Disclaimer: I don't own them, would that I did. The characters belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy, Greenwalt, Fox, etc. Just using them to tell my own little story.

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Part Eight: Restitution

"Help me out, Harris!"

Spike's shout brought Xander out of the stupor seeing Angel vanished caused him. He had been kneeling near the spot where the vampire had disappeared, feeling weak and helpless. Now he rose shakily and scrambled to Spike's side, helping the vampire pull himself from the mire. As soon as Spike was free he dragged Xander back to the spot where Angel had gone down.

"I need you to help me. Do you think you can manage that?" Spike asked. Xander nodded dully.

"He's gone. What do you think you're gonna do?" Xander asked.

"We're vampires, you stupid git. Not like we need the air. The poof could be okay down there but we need to fetch him out."

"Right. Okay. Giles?" Xander looked at the still buried Watcher, who waved him away in frustration.

"I'm fine, Xander. Spike's right, you need to get Angel. Dig him out."

"With what?" Xander asked, scanning the available implements with a critical eye. He shook his head. "We can use the shields, but we don't know how deep he is."

"Let me worry about that. Do you know exactly where he was standing?" Spike asked Xander, cautiously stepped to where he remembered seeing Angel last. It felt weird to be standing essentially on Angel's head.

"About here," he said, stepping quickly away. A second later, something moved the earth and began poking out of the ground, looking at first to be a pale variety of worms. Xander made a face, backing off further.

"What the hell?" Spike leaned in for a closer look, then swore fiercely under his breath. "Fingers. Angel. Guess we know how deep he went." He and Spike dropped to the ground on either side, digging with their hands around the fingers until Angel's hands were uncovered. Spike grabbed his wrists and pulled, straining hard. After a few long pulls Angel's head broke the surface, the vampire gasping for unneeded air. He grinned up at them, then faked a wince.

"Ow," Angel cried, "You don't have to pull so hard, you know."

"You're bleedin' welcome, sire. And you don't have to be such a ponce, I gather, but you are," Spike replied, scowling in mock ferociousness.

Xander threw the shields down with a clatter, silencing both men. The vestiges of his own fear and panic gave way to a sudden rush of anger. He threw up his hands irritably as he walked away.

"Unbelievable. You know what? You want to trade little insults, that's just fine. I'm gonna help Giles." Angel and Spike stared after him in bemused confusion.

"What's his problem?" Angel asked.

"Dunno. Think seeing you do the whole quicksand routine gave Junior a turn," Spike said, continuing to attempt to pull Angel free.

"Oh. I can see that. Though, you know, as these things seem to be going, this wasn't so bad. I mean, didn't you think the dragons were-HEY!" Angel yelped as something dragged him back under. Surprised, Spike didn't let go and suddenly face first in the muck, both of his arms completely submerged. He grunted with the strain of hanging on to Angel.

"Harris, we've got a problem! Get the Watcher out of there! Now!" Spike said through clenched teeth, spitting out dirt and trying to pull himself and Angel up. Xander blanched, then redoubled his own efforts. He had Giles completely out of the ground within the minute, and he and Giles half-crawled back to where Spike had made little progress freeing Angel from whatever held him fast. Between the three of them they managed to bring his head to the surface again. This time Angel wore a pained grimace.

"William," he bit off, "Hurry up. This thing's...taken too much...of a liking...to me!" With a roar, Spike pulled Angel free, knocking all four of them flat on their backs in the process. Two twisting tentacles and a head that looked to Xander like a Venus flytrap made of suction cups launched itself out of the ground after its escaping prey. It hissed at them menacingly, and Spike got to his feet, grabbing for a sword. Before he could even find it the creature began to screech, its tentacles and face turning black and withering as it died. The four looked at the carcass, nonplussed.

"Damn. Thought I was gonna get to kill the thing," Spike said softly. They kept their eyes peeled towards the ground, but no other monsters appeared.

"Guess they can't survive above ground," Giles said unnecessarily. They finally began to relax slightly.

"Now what?" Xander asked.

"I say we get going. Longer we hang around, more chance for nasty surprises," Spike said, "which normally I'm all in favor of, mind you, but I don't much fancy this place."

"Perhaps now that we know what the Wells do, they won't have the same effect," Giles offered, and received as a response a whisper of Jenny's voice in his mind (*...killed me, I'll never forgive you Rupert...* ) that disavowed him immediately of that notion. Seeing the stricken expressions on the others' faces, he knew they had experienced something similar. Angel appeared to be particularly shaken, and Giles found himself reminded that this field had Angel particularly targeted.

"Spike is right. We all need to get out of here, especially Angel. Same procedure as before, only now Xander will bring up the rear, and I will guide Angel."

