A/N Slight change from last chapter. In the end I mentioned that Mortie
(as Buffy calls him) was with the vamps that took Angel. I've changed that.
He was not with the vamps that took Angel.
Stumble Into Grace- Chapter 26
-Buffy-
I'm numb. Everything has that hazy surreal quality to it when you know it can't be real. I sip automatically at the tea Giles has to put in my hand. My eyes are unfocused. It takes great effort to slide them up to Giles' face and concentrate on what he's saying.
"Willow, you should have no problem with a locator spell now that Angel is human. Once we find him, we can start planning an attack to get him back." Giles says. "Right now we're all going to go to Buffy and Angel's house. There's more room there. Buffy can sleep and we can work on our strategy."
"Can't sleep, Giles. They have him. He can't fight back. "Tears threaten and I draw back into myself. I know if I don't I'll start crying and I will never stop.
"Buffy, he's not helpless just because he can't walk. He's a warrior. More importantly he loves you. He trusts you. He knows you will save him no matter what. He'll find a way to stay alive until that happens." Giles says.
I nod mutely. I allow them to lead me to the car. Willow buckles me in like a child. I glance up at her. She seems fuzzy. I don't move my gaze. She shuts the door and I find myself looking out the window. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion.
We get to the apartment. Willow digs my keys out of my pocket. I don't make any move to help her. She lets us all in. Willow leads me to the bedroom. She sits me down on the bed.
"Lay down, Buffy. We need you to be alert if we're going to get Angel back. "Willow says. She covers me with a blanket.
"Leave the door open and the hall light on, please." I ask. My voice sounds tinny and far away. I haven't slept with the door open and the hall light on since I was very little girl.
She nods and walks back into the living room. I can hear the whispered voices in there.
"I'm just going to call Oz and have him come over. Melanie there's an extra room down the hall; take which ever one you want. Get some sleep. We need our slayers in top form." Willow says.
"You need sleep also, Willow. The girls are going to be relying on your magic." Giles says.
"I'll sleep. I just want Oz here first." She says.
Melanie walks past my room. She pauses and looks in. When I don't say anything she moves on down the hall. I hear a door open and close. Just before I drift off I hear the front door open. I can make out Oz's quiet rumbling voice but I can't understand the words. Somehow knowing Oz is here is comforting. Oz has this quality, its ease I guess. Nothing ruffles him, nothing upsets him. No matter what happens you can always count on Oz to act exactly like Oz. His calm just kind of emanates from him and infects everything and everyone in the area.
I kneel next to him. He's lying on the floor in a dark candlelit cavern. I smile and run my finger across his cheekbone. I kiss a cut there. He wakes up with a start and then relaxes when he sees me. "I knew you'd come for me." He croaks out. His voice sounds weak and harsh. "I'll always come for you, Baby." I whisper. "Hold on just a little while longer. I'll get you out of here." "I'm trying." He says. "I know. Keep trying. I love you, Angel." I whisper. "I love you, Buffy."
I wake up suddenly. The haze is gone. The numbness is gone. I will get him back. I know he's alive. I can feel him inside. If he was gone, I'd know. I take a shower and get dressed. Its early afternoon. There's plenty of time to make our plans. When I walk into the living room everyone is already gathered there.
"How are we getting him back?" I say.
-Angel-
I wake with a start and then I see her there. She smiles at me and kisses my temple.
"I knew you'd come for me." I manage to say.
"I'll always come for you, Baby. Hold on just a little while longer. I'll get you out of here." She whispers.
"I'm trying." I say.
"I know. Keep trying. I love you, Angel." She whispers.
"I love you, Buffy." I say.
I wake up slowly and confused. I'm not at home. Buffy isn't kissing me awake and the room smells like death and unturned earth. It smells the way my grave smelled when I crawled out of it. I'm not in a grave though. I'm lying on a bed with silk sheets.
"Good. You're awake. The Master wants to speak with you." A vampire says and rises to his feet.
