Title: Afterlife
Part title: Research

Author: GMB loves Angel

Spoilers: Iwry (as always), the last four eps of Angel season 2, the bachelor party, Hero, the gift... that's kinda it...

Rating: PG-13

Timeline: A few months after the gift...

Authors notes: This fic series will go between two worlds. Here's my version of what happened after the gift... I admitt it I'm completely hung up in Pylea... Iwry happened a season after than it did in the show...

Dedication: To Dawnie, for her wish for a new part... And to Sarah Mclachlan, because her CD, Fumbling Towards Extacy is playing in the background and it's very inspiring...

Buffy watched the baby while she was sleeping soundly in her arms. Such a miracle. She finally had her back and Angel was there, though still chained.

- I named her Lucy… I hope you like it, he whispered.

- It's beautiful, she whispered. - I only hope she'll get used to me…

- What do you mean?

- She's used with having you taking care of her. I just hope she'll accept me as her mother. What if she thinks Cordelia is her mom, or Fred, or…

- Stop it right now. She's only a month old. Little kids, especially babies adjust so fast that you can barely notice there has been any adjusting process going on.

- I know I'm being silly, but this month has seemed like years.

- I know what you mean. Ever since I found out that you… that you were alive somewhere… the days got longer, because all I could think of was finding you and each second you weren't here seemed like waiting for something good. When you wait, everything goes on more slowly.

- I know what you mean. Every second seemed like hours. I don't wanna doubt my joy now, but I just…

- Wanna know why they wanted me to find you?

- Exactly. Aren't I supposed to be gone from the world, somewhere I shouldn't be found? And then they starts sending you clues to where to find me… And I don't understand how it's gonna work with me going back.

- You don't want to go back?

- No, I do… want to go back, but it's… If I go back I'll start aging again. Here I will live forever, but you can't be here, because of… The Beast… and back home, there I'll be aging and you will be living forever. I'll die. You won't. The only way is to be dusted by someone or suicide and that won't take you to me. In time, we'll be split up by destiny. And I don't want that. Back home you've got the curse, but here it's worse… Here, I can't even kiss you without being afraid. You can convert to Angelus without anything triggering it. It can just happen.

- I know… It'll be hard…

- But that's it… the Powers know how hard it'll be, so why did they do this? Why did they do this if there wasn't a solution to it?

- Maybe there is, maybe it's in the books… I don't know. Maybe Doyle and Cordelia will find it…

- Oi, Buffy, can you come here, Doyle yelled from the neighboring room.

Buffy took a chance and leaned forward, kissing Angel on the cheek, before hurrying on to the other room. There Cordelia and Doyle was pouring over the three books.

- What is it? Have you found anything?

- Yeah, there's this Prophecy or something. it says something a vampire with a soul and the word Shanshu, but I don't know what it is, but it has to be about Angel.

- Doyle, did you say Shanshu.., Cordelia suddenly asked.

- Yeah, why?

- I think you found that prophecy that Wesley was translating not too long ago. First he thought that it meant dying that Angel would die, then after a while he found out that the word means both, life and death, so we're pretty unsure about it and with it being in some ancient language, Wes has to spend most of his time translating text before he can try interpretating them. It also mentions fights and stuff…

- I'm not very good at languages, and I don't have a clue what language this is, but somehow I understand the words here. It says something about twin and opposite. Cordy, can you give me the second volume? Because here the text ends, Doyle muttered receiving the second volume from Cordelia. - Right… here it says something about Pylea. Ok… Pylea consist of two suns, they look alike, but they are different. They represent each of the worlds. The human and the demon one… I think I understand it now. Our home world is about a balance and equal balance between the two worlds. Here they are separating. That's what's happening with Angel. He's a balanced creature in our world, but here he's split. But he has only one body and that's why he switches between the two forms. Each of the suns are pulling each of the sides forward… Wow… I know what Shanshu means. The word means both, meaning both will happen…

- What? Angel will live, then die or die, then live?

- No, not like that… A part of him will die and one will live. Meaning the soul and the demon. It says here a battle. A final task and what task is more difficult than defeating something that knows you better than you do? I think we somehow will manage to split him and they will battle and then the part that's left will live on, but whether it's the demon or the soul, I don't know…

- Is it possible? To separate them?

- The world has already done it, but we have to find a way to get those parts to fight.

- Like a temporary body, or something?

- Could be it. If I get to read some more, I might find a spell. Maybe it's in the third volume…

- It is, Cordelia answered.

Buffy and Doyle stared at her.

- Hey, I can read you know…

- Yeah, I know, but I figured your research would be like your filing…

- Hey! Are you going to criticize me when we're together?

- Delia, you know I love you.

- Luckily for you I know…

- Ok, bickering can be done later. Cordelia, can you tell me what the spell is?

- Ok, so maybe I don't know what it is, but I just have a gut feeling. Maybe Doyle can try to read it.

- Yeah, it's a spell. It's the exact ritual on how to do it. It says here that there will be created two temporary bodies, which will each contain a part of Angel. They will have the strengths and weaknesses they would possess if they were separated, meaning Angelus would be the strong one and Angel will only have whatever human skills he had before he was turned. This is dangerous. And it says here that the bodies can not harm or be harmed by anything but the other part. So Angel will have to fight alone and he might loose…

- No, there has to an other way…

- There isn't any, Angel said from behind them.

- How did you get out of your chains, Buffy wondered.

- I don't know. But I do know that we have to go through with this. I don't want to be a threat towards you or anyone else, Buffy. I can't possibly live on, afraid I might hurt you if I become too happy or that I'll just convert without any trigger. Being human is my dream and I'm willing to fight this fight. I wanna do this for all three of us. I wanna see you in the sun, meaning the sun back home and I wanna follow Lucy to school. I want to do everything a father and boyfriend does. And if I should die trying, then it has to be that way. Life isn't without risks. Nothing can be reached without a risk, so I will risk it and try my best. I won't give up easily.