CH. 21
The next morning Doyle rolled over squinting against the bright sun outside, he got out of the bed and closed the blinds before slipping back beneath the covers. He yawned sleepily and took in the real life sleeping beauty next to him. He rolled onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow as he took in the flowing veil of espresso hair that fanned across the pillow and the flawless golden skin that contrasted beautifully with the white sheets and white wifebeater she had worn to bed. He smiled and gently caressed her face, halting his movements when he got no reaction. Normally Liz was a light sleeper due to the life they led, so it was uncommon for her to not react to something as feather light as the touch he had just given her. Pushing her hair away from her face he once again caressed her face and this time slid his hand down to the column of her throat, startled he pressed harder as he shot up. Her pulse was fluttering uncontrollably and as he watched he saw sweat begin to bead across her body. Panicking he cried out for Angel and the others, pulling Liz against his chest he began rocking back and forth, calling her name and pleading for her to wake up. He leaned back against the headboard, cradling her still form to his body, he looked up as Angel burst through the door, the others hot on his heels, still in various forms of sleepwear.
“What is it, what’s wrong?” asked Angel, panicked. He looked at his little sister and his best friend, seeing them in the same position as a year ago when he had first found her. The difference between now and then was Liz was passed out now, her breathing shallow and those vibrant brown eyes that he loved, that were so much like his own were closed. He knew if his heart had been beating then it would have stopped the moment he laid eyes on his baby sister. “Doyle, what’s wrong with her?” he asked voice cracking as he hesitantly moved closer to the bed.
“I don’t know, I woke up and she was like this… Angel… I, man… I’m sorry… I uh, I don’t know what to do.” The man looked beside himself as he kept darting his eyes between his lover and his best friend. He felt like his heart was breaking with every second that passed, he had never felt so hopeless.
Michael stood silent for a moment, replaying everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Pausing as a particular discussion or argument stood out in his memory, he looked around before rushing back out the door, leaving everyone bewildered as to what was happening now. He ran back into the room a minute later holding something to his chest, before solemnly turning it to face his friends.
“It’s a calendar, what does a calendar have to do with the fact that Liz is passed out and whatever the fuck is going on with her?” screeched Maria, concern for her best friend overshadowing any rational thought.
Tess paled as she saw what Michael was pointing to, moving to comfort Maria, words failed her. She looked to Alex and Isabel who also registered what was happening, the three traded looks of unease and apprehension. Finally regaining her voice and not being able to stand the silence, Tess spoke up. “Tonight’s the full moon.”
“Isn’t that the… ohhh…” Cordelia trailed off, looking down at the floor.
“So basically, Liz is gone, the First is coming and we’re all standing here like lambs to the slaughter?” asked Kyle with trepidation in his voice. At everyone’s dismal appearance he groaned. “Alright ladies and gentlemen, please return your seat to it’s upright and we’re fucked position.”
“Hell no, it’s not going to end like this,” exclaimed Doyle hotly; momentarily coming out of the daze he was in and shattering the blazing glares being sent Kyle’s way. “I am not going to lose her to the First, she can fight this, whatever this is. She’s strong, a fighter, she’s my lass and I refuse to let her go.” He choked back a sob, burying his face in Liz’s hair as the others all looked on in sympathy.
Buffy looked on, tears in her eyes, as she placed a comforting hand on Angel’s shoulder. She looked around at everyone and the state of grief they appeared to be in. “She’s not dead.” She stayed calm as everyone whirled to face her with accusing glares as if it would come true because she had uttered the words. “Guys, Liz wouldn’t want you to do this. She’s not dead, so why are we acting as if she is? If anything we have to prepare for tonight, Liz wouldn’t want us to be defenseless, and if her current state is any indication, this is going down tonight.” She looked around, as her words seemed to penetrate the figures in the room.
“So what do we do?” asked Max hesitantly, unsure on what to do, he had entered a completely different ballgame, all the Roswellians had. It was now up to Angel, Doyle, Buffy, and Cordelia to lead them, but without Liz how would they all hold up?
