A/N: Here's the next chapter. Sorry it took so long.
Angel's basement apartment, Sunnydale February 15th 1998
Feeling tired by otherwise happy after losing her virginity to her boyfriend the previous night, Buffy woke up - and immediately noticed that Angel was nowhere in sight. { Where did he go?! } she wondered to herself. It was still dark out, although from the feel of things, dawn wasn't too far away...
Little did she know Angelus was on the hunt for some fresh blood! He had found some homeless people to feed on…
Anyway, Buffy got dressed and arrived home just after the sun rose. Her mother was rather surprised to see her home so early on a Sunday morning, but Joyce didn't question it – figuring Buffy was still in her rebellious phase, and prone to do the unexpected.
Over at the old Crawford Street mansion, Spike wasn't too happy about seeing Angelus again – even though Dru was all smiles, dancing in the living room. Spike sat on the couch, smoking with his feet on the table. "Dru?"
"Yes, yes, the stars, they tell me - after Daddy returns home soon, Kitten will join us!" she grinned happily.
"No way in hell that wanker will be turned on my watch, luv!" Spike roared, full of loathing at the prospect of a vampiric Xander Harris.
Drusilla merely pouted and said, "You're no fun at all, my Spoike!"
Later that night, Angelus fed upon and turned some students from Sunnydale High. Knowing nothing of this Buffy, who was still worried about Angel, met up with Xander, Cordelia, Kendra, Oz and Willow at the Bronze. The two couples paired off and started to dance, while Kendra – who could tell something was up with her Slayer sibling – said simply, "What's wrong?"
"Um...I'm, I'm kinda worried about Angel," Buffy replied hesitantly. "I haven't seen him since last night, after we..."
"After you what?" Kendra asked suspiciously.
"Uh – nothing, I mean – after we split up after patrol," Buffy suddenly decided to clam up.
Kendra shrugged, uncaring. "De vampire can look after himself, yer probably worrying fer not'ing."
"Yeah, maybe," Buffy replied, before the Oz-bot and the Willow-bot returned from the dance floor and the topic of conversation changed.
Elsewhere, Angelus and his new minions arrived at the old mansion. And straightaway, Drusilla just *knew* -
"Spoike, Daddy's home!" she cried out with utter joy.
Spike sighed and rolled his eyes. { Not this again... }
"Aren't you happy to see me, Spike?" Angelus mocked him, leaving his entourage behind – who were eyeing Spike and Drusilla's minions nervously.
"Why would I ever be happy to bloody well see you, mate?!" Spike growled, jumping off the couch.
"Because it's me?" Angelus smirked evilly.
Well, naturally, they immediately got into a fight in the main room of the mansion! Oddly enough, instead of helping out, the various minions started placing bets on who would win the fight. It was hard to tell who would be the victor...especially since Drusilla was cheering for both Angelus and Spike!
Over at the Bronze, the Scooby gang started talking amongst themselves after Xander and Cordy returned from the dance floor themselves. The topic of conversation ebbed and flowed, until – inevitably – Buffy mentioned Angel's name again.
"So, Angel just leaves you without leaving a note or a goodbye kiss?" Xander joked, without knowing the full story of what had happened last night.
Buffy rolled her eyes, glad she hadn't confessed to Xander that she and Angel had slept together after patrol was done. { It's none of his business, anyway! }
"I'm sure Angel is fine, Buffy," the Willow-bot interjected soothingly. Although that was a lie and she knew it - Jareth had told both robot Oz and robot Willow about Angel losing his soul, thanks to the Slayer's...urges.
Back at the mansion, Spike and Angelus were still going at it. Throwing punches and kicks at each other.
"Gonna kill you for everything you've done since Dru and I showed up here, ANGEL!" Spike yelled, throwing a wild haymaker that missed.
"It's Angelus, Spike, haven't you realized that yet?"
"Wot?" Spike paused for a moment, taking a big sniff – and sure enough, there was no sign of the soul that he could smell for the first time in roughly a century. "Sodding hell! How did THAT happen?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Angelus actually laughed, darkly.
"Ooh, I know! The Slayer's been ever so naughty, she has. Wicked strumpet!" Drusilla suddenly scowled.
Spike burst out laughing, he was easily able to tell what that meant. "Betty spread her legs wide open fer you, did she? I bet sleeping with the Slayer has made you soft, Angelus!"
