Same Old Lang Syne Chapter 32, a buffy: the vampire slayer fanfic

Chapter Thirty-Two

Buffy and Angel assembled the Scooby Gang around Buffy's dining room table. Giles, Willow and Xander were sitting impatiently in their seats, waiting for Buffy to speak.

"So what's with the emergency Bat signal?" Asked Xander, as Buffy set a stack of files down on the table.
"Yeah, what gives?" Willow joined in.

"What gives, is this," Buffy spread out the Sunnydale blue prints on the table before her friends.

"These are the plans for the new high school in Sunnydale," Giles said, pushing his glasses further up on his nose.

"Yeah, they are," Buffy answered, "But look at who ordered them drawn up." Buffy handed the former Watcher, a file containing the billing receipts from Brian's office with Jasper's name on them.

"Good lord," exclaimed Giles, reading the name. "Is this real?"
"As real as it can be," Buffy said, her arms folded.
"Then this means that Jasper has been after you all along," Willow pitched in.

"That's what it looks like."
"But I don't get it," Xander questioned, as he looked at the receipts, "why rebuild the town?"

"I don't know," Buffy looked down at the table. "All I know, as that if Angel hadn't had found these when I dropped some files, they would have been boxed up, and then we never would have known what he was up to."

All eyes turned to see Angel leaning against the wall behind Buffy, arms folded in the shadows, like always. Only this time, he was wearing blue jeans, instead of a leather jacket.

"So what do you need us to do?" Asked Willow.
"Check all your contacts," Angel said, finally becoming part of the conversation. "See if they can find out anything about anyone looking into Sunnydale."
"Giles," Buffy addressed her Watcher, " I need you to send a couple of Slayers down to Sunnydale and keep an eye on the place."
"Right," Giles nodded.

"See if they can get a read on things." Giles nodded again at Buffy's request.

"I'll get right on it."
"Will, do as Angel said. Check with all your contacts. Wiccan ones too. See if they have picked up on any dark magiks in the last few weeks."
"Sure thing Buffy," Willow nodded emphatically.

"Oh! Oh!" Xander raised his hand. "What about me?! What about—"
"You," Buffy pointed to Xander, " Check out your construction sources again. See if you can find out if any one has been buying any unusual quantities of building supplies."

"Roger Wilko," Xander saluted.
"What are you thinking, Buffy?" Giles replied.
"I'm thinking Jasper's about to open a giant can of whoop-ass," was the former Slayer's response. "And I want to find out what it is, before he does."
All heads nodded in agreement as Buffy sat down in her chair. "I guess, that's it. Meeting's adjourned." With that, the Scooby Gang spread out to begin their research.

"It's a shame Wesley isn't here," Buffy sighed leaning her head back against her chair. "We really could have used him, too."
"Yeah," Angel exhaled as he took the seat that Xander had once occupied, "His Inter-dimensional book collection would have come in handy."
"I'm sorry he's gone," Buffy looked at Angel with sad eyes.

Angel's eyes became dark as he remembered Illyria telling him that Wesley had died fighting Vail, and the Circle of the Black Thorn. Of all the people who had come the farthest after leaving Sunnydale, even with all his mistakes, Angel thought that Wesley had come the farthest of the A.I. Team. And Angel's actions had got him killed. Even though Wes knew what he was getting himself into.

"Thank you," Angel said finally, staring at the grain in the table. "I know he wasn't exactly one of your favorite people, but he proved himself in the end."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "And to think of all you've lost," Buffy thought as she reached out to touch Angel's hand. He looked at Buffy, smiling weakly.
"I didn't lose everything," He said taking Buffy's hand, " I still have you."
Now it was Buffy's turn to smile weakly.

"Yeah, but for how long?"

"Buffy?" Angel was confused by Buffy's statement. "What do you mean?"
"I mean how long am I going to have you? I mean, I have you now, and I love that. But let's be real here, Angel. You and I, every time we have been together for longer than twelve hours, the world begins to collapse!"

Angel shook his head. Was he dreaming? Was Buffy really questioning their relationship? It had to be because Brian had died and now Jasper was out to get her.

"Buffy, I know things look grim," Angel tried to reassure, "But things are going to get better. It's just bad timing right now that's all."

Buffy hung her head and took a breath. She placed her other hand on top of Angel's saying, "I wish that I could believe that. But right now, I think there's too much going on for me to start focusing on a new relationship."
"New?! Buffy you and I are anything but new." Angel told Buffy, holding her hands tighter, as if she were slipping away from him. And to Angel she was.

"True, but there's just so many other things going on right now. I still haven't finished paying for Brian's funeral, and I still need to finish boxing up his stuff. Then there's this Jasper guy running around killing people and possibly trying resurrect a Hellmouth!" Angel watched as tears began to fall from Buffy's eyes.
"He's already killed one loved one because of me, Angel. And if he killed you because I love you so much, then I--, I just couldn't live with that."

