Title: To Hell and Back
Author: Dezi/Jezebel Jinx/VampireQueen21/Angeluslover412
Rating: Mature (violence, language, and slight sexual content)
Couple(s): Buffy/Angel, Oz/Willow, and Xander/Cordelia
Category: BTVS/mostly S3
Summary: Instead of Angel going to Hell by himself Buffy jumps in with him. Now about 9,000 years has past in Hell while on Earth its just 3 months (I'm going by what Ken said a hundred years will pass there on Earth it’s just a day or 100*30*3).
Spoilers: Becoming pt 2; Faith will show up, just a little bit earlier than in the show (sometime around ‘Dead Man’s Party’). And she knows next to nothing about Buffy and nothing about Angel.
Disclaimer: I own nothing these characters belong to the great Joss Whedon, but if they did belong to me, do you really think I would have Angel leave the show and Riley step in as Buffy’s new love interest…I don’t think so.
A.N. Italicized sentences/words mean thoughts.

Prologue

This is it.

Can’t turn back now.

The fate of the world rests on this moment.

I’ll always love him.

Buffy lifted her sword high ready to deliver the final blow to Angelus’ neck turning him to dust. Can I live with myself after this? When she glanced at his face one last time she saw an orange glow enter his eyes then as quickly as it came disappear. Angel leaned down gasping and breathing in the unneeded air. Lifting his head he noticed his love with a sword poised and ready for the kill.

“Buffy?” The last thing he remembered was holding Buffy in his arms after he made love to her for hours. Why is she holding a sword above my head? “What’s goin’ on?” He questioned.

Angel glanced around disoriented the surroundings and the situation making no sense to his hazy brain. Slowly and on shaking footing Angel rose off his knees, to stare down at Buffy who backed up slightly, a weary expression gracing her beautiful face. Buffy’s sword was still up and ready to deliver the devastating blow. “Where are we? I don’t remember…”

Could this be a trick? Is it really my Angel…it can’t be but… Buffy looked deep into his eyes and saw what she needed to see. Angelus couldn’t act that well, he couldn’t pretend to show that much feeling, his eyes had always given him away. All she saw in the depths of his deep brown eyes was love for her and confusion about what’s going on. It’s him. “Angel?” Questioning her own mind and instincts even as she crept closer to him.

“You’re hurt.” Noticing and smelling the blood that was trickling down her arm. He brushed his fingertips under the cut gently inching his love toward him till she’s finally in his arms after what felt like months. She smells so good. Vanilla and the tiny bit of sweat and blood reach his sensitive nasal passages, but he wouldn’t have cared if she stunk of garbage all that mattered at this moment was that she was nestled in his embrace. Angel whispered her name as if it’s a prayer that needed to be repeated over and over again.

“God,” he stroked her back with his large hand, “I feel like I haven’t seen you in months,” Buffy rubbed her cheek against his, her eyes close savoring the moment of his cool skin pressed against her warm skin. It really is Angel, my Angel is back.

“…everything’s so muddled I…” he broke off not quite believing that Buffy was in his arms right now. “Oh God, Buffy.” Angel kissed her shoulder as a tear streaked down his cheek. He couldn’t remember the last time he cried.

I love him so much. She burrowed deeper into Angel’s neck squeezing her eyes shut. Now we can be together again. Finally after so many… Buffy re-opened her eyes, remembering Acathla. We can’t be together, Angelus opened up that portal…only Angel’s blood will close it. Her eyes widen the pain of doing what she’s going to have to do was almost more than she could bear. Buffy slowly moved her head back to stare into Angel’s eyes.

“What’s happenin’?” Angel questioned Buffy.

“Shh,” she brushed her finger against his lips like she did the night they made love. “Don’t worry about it.” Slowly their lips meet in a kiss; she pressed her body intimately closer to his not letting a breath of air pass between them. Buffy poured all the love she still and would always have for him into the kiss.

His cool lips pushed against hers bring back all the memories that she had stamped down. Late night patrols where they didn’t patrol much at all just spent the night making out. Walking hand and hand through the cemetery after fighting the latest evil doer. Angel holding her when her life seemed to be spinning out of control. He never stopped being there for her…well, until they made love.

From the moment their lips met Angel could tell there was something different about this kiss. She was kissing him like she’s never going to see him again. But all that was pushed to the back of his mind as Buffy deepened the kiss. The warm soft lips that were once loving, smashed hard against his as he growled in approval.

