DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, I don't want them, they make me cry too much. Joss and his people do the owning thing
SPOILERS: Everything, just to be on the safe side.
TIMELINE: S5/S2
DISTRIBUTION: Great, just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Please, I need it this time.
RATING: R
AUTHOR'S NOTES: AU fic.. This takes place after my story *It's the end of the world as we know it.* Buffy has killed Darla and faced with the end of the world, she and Angel make love. When a miracle saves the world, Buffy has to face the fact that Angelus is back.
DEDICATION: Rosi and Deirdre. You're simply the best:)

Part one

Buffy Summers sat trembling in the corner of the Hyperion hotel's foyer. She pulled her knees tightly into her chest and panted for breath as her small body threatened once again to hyperventilate. Her large traumatised eyes flickered anxiously over every possible entrance, the least little sound causing her to shake to the very core.

Sucking nervously on her lower lip, Buffy's mouth filled with the coppery taste of her own blood. The rich aroma drifted up to her nostrils but was ignored along with the pain that accompanied it.

No longer able to face the consequences of her earlier actions, the small, frightened girl tried to close her mind down, refusing to let herself feel the pain.

After the events of the last few days, Buffy Summers vowed that if she survived this, she would never allow herself the luxury of feeling anything ever again. Because if she did, she might just start screaming and if that happened, the broken hearted Slayer doubted she would ever be able to stop.

Buffy had no idea of how long she had sat there, too afraid to move. It must have been hours because the small light patterns on the hotel floor had moved slowly across the room imitating an enormous sundial

Wrapped in only the fragments of a thin bed sheet, the Slayer fought against the memories of the last few hours, but it was an impossible task. No matter how hard she tried, they returned periodically like emotional waves crashing violently against the shores of her sanity.

The previous night, Buffy had embraced heaven along with the vampire she adored with every beat of her heart; between them they had killed the big bad and surrender themselves to the oblivion of eternity. Only eternity wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Against all the odds, morning had arrived, and things would never be the same again.

The world had been lost and saved in the blink of an eye, but the price of the miraculous save had been high, far too high. Buffy squeezed her eyelids closed but not in time to keep the pictures from returning and attacking her mind. She and she alone had released the demon Angelus back on to an unsuspecting world. Angel had tried to warn her but she had refused to listen and now her life had been changed once again, for the worse.

Humanity had been granted a reprieve, and sadly, so had Angelus.

At the thought of the demon's name Buffy's body shuddered violently as she relived their encounter.

******

" Fun fact, Lover. I guess it really is the end of the world....After all".

"Angel?" Buffy trembled in disbelief; all the warmth went out of the room as an ice-cold fear brushed up against her skin. She looked deep into the rich chocolate orbs staring so intensely back at her for the slightest sign that the soul was still in command of the body she loved. But the dark penetrating eyes only shone with the purest of evil. Without doubt, the soul of her lover had long ago departed the shell standing in front of her.

"Sorry, Buff. Soul boy couldn't hang around to celebrate the good news with you. You and that perfect happiness, will you two ever learn?" he mocked her pain with deep satisfaction.

**It was just so good to finally be free again.**

Buffy shook her head still denying this could have happened.

** How the hell could Angel have felt perfect happiness when they were about to die at any second** she argued irrationally

As if Angelus could read her mind, he leant forward and gripped the flimsy piece of material covering her nakedness.

" It wasn't even the sex that sent him on his merry way this time. You're still crap when it comes to that. No, the poor old soul thought he was going to spend eternity wrapped in those skinny little arms of yours." The demon laugher filled the room; it really was too funny.

**The soul had been naive enough to dream that he could find peace in eternity with her…Fucking idiot** the demon couldn't help grinning at its alter ego's stupidity.

**The soul had always been a weak lap dog, licking at the heels of humanity and getting kicked in the face for his troubles. But that was all over, Angelus wouldn't piss on the human race if it was on fire. Oh, the human race was going to burn alright, he was going to burn it off the face of the planet**

"I've been close to getting free for so long now, Angel fought hard for a while, but I knew I would eventually win. I just didn't expect you to open your legs that easily" Angelus leered at the naked flesh before him. He watched in a near state of ecstasy as the Slayer's precious life blood throbbed in the pulse at her neck.

Buffy's eyes glistened but she was too shocked to cry. Slowly she raised her hand and tried to release the thin scrap of silk that the demon still held tightly in his fingers.

"Angelus pulled the sheet even closer bring Buffy with it. The fact that underneath she was naked and defenseless made her all the more vulnerable. He licked his lips at the thought of all the fun he was about to have; Buffy was going to be his first warm meal in a very long time. Angelus had never forgotten the taste of her delicious blood, the soul might have been in charge the day she had forced his mouth to her neck, but the demon had been right there with him, screaming his appreciation. Buffy's eyes swept for anything she could use to fight the monster wearing her lover's face, but before she had a chance, Angelus ferociously ripped the sheet away from her trembling fingers, his hungry eyes devouring the naked girl with delight.

**Oh, he was going to drain her all right, but not before he'd screwed her into the ground ** that thought alone was enough to bring on the animalistic growl that came from deep inside the vampire's throat.

Buffy tried to cover herself with her small hands as the disgust registered in her eyes, she could tell by the look on his vicious face that the demon wanted more than just the kill this time.

Angelus let out a roar of amusement and reveled in the intoxicating smell of her fear. There really was nothing more arousing than a woman's fear and no matter what he might have told Buffy, she aroused him more than he would ever admit.

"What's up lover? You couldn't keep your greedy little hands off of my body a few hours ago. Did you think that I couldn't feel all the things you did to the soul?" he laughed even louder as Buffy's face blushed the most delightful shade of pink.

" Of course, with me it will be different and it will hurt, a lot. But you might even enjoy it once you get accustomed to the pain " a sickening lust then spread over the demon's angelic features distorting his once handsome face. Buffy flinched and tried to step backward.

"Touch me and I'll kill you" her tiny voice threatened but her body was still frozen in shock.

Angelus pulled the belt from the hoops in his black pants and dropped it to the floor. His fingers moved to his fly and slowly slid the zipper down.

"After all this time do you really think you could stop me? Do you really even want to try?" he smirked as his eyes changed from deep brown to bright yellow.

Buffy knew that she was about to be forced, taken violently by the same body she had earlier worshipped. The same mouth, the same fingers, only it wasn't the same. This godforsaken monster was not her beloved soul mate. This devil in her lover's shell was evil incarnate.

** Pretend it's Angel... Let him take you, let him kill you, let it be over** a tired part of her soul called out for the pain to end.

**Angel was lost, how could she fight this demon all over again** It continued to whisper, but there was still too much slayer left in the girl to listen. She wasn't going to lie down for anyone.

"If I'm so bad in bed, why would you even bother?" Buffy struggled to keep him talking. She needed time to think. Hell, she needed another goddamn miracle.

Angelus grinned even wider.

"You know what they say, lover. A mouth's a mouth." His eyes dropped for a second and it wasn't her mouth he was studying. When he looked back up his face had fully transformed into all it's demonic glory and his yearning to possess her body screamed out loud and clear.

**Whatever the soul could have was his by rights as well. The little bitch might never give him perfect happiness, but there was a lot to be said for just sex.** the demon inwardly groaned at the thought. Somewhere in the back of his head he could have sworn he heard the soul screaming in rage. ** But that was good too**

By now, Buffy was also beginning to change. The sickening fear she was feeling in the pit of her stomach was slowly turning into anger.

Angelus reached over and viciously grabbed Buffy by the hair; his sudden display of speed caught her momentarily off guard. Buffy then found her mouth under the most brutal attack as the demon savagely kissed her, his angry tongue plunged between her lips and ravished the soft flesh inside. Buffy struggled to free herself as she felt the pain of his razor sharp fangs ripping into her lips. Angelus held her hair tightly in one hand while he slid the other hand down over her breast. Buffy squirmed in repulsion as his long fingers grazed her nipple and then wandered further down her body, she heard a demonic growl of lust as his cold rough hand pushed it's way deep inside her thighs.

Buffy kicked, punched and clawed in an attempt to free herself but for some reason Angelus was unbelievably strong.

His muscular thigh forced her legs wide apart as Buffy continued to struggle violently in his arms.

Angelus removed his mouth from Buffy's blood stained lips but kept his hand tightly entwined in her hair.

He wriggled his trousers slowly down his lean hips and removing his hand from between her legs, he gripped her bare backside and forcefully pulled the naked girl up against him.

"I'm really going to enjoy this" he snarled as he pushed his cold hard flesh towards her heat.

" And, I'm really going to kill you" this time her ice-cold voice seemed to throw the demon for a second

Buffy pulled her head back so forcefully that she left a large chunk of her hair between his strong fingers. The demon hesitated just long enough for the Slayer to bring her right knee up between his legs with every ounce of hatred she had ever felt.

Angelus' eyes bulged as he grabbed for his groin, he moaned in extreme agony before collapsing on to his knees. While the demon was temporary indisposed, Buffy took full advantage of the situation. She quickly snatched up her sheet and scurried across the room. Whilst fleeing, her eyes frantically searched for a weapon, she noticed a small chair and with one powerful blow the slayer reduced it to firewood.

Ignoring the throbbing in his groin, Angelus slowly pulled himself to his feet. He dragged his trousers back up his naked hips and pulling the zipper closed on his fly, he stalked forward. The demon's lips twisted into a vicious sneer as he decided the games were now over. As he was no longer in any fit state to fuck the little bitch, his plan changed, now all he wanted was the kill.

Buffy clutched the largest piece of jagged wood she could find and glared back. The demon carefully studied her hardened face and after weighing up all the options, he wisely decided that he'd pushed the Slayer to the point of breaking.

**She really will kill me if I stay**

As much as he wanted the kill, he knew that for now the opportunity had passed. Luckily for him, and the whole world, there would now be a tomorrow. That small comfort was just enough to sustain his need for the slayer's blood.

"I'll give you this round, Buff. But, remember one thing. You know its not over, It'll never be over" with a final haunting chuckle, the vampire spun around and disappeared.

Buffy collapsed to the floor shaking in despair, her tiny fingers gripped the wooden stake until they became numb and lost all feeling.

*****

"Buffy?.... Buffy?" Large warm hands gripped her arms and shook her slightly. Buffy opened her eyes and realised she was no longer alone. At first she flinched back in terror, but as the heat of the large fingers pressed firmer into her flesh, the slayer inside the frightened girl tried to surface.

"Buffy? Are you all right?" a gentle, concerned voice asked. When he received no reply the owner of the voice lifted the small girl into his arms and carried her to a nearby chair.

Buffy clung onto her bed sheet with one trembling hand and raised her makeshift stake in the other. As the haze of her anxiety started to clear, she recognised the other person in the room.

"Wesley?" Buffy couldn't control the tremor in her voice as she slowly sat up.

Wesley smiled; his soft kind eyes full of concern as he studied the shattered girl in front of him. When he had last seen her, she was the one who appeared so strong. He now found himself asking what could have possibly happened in such a short amount of time. Wesley started to feel a strong foreboding

**Something was dreadfully wrong here**

"Hello, Buffy. Didn't you hear the church bells? The world didn't end after all." His gentle face smiled again trying to bring the terrified girl back into the real world.

He watched her pale drawn face for signs of relief and was horrified when she burst into tears. Wesley wrapped her in his arms and tried to soothe her fear as much as he could; his mind was filled with a dozen questions of what could have possibly brought about so much misery.

When Buffy was finally able to speak she looked deep into his eyes and what he saw made him shiver.

"I wish it had ended, I wish the world has exploded into a zillion pieces…Wesley….He's back" New tears slipped over her long lashes and rolled down her swollen cheeks.

"Who, Buffy. Who's back?" the ex watcher was already beginning to have an idea but the thought was too dreadful to perceive.

"Angelus" was all Buffy could bring herself to stutter before her body was swamped again in uncontrollable sobbing. She could still feel his cold rough fingers invading her body, tearing at her soul. And what was worse, he was right, it would never over be over between the two of them.

Wesley wrapped Buffy's shaking body into his arms and rocked her like a small child afraid of the dark. If what she had just told him was true, the world now faced a new danger, one just as deadly as the meteorite and one that would be almost as impossible to destroy.

Outside, the church bells of Los Angeles continued to ring in celebration. But, inside the Hyperion hotel, the Slayer and her ex watcher feared the end of the world was still just around the corner.

Part 2

"Buffy, where are your clothes? We need to get out of here as quickly as possible" Wesley tried to project an air of calmness but his heart rate had at least trebled in the last few minutes. There was an eerie stillness about the hotel, that triggered every nerve ending in his body to protest against staying around for one moment longer. If the Scourge of Europe had indeed returned, he needed time to prepare, he needed time to gather his weapons and...

