The Witch, The Warrior, and the Vampire

Chapter Two
Prophecy part One

Giles stood at the head of the table, opened his briefcase and passed out copies of the recently translated prophecy. One for each person sitting at the table. Dawn was pleased to have been included in everything that had transpired, and had been getting ready to leave when Giles handed her a copy.

“I realize, Dawn, that many times we have left you out of slaying and I believe it’s one reason you get in so much trouble. Since this directly relates to everyone, inclg yog you, I believe it is essential for you to be involved in every step of this.”

“Thank you, Giles, for trusting me. I promise I won’t do anything stupid,” Dawn replied looking anxiously at Buffy for approval.

“Giles, are you sure?” was Buffy’s only protest.

“Buffy, Dawn is now the age you were when you were called. This does relate to her, each of us really, and you don’t want her breaking in again and finding out on her own, do you?”

“No. If you’re really sure Giles, I’ll trust you on this, but she is not going out on patrol or anything even remotely like it.”

“Agreed, for now at least. All right everyone, this text has been painstakingly translated from the Mayan language believe it or not, by the Council’s experts, as well as the leading experts in academia. We know the translation into English is correct, now we merely have to interpret it and respond accordingly. This may take a long time and a good deal of this seems painfully obvious, but it is important to understand this so we can be prepared to face our next battle. I’d like for you all to study the copy of the prophecy I’ve provided, then I’ll share the Council’s interpretation thus far, and depending on the time when we finish, we may discuss this tonight or meet again tomorrow.”

Looking around to make sure everyone was in agreement with this plan, Giles continued, “Very well then. If you would all read the document.” Giles decided to read through the prophecy one last time, even though he could recite it by memory at this point. The only sounds in the quiet room were those of shuffling papers. The mood had darkened considerably after pizza.

“Whilst battling the Beast, the Chosen One will return it to hell, sealing the gate between the two worlds at the cost of her life. Yet a new Slayer will not be called.

The warriors who fought at her side: the Witch, the Sorceress, the Bloody, the Loyal, the Demon, the Watcher, and the Key will each receive gifts from the Powers That Be for their faithfulness in servitude.

Beware, lest those gifts take away that which they sought.

The Witch will restore the life of the Chosen One. The cost will be high and the Witch will succumb to the Dark Forces within.

The Chosen One will return. Her heart will be black, her soul tarnished, her spirit destroyed, and the light she carried within extinguished. She will strive to return to death but two forces will keep her alive, without them she shall surely perish and hope will forever be lost.

The Sorceress shall leave to follow the path her guiding light provided, but will return again if hope is restored.

The Bloody will remain to care for the Key as was sworn, the consequences will cost him his life, and everything he ever knew as true will be held as false by those he must work with. What has kept him within the circle will be gone. He must overcome that which is within to work for the light. If he fails, darkness will overcome. The soul shall be freed and the balance will shift again. However, there will be none who can take his place for the Bloody and the Key are intermingled. One would not, nor could not exist without the other. This fate draws them together. If they are separated they will die and all hope will be lost.

The Loyal will struggle when a power is returned. Battling fate, battling the Powers, battling himself, battling against those he loves. If he fails to see the truth, all will perish, their reality will be replaced with one they have all seen before, but have forgotten.

A gift will be given to the Demon; a destiny will be fulfilled yet the outcome is uncertain.

The Key will discover power unknown forged within its very nature by those that created the human.

A Seer will be called to guide the warriors. She must remain apart with the recovered light, else he destroy the balance that gives the Chosen One life. This in return could destroy him and all the others in the process.

The Watcher must watch, guide, and discover the only thing there is for a Watcher to know. If the Watcher fails, the warriors will splinter, the Hellmouth, which lies in the Valley of the Sun, shall reopen never to be closed again.

Toer ter they can battle the coming Army of Dark, using all the resources within their grasp. If even one fails to use their gift the Hellmouth shall open, the Army of Dark shall prevail, and that which was once defeated will receive all that they desire.

They will not all survive the battle, but each must enter the battle and face their fate.

