Guess Who's Coming With Me?

Part Four

By Marie Nomad

Dear Journal:

I had been a rational man who tries not to let my rage get to me since my turbulent teenage years when I was the Ripper. At least, I tried to. I dare not let my emotions get to in the way of my duties as a Watcher. However, I have been feeling extremely emotional lately. Two days ago, my charge, Buffy, had returned to us but not alone. She had brought a young street thug by the name of Gun and Angel.

Buffy had been allowed to return to school with her mother's help. Apparently, she will attempt to at least finish high school and I am grateful.

I despise Angel for what Angelus had done even though that logically that he did not have his soul at the time. I do not know all of the affects of a soul on a vampire, especially on one with such a history as Angelus.

When I had last seen him after his return from Hell, he had reverted to a more primal state of mind. He was acting very much like a canine. To some degree, it made me happy that he had reverted to such a helpless state. On the other hand, it made me feel somewhat sorry for him. Angel was not entirely at fault for his actions. There is also a part of me that was curious about his experiences in Hell. What was Hell like? How does a person change after so long in Hell?

That is why that today, I shall confront Angel and study him. Perhaps, maybe, I can find it in my heart to forgive him by knowing more about him.

XXX

"Congrats on getting back into school." Gunn said as he, Buffy, and Angel were sitting around the living room sipping sodas. Buffy managed to get out of the house by telling her mother about the patrol which she will do after visiting the mansion.

"I'll just be happy when I graduate and leave that place in one piece." Buffy said as she raised her soda. "And go to college, try to get an actual life outside of demons and vampires and anything that goes bump in the night. If I live past twenty." Angel wrapped his arms around her from the back and nuzzled her neck. "Hey!" Buffy giggled. "Cut that out."

Gunn picked up his stake and watched him carefully. "You know, he's been here for a few days and he really hasn't gotten any better. How long does it take for vamps to heal anyway?"

"No idea. Angel heals faster than humans but Drusilla was wacky ever since she was sired. So…"

"We have to keep a leash on him for the rest of his unlife?"

Buffy sighed as she shook her head. "Let's try not to get ahead of ourselves. I don't know how a vampire brain's work. What we need is an expert like…"

Gunn looked up and said, "Like that old English guy with the glasses?"

"Giles? Yeah, he might work."

"I'm glad you think that way." Giles said as he came in with a bag in his hand.

Angel stiffened as he turned around and went to the side as he bowed his head down. "Giles, what are you doing here?" Buffy asked as she saw Xander behind him. "And what's he doing here?"

"If you're here to put Old Yeller out of his misery, I'm not letting you near him." Gunn said as he heaved his ax.

"It's not like that." Giles said, "Believe me, it's not our intent to kill him. We wish to… understand the full scope of Angel's changes since his return from Hell and determine his stability."

"Yeah, and I want to well… make it up to you for…" Xander paused as he looked at Gunn.

"For accusing me of being an evil bastard who was going to sacrifice virgins?" Gunn said, "That's okay. Anne told me about what happened to you. Guess in here, joking about sacrificing women ain't a good idea."

"Anne?" Giles looked at Buffy.

"My middle name. I kinda used it when I was in LA. Gunn still calls me that." Buffy explained. "So, what are you going to do?"

"First, we need to determine the length of stay in Hell." Giles said as he walked up to Angel with a cross in his hand.

"I'd say years. We've been down there for a few hours and to us, it was weeks." Buffy said, "It was freaky." She reached into her bag and got out a book. "I kinda wrote out what I saw over there. It's no watcher's diaries but…"

Giles snatched the book and looked inside as he dropped the cross to the ground. He sat down and started flipping through the book. After several minutes, he felt something poking him. He looked to see Angel poking him with his finger. "Do you mind?" He hissed as he pulled away and saw the others were staring at him as well. "Oh. The details are… quite interesting." He said as he put down the book. What was Angel's condition when you first saw him?"

