CHAPTER ONE: THE END OF HIS WORLD
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Joss
This
takes place after the season 5 finale of Buffy and season 2 finale of
Angel. I cannot wait 4 long months to
know what happened so I decided to write one myself.
*
Refers to thoughts of either Angel or Buffy
I
live for feed-back so please send any to twinstar_dust@hotmail.com
Enjoy!
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The noise is deafening.
It is all around him, he cannot escape.
Looking down upon the city while leaning over the edge of the building
Angel cannot help but compare the people he saw as ants, drones to a
never-ending purpose. All working as a
whole but lost when it came to any sort of individuality.
*Look
at these people going through their lives as if nothing happened. Never realizing that they might never have
experienced another sunrise if it wasn't for her… She sacrificed her very life for them and they never knew
it. She was never thanked for her
sacrifice and never will be. Everyday
life will go on without her and no one will care. Only a handful of friends and loved ones will morn the death of
the world's saviour. *
THUMP…CRASH
Angel
looks down at his hand and never realized that while thinking he unknowingly
hit his fist against the side of the building in anger. He looked at his bruised and bloody fist and
didn't feel a thing. He hasn't been
able to feel anything since the day he found Willow waiting for him at the
hotel.
***
He
was on cloud nine after he and Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia came back from another
dimension. After facing the demon
inside himself and being able to control that dark side of himself, he began
thinking that he can finally let go of the fear that he kept to himself all
these years. Even if he was cursed with
a soul he never was able to face that side of himself that made him not
human. But he actually saw the
reflection of his human self and that dark being he kept in the shadows and he
was able to keep the two apart. He was
able to convince himself that indeed he had worth, that he was part of humanity
and not what he feared…He 's not an animal.
He
opened the doors of the hotel with new vigour that he hasn't felt in
weeks. He was about to proclaim his
victory and claim the new realization towards his redemption when he saw
Willow's face. Her face was swollen
from the tears she had cried and her eyes were glistening with tears that she
hasn't shed yet. But he knew…he knew
from the depths of his being that the world will never be the same again.
"Buffy
it's Buffy…"
Later.
Angel
was blankly looking at the wall while Willow chokingly retells the story. Cordelia putting her arms around her
ex-classmate as a sign of comfort and support.
He hears everything as if he is in a dream. Willow's words are echoing in his head.
*
Please if there is a God. Let me wake
up. Let this all be a bad dream. Please this cannot be happening. She is supposed to be safe. She has a higher purpose. I sacrificed my happiness…and hers… for our
destiny. How can she be gone? *
"Buffy
saved us…she saved the world. Glory is
an actually God. An evil god vanished
from her dimension. She was searching
for the Key, which was to open the portal between our world and hers. We were fighting her because the opening of
the portal would have caused the destruction of our world. We found out that the Key was actually Dawn,
Buffy's sister. We tried
everything…even Spike helped out."
Willow
slowly starts to cry openly again.
"Willow,
it's alright just take it slow" Wesley says trying to comfort her.
"Glory
didn't stop until she found the Key and Buffy was not going to lose her
sister. She fought with all her
strength, she honed in all the training she had done. You should have seen her she was terrific. Yes she showed weakness but at the end she
overcame them to save the sister who wasn't really her sister after all. It didn't matter to her…or to us Dawn was a
part of our lives and we were going to defend her. We were winning…by working together we all gave 110%. My wicca powers are stronger than they ever
were and Xander, Anya, Spike were just as incredible. We were working as a team.
But it was not enough…"
"I
guess just the fact we are here today…that you guys won…right?" Cordelia questioned.
"Well
yes but we paid a really high price.
Our goal was to get Dawn back before Glory started the ritual to get the
portals open. We almost made it but
some of Dawn's blood was shed and it started… The division between the
dimensions were collapsing…the only way to close it was with blood…Dawn's
blood. I think Buffy realized what her
visions were about, what the first slayer told her. Dawn was made from her so both of their blood was one and the
same…"Willow sobbing again had to stop and drink a glass of water. Her hand trembling as she reached for the
glass that Gunn placed on the coffee table for her.
