Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.
And with this, we begin the Angel/Darla Trilogy, and I'm gonna have so much fun writing these episodes, and going into the reactions.
Hope all enjoy.
Chapter 39- The Trial
The Scooby Gang were sitting and waiting and in about 5 more minutes, their future selves were there.
"Just in time", Xander said as their future selves sat on the other couch that had been conjured back then.
"So you're about to start the 9th one then", Rosenberg said and Buffy nodded.
"Yeah, it was just about to come", Buffy told her.
"Start it then", Summers said as Buffy started the recording finally.
Cordelia and Wesley were hovering around the closed door leading down into the Hyperion's basement, wondering if they should check on Angel, and Cordelia then said she was sick of hearing about Darla, reminding Wesley he was supposed to be a man and talk to Angel about this, to which he said he'd asked if Angel preferred sugar or milk in his tea, as that's what men talked of in England, and then they realized he was coming.
"Well, he is obsessed", Xander commented. "Even if I understand why."
"We've already explained, he and Darla have a deep psychological bond, so once she pushed the right buttons, it lead to this", Maclay told them all.
"What was he doing down there?" Buffy asked.
"Not anything bad, don't worry", Harris assured.
Both of them ran away from the basement door. Cordelia hopped onto a stool behind the counter, looking down at some papers. Behind her Wesley picked up a file and pretended to be reading as the door opened and Angel came out carrying an armful of clothes, the other two realizing he was doing his laundry as he complimented the washer and dryer in the cellar, and the two were surprised he was like that, as Angel apologized for causing them grief in the whole Darla situation, so now he'll just be there for her if she came around, Wesley smiling and telling Cordelia they had tea. Angel said now he'd learnt to let go.
The past version of the gang sighed in relief as Dawnster said. "Looks like we were wrong, he has learnt, and apologized."
"You have much to learn", Dawn said to her younger self, who shot her a look. "Just watch."
Gunn burst in holding a file, saying he'd found Darla as the other two were angry at Angel for lying, and he said he had because he knew they'd nag, while noting Darla was now in The Royal Viking Motel, and he and Gunn decided to go, with Angel grabbing his coat as they walked out, and Cordelia told him they won't enable his addiction with Wesley wondering if they hadn't learnt anything from the tea.
The past version of the gang groaned as Dawn told her younger self. "Told ya."
"He just lied to them about letting go", Tara said, shocked. "He has already started falling."
"Angel, if they were going to nag you, it was because they care about you", Buffy said to him.
"Right now, he's too thrown in the mind to think about it that way", Summers told her. "To him, only Darla matters. He still wants to help her find redemption."
"If he's gonna do it this way, he might throw away his own", Willow said with a sigh.
"You're not wrong", Rosenberg said to her with a sigh. "But you all know how irrational people can get at times."
"Yeah, unfortunately, I can", Willow said with a nod.
Darla took off her cross necklace and put it on the dresser. She put on some bright red lipstick, then hesitated, looking at her reflection. Picking up a tissue, she wiped it back off as a knock sounded on her door. Darla stared at herself in the mirror. A key jangled in the lock and the door opened. Darla turned and saw Lindsey handing the Motel manager some money before closing the door behind him, never taking his eyes off her. "You're a hard one to find."
Everyone groaned as Xander said. "And they've found her already. Is there anything Wolfram and Hart can't do?"
"At this point, I do not think I can think of anything they can't do", Giles sighed.
"Like we said, things are about to get worse", Maclay said.
Darla sat on a chair in Lindsey's office with guards in the background as Lindsey thanked her for coming but she knew there was no choice, and then Holland arrived with a file, saying they wouldn't force her to do anything against her will, but she hadn't even asked for this life. Holland said God never gave a choice in these matters, but she reminded it wasn't God who brought her back, and said there was no point in returning to Angel, as there was nothing between them anymore.
"I don't think that's accurate", Tara said.
"Sell that crap to someone who's actually buying it, Holland", Xander said to Holland.
"He just compared his power over the firm to God's power over humanity", Giles noted. "Sounds like he's also delusional and narcissistic."
"Which, combined with his smarts, makes him dangerous", Summers pointed out.
