Sitch: The demon turning Angel into a human isn't exactly the same… and now someone else (read: Buffy) is the person affected by it's strong forces. How will Buffy react when she's in the exact same position?
Disclaimers: nothing's mine!

Angel widened up an old clock and sat it on the desk in his office. The clock said 8:53. He checked the table's surface. Put a pencil down at one end and watched it roll across his desk. Cordy and Doyle watched form the outer office.

"When did he get back?" Cordy asked curiously.

"Late last night." Doyle answered casually.

"And?" Cordy asked, trying to get some more information out of him.

"Ah, he seemed fine." Doyle explained, as he understood.

"He saw Buffy. He was in Sunnydale for three days, tracking her and that thingymagiggy you saw in your vision." She sighed as she glanced over at Angel, trying to adjust his desk. "Where is the crabby scowl, the morbid gloom?" She turned to Doyle again. "This just means that it cut deeper then usual. Batten down the hatches, here comes Hurricane Buffy."

"You think?" Doyle asked, Cordy replied with an exasperated sigh. "Maybe he's over her." Cordy patted Doyle on the shoulder. " You have so much to learn little Irish man." She said with a slight grin.

Cordy turned and saw Angel take a stake out of his desk drawer tested its tip with his finger. "Oh, my God!" Cordy shrieked and ran into the office with Doyle behind her. "Don't do it, Angel!"

Doyle joined. "Listen to me, man, it's not worth it!"

"It's not?" Angel questioned with a confused look.

"No! You can't let her get to you like this. You'll meet someone else. Just give it some time." Cordy tried to explain.

"Why don't you let me have that?" Doyle asked with his hand extended towards him.

"Because I need it to level my desk." Angel bent down and stuck the tip of it under one of the table's legs. "The floor is uneven." He straightened up with a smirk. " You two thought…"

"Doyle did. You know how he jumps to conclusions, - 'cause you saw Buffy." Cordy hurried to say.

"It wasn't a social call. I was there to protect her. I stayed out of sight. She didn't even know I was there." Angel explained simply.

"Really?" Cordy questioned and Angel nodded. "So you avoided her." She concluded. "Look, Buffy will always going to be a part of me, and that's never going to change. But she's human and I'm.." he frowned and looked at his pants. "- not. And that's also never going to change. We said our good-byes, no need to stir any of this up again."

" You don't want to 'stir', but if my ex came to town and was all stalking me in the shadows and then left and then didn't even say 'hello' I'd be.." Cordy began, but was interrupted.

"A little upset." Buffy said from the open door. Angel looked at her, his mouth dropped open. "Wouldn't you?"

"Buffy! - Buffy's here - in town. - What brings you to.." Cordy began exaggerated.

"I came to see my father." She sent Angel a glance. "Thought I'd stop by."

"What a surprise!" Cordy exclaimed with a fake laugh.

"Cordelia how are you?" Buffy asked.

"Good. I'm good. You?" Cordy replied with a slight smile.

"I've been better." Buffy mumbled and sent Angel another glimpse.

"Uh-huh. - Well, this is Doyle. And he gets visions of people in trouble." Cordy introduced quickly, to get the oh–so dark conversation over to something more lively.

"Nice to make your.." Doyle began, but suddenly Cordy grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the office, interrupting him.

"And this is us leaving you two alone." Cordy said. Buffy closed the door behind them and turned back to Angel, who had trouble meeting her glance.

"Well, umm, it's good to.. Can I get you anything?" He began muttering.

"How about - an explanation? - Who do you think you are coming to my town and following me around behind my back?" she said with an angry tone in her calm voice.

"I'm sorry." He admitted silently.

"What is this? Some new torment you cooked up just for me?"

"No, I don't want to torment.."

"What is it? You can see me, but I can't see you? What are we playing here?" she was getting more and more upset and Angel knew what it would result in.

"We're not. I'm not playing anything. I wrestled with this decision.."

"Which you made without me." She wanted to add, 'like always', but she was over the part that he'd left her, wasn't she?

"I tried to do what I thought was right. It's complicated how this all happened, Buffy, you know? It's kind of a long story."

"Your new sidekick had a vision, I was in it, you came to Sunnydale?" she questioned quickly.

"Okay, maybe not that long." He admitted.

"You didn't feel that I was important enough to even tell me that you were there." She said and sent him a hurt glance.

"I'm trying to explain. It's because I felt that you're important that I didn't tell you." Angel said, looking straight at her.

"I'm a big girl now, Angel. I'm not in High School anymore. A lot has happened in my life since you left." She said, demanding to hear his version.

"I know. I respect that." He said quickly.

"And I don't need you skulking around, trying to protect me." Angel looked away, and Buffy looked down. "Unless, of course, I'm in some gigantic fight to the death, which - I was last night. That was you, helping me, wasn't it?"

"I was in the neighbourhood - skulking."

