Disclaimer: All characters and things from ANGEL and BUFFY belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. If they aren't on the show they belong to me.
Summary: Angel and Spike get a chance to get back the people that meant the most to them after the battle against Wolfram and Hart. But can they keep the real past a secret from the only people they want to share it with? A/C S/B
CHAPTER 2
Angel and Spike made their way out of the office they had just sat in completely bewildered. Neither of them knew what had just happened or why they were back in Sunnydale, the high school no less! Both numbly made their way down one of the empty hallways. It was clear that class was in session at Sunnydale High. The hallways were all deserted.
"So…" Spike finally managed out. "What in the bloody hell is going on here?"
"I don't know." Angel said. "We're in Sunnydale. That's all I know. And that we are human."
"And we are in high school! We are teenagers!" Spike added, and then looked at Angel. "Well, I mean you don't look like a teenager. You kind of look the same, a little younger maybe or skinner. That's it. You're skinner. You always were back in Sunnydale. You put some pounds on when you went to L.A." Spike rambled.
"Well, you look the same as you always have…retarded." Angel retaliated.
"Oh yeah? Screw you!" Spike told him as he took a step ahead of Angel. "I don't need this. I'm human now. I can do whatever I want." Spike arched his back as he took a deep breath.
"And what the hell are you going to do in Sunnydale?" Angel asked.
Spike let out the breath he had taken, and turned back to Angel. "We need to figure out what the hell is going on."
"Well, at least we can agree on that." Angel sighed.
"Where do we start?" Spike asked.
Angel looked around, trying to think of something. Then a sign at the end of the hallway caught his eye. "The library." He pointed ahead.
Spike raised an eyebrow. "I doubt we could find any books on what happened to us…"
"No. But we would find an English librarian." Angel picked up the pace, heading for the library.
"Giles…" Spike realized whom Angel was talking about and then quickly caught up to the dark-haired ex-vampire ahead of him.
Angel busted through the library doors with Spike trailing behind him. The library was set up exactly as Angel had remembered it. Not a thing was out of place, and as usual, Giles was nowhere in sight.
"Giles?" Angel's voice echoed in the silent library.
Giles came rushing out of his back office. "Stop yelling! This is a library!" He stopped when he saw Angel and Spike standing in front of him. "Can I help you two?"
"Thank God it's you, Giles." Spike started. "Something weird is going on."
"What is it?" Giles asked, leaning against the counter of the library.
"First off, we are both human." Spike said, pointing to himself and Angel.
"And that is strange because?" Giles raised an eyebrow.
"Because an hour ago we were bloody vampires!" Spike was taken back by how calm Giles was.
Giles nodded, and then looked at Angel. "Is this some kind of practical joke?"
"What?" Angel was confused, and then he realized that Giles had no idea what Spike was talking about. "No…I mean, yes. Sorry sir."
"What?" Spike looked at Angel, fumed, but could say nothing else as Angel began yanking him toward the door.
Before Angel or Spike could get out of the library, however, they heard Giles' voice.
"Liam, has Buffy been talking to you about certain things?" Giles asked.
Angel stopped, turning to face Giles. "What do you mean?"
"I know the two of you have been growing closer. Has she been talking about anything particular that would have made you or William come in here claiming to be vampires?" Giles asked.
Angel contemplated what his answer would be. He knew if he was going to get any information out of Giles he had to start lying. "Yeah. She did."
"She bloody did not! We haven't even seen-" Spike was cut off by Angel giving him a jab to the gut. He looked up to the dark haired man next to him, and realized what Angel was doing. Spike then looked at Giles. "I mean, she has been telling us both."
Giles raised an eyebrow at Spike, but then turned back to Angel. "What has she told you, Liam?"
Before Angel could answer, Spike jumped in.
"That she is the bloody slayer!" Spike told Giles. "And she…you know…kills vampires and such."
Giles chuckled softly to himself, fixing his glasses. "Well, she has been fibbing to you then."
"What do you mean?" Angel pressed.
"There is no such thing as vampires, and I wouldn't even know what a slayer was." Giles said, but could not look Angel in the eye.
Angel had been around humans long enough to know when one was lying, and Giles was lying. "Don't lie to me, Giles." Angel said through a clenched jaw.
Giles looked up at Angel, a stern look on his face. "It's Mr. Giles to you, Mr. Angel. And I'm not sure what Buffy has told you, and I know whatever she has said she should not have."
"So she is the slayer then?" Angel asked, trying to get an answer out of Giles.
"She is the chosen one, yes." Giles said. "But vampires do not exists any longer. They haven't for centuries now. A girl is called, and watched, and trained in case, for some reason, vampires do arise again, but I assure you, gentlemen, that will never happen."