If they succeed, the Powers shall grant the Power of Three to the Witch, the Warrior and the Vampire. They shall eternally seek to even out the balance within the mortal plain and serve the Powers of Light and Gray.”

As the group finished reading, they got up, stretched and found refreshment. Willow was the last to finish, as she had taken notes on the prophecy. When Willow returned from the restroom and made herself a cup of coffee, Giles took out his own notes from his briefcase and began to list the Council’s interpretations to the group.

Adopting his best professorial voice Giles stood at the head of the table and began lecturing. “As I said before, much of this is painfully obvious, and some has already come to pass. First let me name the players in the prophecy. Buffy is the Chosen One, Willow the witch, Tara the sorceress, the bloody would be Spike, I believe that’s rather obvious especially in light of you being William the Bloody, Xander you are the loyal, Anya the demon, Dawn the key, Cordelia the seer, Angel the recovered light, and I’m the Watcher.

“Obviously the Beast is Glory, we defeated her, Buffy died, you resurrected her, and Willow did succumb to the dark forces within. Buffy has been different since her resurrection and I believe those differences have been adequately explained here. I have a notion about the two forces, but want your opinion before I share mine.

“Tara did leave the group, but as we see she has returned, obviously hope has been restored. Willow, I believe you sought Tara for help, which must have been the hope. ‘Beware, lest those gifts take away that which they sought’ we must define the gifts to each of us to understand this. Xander and Anya, I’ve no idea whatsoever what any of that means relating to you. Angel, Cordelia, I believe that next section is self-explanatory. I still don’t know what the ‘only thing there is for a Watcher to know’; Valley of the Sun is Sunnydale.

“That the Hellmouth will reopen if we can’t all work together and accept our destiny is rather obvious. We’ve no clue who or what will be fighting for the army of dark, ‘that which was once defeated’ leads me to believe we will be seeing an old enemy, I’m afraid we don’t know which one yet. The rest is shall we say, up for discussion. Buffy, what is your take, particularly the ‘two forces will keep her alive’ have you any idea what they are?”

“Dawn and Spike.” was the quiet reply. A hush swept across the room and expressions of curiosity, dismay, and acceptance flashed across the faces of various members of the group.

“Dawn and SPIKE? Buffy, have you lost your mind?” Xander yelled furious at his Slayer for placing Spike above him and the Scoobies. “What could possibly make you believe Spike is one of the forces that keeps you alive. I mean, I get Dawn, she’s your sister, but Spike?”

“Alright guys, I’m only going to say this once,” Buffy said as she unconsciously reached for Spike’s hand for support, “You can either accept it and we can go on with our jobs, win this thing and save the world. Or you can freak out, the group will be destroyed, and the world will end. I think the prophecy was really clear on that. It’s going to take all of us to win.

“Dawn and Spike are the only two things that have kept me from killing myself since you brought me back. Dawn, because she is my sister and I love her and I want to watch her grow up, and because she is all that’s left of who and what I used to be.

“Spike is the second for a million reasons, but I’m only going to give you a few. He loves me. It’s unconditional and it’s always going to be that way. He saved me from myself. None of you have really known how badly I’ve suffered. Or how many times I’ve tried to kill myself.”

“What exactly did he save you from Buffy?” Angel asked, his face an unreadable mask.

“Well, let me just recount sof tof the more obvious times. Slitting my wrists, overdosing on a bunch of pills, the vamp nest I went into by myself with no stake. The time I tried to hang myself, when I tried to suffocate myself with a plastic bag, look, I’ve tried to kill myself in a thousand ways since I’ve been back and he’s been there to stop them all. You guys just never knew. I wouldn’t let him tell you, so don’t blame him.”

Buffy looked Xander squarely in the eyes as she said this, trying to force him to at wht what she was saying. His jaw was set and she knew it was futile, so she turned to Willow.

But Willow was sobbing quietly, her face in her hands. ‘It was all my fault.’ Everything, if she hadn’t been so determined to bring Buffy back, she wouldn’t have tortured her best friend, driving her to try to kill herself. Buffy gave up trying to catch Willow’s eye and turned to Giles, directing the rest of her story to him and Dawn.