**Oh Hell! Who was he kidding?** Wesley knew he would never be a match for Angelus on his own. Just one look at Buffy's tear stained face confirmed that fear. The fact that the Slayer, the strongest girl in the entire world, had just been reduced to a basket case sadly proved his point

No, Wesley had no reservations about running away, In fact he was a strong believer in the saying ** Those who turn and run away, live to fight another day** So, In this case getting the hell out of there was the most sensible thing he could think of.

Getting Buffy back into shape had to be his first priority. As much as his heart ached for his friend, Wesley had to accept that for the time being, Angel was lost . This frightened child shaking in his arms was the only being on the planet that had the skill to fight the demon the vampire had once again become.

With a heavy heart, Wesley left thoughts of Angel behind and concentrated on the task at hand, he knew it was his sworn duty to protect this girl with his very life, not that he owed the Council anything these days. No, his loyalty would always be to Angel, and he would protect his friend's lover with his very last breath. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that that's what Angel would have wished for. Buffy had to be protected until she was strong enough to kill the threat that now faced mankind.. Even if that threat was him.

"Wesley, I'm so sorry" Buffy whispered, her large hazel eyes shining up at him for understanding.

"I think it's a little late for sorrys, Buffy." Wesley's sad voice replied without incrimination. The damage was already done; Wesley saw no further point in crucifying the troubled girl. She alone would have to live with the guilt of once again destroying her lover. Only this time she may have destroyed them all.

"I wanted one last night in his arms, I just wanted to feel alive once more before I died." a single tear slipped over her lashes and was ignored as it continued down her cheek.

"We would never have intentionally put the world in jeopardy...I honestly thought we were both going to die." Buffy tried to justify her actions but they sounded just as selfish and irresponsible out loud.

Wesley nodded his head and pushed the frame of his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. This wasn't the time to discuss where the blame should lay; this moment would be better spent moving their arses in the direction of the door.

"Buffy, clothes?" Ignoring her statement, he reminded the girl of his earlier question

Buffy raised her eyes to the rooms above her head and remembered shredding her clothing as she and Angel passionately made love to each other just a few hours earlier. She imagined her lover's beautiful soulful eyes and her insides threatened to dissolve all over again.

**"Angel…It's only this world that's ending, I'll love you until all the stars go out" **

"And I'll love you even longer " the memory no longer felt real, it was too mixed up in the nightmare that had followed. A Kaleidoscope of conflicting images twisted and turned inside her head. One second, she could see Angel's large hands lovingly caressing her body as she slipped into what should have been eternity, and the next..

Buffy's eyes dropped to her badly bruised arms and she shuddered at the thought of how those same hands had torn at her thighs and had almost raped her.

**After all this time do you really think you could stop me? Do you really even want to try?**

" BUFFY!, he could still be here" Wesley's words brought her out of her reverie like a bucket of ice cold water. The urgency in his voice wasn't lost on either of them. The raised hair on the back of her neck was proof enough that Angelus could still be around.

"Never mind the clothes, we will just have to manage the best we can" Removing his own jacket, Wesley pushed the girls arms through the sleeves and pulled her to her feet. He secured the ripped bed sheet as tight as he could; making sure that Buffy's golden skin was fully covered.

"This will just have to do, now come on, we must get as far away from this place as we possibly can" Wesley knew that there was still a few hours of daylight left and they had to get into its' safety before Angelus got really hungry.

Once outside, Buffy refused to look back. Wesley quickly led them to the side of the hotel; noticing that Angel's car was still there, they once again feared that the vampire was not that far away.

Buffy indicated to the car but Wesley cut her off.

"That's far too slow and we'll never be able to fill the tank" he argued rationally. He then looked down and winced when he saw the state of the girl's bare feet.

"Wait here, I'll be right back" he hated to leave her alone but there was no way he wanted to risk her injuring her feet on the sharp floor"

Buffy nodded and watched Wesley run off, only to return a few moments later with a slick black motorcycle.

"Get on" he ordered taking command of the situation

Buffy started towards the bike but hesitated.

"We're running out of time, Buffy" he warned impatiently and looked towards the sky. The bright yellow glow of the sun was slowly slipping away, In a few short hours, the moon would take its place and vampires would be free to run riot.

"It'll only take a minute" the girl replied and turned back towards Angel's convertible. Crouching down by the near side wheel the slayer removed a small valve, a soft hissing then came from the tire as it stated to slowly deflate. Buffy looked back towards Wesley and smiled for the first time. Moving quickly to the back tire, she proceeded to let the air out of that one as well.

When she was satisfied with the damage, Buffy jumped up and swung her small leg over the bike, she gripping Wesley tightly around the waist and held on for dear life.

"It won't stop him but it might slow him down a little," she yelled over the roar of the engine.

Wesley nodded in admiration for the Slayer's quick thinking. Feeling her small body pressed against his back, he lifted his foot from the ground and let the bike scream away into the safety of the sunlit street. With a sigh of relief, Buffy closed her eyes and rested her head against Wesley's back. Without time to find a crash helmet. the wind whipped her hair loose and it trailed behind her like a stream of golden ribbons.

"Where are we going, Sunnydale?" Wesley shouted as the hotel disappeared far behind them.

"Yes, but first I have to make a quick stop. I need to persuade something to put this right," Buffy shouted back into the wind.

***

"The Post Office? Buffy why are we going to the Post Office?" Wesley looked toward the evening sky and worried that they would lose the daylight before they got fully out of LA. The streets were almost impossible to navigate as it was. The relieved human race was partying like it was 1999 all over again. In a way, maybe they were right, to the unsuspecting eye the world had just been reborn. It was only people like Wesley and Buffy who knew the real truth, if Angelus got his way it would be a very short party.

"Angel, before he lost his soul, told me about these Oracles. Apparently they have the ability to turn back time." Buffy climbed off the back of the bike and stepped onto the pavement. Running her fingers through her windswept hair, she quickly adjusted her clothing.

"Buffy, I have heard of these beings but I have no idea how to get in touch with them. To be truthful I thought they were dead " Wesley replied honestly. Climbing from the bike, he rolled it away from the street and towards the side alley, hiding it amongst the trash cans. If they were to get to Sunnydale as quickly as possible it was imperative that the bike wasn't stolen while they were hunting for Oracles.

"I'm sure there must be more then just two of them, and after what Angel told me, they owe me Wesley. It's payback time" The small petite girl held her head up high and marched off in the direction of the Post Office. Wesley watched her walk away and couldn't help admiring what he saw. The Slayer had returned with a vengeance. No longer the frightened, broken child, Buffy Summers strode forward with a growing air of confidence. The only bad side was she was still wearing only a ripped silk sheet and an overly large man's jacket.

**I really will have to get her something else to wear** he thought as he moved quickly to catch her up.

They found what they were looking for with a little help from the sewers, Buffy's least favourite place in the whole wide world. The stench was something you never quite forgot.

** Along with having your heart broken that is**. Buffy couldn't stop the little resentful thought slipping in, she quickly closed it down. Now was not the time or the place to mope over Angel, that would have to come later… If she lived that long.

Walking over to the furthest wall, Buffy carefully inspected it, looking for signs of an entrance.

It looks like some kind of spell is required" Wesley nodded wishing he had access to his books. He also wished he could contact Cordelia and Gunn. Their help was imperative but there was simply no way of finding them. He just had to hope that for their sakes, Angelus didn't look for them before he had a chance to explain.

**No, Angeus wanted Buffy. Cordelia and Gunn would be safe until the Slayer was dead** Wesley had to find comfort in that fact that keeping Buffy alive was the most help he could offer his friends for the time being.

So, until they could make Sunnydale, it was just down to him and Buffy. With luck, Cordelia would receive a vision and she and Gunn would find them, if not… Well that was something to think about later on.

Buffy pushed the palm of her hands against the cold wall, she could feel the cosmic energy buzzing through her small fingers.

"Unless you want one extremely pissed slayer on your hands, you better open this door, NOW" she slammed down hard cracking the wall with all the force of her anger. The sewer felt as if a minor earthquake had rattled it's way along it. Dust fluttered like rain from the ceiling and the sound of rats could be heard scurrying nervously across the floor in panic.

"Buffy, I really don't think that's going…" Wesley was cut off before he got a chance to finish the sentence as a blinding light opened the porthole to the Oracle's dimension.

"You were saying?" Buffy smiled and without hesitation walked through.

On the other side, Buffy stood disorientated for a moment trying to adjust to her new surroundings.

Two small children, a boy and a girl of roughly ten years old slowly approached. They were obviously brother and sister, possibly twins. Buffy noticed that they resembled humans except for that whole gold and blue paint effect.

"You may come before us, Slayer" the female child spoke first.

Buffy did as she was told and moved one foot forward.

"I'm looking for the Oracles?" she asked, her eyes fully alert as she swept her surroundings for any sign of danger.

**Angel hadn't said anything about these Oracles being in kindergarten**

" What have you brought us?" again the female child was the one to speak.

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, I'm not feeling too generous at the moment. Besides, I think you've taken enough from me as it is" Buffy hadn't forgotten that it was these Oracles that had stolen her first perfect day. If they had left well alone in the first place then none of this might have happened.

The children didn't move, they just continued to stare at the Slayer with ice blue eyes.

" You kids are the Oracles? I thought you'd be a little taller" Buffy was hardly impressed. If things hadn't been so serious they would almost seem funny. But the situation was beyond serious, Angelus, the Scourge of Europe was on the rampage and she was asking ankle biters for help

"We are the next generation" the boy spoke for the first time and as Buffy stared into his bright blue eyes, she realised that she wasn't dealing with children at all. These beings were not human and they were far from young..

" Why are you here, warrior?"

"I need you to take time back, one day.... Yesterday. " Buffy got straight to the point, the longer it took the more they would have to remove.

The small Oracles looked at each other and then turned back towards the Slayer.

"Your request is not possible" they both replied with no emotion what so ever.

"Oh, is that right?.. Well, you see, I know from experience that it is possible....Don't I? " Buffy sneered trying to keep the bitterness she felt from her voice, she failed miserably.

"What is and what is not possible is not of your concern, all you need to know is that we can not take back yesterday" the small boy started. His sister then continued.

"We prevented the meteorite from hitting the earth in the first place. You couldn't possibly apprehend the energy it took to cause the deflection. We changed history and there is simply no way we can do that again, our powers are too drained "

"But you don't understand, Angelus is back."

"We know everything, warrior. What you should know is that the meteorite was sent to start of the end of days. Now that it has been prevented the demon known as Angelus will lead the battle for evil. You were to have fought side by side, together you were strong, but now you will have to face each other. The slayer and the demon must battle the end of days on opposite sides."

"Will I win?" Buffy whispered, as the guilt she felt for her actions became so strong she feared she would throw up.

"To win this battle you will have to lose and the price will be of the highest"

" Lose what?" Buffy asked not liking the losing part one little bit.

"Everything, you lose everything." The small children moved slowly around Buffy making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Be prepared to sacrifice large parts of your soul…...Loved ones will fall even before the battle begins, but their loss will not be forgotten. Slayer, the demon Angelus must be destroyed before he releases the fires of hell"

** Loved ones will fall even before the battle begins**

"What about Angel? We can re-curse him again?" Buffy asked hopefully. **Surely that would solve the whole problem. Make Angel good again and the demon is contained**

The Oracles looked at each other as if speaking telepathically; they then looked back towards the Slayer.

"That doorway is no longer open, it will fail. Know this, the end of days must now be fought and it must be won, destroy the demon and the soul will be set free."

"What do you…" With a blinding light, Buffy was flung out of the chamber with a wave of a hand.

Luckily for her, Wesley broke her fall as she landed heavily still shouting her question.

"Well, what happened, you were only gone a second, what did they say?"

Buffy tried to make sense of all the cryptic confusion. All she knew for certain was that she was going to lose something important...Well, that and the fact that she and the demon that wore her lover's face would battle to the death.

Looking into Wesley's worried face she gave him the truth without pulling any punches

"Think of the worst case scenario" she looked up and watched the Englishman's face crease into a deep frown.

"Then times it by infinity" Buffy mumbled and walked away.

****

Angelus stood lurking in the shadows long after the Slayer and the English fool had ridden off into the sunlight, patiently biding his time. It didn't matter how far Buffy ran, the demon knew he was going to hunt her down. His whole body screamed with his need for her. The taste of her warm rich blood still lingered deep inside his mouth and his fingers burned with the heat from her thighs.

"Run, little Slayer run. But I'll be sure to find you" Angelus raised his finger and slowly sucked it into his mouth. He closed his eyes as he tasted the sweetness of her scent and growled deeply.

"I will kill you, lover. But first, I'll bring you to your knees" Angelus watched as the last of the days sunlight slipped quietly away.

