The Night Remembers - Part 19 - PG-13-version.
By Jill
"Come on, rise and shine," Cordelia stood beside Angel's bed in the mansion,
the keys for the chains dangling from her fingers, while her eyes never left
the person, secured and bound to the bedposts. Buffy sat on a chair on the
other side; Gunn and Wesley were hovering in the doorway while Tara and
Willow were getting ready for their tasks.
The redhead was muttering the lines of the curse under her breath, while her
lover was busy lighting up candles. They were placed in a half circle, four
white and four black, and in the middle there was a red one, that would be
last to light and to extinguish. The moment Angel's or rather Angelus' eyes
popped open, the blond witch began to chant.
"What is this?" Angelus grinned wickedly noticing the chains holding him to
the bed. "You're getting kinky, lover?" he asked, turning his head towards
Buffy. "I really need to say this. You didn't learn a lot since the last
time, you know. That ex-boy toy of yours has got to be a real loser." He
laughed, and evil, hollow sound, his eyes only a depth of nothingness.
"Shut up you scum," Cordelia hissed at him, stepping back. Buffy's face was
an impassive mask. They had told her she should try to keep her cool. The
slayer had just nodded, and then revealed that she was now remembered most
of her times with Angel. She even regained some memories about Angelus. And
now she knew why the vampire was so afraid of his evil self.
"Tsk,tsk,tsk," the demon shook his head, "what choice of words. And that
from the girl who wanted to be someone. Really, Cordelia it sounds more like
a gutter rat." He laughed again when he saw her flinch.
The brunette bit her lower lip. She wouldn't let him get to her. This was
for Angel, she reminded herself, her friend. Angelus was just a temporary
nuisance. A big one for sure, but if Willow's plan worked... She turned her
head, "Are you ready?" she asked the redhead.
"One more minute," the witch replied, sitting down, the Orb of Thesulah
resting on the ground in front of her. Wesley was burning some herbs and
Cordelia wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Oh, oh," Angelus grinned again, that evil, wicked grin, Buffy wanted to
wipe from his face. The grin she remembered now too clearly. "You're going
to try to re-curse me again. Well, good luck. You know it'll all be in vain.
I'm going to get free sooner or later. They're coming and they're going to
set me free forever."
"Over my dead body," Buffy spat. "You're going to vanish into thin air you
twisted bastard."
"Angry, lover?" he taunted. "Oh, come on. We could have fun. Just think what
fun we could have with your stamina and my experience. I could show you
things you wouldn't dare to dream about today. That soul-boy loser of yours
would never do that, too much of a gentleman, that idiot," the last words
were a disgusted snarl.
"I'm not interested, thank you," the slayer replied coolly. "And don't call
me lover. I'm not your lover."
"But you are," he contradicted. His voice lowered to an intimate whisper, "I
know every inch of your body, baby. Just several minutes ago I..."
"You disgusting animal," Gunn shouted suddenly from the doorway, not able to
listen any longer to the demon's vicious taunting.
"Oh, the world's self declared savior," Angelus attention quickly swapped to
the man. "You should've listened to your sister, my boy, you don't know what
you missed. But instead you killed her, didn't you? To put her out of her
misery. You have no idea. I'm sure she enjoyed it tremendously. The
initiation is like nothing else."
The demon in his friend's body lowered his lashes, his whole face taking on
a sensuous expression, showing what he had meant saying the word
'initiation'. And at that something inside of Gunn exploded. He saw Alanna,
sweet, lovely Alanna, with her face contorted in panic, in the knowledge
what would happen to her soon. With a cry of outrage he hurled himself on
chained creature and only after two blows Wesley and Cordelia were able to
restrain him.
"No, Gunn, no," the former watcher's voice was a sharp command. "Don't let
him do this to you. That's exactly what he wants. His only aim is to hurt
people and seeing it work gives him the satisfaction.
"He's right, Gunn," Cordelia held her friend's arm.
