The Night Remembers - Part 44
By Jill
It was as if a curtain had been pulled from his eyes. The moment Angel
approached the hellmouth he knew. He was absolutely sure he would find
Buffy. It was like the hellmouth was talking to him. Not the way it had
pulled at him before. The pulsing evil was gone. It was hard to believe that
it had been a hole threatening to swallow the whole world only a short time
ago. Now there were only ruins, it was quiet and peaceful.
Angel felt himself chuckle and shake his head in disbelief. Who would've
thought there'd come a day when he could call the hellmouth peaceful? But it
was. And it was the strangest feeling. With the evil energy gone something
new had settled over the place. The vampire wasn't sure what it was, but it
seemed to be talking to him. Quietly, whispering words, hard to understand
at first, but clearer with every passing second.
Like exchanging one pull with another.
This time love was pulling him, the feeling that his other half was reaching
out for him, needing him, searching for completeness that was only found in
his arms. Something had happened to them down in the demon's dimension, in
front of the Gate and maybe the Powers had done their part in it as well.
Something had changed in their relationship, something profound and deep.
They weren't mere people - or non-people - in love anymore. There was
something different. Angel couldn't put his finger on it, he just felt it,
felt as if he was already near her, as if her soul was whispering to his,
and peace settled over him.
A sort of peace he hadn't known before. Belonging. Yes, he thought, they
were meant for each other. They belonged to each other, and he felt suddenly
free for the first time in over 250 years. Even more. He couldn't remember
ever having felt so free while he had been human. He belonged to his
friends, his colleague, to this world and first and foremost to Buffy. How
had he ever been able to leave her - the mere thought seemed so foreign now,
he almost laughed at the absurdity of it.
He closed his eyes, ignored the fact that the others were watching him
intently, in Spike's case speculatively, and let his soul reach out. 'Buffy,
love, where are you? Tell me where you are!'
First there was nothing and Angel was about to try again, when there was
suddenly a faint response. Hesitant and unsure, at first. 'Angel?'
'Yes, love it's me. Can you hear me?'
'Is - is this a dream? Oh God, I'm going to go insane.' There was a hint of
panic in her.
'NO,' he assured her quickly. 'Something happened. At the Gate. I don't know
what, but I can feel you. All of a sudden it seems as if my soul just needs
to concentrate on yours and I can make a connection.'
'Oh,' she replied, stunned for a moment, but recovering quickly. 'You mean
we can communicate without words. Kind of telepathy?'
'Yes. I'm pretty sure. After all it's what we're doing right now.'
'Oh. Well, yeah,' she agreed.
'Tell me where you are', he asked gently.
'I don't know', the panic was back. 'It's dark, and cold, and... oh God,
Angel. Faith is hurt. I... I'm afraid it's pretty bad. She's unconscious.'
'She'll be all right. Buffy, I swear she'll be alright', he promised and
hoped he wasn't lying to her. 'You need to concentrate, love. Please, what
does it look like? The place where you are.'
There was something like a sob, then 'It's dark. God, it's so dark. Like
we're dead already. Only I can hear you in my head.' She closed her eyes for
a moment and suppressed the fear that threatened to consume her. Buffy had
no idea how long she and Faith were where ever they were and now she heard
Angel talking to her. It seemed so real, so true, his beloved voice, and yet
she wasn't completely convinced it wasn't all some sort of weird delusion,
the first stages of insanity. Still, it seemed like it was her only chance
to escape this cold and dark prison and so she pulled herself together. 'I
tried to find an exit. But there isn't any,' she told him. 'Only walls.
Thick, unmoving walls.'
'Wait a moment,' he told her, then turned and looked at his friends. "We
need to make some noise," he urged them.
Xander quirked a brow, "Noise? You're sure, you aren't about to snap?"
Angel narrowed his eyes, "This isn't a joke," he hissed. "Just do what I
told you."
"Okay, okay," Cordelia, sighed, not quite sure what to think of her immortal
friend. He was behaving more than just weird, staring into the night,
closing his eyes, and swaying. Even for a vampire it didn't look normal. And
now he wanted them to make noise? Oh well, why not. I kissed Xander, was
about to date a Brachen demon, she thought, if that's not weird. "What sort
of noise?"
"How about stomping?" Wesley proposed.
