AN: I stitched some details of Buffy's second dream, which she had right before facing The Judge the first time in canon, into the first one for the sake of the plot. I needed to change that tiny detail slightly to fit the story. Bending cannon, not breaking it.
[Telepathic Communication.]
Disclaimer: I do not own any elements of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marvel Comics, or any other fiction, fandom, or film that you might recognize.
Chapter 04 – Slayer Dream Walking
Xander, the real Xander, returned to Sunnydale the day after the fight at the church. After being apprised of the situation, he told Siobhan that there being two slayers wasn't quite as unprecedented as Giles believed. Apparently, there had been one slayer in the early nineteen hundreds that had been resuscitated after 'dying'. When she found out a new slayer had been called and the council thought she was dead, she had run, escaping the destiny that had been chosen for her. She had lived to an old age, Xander keeping her secret for the rest of her days.
The next two weeks were interesting, to say the least. It started when Giles spoke to Sam Zabuto, Kendra's watcher. They agreed to delay Kendra's return to Jamaca by a few days, given that the chance to train with another slayer was a one-of-a-kind opportunity. In that short time, she seemed to learn as much about being a teenager from Buffy as Buffy learned from her about being a Slayer.
The next big event was when Joyce, Buffy's mother, started dating a man who seemed great at first, until Buffy insisted that there was something wrong with him. Xander decided to get a closer look, using telepathy to actively scan his mind. Finding nothing, no mind, no consciousness at all, clued him in that Ted wasn't human. Realizing that, he used telekinesis to "feel" the man and was shocked to find not flesh and bones, but metal and wires. He was a robot. He was concerned, but willing to give the robot a chance, not just assume it had evil intentions. He followed the android home later that night, sneaking around without being discovered, which proved to be a bit challenging seeing as he couldn't just make the robot ignore him via a telepathic suggestion, but years of practice helped quite a bit in that regard. It was when he located the pile of corpses in a closet, the least decayed of which shared a striking familiarity with Joyce Summers, that Xander decided the machine needed to be dismantled. He took a surprising amount of pleasure in tearing the thing into its component parts, before bagging them up and taking them to be melted down in the forge he kept in his basement workshop. In a moment of sympathy, he altered his appearance into that of Ted and visited Joyce to end their relationship with an excuse of having to care for sick relatives on the east coast, rather than allowing her boyfriend to simply vanish without a trace. She was understandably less then pleased, especially after greeting him with a rather aggressive kiss, which threw Xander for a moment. He hadn't gone into this expecting to find out what the woman's tonsils tasted like.
A few days later, the students were assigned to protect an egg to teach them the responsibilities of parenthood, eggs that turned out to contain the offspring of a demon called a Bezoar. The creatures hatched out of the eggs and attached themselves to the base of people's necks, dominating their bodies like parasites and allowing the mother Bezoar to control them remotely. It was messy, though it helped that Xander was able to tell who was host to one of the demon's offspring by telepathically touching their minds. The Bezoar babies suppressed their consciousness into a sleep-like state, leaving them completely unaware of what their bodies were doing.
Those events finally dealt with and past, there was another major event fast approaching: Buffy's birthday. In preparation, Jesse sidled up next to an open locker being sifted through by the queen of Sunnydale High.
"What do you want?" Cordelia Chase asked, her voice somewhat less biting than it had been the many times he had tried to talk to her in the past.
"Buffy's party is tomorrow."
The girl rolled her eyes, "Yes, and just because she's Miss Save-The-World and everything, we have to make a big deal? I have to cook and everything!"
"You're cooking?"
She nodded, "Well, I'm chips and dips girl."
Jesse chuckled, "I wouldn't exactly call that cooking."
"Do you know how much work is involved?"
"I can imagine." The boy replied, "Anyway, I was thinking... we're both going, so we should go to the party, you know... together."
Cordelia snorted and rolled her eyes, "You never give up, do you?"
Jesse shrugged, not even caring about the scathing tone in her voice, "You're worth the work."
A surprised smile appeared on her face, before immediately dropping off, "Well, you should. It's never going to happen." She turned and strode away, leaving Jesse behind grinning like an idiot.
-oOo-
The night before the party, Xander approached Buffy in his Boros form while she was on patrol with the intention of delivering a present, only to notice that she was unusually distracted. When he stepped out of the shadows the girl jerked in surprise, clearly absorbed in her thoughts to the point she didn't notice his approach. "Hello Slayer."