I look around me. I'm in a warehouse. There are candles lit everywhere. It is very reminiscent of the Master's lair, but obviously from the boarded up windows, above ground. The Master can't be alive though. Buffy shattered his bones with a sledge hammer.
A vampire I assume is Morte Vizosa walks in the room. He is wearing an ornate velvet robe. He walks closer to me and his form falls into the light. He is old, perhaps even older then we estimated. I'm not even sure he has a human face anymore. If he does he chooses not to use it. He takes a deep sniff of the air and whirls on the vampire at his side.
"You fool, this is not Angelus. This is a human. I realize you are incompetent but I would think even you could tell the difference between a vampire and a human." He growls.
"M-master, he answers to the name Angel." The vampire stutters out.
Morte grabs me roughly by the arm and pulls me up. I try not to wince. He looks at my back and then growls before dropping me back to the bed. He looks at me and addresses me for the first time.
"You carry the mark of Angelus."
"I'm not Angelus anymore. I go by Angel." I say.
"You are also not a vampire anymore." Morte snarls. I'm not really sure he's capable of talking without snarling or growling.
"Right, there was this prophecy. I mean who knew." I say.
"You were the Angelus that the Master and Darla spoke so highly of." Morte says.
"Was, past tense. After that I was Angel, the vampire with a soul and now I'm Angel, human." I say. I'm stalling for time. He's looking at me with a murderous rage. He also looks a bit hungry.
"That part can be remedied." Morte growls.
"Wait, hold on. What do you need Angelus for?" I backpedal.
"I intend to make the Order of Aurelius strong again. I will fulfill the Master's plans. Angelus was to be the right hand of the Order. It is part of fulfilling the Master's plans." Morte says.
"You do know the Master is dead, right? He has been for about fourteen years now." I say.
Morte growls. "Yes, Angelus' slayer killed him."
"What makes you think Angelus will go along with this? He wasn't exactly a team player. You bring him back and he's going to tell you all to fuck yourselves and go find his slayer." I'm telling the truth. It's true, Angelus doesn't reside in me anymore, but he did for over two hundred and fifty years. I know him.
"Angelus will want the power I can give him." Morte says.
"Ok, even if he does. Angelus is in Hell right now. What makes you think turning me will attract Angelus back into this body? For all you know you could get a demon like the idiot there that brought you a human instead of Angelus." I am stalling for time. I am afraid he is beginning to realize that.
"Angelus will return." He says.
He leans close to me. I wait until I can almost feel his breath on my neck. I catch him in the jaw with the hardest right hook I can manage. It's a pretty good one, I've been working on that human upper body strength remember. He is knocked back to the floor. I sit up and put my bare feet on the cold floor. The surrounding vampires are focused on their "Master"; even so I barely get my feet under me when I am slammed back into the bed with a palm on my shoulder.
Morte Vizosa stands up. His yellow eyes shine with anger. I am pleased to see there is blood on his mouth. His tongue darts out and laps it up. "You've made me hungry." He growls and leans in to me again. This time he grabs both of my wrists and holds them. Buffy was right. This guy is strong and fast. I struggle but I don't scream. I won't give him the satisfaction. I'm sorry, Buffy. I'm so sorry, Baby. I make my apologies to her in my head as I feel the vampire's fang pierce my skin. He gluts on my blood, taking it in long deep drinks. My head swims and pure ecstasy over comes me. I'd forgotten about this part of being drained. Part of me struggles against it. I will not give in. I will not let him feed me his blood. I will not make Buffy kill me, yet again.
I watch through hazy eyes as Morte Vizosa tears open his wrist.
I can hear the whoosh of air a vampire makes when he's dusted but I look up and Morte is still there in front of me.
"Hey, Morty, sorry to crash but I must have lost my invite." Buffy's voice echoes over the warehouse. I smile and pass out into oblivion. She came for me. She promised she would.