"Yes," Angel agreed, then sighed, when he saw the expressions on the others
faces. "I'm *not* going insane. Buffy has to be near by. I want to see if she
might be able to hear us."
"Uh... not wanting to spoil the plan, but..." Willow bit her lower lip, then
said, "How will we know if she hears us?"
"She'll tell me," the vampire replied.
"Okay, that's it," Spike rolled his eyes. "He is nuts. Now he's talking to
invisible slayers."
"Oh, that's so vampire," Anya snorted, giving him a haughty look. "Just
because you can't suck it dry, it doesn't exist. I'll have you know that I
once talked to an invisible guy and-"
"I really don't want to hear it right now," Angel interrupted her, his voice
commanding. "I can't explain it right now, but while we were at the Gate,
something happened. I can communicate with Buffy. Telepathically. You don't
need to believe it, but I need your help to find her."
Before anyone could start to argue, Giles replied, "Alright. I for once
believe you. We all have experienced stranger things. Try to make noise."
And without another word they did. After a minute, Angel demanded them to be
quiet again.
'Did you hear that?' he asked Buffy, his eyes closed again.
'Yes,' there was excitement in her voice.
'Can you tell me on which side the noise was?'
'You are on my right side,' she frowned in the dark, 'at least if I'm
looking into this direction. If I turn round...' she trailed off.
Angel had to smile, 'Just stay where you are and tell me the moment the
noise gets louder or not. Okay?'
'Okay.'
"Angel?"
The vampire looked to his side and saw Dawn gazing up at him. "What?" he
asked gently.
"You're really talking to her?"
"Yeah," he smiled.
"Tell her, I love her, will you?" she pleaded.
Angel took the slayer's sister's hand firmly in his. "I will," he promised.
'Dawn sends her love,' he told Buffy.
'I love her too,' the slayer replied.
"She loves you too," he repeated to Dawn and it had her smiling as well.
'All right, Buffy, we're going to move now. And when the noise comes closer,
tell me.'
'I will.'
The vampire turned to the others again, "Now we have to move and make noises
again, then she'll tell us if we're any closer or not."
"Okay," Gunn gave him a quick nod. He and his friends moved to the right,
banging their weapons to the ground, the others stomping and shouting.
'Yes,' Angel could hear Buffy's voice in his head. 'You're closer now. Even
more closer now,' she said only a moment later.
"She has to be over there, somewhere," the vampire informed his friends.
'And now?' he asked his girlfriend again.
'Yes, closer. Stop!'
"Stop," he commanded. 'What?'
'You're above me. Right above me,' her voice shook with excitement.
"Where are we?" Angel looked around, because having been so concentrated on
finding Buffy he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings.
"Right above the old cellar of the high school," Willow informed him. "Or at
least I think it is," she frowned, suddenly uncertain.
"She's right," Xander dropped to the ground, searching for a door.
"Somewhere there's a door. We spent a lot time down here," he said, his
hands moving over the surface. "Remember when you were infected by those
eggs?" he quickly looked up and grinned at Cordelia and Willow. The brunette
rolled her eyes. Then her they suddenly lit up, "Oh yeah, I remember. I hit you."
"You did," Xander replied chuckling. "And then when the hellmouth opened a
few years ago and those weirdoes tried to blow up the high school - oh,
right, you don't remember that."
"What are you doing?" Giles wanted to know, not understanding what the young
man was searching for.
"The door," Xander said, not looking up, "There has to be a door. I would
bet my new apartment that they're down in the cellar. There aren't any
windows. It's like a tomb."
In a flash everyone was on the ground as well, trying to find the entrance.
"Just so you know," Anya muttered beside her fiancée. "I'm not moving out of
our new apartment, if you're losing this bet or not."
"It was just a joke," he replied, flashing her a grin.
"Really?" she narrowed her eyes doubtfully, "Well, that's good then," she
said finally.
Xander shook his head. She was a strange girl, but by God, he loved her. He
wanted to tell her, felt it had to be this very moment when his hand
suddenly came in contact with something familiar, "There it is," he
exclaimed triumphantly, Anya forgotten for the moment.
Angel was kneeling beside him in a flash, pulling with all his vampire
strength, but still the old iron door wouldn't move. "It would be nice if
someone with supernatural strength would help," he gritted through clenched
teeth.