Needing to be closer Buffy thread her fingers through the soft hair on the back of Angel’s neck. He clawed gently on her neck and back in return needing that same comfort of closeness. Too soon his mate pulled back staring into his deep chocolate pools that had cause many women and men to swoon at his feet.

“I love you.” She whispered. I do, I really do. Please forgive me.

“I love you.” Angel repeated. I’ll never stop loving you, I can’t.

“Close your eyes.” Buffy pleaded, her words sound familiar to him, those were the same words that Darla, his Sire, spoke to him the night he was changed.

Angel closed his eyes in complete trust, he would never think for a second that Buffy meant to kill him. Tears began to fall down her face. This is it, I can’t turn back, just one more kiss. For the last time she pressed her lips lightly against his, the peck not enough yet just enough.

She backed away; lifting up the sword that she never let go of and plunged the blade deep into Angel’s gut. His eyes open in shock and confusion. Why? He held out his arm to Buffy wanting her to pull him out of the vortex and back into her soothing embrace.

Orange and purple beams lick around Angel preparing to close the portal around his impaled body. I can’t let him go alone. That sudden thought rushed through Buffy, before she could stop herself she hurled herself in Angel’s arms hugging him as close as she could. At least I’ll be with him.

No sooner thinking that the vortex closed in on the two lovers sending them together into Hell.

TBC[i]

A.N. Just a little info on how I feel towards certain characters in Season 3 so you might have somewhat of an idea of where I'm taking those characters.

Cordelia: I like her for a very short window of time in the Buffyverse and Angelverse. I like her for half of Season 2 + 3, and S1 of Angel. After that or before that, I'm not a huge fan of her. (Although in S1 of BTVS, I liked her because of her sarcastic comments and just plain meanness and she was the person I loved to hate.)

Xander: I walk a fine line with Xander. Sometimes I like him sometimes I don’t, it all depends on what episode I watched around that time or fic I've read.

and Faith: I liked her from Beauty and the Beasts to Consequences and then S7 of Buffy. But other than that I am not a huge fan of her.

The others I pretty much like the majority of the time, sometimes they tend to piss me off, but I'm fairly steady in my affections toward them.

Chapter 1 A

~*~*~*~*~Library~*~*~*~*~

“By the time we got to the cemetery the vamp had already risen and saw our necks as a yummy morsel of red fluid.” Xander complained.

As with every night since Buffy’s disappearance the Scooby Gang had been meeting in the library filling Giles in on the latest vampire activity.

“Then he came up behind Cordy, grabbing her and came this close,” Willow’s fingers were spread millimeters from each other, “to biting her.” She continued from where Xander left off. A huge smile graced her face as the part where she kicked some demon ass got closer.

“And Cor was freaking out, yelling ‘Oh my God, I'm going to die, oh my God, I'm going to die’,”

“Yea right Xander, at least I scream like my sex, but you seem to be confused. Besides I wasn’t scared I was just making the vampire think I was scared.” Cordelia protested, not liking one bit that Xander was making her out to be weak. And if there was one thing that Cordelia Chase was not was weak.

“Right…like a vampire truly cares if you’re scared or not.” Xander began to argue.

“Actually vampires love it when their victims are scared. Apparently it adds a certain kind of drugging effect to the blood.” Giles replied not bothering to glance up from one of his books.

While listening to the group chat about the patrol he was reading up on the mask that the demon Ovu Mobani could focus it’s power. Joyce Summer’s had put the mask in her bedroom, not knowing that it raised the dead. During a dinner Joyce had invited everyone too, zombies all wanting the mask suddenly attacked the house. One of zombies managed to enter her room acquiring the mask and wearing it. Luckily Xander and Oz distracted the zombie demon while Giles jabbed in it’s eyes effectively destroying it and the rest of the ‘dead man’s party’ as Oz so cleverly called them.

Since Buffy’s disappearance Giles had stopped by the Summer’s residence to check up on Joyce. It was difficult for him to go over there for many reasons, the most prominent being the guilt that ate away at him everyday for Buffy disappearing. And seeing the expressions of anger and loathing from Joyce was almost too much to bare. However he went there every few days telling her of his progress or lack thereof.

It was shocking to him that Buffy could just run away, that was the deduction he and the others had managed to come up with. His Slayer didn’t seem the type to just drop everything and leave without a word to anyone. To say he was disappointed was an understatement.

