Summary: Starts off during "Becoming", goes AU from there.
When the final showdown between Buffy and Angelus takes place, Willow is still in her coma. Like the hero she is, Buffy manages to kick Angelus' ass and save the day before her untimely demise. But with both Buffy and Kendra dead and the Hellmouth without a guardian, will it finally be the Apocalypse?

Authors Note: This story is written by me and a good friend of mine who goes by faithslayer89. All the even chapters are written by her, and the odd ones written by me. This is the first time the two of has have collaborated on a story together so tell us how we do. Please send feedback. Enjoy!

Prologue: Slayerless

I don't like dis, Kendra thought, her insides squirming. She was getting majorly bad feelings, and her Slayer instincts told her something was going to happen. Something bad.

"I should 'ave gone wit Buffy, Mr. Giles," she said aloud, as Willow began to prepare for the ritual that would re-ensoul Angel. "Sometin' about dis jus' doesn't feel right. I feel like dis is a trap."

"Buffy can handle herself," Giles assured her. "We have to concentrate on the matter at hand."

"'Sides," Xander spoke up, "if any of Angel's vampire buddies show up, you'll kick their asses." Kendra nodded curtly and resumed her routine of patrolling the exits out of the library. She was still unsure of how to act around boys, and Xander's quirky nature made her doubly confused.

After what seemed like an eternity of tension, Willow announced that she was ready and took her place upon the table. Xander, Giles, Oz, and Cordelia helped her with the ritual, while Kendra kept an eye out for any unwanted visitors.

"Nici al morte, nici al finite," Giles read aloud.

"Not of the dead, nor not of the living," Willow intoned. "Spirits of the Interregnum, I call." Though the curse would probably save them and the world, Kendra tuned out the words and focused solely on sensing her enemy. A terrible feeling was building inside of her. It would happen, soon. So very soon...

Now! Her mind yelled. The feeling intensified to its climax and she sprung into battle-mode, as the screams and shouts of the Scoobies erupted around her. She could hear crashing sounds, but her only thought was to kill the vampires. She took out the first couple fairly quickly enough, and managed to pry one off of Giles. She could see Xander and Willow among the stacks, and had no idea what had happened to Oz and Cordelia. She threw the vampire through the window of Giles office and disposed of him, too.

She hurried back into the library, as several more vampires came in through the school hallways, with Drusilla bringing up the rear. They encircled her, but it quickly became clear that the fight would only be one-on-one. Though she knew of Drusilla's mental unstability, she knew not to underestimate the vampire's fighting skills. After all, her sire was Angelus himself.

And then the battle commenced, with more hair-pulling than Kendra would have preferred. And just as she thought, Drusilla was putting up a good fight, matching her blow for blow. Her heart hammered in her chest and she relished the adrenaline rush that a truly satisfying fight gave her. But the rush quickly turned to fear and desperation as the vampire gripped her throat.

No! Her mind screamed. No, fight dis! Yuh can't give up like dis! Yuh have people yuh must fight for!

Her mind tried hard to fight against Dru's hypnotic powers, but soon, it was as though a foggy blanket had covered her, dimming and distorting every sight and sound. Kendra felt lightheaded and calm, as her body began to relax. She was brought back to reality with a horrible stinging pain on her neck. She clamped a hand in vain to stop the flow of blood from her severed jugular.

NO!

Then, darkness.

"No friends, no family, no hope," Angelus taunted, his voice sounding irresistibly soft, the same way Angel used to speak to her, to comfort her... Her eyes closed in defeat and loss. "Take all that away, and what's left?" He thrusted the blade at her. Her hands came up with Slayer-speed and caught the blade an inch from her nose.

"Me." She pushed it back towards him and heard the satisfying crunch of his nose breaking. She dove for the second sword and resumed the battle, more hyped up than before.

