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Author's Chapter Notes:
This is Season 5 of Angel with a twist of Buffy. I didn’t like Buffy’s character suddenly going off the story like it did in the TV series. So I included her and the Scooby gang into Season 5 of Angel. The first few chapters will be before the Season 5 starting. Most of Angel episodes will be here and it will have Buffy and the Scooby gangs involved. So hope it goes well as planned.

Many thanks to Xaphania who reviewed this chapter for me. I really appreciate all the help she gave me. Xaph... YOU ROCK!!!



“So, where are we off to?” Giles asked, after everyone got onto the bus. The fight was done, one might expect celebrating, however, the silent, somber behaviour held no course of pulling out the champagne and the singing of We are the Champions.

“Only places where there are people we know is London and Los Angeles.” Willow replied with a frown. Everyone was realizing the impact of the situation they were in at that moment. Buffy’s house wasn’t totalled, like some of the many fights had left it in. The whole town was now covered by the disturbed ground in the crater below.

“Let’s go to Los Angeles. We should probably tell Angel about what happened.” Buffy suggested. She had to face him and explain to him that she wouldn’t need backup after all since the threat of the First had been eliminated.

“Ok then. L.A. it is.” Faith started the bus and drove towards the city of Angels leaving the memory of the town behind buried over the now closed hellmouth.



A couple of hours later…

The bus came to a stop in front of the Hyperion. It gave the whole surviving Scooby gang a feeling of a haunted hotel with no indication of anyone living there.

“This is strange. Nobody seems to be living here anymore. Did Angel say anything about moving to a different location?” Buffy questioned Willow, who had been the one to recently pay the Los Angeles gang a visit.

“I have no idea...” Willow stated, not recalling Angel mentioning anything about it.

Both women walked into the room that used to be Angel’s office. All the files and folders were missing. Some notes were left lying on the ground, scattered in a mess, appearing as though whoever left them had been in a hurry. Buffy took a note that was left there on the table and read the contents.

“Do you know anything about a firm called Wolfram and Hart?” Buffy asked the rest of the gang, who entered the room at that moment.

“They are an evil law firm that Angel has been fighting against for a while now. Wonder why Angel would have a phone number of that firm in his desk if he is fighting against them.” Faith explained, recalling the mention of the familiar name and her own past with them.

“We can call the number and see whom it reaches. We may be able to find some clue as to what happened here” Giles suggested. He didn’t like not knowing what was going on.

Buffy nodded and went to the phone. It was still working. She dialled the number and waited for a response.

“Hello. This is Angel speaking.” The voice on the other end answered.

“Angel?” Buffy was surprised. She was not expecting him to answer.

“Buffy? How did you get this number?” Angel’s surprise was noticeable in his voice.

“We’re at your hotel and found a note with this number on. Where are you now?”

“I’m at my new place. Wait there. I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

“Send something big. Like a bus. Well, we’ve already got a bus but it’s, you know – kinda bloody from the- from the fight,” she sighed. “We’ve got a lot of survivors here. Just send something – something big.” Buffy asked him after looking at the crowd of people who had made it through the battle.

“Yeah. They’ll arrive within an hour. I’m glad you survived the battle.” Angel’s tone indicated his relief knowing Buffy had survived.

“Speak to you soon.” Buffy hung up the phone and turned to the others.

“Angel’s sending transport to take us to his new place. This is his new phone number, I think.” She informed them, yet was still puzzled as to why he moved to a new place, and why the number had been on a note with a law firm that was supposedly evil. Things definitely didn’t seem right.

“Wonder what Angel’s doing with those evil guys.” Faith voiced the question that was in everyone’s minds.

“You don’t think he’s gone all evil do you?” Dawn asked Buffy, hoping she would know. Dawn had memories of Angel becoming Angelus and she didn’t want to go through that again.

“I didn’t get that vibe when I met him last time, and that was only a few nights ago. We’ll find out soon enough.” Buffy replied cautiously and turned towards the door to wait for the transportation.

As Angel had said, two vans arrived within an hour at the hotel. Everybody got into the vehicles and it took them to the Wolfram and Hart building.

“Wow. This is quite a big place. Deadboy must have won the lottery or something.” Xander commented on the building in front of him. The architect within him was impressed with the construction, momentarily forgetting who owned the building.

“Welcome everyone to Wolfram and Hart. I’m Fred, and Angel sent me to welcome all of you.” Fred appeared at the entrance. She was smiling pleasantly at Faith and Willow who were familiar to her.

