***
Next chapter of SiT #4! Getting closer to the part you've all been waiting for (though not there yet). *g*. No cliff this time, which I'm sure you're all happy about.
For the ff.net'ers in response to reviews:
Boa – totally aware of what the initials look like *g*. I noticed it right away, but couldn't think of anything else. Oh well.
Crazyradish – I don't want to say if B/A will end up together in case some don't want to know. But if you email me (vagabond_angel@comcast.net) I'll tell you.
Yummy – ASSFT stands for the title of the the fic: A Small Sacrifice For Tomorrow
BA Shipper – sorry about the inaccuracies about Seattle. I've never been there. I'm and East Coaster
...and thank you to the rest of you that have left me feedback!!
~Isis
***
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Part 3
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Buffy felt frozen in her spot, like time had ceased moving as she stood there staring into the eyes of her one time friend. It had never crossed her mind that she'd run into him while in Sunnydale, and really she did NOT want to see him. Her anger over what had happened before she left was still strong, and it was obvious that his fury with her remained as well.
"Should I be touched you still know my name?" he bit out harshly, eyes showing nothing but distaste for the girl he once held on a pedestal.
"What do you want, Xander?" Buffy spoke tiredly, pressing a finger to her throbbing temple.
Xander shook his head condescendingly at the question. "I can't believe you'd show your face here again. What? You think you can just waltz back into town?"
"What I do is none of your business!" she snarled at him, her anger replacing the overwhelming weariness. "My Mother is dead, Xander. I came here to say goodbye and that's it."
"A little late for that, isn't it?" he raised a sneering eyebrow. "Seven years too late, I think."
"Ya know what, Xander," she marched up to him, her voice echoing loudly. "I don't give a FUCK what you think of me, of what I've done, or not done, but don't you dare bring my Mother into this!"
"Just pointing out the facts, Buff. You left here and never looked back. You never gave a damn about anyone but yourself," he looked at her in disgust.
"Think whatever the Hell you want," Buffy started, but was interrupted before she could continue.
"Buffy? Is everything all right," Cordy's voice sounded through the quiet night.
"Yeah, we heard yelling," added Doyle as the two stepped into view.
"Cordelia?" Xander spat out in shock and took a step back.
"Mommy?" Ashlynn's sleepy voice spoke softly as the little girl raised her head from Cordy's shoulder.
"Hey, Sweetie! Did you have a good nap?" Buffy forced a smile onto her face, pulling her daughter into her arms.
"Yup!" Ash grinned at her Mommy. "Who's that?" she pointed to Xander.
Buffy looked from Ashlynn to Xander and back. This was not a situation she wanted to expose her daughter to. "That's...that's just someone I used to know, baby."
"Oh," the little girl frowned slightly and laid her head on Buffy's chest.
"What the Hell is going on?" Xander shouted and then eyed Cordelia. "Why are you here?"
"What's it matter to you?" she retorted in annoyance. Xander Harris was definitely someone she would like to forget existed.
"I see the Bitch is back," he snarked at her.
Doyle stepped forward, finding himself growing angry at the unknown man. "I better not hear ya speak ta my fiancée like that again."
"Fiancée? You're engaged to that loser?" Xander laughed out loud.
"Mommy? What's going on?" Ashlynn spoke up, her eyes wildly looking around at the arguing adults.
"Nothing, baby. It's okay," Buffy soothed her frightened daughter and then looked back to her ex-friend. "Xander, just leave."
The sound of a cell phone ringing stopped Xander from answering. Buffy reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the noisy device, glad to have a distraction from the current conversation.
"Hello?" she responded into the phone. "Oh, hey Wil...no, everything's okay...yeah, we'll be heading back to the airport soon....I just want to get back home...okay, we'll call when our flight gets in...bye."
As Xander listened to the conversation, his eyes darkened in rage. So that's where Willow was? They hadn't been talking, all because of Buffy he had to add, and then her and Oz had just up and left Sunnydale one day. And now he finds out that she's been with Buffy the whole time! Willow had been his best friend since childhood and she'd just traded him in for some traitorous bitch.
"What did Willow want?" Cordy asked as Buffy was stuffing the phone back into her pocket.
