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Never Let Me Go

Chapter 2

Xander Harris was shaking in fear. After getting Giles out of that dreadful place he had stumbled down the road, flagged a passing car and asked the driver to get them to the hospital as fast as he could.

But he couldn't let Buffy deal with this alone, and so as soon as he checked Giles into the hospital, he had rushed back to the mansion; he couldn't hear any fighting, or shouting. This could mean one of only two things, either Angelus had killed Buffy, or Buffy had killed Angelus.

He always thought of himself as a glass-half-full kind of a person, and was severely hoping for the latter. So, thinking positive thoughts, and squaring his shoulders resolutely. Xander took a deep breath, opened the front door and stepped into the hall.

He saw them in the middle of the room, their arms wrapped around each other. He was about to step forward and help Buffy when he suddenly noticed Angel's eyes; they were full of tears. Then he noticed the swirling portal behind them and his eyes widened. He noticed Buffy's arms wrap around Angel's torso and hold him tight. He saw Angel try and push her away.

That's when he finally realised what was happening.

Buffy and Angel were being pulled towards the portal, and Buffy wasn't letting him go. "No," he muttered to himself in shock. He took a step forward just as there was a blinding flash of blue light and Angel and Buffy were pulled into the portal. The light faded and the first thing he noticed was Acathla, looking exactly like a normal statue again, the sword one again buried in its chest.

He started forward, walking across the room towards the demon. He heard a soft crunch under his foot and stopped. Lifting his foot off the ground he looked down and noticed two silver rings, he frowned and picked them up. Once he got a closer look he froze, he would recognize Buffy's ring anywhere, she and Willow had talked about it a few times, and she had never taken it off. The other, slightly larger but identical ring he presumed was Angel's.

Angelus had kept the ring on, turning it around and using it as a reminder about everything the demon hated about the soul, and the blond Slayer. He swore and curled his fist around the two rings. Ducking his head he shook it frantically. Buffy was in hell…and it was all his fault.

(v)

Hell, Day One.

The first thing she heard was screaming. Harsh, pitiful cries of pain. The second thing she heard was the sound of her racing heart, beating frantically in her chest.

She took a deep gasping breath, and that's when she realised that the painful screams were coming from her own throat.

She stopped as soon as she realised what she was doing. Sucking in another quick lungful of air she tried to open her eyes, before realising they were already open. It was pitch black, making no difference at all, she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. "Angel…. Angel?" she gasped, shifting around slightly, trying to sense him.

She heard a muffled groan from within the darkness and turned her head. She reached out blindly, searching. Moving her hand back and forth frantically. She sat up, and clutched her head as the sudden movement brought forth a wave of dizziness. Gritting her teeth she inched forward, dragging herself along the hard, rocky ground.

Finally, after a few minutes of frantic sobbing she touched a piece of leather. Crying out happily she shuffled forward, grabbing at his arm and gripping him tight as she moved closer. "Angel," she whispered again, her voice cracking again as she sucked in a deep breath.

"Buffy?" he croaked, his voice a harsh grunt that was full of pain. She heard him groan softly and hiss as he tried to muffle the pain his movements toward her caused. She sniffed and started to cry as she pulled him towards her.

"Ahh!" he screamed in pain. She felt him stiffen in her arms as his wounds scraped against the rocky, dirt floor.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she whispered as she hugged him. His whole shirt was sticky and matted with drying blood, the sword was gone, buried in Acathla's chest and keeping the portal to this dimension closed. But the wound was still bleeding sluggishly. She grabbed his shirt and started ripping at it blindly, tearing strips and tying them around his chest to make a pressure bandage.

He groaned again and reached for her, grabbing at her thighs and waist and clutching her close. "Buffy…." he moaned again, "what happened? I can't remember…" he trailed off, "I can't remember."

"Shhh…." she whispered, raising her palms and cupping his cheek. She pulled his face up towards her and kissed him softly. "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter ok, I'm here now."

Angel kissed her quickly, clinging to her desperately, with all the strength he could muster. After a few minutes Buffy pulled back reluctantly. She took a deep breath and then laughed shakily. "I can't see a thing," she muttered softly.

Looking around carefully, he found he couldn't see anything either. "Neither can I," he admitted as he shifted his weight restlessly.

Buffy felt him move away from her and heard a shuffle as he slowly got to his feet. She followed his lead, reaching out to grab his arm. She stretched the other hand out, moving it back and forth in front of her face, trying to feel anything. They moved around like that for a little while, shuffling forward slowly over rough rock and soil. Finally Buffy's palm touched a rough, patchy surface and she almost jumped out of her skin. "There's a wall here," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

She felt Angel move, his shoulder brushing against hers as he placed his hand beside her. "Hmmm…a cave?" he muttered. He moved slowly, keeping his hand on the wall as he walked forward. Buffy kept her hands on his arm, not wanting to lose him as she let him lead them through the darkness.

"Can you see anything?" she asked quietly as he lead them forward.

He is silent for a couple of seconds. "Maybe, come on," he whispered quietly. She felt his hand move out from under hers and he grabbed her palm. He held it tightly pulling her forward. It's slow and painful, Angel stumbles every few steps and he grits his teeth against the pain. Buffy continues to look around frantically, trying to see.

Time passed with no meaning; they could have been wandering for hours, or even days. Neither of them was sure.

Finally Angel stopped, surprising them both as he uttered a soft. "Oh."

"Angel? What is it?" Buffy asked quietly, looking up at him, just making out the faint outline of his nose. Of course, she thought.

"I can see," he whispered, with a smile.

Angel turned his head back around. "We're getting close," he murmured. They started walking again, and few minutes later the light is even brighter.