Only when everyone turned to stare at him, Spike got the hint, "Me? Oh well,
why not?" He was a bit miffed that everyone was talking about Buffy, but
none of them had even once said Faith's name. Not that she meant something
to him, he assured himself quickly, but it would be nice to know if she was
all right.
Together the two vampires managed to pull the door open. Slowly, bit by bit.
'Angel!' he could hear Buffy's excited voice. 'There's light. Oh God,
there's light.' And then she appeared in the doorway, her eyes blinking
against the light. It was still night, but compared to the complete darkness
in the cellar, this was like daylight. "Angel," with this she was in his
arms, holding him, as he was holding her, stroking her back, her hair,
making sure she was really there, and not just his imagination.
Their friends surrounded them, everyone talking at once, happy to have her
back, that she was alive and seemingly unhurt.
"Buffy," Angel's voice was muffled against her hair. But then they both
remembered Faith and pulled back.
"We need light," the slayer told her friends. "Faith's down there and she's
hurt. I have no idea how bad, but she's unconscious. I'm afraid she has
broken ribs, maybe a punctured lung."
Not waiting for the others, Spike pushed everyone aside, "I'm getting her,"
he announced, already disappearing in the hole, "I'm a vampire, I can see
just fine, I don't need a light." With this he was gone, leaving the others
standing.
"Be careful with her," Buffy shouted after him. "Don't hurt her."
"Bloody hell, slayer," he yelled back. "I'm on my way to rescue her, not
hurt her," he sounded definitely insulted. "I'll be back soon. I can see
her. Oh hell, she doesn't look good, we need to get her to the hospital." He
shouted and was already back, cradling the unconscious slayer in his arms.
"We can take Angel's car," Cordelia said, already moving towards the black
convertible, "It's big and comfortable for her."
"Then move," Spike said urgently. "Hell, she loses a lot of blood. I can
smell it."
"Yeah," Angel agreed, holding Buffy's hand firmly in his. "Let's go. Come
on." He slipped behind the wheel, with Buffy beside him, and Spike placed
Faith's head in Cordelia's lap while he himself climbed inside as well. "See
you in the hospital," Cordelia told the others when Angel started the
engine.
"Yeah," Willow replied. "We'll be there soon." And they looked after Angel's
car, hoping that they had found the slayers in time.
... to be continued
By Jill
It was as if a curtain had been pulled from his eyes. The moment Angel
approached the hellmouth he knew. He was absolutely sure he would find
Buffy. It was like the hellmouth was talking to him. Not the way it had
pulled at him before. The pulsing evil was gone. It was hard to believe that
it had been a hole threatening to swallow the whole world only a short time
ago. Now there were only ruins, it was quiet and peaceful.
Angel felt himself chuckle and shake his head in disbelief. Who would've
thought there'd come a day when he could call the hellmouth peaceful? But it
was. And it was the strangest feeling. With the evil energy gone something
new had settled over the place. The vampire wasn't sure what it was, but it
seemed to be talking to him. Quietly, whispering words, hard to understand
at first, but clearer with every passing second.
Like exchanging one pull with another.
This time love was pulling him, the feeling that his other half was reaching
out for him, needing him, searching for completeness that was only found in
his arms. Something had happened to them down in the demon's dimension, in
front of the Gate and maybe the Powers had done their part in it as well.
Something had changed in their relationship, something profound and deep.
They weren't mere people - or non-people - in love anymore. There was
something different. Angel couldn't put his finger on it, he just felt it,
felt as if he was already near her, as if her soul was whispering to his,
and peace settled over him.
A sort of peace he hadn't known before. Belonging. Yes, he thought, they
were meant for each other. They belonged to each other, and he felt suddenly
free for the first time in over 250 years. Even more. He couldn't remember
ever having felt so free while he had been human. He belonged to his
friends, his colleague, to this world and first and foremost to Buffy. How
had he ever been able to leave her - the mere thought seemed so foreign now,
he almost laughed at the absurdity of it.
He closed his eyes, ignored the fact that the others were watching him
intently, in Spike's case speculatively, and let his soul reach out. 'Buffy,
love, where are you? Tell me where you are!'
First there was nothing and Angel was about to try again, when there was
suddenly a faint response. Hesitant and unsure, at first. 'Angel?'
'Yes, love it's me. Can you hear me?'
'Is - is this a dream? Oh God, I'm going to go insane.' There was a hint of
panic in her.