“Hey!” Willow called out and went to hug Fred who returned the hug, ignoring the curious stare that the rest of the group was sending her way and missing the jealousy sparked in Kennedy’s eyes.

“Some of us need medical attention.” Buffy informed Fred.

“Of course.” Fred waved her hands over to someone standing in the distance and they came running quickly. “Take them to the medical ward immediately and give them the treatment they need.” Fred instructed with authority.

The person in charge guided the injured towards the medical ward. Fred turned around and glanced at the rest standing there.

“What about you Buffy? Do you need some medical attention too?” Fred asked looking at the barely visible wound on Buffy’s stomach.

“I’m good. Slayer healing. You know.” Buffy dismissed Fred’s concern casually.

All of them moved to the floor where Angel’s office was located.

“This is quite a big place.” Buffy stated, trying to start a conversation with Fred. She wanted to find out what was going on before she met with Angel.

“Yes it is. We were offered to take over this place and Angel accepted. I lead the science division and Wesley takes care of the research department. Gunn is in charge of security and Angel is the boss to all of them and us.” Fred summarized.

“Hold on… I know Angel and Wesley, but who is Gunn?” Buffy asked.

“He’s another friend of Angel’s. Lorne is here too, also a friend, so don’t be surprised when you meet him.” Fred spoke to Buffy while getting out of the lift.

“Why would I be surprised by him?” Buffy questioned Fred, who seemed harmless to her. But Buffy knew that appearances could be deceiving and Buffy was still on guard.

“Because Lorne is a demon… but a good demon and you don’t have to kill him.” Fred explained. She was well aware how Slayers felt when they encountered a demon, this having been explained by Wes.

“I don’t slay all the demons I come across. Actually I do have a few friends who are demons.” Buffy remembered Clem who was completely harmless and someone she considered a dear friend. Memories of Clem brought memories of who introduced him to her and that distracted her mind from analyzing the current situation. A morose expression marred Buffy’s face as she recalled that the bleached vampire was nowhere in the group with them, that he had been gone for the past couple hours, making something ache deep within her.

“So where is Cordelia? I thought she worked with you guys as well.” Xander spoke up, realizing what Buffy was going through and not wanting to let the stranger know that Buffy was distracted.

Fred’s smiling face showed sorrow for a moment. In a low voice she spoke to Xander. “Cordelia had an accident and is in a coma.”

“Oh,” was all Xander said to Fred. Even though they were not together and had not been in contact for years, she was still someone special to Xander, one of the first real relationships he had been in. The possible loss of her only reminded him of the loss of Anya just hours before. This time it was Xander who took on a grim expression.

Angel was in his office, anxiously waiting for everyone. When they entered, he welcomed them, giving Buffy a hug. She returned it and settled down on the couch close to Dawn. She wanted to be sure if there was any threat, she could protect her sister.

“So, I guess everything went well with the battle at the Hellmouth.” Angel started the conversation after realizing everyone seemed to be occupied in their thoughts.

“Yeah. We had to close the Hellmouth and bury it along with the whole town. Sunnydale is a huge crater in the middle of the desert.” Buffy explained the results of the battle. Short and sweet, not wishing to go over the details of what exactly had happened. That Spike, someone she had only admitted her love for just before he died, had sacrificed himself to not only save her, but the world.

“Any casualties?” Angel asked, knowing there must have been a few. And he couldn’t sense his grandchilde anywhere near the crowd.

“A few of the Slayers died. Most of us were injured. Anya and Spike didn’t survive.” Buffy spoke the last part in a low voice, still haunted with the memories from before, but she knew Angel heard her.

“I’m sorry.” Angel murmured and looked at Fred.

“Arrange medical attention for all the injured.”

“Already took care of it.” Fred replied. She had been expecting him to instruct her to do that, so she’d done it in advance.

Angel turned towards Buffy again with a confused look. “You said Slayers. As far as I know, you and Faith are the only Slayers…. and both of you are here, a little dinged up but nothing that I think you need medical attention for. So, who is injured?” He was not aware of the other Slayers and since they were not near him, he couldn’t sense them either.

“We had to build up an army to fight the First. So I had Willow do a spell that turned all the potentials into Slayers so that we could defeat the First’s army.” Buffy explained. She was proud of their achievement. Without it, she would have surely lost the battle. “Willow said that not only the Slayers that fought became activated… but potentials all around the world.” Buffy said the last part mostly to herself, taking in the complete calibre of the situation. It wasn’t just her and Faith as the Slayers anymore, something that had always been difficult to cope with, but every potential was a Slayer. She doesn’t have to bear the responsibility of the Slayer alone anymore.

