Bitterly, Angel's eyes made his way over to Cordelia. His voice raspy, he asked, "You know? How do you know?" His eyes left hers, not able to look at Cordy anymore. He ran his hands through his hair roughly and continued, "It hurts so bad I'm numb inside. I'm nothing…" Angel felt his body go weak as he glanced back at Cordy. "I'm nothing without her. If-if Willow can pull this off… If there's a chance of Buffy coming back-- And coming back right-- I think we should take it."
Xander nodded his head lightly in agreement, but it was hardly noticed compared to Spike nasty glare towards Angel. Completely disgusted, he tilted his head at an angle, make sure he was seeing and hearing things right. Calmly, Spike stated, "You have no right to come here and tell us what to do."
With a deep sigh, Xander started, "Spike shut--"
"We're not going to risk it and that's that!" Spike blew up. "If she came back wrong and she couldn't--" His hands formed into tense fists as he tried to calm himself. "We'd have to kill… I don't want to remember her by what messed up thing she comes back as. And I sure as hell don't want to watch her die again." Rubbing the pain away from his forehead, Spike whispered, "You guys aren't the only ones that miss her."
The room went silent, everyone looking downwards at their feet to avoid eye contact. But Xander lifted his head and glanced back and forth between Angel and Spike. "You guys aren't the only ones that loved her," he added in a soft voice.
Angel and Spike returned looks to Xander, understanding all of them felt pain. Immediately turning his attention to where Buffy once stood, Angel only saw a puff of smoke fade.
Ending the silence, Wesley walked into the room and announced, "I think we found it."
"What is it?" Angel asked, still a little shaken by the recent topic of conversation.
Anya followed Wesley in, carrying a small book in her hands. Reading off the page, she replied in a monotone voice, "It's called the Iunctus Animus Resurrection."
Looking around at the confused faces, Wesley threw in, "Roughly, Iunctus Animus is Latin for 'joined souls'. At this point, Willow is draining all of the life out of other living objects to then give to Buffy."
"But what does she want with Angel?" Gunn asked, trying to figure out the situation.
"She wants Buffy…" Wesley said with certainty. He signaled for the book, Anya gladly handing it over. He quickly added, reading a passage, " 'A lover's soul is not alone, for it holds the ones closest and dearest.'"
Cordelia asked, "But why Angel? There's Spike, Xander, and that other guy…"
Giving each other looks, Angel, Spike and Xander made a disgusted face when the subject of Riley came up. None of them were exactly fans of him, especially when he really was just "that other guy".
Breaking the silence and the looks, Wesley answered, "It's not just their love for her. It's who Buffy chooses to stay with. Who holds her purest moment of love… Of bliss."
"That still doesn't explain how Willow knew it's Angel," Gunn commented skeptically.
Looking downwards at his feet, Angel sighed. Under her breath, he muttered, "…Always."
Being the closest to Angel, Wesley heard his comment. Trying to break his depression, or maybe even give him hope, Wesley inched closer to Angel. Speaking directly to him, but loud enough for the rest to hear, Wesley stated, "Angel, I'm not exactly sure what her plans for you will be, but we must--"
"Oh, crap!" Cordelia squealed, distracting the rest of the gang.