––––––––––––––––

"So that's the Slayer." Doyle said.

"That's our Buffy." Cordy replied.

"Well, she seemed a little.." As usual he was cut off in his sentence.

"Bulgarian in that outfit?"

"No, I was going to say hurt." He said, with a slight smirk.

"Yeah, there's a lot of that when they're together." She picked up her purse. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Oh, they'll be into this for a while. We still have time for a cappuccino and probably the director's cut of 'Titanic'."

–––––––––––––––

" I'm sorry if I handled this wrong. I mean, what else was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. - I just know that when you're around, whether I see you or not, - I feel you - inside - and it throws me." She admitted lowly.

"Throws me, too." He agreed.

"So let's just stick to the plan. We keep our distance until a lot of time has passed. Given enough time we should be able to.." she paused.

"Forget?" he finished for her.

Yeah. - So, I'm gonna go - start forgetting."

As Buffy turned to go a green skinned Samurai demon with a curved sword and a red jewel in his forehead crashed through the window behind Angel and attacks him. Angel barely avoids the first stroke of his sword by rolling across his desk.

"Angel!" Buffy said concerned.

Buffy kicked the demon back against the wall; Angel came up and threw an axe at it. Cordy and Doyle was about to leave the office and they hear the fight.

"Did you hear that?" Doyle commented.

"Yeah, the Angel and Buffy show. First they talk out their differences, then they punch them out." Cordy said dismissively.

"Shouldn't we.." Doyle began.

"Stick our noses where they don't belong and get them flattened? No thank you."

They left.

Buffy and Angel fought together against the Samurai. Angel slid across the floor, picked up the demon's sword and stabbed it in the gut while it was still wrestling with Buffy. Some of its fluorescent green blood ran down the sword onto Angel's hand. The demon jumped back causing Buffy to land on top of Angel, pulled the sword out and jumped out of the window.

Angel and Buffy stared at each other as they slowly untangled themselves and got up.

"Friend of yours?" Buffy asked, dusting herself off.

"Never saw it before." He mumbled.

"It was rude. We should go kill it." She figured.

"I'm free."

"Got somewhere I can change?"

Soon Angel and Buffy tracked it through the sewer tunnels.

"It's heading towards the ocean." Angel stated.

"Are you sure?" Buffy wondered as they walked.

"It's wounded. I can smell its blood."

"Oh. Great. - Handy skill." Angel stopped and glanced at her as she continued on. "Maybe if your crack staff hadn't run off at the first sign of trouble they could have helped us with some research. Find out what this thing is and why it wants to kill us."

Something rustled and Buffy span around, stake in hand and ready to fight.

"It's just a rat. - So, you can put that down." He mumbled and she lowered the stake slowly. "It's not a vampire. I don't know why you brought that anyway."

"Because I know how to use it. Besides it's a lot handier then your fighting axe."

"Unless he chops it in two and maybe takes some of your hand with it." Angel warned.

"Look can we just get on with the hunting? I'd like to get this over with before dark."

"I can handle this myself." He explained.

"You bailed me out last night. I'd like us to be even." She said and Angel passed her by.

"We're keeping score now." He said, surprised and calmly.

"Are you getting anything? Because I sure smell sewer." Buffy said, peering about, Angel touched a green spot on the wall of a tunnel junction, smelled his fingers, then headed down that tunnel. "Tunnel number one it is."

Angel and Buffy emerged out of the mouth of the tunnel. Angel was blinking his eyes, frowning.

"Angel? You okay?" Buffy asked concerned.

"I feel weird." He admitted.

Buffy let out a sigh. "I know. I do, too. I mean, I only came to see you so I could tell you face-to-face not to see me - face-to-face anymore, - and I know there is a fly in the logic ointment here somewhere, but.. The next thing I knew we're being attacked by this mutant ninja demon thing, and then we're on the floor on top of each other, and it's just really confusing being around you."

Angel showed a slight grimace. "No, I meant I felt weird from the demons blood." He peered down at his hand. "It's powerful.

Buffy looked away. "Oh. Okay." She turned to walk quickly. "Let's just rewind Buffy's little outburst and pretend it never happened."

"No. I-It is confusing. And I.. When we're apart - it's easier." Buffy stared at him. "It hurts - every day. But I live with it." He slowly stepped closer to her. "And now you're - you're right here - and I can actually reach out.. and - it's more then confusing - it's unbearable."

Buffy inched closer to him. "But we have to bear, right? I mean, what else can we do? It doesn't work with us. It can't."

"No, I-I can't give you a life, or a future or anything a real girl would want."

Buffy inched closer. "No matter how much we miss each other."

"Or what we feel in the moment." He said absently.

"If we let something happen here - we'd want more. - And nothing's changed. We'd only end up having to leave each other again."

"And that's the best case scenario."