"Boros, hi." she said, her voice far less energetic then normal, "what are you doing here?"
"I've tracked you down to bring you a present for your birthday, but you clearly have something on your mind."
The girl immediately perked up, "You brought me a present?"
"I did." He pulled a box that was wrapped in brightly colored paper from within a coat pocket and held it out to the girl. It was about six inches long, the size usually used to contain an item of jewelry, "Happy Birthday."
She ripped off the paper and opened the box within to find a necklace made of woven silver from which hung a cross that was studded with sparkling diamonds and emeralds. She caressed it gently, her voice coming out soft and filled with awe, "It's beautiful."
"Indeed. It was once part of the French Royal Crown Jewels before they were sold off in Eighteen Eighty-Five."
"What? I can't take this. It must be worth a fortune."
Boros shrugged as if that didn't matter, "It's one of many trinkets I have collected over my life. It's more important to me that you wear it. I have had it enchanted to act as a portkey, a type of emergency magical transport that will take you directly to your bedroom at home when activated."
She carefully inspected the chain for a button or some kind of switch. "How does it work?"
"By verbal command. When it's touching your skin, you say aloud 'There's no place like home' to activate it and you will be whisked away. Be aware, anyone touching the chain will be taken along with you. It is also single use, the spell needing to be recast after each activation."
She carefully removed the necklace from the box and affixed it around her neck. "Thank you. This means a lot to me."
"You are very welcome," he nodded, "So tell me... what has been on your mind? You are clearly worried about something."
She debated for a few seconds before nodding to herself, "I had a dream where Angel died, killed by Drusilla."
"And you fear it is a slayer dream?" He asked, a sudden sense of urgency in his voice.
Buffy shrugged, "Angel thinks I'm worrying over nothing."
"Do not ignore your instincts. If you believe this dream to be more than just the usual nocturnal fantasy, then it likely is."
"So, you think Drusilla is going to kill Angel?"
"It's possible, but Slayer dreams are often full of metaphor and symbolism. What you experience may not mean what you think. If you like, I can attempt to interpret the meaning."
"You can?" Buffy asked hopefully.
Boros nodded, "I have seen many in my time. It will be best if I see the dream for myself."
The girl was confused, "See it?"
"Among my many varied abilities, I am a gifted telepath. I can connect our minds temporarily and view your memory of the dream... with your permission of course."
Buffy looked down at the ground while debating the pros and cons of such an obvious invasion of her privacy, but if he could find something that could better help save her boyfriend's life, then she couldn't turn down the opportunity. "Alright, but no looking around at my personal thoughts! The dream only."
He nodded, "You have my word."
"What do I have to do?"
"Just shut your eyes."
He didn't need physical contact but often used it as a literal representation of what he was doing when he wanted others to be able to follow his actions. In this case, he placed the tips of the index and middle finger of each hand on her temples. Buffy felt the sense of falling and was startled by the sudden blaring of music. She opened her eyes to find herself no longer on the streets of Sunnydale, but back in The Bronze of her dream. It was exact in every detail, with Willow sitting at a table which had an organ grinder's monkey on it, Buffy's mother Joyce standing in the crowd holding a teacup, and Angel standing by the pool tables. Suddenly Boros appeared next to her, and everything froze, the silence shocking in its totality.
"Your dreams come to you in bits and pieces, only focusing on your current. You don't see the entire room; you only see parts of it as you move thorough it. I took the entirety of your memories of this and stitched them together into a singular scene, so we can get a complete image."
The music started again, and everyone resumed moving around. Boros followed Buffy as she flowed through the crowd, stopping first at the table where Willow sat. The dream image of the red-headed girl spoke in French about a hippo stealing the monkey's pants before they moved on past Joyce, who dropped the saucer under her teacup while asking Buffy is she thought she was ready, before finally approaching Angel. The vampire was smiling at her when Drusilla stepped up behind him and brought a kukiri knife toward his throat. Everything froze once more giving Buffy the moment needed to try and attack the mad vampiress.
"I wouldn't-" Boros began even as the slayer moved forward, only to pass right through the female demon. "Yeah, as I said, this is only a memory of your dream. She's not really there." He took a moment observing the scene before speaking to Buffy. "This is interesting. Did you notice what you are wearing?"
The blonde looked down at the bone-white slip dress she was clad in before looking back at Drusilla, "We're dressed the same."
Boros nodded, "Like I said, slayer dreams are full of imagery. The dress in your dream is symbolic. If I had to guess... it means that she isn't the one that's going to kill Angel... you are."
