A/N When I say SMG couldn't make an appearance, I imagine it's because the shows were on different networks and they weren't allowed to do a crossover.

"The Mayor's office has scheduled a news conference for six'o'clock this evening regarding this bizarre development and what it may mean for the city." The news anchor on the TV said.

"I'll tell you what it means." Gunn said, tuning the TV off. "Soon as vamps everywhere realize this town's open for business 24/7, there's gonna be a huge rise in undead tourism."

"We've just got to find a way to bring back the sun." Cordelia said.

"Working on it." Fred said from behind her pile of books and scrolls. "Failing miserably, but working on it. I could really use some help deciphering some of these symbols…. or, all of them, really. I need Wesley…. his expertise…."

"Yeah, well Rogue Warrior took off without a word, right after Electro-Gwen decided to skip town when the going got tougher." Gunn said. "Not big on the teamwork, either one of them."

"You're wasting your time." Connor said. "The answer is among us." He tossed a hand towards the office window where they could see Angel singing for Lorne. "He knows. He's part of the plan."

"He doesn't remember." Cordelia said.

"So he says. You saw him yourself making a pact with the Beast."

"It wasn't Angel in my vision, it was Angelus."

"He is Angelus."

"Believe me, you've never met Angelus."

"Me neither. But I'm starting to think maybe it's time we did. Maybe Wes is right. Big Beastie has got to be stopped, and I'm fresh out of ideas. If there's even a chance Angelus could have inside info we could use…."

"And you think he's willingly going to turn it over?"

"I think it's worth a try."

"Not gonna happen. The gypsies cursed him with a soul so he could feel remorse to make him suffer for all the people he slaughtered. Removing that soul is the only way to change Angel back into Angelus."

"A lot easier said than done." Fred said.

"The gypsy curse was specific. For Angel to lose his soul, he would have to experience a moment of perfect, pure happiness. And right now, happiness of any kind is in kind of short supply."

As if on cue, a certain petite blonde Slayer walked into the lobby. Everyone turned to look at her with surprise. "Uh, hi." Buffy said. She looked like she'd been hit with a Mack truck. There was a healing cut on her cheek and a nasty bruise on her jaw. A darker bruise on her collarbone could be seen peeking out of her shirt under her jacket and her neck was multiple shades of black and blue like something had choked her.

"Buffy!" Cordelia walked towards her. "What are you doing here? Are you ok?"

"I saw the news about LA and I was a little worried that it might be connected to what's happening in Sunnydale."

"What's happening in Sunnydale now?"

"The First is back. It's targeting the Slayer line, taking out Watchers and potential Slayers where it can and generally causing death and destruction. I didn't think blotting out the sun in LA was a big stretch for it."

Cordelia ushered her into the lobby. "Come in. Sit down. You look exhausted."

"Oh, good. I look better than I feel."

"Buffy." Angel said, appearing in the doorway of his office and stopping Buffy in her tracks.

"Hi."

"Did Lorne help you remember?" Cordelia asked.

"No." Angel said, his eyes never leaving Buffy.

"Anything at all?"

"Nothing." He walked over to Buffy and gently touched the cut on her cheek. "Are you ok?"

"I'm healing."

"The First is back?"

"In a big way. It's gotten a little more ambitious since it tried to get you to off yourself a few years ago."

"It's gunning for you now?" He ran his fingers lightly over the bruising on her neck. "I thought it was incorporeal."

"It is. Its little buddy did this to me. A Turok-Han. Ever heard of it?"

"Yeah. Ancient vampire. Hard to kill."

"I've had three run-ins with it. All of them real doozies. One of them it dropped a couple of concrete walls on top of me. I wasn't sure if I'd manage to heal at first. My ribs are still pretty colorful from that one."

"Where is it now?"
"Dust in the wind. I used barbed wire to cut its head off." She reached up and touched a fading bruise on Angel's cheek and he saw the faint punctures from the barbed wire on her palms. "Looks like you've got something bad here, too."

"It's called the Beast."

"How original."

Angel shrugged. "It packs a seriously original punch. It's the reason the sun is gone."

"Do you think it could be connected to the First?"

"It's possible. I wouldn't rule anything out at this point."

"Want some help? Please say yes cause this is a vacation for me." He chuckled. "Totally not a joke. My house is full of teenage girls. I'm going insane."

"I'm not turning you down." He turned around. "Everyone, this is Buffy. That's Gunn."

"Yo." Gunn said.

"And that's Fred behind the books over there."

"It's nice to finally meet you." Fred said with a wave.

"This is Lorne."

Lorne walked up and shook her hand. "Strumpet, you are just delectable. No wonder the big guy fell head over heels with you. I'm happy to finally meet you in person."

"And this…."

"Must be Connor." Buffy said.

"How did you know?" Connor asked.

"You look a ridiculous amount like your father."

"How did you know about him?" Angel asked.

