Guess Who's Coming with Me
Part Two
By Marie Nomad
Buffy's jaw dropped as she stared at the mansion. It hasn't changed since that time with Alcatha. "We're home."
"No, you're home, I'm needed in LA." Gunn said as he got up and realized his shirt was missing. "Where's my shirt?" He stared at Buffy who was missing her shoes.
"No idea." She looked to see Angel who was staring at them and he was naked. "Angel." Buffy gasped as she reached into her bag and got out her blanket. "Here." She wrapped it over him. "Are you okay? Speak to me. Please."
Angel just stared at her and sniffed her like an animal. He growled at Gunn as he pulled himself away. He crawled on all fours and put his head on Buffy's lap.
"Great, we got a new dog." Gunn sighed.
Buffy ran her hand through Angel's hair as she petted him. "It's okay. Shhh… Gunn, can you go and find some clothes for Angel? I think he still has them somewhere."
"Fine." He stomped off. "Finding clothes for a vamp, what did I do to deserve this?"
Buffy took a deep breath. She couldn't blame Gunn for being so reluctant to help Angel. Angel was a vampire and her boyfriend or maybe ex-boyfriend. Hopefully, Gunn could see beyond his prejudices and actually tolerate him. Her heart pounded as she wrapped her arms around Angel's trembling form. Why did he have to suffer for Angelus' crimes? How much have he really remembered? And most importantly, if he ever recovered, would he ever forgive her?
"Hey, Anne." Gunn came in with an arm load of clothes. "I found some stuff. Looks like vampire clothes."
"Great. We need to dress him and start healing him." Buffy got rid of the blanket and accepted the clothes.
Gunn grumbled as he helped Angel into his clothes. "Great, now I'm dressing him. What am I, his nanny?"
"No one is asking you to help."
"And have my girl dress up her naked white dead ex-boyfriend who's not really an ex up? No thanks. You're not getting rid of me that easily." He smirked at Buffy.
After getting Angel dressed and into a sofa, Buffy looked at Gunn. "Gunn, I know that I'm asking a lot but can you go and get some stuff? We need some food, blood, and some cleaning supplies for us."
"Why not you? It's your town." Gunn asked as he put on his other shirt.
"I… I can't face them yet. I might still be wanted by the police and I don't know. I can't." Buffy pleaded.
"Okay… okay… I'll go. Better than staying here with the dog." He checked his money. "I'll be back."
XXX
Gunn wandered through the now sunny streets of Sunnydale. He had never seen such a small town before. Thankfully, there was a 7-11 store that looked great. He came in and noticed that several of the customers stared at him and then the clerk. Gunn looked at the security mirror to see a wild looking man staring back. He haven't seen his reflection in weeks. No wonder so many people were veering away.
He got a loaf of bread, milk, water, some peanut butter, a few cans and cleaning supplies. He got the newspaper and stared at the date. His jaw dropped. He looked at the clerk and asked, "Is this today's paper?"
"Yes, it is and you have to buy it."
"Right." He put the money on the counter and walked away with the goods. He started to run towards the mansion. "Anne!"
"What?" Buffy came out looking confused. "What is it?"
"How much time passed while we were in Hell?" Gunn asked stunned.
"Weeks by the hair growth. Why?"
Gunn held up a newspaper. "According to this it's still the same day. I bet Alonna and the others didn't even know that we left for Hell yet."
"What?" She stared at the paper. "Oh my god. It's daylight so it must be only a few hours…" She gazed at Angel who was asleep. "He's been in there for three of our months. How long could he have been in there? No…"
"Years in that ice cube, I'd go crazy too." Gunn put away the newspaper. He saw Buffy's sad look and sighed. "Hey, look, that skeleton guy told you that your love could heal him and maybe it would. No clue how long but… I hate seeing you depressed. I'll stick around. I've told the crew I'd be gone for several days anyway."
"Thanks."
"Now, we'll just tuck this guy in his coffin and we can visit your mom."
She glared at him. "Vampires don't sleep in coffins. They hate enclosed spaces."
"Really?"
"I know vampires, I'm the slayer. Angel sleeps in a nice bed like everyone else. Besides, all that, I can't leave him."
"But, don't you miss your Mom? I mean, she is family and all."
"She tossed me out of the house. But… I need to talk to her. I just…" She stared at Angel again.