"What?! I wouldn't kill him, I love him."
Boros' rolled his eyes at that proclamation before pushing it to the side. A feeling of falling upward preceded the breaking of their telepathic connection, Buffy opening her eyes to find herself back when they had started. "There is more than one type of death. Angel's could be metaphorical. There is someone I will need to talk to before I can say definitively as to its meaning."
"Who?"
"The people that originally cursed him with a soul. I will meet with you again after I contact them."
-oOo-
The next morning, Jenny Calendar entered her classroom to prepare for the day, and wasn't really surprised to find Xander sitting at her desk waiting for her.
"I figured you'd be here soon."
"I need to know what you do, Janna."
"What makes you think I know anything?" She hedged, concerned that he knew that name.
"Because you were in her dream. I made sure that she did not notice your presence, but you were the only one dressed for a funeral, suggesting that you were prepared for Angel's death before it happened." The woman nodded in understanding. "Now... what can you tell me?"
The woman paused for a moment, before visibly crumpling into herself, a look of defeat on her face. "The elder of my clan has declared that the curse holding his soul in place is weakening."
"What could cause that? What are the parameters of the spell?"
"I don't know. The original curse is in an archaic form of Romany that no one alive speaks." Xander snorted at that, "I am working on a computer program to have it translated."
"May I see it?"
Janna stared the strange immortal man down for a moment before nodding to herself. She drew from a locked drawer in her desk a capped cardboard tube meant for transporting important documents and pulled from it a rolled-up packet of very old looking animal skins that had been used as paper, "If my clan finds out that I showed these to you..."
Xander shook his head, "They won't hear it from me."
Carefully unrolling the parchments on the desk, Xander's eyes skimmed across the faded letters scrawled upon it. After a moment of reading, he hummed thoughtfully, pointing at a specific part of the document.
"It seems that the curse is based around his guilt. While he is plagued by it for the acts he did as Angelus, his soul remains in place. A single minute where his guilt does not haunt him, a single moment of true peace, and his soul will be lost." He turned to Janna, "This explains why Buffy saw herself as the one killing Angel. She is likely the only thing that can alleviate his guilt. I will need to inform The Slayer and her allies. She will need to know to keep her distance from him for now on."
"Are you going to tell her? About me, I mean."
Xander seemed to think for a moment before speaking, "There is no value in it for me. However, you should tell them yourself. As I've said, these things have a way of coming out when you least expect them to."
-oOo-
The next night, all of the Scoobies gathered at The Bronze, which they had rented out for a private affair. In attendance was Willow, who had brought a musician named Oz as her date, the boy who had taken a bullet for her when the Tarakan Assassin attacked Buffy during the career fair. Also present was Jesse, who was having an unusually cordial conversation with Cordelia who, surprisingly, was also here at Buffy's party. The one sour grape among the bunch was Angel, who was sulking in the corner and looking especially pathetic. He wasn't even trying to fit in with the friends of the girl he professed to love. It was pretty pitiful, in Xander's opinion.
They were waiting for Jenny Calendar, whose job it was to get Buffy to the club under the pretense of meeting with Giles. She had begun spending more time in the library so she could observe Xander. He knew that she found the whole situation truly fascinating and desperately wanted to sit him down one day to ask him about major events in history.
The sounds of fighting preceded the birthday girl entering the club in a suitable dramatic fashion, practically riding a vampire through the glass and staking it with a broken drumstick in front of the gathered partygoers. Standing off to the side Oz, who had not yet been introduced to the darker truths of the Sunnydale nightlife, stared on in shock.
"Surprise!" Cordelia cried, jumping up from where she had sequestered herself, everyone looking back at her in vexation.
"That pretty much sums it up." The musician deadpanned.
Angel moved forward to check on the state of his girlfriend. "Buffy, are you okay?"
"Yes, w- what happened?" Giles asked, moving closer as well.
The blonde-haired slayer gestured vaguely behind herself, while looking around the room in confusion, "Uh, there were these vamps out... W-what's going on?"
Giles cleared his throat, seeming embarrassed, "Oh, um... A surprise party." He blew on a party favor pitifully, knowing the jubilant atmosphere had been dispelled by her sudden arrival.
"Happy Birthday." Cordelia repeated, as if reciting a line from memory.
A joyous smile crested Buffy's face and she turned all her attention to Angel, "You guys did all this for me? That is so sweet."
