Don't own anything. Don't sue coz' you won't be getting anything but a crusty old t-shirt!
This is one of my first attempts at fanfic. Please give honest comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part Seven
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Narrator: I'm dying and yet there is light at the end of the tunnel. He is there. I sense him. I smell him. I can't see him but I know he's waiting for me. I have lived my life for him. As my body weakens and the light draws nearer, I see his shadow. His beloved shadow near an archway covered with roses. And I know it is our wedding day. The wedding day I was cheated out of 30 years ago. So I go now, gladly, to the welcoming light. Where he's waiting with a smile. My handsome groom. My knight in shining armour. My Prince Charming. And I know I have done well. Our love will forever bloom like flowers in the springtime. Because we have stood the test of time.
* * *
Willow yawned. She was very tired. they had spent the whole night devising a plan to capture Angelus and restore his soul to him. Giles had given them an hour break for some kind of afternoon snack. Cordelia and Oz had gone to get something from McDonald's. Xander sat with his back turned to her. She got up and placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped slightly but didn't turn. "You miss her, don't you?", Willow's voice was very soft. Xander looked into her vivid eyes. "Yeah. I do. Very much. If I knew she was gonna disappear, I would have come home much sooner. But Giles said that it was in her destiny. That this experience would only make her stronger. But still...." Willow understood. "You didn't know. Just as Buffy didn't know about Angel. We'll save them both now that we know how. You still have Cordy. She loves you." Xander's head was bent low. "Yeah", his voice was barely audible. "And you love her, don't you?". Willow didn't know what had prompted her to ask him that question. Why did she enjoy tormenting herself? Why couldn't she be satisfied with Oz. Oz loved her and she sometimes wished she could love him as much as he loved her. She knew she was being selfish by dating a guy that she didn't love but she was so lonely. Xander chewed his nail absently. "I..I don't know. I don't know if I love her anymore." "What?", Willow was shocked. Xander took hold of her hands. "Willow, there's something I have to tell you. I..."
CRASH!!!!
Willow and Xander turned round to look at the fallen library door in surprise. "Buffy." Willow's face registered no surprise. She supposed that she'd been unconsciously waiting for this moment ever since she'd heard about Buffy's disappearance. Giles had told them Buffy might come back to school. She was immune to sunlight. She didn't doubt that this was Buffy. Or at least what remained of the Slayer. The look in her eyes was enough to make her cringe. Xander had stood up. He held a bottle of holy water in one hand and a cross in the other. They had agreed that if Buffy had crossed to the other side, they would try to take her down peacefully. Till they could get Angelus and complete the ritual of soul restoration. Till they could turn Buffy back into a human. That was the reason Xander had gone to New York. To find the Scroll and fulfill the prophecy.
"Hi, guys!", Buffy sounded like a well-fed cat. She stole a glance at Xander. Her eyes flicked to the cross and bottle in his hands. "Did you miss me, Xander?" She was practically purring. She'd never looked so beautiful....or so damned.
Willow's anger surprised her and so did what she did next. "Leave Xander alone. You're not Buffy, you're a monster." Buffy was deceptively casual as she moved closer to them. Willow and Xander were clinging to each other even as she approached.
"Are you sure I'm not Buffy, Willow." She sounded so normal. So like Buffy. "Stop that, you bitch. You know you're not Buffy so quit playing three-year-old games and just tell us what this *friendly* little visit is for", Xander's voice was a snarl. "Alright", Buffy smiled. "You asked for it." Instead of attacking them as Xander fully expected her to do, she pushed forward a tiny figure clothed in a ragged, blood soaked pink nightdress. It was a little girl. A weeping golden child who was so weak she could barely stand. If it hadn't been for Buffy's hand, she would have fallen. "Mummy", she choked out. Willow's jaw worked but no sound came out. Xander's eyes were huge.
"Try to get that cross or the holy water anywhere near me and I'll kill the child. You.." Buffy never got to finish the sentence. Oz and Cordelia attacked her from behind. Buffy screamed as Oz bludgeoned her with his guitar and Cordelia pressed a cross to her neck, where the bites were. "I'll kill you all!", she hissed. With a desperate wrench, she freed herself from their blind attack. Willow rushed forward, arms extended to grab the child but ran into a chair. She saw what happened next from the floor. Buffy had picked up the child. She stroked the golden curls and kissed the rosy cheeks. The others were frozen in place, unable to move. Not daring to move. Even Giles, who had just entered the library, a scroll in his hand. "Buffy", Giles's voice sounded perfectly reasonable. "We have a cure for you. For the Slayer. You can become human again. Let go of this child and the nightmare will be over." For a moment, a flash of the old Buffy appeared. There was a plea in her tormented eyes. "Buffy, this isn't you. Giles told us you were still in there somewhere. Buffy, please. Let go of the child. We can end this right now." Xander stepped closer to her. "Yeah, Buff. You would never hurt her. You're my best friend. I know you." Willow somehow managed to retain dignity even from her prone posture on the floor. Buffy moved to place the child on the floor. Then something changed. The demon appeared. Buffy's face twisted. Changed into that of the demon. "My God!", Giles shouted. "The child!" Willow heard rather than saw what happened next. She heard the child cry. Buffy laugh. Everyone was moving at once and she tried to get up. The sound of a neck breaking froze the room. The little girl's cries stopped. Everyone stopped. The little girl was limp in Buffy's arms. Buffy tossed the tiny body aside with contempt.
Xander took his opportunity while everyone else was still frozen in shock. He moved up behind Buffy. He jumped on her and pinned her down. "Now, Giles!"
Giles darted forward. He held an ancient bronze carving in his hand. Willow suddenly knew what it was. "The symbol of the Slayer", she breathed. The Symbol was supposed to save and rid the Slayer of all evil. She'd read that somewhere when she and the others were researching Buffy-rescue methods.
Xander's strength was giving out. Only the crosses that he kept jammed on Buffy's back was holding her down. Buffy was screaming in agony.
"I invoke thee, Goddess of The Earth. By the Power of The Watcher and All the Watchers and Slayers gone before him, rid this Slayer of her demon!" He chanted something that sounded vaguely Greek.
Buffy's voice was heavy and masculine. It wasn't her voice speaking. It was the voice of the demon. A foul smell arose from her mouth.
"Non voglio morire" Willow wondered.
Giles pressed the symbol to Buffy's mouth. The demon shrieked. "Then you should never have done this much evil", he said. An awful silence ensued. Willow stared at Xander. Xander stared brokenly at Buffy's quiet form, still trapped underneath him. He shook her gently. "Buffy?" She was silent. "Buffy?" Tears coursed down Willow's face. "No, Buffy", she whimpered. "Buffy, you're gonna be OK. Buffy, please wake up." It was Xander's voice. Oz and Cordelia were holding on to each other for support. Xander was giving Buffy mouth-to-mouth. A voice behind them stopped him. "What have you done", Angel growled. Giles gave a short laugh. He sounded insane. "The groom cometh", he said.
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