"All right, fine." Gunn sat down, "I'll vampiresit him. You can get yourself cleaned up and go to her. I won't dust him. You have my word and you know how good my word is."
Buffy glanced at her outfit. She was covered in soot and stuff she would rather not think about. She really needed to talk to her, maybe see how her old friends are doing, if they are still alive. Reluctantly, she went off to change into something else and left Angel in Gunn's care. She peeked in after getting herself somewhat presentable and saw Gunn sitting across the room with his ax in his hand staring at Angel. "No slaying." Buffy warned.
Gunn vowed, "I won't kill him but… I have to warn you that if he attacks me, I won't hold back."
"He won't attack you." Buffy said less that convincing. Angel opened his eyes and whimpered as he crawled up to her and clutched her pants legs. "Oh… maybe just a phone call. Let Mom know that I'm okay." She sighed. She really couldn't leave Angel alone. He needed her, especially in his frail state of mind. She started to walk off but Angel kept on clutching to her. "Hey, let go. I need to go." She rolled her eyes and pulled him away.
"Give the gal some room, Dog." Gunn ordered as he pulled the vampire away.
"Don't call him 'dog'. His name is Angel."
"No way am I going to call a vamp 'Angel'. That's not my thing." Gunn argued, "Besides, look at him. He's like a puppy." Angel stared at him with wide eyes. "And stop looking at me like that."
"I'll be back in a few minutes." Buffy knelt down and stroked Angel's hair. She had to wonder why Angel was acting like that. Does he still love her even though his mind wasn't there? "I love you."
Angel whimpered as Buffy walked away with Gunn holding on to him.
XXX
Buffy stared at the pay phone in front of her. It taunted her in a way that no demon could. Slowly, she picked it up, put in the change and dialed. Her heart pounded as the phone rang and finally someone answered, "Hello?" It was her mother.
"Mom?" Buffy whispered with tears in her eyes.
"Buffy? Buffy, where are you? Are you in trouble?"
"No. No, I'm fine." She sniffed. "I… I just miss you."
"Good, come home and forget about this slayer nonsense. I… please come home. The police aren't after you any more. It's safe to come home. Do you need bus tickets?"
Buffy clenched the phone hard. It was cracking under her strength. "I… I need to get some stuff ready first… don't worry, I'm close by… do… do you really want me back?"
"Yes, please. Just come home. I… we need to talk."
"All right." Buffy sobbed as she hung up. She knelt down by the wall overwhelmed with relief. Her mother was going to let her back in. Whether that's good or bad, she didn't know. At least, she could maybe settle things with her. She put her hand on her face and straightened herself up. She could not lose herself now. She had to be strong for Gunn and especially for Angel. "Angel!" She gasped as she ran back to the mansion. She trusted Gunn but she still didn't know how Angel was without her. He was acting like an animal and Gunn was very on edge around him. She peeked in to see Angel asleep with Gunn watching him.
"How's the call?" Gunn asked without looking up.
"Fine, she wants me to come home. I don't know if I can. Just… things were hard and what are we going to do about Angel? I can't bring him home with me."
"I don't know." Gunn ran his hand over his bald head. "It's not like we can put him into a kennel."
Buffy glared at him. "You know, the dog jokes are getting really old, really fast."
"It's true though. You need to go home and I need to go back to LA soon and there's no way that we can bring him along either way." Gunn gestured to Angel. "Unless that watcher of yours can help him. He's an expert on vamps right?"
Buffy shook her head. "No way. Giles was tortured by Angelus before I rescued him. Not only that, Ms. Calendar, Giles' girlfriend was killed by Angelus. So, no." Angel woke up and then gazed at her. He half crawled up to her and put his head in her lap.
"Looks like he's possessive of you."
"It makes things only so much harder." Buffy stroked his head again. "First thing, we have to help Angel get better. We'll need some blood." She looked at Gunn expectantly.
"Hey, I can dress him and vampsit him but don't make me feed him." Gunn said as he covered his neck with his hand.
"No. No, not at all." Buffy waved her hands. "I mean… can you go to the butcher and get some pigs blood? It's not as good as human but it works."