Xander snorted loudly. "Don't thank him, he had nothing to do with this. We've been planning this for weeks. Angel just showed up after being invited." He turned to face the vampire, pushing away from his spot leaning against the bar, "Did you even have anything planned for your girlfriend's birthday?"
"I-" Angel stuttered, but the answer was obvious.
Xander nodded, "I thought so."
Ignoring the back and forth between Xander and Angel, Willow was trying to figure out what she was going to say to Oz. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." He looked around, confused at how he was the only one that seemed surprised by what had happened, "Hey, did everybody see that guy just turn to dust?"
"Uh, well, uh... sort of."
Knowing that there would be plenty of chances in the future to point out Angel's failings, Xander looked instead to Oz, secretly pleased at this turn of events. He knew if Willow was going to start dating, she needed a boyfriend that she could share her secrets with. He spoke up, interrupting the girl's stuttering, "Yep. Vampires are real. A lot of them live in Sunnydale. Willow will fill you in."
"I know it's hard to accept at first." The girl said after a moment of gaping at Xander, who had just dropped that bombshell, before returning her attention to Oz. As it turned out, the boy was completely unfazed.
"Actually, it explains a lot."
While Willow was divulging the truth about Sunnydale, Jenny entered the club carrying the box that the creatures had been transporting, "Hey, can someone give me a hand here?" Xander immediately recognized it for what it was, a feeling of dread filling him. He moved forward quickly and pulled it from the teacher's arms before carrying it to a nearby table.
"Thank you." she said, while rubbing her neck, "Those creeps left it behind."
"What is it?" Buffy questioned, moving closer.
"I have no idea. Can it be opened?"
"I don't think-" Xander began, but it was too late. Buffy popped the latches and lifted the lid to reveal a blue-skinned arm adorned in steel armor. Before they could do more than stare at the strange thing, it levered itself up and attacked, clamping onto the slayer's throat. He and Angel both leaped forward to pry the thing off and wrestle it back into the box, the arm fighting them the whole way.
"Good heavens Buffy, are you alright?" Giles moved forward to inspect his charge who, beside some minor bruising which would fade quickly due to her slayer healing, was unharmed. The arm belonged to a demon known as 'The Judge', whose very touch could burn people from the inside out. He was a walking weapon of mass destruction that couldn't be killed. In the end, the demon's body had been pulled apart using horses and the pieces were boxed up before being shipped to the figurative four corners of the Earth. If someone, namely Spike based on who the vamps outside usually worked for, was bringing them back together... things could go very badly.
Before Xander could come up with an excuse that would allow him to get the box away from the Scoobies while keeping his cover intact, Jenny declared that Angel was the only one who could get the box out of town and protect it. Understandably, Buffy was not happy about that. Her vampire boyfriend would have to be away from Sunnydale for months as he couldn't just get on an airplane without risking being exposed to sunlight. Jenny offered to drive Angel to the docks where he could catch a freighter to Asia, Buffy going along to say goodbye. The rest of the group began cleaning up the party so they could head to the library to research The Judge. While they worked, Xander focused on a mind that was currently located on the edge of town, using his telepathic ability to make contact. When he felt her respond he sent a quick summation of events and a request to meet him at the school.
Once they arrived back at the library, he excused himself, claiming he needed to use the restroom. Instead, he snuck out a side exit, to find Siobhan waiting there for him. She was dressed in identical clothing, which currently hung off her smaller frame. Seeing him approach, she pulled a familiar vial from her pocket and quickly imbibed the contents. Her body rippled and changed, transforming into an identical Xander, the clothes now fitting properly. As soon as she was able to pass as him, he nodded.
"Looking good. You should go, they are expecting me. Good luck and be careful."
She nodded in return and quickly entered the school, leaving Xander to change his own appearance. His form altered, his clothing turning brown with long curving patterns becoming etched upon them. Moments later, those patterns became three dimensional, separating into individual feathers. He began to shrink, his sneakers turning a dull yellow and splitting down the center, forming into sharp talons. His face bulged outward, his mouth and nose becoming a sharp hooked beak. In seconds, the human was gone, replaced by a great horned owl. With one flap of its broad wings, the creature took flight, moving with haste toward the docks.