Holland said this wasn't about Angel but her, as she was their moral responsibility, and handed her the files, Darla looking through them, and was horrified, as Holland said they'd deal with the situation anyway she wanted, but wanted her to know first.
"What is it?" Dawnster asked.
"She was dying, remember?" Willow reminded and their eyes widened. "Looks like they knew it all along as well."
"And didn't tell her till now because they wanted to use her", Rosenberg scoffed.
At the motel, Gunn walked inside with Angel in the doorway as Gunn noted she wasn't here, and Angel said she was up till some time ago due to sniffing her, and then Angel entered, telling the surprised Gunn this wasn't public accommodation so she didn't live here, and then Gunn picked up Darla's cross, saying she probably expected Angel, and then Angel said in desperation people would do what they have to do.
"Tell me about it", Buffy muttered, remembering when she'd tried to get everyone to follow her clearly not very well thought out plan, even though the same plan had led to some Potentials getting killed and Xander losing an eye, just because she had a hunch.
Not that it justified them ganging up on her like that.
"I hope he finds her soon", Dawnster said. "Then they can get over it."
"It's not that simple, Dawnie", Willow told her.
"If it was, it would have been done by now", Maclay said in agreement.
In France, 1765, Angelus and Darla dismounted from a horse as Angelus was angry, Darla pointing out the lynch mob meant they knew about them, and Angelus scoffed they should go to Romania, and Darla reminded in Italy he'd said they should go to France. Angelus said in Romania at least they knew how to treat Vampires, Darla reminding he'd craved French. Darla lighted a lantern as Angelus looked at the dark countryside.
"So when he's evil, he's not sure what he wants", Xander quipped. "And when he gets it, he doesn't want it."
"Isn't that kind of like….kids?" Dawn asked.
"Huh, true", Tara said.
"And funny", Harris added.
Angelus noted the valley was quiet while wondering how Holtz kept finding them, and Darla reminded they stayed in the best hotels, ordered room service, then ate the waiters so people talked. Angelus said Holtz was no mere mortal, but Darla said he was just a mortal Vampire Hunter, and Angelus said he was good enough to drive them into a stinking barn like animals. Darla smirked and said they should behave like animals, and eventually Angelus leaned down to kiss her when a flaming stake whizzed by where his head was moments before and stuck in a wooden post, angering him.
"Whoa!" Xander said. "That was narrow."
"This Holtz…..I have read of him", Giles said, remembering. "A Vampire hunter. He was the most successful non-mystical Vampire hunter in history with over 300 kills."
"Considering he chased Angelus and Darla like that, I don't doubt his reputation", Buffy said.
"He was a bastard", Summers snarled in anger, clutching her fists, surprising the past versions of the Gang. The way Summers had cursed him, it was as if whatever he'd done was personal to her.
"Long story, you'll see later", Dawn told the past Scooby Gang.
Darla sat at a table in a real dive as a Vamp showed off his face, saying he didn't have much luck with women when he was human, though Darla stroked his ego, and he eventually revealed he'd been a Vamp since 1992, saying it was the last century already.
"Yeah, one year ago it was a different century", Dawnster joked. "This guy has no life….literally."
Darla then put her hand on his, talking about a mate, though he said she'd been reading too much Anne Rice, so she asked him to teach her, as she wanted to be made. The Vamp didn't want any commitment so she said he could use her and then discard her without any strings, so he decided to take her to an alley in the back.
"So an idiot, and a pervert", Willow said. "Darla really did pick the right one."
"She didn't survive as a Vamp so many years without a brain", Tara pointed out to her.
Darla dragged the guy out as he asked how she knew he wouldn't just kill her, to which she gave him a hard kiss, and then told him to drink and stop when her heart slowed, exposing her neck, but before he could sink his fangs into her, he dissolved in a cloud of dust, revealing Angel.
"Angel to the rescue", Dawnster muttered.
"I think he just saved her from herself", Buffy said in realization.
"You got that right", Summers told her.
"Guess I understand Darla better now", Buffy said, since in spite of what Darla had done as a Vampire, Buffy was feeling sympathy for her now.
