stared at the very much alive Shadowcat. "How did ya do that?" Shadowcat grinned. This was gonna be fun.

"Oh I got lots of surprises in store for you, Creed." She said, kicking him in the gut. "I just hope you enjoy them as much as I'm going to." Sabretooth doubled over, not expecting the blow. Hell, he didn't expect her to stay alive. He snarled.

"Alright, little Kitty cat, you've just earned yerself a world of hurt! RAAAARGH!" He launched himself at her. She didn't move. She stood there. She knew there was no way she could move in time, just like she knew he couldn't kill her. She watched him fly forwards…

…Then suddenly stop in mid-air.

"When're y'all gonna learn attackin' Shadowcat is a major no-no?" A voice drawled. Kitty grinned. There's a voice she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Rogue." She said addressing the owner. The southern X-Man dropped Creed like a sack of potatoes and floated down to the ground. Kitty ran up and embraced her friend, being care not to make skin-to-skin contact. Rogue had enough problems of her own; she didn't need Kitty's too. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah'll explain in a minute, Shugah. Looks like Creed's ready fer round two." Sure enough, Sabretooth was on his feet, rage written plainly on his face.

"That's it! I tried to take you along quietly, even tried takin' ya out as painless as possible."

"What a gentleman." Kitty sneered. Sabretooth let out an animal roar.

"Get ready ta die, bitch!" Just as he was about to launch himself forward, a sword arched out of nowhere, landing at Shadowcat's feet. She bent down and picked it up. Something inside her sang.

"Thought you might need that." MacLeod said from behind Creed. Shadowcat nodded and brought the sword up in front of her, trying not to notice how right it felt.

"So," She said. There was a look about her that neither Sabretooth nor Rogue had ever seen, something old yet young at the same time. "shall we dance?" Sabretooth roared and launched himself forward. Kitty moved under his attack, her blade piercing his side. Rogue followed up with a haymaker to the face, and Sabretooth went down. Hard.

Sabertooth lay there for a few seconds. Since when had Shadowcat become such a killer? He put his hand over the wound. If it weren't for his healing factor, he'd probably be dead. He chuckled as the wound closed. "Never knew…ya had it in ya, darlin'." He said, staggering to his feet. Kitty brought the sword up again. The neck, her instincts whispered. Take his head. She grimaced. Even if he had been an Immortal, it would not have been worth the effort. "We coulda made a good team." She shook her head.

"Not in this, or any lifetime, bub." She sneered. "Now get the hell out of L.A. I hear you're still hanging around, I'll finish the job." She brought the sword up to his throat. Had she said that yesterday, he would've laughed in her face. Now… "Get it?" Sabretooth chuckled.

"That vampires done ya some good, girl. Yeah, I get it." He walked out of the alley. "Ya ever get tired a' bein' a goody-goody, ya let me know." He said, and walked towards his hotel. That hadn't quite gone the way he had hoped. Lilah wasn't gonna be happy that Thomas had failed, and she was going to be even more pissed off when he told her that he had failed to grab the girl.

Kitty stared at the blade, still dripping with Creed's blood. Connor walked up beside her. "I'd better take that." He said, opening the sports bag he was carrying. Kitty nodded, placing the sword inside. Rogue walked up beside her.

"Tarnation, Kitty. Ah've never seen ya do anything like that before." Kitty shook her head. What was that sound?

Connor heard it too, only he knew what it was. "We better get back. Angel's worried."

"That why you followed me?" Kitty asked as they started off. Connor nodded.

"Ah just got one question: who the hell is Angel?" Kitty looked over at Rogue. She hadn't heard yet? This would be fun.

Rogue stared at the man…no, she thought, not a man…vampire in front of her. She still couldn't believe what Kitty had told her. A vampire with a soul? Kitty, some sort of Immortal? "Jus' one o' dem situations where you t'ink the world gone crazy, chere." Gambits voice sounded in her head, one of the many that ran through her mind at any one time. "Standard operating procedure as one o' de X-Men, oui?" Tears gathered behind her sunglasses. Like saying goodbye.

"Rogue?" Kitty had come up beside her. "You alright?"

"Just thinkin', Kitty." Rogue said.

"Good. You gonna tell me what you're doing in Los Angeles? Last I heard, you were running around with Storm and co. What's up?" Rogue bowed her head, and began to explain, about Khan grabbing Storm during the invasion of Madripoor, about Remy being used to power the portal. About Vargas, the man who'd killed Psylocke in Spain. About how he almost killed her, how the sword had passed through her, leaving blood…

…Hers and Remy's.

Kitty looked over at her. No way. Rogue continued her story.

"When the others removed the sword, mah healing factor kicked in, an' Ah survived. Remy wasn't so lucky." She took off her sunglasses and wiped away the tears falling freely. "That's why Ah'm here. Accordin' ta Destiny's Diaries, Vargas' next targets in L.A. Ah plan ta stop 'im, an' get revenge for Betsy and Remy. Ah won't let 'im kill again." She whispered. Kitty looked over at Connor, who had been listening in to the whole conversation. He nodded. Look's like he had two new Immortals to train.

"Rogue, I think you'd better listen to what I'm about to say." Kitty said. Best if she told her. "Believe me, as weird as life's been for you, it's about to get a hell of a lot weirder."

Rogue stared at Kitty like she had gone insane. "Are you sure 'bout this, Kitty. Ah mean me, one a' these Immortals?" Kitty nodded.

"From the sounds of things, Vargas' blow should have had the same effect on you as…" Kitty stopped. She didn't want to upset her friend more than she already was. "Rogue, I'm sorry. This probably happened when you imprinted me, and when the effects became permanent…" Rogue nodded. She was Immortal. She thought about the page in Destiny's Diaries, the one picturing her killing Vargas. It suddenly seemed a possibility, provided she survived long enough.

"Y'all said something about training?" She asked. MacLeod stepped forward.

"That's where I come in. I'll teach the tricks you need to survive, sword fighting, that sort of thing. Starting now."

For six months, Connor MacLeod worked them hard, teaching them what they would need to survive. Then Kitty and Angel hit a speed bump.

"You really aren't ready yet." MacLeod said. Rogue was feeding little Connor, and Kitty needed some time off. Angel sat off to one side. This was one of the few nights where he didn't have a case. He and Kitty had been planning this for a while. First chance they got, they'd get some time to themselves, just the two of them. He was going to meet her at a restaurant after MacLeod was finished with her, they could spend some time being as normal as they could get. This 'time to herself' thing was expected, but still a worry. Was he losing her? "What if you meet another Immortal?" Connor had continued. Kitty glared at him.

"I'm not a little girl, I can take care of myself." She said.

"In the Immortal sense, you're a baby. If you get into trouble…"

"Connor, relax, I'll go with her, keep her out of trouble." Angel said suddenly. He had to spend some time with her, alone. If this was the best he could do, he'd take it. MacLeod sighed.

"Alright, alright, get out of here. Just be careful." Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Yes, dad." She said as she left, Angel trailing behind her. As soon as they left she turned and gave him a quick kiss. "Thanks." She said as they walked along. Angel shrugged, wrapping an arm around her.

"Don't mention it. I…needed to talk to you anyway." Kitty looked up at him. She knew why. She had been distant for some time; she knew he would want to talk about it. She just didn't know what to say.

"What about?" She asked. Angel looked down at her. She was so beautiful, he couldn't bare to lose her, but…

"Is there something wrong? With us, I mean. You've been distant, and…" Angel stopped, he didn't want to suggest it, give her ideas. But he had to know.

"Angel?" Kitty looked up at him. Had she given him the wrong idea? She didn't want him to leave her. It was time to own up. "Is there some where private we can talk?" He thought a moment. Private. That was good, right?

"I think I know just the place."

The old church had been closed about a week, not long enough for the squatters to move in yet. It was quiet. Kitty closed her eyes. Not another Immortal for miles. Perfect. She turned to Angel, who was standing near the door. Even though it wasn't a church anymore, he was still a bit nervous. She took a breath. "What I'm about to tell you can't be repeated to anyone. Especially MacLeod." She said. Angel nodded. "Remember last month, when MacLeod had taken Rogue and me to that dojo during the day, and I came back later than the others?"

"Yeah." Angel said. "You got separated in a crowd."