He's going down, Buffy swore to herself, jumping to avoid getting her legs cleaved off. He's not Angel, just some evil, twisted mockery of him. Her eyes drifted onto his, and for the smallest fraction of a second, she thought she saw a glimmer of the man she loved.

Ms Calendar, Kendra, Willow, Giles, she reminded herself. He's responsible for everything that happened to them. Kill him! But that small fraction of a second was all Angelus needed. He stabbed at Buffy, but managed to only catch her in the arm as she dodged his blow. He, however, wasn't so lucky.

Buffy ran him through with the sword she held, feeling nothing but despair. She should be elated, she knew. She'd stopped him from removing the sword from Acathla and Xander had gotten Giles to safety. But all she could feel was grief as she pulled Mr. Pointy out from her boot. Angelus was struggling to remove the sword embedded in his chest, biting his lip in pain. He was hunched on all fours, blood coating his shirt and hands. The sight of him like this was almost too much for her.

He's not Angel, we've established this. No matter how much he looks like Angel or talks like Angel, he's not Angel. Stake his ass and be done with it. Standing over him, Buffy brought the stake down. So she was surprised when Angelus countered her attack. He swept her legs out from under her and brought her down to his level. She tried to stake him, but he easily snapped her wrist. She winced in pain and knew at that moment that she wouldn't live to see her friends again.

Angelus looked into Buffy's eyes and saw the loss, the grief, the sadness -and most importantly, the fear. The fear of knowing that she would die, and that she couldn't do anything about it. He grinned evilly and picked up Mr. Pointy, still grasping her good hand tightly.

"The Slayer impaled upon her own stake," he said softly. "Don't you just love the irony?" She could feel the sharp wooden tip pressing into her chest. "Hey," he whispered into her ear, "think you'll go poof, too?" Angelus plunged the stake into Buffy's heart, and her eyes widened in pain and shock. "Guess not," he said, and tossed her aside.

Buffy's breaths became shallow and uneven and she clutched her heart desperately as blood flowed freely. Consumed in her own pain, she spared no thought for Angelus, who was doubled over on the floor in pain.

"No!" He shrieked. "No! I won't go back! I won't! This is my afterlife now! NO!" Buffy cried out softly as death overcame her. She felt eyes on fall upon her in the growing darkness and a pair of strong arms hold her.

"Buffy? Buffy? Wha- What happened? I don't-" Angel inhaled sharply, an involuntary action that popped up from time to time. The memories of the past months filled his mind like a video on fast forward. The tape abruptly stopped when it came to Buffy. He could see himself killing her slowly, and could feel himself enjoying it. "Oh, God, no," he murmured, as though saying it would make it a reality. "Oh, God, no. Buffy..."

"Mmmm?" Her heartbeat was so faint and her breathing was so shallow it was practically non-existent. Still, with enormous effort, she managed one last glimpse of Angel's horror-stricken face and smiled peacefully. "Angel," she murmured, the name lingering on her lips. She felt a sense of calm overtake her. Angel always had that comforting effect on her.

She was glad that he was Angel again. She couldn't understand why he was crying. He was back by some reason she'd rather not wrap her mind around right now and they were together. Who cared if she was expelled or her mother kicked her out? Angel was back and that was all that mattered.

Why the hell are you crying? She asked, laughing it off like it didn't creep her out. That's when she realized she could barely move her mouth. Angel placed a cool finger to her lips and shushed her.

Oh boy, that's never good. ...Loss of motor functions, mind...drifting. ...Okay, yup, it's the dying thing again. Didn't we go through this before? Ugh, where's Xander when you need him? ...No, but I didn't...drown. I...was...stabbed. Angel -no, Angelus- stabbed...me. So...I'm dying. And again with the dying thing. Whoa, deja vu. ...Never...good. ...I...I...love you...Angel...my love...

"Buffy!" Angel screamed, holding the body of his dead love. You killed her, he thought wildly. The woman you loved, you killed her! I killed her! Oh, God, what have I done?! "BUFFY!"