Darla was angry as Angel said he was saving her from herself, and then she tried to walk past him as he stopped her, saying he would never be able to leave her alone if she did this, holding up his stake as he apologized, saying he didn't want it again, but she walked past him, saying she wouldn't let it happen twice, and was now trying to find another place, but Angel told her this wasn't her. Darla reminded she wanted him to do it but he still refused, asking her to give being human some time, but she said she didn't have time. "I'm dying." Angel was shocked as she said. "Yeah. And not some time. Not later. Now. Right now. They showed me the medical files, all the tests said the same thing: I have about two months left, three at the most. So, if you'll excuse me, I'm in sort of a hurry." She turned to go as Angel stared after her.
"After having lived for so long, death would be scary", Rosenberg said to the others. "And it will be painful too."
"I am not sure Angel will be able to save her if she doesn't want to be saved", Giles said.
"Watch him try", Summers said.
"He has saved Faith, and I thought she was beyond saving", Buffy reminded him. "He has a chance to save her."
In France in the past the barn was on fire as peasants surrounded it with torches, while Angelus and Darla talked about an escape plan, and then Angelus said they could go out with a reputation. As he turned back towards Darla she hit him across the face with a 2x4, knocking him down. While he slowly picked himself back up, she hurriedly mounted the horse, hoping he survived this, and if he did, they'd meet in Vienna, then rode out of the barn.
"She just….left him?" Xander wondered. "Weren't they supposed to be lovers?"
"They are Vampires", Giles reminded. "Without souls. They do not love."
"Spike and Drusilla did", Maclay pointed out. "At least up to a point."
"So, all Vampires act differently about this sort of stuff then?" Dawnster wondered.
"Yeah", Summers told her. "Some of them do feel things like love and affection and jealousy, like Spike and Drusilla, others like Angelus and Darla only enjoy the feeling of pleasure and thrill, and would do anything for it, even betray the other."
"Theirs was a complex relationship, but we never said true love was involved", Rosenberg told the past people. "At least not when they had no souls."
"Now that they do, it might be", Willow muttered.
At the Hyperion, Cordelia and Wesley noticed Angel return with Darla, who revealed she was dying, Angel talking about the medical records, though he believed it a trick, but Darla said he just didn't want to believe it, saying they both knew about mind games as they'd played them together. Cordelia said the two were just soulless Vamps while Wolfram and Hart were lawyers, and Angel said this proved that himself and her had just been amateurs, saying he'd prove the firm wrong, and walked off, asking the two to watch over her.
"Denial", Harris said with a sigh. "Now that's a strong emotion, right?"
"Right", Tara nodded. "But they do have a point on Wolfram and Hart being master manipulators."
"But this time, they're telling the truth", Dawn said to her.
Angel assured Darla she wasn't a prisoner before walking off, but then Cordelia said she was a prisoner, Wesley adding they didn't like her much, with Cordelia apologizing for the dying but adding she'd hit her if she tried to escape, Wesley adding on the head, and Cordelia finishing by saying they'd use large and heavy objects.
"Based on her condition, I think a light smack would do it", Willow said with a shake of her head.
"But can't blame them for being cautious either", Buffy pointed out to her.
Lindsey was drinking in his apartment when Angel burst open the door but to his surprise, Lindsey invited him in, and so Angel grabbed him by the throat and slammed the back of his head on the counter top, but Lindsey didn't want to be throttled. So Angel let him go and Lindsey threw several medical files at him, saying he'd used every resource Wolfram and Hart had, and even his own personal doctor- Darla was dying of syphilis, and now that she was human again, she was picking up where she left off. They could have treated it with antibiotics in time, but now it was a month and 400 years too late.
"Lindsey seems to be about as obsessed with Darla as Angel", Xander quipped. "Lawyer boy has a crush."
"Yeah, and he's delusional enough to think it's actually love and that she'd return it", Summers said with a shake of her head.
"At least it brought Angel out of his denial though", Giles pointed out to the rest.
Lindsey said he wants Darla to live as much as Angel does, and Angel realized Lindsey loved her, calling him a schoolboy, and reminded he was with her for 150 years. Lindsey said Angel hadn't loved her, to which Angel said neither of them were capable of it. Lindsey said he'd save her if he could, while Angel can and wouldn't, but Angel said he wouldn't kill her again, and if Darla turned Vampire, she wouldn't be with him, she'd hunt him down for breakfast. That thought made turning her tempting, but he'd find another way, and throwing the files at Lindsey walked out.