"That's not entirely the truth." Kitty said sheepishly. Angel stared at her. "There was an Immortal. He had been watching us for a while, about a week. He'd been hunting you for nearly three hundred years." Angel gaped at her.

"Hunting me?"

Kitty nodded. "He'd been trying to find the best way to get to you. After seeing us together, he knew what had to be done."

Angel fit it together. "Kill you."

"And leave someway that you could find him, so you would know who." Kitty nodded. "I pulled away from the others to try and sort it out. I'd hope I could talk him around. No such luck." She looked at him. "We fought, and I got my first head. It…hurt, but at the same time, it felt wonderful. The Quickening." Her face wore a mixed look of self-disgust and wonder. "When it was over, I knew why. Why he had wanted to take such actions to get to you." She turned away from him. She didn't want to look into his face. "He had been a vampire hunter, one of the many to try and end the reign of Angelus." Angel felt guilt bubble within him. Me, he thought. Trying to stop me. "He came home from hunting one night, looking forward to relaxing with his family. He had had enough of the death. He just wanted to hold his wife, tuck his children into bed, and forget about it all." Realization dawned within him.

"Oh God, no." Angle breathed. It couldn't be.

Kitty stopped and turned. His face was contorted with pain and guilt as he remembered.

"He'd walked into a darkened house." Angel whispered. "He'd called to his wife, but there was no answer. One of the children whimpered. Darla snapped her neck without thinking. He found us in the kitchen. I'd already drained his wife." His shoulders slumped. So much blood on his hands. "There were two more left, one was barely six years old. We tortured them, killed them in front of his eyes, then did the same to him." Tears ran down his face. How many times had they done something like that? Kitty clenched her fists, her heart breaking. She moved next to him, holding him close as the tears fell.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I didn't want to upset you, but…"

"I don't blame you." Angel whispered. He pulled back. "Is this why you've been so distant?" She nodded.

"Every time we got close, I'd hear his voice. 'Harlot, you bed a murdering monster.' Over and over, he just wouldn't shut up. I had to show him that you weren't that creature anymore, but no matter what, he wouldn't stop." She shoved her face into his chest. "He's quiet now though, happy. He's seen the murderer brought low, but I didn't want this, Angel. Believe me, I…" Angel hugged her fiercely.

"Shh, it's okay, I know." He held her close. Again his past interfered with his present. What did he have to do to leave behind the pain he had caused others? It wasn't fair that Kitty had to live through that night, she didn't do anything wrong. "So, there's nothing else?" He asked. Kitty shook her head. "So, we going to that restaurant or not?" Kitty pulled back, a mischievous grin on her face.

"I was thinking more a hotel room? Just the two of us?" She suggested. Angel had a grin of his own.

"Have I told you how much I love you lately?" He asked as they left the old church. Unbeknownst to either of them, their chat did not go unnoticed.

She stood in her Sanctuary, watching the events as they unfolded. This was not right.

"Hey, Lady D." Virgil Solomon passed through the wall and moved beside her. He looked at the arches that once held perfectly ordinary stained glass windows. Now they were windows to the world.

"This is not right." She said. Her voice echoed across the old New York church. "These two should not have to live through this, no matter what either of them have done."

"So you keep sayin'. Maybe you should do something about it." The pale woman looked at her friend."

"I think I will." She said, walking towards the windows. She called her powers around her. The window before them shimmered before them, transforming into doorway. "I think it is time for Lady Death to take a hand in these events."

Angel and Kitty returned to the offices of Angel Investigators the next morning. No one asked them where they had been. None of them really wanted to know. Rogue walked up to Angel, his son in her arms. "How was he?" He asked.

"Perfect. Think he missed his pop, though." She drawled as Angel took him from her arms. Kitty noticed a sad look on her face. No prizes for guessing why.

"I'll keep that in mind." Angel said.

Virgil watched silently, invisibly. Hard to believe this guy held Europe in a grip of terror, he thought, watching the vampire handle his son. This guy's a pussycat! "You watchin' this, Lady D?"

Lady Death stood before her windows. "Indeed I am." She said. He had obviously repented his crimes, no matter how forced into it he was. The question was, why did the Lords of Order continue to test him? She did not know.

"Lady Death." The Diva of Death turned to see her sister, Vandala, fly in. "I have just learned something of importance."

"What is it, sister?"

"It concerns these two." She said, pointing to the image of Kitty and Angel. "Someone is sending Immortals with some kind of grudge against Angelus." Lady Death stared at her sister.

"This is not good." She said.

"Worse than it seems, ladies." They turned to see Bedlam, Guardian of the Chaos Shield, and the werewolf seer Gallows behind them. Bedlam stepped forward. "How're ya doin', Lady D?"

"Well enough, my friend." She said. "What do you know of this?" She gestured to the windows.

"Only that if they split, if one of them falls, so to does the earth." Gallows answered. "There are forces at work none of us understand." Lady Death waved a hand. One of the windows shimmered, transforming into a doorway.

"Then it is time to take a personal hand in this matter."

They sat in the office as Kitty explained what had happened, about taking her first head. MacLeod was impressed, if not a little worried. The fact that the Immortals Quickening had affected her in that way was worry enough. But this was not the first Immortal that had come after Angel. Someone seemed to be steering them their way. But why?

"Uh, guys?" They turned towards Cordelia, who was pointing at the swirling blue vortex that had appeared. Angel handed Connor to Fred.

"Take him upstairs." He said. Fred rushed upstairs, Cordy, Gunn and Wes following close behind. Angel stepped forward. Kitty rushed to is side, sword in hand. MacLeod and Rogue moved to block the stairs, their own swords drawn. They watched as a figure stepped out of the portal.

"Greetings." The figure said. She was completely white, with an aura of power that none of them had seen before. "I am Lady Death. I am here to help."

A year and a half after that, Connor MacLeod disappeared. No one knew where he might have gone. This worried Angel more than most. Not only was MacLeod a friend, but he had also been training Kitty and Rogue. There was no worry for the latter; under Connor's eye she had already taken three heads with no major side effects. Kitty, on the other hand, had difficulty handling the two she had taken, and he couldn't help but feel it was his fault. Because both Immortals had been hunting him. It took her a while to get used to it. He remained by her side through out, all the time wondering if his relationships were doomed to failure.

He watched closely as his plan bore fruit. Soon, Shadowcat would be his, as it was always meant to be.

Belasco threw his head back and laughed. This was easier than expected.

Amanda Sefton, the current Magick and Guardian of Limbo, was also watching the proceedings. Something had to be done. But what? She stared at the image for a few moments. Then the image focused on Lady Death. She was running through some sword strokes with Kitty. A grin spread across her face. Bingo.

Lady Death reclined in the room that had been set aside for her use. Kitty was getting better with her blade. But she seemed to be having trouble with the Quickenings she had collected. She wished he could help, but she had to face this alone.

"Never thought I'd see you so down." Lady Death turned.

"Magick. I'm surprised to see you here."

"Why? Kitty is my friend, after all." Magick thought for a moment. "Which is why I'm here. She needs help, someone who knows her."

"Anyone in particular?" Lady Death asked.

"Someone you might know, actually. He currently resides in your Midnight Realm." She grinned. "He might also be the only one who can help her through this."

"Who?" The albino asked. Who could she be talking about?

Piotr Nicholiavich Rasputin sat in the shade of the border post, looking into the realm of the Blood Goddess, Purgatori. Since his arrival here, there hadn't been much else to do but watch. Truth to tell, he was bored. He thought about the news Illyana had sent him. Katya had moved on, although he did not agree with her choice in men. Nothing he could do about it now.

"Piotr Rasputin." He turned to see Cremator, one of Lady Death's vassals, approaching. "The Lady Death has a task for you. Return home immediately." Peter sighed. He was just starting to enjoy himself, too. He wondered what task she had for him.

"What?" Peter was flabbergasted.

"I think I made myself perfectly clear." Lady Death answered. "You are going to assist me in watching over Angelus and his lady love. Is there a problem with that?" Peter winced slightly.

"Nyet… no, but…" The Russian began, but the Diva of Death cut him off.

"I know of your history with Pryde and it is exactly the reason I have summoned you. Wolverine is having troubles of his own. You are needed. Do you refuse my request?"

"No." He said. It would be good to see friends again, and Katya needed his help. "I will go." He flipped his mental trigger, encasing himself in organic steel. "Never let it be said that Colossus lets down friends in need."