Angel simply nodded his head. He didn’t have a good feeling about having so many Slayers running around within Wolfram and Hart, but he said nothing.

“So what’s up with this firm, Angel? I thought it was supposed to be evil.” Faith asked him since nobody had raised the question. She gave Angel a daring glance that only told everyone in the room that she was sketchy about him now.

“It was. Now they handed it over to me and I’m in control. I’m changing the system from the inside.”

“It is impossible to change the system. Evil will always be evil. You will be pawns in their game.” Giles spoke his thoughts loudly. Giles knew Angel was not thinking deep enough to realize the truth.

“We can handle it. Besides, you guys and Buffy can join us if you’re interested.” Angel offered. He wanted to prove to them that he made the right decision in taking over Wolfram and Hart.

“I need some time for myself. So I’ll be going out of country for a while.” Xander answered. He couldn’t be involved in hunting demons and killing vampires. He had to mourn his loss of Anya who he’d thought he had a second chance with. Plus, he didn’t feel good about working alongside Angel who he truly disliked.

“I need to get hold of my powers. I need some training for them. I heard there’s a coven in Brazil where I can learn to control them. I need to go there before I lose control again.” Willow replied, supplying her own reason for not taking up the offer. She was feeling the euphoria that was the result of the power drive she went through when releasing the power of the Slayer. She feared of becoming addicted to it like before. She had to protect herself before anything bad happened again.

“I will be taking all the Slayers to England. Since the Watcher’s Council has been destroyed, I need to rebuild it to help the Slayers. And we must find as many as we can. They need someone to guide and watch over them. Andrew will be coming with me, as well.” Giles told his plan to the others. In truth, he wasn’t sure how much Angel would successfully change Wolfram and Hart, and he wanted to have some kind of backup plan in case things went wrong.

“Me and Robin will be going to the Hellmouth in Cleveland. Like Giles said, it’s the only one left and needs an experienced Slayer to take care of it. And I think B should get a break. So I volunteer to be the one.” Seeing the approval from Giles and Buffy, Faith smiled. She had finally found a place where she was accepted and she was willing to roll for the good guys.

Buffy looked at Dawn who nodded her agreement. She turned towards Angel and gave him her decision. “I think we will stay. But we’ll be staying in the Hyperion. Living here will just give me the creeps.” She didn’t feel it wise to mention that she also wanted to keep an eye on how things were in case Angel lost his focus. Buffy still didn’t really understand how Angel could be successful and she wanted to be able to stop it before things got worse.

Seeing Angel smile, Buffy knew he believed her explanation. She was glad that the rest of them would be away and would be safe in case things went wrong in L.A.



The rest of the week went by pretty fast. All the injured Slayers and Robin were treated and were ready to travel. The day before everyone left, Willow came into Buffy’s room to talk to her.

“Hey Buff. Can we talk?” Willow asked upon entering the room. Buffy was lying down in her bed just staring at the ceiling.

“Sure Will. What’s up?” She sat up and made room for Willow to sit down. Willow locked the door to avoid interruptions before sitting down on the bed.

“You’ve been very quiet lately. Not like yourself. Granted, you talk when you have to, but you’ve said very little. What’s wrong Buffy?” Willow knew what Buffy was going through and she wanted her to talk it out instead of bottling it in. Willow had gone through losing someone she loved and she knew Buffy needed her best friend to confess to.

“Nothing’s wrong Will. I’m myself, like always.” Buffy gave Willow a smile, which faded away when she saw her friend not believing it. She didn’t want to open herself up partly because she knew how others might feel if she expressed her feelings for a certain vampire who was not with her anymore.

“I know you, Buffy. You know I’m your friend. Tell me what’s wrong. I’ll listen to whatever you want to say. No judging here.” Willow wanted Buffy to talk and she was willing to let her.

Buffy sat on the bed taking a moment of silence to try and decide if it would be the wise thing or not. Willow sat beside her, waiting for her to open up.

“I miss him a lot.” Buffy spoke up, breaking the silence. She decided she could not hold it within her any longer. She felt suffocated with the tandem of emotions running through her and since Willow was here to listen, she was going to talk.

Willow knew immediately who Buffy was talking about. She had noticed them in the last year and she knew how Buffy felt. Willow had never heard Buffy confess her feelings for Spike to anyone before, but it was apparent in the morose behaviour that Buffy had exuded since Hellmouth, something more than deep care for Spike was there.

“I know. We’re all shocked and surprised at what he did.” Willow said, expressing her surprise at Spike’s actions in the Hellmouth.

