That was wonderful.  The addition of Wesley in the Orpheus dream state added a clever perspective to both his and Faith's laundry list of regrets and failures.  An early aside about Angelus as the comic relief in the dream held true for much of the story.  His taunting was nothing but a gnat in the other characters' ears.  Wes and Faith were the emotional backbone here.  The  interweaving of canon was smooth, and it never felt rehashed.  It came off as a wholly new piece, because of the new character angles offered.  It makes me wonder what happens next, a sign of a story well told.  Thanks for taking such care with this.

wonderful ending, i loved that he went with them, and glad that his feelings were somewhat resolved with Fred, wonderful job!

*grovels* Haven't had a chance to look at this one yet - It's just as amazing as the others. You've really outdone yourself with this story, sweetie. The whole thing has been wonderful. ...*clicked "send" accidentally* ahem, to continue, I feel like I know these characters now - and, as you know, I was pretty clueless about AtS before this.

I really, really liked this, as dark as it was. You left us with a ray of hope at the end. I loved the fact that Wes got to empty his pistol into Angelus' back, and that he was the one who convinced Faith to live. Well done!

Very well done. I like the bleak picture you painted of Faith's life. From the hints that we got from canon, I think that this is definitely one of the ways it could happen. Also, the scene with Wes and Fred was just heartbreaking. I liked Fred, but I can see the woman that you paint there, and it hurts. And, once again, I'm loving the bond that you're building between Wes and Faith.

Great stuff. A very interesting insight into Fred as well.

Oh, it's over. But I really liked it. Adding Wes really was a whole different dynamic. And you really stuck to the story, the only thing that's going to change for everybody is Wes being gone from LA and in Sunnydale. Ooh, maybe there should be a sequel. You could solve S4 without him and S7 with him!

Yeah, you know you should!

Thanks!

Great story!!! Every chapter was excellent, but this final one was fantastic! Wes going back with Faith to Sunnydale has my mind spinning with all the possible changes that could/would have occured in S7. :)

If your ever of the mind to write a bit extra to this story, I would love to read where you could take this story, and the changes in cannon that would/could happen. This darker Wes would be like a magnet to the First, trying to corrupt him to it's side of the fight. But this Wes has seen the darkness up close and personal, he wouldn't be as easily corruptable as others. The First couldn't lie and manipulate him as easily as it did to Wood. (It was never shown in cannon, but I wonder how many times the First must have talked to Giles to corrupt his thinking so much and make him betray Buffy repeatedly?)

Excellent!!!

Perfect ending! Wes goes to back to Sunnydale w/ Faith and Willow, huh? And escapes the dreaded Fred. Nicely done. I don't hate Fred, but I always though she was kind of whiney and manipulative-- case in point being "Supersemetry". One of the episodes I do like her in!

You pick some of my favorite scenes from the whole series to emphasize, too. Faith's torture of Wes is gutting, and I agree on her motivation. It was clearly a set up to get Angel's attention, and it worked. Interesting take!

The Wes/ dead Lilah scene is also very moving. Yikes, that one is disturbing on more than one level! One of my favorite Wes scenes though. Good call!

Romantic daydreams were all very well, but he didn't want to be anyone's hero any more. There was something dark and slightly twisted inside him now and he didn't care to pretend otherwise. It would take someone who made no pretence when it came to their own darkness to understand that.

Well said. Too bad canon Wes never figured that out; though I love the Ilyria arc...

I'd love to see how these guys would change what happens in sunnydale, but you've already written that story! So looking forward to more "Broken things" or whatever you feel inspired to write next!

I like the 'beginning' at the end - a chance for Faith and Wes to become friends, something both need more than a romantic relationship at the moment I feel. This has been a great fic from start to finish, angsty and tearjerking but with a few classic Tales!Angel/us!Moments! to lighten things slightly. (I loved him hiding under the bed) And thank you for explaining what was going on for this AtS clueless reader. :D

What sort of timeline are we on here with BtVS - when would Faith and Wes turn up in SunnyD?