"And then I'll bring you to mine" he laughed to himself as he headed out into the night

Part Three

"Fucking Bitch" Angelus kicked the front tire of the soul's Plymouth convertible and growled in absolute rage. The sun had set a few seconds earlier and he was impatient to follow the Slayer to Sunnydale.

Realising that the car would be going nowhere fast, he angrily kicked out again, this time sending his heavily booted foot straight through the shiny black metal.

"I should warn you, vandalism is a serious crime in this state, we can lock you up for it, in a nice sunny cell" a hash female voice crept up on the vampire. Angelus slowly turned, he had been so caught up in his rage with the Slayer that he had almost missed the approaching human, but only almost. Her feminine aroma had alerted him to her presence just in time.

He berated his tardiness, if it had been the Slayer he could have been in an awful lot of trouble, luckily for him, it wasn't.

**Just another annoying blonde bitch with a bug up her ass** His face slipped into its human appearance before he turned to greet her

"How nice to see you, officer Lockley, but I don't think vandalism counts if it's my own property" Angelus replied in his best soulboy impersonation.

** It was easy, just turn on the I'm-all-tortured act, throw in the puppy dog eyes and it works every time** the demon watched the female police officer take a small step closer, he couldn't smell any fear on the woman, so he congratulated himself on his acting.

Angelus' eyes swept over the slender woman, she was taller than the Slayer, her hair was a little lighter, and her figure a little more matured, but she was still easy on the eyes. Besides, after the way the Slayer had worked him up the demon just needed a little relief. As he had reminded Buffy earlier

** A mouths a mouth** and he had fucked a lot worse in his time

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" Angelus moved slowly forward, his eyes closing in on the thin column of Kate's bare neck.

"I've just left the Mall, it looks like a vampire's tea party over there. I don't suppose you would know anything about that. " Kate asked she lifted her eyes only to find the deep brown pools of the demon staring right back.

The woman found her face blushing slightly under the intense gaze of the vampire but refused to let herself be intimidated. **Angel may have the body of a Greek god but he was still a filthy demon underneath** she quickly reminded herself.

"No, sorry" the guilt and puppy dog eyes came in to full play as the demon struggled to keep the contempt from his voice.

** Vampire's tea party**

**Shame about Darla, that could have been real fun for a while. Oh, well. That's just another good reason to rip the Slayer's head off ** Angelus resisted the smile that accompanied the visual. Darla had been stupid and careless and she'd paid the price, he wouldn't be making the same mistake. He then turned his attention to the blonde in front of him.

"Somebody made a right mess in that shop, it sure looked like your work" Kate seriously doubted the vampire was telling the truth. Amongst the corpses, She had witnessed the incriminating piles of dust. No matter what anybody else said, Kate Lockely knew there had been vampires in that shop.

** And where there were vampires there was usually Angel.**

"Kate, I'm on your side, remember. You really should trust me more" Angelus turned on the full *soul boy* act. He could smell that the woman was interested in him, she could deny it all she wanted but she couldn't hide that smell, not from a vampire.

**She smells like a bitch on heat** the demon smiled.

"I don't trust vampires, get with the program, Angel. I don't trust anybody that doesn't have a heart beat"

Angelus took another step forward

"Kate, one of these days you're going to have to trust somebody" another step forward " I didn't kill your father, you know that"

Kate trembled at the mention of her father. She'd held on to the pain for so long and it was slowly eating her alive.

Angelus reached out and softly touched Kate's hair. He felt the warmth of her breath as she sighed against his hand.

" I would have given my own soul to have saved his" how he kept his face still that time was a miracle. Angelus could tell she was hooked, now all he had to do was reel her in.

"Trust me, I know what it feels like to lose a father. Let me take away your pain" His lips inched slowly towards her face

"I want to.. I want to trust somebody, I just don't know how" Kate's eyes sparked with tears.The pain of her father's death was like a large sore in the middle of her chest and the more she picked away at it's scab, the more the infection grew.

" The first step is always the hardest" Angelus offered and waited for his prey to surrender.

" Help me, please make it stop" Kate shuddered and felt the pain snap and break away. She had spent far too long blaming the things that went bump in the night; she really had to let it go, move on. A loud sob slipped from her mouth with the relief of letting go of the pain.

**Angel was right, she needed to trust people again, she needed to trust him.**

"Ssshhh" Angelus pulled the woman into his arms and softly rubbed her back.

"Let it all out Katie" the soft rich voice wound it's enchanted spell, pulling away the last of her defenses.

Kate wound her arms around the vampire's shoulders and pressed up against the cool muscular chest.

"I still miss my daddy, but I know that it wasn't your fault. Angel, I'm so tired I just want some peace"

Angelus ran his finger across her cheek, he felt the blonde woman tremble beneath his touch.

"Close your eyes" he lowered his mouth and softly brushed her forehead with his cool lips. Kate's eye lashes flicked and then without questioning why, she closed her eyes.

A large smirk twitched around the vampire's lips as the demon shone out from his angelic features.

"Works every time" the demon chuckled as he proceeded to rip out the policewoman's throat. Kate's eyes jerked open in disbelief and terror.

She struggled in vain as the razor sharp fangs sliced deep into her artery and swallowed hard

Dropping the body to the floor, Angelus wiped his bloodstained lips with the back of his hand

**There really was something to be said for a warm meal** he inwardly sighed. The demon then decided that his precious time would be better spent hunting the Slayer than fucking the dying woman.

**Correction, dead woman** Angelus laughed as a death rattle slipped from her destroyed throat.

With his appetite slightly sated he leant over and pulled a set car keys from the deceased woman's pocket.

Stepping over the corpse, he looked down with amusement.

"I hate to eat and run like this but I really have some place to be, say hi to daddy for me**

Part Four.

Spike raised his arms and stretched out a long satisfied yawn, he reached over and pulled a cigarette from the crumpled pack that lay by the bed and, striking a match, drew the swirling smoke around his dead lungs.

From the safety of his nice dark crypt, the contented vampire could hear the remaining population of Sunnydale happily celebrating well into the day. Fireworks exploded high into the now empty sky, car horns screamed up and down main street as news of the meteorite's near miss reached the human race, guaranteeing their survival.

Spike couldn't resist grinning, he knew there was going to be an awfully lot of pissed off demons hiding deep inside the earth, waiting eagerly for their big day to arrive. The fact that the world was not ending after all was not going to be taken lightly. But, unlike his demon brethren, the vampire was in no big hurry to wave goodbye to the good things in life. Even with that damn chip in his head, Spike knew that his unlife was still pretty neat, and in the last few hours it had gotten a whole lot better.

Drusilla stirred and moved her dark head from its' position in his lap. Her beautiful dark eyes flickered open and she purred softly at the sight of her mate. Spike ran his hand over the crown of her head and slipped his fingers through the silky strands of her dark hair. He smiled down at the woman sharing his bed with surprising tenderness.

She might have been a crazy, cheating bitch in her time, but she was also his black goddess, his princess of the night, his goddamn Sire. It only took seeing Dru again for a few hours to convince Spike that his little infatuation with the slayer was just that, infatuation. This demon with her pale skin and her cold touch was the love of his unlife whether he liked it or not.

**Well at least until the next chaos demon shows up**

Drusilla slowly crawled up Spike's body and wound her slender arms around his neck; she nuzzled her mouth against the skin of his throat and playfully bit down.

"So, you want some more, pet?" Spike growled and flipped her onto her back, straddling her waist he pinned her arms down by her sides.

"What happened to the sky, Spike? Where did the bright star go?" the vampire cooed as her mate kissed along her bare collar bone.

Drusilla groaned as her lover's familiar tongue licked its way across her skin. Although she found the sensation pleasurable, she couldn't relax due to the strange voices nagging away in her muddled head.

Everything was so confusing; the Slayer had said it was all going to end and yet the cruel vicious sun had still risen that morning, at that very second it was still shining down its deadly rays. Everything in her being screamed out that this was all wrong. A large battle had been foretold in the heavens and yet the stars were now all out of alignment. The jigsaw pieces were all upside down and the corners were missing.

"Who could have stopped the darkness, why is the sky not falling?" she asked again, the annoying voices refusing to give her peace.

" Who knows, pet. Just be happy it's gone" Spike really had more important things on his mind, like sex. He licked across her breastbone revelling in the taste of his lover and closed his mind to her excessive ramblings.

**That bloody meteorite was she could talk about. **

The night before, Drusillia had turned up in Sunnydale with a tale more barmy than usual. After the initial slagging match, the ex lovers had reunited in a blaze of passion and sought out Spike's crypt to watch the end of humanity. Luckily for Spike, Harmony had already packed her belongings and had abandoned town as soon as the meteorite had been discovered. She had begged her *blondie bear* to go with her but Spike had no intention of running away. Feeling more than a little sorry for himself, the vampire accepted that he'd lived a long time and he'd had a good innings and if this was how it ended, so be it. He was a lone wolf, he didn't need anybody. But then Dru had turned up and things had changed, she wanted him back and now he no longer had to face the end alone. That was okay too.

After their passion had shaken the very foundations of the crypt, and most probably woken a few of the dead, Dru had curled up by his side and rambled the rest of the night about her time in LA. Spike had feigned interest until the conversation turned to the Slayer, Darla and Angel. When he had tried to question her further, Dru had spun him some farcical tale about Buffy saving her from being staked and then sending her off to find him.

**Yeah, like that really happened** Spike rolled his eyes at the ludicrous idea and just humoured her.

After that conversation Spike gave up trying to get any sense out of Drusilla. Accepting that his crazy lover would never change, the two vampires just settled down and waited for the end of the day to arrive.

But the end never came.

"Ooooooh" Drusillia twisted and threw her head back. At first Spike just grinned, thinking it was something he had done. But then he realised that his lover wasn't having an orgasm, she was having a vision.

"What is it, pet. What do you see" Spike watched as the vision took over the vampire's whole body. She trembled and shook as the jumbled pictures flashed into her head

"He's coming" she moaned and wrapped her arms around her body. Spike leaned over and raised an eyebrow in interest

"Who's that luv?…Who's coming ?" the orgasmic expression that crossed her delicate features wasn't lost on the blonde vampire.

"Daddy, my daddy's coming back to me" the sound of renewed groaning made the small hairs on the back of Spike's neck stand on end.

"I can feel the anger flowing inside him, he's feeding but a different hunger is driving him. There's a key, Spike. Daddy must take the key away, when he opens the door there will be fun for all of us"

"Angel? " Spike sneered the question making no attempt to hide his dislike.

**That bloody poof was the plague of his existence**

Spike threw his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his trousers. He pulled the black pants over his naked hips and flicked up the zipper.

Dru shook her head and giggled in glee, rolling onto her stomach she watched her mate pace back and forth in annoyance

"You know what this means? That bloody Slayer has given him one again." Spike was seriously not amused; Angelus was bound to be bad news. The soul was a big enough pain in the neck, but the scourge of Europe himself, that wanker would be all over Drusillia before he could blink.

Just when things had started to look up this goes and happens.

**Oh, he'd seen it all before. Angelus would march into town like a magnificent poof and before you knew it, the younger male was back on the outside looking in. Well not this sodding time**

Spike looked back towards Drusilla spread seductively across his bed. He reached out a hand and softly caressed her cheek.

There really was only one thing to do; he would have to kill the rotten bastard himself.

**But he always kicks your asrse** a tiny voice crept into his head and laughed at him bitterly.

Spike needed a plan, but even more than that he needed allies. He needed somebody strong enough to send the big Nancy boy straight back to hell before he could do any real damage. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed Buffy.

**Oh, bloody hell**

****

Buffy rested her head against Wesley's hard back and fought desperately not to fall asleep and slip off the bike. She was cold, hungry and unbelievably tired but there was still over half the journey left to go. The roads were a nightmare, the earlier exodus had done a U turn and were all trying to return home at the same time. Now that the world was safe from destruction, every lane was jammed with traffic, all heading in the same direction, and nobody was going anywhere fast

In normal circumstances the journey would have taken about two hours, at this rate they would be lucky to make Sunnydale by morning. Noticing a gas station in the distance Wesley pulled off the road.

"Buffy, you better try Sunnydale again, there should be somebody home by now. Forewarned is forearmed" He switched off the engine and with a grateful sigh slipped off the bike and stretched the cramp from his long legs. Buffy nodded her agreement and after checking that she still had the loose change Wesley had given her earlier, she walked off in search of a phone. As she crossed the forecourt, her empty stomach growled angrily reminding her that she hadn't eaten for at least two days. On leaving the Oracles, Wesley had made a quick detour just long enough to grab Buffy some clothing and a pair of shoes, there was no way she could continue to travel wearing only a bed sheet and his jacket. For a start, It would have caused too much unwanted attention, attention they simply didn't have time to explain. Although the outfit drowned her small frame, Buffy was extremely grateful for the ex watcher's kindness. Until then she hadn't once thought about what Angelus' return would mean to Wesley and his friends. Buffy knew that the more she thought about Angelus, the more guilt she would have to carry. So, she packed that particular pain away with all the others and concentrated solely on the task of leaving LA and warning the others as quickly as possible.