Gunn relaxed. "Oh, well… I guess. As long as it's not my blood." He marched out of the mansion. He had cleaned up and made himself look presentable but as he walked down the street, he couldn't help but feel like a fish out of water. The air smelled differently here, cleaner, and people still seemed to avoid him. It was getting dark outside and he could tell. It was way darker here than in LA. He felt like he was an alien from outer space. What was he doing here? He should have hauled back to LA on the next available bus but he couldn't. Buffy needed him, at least until she can get support from her friends and family. "That's right, I'll just stick around until things settled with her. Besides, this is better than LA. Maybe I can get Alonna here." He mused as he looked around confidently.
He strolled into the butcher shop and said, "Hi, I want nine pints of your finest pigs blood."
"Pigs blood." The butcher looked outside and then nodded. "Sure." He went to the side and got some. "Here you go."
"Excuse me."
Gunn turned around to see a young dark haired teenager looking at him. "What?"
"Why do you need that blood?"
"Oh, nothing much. I'm going to sacrifice some virgins after I bathe them in this stuff." Gunn joked as he paid for the blood. "Bye." He walked off leaving the teenager behind.
For any other person, the joke would have been caught and the person would have think that Gunn had a very sick sense of humor. However, Xander had seen and heard everything. "Oh shit…" He waited and followed him until he saw a familiar mansion in the distance. The black man entered the mansion and he paled. "Double shit."
XXX
Giles cleaned his glasses as Xander told him what happened. "He told you that he's going to sacrifice some virgins?"
"Yeah, he's huge and bought a bunch of pigs blood and I saw him walk into Deadboy's mansion. He's evil."
Giles looked over a chart and paled. "Oh dear. Apparently, Venus and Mars are in the right positions for a Karah Thee ritual which involved getting several sacrificial virgins and bathing them in blood of an unclean animal, which is the pig. If this ritual isn't stopped, the summoner would attain great power."
"Oh great and us without a slayer." Xander moaned, "I miss Buffy."
"We all do, Xander. Gather the 'Scoobies' and have them come here. Whoever this young man is, he must be destructive, cunning, and vicious."
XXX
"Roll over, boy." Gunn urged as he mimed rolling over. Angel glared at him as he hunched over.
"Forget it." Buffy shook her head as she sat to the side looking over her clothes. "Angel won't act like a dog. Isn't that right, Angel?"
Angel nodded and started another bag of blood, he guzzled it down and put it away in a nice neat pile.
"He seems to be more alert. He's tidy."
"So are other animals." Gunn grunted, "When are you going to tell your crew that you're back in small town, California?"
"I don't know. They were mad at me for what happened with Alcatha. To be honest, I'm mad at them. They restored Angel's soul but they didn't bother to tell me? That's just mean." Buffy sighed. "But, I can't avoid them forever, especially here."
"You got that right."
"I shouldn't worry. One of the rules around here is that no major evil can happen until the beginning of the school year. So, right now, they are relaxing and maybe worrying about me." Buffy said as she started to fix a sandwich.
XXX
"Here is the target." Giles said as he rolled out the plans. "My guess is that this evil man is incredibly intelligent to choose Angelus' mansion as a ritual site due to the evil there only a few months ago. There may be at least five virgins being held captive there. Oz, you track down the virgins. Cordellia, go with him. The virgins may need help. Xander, Willow, and I will fight this evil man."
"What do we do after that?" Xander asked.
Giles glared upward and replied coldly, "Then, we burn that accursed place down to the ground."
XXX
Buffy lay on the floor with Angel resting his head on her stomach. "Oh Angel, it's nice to have you back but I wish you would act more like a man than a golden retriever."
"How are the vamps around here?" Gunn asked as he polished his ax.
"Oh… there are tons of them. You'll get plenty of slayage, just don't get Angel."
"Got it."
All of a sudden, Angel lifted his head and growled.
"What is it boy?" Gunn asked as Angel stood up and tilted his head. He morphed into his game face and ran out of the room.
"Angel stay!" Buffy yelled as she and Gunn ran after the slightly faster vampire. "Great, now I'm doing it. Angel! Wait!"
All of a sudden, the door was broken down and Giles strode in with his crossbow. This place held many awful memories in here. Thankfully, he was as clam as ever as he focused on the mission. "Release those virgins." He said calmly and then he looked around to see nothing. "Hello?"
"Where's the evil black guy?" Xander wondered as he came in with a torch.
"Maybe in another room? Are you sure he's here?" Willow asked as she followed in.
"I don't know. Spread out and search for clues." Giles informed.
