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buffyfic-digest       Thursday, October 29 1998       Volume 02 : Number 361



In this issue:

       BUFFYFIC: From Where I Stand
       BUFFYFIC: REVISED--Chronicles (29/30)

See the end of the digest for information on (un)subscribing to the buffyfic
or buffyfic-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 16:38:12 PST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: BUFFYFIC: From Where I Stand

TITLE: From Where I Stand
BY: Alex Queirolo
E-MAIL: [e-mail]
WEB-SITE: http://www.angelfire.com/co/alexfic/index.html
SUMMARY: Cordelia and Xander have it out about their relationship; Buffy
helps out.
SPOILERS: All the way up through All Men Are Beasts/ Beauty and the Beasts.
DISCLAIMER: Characters not mine. Joss is a god. Situations are. I am not a
god. No sue-age.
DEDICATION: To Sash..thanks for the wakey.
MUSIC: Title comes from the Kim Richey CD. The lyrics are off of the Louie
Says CD..specifically the song "She" which was also used in Reptile Boy.
***

"If she bends, then she breaks
She loves you, but then she takes it away
She bends and she bows
She's cold, but she melts like snow
She bends and she breaks
She hates you, but then she makes a mistake"

******************

She pressed her back up against the hard granite of the wall behind her and
allowed her gaze to sweep across the courtyard. She could see him standing
by the fountain, leaning casually forward, a large smile crossing his face.
He laughed. She frowned.

It'd been almost two weeks since the raven haired second slayer Faith had
shown up in Sunnydale. She had very quickly made friends with the rest of
the Scooby Gang and had even forged an uneasy alliance with Buffy. And now
it looked like she was moving in on Xander.

Cordelia Chase shook her head. She wasn't the jealous type. She never had
been. She'd actually never had reason to be. Well aside from the initial
appearance of Buffy back during sophomore year but even that had faded away
quickly when Buffy had made an outcast of herself within the first three
days.

And there was of course the whole Xander thinking he was madly in love with
Buffy thing. That had been a problem for a good long while until she had
realized just how utterly gone the little blonde Slayer was on Angel. Buffy
had no interest in Xander. No fight there.

Faith was an entirely different problem altogether.

The tall dark-haired Slayer leaned forward and gently slapped Xander against
the chest, laughing at some stupid joke of his. And he of course beamed with
pride and went straight into his next old and decrepit punch line. What did
he see in Slayers anyways? They were going to die. How was that a tunr-on?

"You okay, Cordy?" A soft voice said from beside her. Involuntarily, she
jerked. Her face flushed with embarrassment, she turned and looked at the
small form of Buffy Summers who was watching her with concerned blue eyes.

She smiled weakly," Fine. Just getting some air." Her eyes switched back to
watching Xander and Faith. They were laughing again, looking near tears.

"He's not interested in her. Not really." Buffy said, pushing herself up on
the wall and sitting on the overhang.

"You could fool me," Cordelia muttered.

"It's just Xander being Xander." Buffy replied, her eyes also tracking over
to where Faith and Xander were. Faith was leaning forward again, her body
language almost suggestive and yet Buffy suspected that that was more habit
than actual interest. Faith seemed to be quite the flirt.

"Ya well..it gets old," Cordelia said, sighing loudly. Then she shook her
head. "Oh this is stupid. Look at me..like she can compare. Whatever." She
pushed herself away from the wall and began to move towards the fountain,
her strides long and tense. Wonderful.

Buffy made a grunting noise and then followed after the tall cheerleader.
Cordelia wasn't the type to get violent but that made very little
difference. A conflict was a conflict and everyone's nerves were already
pulled about as tight as they could get without ripping. Especially her
own.

Her mind flashed on an image of Angel. Lying on the floor of the mansion,
shaking in the seemingly unbreakable hold of his nightmares. She shook her
head. That was a problem she wasn't quite ready to deal with it. Running her
hand through her hair, she made the conscious choice to push it back until
it was hidden in the darkness of her soul. Hidden where only she could make
it reappear. In theory.