"Oh, boy." Buffy turned away. "I was really jonseing for another heartbreaking sewer talk."

"I'm sorry." Angel exclaimed.

Buffy turned back to him angry. "You know, I'm actually on the brink of something back home. I'm actually heading towards a pretty good life now that.." she paused.

"I'm out of the picture. - That's why I left. I want you to have it." He said, understating what she was about to say.

"Could we just - find this thing and get this finished?"

She saw rungs leading up. "What if it went up?"

"Into the day, where it knows I can't follow." Angel stated.

Buffy got ready to go up. "But I can."

"Uh, I.." He reached out to touch her then balled his hand up into a fist and pulled it back. "I don't want you going after it alone."

"Look, it's best all around if we just split up. I can handle it."

After a beat Angel began to speak. "There's a dive on Second near Beach, The Lone Bar. Demons go there sometimes when they need to get patched up."

Buffy started to climb. "Got it."

"Be careful." He said and looked concerned at her.

–––––––

Buffy reached the dive, the sand covering her shoes as she walked. Suddenly she saw it. It was regenerating. With a quick move she reached it and kicked it to the ground. It reached for it's sword. Buffy poised her stake and sent it a roundhouse kick. He hit a stone brick and lost it's sword. She leaped towards it, but it was quicker then her and grabbed a hold on it first. Buffy lay next to him in the sand, glaring into his eyes, feeling his breath.

"Uh–oh." She said, the Samurai made a move, slightly cut her hand, but Buffy quickly made a move back. With a firmly move the stake was in his heart and she strangled with pulling it out again. "First they hate it, then they don't wanna let it go!" she said irritated and pulled as hardly as she could.

Just as it was released she fell backwards and got some of it's green blood running down the stake on in her fresh scar. It stained and she felt a great pain and dizziness.

––– ––– –––

"Buffy! Buffy!" some one shook her slightly and she returned conscious. She blinked by the beam from the flashlight pointed directly at her.

"Doyle! Take a hint, move it!" Cordy said and helped Buffy stand. "You ok?" she asked, watching Buffy dust herself off.

"Yeah… I just passed out… I can't remember…" she reached for the stake in the sand. As she grabbed a hold around it and lifted it up she got a weird look on her face. "Hm. Weird. It seems so much heavier then usual…"

Doyle wrinkled his forehead. "Buffy." He said, Buffy turned to him. Just as she turned she got a punch right in her face. Buffy fell backwards by the punch, into the sand and lay all still.

"My God! You killed her! You killed the Slayer!" Cordy shrieked as she ran over to Buffy in the sand.

"She's not the Slayer." Doyle mumbled.

––– ––– –––

They carried Buffy to the car and she woke up in it as the drove to the office.

"It was still sunlight outside when we left, Angel's at the office…" Cordy explained to break the silence. Buffy had a blue eye and Doyle kept quiet. Even Cordy shut up.

Angel sat reading some books, researching on the Samurai. What he'd discovered was unbelievable. The Samurai had the restoration capability and was sent out to kill Slayers.

Suddenly three persons barged into the office, quarrelling. He noticed Buffy's blue eye at once.

"Buffy!" he exclaimed. "What happened to you? You all right?" Buffy sent him a glare.

"Doyle punched me." She explained. They all glanced at Doyle.

"Um… I'm afraid I'm not gonna ask the right question here, but I think 'huh??' pretty much covers it."

Doyle looked as calm as ever when he stepped forward to Buffy.

"The reason you fainted when you grabbed your stake…"

"She fainted??" Angel interrupted, receiving a peer from Doyle.

"The reason the stake felt so heavy, the reason you got the blue eye, well, actually even felt anything when I punched you, is because you've lost your strength."

"What??" Buffy and Angel said unison.

"Well, he has to be correct, he punches like a girl and if you possibly was going to get hurt you…" Cordy began, showing she immediately had accepted the truth.

"Enough Cordy." Angel said. Cordy shut up and frowned. "How?" he turned to Doyle, then glanced at Buffy, standing motionless and gazing absently on the floor.

"I do not know."

"Again." Cordy said.

"I have no idea. I know squat. Just that she is no longer the Slayer."

They all watched Buffy in silence. Buffy swallowed hardly, turned to Angel, peered into his eyes in a helpless way, causing him to get Doyle and Cordy to leave.

Just as Doyle closed the door behind them Buffy embraced Angel and began to cry. He held her, trying to cheer her as good as possible. She cried for ten minutes. Then the sobbing suddenly stopped, she released herself from the grip around Angel, met his glance and took a deep sigh.

"Make me the Slayer again." She demanded.

"How?" he asked, not knowing how to fulfill her wish.

"I don't know. Find a way."

"Buffy…"

"Angel, I'm afraid. I won't cope in this world with what I know, with what I've seen, with what I can face without my strength and my Slayer–being. I'm afraid that the nightmares will come true; I will die like a defenseless child. I'm afraid that the person I was will fade and I'll turn into a sheep. I'm so fucking afraid!" she reached for him again.