"She just wanted to make sure we were okay, and to check if we were still flying back tonight," Buffy relayed, looking directly at Cordy and Doyle, her hand stroking her daughter's back.
"We better leave soon if we want ta make our flight," Doyle looked at his watch.
"Okay. Xander...," she started as she turned back to face the angry man only to find him no longer there.
Cordy looked around but found no trace of her ex-boyfriend and shrugged her shoulders. "Good, he's gone. Can we leave now? I think this town is giving me hives."
Glancing to where Xander had been standing, Buffy sighed. "Yeah, I don't particularly want to be here anymore than you two.
"Come on, girls," Doyle put his arms around his fiancée and friend. "Let's hit the road."
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
~Sunnydale, the next night~
By the time the small plane landed at Sunnydale's non-commercial airport, Angel felt like he was going to crawl out of his skin. The near day-long wait in New York felt like twenty days. When they finally took to the air to fly to Sunnydale, his nerves were completely shot. He both feared and anticipated what he would find when he returned to the place that had been the source of his greatest happiness and his most agonizing sorrow.
Now that he was here, he wasn't quite sure how to proceed. A glance at his watch told him it was just after eleven p.m. He supposed he could try searching through the cemeteries. If she was here, if she wasn't...dead...she would likely be patrolling. The numerous graveyards in Sunnydale made that a daunting task, though. He took a deep, unneeded breath and clenched his hands before deciding that his best bet would be to try going to her house. Maybe there he would get some answers.
Twenty minutes later, Angel was walking up the pathway leading to what he hoped was Buffy's house. In the back of his mind he knew it was unlikely she would still live there anymore. His vision of her life always had her residing in a cozy, two-story house with a large back yard, and a swimming pool. It was possible, though, that Joyce still lived there. The prospect of encountering Buffy's Mother made him shudder involuntarily, knowing that Joyce had always hated him.
Stepping onto the front porch, Angel frowned as he looked around. The entire place was dark, there were no cars in the driveway, and he couldn't detect any heartbeats inside. He walked up to one of the windows and peered inside. His enhanced vision allowed him to see the interior of the house, but what he found was even more disheartening. All of the furniture was gone and he could see boxes scattered around the floor. Inhaling deeply, he scented the air. A myriad of smells wafted through his nose. Very faintly, he thought he could detect Buffy, but he wasn't sure and it was not enough to ease any of his fears.
Angel again studied the inside of the house hoping to find anything to identify who had lived there recently. Near the window he could see an open box, a few items peeking out. He squinted his eyes slightly and shifted his position to get a better look. There, on the top of the pile in the box, was a picture frame holding a picture of Buffy and Joyce. The small find was enough to tell him that this was still Joyce's house. Why then wasn't he picking up a stronger trace of Buffy? If her Mom still lived here, wouldn't she be over to visit often?
Maybe she moved to another town, he thought to himself. Sunnydale was still the Hellmouth, though, for all he knew. Would she be able to move away? And what about that other Slayer Spike had said he ran into? Angel didn't want to examine the answers to those questions too deeply because they all pointed to one thing and he wasn't yet ready to face that. Backing away from the window, Angel resolved to try another avenue. He was determined to find out what was going on.
A short while later Angel arrived at Giles' apartment. There was a light shinning through one of the windows so he decided to knock on the door. If he felt it would make a difference, he would have prayed that Giles answered the door. To his dismay, it wasn't the Watcher who appeared before him, but rather a young couple who looked at him warily.
"Can we help you?" the man asked, his arm protectively around his girlfriend.
"I'm sorry to bother you," Angel apologized, keeping his hands in full view so they wouldn't be afraid. "I won't keep you long. I was just wanting to know if Rupert Giles still lived here."
"Umm, no, this is my apartment," the woman spoke up, smiling at the handsome man before her.
"Oh, uh, thanks. If you don't mind me asking, how long have you lived here?" he questioned as his heart sank further.
"I've been here for about four years," she told him.
Angel's shoulders slumped. "Do you know who lived here before you?"
"An older woman. I think she'd lived here for about two or three years," she added helpfully.
"Okay," Angel fought the tears in his eyes. "Thank you. I apologize for interrupting your evening."
"Good night," he turned and walked away solemnly.
