"Angel? Dawn?" Willow called as she and the Buffybot came into the Summers' house.

"I'm here." Dawn said.

"Where's Angel?"

"Where do you think? He's still up in his room."

"I'm worried about him. He's been locked up there almost all summer."

"Willow, my sister, the love of his life, his fiancé, died. How would you be?"

"I see your point."

"Exactly."

"The only time he comes down is to go get blood and help us fight every now and then."

"I come down to watch Dawn too. Dawn needs me." Angel said.

Both girls jumped and turned to find Angel on the stairs. He was haggard looking. His hair was longer and unkempt and his clothes were always rumpled. Surprisingly to everyone, the shadow of a beard was there. The dark circles under his eyes were deep and made his chocolate brown eyes look almost black. He wasn't as buff as he'd been, but he was still in great shape. After Buffy's funeral, he had moved into Joyce's old room to get away from the Buffybot. He hated the sight of her sometimes. Willow had programmed the Buffybot to act like she loved Angel to keep the façade that the real Buffy wasn't gone going. The only flaw was, Angel hated her.

"Hurry up and get her hooked up." Angel said. "I can't stand the sight of her."

"Angel!" Buffybot said hurt. "I love you sugar bear."

"No you don't. You can't love. You're a machine."

"That's not very nice. Why do you mock me like that?"

"Why do you mock being the woman I love? Anyone can see you're not the real her. And why the hell am I arguing with a stupid robot? All I did was come down to get some blood." Angel went into the kitchen and sat at the breakfast bar. He knew he shouldn't be so mean to the Buffybot, but he couldn't help it. The woman he loved was dead and her friends were acting as if the machine was really her. Angel laid his head on the countertop and let the tears come.

He didn't know how long he had been crying when a knock sounded through the house. Angel stood and wiped away his tears. A girl about Dawn's age, maybe older, stood there. She looked like a punk rocker with long, curly, dark brown hair with red highlights. A barbed wire tattoo stood out around her right arm. Her back was to him and she had on a shirt that showed her lower back. A Japanese symbol was tattooed on her lower back. When she turned and smiled at him, Angel could see her pierced tongue.

"Hi! Is this Buffy Summers house?" she asked sweetly.

"What do you want?" Angel asked.

"Geez! Aren't we the grump? My name's Lita Maria Cortes, the Vampire Slayer. Is this where Buffy lives or not?"

"You're a Vampire Slayer?"

"Yeah. And you're Angel. My Watcher told me all about you and Buffy. I think it's romantic. So, is she here?"

"She's.. asleep."

"Oh. Well, I guess I can come back later when she's awake. Seems funny to me that she'd be asleep right now. It's so early in the night."

"She did her patrol for tonight."

"Good for her. Ok, well.. I guess I'll come back tomorrow or something."

"Wait."

"Yeah?"

"Why are you here?"

"My Watcher told me that this is the Hellmouth. Where all the demons come to party. She said Buffy lived here too. The current Slayer. Too bad about Faith though."

"Faith?"

"Yeah. The Watchers Council assumed she was the one that died because Buffy's still alive and here I am and no ones heard from Faith."

"How old are you?"

"17. How old are you?"

"248."

"Right. You were made in 1753, right? Formerly known as Angelus the Scourge of Europe. You got your soul back in 1898 and then again in 1998 after losing your soul to Buffy on her 17th birthday."

"How do you know all this?"

"I study."

"In three months, you learned all this?"

"How did you know that I've been the Slayer for three months?"

"My contacts told me that's when Bu.. Faith died."

"Oh. Wow. You have contacts! That is so cool!"

"I'm going to bed."

"You're a vampire! Why would you do that now?"

"Because I'm tired. Goodnight."

"Night!"



Two nights later, Angel sat in his room brooding and thinking about Buffy. He had avoided the place where she was buried. Everything in him wanted to go to her, but not his heart. Angel was afraid that if he went to her, his heart would burst. Three months without her had been complete hell. And it was only going to get worse. Especially now that Lita was in town. She had come by again right as Dawn, Angel, and Buffybot where going to parent/teacher day at Dawn's school. Dawn and Lita hit it off great. Buffybot fooled Lita easily because Lita had never met the real Buffy. They hit it off too. Angel on the other hand wasn't as sociable. Lita had left and gone to meet everyone at the Magic Box. Apparently, they hit it off too. Everyone loved Lita but Angel. Lita was the reminder that Buffy was really gone.