"I know…" he whispered softly.

––– ––– –––

"Look at them. First they fight themselves to death, then they have a little demon–killing and back to the sobbing and embracing." Cordy said.

"I feel sorry for her." Doyle said, sighing.

"Yes. Now she'll be all alone in the world…" Cordy said melodramatic. "Doyle, wake up, she'll manage, she's been the Slayer, she's strong, though her body strength is gone doesn't mean that her entire strength is gone."

"It doesn't?" Doyle asked and turned to Cordy. Cordy got a little surprised by the facial–expression on his face. So deep. "All the time she was a Slayer everything she could count on was her body–strength. Now she has gone through things you wouldn't experience in a hundred life–times. She has to deal with them, learn to deal with them, defenseless. Earlier she at least could defend herself." He said.

"This is tragic…" Cordy muttered. Doyle nodded.

"I know. There is only one way to figure this out." He sent her a glance.

"What?"

"PTB."

––– ––– –––

Doyle and Cordy walked into the room.

"Angel, we've found some info!" Doyle said.

"And…?" Angel and Buffy looked at them.

"It's a Morha demon, one purpose in life to kill Warriors for the good side. By the blood you lose your strength. It's like a last escape, or last doing. The victim faints and when it awakes it has no powers. It also regenerates."

"Doyle, we need to do something." Angel stated, Buffy still sat next to him on the desk.

"I know. I though the only way Buffy could loose her strength was if she resigned, well died, or if the PTB stepped in." Angel changed facial expression.

"What, they could have done this? How come I keep getting the feeling that you're not telling me everything." He asked, Buffy noticed the change on them all as they discussed. She kept silence all the time.

"Because I'm not. We're all on a need to know basis here."

"We need to know about this. Is this permanent? Is she normal now? Normal life? We need to speak to the Powers-That-Be." Angel demanded.

"Woah, woah, woah! That's easier said then done, bud. The Powers-That-Be don't live in our reality. You have to approach them through channels. Dangerous channels."

Buffy arose and spoke for the first time in that conversation. "Yeah, you know what? Start approaching!"

Doyle sent her an agreeing look. "All right. All right. Maybe we can try the Oracles. But hey, if they turn you into a toad - don't say I didn't warn you."

––– ––– –––

Angel, Doyle and Buffy stood in the underground chamber with a white stone arc in one wall.

Angel read the foreign inscription above it: "The Gateway for Lost Souls" he turned to Doyle. "Is under the post office?"

"It makes sense if you think about it." He turned to Buffy. "Now listen, the Oracles are finicky and unpredictable. You do get in, don't dilly-dally. Ask your questions, get out."

Buffy wrinkled her forehead. "Aren't you coming?" "Not allowed. I'm just a lowly messenger, you're a warrior.. if your heart is pure - and I do this right.." he put some herbs in an urn. " 'We beseech access to the knowing ones..' 'We may just survive." He put a lighter to the urn and it fills with high flames. Buffy tightened the grip on Angel's hand. The arcs glow and filled with light. "You're in." Doyle finished.

Buffy stepped through the light into a white marble chamber. Two glittery figures confronted her.

"Come before us, lower being." The man said.

"What have you brought us?" the woman said.

"Was I supposed to.." Buffy began stuttering.

"You call us forth and bring us no offering?" he asked, surprised.

"I brought you this." Buffy exclaimed and handed her a gold ring.

The woman held out her hand and the ring flew to her. "I like Rings. They are eternal, like me. They have a commitment hanging above them, like me."

"Well?" The man said.

"What's happened to me?" Buffy asked, fearing the answer.

"It's true then, brother." The woman stepped to one side of Buffy.

"She is no longer a warrior." The man said from the other side of her.

"It was the demon's blood. It wasn't the Powers-That-Be that did this?" she asked confusedly.

"The Powers-That-Be? Did you save humanity? Avert the Apocalypse?" The man asked her. Buffy shook her head slightly.

"You faced a Mohra demon. Life goes on." The woman said.

"My life as a human, a normal human. I'm not committed to anything?"

The woman looked up, after a beat she said: "The Auguries say no. If it has happened it was meant to be."

"From this day, you will live and die as any mortal and normal woman. You will never again have any destiny or strength." The man exclaimed.

"Privy to all the attendant pains - and pleasures." The woman continued.

"That which we serve is no longer that which you serve. You are released from your fealty."The man said, both the man and the woman walked away, leaving Angel alone.

"That's it? I'm free?" Buffy asked. The man held up his hand and Buffy went flying backwards out of the arc and landed on top of Doyle.

Doyle helped her up.

"Buffy, what happened?" Angel asked.