Angelus grinned at Spike, and then with a burst undead super-speed, he broke the younger vampire's right leg with a nearby chair. "Is that what you think?"
Spike yelled in pain, clutching his leg with one arm. "You effing bastard!"
"Spike, Spike, Spike. If I told you my parents were married once, I told you a hundred times..."
Angelus hit Spike's left leg this time, destroying the chair completely. The British vampire, unable to support his own weight anymore, fell to the floor in pain, agony and defeat.
Angelus' minions broke out in wild laughter, high-fiving each other at their sire's victory. Spike and Drusilla's minions simply sighed dropping their losing cash on the floor. Afterwards, everyone left the main room but Spike – who felt a rage at being humbled like this the likes of which he'd never felt before.
{ I'll get you for this, Angelus, } Spike scowled evilly as he tried to pull himself off the floor and onto a chair. { I swear, you will pay for this big time! }
It wasn't long before Drusilla's screams of pleasure and passion started echoing throughout the mansion, which only enraged Spike further as he understood what his grandsire was doing. So William the Bloody quickly came up with an idea on how to get back at Angelus for his actions.
{ Gonna take a while, but that's alright. It'll take awhile for my legs to heal up, I reckon, } Spike thought to himself. { And then Angelus will pay. Oh, yeah. He'll bloody pay, and in spades! }
Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale February 16th 1998
Kendra arrived at the school to tell Giles the news that the vampire from her vision had left town.
Moments later, the Scooby gang and Kendra tarted talking at the main table of the library.
"Well, what the hell. One less vampire to worry about, if you ask me," Xander said with a slight shrug as he gulped down the contents of his can of soda, the one he got from the vending machine on the way here. He passed it over to his girlfriend, and Cordelia took a quick sip herself.
"Yeah, but Spike and Drusilla still haven't made any kind of move," Buffy sighed.
"I'm sure dey'll make some kinda move soon. Best keep a lookout for any of deir minions," Kendra warned.
Giles came out of his office with Jenny, and if their hair was somewhat mussed and the librarian had a trace of lipstick on his collar, nobody cared.
DELOS facility, summer of 1999
At a DELOS lab, new robots were being built for Feudal Japan World. Oz and Willow – the real ones – looked around the hidden room they'd found themselves in since they awoke in tanks full with a strange liquid. Despair threatened to engulf them, as there was still no escape...
Jareth paid them no mind. He was watching surveillance videos on his computer for each theme park. So far, everything had been running just fine in the theme parks. Finally satisfied, he turned off the computer. Jareth then left the office, heading towards the lab where the new robots for Feudal Japan World were being built.
Ethan lay in bed, reading a book within the hotel he's staying at in Westworld. He was deep in thought. { Maybe I could try chaos magic once again - but this time, somewhere that doesn't have a Slayer and my old pal Ripper to worry about? }
Hmmm... maybe this time he'll cast his spell during Christmas time, rather than Halloween. Ethan laughed to himself, it was definitely a thought! But that was six months or so from now. First off, Jareth – and everything associated with him.
Crawford Street mansion, Sunnydale February 23rd 1998
By this point, Spike's minions had found a wheelchair for him to use. The so-called Big Bad wasn't too happy that he had to be in a wheelchair. He also wasn't happy about the fact that Angelus was spending way too much time with Dru. But he persevered, waiting for legs to heal - and then make quite a few changes around here!
For her part, Buffy hadn't heard from Angel for a week. And naturally, she was out of her mind with worry! { I knew it, I knew something was wrong the moment I woke up in Angel's bed last week! } And her mental state wasn't helped by the fact that everyone now knew she and Angel had been – intimate – with one another, after she had confessed to Willow. Who had then promptly told Oz, who had then mentioned it to Giles – and then the entire gang knew!
It was majorly awful that no one *approved* of what she'd done, either, even if nobody was willing to say so to her face – everybody was totally judge-y, even if it was none of their business!
But later that night, Angelus left a bloody message on her front door. It was a paper bag with a human heart covered in blood. There was a letter attached on the paper bag. The letter was written by Angelus himself. She wasted no time at all calling Giles on her phone, and then cleaning up the mess before her mom could see it.
At Xander's home, he and Cordy were watching a movie. Luckily his folks weren't home, it was just them. Because Cordelia had something to say, and she wasn't willing to keep her voice down...