After that, Angel wandered around Sunnydale feeling as if his worst fears were coming true. He had been so sure she was alive, but now, everything was beginning to tell him otherwise. There was still hope. He still wanted to believe she was happily living her life somewhere, but it was growing harder to think that way. There had to be someone in this town who had answers for him.
As if by fate, Angel looked up and found himself standing near Willy's bar. Perfect! Surely the annoying snitch would know about Buffy. Straightening out his long coat, he walked determinedly into the bar.
"Angel," Willy's voice squeaked out the moment the vampire stepped up to the bar.
"Hello, Willy," Angel spoke menacingly, wanting to intimidate the little weasel.
"Uhh, what can I do for ya, buddy?" Willy inched a few steps away, not liking the look in Angel's eyes.
"Information," the ensouled vampire stated simply.
"S-sure. Information. W-what do you, uh, want to know," the small bartender questioned nervously.
"Buffy. Where.Is.She," he stated forcefully, leaving no room for debate.
"B-buffy?" Willy repeated, not quite surprised that the vampire was asking about his former girlfriend. "She's gone."
Angel reached over the bar and grabbed Willy's shirt, pulling him half over the intrusive barrier between them. "What do you mean she's gone?!?"
"I-I didn't mean anything, Angel. Really!" Willy replied quickly. "She's gone. Disappeared about s-seven years ago. N-no one's seen her since."
"Are you telling me the truth?" Angel's face shifted to his demon form.
"Y-yes. I wouldn't lie to ya, Angel! Promise!" Willy assured him. "No one k-knows what happened. S-she was just gone one day."
The urge to throw the obnoxious man across the room overwhelmed him, but instead he just dropped him to the floor. Without saying another word, Angel quickly fled the bar.
Once outside, his body began to shake as heavy sobs rose in his throat. It was true. Everything that Spike had told him was true. Buffy was gone. His foot shot out and kicked a nearby trashcan across the alley. Needing more, he punched at the brick wall next to him, bloodying his knuckles. The pain never reached his brain. All he could think about was that Buffy was dead. He needed to know more. He needed to know what exactly had happened and then he would find and dismember whoever was responsible for her death. Turning, Angel took off in a sprint to the only other place he could think of that would provide answers.
A mere two minutes later, he arrived at the front door to The Bronze. He hoped that one of Buffy's friends would be there. They would be able to tell him what he needed to know. Opening the door, he strolled into the noisy club, ignoring the pang in his heart over shared memories with Buffy at this very place. It took him only a moment to spot the brown-haired boy sitting at the bar with a vaguely familiar strawberry blonde.
"Xander," he spoke after walking up to the boy, wishing he'd found Willow and not someone who had always hated him.
Xander's head slowly raised when he heard his name. His eyes instantly narrowed at finding his worst enemy standing two feet away. "What the Hell are you doing here?"
"What happened to Buffy?" Angel cut right to the chase.
"That isn't any of your business," he foolishly stood up and faced the larger man.
"Listen, boy," growled Angel as he took step closer. "You will tell me what happened."
"She's gone," Xander backed up a step, wanting desperately to hit the vile creature. It was all his fault he'd lost his friends. "They are all gone."
"Do you know what happened to Buffy?" Angel questioned in growing frustration.
Xander sized up the situation for a moment before answering. "No," he lied convincingly, having no desire to help the thing that had cost him all that was important in his life.
"Fine," Angel snarled angrily. He didn't bother to say goodbye, just turned and walked out of the club. Just as he exited the door, he plowed over someone about to enter the club.
"I'm sorry," he stated distractedly, reaching a hand down to help the person up.
"Why don't you watch where you're going!" the pissed off female brushed the dirt off her pants.
The voice shook Angel out of his internal thoughts, and he abruptly backed up a step. "Faith?!?"
"Yeah, who wants to kn-," she started to say as she raised her head. "Angel?"
"You're back slaying," Angel blurted out for lack of anything else to say when he saw the stake in her hand. He didn't trust the girl one bit.
"Uh, yeah," Faith frowned, not understanding why that was a surprise. She was a Slayer, she was supposed to slay.
Angel looked at her oddly. Something seemed different about the young woman. Her entire posture was different, and her eyes didn't have that hateful, angry look anymore. He was mildly curious, but it wasn't important. His thoughts were needed elsewhere. He still needed to find out about Buffy. He suddenly eyed the girl expectantly.