"What?" Cordelia asked. "You think I don't talk to Buffy anymore?"

"Well, yeah."

"We've kept in touch." Buffy said. "So, down to business? What are we looking at?"

"A puzzle with missing pieces and some cryptic gibberish." Fred said. She gestured to a weird looking metal totem sitting on the desk. "Angel, whatever power this device had got swallowed up by the Beast. It won't bring back the sun. Without the orb, it's as useless as…."

"Us." Gunn said. "Face it man, we're losing ground. Pretty much the only victory we can claim is that we're not dead yet."

"Ok, look, I know things haven't been going our way lately, but things change." Angel said. "Buffy's here now and she's the best at averting apocalypses that I've ever met. We're not down for the count yet. But the Beast is not our only concern right now. The First is back and looking to make an apocalypse all its own. And until we figure out how to end eternal darkness, it's a devil's playground out there."

"Just the way you like it, huh?" Connor muttered.

"Something to say, Connor? You got a problem?"

"You."

"Hey, Connor." Cordelia warned.

"Acting like the big leader, like we don't already know what we know."

"And what do you know?" Angel asked.

"Everybody thought it was me. Maybe even I was starting to, but it was you all along. You're the one who's working with the Beast."

"I'm not."

"Well, then, you're a puppet. Either way, everything's going to hell because of you. You're the reason that the sun is gone, that I don't have a home to go back to. You're the reason that she…. It's you. You're the reason my life sucks."

"Get over it."

"Wow! You fit right in with the teenagers in my life." Buffy said.

"Uh, not to be a buttinsky, but could we get back to the pep talky thing?" Lorne said with a nervous laugh.

"I'm not one to turn down a little pep, but I'd much prefer we had a plan." Fred said.

"Here's one." Wesley said, walking in with a man clad in purple robes that covered everything but his eyes. "Him."

"Who's he?" Angel asked.

"Wo-Pang. He can deliver Angelus to us."

"I thought you said…." Gunn started.

"Me too." Cordelia said.

"Um, deliver who to where?" Buffy asked.

Wesley looked at Buffy in surprise. "Buffy."

"I'm sorry. We haven't met. Who are you and what have you done with the bumbling nerd who was once my Watcher?"

"Good to see you too. What are you doing here?"

"Got a big brewing apocalypse back home that might be connected to yours. Came to offer my services and tell you specifically to watch your back."

"My back?"

"The First is taking out Watchers and potential Slayers. You may not be one anymore, but I don't think the First really gives a damn. And now that I've warned you, can we get back to the part where you want to release Angelus? Are you insane?"

"Fred, would you mind brewing some tea for our guest?" Wesley asked, ignoring Buffy's question.

"Oh, um, sure. Right this way, Mr. Pang." Fred said, leading the purple man away.

Angel grabbed Wesley's arm and hauled him into his office. Buffy turned to the others. "Can someone please explain to me why Wesley has lost his mind? Angelus?"

"I had a vision." Cordelia said. "Angelus knows the Beast. Wesley wants to bring him out to ask him…."
"Ask him? Again with the Wesley is insane theory. You don't ask anything of Angelus. Ever. He'll laugh at you while he's playing with your insides on the outside."

"We're running out of options." Gunn said.

"I'm sorry, of the people in this room, who's ever dealt with Angelus one on one? Been the apple of his obsession's eye? He is never an option."

"I've seen everything he's ever done." Cordelia said. "When I was a higher being. I saw it all. I know how bad Angelus is."

Buffy shook her head. "You don't know. Not really. You can watch it from afar, but you've never had him inside your head. You've never dealt with what it's like to actually be in a room with him."

"Which is why your timing is perfect." Gunn said. "If Angelus is here, you have firsthand experience of how to shut him down. You're the best chance we have of getting what we need out of him."

Buffy looked at Gunn with wide eyes. "Clearly this Beast has knocked all of your heads a little too hard."

The door opened and Angel strode out of the office. "Get rid of the shaman." He flung at Wesley.

Buffy followed Angel out to the little garden courtyard. He was sitting on a bench staring at the concrete in front of him. She sat down next to him. "Good thing I showed up. Your friends are a little batty, huh?"

"A house full of teenage girls is looking good right about now." Angel said.

"And clearly the crazy that's infected them has gotten to you if you think that's a good time."

He chuckled. "I'm sorry you walked in on the Angelus talk."

"Yeah. Not gonna lie. That talk is scarier than dealing with the First." She blew out a breath. "Gunn said that I would be the best chance of getting Angelus to talk."

Angel looked over at her. "Of all the people here, you would be the only one he'd be interested in. I'm sure he'd be willing to make a deal with you."

"And it's scares me to know what I would offer him to get the information we need." Before Angel could say anything, she continued on. "What is it about me, Angel? Why did Angelus hate me so much?"

"You made him feel. You're the only person in the world in over 200 years that made him feel love and hope. He doesn't exactly deal well with those emotions."

