Chapter 6

The High Priestess had assumed that the correct route to the gateway was the path the creature had come from and that's the path they had taken. Xander stayed as close to Angel as he dared. He knew the big guy must be going through hell and probably didn't even know he was there but he really didn't have anywhere else to be. He couldn't face Willow. Not that he blamed her exactly it was just that he couldn't stand her being so submissive towards the Romanov woman. He couldn't stand being near Buffy either. The sadness in her almost destroyed him. At least Angel seemed to have accepted his fate. He would fight until death and die a hero. Spike on the other hand was acting really weird, even for him. And Giles was lost in his own thoughts, unreachable to anyone. So he followed his friend down the narrow caves, hoping it would all end soon.

When they finally reached the gateway, he almost forgot to breathe. The cave was huge and dark, even with the witches' illumination it seemed dark. The walls were covered with the same strange signs they had seen before and even though he had no idea what they meant he guessed it wasn't some charming fairy tale. The ceiling was so high up all you could see was darkness that never ended. The big, thick pillars that held it up, stretched seemingly endlessly into total blackness above them. They were made of some strange rock that glistened in dark shades of green and he thought he saw something moving inside them, before he pulled his eyes off them and promised himself to stay away. Along the walls of the main cave there were smaller ones carved out, some where just ledges, barely big enough to stand on, others led deep into the mountain. From where they had entered small steps led downwards, and as he walked down those steps and deeper into the main cave, he noticed the gateway. In the middle of the cave wall was a large sheet of what seemed like pure liquid blackness. Above it were intricate writings of some archaic demon language. Along its sides where pillars with hideous carvings, faces twisted in torment, bodies shattered and torn. He could swear he heard screaming coming from them. This was definitely the scariest place he had ever been to.

As if it wasn't bad enough that the cave seemed to practically radiate evil, the preparations for Angel's departure had everyone walking on hot coals. They all tried to look as busy as possible, even though there really wasn't that much to do. Riley and his men had scouted the location, looking for enemies in every corner, but surprisingly coming up with nothing. They hadn't met a single demon since the giant beetle and it was making everyone a bit nervous. The witches had focused entirely on Angel, healing his wounds and fussing like crazy. He had rarely felt so useless. But it was too painful to just sit around and wait for Angel to disappear into the blackness so he headed for Giles, who had his head buried in a book, as usual. Maybe he could help him with some research.

"Hey there, G-man. In full research mode, I see. Where do I start?" he asked hopefully as he sat down next to the watcher. Giles didn't seem to hear him at first and he was just about to ask again, when Giles lifted his head. But instead of looking at him he eyed the High Priestess with a strange expression on his face.

"What do you think of her?" he asked quietly. He gave him a quizzical look.

"I don't know. I can't say I'm too fond of her, she's a bit Ice-queeny if you know what I mean. But Willow says she's OK, so I guess she is. Why?" Giles shook his head softly, as if to clear his mind. Absentmindedly he tried to clean his glasses with a dirty handkerchief, which just made it worse. He actually seemed a little surprised to realize what he was doing. Then he tucked the cloth back in his pocket again and replied with a heavy sigh,

"I'm not sure. There is something not quite right, that's all."

"What do you mean?" he replied breathlessly. "You don't think Angel is sacrificing his life for nothing, do you?" Giles was silent for a while before he answered thoughtfully,

"I hope not. But it is a strange notion that such a small potion could do so much damage." Now he was up on his feat, gesticulating wildly.

"Then you have to stop this! You can't let him do this if you're not sure!" Giles calmly used his sleeve to clean his glasses before he put them back on.

"I can't stop this because I don't have any better idea. If there is even a small chance this might work we have to risk it."

"But it's not us risking anything, it's Angel! He's going to die!" He was almost choking but Giles said nothing, simply looked over his shoulder to where the High Priestess was making her preparations, seemingly content with hoping for the best. He stomped off, and for a moment he thought of talking to Buffy. But as he watched her keeping herself busy by going over battle strategies and assessing potential attack-scenarios, clearly pushing even Riley's patience to its breaking point, he knew she was the last person he could talk to about this. And Willow would never question the High Priestess. So he admitted defeat and took his refuge to darker parts of the cave, trying hard not to scream in frustration.