"Xander," Cordelia said, striding up to him and wrapping a hand around his
arm. He blinked in surprise and then leaned across and kissed her.

"Cor, what's up? Big trouble or just hair problems?" Xander grinned. Faith
chuckled.

"So not funny." She glanced over at Faith and then looked away, slipping
back into her absentee bitch mode.

"Okay. What can I do ya for?" Xander asked, taking her hand. He looked up
when he saw Buffy approach and flashed her a smile. "Buffster, hey! It's a
regular party."

"It's not," Buffy said, smiling weakly. "Faith and I..we..uh..we need to do
something."

"We do?" Faith asked, looking slightly suspicious.

Buffy nodded. "We do. Um, patrol."

"It's four in the afternoon. The sun doesn't set for another two hours."
Faith reminded her, settling her hands on her hips and cocking her head to
one side.

Buffy chuckled uneasily and rushed for a back-up reply,"Uh ya..but Giles
think we should take a look during the day..just..because.."

"Because some of the demons might have forgotten that the sun makes them the
equivalent of duraflame logs?" Faith queried, seeming almost amused as she
made Buffy squirm.

"Exactly," Buffy replied. Then she sombered up and reached for Faith's arm.
"Let's go." She nodded to the others. "See you guys at the Bronze later
tonight, right?"

Xander nodded,"Ayup. Cake's playing."

"Great. Lates." Buffy smiled again and then pulled Faith after her.

Xander watched for a moment and then turned to Cordelia, "Well that was odd.
Then again, it's Buffy.."

"Right," Cordelia murmured. "It's Buffy." Then she looked up at him. "Or
it's Faith. What's that all about?"

                        ***

"So you gonna tell me what that was all about, B?" Faith asked,
disentangling herself from Buffy's grasp as soon as they entered the main
hall of the school building and were walking towards the Library.

"Xand has a girlfriend, Faith." Buffy replied, not meeting the taller
Slayers' eyes.

"And your point?"

"Just..just don't encourage it, okay?"

Faith lifted an eyebrow, half-amused and half-annoyed. "You really are wound
too tight. I'm not moving in on Xander."

"Well it kinda looked that way," Buffy said, stopping to look at Faith, her
eyes still darting away. For some reason, ever since she'd started hiding
Angel. she'd been loathe to make eye contact, certain that the others would
be able to see the truth lurking behind her blues.

"Well I wasn't. He was funny. I was laughing. No big." Faith replied,
leaning against the wall. "Besides, he's sorta not my type."

"He's a good guy," Buffy said softly.

"Didn't say he wasn't. Just not the kinda guy I want to get naked with." She
paused. "What about you? Or is it just studly dead guys for you?"

Buffy's eyes flashed upwards, glittering dangerously. She bit back on her
first retort and instead ground out," Don't talk about Angel."

Faith shrugged, seemingly painfully nonchalant about the whole thing. "Hey,
no skin off my back. Just trying to figure out why you're so tense all of
the sudden."

"All of the sudden?" Buffy queried, taking an involuntary step away.

"Yeah. A couple of days ago, you seemed calmer and more party hardy..you've
been wound like a yo-yo since that night you replaced me on wolfie-watch."

"Good recall," Buffy murmured.

"What?"

"Hm. Oh, nothing. Just stuff. Nothing big." Then she shook her head. "Point
is, nothing is wrong."

"Okay," Faith said with a nod, reaching into her pocket and fingering a pack
of cigarettes. Buffy eyed them warily."So we should go patrol."

"It's daylight still."

"See..*I* know this." Faith said with a grin.

Buffy rolled her eyes,"Come on. We'll check in and then go  get something to
eat before it gets dark." She flipped a hand casually in the air as they
entered the Library. She smiled when she saw Giles and Willow sitting at the
table, heatedly discussing some dusty volume sitting in front of them.

"Hey," Buffy said, smiling slightly as she saw her Watcher run a hand
through his hair in obvious frustration. The next sign, his removing of his
glasses came a moment later. "Problems?"