"He is stupid if he thinks she'll love him back as a Vampire, especially if we're going by her first time as one", Buffy said.
"Maybe he wants to be snack", Dawnster quipped as all chuckled, the mood alleviated a little.
Darla sat in the garden court outside of Hyperion as Cordelia was commenting about what she'd done as a Vamp to Wesley when Angel arrived, staring at Darla smelling a flower in the court, and walked to her as she said Jasmine bloomed only in the night, and then on seeing his face said it was true, deciding to go, but he blocked her way, saying they'd find a cure, but refused to turn her, and both realized they didn't know what Darla actually needed, till he realized she'd know but needed a little help in finding out.
"What's the help?" Xander asked.
"Take a guess", Maclay told him.
"I think I know", Tara said in realization.
Summers was in a bit of a trance on hearing Darla mention the word 'Jasmine', due to what had happened 2 years later. Was this foreshadowing? Because Jasmine had named herself after noticing these very flowers.
Darla then sat on the stage at Caritas as Angel sat next to Lorne while she sang. "Blow, ill wind, blow away. Let me rest today. You're blowing me no good..."
"Huh, should have guessed", Xander muttered. "And she has a nice voice."
"I know, it makes up for Angel's", Willow said as they all chuckled.
"Hopefully, he can help and then this is done with", Dawnster muttered.
"If only the Universe loved good people that much", Maclay told her with a sigh.
"Should have figured", Buffy grunted.
"So things do not go as planned?" Giles asked.
"No, they really don't", Rosenberg said with a shake of her head.
"How badly, you're about to find out", Harris said.
"Almost don't want to", Tara sighed.
"But have to", Dawn added.
Angel wanted Lorne's help in saving her, who noted he was pained and angry, and Angel reminded the swami was dead and the imposter had tried to kill him, to which Lorne said he was reeling too as Ramone, a world-class bartender, had betrayed him, but was off the menu now, and Angel asked about Darla to which Lorne said to listen to the bridge. "You're only misleading the sunshine I'm needing. Ain't that a shame? It's so hard to keep up with troubles that creep up from out of nowhere when love..."
"She might actually win me over with her singing", Buffy quipped.
"I think I already am", Giles said with a smile.
Lorne was watching Angel watch Darla, and reminded he was supposed to read her, to which he said he was a channel surfer, and told Angel some things couldn't be put together, then asked why he cared so much as she had 400 years, more than most. Angel reminded it was as a Vampire, before that she never had a chance, and then Darla finished her song to big applause.
"Before that, her life was never her own, even as a Vampire, it wasn't always", Willow said with a sad sigh.
"And it still isn't", Dawnster muttered.
Lorne praised Darla's singing before telling Angel a quest was involved and might kill him, but he'd take it so Lorne wrote down an address, saying this would be where they find if Angel is ready to take the plunge.
"So what, that place has a magical cure?" Xander asked.
"Just watch", Summers said.
Angel and Darla walked to an empty pool, Angel remembering the plunge, and eventually he walked to the diving board, taking a deep breath, and said he'd either come back with a cure or she'd see something funny, then he jumped but instead of hitting the bottom he disappeared through it with a blue crackle, then tucked and rolled back to his feet in a dungeon like chamber.
"So he was being literal", Buffy realized.
"It was a bit of both, literal and figurative", Maclay explained to her.
Angel turned to see a guy looking like a butler in a black suit and tie, who said Angel had faith and now they'd test his valor, saying he'd be assisting them with the trials, while Darla also appeared as he confirmed she was the one who needed saving, and said if all three trials were completed, Darla would be made whole, and if he failed, she'd die instantly, while telling Darla she could enjoy iced beverage in the antechamber till then, making her disappear.
"Wait what? If he fails she'll die?" Dawnster asked. "Isn't that unfair?"
"Higher beings", Rosenberg scoffed. "They have their own rules, they don't care about us."
"We are just pawns to be used by them, right?" Buffy asked. "Powers That Be, Senior Partners, it doesn't matter. The Powers That Be may not be as bad as the Senior Partners, but they're clearly not good guys either."
