The portal remained opened for a moment longer before swallowing itself whole, trapping both Buffy and Angel on the other side. For a moment, no one in the warehouse moved.

Gunn was still on the ground, his long fingers clasped tightly around the cloak of the last of the demons, stopped just in time from jumping through the portal with his friends. Dawn, Willow and Xander stood to one side, Anya leaning heavily on her fiancé’s arm; Cordelia and Wesley staggered up from across the floor.

Xander stepped forward, glancing around the room, panicked. “This isn’t happening again!” he suddenly bellowed, every emotion pouring out of him with his cry.

Dawn began to sniffle loudly, mewling as Willow put her arms around the Slayer’s younger sister. “Shh…Dawnie…it’s okay…we’ll get her back.”

“How do you know that?” Spike snapped, prowling around the warehouse floor. “She bloody jumped, she went willingly, right after the great poof without a look back. No good-byes this time. No end of the world to stave off. She wanted this. She wanted this!” he shouted.

“No she didn’t!” Dawn shrieked at him. “No she didn’t! She was doing better! She was stronger! She didn’t want to go!” Willow held onto her tightly, fighting her own tears as the girl fought her. “Get off me!” she cried finally and pushed out of the witches’ arms. Dawn stumbled to the floor, kneeling on the spot where the portal had once been, her tears darkening the concrete ground where they fell.

Gunn rose to his feet, pulling the demon with him. “Talk, and do it fast,” he growled to the demon.

The demon said nothing. Gunn poked him in the back with his ax. “Which one are you?”

“Why does it matter?” Xander asked, leaning in menacingly.

“Jimnub,” came the answer.

More poking. “All right, Jar-Jar. Open the door. Now.”

“I cannot,” the demon answered.

Spike stepped up. “Yes, you can. I just saw you do it. You have the code. You need a partner? Got plenty of people willing. Take your pick. Now open it. You want to get back there, we want to get our friends. Even trade.”

The demon said nothing and Spike moved to strike but Xander reached him first and held his arm. “Don’t. Spike. Just…don’t,” he wearily pleaded with the vampire.

Spike bit his lip, eyes piercing the nothingness beneath the brown robe. After a moment he shook off Xander’s hand and walked a few feet away, snatching a cigarette from his jacket pocket.

Gunn looked up from the demon, glancing around. “Hey, where’s Fred? Who’s got the kid?”

“We sent Fred to the mansion with Connor. They’ll be safe there. I told her we’d call her when we knew what was going on,” Cordelia answered him absently.

“What mansion?” he replied.

“Who’s Connor?” Anya asked.

Gunn glanced around, confused. “There’s a mansion?”

“People!” Spike shouted. The tension in the room buzzed like electricity. He glanced back at the hooded demon. “Give me five minutes alone with him,” he asked softly. “I’ll make him talk.”

“I don’t think so,” Xander shot back.

“I don’t know why you care, anyway,” Willow snapped. “Now that you can hurt Buffy I’m sure the first thing on your list is to kill her.”

“WHAT?” Xander asked now, whipping his head back and forth from Willow to Spike.

Again, Cordelia took the attention off anything but the current situation. “How did he do it?” she asked irately, moving from behind Wesley to approach Jimnub. She shoved him on the shoulder, pushing him back a bit. “Angel…Angel went through the portal. How? He wasn’t willing. And there’s no bodies. Last time Buffy’s…” she caught herself. “Buffy was here. He said her body wasn’t strong enough to make it through. So where are they?”

*~*~*

She knew nothing. Floating freely, there was nothing…like before. Yes…just like before. That much she did know, the thought of it swam in her mind, then eased its way out slowly. This was familiar, and it was good.

She was warm, inside and out. It was comforting, like lying in the sun on a patch of warm carpet. Mostly her eyes remained closed, savoring the bliss she found her body swimming through. But when she opened them, white light swirled around her, dotted with purple and lilac hues…and then there were colors so bright they brought tears to her eyes. Beauty prevailed here, nothing dark, nothing dank. Nothing dead.

Her body hummed. Relaxed, she let herself go, enjoying the weightlessness in which she was cradled, sighing in satisfaction.

She wasn’t alone.

Murmuring her name he moved behind her, strong arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her to him. Her head came back to rest on his chest, her eyes closing as they melded together.

“Angel,” she whispered, twisting slowly to face him, her body languid, her arms coming up and around him, pulling him even closer. It was like moving through gel; thick, each movement drawn out, nothing precise.

