Angel was woken by a loud, incessant pounding on the door to the mansion.
He slipped his arm from under Buffy and went to answer it before it woke
her up. When he opened it, he found a frantic Willow standing there
wringing her hands. Angel took her elbow and gently led her in.
"Where's Buffy?" Willow asked a bit shrilly.
"Shh. She's asleep. What's the matter?" Angel asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Oh," Willow hushed herself. "Well, Oz. The Initiative took him. Tara, she was almost attacked by him and th-they came through a door, a-a-and they took him!"
"Calm down. I'll wake up Buffy." Angel sat Willow down and went to the bathroom. He gently lifted Buffy up to a sitting position and she woke up. "Buffy?"
"Angel? What's going on? Is the apocalypse here already?" Buffy asked sleepily.
"No, Willow's here. The Initiative took him."
"Oh." She said almost fell asleep again. Then the meaning sunk in and she was up out of the bed and heading towards the living area. "Willow, are you ok?"
"Yeah. Just get Oz back." Willow said.
Ten minutes later, the three were at Giles' place. Xander and Anya were already there. When Buffy, Willow, and Angel burst through, everyone jumped. Once they were calmed down, Willow explained the best she could what had happened to Oz.
"Tara said they took him right before she found me." Willow finished.
"So that's good, right? I mean, they probably haven't had time to eviscerate him yet?" Anya asked.
"An, you can help by making this a quiet time." Xander said.
"Once again we're faced with a fairly daunting prospect of having to infiltrate the Initiative." Giles said.
"It'd be great if we knew someone dating a man on the inside. Someone with connections." Xander gestured to Buffy. "Oh wait!"
Buffy hung up the phone. "He's still not answering his pages. I left him another message."
"So what do we do?" Willow asked.
"Well, we need to move fast. So we make a plan without Riley and hope he calls."
"Are you sure? We kind if need him to get in." Angel said.
"I'm sure. We can't wait around."
"So, plan." Xander said. "Military garb again?"
"Most definitely. Xander, you get the outfits ready. Giles, do you still have them?"
"Yes, I think I do. They're probably upstairs in the loft." Giles said.
"Good."
"Gone." Xander said. He went upstairs and brought down three commando suits.
Buffy tried Riley one more time. "Something's wrong. Riley usually returns my phone calls by now."
"We can't wait much longer." Angel said.
"I know. Okay. Xander, you, Angel, and I are gonna go in. We've done it before."
"I'm going with you." Willow said.
"No. Look, it's too dangerous, Will. Besides, I need you to help Giles hack into the city's electrical grid. We've gotta try to power down the Initiative."
"Giles can do it without me. I can give him all the instructions, I can show him exactly what to do."
"Of course." Giles said.
"I-I can't just sit here."
"Okay. Okay, you can back us up." Buffy sighed. "Now, the only way I know into the Initiative is through the elevator in the Lowell House. But my clearance is long gone."
"So we grab a guy, make him take us." Xander said.
"Or you could just use the back way." They all turned to find Spike standing in front of the door. "Hell of a lot less bother."
"How did you get in?" Angel asked.
"Door was unlocked. You might wanna watch that, Rupert. Someone dangerous could get in."
"Or someone formerly dangerous and currently annoying." Buffy said.
"Now, now. None of that. Or I won't help you get Red's mongrel back. Bad news travels fast with us demons. We all like a good laugh."
"Short of cash Spike?" Angel asked.
"I happen to be seeking monetary gratification, yeah. But I also get a kick out of jackin' up those army ginks myself. I know how to find the big guy who can take you to Oz."
"Uh-huh. So what's the going rate on a wild goose chase, Spike?" Buffy asked.
"Fine, if you're not interested. But I was stuck in that hole, remember? And I've heard things from other guys who've gotten out. I can get you in. No alarms, no cameras.. no waiting."
"Fine. Get into your commando suit. We need to go now."
Fifteen minutes later, Buffy, Willow, Angel, Xander, and Spike were walking through the woods armed and ready. Angel, Xander, and Spike were in green army fatigues and Buffy and Willow had on white lab coats. Angel and Buffy walked slightly behind the others and talked a little.
"Are you ok?" Angel asked.
