She couldn't remember ever being so cold.

It wasn't so much the physical cold of the stone beneath her feet, or the chill of the tunnels beneath Sunnydale, but more a cold that seemed to freeze her mind, but not her body, letting her move swiftly and inevitably towards that /voice/.

*Angel.* she thought desperately, as if praying that the vampire could somehow save her *Angel.*

But no vampire came to her aid. As she turned at a crossection of the damaged sewers, her feet propelled her forwards, into an underground ruin. It was a buried church, lit by two candelebras.

Darla and a hideously mishappen vampire awaited her. She tried to scream, but she couldn't. The other vampire smiled benignly as Buffy approached, and reached out to seize her by the neck.

"Like the lamb to the slaughter..." he murmured, drawing her close.

And then he sank her fangs in. And she screamed.

***

He'd broken free of the horde, and fled into the sewers. From what seemed like miles away, he heard her scream. He roared her name in response, runing all the faster towards the Master's lair.

But as he reached the halfway point, he felt the rumbling, and moaned with the knowledge of it.

The Master had what he wanted. Freedom. And the means to open the Hellmouth.

He stumbled into the cave, and ran to her side. She lay face down in a pool of water, hair floating around her head like a halo, eyes shut. And a wound in her neck that made him snarl and wish, elder or no elder, that the Master was there to be held accountable for hurting her.

Grabbing her, he hoisted her out of the water, holding her across his lap. She wasn't breathing.

"No." he said desperately. "/No/."

She didn't hear him.

"NO!" he roared, and bent his head over her. "Not now. God, please not now. I can't. I can't..."

"Can't what, Angelus?"

Darla's voice, honey-sweet. He lifted his head to glare across the cave at her as she stepped out into the church. "Darla." he snarled.

"Yes." she replied calmly, gliding towards him. "She's dead, Angelus."

"No." he growled, demon emerging. He pounded on Buffy's chest, careful not to break ribs. "She won't be. I won't let her."

"Let?" One of Darla's eyebrows arched. "Give it up, Angelus. It's over. You fought bravely, there's no shame in that, but /you failed/. The Master has risen. The legions of hell will come forth, and this world will be ours again! It's time to go, Angelus. Time to meet the Master."

"What makes you think I /want/ the world?" he asked bitterly, pounding on Buffy's chest again. Darla just smiled.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Without waiting for an answer, she continued "Of course it does. You wanted her. It's that insipid little soul. In the end, you would have killed her. You know it. I know it." She smiled. "Let her /go/, Angelus."

"No." he said, and pounded Buffy's chest again.

With a hack and a cough that spit out water, she began to breathe again. Darla backed up a step. "No." she snarled. "He took too much. Too much! She couldn't!" With that, she turned and fled out of the cave. Angel didn't follow, though, just lifted Buffy's head up. Her eyes focused on him, dazed, but coming out of it.

"Buffy? Buffy?" Angel pleaded with her, running hands through her hair. "Come on, speak to me."

"What..." She coughed again. "What happened? I..."

"The Master." he answered shortly.

"Master?" she asked, confused.

"Never mind. We've got to get you out of here." He got up, and carried her out of the cave in his arms. Still confused, and a little bit woozy from the blood loss, Buffy just burrowed into his chest and shut her eyes, trusting him to keep her safe.

***

The sky was raining shooting stars when they emerged from the underground. Buffy lifted her head and looked up. "What is it?" she whispered.

Tears coursed down Angel's face. "It doesn't matter." he replied finally, startled to realize that it really didn't, and she nodded.

"Can you put me down?" she asked, equally quiet.

He was loathe to put her down, but she stood well enough beside him, leaning against him as he held her, the stars of Hell raining down above and around the pair as they stood under the night sky.