In their frantic need to escape the city, all thoughts of food had pushed to the back of their minds. The sunlight was now gone and Angelus was free to follow.

Back at the gas station, every number she tried had been unavailable, Giles, her mother even Xander's just continually rung at both ends. Slamming down the receiver in frustration the Slayer walked back into the cool night air. Noticing Wesley was back at the bike she hurried over eager to get moving again.

"Still no reply" Buffy offered sadly before Wesley could even ask.

"Here, it's not much but it's all they had" Wesley offered a small white plastic cup in one hand and a bar of chocolate in the other. Buffy returned a tired smile and gratefully accepted. She knocked the contents of the cup back without coming up for air, the poor excuse for coffee was almost tasteless, but at least it was warm and for a few seconds it filled the empty spot in her stomach

**If only she could fill the empty spot in her heart that easily** she reflected sadly and tried not to think about deep brooding eyes that had changed into pools of toxic evil. Wherever the soul was, it had to be safer than here. Once the demon was defeated she would face the consequences.

**Destroy the demon and the soul will be set free** if only she understood what that really meant

"I think we will make better progress if we cut off the main roads, Angelus certainly would have" Wesley deposited his empty plastic cup in the nearest trashcan and climbed back onto the bike.

"He won't beat us there, not on this baby" Buffy looked at the powerful bike as she climbed behind the rider and gripped his waist.

"Will he?" was only added when Wesley had remained silent.

"I sincerely hope not for all our sakes. The others have no idea of his change. If we don't get there before him they will all be sitting ducks" he turned the key and nothing happened.

"I'm ready when you are" Buffy called out from behind anxious to get moving.

"Wesley removed the key, wiped it on his shirt and then tried again, the response was the same. Buffy immediately felt the tension course through Wesley's body. She tapped him on the shoulder as he tried again to turn over the engine.

"I'd like to go now...Please"

With a long sigh, Wesley looked back with a deeply troubled expression.

"Sorry, Buffy, we seem to have a slight problem"

Part 5

**It really was his lucky night** Angelus grinned as he swung the dead cops' car around the dark streets of Sunnydale. Not only had he made the journey before sunrise, he was almost certain he had made it there before the Slayer. Like the soul, he too could sense her presence and that was just the break he needed.

"And there's break number two" the vampire whispered to himself and shrank back into the dark shadows of his car. In the distance his perfect eyesight fell on a certain Slayer's best friend.

The small redhead and her two companions walked arm in arm until they reached their destination. Patrol had been a total waste of time, but at least it had made the three of them feel like they were doing something positive, until Buffy got back that's all they could do.

"Are you sure you don't want us to wait with you until Tara gets home?" Xander asked as he wrapped his friend in a tight hug. Willow smiled as she watched Anya's eyes roll in frustration. She could almost read the ex demons mind.

**Poor Xander, he really did have his hands full**

"No, I'll be fine, and besides Tara might be back already" she smiled at the look of relief that passed over Anya's face. No matter how hard she tried, Anya still hadn't mastered the true meaning of tact.

"She's right, come on Xander I'm very sleepy, I need to go to bed…Now" she faked a yawn and nudged her boyfriend, not too gently to move.

Willow watched the light go on behind her oldest friend's eyes as he caught his girlfriend's non-too subtle hint.

"Yes, I'm suddenly getting that sleepy feeling too" he slipped his arm around his lover's waist and pulled her close to his side. What had started out as the strangest pairing had matured into something quite special, proving once again that love really was blind.

With a small smile turning the corners of her lips, Willow waved goodbye to her friends and hurried up the stairs to her building.

Angelus watched with a sneer drawn across his full lips as Xander walked right past his car. If he'd had more time he really would have enjoyed nothing better then ripping the head off the Slayer's pathetic excuse for a white knight. The soul had always been jealous of the spotty teenager, but not him, Angelus hated the little pissant with a vengeance and vowed that the kid's end would come soon enough. Xander Harris had stood in his way for the very last time.

**But first things first**

When he was certain that the road was empty, the vampire jumped from the car and quickly entered the college. He didn't need to worry about a room number; the aroma of the young witch was still fresh enough for him to just follow her scent..

*****

Willow picked up her phone and after checking it was actually working; she dropped down on her bed with an exhausted sigh and dialled Giles' number. The other end was snatched up before it even had a chance to complete its first ring

"No, Willow. No news yet, I suggest you just stay by your phone, I'm sure we'll hear something soon" Giles tried to keep his voice as calm as possible but after four days and still not a word from Buffy, the fear had started creeping in.

Willow sighed with disappointment, she had been so sure that today was the day Buffy would ring

"Okay, I'll do just that.... Oh, Giles. If Tara comes by your place will you tell her where I am, she went over to check on Dawn and the last time we tried their phone it was still not working" Willow asked, when she was happy with the answer she replaced the receiver.

Hauling her tired body off the bed, she made her way over to her closet. Fighting a yawn, Willow opened the door and pulled out her night-shirt. Although it was nearly morning she had been awake now for almost thirty-six hours and her body was finally rebelling in its need for sleep. She quickly slipped out of her crumpled clothing and pulled the night-shirt down over her head. It really had been a long few days; she thought as she studied her tired reflection in the mirror.

As much as she hated not knowing where her friend was, she hoped with all her heart that the Slayer had at least found her Angel. Some things in life were meant to be.

**Poor Buffy, she really did deserve a break when it came to some quality happiness, it was such a shame that Angel couldn't share that feeling**

Picking up the spell book on her desk, the Wicca made her way back to her bed and settled down to read.

" There must be something in here that will tell me where you are, Buffy" Willow turned page after page hoping for a spark of inspiration. She had put off doing something magical for far too long, as soon as Tara returned she'd made up her mind to try a location spell.

Flicking to the page that covered all placement spells, Willow tried to read up on the ingredients they would need, but no matter how hard she concentrated, the words on the page danced before her eyes as the need for sleep became stronger than her will to stay awake. After a few futile flickers, her eyelids closed over and gave into sleep's warm pull.

The next thing she was aware of was a soft tapping on the door, jerking her from her slumber. Willow threw her legs over the bed and stretching out a yawn, padded across the room

"Did you forget your key again….Oh..Angel" Willow's mouth dropped open in surprise, the last thing she had expected to see was the vampire standing on her doorstep.

"Hello, Willow. How have you been?" Angelus smiled back using his soul boy impersonation again

"Great, well apart from the whole world ending thing. That was pretty scary for a while. What are you doing back in Sunnydale?

Angelus smiled again and glanced towards the door indicating that he needed an invitation to enter. Confusion crossed Willow's sleepy features for a few seconds until the penny dropped.

"Sorry, Angel. Come on in"

Angelus walked across the threshold and pulled the door closed behind him, his eyes scanned the room quickly noticing that the witch was all alone.

"Where's Buffy? Did she catch up with you in LA? Is she all right?" Willow asked a volley of questions without coming up for air. After the last four days of silence, she was excited to finally receive news of her friend's well being

"Buffy's great. We got here about ten minutes ago and she's gone straight to her mother's house. Willow, Buffy asked me to drop by and see if you were here. We've got a serious problem, we were hunting Drusilla in LA and she gave us the slip. Buffy thinks she's heading this way"

"That makes sense, seeing as how Spike's still here." Willow nodded in understanding. Her romantic heart soared at the realisation that not only had Buffy found her love; they were once again fighting side by side.

"It's imperative that we find her as soon as possible, she's discovered some really important information, End of days prophecies and we must bring her over to our side, Buffy thinks we should try to curse her with a soul" **Insert brooding look and you've got her**

"Wow! That sounds like a good idea maybe we can do Spike at the same time, although the chip does a pretty good job and..."

"Willow" Angelus interrupted in his best soul boy voice.

"We really don't have a great deal of time. If she's here we need to move fast"

"Sure, sorry Angel. What can I do?" Willow offered, wanting to help in anyway she could. Cursing Drusilla with a soul shouldn't be that difficult, especially with Tara's help.

" It needs to be the original curse that you performed on me, do you still have it?" Angelus waited patiently, which was a new concept for him. Last time with Jenny, he'd made the mistake of not destroying every copy; this time it would be different.

"Somewhere" Willow walked over to her desk and started looking through a file of papers.

"It was a long time ago but I'm sure I put it in here" she mumbled to herself and pulled open another drawer.

Angelus continued biding his time, knowing that if he lost his temper now he might make the same mistake.

Willow pulled open another drawer and rifled through the contents.

"Here it is, I knew it was here somewhere." she shouted waving the floppy disk in excitement.

The demon's eyes narrowed in on the disk as he reached out a hand to accept it.

"I think I better make a copy first" Willow kept her fingers closed on the disk and looked over towards her computer.

"Why, is this the only copy? I'd hate to lose anything that important"

Without looking back the redhead just nodded and reached over for an empty disk.

"Yes, I never got round to making a backup" If Willow had been paying more attention she might have caught his mocking tone and satisfied smirk, sadly she didn't.

**And the Oscar goes to…..Me ** the demon stared hard at the disk that could technically imprison him again and promised that was never going to happen

"Don't worry, it will only take a second to copy it" Willow dropped into her chair and switched on her computer. As it started to boot she leant over to insert the disk.

Angelus moved to stand behind the chair and lowered his large cold hands on to Willow's shoulders.

"That really won't be necessary" his eyes flickered yellow as his head lowered nearer to Willows neck. **This really was going to be the sweetest kill** he thought as he anticipated Buffy's reaction at finding her best friend turned. A vampiric Willow would most certainly be a powerful confederate in the fight for darkness.

The sudden sound of ringing caused Willow to jerk her head

"That might be Buffy now" she twisted in the chair to reach over for the phone.

"She always picks her moments" Angelus growled low in his throat and changed his plan. If that really was the Slayer, there wouldn't be enough time to wait for Willow to rise, once they recovered from their grief the ridiculous Scooby gang would see to that.

**Oh, well, plan B**

Willow never even saw her death coming as her neck was violently twisted, her small body crumpled at the vampire's feet with hardly a sound

"Plan B works too, that's one sound I never tire of hearing" he chucked as he scooped over the lifeless form and placed her almost lovingly in front of her PC.

"One last thing" Angelus grabbed the monitor and smashed it to the ground, the glass screen shattered as sparks exploded deep inside.

"Better safe than sorry" Angelus then pulled out a sheet of writhing paper and ignoring Willows body, he composed a note for Buffy. When the demon was finished, he folded the paper and slipped it between the dead girl's fingers.

"This time we play by my rules, Buff….No more curse…No more soul." Striking a match he held it to the corner of the small plastic disk and watched in fascination as its shape became unrecognisable.

This time everything was destroyed, this time there was no going back.

Looking over the room one last time, Angelus congratulated himself on his artistic handy work. Willow looked as though she had just fallen asleep at her desk.

"Buff was just going to love him for this one" he chucked as he walked from the room.

Turning the corner his large frame collided with a girl heading in the direction he had just left.

"S.s.sorry" Tara looked up and apologised with a nervous grin. Angelus smiled back, he could smell Willow's scent all over the girl and knew immediately that the two had been lovers.

"No, my fault entirely" the demon's full charm came into play and the young woman blushed a deep shade of pink before heading on her way.

The demon couldn't resist waiting a few seconds for the girl to enter her room, the soul destroying scream that followed was music to his ears.

*****

Angelus was on a high, not from the kill itself but the knowledge of how much pain it would cause the Slayer was intoxication. Not only had he taken away her very best friend, he had also removed the only chance they might have had to re-curse him with that god damn soul again. Now all he needed was a place to lay low until sunset and he'd start his very own Armageddon, and this time there would be no fucking miracle getting in the way.

Deciding that the mansion on Crawford street was probably a no go area, the vampire headed for the old factory. He needed to get below ground but he also needed to reunite with his childe, Drusilla would be able to see all the answers he needed.

Angelus stood in the ruins of the burnt out shell, he'd known the second he'd walked threw the door open that the place was deserted, only the ghosts of better days floated around the destruction.

**Hey, I love a good slaughter as much as the next bloke, but his hijinks will only serve to leave us with one incredibly brassed-off Slayer…**

**Don't worry, roller boy. We don't have anything to worry about. I've got everything under control. **

**All right, you've had your fun. But you know what it's time for now?**

**My fun**

The demon let his eyes linger over the burnt twisted metal while the memories of happier times washed over him. The Slayer had very nearly killed him that time; it was only her weakness for her Watcher that had saved the day. That's why he would always win, Buffy Summers had far too many weaknesses.

**Oh, well. Maybe I just did her a big favour. One less friend to worry about**

"I wonder if you're still enjoying the fun, my love?" The vampire's evil laughter echoed around the burnt out shell sounding more demonic than ever.