Four times in the last three months, Angel had dreamed about Buffy. They had talked together and one time made love next to a fireplace on a shag carpet. Angel was positive that he had been with Buffy's soul. She had come to him in these dreams because death scared her and she needed comfort from the one person who could always provide it. It was true, not even death could separate them.

Spike was downstairs with Dawn. He was miserable over Buffy's death too, but he still participated in group slayage. He had yet to meet Lita. Spike never bothered Angel much. Only to tell him when he was there and when he was leaving. They weren't the best of friends, but Buffy's death had brought some respect between them. Spike was a good person when he wanted to be.

A loud noise interrupted Angel's thoughts. It was the sound of motorcycles right outside the house. Things were being smashed. He could hear glass breaking. Outside, a gang of demons on motorcycles wreaked havoc on a house down the street. Dawn screamed and Angel ran downstairs.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked.

"Stay away from the window." Spike said to Dawn as he peered out.

Angel grabbed Dawn's shoulders and pulled her to the foyer. She turned to him. "What is it, what's happening?"

"Just stay here. Spike and I will check the rest of the house." Angel said. "Don't move." Angel moved silently through the house. Nothing was out of place except the loud noises from outside. As he reached the kitchen, something hit him. Not physically, but emotionally. It felt as if he was whole again. His heart and soul felt whole as a tingle ran down his spine and stopped in the pit of his stomach. He shivered with the force of it.

"Angel!" Dawn called.

Angel shrugged the feeling off and walked to the living room. Dawn was staring out the window. "Dawn! Get away from the window. Now!"

"Angel, look!" Dawn said, ignoring his command. Angel yanked her away from the window. He looked out and saw the demons were now at the house across the street. "Who are they?"

"Hellions. Road pirates." Spike said, coming back into the living room. "They raid towns.. use em up, burn em down. It's usually backwaters, any place.. Any place they think is vulnerable."

"They know the Slayer's gone."

"Spike, load up with weapons and get Dawn out of the house. Take her to the mansion if you can." Angel said.

"Where're you going?" Spike asked.

"To find Willow and the others."

"Right. Why?"

"To make sure they're safe." Angel snuck out the back door and headed down the backyards of the neighborhood. The minute he had stepped out of the door, a strange tugging pulled at his insides. Ignoring it all, he made his way to the Magic Box. He broke the lock to the training room silently and slipped in. Tara, Lita, and Anya were there. "Girls."

They jumped and turned to him. "Oh my God! Angel!" Tara hugged him. "Where's Dawn? No one's picking up at your house."

"I know. Spike's taking Dawn to the mansion. I came to make sure you all were all right. Where'd you come from" Angel asked Lita.

"I came here looking for everyone and ended up waiting till they got here." Lita said pointing at Tara and Anya.

"Where's Willow and Xander?"

"I don't know." Tara said.

"They could be hurt. Xander could be lying somewhere broken and bleeding, calling out my name." Anya said.

"Anya."

"Like that, oh god! What if.. what if they're really hurt, what if they're dead?"

"They're not."

"How do you know?"

"Because he's with Willow. And if something.. happened, I'd know. And so would you."

"Is it true?" Anya asked Angel. "Buffy died. Did you feel it?"

"Anya.."

"Yes. I felt it." Angel said quietly.

"So then I should know. Right?" Anya asked.

"Do you love him?"

"More than anything."

"Then you'll know."

"Buffy's dead? Then who was that I met?" Lita asked.

"That was the Buffybot. She's been taking over for the real Buffy who died. That's why you're here." Anya said.

"Maybe they got lost, in the woods." Tara said.

"The woods? Are we going back to the woods? I hate the woods. All those woodsy trees." Anya said.

"No, it's okay. Lost is good. Willow and I always know how to find each other!" Tara ran to the round table, shoved all the stuff off of it, climbed up on it, sat cross-legged, and put her hands on her knees.

"With yoga?"

"Shh! Aradia, hear my words."

As Tara cast the spell, Angel turned to Anya and pulled her away from Lita. "Woods? Why were you in the woods?"

"We were running from those demons on motorcycles after doing a spell to bring Buffy back."

"W-what?" Angel asked.

