The Return, Chapter Three ~ The
                   Agreement
 
 

From: "Little Slayer" <little_slayer@hotmail.com>

Author: Little Slayer
Email: little_slayer@hotmail.com
Title:  The Return
Distribution:  Anyone can have it.  Just ask.
Rating: PG.
Author’s Note:  Sequel to The End.
Feedback:  If you don’t send feedback, I’ll sick Faith on you like a dog
on a bone.  Or in her case a dog on a…okay, I’m not going to finish
that, but you all get the point.  Actually, no, I can't sick her on you
because of one really important reason…
Disclaimer:  I don’t own him!  Uh, her.  Or Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow,
Joyce, and everyone else.  They’re all in here.  I don’t own Angel’s
nickname of Peaches.  The only thing I own is Mya.  She’s mine.  I
created her.  And so I can easily destroy the skanky little…uh, oops.
All the Buffyverse people belong to Joss Whedon and anyone else who
legally owns them.  Anybody who has been either A) mentioned on BtVS, or
B) seen on BtVS, I don’t own.  I do own a few people but am too tired to
name them.

Chapter Three, The Agreement

        “You okay?” Buffy asked.  “I’m still not sure why I’m asking, but are
you?”  Angelus nodded and tossed the bloody stake to Buffy.
        “You have bad aim,” he muttered.  Slowly, Angelus looked around his
surroundings and sighed when Buffy looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“What?”
        “I could’ve killed you and you’re scolding my aim?” she asked
incredulously.
        “Sorry Slayer, but right now, dying would probably be better than being
here and acting like soul boy,” he grumbled.
        “Yes, well, that was you’re arrangement,” Giles said coldly.  It
unnerved him to be so close to the one responsible for destroying his
life.
        “I know, I know,” Angelus muttered.  “I’ll be good.  I can’t believe I
just said that.”
        “Well, get used to it, ‘cause it’s gonna be a while,” Buffy said.  She
looked around and let her eyes settle on all of the occupants of the
room.
        “How much do you hate Mya?” Whistler asked.  Buffy raised an eyebrow
and bent back, opening a drawer behind the counter and removing a knife.
        “There are no words to describe how much I hate that little whore,”
Buffy hissed.
        “Well, good.  ‘Cause the Council’s letting you have full say in
her…punishment.  You can kill her if you want,” Whistler told her.
        “Then I’d be just like her,” Buffy said quietly.
        “How’ve you been Buffy?” Drusilla asked after a moment.
        “I’ve been in hell for three hundred with the demon responsible for
destroying my and my friend’s lives,” Buffy replied.
        “That bad, huh?” Spike asked.  She shrugged.
        “I’ve learned some cool magic and stuff…” Buffy said, letting her voice
trail off.  “It’s weird.  I haven’t been here for so long, but it’s only
been six months.  I’m so different…”
        “And everyone here’s still the same,” Giles said.
        “What about you?” Buffy asked suddenly.  “What’s your opinion of Mya?”
Giles raised his eyebrows in surprise and then thought for a moment as
he poured some holy water onto the flame that was emitted from the bowls
of oil.
        “Well, she sent you to hell and lied to all of us,” Giles said.  “I
don’t think anyone will be all that happy with her actions.”
        “But you don’t hate her, do you?  You don’t feel that what she did was
unfair and she should be punished, do you?” Buffy asked.
        “I never said that, Buffy.  I’m still getting adjusted to what she’s