"Guide Angel?" Spike and Xander asked simultaneously, while Angel, still lost in listening to Buffy's voice, (*...should have done the job right the first time; you belong in Hell...*)chimed in a beat later, his voice strained.

"Guide me?" Giles came over to Angel, frowning over the haunted look in the vampire's eyes. Angel fought the urge to put his hands over his ears, knowing it would no more drown out Buffy's voice in his head than his own thoughts.

(*Close your eyes...*)

"Close your eyes," Giles said gently, placing his hand on Angel's arm. Angel pulled away violently, automatically slipping into his vampire face.

"No!" he shouted, only the spongy surface keeping him from fleeing in a blind panic. Giles stepped back in alarm as Spike, also in game face, grabbed his grandsire by both arms. He forced Angel to look at him, the ferocity of his golden eyes not matching the mildness of his tone.

"This is going to stop, now. You're Angelus, damn you. You're the bleeding Scourge of Europe. Just because you've decided to become a nancy boy, don't forget what you are, mate. You're stronger than these wankers, Angelus. Time to show what you're made of." Angel growled at Spike for a moment, then took a deep unnecessary breath, his visage resuming its human appearance. He nodded once, then looked at Giles.

"Sorry, Giles. I'll be okay. Let's go," Angel said, walking up to Giles and closing his eyes without further protest. Giles placed the vampire's hands on his shoulders. Spike glared at the his other two companions before grabbing his staff and moving into the lead once more. They proceeded without speaking, unspoken agreement making them pick up speed when the path Spike was able to find for them took them close to the water. They progressed some distance before Spike suddenly stopped.

"It's over," he said. Angel opened his eyes cautiously to see Spike's staff colliding with hard ground. They looked at their own feet and saw they were no longer sinking into muddy ground, the mud already on their clothes and armor having dried to a light gray clay. Angel himself looked as if he had been cast in plaster.

"Okay, so now we..." Xander trailed off as he saw what they all did. A thin plume of white smoke was rising ahead of them, and a clear path lay before them. Looking behind them, they noticed the swampy field had vanished, replaced by trees grown thick and impassable behind them. Spike snorted in annoyance.

"Is anyone else getting a bit tired of being treated like an idiot? Like we wouldn't take the path in front of us unless they made it the only choice?"

"And would we take the path in front of us if there was another way to go?" Xander asked. Spike considered it, then shrugged with a half-smile.

"I'd wager not," he conceded.

"I think whoever's running this show knows us a bit too well," Giles said gravely. His eyes were clouded with memories of his own trial, and the others intuitively gave him his own space. Angel flashed him a questioning look as they travelled up the path towards the smoke.

"You're sure there isn't anything you can tell me that will be helpful?" he asked in a low voice. Giles gave him a haunted look.

"It won't be the same for you, Angel. Just...tell the truth. And don't forget what you're there for," he added, as they all pulled up short in front of a small thatched cottage. As they had seen the day before, Buffy was standing on the cottage steps, smiling down at them. Her dress was baby blue, done in a simple peasant style with lacing up the front, and her hair was pulled up into a simple bun on top of her head. She looked impossibly lovely, and they all fell to one knee. She sighed, grinning in spite of herself.

"You know, you keep doing that and it really could go to a girl's head," she smirked. Then drawing herself up to her full height, she gestured down towards them.

"Who seeks the Chalice of Restoration?" she asked. Angel rose, and both shivered as their eyes met. Something like an invisible flame seemed to jump between them, flare, then wane, and Buffy turned to enter the cottage. Almost as if sleepwalking, Angel removed the weapons he was carrying and handed them to Giles. He walked up the steps behind her and disappeared inside. The others made themselves comfortable on the ground.

"What happens now?" Giles asked, and Xander chuckled.

"We wait," he said, "And if its like yesterday, we'll fall..." he trailed off as his head hit his chest. Spike and Giles had already succumbed to the peculiar slumber.

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"Asleep. Really starting to hate this part," Willow grumbled. Hearing the strain in her voice, Tara came and put an arm around her tired girlfriend. Looking around, she saw Dawn had her head on the table and was half-asleep. While time was passing more slowly where they were than the dimension they were watching, it had still been many hours since they had begun the scrying spell. While Anya, Dawn and herself had managed to catch brief naps, Willow had been tasked with maintaining the spell at all times. Tara was growing increasingly worried about her.

"Baby, we've been at this for hours. You need to take a break," she said. Willow shook her head.

"You know I can't. If I break the spell, we may not be able to do it again."

"I know, but there must be a way. You're not going to be able to keep this up forever, and there are two more tests to go."

"She can transfer it to one of us," Anya said. Dawn and Tara looked at her with interest. "It's a relatively simple thing, short term transfer of power. The witches I used to know used it all the time when they were doing long term, high power rituals...so the spell could continue unabated. Otherwise, you have dead witches and no power. Which defeats the purpose of the rituals."