"If they were, you wouldn't be here", Harris said to her.
The butler said the bargain here was life itself and now Darla's was in the balance, when a growl was heard as Angel glanced at the gate in the wall behind him, the butler adding his own was in the balance too, and then told him the trial will have 3 challenges, while also telling him to take off his shirt and shoes, so he did while asking about the challenges, but the butler said he never gave information to a contender, adding he didn't know of the last 2 tests because he'd never seen anyone survive the first, then wishing him luck disappeared.
"And this proves how benevolent the good powers, which is not at all", Summers said with a scoff.
"So no one has survived the test?" Willow asked.
"No idea, he could be lying, or telling the truth", Maclay said to her. "It's hard to understand these people."
"I can see that", Giles muttered.
A gate rose as an ugly yellow Demon with a sword arrived, two chains with sharp hooks at the ends he walked in, and Angel noted he must be the catch. The demon swung the chains around trying to hook Angel, but he managed to avoid them. Then Angel ran up the wall and around the outside of one of the arced doorways ringing the chamber, trying to get by the demon and reach the door. But the demon hooked one of Angel's thighs and dragged him across the floor towards him.
Everyone cringed at Angel being dragged by his thigh, wondering how he'd get through this.
The butler looked at his watch, saying it was 17 seconds, twice the time others had lasted. Darla wanted it to be called off but he said it was impossible now, so she wanted to see what was happening, and he touched her forehead as there was a short flash of light. Angel's head rocked back as the demon hit him and Darla's head moved as well as she flinched. It cut back between Darla and Angel getting hit and it looked like Darla felt every hit connecting.
"She does care about him", Tara said in realization. "She just didn't want to show it, but now she has."
"Guess I misjudged human Darla", Buffy said with a sigh, wondering just how judgmental she could get at times, since both Faith and Darla had proven her wrong.
"We misjudge a lot, don't we?" Summers asked and Buffy nodded. "Maybe we should stop judging, you too, Giles."
Giles didn't say a word, and Summers made a mental note to tell him about what his judgmental nature and stupidity had cost when the time was right.
The demon hit Angel a few more times then kicked him in the side. The demon let go of the chain hooked into Angel's thigh and pulled out his sword. Angel pulled the hook out and caught the sword on the chain then scrambled to his feet. He ran through one of the arced doorways into the narrow corridor circling the chamber. The demon ran after him, but Angel had disappeared. As the demon stopped, Angel dropped down behind him and hit him with a hard right then turned and ran back into the chamber. The demon ran through another arc, but Angel was waiting just inside the chamber beside it and ripped the sword from his grip and cut him across the waist. The two halves fell to the ground and Angel breathed a sigh of relief.
The past version of the Scooby Gang breathed a sigh of relief too.
"Well, that wasn't too hard", Dawnster said.
"Which should ring a bell", Dawn told her, and now they felt their moods plummet a little.
Darla breathed a sigh of relief too and smiled at the butler, but he raised an eyebrow. Angel limped to the doorway, straining against it and asking to open up. He heard a growl and turned to see the top half of the demon hand-walk over to his legs and pull them against his cut as if he was putting on a pair of pants. While Angel, and Darla in the chamber, watched in horror, the two halves merged.
"Oh my God!" Buffy said, rubbing her head. "These people really thought these trials through."
"Now I'm wondering how many were killed after chopping it off", Tara muttered.
"Let's not think of it", Xander said.
Darla flinched as the Demon came at Angel swinging both hooks, but Angel quickly managed to cut him in half again. He hooked the bottom half, dragged it to the wall and looped the chain over a light fixture. Then he dragged the chain wrapped top half to the opposite wall and hung it off another light fixture. The demon growled and twitches but couldn't free his hands from the chains. The gate rose and Angel limped through it.
"Now that was a smart move", Giles said as the past versions of the gang sighed in relief.
"The next two are harder, aren't they?" Willow then asked.
"Much harder, especially for a Vampire", Rosenberg told her grimly.
Darla breathed heavily in the antechamber, calling out the butler but he said he'd not feelings for this contest. The gate came back down behind Angel, leaving him facing a long dark corridor. The ceiling opened to let the moonlight in and Angel saw that the floor and walls of it were covered with crosses in all shapes and sizes. About half way down there was a basin on a pedestal and a door at the other end of it. The butler ate a cookie as Darla asked why not kill him if they wanted him dead, to which he said he didn't want a thing.