"He loved Darla."

"No. He lusted after her, wanted to possess her like she possessed him…. She was his maker…. But he didn't love her. Never in the hundred plus years they were together did he love her. He never once felt love for anyone. He wasn't capable of it until you came along."

"But he didn't love me. You did."

"He's in me, Buffy. Everything I feel, he feels. You were the first person I ever loved in my entire life. He felt that. He remembered it."
"And he hated me for it." She nodded. "So why can't you access his memories? I mean, you remember everything he's ever done. That was part of the gypsy curse, wasn't it? That you remember in detail everything he's done. If he knew this Beast thing…."
"There's probably a spell preventing me from remembering. Do you think Connor's right? That I'm being used by the Beast without even knowing?"

Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn't lie to him. "Honestly, Angel, it's entirely possible. The First was using Spike without him realizing it. He killed people…. Turned them…. And he didn't remember any of it. If this Beast is connected to the First, then I hate to say it, but it's entirely possible."

"Then I'm already a danger to you…. To everyone."

"Angel, I'm pretty sure you've got nothing on how dangerous a loose Angelus would be. The guy is…. Well, I don't want to say ingenious, so we'll just go with evil."

"Like the Beast."

"I haven't met the thing, but if he's always a step or two ahead of you and hell bent on making your life miserable, then maybe the Beast comes close to Angelus?" She noticed Angel's suddenly resolute face. "No. Angel…."

Angel stood up and walked back into the lobby. "We're going to need a cage."

"Cage?" Lorne asked.

"Strong one. About 10 x 12, steel reinforced, 2-inch bars, maybe 3. I'll make some calls." He went into his office and shut the door.

"What…. do you think something like that's gonna hold the Beast?" Gunn asked.

"It's not for the Beast." Buffy said. "It's for Angelus."

"You talked him into it?" Cordelia asked.

"No! At least, I don't think I did. If I did, I didn't mean to!" She walked into the office after him. "Can we please talk about how this is not a good idea?"
"I know it's not, Buffy, but this is all we've got." He set the phone down in its cradle and walked over to her, grasping her upper arms reassuringly. "You're here. You'll protect them until my soul gets put back."

"And how long will that be?"

"I don't know. Not long. You get him to talk and then shove my soul back in my body. I have faith in you."

Buffy blew out a nervous breath and sat down heavily in a chair. "Come for a visit, stay for my worst enemy."

Wesley and Gunn were strapping Angel to a large table inside the cage they'd constructed in the basement. Buffy stood next to the shaman outside of the cage. They were behind a smaller table where the shaman had just placed a pretty glass jar.

"What is that?" Buffy asked.

"It's the Muo-Ping, the receptacle that will house his soul." Wo-Pang said.

"Buffy, you don't have to be here for this part." Angel said.

"Are you kidding me? If I can't face this, then what makes you think I'd be able to face Angelus?"

The shaman went inside the cage with Angel, shutting the door behind him. Connor moved closer to Buffy as she stepped over to the red line that had been drawn to keep Angelus at arm's length. Gunn and Wesley stood by the stairs looking on.

"It would be wise for your safety to add the second lock to the door." Wo-Pang said.

"Do as he says." Wesley ordered. Gunn stepped up and put another lock on the door.

"Angel…." Buffy said, her voice revealing to him how scared she actually was to face Angelus again.

He looked over at her, his hand straining against his bonds to reach out to her. "I know." Angel looked at Connor standing protectively near Buffy. He had a flash of jealousy, but it was gone faster than it had appeared. He was certain Buffy would never do what Cordelia had done to him. Connor was Angel's son and knowing Buffy, she would treat him as such. He felt a little lighter knowing that Connor would have the chance get to know the woman his father loved most in the world. If anyone could get through his son's hard exterior and soured opinion of Angel, it would be Buffy Summers.

"Close your eyes and don't speak." Mo-Pang said, placing his hand on Angel's head and forcing Angel's gaze away from Buffy. He began to chant over Angel and after a minute, his eyes opened to reveal that they were solid red. He leaned down and whispered in Angel's ear, "Time to say goodbye." Mo-Pang pulled sword from his side and swung it at Angel's head.

Buffy jumped into action, breaking one lock and yanking on the doors. Angel managed to break one of his wrist restraints and grabbed the shaman's wrist before the sword could decapitate him. The final lock on the door finally broke with one more good pull by Buffy and Connor together. She rushed in and grabbed Mo-Pang, throwing him into the bars.

"Fools, why would I help you?" Mo-Pang said. "I serve the awakened one."

"This was all a set-up!" Buffy said as she worked to get Angel free from his restraints.

"For what?" Gunn asked as he and Connor made sure the shaman didn't move.