“We need to fortify the hotel in case they come to us looking for the fight,” commanded Buffy, going into leader mode. She looked to Angel for confirmation and saw him still staring at Liz, “Angel, Angel… you won’t do her any good staying here, we have to be ready. If they come, they’ll probably be coming for her and we can’t let them have her.” She gently shoved his shoulder and he looked up startled. Nodding his head in acquiescence to her request and as a sign to do whatever was needed, Buffy continued. “Michael, Max, can you two do any kind of blocking on the entrances and exits to this place, you know seal it tight?” At their nods she moved on to Tess and Isabel. “What about you two?”
“If we join our powers when they come, we can cloak us for a time… but I don’t know how long it will last,” shrugged Tess. “I hope that helps.”
“That does help, we can talk more on it later, why don’t you two go now and see what supplies you can get at the store. We may be here for a while and we don’t want them starving us out so to speak.”
Isabel looked about hesitantly. Her gaze flickered back once more to Liz in the arms of her shell-shocked lover and her resolve steeled. “I can try to dreamwalk Liz.” She jumped as all eyes twisted to her at once. “I don’t know if it will work, but I can try,” she offered. “I wouldn’t be able to do it with everyone around so it would have to wait, but I can try once we all get to work.”
“I don’t really know what that means, but if it’ll help then go for it,” exclaimed Buffy. She looked at the aliens and realized for the first time just how much they really did care for Liz. All this time, the past year, she had never really given them much thought, just another piece of Liz’s past, but here they were, facing everything people only heard of in horror stories, for her.
“What can Alex and I do?” piped in Maria, ready to do anything to help her new friends and protect her best friend.
“Cordelia, you know your way around the weapons storage area right?”
“I haven’t known you for five years and worked for this joker two, to not know my way around weapons,” scoffed the brunette.
“Good, take Maria, she’ll help you get the weapons ready.” She turned once more to Angel, “You need to go to your informants and see what you can find out.” Before he could protest, she forged on. “We don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with, the Bringers keep saying ‘from beneath you it devours’, but we don’t know what the hell is going on, it’s big, but how big?” She looked at Kyle’s pleading gaze and sighed, “Take Kyle with you, he’ll be able to help and can watch your back.”
The room grew silent and everyone turned to Doyle who was still clutching to Liz as if she were his lifeline, which she may have been. “Doyle,” said Buffy softly as she walked over to the trembling man. “Doyle, are you ok?” When he didn’t answer, she looked down sadly. “Isabel, what do you have to do to dreamwalk, is that what you called it?”
Isabel tore her gaze away from Doyle and Liz and faced Buffy, “I need an empty room where I can lie down in and I’ll need a picture of Liz.” She looked down briefly before she looked up again, blushing. “I need Alex, he’s my anchor.” She looked at the lanky boy who had stolen her heart and he held out his hand to her.
“I have a picture of her, and I’ll come down and help Maria and Cordelia when we’re done up here,” he said quietly before he and Isabel walked out of the room.
Buffy looked around at the room’s other occupants. “Well c’mon guys, let’s go,” she sighed. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Live to See Another Day (Angel XO UC Mature) Complete 7/9/05
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elfangel01
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elfangel01
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- Joined: Sun May 30, 2004 7:23 pm
- Location: 'finding my way back to sanity... again'
CH. 22
Liz sat up groggily, taking in her surroundings and running a weary hand over her face. It felt like she had run a marathon, been hit by a truck, forced to run again, and then had the truck plus some of its buddies park on her. She rose, unsteadily, to her feet before turning around once more, trying to find any obvious clues as to where she was. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep at the ‘Hyperion’ in Doyle’s arms, now? Well now she could be back in Ireland with Lucky the leprechaun and his damned magically delicious lucky charms for all she knew. She kept turning and saw nothing but black, black everywhere, no shades of gray, no variations, just black. “Couldn’t they have come up with a more original color?” she muttered to herself. “Hello?” she called out, getting no response. Irritated, she began walking, where, she didn’t know since she couldn’t see anything to begin with, even with her enhanced vampire sight. “Hello?” she called again, this time she was rewarded with colors swirling around in the vast blackness. She stopped short as the colors began to take on definitive shapes… she looked around in fascination as the green hills came into focus. The woods all around her, gave off the smell that she knew they should, but how could that be? She obviously wasn’t in the real world; everything was brighter, sharper. “Well, at least I got part of where I was right.” She soaked in her childhood home in wonder; she was back in Ireland, where she and Liam had grown up together, and in looking down, noticed that she too was in the traditional garb that she used to wear. She was wearing a white peasant top and long brown skirt, she looked at her feet and saw that she was wearing soft brown leather boots and her long hair was pulled back with a kerchief.