Breath came in and out of her lungs, she heard it echoing in her head, just as she heard her heart beat. His arms moved up her back, fingers tracing the lines of her shoulder. Lips moved together, seeking then taking, whispers of kisses.

This is a dream, she thought.

It feels real, he answered back, his words ringing in her head. She heard him perfectly, though his lips had not moved.

You’re here, she replied, wondrously. Why are you here?

Same reason you are. His fingers trailed down her spine, electricity in the touch.

Can we stay forever? Buffy asked, a hand sneaking up to run through his hair.

His kiss deepened. Forever works for me.

*~*~*

Jimnub was forced into a chair, the Scoobies and Fang Gang surrounding him, angry eyes and tempers flaring.

“How did Angel go through the portal?” Spike demanded, desperately trying to take the attention off Willow's announcement that the chip was no longer working on Buffy.

The demon shifted uncomfortably. “He wanted to.”

“What?!” Cordelia cried. “He didn’t want to! He was stopping you!”

“Why did you push him?” Gunn asked.

“Because he’s got a strong soul,” Dawn supplied softly, just loud enough to be heard over the shouting.

“What?” Gunn asked, turning to the little brunette.

“They said so. They said Angel had a strong soul. And Willow and Buffy, they said it to them specifically,” Dawn told them. “They pushed him in to get his soul.”

“But he had to go willingly!” Willow cried.

“The demon part of him would have gone willingly,” Wesley murmured.

Gunn turned to him. “Again, I say…what?”

Wesley was thinking quickly. “The demon in Angel…the demon would have wanted this.”

“The demon wanted to die?” Cordelia asked.

Wesley shook his head. “No…the demon is just a spirit…it just occupies Angel’s body. And it hates the soul. Angel’s soul.”

“So the demon would have done this to Angel to get back at him?” Gunn asked. “That’s lame, I don’t buy it.”

A brief smile flickered over Wesley’s face. “Perhaps…but that may explain how Angel could have access to the portal. There are two beings in him. One was willing…once through the portal the soul extraction would have begun…and with the soul out of the way…”

Cordelia gasped.

“He just entered a world that’s going to rid him of his soul,” Willow whispered, fear in her eyes. “Knowing that we’ll try to get them back.”

“And the demon heard all that…since he’s got double occupancy in Angel’s body, he hears everything that goes on…he shares Angel’s memories,” Xander moaned.

“They knew this. You knew this,” Wesley growled, stepping up to Jimnub and pushing the demon back until the chair rocked. “You came for him, didn’t you?”

“They…they weren’t really here for Buffy?” Anya asked.

Wesley’s eyes didn’t move from the blackness beneath the robe. “Explain.”

Jimnub didn’t move for a moment, then straightened himself. “Yes. We were here for the vampire. And the Slayer. Now we have both.”

Spike moved in, morphing to vamp face on his way. “And we have you.”

For a moment the demon seemed to consider. “There’s nothing you can do. I would die for my people, same as you would for yours. Threatening me will not help,” he said bravely.

“We’ll see about that,” Willow barked.

“If there’s nothing we can do than you have no reason not to tell us what’s happened to our friends,” Wesley said, moving in between Spike and Xander.

“And yet,” the demon snapped.

Spike whirled, frustrated, his duster flying around him, and began to pace again. He stopped, staring off in space, then spun around again to face the demon and his friends. “Where are their bodies?” he roared. He stomped angrily over to the chair. “Why aren’t they here?”

Jimnub said nothing and Cordelia lost it. Grabbing the demon by his robe she hauled him up. “Tell us! Tell us!” she shrieked, shaking Jimnub as hard as she could. The hood of the robe began to fall back and the demon began to shriek along with her, his arms coming up, unseen fingers clutching at the robe.

Cordelia let go and stared for a moment before reaching up and yanking the hood down. There was nothing there.

Jimnub continued to howl, an ear-shattering yell that had each person wincing at the sound and volume. His arms came up as he struggled to right the hood and cover his invisible self.

“Light hurts you,” Willow marveled. “It hurts you.”

Jimnub pulled the hood back over his head and hunched over on the ground, panting. The warehouse was relatively dark, save the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead.

Xander hauled the cloaked demon to its feet. “Not so tough now, are you?” he sneered, pushing Jimnub back onto the rickety chair. “Feel like talking a little more now? Or would you like more pain of the incandescent variety?”

Jimnub sputtered in anguish and leaned heavily against the back of the chair.

The group watched him.