Kitty sat in the dark, alone with the voices in her head. "He does not love you. He is incapable of love."  No, that's not true. "He will betray you at first chance." No, he would never do that. He's changed; he's not like that anymore.

"Kitty?" She jumped. Angel turned on the light and walked into the room. "Are you all right?"

"They won't shut up, they just keep going. Why can't they just leave me alone?" She whimpered. It wasn't fair. She never did anything wrong. Why wouldn't they leave her alone?

"Hey, shh, it's alright." Angel held her close. Despite the voices screaming in her head, Kitty felt…safe. Like when Logan was around, only warmer. "We'll get through this, somehow. I just need you to hold on. Come on, Lady D's got someone she wants us to meet."

"Who?" Kitty asked, as he helped her to her feet. Who could Lady Death know that would have anything to do with them? Angel shrugged.

"All I know is they'll be here soon. Come on, let's move." Kitty snuggled closer to him, trying to ignore the voices.

"Thankyou."

"I'm not letting this tear us apart." He said fiercely as they made their way down the stairs. "We will get through this! I promise."

Rogue was standing by the door as Angel and Kitty came down the stairs. She noticed that her friend looked a bit dishevelled. Dammit, she thought. Why was Kitty going through this? Was someone deliberately sending the Immortals after Angel? "Few too many to make a coincidence." The Beasts voice echoed through her head.

"Henri's right, chere." Gambit's voice joined the Beast. "Somt'in' goin' down, an' Kitty's bang smack in de middle of it." They were both right, but what to do?

"Observe." The part of her that was her foster mother, Mystique, advised. "Search the shadows, use all of your skills and abilities to discover the truth. I did not raise you to stand aside and do nothing." A faint smile appeared on her face. That was the truth of it.

Suddenly a blue flash appeared in the middle of the room. Lady Death walked out of the light, along with a very familiar form. Rogues jaw almost touched the floor. Kitty's wasn't too far behind. "Peter?" She whispered. It couldn't be. He was dead.

"Hello, Katya." He looked at her. Some things did not change. "You are looking good." Kitty stopped for a second, before her usual attitude reasserted itself.

"You're not looking too bad yourself. For a dead guy." Colussus grinned.

"You'll never change." He noticed Rogue in the corner. "Rogue." He said, nodding in her direction. She grinned.

"'Bout time you realised Ah was here, Sugah. How's death treatin' ya?" Peter grinned and looked over at Lady Death.

"She has been treating me very well, actually." He said, with a completely straight face. "But we are not here to discuss my living arrangements, so too speak. I am here to help." He walked over to Kitty. Angel looked at the big man. Peter looked down at him. "You are Angel, da?"

"Yeah." The vampire said. "You Colossus?"

"Yes, I am." He looked at the man that had taken his place in Kitty's heart. "You are taking care of her?"

"As much as can." Angel grinned. "She can be a bit of a handful sometimes." Kitty punched him in the arm. Peter grinned.

"Yes, she is somewhat…strong willed." Kitty looked at him horrified as Angel and the others broke down into fits of hysterics.

Kitty sat on the roof of the hotel. Colossus' arrival had quieted the voices in her head somewhat, but they were still there. She didn't know how much longer she could deal with this. Tears welled in her eyes. It wasn't fair, she thought. Every time she had a little bit of happiness, some semblance of a normal life, something like this had to happen.

"Hey." Kitty turned to see Cordelia walking towards her. "You alright?"

"Just enjoying the first moment of peace and quiet I've had in a long time." Cordelia grinned.

"I can relate." She said, tapping the side of her head. Kitty laughed. "Y'know, I was trying to think of anyone who might…" But a sudden searing pain cut her off. "Ahhh!" Kitty caught her as she fell. "I…hate…this!" She managed through gritted teeth. Then, as quickly as it began, it stopped. "We have to get downstairs." Kitty didn't argue. She quickly phased the both of them down to the lobby. They landed lightly. Kitty looked up. Hatred boiled as she saw the man who had started all the trouble holding Angle by the collar. The others were otherwise occupied, but Kitty didn't notice.

"You!" She spat. Every part of her raged. The voices backed off completely. "Let. Him. Go!"

"Ah, there you are. I was beginning to wonder." The Immortal grinned, then looked down at Angels limp form. "I was quite surprised, he simply jumped at me." Kitty heard a growl from somewhere. She looked around for Wolverine, then realized it had come from her. "Most impressive, but phasing won't save you this time."

"Phasing didn't save me last time, bub." She said, revealing her Buzz. Thomas looked at her in shock. "I challenge you, winner take all. As it was meant to be."

"There can be only one." He entoned, dropping Angel to the floor. "Very well. Take your weapon, and we shall begin." Kitty walked over to the weapons cabinet and picked up her sword. He turned back to him.

"Don't expect to live too much longer, creep." She said. ""I don't care if you were MacLeod's friend or not, you're going down."

She brought the blade up in front of her and charged.

Thomas was amazed at how much she had improved. He knew that Connor was a good teacher, but not this good. A strike for his neck broke him out of his reverie. He hastily blocked the blow, only to be taken down by a leg sweep. He lay on the ground, breathing heavily. He waited for the final blow, but it never came. He looked up at his target.

"I never strike a foe while they're on the ground. That's the cowards way out." She said pointedly, obviously referring to her first death. He winced.

"I don't know which is more painful, your blade or your tongue." He got to his feet. "I'm impressed. You have improved more than I expected. A pity it was not enough." He pulled out a knife. "Remember this?" He drew back his hand, but before he could throw the knife, a large metal fist came down on his arm, shattering the bone.

"Nyet! Not this time, comrade." Colossus stood over the Immortal, his metal body gleaming. "This will be fair and honourable combat, as it should be." Thomas felt the bone knit together.

"Very well then." He faced Kitty, bringing up his sword. "Let us end this."

"Let's!" Kitty launched forward, sword outstretched. Colossus watched on. Kitty was better than he remembered, and more than willing to take this mans life. He felt a shiver go up his back. His Katya, the kitten he had loved, had finally grown up.

She had truly become Shadowcat.

Angel stirred. Damn, that guy was fast. He looked up. All the fighting had stopped, except for Thomas, who was going hammer and tongs with Kitty. Angel tried to move. His body was still broken. He watched on as Kitty dodged a fierce blow to the neck, striking out with her foot. Thomas staggered back, barely blocking a strike to his own neck. Kitty snarled as she sent a right that sent Thomas off balance. He sent a wild sword blow in the hope of at least injuring her. Kitty stopped the blade with her own, trapping it on the floor. She grinned as he looked up at her. "What are you waiting for? You win, so take your prize. DO IT!" Her blade came up. Then she stopped. Something Connor had said came back to her.

"He would not had joined Wolfram & Hart without a reason. Something happened."

"Why?" Thomas stared up at her. "Why did you try to kill me in the first place? And don't give me anything about 'following orders'. I don't accept that, not after what Connor told me." Thomas stared at her.

"What does it matter? You will know in a minute. Now take your prize." Kitty sheathed her blade.

"Don't tempt me. I want some answers." She stared at him. "There is something fishy about all this. You, Sabretooth, all these Immortals coming after Angel, something's up. Someone wants either me dead, or Angel and me split up. I want some answers." Lady Death strode up next to her. Her pupiless eyes drilled through Thomas' soul.

"Perhaps I can persuade him." She said. Kitty shook her head.

"He's Immortal. Death doesn't scare him." She said. The albino grinned.

"Perhaps, but all men have some fears. All I have to do is find that fear." She waved her hand. A blue glow surrounded her, and…

He stood in a dark room. There were no doors or windows. In front of him, there was woman chained before him, her head bowed. Two men appeared out of nowhere. They walked towards her.

"Have you reconsidered?" One of the men asked. The woman did not answer. The other man brought up a sword.

"Have it your way." The sword came down. Her head rolled across the floor, coming to a stop at his feet. He stared at the face that was staring back at him.

"No" He whispered. It wasn't possible. He would have known if she was dead. "Nononononononononononono."

Kitty looked down at him. "What's happening?" She asked.

"A woman." Lady Death answered. "One he loved, an Immortal. Wolfram and Hart kidnapped her, used her as a hostage."