"That's what I would like to know." Angel said, getting off the table with Buffy's help. "Why does the Beast suddenly want me dead? Did Angelus welsh on our pact? Is that it? Ok, well, maybe you can shed a little light as to what the Beast's plan is." The shaman pulled a knife out. "Maybe I should just start taking you apart now, piece…." The shaman turned the knife on himself and shoved it into his heart. "By piece."

Buffy looked down at the now deceased shaman and shook her head. "You know I really love it when the bad guys kill themselves for you. Except when they're doing it to keep from talking. Then it's just annoying. Like now." She poked the shaman with the toe of her boot.

"Gunn, see if he has anything on him." Wesley said.

Gunn knelt down beside the shaman and uncovered his face. The man's bald head, jaw, neck, and torso were covered in oriental characters. "He's got something on him, all right."

It wasn't long before the shaman's body was on the vacated table in the cage with his robe covering his backside. Wesley was bent over the body examining the tattoos with a magnifying glass. The rest of Angel's gang had made their way down to the basement after the hubbub from before.

"Is there any part of this guy that doesn't have writing all over it?" Lorne asked. Buffy shot him a look and he nodded. "Scratch that. I don't want to know."

"Can you translate it?" Angel asked.

"Most of it." Wesley said. "Definitely scripture. A recorded history of the Kun-Sun-Dai. They're acolytes of the Beast, all right."

"So that's why we couldn't find anything written about Beastie-boy in the books." Gunn said. "These jokers are walking around with it on their asses."

"Hang on."

"What is it?" Angel asked.

"There's a passage here. Difficult to…. Fred, could you…?" Wesley moved Fred's wrist so that she was holding the flashlight at a better location. "It's detailing the acolyte's victory over the Bosh M'ad sometime in…. I think in the third century."

"What's a Bosh…. whatever you said?" Cordelia asked.

"The opposers of the Awakening. The Bosh M'ad forged something to destroy the Beast. The Tooth of Light."

"They made a tooth?" Fred asked.

"To the best of my interpretation, a weapon of some kind."

"How'd it work out for them?" Buffy asked.

"It was never used. The awakening was centuries away. In the meantime, every last one of the Bosh M'ad was wiped out by the Beast's acolytes."

"So this tooth thing must've had them worried. What happened to it?" Fred asked.

"Never found. The opposers kept it hidden."

"Great, so now we have to find a tooth in a haystack." Gunn said.

"We don't even know what the weapon is." Angel said.

Cordelia's eyes turned white suddenly. "It's a sword. The Sword of Bosh M'ad. I can see it. Pretty." She gasped as her eyes went back to normal. "I know where it is."

"Where?" Buffy and Angel asked. They exchanged an amused look.

"It's here. Under the city."

"Well, that's a break." Fred said.

"Did you hear that?" Angel asked Wesley. "There's a sword. A sword to kill the Beast. And you wanted to turn me into Angelus by having an evil shaman cut off my head, not that that wasn't a swell plan, too."

"Sorry." Wesley said as he walked toward the exit.

"Was that an apology?"

"I was careless. Made a mistake that almost cost you your life. It would have made pulling you out of the ocean a big waste of my time."

"Yeah, that would've been a drag. It's just the first time I ever heard you apologize. About anything."

"So, are we gonna go get the sword, or what?" Connor asked.

Cordelia led the way through the tunnels below LA with Wesley beside her. Angel and Buffy were right behind them with Connor bringing up the rear. Connor kept looking Buffy over and finally reached up to tap her on the shoulder. She turned to look at him, hanging back so she could walk beside him. Angel glanced back and she didn't miss the smile on his lips at the sight of her with his son.

"How did you do that back there?" Connor asked her.

"Do what?" Buffy asked.

"Throw that man the way you did. You're so…. Little."

Buffy heard Angel chuckle and she reached up to flick his shoulder blade. He actually winced. "I'm a Slayer." She said to Connor.

"What's that?"

"Angel, you didn't tell him about Slayers?"

"They haven't really come up before." Angel said.

"Well, the lore says 'one girl in all the world created to stop the vampires and the demons and the forces of darkness.'"

"Why only one?" Connor asked.

"That's a question I've been asking for a long time."

"Sounds kinda stupid to only have one person protecting the whole world."

"Angel, your kid's pretty smart." She looked back at Connor. "Thankfully the world has people like your dad that want to do good. People like our friends that step up and do what has to be done."

Connor nodded. "He did tell me about you, though. Cordelia has too. Are you the girlfriend that sent him to hell once?"

"Yeah, that was me."

"Why did you do it?"

"We had a fight and that's how I ended it." Connor's eyes widened and she laughed. "I'm kidding. Well, sort of. Angelus opened a portal to hell with his blood. I was fighting him when Angel got his soul back. To close the portal and save the world, I had to shove a sword through Angel's heart and send him to hell in Angelus' place."

"Why?"

"Cause only his blood could close the portal. I didn't want to. Angel didn't deserve that."

"You loved him."

Buffy glanced at Angel. He was desperately trying not to look back at her. "Still do." She said. "That's never going away."