“Yes. We knew,” he answered finally, his voice less confident than it had been a moment earlier. “The memory of the Slayer was ours to view when she was in our…care.” He chose his words wisely. “This is how we discovered that the Key had once inhabited the girl,” he pointed at Dawn, his arm shaky, “and how we discovered Angelus, the Souled One.”

“He’s not James Brown,” Gunn snapped. “Get on with it.”

“Once we tracked the Slayer back here we made it our mission to not only return her to our world, but to take Angelus with us. Together, their souls are more powerful than any we’ve seen.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Cordelia muttered, bored. “Wow. Am I ever tired of hearing that.”

“The Chosen and the Champion,” Jimnub continued. “Their souls here are guarded by the Powers. That and the portal can only be opened on the Hellmouth. It was necessary to bring them back to our plane for the extraction. It was our luck that the Slayer was traveling to the same city as Angelus lives in. However, our plan was discovered due to some sloppy work by hired help…and so your kidnapping became essential,” he said, head turning to look at Dawn, Xander and Anya.

“How would you have gotten Angel to the Hellmouth if Buffy hadn’t gone to LA?” Xander asked.

He could have sworn the demon smiled. “We would have come up with something. In times of great trouble he does return to help, yes?” Jimnub asked.

Xander took a beat before answering. “I really don’t like you,” he said and walked away a few steps, running a nervous hand through his dark locks.

“So where are they? When Buffy jumped…the first time,” Willow questioned, “her…she…her body was left here. You said it was too weak to survive the leap, but her soul was strong enough.”

Jimnub’s head turned to face the witch. “Yes, then it was. The Key was used by Glorificus to open the portal. The Key is a much more powerful agent than is actually needed, if you are permitted to open a portal. Glorificus was not. The laws of her dimension had bound her, mystical laws, binding her power to return of her own will. The Key, an ancient and magical tool, is the one way in all the universe that she could open the portal and go around the binding of our people.”

“So Glory came to find me,” Dawn finished, her voice nervous and unsteady, “and the power of the Key was too strong for Buffy, so when she jumped it spit her body back out.”

Now Jimnub did nod. “It took strong magic to override the binding spell used to keep Glorificus out of our dimension. Only the Key would work. The magics that we use are simple but require the power of three. The portal is not strong, not like the one Glorificus opened. It will only open the one gateway. The portal opened by the Key was designed to rip open every dimensional doorway that exists.”

“So with less powerful magics Buffy and Angel’s bodies were allowed to go through and stay there,” Gunn murmured. “So they’re okay, whole beings and all that.”

“For now,” Wesley surmised.

“Buffy jumped through to save Angel, I’m sure of it,” Willow told them. “She heard what they said. If the souls fought the ritual, it would be stopped instantly.”

“Unless they made a perfect Buffy-Angel world…which means we’re right back where we started…soul extraction,” Cordelia groaned.

“What?” Gunn asked.

“They’re trapped, in that heaven-like Hell dimension, and the demons are feeding them whatever will make them happy so they don’t fight. What do you think they’ve got Buffy and Angel doing?” Cordelia asked, cocking her head. //I’m sure they’re just down there having tea and crackers!//

“But it’s been three years…she—they’re over it!” Spike cried.

“You think?” Cordelia asked, getting warmed up. “Oh please. Angel’s still in love with her. A part of him will always be in love with her. When he found out she died he had to go away for three months just to try and escape it.”

“And Riley…he left because he said he couldn’t have all of Buffy, she wouldn’t let him,” Willow pointed out slowly. //He said he couldn’t touch me, Will…that a part of me wasn’t available to him.//

Xander interjected. “Riley told me, a few months before he left, that she didn’t love him.”//Buffy's like nobody else in the world...this is the one...but she doesn't love me.//

“Does Buffy still love Angel?” Gunn asked.

“It’s been three years!” Spike fervently pointed out again. “She’s got…new stuff…” he trailed off realizing no one was listening to him.

“He came to mom’s funeral,” Dawn said softly.

The group looked at her. “What?” Xander asked. “When?”

“After. Willow and Tara took me back to their place…I went home and got my stuff and we walked back by the cemetery on our way to the dorms, remember?” Dawn asked Willow.

Willow gave her a sad smile. “Sure…I remember. But when we got there you said you changed your mind. You didn’t want to go anymore.”

Dawn returned her small smile. “I know. I saw them. Standing there, at mom’s grave. Holding hands. I don’t think Buffy’d moved since we left her, and he was there. I was mad at her then…I thought she was using that time to have smoochie time with Angel…but I know that wasn’t it. He was there to help her through it.”