"Been better." Buffy replied.
"I know the feeling. You wanna talk about it?"
"Not really. At least, not right now."
"Ok."
"Right now I wanna comment on how sexy you look in commandos. It's an interesting look for you."
"We'll have to have some fun later. Outfits?"
"Most definitely."
"Would you two shut up? You're really grossing me out here." Spike said.
"I've mentioned how much I'm gonna kill you if this is a scam, right?"
"Look, would I wear this if I wasn't on the up-and-up?"
"You do sorta look like an evil olive." Willow said.
"Guys, check it out." Xander said.
In front of them was a door. They all looked surprised as Spike walked to the door and pulled it open.
"For a nasty town like Sunnydale, nobody seems to mind their locks." Spike said.
"You first." Buffy said to Spike.
They all walked in silently and started to head down the halls that Spike led them down. Suddenly the lights went out and the blue emergency lights came on. Spike 'pst-ed' at them and motioned for them to follow him. He led them down a couple more hallways and pointed to a door. Buffy walked up to it and slammed it with a hard sidekick. The lock shattered and Buffy and Angel strolled in. It was the Colonel's bedroom. He was in bed. Buffy and Angel marched over to his bed and pointed crossbows at him. He tried to reach for his gun on the bedside table.
"Hey!" Buffy pointed the crossbow at his face. He pulled his arm back. "You know who I am?"
"Yeah." The colonel said.
"Then you know I'm pretty good with this thing. Take us to him."
"Finn stays in the brig. Helping an HST escape is a court-martial offense. You're only gonna make matters worse."
"Riley tried to help Oz escape?"
"That's who you came for. The wolf."
"Guess we're two for one." Angel said.
"Get dressed." Buffy said coldly.
The Colonel did just that. Spike led them to another hallway and started to turn a corner, but Buffy stopped him. In the middle of the hallway, a guard stood watch. Buffy motioned for them to hold the colonel while she created a distraction. She walked down the hallway alone, past the guy standing guard outside the brig. As she passed him, she dropped something.
"Hey, you dropped.." The guy started to bend down and pick it up, but Buffy kneed him hard in the face and he fell to the floor unconscious. Buffy bent over him, took his key-card, and uses it to open the door. She entered the brig where Riley was sitting on his bed. He got up.
"How'd you get in?" Riley asked as Buffy opened his door.
"Talk later. Stealthy escape now." Buffy said, starting to walk off.
Riley stopped her. "Buffy.." She turned back to him. "I leave now, I can't ever come back." She just looked at him. "I just wanted to hear that out loud."
They walked out of the brig and headed back down to where Angel held the Colonel and the others waited for Buffy. Buffy got up into the colonel's face.
"Where's Oz?" Buffy asked.
"He's in a containment cell." The Colonel said.
"Boy, that really helped. Try again."
"This way." The Colonel nodded down the hallway they were in and Buffy took him from Angel.
They walked down a hallway and opened a door to find little white rooms with glass doors. They walked down the hall with Buffy holding her crossbow to the Colonel's head. She got about half way down the hallway when someone in front of them ordered them stop. Then the hallway in front of them suddenly filled up with soldiers holding guns. Oz was in a cell nearby, watching. Buffy saw him. More soldiers appeared at the other end of the hall. Buffy and the gang were trapped.
"Stay back.. or I'll pull a William Burroughs on your leader here." Buffy said.
"You'll bore him to death with free prose?" Xander asked.
"Was I the only one awake in English that day? I'll kill him." Buffy looked up at the Colonel. "Get him out."
The Colonel nodded to one of the soldiers, who dropped his gun and let Oz out. Willow started forward.
"Oz.."
"Will, get back." Oz warned. He looked down at his hand, which was hairy and clawed again. Willow stepped back looking shocked. Oz concentrated and his hand went back to normal. Angel stepped forward and grabbed him before he could fall to the ground.
"Let's go." Buffy said.
Still holding the Colonel, they went back down the hall. The soldiers followed. They got into the elevator. Everyone stood silently looking at each other until the elevator stopped. Everyone got out except Riley, Buffy, and the Colonel. Riley opened the elevator control panel and ripped out the wires, creating lots of sparks. He and the Colonel glared at each other. Buffy got out of the elevator, still covering the Colonel with her crossbow. Riley followed.