"If you love him, then you should be with him."

"If only it were that simple." The silence was suddenly too much, so Buffy changed the subject. "How is a sword from the third century conveniently located right here in not-so-sunny Los Angeles?"

"I don't think it is." Cordy said. "I mean, I get the impression that somehow it's accessible from like 100 points all over the world."

"How's that work?" Connor asked.

"I don't know. I just get the visions, not the Cliff's Notes."

"Over there." Wesley pointed to an opening in a wall. "What's that?"

Cordelia walked over with her lantern and stepped inside to investigate. "A way down."

"It's a steep grade down there." Angel said, inspecting the tunnel. "Gonna have to take it a little slow. Watch our steps and stay…." Connor, ever the impulsive teenager, pushed between Angel and Buffy and went inside. "Together."

Cordelia followed after him with Wesley right behind her. Buffy looked at Angel and he shrugged. They went in together with him keeping a hand hovering near her elbow. They made it down the tunnel and Connor appeared suddenly, scaring Cordelia.

"Found something." He announced. Up ahead there were leather strings hanging from the ceiling with little bells attached to them. There were hundreds of strings through the tunnel in front of them.

"Easy. Easy." Angel said.

"What are those?" Cordy asked.

"My guess is holiday decorations left over from some S&M bondage party." Buffy said. Angel jingled one of the bells, triggering a dozen wooden stakes to spring out from the walls. "An extreme S&M party."

"Wood. Why'd it have to be wood?" Angel said.

"We have to pass through the corridor without ringing any of the bells." Wesley said.

Cordelia looked down at her breasts. "Oh, I knew you two would get me in trouble someday."

Buffy glanced down at her smaller ones and shrugged. "Well…." She looked at Cordy. "At least I'm not wearing a push-up bra today." The two women chuckled.

They moved into the corridor, turning delicately through the leather strings. Half way in, Wesley stopped Cordelia from moving. "Cordelia, freeze. Your sleeve." He pulled a bell off that had caught on her shirt, straightening the ribbon so that the bell didn't ring. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, Connor made it through first, then Cordelia and Buffy. Wesley was almost through when he tapped a bell with his lantern.

"Move!" Angel's pushed Wesley and himself to safety before the stakes sprung out.

Buffy caught them and made sure they were upright. They watched the stakes move slowly back into the wall. Angel took her hand a squeezed it gratefully as Cordelia said, "Oh, no!"

Angel looked over and realized what she was seeing. "Dead end."

"Who the hell booby-traps a dead end?" Buffy asked. "That's not ok."

"There's something here." Wesley said, inspecting the wall with his lantern.

Angel moved up to look at the symbols on the wall. "Assyrian?"

"Hebrew. Rashi script."

"Can you read it?" Connor asked.

"Just random letters, one on each stone. Unless…." Wesley pressed a stone and the wall lifted about a foot off the ground.

"This is it!" Cordy cried. "You did…." The wall lowered back down. "You didn't."

"There's a pattern. Hebrew letters have numerical values. Aleph is one. The letter with the next highest numerical value would be…. He. 5." Wesley pressed another stone, but his hand was suddenly pierced by a spike.

"What happened? What happened?" Angel asked.

"He was wrong." Connor said.

"I don't know. I don't know what else…." Wesley said as Cordelia bandaged his hand with a strip she'd torn off her shirt.

"9 stones." Angel said, inspecting the wall again.

"Yes, that's it! It's not their numerical value. These are the first letters of the nine antediluvian patriarchs in Genesis."

"That would've been my next guess." Buffy offered.

"So which one do we press?" Angel asked.

"Aleph was Adam, so in ascending order…. Shin for Seth. That one." Wesley pointed and Angel pressed the stone. The wall lifted again, two feet off the ground this time. And again, it lowered before they could get past it.

"Now what?"

"Kaf for Cainan."

"Which one's Kaf?"

"Maybe that one."

"Maybe? I don't have enough shirt to bandage both of you." Cordy said.

Angel pressed the stone and the wall lifted higher this time. He ran underneath to hold it up and Buffy did the same. "Come on!" Connor, Wesley, and Cordelia ducked under quickly. "Buffy, go."

"On three?" Buffy asked.

"Three." Angel said and he and Buffy dove under, executing perfectly synchronized tumbles.

When they popped back up, they were facing a fork in the tunnel. "Which way now?" Buffy asked.

"Don't look at me." Cordy said. "I'm not a Thomas Guide."

"It was your vision."

"You're the one that's good with mystical weapons. Can't you sniff it out?"

"We should split up." Wesley suggested.

"Right. Connor and Cordy, go with Wes." Angel said. "Buffy and I will take the one on the left."

"Be careful." Cordy said as they split up.

Buffy looked over at Angel. "So, Connor…. I'm guessing that's not normal teenage angst."

"Uh, no."