"I'm not the Slayer anymore. I'm normal." She said, with a slight grin on her face. "And I hate it." She sighed. "I always in a way wanted to become normal again, but now I know everything, I can't just live with the knowledge of someone getting ate 'round the corner, with me not able to do anything. Or another Apocalypse with me just waiting for another Superhero to save us."

"What do you do now?" Angel asked and laid an arm around her.

"I have this whole new life spread before me. I don't know where to begin." She whispered.

****

The clock on

Angel's desk showed 5 o'clock. Cordy and Doyle were in the room, talking.

"This plant was thriving just this morning. Now look at it. I'm telling you where she leads, dark forces follow." Cordy said fussing over the sickly plant.

"Buffy gave it mites?" Doyle questioned with a smirk, but wasn't sure if he was right or not.

Cordy sat down on the couch beside him. "How else do you explain it?"

"Jealousy?" he suggested to her. Cordy blew it of the same instant.

"I'm jealous of her? Oh, please!"

"It's just a theory." He reminded her.

"Jealous or not, our lives are about to kaleidoscope." She said sighing.

"Why is that?" he asked and wrinkled his forehead.

"Every change has it's clauses, whether it's positive or not. "

Doyle nodded in agreement. Suddenly he hit his head in Angel's desk. He got a blurry vision.

"What?" Cordy asked.

"Trouble." He mumbled.

––– ––– –––

Buffy and Angel sat in his apartment. Buffy had a blanket around her, she felt ill and was so confused.

"You're still a warrior. And I'm not sure what I am now. I don't know what my purpose is. I can't just wedge myself into my life back in Sunnydale." Buffy sighed complainingly.

"Are you going to pull out a pie chart on me now? Because I get it, it's not necessary." Angel pointed out.

Buffy got up with a sigh and moved to the chair next to him. "I'm not saying I don't want you. You know how much.. I'm just saying it's worth the wait to be sure this is right. I need to be sure you won't get hurt again."

Angel arose. "You know it's a good thing I didn't fantasize about you turning normal only about 10 zillion times, because today would have been a real let down. - So how does the mature plan go? You call me? I call you? What?" Angel seemed hurt.

"What do you suggest, Angel? Just because I'm normal doesn't mean we can make love, we can't do anything except what we could when you left me earlier." She said.

"But now you don't have to do the Slaying, one less thing to worry about." He exclaimed.

Buffy took a few careful steps towards him. "We stay in touch - just not.." "Literally. - Funny." They stared at each other, then Buffy took the initiative and walked past him. "Okay, I'd better.."

Angel turned to look after her. "Right. Remove the temptation."

Buffy span back towards him. "So, we'll - talk soon."

Buffy put her hand on top of his on the counter. They both stared down at their hands. Angel turned his hand to grab hers then reached out and pulled her into a kiss. They stumbled up against the fridge and Buffy jumped up to wrap her legs around his waist. Still kissing, Angel carried her over to the kitchen table, swept the stuff on it on the floor and laid her down on it.

––– ––– –––

later.

"We can't just do this." Buffy said, lying next to Angel. He sighed. "We don't make love, you don't get a happy–thingy, but it's not the same."

"We have to try. It hurts too much to be apart."

"You're right…" she whispered and kissed him.

––– ––– –––

even later.

Buffy left Angel sleeping in the bed, not to wake him up she tip–toed towards the door. Just as she opened it Doyle was about to knock. They glanced at each other, before she eased the door close and they stood next to each other out sides.

"Hey, that," Buffy held up her hand for him to keep his voice down, and Doyle continued more softly. "Mohra demon regenerated some… well minions…"

"What?" Buffy asked carefully.

"I had a vision. It regenerated itself."

"It died! I killed it… didn't I?"

"Apparently not… It regenerated on the beach, so it re–arose when we'd left… Then it was in some sort of factory. I thought I tasted salt. Could have been the margarita." He mumbled.

"No, it needs a lot of salt to live." Buffy said while pacing.

"Well, it was very much alive in this vision, and angry if I might mention." Doyle said with a concerned look on his face.

"I'll have to kill it again." Buffy decided.

"Yeah, but you're normal now. They released you, we're just waiting for the Watchers Council."

"Watchers Council?" Buffy said surprised.

"I talked to Giles. He talked to them. They got the picture. They're sending a new one. But, you're still the Slayer… and you still can get hurt."

"Well, we got to kill it anyway." Buffy exclaimed and entered Angel's room; she grabbed her stake and looked at Doyle. He had a look on his face, telling her not to do it. "What? You want to let that thing roam free? You saw it in a factory. There is a saline plant in Redondo, We'll start there."

"Yeah, but if it can regenerate itself, how can you kill it?" Doyle asked, trying to make her change her mind.

"We'll figure it out. Just grab a book that you need. You'll read, I'll drive." Doyle stayed silent. "Doyle?"

Doyle looked at Angel sleeping on his bed. "I think we should bring someone a little - supernatural?"