"Sure thing, Fred." Xander saluted and the group walked into the old mansion.
XXX
Cordelia was not having a good day. First, the IRS was calling again. Then, she had her favorite dress ripped, and now she had to cancel her hair appointment to hunt some evil guy who's going to sacrifice some virgins soaked in pig's blood. "Any signs yet?"
"Nothing." Oz sniffed the air. "No new scents…" He paled. "Oh my… I smelled Buffy and Angel."
"So, they had a mortal combat thing before they up and vanished."
"I mean, fresh scents with traces of brimstone." Oz's eyes widened.
"You mean to tell me that Angelus and this evil black guy has joined forces, kept Buffy captive, and are going to sacrifice the virgins? Great, it's not even Tuesday."
"I don't smell any different scents. Just one other but he's male." Oz frowned. "You know, Angel and Angelus has different scents… it's slight but… it's hard to say but I smell fear in Angel's scent."
"So… Angel's back and Angelus isn't? I thought Willow failed in that soul spell thingy." Cordelia's eyes widened as she looked up to see Angel with his vampire face on. "Oh no… nice Angel. Good Angel." She said as her heart pounded as she held up her cross bow.
"Cordelia?" Buffy asked as she walked in. "What are you doing here?"
"Buffy? Where were you? We've been fighting a losing battle here since you jumped ship!" Cordelia accused as she forgot about Angel.
"Grrr…" Angel walked between the two staring at Cordelia.
"Angel, down." Buffy said as she put her hand on his head. "Cordelia is not a threat. Isn't that right, Cordy?"
"Yeah, that's right. I'm not a threat at all. In fact, I don't even taste good." Cordelia sweated. "Besides, we heard that there's this evil guy whose captured a bunch of virgins and was going to sacrifice them. He came right into this mansion."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "There are no virgins. Believe me, I checked. There are rats, spiders, and some left over blood in the fridge but no sacrificial virgins. What does this guy look like?"
"Oh a big black scary guy." Cordelia waved off. "Have you seen anyone like that?"
Angel's eyes widened and then he ran off. "Angel!" Buffy took a deep breath and glared at them. "The only black guy I know of that's in here is Gunn and he's not the sacrificing virgin type."
"What is wrong with Angel? He's not… acting like Angelus." Oz said as he watched the retreating figure. "In fact, he was acting like… me during that time of the month."
"He's been through Hell. Literally. But don't worry, he has his soul again and he acts more like a big puppy."
"A big undead bloodsucking puppy." Cordelia reminded.
"What about Giles?" Oz said, "He, Xander, and Willow are hunting for your friend as we speak."
Buffy paled as she thought, "Angry Giles plus Helpless Puppy Angel Equals Angel ashes. Let's go!" She ordered as she ran where Angel was heading to.
XXX
Gunn could not believe what he got into. "Great, a black man moved into the neighborhood and he's attacked." He muttered as he faced an old man with a cross bow aimed at his heart.
"Where are the virgins?" Giles demanded, "Drop the stupid act because that will not work with me. The stars are aligned for the Karah Thee Ritual and this site was perfect for it. You are a demon, I know you are."
Gunn gripped his ax. He wasn't scared but the old guy was serious. He looked at the crossbow again. He had grown up in the streets where a brother faces a gun every day. Crossbows are slower to trigger but can be more dangerous in the right hands.
Then, there was a growl. The two looked to see Angel in a pounce mode. Giles' heart became ice as he aimed at Angel. "So, the Great White Whale has returned to me. Where are your taunts, Angelus?"
"I don't know what you are talking about but he's not a whale." Gunn said as he walked up. Giles quickly fired an arrow straight at Gunn's heart. Only to see a blur run in front of him and took the shot.
Gunn couldn't believe his eyes. He had seen so much since he met Buffy. Now, a vampire had taken an arrow for him. That was the greatest sign of loyalty anyone could ever have done. "No!"
Angel cried out in pain as he held the arrow in his shoulder. He whimpered as he tried to pull it out.
"Once more." Giles said as he aimed again.
"Giles, stop!"
His frozen heart cracked at the sound of the voice. He looked to see Buffy running towards him. "Buffy?"
"Please, stop. This is Angel, not Angelus. Look at him. He's not attacking anyone he was… defending Gunn. Gunn's not evil either. He's a vampire hunter like us." Buffy said as she ran to Angel's side. "It's okay, Angel. Shhh… Buffy's here."
