Buffy stopped her workout for a moment. "So, Giles, any theories as to why the step up in vampire activity?" There was silence. "Giles? Hello?" "What?" queried Giles, distractedly, raising his head from the tome in front of him as he tuned in to Buffy’s words. "Oh, yes. Yes, there is an explanation in this" – he waved the book around, narrowly missing Xander’s head – "but who knows if it’s right." Buffy waited for the bombshell, but Giles had once again engrossed himself in his reading. "Giles! What is it? What new threat does the Hellmouth face now?"

"Yeah, fill us in ,man," added Xander. The others abandoned their tasks and looked expectantly at the Watcher. Giles adjusted his spectacles. "Well, it seems that along with Angelus, Spike and Drucilla, there was another vampire. They ran together in a four, spreading destruction in their path. Well, you know the sort of thing…"

"Do we ever."

"Anyway," carried on Giles, ignoring Xander as usual, "this Saturday is 24 May. The day this fourth vampire… well, killed a Slayer. This was back in 1799, of course. Not only did she kill the Slayer, but also the one who was called in her stead. There was something particularly important about these killings, the book doesn’t say what…I’ll have to cross reference it with another volume…"

 Buffy stopped Giles before he could go off on another of his book hunts. "So, who is this vampire? Not one we’ve come across before, I imagine." Giles consulted the book. "Magda the Mad," he stated briefly. The friends looked at each other. "Well, that sounds like fun," ventured Willow. "Doesn’t it?" It didn’t.

 "So, why, like, isn’t this woman here?" asked Cordelia. "I mean, if she’s tight with Spike and all, why isn’t she here with him?" Giles looked interested. "That’s a very good question. If they were all as close as the book implies, why aren’t they still running together?"

"Maybe they all fell apart. You know, when Angel got his soul back," suggested Willow.

 The question would doubtless have been considered further had not Angel himself chosen to enter the library at that point. There was still some strain on his relations with the others – after all, he had done his best to kill them all, and had succeeded with Ms Calendar. Nevertheless, he was an excellent source of vampire knowledge, not one to be easily thrown away. And despite his actions, they were able to tell the difference between Angel and Angelus. It was just difficult sometimes.

"What happened to Magda the Mad," asked Giles immediately. Angel didn’t look surprised. "I don’t know. But if she’s around she’ll be here on Saturday, and that’s for sure." At the puzzled looks on the others’ faces, Angel explained. "Saturday is the anniversary of the day that she killed two slayers. It was a feat that went down in Vampire legend, particularly the way she did it. There’s always a big celebration every fifty years. She'll be here."

"So, this vampire chick. Are we talking Drucilla mad or just generally demonic and murderous?" Buffy really wanted to know.

"She wasn’t mad. She always knew what she was doing, and she always had a reason for doing it. You have to realise," Angel continued, "that there are two types of vampire. Most of the ones you kill are mostly brainless. They don’t last more than a few months, a few years maybe, before someone kills them. Then you get the vampires like Spike and Magda. The clever ones. The leaders. They can last for centuries. They have lasted. It’s no accident; no twist of fate. They’re good, they stay alive."

"Like you," murmured Xander. They all ignored him, except Cordelia, who kicked him.

"So the question is," decided Buffy, "when is our friend Magda going to show up?"

 "She already has," came a hard voice from the doorway. "Hello, Slayer. Time to meet your Nemesis!" The others turned to face this new threat. A young woman stood by the door, dressed in a long flowing caftan of dark red silk. The colour of blood, Willow noted with an internal shudder. The vampire’s hair was long and curling; a very dark brown that gleamed under the fluorescent lights of the library. "It’s time to say goodbye to your friends," Magda the Mad continued. She opened her mouth to say more. Then a frown crossed her face and her mouth closed with a snap. She swayed a little, then righted herself with a hand on the wall. The others watched in wary interest as the vampire’s eyes closed, and a tremor passed through her. Angel watched his old friend dispassionately, then almost gasped our loud as she opened her eyes again. There was something in those eyes; something that had been gone for so long he had almost forgotten it. "Magdalena?" he whispered, hardly daring to believe it. The woman looked at him, and smiled. Not the cruel, practised smile of a vampire, but a warm, genuine smile that seemed to come from the heart. Buffy wasn’t watching her smile – she was already heading for the intruder, stake in hand. She had always been taught that you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, and here was a perfect opportunity to take care of a notably bloodthirsty vamp. Buffy’s surprise was visible when just as she reached Magda, Angel’s hand shot out and stayed her arm, stopping her mid slay. "Don’t," he said. "That’s not Magda."

 "Angel, what are you talking about?" queried Giles, as Angel approached this new vampire. "Is this some kind of vampire joke?" Xander wanted to know. Angel ignored him, his stock reaction to Xander. He stood in front of the new arrival, scarcely able to believe his eyes. "Magdalena?" he queried.

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