"I see what you meant", Buffy muttered to Rosenberg. "At this point, I'm wondering if they really do want him dead."
"No, we all hate Higher Beings, but they do not want Angel dead", Maclay said to her. "This is a fair contest by their standards."
"It's literally designed to kill a Vampire", Xander said.
"She did say by their standards", Harris reminded.
Angel took a deep breath and ran as fast as he could with his skewered thigh along the corridor. Hisses of steam rose with each of his steps as the crosses burnt his bare feet. He passed the basin, giving it a passing glance, stumbled and landed full length on the floor, screaming as the crosses burnt his bare skin. He pushed himself up, burning his hands. Darla flinched, wide-eyed. Angel made it to the door, but it was locked. He turned, limping back to the basin. It was filled with water and there was a key at the bottom of it. "Holy water!" Darla said.
"Holy water", the past Scooby Gang all said at the same time.
"Guess their standards are unfair to Vampires", Dawn said.
"Does look like it", Dawnster agreed, everyone grimacing due to how much pain Angel was going through.
Angel plunged his right hand into the water, screaming as the water boiled around his arm, fishing the key out. His arm and hand holding it looked like raw meat. He made it back to the door and unlocked it. The butler called him remarkable and Darla agreed.
"Remarkable, he is", Buffy agreed with a nod.
"One of the most remarkable ones ever", Summers agreed too. He was flawed like the rest, but he was a great man, and a Champion. A hero.
Angel limped into the next chamber, grimacing with the pain. Chains shot out and manacles clamped around his wrists and ankles then pulled tight leaving him spread-eagled. The butler entered clapping his hands, impressed by how remarkable Angel was, but said there was one final challenge, and rows of stakes poked out of the wall, both Angel and Darla breathing hard as Angel asked if this would work only with his death, to which the butler said death was the final challenge as one life couldn't be restored without taking another.
"She's already living!" Dawnster snapped. "You're just supposed to stop her from dying."
"Calm down, and watch", Rosenberg advised her. "Though I won't blame you if you lose it again."
"This is making me not calm down", Dawnster said.
"Don't blame you", Dawn muttered.
The butler apologized for discomfort as Angel dared him to exchange positions but he said his death wouldn't balance a thing, and then he pulled a lever out, the stakes pulling back, spring-loaded into place as he told Angel to pray to any Vampire deities, Darla begging the butler to stop. Angel asked what he was waiting for, to which he said Angel had a choice, he could refuse and walk, but Darla would die, so Angel refused to deal.
"If he wants to save her, perhaps she is worth saving", Buffy whispered sadly, impressed by how far Angel could go for those he cared about. But then again, she shouldn't be, he'd turned back time so that she may not die in the future.
"She is", Summers nodded. "At least as a human."
"La-Magra", Giles muttered to himself.
"Sorry?" Willow asked.
"The Blood God, he's a Vampire deity, though I doubt Angel's prayers, if he's praying, would do a thing", Giles told them. "He requires 12 Elder Vampires to be sacrificed to him." [1]
"So the Vampire God is as soulless as Vamps, not surprised", Dawn muttered.
The butler said he was beginning to like Angel, and asked if the world was a better place with him in it, since he could save so many people while Darla could barely save herself. Angel didn't answer and Darla had a tear in her eye, and the butler said he could die, while she could live but would stumble and fall, but Angel was still ready to give up his life, looking him straight in the eye. "Yes." Darla licked her lip and swallowed.
"He cares about the one life as much as he cares about the many", Summers said.
"If only more people were like that", Tara muttered.
Angel told him to do it and the stakes were released, hurling towards Angel as Darla screamed. "NO!"
"NO!" Buffy screamed at the same time due to her concern for him, even if she knew he'd survived.
Darla squirmed, her eyes closed. She opened them to see Angel in front of her, once again fully dressed but panting, hunched over, barely able to stand. The butler congratulated him, saying he'd passed the test by accepting death, and none had gone that far before in terms of sacrifice.