If Buffy had come, at least to him, and told him that she needed some time away from the Hellmouth he would have completely understood. Anyone in her place would have needed time and space to cope with the heartache and pain before resuming any sense of a normal life.

“Giles?” Willow lightly pushed on the Watchers shoulder. She’d been trying to get his attention for the past two minutes but had yet to make any progress.

“Hey, G-man…you alive in there?” Xander quipped. Ever since Buffy’s disappearance Giles has been zoning out far more than normal…and that’s saying something.

“I'm sorry what?”

“Willow’s been trying to get your attention.” Oz told him.

“Thinking about our way-ward Slayer?” Xander questioned…as if he even needed to ask.

“Yes.” That simple word conveyed the pain that hadn’t left Giles’ heart since Buffy left.

After Xander had gotten Giles out of the Mansion, the Watcher having caught his breath demanded to go back to the Mansion. His thoughts weren’t towards his own battered and beaten body but toward his Slayer who was like a daughter to him.

Reluctantly Xander helped the bruised man make his way toward the Mansion. As they came closer a loud crash was heard from behind the large home where the garage had been, the sound of squealing tires indicating that whoever left was leaving in a hurry.

Both man and boy hardly paid much heed to the sound. Inching toward the impressively large double doors Xander pressed his ear to the door, not hearing a sound he became far more worried than he already was. He had been expecting swords clashing, tables breaking, possibly even Buffy sobbing uncontrollably, but not silence. It was the silence that made him uneasy.

“I was wondering if you had found anything on the binding of Acathla? You were pretty adamant about no one being able to open it again.” Willow questioned.

“Yes, I was, and no I haven’t found a binding spell as of yet, but it’s only a matter of time before I do.” Giles confidently told the beginner witch.

“I'm sure you will, but until then are you sure you want to continue to keep Acathla in your house. I mean that can’t be a great thing to see each morning as you make your coffee…or do you drink tea while home?” Willow scrunched her face in question.

“I occasionally drink coffee but I mostly drink tea at home. And while it’s not the most comforting thing to have a portal to Hell in my living room, it’s quite the motivation to finding that binding spell.” A small smile formed on Giles’ face.

The group continued to talk, about that night’s patrol and tomorrows homework assignment when a vampire burst through the library doors yelling that he’s going to kill them all when a brunette charged through the door seconds after the vampire, staking it in the back. The Scooby Gang watched as the vampire exploded into a pile of dust and the brunette brushed the excess dust off her all black ensemble.

The girl looked up after she’s done to find people staring at her. “Hey, I'm Faith…are one of you Mr. Giles?” Faith took a glance at the group surrounding the large table. She could pretty much guess whose the Watcher of the bunch, but it never hurt to ask.

“Yes, I'm Mr. Giles. What are you doing here?”

“Umm, maybe we should talk somewhere else like where there’s not a whole bunch of people.” Faith didn’t want to tell these strangers that she’s a Slayer and Mr. Giles is a Watcher, let alone explain that vampires and demons were real.

“So you’re the new Slayer. How did you know we needed a new one?” Xander leered at Faith. She had a fantastic body that he couldn’t help but drool over. However the violently hard smack from his girlfriend, Cordelia, quickly closed his mouth before any embarrassing saliva managed to make it out.

“Wait, how do you know about Slayers?” She questioned curious as to why these people would be let in on a secret that should never go any farther than the Watcher and Slayer.

“Well, our friend was a Slayer and…”

“XANDER! Past tense rule.” Willow again reminded him for the thousandth time since Buffy left.

“Sorry. It’s just we do know a Slayer she’s just not around at the moment.” He corrected what he said for Willow’s sake. Xander knew that Willow wanted and believed with all her heart that Buffy would come home but he had his doubts. If she were going to return to Sunnydale she would have by now.

“Umm, Faith why don’t you have a seat,” Giles being the gentleman that he was stood up to give Faith his chair. “And you can tell us how you came to be in Sunnydale.”

“Hey, fine by me.” She sauntered over to the chair Giles had vacated and sat down placing her feet upon the table.

“So what brings you to Sunnydale? Did your Watcher send you or did you just come here for the vamp action?” Xander jumped right in asking questions.

