Title: Power Play

Author: Edel

Email:

Summary: see other chapters...

Distribution: my group: . If you want it on your site, just ask!

Spoilers: Girl In Question, Power Play.

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. Lyrics are Last Thing on My Mind by LeAnn Rimes & Ronan Keating.

Author's note: This is NOT the final chapter! There will be two different ending...

Chapter 5

Buffy stood and tried to compose herself as the elevator descended to the ground floor. She took a deep shaky breath, and forced herself to keep her tears inside. As the doors opened with a ding, she walked out, her back straight and her head high, praying that none of the doormen or receptionists noticed her puffy eyes. She hailed herself a cab, and told the driver to drive her to her hotel. As she blankly looked out the window, she noticed it had started to rain lightly. Once inside her hotel room, she tried to pack, but the pressure of keeping her tears inside was too much, and she began to cry once again.

Angel stared at the elevator doors, as if willing them to open and for Buffy to be on the other side. But still, they remained shut, as they had remained for the last several minutes. Suddenly, he felt a slender hand on his shoulder. He looked up at Nina.

"Get up," she commanded.

"Why?" he whispered.

"You're not gonna be able to get her just by staying on the ground," Nina told him, as she forced him to stand. "She's probably gone back to her hotel to pack, and she'll be on the first flight back to Rome soon if you don't do anything about it. I got Harmony to check, and the next flight for Rome is leaving in a few hours, so you don't have much time." He looked at her warily.

"Why are you helping me?" She shrugged.

"I don't know," she answered. "Maybe because I might feel a bit better if I help get the two of you back together again."

"I don't know where to start," he admitted.

"Well, you could start by maybe killing the thing that killed your child." His head shot up. "I know where the place is... where she was attacked," Nina admitted.

"Where?"

"Okay, you know that building that got burned down a few years ago, Angel... Investigations." Realization dawned in her eyes. "That was your... agency, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," he replied. "How did you know about that place?"

"Well..." she began, "Thanksgiving 1999, Buffy came to LA, she stayed at my place, and she asked me to bring her there." She was silent for a moment. "Hey! You're the reason she was so upset when I came to collect her afterwards!" His head shot up.

"Upset?"

"Yeah, upset," Nina said. "She wouldn't tell me why. But... when she was sleeping that night, she kept repeating, what was it?" She paused, trying to remember. "Oh yeah! 'I'll never forget, I'll forget'. It was weird, but when I asked her the next morning what was she dreaming about, she didn't remember."

"Then what?" Angel prodded.

"Then... well, then she went home. I didn't hear from her again until now, really," she told him. He processed this for a moment, and then a determined look crossed his face.

"So, the vampire, its nest was behind my old offices?" he asked. She nodded. He headed into his office, and opened up his weapons closet. He removed a medieval axe from it and shut the doors. Grabbing his leather duster, he headed towards the stairs heading towards the basement garage.

"Angel," Nina called. He paused in his actions. "Be careful," she said. He nodded curtly, and disappeared down the long flight of stairs.

The alley behind his old office was dark and quiet, too quiet, Angel thought to himself. He gripped his battle axe tighter and closer to him, as he crept silently through the dirty alley. He manoeuvred his way through the cardboard boxes and broken glass bottles that lay messily all over the alley. He felt something brush by his leg, and he realized it was a rat. Suddenly, there was an almost silent whisper of air, and he moved out of the way just in time to find several vampires had jumped into the alley from the high buildings. They circled him slowly, warily. He narrowed his eyes at them, then jumped into battle.

Dodging a punch from of the vampires, he kicked them in the stomach, and beheaded it with his axe. He was then kicked in the back and was sent flying into the hard brick wall. Growling, he morphed as he turned around.

"Now, that wasn't very nice," he said, as he began dodging blow after, and beheaded another two vampires at the same time. They shrieked as they turned to dust blowing in the cool night breeze. The other remaining three vampires growled as they realized he was a vampire like them.

"Hey, I know you," one of them, who appeared to be the leader, spoke up.

"Yeah, well, I know who I am too," Angel retorted.

"You're Angelus," the leader spoke again. "Hey man, I did you a great favour a few years back." This caught Angel's attention.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I killed that pesky Slayer's baby for ya," he boasted, laughing as he recalled that fatal night. Angel smiled mysteriously.

"You shouldn't have told me that," Angel advised him, as he slowed walked closer.

"Why not?" the leader asked uneasily.

"Well, first of all, I'm not Angelus, I'm Angel," Angel began.