“Is there anyone there?” she called. Spinning as she heard a twig snap, she squinted her eyes against the exceedingly bright sunshine. Tuning her ears to listen over the sounds… she looked around in shock, there are no sounds! No birds, wind, people, animals, any of the regular woodland sounds surrounded her. Not seeing anything she continued walking. She walked for what seemed like hours, but didn’t notice any change in her surroundings. Green trees and hills were everywhere, but there were still no sounds except the tread of her feet on the still wet grass from whatever dew there was. She kept calling out, hoping that somebody or something would answer her soon, anything was better then this mind trip of a walk down memory lane. Her muscles began to strain as she kept walking, Liz couldn’t remember walking this much in her entire life, but she kept plowing on, hoping to sooner or later reach somebody or something. As she kept walking, she began to notice differences in the trees around her. Where they were once fully bloomed and vibrantly green, they were slowly becoming brown and decayed, like walking directly from summer into fall. She looked around in confusion as the trees began to grow more and more decrepit looking. She kept walking until she hit a barrier of some sort, there was a ripple like stones in a pond across the air and she could go no further. To her back were the beautiful, green trees and in front of her were the completely dead ones.
“Hello Beth.”
Liz spun around, trying to locate the source of the voice and also racking her brain for why it sounded familiar. Nobody called her Beth except for Angel, so who was this person and why was there a sense of dreaded familiarity?
“To be ready for what lies ahead, you must look to the past. To choose your future, you must know where you come from. To bring peace or bring destruction, that is your path. You will be the greatest warrior the world has ever seen.”
“That’s great and all, but you want to vague that up for me a little bit more?” asked Liz sarcastically, still looking around trying to place the voice.
“To be the warrior you must be the victim…”
“Cut the damn cryptic and show yourself.”
“You are not ready, but we have no time to waste. Prepare yourself Beth.” Liz looked on in shock as emotions flew through her. Disgust, hatred, fear, but above it all was the overwhelming need to have questions answered and be returned to her family.
“What am I doing here Darla?” she spat.
The blonde, female vampire looked at Liz curiously. “You know, when he killed you, little wisp of a girl you were, I never thought that you would become what you are today… what you’re destined to become. What is so special about you?” She circled her, never breaking eye contact since Liz was turning with her, never taking her eyes off the thing that had originally taken her brother from her. Darla too was dressed in her old clothing, a long black dress over a flowing white shirt, all covered by a black velvet cape and her hair stylishly twisted up.
“Why am I here? Why are we dressed as we used to and to add onto that, why the fuck are you here?” She glared at the vampire hoping that she would trip up and Liz would get to beat her ass.
“I’m here to be your guide sweetling…”
“NO! Angel is the only one who calls me that. It’s his right as a brother, not yours as a murdering whore who works only for her own gain. Now keep it simple, why am I here?” ground out Liz.
“Alright Beth, you’re here to choose, and I got stuck being your guide. We’re going on a little head-trip; basically we’re starting back at the beginning. You have to see everything, experience it again. You will be faced with love and hatred, betrayal and trust. You will have to choose in the end whether or not you will be the First’s champion or fight with your brother. Where we are now is symbolic of your choice, stay in the warm sun and the bright loving life you have or go to the dark side, evil is in your veins Beth, it’s part of you and you will have to come to terms with it.”
“I can tell you right now that I’ll choose my brother, I’m never going to the First’s side,” stated Liz angrily.
“We’ll see,” sighed Darla impatiently as she waved her hand and the woods dissolved around them.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“Ok, we really need to talk about doing magic tricks around a pissed off vampire,” shouted Liz when things began to rematerialize. She looked around in confusion, which turned to dawning understanding. “What are we doing here?” she asked quietly.
“We’re here so you can see the relationship you once had with your brother, and also how evil entered your life at an early age. You’ll see both sides of the coin, but for now just watch.”
Liz watched in fascination as a young version of herself ran through the fields on their land being chased by her older brother, she must not have been anymore than nine. “Liam,” she squealed. “You’ll never catch me!” Beth ran full speed, as fast as her little legs could carry her across the vast expanse of green grass as Liam chased behind her, catching up with every passing second. Finally she felt herself being tackled to the ground as Liam caught her. “Liam,” she giggled, thrashing about as he tickled her mercilessly.