"That's why he joined them?" Kitty asked. The Diva of Death nodded her head.

"They claim she is alive. He saw her death at their hands." Kitty stared in horror.

"Is she…?" Lady Death shrugged.

"That I do not know. Immortals do not pass through my realm, dead or otherwise." She looked down at him. "A shame. He had a noble soul. Still does, barely." Kitty ran over to the computer. "What are you doing?"

"There's one way to find out, but I'm going to need help." She said, as she flipped on the modem. She quickly sent some e-mails.

Willow was working on her computer. None of the sites she had checked were what she needed, and they were running out of time. A pop up box came up on screen, telling her she had e-mail. She closed it. She didn't have time.

Forge looked at the e-mail he had received from Kitty. "Hmm." Interesting problem. A demon sponsored law firm, possibly holding an Immortal hostage. Security would be tight. Real tight. He reached for a pile of discs, flicking through them until he found his all-purpose back door. Even with this, it was going to be a challenge. Good thing he was bored.

Tessa looked at the 'screen' projected on her glasses. "Interesting." She said.

"What's up Tessa?" Bishop asked. She looked up at her time lost teammate.

"It seems that Kitty needs some help breaking into the data bases of a demon sponsored law firm." Bishop raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm not lying, joking or anything else. An interesting challenge." She remotely logged a satellite link to the firm.

Lexington read his screen again. "What's up, bro?" Broadway asked as Lex hooked his cybernetics to the computer port.

"Looks like trouble." Lex said. "A cyber friend of mine needs to hack into Wolfram & Hart."

"Why would she want to do that?" Broadway asked. Owen Burnett walked in.

"Why would who wish to do what?" He asked in his usually formal way. It was sometimes hard to believe that this was really the mischievous fey, Puck.

"One of Lex's cyber friends needs to hack into…" Broadway stopped. "What was it again?"

"Wolfram & Hart." Lex said. Owen raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting." He knew the truth; he had been forced to use them himself over the years. Why would anyone want to hack into those systems?

"I'm getting answers back." Kitty said, sitting up straight. She scanned the list. Three answers. Forge and Sage, no surprises there. Lex though…She sent a quick e-mail to confirm, which was quickly replied as a firm 'yes'. A grin spread across her face.

"What's up?" Angel asked. He looked over her shoulder. He raised an eyebrow when he hit Lex' name. "Is that…?" Kitty nodded. "Knew he had guts."

Two weeks earlier.

Lexington looked out at the Los Angeles skyline. It was definitely different to New York. He dropped through the skylight into the building she had chosen as their meeting place. He looked around. This certainly didn't look like there was anyone living here. He quickly scanned the area. His cybernetics scanned for any life forms. Nothing…wait. There. Human, female, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

Until she walked through the wall.

"Whoa!" Lex remarked. The young lady looked his way.

"What the hell?" She pulled a sword out from under the trench coat she was wearing.

"Jalapenja!" Lex dived out of the way as the sword came down. Where the hell had that come from? He quickly clambered into the rafters. "Nice swing. Practice that with hammers?" He quipped. The human snarled at him. He snarled back.

"What are you, and what have you done with Lex?" She asked. Lex snarl turned into a look of surprise.

"What the…? Okay, time out." He said making the T sign with his hands. "You wouldn't happen to be Kitty, would you?" The human looked up at him in surprise. "I'll take that as a yes." He glided down from the rafters. "I'm Lex." He held out his hand. "It's great to finally meet you face to face."

Kitty looked down at the olive green creature claiming to be her e-mail pal. "Why not?" She said, as she took his hand. Lex breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry if I startled you."

"I was about to say the same thing." He said, letting her hand go. She laughed. Lex grinned. "Guess neither of us was kidding when we said 'life's complicated', huh?" Kitty broke down into hysterics. "Hey, it wasn't that funny."

Now.

Lex typed furiously, watching the action on his heads up display. Wolfram & Harts security was tough, but between the four of them, they were slowly getting through. Lex sent a message to Kitty.

Lex: What are we looking for?

Shdwkat: It seems the guy they sent to take me out may have been forced. We think they are either holding his girlfriend captive, or have already killed her. We need to find out either way.

Lex pointed out a heavily guarded area.

Forge: Time to see if I can find a back door.

He tried his electronic key, which found a way to a very interesting lock.

Sage: A logic lock. They thought of everything.

She mentally ran through a few possibilities. The first try succeeded.

Lex: Excellent.

Kitty ran through the files they found. She found a file on Thomas, and quickly downloaded it, and some files that were linked to it, plus files labelled with hers and Angels names.

Shdwkat: That's it guys. Thanks.

Lex: I'll crash their systems so they can't trace us.

The others logged out. Lex planted a time bomb virus, closed the door behind him, and logged out. He sat back and counted down. "3…2…1."

Lilah looked at the screen, annoyed. Thomas hadn't reported in yet, and that worried her. It meant that Shadowcat was most likely still alive.

Suddenly, the computer screen came up with rubbish. The printer started spitting out pages, and the lights started flashing on and off. Lilah picked up the phone.

"This is a recording." Said a voice. "We are putting you out of business. Have a nice life." Lilah slammed the phone down in disgust. She looked out the window. This was not good.

Gunn ran in to the hotel. "You guys heard anything about Wolfram & Hart?" Rogue looked over at him.

"Kitty an' some friends were tryin' ta hack their systems, why?"

"'Cause there is some serious weirdness goin' on. The lights are blinking like crazy." Kitty looked up and rolled her eyes. Angel laughed. The others looked at them like they had lost their minds.

"Lex must have really put some effort into that virus." Kitty said. "Sounds like it stuffed up just about everything." She looked back to the screen. "Now, lets see what we have here." She typed madly at the keyboard. "Birth place, trained by, blah, blah, blah. Who helped them put this together, the Watchers?" She ran her eyes down the screen. "Nothing here. Let's see what else is in here. Hmm, this shows promise." She clicked the file marked 'Marianna'. "Let's see, alright…what the…" Kitty's eyes went wider and wider as she read the page. "Oh…my…I don't believe this." She looked up at the expectant group, then down at Thomas. "They brainwashed her, wiped her memory and gave her plastic surgery. Marianna is Lilah." Thomas looked up at her.

"No, it's not possible." He said. "She is not Lilah, she can't be. Marianna is kind and generous and she never liked the Game and…and…" He bowed his head. "It couldn't be."

"It is, I'm sorry." Kitty said. "It's all here. Spells used, the surgeon, everything. They turned her into Lilah about sixteen years ago."

"About the same time Buffy became the Slayer." Angel said. "This is beginning to make sense."

"Because you made the decision to help her at about the same time, right?" Wesley asked. Angle nodded. Kitty turned back to the screen.

"Let's see what they have on us." She read through Angel's file first. "Well, that was an eye opener." She said after a while. "I didn't know you looked so good in a suit." Angel looked over hr shoulder. On the screen was a picture of one of the times he had snuck into Wolfram & Hart.

"Oh ha ha." He said. "Let's see what they have on you."

"Alright." She said, taking up his challenge. She called up her file. They read down the screen together. Kitty stopped near the bottom. "I should have known. Faith warned us, Blob described that Frieza guy perfectly." Clenched a fist.

"Kitty?" He gently placed his hands on her shoulder. "Honey, what's up?" Kitty looked up at him, anger written on her face.

"Belasco. All this time, that bastard has been screwing around with my life, again." Rogue looked over at her friend, then at Colossus. The Russian giant stood there, face set in stone. "It was Belasco the entire time."

Wesley poured through every book he could find. Belasco, N'Garai, this couldn't get any worse. The Council had been on the look out for things like this for centuries, why hadn't he spotted it? The phone rang.

"Angel investigations, we…" He began.

"What's with the e-mail?" Wolverines voice came over the handset. Wesley looked around. No one. Brilliant.

"Ah, yes, Kitty was just looking for some information in the Wolfram & Hart systems. We've got it." He suddenly had a thought. "Is Rupert there?"

"Giles? Yeah he's here. Why?"

"Just tell him Kitty's mixed up with the N'garai and Belasco." He said. From Rogue and Colossus' reaction…

"Cripes, again?" Wolverine exploded. "I'm gonna rip that bastard a new ass hole when I get my hands on him! Giles!" Wesley winced as Logan roared for the older Watcher.

