Title: Of the Night
TV Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author: Beloved Slayer
Rating: T
Summary: Can Buffy and Angel's love survive their brutal destiny in a hellish dimension and get their happy ending? Sequel to Last Kiss.
Author's Note: Warnings: The tone for this sequel will be more darker than its' predecessor. Other warnings may include the fact that Angel will be acting a bit cold towards Buffy, and we all know what happened to him after when he returned from hell; the sudden change in his personality, etc. When it comes to writing these stories, sometimes a perfect song that goes along them have the tendency to appear in my head, so my song suggestion for this ficlet is Together Complete by Finnish metal band To/Die/For, as I think the lyrics fit well with the dark theme here. The song is available on Itunes if anyone is interested. This wasn't intended for be lengthy for a one shot, but these things happen, ha. Probably not my best one shot; I know sometimes my stories can be a bit crappy, but I'm pretty pleased with it either way. All feedback is welcome. Enjoy.
Chapter One
Since their arrival seven days ago, she had scarcely noticed something that was meretriciously out of place before her lifeless eyes: The sun never shone, nor did it ever rise. Its' existence was very much non so; just an idea that was planted in their minds in order to escape their torturous reality, to believe that there was a certain hope lingering somewhere in their world, or the next. At least that was what they were told, albeit quite frequently. In their new residence, Buffy had quickly discovered that hope itself never lingered, only darkness and despair.
The non existent sun was replaced by ominous bleak clouds that obscured the sky, onyx stars blinking faintly against it, their presence unnoticeable even to the demonic eye among the countless slaves and drones.
The thought of never having the chance to see the golden rays flash above a cloudless, piercing blue sky was forever lost to the Slayer and her vampire. It caused a tear to brim in the corner of her eye as she mourned its' loss, a pit of despair settling in her bones for she had also realized that she would never be granted a chance to see her beloved under that radiating golden orb, nor the dazzling, breathtaking smile that he had once adorned in their previous life.
Since their arrival, that smile had vanished, as if some cruel force had stolen it, along with his iron will and inner power as a fellow protagonist against the forces of darkness. It was as if the light that burned brightly inside of him had been reduced to dimness, leaving a fragile, agitated shell of a man in its' place.
At this, she carefully placed her bruised hand underneath her lover's, holding on tightly as if she naively yearned for him to give to her a semblance of comfort and safety, but also for her to do the same; an attempt to give him back the brilliance in his eyes, to replace the void that were now shone in them constantly.
She glanced hopefully towards his shadowed chocolate orbs, noticing the same expressionless, bleak fury glistening in them as she had in the other fellow slaves. He harshly shook her hand off, inching away to avoid her touch at all costs.
Her heart broke at the sight, but to her misfortune, she was quickly being accustomed to his newly developed cold behavior. But still, it didn't prevent her from the need to break down.
"What's happened to you? You never used to be like this. It's like you're not the same person I used to know. Not since..." Buffy quipped with emotion, her lips quirking into a frown as her hand stubbornly reached out for his again. She felt calloused fingers slapping against her fragile hand, leaving a welt strewn across the skin.
"What do you expect Buffy? We've been here for how many years now? Five, six? When it was only just a week ago. You can't expect me to never change. It's not all sunshine and rainbows in this dimension you know. We have to keep adjusting," Angel queried coldly, a step ahead of her, his shackles clinking against his bare feet and hands that were matted with healed cuts and various other wounds.
Buffy took a step back, mouth agape. In spite of the expression flitting her face, Angel continued. "You had a choice. You could've stayed in Sunnydale. No one forced you to come here with me. I told you not to, but you didn't listen, did you?"
Buffy balled her hands into fists. She had the urge to inflict violence upon him, but she suppressed it. Tears welled in her eyes, but anger was rising to the surface to counteract the hurt that continued to rise within her. "Don't you think I don't know that? I knew the risk. And I chose to be with you. I was willing to suffer for it," she seethed.
"You made a stupid choice is what you did. I should've just let you kill me. It would've made things so much easier. Now you're here as a slave to these demons; all because you wouldn't let me go. Whatever else happens to you here will be entirely your fault because I won't be responsible for your continued suffering," he snarled, his body hovering over hers as she cowered back in fear.
I'm afraid of him. How did that happen? It couldn't happened, she thought weakly. But the truth of the matter is, it was, but it didn't stop the acid tone from spilling onto her next words. "How can you even say that? Don't you even care anymore? Don't you care…about us? Or have you given up already? Does it matter that I still love you? That someone still cares so much for you that she's willing to die for him?"
"Who gives a damn! Feelings are not important in this dimension. I could care less about how you feel about me. I don't exactly feel the same for you anymore," Angel muted, unaware that his icy words had caught the attention of a heavily muscled vampire slave trader several feet away, his hands branding a cackling whip.
"You two, quit your sniveling and get back to work!" He ordered, approaching them. Angel stood in front of the Slayer as a shield, his face transforming to that of his vampiric trademark. "And what if we don't want to?" He quipped, the wool sack covering his body moving with grace.
"Angelus, my oh my. We had this discussion before. If you don't obey the rules here, we'll kill you. Simple as that. Same with your Slayer."
"You can kill her all you want, but you're gonna have to deal with me first." With the words leaving his mouth, Angel bravely threw a uppercut punch that connected against the trader's double chin, his head thrusting between his shoulder blades. "Angel, what are you doing? Don't be stupid. He'll kill you!" Buffy scowled, both frustration and worry etching her voice in spite of his words.
"Why should you care whether I live or die? This is my fight. Now leave, before I hurt you."
