Heroic Deeds

By Ayisha

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the story. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters belong to Joss Whedon. I Love You Goodbye was sang by Celine Dion.

Author's Notes 1: An AtS/BtVS/Smallville crossover, some parts are AU; the rest will be explained in the story.

Author's Notes 2: I'm sorry if I haven't updated for a long time. I don't mean to abandon the story, it's just that I always seem to have a massive writer's block whenever I try to write the next chapter. I'm sorry for keeping all of you waiting.

Spoilers: Some parts of S5 and S6 for Buffy; S3 and S4 for Angel.

Summary: Buffy left Sunnydale and came to Smallville.

Chapter 17:

SunnydaleCalifornia

"A locating spell."

Every one stared at him as if he had grown two heads. Giles huffed. "We've been trying to locate her for a week without success."

He was right, of course. Ever since Spike's revelation that Buffy was alive had put the gang back into research mode. Every one pitched to look for her. They tried everything to checking bus terminals, airports, ships even to hospitals to no avail.

It was then Giles thought of the locating spell. He could not believe he'd forgotten about it. Giles sighed inwardly. He really must be getting old.

"I can do it," Willow volunteered. "It's not that complicated, really. All we need is a map…" she drifted off when she saw the look on Wesley's face.

She wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Is something wrong?" Fred asked him.

Wesley knew when he was beaten. He had tried to keep it from them as long as he could…let them continue their search even though he knew how fruitless it was. When Spike had told them all that Buffy did not die, Wesley had been so sure he was also going to tell them what he,Wesley Wyndham-Pryce had to do with it.

Imagine his astonishment when Spike did not say anything else after his confession that he was also in love with Buffy. Though he was grateful, Wesley could not help but wonder why. It was not as if he and Spike knew each other well enough and they certainly weren't friends.

Looking at Spike now, Wesley realized why. Spike had wanted him to tell them himself. He would love seeing me squirm, Wesley thought bitterly.

"Wes?" Gunn said.

Wesley cleared his throat. "Well…uhm…" he fidgeted around nervously. "It's…well…"

"Spit it out." Faith told him impatiently. "We don't have all day."

"Buffy's missing!" Wesley blurted out.

Every one looked at him. "Isn't that the reason we're looking for her?" Xander said dubiously.

"What I meant to say was that," It's now or never. "I helped Buffy run away."

There was silence. Every one was stunned. It was clear that, of all the people who would have helped Buffy, it certainly wasn't Wesley.

Every one knew that Buffy and Wesley wasn't exactly the best of friends. Hell, they never even talked to each other in civilized terms.

So it was really no surprise that no one believed him when he said that.

Cordelia chuckled. "You've got to be kidding me. You and Buffy hated each other's guts."

"Disliked each other with a passion, yes." Wesley replied. "But nevertheless, I helped her get away."

Giles looked at him. "Are you telling the truth? Because if this is a joke…"

Spike rolled his eyes. "He's telling the truth. Ajax told me as much. He's been following Buffy around and saw her leave."

Something akin to anger flashed in Angel's eyes. "You knew all along? You lied to me for all this time?"

"I'm sorry." Wesley took a deep breath. "I know it's no excuse…"

"The hell it isn't!" Angel snapped. "I trusted you, Wesley! How could you do this to me?"

"Because you were the reason she left in the first place!" Wesley shot back. "Do you have any idea how hurt Buffy was when she saw you kissing Cordelia with Conner in your arms? You three were the perfect family! She thought you had the perfect life! You had a son, a woman who loves you and friends who care so much about you...the life you had wanted for her! The reason you left!" He laughed then. A harsh laugh. Somehow, all the things Buffy had told him made real sense now. It was really hypocritical. Angel left Buffy so she could have a normal life and look how that turned out. In the end, it was Angel who got close to having a normal life, vampire with a soul, notwithstanding.

Angel was speechless. "I…"

"Forget it," Wesley said bitterly. "It's too late now. But you have to understand, I had to do what I could to help her. She was suffocating here."

"How could she?" Willow asked. "We were her friends. We were always here to help her."

"If you hadn't brought her back, there wouldn't be a problem." It was Spike who spoke up.

Willow froze. "What are you talking about? We were supposed to bring her back! We couldn't let her rot in hell!"

"Why did you think she was in hell?" Spike demanded. "Does Buffy not deserve to actually be in heaven?"

His words sank in. "No…" Willow whispered.

"She was happy," Spike continued. "She was finally at peace. You took that away from her when you brought her back."

"Buffy…" Dawn choked. She turned to Wesley. "Where is she? I need to know. She must be lonely. I need to talk to her. I need to tell her…" she broke off.

"I'm sorry. I don't know."

"But you said…"

Wesley shook his head remorsefully. "I don't know what happened after she left. She would not answer her phone. I've tried contacting her repeatedly but I've failed. I've also consulted the authorities but they have no news of what happened." He shrugged helplessly. "I was too scared to tell you and now it's too late. I'm too late."

"We could always go to where she is." Tara suggested softly.

Angel stared at Wesley. "Tell us where she went. We need to go there and find her."

"Smallville, Kansas. She was supposed to go to Smallville."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SmallvilleKansas

She woke up, beads of sweat on her face. She glanced around the room. It was only three o'clock in the morning.

Buffy shivered. She was cold. It was strange. She was perspiring yet she was feeling cold. It must have been the dream.

She had never dreamt as vividly as before.

She saw herself on top of what seemed like a cliff. She was talking to a girl…telling her something…she couldn't quite remember. There was a portal opening from below them, getting larger by the minute. And then she was running…jumping out of the cliff and into the portal…

And that was when she woke up. She was still in her work clothes. She hadn't changed after what happened that night.

Buffy still could not figure out what exactly happened. Did she actually kill someone? Or was it already dead?

The answers were coming to her if only she could grasp them. Everytime a memory arose, one blink of an eye, it was gone. She couldn't remember anymore.

This time, Buffy vowed it would different. If something about her past would come to her, she would hang on to it with every part of her being.

The phone then again rang, interrupting her thoughts. It had always been like this. Lionel Luthor trying to find out if she had made some progress. Without preamble, she answered it. "I haven't gotten close to him yet."

"You're free."

Buffy frowned. "Lex? Why are you calling me?"

"Didn't you hear me?" His voice sent chills to her spine. It was so cold and devoid of any emotion. "You're free."

"What are you talking about?"

"I thought you should be the first one to know. My father's dead. He was in a plane accident."

"I'm sorry." She knew how hard it was to lose a parent. She didn't know why, but she knew who it felt.

"Don't be." There was a harsh laugh. "He was killed."

"Killed?"

"Killed." Lex paused. When he spoke again, his voice was as calm as ever. "His past finally caught up with him."