"So he was just supposed to accept death?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah, him willing to die for her was all that was needed", Maclay said. "That was enough."
"Guess they're fairer than we think", Xander muttered.
"Don't get your hopes up", Rosenberg said darkly.
Angel asked him to pay up, and he told Darla to use her second chance wisely, Angel calling him 'Jeeves' and telling him to get on with it. Jeeves put his hands on the sides of her head and they both closed their eyes as Angel tried to straighten up so he could get a better view. Jeeves opened his eyes and lets his hands drop, saying this was embarrassing and unprecedented because Darla had already been given a second life, and said he couldn't help them. Angel reminded him of the bargain as he said. "She's living her second chance." The wall shivered and a set of stairs leading up appeared. "But you played the game magnificently." Angel gave him a dark look and Jeeves adjusted his cuffs. "Perhaps you should have told us that she was brought to life - before this all started. I truly am sorry, sir. The fact of the matter is", he stepped back and dissolved, "there is nothing I can do."
"WHAT?" Buffy, Willow and Dawnster exploded simultaneously. "Now he's saying he can't help her?"
"After everything he put Angel through, he pulls this?" Willow asked. "Really?"
"For a Higher Being, he sure doesn't seem to know much", Dawnster muttered.
"Unless of course he knew it all and just had Angel go through all that for kicks", Xander snarled.
"Frankly, wouldn't surprise me", Giles said, adjusting his glasses.
"What do you all think?" Tara asked their future selves.
"Honestly, I'm in agreement", Summers said, shooting the TV a dark look, just like Angel in the recording.
"The Higher Beings have never cared, and never will", Rosenberg snarled.
"We're pawns", Harris added. "They use us."
"Just like they used Angel here", Maclay scoffed in disgust.
"So yeah, the butler probably knew and made him do it for the kicks", Dawn said. "If they'd told him beforehand, maybe he would have said they can save her, and then made some other excuse."
"Wouldn't surprise me", Buffy scoffed. "All of it, wasted!"
"He did try at least", Tara said with a sigh.
"What about Darla?" Xander asked.
"She knows he tried", Summers pointed out to him.
Angel didn't move. Darla called out. "Angel..." Suddenly Angel overturned the table with the refreshments. A demon guard tried to stop him and Angel hit him hard enough to send him flying into a wall, another guard came up and Angel hit him, making him fall back onto the steps, then picked him up and threw him across the room. He picked up an urn and smashed it, then swept all the candles and stuff off a side table, then started hitting his fist over and over against a stone pillar. The hits came slower and slower. Darla walked towards him as stone dust puffed out from where he kept hitting the pillar. Angel's knees gave way and he slid down the pillar, resting his head against it.
No one could comment now, too shaken by the scene, Angel's breakdown getting to them, though Willow, Tara and their future selves understood it best.
To the rest, it was just Angel breaking down because he failed to save Darla, and they weren't wrong, that was true.
But the four of them knew it was also because he'd failed to redeem her, and in turn he realized he may not be able to redeem himself either. The breakdown symbolized him losing almost all hope in any kind of redemption for anyone, himself included.
Angel and Darla were sitting in her dingy motel room, Darla was on the bed, Angel on a chair by the door. Angel suggested. "Maybe it would be different. - We don't know. - Maybe, uh... because, you know, I have a soul - if-if I did bite you..." Darla denied. "No." Angel said. "We don't know what it would do to you." Darla told him. "Angel, I've seen it now - everything you're going through, everything you've gone through. - I felt it. I felt how you care. The way no one's ever cared before - not for me." She gave him a tiny smile. "That's all I need from you."
"She was worth it", Buffy said as a statement as well as in realization. "She…appreciates what he did for her."
"She finally saw what kind of person he truly was, and she even loves him for it", Summers told Buffy, who was surprised.
"She loves him?" Buffy asked.
"The moment she found out how much he cared for her, she began to truly and genuinely love him", Rosenberg explained to them. "No one ever cared for her that way before. She was only used till then." [2]
"If she dies, at least she can die in peace now", Willow said with a bittersweet smile, not noticing the grim looks of the future people.
Darla may have started truly loving Angel, but it didn't last long sadly.