"Are you crazy? You know I'll never leave you. I can't leave knowing that you'll get hurt. I can't just stand here and let you die. I don't care what you've just said. Just please, let me help," Buffy pleaded in a low voice, reaching for his hand.
Angel quickly snatched it away for the third time, his attentions focusing on performing a low kick towards the trader's kneecaps that sent him reeling, trembling against a large pile of remains that had formerly belong to previous slaves.
"I said no. Why won't you listen?" Angel snapped. It gave the trader enough time to recover from the attack before Buffy could respond, his large hands wrapping itself against Angel's neck, constricting it. From afar, Buffy could hear the terrible sounds of his neck beginning to dislocate from his spinal cord.
She knew in an instant that if nothing was done, Angel's neck would break, his undead life signaling his end, and the image of his death would burn in her mind forever. "Let him go you bastard!" She shrieked angrily, jumping onto the trader's back, circling his neck with her arms, pulling his heavy body towards her, but it was to no use.
In an instant, Angel's head was upward, his eyes penetrating angrily at her, and a loud snap broke the silence that permeated the slaves' room. It was as if everything was running in slow motion. Buffy dropped to her feet as the trader tossed Angel's cold, lifeless body aside with ease and carelessness.
"No, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening. Oh God. Please don't let him be dead. Please don't let him be dead," Buffy pleaded silently, tears spilling onto the floor, shifting her vision as the trader looked on, laughter now filling the room. "Say goodbye to your lover boy, Slayer. You won't be seeing him for a very long time."
She ignored his taunting, scurrying towards him, cradling his unmoving head into her lap gently, her fingers gliding through his unkempt hair as her body bowed to place a kiss to his forehead, sorrow and regret marring her face. "Angel. Damnit, why did you have to do this? Why? You can't leave me here you idiot. You just can't. Please, come back. I need you. Please don't leave me. I've beg of you. I can't be here alone."
Then the unexpected happened. Tugging his body closer to her, Buffy's body was wracked with pleas as sparks of light circled around her, lifting her as she disappeared from her hellish domain, leaving a slaw jacked trader in shambles.
~~~~/
Sunlight streamed down her face as the scent of grass and cherry blossoms filled her nostrils. Sitting up quickly, she felt a wave of dizziness enveloping her, blurring her vision. She eyed her surroundings, rows of gravestones alerting her that a familiar cemetery was her temporary occupation. Her stomach then fell into an unavoidable pit as the events of the past few minutes brought itself forth into her mind.
Angel's death. His cruel words. The way he had snapped at her. Would there be a tombstone in dedication to him regardless of what he had done to her? To the impossibility of the two lovers' reconciliation? Would she never see him again? Had she lost her chance to forgive him?
Most importantly, would they ever be able to reunite? The questions were beginning to frazzle her mind. She pulled herself to her feet when she spotted a gravestone to the left of her, carved out of white marble with Angel's name etched in calligraphy across the setting.
Here lies Angelus. Date and birth: Unknown. He lived and died for those he loved.
She fell abruptly to her knees. Fresh tears began to spill, slipping onto the freshly cut grass as she thrust her palms angrily against the gravestone, willing to break it into halves.
"What am I supposed to do now? Damnit. Why this? How come I get to be here? He died, and I'm here, breathing. It was my fault, my mistake. I was angry at him. I was too stupid to do anything to protect him. Blame me." She cried at nothing.
She curled herself into a ball then, shielding herself from a few passersby until she mutely sensed a recognizable presence closing in, kneeling beside her as they took her head into their lap. Her eyes were closed.
"You mean I get to die, and maybe, just maybe, get the chance to be resurrected and live the rest of my life human? Sometimes even you can't see the forest for the trees, Buffy. But that's what I've always loved about you," Angel chuckled from above, lowering his head to connect his warm lips against hers, their tongues intertwining.
She rose to her feet, throwing her arms around him, burying her head against the crook of his neck, unaware that her hand was pressing against his beating heart. "Don't you scare me like that! I thought you were dead. For a few minutes, I thought a part of me died when you did," she whispered, relief and joy overwhelming her to the point where it felt as if her heart was tearing for the second time.
"Buffy, the only thing you did was setting me free. When you mourned for me, they listened. They heard you. Angelus died, but my soul survived, so they brought me back to live out my life as a human, albeit a supernatural one, in order to help you continue to fight the Hellmouth. A distraught Slayer in a hell dimension would had brought the world into chaos, and they knew they couldn't allow that to happen. So they decided to reward you."
"They brought me here? The Powers?"
"That was part of the reward. And now you finally get to see sunlight and me together. It was what you been wanting," Angel grinned. All traces of anger, bitterness, and emptiness were swept away from his face.
They stood to his feet, Buffy's arms still circling around him. "I'm so sorry, for everything. I didn't mean by what I've said," he continued. "I know. And I forgive you. Let's just forget about that, try to deal, and move on." A chaste kiss to his lips, then their hands intertwined, holding on with brute strength.
Even the hell dimension couldn't damper the bubble of happiness that the Slayer felt. She glanced at the sun's rays filtering down, illuminating Angel's beautiful features. Another trail of kisses developed between them, their minds and hearts too immense in the moment.
Buffy smiled, knowing that her longtime wish of witnessing Angel basking in the sun, as a human, had finally come true. But most importantly for them, they were given that second chance to begin anew after all.
For once, Buffy threw a smile towards the sky, silently thanking them. "You're more than welcome, Slayer," a female voice whispered in the wind. Seconds later, it faded, leaving Buffy and Angel to their devices. "So, what do we do now?" Buffy asked warily. Angel pondered for a second, then responded with another question.
"What do you say to...becoming my wife?"