Angel moved from his seat at the table, to his knees before Buffy. He reached up and brushed away her wavy curls, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Buffy, I'm not going anywhere, I promise you that."

"How can you be so sure?" Buffy cried. "It's not like you can live forever anymore."
"Is that what you want? Me to live forever?" Angel looked Buffy in the eye, searching for an answer.

"No. I just want to not have to worry about a Big Evil that was tracking it's way towards me, destroying everything I cared about."

Angel held Buffy's face in his hands. "Listen to me Buffy," he said, " No one took me away. I left."

"Because what happened with the Mayor." Buffy scoffed.
"No, and yes. I left because you had always talked of wanting a normal life. Remember?"
"Yeah, Sunlight. Kids. Picket fence, I remember the sewer talk." Buffy mumbled.
"Okay. And you know what happened?" Buffy shook her head. "We both realized that was not going to be possible for you. You just got it before I did."

"But I did have normal! I was married! I had the sunlight! I was happy!"
"Really?" Angel said, releasing Buffy's face. "As I seem to recall, you told me on Christmas last year, that he wasn't making you happy."
"Yeah, I did say that," Buffy admitted. "But everything before that was normal! I had no Slayer duties, except the occasional Vamp that I would actively seek out. I was free to be my own woman. Free not to worry that some master vampire is going all 'Angelus' on me and my friends!"

"But you stopped Angelus before, right?" Angel said smiling. Buffy nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah, by sending you to a hell dimension!"

"Well, if you have to, you can do it again." Angel lifted Buffy's face so he was looking her directly in the eye. "I know you. And I know you won't let anything come between you and those you love, anything."
Buffy couldn't help but smile at Angel's statement. Buffy wiped her eyes and stood from the table.

"Thanks for the encouraging words, Angel," She said, cupping Angel's cheek. "But I still need time to think about where I want things to go between us."
Angel took a deep breath and tried to understand.
"I understand," Angel said trying to sound hopeful, "Look, why don't you go get some rest? I'll come up and wake you when anything new comes up."

Buffy smiled and nodded. She stood and started to leave the room, but Angel held her arm back. When she turned to look at him, he stepped closer, laying a gentle kiss on her lips. Angel could feel Buffy give in to the kiss, and could hear her tears as she returned it. Finally, Buffy pushed away and Angel saw the tear stains that fell down her cheeks.

"Something to help you think about it," Angel said wistfully, as Buffy exited the Dining room, and headed up stairs.

Buffy was awakened from her peaceful dreams by Angel's velvet voice.
"Buffy, wake up," he said as he rocked Buffy's shoulders.

"Wh—What is it?" Buffy asked dreamily.
"They're back," Angel answered. "And there's some news."
"Really?" Buffy said, now completely awake. "How long ago did they get back?"
"Not long," Angel answered as he stood from the bed, and Buffy threw off the blanket she had draped across her legs.

"Come, on. They're waiting downstairs in the Dining room."

She put her boots back on, and began to follow Angel from the bedroom. When they reached the stairs, Buffy reached for Angel's arm.
"Angel?"
"Hmm?" Angel paused in his tracks.
"I wanted to apologize," she said looking Angel in the eye. "For earlier. I didn't mean a lot of what I said. Well, I did. It's just that, things are really stressful right now, and I need some time to breathe."
Angel touched Buffy's cheek, smiling almost sadly. "I understand. Really, I do."

"Thank you."Buffy smiled at Angel as he turned from her and continued to descend the stairs.

Buffy entered the dining room behind him, the Scooby Gang occupying the same seats as before, and papers and maps spread across the table. Angel took his usual place among the shadows, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. Buffy pulled out her seat and sat down. Looking at her friends, Buffy began to speak.

"So, Angel tells me we have news on what it is Jasper's up to."
"Yes, I believe so," Giles said clearing his throat.

Giles stood before the group and began to share what he had learned.

"I placed a call to the Council and had two Slayers sent to Sunnydale," he began, adjusting his glasses. "And when they arrived, they were immediately surprised at what they saw."
"What did they find?" questioned Buffy.

"The crater where the town once was, had somehow been filled in, and there were already several buildings that been erected and occupied. Packs of Vampires were beginning to feast on what little population lived there."
"Okay," Buffy breathed, "so the Slayers are alright, though?"
"Yes," Giles nodded. "They are doing hourly sweeps of the surrounding area to prevent anyone else from showing up."
"Good." Stated Buffy. "Will, what did you find?"
"A lot actually," the red-headed Wicca replied. "Seems that, to borrow a saying from a former slayer, 'a dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale'".

"Well what does that mean?" Buffy replied, after her smile from Kendra's trademark line played through her head.
"According to several Priestesses I know," Willow took a breath before she finished. "Someone or something is trying re-open the Hellmouth."

"But I thought the Hellmouth was closed?" Xander pitched.