"Wes, is what Logan just said true?" Giles asked as soon as he got on the phone.

"I'm afraid so." Wes answered.

"Oh dear God." Giles breathed. "Dawn, bring me that book I was just reading through." Wes heard the rustling of pages. "When the daughter of earth bonds with the demon lord, hell will come to earth, and none will stand before them." He recited.

"Oh dear God." Wes breathed. "This whole thing is about Kitty."

"Yes, and if he gets her, the world goes to hell, literally. This is what the Council has been watching out for."

"And we almost let it slip." Wes breathed. "Someone had better tell the Council."

"I think that that might be a good idea." Giles agreed. "I'll handle that. You had better warn Kitty. Oh and Wes? Do be careful."

Kitty sat there and listened as Wes told her what he had found, her mind wondered. The Immortals, the attacks, just so Belasco could get her. Angel pulled her closer.

"You okay?" He asked. She nodded.

"It's just…you came so close to dieing, just because of me." She suddenly found his hand over her mouth.

"Don't say it. I don't care about any of that. What I care about is you. What matters to me is you. I don't want to lose you for any reason, full stop. You hear me?" She nodded her head and snuggled in closer.

"I am so lucky I found you." She whispered.

Two weeks later, Quentin Travers of the Watchers Council arrived in L.A with his usual army of retainers. Kitty noticed that they looked over at her frequently. Finally she had had enough.

"Take a picture, lasts longer." She exploded and stormed downstairs. Angel started after her. He felt something on his arm.

"Perhaps I should talk to her." Peter said, walking past him. Angel watched him walk down the stairs.

"Back, vultures!" Angle turned around. Travers' retainers had gathered around Lady Death, looking as if they were trying to study her.

"You may want to pull them back." He suggested to Travers. The Watcher shrugged.

"They merely wish to find out…"

"Whether she's a demon?" Angel finished. "You may not like me, but you really do not want to mess with her." Lady Death raised one arm. "Oh boy, here she goes."

"Apocalypse, to me." A blue glow surrounded her arm, and the sword Apocalypse appeared. She brought it down in front of her. "I warned you." She hissed. "Now prepare to pay the consequences." Virgil came through the wall at that moment.

"Oh shit." He muttered. "Lady D, settle down. Now is not the time for you to go ballistic. Vandala just brought word. Belsco's ready to make a final grab for Kitty." The Diva of Death nodded, and Apocalypse disappeared. Travers stormed forward.

"What was that?" He demanded. Angel came up behind him.

"Lady Death is the ruler of the Midnight Realm, and self proclaimed guardian of the earth." He explained. "Your people just pissed off an honest Goddess of Death." Travers looked at him in horror. "She placed herself as Kitty's protector."

"And yours." Lady Death reminded him. He gave her a lopsided grin. Travers merely stared. "It seems he has been struck speechless."

"There's a first." Angel muttered. He looked towards the door that Peter had gone through and thought of Kitty. He hoped she was all right. Suddenly, Lady Death gave a startled look. "What's up?"

"I do not know, but I think we should head down stairs." Angel started running, his first thought that Kitty was in danger. He would not lose her.

She watched as Kitty moved towards the punching bag. She wished there was something she could do, but if she revealed herself too soon…

Peter entered the room. Her eyes bulged. What the Hell was he doing? Or, more importantly, how was he here? She thought a moment, listening in to the conversation. Perhaps now was the time to show herself.

"Katya?" Peter watched as she threw herself into a flurry of kicks and punches. "Are you all right?"

"Oh yeah, peachy. I just love being stared at like a side of beef." She threw another punch at the side of the bag. "I swear, if one more person asks me my connection with Belasco, I'm gonna…"

"You are starting to act to like Logan." The Russian grinned. "Or perhaps it is Angel's influence."

"Probably both." They turned around.

"Illyana?" Peter stared at the spirit of his sister. "How are you here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question." Illyana asked. She turned to Kitty with a grin. "I see you took my advice." Kitty grinned

"Yeah, good thing too." She walked up to friend. "What's up?"

"I heard about Belasco. I have something that might help. We just need…" Suddenly, a glowing disc appeared. It slid downwards, revealing a slender, young woman. "Her." Illyana completed.

"Kitty." Magick embraced her friend. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here earlier, but there were things in Limbo I had to take care of." She looked over at Peter. "I see that Lady D brought Colossus, though." Kitty pulled back and stared at her.

"I was wondering how Piotr got here." Illyana said. She moved over to her successor. "You took your sweet time. Let's do this, I don't have much time." She placed her hand on the Soulsword at Magick's side. "Now you, then Kitty." Amanda nodded and complied. Kitty looked at the sword.

"Is this going to hurt?" She asked.

"Don't worry." Illyana assured her. "I just want to make sure you're ready for Belasco." Kitty nodded, and placed her hand on Magick's. A glow surrounded their hands. Illyana nodded. "Alright, you can pull away now." As they did so, Colossus noticed that the glow had remained around Kitty's hand. "Remember that time Belasco took your soul, and Magick stored your physical form in the Soulsword?" Kitty nodded. "When you jumped out to help in the fight, you had a sword of your own, a manifestation of the Soulsword, or that's what everyone thought. In actuality, it was a small piece of instinct from the short time you were the Soulsword's bearer, combined with your hidden Immortality. It was, and is, a weapon of great power, simply because it came to being of your will. It has been waiting for you to reclaim it." Kitty looked at her hand. "All you need to do now is call it." Angel and the others came down the stairs. He looked towards her, noticing the two strangers, and the glow on her hand.

"Are you all right?" He asked. Lady Death took a step forward. Kitty nodded and closed her eyes. The glow became brighter. When it died down, Kitty was holding a glowing sword, similar to the one at the side of the strangely dressed young woman next to her.

"The Shadowsword is yours." Illyana declared. "Use it wisely and it will protect you." With that, she faded out. The group stared at the spot where she had floated. All except Kitty. She was staring at the sword in her hand. It felt like it belonged, like it was a part of her. She ran her hand down the blade. It sang softly to her, promising protection.

"Kitty?" She felt Angel behind her.

"I'm fine." She said softly. "Illyana wanted me to be ready. This," She raised the blade a little. "is her way of preparing me."

"What was that?" Quentin Travers raged. He then pointed to Magick. "Who is this? I want an explanation…" Kitty turned on him.

"Mister Travers, I think it's time to get some things straight. Number one," She counted off a finger. "I am not one of your pet Slayers you can push around. Number two, you are here because Wes and Giles thought it necessary, and number three, if one more of your little followers tries to examine me or my friends like some kind of science experiment I will tell Dawn and she can handle you, clear?"

"I do not answer to some teenager who hasn't been through puberty yet." Travers said.

"Actually, you do." Buffy said as she came down the stairs. "Or at least, Travers does."

"You?" Travers said. "That's impossible, I…"

 "You what, 'Travers'?" Logan growled. "Thought you killed her, is that it? Thing about that is that Travers wasn't the one that tried to kill Buffy off. But you did, didn't you, Belasco?"

"Yes, well deduced, Wolverine." Travers said. "Even if you hadn't figured that out, your senses would have given me away." An unholy glow surrounded him and his retainers. When it cleared, Belasco stood before them, flanked by N'Garai hunters. He turned to Kitty. "This is your last chance, my dear. Join me. Together we will rule over all, nothing will be able to stop us."

"Up yours!" Kitty said, tightening her grip on the hilt of her new sword. The blade glowed brightly, and Belasco got a good look at it for the first time.

"What is this?" He demanded. "You are no sorceress, nor are you any sort of guardian. How could you possibly hold the Soulsword?" Kitty stared at him.

"You think this is the Soulsword?" She looked over at Magick, who shrugged. "Are you blind as well as stupid?" She pointed to the sword hanging at Magick's side. "This is a little side effect of that whole 'Blood Stone' thing. This is the Shadowsword, my sword. You will never take me again." The blade shone brighter as Kitty's resolve became stronger. "Get the hell outta my dimension, scum bag!" Her friends gathered around her. The glow became nearly blinding.

"You may have a magic sword of your own, but you have no idea how to use it. Attack!" The N'Garai rushed forward. Lady Death and Magick stepped up next to Kitty.

