Thank you to all who reviewed on the chapter. Sorry that this is a day or so late, but I started my college courses, and hurt my hand, I've been really tired. *smile*

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7. Alone At Last

A lone owl howled in the distance, while two people lay defenseless to the bitter night. Under the stars the man's awakening came, his own wails echoing through the hollowed forest.

"Angel," Buffy prodded, her soft voice sounding harsh to his sensitive ears. She was extremely worried about him, not only had he lost countless amounts of blood, but for some reason he didn't seem to fight his impending death, as if it was not darkness but a bright luminesce lingering over his fallen shoulders.

"Don't call me that...," he gritted out. Angelus knew he had not been Angel in along time, only bare remains in a glance, an emotion, or rare act of kindness did people ever see the gentle soul he once was, instead of the void shell death had made him become.

"Alright Princess," she smiled, knowing it was a fake gesture meant only to lighten the thickened atmosphere around them. 'I hope he gets that is was just a joke' she thought worriedly.

Obviously he did, giving her a small grin that said he understood the once cruelty in her voice has faded, but into what? 'Maybe she cares for me like I do... I don't' he assured himself, even a thought to deep seeming to send him into shocks of pain. 'Maybe if I die tonight I'll have a chance at the heavenly worlds' he reasoned hopefully. In his village it was believed if you died creating a selfless act to save another, that is was an automatic initiation to the peaceful planes, no matter what atrocities they have committed in the past. 'And the gods know I've created enough'

'His smile no matter how faint, is so beautiful' she thought. Gone was the evil smirk that held only a long-standing loathing for the world, and replacing it was this contagious beam of light, as enchanting as a desert rainbow and twice as rare.

"Why don't you use the name Angel anymore?" she asked carefully, relating that the subject might be a soar one for him. She was still slightly shaking from the possibilities of what could have happened tonight. A profound fear had been bestowed on her, and now the idea that fright was intensified, by the chance she could have been violated again.

Looking suspiciously at her, Angelus decided that had no hostility in her question, "My mom use to call me Angel, so everyone else did too. When she passed everyone stopped, and I was called Angelus again." he said not elaborating any further, for some reason he felt uncomfortable admitting that the people no longer thought the name suited him. That they often joked devil should have been his name after he became the scourge, knocking out all other neighboring villages. 'Even the peaceful ones' and although this tactic was respected by some, he doubted the gods would show mercy to him, as he didn't to many others.

"Oh..." Buffy said not quite sure what to say to him. Her parents had gotten divorced, but never had she gone through the pain of losing one. 'I don't wish I could relate, but I wish there was something I could say..' "... I'm sure she loved you." That was the only honest thing she could think of to articulate and to her surprise he smiled again.

"She did," he answered simply. For the first time he glanced over at her face, looking into those expressive eyes, "What happened to you before, is that why you got so upset when I touched you earlier?"

Buffy looked at him, really looked at him. To be honest with herself she knew she could trust him, 'I just don't understand why' "I was... well you know, by someone I loved, a friend of almost 13 years. Another one of my friends planned it, she was pretty much a vindictive bitch, but I loved her too, trusted her. It shattered me for a long time... I think I still haven't glued all the pieces back together..." she stated truthfully, seeing his nod to continue. "Sometimes a certain action, or a word... they make the glue fall apart, and all I am is pieces of the vibrant thing I was once, all I am is broken, used... and I can't figure out how the pattern goes to put the scraps back together," she spoke tearfully, the mental wounds still as raw as his physical ones.

Angelus stared in shock, 'so that's what made her so hard... and it's all my fault that she's weak again' he thought somberly, unable to express the words that he wanted to say to her.

"I'm sorry," she said, her lower lip trembling in apprehension.

"For what..?" he asked curiously. 'I wish I could take that plump little lip and suck on it, make love to her til she's shaking with pleasure not pain.' 'WHAT?!?' his mind yelled at him. 'We don't like her' 'but maybe' Oh god he groaned, the blood loss must be getting to me, it's o.k. to talk to your self but you know you have gone crazy when you start answering.

"It was my gun..." she expanded. "If I hadn't of taken, you wouldn't be laying there right now." she told him, regret echoing through her fragile mind.

"He would have found another way... Holtz, Conner they've hated me for a long time, if anything it's my fault your laying next to me. They were my issued, and you never should have gotten stuck in the crossfire." he said, unsure of why exactly he didn't want her to befall the blame.

"I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one, Princess." she said, smiling largely in show.

"Yeah," Angelus chuckled, "I guess we will."



Anya and Xander were entering the village when they ran into a large mass of anxious people. 'What is going on here' he thought.

"Anya, Angelus had gone missing with that trollop, Buffy," Cordelia said spitting out her name in jealousy.

"Hey?" Xander exclaimed, defending his absentee friend, "Buff is not a trollop, and you are just mad because, I don't know, he's never there when you wake up."