He quite liked flying, it was freeing in a way that nothing else was and was one of the few things that hadn't become 'old hat' after so many years. Growing up, he and Jesse had fantasized about being superheroes, spending entire days debating the versatility of different powers. Xander had always preferred flight, while Jesse insisted that teleportation was much more useful. Of course, now he understood just how impracticable the ability to fly was in modern day. Given that the world's numerous military forces all watched the skies in fear of attack, he would assuredly have been detected by now, if it weren't for the ability to become a bird. He could only imagine what the governments of the world would do if they knew the full extent of his powers. They would want to cut him open to figure out how they worked and replicate them. Admittedly, they wouldn't be able to hold him for long, but it would still be a nuisance.
Still... flying was pretty amazing.
-oOo-
Parked under a streetlamp waiting for Buffy to return, Jenny had to smother a scream when someone stepped up to her car and tapped on the window. She berated herself for not being more prepared before looking out to see a stranger grinning at her through the glass. He circled around the vehicle, the passenger side door unlocking and opening of its own accord. He dropped easily into the seat, Jenny watching him warily. "Xander?"
"When I look like this, I go by Boros," The woman nodded with a sigh of relief, "It's important that you not call me by the wrong name."
They sat in silence for a time before Jenny spoke up, "Who did you dress as for Halloween? You never told me that."
"Someone Jean Grey was very familiar with. Apocalypse, the first Mutant."
The woman tensed, "you mean the insane, power-hungry conqueror?"
"That's him. But don't worry, I didn't keep his personality or memories after the spell ended. Only his powers."
"What was it like? Finding yourself in the past, I mean."
Boros said nothing for a time, his thoughts far away and long ago. A moment of silence passed before he finally looked to Jenny, "When I woke up, I found myself in a desert. It was worse heat then I had ever felt growing up in Southern California. My appearance was still that of Apocalypse, big and blue. My body had not returned to normal when the spell ended. I wandered for days with no idea where I was or how to get home. Eventually I stumbled upon a small tribe of nomads that lived out in the desert. They were understandably frightened by my appearance but there was one man who was willing to approach me. I did not understand their language, though I could hear the thoughts of everyone present. The man was patient with me, he spent many months helping me to learn to speak his language. It wasn't until he took me to the nearest city that I realized I was not in my own time. Somehow, the Halloween spell had sent me to-" The Immortal man stopped speaking at the sudden sound of fighting coming from nearby. With a quickly spoken 'stay here' he was out of the car and moving toward the nearby dock.
-oOo-
The tearful farewells between ensouled vampire and slayer were emotional as Angel gave Buffy an Irish Claddagh ring as a sign of his devotion to her. They were just moving forward to kiss when a pair of vampires leaped out of the dark and tackled them both. A fight ensued which the two defenders appeared to be winning until a lucky hit from a vampire stunned Buffy long enough for the creature to manhandle her and throw her over the railing into the water. The attack was enough of a distraction for a third vampire, this one rather pathetic looking, to get hold of the prize and run. Angel, who should have gone after the box, instead turned and leaped into the water.
"Idiot." Muttered a voice from nearby. Boros stepped out into the light, one arm snapping out to point at a heavy rubber wheel chock that lay forgotten nearby. He made a gripping motion with his hand and flung his arm in the direction of the fleeing creature, causing the chock to propel across the distance like a bullet from a gun. The force from the impact was enough to nearly fold the creature in half, its bones shattering as its body was flung forward multiple feet, only to crash painfully to the ground in a broken pile moaning in pain. Boros moved a finger in a 'come here' gesture, causing the crated arm of The Judge to slide toward him as if the ground was made of ice instead of cement, only to be stopped by the arch of the immortal's boot. The scraping in the quiet night drew the attention of the other vampires who had, until that moment, believed the fight over. Their expressions quickly went from surprise to anger even as a cruel smile split Boros' face. He kicked the crate aside before lunging forward faster then was humanly possible, catching even the demons off guard. His fist shot out, back-handing one and causing it to go flying, while his other hand lengthened and sharpened, turning into a sword that he plunged into the second. Now protruding from its back, the sword shortened, and its tip flattened becoming what was, in essence, a giant thumbtack pinning the vampire in place. Boros spun, swinging the bleeding creature at the first who had gotten to its feet and lunged at the immortal causing it to instead crash into its accomplice. He withdrew the apparatus attaching himself to the demon, his arm shifting back to its normal state. A quick glance confirmed the vampire that had tried to take the crate a short time ago was getting to its feet, the damage Boros had done already healing. A quick jab of his arm in its direction was followed by an invisible ripple of telekinetic force rushing at the creature like a freight train, its body crushed by the impact, propelled away as if fired from a cannon. It ended up rolling across the cement with the appearance of a broken marionette.
