It's been about two weeks since Buffy and Spike got sent to hell. Giles had told Joyce about vampires and what Buffy was capable of, and why they didn't call the police. Joyce took the news hard, the Scooby's had all had hope... At least until Giles had been informed by the Watchers Council that there was a new slayer in Canada. They wanted him to pack up his things and go back to England. He had to go, and much to everyone's dismay he left a few days later. Angel had disappeared, no one had seen him for a long time. Oz's family had made him move to Oregon, and Willow missed him dearly.
" Joyce, are you sure you want to go?" Willow asked, she put on her coat.
" I told you already Willow, yes." Joyce said coming down the stairs, " is Xander here yet?"
" No." Willow said, " He's always late."
" So. What do you think we'll find there?"
" Well we might find clues about Buffy's... death."
" So, would we see her dead body... Or do slayers turn to dust when they die?"
" That's vampires." Willow said.
" Oh." Joyce said, they saw Xander's car outside. The two women shut the door and stepped outside.
" Slayers die like regular people." Willow said as they sat in the back seat.
" Jenny's going to meet us there." Xander said.
" Oh." Joyce said.
" So. How long does it take a corpse to smell?" Cordelia asked, " Cause I really don't want to smell like a rotting slayer. Imagine how long it would take to wash the stench out of me."
" Cordelia." Xander said. The rest of the car drive was in silence. As Xander stopped in front of the mansion Joyce took in a deep breath.
" This is it? This is the place?"
" This is what the locator spell came up with." Willow said.
" There's Miss Calendars car." Cordelia said.
" She must have went in without us." Willow said.
" Yeah." Xander said. They stepped out of the car.
" Funny." Joyce said.
" Huh?" Cordelia asked.
" I've passed by this everyday, but I've never even noticed it."
" Me too." Cordelia said, " Trippy." Xander went first into the old mansion, and the others followed. Sure enough, Jenny was in the main room waiting for them.
" Thought you said to meet you outside?" Xander asked.
" I also said 'be on time'." Jenny said.
" Can we just look?" Joyce asked, " I need to find out what happened to Buffy."
" I agree." Willow said.
" I already looked that way." Jenny said to Willow, who was walking towards a hall.
" Oh." Willow said. The four followed Jenny who was now walking through a hallway. Every time they came to a door, they would open into up and search the room. They passed many doors, and none of them had anything in them. When they came into the last room in the hallway, right by the stairs, they found many dead bodies. The bodies were decomposing. Joyce looked on in shock. Then she turned away and puked. Jenny pulled back Joyce's hair. Joyce looked back on and wiped her face. They turned in silence to leave.
" Thank god it's not Buffy." Willow said.
" How did you know that wasn't Buffy?" Cordelia asked.
" Those bodies were way more than two weeks old. They were probably a month or so old."
" Leave it to Willow to know this." Cordelia said, she walked faster, by Xander, then grabbed his arm, " Buffy's not here, can we go now." She whispered to Xander. He shook her off his arm.
" We still have the second story and the basement to search." Xander said.
" Basement?" Cordelia asked, " I'm not going down to the basement."
" Cordy." Xander groaned.
" Have you even seen any of the movies?" Cordelia asked, " The basement is always where the baddies are... Either that or that's where they keep the victims... Or there's a lot of booby traps that will trap us forever and ever till we turn into old geezers and croak."
" Cordelia, where did you hear that?"
" In like every horror movie ever made." Cordelia said as the Scooby's made there way down the stairs to the basement. Cordelia clutched onto Xander's arm harder with every step down the stairs.
" What's that?" Joyce asked. She was staring at a large rock type thing.
" I don't know." Willow said. She walked to it and then rubbed her hand along the front.
" It looks like some creature." Joyce said.
" I think it's acathla." Jenny said, " I heard Rupert say some stuff about it before."
" What does it do?" Xander asked.
" I don't know exactly."
" It's stone." Cordelia said as she reached out and touched it, " And it's face is deformed."
" We'll, I don't see Buffy." Joyce said, " Is that good or bad?"
" Buffy's dead." Willow whispered.
" I know." they heard a voice say. The Scooby's looked around the room curiously.
" Who are you?" Xander asked. They saw a shadow slowly walk out of the darkness. Willow took a step foreword.
" Angel?..." Willow asked. Angel was all beaten and bruised, and he was pale, as in even unhealthy for a vampire pale.
" What happened to you?" Cordelia asked, " You look like bird crap." Xander took the fighting stance.