done.  I do not know what should be done about her,” Giles said, his
voice raising at the end of his sentence.
        “I never asked what you thought should be done about her,” Buffy said,
her tone flat.  “I just asked who’s side you’re on.  Don’t get me wrong,
I’m very grateful for you getting me out of there…I just want to know
who my friends are.”
        “I’m sorry Buffy, but she’s my Slayer.  I have to stick by her
actions,” Giles said.  Buffy stared at him, no emotions showing on her
face.
        “And where was that…that loyalty when I was your Slayer?” she asked.
“I did everything I could to be the Slayer and still have a life and
when that backfired on me, you weren’t like this.  You were cold and
distant and the only reason you stuck by me was because of your duty.”
        “That’s not true,” Giles protested.  “I was hurt that you kept things
from me, that you didn’t trust me enough to come home.”
        “Giles, Buffy, stop it you two,” Drusilla said.  “I’m not going to
stand here and watch the two of you fight.”  Buffy took in a shaky
breath and looked at Giles.
        “I’m sorry about that Giles, I really am,” Buffy said.  “But I need to
know.  When the time comes, Mya’s going to be punished.  And I want to
know exactly who I’m going up against.”
        “Well, sure as hell not me,” Spike said.  “I can’t stand the little
twit.  She’s so irritating.”
        “Same goes with me.  Something’s not right in her.  I get such an evil
vibe from her,” Drusilla said.  She moved closer to Buffy and looked at
her, frowning.  “I told you something was wrong.  I knew she couldn’t be
trusted.”
        “I know,” Buffy said.  “I should’ve listened to you.”  She slid off the
counter-top and gave Drusilla a hug.
        “Welcome home, Buffy,” the brunette vampire whispered.
        “Hey, don’t I get one too?” Spike asked.  Buffy smiled and let go of
Dru.  She took a step to him and laughed when he gave her a welcoming
hug, almost picking her up off her feet.
        “Well, Buffy, I’m on your side too,” Whistler said.  “Mainly ‘cause
that’s who’s side the Council is on and I have to listen to them, but
also ‘cause I like you more.”
        “Buffy,” Giles started.  Buffy’s smile disintegrated from her face and
she looked at him.  “I’m not choosing sides, not yet.  But remember what
I told you.  You don’t forgive someone because they deserve it, but
because they need it.”  Buffy nodded.
        “I tried to understand why she did it, but there isn’t anything I can
think of,” Buffy said.  “The vortex wasn’t growing, we could’ve easily
caught a vampire and threw him into hell.”
        “I know,” Giles said.  “And we’ll find out why she did, I promise.”
Buffy smiled at Giles and moved to sit at the table.
        “I suppose you might want to hear what goes on in hell, huh?” Buffy
asked.
        “Well, actually, yes,” Giles said.  He picked up a book and a pen.
“Would you mind if I wrote it down?”
        “No, not at all,” Buffy said.  “Have a seat, Dead-Boy, we’re going to
be here for a while.”  Grumbling, Angelus sat down next to Buffy.  Spike
sat next to him and Dru across from Buffy.  Whistler hopped up on the
spot where Buffy had sat on the counter and Giles sat down next to
Buffy.
        “Do you want to start, or should I?” Angelus asked Buffy.
        “I will,” she said and looked at Giles.  “Well, they guy who runs the
area is Crenshaw and for every Hellmouth, there’s an area of hell.  The
leaders of the areas are determined by…”