The fight still in progress, Boros' foot lashed out, the crack of breaking bones audible in the night as the creature he had knocked to the ground earlier was flung into the air, spinning wildly before crashing to the ground. One of Boros' feet came down on the monster's neck, pinning it down, while his fist clamped onto the neck of the one, he had originally impaled.
"Boros?" Buffy questioned, having finally ascended the ladder up from the ocean surface. She stood, dripping water on the cement, while Angel glared angrily at the immortal from behind her, "What are you doing here?"
The shapeshifter nodded to the blonde girl, "Buffy Summers, good evening. If you will give me a moment?"
In a single motion, he shoved the vampire in his grip away and snapped his arm to the side, a slim steel throwing dagger sliding out from within his forearm through the palm of his hand. Now held tightly in his grip, a series of runes carved along its surface began to glow an angry red, wisps of smoke leaking out from them. He stabbed, driving the blade up into the vampire's chin and held it there for a moment before pulling it clear. The demon released a mixed gargle and growl as fire sprouted from the wound and began to engulf the creature. Ignoring this, Boros' arm snapped out again, this time sending the dagger flying across the dock and into the chest of the last remaining undead, who was attempting to sneak to where the crate with The Judge's arm still lay. Ignoring the creatures pain cry as its body burned away, the immortal turned his attention to the vampire that was still pinned under his foot.
"Spike sent you?" he questioned, to which the creature gurgled, unable to speak due to its neck still being crushed under the immortal's boot. Boros nodded. "So, he's still alive? Thought so. And Drusilla?" The demon gurgled again, to which he nodded once more, "Good to know. Thank you for your assistance."
A sharp crunch preceded the vampire turning to dust, after which The Immortal strolled over to pick up the dagger that now lay in a pile of ash that was a vampire moments ago. A swipe of his foot spread the ash so it would quickly be blown away by the wind, leaving no evidence of what had happened there. He moved back down the dock, a flick of a finger causing the crate to slide across the ground once more, coming to a stop in front of the dripping wet couple.
"You're immature need to be a hero in front of the girl almost let the box get stolen, vampire." Boros snarled at Angel.
"She was thrown into the water!" He stated, as if that was an answer.
"She can swim!" Boros stated in return. "The box is safe, and time is of the essence. Take it and go."
"Right, like I'm going to leave her alone here with you."
"She's safer with me then she is with you, vampire. You're one happy moment away from losing your soul."
"What?" Buffy asked, even as Angel jerked in surprise. Boros ignored Angel, focusing entirely on Buffy as he spoke.
"I am sorry, but it seems that your relationship was doomed from the start. I spoke to the Kalderash. The method of breaking the curse is very clear. It is intended to make Angel suffer. As long as that continues, the soul remains. A single moment of true contentment where the crimes of the demon no longer plague him and the curse breaks. According to the tribal elders, it is already weakening. As far as I can tell, there is only one thing that brings him that level of peace."
"Me." Buffy said, the realization hitting her like a ton of bricks.
"What?" Angel demanded, "Buffy, you can't honestly believe any of this."
Boros looked at the ensouled vampire for the first time, "As much as you don't want to believe it, it's the truth. I may question your dedication to the light, but I am sure that not even you want Angelus to return."
The anger and resentment that flowed between the two was noticed even by Buffy. She looked back and forth before sighing and moving to stand between them, "Stop this. Angel, it's okay. As much as I don't want you to go, you need to get the arm to safety. And when you get back, we'll... we'll talk."
The vampire didn't want to agree, but eventually nodded in resignation. Boros rolled his eyes at having to watch the lovebirds say their goodbyes all over again. Finally, when Angel took hold of the box and boarded the cargo ship that was preparing to depart, he put her hand on Buffy's shoulder in a show of emotional support. "I know that to you, the time that he will be gone seems like forever but take it from someone who has lived far longer than you could imagine. The time will fly by and... unfortunately, he will be back before you know it."
"Thank you." The young slayer said with a slight sniffle while wiping tears from her face, "Why does he hate you so much?"
"I slept with Darla."
Buffy looked confused, "I thought it was Drusilla you slept with."
"It was both... At the same time, something they wouldn't do either Angelus or Spike." Seeing the slight hint of disgust on Buffy's face, he shrugged and looked sheepish, "I was REALLY drunk."
"But that was so long ago, and Angel doesn't even care about Darla anymore. Why would that still bother him?"
"Once you learn to hate someone, it's hard to change. It not an easy thing to reexamine your feelings."