Prophesy After the Fact

Part Eleven

By Marie Nomad

Alexander Harris had been through many things in his life. He had been though at least six apocalypses, one which had been caused by his best friend, he had been abused as a boy, he had to stake a friend who had been turned into a vampire, and he had even endured a bachelor party where half of the attendants weren't human. Not once, had he been so scared.

Buffy stood there staring at him. Her small frame trembled as tears threatened to overwhelm her. "Buffy…"

"Don't 'Buffy' me." Buffy growled as she stepped back. "Stay away!"

"Huh? But-"

"If you get any closer, I will kill you." Buffy warned as she turned around and ran away.

"Oh boy." Xander muttered as he leaned close to Will. "Never make Buffy mad."

Will nodded and then clenched his fist. He didn't know what to do. He didn't have anything to do with this and yet it just felt like it was his fault. What could he do? "Right."

XXX

Buffy was mad, she was miserable, and hurt. All she could think about were those last two years of high school of hell. No one wanted to be around her, everyone condemned her for wanting to be with Angel. Xander was the ring leader of the 'I hate Angel' club. How dare he lied to her and then bragged about it to Will? She marched into the bomb shelter and saw a punching bag.

"ARGH!" She screamed as she punched a hole in the bag.

"Hey, I just fixed that." Spike complained and then got rewarded by a punch in the face.

"Oh no." Buffy saw her fist and then pulled Spike up. "I'm so sorry. I… I'm in a very bad mood right now."

"No kidding." Spike muttered, "Okay what happened? The last time I checked, you were happy that Will was taking the news of you being a slayer well."

"I was. I was ecstatic." Buffy growled, "He was asking people about my life and what it means to be around Slayers which is okay. After all, he needs help and a distraction from that demon that's going to wake up and kill him. Then, Xander… that lying hypocrite who can't stand anyone who isn't human…" Buffy held out her hands and made strangling noises.

"What did he do now?"

Buffy sighed and closed her eyes. "He lied to me. He has been lying to me for years."

Spike blinked. "About what?"

"The nerve of him, hanging around me, pretending to be better than me morally. Oh yeah, I slept with a couple of vampires but he had been with an ex-vengeance demon who had been around longer than Angelus and Darla combined! That make things oh so better and he wanted to be with Anya way more than he wants me to be with anyone that makes me happy!"

"Buffy!" Spike grabbed her by the shoulders and stared at her eyes. "What did he do to you? You know that I would do anything to make it better."

"He… he lied to me."

"I know, we got that far."

"He…" Buffy took a deep breath. She had to tell someone. Spike wasn't perfect; he hated Angel but not to wish him to Hell. Will might feel a little overwhelmed with what was going on. Leia wouldn't know what was going on. She didn't know Gunn and Illyria to confide in. She doubt Giles would be sympathetic to her and Willow was in deep meditation that can't be interrupted. "Do you remember that time when Angelus was about to end the world by summoning Alcatha?"

"How could I forget? It was the first time that you and me joined together to fight a common enemy." Spike grinned.

"It wasn't for the best of intentions." Buffy warned.

"True, but what did you expect from an evil soulless monster that I was? What did Xander lie to you about?"

"Willow tried to resoul Angel before it was too late. She told Xander to tell me what she was about to do. He caught up with me and told me that Willow told him to tell me 'Kick his ass'. Exact words."

Spike's jaw dropped. "You mean to tell me that he had the stones to lie to you like that and condemned Angel to a lifetime of Hell? If it weren't for the fact that I'm a champion now, I would be patting him on the back." Buffy glared at him and Spike held up his hands. "Hey, I'm just as mad as you are. He shouldn't lie to you like that. Seriously."

"I know. It's just that… it hurts. It hurts so much and I don't know why." Buffy sat down and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Why didn't he tell me? He should have told me. He always act like he was right and… I don't know what to do."

"Maybe it's because it was years ago. He never had the guts to tell you. I have grudges that lasted for decades. Sometimes, these grudges that came out feel worse because they grow stronger with time. Back when I was human, I was teased and ostracized by this group of wankers. They taunted my poetry and I hated them. Even after I killed them, that pain still remains. Took me a hundred years before I summoned enough courage to show my poetry again. That pounce will come around. If not…"

"Thanks but I just need to beat up something before I can talk to him."

"I know just the girl." Spike said as he got up and came back with Illyria. "Blue, the Slayer here needs to vent some anger."

"Wait, I can't just beat up your friend." Buffy argued.

"I do not get beat up so easily." Illyria said, "You are filled with rage and anger. Let me help you with your rage."

Buffy pondered. She couldn't go out and stake vampires since it's daytime and she didn't want to hurt Xander too much. "All right but if you start hurting, tell me."

"Very well."

XXX

"I am in trouble." Xander moaned as he and Will sat in the kitchen. "I'm so dead. Buffy is going to kill me."

"Maybe, you should apologize."