*****

        Angel stood there, stunned.  He had just watched Buffy have what seemed
to be a normal conversation with Angelus, watched her have a heated
debate with Giles, and then sit down to describe hell.  From what he
could hear her say, it was pretty much the same thing as he had
experienced.  Slowly, Angel walked to the wall and leaned against it.
The words Buffy had said ran through his head at a mile a minute.  Mya
had sent her to hell.  His dreams were true.  How could he have been so…
        “Angel!” a voice called out, disrupting his thoughts.  He looked up and
saw Xander running down the hall, Oz right behind him.
        “Xander?  What’ wrong?” Angel asked, getting to his feet.  Xander took
in a deep breath, but fear was still written all over his face.
        “Vampires…Bronze…Cordy…” Xander gasped.
        “Huh?” Angel asked.
        “There are vamps at the Bronze, lots of them.  They’ve got Mya, Willow,
and Cordelia along with all of the other people in there.  Man, Mya
tried to fight them, but she was powerless.  Something’s wrong,” Oz
explained.  Angel nodded and took in a deep breath.
        “We need to get Giles and supplies,” Xander said, catching his breath.
        “A Slayer would help too,” Angel muttered.
        “But Mya’s…” Oz said.
        “Not Mya,” Angel said.  He walked to the doors and pushed them open.
“Buffy.”  Oz and Xander quickly followed Angel inside the library.  They
stopped when they saw Buffy sitting at a table, talking to Giles with
Angelus at her side.
        “Angel?  What’s wrong?” Giles asked.  “I thought I told you to come
back later.”
        “Buffy?” Xander asked.  “But…she’s dead.”  He stared at Buffy who sat
frozen.  She looked at them then took in a deep breath.
        “Um, not really,” she said quietly.  “I’m pretty much alive.”
        “Okay, I’m really freaked here, especially since there’s an Angel clone
sitting next to you, but Willow’s in trouble so I’m going to put it
aside,” Oz said.
        “Willow’s in trouble?” Buffy repeated.  She got to her feet and the
others followed.  “Where?”
        “The Bronze,” Oz told her.
        “Don’t they ever get sick of attacking there?” Buffy asked.
        “I guess not,” Angel said.  He looked cautiously at Angelus who said
nothing but stared back.  Buffy walked over to the cage and looked
inside.
        “Game plan, and quick,” Buffy said.
        “How about, we go there and kill the vampires,” Angelus muttered.
        “Well, obviously,” Buffy said.  “But we can’t just go there, yell
‘Charge!’ and get ourselves killed in the process.  That’s generally why
a plan is a good idea.”
        “I’m not stupid,” Angelus hissed.
        “Could’ve fooled me,” Buffy said under her breath.  Angelus glared at
her.
        “Well, if we could somehow get inside and attack from there, we might
have more of an advantage,” Angelus said.  “Going from the outside risks
lives of the hostages.”
        “Have they started attacking yet?” Buffy asked.
        “No, that’s the weird thing,” Xander said.  “No.  It’s like they’re
waiting for someone.”  Xander paused and then continued.  “There’s
something else.  There was this guy that didn’t look like he was there,
but he was.”  Buffy looked at Xander.
        “What’d he look like?” she asked.
        “He’s about my height, with long dark hair and really dark eyes.  He
was wearing a robe a lot like that one,” Xander said and gestured the
one Buffy was wearing.  “Only it was…”
        “Blue,” Buffy said finishing his sentence.  “Dark blue.”  Xander
nodded.  “Shit.”
        “Are you sure?” Angelus asked.  Xander nodded again and Angelus looked
at Buffy.  “I’m gonna have to agree with you.  Shit.  This is bad Buffy.
How’d he manage to get to the Bronze?”
        “Xander said it didn’t look like he was there.  Astral projecting,
maybe?” Buffy asked.  “But I wasn’t able to do it, why would he?”
        “He’s a lot older than you.” Angelus said.  “And…”
        “And what?” Buffy demanded.
        “That’s who they left in place of me,” Angelus said.
        “What!  Are they nuts?  That guy is way evil!  He’ll probably suck the
entire…”
        “Who?” Giles asked, interupting her wild banter.  Buffy stopped.
        “Kelvin.  Lord Kelvin.  He’s an evil son of a bitch and knows a whole
lotta magic.  This is probably the last guy you want in charge of the
Hellmouth,” Buffy explained.
        “But he can’t open it without Crenshaw’s permission,” Angelus said.
Buffy nodded.
        “Which is why we need to get to the Bronze and find out exactly what
he’s up to,” Buffy said.  She pulled off the black robe and grabbed a
few stakes from the cage, placing them in her clothing.  She tossed a
few to Angelus and then handed the rest to Drusilla.  “We need to be
there, now.”

 Next Page
 

Home to Archive Index