The High Priestess had spent a great deal of time telling Angel all about this demon dimension he was about to walk into. Spike had been close enough to hear most of it and he was puzzled to hear the amount of meaningless rubbish she had made him listen to. It was almost like she relished in the idea that his last few moments in life was as miserable as possible. Why Angel needed to know how to disable the barrier between the dimensions was anybody's guess. It wasn't like he would ever get that far. But eventually she seemed content that she had told him everything she wanted. She carefully placed the small vial with the potion on a string around his neck then patted him on the chest and nodded with satisfaction as if he was a prized poodle she had finished grooming. Angel barely seemed to notice. He didn't look or smell afraid though, just extremely focused.

Spike on the other hand, was experiencing a whole range of emotions he hadn't expected. He felt slightly nervous, since it now was up to him to fill some pretty sizable shoes. Running the LA branch without Angel's supervision had turned out to be a lot harder than he had anticipated and to run the whole thing, with all the different branches around the world, would be a bloody nightmare. Being in charge sounded a lot cooler than it really was, as it turned out. He also felt angry and although he didn't fancy admitting it to anybody, he felt jealous. Not that he wanted to die, but it was always Angel that got to be the true hero, the one that ultimately saved the day. Of course with him gone, that role would be his, and that in turn brought actual feelings of, well not fear perhaps, but anxiety. But what had him the most perplexed was the realization that he would actually miss the old ponce. He hadn't noticed when dislike had turned to friendship. Their relationship had always been a complex one but he had never imagined feeling all warm and fuzzy about it.

He tried not to seem like he was paying too much attention. He had a reputation to uphold after all. So after the High Priestess was done with Angel and he started to say his good-byes, Spike kept his head down, smoked his cigarette and tried to look cool. After a brief conversation and a warm hug with Willow, Angel moved on to Giles, who shook his hand respectfully but reeked with guilt for some reason. Spike figured the old man probably knew something he didn't and truth be told, he'd rather keep it that way. Asking questions in this crowed rarely led to any good. Xander was next. The poor bloke could barely stand straight and it was an unusually warm hug, considering it was two guys. Typically Xander, carrying on like a girl half the time! Kaya held up surprisingly well. Spike had assumed she would fall apart. Maybe she was saving it for later. Suddenly he noticed he actually felt week in the knees as Angel walked towards him. This wasn't good. The last thing he wanted was for Angel to sense his emotional turmoil, the bloke had enough to worry about! So he pulled himself up, faced the old broody-pants with a confident...bollocs!

Angel looked at him, eyes dark and searching. So much had passed between them, so many years, so much death, so much life. Words were shallow, not enough to explain, so they said nothing, simply shared a moment of mutual understanding. Then Angel affectionately placed his hands on Spike's shoulders, leaned in a little closer and whispered, his eyes full of desperation and pain,

"Keep her safe...Spike you have to promise me you'll keep her safe!" His voice cracked at the end and tears filled his eyes. There was no need to say more. Spike knew and he also understood the impossibility in this request. But what else could he do but nod. He didn't dare speak though, his voice would probably betray him. Angel straightened and nodded in response, as if Spike had convinced him everything would be fine. Then he turned and started walking towards the black gateway.

Buffy was sitting alone, a few feet away from the rest of them. Spike could smell her pain and he knew Angel could too. He wanted to go over there but for some reason it was hard to move. He really admired Angel for going through with this with such grace. If it had been him he would probably have been babbling like a lunatic by now. He would have done it of course, that's what heroes do. But right now he just wished there was something he could do to help Buffy. She was trying hard not to look at Angel and he didn't look at her. Instead he seemed to force all of his energy towards the battle that awaited him, the last battle of his life. It should have been the ultimate battle that would eventually make him human but it didn't seem he would ever have that prophecy fulfilled. Not that Spike was feeling too bad about that of course. It only meant that the Vampire with a soul in question would be him. Maybe someday he would be human again. But at this very moment he wasn't sure it was worth losing a friend for.