-Buffy-
I tamp down the panic in me and force the Slayer into action. Willow is behind me and already chanting. Melanie is beside me, crossbow in hand. The first dusting was her doing. She manages to bag another one before they close in. She discards the crossbow and pulls out her stake. I take out the one closest to me with half spinning in-to-out crescent kick. I continue spinning and take another vamp out with a back leg sweep. I stake both vamps in one fluid movement and keep moving. Melanie is beside me. She tends to fight with punches and jabs. I prefer to use my feet. Different slayer styles, whatever gets the job done. I drive a jab into the kidneys of an approaching vamp. He doubles over. I tangle my fingers in his hair and slam his nose into my knee. I jab a stake up into his heart and untangle my fingers just before he turns to dust. Behind me, vamps are running into Willow's shield spell and bouncing off. We had toyed with idea of letting her shield us all but I was afraid it would take too much out of her along with the other spells we have planned.
I stagger back as a vamp catches me in the jaw with roundhouse punch. I shake my head and just get my hand up in time to grab his wrist. I don't have time for games. Angel is dying. I pull the vamp close to my chest, driving a stake into his heart. I walk through his dust toward Angel and Morte. If I'm counting accurately there's only one more and Morte.
I smile. I can hear Willow chanting behind me.
"Air like nectar, thick as onyx, Cassiel by your second star. Hold mine victim as in tar."
"Games up, Morty." I say.
He turns around and moves toward me, very slowly.
"What have you done?" He screeches. It's not a pretty sound.
"I know, I know Slayers aren't supposed to have friends. The one girl in all the world, she alone, only haven't you heard? We aren't alone anymore." I shove a stake through his heart. He looks down at his chest surprised. His mouth forms an O before he dusts. I walk through his dust and crawl onto the bed with Angel. Tears rush to my eyes.
"Willow, healing spell, big one, now." I say.
Willow lays her hands on Angel's arm and utters some words. Her hands glow with a faint rosy glow and then it vanishes. He doesn't wake up but his pulse has picked up enough that I can feel it weakly thudding beneath my fingers. I cradle him in my arms and kiss his forehead.
"Come on, Baby. We've got to get you to a hospital." I whisper. I drape one of his arms over my shoulders. Melanie takes the other side. It's awkward with the height difference but it doesn't matter. Together we get him out of the warehouse and into the back of the van. I sit back there with him. I keep my fingers on the pulse at his wrist and I pray.
Stumble Into Grace- Chapter 26
-Buffy-
I'm numb. Everything has that hazy surreal quality to it when you know it can't be real. I sip automatically at the tea Giles has to put in my hand. My eyes are unfocused. It takes great effort to slide them up to Giles' face and concentrate on what he's saying.
"Willow, you should have no problem with a locator spell now that Angel is human. Once we find him, we can start planning an attack to get him back." Giles says. "Right now we're all going to go to Buffy and Angel's house. There's more room there. Buffy can sleep and we can work on our strategy."
"Can't sleep, Giles. They have him. He can't fight back. "Tears threaten and I draw back into myself. I know if I don't I'll start crying and I will never stop.
"Buffy, he's not helpless just because he can't walk. He's a warrior. More importantly he loves you. He trusts you. He knows you will save him no matter what. He'll find a way to stay alive until that happens." Giles says.
I nod mutely. I allow them to lead me to the car. Willow buckles me in like a child. I glance up at her. She seems fuzzy. I don't move my gaze. She shuts the door and I find myself looking out the window. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion.
We get to the apartment. Willow digs my keys out of my pocket. I don't make any move to help her. She lets us all in. Willow leads me to the bedroom. She sits me down on the bed.
"Lay down, Buffy. We need you to be alert if we're going to get Angel back. "Willow says. She covers me with a blanket.
"Leave the door open and the hall light on, please." I ask. My voice sounds tinny and far away. I haven't slept with the door open and the hall light on since I was very little girl.
She nods and walks back into the living room. I can hear the whispered voices in there.
"I'm just going to call Oz and have him come over. Melanie there's an extra room down the hall; take which ever one you want. Get some sleep. We need our slayers in top form." Willow says.
"You need sleep also, Willow. The girls are going to be relying on your magic." Giles says.
"I'll sleep. I just want Oz here first." She says.