"You're a dead man, Finn." The Colonel said.
Riley turned back. "No, sir. I'm an anarchist." He punched the Colonel in the face and walked away.
Buffy sat with Riley in the blackened out remains of the old high school. She helped him set up camp and then gave him a glass of water.
"I hope everybody else is okay. It was better to split up, right? I mean, we're just too findable in a big clump." Buffy asked.
"It was better. Besides, I think it's mostly me the Initiative wants now." Riley said.
"Probably. So what should we do?"
"We'll be safe for tonight at least. The campus is still blacked out, so that oughta slow the Initiative down. I'll figure out my next move tomorrow."
"Quite a day, huh? You woke up to a big bowl of Wheaties. Now you're a fugitive."
"I don't know. I'm sorry it ended that way. But I am glad it's done. I'm glad I know where I stand, finally. I was wrong about Oz. I was being a bigot."
"No you weren't. You were thrown. You found out that Willow and I were both in.. kind of unconventional relationships, and it gave you a momentary wiggins. It happens."
"Still.. I was in a totally black and white space, people versus monsters, and it ain't like that.. especially when it comes to love."
"Yeah. I know what you mean." Buffy looked down and stared at a spot on the floor.
"What?" Riley asked.
"I.. I haven't been completely honest about mine and Angel's relationship. They're things that we haven't told you. And it's not all stuff that you're gonna like."
"You can tell me anything."
"I think so. I think I can. You're a trusted friend Riley Finn. You've definitely earned it."
"Thank you."
"What all have you learned about Angel and I?"
"You're a Slayer, he's a vampire cursed with a soul, you've been in love with each other since your sophomore year of high school, which was when you met."
"Oh boy."
"What?"
"You've only just skimmed the surface. There's a lot more to it than that."
"You can tell me."
Buffy sighed. "All right. Do you know how old Angel is?"
"Not really."
"He's 247 years old. He was made in Galway, Ireland in 1753 by Darla. Darla was over 400 years old and she was sired by the Master. Angel's real name is Liam. He got the name Angel from Angelus, the name he was called after he killed his family. Darla chose it because Angel's little sister thought he had returned to her as an angel. After that, they spent over 150 years together. They wreaked havoc all over Europe that whole time. The whole time, a man named Daniel Holtz chased after them. He tried to murder them. At one point, he trapped them in a barn and burned it. Darla took their only horse and left him. Angelus escaped and found her, tortured her, and made up with her. Later, in London, about 1860, Darla brought a girl named Drusilla, who got visions of bad things, to Angelus' attention. He became obsessed with her. Angelus tortured her by killing her family and visiting every mental torture he could think of. She fled to a convent to become a nun and get away from Angelus. When she was supposed to take her holy vows, Angelus turned her. She was mentally insane and very evil. In 1880, Angelus allowed her to sire William the Bloody. You know him as Spike." Buffy sighed.
"Gosh." Riley said.
"That doesn't even begin to cover it. There's plenty more. Angel turned a guy named Penn who left crosses on his victim's left cheek. Eventually, Angelus got bored with Penn and left him, going back to Darla, Dru, and Spike. For his 145 birthday in 1898, Darla brought him this beautiful girl. Angelus and Darla scared the hell out of her and then Angelus killed her. What Angelus didn't know was that she was a favorite among her gypsy tribe, the Romany. To seek revenge on Angel, they cursed him with his soul, his conscious. Angel was torn apart with grief and remorse for all the crimes he had committed. Darla threw him out, disgusted that he had a soul. During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Angel returned to Darla and she accepted him, but she was still really cautious of him. He fed off of the low life people to show that he could. People like thieves and scoundrels, but Darla noticed. When he returned home one night after he had saved a family of refugees from Darla, she was waiting for him with a baby. She tried to get Angel to kill the baby, but he couldn't do it. He ran away from Darla and hid. He bounced from place to place eventually ending up in LA in the 1950s. Something went wrong there when he tried to save a woman and he wasn't the same. He fled to New York City and became a homeless person. He lived in allies and fed off of rats until 1996. A demon named Whistler approached him and wanted to help him become somebody. I was a big part of that plan. He brought Angel to LA to watch me be called as the Slayer. Angel fell in love with me and he watched me from afar. He helped me out when I needed it. I never even knew he was there." Buffy said sadly.