Blankly
staring at the wall Angel's eyes hold all the emotions that he is
repressing. He has not moved since
Willow started her tale about why she was there. If anyone looked into his eyes
they would have wept from all the emotions his eyes held.
"Buffy…she
jumped…right into the vortex. The pain
that she suffered must have been horrendous.
I just hope that it didn't take long…She did it for Dawn…and all of her
loved ones. She sacrificed herself for
the world. I can't believe she is the
same person that doubted her calling of being the slayer. At the end she became the person we all knew
she was…a hero."
Willow's
voice slowly ends in a whisper. The
room is in total silence. Angel could
hear every ones' heartbeats and slow intake of breath. It was deafening to his ears. He felt as if the walls were closing around
him and that the floor was giving way.
He has to escape …he had to run.
"ANGEL!
Wait…"
Angel
ran and he kept on running. If he had
breath in his body his lungs would have been burning before he stopped. He looked around and he realized that he ran
across town. He was on top of a hill
overlooking Los Angeles.
He
looks down at his hand where he wore a ring.
He has never taken it off. He
gave Buffy an identical one for her 17th birthday. It seemed so long ago but at the same time it felt just like yesterday. It was during a time before everything
happened…Before he became Angelus (his former un-souled self); before he was
sent to hell by Buffy, to save the world (as usual); before they found out they
could never be together; before the sacrifices they both made; before the day
that was taken back where Angel was human again and Buffy was finally by his
side. He sacrificed their happiness
because the Powers That Be foretold that by staying human the strength of the
warriors of destiny were cut in half.
He needed his vampire powers to help Buffy fight evil in the world. But at the end Buffy was still dead…was it
all a cruel joke? They can never
win? They scarified living normal lives
and for what? Buffy was still gone…
*
Buffy cannot be dead. She is the
sunlight in my life. She is the purpose
of my redemption. I have worked so hard
in regaining my humanity so that I could be with her. We both fight the evils of this world without any recognition
except from a handful of friends and family.
Normalcy is a word that never passes through our lips but we go on and
survive. This cannot be happening my
soul feels empty and I'm lost. She is
gone and I feel darkness covering me. *
Angel
looks up towards the sky and he can smell the day coming. It will be sunlight soon and he didn't
care. He raises his arms towards the
sky and yells.
"BUFFY!"
He
closes his eyes and waits…He waits for the end and hopefully they can finally
be together even in death.
"Angel…no
you can not let it end this way. You
are a hero and hero's don't die like this…"
Angel
opens his eyes and turns around. He
heard a voice…Buffy's voice. Nothing is
there except a sudden warm breath that caresses his face. He inhales and shock registers on his
face. That scent…it belongs to her…it
smells like warm vanilla.
"Buffy?"
The
breeze stirs up again.
"Beloved
you can not end your life like this…not even for me. You are a honourable warrior.
You will tarnish my memory and the love we have for each other if you so
this. Live…please…live for me…and one
day we will be together at last."
"How
can I live without you in my life? I
feel so empty and I no longer have a purpose."
"Your
purpose is still the same. The things
you do are not for me…they are for you.
You need to feel human again and by doing good deeds you get closer to
your goal. Your wish …will be granted
one day. I hoped I would have been here
to see it…But now I'll just be happy to know that it will happen."
"Buffy
please I want to be with you"
"You
will be someday…but just not right now.
Be strong…Live…"
The
breeze suddenly stops as it suddenly came.
"Buffy?Buffy?"
The
smell of vanilla clings to Angel's clothes and in a way he knows that Buffy
will always be by his side.
Angel
looks towards the sky again and says to the wind, "Sorry not today…I still have
battles to face…"
He
turns around and walks towards home but in the back of his mind he wonders if
things will get easier or will there be a burden on his soul forever. He has lost a part of his soul and he still
feels as if it's the end of his world…
To
Be Continued