"Angel! That souled vamp!" one of the other vampires interrupted. "You're that sod you kills our kind." Angel pondered, then swung his axe.

"You're right," he told the pile of ash. The other vampire began to run, but didn't get far as Angel grabbed a stake he had hidden inside his sleeve and flung at the vampire. The stake dropped noisily in the silent alley. The leader looked from the piles of dust to Angel, fear in his eyes.

"Anyways, where was I?" Angel asked. "Oh yeah. You remember that baby you killed?" He began walking closer and closer, the leader began backing up until his back hit the cold brick wall.

"Answer me!" Angel demanded, growling.

"Yes, I remember," the leader answered quickly, nodding his head.

"Well," Angel explained slowly, "that was my child." He finished with a cruel smile on his lips and a murderous glint in his eyes. The other vampire was left speechless.

"Oh, man, I'm sorry," he babbled, as Angel's eyes grew darker. "If I'd known-"

"You wouldn't have killed her, just so you could say you killed my mate?!" The vampires eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Angel cut him off. "Don't even bother denying it," he growled. "You know, you're lucky I've to go find the woman I love, or else I'd torture you for days on end. But I guess I'll just have to settle for this," he said, beheading the vampire. Wiping his hand, he heard someone clapping behind him. When he whirled around to see who was there, but the alley was empty. He sighed.

"It's late. I'm tired, and I don't wanna play games. Show yourself," he demanded.

"Good show," a soft voice said behind him, and he jumped. He turned around, but saw nobody. When, he turned around again, he jumped. There stood a young girl with blond hair and a smile across her beautiful face.

"Who are you?" he asked warily.

"That doesn't matter," she answered softly. "You must come with me now. It's urgent." She held out her small hand. He narrowed his eyes.

"I haven't got time for any bullshit," he growled. She sighed.

"Where we're going, time stands still," she told him.

"Who are you?" he asked again. She smiled mysteriously.

"Oh, just your link," she replied.

"To what?" he asked.

"The Powers That Be." She held out her hand once more. This time he grasped it, and immediately they disappeared, a bright white light shining for a moment after they left, then it evaporated.

He found himself in a large, white open space, alone. Then, the mysterious girl appeared beside him.

"Where are we?" he whispered.

"We're everywhere and nowhere," she answered. "The Powers requested that I bring you before them." Suddenly, a bright light appeared before them, and when that disappeared, two beings could be seen.

"May I present to you The Powers That Be," the girl announced. Angel looked at them.

"They're not The Powers, they're The Oracles," he told her.

"They got promoted," she replied.

"Oh."

"Vampire." The male spoke first. "Speech is as shallow as time, silence is as deep as eternity." Angel looked at the girl, confused.

"Huh?"

"He means shut up," she explained.

"We brought you here for a reason," the female said.

"And that is?" Angel enquired.

"Thou was not born for death immortal," she replied. He looked at her, confusion on his face. "You time is up," she told him.

"My time?"

"Yes. You have served your time as a demon," the male explained.

"You will revert to the way you were before-" the female began.

"Human?" he asked. She nodded.

"But, you will be blessed with supernatural abilities," she continued.

"You'll retain your strength and healing ability," the male said in a bored tone. Angel was silent.

"You may go now," the female said, approaching him. "Go find her. Be with her."

"How will I know where to find her?" he asked. She smiled.

"Look into your heart," she whispered. "Are you ready?" He nodded, unable to speak. She touched his cheek... and he found himself back in the alley. A determined look on his face, he set off.

While Angel had been fighting, Buffy had finally packed everything. She hailed a cab, and told the driver to drive to the airport. She realized it was 4am, only a couple of hours until her flight. As she looked out the window at the night sky, she heard the low voice of the DJ announce the next song. For some reason, she felt the need to hear that song.

"Turn up the radio," she told the driver. He complied. She continued to look out the window as the words off the song made different impacts on her.

Four o'clock in the morning
My mind's filled with a thousand thoughts of you
And how you left without warning
But lookin' back I'm sure ya tried to talk it through

Her mind suddenly filled with memories of Graduation. She took a shaky breath, as the song continued.

Now I see it so clearly
We're together but living separate lives
So I wanna tell you I'm sorry
Baby I can't find the words
But if I could
Then you know I would yeah yeah yeah

She began to realize that they were leading separate lives, and she had been with Riley and Spike, but for some reason, she hadn't expected Angel to move on. She didn't want him to.

No I won't let go, know what we can be
I won't watch my life crashin' down on me
Guess I had it all right there before my eyes
Girl I'm sorry now, you were the last thing on my mind

She realized with a start that she didn't want to give him up, give up what they could be, give up what had always been in front of her the whole time.