"Focus!" Magick instructed. "Let your will flow through the sword. That's how it was made, it's how it works." Kitty nodded and focused. The blades glow surrounded her, as Belasco let loose with a magical blast. It hit the glow from the sword and dissipated.

"W-what? But how?" Belasco stared as the light died. Kitty stood there untouched. A snarl ripped from her mouth.

"It's pay back time!" Kitty charged forward, fully intent on making Belasco a head shorter.

"Not today, my dear." Belasco said, moving to one side. "And if that's the fastest you can move, not ever." He was so intent on Kitty that he didn't see Buffy until the last second, barely ducking out of the way.

"You forget about me, creep?" She said. "I've missed three years of my life because of you, and I could have lost Logan. Consider this justifiable payback." She struck out with her sword. Belasco ducked, not fast enough to completely escape uninjured as a cut appeared on his arm.

"You'll have to explain to me how you survived." Belasco said, countering with a strike of his own, which Kitty blocked and countered.

"Why, want to give it another go?" She said as Buffy moved in again. "Sorry, but I'm not letting you hurt my friends anymore." Buffy grinned as she came up behind Belasco, taking a slice at his head. Belasco ducked, but again took an injury, this time in the form of one of his horns.

"You bitch!" Belasco spat. "You'll pay for that." He faded away. "I promise, you will pay." Buffy watched him fade.

"Chicken." She muttered.

"Jerk." Kitty agreed. Angel quickly moved up beside her, Logan not far behind him.

"You all right, darlin'?" The feral X-Man asked. Kitty nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What the hell took you so long?"

"Had some things to take care of. Babysitter for Joyce, Buffy coming back." He grinned over at his fiancée. Buffy grinned back. "Took longer than I thought." He shrugged. "It's a long story." Angel wrapped an arm around Kitty.

"Knew there was a reason I kept you around." He said. Kitty grinned.

"You mean besides the wild, passionate…"

"KITTY!" Angel interrupted. The rest of the gang laughed.

"Shugah, you had any class, you'd be blushin' like crazy right now." Rogue guffawed.

"Wasn't a vampire, he probably would." Kitty said, holding her man tight. Angel looked down at her. He had almost lost her. Had Belasco come down before he had, he probably would have. That was something he could not bear. He looked up the stairs. Thomas was watching them laugh and joke. Angel swore to himself. Where the hell was MacLeod?

Ten years later. New York.

Duncan could not believe this was happening. Had Connor gone nuts? Duncan felt his blade at the back of his neck. He knew this manoeuvre, Connor had taught it to him. He begged and pleaded for him to stop.

"One of us has to die now, old friend…" Connor said, calm like always.

"No." Duncan pleaded searching through his mind for another way.

"And you know it."

"No…Connor…"

"Before we do this, I have two students in L.A. They need guidance, protection. Promise me you will do this." The last words were more like a command than a request.

"Connor, please, there…"

"Promise!"

"I will take them as my students." Connor nodded. It was time to end this.

"Goodbye Duncan, my true brother."

"I love you Connor." They nodded to each other, a sad smile on Connors face. Then it ended.

Connor span away, his blade flashing towards Duncan's neck. Duncan swung his in one hand at first, then both from half way. He felt the sword slice through Connor's neck, felt the Quickening grab him in a mixture of excruciating pain and transcendent glory. He fell to his knees. His friend, his brother, his mentor, was dead, by his own hands.

Now, he had work to do.

L.A. Six months later.

"You sure about this?" Kate asked. Duncan nodded.

"They were a part of Connor's past, a part I wasn't even aware of. Besides, I made a promise." Kate nodded. She had forgotten how important his honour was to him. She looked around. The devastation left by the pulse was evident. It pained her to know that, despite all her years, there had been nothing she could do to stop it.

"Just one thing, how are you going to explain what happened?" He looked over at the Hyperion Hotel, which served as the offices of Angel Investigations. He had asked Dawson what he knew about these Immortals, Kitty Pryde and Rogue. Joe had handed him dossiers for both.

"Figured you'd be finishing what Connor had started." Joe had said.

"Tell the truth." Duncan answered. "And hope they don't take my head off." Kate couldn't help but giggle at that. "Shall we?" From what he had read, though…

With these two it was entirely possible.

Kitty looked toward the door. Two Immortals, not the oldest she had met, but still old enough to cause trouble. Angel and Thomas were going to try get Marianna back. Gunn and Wes were shopping for supplies. Lady Death was back in New York. Peter, Cordelia, Fred, Connor and Rogue were the only ones there with her. At least she wouldn't have to face them alone. Rogue came out of the basement where she had been training, sword in hand. Kitty summoned the Shadowsword, making it solid instead of pure magical energy. It had amazed her how easily she had gotten the hang of it.

"Piotr, take Cordy and the others upstairs." The Russian nodded. He knew better than to argue with her.

"What's up, Kitty?" Connor asked.

"Something I need to take care of, squirt." She said with a grin.

"Can I help?"

"Yeah. Go upstairs with the others." She told him. Connor glared at her, and Kitty couldn't help but notice how much like his father he looked when he did that.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know. Move." Connor stamped upstairs after the others. Rogue gave Kitty a sideways smirk.

"Boy's actin' more like his pop every day." She drawled. Kitty shrugged.

"You ready?" She asked her friend.

"Ain't Ah always, shugah?" She asked, sword blade in front of her face. Kitty focused on the door. She watched as the two Immortals walked though the door. Their swords were sheathed, but that didn't mean anything.

"So, do I really have to ask what you guys want?" She said. The man rolled his eyes skyward. The female at his side simply stared.

"Understandable reaction, but unnecessary." She said. Rogue snorted.

"Heard that one before, shugah." She said. "Now, are we gonna do this, or you gonna kill us by talkin' us to death."

"Look we're not here to fight. My name is Duncan MacLeod." Kitty's eyes narrowed.

"MacLeod?" She asked. "As in the Clan MacLeod?" Duncan nodded. "You know Connor?"

"He trained me." Duncan said. Rogue stared at him.

"Careful, shugah." She sent telepathically. "He's hidin' somethin'." Kitty nodded. Rogue could spot that sort of thing.

"Wouldn't happen to know where he is would you?" Duncan took a deep breath. This was not going to be pretty.

"In me." He said simply.

"Smooth." Kate whispered. "Subtle."

"Ah knew it." Rogue exploded. Kitty's grip on her sword tightened. It took everything she had not to take his head there and then.

"You murderous bastard." Kitty said, cold as ice. Duncan noticed that she was as cool as Connor ever was, on the surface at least. "What'd you do, take his head while he was sleeping?" Duncan whinced. Take my head now, he thought. Anything to get away from that tongue.

"How could you say that?" Kate demanded. "You don't know the whole story. You don't even know half of it."

"Ask me if I care." Kitty yelled. "I've spent the last thirteen years with some psycho demon sorcerer sending Immortals, demons and anything else he could think of to try and split up me and my boyfriend. I've had a gut full of it. You want my head, you're going to have to be a little more direct."

"Okay, settle down." Duncan said. This was getting out of hand. He knew about the problems, and where they had stemmed from. Joe had given him the details. "I know it sounds bad, but if you'd just let me explain…"

"Five seconds." Rogue said.

"If we're interested we'll give you more time." Kitty snarled. "Maybe." Kate stared at the Immortals in front of her. They were vicious.

"Connor gave me his Quickening, forced me to fight him so that I could defeat an Immortal that had been stalking him for centuries, killing every one he cared about. It was the only way." Kitty and Rogue stared at him. Kitty blade dipped. "I didn't want to do it, but…" Kate put an arm around him. She knew it was tough for him, but they had to know.

"No." Kitty said. "It can't be…" Connor was supposed to teach her. How was she going to survive? No. That wasn't what she was really thinking. What she was really thinking was: how would she protect Angel if another Immortal attacked?

"I made a promise to finish your training." He said. She was taking it harder than he thought.

"Thanks." Rogue said, putting her sword away. She walked next to her friend. "You all right, shugah?"

"Yeah I'm just…I'm fine." She looked over at Duncan. "Tell me what happened."

"And that's it." Duncan completed. Kate sat close to him. It had been hard for him to tell the story, even harder for her to listen. He may have hurt her (it's going to hurt when your new husband kills you on your honeymoon, even if he knew you were coming back) but he didn't deserve to be hurt like that. "He never mentioned either of you before that night, otherwise I would've been here sooner." Kitty nodded. "So when do I get to meet Angel?"

