Auther's note: This story takes place after Becoming. Buffy has come back to Sunnydale for reasons that will be discovered later. ( as soon as i think them up :o)~) Angel is out of hell because the Scooby gang found out what happened and got him out before Buffy came back, so she hasn't seen him since she sent him to hell( because he felt horrible and didn't really want to stick around so no one has seen him). Joyce has excepted the fact that Buffy is the slayer, and is helping out when she isn't working by doing research and what not. Cordelia and Xander are still together, as are Willow and Oz. Oh! And Spike and Dru didn't keep their promise to stay away, so they're back in Sunnydale. I think that that is about all the background that y'all need. Feedback is totally wanted, and i am so grateful for it. This is my first attempt at fanfic and so i could really use it. I would really like both positve and negitive feedback, but when it's negitive...well please be sensitive, have tact, whatever. I'm young and impressionable. And sensitive. :) Its a flaw.
" Mom, I'm home." Buffy walked through the door and layed her bag on the stairs. *No responce, must be at the Gallery.* she thought to herself.
She walked into the kitchen and over to the fridge. She opened the door, paused, and then closed it again. *I am so not hungry for that piece of chocolate cake* she tried hard to convince herself. She looked over at the microwave clock. 11:15 pm. " Sure! The one time I'm home before my curfew, and she's not around! Why," she paused "-is- she not around?" Then she snapped out of it. " Whoa! Cool your slayer girl! " She laughed at herself. *She's just got a late shipment or something* Buffy thought. She glanced at the island in the middle of the kitchen. " Oh good! Mom left a note."
Buffy walked over to the island and looked at the piece of paper.
Slayer- We've got your mom. It was alomst comical how easy she let us take her. Just be at the Old Mansion by 1:00 or she becomes my dinner.
Buffy stiffened with anger, but then jumped into action, running upstairs to get her supplies.
Buffy wasn't the only one to get a note. She called Willow and Xander to see if they were okay and told them what happened. Willow had gotten a note about Buffy and Giles, and Xander had gotten a note about Buffy, Cordelia, and Willow. Buffy also called Giles but he was nowhere to be found. But she guessed that he was in the same place that her mom was. They knew that someone wanted them all in the same place, and Buffy ordered Xander and Willow to stay away, but they would have none of that, so all three of them set out for the Mansion.
The Slayer and he Slayerettes walked into the big oppen "loby" of the Mansion.
" Buffy, don't you..." Willow started.
" Hello, Luv." Spike said and them appeared out of the shadows. "I'm happy that you all could make it."
" Well thanks for inviting us Spike. Your invitations were a little morbid though. You really need to work on your people skills" Buffy quiped. As she was saying this two vampires walked up behind them and grabed Xander and Willow.
" Well, you know I'm not much for the fluffy pink crap. I much prefer violence." The two vamps walked over to Spike with Willow and Xander. Buffy got into her fighting stance and brought out the stake that was up her sleave.
" Let them go." she said cooly.
" Right, Slayer. But before I do, I've got someone for you to meet." He paused " This is going to make things very interesting." Then he slowly walked back into the shadows with Willow and Xander.
*GREAT!* Buffy thought. *Now I get to fight some demon that Spike sent after me. I have no clue what it is or how to fight it. Everyone I car about has been taken captive. And I'm here, alone, in this creepy room, standing aroung like the piece of bait he's useing me for!* She scanned her surroundings. *Very bear, but alot of shadows and dark spaces...probably hallways. There's a balcony surrounding the room...but no stairs* she saw a movement to the right of her, so she whipped around, stake in hand ready to fight it....him.
Buffy looked at him closely and dropped her stake. She wobbled backwards.
" Angel.. " she whispered.
Angel cast his eyes downward and shrank back. *How can I even stand here? After all that I've done to her...how can she even look at me that way? I must be hurting her right now even as I stand here. I shouldn't have come. But Spike said he would kill her if I didn't come...* He was broken out of his thoughts by her quite demand.
" Angel, please look at me."
Angel looked up into her face. *Her beautiful, sweet face.* Her eyes were wet, and she wasn't trying ti hide it. Buffy steped a little closer to him. Angel tensed suddenly worried that she might hit him... and he could never fight her back.
" Angel....I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry that you lost your soul because of me. I'm sorry.... I was selfish and stupid and....I'm sorry I sent you to hell....I..." She was crying openly now, speaking in between sobs.
Angel walked worlessly up to her and pulled her into a gental hug. She let him, and for the moment she just cried into his shoulder.
Spike sat in his high back chair, smiling. From where they were on the balcony they could see verything that was going on between the Slayer and her ex. He turned around to face his captives. Willow, Xander, Giles, Cordelia, and Joyce were all chained together and sitting on the floor. They could also see everything that was going on, and that's the way he intended. It was going to be a big show, wouldn't want them to miss it. Willow was crying, not for herself, but for Buffy. Like wise, Xander and Giles just sat,the pain etched on their faces. Joyce was still unconcious, but Cordelia had her face turned away, crying also, but not wanting anyone to know it was for Buffy.
Spike laughed right out loud at the sight. "This is just perfect! Look at you all!" His tone turned dangerously low. " You think she's in pain now? Just wait. The show has only begun."