Buffy laid a hand on his shoulder and looked where Doyle was looking.

"Don't you want to wake the guy?" Doyle questioned hopefully.

"Not for the world." Buffy said with a smile by the sight of her lover sleeping peacefully.

––– ––– –––

"Okay. This is not good. It doesn't just come back - it comes back bigger and stronger. I think we should go back and get Angel." Doyle said while reading in his book.

"I know what I'm doing." Buffy exclaimed assuring.

This isn't your average demon we're fighting here. It nearly licked you before and now you're normal."

"If this thing with me and Angel is going to work, I need to be able do this on my own. I can't keep risking his life every time some minion of hell.. Just tell me how to kill it."

"Uh, 'It regenerates until the dark future it envisions is upon us.' Oh, 'to kill the beast one must bring darkness to 1000 eyes'." Doyle said, reading of the book.

"Funny, I only saw two." Buffy pointed out.

"Keep up the glib. It makes me feel like we have a chance."

"I'm going to kill that thing." Buffy mumbled.

"Just remember that it's brutal, deadly, and…" Doyle looked up. "here!"

The Mohra jumped down on them from above and they start fighting it. They were clearly overmatched and Doyle got knocked out pretty early. Buffy kept getting back up, but the thing was pretty much wiping the floor with her and she finally turns to run.

––– ––– –––

Cordy put sticky notes on things in the office as Angel stepped inside.

"Buffy? - Cordelia." He stated as he saw her.

Cordy held up and ornate axe. "Is this antique?"

"Byzantine." Angel replied.

Cordy put it down. "Mmm."

"Where is Buffy?" Angel asked and looked about. "And Doyle."

Cordy shrugged. "I've decided not to feel sorry for myself. I'm taking matters into my own hands, organizing a little 'going out of business' sale to subsidize the severance package *you* never bothered setting up for me."

"Did she leave a message about where she went?" Angel asked, totally ignoring her complaints.

"You know I'm in real pain here and all you can do is talk about Buffy. Has it even occurred to you how this whole turning normal thing and you moving might affect me?"

"How'd you know I was moving?" He questioned, as far as he could remember he and Buffy were the only ones knowing about it.

"Um.. I accidentally passed by your door and heard something about it…" she explained. "And you don't care about me?"

"Regrettably - no. Look, if you know where she is, just tell me?"

Cordy let out a sigh. "She told me not to tell you."

"Is she in trouble?" Angel asked, Cordy made a face. "Cordelia, what are we, in second grade here? Tell me! "

"Oh, you want to talk about being mature? Maybe it's time that *you* grew up and realized that you can't have everything. You can't have Buffy and save the world. And anyway, it's your fault that she went to fight that thing by herself without..

"What thing?" Angel asked, Cordy immediately understood she'd said too much.

––– ––– –––

Buffy was just trying to stay alive as the Mohra demon kept coming after her. Buffy climbed on the lid of a salt silo and as the demon jumped up and hit her they both crash through.

Mohra put a foot on Buffy's neck. "The end of days has begun and can't be stopped. For anyone of us that falls, *ten* shall rise." It said.

As the Mohra lifted his sword to stab Buffy Angel jumped down on it from above, knocking it off her.

Angel got the demon's sword. "You hurt my girlfriend."

Mohra snarled. "A great darkness is coming."

"You got that right."

They fought. Mohra managed to wrap its morgenstern around Angel's sword and pulled it from his hand. Angel kicked it into the wall.

"Come on, this is the great warrior of darkness?"

They fought some more. Angel managed to step on the chain of its morgenstern and kicked the demon so was forced t let go of it. It picked him up and threw him into the wall.

Mohra snarled again. "Together you were powerful. Alone, you are dead." He picked up Angel by his throat. "What do you think of the great Slayer now?"

Buffy picked up a handful of salt. "Little bland." She threw it in the demon's eyes and it dropped Angel. "Need's salt."

Buffy tried to help Angel up, but the Mohra grabs her and throws her across the silo. Angel and the demon kept fighting.

Buffy looks up at the demon: "The light of a thousand eyes.. The jewel in its forehead! You have to smash the jewel." She cried, Angel picked up the morgenstren and did just that.

The Mohra let out it's final scream before turning into a bright light. Angel ran over to Buffy and took her head in his lap.

"Angel… are you all.." Buffy began.

"Shh, you're all right. That's all that matters. Shh, you're all right." He whispered softly as he kissed the top of her head. "And it's over. And we're together."

Angel suddenly gasped. Buffy looked at him.

"What?" she asked. he showed her a scar at his shoulder.

"I got it's blood in me. I regenerated. I'm alive.." Angel mumbled absently.

"What?" Buffy said surprised.

"I'm alive… feel my heart!!" he said, happily. Buffy lay a hand on his chest and felt the sound.

"My God, you're alive…!"