“I’ve gotten better lately; I ask when I need backup. He used to give it to me anyway. I stopped trying to kill myself a while ago and I started taking all my pain out on Spike, in some very cruel and unusual ways. He’s even gotten me to stop that. Now you can all deal with this and help me save the world, or not deal with it and everyone dies.” Buffy took a deep breath and tried to catch everyone in the eye before she continued. “Because he’s proven to me how much he loves me, and endured all the hell I’ve put him through, I’ve decided to give Spike and myself a chance. I’m not saying he is now or ever will be my boyfriend, but I feel something for him. And for once in my life, it doesn’t matter to me what any of you think. This is for me. Giles, I don’t have any idea about any of the rest of this.”

“Thank you Buffy,” he said gravely. “I had surmised Dawn and Spike being the forces myself. Since you believe the same, it’s probably correct. Anyone else have any ideas?”

Pulling herself together, Willow jumped into the fray “I took a lot of notes, let’s start at the beginning together. If we can’t immediately figure it out, we’ll skip to the next part.” Everyone nodded their agreement and Willow continued. “The first section has already happened. I believe the second section has already happened as well, but we each need to figure out our gifts and what can be taken away. That’s kind of a private thingy so we can skip that at least until tomorrow to give everyone a chance to think about what they’ve received. The next section is about me. All of it has come to pass, the third has happened already as well. We’ve identified the two forces, correctly in my opinion and I don’t think anyone else is going to argue about it.” Willow chanced a look at Xander then, and knew it would take him a lot of time, if ever to accept Buffy and Spike. “Tara the next part is about you, what does it mean ‘guiding light provided,’ and have you really returned to the group, has hope been restored?” Anticipation colored her voice as she waited anxiously for Tara’s response.

Gazing deeply into Willow’s eyes Tara answered softly. “Y-yes, I have returned and hope has been restored. Willow you came to me for help, you went to your friends for help. The first step for any addict is admitting they have a problem and need help. Taking the first step brings hope.”

Turning to Giles Tara continued. “The path I’ve been following my whole life even when I’ve been part of the gang is my mother’s path. My mother was a very powerful witch who concentrated all of her power into one aspect of her magick. Healing. I believe that my gift has been the power a-and ability to follow in her footsteps. I’ve always believed that.”

“When Mr. Giles gave me these books today, I knew I would stay with Willow, that I’m meant to help you heal and that I would use my ability to help your, I mean our friends.” Tara looked deep into Willow’s deep green eyes as she shared this. No one other than Willow, Spike, and Buffy had ever heard Tara say so much in one sitting.

“Thank you, Tara.” Giles said kindly before turning to Spike “Spike, this next section is about you. I must admit, I don’t understand very much of it other than you and Dawn have some sort of connection, that should never be desed. ed. Can you illuminate us on any of the rest?” Giles asked.

“Buffy made me promise to look after Dawn if anything ever happened to her, and I swore in her living room that I would take care of the Nibblet ‘until the end of the world.’ Oaths like that are not breakable and Buffy’s death automatically forced the oath into action. I think that’s why li’l bit and I are linked like it says.

“Whether or not Buffy is here, I’m sworn to protect her. Protecting Dawn anrkinrking with you all has cost me my life. My unlife rather. I can never leave Dawn. When vampires swear something, or take oaths to something, they’re bound for eternity to follow through; it’s the nature of the demon. My unlife has had a price since the first time I helped you lot and word got out. There’s a price on my head in the demon community, just like there’s a price on Angel’s.

“The part ‘everything he ever knew as true will be held as false’ is easily explained as well. Giles and the rest of the Council have been doing a lot of research because of me and a theory I’ve hadce Ice I was turned--when a vampire is turned, we don’t lose our souls”

Gasps came from around the room; Angel’s head came up, as his true face emerged his golden eyes bore into those of his childe’s.