Angel said. "That's not enough." Darla assured him. "It is." Angel asked. "How could the powers allow you to be brought back and dangle a second chance and take it away like this?" Darla was now at peace with herself. "Maybe this is my second chance." Angel asked. "To die?" Darla agreed. "Yes. To die - the way I was supposed to die in the first place." They looked at each other for a moment before Darla turned away drawing a shaky breath. Angel got up and, still limping slightly, went to sit next to her. "I'm not gonna leave you", Darla looked at him trying not to cry, "every moment you have left - I'm gonna be by your side. - You're never gonna be alone again." He draped his, still burnt looking, right hand around her shoulder and pulled her close as she began to cry.
Dawnster actually had tears in her eyes while the rest just watched sadly, the past people, especially, Buffy, surprised by how much they were caring for Darla. Even Buffy got a tear for the woman, feeling bad for her, but wiped it quickly.
The future people grimly thought that Angel had been with Darla every moment till her death…which was just a few seconds away.
Suddenly the door burst open, and a dark clad guy pressed a sparking taser against Angel's side, dropping him to the floor, while two others grabbed a hold of Darla. The first guy keeps tasering Angel, while a fourth taped his hands behind his back. Lindsey walked in, grabbing a hold of Angel's hair and pulled his head up. "How did you think this would end?" Drusilla wearing a low cut, red dress, glided into the room and over to where the two guys were holding Darla.
Now the past people's eyes widened in horror. The last time Buffy had seen Drusilla was when she'd left Sunnydale, heartbroken, and the rest had seen her long before that, never having expected to see her again in present day.
"Oh God!" Willow muttered, she and Tara holding each other as they realized what was going to happen.
"Happiness never lasts long", Harris muttered sadly to the past people, and honestly, they couldn't disagree.
Darla struggled but couldn't get free. Angel watched helplessly as Drusilla morphed into vamp face, brushed the hair away from Darla's neck and bit her. As Lindsey watched, Darla slid down onto the bed and Drusilla sat down next to her. Looking at Angel, Drusilla scratched a bloody line across her breast then picked Darla up and pressed her mouth over it, holding her like a suckling baby, as Angel watched, unable to do anything. The screen went black.
"She…..she did it….looking at him", Buffy snarled lowly, clutching her fists so hard it looked her palms might start bleeding due to her fingernails digging into them. "TAUNTING HIM!"
Pretty much everyone other than the two Buffies jumped at her outburst.
"The bitch", Dawnster muttered.
"Lindsey, you bastard", Xander snarled.
"So, what? He thought she'd actually be with him if he turned her?" Willow scoffed in disgust.
"Considering how crazy he is, I think he did", Tara said, looking grim.
"Just when Darla started taking control of her life, they took it away from her", Giles muttered, actually sad for her.
"Yeah, I want to punch Lindsey, many, many times", Harris agreed.
"Then kick him many times as well", Dawn added.
"Even that's not enough", Rosenberg scoffed angrily.
"Both he and Drusilla took away her life, again, against her will", Maclay said sadly. "Her life really could never be hers."
"And she barely got a chance to make it hers", Summers sighed. "This is why we wanted to watch these with you."
"It's going to get even worse in the next one", Buffy muttered.
"Yeah, Los Angeles is about to go to Hell", Summers told her, though it was figuratively this time, wondering how they'd react to the time it literally went to Hell. "Want to watch right now?"
"No, but we have to", Buffy told her hoarsely, and Summers nodded, as Buffy pressed the remote, coming to the next recording.
This episode was amazing, and it made me an Angel/Darla shipper too, in that under certain circumstances, like if Darla's soul was also returned alongside Angel's, I could see them work out nicely, and I may even do an AU of the whole Buffyverse where both their souls are returned without the happiness clause for Angel.
[1] Just a reference to La-Magra, the Blood God from the 1st Blade film. Since we never got the name of any Vampire deities in Buffyverse, if there were any, I just decided to sprinkle in a reference.
[2] Now this might just be the Angel/Darla shipper in me, but I think the moment Darla saw all that Angel went through and how much he truly cared for her, she genuinely fell in love with him, and it was true love, even if it didn't last long *sighs sadly*
The ending where Drusilla came in was so bone-chilling, and amazingly done.
Anyway, hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!