"And what fun what that be?"

Angelus turned around, his eyes narrowed on the attractive female standing in the factory doorway with her hands resting on shapely hips, her whole aura screamed out with self importance.

"Jeez, not another blonde. What could I have possibly done to deserve this." The vampire smirked and took a foot forward.

"You're a vampire, I can tell" the woman's eyes sparkled as she admired the devastatingly handsome demon.

Angelus was immediately wary; he could smell the fragrant aroma of danger radiating off this woman, no matter how harmless she looked.

Deja Vu screamed out at him as he took in her appearance.

Slim, immaculately dressed with a head of spiraling curls.

**If she asks you to close your eyes, run like hell** he inwardly joked but never once took his eyes from her face.

"Well, well, well. A blonde with an I.Q above three. Wow! My life is looking up at last" the smile that played around his lips continued as he crossed the factory floor.

"You on the other hand are not a vampire, you're not human either" that much was more than obvious.

"I'm Glory, Where I come from I'm considered a God" the blonde smirked back and, walking forward, she blocked his path.

"Sorry, never heard of you, so if you can just move your godly ass, I have a slayer to kill." Angelus pushed her out of his way

"But I've heard of you, Angelus. The scourge of Europe and part time lapdog to the Slayer" she taunted as she moved seductively around the vampire

Angelus' lightning reflexes caught Glory by surprise, and by the throat. His fingers tore into her flesh as he pinned her against the wall.

"That was the soul" he growled with piercing yellow eyes. His grip increased until it was tight enough to snap a human neck.

**Just like the little red head**

Glory raised her hands to his chest and pushed hard, with little effort she sent the vampire crashing to the floor. Angelus sat up glaring at the woman as she slowly strutted towards him. He had been caught off guard by the power she had released, but he was also impressed.

"That's good, I don't need a lapdog, I need someone to bring me the key." Glory lifted a shapely leg and placed her stiletto-heeled foot in the middle of Angelus' groin. The vampire growled but made no attempt to move

"Key… What key?" the demon was suddenly intrigued. This woman was stronger than anything he had encountered in a very long time. Why would she need him to find this key? What ever this key was it must be incredibly important.

Glory laughed and twisted her shoe deeper into Angelus' growing erection.

"The key to hell. My armies are ready and waiting, all we need to do is find the key and open the door.

Slapping her foot away, Angelus slowly pulled himself to his feet, maybe he'd been wrong about this one, she might be blonde but she certainly had the right idea.

** Maybe this one was worth fucking…And if the Slayer was a good little girl, maybe he'd let her watch**

"So we open this doorway and then what happens?" he moved his face tantalisingly closer.

Glory shook her head. **He might be pretty but he wasn't not too bright**

"The End of Days of course"

*****

Buffy slid down from the back of Wesley's bike with a grateful sigh of relief. She was tired, dirty and every muscle in her body ached beyond belief, but at least they were finally home.

She stretched out her arms feeling the circulation slowly return as Wesley joined her on the pavement.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to drop you home first, I'm thinking your mother might be worried" Wesley willingly offered even though the thought of spending another second on that bloody bike filled him with deep trepidation.

Buffy looked back at the man she now considered a real friend and couldn't help smiling. The Wesley now standing in front of her was so far removed from the *screams like a woman sap* who had once tried to replace her Watcher. This new improved Wesley was somebody she trusted to watch her back without question.

"I must see Giles first, face the music and tell him what went down in LA." Buffy shivered at the thought. Telling Giles of Angelus' return was something she really wasn't looking forward too. Especially after the last time. But there was no other choice, she would face her friends, accept all the yelling they were bound to do and then…

**Then Willow and Giles would re-curse that arrogant bastard all the way back to hell. **

With that small comfort Buffy walked up to the door.

Part Six

Angelus stood lounging in the doorway of the crypt, oblivious to the two vampires occupying it. He watched in perverted amusement as the two demons twisted and turned in all their naked glory. The perfect contrast of light pushing against the darkness moved in a simplistic rhythm as old as time itself. As the passion between the two demons heightened,

Angelus' interest waned; he purposely waited until the most inappropriate moment before making his presence known.

Drusilla was the first to notice they were no longer alone, the dark haired vampire squealed with delight on seeing that her beloved sire was finally home.

"Bloody hell" Spike muttered as his lover pulled away from his unsatisfied body. Watching Drusilla start out of the bed, Spike grabbed her arm and threw his shirt at the naked woman. Reluctantly, Drusilla pulled the shirt over her shapely figure and headed straight for her sire.

While Dru headed in one direction, Spike slipped quietly out of the other side of the bed and tugged his jeans up his muscular legs with a frustrated snarl of anger. He then stood quietly in the shadows while his lover ran to the older man.

On reaching her sire Drusilla lifted her delicate hand as if to lovingly caress his cheek but instead she swiped him straight across the face. Angelus growled at the surprise greeting, his dark brown eyes flickered with golden specks of the demon.

"DRU!" He yelled out his displeasure as his childe moved even closer.

"That was for letting the Slayer hurt grandmother" she waited for a second as if checking behind his eyes and then her whole face broke into a devilish smile. "My bad boy's really come home"

"You better believe it, baby" Angelus smiled and walked further into the crypt. He ran his finger along the side of a tomb and looked down his nose in contempt. The whole place just screamed of Spike, even after a hundred years the kid still hadn't learnt any class.

Spike's lair was dark, dank and lacked the more refined requirements of home but, it was better than the mid day sun. Angelus had no fear of the Slayer finding him, Spike might be a dumb prick at times, but he had been taught well. His grandchilde would never set up home in a place the Slayer was aware of.

Angelus mistakenly thought that even Spike wasn't that stupid.

Perching on top of the tomb the demon started to make himself at home.

"You've been a very naughty boy" Dru fussed all around her sire much to Spikes disgust. He had been right to worry about Angelus' return.

**One sniff of the old sod and Drusilla was reduced to a bitch on heat. **

Spike bit down the temptation to stake the bastard there and then. Drusilla would never forgive him and besides **Why should he do the dirty work when there's a perfectly good slayer just down the road** That thought alone was enough to calm the rage flowing through his veins. He would bide his time, keep his cool and then…..give the wanker up to the Slayer the very first chance he got.

Preening like a peacock, Angelus started to boast about his latest conquest.

"I just had me a real good kill. A certain young, redheaded Wicca" the memory was still fresh enough to bring a definite gleam to the demon's cold eyes.

Every kill he took washed the soul deeper into oblivion and as far as the demon was concerned, that's just where it was staying.

Dru's eyes shone bright with admiration

"Clever daddy, that bad soul has gone away forever now" she clapped wildly as she danced around the room. Throwing her hair back, Drusilla held out her arms and spun around and around like an excited child in the school yard. Her voice started singing as she turned

"We can have a party and wish this world goodbye"

Ignoring his black goddess, Spike walked from the corner of the crypt and slowly clapped his hands in mock applause

"Congratulations. She's really gonna to kill you this time, mate" the younger vampire had come to understand, only too well, that if you messed with the Slayer's Scooby gang you better hope to kill every one of them, or else there was real hell to pay. Angelus had seriously underestimated the wrath of the Slayer. Buffy was going to go on a slaying tornado until every inch of Sunnydale was covered in a fine layer of dust, no vamp was now safe from here to eternity.

"You seem to forget the small fact that if she kills me she loses him too. Oh, I have no doubt she'll try, but at the end of the day" Angelus ran his tongue over his lip as if savoring the thought. "At the end of the day, I'll break her and ride her all the way to hell" a smug grin spread across his handsome face

Spike snorted and shook his head at the arrogance.

"She's not the same little girl you played with last time, she's all grown up and she kicks serious ass"

"Some things never change that much" Angelus laughed at the notion.

**Buffy had gone running back to the soul at the very first sign of trouble, she'd jumped his bones and given him perfect happiness with no thought at all to the consequences. Thereby, bringing back the curse in all its' glory. Spike was wrong, She hadn't changed at all**

"You always did fancy yourself far too much. Little Buff moved on once with no trouble at all, she'll do it again after she dusts your sorry ass. I really can't see her going for third time lucky" Spike knew he was hitting the mark by the anger spreading across Angelus' face.

But despite the elder vampire's anger, Spike kept his cool. His eyes were bright and fully alert as he waited for the attack he was certain would follow, but this time the scourge of Europe surprised him.

"She seems to have risen in your estimation, maybe after all this time the Slayer has a new lapdog? Is that why you haven't killed her, or could it be something else….Poor old Spike, I heard all about your little problem, to be cut off in your prime" Angelus mocked as he walked slowly forward.

"A vampire with no bite, it's just so pitiful. Maybe I should put you out of your misery for old times sake?" he asked snapping a piece of wood and raising it precariously close to Spike's dead heart.

Spike's fingers curled into tight balls as a black raged boiled behind his expressionless eyes. As the wooden stake penetrated his skin he struck with one powerful crack, sending Angelus crashing to the floor with blood dripping from his mouth.

"Don't worry your head about me, mate. This old dog can still bite you" he advanced on his prey, prepared to strike again the moment it moved.

Angelus slowly sat up, anger blazing from his yellow eyes. But, instead of attacking, he threw his head back and started to cackle.

"Maybe they didn't cut your balls off after all" he held out his hand and waited for Spike to make the first move.

"My balls are just fine, you'd do well to remember that" Spike gripped the offered hand and pulled Angelus back onto his feet.

"You naughty boys are fighting just like old times, if only grandmother was here" Drusilla wrapped her arms around both men and hugged them.

"So, what's the plan this time? I take it you do have a plan or did you just piss off the Slayer for the hell of it?" Spike asked pulling away from the other two.

"Oh, there's a plan alright. The End of Days is knocking on the door just waiting for our kind to let it in. Drusilla, I need your help, what do you know about *the key*?"

Drusilla closed her eyes and swayed her head from side to side. "I'll ask the stars to tell me all their secrets" Dropping to the floor, a soft moaning came from her lips as she slipped into a deep trance.

"The key, look for the key, Dru" Angelus urged as he and Spike joined her on the floor. As the trance pulled her deeper inside, Drusilla twisted her hands in her thick hair and whimpered.

"The key hides where everyone can see it, but nobody knows. It hides behind a facade of deception, pretty pictures cloud their minds, but none of them are real" Drusilla moaned as she tried to see further into the past.

"Where does it hide?" Angelus grabbed her shoulders and pulled her body closer to his face. Drusilla's eyes were open but there was clearly nobody home. Angelus was about to shake her when he was stopped by Spike's firm grip on his arm.

"Let her do her job, mate. If you bring her back before she's ready she'll never be able to tell you what you want to know"

Angelus glared down at the offending hand but remained silent. Spike was beginning to get slightly above his station. Once the key was found lessons of obedience would have to be learnt all over again.

Drusilla started moaning again as new visions flashed inside her jumbled mind.

"The key is in her heart now, but it's not in her head. She knows the truth, yet she still loves the lie"

Angelus opened his mouth again but the look in Spikes eyes stopped him.

"An only child has no sister" Drusilla's head dropped and she wrapped her arms around herself as she rocked back and forth. Spike knelt over and gathered the trembling woman in his arms, he then held her until she fully awoke from the trance.

"What the hell does it all mean, Dru?" Angelus demanded, his patience spent. He didn't want riddles, he wanted answers and he wanted them now.

Dru sat up and ran her hands through her hair, flicking the dark tangled mess over her shoulders. Her eyes first sought out Spike and then she turned to her Sire.

"This key's been hiding right under your nose and you couldn't smell it. The Slayer holds the key"

Spike sat back on his heels in surprise as the riddle unraveled itself inside his head, without a word he waited to see if the other two would pick up on the connection.

"The Slayer hasn't got a sister?" Angelus started to argue but as the thought entered his head so did visions of Dawn.

"Pretty pictures are only phantom memories, little sister is the key" Drusilla couldn't make it any clearer if she tried.

When Angelus stood back up a very satisfied grin graced his full lips.

"Poor little Buff, things are really not looking good for our heroine"

"First her friend and now her sister. Too delicious" Climbing to her feet, Drusilla wrapped her arms around her sire and squealed as he spun her around.

The two vampires were far too busy congratulating themselves to notice that Spike didn't share their joy.

*****

Buffy sat on the top step hugging her knees into against her chest and rocked like a small frightened child. Squeezing her eyes closed as tight as she could and cutting out all of the light, the Slayer could almost fool herself that she was just waking from some insane nightmare. All she needed to do was slowly open her eyes and everything would be back to normal. But no matter how hard she tried, every time she lifted her tear soaked lashes the nightmare that had taken over her world was not only there but it was multiplying faster than bacteria. If Buffy had believed that losing Angel and releasing Angelus had broken her heart, the news that awaited her on the other side of Giles' door was enough to crack her very soul.