“I’m not. I knew he had it in him. He was always different. Even when he was annoying and being a pain in the ass, he was willing to help us. We just failed to notice it.” Buffy voiced the guilt that had been eating her from the inside.

Willow didn’t say anything.

“When I came back, he was the only one who understood me. He was the one I could talk to without any problem. He loved me even without his soul and I used him like he was nothing. I wish that I had the chance to do it differently. Treat him properly, like he deserved.” In the last year, Buffy had come to accept her responsibility in the mistreatment of Spike.

“Come on Buffy. Don’t blame yourself. He didn’t have a soul back then. He could have killed you if he had the chance. You had every right not to believe in him.” Willow didn’t want Buffy to put all the blame on herself because of the guilt she was feeling now. She didn’t want Buffy to become depressed, it would only kill her slowly.

“That’s the difference. He did have the chance to kill me. He had the chance to hurt me and kill me ever since I came back from the dead. But he never did. He never even tried. Even when I beat him up for trying to help me, he didn’t fight back. I didn’t want to believe that he could be good. I didn’t want to believe that he could really love me. If I accepted that, it would have changed how I felt and I didn’t want to do that.”

“We know he was obsessed with you. It couldn’t have been love. Like Giles said, a soulless demon cannot love, Buffy. So stop beating yourself up about it.” Willow believed in Giles. He was the one who had saved her from herself. She didn’t want to believe that Giles could be wrong.

“They can love Will. They truly can. Why else would he be trying to do the right thing? He was not on the road to redemption or anything like Angel. But he was there helping all of us all the time. He was there to protect Dawn from Glory. He was there to help you guys during the summer I was gone. He didn’t have any need to do so. If it was out of obsession, I wasn’t there for him to obsess about.” Buffy told Willow what she had come to accept herself. “He had no idea that I was going to come back, so what he did… protecting Dawn wasn’t something he did in the hope of winning me over. He made a promise and because of his love, he was hell bent on making sure he fulfilled it to me, even if I was dead.”

Willow couldn’t respond. She’d never gave much thought to what Spike did for them all that time. They were used to him helping; they never noticed the good things he did without his soul. He was just there, doing things when they wanted him to. They never wondered why he did it or what he got out of it. And after Buffy returned, he became someone who could be kicked out of the team since he was not a Scooby. Willow felt guilty for her mistreatment of him back then. She was too power obsessed to notice others around her.

“The funny thing is, I had feelings for him too. After I came back, I started to see the real person inside him. And it terrified me. I couldn’t accept the fact that I may have feelings for a soulless vampire. So I beat him up and I used him. I thought that having feelings for him made me wrong somehow. Just another feeling within me to remind me that I came back wrong. I didn’t want to believe that it was right to feel something for Spike. And when he got his soul back, I realized how much he meant to me. What lengths he would go just to be with me. Or for me to simply accept him. He was the only one who understood who I was and accepted me for who I am. And that meant to me more than anything. I never got the chance to tell him that, at least not enough time to.”

Willow kept silent. She had seen Buffy defending Spike during the last year. Even when the First had control over him, Buffy hadn’t allowed anyone to kill him. She got in Giles’ face for attempting, threatening Wood that she would let Spike kill him if he tried again. And Buffy regarded Giles as her own father. That was saying something.

“When I fell in love with Angel, I believed in the fairytale romance. And when he turned into Angelus, it hurt so much. Angel had me believing that it was Angelus and not himself who did all those crimes. He made all of us believe that both of them were different.”

“But they were different, Buffy. Angelus was cruel but Angel isn’t.” Willow interrupted. She didn’t understand what Buffy was trying to say.

“I thought so too. But Spike was the same person before and after the soul. Maybe not as cocky and arrogant but he was still himself, just with a heavier conscience. If Angelus and Angel are two different people, shouldn’t Spike’s personality change as well? How was Spike able to love me just the same with a soul and without?” Willow had no answer to that. “I thought love was supposed to be the way it was with Angel. That’s why I couldn’t let myself completely love Riley. And that is why I believed Spike’s feelings for me couldn’t be love. But I realized something this year. Spike’s love for me was more real than what I had with Angel. What Spike felt for me was something that can only happen when you accept them completely. He loved me for who I am as a Slayer and as a person.”

Willow sat there listening to Buffy explaining what she was feeling. She could see the difference between how Spike loved and how Angel loved. Angel had tried to get Buffy to be the Slayer that he thought she should be. He’d never allowed her to have her normal life, treating her, as every Slayer should be. Spike on the other hand stood by her and let her be herself, whilst always being there when she needed him.

