"The Winter here's cold and bitter
it's chilled us to the bone
I haven't seen the sun for weeks
to long too far from home
I feel just like I'm sinking
and I claw for solid ground
I'm pulled down by the undertow
Never thought I could feel so low
Oh darkness I feel like letting go..."
Trinity wept in Gunn's arms and he felt his heart break for this girl who reminded him so much of his Faith. He had been the only person awake when she'd gotten home, and he'd taken one look at the heartbreak in her sad gray eyes, and he'd known. So he'd taken her in his arms, and let her weep through the night. He didn’t' t try to comfort her with words, and he sure as hell didn't tell her what Wesley and Willow had discovered about Angelus, knowing that it was the last thing she needed. Her weeping didn't let up until the sun sent streaks of fuchsia and tangerine across the sky. Trinity lifted her head and smiled at him sadly. "Thank you." she said softly. "No problem Trini." Gunn replied gruffly. Spike chose to enter the living room at that moment, and being Spike, didn't think before speaking. "Morning luv. Did Gunn here tell you that we found Angelus?" he asked conversationally as he entered the kitchen to heat a mug of blood. Trinity got up and followed, and Gunn followed her, glaring at Spike. Trinity shook her head. "Where?" she asked, fury replacing the sadness in her eyes. She had never hated anyone as much as she hated Angelus. "He's staying in the abandoned mansion on the other side of town. We believe that he has Drusilla with him. The vamp we caught kept talking about Angelus' queen." Trinity nodded. She'd just watched the love of her life turn to dust because of Angelus. She wanted nothing more than to beat the living hell out of him, whether she lived to talk about it or not. "He plans on opening the Hellmouth." Spike continued, and Trinity raised an eyebrow. "I'm really beginning to hate this town." she said with a short harsh laugh. "You and me both honey." Lorne said as he followed Fred into the kitchen. Willow, Xander and Wesley weren't far behind. "So what do we do?" Trinity asked. "I suggest we wait until Angelus puts his plan into action before striking. Tomorrow night we'll make it look as if we're leaving town, and then we'll strike when Angelus least expects it." Wesley answered. Trinity nodded shortly, then yawned. "Fine. But I'm gonna go get some sleep. I'll see you guys tonight." she said, and she went upstairs and collapsed onto her bed.
"If all of the strength
and all of the courage
come and lift me from this place
I know I could love you much better than this
full of grace
full of grace my love..."
As Trinity patrolled that night, she found herself in the park where she and Landon had fought the night before. She felt her eyes begin to well with tears, but she bit them back, unwilling to show weakness again. So far she'd found only a coupla vamps, newbies, who didn't know they'd found their way into the slayers town. She was working her way towards Moonflowers Rising, where she'd meet up with the rest of the gang, and where there was sure to be vampires to conveniently overhear them talking about leaving Corvallis. When Trinity got to the club she found them sitting around their usual table, but without the happy chatter. Instead she found Willow near tears, Xander white as a ghost, and everyone else looking as if they'd just got hit in the head with a bag of bricks. Except Spike, who was missing. "What's wrong? Where's Spike?" she asked. Willow mumbled something, but Trinity couldn't hear her over the blast of music. "What?" she asked. "It's Buffy. Spikes gone after Buffy. Angelus turned her." Willow repeated. "Which way did he go?" she asked. Wesley motioned towards the back exit and Trinity raced out of the club.
She found that Spike was holding his own when she got out back, and as Trinity looked into his eyes she knew this was something he needed to do on his own, just as she'd needed to be the one to dust Landon, Spike needed to be the one to dust Buffy. It was their way of making amends to the ones they'd loved and hadn't been able to save.
She'd known Buffy was beautiful, from the pictures she'd seen of her, but as a vampire, she was gorgeous. She fought gracefully, fluidly, never letting up for a second. Trinity recognized the way she fought as the way all slayers were trained to fight. Without mercy. But Buffy was no longer a slayer, and if Spike couldn't do the job, she would.
Buffy delivered a double kick, first to Spike's chest, then to his head. Spike growled and spun, his face changing as did Buffy's. This, Trinity realized, was a mistake on Buffy's part. If she had kept her face human, it would have been harder for Spike to kill her. But seeing her with fangs would make it easier on him, by reminding him that she was no longer the Buffy he'd loved, but an evil vampire out to end the world. Spike pulled out a stake and Buffy attempted to kick it out of his hand. Trinity pulled hers out, preparing to toss it to him if he needed it, but Spike held onto his, and spinning gracefully, plunged it into Buffy's heart before she had the time to dodge. Buffy turned to dust with a screech and Trinity walked over to Spike, pulling him into her arms before he had to walk off. Spike didn't like to show weakness anymore than she did, but Trinity had been in his shoes, just last night, and she knew that more than anything, he needed a friend. "C'mon." she said gruffly, "Let's go home."