"That's what I thought," Buffy seconded. "Giles, is that possible?"
Giles cleared his throat and took out a cloth to clean his glasses and placed them back on his face, before he answered.

"To the best of my knowledge," he said, "but that doesn't necessarily mean that it couldn't happen. Stranger things have happened."
"Like returning from Hell and a vampire giving birth?" Buffy said looking towards Angel, who remained thin lipped.

"Yes, urm, e-exactly."

"Well, my news isn't much better, I'm afraid," Xander spoke up hesitantly.
"Why? What's your news?" Buffy looked at her best friend.

"Seems our man has been buying a large amount of supplies," Xander told the Slayer, "He's even been putting bids in with several contractors in the surrounding area to help him build."
"Do we know what he's building?" Angel asked, his brows furled.

"Not really sure," Xander answered, "But what ever it is, it's unusual."

"How unusual?" Asked Giles.
"Very."
"Did you get any idea of what the plans looked like?" Willow piped in.

"Not really," Xander dug into his pocket and pulled out a napkin, with something scribbled on it.

"The guy I talked to, knew who had the contract," Xander handed the napkin to Buffy, "But he said that they could have changed the plans, so he wasn't sure how reliable the drawing would be."
"Wouldn't surprise me if he changed plans every month," Angel said shifting his shoulder from it's bed against the wall, and walking towards Buffy. "He likes to keep people guessing. Something he learned form me."

Buffy and Angel stared at the crude drawing of the building that Jasper was trying to build. It looked almost like a temple. But what kind of temple? Buffy passed the napkin to Willow and let her and Giles take a stab at it.

"I just wish I knew what he was up to," Buffy said, resting her head in her hands and leaning over the table.

"Don't worry, Buffy," Angel said rubbing her shoulders, "We'll figure it out."
"Uh, I think I just did," Giles said as he continued to inspect the napkin schematic.

"Well?" Xander said, leaning across the table towards Giles. "What is it?"
"I'm not quite sure, but the location of this shrine is located just under where the Hellmouth should be."
"Okay," Buffy thought aloud. "That's a start."

"Hey Buffy," Angel said pointing at Xander's drawing. "Look at that."
"What?" Buffy asked, confused as to what Angel was pointing at. Angel grabbed the blueprints for the school and spread it across the table. Then using an old map of Sunnydale, drew a large circle for where the school was to have been built, followed by a smaller one within the bigger one.

"Oh my goddess," exclaimed Willow. "Jasper was building the temple, or whatever, within the high school!"

"But why kill Brian before you can build the school?" said Xander perplexed.

"Of course!" Giles thumped the table. "There must be some sort of window thru which Jasper had to perform his spell!"
"Okay," Willow mused, "but that still doesn't explain why he killed Brian."

"Because Brian took his time getting it right." All eyes focused on Buffy. She met each of them before she returned her focus to the blueprints.

"Brian was way obsessed about the way he designed things," Buffy explained. "He always took his time, getting every detail correct."
"And if Jasper was in a hurry because he only had a certain amount of time.." Willow thought aloud.

"He would have become pissed and got sloppy." Angel said, a small smirk forming on his face. "He killed Brian because he took too long."
"That sounds about right," Buffy stated, as the memory of a phone conversation she had overheard with Brian played through her head.

"Once, when I went up to surprise Brian at work, I heard him trying to calm a voice down on the other line. He kept calling him Billy."
"Billy," Xander repeated, as the information began to sink in. "Short for William."
"William Jasper Deauxville," Willow said, pointing to the name on the bottom corner of the school schematic, placing all the pieces together.

"We need to get to Sunnydale," Angel said. "And quick."
"I agree with Angel," Giles said. "We need to head back to Sunnydale and prevent whatever it is that Jasper is trying to do."
"Like possibly turn the world inside out?" Willow asked tenderly. All eyes shifted from the table to a nervous Willow as she began to play with her fingers.

"And I thought Angelus releasing Acathla was bad," Buffy mused.

"Thanks, Will," said Xander sarcastically, "for that lovely image."
"She's right." Buffy stood and headed for the hall. "Jasper could very well be trying to end the world. And I'll be damned if this Slayer stands back to watch."
Buffy disappeared around the corner, and her voice could be heard on the other end of the phone. After a few minutes, Buffy reappeared and stood before her friends, a twinkle in her eye, that told Angel Buffy was in "Slayer" mode.

"Pack your things," Buffy commanded, as though she were a Sergeant speaking to her army.

"I'm ready," Willow said, lifting her shoulder bag up for all to see. "And my other bag is by the door."
"Good. The rest of you follow suit."
" Where are we going?" Xander asked, stupidly.

Buffy just continued to look at her friends, a defiant look still plastered across her face. "We're going home."

End Chapter

Sorry it's taking me so long! I have been sick for the last week or so, and haven't had the energy to even turn on my computer, let alone write! LOL Just about three chapter's left! As Always, READ & REC