Spike stared at his Zippo, avoiding everyone’s eyes while flicking it open and closed. “See, I believe the soul remains within the body; it’s simply overpowered by the demon. Given time and enough reason, a soul restoration spell or a chip in the head, the demon can be overcome. Every vampire I’ve talked to believed their soul was gone, but I never did.

“There was only one change when I became a vampire, the need for blood. The demon that needs this blood will do anything to get it. The demon revels in bloodshed, death, and violence. And unless you can control it, it turns you into what you’ve all eiveeived as a soulless, evil demon. But from our perspective, we lead happy, normal lives. And truthfully, as long as I wasn’t hungry, all I ever wanted was to be left alone to enjoy all the same things I enjoyed as a human. The soul restoration spell doesn’t give back a soul. It strengthens it. Gives it the opportunity to overcome the demon.”

Disbelief which rapidly turned to fury darkened Angel’s face at Spike’s words. ‘If Spike really had a soul, he wouldn’t talk out of his ass about things he knew nothing about.’

Spike took a deep breath to bolster him for what he had to say next, “Buffy, please don’t be mad at the next part of this, but I’ve kept something from you for about a week now and its time to let you know. I wanted to do this in private, but your mates deserve to know as well and I believe it’s right here in this prophecy as well.

“‘What has kept him within the circle will be gone.’ My chip quit working.”

Dead silence fell across the room. Dawn’s eyes grew huge, Angel continued to stare at his childe, Willow and Tara squeaked, Anya clasped her purse tightly, it hadn’t left her lap since she started reading. Cordelia continued to file her nails unfazed since none of the revelations applied to her in anyway. Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Buffy grasped Spike’s hand tightly and said, “I know. I saw what happened, I just didn’t want to deal with it. I’ve watched you since it happened. I know you haven’t been feeding, and I trust you.”

“You knew his chip wasn’t working and you didn’t stake him?” Xander yelled and jumped up knocking his chair over, “Have you lost your mind?”

“Spike, I suggest you explain this before Xander and Angel have apoplexy,” Giles said replacing his glasses. He tried not to let his anxiety show. He had expected many things from the prophecy, but not Spike without a leash.

Spike lit a cigarette and bounced his right leg continuously as he began to explain. “Well, I was walking down the street one night minding my own business, going to the butcher’s for some blood. This group of four men attacked me. Tried to mug me, held me up at knifepoint. I couldn’t give them my wallet, since I don’t even own one. So they started to beat me up. One of them tried to steal my duster, rather attached to this old coat you know, brings back fond memories, I lost my temper anhit hit him. He flew into a building, I kicked another one of the guys, and then they all ran away.

“It took about five minutes for me to realize I’d hit a human and wasn’t in agony. I was overjoyed and started planning all kindschaochaos and bloodshed. Xander,” Spike inclined his head in the boy’s direction. “I was actually headed to your house to eat you, when I saw a vampire trying to feed on a girl about Dawn’s age. I pulled her out of his grasp, staked the vampire, and escorted the girl back to her friends. I realized I didn’t want to eat a human. Buffy would never forgive me if she thought I was killing again. She would stake me and if I went back to being evil, I’d lose Dawn as well. It’s not much fun feeding if you don’t kill ‘em, so I went on to the butcher’s got some blood and went back to my crypt. I’ve turned into a disgrace to the vampire race, a bleedin’ poofter like Peaches here, but I’ve kept bagging it every day since then.” He finished with shrug and lit a cigarette.

“Buffy, I want to hear your version of this.” Angel growled out.

With her trademark eye roll, Buffy told her version of the event. “I was out for patrol; it was too early to go pick up Spike so I wandered around town. I saw him walking down the street and decided to see how long it would take him to figure out he was being followed. And then these four guys jumped him. I realized they were human and started to elp,elp, but then he hit them and they ran away. I was outraged. I knew he’d been hiding this from me, so I stayed hidden. All of a sudden he stopped in his tracks, turned around in a circle. He was so surprised. I could see the shock on his face and I knew then that it was the first time he knew the chip had stopped working.”