"Can I ask what it's about?"

Angel took a deep breath. "Cordelia and I…." Buffy stopped and turned around to look at him. "I thought about it, but we never got the chance to get anything started. She and Connor, though…."

"I don't know which of those revelations is more disturbing to me."

"Buffy…."

"I get it. I haven't been here. You've moved on." She turned to start walking again.

"I haven't…."

She suddenly stopped and turned back. "Cordelia?!"

"She's different. Not the same Cordy you knew in high school."

"I don't care! That's breaking girl code! That's breaking first love code and ultimate, soul mate love code! I can't deal with this right now. Let's just find the sword and talk about it later." Buffy noticed a light coming from up ahead and moved towards it. She walked into a large room with stone pillars and a large stone pedestal in the middle of the room. "This has got to be the place, right? Where's the sword? Is it gone?"

"Maybe…." Angel looked at the pedestal. "The light must be coming from somewhere." He reached his hand out over the stone pedestal and it disappeared into a rippling light. The rippling light turned into a spear as Angel reached further inside it. "It's some kind of dimensional hub. That's why the sword can be in a hundred places…. At once." He pulled out a large, shiny sword. "I'd say things are starting to look…." The sphere changed from faint white light to an intense red. The light sphere began to shake violently and sink down into the stone pedestal.

"Bad! They're starting to look bad. Time to go!" Buffy said. The pillars began falling over as the room shook.

Fires sprung up around them and Angel realized Buffy was on the opposite side of the room from the doorway. "Buffy!" He beckoned to her, not daring to leave the room until she was with him.

Buffy moved towards him, but a flaming pillar dropped in her way. She fell back, tripping over some debris and hitting the ground hard. The air was knocked out of her lungs and she gasped for breath, coughing and sputtering.

"Hang on!" Angel leapt over the flames and lifted her up into his arms. Holding her tightly to him with one arm, he jumped back over the pillar and the fire and rushed out of the room. He dropped to the ground with her and held her tightly against him, dropping the sword on the ground next to them. "Are you ok?"

Buffy coughed and worked to get her breathing back on track as he inspected her for wounds of any kind. "I'll live. My ribs might be slightly pulverized, but I'll live."

Angel lifted her shirt up enough to look closely at her bruised ribs. He gasped at the extent of her wounds from the fights with the Turok-Han. The bruising wasn't just on her ribs, it went around to her back as well as up to her chest. He could only imagine what her legs looked like. "Buffy…."

She stilled his roaming hands. "It looks worse than it feels."

"You should've called me. You shouldn't have had to face that thing alone."

"Angel…."

"Look what it did to you!"

"I'm all right. Really. I'm healing pretty fast."

"This doesn't look like fast."

"Well, the last fight with the Ubervamp was barely 24 hours ago, so trust me. This is fast."

"Buffy, I…."

Cordelia cleared her throat behind them and they realized how they must look. They were kneeling close together with Angel's hands up her shirt on her bare flesh. Her hair wasn't exactly smooth and his clothing was a little disheveled from the collapsed room they had just escaped.

"We were just…." Angel started.

"He saved me." Buffy said at the same time.

They dropped their arms and got to their feet. "Got the sword." Angel said lamely.

Lorne, Gunn, and Fred were waiting in the lobby of the hotel when Buffy, Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley walked through the doors. Connor had gone off to patrol the area. He and Angel had gotten into a little spat on the way back to the hotel and Buffy had advised him to go cool off by killing some vampires and/or demons. She had told him that usually worked to calm her down when she was his age.

"Oh my God!" Fred cried.

"I thought you guys might be dead." Gunn said.

"Don't stop thinking it yet." Angel said at the same time Buffy said, "Ye of little faith."

"Is that it?" Lorne asked, gesturing at the sword in Angel's hand.

"The sword of the Bosh M'ad." Cordelia confirmed.

"The slayer of Beast." Wesley said.

"Oh, can I play with it?" Gunn took the sword from Angel and started swinging it around.

"Where's Connor?" Fred asked.

"He went patrolling." Buffy said. "He needed to blow off some steam."

"We have the sword. Now all we need…." Wesley was interrupted by Gunn breaking a table in half with the sword.

"My bad." Gunn said.

Buffy walked over and plucked the sword out of his hands. "Let's not kill anymore furniture in here, ok?"

"All we need to do is locate the Beast." Wesley finished.

"Well, most of my connections have am-scrayed to dimensions a little lighter on the stomping-your-entrails-out." Lorne said. "All I could Kolchak was a rumor of bad mojo rising down in the warehouse district."

"Then that's where we'll start." Angel said.

"Wait." Fred said before Buffy and Angel could head out. "We found some relevant passages in the Paranych Grimoire which we were able to cross-reference with Wo-Pang's, um…. butt."

"Either he's got one hell of a funky mole, or we figure there's only one way to kill the Beast." Gunn said.

"How?" Wesley asked.