"Like that would help. I've made girls mad before and they take forever for them to forgive me."

"Like what?"

"Oh… when Cordelia, my ex-girlfriend caught me and Willow making out and Anya for ditching her at the alter."

Will frowned at him. "Gee, I wonder why would it take forever for them to forgive you?"

"Maybe, I can make it up to Buffy. Like flowers or chocolates. Shoes! Buffy loves shoes! What do you think?"

"You're asking a guy who didn't remember making girls mad at him for relationship advice?"

"Oh." Xander pondered. "Maybe, I should ask G-man about this."

"Gunn?"

"Giles." Xander said and then saw the Englishman coming in. "Hey, G-man, great timing. I have a small problem with Buffy, actually a big problem."

"Oh really?" Giles looked at him. After the trouble with Illyria, Fred, and Spike, he needed a much needed distraction. While a giant demon threatening Buffy's new boyfriend was distracting enough, this was better. "What happened?"

"Well…" Xander sighed, "Will was asking me about Buffy and what it takes to be around her and so I told him about the times I helped saved the world and I didn't know that she was there and I bragged about how I didn't tell Buffy that Willow was going to restore Angel's soul when he was threatening the world with Alcatha. Buffy overhead and is really mad and I don't want her to be mad at me."

It took a moment for Giles to translate the garbage. "You lied to Buffy when Willow was trying to restore Angel's soul?" Xander nodded. "I… this is…" Giles took off his glasses and wiped them. "How could you?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time! Besides, I don't really see what the big deal is. Angel came back from Hell after only a few months and Buffy seemed fine."

"A few months on Earth are the equivalent of a hundred years in Hell!" Giles yelled, "And Buffy never recovered from what experience. You remember what happened with Dawn. She would rather die than sacrifice another one. Don't you remember how you, we treated her when she came back after running away?"

"She deserved it, she abandoned us!"

"After killing the love of her life." Will spoke up, "I'm surprised she didn't do anything more drastic like killing herself or turning to drugs. How did you treat Angel?"

"Well… we…"

"They tried to kill him." Leia finished as she came in. "I know all about what happened from the stories. Faith was called and Xander and everyone else gathered to kill Angel. One of those cautionary tales of sleeping with the dead."

"Okay, so maybe we overreacted a little." Xander said feeling very uncomfortable.

"But, didn't you guys like shunned Buffy after you found out that Angel was alive?"

"No, we didn't do that."

"We did." Giles sighed, "I saw it. I was blinded by rage and so were everyone else. We confronted her and buried her in pressure. All that we did back then caused a chain of events that made Buffy the way she was." He took off his glasses and put his hands over his eyes. "I still hate him."

Will watched the scene and rubbed his hand over his heart. The pain was starting again, he could almost see Xander with two eyes and a bunch of others coming at him with stakes and torches. "Would you guys do that to me if I turn out to be inhuman?"

"No, of course not!" Leia denied, "I love you, you're my brother. If you came back wrong, we'll fix you."

"There's nothing wrong with you." Xander insisted, "You're as human as me. That's not the point. The point is that Buffy is really mad at me and I need to figure out a way to make her not so mad. Leia, you're a slayer girl, if I say… told a lie that made your brother fall into Hell and you found out, what would make you not mad at me any more?"

Leia glared at him darkly. "If anything happens to Will, I would demand that you serve me for the rest of your mortal life and use you as bait when I hunt vampires."

Silence filled the room. "Eh… something less extreme?" Xander asked.

"And shoes. Really expensive shoes." Leia added.

"Just apologize to her." Giles offered, "Let her know how sorry you are."

"Maybe, I can ignore it. I mean, maybe she'll cool down and forget about it." Xander said optimistically.

At that moment, Gunn came in and asked, "Say, you guys got any ginseng? Buffy's pounding Illyria nine ways into Monday while screaming your name." He looked at Xander. "What did you do to make her pissed off at you?"

"Where's the best place to buy shoes at?" Xander asked Leia.

XXX

Willow sighed in relief as she stretched to get the knots out of her legs. It took her several hours of meditation and soul searching but she had finally felt ready to get Fred back. It wasn't like in the old days when she would just cast any spell without consulting anyone. Goddess knows that she can't repeat the insane consequences that happened after her spell casting. The last time she cast anything so major; the world became full of slayers.

Before she knew it, countless girls were changed like Buffy and some of them suffered because of that. A few were insane at the time and they went on a rampage, many had their lives tossed into chaos, Leia were one of the lucky ones and her brother ended up brain damaged because of her slayer duties.

She had to do something right with her power.

"Maybe, chocolates too." Xander said, "What do you think?"

"The shoes should be enough." Will replied, "How did Willow react to this? After all, you lied about her."

"Lied about what?"