"So there is still a Watchers Council then?" Spike asked.
Giles studied Spike and Angel hard. "How do you know of that? Buffy doesn't even know it exists."
Angel looked at Spike, realizing they had gotten themselves in way over their heads. It was clear this reality was not like theirs. "Doesn't matter. We'll be going now."
"Boys, if you tell anyone about any of this they won't believe you." Giles warned them. "So keep it to yourselves."
"What about Buffy?" Spike asked.
"I'll deal with her later." Giles told them. "Now get back to class."
Angel and Spike nodded, making their way back into the hall. They walked silently until they made it to a door that led to the front lawn of the school. They both quickly shuffled out, feeling the sun hit their skin for the first time. It felt great. But neither could enjoy it, they both had too much on their minds.
"So vampires don't exist anymore?" Spike asked Angel.
"It seems that way." Angel replied.
"But Buffy is still a slayer?" Spike asked again.
"In practice, I guess. If there's no vampires she doesn't slay anything."
"What about demons? Do they exist?"
Angel shrugged. "Not sure. Buffy doesn't fight them if they do."
"So let me get this straight." Spike said. "Buffy is the slayer, but there are no vampires for her to slay, you and me are human and teenagers, and Giles is just a crazy librarian?"
"That's all I got out of this." Angel said, digging his hands into his pockets.
"This world is bizarre." Spike concluded as they heard the bell ring.
"I wish we had more of a clue as to what the hell was going on." Angel said.
"Well Darla said things would be different. A different reality, right?" Spike asked.
Angel nodded as Spike continued to talk, but Angel did not hear what the other man was saying. Something had caught his eye. Something beautiful and brilliant and stunning. Cordelia was making her way down the stairs toward Angel and Spike. She looked the same as she had when she stood in Angel's office, kissing him goodbye for the last time. This was not the Cordelia of Sunnydale, and a calming feeling flew through his body. She was back, and she was his.
"Cordelia!" Angel called out, running away from Spike and toward the brunette he loved and had lost.
Cordelia gave Angel one of her 100-watt smiles. "Hey, Angel."
Angel was relieved. She had not called him Liam. She remembered. He quickly picked her up, twirling her in his arms. "It's you. You remember!"
But Cordelia pushed away from him, making him put her down. "Remember what?"
Angel searched her eyes, realizing she had no clue what he was talking about. She did not remember. "But you called me Angel."
"Yeah, it is your last name." Cordelia told him. "And you do like to go by it."
"I do?" Angel was confused.
"Well Buffy said you hate being called Liam." Cordelia told him.
"He does." Spike smiled, leaning on Angel's shoulder. "How are you, Cordelia?"
Cordelia rolled her eyes at the blonde. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Spike?"
"You called me Spike." Spike smiled.
"Yeah, and let me tell you, that is the most brainless nickname I have ever heard." Cordelia snorted.
Just then, Buffy, Xander, Oz, and Willow made their way up to the group. They all looked exactly like Angel remembered them when he saw them last. None of them looked like they belonged in high school. Even more confusing was the fact that Xander also had a varsity football jacket on; Angel did not remember him playing football.
"Buffy." Spike's jaw seemed to drop.
"Loser." Buffy tossed back into his face, and then made her way over to Angel, kissing him square on the lips.
Spike's bloody boiled as he watched Angel and Buffy kiss. But Angel was clearly confused by Buffy's display of affection and kept his eyes on Cordelia, until Xander wrapped his arm around the brunette, kissing her softly on the ear.
When Buffy was finished with Angel, she turned to the rest of the group. "So, are we bronzing tonight?"
"If Angel and me get out of football early." Xander motioned toward Angel. "Right man?"
Angel nodded, but he wasn't really listening to Xander. All he wanted to do was beat Xander's head in for touching Cordelia.
"Well, we are going." Cordelia told the group, but then looked over at Buffy as if for reassurance. "Aren't we Buffy?"
"I guess." Buffy sighed. "Oz, your band is playing, right?"
"I think." Oz said, with his arm wrapped around Willow's waist. "You booked us tonight, right Spike?"
"I what?" Spike asked.
"You booked our band…to play tonight?" Oz asked.
"He did." Willow told him. "I was there when he called. It was during history yesterday."
Buffy nodded. "Sounds good." She then kissed Angel. "Well, you and Xander should run off to practice. Me and Cordy have cheerleading."
"Right." Xander gave a sly grin to Cordelia, slapping her butt as she and Buffy walked away. This action made Angel really want to rip Xander's throat out.