(and it was posted early enough for me to read when I first got up, but commenting had to wait until after children were breakfasted, dressed and transported off to various locations).

I like the ending. It's very hopeful. Any chance of a sequel? *hint,hint*

I like the ending! Very hopeful, and so nice that at the very least they each have someone who understands and accepts the other for who they are. If nothing else they each have a friend, which is something they could both use.

And who knows what difference Wesley might make to the events in Sunnydale... he may even be able to talk some sense into another, rather tunnel-visioned, watcher!

Perfect, sweetie. Wes leaving with Faith... wow. Definitely a good ending. Thank you so much!

*Hugs*

More commenta in the morning. (New Year's resolution--go to bed at a reasonable time.)

Interesting take on Fred!
Poor Wes.
I didn't expect 'Hope' but figured.
Like Lorne here very much.

His hair was long and hairspray seemed to have matted it so that it looked like a bad wig now that is just wicked...funny...well observed!

Oh my goodness, this is good stuff.

You always wonder about Faith's past like that, you know!

Good on her for guessing Freddikin's little game.

Wes is all anyone would ever need!

Poor Faith - but it makes sense. And you are so right about Angelus' Its All About Me attitude.

I feel rather sorry for Lorne as well.
This is all very powerful stuff.

*sniff* I keep tearing up, heavy sigh, wonderful angsty fic!

Poor Faith having to give up her baby and did Fred really have a smug look on her face when she left the hospital room or is that yours? I know enough to know the hospital visit happened, but if she did have that look it totally changes her in my mind.

oh wow, that was so sad, poor Faith...and Wes, sigh

Wonderful chapter though, and you just made this 'dream world' come alive!

Wow, great beginning, poor Faith and Wes, sigh, i didn't see much of the Angel series so I have no idea how much is 'verse and how much is yours, but it's great so far!

Oh, ouch!

I was never a huge Fred fan (though I loved her in "supersymetry"-- really shows her character there IMO) but I really hated her in that scene. Grr... I'm usually more charitable, but at the moment I tend to agree with Faith's assessment of her character!

Poor Faith. I have to admit this scenario hadn't occurred to me, but it does really fit. Yikes, that's painful to watch. The fact that I pretty much agree with the nun doesn't make it any less grueling. Poor Faith!

I like Angelus' nun comments BTW. Very in character, and nice way to blend the two universes.

As always love that dinner scene. Very gripping, and the way you added Wes to the mix really works. Like this scene a lot!

Looking forward to seeing you tie the whole thing together tomorrow!

That was just heartbreaking, the scenes with teen Faith signing away her baby and Lorne looking after them both. There were tears.

Excellent writing, and I'm looking forward to getting up early tomorrow to read the final part.

Loving the chemistry between Faith and Wes. And I really love what she said about Fred. Fred and Wes wouldn't have been together in season 5 if their memories hadn't been messed with.I wonder if Faith is going to go off on her.


Wes was right to take Connor from Angel. He did it because of a false prophecy but the danger to Connor from Angel was real. The first time the kid said Daddy or walked , Angel would've been so happy he would've ripped the kid's throat out. Finding a way to anchor Angel's soul wou7ld've been the only alternative but since the danger was immediate (false prophecy or not) he had to take the only action he had available to him. Too bad he didn't have Spike's connection's on where to get a soul.

Powerful stuff, hon! Excellent! No, I don't need the emergency cheer-up plan. All I needed was that line from Wes, "She doesn't need Angel." Take that, Angelus!

And yes, I did stay up just to read this. More later.

The puppy scene is still hilarious. You can see that Angelus is so self centered that he honestly believes that his version of hell is worse than theirs.

You express such wonderful emotions from both Wes and Faith. You can feel the empathy from both of them. Even with their rocky past I feel like they would present a united front against Angelus.

Really touching and beautiful in the way you remind us that even when things look the darkest there is always someone out there that cares. You capture both the tenative hope and compassion that both characters (Wes and Faith) posess so perfectly.

Thank you!