“I couldn’t understand it when Angel left me saying it was for my own good. He made me think that I shouldn’t be with a vampire but only with a human. How was him not being there to lend me a hand when I needed, a good thing? Spike on the other hand was always there, even when we didn’t want him. He was always willing to put himself at risk to help me. Isn’t that what you should do for someone you love? Protect them at any cost instead of staying away and letting them go through the hurting?”

Willow could understand what Buffy was saying. She had had the same questions herself when Angel left after the graduation. She knew she would have protected Tara any_way she could instead of staying away if she had the chance.

“When I finally realized what love is, it was too late. He was burning up. I was so stupid to wait all this time to tell him that. I should have told him a long time ago. Maybe then things would have been different.”

“Told him what, Buffy?” Willow asked calmly. She knew Buffy had to confess everything or it would be boiling up inside her.

“I told him I love him. I do love him, Will. I thought what I was feeling wasn’t love because I was comparing it with what I felt for Angel. But in the last few days I realized that what I feel for Spike is what true love is supposed to feel like. He is the constant in my life. He is the one supporting me when I need it and standing by me regardless of what I go through. When I finally put a word to what I felt for him, it was too late. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t said it at all. But he didn’t believe me. He said I didn’t because he couldn’t believe me.” Buffy started to sob.

Willow embraced her friend. She knew how Buffy always tried to be the tough one but she had a very tender heart. And she knew Buffy had to cry it out or else she would never be able to move on with her life.

“Buffy…” Willow started to speak softly. “I know it hurts but we can’t change what happened. We have to move on with our lives. I was lost when Tara passed away, too. I still miss her every single day. But I know she would want me to live my life. Just like Spike would want you to.”

Buffy kept on sobbing, wetting her friend’s shirt.

“We are here in L.A. now with Angel who you will be working with. Maybe he has changed too. Maybe he will be able to acknowledge both sides of you just like Spike did. See if there is any hope for that still. Maybe everything happened is for a reason. Maybe you are destined to be together in L.A.”

Buffy didn’t respond. She kept holding onto her friend, crying.

“He has been asking about you and he obviously still cares about you. Take your time but don’t give up on love. Because love will find you one way or another.” Willow, always the optimist, believed that Buffy would find love again one day.

Both friends held onto each other comfortingly.



Meanwhile in the next room…

“Hey Dawnie! You in here?” Xander entered the room, knocking on the door.

“Hey Xander. Where are you going tomorrow?” Dawn asked.

“I’m thinking of going to Africa. Heard there are some tribes in the jungle that I could go visit.” Xander replied. He wanted to go somewhere far away from others.

Hearing Africa, Dawn’s face fell. Xander noticed it too.

“What’s wrong Dawnie?”

“Spike went to Africa too last year.” Dawn said. Xander went quiet hearing the vampire’s name.

“I know you don’t like him, Xander. I hated him this past year, too. I hated him for what he did to Buffy. But I hated him more for leaving me. He was always there whenever I needed him and suddenly when Willow went crazy, he wasn’t there. When I found Tara… he wasn’t there. I kept myself away from him when he came back. I didn’t even try to talk to him or listen to his side of the story. And now he’s gone again and this time, there’s no chance of him coming back.” Dawn was on the verge of tears. She missed her best friend and protector who was there for her when Buffy wasn’t.

“I know how you feel Dawn. I may not have liked the guy but I didn’t want him dead. Especially in the last year. He grew on me a lot and I sort of understood him. And he did defend all of us against the First and sacrificed himself. I would say that puts him in my good guys list. And I know how much you must miss him. I miss Anya too. I messed us up and I never even tried to understand her point of view. I was so angry with her; I didn’t try to mend things between us. And when we did, it was too late. And now I have to live with it knowing I should have done something sooner.”

Xander was emotionally overwhelmed after his long speech. Both of them kept silent remorse for their mistakes.

“Call us whenever you can, ok? Don’t be a stranger.” Dawn spoke up after controlling her tears.

“You know I will. Be safe, Dawn and take care of your sister for me. She needs you now more than ever.”

Dawn nodded in silent agreement.

The next day, everyone, including Giles and the other Slayers, got ready to take their trips to their destinations. They had first- class seats on their planes courtesy of Wolfram and Hart. Buffy and Dawn were emotional when they had to say goodbye to Giles and the rest of the gang. They watched in silence as all the others boarded the planes that took off after a few minutes.


Chapter End Notes:
OK Guys. This is the first chapter during the missing period of Spike. Now the next chapter will be the first episode of Angel.



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