"Let's do it, then. Willow-" Tara began, then stopped as she saw tears forming in Willow's eyes and the beginnings of the infamous resolve face.

"No," Willow said, tears clogging her throat. "I can do this, I can. For Buffy, and for Giles and Xander and the others..."

"It's okay for you to take a break, honey. You need to get something to eat, take a nap...you can take back over later." Tara turned to Anya questioningly. "I mean, she'll have to, right?"

"Yes, as I remember it the effects don't last too long. Just a few hours."

"See?" Tara said in a soothing tone. "If this goes like the last time, nothing's going to happen for an hour or so anyway...you and Dawnie can sack out in the back while Anya and I keep watch. Anya'll wake you if anything important happens." Willow finally nodded wearily and the other three breathed a sigh of relief. Anya smiled.

"I'll get the text with the transfer spell," she said brightly.

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Angel was surprised when his vision didn't adapt to the sudden darkness. As a vampire he was accustomed to being able to see no matter what the level of light. Even when there was no light at all. But now he found himself stopping, disoriented. Despite the comforting words, Buffy's disembodied voice served as an unhappy reminder of what he had just endured at the Wells of Sadness.

"It's okay, Angel. You need to think back...if you could live over one moment of your life, or unlife, and change it, what would it be? Think about that moment...truthfully, Angel..."

Angel blinked in the sudden light. He looked down and moaned. A sea of images began to shimmer into being and then disappear at a rapid rate. Seemingly endless death, torture and unspeakable torment administered by his hand, his own face mocking his victims. He felt Buffy was standing by his side before she spoke.

"I know you're sorry, for all these things, Angel. But there's one thing in particular, isn't there? Dig deeper," she whispered. The images slowed and one particular image came into focus. A striking brunette, and Angelus dining on her eagerly. Angel had to turn away from the sight.

"No," he said. Buffy put a sympathetic hand on his arm, her face dispassionate as she watched the girl's life end.

"The gypsy girl, the one that caused your curse," she murmured.

"I don't...I wouldn't..." Angel choked out.

"Change that? If you could? But being a vampire without a soul was so much simpler for you, Angel."

"But not better...that's not what I want..." Angel said. Buffy smiled.

"I know," she said. "There's a part of you that wishes that you'd never bitten her, that you'd never realized you were..."

"A monster," Angel groaned, finishing the sentence for her. Her hand on his arm tightened in a comforting squeeze.

"But that's not what you would change if you could."

The scene changed again, and Angel nodded slowly. The familiar cobblestones and buildings. The drunken young man he once was, so foolishly trusting. The gorgeous blonde woman who was more than she seemed. The night he was turned.

"Run away, you fool...you have no idea what you're on about," he said, not even noticing how his accent had slipped back into place. The blonde beside him turned and smiled.

"So true, lover," she hissed. He jumped away, startled. Standing where Buffy had been moments before was the woman who had doomed him to this.

"Darla. I should have known," he said, fumbling for a stake before realizing he had no weapons on him. She smiled, shaking her head in mock dismay.

"You want to kill me. Not so long ago you wanted to save me...risked your life to save mine. Angel, are you really that unhappy to see me?" Darla drawled.

"Do you really have to ask?" he bit back.

"Even if I have what you want? What you came here seeking?" the blonde asked in that same mocking tone, holding out a simple looking goblet, black on the outside and burnished gold on the inside. She was touching it somewhat gingerly, he noticed, then saw the embossed crosses on the base and smiled.

"The Chalice of Restoration?" he said.

"The one and only. Thankfully," she added with distaste. "Honestly, Angel, I know that since the curse you've grown all tender-hearted, but I can't believe any vampire would actually want this thing. It makes me sick."

"That I love a woman more than you? There's nothing I wouldn't do for Buffy, and I need that Chalice. As much fun as it might be to fight you for it, cause maybe I'd get to kill you again, I need it unused and unharmed. So you're going to hand it over and I'll let you go," Angel stated matter-of-factly. Darla frowned.

"Buffy...you mean you're not going to use the Chalice? Oh, that is rich, Angel, even coming from you."

"I don't understand," Angel replied honestly. Darla smiled and tossed the cup at him, surprising him so much that he juggled and almost dropped it before catching it, grunting when the crosses on the base burnt his fingers.

"Here you go. I was only holding it for you anyway. But I get the last laugh, Angel. I get to tell you what your precious cup does."

"Don't care," Angel said, turning to leave. Her voice rang after him.

"All the evil you've done, all the death you inflicted...the Chalice can undo it all. You have the power to give those poor people you claim to feel so bad about killing their lives back, Angel. Walk away from that and show what kind of man you really are."

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