"Gosh. You guys go further back than I thought."
"Yeah, we do. When I moved to Sunnydale, he was there waiting for me. He finally revealed himself to me. It took me a little while, but gradually I started to fall in love with him. We got closer and when Darla tried to kill me, Angel staked her. This meant a lot to me. It may just mean another vamp down to you, but to me.. it's so much more. Darla was his sire and he staked her for me. After that, I didn't hear from him much. In fact, the next time I saw him was when I found out about the prophecy telling of my death. I got mad and quit."
"You quit?"
"I quit being the Slayer. Of course that was the second time. The first time was in LA after I burned down the gym and my Watcher Merrick was killed."
"Wow."
"Yeah, wow. Back to the story. Well, Willow and Cordy found a place where a few students they knew were massacred. It really upset Will, and for her sake and everyone else that could die at the Master's hands, I went down to face him. I did die, and it turned out that if I hadn't gone, he would never have gotten to rise. Xander used CPR to revive me and he, Angel, and I went back to the school. I killed the master once and for all. When I came back after that summer, I was a real bitch to everyone. I was angry that I had died and I was really confused about it all. A bunch of vampires tried to raise the master and I stopped them. This is when Angel and I got closer because I had an emotional breakdown while smashing the master's bones. Angel came up to me and we stayed there for a while. He held me and let me cry out all of my frustrations. Over the next few months, we fell head over heels for each other. Which is what cause Angel to lose his soul. Angelus was back and looking for vengeance on me for making him feel human. It all ended when I got expelled, Angelus tried to bring hell on earth, and I fought him in this big swordfight at the mansion. Of course it didn't have the ending that I wanted it to. Willow had restored Angel's soul to him at the last second. The portal to hell was opening and the only way to close it was Angel's blood. So I told him I loved him, then I kissed him, then I killed him. It was all too much for me and I ran away to LA. I was there all summer. I came back when I realized who I was and that I could never escape being the Slayer. I came back and not long after, Faith came into the picture. and so did Angel. Somehow he had been returned from hell. At first we tried to stay away from each other, but it was too much. Angel tried to kill himself on Christmas morning using the sun. The Powers That Be intervened and a freak snowstorm blew through, shutting out the light. After that, we resumed out relationship. It was going great until the Mayor said some stuff that really got to Angel. Angel thought about it and broke up with me the night before the prom. I was devastated. He showed up at prom to give me my perfect high school moment that I had wanted, then he was gone for a week. I didn't hear anything from him until a couple of days before graduation. The Mayor ascended into a big snake demon at the ceremony, the whole senior class fought against him, Angel helped because of the eclipse, and I blew up the school."
"I remember you told me about blowing up the school. Also," Riley gestured around them, "I got the proof."
"Yeah, big fiery explosion. Afterwards, I stood among the police cars and ambulances and fire trucks and I watched Angel walk away from me. Willow told me to go after him and I did. I wasn't fast enough though, and he went to LA. I found out by beating on Willy the Snitch and I went after Angel. I convinced him to come back to Sunnydale and try again. Which is when we were told that Angel's soul is bound to him, which means he won't ever lose it again. When we came back, Giles told us that the only way to find out if it was all true was to talk to a Romany gypsy. So, we traveled to Romania. The gypsies turned out to be all evil and stuff, so we escaped and came back here. His soul is bound, we've tested it. And you pretty much know everything there is to know about us."
"You seem like the perfect couple in love."
"Far from. We have our little moments."
"Like I said, perfect."
"Maybe. He wants to marry me, but he hasn't asked me yet. He even got my dad's permission."
"Wow. He really loves you."
"Yup." Buffy looked at her watch. "Crap! I better get home. You'll be ok here, right? If you need anything, you'll call?"
"Of course."
Buffy got up. "Ok, so.. I'm leaving now. Thanks for letting me vent. I needed to tell someone about mine and Angel's lives."
"Any time."