When Angel finally reached the entrance in the cave wall, he stopped. Half turning, there was a moment of hesitation. His shoulders hunched a bit and he seemed to debate whether he should go back or not. He through a glance over his shoulder in Buffy's direction and Spike could smell his despair all across the room. But just as he began to fear the worst, Angel pulled himself up, lifted his head high and took the final step forward and was gone.

There was a deafening silence. No one stirred or even dared breathe. He was the first one to move. He had made a promise and he would honor it, for whatever that was worth. In truth there probably wasn't much he could do. If she had lost her will to live no power in the world could keep her alive. He sat down next to Buffy then sat there in silence. Not much to say really. She knew he was there for her, which was enough. Her breathing was slow, as if she was half asleep. Her eyes fixed on a single spot on the ground in front of her. Suddenly a sobbing broke the silence. It was Kaya who finally fell apart, tumbled to the ground shaking. Spike felt sorry for her. If it had been Buffy who had disappeared into that blackness he would probably have lost it too.

The High Priestess watched Kaya's collapse with indifference then told her in a harsh tone to stop that sniveling and act with some dignity. Spike found himself half way up from his seat and ready to rip her head off, when Giles faced the High Priestess with the air of importance that only he could muster in situations like this.

"I realize with your power it is easy to lose site of human feelings like compassion, but is it too much to ask to let this woman grieve in peace?" The High Priestess watched him calmly without flinching. A staring match began between two equals, where neither would yield. Willow looked like she was about to throw up. She started to speak, but the High Priestess lifted a hand to silence her. Then the old woman spoke, and even though her voice was quiet it filled every corner of the cave.

"But my dear Giles, it is during stressful times when dignified behavior is the most important, wouldn't you agree." Then, before he had a time to respond, she added casually, "Besides, the girl grieves for no reason. Angel will not die."

On the other side of the gateway it was cold. Not that it bothered him, he just noted that it was cold. But it was also dark so any step he took was a risk. Angel stood silent for a moment, listening for any noise, smelled the air for any demons near by. There was nothing. So he took one more step forward and suddenly a mind-numbing pain ripped his body. He staggered, tried to hold on to something, fell to the ground screaming. But it wasn't the pain that made him scream, pain he had gotten used to by now. It was the certain knowledge that he had felt this before that made him claw at the hard, cold stone floor, begging higher powers for mercy. Who had betrayed him? And why? The questions struck like knifes but worse than that was the horrifying possibility that Buffy might yet again need to kill him. That was his final thought before he was shoved deep inside the demons mind and Angelus filled his immortal flesh once more.

Angelus flexed his muscles carefully. This body was stronger than he had remembered. He was still crouching on the ground, keeping his head down. He wasn't alone. He could smell their foul scent, at least a dozen or so. They seemed to keep still perhaps they were waiting for him. He hoped this was the Challenge the witch had talked about. It had been too long since he had a chance to do some serious damage. He slowly lifted his head and felt them stir. It was dark, too dark to see even for his sensitive eyes. But he could smell them well enough to fight. Suddenly there was a glimmer of light right above him. Soon he was bathed in a strange, orange light, making a circle about six feet wide around him. When he moved, the light followed. He smiled. This was perfect. Someone was watching and he would be at the center of a fight till death. This would be fun!

The first demon attacked, launching an ax at his back. He gracefully evaded the demon's move and stepped around and ripped his head off, grabbing the ax before it fell to the floor. The next one attacked right away, using a sharp sword. The ax easily glided into the demons greenish flesh, spluttering slimy intestines on the floor. He laughed happily. He was free and fighting, his prayers had been answered.

"Oh, common gentlemen," he taunted, "is this the best you've got? I thought this would be a challenge!" A knife came at him from the darkness and he cut off the arm that held it, but doing so made him miss the heavy fist aimed at his head. He saw the dark floor coming at him and it took a few seconds to realize he had been hit. Good, he didn't want this to be too easy. Seconds after he hit the floor he was up again. Wielding the ax in front of him, he could feel it cutting through flesh. It was remarkable how much he had missed this. Blocking a sword that came from the right he soon had both an ax and a sword in his hands. He took a knife-cut to his side but paid it back with death.