––– –––- –––

"So, what's the sitch here? You're normal, even though you were moving anyway, you're moving to Sunnydale, both of you. And none of you have any powers, callings, destinies, 'grr'–feelings or anything?" Cordy asked the hand–holding couple in front of her. They were smiling, and had never felt as happy as they did right now.

"We're both totally normal." Buffy explained as she placed her head towards Angel's shoulder.

"Wow. So, this means that when you get a huge house by the sea you can invite me… I mean us," she glanced over at Doyle. "To a beach–party?" Cordy asked enthusiastically.

"Sure…" Angel replied with a slight grin. "Right now we gotta make up some time we lost… a lot of time." He sighed and peered loving down at Buffy.

"Yes." She replied and kissed him back. "But first I have something I need to ask the Oracles…" she began, glimpsed over at Doyle. He nodded agreeing and began to gather some herbs and grabbed the urn in his left hand.

"Shall we?" he asked Buffy, she nodded with a grin and they walked out of the office.

––– ––– –––

Angel couldn't stop smiling. He sat in the city–park, absently gazing about the place. His entire soul felt so filled with happiness and he was truly in a happy state. He'd found the reason of his living, the way he wanted to spend his whole life. He was so glad that also Buffy had retained her normal position, that she was no longer the Slayer. So was she.

He was sure nothing could ever go wrong again, but he was so eternally wrong.

––– ––– –––

"You people." The man said, a little annoyed.

"What have you brought me?" the woman questioned.

"Family Rose vase." Buffy threw her a black vase she'd gotten from Angel. "Ching dynasty. Circa 1811." he said.

"Lovely." The woman said gratefully.

"Why are you here, lower being?" the man began.

"The Mohra demon said the end of days had begun. That others were coming, soldiers of darkness. I need to know if he was telling the truth." Buffy said simple.

"As far as such things can be told." The man said.

"What happens to the past Warrior when these soldiers come? He does no longer have any powers at all."

"What happens to all mortal beings. Albeit sooner in his case." The woman explained.

"He'll die? - Then I'm here to beg for his life." She felt her chest tighten up and she gasped for air as the woman ended her sentence.

The Oracles turned and walked away. "It is not our place to grant life or death." They told her.

"And I ask you to give me my destiny back." The oracles stopped walking and turned back to her. "Look I can't protect him or anyone this way, not as a normal person."

"You're asking to be what you were, a demon–hunter with a destiny, a sure early death, because of this Warrior?" the woman asked.

The man turned to leave again. "Oh, this is a matter of love. It does not concern us." He rejected.

"Yes, it does. The Mohra demon came to take a warrior from your cause - and it succeeded. I'm no good to you like this. I know you have it in your power to make this right. Please." She begged and felt her eyes tear up. This was the only way to do it.

"What is done can not be undone." The man said.

"What is not yet done can be avoided." The woman pointed out.

"Temporal folds are not to indulge at - the whims of lower beings."

"You are wrong. This one is willing to sacrifice every drop of normal life she has ever known for another, and to serve us. She is not a lower being." The woman again pointed out.

"There is one way. But it is not to be undertaken lightly." He said, beginning to agree with the female.

"We swallow this day, as though it had never happened. Twenty-four hours from the moment the demon first attacked you, we take it back." He said, with a serious look on his face. It went something electric up Buffy's spine.

She licked her lips and cleared her throat. "Then none of this happened and Angel and I.. What - what'll stop us from doing the exact same thing again?"

"You. You alone will carry the memory of this day. - Can you carry that burden?" she thought she could glimpse a little piece of pity in the woman's face, but Buffy forgot it as quickly as it stroke her. She had a choice. Now it was a matter of her and Angel's happiness, or a life in eternal darkness and separation of her one love.

The clock was 8:56. Angel was wearing his favourite black leather pants and, for a change, a white sweater, as he paced his apartment. Buffy then came down the steps to his apartment, wearing a long flowery dress. She had a frown on her face, and looked just like she was going to burst into tears every second. But, she struggled and bit her lip hardly.

"I'm guessing that expression isn't because they were all out of fresh OJ at the deli. - What happened?" Angel asked, walked towards her and kissed her. Buffy almost didn't reply the kiss, but gazed sadly up into his eyes as he withdrew his head. Their eyes met.

"Buffy…?" Angel asked carefully, afraid to hear the answer, more terrified, actually.

"Nothing happened. - I just.." Buffy began, now she almost couldn't hold it back anymore.

"What did they say?" Angel got worried and placed his hands on her shoulders. He could feel her heart beat.

"When I went to see the Oracles..I asked them to turn me back." She glanced up at him.

"What? - Why?" he asked, surprised by the news.

"Because more then ever I know how much I love you." She replied and swallowed.

"No. No, you didn't." Angel said, backing away from her.

"And if I stayed normal one of us would wind up dead, maybe both of us. You heard what Mohra said." Buffy said following Angel.