“And then this look of pure evil came over his face.” An involuntary shiver coursed through her body. “It scared me to death. I could practically hear the wheels churning in his head. He spun around on his heel and even his walk was different; he was a pure predator. I was looking at the same Spike that tried to kill me during the parent-teacher night, and if you really think about it, he hasn’t been like that since then. He was going to kill someone and I knew it. I got my stake out and followed him, preparing myself to stake him.” A strange ache she couldn’t understand welled in Buffy’s chest, she shook the feeling off. “When I heard girlgirl scream, I started running, but Spike got to her before I could. He didn’t even think, he saved her. Then he went on to the butcher. I’ve been following him ever since, and he hasn’t fed yet.”

Angel inclined his head in Spike’s direction. “Will, I’m proud of you. If I lost my soul again, or if my demon over powered it, as you believe, I’d be killing again within minutes. I didn’t know you had that much streng was was Angel’s sincere reply.

“How do we know he’s going to stay this way, did you ever think of that?” Xander asked.

Buffy shook her head exasperated. “I did, and I know he won’t. He loves Dawn and me too much to risk feeding. I know it, he knows it, Dawn knows it, and I think everyone else in the room here knows it but you, Xander,” was Buffy’s reply.

Spike held tighter to Buffy’s hand. “If you lot want me to leave Sunnydale, I will. I know you didn’t have much reason to trust me with this chip in my head, and now that it’s quit working you have even less.”

“Spike, don’t be stupid,” Willow quickly replied. “This prophecy plainly says ALL of us. Personally, I’d rather think that your chip quit working than you stopped loving Buffy and Dawn. That was my interpretation of ‘what has kept him within the circle will be gone’. I’d rather you be chipless, in love with Buffy, and Dawn’s Champion, than you to be chipped and hate us all.”

“Thanks, Red.” Spike replied touched by her sincerity.

“Well, I’m glad you think that Willow, but I’d rather it be the opposite,” Xander retorted angrily. “I’ll be watching you Spike, and so will the others: if you slip, you’re history.”

“Enough, Xander,” Buffy and Anya said together.

Spike chose to respond to the statement anyway. “Agreed mate, but if I slip, you’re going to be the first one I eat. Are you blind, oblivious, ost pst plain stupid? You’re already going down the path to your own destruction. Read the prophecy.”

“Yes, Spike, I believe your oath to protect Dawn does explain the bit about the two of you. If something happens to her, you’re obligated to kill yourself aren’t you?” Giles asked.

“That’s right. It also leaves Dawn without a Champion. Buffy kind of forfeited her place when she bound me to protect her.”

“Xander, let’s look at the section about you. I do believe Spike was right. Perhaps the power returned is Spike’s ability to hurt humans. And you are fighting the relationship, as it may be, between Buffy and Spike, much to their annoyance. Telling you to get over it isn’t working, but you are going to have to work through this for us to succeed. Anya, what about you?” Giles directed the conversation to the 1200 year old ex-vengeance demon.

“Is this a time for brutal honesty and no holding back? It appears to be, especially since Spike came clean about being able to hurt peo” An” Anya asked frankly.

“Yes, Anya, holding back could lead to the destruction of the world,” Giles gently prodded.

“Well, it’s all your fault Giles! I mean, how could you do this to me now, when I’m about to be married? I have my own business, I’m making lots of money, I have a man I love with all my heart, and friends that I care about. How could you do this?” Her voice kept rising until it was a shriek.

“Good Lord Anya! Whatever are you talking about, what have I done?”

“You gave me back my necklace. The gift you gave me is my necklace.” Anya dared to look at the people she had come to love in the room around her; they were all confused.

“Necklace? Anya, I picked that up in a store much like the Magic Box in London. It reminded me of you. What has the necklace got to do with any of this?”

“This isn’t just a necklace Giles. It’s my necklace, the one D’Hoffryn gave me, the source of my powers. All I have to do is put this on, perform a ceremony and it’s back to being a Vengeance demon for me. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?” Anya wailed and began to cry.