"Do you know what happened to Buffy?" he spoke no pretenses about what he wanted to know.
"Buffy? Why?" she wanted to know.
"Because...because they told me she's go-," no, Angel told himself. He needed to face the truth. "They told me that she's dead."
"Dead?" Faith repeated in surprise. "No, Buffy's not dead."
"S-she's," he stuttered, hope surging throughout him. "She's not dead? But they all told me..."
"Last I heard, she'd skipped town," Faith shrugged. "That's what Willow told me when her and Oz came back to get their stuff."
"Where? Do you know where she is?" he asked hurriedly. He didn't care about anything else. All that mattered was that he finally had hope.
Faith thought for a moment before answering. "I think Willow said Seattle. Not sure though."
"Seattle?" Angel perplexedly asked. "Do you know why she left?"
"I think Seattle, but like I said, I'm not sure. And no, I don't know why. Willow only told me she'd left," Faith was growing more confused by the second.
She didn't understand any of this. No one had ever bothered to tell her what had happened to Buffy. If she hadn't of run into Willow years ago, she wouldn't even have known the blonde Slayer had moved. She couldn't help but feel like there was a lot going on that she didn't know. But that didn't particularly surprise her. Ever since she woke up from the coma everything had seemed so off, and her Watcher would never answer any of her questions. She had shrugged it all off though and focused on slaying.
"What's going on Angel?" she questioned, not missing the look of relief on the vampire's face.
"Nothing," Angel answered curtly, his mind elsewhere. "I've got to go."
Before Faith could press him more, Angel quickly walked away. The brunette's behavior had been strange, but that was at the very back of his mind. All he could think about was that Buffy was alive. If he was to believe Faith, that is, but he hadn't seen anything in her to make him think she was lying. Any lead was better than nothing, though.
The relief he felt at the news was mildly muted by the need to see it for himself. He had to know for a fact that she was alive and well. Seeing a payphone nearby, Angel jogged over to it and dialed the cell number of the pilot who had brought him to Sunnydale. He hoped he was still in town because Angel had at least one more trip to make.
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TBC!!
Next chapter of SiT #4! Getting closer to the part you've all been waiting for (though not there yet). *g*. No cliff this time, which I'm sure you're all happy about.
For the ff.net'ers in response to reviews:
Boa – totally aware of what the initials look like *g*. I noticed it right away, but couldn't think of anything else. Oh well.
Crazyradish – I don't want to say if B/A will end up together in case some don't want to know. But if you email me (vagabond_angel@comcast.net) I'll tell you.
Yummy – ASSFT stands for the title of the the fic: A Small Sacrifice For Tomorrow
BA Shipper – sorry about the inaccuracies about Seattle. I've never been there. I'm and East Coaster
...and thank you to the rest of you that have left me feedback!!
~Isis
***
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Part 3
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Buffy felt frozen in her spot, like time had ceased moving as she stood there staring into the eyes of her one time friend. It had never crossed her mind that she'd run into him while in Sunnydale, and really she did NOT want to see him. Her anger over what had happened before she left was still strong, and it was obvious that his fury with her remained as well.
"Should I be touched you still know my name?" he bit out harshly, eyes showing nothing but distaste for the girl he once held on a pedestal.
"What do you want, Xander?" Buffy spoke tiredly, pressing a finger to her throbbing temple.
Xander shook his head condescendingly at the question. "I can't believe you'd show your face here again. What? You think you can just waltz back into town?"
"What I do is none of your business!" she snarled at him, her anger replacing the overwhelming weariness. "My Mother is dead, Xander. I came here to say goodbye and that's it."
"A little late for that, isn't it?" he raised a sneering eyebrow. "Seven years too late, I think."
"Ya know what, Xander," she marched up to him, her voice echoing loudly. "I don't give a FUCK what you think of me, of what I've done, or not done, but don't you dare bring my Mother into this!"
"Just pointing out the facts, Buff. You left here and never looked back. You never gave a damn about anyone but yourself," he looked at her in disgust.
"Think whatever the Hell you want," Buffy started, but was interrupted before she could continue.
"Buffy? Is everything all right," Cordy's voice sounded through the quiet night.
"Yeah, we heard yelling," added Doyle as the two stepped into view.