"It didn't work. Those demons smashed the urn we were using that I found on EBay. So you can go back to brooding and moping."

Angel stared at Anya. "Why didn't you guys tell me?"

"Because we thought you'd get mad and try to stop us. You'd tell us the same thing Giles would. That's why we didn't tell him too. And now he's gone, so we don't have to call him back."

"Are you sure it didn't work?"

"You want her back?"

"With everything I am, but it's wrong to bring her back. It's.. You wouldn't understand. You didn't know exactly what Buffy and I had."

"Well, don't worry now." Anya patted Angel's shoulder. "She's still dead."

Angel looked down. "Yeah." He walked into the training room and sat on the couch, putting his head in his arms and grasping his hair tightly. He didn't know how he felt about them trying to bring Buffy back. Part of him wanted Buffy back. A big part of him. The other part knew it was wrong to mess with her death. That part knew she'd been happy. A memory came back to him. No, not a memory. A dream. One of the four with Buffy's soul. She had told him not to worry about her. She was in a great place. No hell dimension.

Angel had asked her if she was ok there and she had replied, "It's like our first night together. Only 24/7 happiness." "Do you miss me?" "With all my heart and soul. But you'll always be here." She had pointed to her chest where her heart was. "And you here." Angel had taken her hand and put it on his chest. "So get better. Be happy for me." "How can I? You're gone." "We'll be together one day. I'll come back to you."

Angel shot up off of the couch. Buffy was back. The spell had worked. That's what that feeling had been back at the house. That's why he felt whole again. Buffy was back. And the tugging! It was his soul trying to find hers. She was lost and hurting and she needed him. He ran out of the Magic Box just as Willow came back.

"Angel?" Willow called.

He was already gone. Willow turned back and she, Tara, Lita, Anya, and Xander walked out. They walked down the streets and allies heading for the mansion to meet up with Dawn and Spike.

"Is he mad?" Lita asked. "Is he mad because you didn't bring Buffy back?"

"It's all my fault." Willow said.

"It wasn't your fault. We, we don't know if the spell would have worked, even if the demons hadn't.." Tara said.

"It would have worked."

"Well.. Maybe.."

"What?"

"Maybe it wasn't supposed to. I mean, those demons showing up at the exact wrong time? Maybe we really were in over our heads. Invoking forces that we have no right to. Maybe the fates sent down all that destruction on us to stop us. I mean.."

"You mean, maybe it was my fault."

"No. No."

Something dropped in front of them.

"Watch it!" Lita said.

Buffy crouched there in front of them.

"It.. it's the Buffybot." Anya said.

"Ah, peachy. No doubt to lead the wild bunch right to us again. Hey Will, next time this thing's damaged, couldn't ya program it to find the nearest Radio Shack, or.." Xander said.

"Buffy?" Willow asked. Buffy stared fearfully and then turned and ran away. "Buffy!"

"Buffy!"

"That's the real Buffy?" Lita asked. "What's wrong with her?"

They ran after her, Willow calling, "Buffy!"

"Where is she?" Anya asked.

Willow stopped. Buffy was crouched in a corner between a wall and some random junk. "Buffy? Buffy, are you.." Buffy sat huddled in on herself with her hair obscuring her face. The Scoobies walked toward her. "It's Willow. Can you hear me?" Buffy looked up, back, and all around very nervously.

"What's wrong with her?" Lita asked.

"Nothing! She-she's.. she's in shock."

"Her hands are bleeding. Her fingers." Tara said.

"She's filthy." Anya said.

"Oh no!" Xander said.

"What?" Lita asked.

"No. How could we.. so stupid!"

"Xander!" Willow said sternly.

"Our spell. Our resurrection spell worked like a magic charm. We brought you back to life, Buffy. Right where we left her."

"Oh God."

"In her coffin."

Willow turned in anguish to Tara, who hugged her.

"Wait! She had to.. dig out of her own grave?" Lita asked horrified.

"Buffy." Xander said walking slowly to her. She still crouched there in fear. "Buffy, it's Xander. We're sorry. We didn't know." Buffy turned her head away, letting her hair cover her face again. "Buffy."

"You aren't reaching her, she's too traumatized." Tara said.

Anya moved forward. "Hey, Buffy. Uh, here's some good news that might perk you right up. Uh, Xander and I have an announcement."

