Saved: Kindness With a Caution
by Chaucer
Angel stared at the oracles with barely concealed anger. They remained, as ever, stoic with an air of untouchable smugness. Their indigo eyes were as aqueous and unreadable as a deep pond’s still depths. Their dark blue skin, which was veined with iridescent gold, lent to them an image of well-controlled, mysterious power. He took a deep breath, counted to ten, and tried again.

“Doyle was my link to The Powers That Be,” Angel said desperately and slowly. “I doubt you want to take that away from me.”

“You have the girl,” the woman commented impassively, in her harmonious voice. She placed a hunk of her curly gold hair back into its headband; a very human action that was odd coming from her.

“Cordy?” Angel snorted. “An odd choice for a link. Not that Doyle was any more usual for a seer- but Cordy is about as earthbound as a human can get.”

“Which will make life interesting for her,” the man pointed out. “Maybe her newfound powers will instill a new sense of humanity within her.” Angel barely kept from rolling his eyes. He had not even attempted to plead the case of simple friendship with the oracles, knowing that they would dismiss the very mortal emotion.

“I want Doyle back,” Angel declared firmly. His dark brown eyes were dangerous and intense against his chisel-featured, pale face. “Cordy won’t be able to survive this.”

“If she doesn’t,” the man replied acridly, “you will find yourself presented with a new link. It is the way these things work.” He glanced imperiously at his counterpart, who was circling Angel like a vulture. “I grow tired of this,” he commented lazily. “You would do well to leave, before I become angry.” He surveyed Angel with his unsettling gaze. Angel glared at him just as intently.

The woman had a thoughtful look on her face, as she traipsed lackadaisically about. “This one has had much hardship, first with his curse, and then with his forbidden lover. His friend’s death has not been easy for him. Tell me,” she asked Angel, suddenly. “When you weep, do you allow others to see you?” It was such a peculiar, personal question that Angel found he was answering before he could think about it.

“What do you think?” He said rhetorically. He shifted uncomfortably. The woman continued to study him, laying a glistening hand on her chin.

“Maybe just this once,” she said to the man, casting him a sidelong look, “we may grant him a boon.”

“We have,” the man argued. “He got to turn back time to save both himself and the Slayer.”

“That was a necessity, not a gift. If we had not allowed him to do so, we would have lost our largest fighting chance on this world against the darkness. I believe that it is in our power to do things on a whim of kindness, every few millennia.” Angel remained silent, but was radiating hope as he gazed at both of the oracles in turn. The man looked angry now, and not just merely annoyed.

“If it would please you,” he growled. He glowered at Angel.

“It would,” she said simply. “I feel, somehow, that we must repay him for what he has done for the forces of light.” Angel nearly sunk to his knees in relief.

“Very well,” the man muttered gruffly. He raised his chin warningly at Angel. “I will not make this too easy for you. If you wish to save Doyle, you must act quickly and without hesitation.” He paused. “Do not be expecting this every single time a friend of yours dies. It happens, and your life will go on, because it must.” Angel nodded.

“You already seem to be doing more than I expected you would,” he remarked quietly, drawing a short, mirthless laugh from both of the oracles. The two immortals exchanged meaningful glances.

“We will send you back in time, as we did before, to the moments just before Doyle’s heroic act,” the woman began. “We will make you impervious to the effects of The Scourge’s ghastly machine, but only for a very short time. You must be the one to dismantle it, but you must do so without faltering, because your immunity will not last. By doing so, you will prevent Doyle’s death. You will also prevent his powers being passed to Cordelia.” She stopped to see what sort of reaction this drew from Angel. The vampire was drinking in every word intently. “However, it will be just as it was the first chance you had to alter time. You will be the only one to remember the initial events. We will do this for you only once. If you fail, you will have to live with the possible consequences, and those may not only entail Doyle’s death.”

“One last thought,” the man added, shortly. “You want to strip your friend of the privilege of dying as a hero? He will not remember, but you will.”

“If he gets to live as a normal person, then yes,” Angel answered firmly. He watched them impatiently.

“Very well,” the man sighed. He and the woman joined hands. “Within ten seconds or so, our power will send you back.” They closed their eyes and a luminous glow emitted from their bodies, illuminating the vaulted stone chamber further. Angel shielded his eyes from the soft, yet intense glare. He began to feel strangely disconnected from his unearthly surroundings and his own body, but not from his mind. He was going back to save Doyle, and everything would be all right... He and Doyle would talk about Doyle’s past, and maybe, just maybe, Angel could help him. The half-breed demons hunted down by The Scourge would still be saved. Cordy would be able to just be Cordy again, thank goodness for that.

Angel smiled as he became eerily transparent. The oracles opened their eyes and didn’t favor him with even a gesture, much less a smile in return.

He could hear the man’s voice in his nonexistent ear as clear as a star-lit night. “Just because we help you alter an event in Doyle’s life, it does not mean that we can override the fate The Powers That Be assigned him. If he is fated to die, he will still die. Perhaps at a different time, in a different place; but if it is meant to be, it will come to pass.” Angel ignored him. If the Powers had fated Doyle to die, then they wouldn’t have given the oracles the right to grant him life. With that thought, Angel swiftly shot backwards through time.


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