"Mohra is dead. We killed him." He objected.

"He said others would come." She replied simply, letting a tear fall. Angel turned to her. He had tears in his eyes too.

"They always come. And they always will. We can't stop them all. It's not our problem!" he reminded her.

"No, I won't just stand by and let others fight. We know too much. We've experienced too many things to just… " Buffy said and lay a hand on his cheek, drying off a tear.

"Then we fight together. We learn how, then fight. The scoobies do, we'll learn too." Angel said. "And the new Slayer, we'll be her scoobies!" he began. Though he knew it was no point.

"You saw what happened last night. We can't fight. Not even when you had your strength we managed to get him alone. We were two and he almost got us. We can't do this. The world needs us, with our strength, at least one of us."

"So what? You just took a whole 24 hours to weigh the ups and downs of being a normal and decided it was more fun being a superhero?" Angel began, Buffy looked hurt at him.

"You know that's not it. How can we be together if the cost is your life, or the lives of others?" Angel just stared at her, after a moment she embraced him. "I know. I couldn't tell you. I wasn't sure - if I could do it if I woke up with you one more morning."

"I understand. - So, what happens now?" Buffy sniffled and Angel dried a tear. "Can we still be together like we were supposed to, before I became normal…?" he asked.

"Angel… I forgot…" Buffy began, she glimpsed away. "You also lose your mortality…" Buffy ended.

He frowned. After a second he pushed her away, like she was poison.

"What? You take away my mortality too? It wasn't enough to ruin our plans a little, but no, you had to go all the way!" He screamed. She knew he was hurt, and she had to tell him the rest.

"That's not how it is… The Oracles are giving us back the day, turning back time, so I can kill Mohra before his blood makes me normal. Which means you also lose your mortality."

"When?" Angel questioned.

Buffy looked over at the clock. It showed 9.00. "Another minute." She ended and glanced back at her lover.

"A minute? No. No, it's not enough time!" Angel cried and ran over to Buffy. He kissed her and she kissed him back. They both let their tears run freely.

"We don't have a choice. It's done." Buffy sniffled and kissed him again.

"How am I supposed to go on with my life knowing what we had? What we could have had?" Angel asked her and held her tightly.

Buffy took a deep breath. "You won't. No one will know but me." She admitted. "Everything we did."

"It never happened." Angel ended, but then he shook his head. "It did. It did. I know it did!" He put her hand to his heart. "You can feel it, I have a heart, it beats!" he said, refusing to understand.

"Oh, Angel!" Buffy whispered and they kissed. They glanced over at the clock. The minute is almost up.

"It's not enough time!!" Angel said and met her eyes. She cried, so did he. "Shh, please. Please." Buffy tried to calm him down and they held each other tightly. It was like a dream. They were about to weak up from a perfect state, like to lovers in a movie, they had gotten each other, they had. But now time was up.

"Please, please." Buffy continued and cried.

"No. I'll never forget. I'll never forget. I'll never forget. I'll never forget." Angel whispered almost soundlessly.

Suddenly a white flash dissolved to Angel's office the previous day. Buffy leaned towards the door, blinking and looking around. Angel leant next to his desk. She felt her eyes tear up. It was hard to look at him, knowing that he didn't know about the perfect day they had. The perfect state they had been in, another memory for her, nothing for him. Oh, how she wanted to share it with him. But he didn't deserve it. He wouldn't handle it. Honestly she wasn't sure she could handle it herself.

"So, then let's just stick to the plan. Keep our distance until a lot of time has passed, and given enough time - we should be able to…" she could her hear herself say, but instead of letting Angel answer for her, they both ended the sentence together.

They glanced at each other and she swallowed hardly. "Forget." They both said.

"Yeah. - So - I'm gonna go - start forgetting." She whispered.

The Mohra crashed through the window behind Angel with a scream. Buffy walked over to the clock on the desk, grabbed it and coolly smashed the Mohra's jewel with it. The demon went up in a flash of light,

"That was unreal. - How did you know how to kill it?" Angel asked Buffy, slightly stunned.

"It's a Mohra demon. I - I had a lot of time to catch up on my reading." She replied with a sigh as she met his brown eyes. Those eyes that'd looked into hers while kissing her only a few minutes ago. No, she reminded herself, that never happened. It was so hard.

"Yeah. Okay. - So I guess we've covered it, right?" Angel said, Buffy nodded as she began walking out of the office.

"I guess we did." She replied with a swallow.

"And that's all there really is to say." He said with a deep breath. "And I'm sorry." He said. Buffy nodded slightly, turned to the door and grabbed a hold around it. She closed it as she walked out of the office. When she'd closed it she paused and closed her eyes. A tear fell down her cheek and she swallowed.

"I forgive you." She said and walked out of the outer office.

Send feedback to Muffy

Back to the Fanfiction Archive