"Anya!" Xander pulled her away.

"What? Just trying to help."

Xander moved back over to Buffy. "Buffy.. it's gonna be all right. We brought you back. You're home now." Buffy slowly raised her head and looked at him. "Yeah, that's it. You're home."

"Yeah, welcome home, Slayer." A large demon leader said behind them. "Alive and kickin' after all! Well, alive, anyway. Not looking too good, though, is she?" "I don't see you winning too many beauty contests.. unless the Miss 'My Face Fell Off' pageant gets going."

"Big axe you got there."

"The better to cut you down to size, grandma."

The demon took a step forward. "Incindere." Tara said. A gout of flame spurted up from the ground between the demon and Xander. The demon stepped back.

"Ah. So you got a witch in the mix." Demon guy said.

"More than one."

"I happen to be a very powerful man-witch myself. Or.. male.. Is it a warlock?" Willow nodded at Xander. "Warlock."

"Plus, we have two Slayers here, uh, one who might actually be looking to eat some brains, so, I think a little quiet moseying, no hard feelings, and I'm sure your demon horde won't think any the less of you." Anya said.

"Now, my boys, see, that's tricky. They came looking for a massacre," Demon guy said. "And I think you got exactly enough magic between you for a kiddie birthday party."

Willow stepped forward. "Then you'd be wrong."

"Whoa. Well, I better back off, or you might, what? Pull a rabbit out of a hat?"

"Don't do that!" Anya said, truly horrified. "Why would she do that?" Tara shook her head.

"We don't want trouble. You don't want trouble."

"Of course we want trouble, we're demons. We're really all about trouble." Demon leader said.

"Not this kind."

"Oh. I get your point." He backhanded Willow and she flew backward and landed on top of some boxes. Xander charged but Demon leader shoved him aside and he fell to the ground. Anya and Tara each went to their respective partners. Lita charged and got in a few good punches before Demon leader picked her up by her throat and threw her into a brick wall. "Now let me tell you something, children. We're not gonna fight you. We're just gonna hold you down and enjoy ourselves for a few hours. You might even live through it. Except that certain of my boys got some.. anatomical incompatibilities that, uh, tend to tear up little girls. So, who wants to go first?" Buffy walked forward and stood directly in front of him. "I was really hoping it'd be you." He hit her in the face and her head whipped to the side but she didn't otherwise move.

Slowly, Buffy turned her head back to face him again. There was blood on her lip. Her face hardened into her famous 'I'm gonna kick your ass' expression. Demon leader threw another punch but Buffy stopped it, grabbing his fist and holding it immobile. With her other hand she punched him in the face twice, then she kicked him. He fell to the ground unconscious. The other demons looked on nervously.

"Does this mean we win?" Anya asked.

The other demons yelled and attacked Buffy. She kicked one of them back. Xander and Anya got up. Buffy blocked another demon's weapon and kicked him in the stomach. Another demon attacked Xander who blocked with his axe, then punched the demon. Buffy blocked a punch and punched the demon in the face, then punched another one. Willow loaded her crossbow and fired, hitting a demon in the middle of the chest. A demon attacked Buffy with a knife and she grabbed his arm in both hands, paused to kick another demon away behind her, swung the one with the knife around and threw him into another demon. She shoved another one away, ducked and punched, ducked and punched again.

Then Buffy was surrounded by demons hitting her with various weapons, and she huddled down on the ground under their blows. Suddenly she sprung back up again, throwing them off her. She kicked one in the groin and he took two more down with him. Another demon thrust a baseball bat at Buffy and she grabbed it, used one end to hit a demon behind her, and then used the other end to hit the first demon. Willow hit him in the head with her crossbow and he fell back. Another demon had Xander down on a pile of wood but he managed to get his feet up and kick the demon away. Xander leaped to his feet and slammed his axe down into the demon.

Buffy turned from fighting one demon with the baseball bat and another one flung a length of chain, which wrapped around the bat. The demon used it to pull the bat out of Buffy's hand. Then he attacked her with a knife. She blocked, grabbed the knife-wielding arm, and used it to stab another demon as he charged. Then she kicked out behind her, kicking away another demon, and as for the one she was holding, she twisted his head around, breaking his neck. Buffy stopped and looked around. All the demons were defeated. The Scoobies approached from their various places.