"So it's better this way, I said
having seen this place before
where everything we said and did
hurts us all the more
it's just that we stayed too long
in the same old sickly skin
I'm pulled down by the undertow
never though I could feel so low
oh darkness I feel like letting go..."
Trinity woke to sunshine the next morning. *Hoe can the sun be shining* she though *When I feel like my whole worlds about to fall apart* they were staying in a motel on the outside of town, in their attempt to make Angelus think they had left town. Trinity knew, that tonight her fate would be decided. Whether she lived or died depended on whether or not she was ready to face Angelus. Somebody knocked on the door of the room she shared with Willow and she sighed. "Come in." she called out. "Rise and shine honey." Lorne said. "Spike's found us a place where you can train." he said. Trinity groaned and climbed out of bed. "Alright. I'll be out in a minute." she said. Lorne left and Trinity showered and dressed quickly before meeting up in Spikes room with her adopted family.
"How long?" she asked as she pulled her damp hair into a ponytail. "Seven hours." Wesley answered. "Alright then, what are we waiting for? Where's this place at?" she asked, turning to Spike. He hadn't slept, she realized. Even for a vamp he was pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes. "Just a few miles from here." he answered. "Let's go then." Trinity said, and they left to the motel, hurrying into their sun-proof van.
Trinity, Spike, Xander, and Gunn trained, while Willow, Fred, Lorne and Wesley prepared the spell they would need to counter-act the reopening of the Hellmouth, for about four hours, before breaking for dinner. Then they rested, knowing they'd need to save their strength for the battle ahead. "Are you sure you're ready?" Wesley asked the only slayer he'd managed not to drive away, as they parked a few blocks away from the Hellmouth. "Does it matter? Whether I'm ready or not I have to do this. If I don't, Angelus' will end the world. If I try to stop him, and die in the process, than at least then I'll know I've done everything I could." Trinity replied. "10 minutes." Willow said, interrupting. Trinity took a deep gulp of air before opening the door of the van. "Let's go." she said.
They arrived with force, slaughtering the vampires around them while a very pissed off Angelus chanted over the Hellmouth. Buffy was not the only one he'd turned, they realized. He had tricked them. When he'd killed Buffy, Giles, Dawn and Faith he'd turned them, then left people who looked similar in their places, after bashing their faces in, making them unrecognizable. Gunn faced Faith, and struck out with full force, though his heart was breaking all over again. Spike faced Dawn. He had loved her like a sister, as much as he'd loved Buffy, and he would avenge her death just as he had Buffy's. By killing the demon in possession of her body. Xander faced Giles. The man who'd been more of a father to him than his own. And his heart wept. Willow, Wesley, Fred and Lorne found a safe place and began the spell to counter-act the reopening of the Hellmouth. And Trinity faced Angelus. The vampire who'd taken her family from her, leaving her an orphan, who had made a vampire the love of her life, forcing her to kill him. She gazed at him without fear, her smoky gray eyes hardened with hatred. "I'm going to kill you." she said her voice devoid of any emotion. And for a brief second, Angelus was afraid.
She struck out with a spinning kick to Angelus' head. He stepped back and smirked, before countering with a punch to Trinity's face that had her flying back. Trinity got up and did two flips, popping up in front of Angelus and kneeing him in the gut, before hitting him hard in the chin with an uppercut that sent him flying. Angelus stood up, rubbing his chin, his face changing. "Hey!" he growled. "That kinda hurt." he rushed towards her, but Trinity spun away from him, kicking him hard in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. Trinity stood over him, her eyes gleaming with hatred. And then the ground began to shake. *Crap* she thought, as she fell on top of him. She was distracted long enough for Angelus to roll her over and bend down to bite her. Trinity gathered her strength, and drew her knees together, using them to kick him off her, as the ground stopped shaking and the Hellmouth closed. "Give it up Angelus." she said fiercely. "You can't win. You've got nothing. You're armies dead. You're lover’s dust. You have nothing. You are nothing." Trinity said, and then she somersaulted towards him, and bending down low, kicked his legs out from under him. Angelus fell to the ground and she pounced on him, slamming her stake into his heart, feeling nothing but glee as he turned to dust.
She turned around to assess the damage. Wesley, Willow, Fred and Lorne were relatively unscathed, with only a few cuts and bruises acquired during the fight to get to Angelus. Gunn was standing in shock, holding a necklace that must have been Faiths. Spike wept, for Buffy, for Dawn, and even for Angelus. Xander didn't weep, he just held Willow, as she cried. And Trinity smiled triumphantly. It was over. She'd faced Angelus and the apocalypse. And she'd won.
She stood in front of her family’s graves holding a bouquet of pink roses in her hand. The sun was shining, but the wind was brisk, blowing her long raven curls back from her face and rain drizzled down around her. It was Oregon after all. And though tears ran down her face, she smiled. She would survive.
"If all of the strength
and all of the courage
come and lift me from this place
I know I could love you much better than this
full of grace
full of grace my love..."
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