"Cordelia?" Xander spat out in shock and took a step back.
"Mommy?" Ashlynn's sleepy voice spoke softly as the little girl raised her head from Cordy's shoulder.
"Hey, Sweetie! Did you have a good nap?" Buffy forced a smile onto her face, pulling her daughter into her arms.
"Yup!" Ash grinned at her Mommy. "Who's that?" she pointed to Xander.
Buffy looked from Ashlynn to Xander and back. This was not a situation she wanted to expose her daughter to. "That's...that's just someone I used to know, baby."
"Oh," the little girl frowned slightly and laid her head on Buffy's chest.
"What the Hell is going on?" Xander shouted and then eyed Cordelia. "Why are you here?"
"What's it matter to you?" she retorted in annoyance. Xander Harris was definitely someone she would like to forget existed.
"I see the Bitch is back," he snarked at her.
Doyle stepped forward, finding himself growing angry at the unknown man. "I better not hear ya speak ta my fiancée like that again."
"Fiancée? You're engaged to that loser?" Xander laughed out loud.
"Mommy? What's going on?" Ashlynn spoke up, her eyes wildly looking around at the arguing adults.
"Nothing, baby. It's okay," Buffy soothed her frightened daughter and then looked back to her ex-friend. "Xander, just leave."
The sound of a cell phone ringing stopped Xander from answering. Buffy reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the noisy device, glad to have a distraction from the current conversation.
"Hello?" she responded into the phone. "Oh, hey Wil...no, everything's okay...yeah, we'll be heading back to the airport soon....I just want to get back home...okay, we'll call when our flight gets in...bye."
As Xander listened to the conversation, his eyes darkened in rage. So that's where Willow was? They hadn't been talking, all because of Buffy he had to add, and then her and Oz had just up and left Sunnydale one day. And now he finds out that she's been with Buffy the whole time! Willow had been his best friend since childhood and she'd just traded him in for some traitorous bitch.
"What did Willow want?" Cordy asked as Buffy was stuffing the phone back into her pocket.
"She just wanted to make sure we were okay, and to check if we were still flying back tonight," Buffy relayed, looking directly at Cordy and Doyle, her hand stroking her daughter's back.
"We better leave soon if we want ta make our flight," Doyle looked at his watch.
"Okay. Xander...," she started as she turned back to face the angry man only to find him no longer there.
Cordy looked around but found no trace of her ex-boyfriend and shrugged her shoulders. "Good, he's gone. Can we leave now? I think this town is giving me hives."
Glancing to where Xander had been standing, Buffy sighed. "Yeah, I don't particularly want to be here anymore than you two.
"Come on, girls," Doyle put his arms around his fiancée and friend. "Let's hit the road."
^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
~Sunnydale, the next night~
By the time the small plane landed at Sunnydale's non-commercial airport, Angel felt like he was going to crawl out of his skin. The near day-long wait in New York felt like twenty days. When they finally took to the air to fly to Sunnydale, his nerves were completely shot. He both feared and anticipated what he would find when he returned to the place that had been the source of his greatest happiness and his most agonizing sorrow.
Now that he was here, he wasn't quite sure how to proceed. A glance at his watch told him it was just after eleven p.m. He supposed he could try searching through the cemeteries. If she was here, if she wasn't...dead...she would likely be patrolling. The numerous graveyards in Sunnydale made that a daunting task, though. He took a deep, unneeded breath and clenched his hands before deciding that his best bet would be to try going to her house. Maybe there he would get some answers.
Twenty minutes later, Angel was walking up the pathway leading to what he hoped was Buffy's house. In the back of his mind he knew it was unlikely she would still live there anymore. His vision of her life always had her residing in a cozy, two-story house with a large back yard, and a swimming pool. It was possible, though, that Joyce still lived there. The prospect of encountering Buffy's Mother made him shudder involuntarily, knowing that Joyce had always hated him.
Stepping onto the front porch, Angel frowned as he looked around. The entire place was dark, there were no cars in the driveway, and he couldn't detect any heartbeats inside. He walked up to one of the windows and peered inside. His enhanced vision allowed him to see the interior of the house, but what he found was even more disheartening. All of the furniture was gone and he could see boxes scattered around the floor. Inhaling deeply, he scented the air. A myriad of smells wafted through his nose. Very faintly, he thought he could detect Buffy, but he wasn't sure and it was not enough to ease any of his fears.