"Well, they wanted a massacre." Tara said.

"Wow! Buffy can fight!" Lita said. "She's got some skills!"

"She's Buffy. She's herself again. You're back, Buffy, you really are." Xander said. He moved as if to hug her, but she took a quick step back, looking fearful. "Whoa. Whoa."

Buffy looked around in anguish. She lifted her bloody hand to her mouth, wiped the blood from her lip and then looked at her hand. She looked as if she was about to cry. She walked forward. The others watched uncertainly. Then Buffy took off past Xander.

"Buffy!" Willow called.



Angel followed the tug. A couple of times it switched directions, but he didn't give up. He heard creaking noises and looked up. The tower was there. The one he had watched his lover jump to her death on. Squinting, he saw a little figure dressed in a black dress standing on the edge. Angel knew it was Buffy.

"No." he whispered. Angel took off at a run. He climbed the tower fast and reached the platform. "Buffy."

Buffy frowned, opened her eyes, and turned. Angel stood at the other end of the platform, in the little arch at the top of the tower.

"Baby?"

Buffy frowned at him in confusion.

"It's really you. I know here." Angel pointed at his chest.

She turned back around and stepped a little closer to the edge of the platform.

"Buffy, don't."

She stopped and turned back to him.

"Don't jump, Buffy, don't move! Just walk to me. Please!" She turned away again. "Baby please?"

Buffy continued staring down. The tower continued to creak.

"Do you know who I am? I'm Angel. Buffy, please don't leave me again. I love you. I've been a complete wreck without you. I know you told me to go on without you, but I can't. When you were gone.. Time stopped for me. It was almost as if I stopped existing." Buffy didn't turned around. "Baby, say something. Please. You're scaring me."

"Is.. This hell?" Buffy asked.

"What?"

"Is this hell?" She turned to face Angel with an anguished frown.

"No. No, it's not. You're here. With me."

Buffy turned back and looked down. "It was so.. clear.. on this spot. I remember.. how.. shiny.. and clear everything was. But.. now.. now.."

"I know. I remember what it was like to come back.. to this place. But for me, it was a welcome from where I was. I know why you hate it here because I know where you were."

"Dreams." Buffy whispered.

"Yeah. Four of them. You remember?"

"Did you do this?"

"What? No."

"Then why am I back? Why am I here?"

"Willow.. Your friends. They brought you back."

Buffy turned to him. "Why would they do this to me?"

"They didn't know. They don't share what we share. They could never have known where you were." Buffy brought her hands to her head and held her head as if she were in incredible pain, but Angel knew she was crying. That's when he saw her hands. He saw how cut up they were and he knew. "Oh God. Baby, I'm so sorry. I should kill them for this." He took a step forward and the tower shook. "We need to get down."

"No."

"I want it to be clear again. I want.."

"I know.. But you can't have that now. I'm sorry. I wish I could give it back to you, but I can't."

"No, you can't, can you?" Buffy turned back. "The only way.."

"Is for you to jump. Like you did. But Buffy, a portal isn't going to open for you. It's not going to take you from me again." Angel was crying and Buffy turned to look at him in confusion. "I love you Buffy. If you still love me, please don't hurt me by leaving again." Buffy stared at him for a moment. Then she took a step forward. "That's it. Come to me." The tower shook harder with the force of the wind. Buffy froze. "No sweetie. Keep coming. I'll get you down. I promise." Buffy finished the last few steps and fell into his arms. He kissed her hair and held her tightly, but the tower started to shake and he knew it would go at any moment.

Holding Buffy tightly to him, Angel jumped and grabbed a pulley. He rode it until the rope caught and held them there. They both looked down and discovered they still had a ways to go. Angel started to swing to reach the tower, but the bolt holding the pulley broke and they both tumbled the rest of the way down. They landed on a pile of cardboard, Angel underneath Buffy. She tugged at him and they moved just as the platform fell on the spot they had just been at.

Stopping in an alley, Angel pulled her to him tightly and they hugged for what seemed eternity. Buffy actually responded and held him tightly too. She began to cry, but then stopped herself.

"Hey." Angel said. "You wanna go home? I'll get you all cleaned up and we'll fix those cuts on your hands." Buffy took hold of his hand tightly as if she were a child and allowed Angel to lead her home.