"Hm. Oh..Buffy, Faith, hello. Problems? No, of course not."

Faith lifted an eyebrow, "Okay and I thought you were corked, B."

"What's up, Giles?" Buffy asked, concern creasing her brow.

Willow stood up beside Giles,"Well..it would seem that someone has been
making a lot of fledgling vamps around town.."

"Yes.." Giles sighed. "And they seemed to have gathered..nested persay..
near the Bronze."

Buffy rolled her eyes and slumped into one of the seats. Faith followed her
lead by settling onto the top of the table. "Go on," Buffy murmured dryly.
"Ruin my night." And yet even as she tried to focus on the words her Watcher
was saying, all she could think about were the two friends she'd left out in
the courtyard.



                        ***

Xander paced a few feet and then turned back to gaze at his girlfriend who
was sitting on the bench surrounding the fountain. "Are you serious? I was
making with the funny. That wasn't flirting."

"It looked like it to me. Why are you obsessed with Slayers? Am I not good
enough for you?" She ran a slightly shaking hand through her dark hair.

"Of course you are. Where is this coming from?"

She shook her head in disbelief, "You really don't get it do you? Do you
have any idea what you look like when you're talking to Faith?"

"No. Enlighten me." Xander snapped back, his voice taking on a defensive
edge.

"Like a little boy in a candy shop. It was the same way with Buffy last
year."

"So I'm friendly."

"So you're drooling," she hissed in reply. "I'm not stupid, Xander. I know
you have a thing for exciting chicks like Buffy and Faith."

"Yeah..they're fun to hang with. But I'm with you aren't I?"

Cordelia gazed up at him, her eyes suddenly making her appear very young and
vulnerable. "But am I who you want to be with."

"Of course," he replied instantly, dismissively.

"Don't," she said, speaking between tightly clenched teeth.

"Don't?" he repeated.

"Don't blow it off like I'm asking you if you're gonna go to class. This is
serious. If Buffy said today that she'd be your girlfriend, would we still
be going out?"

"She wouldn't say that. She's still in love with Angel." Xander replied,
evasively.

Cordelia shook her head in disgust, "Great, thanks." She got to her feet and
started to walk away but was stopped by his hand locking around her
forearm.

"Hey! What is your problem?" Xander gazed back at her with concern but all
she saw was confusion. And that just made her angrier.

She pushed his arm away, "You don't get it, do you? I ask you a simple
question and you go around it! All I wanted to know was if you'd be with me
if Buffy said she wanted you. But you can't even answer that, can you?"

"You didn't give me time.."

"You need time?" Cordelia asked, looking suddenly like she was about to
dissolve into tears. "It's pretty much a yes or no question." She shook her
head. "And you know what? I don't really wanna hear the answer." Pushing him
away from her, she stalked away, looking every bit the angry woman she
seemed to be.

Xander watched her for a long moment, her face contorted in confusion,"What
the hell was that all about?"

                        ***

The music was already winding its' way through the Bronze by the time Buffy
and Faith entered. The smaller blonde slayer was rubbing her shoulder and
looking more than a little pained. She glanced around quickly and caught
sight of Willow and Oz sitting at a table, gazing at each other with
puppy-dog eyes. Buffy shivered involuntarily and then began to weave towards
them.

"Hey guys,"Buffy asked, falling into one of the chairs. Just moments after
her butt had hit the seat, Willow was upon her, lifting the sleeve of her
shirt so that she could inspect the wound.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked, using her hairclip to pin the sleeve away from
the torn flesh. "Did you two find the fledgling nest?"

Faith nodded, still standing but carefully watching as Willow tended to
Buffy's wound. "We did. A couple got away but we partied."

Buffy nodded, "We did. So hey, where's the Mismatched Twosome?"

"They're fighting," Willow murmured, reaching across the table to pick up a
white napkin. She dipped it into the water in front of Oz and then biting
her tongue in concentration went to work wiping the dried blood away from
the gash on Buffy's shoulder.