“Um, Giles, maybe the prophecy is wrong, maybe it’s two powers instead of one,” Xander was holding onto the woman he loved tightly, wondering if it was possible for his week to get any worse. Buffy was with Spike; they weren’t having sex anymore but it was obvious they were together. They had a prophecy that stunk like a lourax demon. And his fiancée suddenly had the power to become a vengeance demon again. And if he couldn’t accept all of this, the world was going to end.

“Anya, I had no idea. Damn this prophecy. You don’t have to do it, you know,” Giles gently said.

“Sure I do. It says plain and simple, ‘a destiny will be fulfilled’, what else could it mean?”

“Do you want to be a demon again?” Buffy asked.

Anya was looking back and forth rapidly between Giles, Xander, and Buffy. “No, not really, but I do want my powers back.”

“So did I luv, a got got ‘em. You see where I am don’t you?” Spike quietly said as he crossed the room to Anya. Xander eyed the exchange darkly.

Spike put his hands on her shoulders, ignoring Xander’s glare from behind her. He looked her dead in the eye and continued. “You were a human like me once weren’t you, pet?” Anya nodded, “Well, seems like our situations are parallel. Human, Demon, choice. I didn’t become a human again, but I’ve kept all my demon powers, and still managed to fight the good fight. Look at you, human, demon, human, choice. Anya, it also says the outcome has yet to be decided. It’s up to you. You and Xander, he’s got to have some say in this as well, since you are going to be married. But this DOES NOT mean you have to be evil. There are good demons out there. Angel over there, me, Clem. Angel has a pile of demon friends that aren’t evil, don’t you Peaches?”

“Yes, actually I do. Anya, I’d be glad to get in touch with Whir, br, bring him here, and help you all wade through this. I’m not sure but I think it is possible for you to retain some power, definitely more than you have now, without becoming a vengeance demon again. If nothing else you could come down to Caritas and sing. Lorne could help you out.”

Anya slowly relaxed into Xander’s arms. “I didn’t realize there was an option, it makes me feel better. I know I want to be with Xander. I know I want my power back. Here Giles, put this in the safe or somewhere for me.” Anya said as she removed the necklace from her purse and handed it to Giles. “ Xander and I need to talk about this a lot. I may want to talk to Whistler and I may want to go to Caritas as well. I may destroy the damn thing before it’s all over with. Until then, hide this from me!”

“Quite right Anya. I should have known something was guiding my hand for good or ill. I caught a glimpse of that thing and your face was all I could see until I bought it. Then I dismissed it rather out of hand. I apologize. As a Watcher and from my experience on the Hellmouth, I should have known better.”

“It’s alright G-man, we’ll figure something out. I think we’d all be better off if we stopped for the night. It’s late, I’ve got work, and the others have school and stuff, why don’t we pick up again tomorrow. Give us all some time to adjust,” Xander said as he gathered his and Anya’s belongings.

Before Gilesld rld reply, everyone was gathering their belongings, obviously anxious to leave. “Very well then, we’ll meet back here tomorrow at 5:00, everyone please think about the prophecy and the ‘gifts’ you may or may not have received, as well as what can be taken from you.”

Everyone muttered their agreement and began to leave. Angel and Cordelia left first, returning to the mansion. Xander and Anya walked out hand in hand with expressions of doom on their faces. Buffy gathered the boxes containing the remains of Faith and Dru, while Spike shuffled together the prophecy and the notes he’d copied from Willow.

“Willow, I’m going to over to Spike’s and we’re going to go through Faith’s stuff together. Would you mind staying with Dawnie tonight?”

“I DON’T need a babysitter,” Dawn immediately retorted.

Ignoring Dawn’s protests, Tara smiled and said, “We’d love to, Buffy. I was thinking about this prophecy and Willow’s circle. I think that mayben isn is going to be our fourth element. We should spend some time together and get to know one another before Morgaine arrives.”