The African American shook his head to clear his mind, then nodded,
"Alright, I'm okay." His head snapped around again when he heard Angelus
snicker, and the demon's lip flickered out to remove the blood from his
tongue Gunn's punches had caused.
"Just go," Cordelia nudged him towards the door. "Stay out there. We can
handle this, we're used to it."
"Are you, may queen?" Angelus wasn't one to back down. Not under any
circumstances.
"I'm ready," came Willow's voice. Tara lit the red candle to complete the
protective field and then the redhead began to chant, completely
concentrated and not listening to the demon's foul cursing, his cruel
swearing, his threats.
"Not dead, nor not for the living
Spirits of the interectum I call"
"THIS WILL NOT HELP YOU," Angelus barked. "I'M COMING BACK. AND THEN YOU'LL
ALL PAY."
"Return to the body what distinguishes Man from the beast!
Restore this being's soul"
"I WILL FIND YOU. YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD. AND YOU LOVER, YOU REALISE THAT YOUR
BELOVED SOULBOY WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE WITH YOU, YEARS AGO? AND HE GAVE
IT BACK. WITHOUT ASKING YOU," he shouted, hating the weakness he was
starting to feel. This time it was even stronger than usual. And more than
everything, Buffy's steady gaze on him irritated him. She didn't even flinch
at the words he had thrown at her.
"That which was lost will be found
I implore you Lord, ignore not this request
Not dead, nor not of the living!"
"YOU WILL BE DEAD IN THREE DAYS. AND THEN THIS WORLD WILL BELONG TO US, THE
DEMONS. YOU ARE NOTHING BUT PATHETIC HUMANS, NOT FIT TO LIVE," he shouted
again.
"Let this orbit be the vessel that will carry his soul to him.
It shell be his forever. Not to remove by anyone.
So shall it be!
So shall it be!
Now!
Now!"
The whole room almost shook with the intensity of the spell, the power that
went through the glowing orb, the impact that hit Angel's body, the way his
eyes began to glow with the same light, his sharp intake of breath. Everyone
except the witches gasped, somehow feeling the magick as well.
Then the light faded from Angel's eyes and the same moment a strange wind
blew out the candles, bringing Willow and Tara out of their trance. "Did it
work?" were the redhead's first words when she turned her head and looked at
the slayer.
"We'll know for sure when he opens his eyes," Buffy replied, anxiously
studying her lover's face. Her lover. She made a short mental pause. Yes, he
was her lover now, and hopefully would be from now on. And involuntary smile
lifted the corners of her mouth.
"I don't even want to know what you thought right now," Cordelia slightly
shook her head, but then gave the slayer a smile. Seeing Gunn appear in the
doorway again she smiled at him too. He didn't smile back, his face a mask,
much the same way most people felt when first confronted with a demon like
Angelus.
"Angel?" Buffy's soft voice brought everyone's attention back to the bed
where the vampire's eyelids began to flicker. "Angel, can you hear me?"
"Buffy?" His eyes opened at last, immediately searching for the blonde's
face. "What happened?"
"Everything went well," she informed him, smiling. "You're now in possession
of a safe soul."
He closed his eyes for a moment, emotions threatening to overwhelm him,
"You're sure?" his voice was barely a whisper, the fear and hope in it
almost tangible.
"Yes," Willow said, coming to stand at the bottom of the bed. "It worked. We
have you as a first proof. You don't feel evil anymore, do you?"
He had to grin, it broke out involuntarily, but he didn't mind. "No, Willow.
I feel like normal. I can sense the demon inside of me though."
"Of course you can, it's still there. All right, so that's the first point.
Then the candles. They were blown out. Second proof. Tara?"
"Y-yes," the blond witch came to stand beside her lover. "They
e-extinguished like clockwork. I'm sure it worked."
"It looked very professional," Wesley added, giving his chained friend
another smile. Everyone seemed to smile, Angel realized. It felt good, so
good.