Angel again studied the inside of the house hoping to find anything to identify who had lived there recently. Near the window he could see an open box, a few items peeking out. He squinted his eyes slightly and shifted his position to get a better look. There, on the top of the pile in the box, was a picture frame holding a picture of Buffy and Joyce. The small find was enough to tell him that this was still Joyce's house. Why then wasn't he picking up a stronger trace of Buffy? If her Mom still lived here, wouldn't she be over to visit often?
Maybe she moved to another town, he thought to himself. Sunnydale was still the Hellmouth, though, for all he knew. Would she be able to move away? And what about that other Slayer Spike had said he ran into? Angel didn't want to examine the answers to those questions too deeply because they all pointed to one thing and he wasn't yet ready to face that. Backing away from the window, Angel resolved to try another avenue. He was determined to find out what was going on.
A short while later Angel arrived at Giles' apartment. There was a light shinning through one of the windows so he decided to knock on the door. If he felt it would make a difference, he would have prayed that Giles answered the door. To his dismay, it wasn't the Watcher who appeared before him, but rather a young couple who looked at him warily.
"Can we help you?" the man asked, his arm protectively around his girlfriend.
"I'm sorry to bother you," Angel apologized, keeping his hands in full view so they wouldn't be afraid. "I won't keep you long. I was just wanting to know if Rupert Giles still lived here."
"Umm, no, this is my apartment," the woman spoke up, smiling at the handsome man before her.
"Oh, uh, thanks. If you don't mind me asking, how long have you lived here?" he questioned as his heart sank further.
"I've been here for about four years," she told him.
Angel's shoulders slumped. "Do you know who lived here before you?"
"An older woman. I think she'd lived here for about two or three years," she added helpfully.
"Okay," Angel fought the tears in his eyes. "Thank you. I apologize for interrupting your evening."
"Good night," he turned and walked away solemnly.
After that, Angel wandered around Sunnydale feeling as if his worst fears were coming true. He had been so sure she was alive, but now, everything was beginning to tell him otherwise. There was still hope. He still wanted to believe she was happily living her life somewhere, but it was growing harder to think that way. There had to be someone in this town who had answers for him.
As if by fate, Angel looked up and found himself standing near Willy's bar. Perfect! Surely the annoying snitch would know about Buffy. Straightening out his long coat, he walked determinedly into the bar.
"Angel," Willy's voice squeaked out the moment the vampire stepped up to the bar.
"Hello, Willy," Angel spoke menacingly, wanting to intimidate the little weasel.
"Uhh, what can I do for ya, buddy?" Willy inched a few steps away, not liking the look in Angel's eyes.
"Information," the ensouled vampire stated simply.
"S-sure. Information. W-what do you, uh, want to know," the small bartender questioned nervously.
"Buffy. Where.Is.She," he stated forcefully, leaving no room for debate.
"B-buffy?" Willy repeated, not quite surprised that the vampire was asking about his former girlfriend. "She's gone."
Angel reached over the bar and grabbed Willy's shirt, pulling him half over the intrusive barrier between them. "What do you mean she's gone?!?"
"I-I didn't mean anything, Angel. Really!" Willy replied quickly. "She's gone. Disappeared about s-seven years ago. N-no one's seen her since."
"Are you telling me the truth?" Angel's face shifted to his demon form.
"Y-yes. I wouldn't lie to ya, Angel! Promise!" Willy assured him. "No one k-knows what happened. S-she was just gone one day."
The urge to throw the obnoxious man across the room overwhelmed him, but instead he just dropped him to the floor. Without saying another word, Angel quickly fled the bar.
Once outside, his body began to shake as heavy sobs rose in his throat. It was true. Everything that Spike had told him was true. Buffy was gone. His foot shot out and kicked a nearby trashcan across the alley. Needing more, he punched at the brick wall next to him, bloodying his knuckles. The pain never reached his brain. All he could think about was that Buffy was dead. He needed to know more. He needed to know what exactly had happened and then he would find and dismember whoever was responsible for her death. Turning, Angel took off in a sprint to the only other place he could think of that would provide answers.