Xander gulped. It was bad enough to have Buffy mad at him but Willow too? Willow has enough power to awaken every potential into a slayer on the planet and could make herself invisible to only he and Buffy just by thinking. "Well… you see… do you remember that time with Alcatha when you sent me to Buffy to tell her that you were going to restore Angel's soul? Well… I lied to her and didn't tell her. I told Will about it and Buffy over heard me and she's mad at me but please don't be mad at me too."

Willow's face paled. "You… didn't tell her? How could you?"

"I just don't see what's the big deal is. Angel came back fine and everything worked out. I just need to help Buffy figure that out."

"If you call Angel being trapped in hell for over a hundred years fine." Will muttered under his breath. "How would you feel if you had to send someone you love to Hell?"

"I'd feel terrible but that's not the point. Angel came back and he and Buffy broke up because he was a vampire."

"Or was it because you guys forced us apart." Buffy said from the doorway. "Admit it, when Angel left, you were ecstatic. In fact, you were nice to me again after he left."

"What?" Xander gawked. "Now wait… Angel was evil. He broke your heart."

"After you ran him off." Buffy accused, "I was alone that whole year. I sent my boyfriend to Hell and no body cared. You just accused me again and again and… I feel like I can't trust any of you again with what I feel. It hurts a lot… and what hurts me more is that you told Will but you never told me. You said that you would do it again. What about Anya? She was killing people and I was getting ready to stop her. You weren't ready to give her up. You even told me that I never understood but I understand perfectly. I'm tired. I don't want to think about this any more. Right now, there's a demon that's going to kill Will if I don't do something." She glared at Xander. "Unless you don't want me to save him too." Buffy stormed out.

"Really expensive shoes." Will advised as he ran after her.

XXX

Buffy sighed as she sat down. She was tired from her bash fest. "Buffy, are you okay?" Will asked as he came in.

"Oh yeah. Just a few rounds with an ex-Old God and I'm good." Buffy grinned at him. "Don't worry, I've been through worse."

"I know but you look miserable." Will said as he sat down next to her. "You can talk to me about this Angel guy. I won't get all jealous about him. Okay, a little, but that's it."

"You know, Faith, a fellow Slayer, once asked me what was my hardest kill. I've dealt with demons, vampires, a hell god and all sorts of nasties. The worst kill that I ever had to do was Angel. No body seems to understand that. I never really told anyone how much I still have nightmares about that day. It's pretty stupid to even talk about it."

"You sent your boyfriend to hell and you still feel guilty. That's not stupid. That's normal." Will hugged Buffy. "You have a right to feel bad about what happened but Angel did get out right?"

"Yeah. It still hurts. I don't want to do it again. Never again. Do you see what my problem is? I'm cursed. Every man I go with will suffer, including you."

"I won't die." Will took her hands. "Buffy, I just got back my life and I'm not losing it again. I'm not going to die."

"What about when we find Angel?"

"I don't know. I want to meet the guy and see what he's like. He sounds interesting." Will said, "I mean, I have no past and that guy has plenty of past. Do you think he would loan me some of his past?"

"What? I…" Buffy jabbed him in the arm. "Very funny. Seriously, how would you react meeting Angel?"

"I don't know. It should at least make you feel better when you find him. After that, we'll just see what happens next." Will shrugged, "Oh well, I'm hungry. Wanna go and get something to eat?"

"Are you ever not hungry?"

"Once in a while."

XXX

"I feel so much better." Buffy said as she and Will went back to her hotel room. Somehow, being around Will, made everything felt better. She felt relief just being close to him. Then, she remembered the demon that she had to fight and Angel who was nearby.

She opened the hotel room and there was silence. All around were boxes of chocolates, roses, and shoes. "What's with all the shoes?" Buffy wondered as she tipped toed around the packages.

"Here's a note." Will said as he picked up a card. "Dear Buffy, I'm sorry. Love Xander."

"That guy. Do you think that he could really buy my forgiveness with all this?" Buffy laughed as she sat down. "He must've think that I think like Cordelia. This is so like him."

Will chuckled as he sat down beside her. "At least he's trying."

"I guess." Buffy shook her head. "He was one of my best friends, he did help me a lot after Angel left.

Then, an image came to his mind. "Oh my god. I think… I think I remember doing something like this."

"Say what?"

"I mean… I remembered buying a bunch of women's clothes with a friend who… seems gay. Never saw him before in my life and I had the bags all over a desk that belongs to this girl. She was mad at me for some reason so I bought her forgiveness with clothes." Will looked to the side. "Oh my god. I think I actually remembered that."

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked as her eyes widened. "You really remembered that?"

"I guess." Will looked to the side. "It feels like a memory and it doesn't look like some movie." He reached up and hugged Buffy. "Sorry, I was just…"

"Hey, you're getting your memories back. Granted, that's one memory but it's a start and you'll get all of your past back." Buffy said hopefully.

"Maybe." Will rubbed his head as he tried to go over that precious memory. It felt strange, something about that memory doesn't make sense. What was he doing in LA five years ago?

To Be Continued…