“My Watcher was killed about a month ago.” Faith took a deep breath calming her anger. “So I’ve pretty much been on my own since it happened, but she was always telling me stories about the infamous Buff, who died but came back, no Slayer in history has ever done that.” Ever since her Watcher told Faith about Buffy she had wanted to meet her, see if she really was everything her Watcher said or if it was all hype. And if it wasn’t hype she wanted to compare notes, see if she could become a better Slayer.

“So what, did a vampire like kill your Watcher or something?” Cordelia not caring about the girl in front of them, all she wanted to know was if this skanky ho was going to try to take Xander away from her…not that she could.

“Yea,” Faith glared at the other brunette, “something like that.” Her Watcher had been killed by a vampire, but he was no ordinary vamp. His hands and feet were cloven and his face was permanently in vamp face. Kakistos was his name, she managed to scar him and get away, now he was searching for her.

“So where is Buffy? I’d love to meet her when she comes back from patrolling.” Faith quickly moved from the topic of her Watcher to something that wouldn’t cause heartache.

Willow glanced to Giles asking permission with her eyes, if it would be a good idea to tell the new Slayer about Buffy. Giles thought about it for a second before nodding his approval.

“Well, Buffy isn’t exactly on patrol right now.”

“Where is she then?”

“Buffy’s been missing for three months. We think she ran away, but there was no note and all her clothes and possessions were still in her room.” Willow gave Faith the short version, leaving out Angel, Angelus, and other important things that had happened.

“Why would Buffy take off like that?” Maybe this Slayer wasn’t everything her Watcher said. If she were than she wouldn’t have run away like a coward.

“Something happened…a lot of something’s and apparently Buffy needed some time. But she will be back. I know she will.” The young witch tried to sound positive like she really believed what she’s saying but it came out more like she was trying to convince herself.

TBC

Chapter 1 B

~*~*~*~*~Hell~*~*~*~*~

“Keep moving you sorry scraps of flesh!” A loud voice echoed through one of holding areas. The crack of the whip and the scream of pain that followed made it obvious to the couple in one of the larger holding cells that the slaves weren’t moving as fast as the demon warden would have liked.

Wrapped safe and secure in the arms of her mate she paid little attention to the screams and orders. She knew on some level that she should be fighting whatever caused the screams but after centuries of pushing down that instinct there’s no way she would fight against the demons. Fighting back meant pain and torture here.

Her mate licked at the recent knife wound on her arm, it’s only one of the many that would scar. When they were together like this there were nobody but them, and nothing else mattered. Not the days of torture that were sure to come again, not the time without food, not the slave drivers, nothing but them.

The female closed her eyes savoring the sensation of the male’s tongue against her open wound and fell into a semi peaceful sleep. Here there was never a fully peaceful sleep; they must always be on guard.

Sleeping as deeply as she was able a picture formed in her head, she remembered these and looked forward to them. The female dreamt of people that struck a familiar cord but she could never recall who they were or what they meant to her.

In this dream the people were standing in a circle around a large statue chanting something. There was a new girl in the dream one that wasn’t familiar; she had dark hair and stood very defensively, like she’s closed off to everyone and everything around her. A bright light appeared above the statue and two figures fell naked from the ceiling. It’s her and her mate.

The female was suddenly jerked awake; their captors open the cage holding the couple. They reach for her but her mate growled and lunged for them. It’s no use, the captors electrocute him with a large electric stick, her mate was still fighting but finally the charge was too much and he collapsed to the cold ground with a loud thud.

“No, no, Angel!” The female recalled some words from before she entered Hell; her mate’s name was the only name she remembered. She couldn’t even be sure of her own name. Her mate called her ‘Buffy’, it sounded familiar to her but she couldn’t be completely positive that it was her name.

~*~*~*~*~Oracle’s Chamber’s~*~*~*~*~

The two higher beings watched in their looking glass of water as their female warrior of light was taken from their male warrior of darkness by the demon footmen, known as Fyral demons. They weren’t very smart but they got the job that their controllers wanted done.

“It is time brother.” The female Oracle spoke while taking in the torture that the blonde warrior was enduring with little emotion showing on her fire bronzed face.

“Yes, her mortal friends have disappointed us.” He glided up next to his sister observing the couple in the water. The image changed as they stare into it, to an image of the library. “The foolish lower beings think she ran. They didn’t consider she’s been in Hell.”

“We must send a messenger, tell them the proper spell to bring our Warriors back to this dimension.” She turned to the long hall behind her, as a being strutted closer to them.