'NO,' he assured her quickly. 'Something happened. At the Gate. I don't know
what, but I can feel you. All of a sudden it seems as if my soul just needs
to concentrate on yours and I can make a connection.'
'Oh,' she replied, stunned for a moment, but recovering quickly. 'You mean
we can communicate without words. Kind of telepathy?'
'Yes. I'm pretty sure. After all it's what we're doing right now.'
'Oh. Well, yeah,' she agreed.
'Tell me where you are', he asked gently.
'I don't know', the panic was back. 'It's dark, and cold, and... oh God,
Angel. Faith is hurt. I... I'm afraid it's pretty bad. She's unconscious.'
'She'll be all right. Buffy, I swear she'll be alright', he promised and
hoped he wasn't lying to her. 'You need to concentrate, love. Please, what
does it look like? The place where you are.'
There was something like a sob, then 'It's dark. God, it's so dark. Like
we're dead already. Only I can hear you in my head.' She closed her eyes for
a moment and suppressed the fear that threatened to consume her. Buffy had
no idea how long she and Faith were where ever they were and now she heard
Angel talking to her. It seemed so real, so true, his beloved voice, and yet
she wasn't completely convinced it wasn't all some sort of weird delusion,
the first stages of insanity. Still, it seemed like it was her only chance
to escape this cold and dark prison and so she pulled herself together. 'I
tried to find an exit. But there isn't any,' she told him. 'Only walls.
Thick, unmoving walls.'
'Wait a moment,' he told her, then turned and looked at his friends. "We
need to make some noise," he urged them.
Xander quirked a brow, "Noise? You're sure, you aren't about to snap?"
Angel narrowed his eyes, "This isn't a joke," he hissed. "Just do what I
told you."
"Okay, okay," Cordelia, sighed, not quite sure what to think of her immortal
friend. He was behaving more than just weird, staring into the night,
closing his eyes, and swaying. Even for a vampire it didn't look normal. And
now he wanted them to make noise? Oh well, why not. I kissed Xander, was
about to date a Brachen demon, she thought, if that's not weird. "What sort
of noise?"
"How about stomping?" Wesley proposed.
"Yes," Angel agreed, then sighed, when he saw the expressions on the others
faces. "I'm *not* going insane. Buffy has to be near by. I want to see if she
might be able to hear us."
"Uh... not wanting to spoil the plan, but..." Willow bit her lower lip, then
said, "How will we know if she hears us?"
"She'll tell me," the vampire replied.
"Okay, that's it," Spike rolled his eyes. "He is nuts. Now he's talking to
invisible slayers."
"Oh, that's so vampire," Anya snorted, giving him a haughty look. "Just
because you can't suck it dry, it doesn't exist. I'll have you know that I
once talked to an invisible guy and-"
"I really don't want to hear it right now," Angel interrupted her, his voice
commanding. "I can't explain it right now, but while we were at the Gate,
something happened. I can communicate with Buffy. Telepathically. You don't
need to believe it, but I need your help to find her."
Before anyone could start to argue, Giles replied, "Alright. I for once
believe you. We all have experienced stranger things. Try to make noise."
And without another word they did. After a minute, Angel demanded them to be
quiet again.
'Did you hear that?' he asked Buffy, his eyes closed again.
'Yes,' there was excitement in her voice.
'Can you tell me on which side the noise was?'
'You are on my right side,' she frowned in the dark, 'at least if I'm
looking into this direction. If I turn round...' she trailed off.
Angel had to smile, 'Just stay where you are and tell me the moment the
noise gets louder or not. Okay?'
'Okay.'
"Angel?"
The vampire looked to his side and saw Dawn gazing up at him. "What?" he
asked gently.
"You're really talking to her?"
"Yeah," he smiled.
"Tell her, I love her, will you?" she pleaded.
Angel took the slayer's sister's hand firmly in his. "I will," he promised.
'Dawn sends her love,' he told Buffy.
'I love her too,' the slayer replied.
"She loves you too," he repeated to Dawn and it had her smiling as well.
'All right, Buffy, we're going to move now. And when the noise comes closer,
tell me.'
'I will.'
The vampire turned to the others again, "Now we have to move and make noises
again, then she'll tell us if we're any closer or not."
"Okay," Gunn gave him a quick nod. He and his friends moved to the right,
banging their weapons to the ground, the others stomping and shouting.