A mere two minutes later, he arrived at the front door to The Bronze. He hoped that one of Buffy's friends would be there. They would be able to tell him what he needed to know. Opening the door, he strolled into the noisy club, ignoring the pang in his heart over shared memories with Buffy at this very place. It took him only a moment to spot the brown-haired boy sitting at the bar with a vaguely familiar strawberry blonde.
"Xander," he spoke after walking up to the boy, wishing he'd found Willow and not someone who had always hated him.
Xander's head slowly raised when he heard his name. His eyes instantly narrowed at finding his worst enemy standing two feet away. "What the Hell are you doing here?"
"What happened to Buffy?" Angel cut right to the chase.
"That isn't any of your business," he foolishly stood up and faced the larger man.
"Listen, boy," growled Angel as he took step closer. "You will tell me what happened."
"She's gone," Xander backed up a step, wanting desperately to hit the vile creature. It was all his fault he'd lost his friends. "They are all gone."
"Do you know what happened to Buffy?" Angel questioned in growing frustration.
Xander sized up the situation for a moment before answering. "No," he lied convincingly, having no desire to help the thing that had cost him all that was important in his life.
"Fine," Angel snarled angrily. He didn't bother to say goodbye, just turned and walked out of the club. Just as he exited the door, he plowed over someone about to enter the club.
"I'm sorry," he stated distractedly, reaching a hand down to help the person up.
"Why don't you watch where you're going!" the pissed off female brushed the dirt off her pants.
The voice shook Angel out of his internal thoughts, and he abruptly backed up a step. "Faith?!?"
"Yeah, who wants to kn-," she started to say as she raised her head. "Angel?"
"You're back slaying," Angel blurted out for lack of anything else to say when he saw the stake in her hand. He didn't trust the girl one bit.
"Uh, yeah," Faith frowned, not understanding why that was a surprise. She was a Slayer, she was supposed to slay.
Angel looked at her oddly. Something seemed different about the young woman. Her entire posture was different, and her eyes didn't have that hateful, angry look anymore. He was mildly curious, but it wasn't important. His thoughts were needed elsewhere. He still needed to find out about Buffy. He suddenly eyed the girl expectantly.
"Do you know what happened to Buffy?" he spoke no pretenses about what he wanted to know.
"Buffy? Why?" she wanted to know.
"Because...because they told me she's go-," no, Angel told himself. He needed to face the truth. "They told me that she's dead."
"Dead?" Faith repeated in surprise. "No, Buffy's not dead."
"S-she's," he stuttered, hope surging throughout him. "She's not dead? But they all told me..."
"Last I heard, she'd skipped town," Faith shrugged. "That's what Willow told me when her and Oz came back to get their stuff."
"Where? Do you know where she is?" he asked hurriedly. He didn't care about anything else. All that mattered was that he finally had hope.
Faith thought for a moment before answering. "I think Willow said Seattle. Not sure though."
"Seattle?" Angel perplexedly asked. "Do you know why she left?"
"I think Seattle, but like I said, I'm not sure. And no, I don't know why. Willow only told me she'd left," Faith was growing more confused by the second.
She didn't understand any of this. No one had ever bothered to tell her what had happened to Buffy. If she hadn't of run into Willow years ago, she wouldn't even have known the blonde Slayer had moved. She couldn't help but feel like there was a lot going on that she didn't know. But that didn't particularly surprise her. Ever since she woke up from the coma everything had seemed so off, and her Watcher would never answer any of her questions. She had shrugged it all off though and focused on slaying.
"What's going on Angel?" she questioned, not missing the look of relief on the vampire's face.
"Nothing," Angel answered curtly, his mind elsewhere. "I've got to go."
Before Faith could press him more, Angel quickly walked away. The brunette's behavior had been strange, but that was at the very back of his mind. All he could think about was that Buffy was alive. If he was to believe Faith, that is, but he hadn't seen anything in her to make him think she was lying. Any lead was better than nothing, though.
The relief he felt at the news was mildly muted by the need to see it for himself. He had to know for a fact that she was alive and well. Seeing a payphone nearby, Angel jogged over to it and dialed the cell number of the pilot who had brought him to Sunnydale. He hoped he was still in town because Angel had at least one more trip to make.
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TBC!!