"He was frozen in a block of ice and when I got him out, he was just like what he is now. Oh, that Guardian of the Center of Hell told us that he experienced everything in there." Buffy explained. "Any ideas?"

"Sensory deprivation could be one of them." Giles pondered, "He may have experienced years of sensory deprivation which may cause his delusions. He may not remember how to interact with people. He was forced to act in the only way he know how, by pure instinct."

"I thought that pure instinct for vamps are eat and stalk." Xander spoke up.

"Not so, we had… experimented with vampires on sensory deprivation and they showed a form of… behavior much like Angel's only less passive. He may have remembered to some degree of his sins and past since it was part of his punishment. I need to run some more tests." Giles said as he picked up the bag on the floor. "I would most appreciate it if you leave us alone. It might be best to have him focus on me."

Buffy and Gunn looked at each other. It was no secret how Giles felt about the vampire and Angel was in not in the best position to defend himself. Still, Giles was like a father to her and he wouldn't do anything that would make her hate him. "Okay, fine. We need to do some patrolling. You know, get back into the slaying thing." Buffy said, "Wanna come, Gunn?"

"I need to get out." Gunn said as he picked up his ax. "Been itching to get outside."

"Great." Xander came up to the much bigger man. "I've been fighting vampires all summer."

Gunn and Xander walked outside. Buffy turned to follow and then she looked at Angel who was whimpering at her. "We'll be back. Don't worry, Giles will make you all better. Right?" She looked at Giles who was getting stuff out.

"Oh… yes… absolutely." The watcher said absentmindedly.

"Uh huh."

XXX

Xander took a deep breath as he, Gunn, and Buffy were standing out in the graveyard hunting for any fledglings. The teenager looked up at the tall man who was holding his 'ax' out. "Okay, I'm going to give you some tips." He said as he reached into his bag. "This is a stake. We stake vampires though the heart." He said as he pointed the stake at Gunn's heart. "Actually, anything made out of wood could kill the vampire as long as it's aimed at the heart. This is a cross." He said as he got out a cross. "Vampires hate crosses and anything holy. Make sure you keep the cross close so they would keep their distance, especially the fledglings. Got it?"

Gunn stared at him wide eyed. He learned this stuff back when he started fighting when he was twelve. This scrawny white boy who probably wouldn't last a night in his neighborhood was treating him a newbie. Buffy shook her head at him and the black man just nodded. "Okay, stakes and crosses are bad for vampires. Got it."

"Yup. Now, you have to watch your neck literally around these guys because they are bloodsuckers."

"Oh sure." Gunn said as he smiled slightly as he clutched his ax. Anne really owes him for this.

XXX

Giles adjusted his glasses as he got out a few crystals to scan Angel with. He had become as Buffy would have called him, 'Watcher Giles'. "Let's see…" He held up some pictures. "We will do some word association. These are some standard pictures. Tell me… or try to let me know how you feel about each picture. Do you understand?"

Angel nodded slowly as he tried to focus.

"Good." Giles held up a picture of a cross. Angel scooted back and whimpered.

"All right." Giles put down the picture and held up a picture of Buffy.

Angel smiled as he put his fingers on the picture.

Giles blinked as he put away the picture. "I see." He held up another picture of mangled corpses.

The vampire looked away in shame.

"I see." The watcher put away the pictures and got out a wood block set. "Here, put the right blocks in the holes."

XXX

"Oh yeah." Xander said as he staked another vampire. "That's how you do it." He told Gunn who was watching. "Got that?" Then, a vampire came up behind Gunn. "Watch-"

Before Xander could finish his sentence, Gunn spun around and sliced the vampire's head off. The body exploded in a cloud of ash. Xander's jaw dropped to the ground as the street thug brushed himself off. "Yeah, I got it."

"Wow."

"Did I mention that I had been dusting vamps for about five years?" Gunn said as he heaved his ax over his shoulder.