" Where's Buffy?" Xander asked. Angel looked away and didn't answer, " Where's Buffy?" Xander demanded. Angel looked at Joyce.
" In hell." Angel said solemnly. Joyce took in a shaky breath.
" Slayers go to hell?" Joyce asked quietly. Xander fell to the ground.
" Yes." Angel said.
" I was so not hoping for her to be dead." Cordelia said, " Maybe she isn't... maybe she took a trip."
" I... I saw her die." Angel said, " I caused it." Joyce's sad face turned to hate and fury.
" How could you." she yelled, " She was my little girl."
" I'm sorry." Angel said.
" You killed her." Joyce said, Willow held her back.
" I didn't mean to."
" How could you not?" Joyce said pushing Willow to the floor.
" Joyce." Willow said, " No, Angels strong, remember." Joyce continued to walk foreword.
" You killed my baby." Joyce yelled.
" Joyce." Xander said. Joyce got a few feet from Angel, she then slapped him really hard on his cheek, " How could you." She kept hitting him, harder with every hit, Angel didn't hit back, Angel didn't even cry out, he just flinched with every hit.
" Joyce." Willow and Xander said as they tried to hold her back, " Stop."
" I... can get her back." Angel whispered.
" You can... How?" Joyce asked.
" Yeah?" Xander asked.
" I have ways." He whispered weakly.
" What happened that night?" Willow asked, she didn't want to believe Angel.
" Drusilla cut me open..." Angel said, " The minions... And her pulled me over to Acathla... It opened."
" What about your soul?" Jenny asked.
" Please tell me it worked and you have your soul, because these shoes are for looks not running from a pissed off triple century old vampire." Cordelia asked. Angel just stared at her.
" I got my soul right before Drusilla cut me. I was on the ground screaming when she did." Angel said, " Drusilla's gone, she left me."
" What about Buffy." Joyce asked.
" She was already knocked unconscious. They threw her in."
" Did Spike go with her."
" He left with Drusilla." Angel said.
" I tried to save her..."
" How did Acathla go back to stone?" Willow asked.
" I don't know..." Angel said. Willow looked at him questionably, " I swear." Angel said, " I didn't know anything about it except that it would take everything to hell."
" ... So then how can you fix this?"
" I need Giles."
" Why?" Jenny asked.
" I need his help. And have him bring the new slayer." Angel said.
" Why do we need the new slayer and how did you know about it." Willow asked.
" Yeah." Joyce asked.
" Buffy's dead."
" How did you know Giles was with her?"
" ... Just get them."
" Ok." Jenny said.
" I need to talk to Giles. Give me his phone number." Jenny said. She had called the council to get Giles's new number.
" We cannot give his number to you." A man said.
" It's really important." Jenny said.
" Then tell me what it is and maybe I'll get his number."
" It's about his old slayer."
" Is she back?" he asked, his old dull tone of voice was now an eager impatient tone of voice.
" Is that important enough?"
" If the slayer is back, then it's our business, not Rupert's." He said, " So tell me."
" Never mind." Jenny said. She hung up the phone. She turned to Joyce's couch and sighed.
" Anyone got any ideas?" Willow asked.
" I got one." Joyce said, she had been quiet for the last few minutes, but now she jumped off the couch, " Lets march our butts down there and make them tell us."
" I like that idea." Cordelia said.
" Yeah, but one eensy weensy problem." Xander said.
" What's that?" Joyce asked, she looked at Xander.
" There in England." Xander said.
" Oh." she said.
" Well... We can try to do it without the slayer and Giles." Willow said.
" We have to have them." Angel said very angrily.
" Ok." Willow said, " Didn't mean to make you mad." She got off the couch and walked into the living room. Joyce followed her.
" What's your problem?" Xander asked, " You haven't been acting like the old Angel since we've seen the post apocalypse Angel."
" I'm sorry... I just want Buffy back." Angel said.
" We all do, but you don't see me getting all angry and yelling." Xander said, " Do you?" He screamed.
" Xander your being loud." Cordelia said.
" Stop fighting." Jenny said. Willow and Joyce walked back into the living room.
" I'm sorry Willow." Angel said. Willow just nodded.
" I can try to do a locator spell, I studied one a few weeks ago." Willow said, she looked at Angel with hatred, " I need to get the materials"
The Scooby's all sat around Willow as she did a locator spell, as the diamond landed on the mp, Willow looked at it questionably.
" What's wrong?" Cordelia asked.
" It say's he's down the street." Willow said.
" What?" Joyce, Jenny and Angel asked.