The knowledge that her best friend was now lying in the town morgue with her neck snapped by a demon that she alone was responsible for releasing was something Buffy would have to live with for the rest of her life.

The Oracles had warned her, they had tried to tell her that loved ones would fall before the battle had even begun. But nothing could have prepared Buffy for this pain, the reality was unbearable.

"I've just heard about Red"

"Spike" Buffy looked up, her eyes were red and swollen with grief and the last thing she needed was to face a vampire the way she was feeling.

**Or maybe that's just what she needed** for a second Buffy contemplated slaying the pathetic excuse for a demon but that second passed when she realised that, sadly, Spike wasn't the vampire she needed to kill.

"Get away, it's really not safe for you to be anywhere near here" her small voice trembled it's warning

Spike didn't move.

"Way I'm thinking, it can't be that good for you either. I'm taking it as read that the other Scooby doobies weren't too happy about…Well, Angel getting all happy and psycho again"

Buffy bit back the bitter sob that rose in her throat and acknowledged that Spike's statement would go down in history as the understatement of eternity.

Once again Wesley had been the one to come to her rescue, he was the only one in the room who didn't condemn her for her actions. Buffy would never forget what went down in that room.

**"Yes, in hindsight it was a foolish thing to have done but, if you remember correctly, at that precise moment in time there wasn't a single human being on this planet that expected to wake up. Buffy and Angel made a mistake" Wesley had tried to reason that nothing was black and white. This time nobody had seen this coming.

"Buffy and Angel made a mistake…And Willow paid for it with her neck" Xander shouted him down begging for a fight, he had a fire burning in his stomach so hot that only severe violence was going to extinguish it. Xander didn't even care who he hit; he just needed to pound the living daylights out of anything that moved.

Buffy looked across the room and shivered at the hatred in her friend's eyes. No matter what happened after this day, one thing was very clear, nothing was ever going to be the same again

After hours of screaming, crying, blaming and downright bitterness, an uneasy truce had been called. In their hearts most of them knew that no matter what was said, Buffy would carry the responsibility of Willow's death on her shoulders for the rest of her life. She would carry the guilt not because of anything they said, but because that was the person Buffy was.

Xander was the exception of course; he stormed out of the house threatening to kill anything that stood in his way, nobody moved to stop him.

Buffy looked around the room at the remaining occupants. Tara sat in a quiet state of shock; Anya tried her best to help but once Xander had left she just stood looking kind of lost. Wesley walked over and laid a supportive hand on her shoulder, he didn't offer any words but Buffy understood and welcomed the support she found in the small gesture. Walking slowly across the room she stopped before her Watcher, hoping against hope that Giles would understand, but it was Giles who had frightened Buffy the most.

After the initial anger he just became so defeated, as if the thought of facing the demon again was simply too much for him to bear. His kind caring face had drained of all colour, prematurely aging before her very eyes.

Staring into his pain filled eyes, Buffy felt the ghost of Jenny Calendar drift in through the window of her memories and her already guilt flooded heart burst its safety banks.

Fleeing from the room, Buffy had only managed to reach the front step before collapsing under the strain.

And that's where Spike had found her.

"You have to kill him this time, Slayer, really kill him" The vampire's hard words broke through the painful reminiscence like a hot knife through butter.

"I really don't need a vampire telling me how to slay" Buffy tried to look menacing but Spike could see past the facade. The Slayer was down for the count, he just hoped for all their sakes that she wasn't going to lie there until she was counted out.

"Buffy" he took a cautious step forward carefully watching her fingers. One movement in the direction of anything wooden and Spike was running. When the Slayer kept her hands in her lap he continued.

"Killing the girl was just a start, he was just making sure that you could never bring back soulboy. He's going to run riot now; the wankers got plans to destroy the whole world, again. He's teamed up with Glory and this time he really might do it" Spike took another step forward and still the Slayer's fingers didn't so much as twitch.

"Let them do it, I really don't care anymore" Buffy's shoulders slumped forward as Willow's gentle eyes came to mind. Then as an afterthought she added " I'm tired of fighting, I never win"

Spike stopped right in front of the girl, he could sense the pain she was feeling and on any other day he might have enjoyed the torment. But not today, today he needed her alliance; today he needed a fully enraged slayer not a broken shell.

"Well maybe you should care, they both know about the key now" Spike played his trump card and waited for the Slayer to take the bait.

He wasn't disappointed, Buffy's tear stained eyes shot up in alarm.

"The Keys safe, they'll never find it" she defended fiercely. Apart from Giles, nobody knew the Key's real identity and her watcher would die before giving away the secret.

"You're wrong, they already have" Spike saw a spark of anger ignite in the Slayer's dead eyes and if he could have, he would have breathed a sigh of relief..

"I don't believe you, you're bluffing" even as she spoke the words, alarm bells started screaming inside her head that maybe he wasn't.

"Am I? Okay, lets see. This so called key wouldn't be so high with long hair" Spike raised his hand to exactly Dawn's height. "Has an annoying elder sister who goes by the name of Bitch…. Getting the picture yet?" He stood with his eyes locked on the Slayer's face, watching as realisation dawned in her eyes that he was indeed telling the truth.

"How?" Buffy gasped out the word as panic for her sister's safety rose through her body.

"Drusilla, she's psychic remember. Slayer, you have to get off your arse and protect your sister, they think I'm out hunting her now and if I don't get her, they will "

"I knew I should have dusted her skanky ass in LA" Buffy cried in rage at her stupidity

"How could I have let her go? She owes me her unlife, dammit " Buffy jumped from the step. For the first time, thoughts of Willow were pushed aside as the need to protect her own flesh and blood took over.

**Even if Dawn wasn't technically her flesh and blood** Buffy knew that wasn't the point. She loved the little brat just as much as any real sister could and there was no way those bastards would take Dawn.

"Buffy, Drusilla's a vampire and Angelus is still her sire. She'd never turn on him, pet. Not for anything." Spike tried to explain the bond of sire and childe but Buffy wasn't interested.

"So why are you telling me all this?" Buffy raised suspicious eyes to the blonde vampire.

Spike shrugged his shoulders and a small sneer twisted his lips

"Some of us are not that loyal" his thoughts turned to Angelus groping Drusilla and the hatred he felt for his grandsire exploded through his dead veins like a ship's flare on a dark night at sea.

"I want to help you, I'll watch your back and when the time comes, I'll see you're able to nail the sonofabitch for good. All I ask is the same deal as before, me and Dru get to leave Sunnydale in one piece." Spike watched and waited for a few seconds

"Well, do we have a deal?" he asked holding out his hand.

Buffy looked down at the hand and contemplated her options. Angelus and Glory together would be formidable allies, if she were to defeat them she would need all the help she could get. As the image of her dead friend's face metamorphosised into that of Dawn's, Buffy made a decision

Slowly accepting Spikes' cold hand she shook hard.

"It's a deal"

Part Seven

Buffy screamed out her mother's name as she ran from the car and dropped to her knees.

Joyce Summers' body lay in a crumpled heap at the foot of the steps, the only sign of injury was a small trickle of blood that ran down the side of her face. Sobbing almost hysterically, Buffy lifted her mother's head and lovingly cradled it in her lap.

"Dear God, not again" Wesley jumped from the car closely followed by Giles, but it was Spike who arrived first.

Ignoring the Slayer's feeble protest, he lifted the hair away from her mother's neck and checked for a pulse. A slight throbbing reverberated against his cold fingers confirming his suspicions.

"She's just banged her head" Spike gripped Buffy's arms and forced her head to look up.

"She ain't dead, Slayer, she just got knocked out. You better pull your self together because we still need to find Dawn" Spike shook her small shoulders until the light shone back in her eyes.

"I thought I. I thought she…" Buffy slowly started to understand what the vampire was telling her. Taking a closer look at her mother, she watched in relief as her chest slowly rose and fell with shallow breaths.

Coming to her senses, Buffy looked into Spike's expressionless face and slowly nodded. In the house she could hear Wesley and Giles checking every room calling for Dawn and the longer the silence remained, the greater her fear for her sister grew.

Joyce Summers stirred and raised her hand to the lump growing on the side of her face. Her eyes flickered and rolled as the pain exploded inside her head, but as the darkness cleared from her vision, she sighed with relief at the sight of Buffy's face.

"Mom are you all right? What happened? Where's Dawn?" Buffy's questions came so fast that Joyce didn't have time to answer any of them.

"You're home, Buffy we were so worried" her voice was still too shaky to sound angry. As she struggled to sit up, the older woman became aware of all the concerned faces and her memory started to return.

"Where's the kid?" Spike pushed Buffy to one side and squatted down in front of her mother. He didn't have time to waste of sentimentality. If he's sussed the situation correctly, the key was now in very dangerous hands.

Joyce struggled for a moment, as if trying to find the replay button in her head "I remember now, Dawn said she saw Angel outside with some girl. I tried to stop her going out but she insisted that you would be with him" she reached out and gingerly touched the bump on the side of her head, the red angry swelling throbbed in protest against her fingers.

"Did he do that to you?" Buffy's teeth clenched in anger as she silently added yet another tick in the *I will kill this bastard without a second thought* column. Anger seethed through every fibre in her body, it was more than just hatred that fueled her passion to kill this demon now. With each new attack against her friends and family, Buffy found her very soul being stripped away revealing more and more of her dark side.

Joyce shook her head as she tried to see the picture more clearly

"No, Angel grabbed Dawn and as I ran out of the door, the girl who was with him slammed me against the wall. It all went black after that." Joyce's fingers found the sticky smear of blood on the side of her face and she winced slightly.

" Buffy, what does Angel want with Dawn? What's going on here" her mother started to panic again, only this time it was for her younger daughter's safety.

"Mom, I haven't got time to explain everything now" Buffy attempted to stand but was stopped when Joyce reached out and caught her arm.

"Well I suggest you make time, Buffy. I'll ask you once more, what does Angel want with your sister?"

"It's not Angel anymore, it's Angelus" Giles answered as he walked from the house.

"Joyce, Buffy's right. If we stand here talking about it we'll never find him. But I give you my word, no harm will come to your daughter, either of your daughters if I can prevent it an any way" The Watcher would be damned if he allowed the demon to harm another of his surrogate family. Anxious to get moving, the three males of the group turned to leave. Buffy stood back, torn between her concern for her mother and her need to find Dawn.

"I'm coming with you" Joyce stumbled slightly as she tried to stand, a large wave of dizziness bringing her movement to an abrupt halt.

Wesley, being the nearest male, reached out a steadying hand and prevented the stubborn woman from trying again.

"Mrs. Summers, you could possibly have concussion, the last thing your daughter needs is to have to worry about your health. Buffy, Spike and Mr. Giles will find Dawn and deal with Angelus. In the meantime I suggest a quick tip to the x-ray department, just to be on the safe side" Wesley slipped his arm around Joyce's shoulders and without giving her time to argue he escorted her to Giles' car.

Buffy mouthed a silent thank you and, with her mother safely out of the way, the hunt for her sister was back on

*****

Spike's crypt was deserted when Buffy and the others stormed it, much to their disappointment there was no trace of either vampire or human.

"Where the hell would they have taken her?" Buffy pushed the lid off the tomb so hard it shattered against the stone floor. Spike had followed the Slayer in but had already sensed that the search would be useless, Angelus and Drusilla were long gone.

"Looks like there was a change of plan and the bastard didn't see fit to include me.... Maybe that Glory bird would know" the blonde vampire offered, slightly worried by the recent turn of events. If the Slayer thought for one second that he was holding out on her, he'd be filling an ashtray before you could sneeze.

"I don't know what to do, I'm running blind here." Buffy ran her hand through her hair and looked back towards the door where Giles stood holding a crossbow.

" I need a plan, I need research and I need help" she admitted knowing this was all too much for one person, even if that person was a slayer.

Sadly, the people Buffy needed the most were no longer available. At any other time in her life she would have called Willow and Xander whenever she needed help. And if things got really desperate, there was always Angel and the LA gang to full back on. But that was now impossible, her whole support group was in ruins. Unless she could rally what was left of her depleted troops, the war would be lost before the first battle cry had sounded.

"Leave it to me, I'll hunt down little sister, it shouldn't be that difficult. But you better round up what's left of the cavalry, I've a strong feeling we're gonna need it" Spike didn't give the Slayer time to argue as he slipped away into the darkness.

*****

"She still hasn't said a word, it's very annoying" Anya informed Buffy and Giles as they walked through the door of his apartment thirty minutes later. Buffy noticed that Wesley had also returned but, sadly, there was still no sign of Xander.

Wesley quickly informed her that her mother had checked out fine at the hospital but was being kept in overnight for observation.