"Errr…" Xander became dumbfounded as Gunn kept on attacking the fledglings. His head spun about the idea. Gunn had been fighting vampires for five years? He looked about his age but acted much older. There were vampires in LA but why did this guy fight them longer than even Buffy? It was Buffy's duty to fight vampires, not Gunn.

"You'll catch flies like that." Buffy reminded as she staked another vampire.

"Oh right." Xander paused, "So, why didn't you tell me that you're… experienced?"

"You never asked. Yup, been fighting vamps in my neighborhood for five years. Can't be too careful." Gunn chuckled. Then, he saw Buffy sighing as she looked in the direction of the mansion. "Hey, Anne, you okay? You're worried about the dog, aren't you?"

"Just… I don't want to go back to the mansion to find a pile of dust." Buffy confessed, "It's crazy. I love Giles and Angel but I'm scared to have them alone in the same room."

"I can go back and check on them." Gunn promised, "Make sure everything is okay."

"No. Yes. No. I trust Giles, he's like a father to me. He won't hurt Angel no matter how he feels."

"Hey, if G-Man hurts Deadboy, that's because he deserves it. Knowing him, he would attack G-Man the second he gets hungry." Xander spoke up.

Gunn glared at him and knocked him out in one punch.

"Gunn!"

"What? He deserves it."

XXX

Giles watched as Angel finished solving the puzzle. "Interesting." He said as he tried his best to suppress his rage. He picked up his notepad and started writing what he will copy into his journal.

'Angel had obviously retained his intelligence from his tenure in Hell. Despite the primitive way he acted, he showed a level of awareness that is unseen by the untrained eye. My guess is that he would be normal in a couple of weeks.

That is, if nothing were to get in his way. Obviously, there is still a level of danger that Angelus would take over and restart his reign of terror. I wish I could kill Angel to prevent Angelus from releasing his wrath again but that would break Buffy's heart.

I was taught that if you wish to render a weapon harmless without destroying it the weapon, you must destroy what works inside. One of Angelus' most powerful weapons was his words. Remove the words and his charisma, and all you have was a beast. That would be the best course of action. I pray that Buffy would never hear about this.'

Giles got out a syringe and held it up. "Angel, you must understand that this is nothing personal. I am only doing what I can to prevent Angelus from reappearing." He said slowly as he grabbed the weak vampire by the arm and stabbed the needle.

Angel howled as he flung his head back and pulled himself away. He cradled his arm as he glared at him.

"Do not worry, I simply injected a poison that prevents you from recovering your speech capabilities. You cannot get any better than what you are right now. This is for the best."

Angel growled as he grabbed the Englishman by the throat and Giles pulled the hand away. "Nice try but you are not able to kill me." Giles held out the cross. "In your weakened state, holy objects have more of an effect on you. Now, we are going to pretend that this exchange has never happened. You are not able to tell Buffy what happened and even if you do, would you want her to know that someone she considered to be her 'father' had betrayed her?"

The vampire stared at him and growled as he hunched over and walked to a wall.

"I'm back." Buffy announced as she and Gunn walked in with Xander slumped in between them. "How's the examination?"

"It went… quite well." Giles said as he took off his glasses and cleaned them. "How was the patrol? And what happened to Xander?"

"Buffy's homeboy knocked me out." Xander glared at Gunn. "What's the deal?"

"You insulted my dog. No one does that." Gunn said as he crossed his arms.

"And what's with the dog thing. Angel is not a pet, he's a bloodthirsty monster!"

"So? He has a soul right? That makes him at least part human." Gunn paused, "Damn… now I'm defending him."

"So…" Buffy interrupted the squabble, "What's wrong with Angel? Will he get better?"

"Buffy…" Giles sighed, "I'm sorry but there's nothing that can be done. The experiments by the Council had indicated that vampires who suffered from long term sensory deprivation never fully recover. They endured it for months and it took them years if not never to recover. The fact that Angel had suffered years of the similar conditions only exasperated his situation. I… I believe that he will never heal."