"I can't believe Buffy decided to give it up to a vampire, undead hunk or otherwise," the brunette said with a disgusted look on her face.
"Yeah. I could make some necrophilia jokes – but that's too tacky, even for me," Xander shrugged.
"I mean, what kind of a future is she imagining them having together? Assuming Buffy survives long enough to even have one," Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"Well, sweetheart, the way I see it – the Buffster ain't gonna listen to either of us on that subject, so no point us even thinking about it," Xander shrugged. "Besides, aren't there other things for us to talk about?"
Cordelia knew what that meant – ever since Harmony had caught them making out in that mop closet last week, nobody believed that theirs was strictly professional relationship anymore. A couple of the football jocks had even given Xander grief about it, until he had repeated that tennis ball trick of his to make them back off. Still, it was more or less an open secret that the two of them were in some sort of relationship nowadays.
And so, Cordelia didn't see any point in waiting any longer. Not when Buffy had already done it, and probably Willow as well!
Cordelia grinned, as they started to make out on his bed. The cheerleader started tearing off her boyfriend's clothes, as Xander did likewise, and soon enough, she was about five seconds away from having Harris inside her-
But then, both their cell phones went off, totally ruining the moment.
"UGH!" Cordelia moaned. She kissed Xander intensely, hoping he'd ignore both ring tones. But no such luck –
"Sorry, honey, but it might be important," Xander said, after unlocking his lips from hers. "You gotta know I don't want to stop – I *really* don't –"
"Yeah, I know," Cordelia said grouchily, as her boyfriend got off of her and reached for his cell. Surrendering to the inevitable, she started reaching for her own phone and said, "Fine. But just so you know, this isn't over!"
Both teens then answered their phones, quickly learning it was Giles and Willow calling respectively. Both Xander and Cordelia listened, acknowledging the request to meet at the Watcher's apartment right away. After Willow and Giles disconnected, Xander and Cordelia looked at one another in dismay – completely ignoring the fact that both of their clothes were all over the floor.
"We just can't seem to catch a break, can we?" Xander sighed, staring at his girlfriend in despair.
"Shut up, Dork. Just - get dressed, we need to go," Cordelia replied, feeling upset. It wasn't Xander's fault they hadn't been able to fully consummate their relationship *again*, and she knew it – but still, she needed to direct her anger somewhere!
Xander turned the TV off while Cordelia put on her clothes and shoes, before getting dressed herself. They shared one more passionate kiss before leaving the bedroom and then the house, after Xander locked his room and the front door. Quite honestly, he didn't trust his parents to go through his things looking for cash or stuff to sell for booze and cigarettes. They drive off to Giles's apartment in Cordy's car. And unbeknownst to the two teenage lovebirds, Jenny was also on her way there.
{ Damn it. I should have told everyone about the spell that gave Angel his soul back, } she thought to herself with a heavy sigh. { And I still can't believe that Uncle Enyos took so long to tell me that Angel had lost his soul! }
Elsewhere, Glory was out and about looking for anything that would help her get back home. But at Giles' apartment, the Watcher welcomed everyone into his home before he opened up the bag that Buffy had brought with her. Then, after putting on a pair of latex gloves, he took out the human heart inside the bag that was covered in congealed blood.
"Is that a human heart, Giles?" the Willow-bot asked, with a worried look on her face.
"I'm afraid so, Willow." Giles had a grim look on his face. Putting the heart back in the bag, he took off the gloves and then read the attached letter, the one Angelus wrote to Buffy. From the look on his face, it was obvious he didn't like what he'd just read. "I have bad news. Angel is, is gone, a-and Angelus has returned."
"What?" more than one person demanded.
"What does the letter say?" Jenny demanded, a bit nervously. Buffy looked away, and the spy slash computer science teacher noticed. "Buffy?"
Xander grabbed the letter and read it, before his eyes went wide. "Thanks for screwing the soul out of me, sweetheart?"
Buffy burst into tears, and ran out of the condo. The Willow-bot and Kendra immediately ran after her, and after giving Xander a disappointed look, Cordelia followed them.
"Thinking you're gonna be in doghouse territory for a while," the Oz-bot said philosophically.