"Piercing it's brain with the Bosh M'ad." Fred said.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Angel said.

"What about the sun?" Cordelia asked.

"One good poke in the coconut should take care of that too." Gunn said.

"When the Beast is dead, the energies used to block the sun should be released." Fred added.

"Two things," Buffy said. "One: Are we sure the Beast's brain is in his coconut? And two: What's the catch?"

"Always with the fine print." Cordelia said.

Buffy shrugged. "You know how it is with these seems-simple-enough solutions. There's always a catch."

"An insy one." Fred confirmed.

"It took a whole lot of power to pull off permanent midnight." Gunn said.

"Which will all be released when I kill the Beast." Angel said, leaning against one of the columns in the lobby.

"Or me." Buffy said. "Can't let you have all the fun."

"As far as we can figure from the test, nothing human will survive at that close a range." Fred said. "I'm not even sure that either of you can."

"We'll let you know." Buffy hefted the sword and headed for the doors with Angel.

"Guys, wait!" Cordelia said. "You're not going to fight this thing by yourselves."

"There's no choice." Angel said.

"There's always a choice."

"Not for us. We have to do this. We're the only ones here that are more than human." He sighed. "You made a difference. Each of you. Not just to me, but to the world. We've been pushed to the edge so many times, done things we're sure can never be forgiven, but we're always there for each other when it counts. We've never let the darkness win. And it's not because of the Powers That Be, or the super-strength, or the magical weapons. It's because we believed in each other. Not just as friends or lovers, but as champions. All of us. Together."

Buffy chuckled. "It's really nice to get a break from being the main speech giver. Good job. Let's go find the Beast." Suddenly the Beast burst through the front doors sending shattered glass through the lobby.

"There it is." Angel said.

"That thing looks fun. Let's go kill it."

"I grow weary of your cowardice, Angelus!" The Beast bellowed. "If you will not stand with me, then suffer the agony of my wrath." Its gaze landed on the sword in Buffy's hand. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Go!" Angel yelled as Buffy ran at the Beast. The others headed for the weapons cabinet. "No! Get out of here!"

"No!" Cordelia yelled.

"All of you. We can't do this with you all here." Gunn and Wesley grabbed Cordelia and followed Lorne out of the hotel.

Angel went to join Buffy in her fight against the Beast. She was fairing pretty well, ducking major blows and landing some nice ones of her own. They started tossing the sword back and forth to each other as they tag-teamed the Beast. Angel managed to slice into the thing's arm and it looked down at the cut.

"That stings." It said.

"Not as much as it's gonna." Angel replied.

"We could rule this world. Why do you oppose me?"

"Rain of fire, blocking out the sun, and you just kinda piss me off."

"It doesn't have to be this way, Angelus."

"I'm thinking it does." Angel swung the sword down, but the Beast grabbed the blade in the palm of his hand and broke it in half. It punched Angel in the face, sending him flying across the room. Buffy attacked, but it grabbed her by the throat, squeezing her air off as it lifted her off the ground.

"Did you really think you'd win?"

Connor suddenly appeared and hit the Beast in the arm with a battle-axe. It dropped Buffy and turned to face him. "The boy joins the father and his Slayer whore in death."

"No, in kicking your stony ass." Connor said. "And she's not a whore!" He attacked the Beast, causing it to drop Buffy to the ground.

Angel crawled over to Buffy as she struggled to breathe. She was holding her battered ribs as he made it over to her. Before he could help her to her feet, she reached over and grabbed the sword's broken blade, pushing it towards him. Across the room, the Beast knocked Connor to the ground and then kicked him across the lobby.

"Such arrogance. So much like Angelus." The Beast said to Connor.

"His name is Angel." Connor looked at Angel sneaking up on the Beast with a smile.

It turned around and Angel shoved the blade up through the Beast's head. "Consider your ass kicked." The Beast glowed red and the black magic blocking the sun blew outward. Connor covered Buffy and Angel ducked behind the settee. The Beast turned to dust as the sky outside brightened into daylight.

"Are you ok?" Connor asked, helping Buffy to her feet.

"Yeah." She croaked. "I'm getting tired of bad guys going for my throat though."

Angel walked over and desperately began to inspect her bruises for permanent damage. "Dad, she's ok." Connor said, trying to calm Angel down. "She's pretty tough."

"Thank you for protecting her." Angel said.

Connor shrugged. "I like her. She seems pretty cool."

"She is."

"Cooler than you." Connor smiled at his dad. "I couldn't let her get killed."
"You've got timing like your old man." Buffy said. "You made it just in time."

"Like I'd let you guys take all the credit for saving the world?"

Buffy smiled at him. "Is this you looking to continue the family business of butt kicking champion stuff?"

"Maybe. You guys make it look fun."

"It's not always, but mostly."

Connor smiled at Buffy. "You should stick around. Dad's been different since you've been here. You guys work really well together. It's pretty clear that you're still in love."

