Somewhere in another plane, the lens flickered and came to life. Angel got up off the bench and sat cross- legged on the floor staring at the temporal mirror.
Buffy sat on a bench outside the nightclub. It was almost dawn and she was watching the first rays of sunlight reflect off the surface of the still lake. He noticed that she was still in her work clothes but she was also wearing the leather jacket that he had given her so long ago. The thought that she would still wear his jacket made Angel smiled just a little. He still loved her completely, even more if possible than he did the night of their union.
The cleanup crew came and began to tidy up the club. They played music on the sound system and the lyrics floated across the air ever so gently:
What ravages of spirit
conjured this temptous rage
created you a monster
broken by the rule of love
Buffy stared at the water, mesmerized by its gentle swaying, almost as if it was dancing to the tender lyrics. She thought of Angel, his smile, his trust, his touch. Her thoughts were interrupted as an old woman appeared and sat on the bench with her.
And fate has led you through it you do what you have to do
The Slayer recognized the old woman from the mission, she too was alone. They smiled briefly at each other and Buffy sank back into deep thought.
Every moment marked with apparitions of your soul
how ever swiftly moving
trying to escape this desire
the yearning to be near you
I'll do what I have to do
and I have the sense to recognize
that I don't know how to let you go
Buffy watched as a lonely waterbird glided silently across the lake.
The glowing ember, burning hot
and burning slow
deep within I'm shaken
by the violence of existing
for only you..
I know I can't be with you
I'll do what I have to do
A single tear rolled down Buffy's cheek. The woman saw it glittering in the sun's early light.
"Why don't you go home Dear?" the Elder asked.
Buffy was startled by the voice and returned quickly from dreamland. "I can't." she answered flatly.
"They miss you terribly." The old woman announced. Buffy wondered how the old woman knew , but after the Slayer's tenure on the Hellmouth, very little surprised her.
"You still love him, don't you?" The homeless woman asked as she watched Buffy's fingers which were fiddling with the Claddah ring that she wore.
"Yes, the girl said slowly, I still love him but it ended very badly."
"You still wear his ring?" the woman asked.
"Yeah, Buffy said as she stared at the intricated gift that held so many memories, I don't have anywhere safe to keep it."
"Do you think he still loves you?" The woman questioned farther.
Buffy thought for a moment and then said sadly, "I doubt it, a lot of bad things happened between us and they were my fault."
The old lady then turned to Buffy, staring into the Slayer's eyes as if reading a difficult novel. Buffy could feel the gaze search her mind and was glad when the woman broke contact with her eyes. The old woman got up to go and as she prepared to leave she told the girl "no soul-damaging sacrifice would ever go unnoticed, unrewarded" And with that , the woman disappeared. Buffy was again alone on the bench overlooking the lake, lonely and confused by the message from the Elder.
Angel too was confused, as his lens ran out of power. He was overwhelmed by memories and guilt. He had often wondered if any part of Buffy still loved him. It was selfish of him to want her to but he did. The thought that Buffy blamed herself for his lost soul and trip to Hell sickened the vampire. But the fact that bothered him the worst was that his beloved was also in Hell, a different hell on the outside but the same within.
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