TITLE: Long Way Down: The Beginning

AUTHOR: Lex

EMAIL: lex@bitchenvy.com

RATING: R

SYNOPSIS: Sequel to "Torn Apart". Buffy finds out just how long it takes for her to hit bottom. Meanwhile, Angel works on his own way down.

DISCLAIMER: Buffy and Crew are not mine, but Joss wouldn't approve of what I've done here, so I'm keeping them. <mwa ha ha> I also shamelessly ripped off part of the title from the Goo Goo Dolls.

NOTES: Read "Come Tomorrow" and "Torn Apart" for this to make sense. You can find them at http://members.tripod.com/~Alexis_Victoria.

DEDICATED: To seneca, for her invaluable advice, and to Lynn (Lynx), because she accepts my love of violence and even eggs me on. :-)

LONG LIVE THE KRT! <VBEG>

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She saw the backfist coming at her face, but she didn't even bother to duck. It impacted against her mouth, pressing her lips back against her teeth, splitting the skin, drawing blood. As the salty taste filled her mouth, Buffy grinned wickedly, despite her rapidly swelling lips. Nothing like getting clocked to juice her up.

She spat the crimson mouthful onto the floor.

"Come on," she beckoned the vampire before her, "I let you get an easy hit."

"You will die, Slayer, at my hand, and I and my kind will --"

"-- Will feast on my blood and use my guts for garters. I've heard it already. Why are you demons such drama queens?" She could sense a second vampire creeping up to her back. He didn't realize she could feel him, his evil washing over her skin in a chilling wave.

They advanced on her, and she stood stock-still, until they were both a hairsbreadth away from her. At the last possible second, she ducked and threw herself to the ground, her legs scissoring around to sweep them both off of their feet.

The demons fell to the ground in an ungraceful heap, and she took advantage of the ensuing confusion to stake the both of them.

Standing up, she dusted her hands. "Not bad, for an appetizer. Next," she called, head swinging back and forth, searching for another opponent.

There were no more vampires in the cemetery.

"Bummer."

=====

Later that night, Buffy crept silently along the south wall of the building, looking down into the cadre of vampires gathered below. They were obviously planning something, crowded around their would-be leader. There were ten in all, ten demons in need of final death.

Good for them that she was there to help them with that.

She leapt down from the top of the wall, into the center of the crowd, surprising them. They had just been plotting her demise, and she had the nerve to come to them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Brotherhood of Uglies. How are you all tonight?"

"Slayer!"

"Get her!"

Several charged her at once, and her body snapped into war mode faster than thought. She transmuted into a living, breathing, killing machine, time slowing around her, allowing her to anticipate their moves and react accordingly. The first vampire reached her, and she grabbed him by the hand, pulling him towards her, onto her awaiting stake. He exploded with a loud groan, covering his compatriots in his dust.

Buffy smiled.

The next vampire hurtled himself at her with a bloodcurdling screech. She ducked under his outstretched arm, coming around his back and staking him smoothly. She barely had time to smile her satisfaction before the next one was on her. This one was a bit smarter than his friends, and he barrelled into her, picking her up and slamming her into the brick wall behind her.

She exhaled loudly as she felt a few ribs crack under the pressure. The pain spurred her on, and she headbutted him, their foreheads cracking together with a loud crunch. The demon staggered backwards, and she slugged him in the face with a right cross, throwing all her weight into the punch. His jaw cracked under the force of her fist, and the vampire yelped in pain. Buffy took advantage of his confusion and staked him quickly. The vampire that had crept up on her blind spot was handled quickly as well, his chest meeting up with another well-placed stake.

Whirling around, she shot a cocky grin at the remaining vamps. "Okay boys, who's next?"

Predictably, one rushed her, clutching a broken plank from the fence in his hand, wielding it like a club. With a yell, he raised it over his head, intending to crush her with his strength. Unfortunately for him, he never got the chance, because Buffy shoved her stake into his exposed chest, and watched gleefully as he crumbled into nothingness.

The remaining vampires looked at her, looked at each other, and ran off.

"Fuck!" she yelled, slamming the stake down onto the ground. "Cowards!"

It was at that moment she heard clapping from the back of the alley. Faith was standing there, her hands raised, a seriously pissed off look on her face. "Nice split lip, B."

"Yeah, well, if you don't let your enemies get a punch in every now and then, your ego starts to expand."

Faith snarled, and suddenly she was in Buffy's face. "You are going to get yourself killed!" Faith yelled as she shook Buffy's shoulders. "You are going in there, against all those vamps, and you are going to get dead."

"I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"*YOU* are the responsible one. *I* am the fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants one! Stop messing up the order!"

"Why do you care?"

Faith's eyebrows nearly hit her hairline. "What did you say to me?"

"I said, why the hell do you care if I live or die?"

Faith couldn't control the hand that flew out and cracked across Buffy's cheek. "How *dare* you say that! To me, of all people!"

Buffy's stone face quivered. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't mean that."

Faith closed her eyes, praying for strength. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong."