"God, Buffy," his eyes locked with hers. The others were instantly
forgotten.
"Well," Cordelia cleared her throat audibly. "I say this was good work. I'm
going to unchain you now and then let you two... whatever you're planning to
do. But seeing that it's still daylight, I'm pretty sure what this is going
to be." She opened the second lock on her side, and then tossed the key to
Wesley, to finish the task. As soon as it was done, Cordelia clapped her
hands.
Buffy's and Angel's heads jerked around, two pairs of eyes staring at the
former cheerleader. "Oh, good," she smiled sweetly, "you're still in there.
We're going now. Be good, kids."
"Yes, Mom," Buffy giggled.
"Thank you," Angel said, looking from one face to the other, his gaze
finally resting on Gunn. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I never-"
But his friend waved him off, "I know. It wasn't you. Nothing could show it
more clearly. Enjoy your girl," he grinned. "She's a hottie."
"Gunn!" Cordelia exclaimed in mocked shock. "We're going," she repeated and
then ushered the others out of the room. "See you later. We're going to have
some lunch." She was about to close the curtain to his room, then peeped
inside again, rolling her eyes when she saw that the two had already
retreated in their own little world again. "I'm taking your credit card,"
she announced.
She laughed when she closed the heavy curtain for good. Angel hadn't even
reacted to her words. That really had to be love.
*
"How do you feel?" Buffy asked as soon as Cordelia was gone.
"A bit weak, but... good," he reached out, taking her hand, "Really, really
good."
"I love you," she told him with tears in her eyes.
"I love you too," he replied without hesitation. "You're okay?"
"Yes," she nodded, the tears spilling over. "And I remembered more while
we... uh... you know," she blushed delicately, and Angel felt his body
respond immediately.
"What did you remember?"
"All the feelings I had for you, when you left me, all the pain and
heartache and... And I remembered Riley." She saw him tense, and she
squeezed his hand, "It was nothing like that. I liked him. I even wanted him
at certain times. He was comfort, security, and peace. But he wasn't you. He
will never be you. Nobody could be you," she said and leaned forward to kiss
him.
"Nobody," it was like a vow from his lips. "Nobody can be like you. Being
with you makes me whole, Buffy. Loving you is such an extraordinary
experience."
She saw the awe in his voice and felt a shiver running through her body.
"Maybe," she whispered, "we shouldn't waste time talking. Maybe we should
just show each other. You know, test Willow's magick."
He chuckled, "You're insatiable, Miss Summers."
"Uh-huh," she grinned, "Slayer stamina, you know."
Wrapping a hand around the back of her neck Angel pulled her against him and
with a shriek she landed on top of him, laughing with pure joy, a sound that
made his undead heart weep with the sheer power of emotions. "Angel," she
gasped when his hands made their way down her back.
"You really shouldn't have bothered with dressing," he all but growled,
making her giggle against his neck.
"Well, I thought you might not like having Wes and Gunn staring at me the
whole time." She giggled again, when the growl increased. "Or Angelus making
nasty comments."
He stilled instantly, all playfulness forgotten, "Did I... Did he say
something? I'm still not quite clear."
"He said a lot alright, but he can't hurt me, Angel. I know it's not you.
Although I always feel the urge to pummel him," she joked.
A flicker of pain was her response and before he said the words she knew
what he was thinking. "Gunn did," he said, touching his lips with his hand.
"He's okay, Angel. He was the only one who hasn't seen your evil self
before, well, Tara hasn't either, but Angelus wasn't interested in her. Gunn
is your friend, but Gunn knows you aren't the same," she tried to assure
him.
"I truly hope so," he replied. "I can't believe it really worked. I was so
afraid, Buffy, so afraid to hope," he whispered.
"I know," she said, stroking his cheek, "I love you. I want to make love to
you."
These were the last words spoken in the bedroom.
... to be continued