Disclaimer: Btvs or Ats is not mine. Not mine at all. I don't own anything Buffy or Angel-related.

THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! THEY MADE ME SMILE!

A/N: Another chapter! It isn't very long though. Sorry about that. Hopefully you'll enjoy it anyway. Let me know! The next chapter is going to be longer though. I think there are only 2 chapters coming up after this....so the end is near!

Liz: First of all: thank you for your review! And I know that the final battle took place during the day, but in my story it takes place during the night. I mentioned that in chapter 3...I believe. So...Angel didn't die! Thank God! :-)

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Chapter 12

While wandering the chaotic streets of L.A, Buffy looked up Angel. He seemed to be completely caught in his own thoughts. Buffy couldn't blame him. He had a lot on his mind. She was pretty sure they had been walking around for at least 30 minutes now. Buffy looked up at the sky and she realized the sun would rise in a little while. She had no idea where they were going though and she doubted Angel did know their destination.

"Angel?" she eventually asked.

Angel looked up at her. Buffy tried to smile at him. Suddenly a woman bumped into her and because Buffy hadn't seen it coming she almost fell to the ground. She looked up at the woman that had run in to her. She was a tall, dark-haired woman, probably in her mid-twenties. The woman mumbled an apology.

"It's okay" Buffy answered the woman.

Suddenly the woman looked up at Buffy and the expression on her face changed. She almost looked frightened. Then the woman ran off in a different direction. Buffy frowned and looked at Angel.

"What just happened?" she asked him.

"Don't know...it didn't seem good though."

"Maybe they all know about us. Maybe Jasmine told everybody."

"I doubt it." Angel answered. "We haven't been gone that long. Maybe Jasmine hasn't even noticed it yet."

That made sense.

"Maybe they feel it" She tried to come up with an explanation.

"Feel what?"

"That we don't...believe...or whatever."

"Yeah, maybe that's it."

A silence fell.

"It's almost morning" Buffy suddenly said. "The sun will rise in a little while"

Angel nodded slowly.

"What are we going to do?" she asked him.

It felt pretty weird to be asking him this. She was usually perfectly able of coming up with her own plans, but this time she couldn't think of a single plan. Everything seemed so messed up. And L.A was sort of Angel's territory. At the moment, she felt like the hero's side-kick, instead of the hero. She couldn't deny it felt pretty good. Although it was hard for her to figure out what she was feeling exactly, since there was so much going on at the same time.

"I don't know" Angel answered truthfully.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?"

"I think so."

Buffy was afraid to ask any further and she decided she just had to trust him. Which she did. The continued walking in silence. A rare sight in the middle of all the choas that was going on around them.

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Barely 15 minutes later they closed the door off a motelroom behind them. Buffy looked around. It wasn't as bad as she expected it to be. It was actually pretty nice. Just like most of the stores and motels, this motel was abandoned, which made it easy for them to get a key of a room. Even from inside the room, they were still able to hear all the things that were going on outside. People were laughing and having fun. Buffy figured the owners of the motel were probably outside celebrating whatever it was they were celebrating. She hesitated before sitting down on the double bed in the middle of the room. Angel closed all the curtains in the room before sitting down on a chair in a corner.

"Do you still have the globe?" Angel asked her.

Buffy nodded. She took the globe from her pocket. It was still glowing. Buffy got up from the bed and handed it to Angel. He stared at it.

"What do you know about it?" He asked Buffy, not taking his eyes off the globe.

"Well...apparentlythe only way to defeat Jasmine is by finding out her name." She suddenly realized how stupid that sounded."Or something like that" She added quickly.

Angel didn't seem to notice what Buffy had just said didn't make a lot of sense. He was still focused on the globe. Buffy decided to continue her story.

"The globe is a portal to another dimension. One where people can't survive" She paused, trying to remember the rest Spike had told her. "You have to look for the name-keeper" she continued.

Angel looked up when he heard her use the word 'you'.

"As far as I know I'm still human" Buffy explained.

Angel nodded. He knew that of course. And he also knew he was the one who had to go find the name-keeper.

"How much time do you think we have?" Buffy asked.

"Not a lot I guess. They are probably looking for us as we speak." Angel answered.

Buffy nodded.

"What will you do while I'm gone?" Angel suddenly asked as he put the globe down on the small table next to him.

Buffy smiled a little. Ever since leaving the hotel, Angel had been very distant. Almost like he was a stranger to her. She hadn't liked it. He always did it when he was worried about things though. She was glad he was slowly becoming his normal self again. The Angel that cared about her. The human Angel. For as far Angel could become human of course. She shrugged.

"I think I might go back to the hotel"

"Why would you do that?"

"Keep an eye on things. Make sure everyone's alright."

"They have Fred" Angel spoke.

"Exactly my point. I should try to find her."

"You could get caught."

"I could get caught here."

"It's too dangerous"

"I think I can handle myself."

"What if you can't?" Angel asked her and looked at her.

Buffy hesitated before answering.

"Then you're gonna have to save me....again."

Angel smiled at her words.

"I guess I could do that" He told her.

"I figured."

Their eyes locked. Buffy suddenly realized how everything about him was familiar, yet so completely new to her. Like she never got the chance to really get to know him. Like there were so many things waiting to be discovered. By her. She knew she shouldn't think like that. Things between her and Angel were over. Well, maybe not over, but...it could never happen. No matter how much she wanted it to. No matter how much it hurt.

"Be careful" she whispered.

Angel nodded.

"I will" he eventually said.

She smiled a little, then she looked away. Otherwise she would start thinking about things she really didn't want to think about. Not right now at least. This wasn't the time.

Angel picked up the globe again.

"So...how do we open this portal?"

Buffy wanted to answer Angel that she didn't know, but she didn't have to. Right before her eyes the globe opened. Angel put it on the floor and a portal was quickly formed. It wasn't a portal that would lead to a field of daisies and bunnies. It was a black hole that looked very unwelcoming. Sounds came from it. Scary sounds. Screams, things that sounded like footsteps. Sounds usually only heard in horror movies. It gave Buffy goosebumps.

"I guess your question is answered." Buffy said, while staring at the portal.

Angel nodded slowly, not taking his eyes of the portal either. There was something eery about the portal. Something told him to do not do it. Like a little voice inside his head that warned him. He knew he didn't have a choice though. People were counting on him. His son was counting on him. The world was counting on him.

"I should go" Angel suddenly said.

Buffy nodded.

"Hurry" she said.

"I'll try"

He stepped forward and his feet almost touched the portal. He turned around and looked at Buffy.

"When did I save you?"

Buffy gave him a questioning look.

"You said I would gonna have to save you again. When did I save you?"

"You really need me to answer that?"

Off Angel's look she continued.

"You've saved me a million times. Maybe you didn't realize it, but you did..."

"In what way?"

"In every way you could possibly think of."

He nodded slowly.

"That's good to know."

She smiled.

"This is starting to sound like a goodbye" She said.

"It isn't."

"That's good to know" she told him.

She looked at him.

"You should go."

"Yeah, I should...Be careful, okay?"

"I will."

He gave her one last look. Then he jumped into the portal, which quickly closed after he had dissapeared. Buffy took the globe from the floor. It had stopped glowing. The blue color was gone. She sighed. Then she put it in her pocket. Now what? She looked up at the other door in the room. The one that would lead to the bathroom. She was longing for a shower. So that was what she was going to do. She was going to take a quick shower. After that she would go back to the hotel. Back into the snake pit.

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A/N: Please review! I'll update asap.

Steffanie (a.k.a Nice-one)