*hugs*

This story is absolutely wonderful! I just love your Faith and Angelus... Snarking back and forth. The flashbacks(?) of what each character went through and what their conccept of hell would be is just perfect. You really expand on what we know from canon and make each character that much more rounded.

I am REALLY enjoying this. I want more. TG that I can read the next chappie. Hee! That's what I get for coming late to the party. lol. I seriously have read this a few times it so perfect. You remind me exactly why I fell in love with these characters.
Wonderful story.
*hugs you*

Oh man, this is depressing! But in that really well written way that makes you come back for more.

The puppy bit was nice and relieving though as usual.

Willow's here...

I love the emotion you're building between Wes and Faith here. The understanding that's beginning to develop is a beautiful thing to behold.

Incredible chapter, sweetie. You do dark very well. I really hurt for Wes and Faith, and I really want someone to hurt Roger. You're doing a great job of giving W&F a foundation of understanding each other, painful as it is.

I must admit to sympathizing with Connor's opinion about putting Angelus down. There's no situation so bad that Angelus can't make it worse.

This is a great present, hon. Thank you! I'm looking forward to tomorrow's chapter.

Solemn reading for my lunch break - but still riveting, absolutely riveting.

Your explanation of what bits came from where has helped enormously.

Poor Faith and Wes - they are going to have a much better understanding of each other when they come through this. I wonder how they will react when they come round.

I still love that scene with Angel rescuing the puppy!

Nicely done. Poor Wes; that explanation totally makes sense. Och!

And Yikes! I have to say I always suspected poor Faith's story was something like this, but how horrible.

The watcher cast a sympathetic glance in the slayer's direction, "or at least from our point of view it was good news. I suppose you might have felt differently."

Faith looked away. "I'm guessing that about now I wasn't feeling much of anything."

Wes didn't let it go. "We don't choose who we care about, Faith, and even knowing the worst about them doesn't make it any easier to let go."

Nice touch here. One thing I loved about Faith's trek to Sunnydale was the was that the first appeared to her as the mayor. I suppose he was one of the few people to genuinely care about her!

I have a feeling that this is going to be a truly remarkable ride. I can't wait to read the rest.

Very interesting take on this. I like that Wes and Faith do it together. They were very linked in that episode. Your voices are all great! And despite my fear of darkness, I'm very intrigued!

And it's going up! Yay! It's wonderful, sweetie; but then you already knew that, didn't you? Can't wait to see the reaction to the rest of it.

yep, dark, but so interesting, the interaction

It's wonderful, sweetie! Excellent pacing and descriptions, and you know how I adore Wes, armed and dangerous. You write better canon dialogue than the writers did--seeing them side-by-side here, your bits are a great addition to what you took from the episode. Love it, love it, love it.

This is wonderfully chilling, and believable - great stuff.

very good, I'm eager for of this. I wonder how things will change between the three of them after going through hell together.

You already know that I love it, but I'm going on record to make it official! And I know I've said it before but I will say it again: you write such delicious angst!

Good Lord, you need to be inspired to write "dark" often! This is wonderful. I'm a big fan of season 4, but particularly of this arc. I love the way you capture the disconnected, distrustful mood of the MOG in this period. And you make me want to smack Connor, or possibly hug him. Come to think of it, that's about par for the course! Great Gunn; I really bought his brief appearance.

I love Faith's "Lack of hygiene world" line from "Orpheus"; it blends seamlessly into her dialog in your AU. Very nicely done!

I like the look and Wes's childhood-- worse than I pictured. The curtains and bucket are chilling; very nicely thought out details. Yikes! And I love Angel sizzling as he immaterially drifts though the walls. Great touch!

She stepped through into a garden with neatly trimmed herbaceous borders and flowers that didn't dare do anything but grow straight and upright.
Great detail; and exactly what I picture too.

I love the look at Faith's childhood-- we always knew she'd had a horrible one. Poor Faith!

Eager for tomorrow; this is wonderful!

Well, I'm liking it so far despite my lack of Angel knowlege. Really I think the only problem I'll have is knowing which bits are direct from AtS and which bits are yours, so will just go with thinking it's all your story.