[#002] To Save The World (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

[badly_knitted]

Theme Prompt: #002 - Heartbreak
Title: To Save The World
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: Yes!
Word Count: 493
Summary: Being responsible for Angel becoming a demon again is bad enough, but worse is to come.



One night with Angel, one sweet and beautiful night of passion and desire… Buffy had felt herself change from girl to woman in the arms of the man, the vampire, she loved with all her heart. But that night of happiness had changed Angel too, and not for the better; it had ripped away his human soul, turning him back into what he’d been before it was restored; a heartless monster, bent on making her suffer because she’d made him feel.

She’d thought she’d known heartbreak before, every time a boy she liked had snubbed her, or worse, not even noticed her, but the pain she’d felt back then was nothing compared to the crushing agony of knowing the man she loved no longer existed and the demon that had replaced him would stop at nothing to hurt her.

For months after that night Buffy had existed in a kind of limbo, going through the motions, trying to protect her friends and loved ones while carrying out her Slayer duties. Her school grades had suffered, but that was the least of her problems.

Angel killed again and again; there seemed no way to stop him. Every one of those deaths was on Buffy’s shoulders, a weight dragging her down, and then Angel took Ms Calendar’s life… Seeing Giles’ grief hurt Buffy worse than anything Angel had done to her. There was only one thing left for her to do; Angel must die. After all he’d done, killing him would be easy, but he was still too busy toying with her to meet her face to face. His reluctance made her jittery.

With the discovery of the sarcophagus containing the remains of the demon Acathla, and its subsequent theft by vampires, killing Angel took on a new urgency. Buffy had to keep him from resurrecting the demon; she wasn’t about to let the whole world be sucked into Hell. Willow’s attempt to re-curse Angel was only ever meant to be a backup plan, just in case Buffy’s frontal assault failed, but…

The spell worked; Angel was himself again, with no memory of the preceding months. He was confused, bewildered, but he hugged her close and it felt so good, so perfect. For a few moments Buffy’s heart lifted as she dared to hope; they’d won, hadn’t they? Another supernatural crisis averted in the nick of time.

Then her world came crashing down again; Acathla’s mouth was open, the vortex beginning to form, and there was only one way to close it again. It didn’t seem possible that she could hurt more than she already did, yet as she raised her sword and drove it through Angel’s chest, seeing his shock and pain, her heart shattered in her chest.

No one should ever have to kill the one they loved to save the world.

Half blinded by tears, Buffy packed her bags and left Sunnydale, wishing she could leave her broken heart behind as easily.


The End


 

Comments

[dray]

It's been so long since I've rewatched Buffy, but you've put the burning desire back in me to risk damaging the nostalgia-goggles; this was such a rough arc! (I can't imagine rewatching now that she isn't older/peer aged than I am, I can only guess that it will feel even worse seeing her as a bab having to go through all this stuff.)

On another note, I like how you pointed out the very clear analogy that Joss was setting up with it somehow being Buffy's fault for ~making Angle feel, so he turned into a demon to agonize her~. I have some 'pinions on how some of that stuff went down... I guess it makes it kind of a satisfying ending even if Buffy didn't get the resolution she wanted... so this was doubly good because I feel bad for being glad he got 'killed' for all the awful things he'd done because ~man pain~ when the real victim is this poor girl.

Augh, it's complicated! Well done, well exposed.

[badly_knitted]

Thank you so much!

I started a rewatch last year (not my first, I've rewatched often), but this time I stopped before Becoming because it' always such a heart wrench and I couldn't take it. I was already in my 30s when the show first aired, but I loved it then, especially the early seasons, and still love it now. It's one of those rare shows that has stood the test of time despite being dated by its technology.

Buffy was on the surface an unlikely heroine, but she showed that she shouldn't be underestimated. At the same time, she was just a girl who had to deal with so much tragedy it hurts to see her going through it.

Thanks again, so pleased you liked it!