~*~*~*~*~Sunnydale High School ~*~*~*~*~

A bright light flowed through the darkened halls of the high school. The badly dressed messenger landed hard on the tiled floor with a loud thump.

“You might have been a little more gentle.” The messenger glanced up at the ceiling in annoyance; the once brightened hallway became dark again, the only light coming from the moon outside. “Right just ignore me and my pain.”

He stood, brushing off his favorite dark purple suit with the lime green shirt underneath. Slowly he made his way through the school toward the library double doors. It’s a wonder to him that the powers were sending him to deal with the Slayers friends.

His friend Doyle was so much more of a people person than he was. The only reason he could think was that he knew both Buffy and Angel. All he wanted to do was tell the people what they needed to know, go get a hot dog, maybe catch a game, then go back and wait for his next assignment.

The demon messenger took a moment to get his attitude straightened out. What he would tell the group was important information that would get the light and dark warriors back into this world, without them this world was doomed. And while it wouldn’t bother him too much there are certain things in this world that he would miss. Dog races, Las Vegas…the ability to get drunk off his ass… the important things in life.

Taking a deep breath the demon pushed open the double doors revealing to him a group of teenagers and a tired older man that he knew was the Slayer’s Watcher.

“So…this is where you all hash out your plans, meet, hang out…I gotta say I thought this place would be slightly more impressive.”

The brunette Slayer shot out of her chair knocking it down and stalked closer to him making sure to be between him and the group. “Who the hell are you?”

“The names Whistler sweet cheeks.”

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Faith’s senses were going nuts around this guy. He’s not human that much she’s sure of. “Cuz from what I can tell you’re a demon…and I kill demon’s.” She moved toward him threateningly closer.

“Whoa, whoa! Yeah I'm a demon, it doesn’t make me a bad guy…at least not all the time.” He held his hands up in a defensive manner.

The tall brown haired boy stood up from his seat and glared at the demon. “Listen, why don’t you just tell us why you’re here so you can go back to whatever a not good but not bad demon does.”

“Alright.” Let’s see what kind of reaction this gets. “I see you’re missing a few people. Namely a cute little blonde Slayer and her vampire lover.” Whistler watched everyone sit a little straighter. That perked their interest right up didn’t it?

“You know something. What do you know?” Giles stalked up to Whistler ignoring Faith’s words of protest.

“About Buffy and Angel…. I know a lot. I brought Angel to Buffy and I spoke to Buffy hours before her battle with Angelus. I even know what happened after the battle.”

The angry and irate librarian lifted the small demon up by the lapels of his jacket bringing Whistler closer to him. “You tell me where Buffy is dammit or I will kill you right here and now!” Giles yelled anger just radiating off of him.

“Whose Angel?” Faith questioned. Needing plenty of back-story to answer the many questions that were now floating around her head.

“You sure you wanna know where they are? Can you handle it?” No one bothered to answer Faith, as cold as it may sound she wasn’t important to what was happening.

“Dammit, tell me!” Giles loosened his hold on the badly dressed messenger till his feet were firmly planted back onto the ground. For months he had been desperate for a clue as to Buffy’s whereabouts so he could bring her home. Now there was a demon in front of him telling him that not only does he have a clue as to where Buffy…he knew exactly where she had been for three months.

“Your Slayer and Angel are in Hell. They’ve been there for 9,000 years, give or take a couple hundred years.” The only sound heard was the collective gasp of shock followed by the scrape of chairs and a loud thump as Xander collapsed onto the floor.

TBC

Chapter 2

~*~*~*~*~Still in Library~*~*~*~*~

“What? They are where?” Giles took a deep breath, hoping against hope that he had just misunderstood Whistler.

“Buffy. And. Angel. Are. In. Hell!” He spoke each word slowly and distinctively so there could be no mistake again. “I'm not talking about figuratively, I'm being literal here. They are really in Hell. And they have been there for over 9,000 years.”

“Howisthatpossible? Acathla’sdormant.” Willow shook her head furiously not believing what she was being told. Tears fell down her innocent face in despair; she breathed in hard and deep as Oz wrapped his arms around her trying his best to calm his girlfriend down.

“WhenXanderandGileswenttothemansionitwasn’tawakened! Howcouldthishavehappen?” Willow finally took a breath from the pure hysteria that as much as she wanted to keep it in check…it wasn’t possible.