"Soon." Kitty answered. "He's just…finishing something up."

Lilah looked at the note.

I'm coming for you.

That was it. Similar to all the others she had received over the last ten years. It was frightening, though she wouldn't admit it. It gave her pause for thought. Who could be sending them? Things hadn't been easy for her since Thomas had botched Kitty's assassination, twice. She looked at the message again. When she found out who this creep was…

"Look no further." She turned around.

"Belasco! What…" The demon grinned.

"You made me a promise, bitch, remember that? You said Kitty would be mine. That was ten years ago."

"We're working on it." She said. She remembered what happened to the last person who had disappointed Belasco. She shuddered.

"Really? By trying to assassinate her?" Oh shit.

"Those weren't what they seemed." She exclaimed. "We were just trying to make her believe that Angel couldn't protect her. Then you could…"

"Just go and collect her?" Belasco finished. Lilah  nodded. "So it was the same reason with all the Immortals going after her?" She nodded again. "Well in that case, I won't disintegrate the entire building. I'll just kill you instead." She felt the N'garai claws go through her back. "Consider yourself an example." Belasco said as she slipped in to oblivion. "Hopefully your successor won't be such an idiot." With that, he and the N'garai vanished, just as Thomas walked in.

"Oh God." He breathed. "No." He ran to her side and picked her up. He could feel it. It was her. All he had to do now was get her out of here.

"Need a hand?" Thomas turned.

"Magick." He said. "We need to move." The sorceress nodded, and with a flash, they were gone.

Angel was waiting in the car. Hopefully Magick and Thomas would be enough. He wished he could of gone to help, but with all the vampire detectors in that building, it would have given the game away. He saw the flash of Magick's stepping disk, then she and Thomas were standing there. In his arms was Lilah's limp form. Angel opened the door. "What happened?"

"Belasco." Amanda said. "He got there just before we did. I'll go ahead and tell the others to prep a room." She vanished. Angel looked back at his passengers. He knew Lilah wasn't who she thought she was, that she wasn't anything like that, at least according to Thomas. Didn't make it any easier though.

"She alright?"

"She'll be fine, I can feel her Buzz now. Just…" he looked at the blood. "don't get hungry."

"Hey!" Angel said as he started the car. "I can control that."

"I'm sure."

She looked around. Images floated why and she couldn't help but think they were…familiar.

"Of course they are." She turned to face a woman about her age. Her hair was dark like hers, but her face was different. "They are your's."

"But…" She started. How was that possible? "Who are you?"

"My name is Marianna. I am you. Or, more to the point, who you used to be"

"What are you talking about? My name is…"

"Lilah?" The woman said. Lilah nodded. "That is a lie, a lie you have been living the past twenty-six years." Twenty-six…that's when she joined the firm. "Have you not noticed that you have not aged in that time, as others around you have? It is because you are Immortal. You were kidnapped about four hundred and eighty years ago, ripped from the arms of your lover and mentor, as a bargaining chip. You would be kept alive as long as he did the bidding of Wolfram & Hart." Lilah was shocked as an image formed in front of her.

"Thomas? But that's not…"

"Possible? It is." The woman claiming to be her stepped up next to her. " It is all true, and he is waiting for us to return to him." She placed a hand on Lilah's shoulder. A shock stormed through her…

And she remembered. Wave upon wave of images assaulted her. Her first death, meeting Thomas, Wolfram and Hart, the kidnapping. She fell to her knees, sobbing. Then she heard it. His voice.

Thomas sat next the bed, holding her hand. The Buzz was strong now, as was her pulse. There was nothing physically wrong with her, but she just wasn't waking up. "Marianna." He whispered gently. "Where are you, my love? Your body is here, but your mind wanders." He bowed his head. "I have often wondered how we would meet again, but this…" He stroked her face gently. "I have missed you so much. Please, come back to me. Please." He begged, tears running down his face. "It does not matter to me what you look like, only that you are you again." He saw her eyes flutter, and open.

"Thomas?" She breathed.

"I'm here." He leaned in closer. "Shh, don't strain yourself. You've had a hard time."

"What took you so long, you big lug?" He grinned, he couldn't help it. She was back. She had truly returned to him.

"Okay, sanity check: are you nuts?" Cordelia screamed. Angel winced.

"Take it easy, Cordy. Breath." Wes moved up beside his wife anxiously.

"Do not tell me to calm down. This is insane." She was breathing heavily. Gunn shook his head. She always got like this. She looked intensely at Angel. "You've gone evil again, haven't you?" Kitty stared at her. It was taking everything she had not to take the seer's head.

"Would you settle down?" She said, as calmly as possible. "You know he doesn't do that any more. Besides, this was the plan we agreed on earlier, minus Belasco."

"No, the plan was to bring her back, after we were sure that she was Marianna. This is…" That's when Kitty showed her own temper.

"Would you shut up? You are worse than Logan ever was. Stop worrying over nothing. Even if she is still Lilah, there are three mutants, two of which are Immortals, three basic Immortals, one goddess of Death, plus Angel. What the hell is she going to do?" Cordelia opened her mouth, then closed it. Kitty looked at her triumphantly. "Thank you. Now, just relax, before you give yourself a heart attack." Cordy nodded and sat back down. Angel moved up next to Kitty.

"Ever thought of becoming a lawyer?" He asked with a grin. Kitty elbowed him.

"Ha, ha." She said. Thomas came down from upstairs. "How is she?" The Immortal grinned.

"She is herself again." He said. "She's back."

Rogue wandered the streets, as alone as she could get. Sometimes she liked to get out at night, and think.

"Always de best time for that, eh, chere?" Gambits voice echoed in her head. She closed her eyes picturing him in front of her. " Ain't exactly possible no more, non?" No it wasn't, but it felt nice, comforting. Like he was actually…

She was snapped out of her reverie by a cry for help. "Now what punk'd wanna go ruin a perfect evenin' like this?" She asked herself as she rounded the corner. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw…

"VARGAS!" The man turned around, stunned to see her.

"Rogue? How is this possible? You are dead, I killed you myself." The Southern X-man grinned.

"Y'all should know Ah'm harder to kill than that, shugah." She took a quick count. Vargas, and there were those to puppets of his. Good, she thought. The gangs all here. She pulled her sword from her within her coat, then dropped the coat to the ground. "Let's finish this." Thaii and Thaiis moved closer to their master. Vargas grinned.

"Indeed." He said, moving forward.

"Why don't we make this a bit more fair first?" Rogue turned to see a man walking towards them, sword drawn. "Three on two should be fair enough." Rogue eyed the man cautiously.

Vargas glared. "Who are you?" The man grinned.

"I have been known by many names. Nowadays, it's Adam Pierson. Immortals know me as Methos." Vargas' eyes widened. Rogue stared.

"Methos!" Vargas exclaimed. "What a prize you will make." Vargas chuckled.

And revealed his Buzz.

"You're an Immortal?" Rogue couldn't believe it. "Dang. That explains a lot."

"Indeed. Would you believe I am over two thousand years old?" Vargas chuckled.

"Is that it?" Methos asked, coolly. "Two thousand? You're a teenager compared to me." He went to take a step forward, but Rogue stopped him.

"Hold up, bub. He's mine." She stepped in front of him. "Ah owe him one. Two actually." She brought her sword up. "You're mine, Vargas. Ah don't care how old an' powerful you are." Vargas chuckled again.

"You really think you can beat me alone?" Now it was rogues turn to chuckle.

"Maybe not, shugah." Her voice suddenly changed, her accent started to sound almost French. "But den, who said de femme was alone, eh?" Her voice changed again, this time a British accent shone through. "Rogue is never alone. Her friends are always with her."

"Got that right." They turned around. Kitty stood behind Rogue, her Buzz held low. "What, you thought I'd let you run off alone? Figured you might need a hand plus," she grinned, "Sage rang. Said tonight was the night. Even told me where to find you." She glanced over at Vargas. "That's him?" Rogue nodded. "Think he's been taking fashion tips of Angel?" Rogue couldn't help it. She laughed out loud. Methos shook his head. "Gotta say, it looks better on my man though."

"Are you two quite finished?" Vargas demanded.