"Well, we will see you tonight." Willow waved to Angel, Xander, and Spike before she and Oz took off in another direction.
"Come on, Angel. You know coach hates it when we are late for practice." Xander told him.
Angel looked over at Spike, who had the same look of annoyance and confusion on his face as Angel did. Angel was about to answer Xander, but then the scenery started fading.
Angel opened his eyes to find himself back in the white abyss he had been in early. He looked to his right to see Spike standing there as well.
"And we are back here?" Spike looked around. "Well good, because that other land was completely insane."
"Well, maybe I should have explained things better before just flinging you two out into that world." Darla made her presence known as she seemed to appear out of nowhere before Angel and Spike.
"Yeah, maybe." Angel seemed agitated.
"You were sent to a different reality." Darla said.
"Well, that was obvious." Spike rolled his eyes.
Darla nodded. "In the one you went to you two are both human, both in High School. There are no vampires. Buffy is still called the slayer but she slays nothing."
"We got that." Angel said. "But everyone else was there, and they didn't look like they belonged in high school."
"They all took the form of which they died in." Darla said.
"But Buffy and Willow and Xander and Oz didn't die. Giles either." Spike said.
"Once Wolfram and Hart killed you two, the rest of the world fell before Buffy or any of them could stop it. Your world was destroyed." Darla told them. "So the Powers created the one you were in, to give everyone a chance at a normal life."
Angel and Spike were silent; absorbing the information Darla had just given them.
"In the world you now belong, there are things you need to know before you get yourselves in trouble." Darla said.
"You, Angel, are on the football team, a jock, cocky as they come. Your name is Liam Angel. Original, I know. You go by Angel though. You're dating Buffy, she is a cheerleader, rude and snotty." Darla said.
"Hey, Buffy's not-" Spike started, but was cut off by Darla.
"And you Spike are named William Bloody. We got it from William the Bloody, I guess. You go by Spike though, your nickname. You just moved to Sunnydale from England a few years ago. You play in a band with Oz. You basically don't give two about school."
Spike nodded.
"And you both live in Angel's old mansion. Your both eighteen and decided to move out of your parents house. A perk of being a senior in high school I guess." Darla said. "Any questions?"
"Cordelia." Angel said. He was never one with words, neither was Angelus, but Darla always knew what he was talking about.
"She is dating Xander." Darla told him. "She is a cheerleader, though not as self-assured as you remember her to be. It seems Buffy is the new queen."
"Xander seems like an ass." Angel said.
"In the new reality? He can be, I guess. He is one of your best friends though, through football." Darla said. "It seems Xander had always wanted to be an athlete so the Powers gave him that chance."
"Willow and Oz?" Angel asked.
"They are together. Basically the same as you remember them. They did not change much." Darla told him.
"What about Giles?" Spike asked. "He seems a little weird."
"Giles has a different role now, is all." Darla said. "He is Buffy's watcher but with no vampires he doesn't have much to watch. He is basically just a librarian now."
"What about Gunn and Wesley and Fred and Lorne?" Angel asked. "What about Connor?"
"They were all given a new chance at life in the same reality you were just in. They are just in different stages of their lives. They are where they belong and you two are where you belong. Believe me, they are all content. All happy." Darla told him. "Trust me on that."
"So what? We get sent back there and have to lead these lives now?" Angel asked. "Because I don't want to be with Buffy. I want Cordelia."
"And no one says you can't have her, Angel." Darla told him. "We laid it out, now it's your life. You can change it anyway you want to."
"But she doesn't remember me. She doesn't remember anything." Angel said.
"No. None of them do. The Powers thought it would be easier that way. Your penalty, both of yours." Darla looked between Angel and Spike. "Is to be able to remember the lives you once had."
"Why are we being punished?" Spike asked.
"Just because the Powers decided to give you a chance at a normal life doesn't mean you are forgiven for all you two did as vampires. Those acts are things you will never be able to completely justify. Whether you had Shanshued or not, you would have always kept your memories. They are your eternal punishment. The Powers feel you'll be more grateful for the lives they have now given you if you can remember all the pain your other lives held." Darla explained.
Angel nodded, understanding. "So now what?"
"Now, you go live your lives." Darla told them.
The room spun and Angel and Spike found themselves back in the front of the high school, with Xander standing next to Angel.
"You ready for practice, Angel?" Xander asked.
Angel nodded, numbly. "Yeah."
"Alright." Xander nodded to Spike. "See you tonight, man."
Spike nodded before watching Angel and Xander walk away from him and down toward the gym. Clearly, this new reality would be much different from the one he and Angel had previously belonged to; he just hoped he and Angel would make it through this one.