Melanie walks past my room. She pauses and looks in. When I don't say anything she moves on down the hall. I hear a door open and close. Just before I drift off I hear the front door open. I can make out Oz's quiet rumbling voice but I can't understand the words. Somehow knowing Oz is here is comforting. Oz has this quality, its ease I guess. Nothing ruffles him, nothing upsets him. No matter what happens you can always count on Oz to act exactly like Oz. His calm just kind of emanates from him and infects everything and everyone in the area.
I kneel next to him. He's lying on the floor in a dark candlelit cavern. I smile and run my finger across his cheekbone. I kiss a cut there. He wakes up with a start and then relaxes when he sees me. "I knew you'd come for me." He croaks out. His voice sounds weak and harsh. "I'll always come for you, Baby." I whisper. "Hold on just a little while longer. I'll get you out of here." "I'm trying." He says. "I know. Keep trying. I love you, Angel." I whisper. "I love you, Buffy."
I wake up suddenly. The haze is gone. The numbness is gone. I will get him back. I know he's alive. I can feel him inside. If he was gone, I'd know. I take a shower and get dressed. Its early afternoon. There's plenty of time to make our plans. When I walk into the living room everyone is already gathered there.
"How are we getting him back?" I say.
-Angel-
I wake with a start and then I see her there. She smiles at me and kisses my temple.
"I knew you'd come for me." I manage to say.
"I'll always come for you, Baby. Hold on just a little while longer. I'll get you out of here." She whispers.
"I'm trying." I say.
"I know. Keep trying. I love you, Angel." She whispers.
"I love you, Buffy." I say.
I wake up slowly and confused. I'm not at home. Buffy isn't kissing me awake and the room smells like death and unturned earth. It smells the way my grave smelled when I crawled out of it. I'm not in a grave though. I'm lying on a bed with silk sheets.
"Good. You're awake. The Master wants to speak with you." A vampire says and rises to his feet.
I look around me. I'm in a warehouse. There are candles lit everywhere. It is very reminiscent of the Master's lair, but obviously from the boarded up windows, above ground. The Master can't be alive though. Buffy shattered his bones with a sledge hammer.
A vampire I assume is Morte Vizosa walks in the room. He is wearing an ornate velvet robe. He walks closer to me and his form falls into the light. He is old, perhaps even older then we estimated. I'm not even sure he has a human face anymore. If he does he chooses not to use it. He takes a deep sniff of the air and whirls on the vampire at his side.
"You fool, this is not Angelus. This is a human. I realize you are incompetent but I would think even you could tell the difference between a vampire and a human." He growls.
"M-master, he answers to the name Angel." The vampire stutters out.
Morte grabs me roughly by the arm and pulls me up. I try not to wince. He looks at my back and then growls before dropping me back to the bed. He looks at me and addresses me for the first time.
"You carry the mark of Angelus."
"I'm not Angelus anymore. I go by Angel." I say.
"You are also not a vampire anymore." Morte snarls. I'm not really sure he's capable of talking without snarling or growling.
"Right, there was this prophecy. I mean who knew." I say.
"You were the Angelus that the Master and Darla spoke so highly of." Morte says.
"Was, past tense. After that I was Angel, the vampire with a soul and now I'm Angel, human." I say. I'm stalling for time. He's looking at me with a murderous rage. He also looks a bit hungry.
"That part can be remedied." Morte growls.
"Wait, hold on. What do you need Angelus for?" I backpedal.
"I intend to make the Order of Aurelius strong again. I will fulfill the Master's plans. Angelus was to be the right hand of the Order. It is part of fulfilling the Master's plans." Morte says.
"You do know the Master is dead, right? He has been for about fourteen years now." I say.
Morte growls. "Yes, Angelus' slayer killed him."
"What makes you think Angelus will go along with this? He wasn't exactly a team player. You bring him back and he's going to tell you all to fuck yourselves and go find his slayer." I'm telling the truth. It's true, Angelus doesn't reside in me anymore, but he did for over two hundred and fifty years. I know him.
"Angelus will want the power I can give him." Morte says.