"What?" Buffy said, "You mean that… Angel will never be fully Angel again but he's stuck as Puppy Angel?" She said as she sat down next to Angel and hugged him.

"I'm afraid so." Giles cleaned his glasses again. "There is no cure."

"Are you sure you can't cast some magic spell or something?" Buffy whispered, "Please, he's been through so much. I thought he could get better."

"No. He won't. Believe me." Giles said as he strengthened his resolve.

Gunn glanced at Angel who was glaring at Giles. He knew the dog and the dog looked pissed. "What's up with him?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. He perhaps, despises the tests I performed on him. Nothing life threatening just… perhaps annoying."

Angel growled at him again.

"Maybe, we should move to somewhere where Angel can get more help." Buffy pondered as she rubbed Angel's head. "So he won't get into trouble."

"Why don't you just move Angel and Gunn to your house?" Xander joked.

"I need real…" Buffy trailed off, "You know, that's not such a bad idea. Angel can stay in the basement and Gunn can stay in the guest room."

"Whoa! I was being sarcastic." Xander said, "How would your mom feel about having a bloodthirsty vampire puppy who is your ex boyfriend and a street thug named Gunn in her house?"

Gunn and Angel glared at him. "I'm right here, you know." The black man replied. Angel growled as he nodded.

"I fully agree. Your mother is barely coping with the idea of a slayer, the idea of having strange men in your house which you have a consummate relationship with and share in the supernatural will be… disastrous." Giles said as he stepped forward.

"Hey, Buffy and I didn't have a consummate relationship." Gunn argued and then looked at Buffy. "What does consummate mean?"

"I think he meant that we had sex."

"Damn straight, we didn't have sex."

Giles sighed as he rubbed his head. "No offense, but what did you see in him?"

"Oh yeah. He's big and black and… thuggish." Xander nodded and then he saw Gunn right in front of him.

"You got something against me, white boy?" Gunn said as he flexed his fists. "You know, you're a racist."

"No I'm not. I just think that Buffy should be with those of her… own kind."

Angel growled at him as he walked towards Xander.

"Her own kind?" Gunn repeated.

"Well… I mean, those who are like her and has a pulse."

"Hey, Anne was from LA like me and I fought vampires like her. So, I'm more like her than you are." Gunn explained.

"My own kind… sweet but really not needed." Buffy said as she remembered the Host's message. "Anyway, It's worth a shot. Angel didn't need that much help and I'm sure that as long as Gunn keeps the house clean, Mom can welcome him."

Gunn ignored her and kept on glaring at Xander. "I really hate you."

"Well, you are better than Angel since you have a reflection and a pulse." Xander taunted, "And we don't have to worry about you losing your soul when things are getting good."

Immediately, Gunn swung and knocked Xander out again. "Young man!" Giles yelled as he pinned Gunn to the wall. "That is uncalled for."

"Hey! He insulted Angel and nobody insults a helpless man… even if he's a vampire." Gunn said stunned that he had defended a vampire again and that an old man took him by surprise.

"Okay, guys. Enough with the manly defending stuff. Gunn, Xander just hates the fact that you dated me and it wasn't him. Giles, Gunn is an honorable man with his own code of honor. And Xander, I still hate you for that lie you told me so don't push it." Buffy said as she pulled Giles away and separated the men.

"I was just getting my point across." Gunn said as he stepped away from the two. "I'd do anything for you, Anne."

"I know." Buffy sighed.

XXX

Joyce was sitting up late watching the clock tick. It was unnerving for her to wait till her daughter comes home from something that could kill her and that she might run away again. She waited and prayed that she comes home so she could go to school tomorrow or was it today?

"I'm home." Buffy said as she opened the door. "Mom, I brought some friends."

Joyce's jaw dropped at the sight of the two men. She recognized one of them was Buffy's boyfriend whom she had sex with. "I see…"

"Can they stay here?"

To Be Continued…