“And…” Cordelia glanced at Wesley suddenly. Should she mention The Day? He shook his head at her imperceptibly. Changing tactics she moved on. “…when he found out she was alive the very first thing he did was insist they meet.” She paused. “Speaking of which, did she ever tell you guys what went on between them? ‘Cause Angel just came back craving ice cream.”

Willow shook her head. “Buffy brought us chicken…but all she’d tell was that it was intense.”

“That’s exactly what Angel said,” Cordy murmured, lost in her thoughts. She shook herself out of them. “My point is…they still have feelings for each other…maybe not the Forbidden Love of All Time like they used to, but the fire’s still ready to be stoked.”

Wesley looked up, stunned. “You’re right. They would have tapped into their memories, found their most perfect moments of happiness, and used those memories against them!”

The entire group sagged. “Buffy and Angel, perfect-happiness,” Xander moaned.

Spike’s eyes darkened and his jaw set. “We don’t know that. Buffy’s had other perfect moments in her life…like…maybe last week sometime,” he stammered. “Could be.”

The entire group turned to face him quizzically. Spike sighed, rolling his eyes.

“We’re in such deep, deep trouble,” Willow agreed.

Anya was quiet. “But Willow’s right. Buffy and Angel heard what the Teplir said. They know that all of the heaven-can-wait qualities she experienced were just to keep her happy so she wouldn’t fight them. They both went through the portal knowing that. So…don’t you think they’ll remember that it’s not real?”

*~*~*

Arms tangled, fingers thrust into hair and pulled flesh closer. Lips sought and took, ravaging each other as Buffy and Angel melded into one.

This isn’t happening, Angel whispered. How is this happening?

No questions, she ordered softly.

His chuckle came low then rolled into a moan as her nails scratched at his back, sending goose bumps up his spine.

I need you, she moaned as he trailed kisses down her neck, nibbling at his mark.

I want you, Angel whispered back, his thoughts floating into her mind and then back out again, drifting on a breeze.

It’s been…too…long, Buffy gasped as his hands clutched at her, pulling her leg up and around him, her thigh nuzzling his hip provocatively.

Much, much too long, he agreed.

She opened her eyes, connected mossy hazel with chocolate pools. I love you, she told him, letting all her emotion travel to his mind.

His chest tightened at her words and warmth filled him. I love you, too…more than anything, he murmured. This is like a dream.

*~*~*

“We’ve got to do something, now,” Gunn said as he paced, swinging his ax absently.

Cordelia ducked out of the way of a swing and put an arm on his. “Down with the ax, Charles Scissorhands.”

“You cannot,” Jimnub said almost merrily. “Only the power of three can open the door.”

“You couldn’t have grabbed more of them?” Willow asked, giving Gunn a small smile.

Dawn was quiet, sitting sadly on one of the chairs. “What about Tara?” she said softly.

Willow heard her. “What?”

“Tara. You and Tara. You two could be the other two of the…three…you know what I mean,” she rushed. “Does the power of three have to be all demons? Can’t powerful witches help out?”

Willow looked shocked. “Dawnie…I don’t know…Tara…”

“She’d do it!” Dawn cried. “I know she would! She wouldn’t want Buffy to suffer there…especially since now we know she’s really in a Hell dimension!”

“That’s not entirely a bad idea,” Xander started.

“Bu-but! You guys…and the ‘hands off the spellbooks!’” Willow cried. “Did I miss the loophole in that?”

“Are you saying you’re not willing to help out Buffy?” Spike growled low.

Willow’s eyes ticked to him. Put that way…“No…no, that’s not what I’m saying,” she said, conviction in her voice. “I-I couldn’t live with myself. This is more important.”

“Fine. We’ve got our Charmed Ones,” Xander quipped, but without much humor. “Call Tara.”

The entire group turned to Wesley. “Alrighty, Giles-Take-Two, what’s the verdict?” Spike asked.

Wesley swallowed hard. “I need to know more about the portal, about the dimension. My books…”

“We have an entire magic shop at your disposal,” Xander said, shooting a hard look at his fiancé when she began to object.

“So…we’re leaving? I don’t want to leave,” Dawn asked desperately.

“Just for a little while, Dawnie. Promise. We’re going to go research, do the stuff we’re best at,” Xander told her, putting an arm around her and kissing the top of her head. “We’ll figure this out, promise.”

Dawn didn’t look any more satisfied, but, with one last glance back, she allowed herself to be led outside.

Chapter Eleven: Deja vu All Over Again
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