"Ok, even if he does. Angelus is in Hell right now. What makes you think turning me will attract Angelus back into this body? For all you know you could get a demon like the idiot there that brought you a human instead of Angelus." I am stalling for time. I am afraid he is beginning to realize that.
"Angelus will return." He says.
He leans close to me. I wait until I can almost feel his breath on my neck. I catch him in the jaw with the hardest right hook I can manage. It's a pretty good one, I've been working on that human upper body strength remember. He is knocked back to the floor. I sit up and put my bare feet on the cold floor. The surrounding vampires are focused on their "Master"; even so I barely get my feet under me when I am slammed back into the bed with a palm on my shoulder.
Morte Vizosa stands up. His yellow eyes shine with anger. I am pleased to see there is blood on his mouth. His tongue darts out and laps it up. "You've made me hungry." He growls and leans in to me again. This time he grabs both of my wrists and holds them. Buffy was right. This guy is strong and fast. I struggle but I don't scream. I won't give him the satisfaction. I'm sorry, Buffy. I'm so sorry, Baby. I make my apologies to her in my head as I feel the vampire's fang pierce my skin. He gluts on my blood, taking it in long deep drinks. My head swims and pure ecstasy over comes me. I'd forgotten about this part of being drained. Part of me struggles against it. I will not give in. I will not let him feed me his blood. I will not make Buffy kill me, yet again.
I watch through hazy eyes as Morte Vizosa tears open his wrist.
I can hear the whoosh of air a vampire makes when he's dusted but I look up and Morte is still there in front of me.
"Hey, Morty, sorry to crash but I must have lost my invite." Buffy's voice echoes over the warehouse. I smile and pass out into oblivion. She came for me. She promised she would.
-Buffy-
I tamp down the panic in me and force the Slayer into action. Willow is behind me and already chanting. Melanie is beside me, crossbow in hand. The first dusting was her doing. She manages to bag another one before they close in. She discards the crossbow and pulls out her stake. I take out the one closest to me with half spinning in-to-out crescent kick. I continue spinning and take another vamp out with a back leg sweep. I stake both vamps in one fluid movement and keep moving. Melanie is beside me. She tends to fight with punches and jabs. I prefer to use my feet. Different slayer styles, whatever gets the job done. I drive a jab into the kidneys of an approaching vamp. He doubles over. I tangle my fingers in his hair and slam his nose into my knee. I jab a stake up into his heart and untangle my fingers just before he turns to dust. Behind me, vamps are running into Willow's shield spell and bouncing off. We had toyed with idea of letting her shield us all but I was afraid it would take too much out of her along with the other spells we have planned.
I stagger back as a vamp catches me in the jaw with roundhouse punch. I shake my head and just get my hand up in time to grab his wrist. I don't have time for games. Angel is dying. I pull the vamp close to my chest, driving a stake into his heart. I walk through his dust toward Angel and Morte. If I'm counting accurately there's only one more and Morte.
I smile. I can hear Willow chanting behind me.
"Air like nectar, thick as onyx, Cassiel by your second star. Hold mine victim as in tar."
"Games up, Morty." I say.
He turns around and moves toward me, very slowly.
"What have you done?" He screeches. It's not a pretty sound.
"I know, I know Slayers aren't supposed to have friends. The one girl in all the world, she alone, only haven't you heard? We aren't alone anymore." I shove a stake through his heart. He looks down at his chest surprised. His mouth forms an O before he dusts. I walk through his dust and crawl onto the bed with Angel. Tears rush to my eyes.
"Willow, healing spell, big one, now." I say.
Willow lays her hands on Angel's arm and utters some words. Her hands glow with a faint rosy glow and then it vanishes. He doesn't wake up but his pulse has picked up enough that I can feel it weakly thudding beneath my fingers. I cradle him in my arms and kiss his forehead.
"Come on, Baby. We've got to get you to a hospital." I whisper. I drape one of his arms over my shoulders. Melanie takes the other side. It's awkward with the height difference but it doesn't matter. Together we get him out of the warehouse and into the back of the van. I sit back there with him. I keep my fingers on the pulse at his wrist and I pray.