“Angelus woke Acathla up. The Slayer was too late. They had a big fight; she was close to killing him ya know? But your re-ensouling spell worked. Unfortunately the vortex to Hell had opened and was going to make this dimension a playground for evil.” Whistler opened his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Do you mind if I light up?” Nobody answered him so he took their silence as a ‘no’.

He flicked open his zippo lighter and lit his cigarette. Here comes the hard part. “Now where was I…oh yea, playground for evil. Anyway,” Whistler jumped onto the counter and continued to tell the story. “Angel remembers squat from when he was Angelus. The last thing that he recalled was being in bed with his little blonde Slayer. They hug, they kiss, tell each other that how much they love each other. It was all very beautiful.” He took a long drag from the cigarette. “But then Buffy stabs him in the gut with her sword…”

Xander, during Whistler’s explanation had come too, and had been sitting in the chair that he pushed over when he fell. “So let me guess what happens next. Angel being the selfish undead prick that he is grabs Buffy and takes her too Hell with him?” He sneered at the thought of Angel doing that to his friend. “I always knew he was an asshole, but did any of you believe me? Noooo, of course not. All of you were singing a different tune when he turned evil.”

Willow sniffled her tears still coming strong but she managed to glare at her best friend. “You’re jumping to conclusions Xander. If Angel had his soul he wouldn’t have dragged Buffy into Hell with him.” She never doubted Angel when he was ensouled.

“How can you say that Willow? Hello? He killed your fish; he killed Ms. Calendar what does it take for you to see that he is a bad guy. You’re just like Buffy, not seeing him for what he really is.” Xander yelled at his friend not caring that his words were causing her to flinch in pain.

“That’s enough Xander.” Giles yelled at the young jealous boy. “No one knew better than Buffy that Angelus was evil. He tormented her, played mind games with her, tortured and killed people she loved. And as much as I hate Angelus, I can’t hate Angel because Angel didn’t do those things. It was all Angelus.”

It still hurt Giles to think about Jenny and her death, but he had to let the little whelp know that Angel was different from Angelus. He doubted that there would be any semblance of the friendship that he had once shared with Angel before he turned but that didn’t mean he blamed the soul for what the demon did. It was obvious to him that Xander couldn’t tell the difference between the two.

Whistler just continued to watch the scene play out. He knew that the young one didn’t like the vampire at all. But he never would have thought his hatred for him ran that deep. It shocked him though that the Watcher, the man that Angelus had hurt the most was defending him, not the demon but the soul part of him. That said something about the character he had, even made clear that not all Watchers were stuck up snobs.

“If I could interject I’d be happy to tell you the rest of what happened.” He glanced around at everyone in the room; the stylish brunette who he guessed was Cordelia, looked up at her boyfriend, seemingly not knowing what to do. Which struck him as odd, when he had checked up on Buffy and Angel from time to time he also checked up on her friends. And Cordelia didn’t seem like the type to not know what to do. She looked torn, like she didn’t know whom to support.

The young witch, Willow, was staring at him, her stance telling him to reveal everything that happened to Buffy and Angel, but her eyes held that shadow of doubt. Oz, the werewolf and boyfriend to the witch showed nothing, but then again that wasn’t unusual.

Xander and the Watcher stopped their arguing and turn toward the messenger. One crossing his arms and wanting the messenger to tell him that he’s right, the other knowing with all his being that what the young one said wasn’t the truth and Whistler was going to tell them what really transpired.

And the new slayer…she was just in a sea of confusion. She had no clue what was happening, why Giles and Xander were fighting, or why it seemed, from what the messenger had said that Buffy was seeing a vampire. But that couldn’t be true, Slayers and vampires didn’t mix socially, she had to have been mistaken.

“Just tell us.” Willow pleaded.

“Alright Red. So Buffy thrusts her sword into Angel’s gut. Now, since only Angel’s blood could open Acathla, only his blood could close it hence the sword in the gut. Everyone still with me.” He made sure that everybody was still with him and was not going to argue until he was done. When the group nodded he resumed the tale.

“So, Angel is of course shocked, who wouldn’t be? I mean one moment he’s mackin’ on his girl and the next he’s skewered.” Whistler tried to bring some laughter into the situation but no one’s in the mood for laughing. “Then Buffy just stared at him for a about a minute. Her soul was screaming for his, she came to an instant decision just seconds before the vortex closed. The Slayer couldn’t live without her vampire. She didn’t want to. Buffy jumped into Angel’s arms, she didn’t care where they would have ended up, all she knew was that she had to be with him or she would cease to exist. So that’s the story, that’s why you haven’t been able to find her…however if you did a simple locator spell it would have told you that she was in a Hell dimension. It might not have told you which one, but it would told you that she wasn’t in this dimension anymore.”