**At least that was one less thing for the Slayer to worry about ** he thought as he studied the girl's exhausted face.

Buffy walked slowly across the room, then knelt down in front of Tara and clasped the girl's trembling fingers between her own hands.

"I know you must hate me at the moment and believe me you have every right, but I really need your help. I can't do this on my own" Buffy's eyes pleaded for Tara to understand. For a moment the witch looked as if she was about to dissolve into tears again but, slowly, she lifted her head and her red swollen eyes met the slayer's gaze.

"I don't hate you, Buffy. I know you loved her as much as I did. Willow would want me to help you in any way I could, so what can I do?" Tara squeezed Buffy's hands and although the pain in her heart was still threatening to suffocate her, the knowledge that she wasn't completely alone in her grief was enough to help her through.

"Research party, we need to know exactly what we're dealing with and when we find it, we destroy it, once and for all" she announced finally feeling that she was getting somewhere.

"There's no time for a party, pet. I've found your little sister" Spike burst through the door, bringing the room to a complete stand still.

"The old high school library, they've got her tied up and swinging from this bleeding great chain"

Spike had easily followed his lover's scent, leading him to the ruins of the old school. Peering through the wreckage, he had watched long enough to see that Dawn was indeed there, along with Angelus, Glory and a couple of dozen friends.

"They were doing some kind of ancient ritual right over the original hellmouth. I heard Glory saying something about a lightning strike charging the key and then I had to shift me arse before they caught me" Spike grinned at how cunning he had been. It was good to know he could still sneak with the best of them.

At the news, Buffy moved straight for the weapons chest and started strapping on anything she could carry.

**Maybe they would have their party after all**

"Buffy, we're still blind here, we have no idea what we're facing. We can't just storm the building" Giles tried to reason but when he saw it was having no effect he tried a different approach.

"We have to think this through this time or we could all end up dead" The coldness in his words struck like a hard slap in the face.

Buffy knew that Giles was probably right, In a perfect world they would have all the time they needed. Only this world wasn't perfect and, as always, there was never enough time.

"Okay, you want a plan here's the plan. You guys keep as many off my back as possible, we get Dawn safely away, then I kill the who ever's left standing" Buffy glared back daring anybody to contradict her. **End of plan**

*****

"Will you stop wiggling, you're so inconsiderate. How do you expect the lightning to get a clear strike if you don't stay still" Glory pulled a gag from her pocket and yanked it around the young girl's face.

Dawn was terrified but she focused on the fact that Buffy would be there at any second and she would save her. What else were big sisters for?"

Checking that the gag was secure, Glory nodded to Angelus to hoist the chain higher into the air.

" That will keep the brat quiet for a while, she was giving me one hell of a headache" Glory moaned and then looked down at her hand. "Not only that, now I've snapped a nail" she really wasn't amused any longer, the sooner they used the key the better.

"And you're sure this will work? I mean it looks a little pathetic" Angelus frowned as he watched the young girl twist and turn in the air. In the distance the faint sound of thunder started to rumble over the horizon.

"How many times do I have to tell you pretty boy, the key needs to be converted back to its natural form. The lightning will strike the girl and the charge will be enough to open the lock. Is that really too hard to understand?"

Glory ignored the menacing snarl she received from the demon and looked up into the dark sky, anxiously waiting for the next strike. If she had been paying better attention she might have realised that a strike of a different nature was just about to gatecrash her party.

*****

"When you get inside keep your heads down, take out anything that moves but leave Angelus to me" Buffy stated clearly. There was no way she was going to allow that demon to hurt any more of her friends.

"And me" Buffy turned and her eyes blurred at the sight of Xander walking towards her. A strong feeling of Deja vu touched her heart as her friend offered her a large silver sword.

"This time you take his head right off his shoulders" Xander's eyes still shone with bitterness but the hatred was no longer directed at her.

Accepting the weapon Buffy nodded

"Clean off his shoulders " she agreed

She then turned to Spike and reminded him of their deal

"Angelus and Glory die, Dru walks." This time, the Slayer held out her hand and the vampire accepted.

****

"And who the hell let you in?" Glory seethed as Buffy lead the raid on the old school library. Within seconds, vampires were exploding into clouds of dust all around her as crossbow bolts hit their targets.

"Well, as you already invited my sister I thought I'd just drop by and say hi" Buffy turned and staked the vampire creeping up behind her without a second thought.

"Well, don't just stand there kill them!!" Glory screamed out in temper and watched as the room filled with demons

In the confusion that followed, the Slayer lost sight of her friends, each fully engrossed in their own battle for survival. Buffy scanned the room for Angelus but before she got a chance to move, Glory attacked.

"It doesn't matter how many times I beat you, you keep coming back. Do you know how annoying that is?" she taunted the Slayer and backhanded her across the face.

Buffy was through with playing games, she lunged at the blonde and hit out with every dirty trick she had ever learnt. For the first time the blonde woman realised that the little slayer might be a bigger problem than she first thought.

Across the room, Angelus stood laughing as the two women ripped into each other.

"Bitch-fights are such fun, but it really should be me having the fun" he turned to Drusilla and stopped to find Xander standing right behind him with a crossbow pointed straight at his heart.

"I promised Buffy that I'd let her kill you, but if you so much as blink I'll break that promise in a heartbeat" the absolute hatred that shone in the boy's eyes gave Angelus little reason to doubt he was lying.

Angelus growled low in throat and stared into the boy's eyes. He could see Drusilla approaching and bided his time. But before his childe got a chance to bite, Spike materialised from nowhere and dragged his lover to one side.

Standing as still as stone, Angelus listened carefully as the approaching lightning drew closer.

**Any second now** a small smile turned the corners of his lips. He wasn't wrong.

As the lightning crashed through the roof, Angelus jumped at Xander and threw him across the room knocking the boy out cold. He then lunged for the chain supporting Dawn and hauled it higher into the night. Within seconds, the lightning returned hitting the chain and sending in spiralling through the air.

Glory was holding the Slayer by the throat when the lightning struck; Buffy raised her knee and kicked out hard, breaking free, her eyes raised to the chain in sheer horror

"Spike!!" Buffy screamed out as the chain holding her sister started to slip.

On hearing the familiarity in the Slayer's cry, Angelus looked up and glared at the younger vampire.

"You're her fucking lap dog after all" he lunged forward and viciously pinned Spike to the floor. Angelus' eyes changed as his fingers moved to tear Spikes head from his shoulders. The blonde vampire's hands frantically reached for a weapon, but there was nothing that would bring the older demon down. Just as Spike realised his time was well and truly over, Angelus cried out in pain and collapsed onto his body.

Pushing with all of his might, Spike threw the dead weight off and looked up in amazement. Xander Harris stood smiling down at the prostrate vampire with a large brick in one hand and deep satisfied grin on his face.

"And that promise to the Buffster still stands, deadboy." he sneered to the fallen demon.

"You help the Slayer and I'll get the kid" Spike felt a surge of adrenaline shoot through his body as, once again, the vampire with nine lives lived to tell the tale.

Grabbing the chain, he tugged down hard but it wouldn't move. Seeing that Buffy was busy getting her head kicked in, Spike raised his hands and started to climb.

Angelus pulled himself up and roared with anger. Grabbing hold of the bottom of the chain, he shook with every ounce of strength he possessed to throw the younger vampire off.

Spike laughed and continued to climb, this was the best fun he'd had in years. Just knowing how pissed Angelus would be was worth all the risk.

Holy water and wooden bows whizzed through the air, from all directions, as he ascended the chain. On reaching the top, Spike's strong arms reached over and ripped the gag from the frightened girl's mouth.

"Getting down's gonna be even more fun" he started to laugh but stopped as what sounded like a small earthquake ripped through the building. Free from her gag, Dawn screamed at the top of her lungs while the remainder of the library started to fall apart around them.

"Now, its coming now" Glory screamed and waited for the lethal strike. Buffy could only watch as the room filled with electricity and the hellmouth cracked wide open, waiting for the key. The room flooded with blue lightning, it bounced off the walls and shot out in every direction, sending the remaining demons scattering for cover.

High above, there was a large crackle and what happened next would leave the Slayer bewildered until her dying day. Spike purposely pushed Dawn out of the lightning's path leaving himself wide open. The bolt bounced off Dawn and immediately incinerated the vampire where he hung. Dawn screamed even louder as the chain broke and fell to the floor.

"It didn't hit her enough, there's not enough power" Glory exploded as the lightning strike moved from the room.

Keeping his head low, Xander crawled across the floor and on reaching Dawn, he quickly untied her hands

"Run, run and don't stop" he yelled at the top of his voice. Dawn didn't need telling twice, she bolted out of the library like a frightened rabbit and kept on running

"Nooooooooo"

Glory tried to start after her but Buffy kicked her legs out, tripping the bitch off her heels and straight over the side of the hellmouth. With a final stream of obscenities, Glory disappeared into its darkness.

"Enjoy the trip home" Buffy muttered sarcastically and pulled herself to her knees. After all the excitement of the last few minutes the room fell very silent

With Glory gone and the remaining demons running, the only sound that could be heard in the library was the hysterical sobbing of Drusilla. The tormented demon fell to her knees and was frantically scooping up her lover's ashes.

"Mummy's here, mummy's here" she cried over and over in a futile attempt to collect up all the dust.

Buffy turned her attention away from the grief stricken vampire, in all the confusion she'd lost sight of Angelus.

"Where is he?" Buffy's eyes searched the room but there was no sign of the demon. Dragging the sword that Xander had given her from the wreckage where it had fallen, she slowly raised it in her hands.

"I have a head to cut off" her cold voice left no doubt that their last dance would soon be over.

"He must have taken off after Dawn" Xander cursed that he'd missed his opportunity to kill the bastard once and for all.

"Then we better find her, Angelus is just crazy enough to try again" Wesley and Giles both headed for the door and Xander turned toward where the stacks used to stand.

Nobody had quite left the room when they heard Buffy cry out in pain.

Angelus pounced from the shadows and kicked her straight in the face, the dazed slayer scrambled for her sword but Angelus' reflexes were faster. He kicked the weapon over the edge of the hell mouth and one hand grabbed her hair and the other her throat.

"I really wish we had more time to play, lover. But soon we'll have eternity." Angelus laughed as Buffy struggled. Every time she moved the demon's fingers tightened on her throat, cutting off her air supply

Wesley and Giles turned back just in time to witness the demon lower the Slayer over the hellmouth's opening

"Glory got it all wrong, the stupid bitch thought it was the sister." Angelus taunted as Buffy struggled to breathe.

"The kid was only the key to her world, it was you Slayer that really held the power. Your blood will open the door to every dark dimension, and you alone will set them all free... Watch" Angelus grabbed Buffy's arm and bit into the vein, he held the dripping wound over the hellmouth and, as the blood ran down her hand and dripped into the abyss, the earth rumbled far below

"The death of the greatest slayer ever will bring about the end of days and you didn't know it. Angelus watched with bliss as the fear of defeat spread across every face in the room.

"Poor old Spike he would have loved this, if only the dumb prick hadn't got himself killed." As Angelus started to open his fingers he was startled by the sound of insane howling.

Drusilla's last thread of sanity cracked at the sound of her mate's demise. She flew at her Sire clawing at his face with her nails.

Angelus let go of Buffy's throat and raised his hands to fend off the frenzied attack, but not in time. With a piercing scream Drusilla carried them both over the edge and the two vampires disappeared into the darkness.

Xander ran to the hellmouth and reached in, just as Buffy struggled to pull her exhausted body free.

"Shit, that was close" the boy sat back and smiled at his friend with genuine relief.

"Too close" Buffy gasped for air and rubbed her bruised throat. She could still feel the demons phantom fingers gripping her flesh.

All eyes looked towards the hellmouth as the ground once again started to shake. The sound of a thousand cries of frustration seeped up through the ground as the earth once more moved together and sealed over the crack.

One by one the battle weary warriors made their way towards the Slayer.

"Can somebody please explain what just happened?" Buffy shook her head in bewilderment. **Maybe it was the lack of oxygen but, suddenly, it all seemed surreal**

"Well, don't quote me on this, but I think we won" Wesley removed his broken glasses and rubbed his eyes.

Giles shrugged his shoulders and indicated that he was as confused as everybody else was.

"Looks like Drusilla saved us all the trouble of killing him" Xander looked almost disappointed. **It really would have felt good doing it himself, but the end result was the same. Angelus' long reign of terror was over once and for all. On that thought Xander smiled

**May he rot in hell**

" So, what next?" Anya walked over and dropped down in an exhausted heap next to her lover.

All eyes turned on Buffy as she walked over to where the earth had rejoined and stared hard at the ground. Wrapping her arms around her body, the small wide eyed girl turned to face her friends

"Your guess is as good as mine" she replied still too traumatised to think straight.

For the longest time nobody moved.

Epilogue.