"Buffy… what are you doing here?" Giles asked as he regained control. "Where were you?"
"I was in LA." Buffy replied as she pulled the arrow out. "Gunn and I saved Angel from Hell. He got his soul back. He's not Angelus. Please, don't shoot him or I'll never forgive you, Giles." She spread her arms out in front of Angel and stared at her old mentor.
"Giles, you mean this old guy is your watcher?" Gunn asked.
"So… you're human?" Giles asked the young man as he kept his crossbow close to him.
"What do you think?" Gunn said insulted.
"There he is!" Xander yelled as he and Willow ran in and he pointed his crossbow at Gunn. "Hold it right there, pal. We're here to save the virgins."
"I'm not evil! Can't you get it through your thick skulls, white boy?" Gunn yelled as he clutched his ax.
"Xander!" Buffy scowled.
Xander blinked and saw Buffy on the floor with Angelus. "Buffy, what are you doing here with him? Have you been here all summer with him while we were out getting ourselves killed by your selfishness. No phone calls, no letters, not even a sign out of the blue letting us know that you're alive. How could you!"
"Yeah." Willow whispered hurt.
"I just found Angel in Hell and we were going to talk to you as soon as we could leave Angel alone." Buffy fumed as she struggled to control her anger.
"Just move out of the way and we'll put him back there." Xander warned as he stepped up with his crossbow.
Angel whimpered as he ducked behind Buffy. "You're scaring him!" Buffy said as she glared at her old friend. "Stop that!"
"I'm scar-" Xander slumped in confusion. "This is Angelus! You know, the guy that killed Miss Calendar! The man who tormented you for months on end. The guy who nearly sent the world to Hell!"
Angel shivered as he rocked back and forth. Oz can smell the fear from him. He couldn't help but pity the vampire. "Stop it." Buffy growled, "This is Angel. Angelus has no soul. Angel has soul. He wasn't himself when he does those things and he suffered years in hell. In fact, why didn't you tell me that you were going to get Angel's soul back? Shouldn't you have let me know?"
"But…" Willow looked at Xander. "I told Xander to tell you."
Buffy's eyes grow dark as she stood up and smashed Xander into the wall. "That's it!" She screamed, "Everyone here go! There are no virgins, no rituals of death, not even any deadly weapons. Let us alone! Now!"
"But-" Xander muttered as he tried to get up and was stopped by Buffy's dark gaze.
"Leave before I kill you. I sent my boyfriend to Hell, killing so called friends like you isn't that hard!" Buffy screamed at the top her lungs.
"Okay. Okay." Cordelia said as she took Xander. "Don't make the Slayer mad, I got it. We'll go and…" She paused. "I'm sorry about the whole sending Angel to Hell part." She walked away.
"Me too. I really tried to get Angel back." Willow said as she looked down. "I really… I'm so sorry." She ran off and Oz followed her.
Giles turned around and stared at Angel. "Buffy… Gunn… I'm sorry. I… I can't think with this rage in me."
"That makes the two of us." Buffy held Angel close.
"I… we really loved you and I'm glad you're fine." Giles said as he started to walk away.
As soon as they leave, Buffy closed the door. "Oooh!" Buffy smashed her fist into the wall. "How dare they call me selfish! I would have been gone anyway visiting my father. I… I…" She collapsed onto the floor and let her emotions go. "It's not fair."
Gunn watched the scene and he took a deep breath. "You know, we can just go back to LA. My crew, they are your friends. We don't have to stay here."
Buffy shook her head. "No. We were sent here for a reason, remember? I have my duty as a Slayer to think about. This place is the Hellmouth. If I run away again, the world will go to Hell and there will be no Slayers around to stop it. Besides, Angel still needs help and he might need to stay around here. I mean, vampires thrive on all the dark energies."
Gunn reached up and kissed her forehead. "That's what I love about you. I'll stick around. No sense in leaving you alone with the dog."
"Thanks." Buffy blushed and then slapped him. "Stop calling him a dog."
"Can't help it." Gunn said as he pointed to Angel who was laying his head in her lap again.
"This will get better." Buffy vowed. She closed her eyes. It had to. Her so called friends had betrayed her. Her mentor hates the love of her life. She didn't know what to do about her mother. Gunn can't stay forever and Angel… "This will get better."
To Be Continued…