A/N: So I'm back, with a new chapter thats a little bit longer than the last! I hope you all are enjoying this because I'm really having a great time writing this. I'm doing my best to really capture what everyone's feeling and what I think they would say/do and I am loving all the feedback I'm getting. Reviews are like the air I breath, I swear. Anway, happy reading to you. Stay tuned for an update very soon.


Carpe Noctum

Chapter 8

"Of course. You are the only living person to ever re-ensoul Angel." Wesley realizes, a light of hope blazing in his eyes.

"So you really think you can pull it off?" Cordelia asks anxiously.

"Putting his soul back? It's the first spell I ever learned. I'm not gonna forget that." Willow replies matter of factly.

"Yep. Our little Willow got Angel's soul back the last time. It was an out of body experience really. Right Cordy?" Xander attempts to laugh but the chuckle dies at his lips and Cordelia shoots him a benevolent shrug.

"What about the Muo-Ping?" Faith points out. Isn't that what the issue is anyway?

"The jar holding Angel's soul? Therein lies our boneage." Willow says unhappily.

"Stolen right from our safe. And if we can't get the soul out of the jar, we can't put it back in Angel." Gunn tells them.

"Yeah, question is: how do we get the soul out if we don't know where the jar is?" Xander questions, looking toward the others.

"And apparently, the thing's impervious to magic." Wes adds.

"Yeah, I know already tried a standard locator spell while Faith and Buffy were slaying the beast, but zero joy." Willow sighs motioning toward Fred who nods in agreement.

"Right. Plus, Wesley's shaman says there's no way to extract the soul from a distance." Cordelia tells them with barely contained triumph.

"Soul trapped in a glass jar, impervious to magic. It is complicated." Willow nods, biting her lip in concentration.

"Tough nut to crack." Cordelia agrees, definitively more cheerful as everyone silently mulls over how screwed they are.

"Wait a minute, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Willow suddenly shouts, barely able to contain herself.

"I doubt it." Cordelia mutters darkly.

"We just break the jar. That way we don't have to magic the soul out. We just break the glass around it!" Willow exclaims eagerly.

"Remarkable." Wesley compliments as Willow starts to bounce with excitement.

"And then Angel's soul is still released into the ether, and—and there's something called Delothrian's Arrow. We don't even need to know where the target is. This is fantastic! We're gonna get him back." Willow tells them confidently, her face finally resembling something of a smile.

"Alright. I'm going to go tell Lorne and Dawn." Conner tells them before taking off up to Buffy's room. Wesley and Willow break off to discuss the logistics and gather the ingredients.

"I thought Delothrian's Arrow was used to protect good magicks." Wesley questions as they sift through the items Wesley has with him.

"It is." Willow confirms sorting out what she might need.

"So, how can you use it to break the jar? The Muo-Ping is a sacred object. It's holy." Wesley reasons and Willow shakes her head.

"It's glass, therefore crunchable. The sacred's what's inside. 'All life a container…'"

"'...For the heart of all life.'" Wesley finishes, impressed. "You've studied the Daharim."

"It had to be something specific. There's lots of jars in the world—can't shatter them all. I mean, you could, but good things come in jars. Peanut butter, jelly, those two-headed fetal pigs at the natural history museum." Willow looks to Wesley for a response and sighs when he doesn't. "Come on, everybody loves fetal pigs."

"Sorry. I think my sense of humor's trapped in a jar somewhere." he takes a deep breath and leans against the edge of his desk tiredly.

"We're pretty much all that way, right now. But it does seem like you've given in to the grumpy side of the force." Willow agrees and he sighs.

"A lot's happened. Not just Angelus. I've been—I've changed. I've seen a darkness in myself. I'm not sure you'd even begin to understand—" Wesley starts but Willow interrupts. "I flayed a guy alive and tried to destroy the world." she tells him.

"Oh. So…" Wesley stands upright and looks away.

"Darkness. Been there." Willow confirms, going back to sifting through ingredients.

"Yeah. Well, I never flayed...I had a woman chained in a closet." he says shamefully and Willow puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey." she says comfortingly and he shakes his head.

"That doesn't compare." he insists and she gives him a sympathetic smile.

"No, dark. That's dark. You've been to a place." she agrees and his head tilts in confusion.

"You seem exactly the same as when I left. No other major changes I'm not up on?" Wes wonders and Willow shrugs indifferently before her mind flashes to Tara. She blushes and clears her throat.

"Just little things. So, uh, orb of thessulah?"

xxxxxxx

The area around Buffy and Angelus is shifting again and they find themselves in a donut shop, disco music plays in the background as Angel walks in.