Buffy ran out of the blackened remains of her high school and headed back to the mansion. The sun would be up soon and Angel was probably calling those marines right now.
"Where's Buffy?" Willow asked a bit shrilly.
"Shh. She's asleep. What's the matter?" Angel asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Oh," Willow hushed herself. "Well, Oz. The Initiative took him. Tara, she was almost attacked by him and th-they came through a door, a-a-and they took him!"
"Calm down. I'll wake up Buffy." Angel sat Willow down and went to the bathroom. He gently lifted Buffy up to a sitting position and she woke up. "Buffy?"
"Angel? What's going on? Is the apocalypse here already?" Buffy asked sleepily.
"No, Willow's here. The Initiative took him."
"Oh." She said almost fell asleep again. Then the meaning sunk in and she was up out of the bed and heading towards the living area. "Willow, are you ok?"
"Yeah. Just get Oz back." Willow said.
Ten minutes later, the three were at Giles' place. Xander and Anya were already there. When Buffy, Willow, and Angel burst through, everyone jumped. Once they were calmed down, Willow explained the best she could what had happened to Oz.
"Tara said they took him right before she found me." Willow finished.
"So that's good, right? I mean, they probably haven't had time to eviscerate him yet?" Anya asked.
"An, you can help by making this a quiet time." Xander said.
"Once again we're faced with a fairly daunting prospect of having to infiltrate the Initiative." Giles said.
"It'd be great if we knew someone dating a man on the inside. Someone with connections." Xander gestured to Buffy. "Oh wait!"
Buffy hung up the phone. "He's still not answering his pages. I left him another message."
"So what do we do?" Willow asked.
"Well, we need to move fast. So we make a plan without Riley and hope he calls."
"Are you sure? We kind if need him to get in." Angel said.
"I'm sure. We can't wait around."
"So, plan." Xander said. "Military garb again?"
"Most definitely. Xander, you get the outfits ready. Giles, do you still have them?"
"Yes, I think I do. They're probably upstairs in the loft." Giles said.
"Good."
"Gone." Xander said. He went upstairs and brought down three commando suits.
Buffy tried Riley one more time. "Something's wrong. Riley usually returns my phone calls by now."
"We can't wait much longer." Angel said.
"I know. Okay. Xander, you, Angel, and I are gonna go in. We've done it before."
"I'm going with you." Willow said.
"No. Look, it's too dangerous, Will. Besides, I need you to help Giles hack into the city's electrical grid. We've gotta try to power down the Initiative."
"Giles can do it without me. I can give him all the instructions, I can show him exactly what to do."
"Of course." Giles said.
"I-I can't just sit here."
"Okay. Okay, you can back us up." Buffy sighed. "Now, the only way I know into the Initiative is through the elevator in the Lowell House. But my clearance is long gone."
"So we grab a guy, make him take us." Xander said.
"Or you could just use the back way." They all turned to find Spike standing in front of the door. "Hell of a lot less bother."
"How did you get in?" Angel asked.
"Door was unlocked. You might wanna watch that, Rupert. Someone dangerous could get in."
"Or someone formerly dangerous and currently annoying." Buffy said.
"Now, now. None of that. Or I won't help you get Red's mongrel back. Bad news travels fast with us demons. We all like a good laugh."
"Short of cash Spike?" Angel asked.
"I happen to be seeking monetary gratification, yeah. But I also get a kick out of jackin' up those army ginks myself. I know how to find the big guy who can take you to Oz."
"Uh-huh. So what's the going rate on a wild goose chase, Spike?" Buffy asked.
"Fine, if you're not interested. But I was stuck in that hole, remember? And I've heard things from other guys who've gotten out. I can get you in. No alarms, no cameras.. no waiting."
"Fine. Get into your commando suit. We need to go now."
Fifteen minutes later, Buffy, Willow, Angel, Xander, and Spike were walking through the woods armed and ready. Angel, Xander, and Spike were in green army fatigues and Buffy and Willow had on white lab coats. Angel and Buffy walked slightly behind the others and talked a little.
"Are you ok?" Angel asked.
"Been better." Buffy replied.
"I know the feeling. You wanna talk about it?"
"Not really. At least, not right now."