Just as he was getting into the groove of the fight, it stopped. There was no one left alive, except him. Apart from a few last breathes, or gurgles, it was silent.

"Was that it?" he asked into the silence. "I was just starting to enjoy myself." In the distance he thought he could hear a faint laugh, and he took a few steps in that direction. Suddenly the light around him expanded, filled the space he was in, but to his surprise there were no walls, no ceiling, only a weird nothingness. On the floor lay piles of dead and dismembered demons of various kinds and he took a few seconds to marvel at his own creation, before he started worrying about getting out of here.

The light grew brighter and for a moment he feared he would be turned to ash. He actually cringed a bit and when the light became blinding he cursed his fate, that it would be over so soon after he had been freed. But then the light faded, he was still intact and he was standing in a large room with walls of what seemed like stone, yet not quite, and big steps leading up to a balcony. There, on the ledge, stood a demon he knew well. The only one he ever truly respected and the only one he would ever bow down to. And that was exactly what he did. Kneeling and lowering his head he offered his humility as a token of allegiance. In doing so he expressed a level of submission highly unusual for such a proud demon and something that could only come from the certain knowledge that the demon above him was far more powerful and dangerous then he had ever been or could ever hope to become.

"Rise, Angelus and welcome!" Dacq'ilion gestured with a frail hand. His long, white hair and beard had always made Angelus think of him as the evil version of Father Christmas, although much skinnier. He looked very human, apart from his strange green eyes, and in his wrinkled forehead rested the remnants of the world he had destroyed, the world which had given birth to him and made him what he was. His age was anyone's guess, he usually traveled other dimensions than the one he inhabited, so time was hard to keep track of. But Angelus would never forget their first meeting. He had been sired a few decades earlier and was just starting to get the hang of the whole vampire thing. Darla had been a great teacher but she had also sired others that occasionally required her attention and one dreary night in Prague she had announced she had to leave for a few days. He had been very upset of course but after she had convinced him that he would always be her favorite, he let her go. There were a few things he wanted to try out before he showed them to her and this was a perfect opportunity.

He had caught up to him in a dark alley. The boy was probably about twelve, although the years of poverty had taken its toll and made him seem older. He had brought him to an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of town, so that he could be certain no one would disturb them. There he had gotten to work, making the boy scream in different notes, creating a beautiful symphony of pain. Unfortunately the boy died much too soon and just as he was about to go out and find a new one, a big, smelly demon appeared out of nowhere. He wasn't easy to kill, and he got Angelus pretty badly before the creature lay dead at his feet. And that was when it happened. Out of a swirling grayish light this old man came towards him. He looked at the dead demon and nodded with approval. Then he took Angelus by the hand and led him back through the swirling lights, to another dimension. This was the first time Angelus had realized there were other dimensions, and in this one he was about to get to know a master of destruction. His name was Dacq'ilion and he explained that he had an enemy here he needed to torment and he wanted Angelus to help him, since he had recognized his talent for destruction. In return he would teach him how to inflict real pain on all types of creatures. First he had thought it was some sort of a joke and that Darla would soon turn up and laugh at him in that adorable way she did. But after a few days, weeks or years, it was hard to tell, he had come to the conclusion that he had been given the privilege of learning from a true master.

After they had finished their task and the Teacher had been satisfied with his revenge, he had made an offer to Angelus. He could stay with him and learn the ways of an upper-level demon. But it had meant he would never see Darla again so he had declined. After he was sent back to his own dimension he realized that virtually no time at all had past there. When Darla returned he tried to explain what had happened to him but nothing came out right. So he kept it to himself, buried it so deep not even his human half thought of the memories as anything more than a vague dream. But over the years he had always hoped he would encounter his Teacher again and now that he had he would follow him anywhere. After all, this time there was no one to hold him back.