Buffy could finally make out Angel's features. She increased her pace, walking beside him now, glancing up to look at his face.

He felt her eyes on him and looked down. Buffy sucked in a startled breath, blood was flowing down his face from a cut across his forehead but that wasn't the only thing that was different. His eyes were dark and haunted; she could see his pain and distress. She sniffed and swallowed painfully, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

Still holding hands, and walking a little faster they turned the last corner of the tunnel.

The light blinded them, they raise their hands to shield their eyes. Angel's eyes adjust first and he takes a step forward, his eyes widening at the horrifying sight that welcomes them. His mouth drops open, and behind him he hears Buffy gasp in shock. He swallows painfully, and reaches out blindly toward his Slayer. Buffy clutches his outstretched hand, pulling it to her chest and moving toward him until she is pressed against his side. They are both shivering in terror, holding tight to one another as they looked down into the valley below.

They are standing at the entrance to a very large cave. Taking a step forward, towards the rocky cliffs edge Angel looked down, and then up. The cave was set deep into the rocky face of a large mountain range. High above them towering black peaks rise high into the sky, which is blood red. Dark clouds gather in the distance as lightning flashes and crackles across the sky. The moon shone brightly from the east.

Far below them, in the valley, fires burned brightly, devouring everything in their path. Forests of large dead trees stretched for miles and miles, not a living thing in sight.

They were the only ones.

Buffy closed her eyes in pain. "So this is hell," she murmured.

Angel wrapped his arms more tightly around her and buried his face in her golden hair. A single tear rolling down his cheek.

(v)

They made their way down the side of the mountain. The hard jagged rocks cutting into their palms, ripping their clothes and skin, making them bleed. When they got to the bottom of the slope they stumbled and fell, both of them weak from blood loss.

Down in the bottom of the valley the air was thick with smoke and ash; it clogged the air making it difficult to see, and breathe. Buffy started to cough, so she ripped her shirt and tied a strip of fabric over her nose and mouth.

They walked and walked, the soles of their boots quickly burning and falling away from the hot, and sharply jagged ground. They walked through the dead forest, the trees bending in all around them. Buffy stumbled and slumped against the nearest tree. She brought a hand to her mouth and coughed again. Angel stopped and quickly moved to her side, he pulled her into his arms, lifting her up and carrying her as he resumed his trek through the valley.

When Buffy had finally stopped coughing, and calmed down she leaned her head against Angel's shoulder. The vampire was silent; his chest was aching, both from the wound, and with the knowledge of what he had done.

He remembered now, the rush of warm, human blood through his dead veins, the sound of Jenny's neck snapping under his fingers, of Giles screaming as he broke his fingers… it had all come back to him as he and Buffy made their way down the mountain.

He started to shake. Buffy shifted in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "It's gonna be ok," she said softly to him, "we're gonna be ok"

He stopped and set her back down on the ground, shaking his head and stumbling away. He put his hands over his face and sat down on the ground abruptly, turning his face away from her. Buffy bit her lip and stumbled over to him, she wrapped her arms around him as she knelt down beside him.

He leaned into her warm embrace. "I remember," he whispered, "I remember what I did…" he choked on the last words and turned away again, unable to deal with the look on her face.

She is silent for a few seconds, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "It wasn't you Angel" she told him softly, "it wasn't you."

Angel shook his head mutely, unable to voice his thoughts. He didn't agree with her at all, he knew what he had done; he felt the thrill and the pleasure as he killed and tortured. But he kept silent; he couldn't bear to see the look on her face when he told her the truth that the demon would always be a part of him. He took a deep breath to calm himself and turned towards her, he hugged her, pulling her towards him, crushing her body against his. He leaned his head down on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

Buffy bit her lip and ran her hands through his short, dark hair. He was worrying her, he had never acted so distressed before, he was always so in control. She swallowed and looked around her. They were kneeling on the hard rocky ground in the middle of a dead forest.

In the middle of hell.

She started to shake and clutched him tighter. Maybe Angel has a right to be concerned she thought to herself.

(v)

Sunnydale

Xander sat on the couch in Giles living room, wringing his hands together as he looked around at the others nervously. Willow was sitting on the ottoman across from him, a bandage across her forehead. Oz perched on the armrest, his arms around her shoulders.

Cordelia stood behind them, her arms crossed over her chest, tears streaking down her cheeks. Giles sat on the other ottoman, his hands bandaged and broken. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "Would you mind saying that again," he asked softly, unable to believe what Xander had just told him.

It was dark now; soft moonlight was filtering in through the open window. Xander looked away and cleared his throat loudly, shifting in his seat. "Buffy," he told them again, "she…she followed Angel, into hell."

"You mean Angelus," Cordelia whispered softly, wiping at the tears on her cheeks.

Xander shook his head. "No. It was Angel," he told them forcefully. He turned towards Willow, his eyes showing his sadness. "The curse worked, it was Angel." He shook his head again and looked down at his hands resting in his lap.

"You should have seen him," he said softly, choking back a sob. "He was trying to push her away, but she wouldn't let go, and then…and then they were gone," he muttered softly.

A feeling of dread crept up Willow's spine and she shivered. She looked around at the others, noticing the stunned looks on their faces she knew was also on hers. "Buffy's in hell?" she gasped softly, her voice raspy and full of tears.

Xander nodded quickly, refusing to look up at his best friend. Cordelia shivered and ran her palms over her arms. Giles looked down, took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose with his bandaged fingers.

"Good lord," the librarian muttered under his breath.

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A/N: Thank you to all the lovely support and reviews. Next chapter will be up tomorrow.