"Pal, we haven't even got started yet." Rogue's demeanour became serious. "Your history." She charged at him, the man who had killed her friend, the man who had killed her beloved. Her rage was released, a ferocious anger that would have given even Wolverine pause for thought. Blades clashed in the night, both combatants holding nothing back. They were evenly matched, with the powers and skills of every person Rogue had ever imprinted off setting the Vargas' experience. They broke for nothing, gave no quarter, asked for no quarter. They pushed each other past the barriers of human endurance, past even what Immortals could normally handle. With all that pressure, something had to break.

Unfortunately, that 'something' was Rogue's sword.

"Shit!" She quickly brought up a telekinetic shield, just in time. Barely.

"Well that was anticlimactic." Vargas said.

"It ain't over yet, bub." Rogue popped her bone claws, a gift from Wolverine. "You're not beatin' me that easy. Ah ain't lettin' you kill any more."

"I don't see where as you have a choice in the matter." Vargas said. Kitty reached into the bag she was carrying.

"Where X-Men are concerned, never say never." She muttered. "Rogue, CATCH!" The southern X-Man reached to catch the item that Kitty had thrown, and only realized what it was when it was in her hand. A sword. But not just any sword. It was a kitana, well forged. It had an ivory hilt, with an animal head at the pommel. It was a sword that she knew well.

The sword of Connor MacLeod.

"Duncan had it lying around. I brought it just in case you needed a spare, what with the way you talk about this guy…" She grinned. "Good thing, too."

"You said it." Rogue held her new sword tight. "Let's finish this."

"Thaii, Thaiis." The twins moved forward.

"Not happening." Kitty said, rushing forward, summoning the Shadowsword as she did.

"So much for 'honour among Immortals'." Methos remarked. The two clashed with Vargas' pets.

"So, you two are Immortals, too?" Kitty asked. The twins answered by unveiling their Buzz's. "Figures." She said, revealing her own. Vargas gaped. Another one?

Methos turned to Kitty. "Which one do you want?" He asked. Kitty looked at the two.

"The ugly one." She said with a grin.

"You can tell the difference?" He asked. Kitty shrugged.

"What can I say, I've got a good eye." She commented, then rushed at Thaiis. Methos shrugged.

"Why not?" He swung his sword at Thaii, who blocked the blow clumsily. "Not very good, are you?"

Angel and the others rounded the corner, guided by Duncan and Kate. They stopped dead as they gaped at the scene before them.

"Okay, I don't know about you guy's, but I'm feeling out of my depth here." Gunn commented. The other human's nodded. Angel glared at the battle. His eyes locked onto Kitty and Thaiis.

"If that bitch hurts her…" He muttered. He felt a large hand on his shoulder.

"If any one can get through this battle alive, it is Katya." Peter said. "Believe me, I know." Angel nodded. Duncan and Kate watched on. There was so much power here…

"Let's go somewhere a little private, hmm." Kitty said. She struck her blade down, slicing through the grating she was standing on. She fell through in to the sewer below.

"What she do that for?" Cordy asked. Wes looked around.

"That's why." Wes pointed to the rising sun. "She must have spotted Angel."

"Oh shit." Angel swore, diving down the nearest sewer entrance. "Didn't even notice." He muttered, grateful that Kitty had. He looked around, then sae Kitty and the blonde female, still going at it. Kitty grinned at him. "Concentrate." He whispered. Kitty caught Thaiis blade on the wall.

"I was hoping you would be a bit more of a challenge." She quipped. Before bringing her blade up and through Thaiis neck. Angel watched as the lightening raged around the body.

"The Quickening." He muttered, then moved around the corner just before bolt of lightening hit him. He stayed there, watching the light play on the wall. He heard Kitty scream, a mixture of pain and ecstasy. He clenched his fists, waiting for the light to die. When it did, he rushed over to check on Kitty. She was on her knees. Her sword had returned to…where ever it went. "Kitty." He whispered. She groaned silently. "Hey." She looked up at him. "You all right?"

"Did you get the number of the truck that hit me?" She whispered. Angel chuckled and held close. She was fine. A bit wasted, but fine.

Above ground, the Immortals felt the Quickening transfer. "That's one." Duncan whispered.

"Who won?" Gunn asked.

"By the fact that we haven't heard Angel yet, I'd say it was Kitty." Cordy guessed. Duncan nodded.

"Yes, I can still feel Kitty. She won." Duncan grinned. "And Connor was worried." He looked over as Rogue took to the air.

"Time for a game of follow the leader." She quipped.

"You won't get away that easily." Vargas cried, scaling the nearby fire escape. Methos shook his head as his opponent made a clumsy slice at his head.

"How have you survived this long?" He asked. His sword lashed out, taking Thaii's head with ease. The others watched the lightening flare around as Thaii's Quickening was transferred into Methos. The Ancient Immortal dropped to one knee. "Barely worth the effort." He whispered.

"Bloody Hell." Wes breathed.

"Damn." Gunn agreed.

"That was that Quickening thing, right?" Cordelia asked. Duncan nodded. "Nice light show." She said. They all looked up at the roof.

"Her turn." Kate said.

Vargas raged. Both of them. Gone. He swung his sword at Rogues neck. "Ah think someone's getting' a might frustrated." She drawled.

"You are dead," Vargas said, in deep, almost demonic voice. "and then your friends are next." Rogue tightened her grip on the hilt of Connor's sword.

"No." She said. "You've killed your last victim, bub. Time for you to die." She flew forward, putting all her strength into the blow. She watched as Vargas' sword shattered.

"Impos…" He started, but was stopped as Rogue's blade passed through his throat.

"That was for you, Remy. Rest in piece." She said, then the Quickening hit her. She screamed, a scream full sorrow. Then she blacked out.

The Watcher typed the last few words onto the screen. She thought over the events of the last thirteen years, since the council had put her on active duty to watch first Kitty, then Rogue. She grinned. They definitely were not your standard Immortals. But then, that was to be expected. After all, it wasn't every day…

"I was wondering who was telling the council all about us." She turned to see Kitty behind her.

"Kitty, I…"

"Relax, Cordelia. I'm not mad. Just shocked." She looked at her friend. "So, how long?"

"About as long as Buffy has been the Slayer. They figured the Hellmouth would be a decent place to train me. There were a few Immortals around."

"No surprise there." Kitty said. "Lot's of cemeteries to hide in." She looked at the screen.

"So," Cordelia asked. "what now?"

Eight years later. Seattle.

Kitty looked out at the Seattle skyline, a shadow of it's former self, like so much else after the Pulse. She, Angel, Duncan, Kate, Rogue and Methos had moved here just after Cordelia had died one year ago. Cancer of all things. Kitty shook her head. Girl had lived through more Apocalypses than anyone had a right to, and it was Cancer that finally took her down. Connor had gone his separate way, Sunnydale of all places. Things between her and Angel were going full pelt.

And as for Rogue and Methos…

That had been a shock, especially when they had discovered that Rogues powers had no effect on Immortals. She sighed. If only…

Angel walked, interrupting her reverie. He had a look on his face that she had not seen very often, if at all.

Surprise.

"What's up?" She asked.

"I just got of the phone with one of Eyes Only's contacts." Kitty's eyes widened. Eyes Only had been running around Seattle for a while now, righting wrongs with his pirate broadcasts.

"What does he want?" She asked. Angel grinned.

"He wants to take down Wolfram & Hart. Apparently they're some corrupt law firm from L.A." Kitty stared at him.

"You have got to be kidding." Angel shook his head.

"A meeting has been set up for tomorrow night, at the old Space Needle." Kitty looked out the window again. Eyes Only was after Wolfram & Hart? What was his angle?

Max walked in. "Got your call. What's up?" Logan Cale, freedom fighter and pirate broadcaster turned to his girlfriend thinking how damn fine she looked.

"I just got off the phone from a P.I firm that moved here from LA not long ago." He said. "They have a past with that Wolfram & Hart firm that's been stirring trouble." Max walked up behind him. This particular case was personal.

"Anyone I know?" She asked, draping her arms around him.

"I doubt it." He said. "They call themselves Angel Investigations." Max raised an eyebrow. When'd Angel move to Seattle, and why hadn't anyone told her? "Aside from that, I can't find anything. I'm guessing they're just the usual, run of the mill agency." Max tried desperately not to laugh. She was going to enjoy this.

Stay Tuned.

Doc.