"Besides your death wish, you mean."

"I don't have much to live for."

Taken aback, Faith snarled, "What about Giles? Your mother, all your friends?" And in a lower tone, "What about me?"

Tears welled up in Buffy's eyes, and Faith's heart clenched. Buffy hadn't cried, not even one tear, since the night Angel left. It was if her body had cried out every bit of anything she had ever felt, and when she was done, she was forever drained.

"I just...can't." Buffy covered her face with her hands. "I can't do it anymore. I want to die, Faith. I. Want. To. Die."

All the blood drained from Faith's brain. "You don't know what you're saying."

"Yeah, I do. I died once already. I just should have stayed dead."

"He left so you could have a life!"

"I don't have a life without him!"

"When did you become the fucking poster girl for codependency? The man's gone and suddenly you're nothing?"

"Please, please, just let me go," Buffy pleaded.

Faith latched onto Buffy's arms. "You really are out of your mind if you think I'm going to let you do that."

"If you love me, you'll leave me alone."

"It's because I love you that I won't." From her grip on Buffy's arms, Faith could feel just how frail the other Slayer had become. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. Ever since you graduated, you don't even come out during the day. When was last time you saw the sun?"

Sullenly, Buffy replied, "I'm a Slayer. I don't work in sunlight."

"Yeah, you're also a person. With friends. Who miss you. Who wonder why you no longer talk to them. The only people you see are me, Giles, and your mother. Your mother and I live with you, so there's no escaping us, and Giles is hovering like an old maid. We're all scared, B. Fucking scared. Because I can't fight what's holding you down. I don't know how to protect you from yourself."

Buffy wrenched out of Faith's grasp. "You can't."

"Somebody has to! What is everyone going to do if you die? What am I going to do? Damn it, B, you're the only family I have on this earth. No one else ever gave a damn. And you're going to leave me too?"

A tear escaped, trailing down Buffy's cheek. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "But I have to go." Quickly, the blonde spun around and took off running, blending into the shadows of the night.

Faith watched her run away.

=====

Allowing a moment for his eyes to adjust to the smoky interior, Whistler removed his fedora and stepped into the pub. Rumor had it that his favorite ensouled vampire was there, in that very pub, and he had several things to tell him. He walked over to the barkeep. "You seen a guy in here, about six feet tall, dark hair, most pathetic look on his face you ever saw? He's probably drinking up a storm."

The barkeep nodded. "Yeah, he's in the back. Been here for hours. Drank more than I thought one guy could drink."

Whistler grinned. "Well, he's Irish. Old school. VERY old school." With a wink, he ambled off to the back of the bar. Angel was sitting alone in a booth, empty bottles of whiskey collected around him.

"You stink."

Blearily, Angel raised his head, trying to focus on Whistler. He winced as he caught sight of the smaller man's garish suit. "What?"

"You are one hell of a disgusting mass of vampire flesh, Angel."

"Fuck. Off."

"No way, man. I didn't drag you out of that gutter only to watch you crawl back into it."

"I'm not IN a gutter. I'm trying to get rip-roaring drunk, if you don't mind."

"Yeah. I can smell it on you."

"And?"

"And, I have a job for you."

"No way."

"So you plan on staying drunk for the next couple of hundred years, mourning your girlfriend."

"Pretty much. Not that it's your business."

"I can't let you do that. You have bigger and better things to do."

Angel dropped his head back on the table, trying desperately to wallow in his own misery. "Listen, Whistler, just go away. Leave me alone, let me get as drunk as I want."

Whistler sat down next to him, pilfering some of his whiskey. "Don't you even want to know what she's doing?"

The vampire shook his head. "No, because if you tell me, I'm gonna go right back there, grab her by the arm, drag her into bed, and never let her out of my sight again."

"You don't do real good without her, man."

"And she doesn't do real good *with* me. I don't have a choice. I have to stay away from her."

"When did you become this noble? And this stupid?"

Angel just snarled.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, big scary vampire, oooh, I'm terrified."

"Whistler, please," Angel begged, "Go away."

"No can do, buddy. You have to come with me."

"No."

Whistler sighed. "Not even for the good of the world?"

"No."

The demon shook his head. "Not even to save your woman?"

That caught Angel's attention. "What? Is she all right? Whistler, tell me!"

"In the next few years, some pretty bad mojo is going to come down on the forces of Good. End result is, the Slayer could get seriously hurt trying to stop it. Maybe even die." He shot a glance at Angel. The vampire was gripping the tabletop so hard the wood was starting to warp. "But, the good news is, you can help."

"I can't see her again."

"You won't have to. You'll be international, she'll be concentrated in California."

"I can protect her this way?"

Whistler mentally cheered. //Yep, all it took was the slight mention of her, and he's in. He really does have it bad for her.//

"Yep. Now are you in?" He slid out of the booth and held out his hand.

Angel let out a muffled curse, and took the offered hand.

"I'm in."

THE END

Feedback, as always, to me at lex@bitchenvy.com.