Xander couldn't disagree. { Yeah, especially after the whole coitus interruptus thing! }
At the local magic store, Angelus' minions sought out and destroyed any Orbs of Thesulah they could find, on orders from Drusilla - so that her 'Daddy' couldn't be cursed with his soul back again. Dead bodies lay drained of blood on the floor, before the vampires headed towards the back of the store and the sewer entrance from which they'd entered.
Elsewhere, Glory still hadn't found what she was looking for so far. It finally occurred to her that if she couldn't find a way home...maybe she could find something to be rid of her human shell, and exist in her true form before turning this world into her new home sweet hellfire.
Sunnydale High School Library, Sunnydale February 24th 1998
Kendra was out patrolling and slaying while Buffy and the others were talking on how to get Angel's soul back. Jenny had told them how Angel got his soul back in 1898, by using an orb of Thesulah and an old gypsy curse. Things got bad for a while after she'd also confessed she was Janna of the Kalderash, but Giles quickly put a stop to that – telling Buffy in no uncertain terms that she shouldn't try to blame the woman he loved for what had happened with her undead paramour. Giles didn't actually *say* it was Buffy's own fault for unleashing a monster that was now killing people, but then he didn't have to...
For his part, Xander didn't like what he'd just heard about Angel's past. "So, this whole soul curse thing. You can't make it permanent, right? As in, you can't get rid of that pesky 'moment of perfect happiness' escape clause?"
"Not without nullifying the curse completely, no," Jenny replied.
"Then...how is giving Dead Boy his soul back, any kind of long-term viable option?" Xander asked slowly.
"XANDER!" Buffy yelled angrily, looking betrayed.
"Hey, I'm just saying," Xander shrugged.
"And what's your solution? Simply staking him?" Buffy continued to rant.
"Well, I've got a question. Can anyone here actually chant the chant and do the mojo in the first place? Because if not, this whole discussion is pretty much academic, right?" Cordelia shrugged.
Everyone looked at Jenny, who simply shook her head. "I'm a technopagan, not a witch. I don't have that kind of power."
"And I've dabbled in the craft, done some black magic spells – but this is utterly beyond me as well," Giles said, after he finished his tea.
"So, then, Cordelia's right," Buffy said with a sad sigh. "This whole conversation is like totally pointless?"
"Not necessarily," Giles stared at her compassionately. "Even though Jenny's told me how details regarding those magicks are long lost, there's a chance we might be able to recreate the soul curse from the old Romany writings she has. But it won't happen any time soon – so if you see Angelus, Buffy, don't hesitate to finish him off. He won't hesitate to kill you, after all."
Elsewhere, the ancient god Miraak appears in a flash of red lightning in the outskirts of Sunnydale, where low-rent housing was scheduled to be built – and the demon Acathla was buried in its tomb deep underground. Miraak used his powers to raise the tomb and then blast it into little pieces, destroying the demon statue (and the attached sword) inside.
Thus, in a few months' time, Spike, Drusilla and Angelus wouldn't get the chance to open a portal to a hell dimension that would end all life on Earth as humanity knew it.
Again, most of the Powers That Be weren't exactly happy about this at all….
Knowing nothing about all this, Glory opened the front door of Uncle Bob's Magic Cabinet and found the dead bodies laying on the floor.
{ What a waste of minds to brain-suck, } Glorificus sighed to herself. She walked over the bodies, looking for anything would be useful. Finding nothing out front, she made her way towards the back of the store. { Eww. Vampires! } The vampires attacked the hellgoddess, and so they got ripped apart for their trouble. { That's it. I need to brain to eat! Where are the damn minions? Useless idiots, all of them… }
Back at the Watcher's condo, Giles warned everyone to travel in groups from now on and keep an eye out for each other. Afterwards, the teens left Giles' apartment and went home. For their part, Giles and Jenny went upstairs to bed and tried to forget all the recent horrors for the night, by taking comfort in each other's bodies.
Both Xander and Cordelia arrived back at his place rather than hers, since Xander's parents were still out somewhere – most likely getting shit-faced drunk – and Cordelia's parents would ask too many questions if he showed up at the Chase mansion at this time of night.
There were no words needed, as they went upstairs to Xander's bedroom. Both of them knew what was going to happen tonight, after all.
Slowly, tenderly, Cordy and Xander start to make out on his bed. They left most of their clothes on... at least at first.
Until their passion could no longer be trapped within the prison of propriety, so to speak, and the flesh of two worlds finally become one.
TBC…