"Ok."
"Right now I wanna comment on how sexy you look in commandos. It's an interesting look for you."
"We'll have to have some fun later. Outfits?"
"Most definitely."
"Would you two shut up? You're really grossing me out here." Spike said.
"I've mentioned how much I'm gonna kill you if this is a scam, right?"
"Look, would I wear this if I wasn't on the up-and-up?"
"You do sorta look like an evil olive." Willow said.
"Guys, check it out." Xander said.
In front of them was a door. They all looked surprised as Spike walked to the door and pulled it open.
"For a nasty town like Sunnydale, nobody seems to mind their locks." Spike said.
"You first." Buffy said to Spike.
They all walked in silently and started to head down the halls that Spike led them down. Suddenly the lights went out and the blue emergency lights came on. Spike 'pst-ed' at them and motioned for them to follow him. He led them down a couple more hallways and pointed to a door. Buffy walked up to it and slammed it with a hard sidekick. The lock shattered and Buffy and Angel strolled in. It was the Colonel's bedroom. He was in bed. Buffy and Angel marched over to his bed and pointed crossbows at him. He tried to reach for his gun on the bedside table.
"Hey!" Buffy pointed the crossbow at his face. He pulled his arm back. "You know who I am?"
"Yeah." The colonel said.
"Then you know I'm pretty good with this thing. Take us to him."
"Finn stays in the brig. Helping an HST escape is a court-martial offense. You're only gonna make matters worse."
"Riley tried to help Oz escape?"
"That's who you came for. The wolf."
"Guess we're two for one." Angel said.
"Get dressed." Buffy said coldly.
The Colonel did just that. Spike led them to another hallway and started to turn a corner, but Buffy stopped him. In the middle of the hallway, a guard stood watch. Buffy motioned for them to hold the colonel while she created a distraction. She walked down the hallway alone, past the guy standing guard outside the brig. As she passed him, she dropped something.
"Hey, you dropped.." The guy started to bend down and pick it up, but Buffy kneed him hard in the face and he fell to the floor unconscious. Buffy bent over him, took his key-card, and uses it to open the door. She entered the brig where Riley was sitting on his bed. He got up.
"How'd you get in?" Riley asked as Buffy opened his door.
"Talk later. Stealthy escape now." Buffy said, starting to walk off.
Riley stopped her. "Buffy.." She turned back to him. "I leave now, I can't ever come back." She just looked at him. "I just wanted to hear that out loud."
They walked out of the brig and headed back down to where Angel held the Colonel and the others waited for Buffy. Buffy got up into the colonel's face.
"Where's Oz?" Buffy asked.
"He's in a containment cell." The Colonel said.
"Boy, that really helped. Try again."
"This way." The Colonel nodded down the hallway they were in and Buffy took him from Angel.
They walked down a hallway and opened a door to find little white rooms with glass doors. They walked down the hall with Buffy holding her crossbow to the Colonel's head. She got about half way down the hallway when someone in front of them ordered them stop. Then the hallway in front of them suddenly filled up with soldiers holding guns. Oz was in a cell nearby, watching. Buffy saw him. More soldiers appeared at the other end of the hall. Buffy and the gang were trapped.
"Stay back.. or I'll pull a William Burroughs on your leader here." Buffy said.
"You'll bore him to death with free prose?" Xander asked.
"Was I the only one awake in English that day? I'll kill him." Buffy looked up at the Colonel. "Get him out."
The Colonel nodded to one of the soldiers, who dropped his gun and let Oz out. Willow started forward.
"Oz.."
"Will, get back." Oz warned. He looked down at his hand, which was hairy and clawed again. Willow stepped back looking shocked. Oz concentrated and his hand went back to normal. Angel stepped forward and grabbed him before he could fall to the ground.
"Let's go." Buffy said.
Still holding the Colonel, they went back down the hall. The soldiers followed. They got into the elevator. Everyone stood silently looking at each other until the elevator stopped. Everyone got out except Riley, Buffy, and the Colonel. Riley opened the elevator control panel and ripped out the wires, creating lots of sparks. He and the Colonel glared at each other. Buffy got out of the elevator, still covering the Colonel with her crossbow. Riley followed.