Cordelia gasped in outrage, 'why of all the nerve' she thought, stomping her feet as she huffed away.

"Don't worry Cor, just don't understand the way you got to work men like Angelus, use them, lose them. All the time they might think there the one getting a toy, but you know they're just your bitch!" Faith said saucily. 'Sure Angel's a good lay but man is that guy not the type you want to settle down with... he's not like..' Faith smiled, thinking of the one man she could imagine spending all her life with. 'Not that he would ever want me.'

"Love the spirits are singing and they say our Angel's fallen, the stars tell me he no longer fights," Drusilla said appearing next to Faith.

"Pet, you know Angelus is a fighter, he'd never give up if their was one more person's life on this Earth, he could make a living hell," Spike said, wrapping his chiseled arms around her stomach. 'Bloody wanker always getting her knickers in such a twist, he's probably just off screwing the bint'

"No... I can feel his pain, the stars are singing with it," she coed, leaning into her Spike's strong embrace.

"Yo...!" called Gunn, while running with Wood into the gathering. "Heard what went down, should we go out and find him?" Gunn asked, steeling a small sideways glance at Faith.

"... we should look!" cried Jenny, approaching with the King on his arm.

"Angelus will come back, I'm sure, there is absolutely no need exhaust our resources." Rupert answered confidently. The stern tone in his voice made it clear that he would brook no disobedience to his orders.

Fred and Westly who were standing in the huddled crowd looked at each other worriedly, there was something wrong in the air, so much was the tension it was almost tangible. Fred excused herself, and went to tell Willow and Oz the misfortunate news, she was also curious on why they hadn't came out yet. 'Maybe I can pry some details from my new friend' she thought fully intending on helping out.'



Holtz grunted in pain, as Conner roughly extracted the knife from his back. He couldn't believe he had let Angel best him. 'Never again'

They knew they were only a few, but their devotion was extreme. He watched as the other elderly man came with bandages for his severe wound. 'I was so close to breaking him, and getting myself a sweet little piece of ass in the process'

The man's son came in a second later dragging a female body behind him, Holtz couldn't help but grin, seeing the young women's startled face, "Tara..." he smirked.



Angelus watched in awe as Buffy made a blazing fire, all she used was this little rectangle thing that had a flame in it, what she called a liter. 'That must be one if the coolest inventions I have ever seen' he grinned, soaking the warmth against his skin.

'She's so gorgeous' he thought, as she strutted back over to him, shyly hiding her nakedness behind her arms and shorts. He laughed at this, that she would be so modest around him when all the other women walked around in their natural skin.

"Why did you seem like you were going to give up earlier," she asked softly, sitting down beside him.

"I thought maybe it would be better for everyone that way," he answers a bit to harshly. Looking at her striking face in regret, he saw a tear run down her cheek. 'Maybe I wasn't the only one thinking of giving up' he thought sympathetically.

"... that isn't true," she said, shifting one arm to hold her shorts over her chest, there-by leaving her in only a small bikini bottom. Taking her other small, she stroked him tenderly across his handsome face, her shimmering orbs never leaving his own.

Angelus leaned in to the comforting but also arousing touch that this creature bestowed, while lust glazed over his eyes as he watched her nervously kneeded her bottom lip. Taking her hand from his face he used his finger to touch the trembling flesh. With excruciating slowness he leaned in, about to kiss her with all the frustration he'd pent up.... "Buffy, Angelus!!"a familiar voice screamed snapping them from their passion induced state.

Buffy got up quickly, only sparing a quick glance of shyness back at Angelus. Suddenly Fred, Willow, and Westly were all right there, checking her for visible injuries. "Look, I'm fine but he was... shot, it's a long story. How did you guys find us?"

"We saw the fire.." Willow elaborated, "Mr. Giles told us not to go, but hey he's not my king so... here we are." she said slightly too perky for the red rimmed globes on her face.

Westly and Fred went over to help with Angelus, hoisting him off the ground. It was almost an hour by the time that they had gotten back , exhausted they entered the still buzzing camp. 'A little to buzzing' thought Westly, unfamiliar with the people being up this late at all.

"Willow!" Oz screamed, running up to her. Willow didn't notice the panic written on his usually stoic features.

"Oz I can't talk bout it right now, I just need more time to figure out where everything is going, and how we could ever be together if we could. I need to think about so many things, the feelings are different between you two, and I just can't...."

"Shut up," he said, his uncharacteristically crass words stopping her dead in ger tracks.

"Oz, I know your mad..." she continued.

"No Wills just listen, she's gone!" he said firmly.

"Gone..?" Willow said confused, "who..."

"Tara she's missing." Willow looked up at his startled, then suddenly everything was taken over by a blissful darkness.

Please R&R, tell me if I should continue, because writing the story isn't worth the time and effort if no one is reading it. *lol*