“What has it been like for them?” Willow whispered so low that nobody but the three supernatural beings heard her.

“It’s been Hell sweetie.” Whistler punned.

“Stop joking, this isn’t funny. My best friend is in Hell and you need to tell me now!” She demanded.

“You’re right it isn’t funny, but if I don’t joke it’s going to get to me. I have emotions too, not many but I do have them. Anyway…like I said it’s been Hell. If Buffy and Angel had no souls then it would be Heaven for them. But since they have those souls…it’s almost unbearable.” He zoned out slightly at what he had seen gone on in Hell.

“Right now, Angel and Buffy are kept in the same cage. When they first arrived they were separated, and not allowed to see each other except when the other was being abused and tortured.” His voice began to shake and he cursed his weakness for the two forces of good. “Angel had to watch while the demons beat and raped his mate, every time he moved to help her they would beat on him and just abuse her more. After that they would be sent to different holding cells, where they could see but not touch each other, the demons just wanted to torture them more.” A single tear broke through his wall and tumbled down his face showing that telling this tale was effecting him.

“Dammit, I hate this caring crap. It sucks. You get to know someone and when they’re hurt you hurt…like I said, it sucks.” He brushed the single tear away and took another cigarette, he’s about to put it in his mouth when he notices he still had a cigarette burning between his fingers.

“How come you never got them out there? You knew that they were there…why did you wait this long to tell us. How could you have let them suffer down there for so long?” Willow threw questions at him not stopping to let him answer a single one. “How could Buffy even be alive? She should have died thousands of years ago, if time moved that fast down there. Tell me how.”

“What about all of you? The Powers That Be, sent you all dreams about Buffy and Angel in Hell, but no one said anything, no one even thought for a second that what they were seeing in their dreams was true. As for me getting them out, I couldn’t. They wouldn’t let me or anyone else interfere, the PTB’s needed to know that you wouldn’t get them out.” Whistler’s jaw was tight in anger, he’d never felt this angry before, then again he’s never cared about someone as much as he did the blonde Slayer and the dark vampire.
“All I could do was watch as they were tortured and on the brink of death.”

“What about how Buffy is still alive?” The Watcher repeated Willow’s question, which too had been bothering him.

“As it was pointed out before…time moves differently in that Hell dimension a hundred years can pass down there and on Earth it’s just a day. From the moment the PTB’s knew of Buffy being in Hell instead of just Angel, they made her an immortal, so they could contact you and give you a chance to save them. By the time they got a dream to some of you already 50 years had past and they couldn’t let her die. Buffy and Angel are important, they need to be here.”

He’s not sure if he should tell this part, the Oracles never told him that he couldn’t tell them, but they didn’t say he could either. It might be important later on if this group knew that Buffy and Angel were the deciding factors on whether this world went to Hell or not.

“They need to be here?” Oz popped up with a question of his own.

Might as well tell them, it’s not like I have anything to lose. “Yes, if they aren’t here when the End of Days begins, this world will become the playground for evil that I was talking about.”

“How? Why should it matter if they are here or not?” I'm the Slayer shouldn’t it matter if I'm not here? It doesn’t make sense to her how a vampire would, much less could help with the End of Days.

“That I can’t tell you. All I can tell is that they are the key, if they aren’t in this world, this world is doomed.” Whistler took a final drag from his cigarette and put it out on the counter smothering the flame. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I haven’t peed in over 6 hours. I'm going to find the little boys room. But I’ll be back.” He turned and made his way out the double library doors and down the hall looking for a bathroom. A men’s bathroom or a women’s bathroom didn’t matter to him, he just had to go now, leaving the shocked group to soak up everything that he had told them.

TBC

Chapter 3

“We just left them down there.” Willow whispered out. She had countless dreams where Buffy and Angel were in a Hell dimension; ugly demons had hot pokers and were branding the supernatural couple. It never occurred to her that the nightmares were real.

“It’s not like we knew Will.” Even as he said those words Xander knew they were a lie. He knew where Buffy and Angel had gone…at least subconsciously he did.