“I was afraid someone other than me already made that connection, that whole ‘power forged within’ part,” Buffy sighed defeatedly. She’d tried to keep her sister on the outskirts of Slayer business, but she kept getting thrust back into it. “I think you’re right about that Tara. Just don’t start doing any spell casting or whatever until thisgaingaine arrives. If I have to accept my sister practicing witchcraft, I can at least refuse to allow it to happen before the Afet arrives.”

“Adept, Buffy, and no practicing anything. We’ll just look through Willow’s new books and stuff like that,” Tara solemnly promised.

“OK, I don’t know if I’ll be coming home tonight guys, so don’t worry about me. Dawn, do you have Spike’s cell number?” At her sister’s nod, Buffy continued, “You guys have a good night, I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that she and Spike swept out of the store carrying their burdens and headed for the crypt.

The witches left right after them, after muttering their goodnights to Giles. Giles was completely drained. He looked at the mess in the Magic Box and decided he and Anya would just have to clean it up in the morning. He stuffed his papers back into his briefcase and headed to his apartment. He hadn’t given up the apartment when he’d returned to England and was immensely happy of that fact now. He stumbled home, undressed, fell into bed and promptly went to sleep. His sleep was a restless one, however. He dreamed of the prophecy and the promise it gave of the Hellmouth opening if his group, his family, the children he’d never had, couldn’t put aside their differences and work together. Like they used to. Before so many things had gone wrong.

***

Willow, Tara, and Dawn leafed through Tara’s new healing books and Willow’s books on recovering from addiction. They enjoyed the time spent together and Dawn decided it would be way cool to be a witch. She could help Buffy and Spike if she had some power, she thought, right before she dropped off to sleep.

Before they fell asleep, Willow and Tara discussed the parts of prophecy no one had talked about that night. They each shared the belief that what was to come would be the worst thing they’d ever had to face. Tara quaked in f “Wh “What can be worse than a hell god?” she asked out loud, but desperately prayed for there to be no answer.

****

As Angel and Cordelia got ready for bed, she let out all the pent-up feelings she’d had ever since Xander called and disrupted her almost-back-to-normal life.

“Angel, I know you still love Buffy and that you always will. I accept that. But this has really put me over the top. Did you really rush all the way down here to make Spike challenge your clai
“
“Cordy, ” Angel quickly crossed to his lover and drew her into his arms, “I love you. I really do, if I didn’t I couldn’t be with you the way we are.”

“Don’t try to change the subject, Angel. I know you love me a kno know I love you, but I will not stand by and watch Spike kill you. You watched him today, you saw what I saw. He could kill you in under a minute and I know that whatever sire-like devotion he’s supposed to have will not keep him from doing it. He loves Buffy. He will KILL you for her in a second. I also know you’re obligated by some stupid vampire law to make him do this, but if you do, I walk, whether or not you live.”

“He doesn’t have to kill me, baby. He just has to beat me in a fight and bite me from a dominant position.” Angel closed his eyes as he imagined the rest of what Spike would do to him if forced to challenge him.

“Yeah, and if he takes that path after he bites you, he gets to fuck you, and I really don’t see you allowing that to happen. I know you’d die first. Again, let me remind you, if you allow this challenge to take place, we are HISTORY.”

“I don’t know what else to do, Cordelia.”

“I do. Don’t challenge him for your claim.” Cordelia’s face softened and she leaned forward to kiss Angel, “Unless it’s your claim for me,” she finished tugging open his jeans.

“I don’t think we have to worry about that,” Angel grinned in reply as he began to undress Cordelia.

“Neither do I. They’re pretty eaten up with one another, aren’t they?”

Sensually, they slipped into an embrace and let the rest of the world slip away as they lost themselves in each other.

****

Xander and Anya were completely miserable. Anya knew if she tried to regain her powers she’d lose Xander. Xander knew he couldn’t live without Anya, and whether or not she had power didn’t even come into his equation. As long as she was with him and fighting along side the rest of the Scoobies, he didn’t care. All his doubts and fears about Anya disappeared as she worked her human brand of magick on him. When they got home, she took him straight to the bathroom and put him in the shower. She joined him.

It was a long time before they went to sleep that night.