"You're a dead man, Finn." The Colonel said.
Riley turned back. "No, sir. I'm an anarchist." He punched the Colonel in the face and walked away.
Buffy sat with Riley in the blackened out remains of the old high school. She helped him set up camp and then gave him a glass of water.
"I hope everybody else is okay. It was better to split up, right? I mean, we're just too findable in a big clump." Buffy asked.
"It was better. Besides, I think it's mostly me the Initiative wants now." Riley said.
"Probably. So what should we do?"
"We'll be safe for tonight at least. The campus is still blacked out, so that oughta slow the Initiative down. I'll figure out my next move tomorrow."
"Quite a day, huh? You woke up to a big bowl of Wheaties. Now you're a fugitive."
"I don't know. I'm sorry it ended that way. But I am glad it's done. I'm glad I know where I stand, finally. I was wrong about Oz. I was being a bigot."
"No you weren't. You were thrown. You found out that Willow and I were both in.. kind of unconventional relationships, and it gave you a momentary wiggins. It happens."
"Still.. I was in a totally black and white space, people versus monsters, and it ain't like that.. especially when it comes to love."
"Yeah. I know what you mean." Buffy looked down and stared at a spot on the floor.
"What?" Riley asked.
"I.. I haven't been completely honest about mine and Angel's relationship. They're things that we haven't told you. And it's not all stuff that you're gonna like."
"You can tell me anything."
"I think so. I think I can. You're a trusted friend Riley Finn. You've definitely earned it."
"Thank you."
"What all have you learned about Angel and I?"
"You're a Slayer, he's a vampire cursed with a soul, you've been in love with each other since your sophomore year of high school, which was when you met."
"Oh boy."
"What?"
"You've only just skimmed the surface. There's a lot more to it than that."
"You can tell me."
Buffy sighed. "All right. Do you know how old Angel is?"
"Not really."
"He's 247 years old. He was made in Galway, Ireland in 1753 by Darla. Darla was over 400 years old and she was sired by the Master. Angel's real name is Liam. He got the name Angel from Angelus, the name he was called after he killed his family. Darla chose it because Angel's little sister thought he had returned to her as an angel. After that, they spent over 150 years together. They wreaked havoc all over Europe that whole time. The whole time, a man named Daniel Holtz chased after them. He tried to murder them. At one point, he trapped them in a barn and burned it. Darla took their only horse and left him. Angelus escaped and found her, tortured her, and made up with her. Later, in London, about 1860, Darla brought a girl named Drusilla, who got visions of bad things, to Angelus' attention. He became obsessed with her. Angelus tortured her by killing her family and visiting every mental torture he could think of. She fled to a convent to become a nun and get away from Angelus. When she was supposed to take her holy vows, Angelus turned her. She was mentally insane and very evil. In 1880, Angelus allowed her to sire William the Bloody. You know him as Spike." Buffy sighed.
"Gosh." Riley said.
"That doesn't even begin to cover it. There's plenty more. Angel turned a guy named Penn who left crosses on his victim's left cheek. Eventually, Angelus got bored with Penn and left him, going back to Darla, Dru, and Spike. For his 145 birthday in 1898, Darla brought him this beautiful girl. Angelus and Darla scared the hell out of her and then Angelus killed her. What Angelus didn't know was that she was a favorite among her gypsy tribe, the Romany. To seek revenge on Angel, they cursed him with his soul, his conscious. Angel was torn apart with grief and remorse for all the crimes he had committed. Darla threw him out, disgusted that he had a soul. During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Angel returned to Darla and she accepted him, but she was still really cautious of him. He fed off of the low life people to show that he could. People like thieves and scoundrels, but Darla noticed. When he returned home one night after he had saved a family of refugees from Darla, she was waiting for him with a baby. She tried to get Angel to kill the baby, but he couldn't do it. He ran away from Darla and hid. He bounced from place to place eventually ending up in LA in the 1950s. Something went wrong there when he tried to save a woman and he wasn't the same. He fled to New York City and became a homeless person. He lived in allies and fed off of rats until 1996. A demon named Whistler approached him and wanted to help him become somebody. I was a big part of that plan. He brought Angel to LA to watch me be called as the Slayer. Angel fell in love with me and he watched me from afar. He helped me out when I needed it. I never even knew he was there." Buffy said sadly.