You carried me like a river
How far we've come still surprises me
And now I look in the mirror
Look in the mirror
Starin' back is the man I used to

Be with you
How I long for you

She remembered how far they came together. They always made it together. She wanted that back.

No I won't let go, know what we can be
I won't watch my life crashin' down on me
Guess I had it all right there before my eyes, yeah
Girl I'm sorry now, you were the last thing on my mind

Girl I'm sorry (girl I'm sorry)
I was wrong (I was wrong)
Could've been there (could've been there)
Shoulda been so strong
So I'm sorry

No I won't let go, know what we can be
I won't watch my life crashin' down on me
Guess I had it all right there before my eyes, yeah
Girl I'm sorry now
Oh I'm sorry
You were the last thing
On my mind (on my mind)

I won't watch my life crashin' down on me
Guess I had it all right there before my eyes, yeah
Girl I'm sorry now, you were the last thing
On my mind

On my mind (on my mind)

Suddenly, she wanted to stop the cab and get out and walk down the long beach they were passing.

"Where are we?" she asked the driver.

"Santa Monica," was his gruff reply. Her breath caught, for some reason she didn't know.

"Stop. Stop the car," she commanded.

"Where?" he asked.

"Here. At this park. Could leave my bags back at Wolfram and Hart? Tell them they're Buffy's, and they should give you a big tip." She smiled as he agreed, and drove off. She turned, and took a deep breath. There was something about this park... she didn't know what. Walking through the park, she got a sense of déjà vu, although she could never recall being in the park. She gasped as images filled her head, of kisses in the sunshine and ice cream.

"I will remember you," she whispered, as she realized what she was remembering. She finally found steps leading down to the beach, and walked towards the water.

Angel was driving through Santa Monica when he heard the same song that Buffy heard, and he too had been lost in memory lane. Suddenly, he slowed the car as he got a tingling in his stomach. She was nearby. He realized he was near the park where they kissed on the forgotten day. He parked the car and looking around, saw nobody. Running through the park, the tingling became stronger. Then, he saw a lone figure on the beach, illuminated by the moonlight. It was her. Slowly, he descended the stone steps and walked towards her.

Buffy watched the waves crash against the shore, and was filled with the urge to dive under the water's surface. She felt him before she heard him.

"It looks so empty," he said as he stood beside her. She looked at him, holding her jacket closer, and looked out at the ocean again. "It's not though," he continued. "It's a whole other world beneath the surface. I should know," he finished sarcastically.

"It makes me want to dive into the water and not resurface," she whispered. She turned to him. "Angel, I remember."

"You remember," he murmured.

"Yes. It all... clicked into place when I got here." She turned to face the water again. "Why are you here?"

"Because I want to apologize. And I don't want you to go." She smiled.

"I'm not going. I heard a song, and I was reminded of all I could lose if I left again," she murmured stepping closer to him.

"I heard a song too," he whispered, stepping closer. "I also visited some higher beings." This caught her attention.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," he murmured, as he stood behind her, and slipped his arms around her waist. "They told me my time was up as an immortal." She stiffened within his embrace, and turned to face him.

"What?" she asked. "What do you mean by that?" He didn't answer, only took her hand and placed it over his heart. She looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"Its... it's beating," she gasped. Tears fell from her eyes, and she hastily wiped them away. "Oh my God, Angel. Do you know what this means-" He placed a finger to her lips, silencing her.

"I love you. Let this be a time not for words." She smiled.

"I love you," she echoed softly, and kissing passionately, they sunk into the sand.

They slept together on the sand, holding each other, wrapped in a warm blanket that Angel had retrieved from his car. They began to stir as the sun began to rise. Buffy began to laugh softly.

"Your first sun rise in over two hundred years," she said aloud. He smiled.

"Buffy, I've something to ask you," he said nervously. She looked at him. He took a deep breath. "You know you're my whole world, right?" She looked at him nervously.

"Don't you even think of saying that we can't be together," she threatened. He smiled.

"No, I wasn't going to say that," he assured her. She smiled in relief.

"Buffy Summers, I've loved you since I first saw you on that sunny afternoon outside your school, and I'll still love you when I'm old and wrinkled." She giggled. "Would you make me the happiest man alive by marrying me?" She gasped, and tears formed in her eyes.

"Yes, of course!" she said. He smiled, and retrieved a small ring from his duster.

"My claddagh ring," she gasped softly.

"I found it on the floor of the mansion," he whispered. She looked up at him, and kissed him.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you," he echoed.