"Bring on the pain!" Angelus rolls his eyes as Angel moves past him and Buffy to the jukebox and selects a song. He bobs his head a little to the music and Buffy smiles.

"Mandy, huh? Must kill you he's got a love for the power-ballads." Buffy jeers as Angelus slides into the other side of the booth she's sitting in, swatting at a buzzing sound he keeps hearing. She still can't help but smile as she thinks about it. It's just another piece of the puzzle that is Angel.

"Worse were the concerts." he complains just as him, Buffy and Angel catch sight of a couple that walks past. Angel quivers in desire, for more than one reason. "You know what that's like? Every time he gets close, I feel it. Wanting to tear their flesh apart. The hunger. It's like a blade in my gut." Angelus moans as Angel sits down at the counter and orders a coffee.

"Only, it's not your gut, princess. Angel's the one that belongs on the outside, not you." Buffy says intensely focusing her gaze on Angel as her features soften. She wishes she could have known him longer, known more about him. They could have talked about stuff, like maybe her love for history, which she discovered after he left. He could have told her things text books could have never told her. It would have been nice. Well at least she'll get to know a little bit about him before she goes on and she guesses that's enough for her.

The clerk pours Angel a cup of coffee as he tries to recover from his temptation and Angelus turns to Buffy.

"You think it's that cut and dry, don't you? That if Angel gets his soul back—"

"When he gets it." she corrects automatically. Because she doesn't even have to think about it. Angel will get his soul back. She has no doubt.

"You'll just hang up your spurs and ride off into the sunset knowing you put the monster back in his cage. But," Suddenly Angelus is gone and Buffy's eyes search everywhere for his face before he suddenly whispers in her ear. "I'm always here, Buffy. Deep in." he says breathily, hovering over her. He wants to reach out, touch her or strangle her neck. He hasn't decided on which yet, maybe both.

The bell over the door jingles and a man walks in distracting Angelus and Buffy from their little chat.

"Hi. Can I help you?" the cashier asks pleasantly and the man pulls out a gun from his coat.

"Gimme your money. Gimme the cash in the drawer." he screams shooting up toward the ceiling to prove he isn't afraid to shoot the man.

"Oh. OK…" the cashier stutters nervously as he turns to the register.

"Open it!" the robber yells and the cashier fumbles as he pushes the button.

"Oh, all right. I, uh—"

"Come on!" the man shouts again and the cashier winces as he does his best to fish for the key to the register somewhere in his pocket.

"I, uh, I just need to…"

"Now!" the robber shouts, pulling the trigger and watching the bullet sail through the air and hit the cashier in the chest.

"It's gonna be OK. I'll get you to a hospital. You're—you're gonna be OK. All right? It's—everything's gonna be—" Angel kneels beside the clerk as he whimpers and he does his best to apply pressure to the wound but the blood continues to flow and stain his hands.

"It hurts." the cashier cries and Angel nods pityingly.

"Yeah, I know."

"Doc, I think we're losing him. God, I love this episode!" Angelus mocks before swatting at the air again in annoyance. "What is that buzzing?" he asks the air. Anyone. Its pissing him the hell off. More than he already is, and that's pretty hard for a vampire who's stuck with a slayer in his own personal hell.

"God, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Angel mutters as the clerk takes his last breath.

"So, who's your big hero now?" Angelus wonders smugly turning to Buffy for her answer. Lets see her weasel soul boy out of this one.

"Wasn't even his fault. God, does Angel have to pay for everything?" she shakes her head and stares at Angel woefully. She's reminded of when Angel almost killed himself and she wishes he could have happiness, even if it couldn't be with her.

"Choices, little girl. The ones you make with your heart of hearts." Angelus drawls as Angel starts for the door. His hand falls onto the handle but he stops and looks back toward the clerk. He locks the door and turns back to the cashier. "Uh-oh. What's gonna happen?"

Buffy takes a deep breath and braces herself with wide eyes as Angel makes his way back over to the clerk. Silently praying.

"I'm deep in, lover. Soul or no soul." Angelus whispers huskily, leaning in and ghosting his fingers against the length of her neck while Buffy watches with wide eyes. Angel vamps out and lifts the clerk nimbly in his arms.

"Angel!" Buffy shouts shooting out of her seat to stop him, but to no avail. Angel sinks his fangs into the clerk's neck and drinks. Buffy's neck starts to throb and she presses her hand down on the curve of her neck to stop the bleeding.

"He was going to save him." Buffy says disbelieving, backing away slowly as Angelus directs a smile her way.

"Or did he choose to be a little slow on the draw? Whoops! Dinner by armed robbery. Look at him, Buffy. You didn't think my hell was private, did ya?"

Buffy feels tears stream down her face as Angel screams.