Author: Malakhim
Summary: This is going to be very different from what I have written before, and hopefully very different from what you have read before.
Buffy finds herself in a world greatly changed and has to face the possibility of her own universe having never existed. But when a familiar face and a very different Angel enter the scene, it suddenly seems that a larger conspiracy may be at work...
Timeline/Pairing: Buffy Season 2, somewhere between 'Bad Eggs' and 'Innocence' before it takes a major AU track/ Eventually B/A
Rating: R for the general Buffy-related stuff, adult situations and graphic violence. This will include references to dark themes, so be warned. Please notice that this piece has been given this rating for a reason, so don't flame me if you're underage.
Disclaimer: Here we go again: I own nothing you recognise and make no profit from doing this. It is purely for my own (and hopefully other's) entertainment.
Distribution: Just ask and you can have it.
Reviews: Always appreciated! Flames bad, praise pretty, and constructive criticism is always welcomed.
And last, but not least, thanks so much to Evsen whose support and motivation became the inspiration behind this story. This is really for you!
'We Forgotten Heroes'
Chapter One
He knows there were happier times.
Times when he was not afraid of the darkness and the loneliness that is everything now. Times with light and laughter.
He knows but cannot remember.
Now the darkness swims before his eyes. He can't see, he can't smell, he can't feel; can't feel anything but the blinding pain that is tearing through him, yet he knows he is not dead because he can still hear. And in his ears, in his mind, in his heart, her voice rings loud and shrill, cutting like a knife through the walls of silence that thunders against his skull. She is always there now; sometimes he thinks she is one with the darkness, always with him even when he shuts his eyes. He can no longer remember a time with one without the other.
She screams inside him and he cries out, desperately searching to drown out the anguished sound in her voice. He raises his own voice, screaming until his throat feels raw and strained, but her voice still flies from wall to wall inside his skull, ringing within his mind, and in his desperation, he slams his head forcefully against the brick wall behind him. The pain flares, sudden and sharp, dulling his brain and yet she screams still, loud and clear, the accusation in her voice burning into his brain as though it was a white-hot branding iron.
...Angel...
He clenches his eyes shut and slams his palms for his ears, his body sinking into a crouch.
'No...' he sobs. 'No...'
...why...
He screams again and hammers his head against the cool wall, never noticing the red trail that runs down his cheek from his brow. With each blow her voice whispers accusingly in his ear.
...you killed me...you...
'No!' he screams but his throat tightens and he can only sob the words out. 'I didn't – I didn't know...'
...betrayer...monster...
He cradles his ears with his palms, sinking lower and lower until he sits against the wall, pressing his chest against his folded knees. 'Shut up,' he sobs, his voice coming in rushed, shallow gasps. 'Shut up...shut up...'
...murderer...she cries.
...you killed me...
...you killed me...
'I never meant to hurt you! I didn't –'
...murderer...
'No!'
In despair, he gathers the last crumbles of his strength and brings the back of his head against the stone behind him. And as darkness swims his vision, her voice slowly ebbs away.