"Fighting?" Buffy said uneasily. "About?"

"Same ol', same ol'," Oz muttered, handing Willow a dried napkin.

Willow glanced up at Buffy, frowning slightly when she noticed the blonde
skirt her eyes. "Cordelia's upset because Xander won't stop looking around
and Xander..well..you know him."

"Lemme guess..he hasn't a clue."

Willow smiled, somewhat sadly. "That's why we love him."

"So, she's upset because she saw me and him talking?" Faith asked, eyebrow
lifted. She glanced casually over at Buffy's shoulder and then looked back
at Willow who was now gently probing the wound to ensure that nothing
foreign had gotten stuck in it.

"No..well yes..no. It's more than that." Willow sighed dramatically. She and
Buffy exchanged knowing looks. "Xander tends to roam. He's not very good at
seeing what he already has.."

"Sounds like a typical guy," Faith said with a shrug.

"But he's not. He means well.." Willow protested, feeling like she should
come to the defense of her oldest friend.

Buffy nodded,"He does. They both do. I'll go talk to him..her..see if I can
help."

"I'll go with," Willow said, finishing the probing and then taking a step
back so that she could inspect the wound in the light.

Buffy shook her head,"Nah. You're partying. I'll do it. Faith..you should
probably stay here."

The tall slayer shrugged," Sure. I'm starved."

Buffy nodded thoughtfully and then raised a hand to push her sleeve down.
She saw Willow frown. "It's fine."

"I know but I'd like to look at it again later...just to make sure. And you
might wanna put some.."

"It's fine, Will. But I'll drop by later so you can play nurse again, ok?"

Willow smiled shyly and then nodded. Buffy turned and started walking away
from the table but stopped when Will grabbed her arm. "Good luck."

                    ***

She was laying on his bed when he came out of the bathroom. Lifting an eye
in amusement, he looked down at her. "This is new."

She sat up and frowned at him," Hey Xand-man. Your..uh..your mom let me
in...she couldn't quite recall where your room was."

"Good ol' mom," Xander grinned. "Gotta love the units. Good for a laugh
everyday. So what brings you to my room. To my bed."

"Cordelia."

"I believe the word for that is threesome..only in french."

 Buffy rolled her eyes, "I hear you guys had a fight."

He sighed deeply and turned away," I guess so. She's mad at me..I haven't  a
clue why."

"Yeah, you do." Buffy said, nodding once. "Think about it."

"Don't you think I have?"

"No. I think you've tried but not really. Come on, Xand.."

He shook his head,"What do you want from me?"

"What I want is irrelevant. You and Cordy have issues and you hiding from
each other ain't exactly the best way to solve them. Trust me.." she
swallowed hard. "I know."

He studied her for a long moment and the nodded. "You're hurt."

"I'm fine. This is about Cordy. Don't change the subject."

"Fine. It's about Cordy. She thinks I'm obsessed with you. And with Faith."

"Are you?"

"No!"

"Okay. Then it's that easy. What's the problem?"

"I stalled."

"Why?" Buffy asked softly, absently rubbing her shoulder as it began to
ache. She waved him off when he took a step towards her. "Why?"

"I don't know.."

"Yeah you do."

"What the fuck are you getting at?" Xander snapped suddenly, eyes glowing.

"Hey!" she replied sharply. "Don't get pissed off at me. I'm already the
Queen of fucking up relationships but this one ain't my bad. Now you're
always yelling at me to stop running..face your own music, Xan."

He shook his head and began to pace circles around his room, head down and
deep in thought. He didn't even notice when Buffy lifted herself from the
bed and wrapped her arms around him. "Do you love her?"

"What if I do?"

"Then there's something all of it's own that you have to face. But make
sure..don't hurt her. She doesn't deserve that." Buffy said, resting her
head on his shoulder.

He closed his eyes,"What do I do?"

"Come to my house in about an hour. Mom's staying in Los Angeles for the
night. I'll get the gang over there..Cordy too..you guys can talk. Okay?"

