I awoke.

Well, that's not quite right. The feeling was closer to the feeling you get when you're suddenly more aware of the world around you, the feeling you get when you've been pulled away from a daydream. Except I hadn't dreamt anything.

I wasn't sure what had happened to me, and I wasn't sure how long I'd been "sleeping." I decided, however, that something was pulling me to wake up, to open my eyes…

The world around me was veiled--blurred, hazy. It felt as though I was looking through someone else's eyes, in someone else's mind--someone that wasn't aware of my presence. I was very confused, and felt very tired, but I was able--with an immense amount of effort--to pull things into focus.

I wish I hadn't.

Sparks flew as a computer monitor hit the ground, followed quickly by the hard drive. My eyes--which was not under my control--scanned the room and set on the nearby printer that had just spit out a piece of paper. It was frightfully disturbing when my body moved on its own--or, at least, without *my* direction--and ripped off the printout.

I wasn't quite sure how I'd gotten where I was, but I had a pretty good idea. I knew that I was in *my* body, and I knew that, just moments ago the demon had taken over that body. I must have, somehow, managed to stay with my body, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do what I was doing now--looking through "my" eyes. This was nothing like the last time I had lost my soul. All my memories of that time were from the demon's point of view, with the demon's emotions and opinions.

"…and it comes out here," I heard my voice say, as if finishing an earlier thought.

Reading was harder than usual, and I was having a hard enough time keeping "awake" as it was, but I managed to decipher the heading.

"'The Ritual of Restoration.' Wow. This brings back memories."

I felt a lump grow in my throat, a wave of uneasiness washed over me as Angelus ripped the paper in two. My

"Wait! That's your…"

Startled at the unknown voice, I finally noticed the figure huddling near the door to the classroom. It was Giles' lady, the computer teacher--Jenny, or something. But what did she have to do with all this? How did *she* know about the Ritual?

"Oh, my cure? No, thanks. Been there, done that, and déjà vu just isn't what it used to be," my demon quipped. He noticed the fire started by the monitor, and I gave a mental grimace, knowing what he intended to do

with the papers in his hand.

"My… Isn't this just my lucky day? The computer, and the pages," they went onto the fire. "Looks like I get to kill two birds with one stone."

Arrogance in his every move, my host pretended to warm his hands by the fire. Jenny, apparently, thought that he was at least temporarily distracted, and moved towards the door.

A grin spread across his game face, the demon looked up, towards the fleeing technopagan. "And teacher makes three."

Jenny bolted.

Or would have, if the door hadn't been locked.

I screamed, silently, as I realized that my demon would never leave her alive. He threw the teacher at the locked door, which broke open upon impact. Seeing her dash off gave me the briefest flicker of hope, until my host gave one of his usual demented quips.

"Oh, good. I need to work up an appetite first."

As we took off in pursuit, I scanned Angelus' distracted mind for any sign of weakness--any "hole" for me to slip into that would give me enough control to let Jenny escape. I found a few areas that felt, somehow, "thin," but nothing more.

I watched in morbid horror as Jenny ran frantically down the hall, scrambling out the door and towards another building. We followed, at a brisk, yet unhurried, pace.

I could tell that my demon was annoyed when we slammed into the door Jenny had just slipped through, and it was obvious that Jenny wouldn't have much longer to live. Angelus was ready to make the kill.

A few heartbeats and one overturned cleaning cart later, we were circling around in front of the doomed teacher, attempting to head her off. With speed only another vampire could match, I found myself standing on a landing next to a large bay window, watching as Jenny came running straight at us, head turned to look behind her.

This was my chance--I had to stop the demon now, or Jenny died. Gathering all of my courage, I "pushed" at the weak spots in the demonic mind.

The struggle could have only lasted moments, but, to me, those moments seemed to each last an eternity. Angelus' shock at my sudden attack dissipated before I could even tell it was there, and he evicted me from his presence as if I was an insect that had tried to attack a mountain. Indeed, the feeling was very similar to spinning wildly through the air, at a nauseating rate.

Shoved into a corner, I could only watch as my demon killed the poor woman, the sound of her breaking neck ringing viciously through my thoughts.

Somehow, I had the feeling I would be watching what Angelus did for quite some time…

I know, I know; the ending's quite abrupt. So sue me. All feedback is appreciated.

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