All Buffy related things are owned by Joss Whedon, etc, etc. All things related to Final Fantasy are owned by SquareSoft, etc, etc. In short, I own nothing except the idea for this story.
***
Once the Warriors had returned safely to their cave, Angel immediately set Buffy, who had been unconscious for quite a while, onto one of the sleeping bags. She, above anyone else, deserved Willow's attention at the moment.
Willow knelt next to Buffy to examine her pulse and wound. The sight of blood had always sickened her in the past, but in this moment, when her best friend needed her the most, Willow hardly thought twice about it. Instead, she began preparing a spell to try and slow the bleeding.
Angel, Giles and Xander watched on in silence as Willow performed her task, each one too afraid to speak; each one reliving the failure with Zeromus. Despite their current physical conditions, their minds were back at the battle, reflecting over what they did, what they could have done, and what they should have done.
Willow, oblivious to the self-recriminating thoughts of her friends, breathed a sigh of relief as the bleeding finally slowed. It would stop soon as well. Willow then turned her attention to healing the wound, which would be a more difficult task.
Some time later, Willow decided she had done all that she could, and stood up to stretch her sore muscles. Buffy would hopefully wake up soon, and the wound be healed in another few hours. Willow silently thanked the Goddess for her healing Magick. Who knows what would have happened today had she not had it.
The young wizard turned to her other companions and said, "I've done all I can do. Now we just have to wait for Buffy to heal.'
They all nodded their heads, and Willow noticed for the first time the extent of the injuries of both herself and the others. She started first on Xander's broken arm.
***
Night had fallen by the time things were finally in order again. Most of the injuries were on their way to a clean healing, and Buffy had woken up, though still in a lot of pain.
Willow noticed Angel slip quietly out of the cave, and decided to follow him. When he had gotten to the portal that led back to the Crystal Palace, Willow called his attention.
Angel whirled at the sound of his name being called, but relaxed when he saw that it was Willow.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked.
"Funny, I was just gonna ask you the same thing," Willow replied.
Angel made a slight noise of contempt and turned his back to Willow, but continued talking. "We lost, Willow."
"We'll try again," she tried to comfort him.
"What's the point? We're probably going to die anyway."
"Angel, don't say that!" Willow ordered, coming up to stand next to him, "we're going to win."
"How can you be so sure?" Angel asked, turning to look at the young girl next to him. That's all she was, really--a child, with so much of her life still ahead of her. She didn't deserve to die so young; none of them did. "We've never faced anything like this before. Hell, I've been around for over two centuries, and I've never even *heard* of anything like this before. How can you be so sure we'll win? And even if we do, at what price?"
"We'll win because I believe in us," Willow answered his question with ease, "because I believe in you."
Angel smiled wearily at her and sighed, "I wish I could believe as strongly as you." He reached up and gently stroked her cheek, smiling.
Willow smiled back, and reveled in the feel of his touch. She lifted her hand and placed it gently over Angel's. "We're going to win," she told him again, with a renewed certainty in her voice, whose source she couldn't identify.
Angel only smiled wider and pulled Willow closer to him until she was securely wrapped in his arms, her head resting against his chest. "You're right," he said, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, "we will."
And Angel knew it was true. Not because they were destined to, but because how else would he be able to spend the rest of eternity with the red-haired goddess in his arms?
Willow looked up at him and felt a new flood of emotions run through her, and when Angel looked at her, she lost herself completely in the darkness of his eyes and the feel of his arms around her.
Angel locked his gaze onto Willow's and thought to himself how easy it would be to just lean down and place a soft kiss on her lips.
And he did.
Startled by the action, Willow jumped slightly only to find herself locked firmly into place by Angel's arm wrapped tightly around her waist. But she wasn't complaining. As Angel's lips met hers, Willow swooned slightly. Never had she imagined that his lips would be so soft, so tender, so loving. Willow parted her lips slightly to deepen the kiss, and eagerly met Angel's tongue as it dueled with hers in a new passion.
Angel's hand moved up and rested itself against the back of Willow's neck, partially to ensure that she wouldn't break away.
But in that moment, the last thought on Willow's mind was breaking this moment of pure heaven. Until, of course, she ran out of air.
When the kiss finally ended, Willow struggled to catch her breath, feeling drowsy from the new sensations coursing through her. "Wow," was the only world she could utter at that moment.
Angel pulled Willow's head to rest slightly on his chest as he rested his cheek on her the top of her head. "I've wanted to kiss you for a long time," he admitted finally.
"Me, too," she whispered in content, "me, too."
***
The following morning, the Warriors prepared once again to face Zeromus. The broken bones and cuts and gashes from their previous encounter had all healed nicely, even though the tiredness and a hint of despair were still present.
"Are we all ready?" Giles asked, feeling the tension in the air almost as if it were a tangible thing that was suffocating him.
They had spent much of the last night going over tactics and strategies to defeat Zeromus, now that they had had a glimpse of how he fought. They were a little better prepared mentally, if not emotionally or physically.
The Warriors approached the entrance to the cave once more, and found that the Wall that Willow had established when they fled yesterday had nearly disappeared.
They had arrived just in time.
As Willow worked to remove the last of the barriers preventing them from entering, Giles called up a Flood to throw Zeromus back in case he was waiting by the Wall.
The moment the last of the Wall was removed, Giles' flood issued forth, sending Zeromus crashing back with another howl of outrage.
"Weaklings!" he shrieked, "you, you who fight for the Light, have fled from the Darkness like cowards! And now you will perish as the feeble Warriors you are!"
And once again, battle ensued.
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