He nodded slowly,"Okay."

"Good," she smiled. She took a step away from him and started towards the
door.

"Hey Buff?"

"Ya?" she asked, turning.

"Are you okay?"

She blinked," Sure. Ya. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I've just been worried..ever since you broke up with Scott..you've seemed a
little distracted."

She smiled faintly. They were catching on too quickly. "Just tired, Xand.
That's all. See ya in an hour." And then turning on her heels, she made a
quick departure before she was asked anymore questions.

                        ***

She was leaning forward, eyes locked on the screen in front of her when she
heard the front door open and someone call out a tentative hello. She lifted
one hand to wave Cordelia into the house and then went back to focusing on
the Nintendo game playing on her television.

"Hey Cordy," Willow chirped, patting the couch next to her.

"What are they doing?" Cordelia asked, gesturing towards the floor where
Buffy and Oz were seated.

"Mortal Kombat. They've been locked in a grudge-match for almost an hour
now." Willow replied, clapping as Oz scored a punch to Buffy's character.

"Fascinating." Cordelia murmured, taking a seat. "So uh..where is he?"

"Over here." Xander said softly, leaning against the swinging door to the
kitchen. "Can we uh..talk?" His eyebrow lifted in worried confusion, seeming
almost scared that she'd refuse.

She nodded.

Standing up, she crossed over to him and followed him into the kitchen.
Buffy looked away from the screen momentarily so that she could exchange a
glance with Willow and then hissed when Oz took advantage of her shift in
focus and knocked her character down. "Cheater."

Oz grinned,"When I need to."

                    ***

"So.." Xander began, obviously uneasy.

"So.." she repeated.

"Are you..uh..are you okay?" he licked his lips and shifted slightly, his
very posture relaying how uncomfortable he was.

"Oh this is stupid," she muttered. "We've been going out for months..we
can't even have a simple conversation.."

"Yeah we can.."

"Okay..then let's."

"We are."

"Are we?"

"Yes..I wanna say no."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"No..if Buffy asked me to date her today..I would say no. I'm with you."

There was a moment of silence and then she said softly,"Do you mean that?"

He nodded,"Yeah. God help me, Cor..I do."

She stared at him thoughtfully and then whispered,"So why are you just
standing there? Why aren't you kissing me?"

His face exploded into a consuming smile. "I'm a damn fool." He took a step
towards her and wrapped her into his arms.

"Yes, you are." She replied, kissing him soundly. "But it's cute."

"I know," he grinned, deepening the kiss and pulling her closer.

                    ***

Buffy and Oz were still battling feverishly when Cordelia and Xander exited
the kitchen, hand-in-hand.  Buffy looked up, managing to throw a glare at Oz
before she did. "So? All good?"

"Yep. He's accepted that I'm perfect," Cordelia grinned.

"Perfectly Cordy," Xander amended. "But it's why we all love her."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Uh huh." Shaking her head, she dropped her attention
back to the game and let it sweep her thoughts away.


- -FIN
FEEDBACK PLEASE..sequel perhaps.




_______________________________________________________
Get your free, private e-mail at http://mail.excite.com/

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 17:47:26 -0800
From: [e-mail] (C. Catherine)
Subject: BUFFYFIC: REVISED--Chronicles (29/30)

TITLE: Chronicles of the White Knight #29 Death and Destiny
AUTHOR: Taygeta
E-MAIL: [e-mail]
FEEDBACK:  Criticism muchly welcomed!  (Bad or good...whatever the
complaint).
DISTRIBUTION: Sure, just tell me first.
RATING: PG
KEYWORDS: Buffy/Xander fanfic
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Due to some confusion and a suggestion from a great fellow
writer, Jai, I revised the section between CLANG and the fading mark
~*~*~*~*~*~
DISCLAIMER:  The characters portrayed in this fanfic and any such
reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series belong to their
creator, Joss Whedon, and their owners, Mutant Enemy productions, Kuzui
Productions, Sanddollar Productions, and 20th Century Fox. In other
words, they do not belong to me.  Copyright infringement not intended.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chronicles of the White Knight
#29 Death and Destiny
By: Taygeta

The room was engulfed in darkness as his conscious crept out of the black
sea it had lay in for hours on end.  Xander's weak, tired eyes opened
groggily as the sedative faded slowly away and the pain of his beaten
body came surging throughout him.  He let out a loud cry as he
immediately clutched his cast covered right leg.