Buffy stood quietly to one side, trying desperately to make sense of all the madness of the last few days. So much had happened in such a short span of time that it was almost impossible to contemplate just how much her life had changed. She felt as if she should be doing something, but was still unclear to what that *something* was. The victory over the End of Days had left a bad taste in her mouth; it had cost them all far too much to celebrate.

"You should be very proud of yourself, Buffy. The whole world will never know how close it came to going out for the second time in a week." Giles tried to find something good about the victory, it really wasn't easy after all they had lost but as the Slayer's Watcher, it was his job to lift her when she was down. For a while, after Willow's death, he had forgotten that. Looking into the eyes of the girl he would always consider a daughter, the Watcher promised that mistake would never happen again. Reaching out a tired hand, Giles wiped the blood way from her cheek with a fatherly smile that shone with pride.

Buffy sighed deeply and pulled her tangled hair away from her face.

"But the price, as always, was too high Giles. It's always too high" she allowed herself to be wrapped in his strong arms, desperately seeking some kind of comfort. Buffy felt totally empty, as if all that she had ever known had been ripped away from her soul and lost forever.

"This time the price was necessary " a voice the Slayer had heard once before filled the room.

Buffy jerked away from Giles and watched as the Oracles materialised into her dimension. No longer resembling small children, these beings were fully-grown.

"You seem to have forgotten the importance of this battle, Slayer" the male walked forward. Buffy looked at Giles but from the confused expression on his weary face she could tell he couldn't see their visitors. Her eyes turned to her friends and like Giles, they were also unaware of the higher presence that had entered the room

"You haven't just closed the hellmouth, slayer. You have sealed it for a thousand years" the female oracle also moved closer. "Because of those sacrifices peace will reign in this dimension for a millennium"

Buffy took a deep calming breath to stop the bitterness that still danced in her blood from spilling over.

"That's great, but it doesn't make the pain sit any easier with the survivors" she stared straight into the female's crystal blue eyes to made her point

**Yes the world would turn another day, another thousand years but not for everyone. Willow, Angel and even Spike would never benefit from this great peace. So, as far as she was concerned, the price would always be too high**

"Buffy?" wondering what was troubling the girl Giles reached out a hand and placed it lightly on her shoulder

"Why can my friends not see you?" Buffy asked the Oracles, annoyed that the others were left out.

"They are lower beings, they are of no importance to us"

Buffy stalked forward. After the way they had all fought together, she refused to accept that statement

"You're wrong, they fought by my side and in more than one case they laid down their lives. My friends are not lower beings" she defended fiercely

The two Oracles seemed to communicate with each other and, after agreeing, the high school library filled with light, illuminating them for all to see.

"Wow! Oracles, that's so cool" Anya walked forward recognising the painted creatures from past encounters. Xander automatically fell into a protective step beside her

"What's an Oracle? Do we have to kill them?" he asked cautiously. It had been a very long night and he was all out of trust.

Buffy turned and shook her head

"No Xand, the killing's all finished. They just informed me that we closed the hellmouth for a thousand years, nothing's getting back out. It's over" Buffy turned back to the Oracles and raised an eyebrow

"It is over, right?" she demanded just needing extra confirmation

"You are correct, demons will still walk your world but their numbers will dwindle and fall. Vampire Slayer, you did well and we have something for you"

"Something for me?" Buffy's small voice asked in confusion, this was the last thing she expected to hear from them. Past experiences told her that the Oracles usually wanted something from her.

"We have good-byes"

Buffy's eyes widened and a large sob broke from her mouth as a shaft of silver light transformed into the spirit of her best friend.

Willow stepped forward radiating only the pure beauty a true soul could project. Her red hair shone in the silver light and her large eyes sparkled from her almost transparent face.

Buffy trembled in shock as tears streamed down her cheeks

"I'm so sorry, I'm so very sorry" she whispered over and over as the apparition moved closer.

"Buffy, please stop blaming yourself for my death, no matter what you think it wasn't your fault. It was my time, I served my purpose and I'm moving on. Don't be sad, never be sad. Just remember that I loved you and my life was better for all the good you brought in to it" Willow's honest face smiled at her friend, moving even closer, she raised her hand to Buffy's cheek and wiped away a tear. Buffy gasped at the touch; there was no substance to it at all, it just brushed her skin like a cool breeze on a warm summer's night.

"No more guilt, no more blame, if you can find some peace so will I " Willow shimmered as the light moved "Okay?" the spirit asked one last time

Buffy was so choked with emotion she could hardly breathe again, but somehow she summoned the strength to nod her head

"Okay" the small word broke her heart but the crack in her soul mended slightly. Buffy turned and watched Tara walk forward, she took a step back as the two lovers whispered their last good-byes, finally Giles and Xander surrounded the girls and there were tears all around

Buffy looked back towards the Oracles

"Thank you" she whispered in genuine appreciation for their gift

"There is another goodbye"

Buffy watched as a new figure walked threw the light

"Hello Slayer. Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me." A handsome young man, with fair hair and glasses cracked a cocky grin

Buffy blinked twice before recognising the spirit in front of her

"Spike? She gasped as the penny dropped

"Look what you've done to me, you've turned me into a bleedin' white hat after all. I'm a bloody hero" the spirit grinned brightly.

"Buffy's tearstained face broke into a large smile

"How will you ever live that down" she teased through her tears but this time, they were tears of happiness. Spike's selfless act hadn't gone unnoticed.

"They're taking me up there with Red, giving me back a bleedin' soul. This is all your fault you know" still the voice held only a light laughter.

"You'll be in good hands then" Buffy looked over towards the group surrounding Willow's spirit and smiled softy

"Better than that, they promised Drusilla's soul will be there too, maybe things are looking up after all" again that cocky grin appeared leaving Buffy with no doubt that part of the demon had also survived

"It's time for us all to leave " The Oracles stepped forward again and the two spirits faded from sight.

"Before we depart we have one last debt to repay… There" the female pointed and a naked body dropped from a bright shaft of light.

The figure of a naked man fell to the ground with a soul-shattering cry and lay trembling with fear on the cold floor

"Angel" Buffy and Wesley gasped simultaneously and started towards the figure

The body immediately curled up in to a foetal position, shaking violently against its new surroundings.

"Buffy stop, it might be Angelus" Giles put out a nervous hand

"It is the body of the soul, not the demon. The demon is one of those trapped for a thousand years." The Oracles reminded them that Angelus was not coming back in any of their life times.

At the sight of the terrified man, Buffy's eyes widened in horror

"Oh God, what have you done to him?" she begged, pushing past Giles' hand

"He is Shanshu, a living human being. All the sins of the demon have been washed away, along with all of the memories."

"What, what do you mean?" Wesley walked closer and looked down at his old friend, slipping off his jacket he placed it over Angel's nakedness. The trembling figure looked up with large frightened eyes, but didn't speak.

"We have freed him from all of his guilt, all of his pain, Angel can have a new life now with no memory of the demon's crimes. We can build him a whole new existence, no death or demons, no questions asked."

Buffy nervously made her way to stand next to Wesley.

"Just like they did with Dawn" she whispered. Suddenly the light went on. Angel would no longer be Angel; he would have a whole new life, a wonderful guilt free life.

"But there's no place in that new life for a vampire slayer, there's no place in that life for me" the truth of the statement slammed into her head.

**If Angel was going to start again it would have to be far from Sunnydale, far away from anything that could trigger a memory of his past life**

"This is Angel's destiny his reward. But, if the new life is to be given a chance, the answer to your question is yes, Angel will need to leave here forever. We can give you a few seconds together to say goodbye."

"I've never said goodbye" Buffy bit her bottom lip at the heartbreaking prospect.

"Of course, we can't stop you telling him anything if you disagree with this. As his lover, you and you alone will have to decide what path is best trodden."

Buffy knelt down on the floor and lowered her head until her eyes were level with the deep brown pools she had loved for longer than she could remember. Deep confusion flickered across Angel's sweat covered face as he struggled to understand what had happened.

Finally, he rested his troubled eyes on the beautiful face in front of him; something about that tender visage gave him comfort from the burning agony that squeezed every nerve in his body. There was something familiar about the eyes that reached right into his soul, but he couldn't quite remember why.

"Angel?" The beautiful face whispered the word almost like a caress, cutting deep through the pain. Gentle, yet firm arms slipped around his body and helped him to sit up. Wrapped in these arms, Angel felt safe and the confusion that was threatening to burst through his head subsided a little.

Buffy reached out her small hand and softly stroked his fevered skin, her eyes never once leaving his face.

"Pain, so much pain" Angel gasped for breath and clutched at his chest.

Buffy's eyes frantically searched the Oracles for answers. There must be something terribly wrong for it to hurt that much.

"He has just been reborn, birth is painful, but it will lessen with time." was the only reply she was given. Turning her full attention back to her lover, she placed her finger beneath his chin and tilted his face towards her

"The pain will ease soon, I promise"

As Angel continued to clutch his chest, Buffy realised for the first time that she could hear the strong beat of his heart. Placing her small hand next to his she let the beats pass through his skin and into the palm of her hand.

Thump, thump, thump, thump. "That's a great sound" she whispered in awe.

When her eyes finally looked back into his face they flooded with tears, a mixture of joy and pain trickled softly down her cheeks. Joy for the sound of her lover's heartbeat and pain for the knowledge of what she must decide.

Looking into his innocent bewildered face, Buffy knew she could never let him learn of the part his demon had played in Willow's death, not to mention all the other atrocities that had yet to come to light. Some things really were better forgotten, or in this case never remembered

Angel searched Buffy's face and panted for breath with each new heartbeat.

"It's a good pain, Angel. It's a new beginning" squeezing her eyes shut the Slayer wrapped her arms around his bare shoulders and hung on for dear life. Angel didn't understand why, but he was filled with an overwhelming need to hold this beautiful girl in his arms for as long as he could.

"I love you" her voice floated softly into his ear as her wet cheek pressed up against his warm face. "And no matter where or who you are, I'll never forget that"

Buffy finally forced herself to pull away, fighting every instinct that screamed at her to hold on and never let him go. She moved her body away from the love of her life, knowing that after this day she would never be able to see him again.

This time they were being torn apart not for her chance at a normal life, but for his.

"Ssshh, sleep now, you need to rest. When you wake up it will all be better" her gentle voice persuaded Angel to lay back down on the floor.

Softly stroking his thick dark hair she felt all the tension leave his large frame.

"Now close your eyes" Buffy's voice caught on a sob that shook her whole body.

Without question, Angel did as he was told, immediately the pain seemed to fade and he felt himself floating away.

"The next time he wakes all traces of this last meeting will be gone, in his dreams his new life has now begun" The Oracles announced quietly that the change had already started.

Buffy leant down and kissed his sleeping head one last time

"Goodbye my love" as the words slipped over her lips the finality became all too real. **Goodbye**

"I'll take him back to England with me, that should be far enough to keep him safe. It's a terrible decision to have to make Buffy, but you have just saved him a lifetime of torment. I'm so very proud of you" Wesley squeezed her arm and walked away

Giles walked up quietly and stood behind her while Wesley and Xander gently lifted Angel from the cold floor and carried him from the library. Buffy's eyes clung to the vision of his back until long after it had faded from sight. Then she stood in the circle of her Watcher's arms while her heart broke for the second time in as many days. Death and re-birth had both touched her world this week and, because of this, Buffy knew that her life would never be the same again. Just as the Oracles had predicted, she had indeed lost a part of her soul

"Buffy, it's for the best, you have to believe that. Angel will never know now of the demon's crimes, he will have a long happy life this way. Giles stroked her hair and whispered softly as if calming a frightened child waking from a bad dream.

**That's what her life had turned into, an empty shell of a bad dream.**

Buffy lifted her chin and what Giles saw reflected in her heartbroken eyes made the older man shiver right down to his toes.

"I've lost him all over again, only this time it really is forever" the small girl's eyes aged a lifetime with the acceptance, but she refused to cry.

"Come on, lets find Dawn and get the hell out of here" Giles turned and started to walk

Buffy Summers took one last look at the hellmouth and knew she would never set foot in the place again.

Maybe in time she'd able to look back and remember past the pain, back to the days when the world was still in danger but the fight was still worth while. Angel days, Willow days, maybe even the odd Spike day would all be put away until the pain didn't burn so bright.

And when she did finally allow herself to remember these days, Buffy knew there would be friendship, laughter and lots of love to fall back on. Those were the days that would see her through the rest of her life.

"You're right, it is for the best that Angel never remembers. More than anybody he deserves a second chance." Buffy nodded as she remembered all the times that Angel had sacrificed himself for her happiness. Now it was her turn to carry the pain.

Giles stopped and turned back, he watched a small tear trickled down her cheek but she ignored it and held her head high

"And besides, I'll carry the memories in my heart for both of us and even when the hurt becomes too much to remember, nothing will ever make me forget"

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