The nightmares had woken him up from many good dreams. It was so dark in the dreams that he could hardly see what was being shown to him. But the familiar female screams of pain and the roar of madness and anger gave him a good idea as to what was transpiring.

“Didn’t know?” Willow shrieks. “We knew, those nightmares Xander, I had them every night and I never said a word. I just thought….” She drew in a shaky breath. “I hoped they weren’t real, but I can’t say that I didn’t know.” A choked sob managed its way out of Willow’s throat. The pain of letting her best friend down was like a white hot lightning bolt striking at her heart and cutting it in two.

“I wonder if she’s been able to bathe?” The group stared at Cordelia, the comment, lacking its normal sarcastic and callous bite. Her voice was as close to sadness as the Scooby Gang had heard from her.

~*~*~*~*~Hell~*~*~*~*~

Finally their abuse of her was over—for now at least. The female was thrown back into an empty cage, the second she was tossed she knew she was alone, they took her mate, he’s not there this time to hold her. She crawled gingerly over to the single covering in her cell it’s hardly big enough to wrap around her but it had to be enough. It always had to be enough.

When her mate was returned the covering would be even smaller but she wouldn’t care. She’d have him beside her again and nothing else would matter. She breathed in the smoke wafting from the passageway that led to pain and torture. “NOOOOOO!” A voice shouted.

Instantly her head jerked up, sharp slices of pain shot down her back but she didn’t notice or care. That’s her mate, whimpering she hurried back over to the bars. “ANGEL!!” She yelled the name she knew was his. A guard saw her limb reaching in the direction the voice was coming from, smirking he stomped over to her and snapped her arm breaking it in half. “AHHHHH!”

“BUFFYYYYY!” He heard his mate scream in pain. The vampire struggled against his chains but it’s of no use.

Back in the cell the female cried softly holding her arm protectively to her. “Angel.” She whispered not allowing her voice to rise any higher. She should have remembered what happened when a body part was hanging out of her prison. It’s occurred too many times for her not to know, didn’t matter what limb was sticking out, a toe, leg, nose, or arm it’s broken.

What seemed like an eternity later, her mate was finally thrown back into the room with her. Thankfully her broken arm was healing but not fast enough, it still hurt, the pain however was only slight compared to her wounded heart. Her mate although here with her now was burned and broken beyond recognition. It would take days for him to heal and become recognizable again. It’s his scent that let her know who he was.

Slowly she inched her way closer to him, when she reached his side she wrapped her good arm around his waist holding him tight. Her right leg curled over his own deformed limb. “Love.” One of the other few words she remembered from before this place. She didn’t understand what the word meant any longer but she did understand the feelings she had when she said it. Nothing made her feel warmer, safer, or calmer than that one word.

“L-ug-e” Blood from his cut out tongue choked his words in his throat but the female understood. Eventually his tongue would grow back, it always did, as did hers when their captors cut off her tongue so she’d stop screaming for her mate.

Soon she closed her eyes and fell asleep as deep as she allowed herself. She must be awake for when the guards came back. She must protect her mate. Again those pictures, that she always got when she closed her eyes, came at lightning speed. Flash after flash of events, people, and places that she vaguely recalled but couldn’t place zoom through her mind.

Only this time something was different, a bright light with clouds got closer and closer till she’s in front of large double doors. Unsure of what laid ahead she crouched down low and readied herself for an attack but after waiting for a little while it didn’t come.

Cautiously she rose back up this time getting a look at herself—she remembered these coverings. The guards tore them off her when she first arrived in Hell. Buffy stared at her hands, no sign of trauma, no cuts or fingers chopped off, her arm was healed, not a single scar. Wait, Buffy was her name, how could she remember this now?

“Enter Warrior of Light.” A deep booming voice commanded her. Now that her memories were returning she remembered she didn’t like being ordered around. The double doors open and reveal a beautiful large hall with pillars and smoke curling around them. Smelling the smoke brought her painful experiences back to the forefront.

A growl escaped her lips as she crouched down again, instinct took over and she recalled her duty to fight the evil. Immediately the smoke cleared as if whoever spoke to her could hear her thoughts. “We apologize Warrior please enter the chamber.”

Carefully she stood and took hesitant steps toward the room, when she was completely in, the door softly shut behind her and two people with gold skin appeared. They wore robes; one held a chalice while another held a crystal ball. What was going on?

TBC