"Gosh. You guys go further back than I thought."
"Yeah, we do. When I moved to Sunnydale, he was there waiting for me. He finally revealed himself to me. It took me a little while, but gradually I started to fall in love with him. We got closer and when Darla tried to kill me, Angel staked her. This meant a lot to me. It may just mean another vamp down to you, but to me.. it's so much more. Darla was his sire and he staked her for me. After that, I didn't hear from him much. In fact, the next time I saw him was when I found out about the prophecy telling of my death. I got mad and quit."
"You quit?"
"I quit being the Slayer. Of course that was the second time. The first time was in LA after I burned down the gym and my Watcher Merrick was killed."
"Wow."
"Yeah, wow. Back to the story. Well, Willow and Cordy found a place where a few students they knew were massacred. It really upset Will, and for her sake and everyone else that could die at the Master's hands, I went down to face him. I did die, and it turned out that if I hadn't gone, he would never have gotten to rise. Xander used CPR to revive me and he, Angel, and I went back to the school. I killed the master once and for all. When I came back after that summer, I was a real bitch to everyone. I was angry that I had died and I was really confused about it all. A bunch of vampires tried to raise the master and I stopped them. This is when Angel and I got closer because I had an emotional breakdown while smashing the master's bones. Angel came up to me and we stayed there for a while. He held me and let me cry out all of my frustrations. Over the next few months, we fell head over heels for each other. Which is what cause Angel to lose his soul. Angelus was back and looking for vengeance on me for making him feel human. It all ended when I got expelled, Angelus tried to bring hell on earth, and I fought him in this big swordfight at the mansion. Of course it didn't have the ending that I wanted it to. Willow had restored Angel's soul to him at the last second. The portal to hell was opening and the only way to close it was Angel's blood. So I told him I loved him, then I kissed him, then I killed him. It was all too much for me and I ran away to LA. I was there all summer. I came back when I realized who I was and that I could never escape being the Slayer. I came back and not long after, Faith came into the picture. and so did Angel. Somehow he had been returned from hell. At first we tried to stay away from each other, but it was too much. Angel tried to kill himself on Christmas morning using the sun. The Powers That Be intervened and a freak snowstorm blew through, shutting out the light. After that, we resumed out relationship. It was going great until the Mayor said some stuff that really got to Angel. Angel thought about it and broke up with me the night before the prom. I was devastated. He showed up at prom to give me my perfect high school moment that I had wanted, then he was gone for a week. I didn't hear anything from him until a couple of days before graduation. The Mayor ascended into a big snake demon at the ceremony, the whole senior class fought against him, Angel helped because of the eclipse, and I blew up the school."
"I remember you told me about blowing up the school. Also," Riley gestured around them, "I got the proof."
"Yeah, big fiery explosion. Afterwards, I stood among the police cars and ambulances and fire trucks and I watched Angel walk away from me. Willow told me to go after him and I did. I wasn't fast enough though, and he went to LA. I found out by beating on Willy the Snitch and I went after Angel. I convinced him to come back to Sunnydale and try again. Which is when we were told that Angel's soul is bound to him, which means he won't ever lose it again. When we came back, Giles told us that the only way to find out if it was all true was to talk to a Romany gypsy. So, we traveled to Romania. The gypsies turned out to be all evil and stuff, so we escaped and came back here. His soul is bound, we've tested it. And you pretty much know everything there is to know about us."
"You seem like the perfect couple in love."
"Far from. We have our little moments."
"Like I said, perfect."
"Maybe. He wants to marry me, but he hasn't asked me yet. He even got my dad's permission."
"Wow. He really loves you."
"Yup." Buffy looked at her watch. "Crap! I better get home. You'll be ok here, right? If you need anything, you'll call?"
"Of course."
Buffy got up. "Ok, so.. I'm leaving now. Thanks for letting me vent. I needed to tell someone about mine and Angel's lives."
"Any time."
Buffy ran out of the blackened remains of her high school and headed back to the mansion. The sun would be up soon and Angel was probably calling those marines right now.