Buffy and Angel sat facing each other on the oeversized couch.Both tense, both accutely aware of how uncomfortable they were around each other, how uncomfortable the whole situation was.
Buffy stared blankly at the floor. * She's changed so much* Angel thought.* I changed her*. He frowned. She turned and looked at him, the pain in her eyes so evident. Angel felt compelled to say something. Something to wash away the pain. He wanted to explain to her how her felt. All the love he had for her, but all the guilt and anguish he felt also. But every time he had tried to start she had started sobbing all over again. He took a breath and decided to start again.
"Buffy, I....what I..."
The look that she had in her eyes stopped him right there. It wasn't overflowing tears this time. No this time is was *Anger?*
*I hate this!!! I hate whats happend to my life! It was so much simpler befor he came along! But...* Buffy had to blame herself. She could never really hate Angel.* I was the one to push him. He warned me. He told me bad things could happen. But did I listen? No, of course not! I was too starved for effection. To selfish. I wanted to be normal. Have a normal life and go on nromal dates. With a vampire? Yeah like thats not straight from the X-Files!* Buffy blew out her breath angerly and walked to the middle of the room.
"Why Angel? Why did this happen to us? Me, the slayer. You, vampire. We knew that it was wrong, this it wouldn't work. And it sure didn't! Me and my selfish needs got your soul lost for you. And then your bad self terrorized me untill I wanted to die. Do you know how amny nights I sat with a stake, the stake I was supposed to be using to kill you, and wondered if it would do any good for me?" Angel visibly flinched from the blows that she was inflicting." The only reason I didn't was because of Wilow,and Xander, and..." That thought suddenly brought Buffy back to the present. Angel senced her change in mood. He knew her well enough to know that her anger was more at herself then to him. But the things that she had said hurt him, down to the very core of the soul that had been restored to him.* We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.* He was brought out of his thoughts by Buffys sudden pause in her discourse.
"Buffy, what is it?"
"Willow, Xander, Giles, Cordelia, and....my mom, they're all here." She stated quietly, the wheels in her head turning.
" They're here?! Why?"
" They all got threatening notes, well atleast Willow and Xander did,that if they....We didn't come, each of us would die." Buffy tried to explain.
" You got a note too?" Angel sounde a little confused, but his mind was already going over the possibilities of twisted schemes that Spike could conjure up.
" What kind of a question is that? Did you get a note?" Buffy knew the answer and knew what the note had said. She softened. " It was about me, wasn't it? He threatened to kill ~me~ if you didn't show, didn't he?" Angel softly nodded and gave her the hint of a smile.
* Always trying to protect me* Buffy thought.
" Okay, well we need to find out where Spike is keeping them." Then it hit her. " Angel, my gosh, you know this. This is where you lived when...well...um...Angelus was taking control of your body." Buffy suddenly wished that she hadn't blown up at him a minute ago. "Don't you remember?" she stumbled on.
" Yeah," he said cooly, full of self loathing " I remember."
" Okay,so what room would Spike put them in?"
" Well I think that this ia about the time that i show my self." Spike walked into the room where Buffy and Angel were standing. They turned to face him, side by side. " This is just so touching, seeing you two reunited and all." Spike said with mock emotion. Buffy was getting so sick of his little games.
" What did you do with them?" Buffy asked dangerously. Angel put a hand on her shoulder to keep her simmering below boiling point.
" Well," he was taking his time answering her heated question. " Lets just say that they're all alive and well. I really wouldn't be worrying about them, luv. I would be much more concerned for yourself and Angel."
" What are you talking about?" It was Angel who asked the question this time. Spike walked over to the couple and then over to the couch and easily sat down.
" Well, dear Angel, its like this. Yeah, your little friends got you out if Hell with that other restoation type spell. But they were a little sloppy. They didn't totally understand the efects of the spell, except that it got their dear friend Angel out of Hell. See, what they didn't know was that under the condition of the spell..." He paused,letting the full effect of what he was going to tell them wash through him. " They sold you soul."
He watched the emotions play on their faces. Buffy; her face emediatly paled and she looked as if she would faint. She glanced at Angel and tears started to fall. She composed herself, and her face became hard, filled with rage. Angel; confusion played across his exspression, then betrayal, anger,and extream saddness. Her turned pale as fear,not for himself, but for Buffy, washed through him. Finally back to anger. He knew that Spike wasn't done. That was a pretty hard blow to both him and Buffy, but that still did not explain why he had captured Buffy's friends, and summoned them here together.
" You're not finished." Angel stated cooly.
" Right, mate. I'm not." He clasped his hands together and leaned onto his knees." We all know that with out your soul, Angelus will be back. But here's the catch. Within the condition of the spell,you were given three months to come back with your soul,to do whatever. If you had been smart, you would have found something to stop this from happening. But its too late for that now. Anyway, your three months are up. Its 3:30 in the morning. At midnight tonight,you lose your soul. Only this time..." He changed the course of the sentence." See,our dear brother, Lucifer, he wanted a crack atmortality. He wanted to know if it was actually worth it sending us up here. And of course, he needed a body. So instead of just Angelus," he turned andlooked at Buffy." You're getting Satan in human form. Hell on earth"