Buffy and Angel looked at each other, but before they could say anything, Cordelia, Lorne, Wesley, Fred, and Gunn walked back in. "Connor?" Cordelia rushed over to him. "Oh, my God! You did it."

Angel wrapped an arm around Buffy's waist. "We did it. All of us." Wesley and Gunn exchanged an enthusiastic high five. "Now, could one of you do me a favor and, uh, sweep that up?" He pointed to the pile of dust that was all that was left of the Beast.

Buffy walked into Angel's room to find him staring out the window at the daylight beyond. He turned to look at her as she approached him. Cordelia had given her a wrap dress and a pair of strappy wedges to wear since her clothes had been trashed. Her hair was drying into loose waves down her back from her shower. She was even more beautiful to him than the sunshine outside his window.

"I'm guessing that I've lost too much weight since Cordy and I used to be about the same size." Buffy said, looking away from his intense gaze.

"You have gotten a little thin." Angel said, moving closer to her.

"I'm sorry you can't really enjoy the fruits of our labor." She gestured at the window. "I know it's hard for you seeing everyone so happy after we brought the sun back… Not being able to go out into it and enjoy it too."

Angel reached out and took her hands. "There's no place I'd rather be than here with you." He pulled her towards him and leaned down to kiss her.

"Angel…." Buffy said after a moment. "About Cordelia…."

"It was nothing. We never got started."

"But there were feelings. Feelings were had between you two."

"I missed you, Buffy. When you died, I was lost without you. I was constantly reminded of things I'd done that broke my heart and destroyed me inside and out just to protect you…. To make sure you were alive even if I couldn't be with you. But they weren't enough because you still died. And it was horrible for me. And Cordelia was there. She looked out for me, talked me down from ledges that I never would've gone to normally. She was just…. There. You know?" He shook his head. "What it all boils down to is that…. You're it for me." Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her for a fiery kiss. He started to pull away from her intensity, scared of where it would lead. "Buffy…."

"No. Whatever you're planning to say…. Whatever reasoning or excuse or logic you're about to use…. Throw it away. We're here now, Angel. We're together. Don't we deserve to celebrate just this once? I think we've earned it."

He sighed as he brought her lips back to his. She was right. She was here, now, and he needed her. She needed him. They might not ever get this chance again. He felt her fingers begin to unbutton his shirt between them before sliding her hands up his chest and pushing it off his shoulders. He shrugged out of it before pulling her closer to him.

His lips moved down her neck, gently nipping at the scar he'd left. Her hands felt like fire everywhere they touched and he needed to feel more. He reached for the tie on her dress and slipped it off of her. He took a long moment to appreciate her beautiful breasts and soft skin. The bruises caused him to pause in his appreciation, but she pulled him to her and began kissing him again. The feeling of her naked flesh pressed against his bare chest was almost too much. They tumbled to the bed, Angel on top, as they continued to kiss fervently.

Her hands grappled with the button on his pants as his lips moved down her chest to her breasts. She finally got it undone and pushed the zipper down as he took one of her nipples in his mouth. He groaned as she continued to push his pants as far as she could and got up long enough to slide his pants and boxer briefs off before pressing himself on top of her again. She wriggled underneath him and he realized there was still a barrier between them.

Moving his lips down her stomach, taking care to kiss each bruise he came across, he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her underwear and slid them down. She lifted her hips and he nipped at her hip bone as he tossed the underwear aside. Her voice was a breathy moan as she begged him not to wait any longer.

He decided to oblige her, moving back up her body and pushing himself inside of her. Her legs wrapped around his hips and she urged him to move faster and go deeper. She felt like heaven to him as he moved in and out of her. Suddenly she flipped them and was on top, moving at a faster pace than he had been. He watched her, enjoying the view of her bobbing back and forth. The one time they'd been together before, she had been a shy, seventeen year old virgin. He'd shown her what to do and she'd trusted him completely. Now she was a confident 22 year old taking control and it was absolutely amazing.

He sat up and sucked the skin of her breasts into his mouth as she continued to move, arching her back. Her hair tickled his legs and he flipped them over once more. He kept up her faster pace, feeling them both move closer to the edge. She matched his rhythm with her hips and looked up at him. As they reached their peaks together, eyes locked, he felt the ripping sensation take over his body.

"Buffy!" He fell off the bed, horrified at what was coming. "No! Oh, God! No!"

'The vision becomes reality. It is done."
Angelus opened his eyes to discover he was lying on the table in the cage. He turned his head to see if Buffy was really there, but it was all a fantasy concocted by Angel's mind. The stupid shaman had made Angel's fantasy seem real enough that Angelus was disappointed to see his Slayer wasn't among Angel's little gang.

When he got out of this cage, he was making a stop in Sunnydale.

"Angelus." Cordelia said.

He started to laugh as he realized how much fun this was going to be tormenting the little group.