"God!  Somebody help me!" he screamed and a nurse and doctor immediately
ran into the room.

"Calm down, Mr. Harris, calm down," the doctor said gently as the nurse
handed her a filled syringe.  She calmly punctured his skin with a quick
thrust of a thin, silver needle, "There.  You're going to be just fineà"

The tranquilizer was strong and its effects came even more quickly than
the pain had.  Xander's shuddering form fell back down against the bed
and his eyes grew weary as the pain receded and before the black came to
swallow him whole again, he turned to see a white envelope with his name
written in familiar script - Buffy's.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 The ivy-walled edifice looked ancient and worn beneath the moonlight and
Buffy wondered what it had looked like in its prime.  Xander had taken
her to look at this mansion once when they walked by it during patrol,
said something about it belonging to a Havisham who died a few decades
ago.  Now, years later, still prevailed by death, it stood representing
age and decay.

The huge black gate creaked when she pushed it open and walked in, the
gate slamming loudly behind her.  As her shoes hit the concrete pavement
she wondered if it was all a trick - if Druscilla, Spike, and Angelus
would all be there to gang up on her - but she took a deep breath and
realized that it would never be like that.  Angelus would never *let* it
be like that.  In his eyes, she was the ultimate killing prize, to be
shared by no one and realizing this, Buffy's apprehension grew stronger.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What do you think she's doing right now?"  Cordelia asked glancing at
Willow.

"I don't knowàI'm not sure I want to know," she replied honestly as she
looked up from her book, "I hope that whatever it is, it involves her
staying alive."

"Yeahàme too."

The redhead looked at her in surprise, "Really?"
"What do you take me for, Willow?  The Wicked Witch of the West?"  Cordy
asked and then paused, "On second thought, don't answer that."

She laughed, "No, of course I don't, it's just that, you've never really
liked Buffy."

"Well, I don't," she said, "Sort ofàat least, I don't want her to die.
She's too important - not to me - but to Xander."

"You really do love him, don't you?"

"Yeah, he's the first guy I *really* cared about.  I mean, all the other
guys, it was always that they had a car, money, or whatever, but with
Xander it was different.  He didn't have a car - he had his mom's car -
and he didn't have money or a great fashion sense, but for some reason,
that didn't matter."

"Are you still - "

Cordelia shook her head softly and smiled as she looked at the magazine
on her lap, "No, the reality of Buffy and Xander kind of kicked in."  She
paused and then glanced at Willow, "But, right now, if the remote
impossibility that he would fall in love with me were to occur?  I'd stop
lying to myself, and everyone else, that I wasn't."

Before Willow could reply, Giles entered the library, "You two should get
home and get some sleep."

"Sleep, Giles?"  Willow asked, "Not sleeping is why we came here.  I
couldn't sleep if I tried.  On one hand, I'm worried about Xander and on
the other hand, I'm worried about Buffy."

"Why is it that we let these two run rampant in our lives?"  Cordelia
asked returning to her usual demeanor, "OhàrightàI forgot they're our
friends.  You know, this part of the whole friendship thing, sucks!"

"Agreed," said Giles nodding, "But in consolation, you know that they'll
do the same for you."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Did you decide to come to play, Buffy?"  Druscilla asked with her
humanoid face.

 "Hello, Druscilla," the slayer responded with a stake in hand,
"Playàyup, that's the motive."

"Spike, Buffy's come to play," the feminine vampire said as the
counterpart rolled into the room.

"But not with you, pet," he responded as he patted the hand that rested
on the armrest of his chair.

She pulled her hand away and smiled as she approached the figure in the
shadow, "Angelus, can't I have her instead?