'Yes,' Angel could hear Buffy's voice in his head. 'You're closer now. Even
more closer now,' she said only a moment later.
"She has to be over there, somewhere," the vampire informed his friends.
'And now?' he asked his girlfriend again.
'Yes, closer. Stop!'
"Stop," he commanded. 'What?'
'You're above me. Right above me,' her voice shook with excitement.
"Where are we?" Angel looked around, because having been so concentrated on
finding Buffy he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings.
"Right above the old cellar of the high school," Willow informed him. "Or at
least I think it is," she frowned, suddenly uncertain.
"She's right," Xander dropped to the ground, searching for a door.
"Somewhere there's a door. We spent a lot time down here," he said, his
hands moving over the surface. "Remember when you were infected by those
eggs?" he quickly looked up and grinned at Cordelia and Willow. The brunette
rolled her eyes. Then her they suddenly lit up, "Oh yeah, I remember. I hit you."
"You did," Xander replied chuckling. "And then when the hellmouth opened a
few years ago and those weirdoes tried to blow up the high school - oh,
right, you don't remember that."
"What are you doing?" Giles wanted to know, not understanding what the young
man was searching for.
"The door," Xander said, not looking up, "There has to be a door. I would
bet my new apartment that they're down in the cellar. There aren't any
windows. It's like a tomb."
In a flash everyone was on the ground as well, trying to find the entrance.
"Just so you know," Anya muttered beside her fiancée. "I'm not moving out of
our new apartment, if you're losing this bet or not."
"It was just a joke," he replied, flashing her a grin.
"Really?" she narrowed her eyes doubtfully, "Well, that's good then," she
said finally.
Xander shook his head. She was a strange girl, but by God, he loved her. He
wanted to tell her, felt it had to be this very moment when his hand
suddenly came in contact with something familiar, "There it is," he
exclaimed triumphantly, Anya forgotten for the moment.
Angel was kneeling beside him in a flash, pulling with all his vampire
strength, but still the old iron door wouldn't move. "It would be nice if
someone with supernatural strength would help," he gritted through clenched
teeth.
Only when everyone turned to stare at him, Spike got the hint, "Me? Oh well,
why not?" He was a bit miffed that everyone was talking about Buffy, but
none of them had even once said Faith's name. Not that she meant something
to him, he assured himself quickly, but it would be nice to know if she was
all right.
Together the two vampires managed to pull the door open. Slowly, bit by bit.
'Angel!' he could hear Buffy's excited voice. 'There's light. Oh God,
there's light.' And then she appeared in the doorway, her eyes blinking
against the light. It was still night, but compared to the complete darkness
in the cellar, this was like daylight. "Angel," with this she was in his
arms, holding him, as he was holding her, stroking her back, her hair,
making sure she was really there, and not just his imagination.
Their friends surrounded them, everyone talking at once, happy to have her
back, that she was alive and seemingly unhurt.
"Buffy," Angel's voice was muffled against her hair. But then they both
remembered Faith and pulled back.
"We need light," the slayer told her friends. "Faith's down there and she's
hurt. I have no idea how bad, but she's unconscious. I'm afraid she has
broken ribs, maybe a punctured lung."
Not waiting for the others, Spike pushed everyone aside, "I'm getting her,"
he announced, already disappearing in the hole, "I'm a vampire, I can see
just fine, I don't need a light." With this he was gone, leaving the others
standing.
"Be careful with her," Buffy shouted after him. "Don't hurt her."
"Bloody hell, slayer," he yelled back. "I'm on my way to rescue her, not
hurt her," he sounded definitely insulted. "I'll be back soon. I can see
her. Oh hell, she doesn't look good, we need to get her to the hospital." He
shouted and was already back, cradling the unconscious slayer in his arms.
"We can take Angel's car," Cordelia said, already moving towards the black
convertible, "It's big and comfortable for her."
"Then move," Spike said urgently. "Hell, she loses a lot of blood. I can
smell it."
"Yeah," Angel agreed, holding Buffy's hand firmly in his. "Let's go. Come
on." He slipped behind the wheel, with Buffy beside him, and Spike placed
Faith's head in Cordelia's lap while he himself climbed inside as well. "See
you in the hospital," Cordelia told the others when Angel started the
engine.
"Yeah," Willow replied. "We'll be there soon." And they looked after Angel's
car, hoping that they had found the slayers in time.
... to be continued