The Cure:
Disclaimer: Do I need to state the obvious? I'm not Joss, I'm not Mutant Enemy (although my partner might disagree), I don't know the Kuzuis, and I have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with Fox and/or WB... and besides, suing me would be like, well, like a Slayer falling in love with a Vampire... you can try and try, but ya ain't gonna get nothin' out of it but pain... (i.e. I'm not making any money from these stories, thus, I have no money -- although I do have a job-- so don't bother suing.)
ANYHOO... the story picks up more or less at the beginning of "Graduation Day, Part 2"... so if you haven't had the pleasure of even seeing a poor internet bootleg of the ep, this is a MAJOR spoiler. Of course, if you haven't seen it, you wouldn't know that until you HAD seen it... but I digress. The rest of the Ep doesn't happen, and it would appear most of Season Three didn't happen, either. No mayor, bare mention of Faith, no Ascension, etc.
Chapter One
Scorn, disgust and hatred didn't begin to cover Buffy's demeanor toward him when she regained consciousness.
"You're pathetic, Angel." She mocked viciously, "Look at you, all dark and suffering and brooding... Awww...is your widdew sow tortured?" She baby talked, "Poor you. Not that you didn't bring it all on yourself. Jeeze, maybe I should have staked you when I had the chance, huh? Put you out of your misery? Or, oooh!" She bounced up and down excitedly, "Better yet, I should have let you burn on Christmas Day... that way, no mess to clean up! DECK! THE! HALLS! WITH! BOUGHS! OF! HOLLY! Christmas gifts from Angel, for EVERYONE! What'd your boyfriend get you for Christmas, Buffy? Oh, a suicide note!"
Angel glared at her, but said nothing. She was safe, for now -- and everyone else, including him, was safe from her. She wasn't breaking those chains. And he wasn't about to let this nasty demon get to him.
"Aaaaan-gelllll..." she sang seductively, "I'm hunnnn-greeeee... can you get me someone... oops! I mean, SOMETHING, to eat?" She laughed.
Giles, Willow, and Xander chose that moment to enter the mansion, immediately freezing in their tracks upon laying eyes on Buffy the Vampire.
"Oops! Nevermind, here comes dinner now! Guess humans can enter without being invited, huh?"
"My God." Giles said. Willow dropped her bag. Xander gaped, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Angel stood, playing with the rings on his hands, head bowed.
Buffy was the only one who spoke.
"Guys! Why the long faces! Is there something wrong with my hair?"
"Buffy!" Willow cried. Then she turned to Angel, "She's a... a..."
"Vampire. I know." He said, his voice small.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?????" Xander screamed, diving at him. Angel took one punch from him before shoving him off and onto Giles. He snarled at the hysterical boy.
Buffy whistled at him, "Nice one, baby! Don't take any crap from that geek."
"Xander, don't." Giles intervened, holding him back, "But Angel, DO, please, tell us what happened."
Willow moved slowly closer to where Buffy was chained. "I wouldn't get too close, Willow." Angel warned.
Willow nodded absently, and stopped, but couldn't pull her gaze away from Buffy, who growled at her, licking her substantial chops.
"You smell good, Will. Come closer and talk to me... it's been so long since we had a good chance to really talk... catch up..."
"You'd be more convincing if you weren't drooling, Buffy." Willow said morosely.
Angel paced the room. Xander approached and pushed him -- his face was a mask of murderous rage, something Angel had never seen on the boy before.
"And YOU." Xander shouted at him, "YOU look BETTER! HOW CAN THAT BE???"
"Buffy cured me." Angel whispered, ashamed.
"Faith?" Giles asked. Willow, Xander and Angel simultaneously gave him a quadruple 'duh' look. Xander gestured wordlessly at Buffy.
"I think the safe bet's on NO!" Buffy called from the other side of the room, "Angel and I had a little snack. He's feeling much better, now, but I'm still hungry!"
"My God," Giles said again, then turned a withering look on Angel, "How could you?"
Willow started to cry. Xander moved to comfort her, not taking his eyes off Angel.
Angel slumped. Scorn, disgust, and hatred again. But they didn't feel anything toward him that he didn't feel toward himself, tenfold.
"There was nothing else that could be done. I fed off her. I took too much. She died."
"And she's better off like THAT?" Xander was nearly hysterical, his voice shrill. He indicated Buffy again with a broad, sweeping gesture.
Angel merely bowed his head again.
Willow's head snapped up. "Her soul! Ooh! The Curse! The Spell! I can... ooh! I need stuff! I need... an orb of thessala... and and and...some sage and..."
"Whoa, Will, slow down." Xander said, brightening noticeably.
Giles looked Angel up and down. "That is why you brought us here. So Willow could restore Buffy's soul."
Angel nodded.
"Very clever." Giles admitted, "Although I must say, not the best judgment on either of your parts, to begin with. I assume Buffy pressured you into letting her cure you."
"You could say that." He replied, remembering her blows to his head.
Buffy snarled loudly, a panther-like cry. Everyone turned to look at her.
"What? I can't help it." She said.
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