"Over Angel's ashes, maybe," muttered Spike has he began rolling away
with a sigh.

"Dru, go away," Buffy responded bluntly, "I kind of like to get this over
with."

"Angelà"

"Dru, go away," he reiterated.

With an angry pout, she did as commanded.

"So, this is it," Buffy said as he walked out of the shadow he had been
in, "The end."

"You mean, your end," he replied holding two swords in the air and
tossing one at her, "Catch."

She grasp the sword's handle tightly and said, "We'll just see about
that.  Fair's fair, remember?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

The metals clashed loudly, the sound echoing in the large ruined room.

"I see you haven't lost your touch," he said.

Buffy instantly thought of a training session she had had with Angel a
long time ago that dealt with her putting a sword to his neck and she
responded, "And I see you haven't lost yours.  Let's just hope that this
time, beheading is into play."

"You know what?" he said as tried to jab her side and missed, "Let's just
not."

She breathed heavily and remembered when last she heard those very words.
 Xander.  The day before she died.  Xander, who was lying in that
hospital bed because of Angelus.  Xander, who had saved her life and who
she had shunned so many times.  She broke his heart then as she broke his
heart nearly a month ago, but in a month ago's time, she wasn't in
controlàAngelus was.

Newfound antagonism rose from her as she attacked Angelus and their
swords clashed once again.  Leftàrightàher arm swung the sword against
his counter attack

"So how's your boy toy?" he asked snidely as he thrust his sword at her
stomach and she jumped back onto a stone bench.

"Alive."

Angelus laughed, "Too bad, figured I left him for dead."

"Enough with the chitchat, she said angrily, "Let's get this over with."

"If you say so, lover," he responded and the tried to ram the sword near
her heart.

Buffy moved out of the way and her left arm caught the blade, which
seared the fabric of her shirt and the skin beneath.  The red blood
dripped from the wound and stained the white fabric.

He smelled the air and grin, "Ah, the smell of the sweetest of wines."

She gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the burning sensations that
resonated from the deep wound.  Taking a deep breath, she glanced at the
sword with eyes glazed with hope and gripped its handle tightly.

CLANG.  It began again.  The tension was at a high and continued to mount
with every passing second until suddenly it happened.  First, the cold
steel broke into the skin that survived centuries of torment and
punctured - tore - the core of vampiric life, so that with a gasp, the
demon, Angelus, began to lose his grip on the immortality long obtained.

His eyes widened as he slumped to the floor, and Buffy saw an almost
pleading look in his eyes as she withdrew the metal edge from his chest.
Time no longer moved.  It was frozen and she with it.  Standing with
blade in hand, she looked deep into eyes that almost looked human -
almost looked Angel.  Pulling herself together, she swallowed hard and
breathed heavily as she rose the glinting weaponry into the air.

With a soft whisper, "good-bye," the sword fell and the silver steel
ripped through the pallid throat.  The ashes crashed onto the floor, and
the cry of anguish begun seconds earlier, echoed throughout the room.  As
if proclaiming that evil's destiny was fulfilled.

Exhausted, heavyhearted, she fell to her knees and there was a crash as
metal hit cement when she relinquished the damaging weapon from her
grasp.  Falling upon the last remnants of Angelus, the sword, which bound
him to his ultimate death, was covered until there was almost a sheath of
ash over it.  He was gone.  There was nothing left to it but that for all
that had been, was not, and Angelus, Angel, and her Angel gone with it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"She killed himàdidn't know she had it in her," Spike said when he saw
him crumble into dust.

"So, she dies," Dru said simply as she saw the sun beginning to rise up
ahead, "When she least expects it, I will come and I will kill her."

He looked at her resilient expression and sighed before rolling away into
the shadows of the archaic structure.  Druscilla had always been in love
with Angel and for those centuries in which it had only been she and he,
she had never left that state of mind and heart.  Sadly, he realized that
it would always be that way, and that that love would mean his
Druscilla's end, and therein laid his own fate.

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