“You should know better than to try and run from me… and putting that frog in my shoe wasn’t very nice sweetling.” Young Liam straddled his little sister and continued tickling her until she was out of breath and red faced from laughing so hard. He sat back and smirked at her; cocking an eyebrow at her he waited until she officially admitted defeat before helping her up and brushing her off.
“What are we going to do now? She asked curious. She brushed a piece of hair back behind her kerchief and sat down with a thump in the warm grass, heated by the sun’s rays.
“I just helped you up, and now you’re back in the grass.” Liam shook his head in amusement before he too plopped down on the ground.
“See you’re doing it too,” she stuck her tongue out at him.
“Let’s go swimming, it’s hot out and the lakes callin’ me name.”
Beth rolled her eyes, “The Lake’s always callin’ your name, and come to think of it… food’s always callin’ your name, and ale… and girls.”
“Hardy, har, har, Beth, ya think you’re so funny don’t ya?” Liam grabbed her hand and began pulling her towards their small house to get changed for swimming. Upon reaching it, he pulled her behind his body, sheltering her from the harsh sounds they could hear coming out. “Sshh sweetling, don’t let anything that could happen in here frighten you, I’m here.” He opened the door to their mother and father arguing as always.
“Stupid wench, why do you always have to mess everythin’ up for us?” screamed Liam and Beth’s father. He backhanded her and watched in sick satisfaction as she flew across the room and slammed into the wall. He turned to look at his cowering children; the wretch of a son who disgraced him daily and the little bitch he should have drowned from the beginning. They were both worthless to him; say farewell to bad rubbish and all that. “What do ya want?” he slurred, advancing on them as they tried to slink back out of the house.
“Nuh… Nothing,” stuttered Beth, trying not to show her fear but failing miserably. “We were ju…just comin’ to get our swimmin’ clothes.” She tightened her tiny grip on her brother as her father drew closer. She knew he never meant them any ill will, until he became drunk, and then he lost all control.
“Going swimmin’ eh? I hope you both drown, save me a hell of a lot a trouble.” He glared at them both, squinting slightly due to the alcohol in his system. “What are ya still doin’ here? Get out, both of ya,” he growled. When Beth didn’t move, even as Liam was backing out, he stormed over and slapped her face as hard as he could. He grinned maliciously as he saw his hand print already darkening Beth’s pale features.
Beth looked up in shock at her father, tears swimming in her big brown eyes. He had hit her, she couldn’t believe it, he had never hit her before. Yes, he had threatened it and made many other horrible threats, but he had never actually done it. She felt her brother pulling her back, out of the house and she followed him mindlessly. She wandered after him, never really taking anything in until she saw that they were at their favorite spot, the big oak tree that shaded everything and hung so low that it gave them the illusion of privacy. She looked up into Liam’s face as he caressed her face and whispered meaningless promises of soothing comfort. She cuddled into his body and shuddered, the pain in her face nothing compared to the pain in her heart.
“Ssshh, it’ll be alright, I’ll always be here for ya Beth.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Liz looked on with tears in her eyes as one of her fondest and worst memories played out before her. She turned to look at Darla and saw the vampire looking at the same scene, her face impassive. “Are we done?” she bit out. “Are you through showing me memories I’ve buried deep inside?”
Darla glanced over at Liz. “No, we are far from done… that was only the beginning.” She waved her hand once again and darkness washed over them.
“Oh God no,” whimpered Liz as the shrouding mist once again faded, leaving the two vampires standing in a bleak field, shadowed by trees. “Why am I here?” she asked tearfully, covering her mouth to keep back the sobs that threatened to burst forth.
“To learn.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Dark and penetrating, the place reeked of doom and gloom. No happy things occurred here and at first glance travelers would stray away. She looked on in misery as she saw her younger self, weeping with her mother at the funeral of her brother. They stood there, still as death itself, which had claimed her beloved brother, and mourned his passing as her father stood to the side, never flinching, staring straight ahead. She looked in horror at the gravestone, 1727-1753 Beloved Son, each clump of dirt that passed down to cover her brother’s coffin, nailing the awful truth home even more… Liam was dead, gone forever.
“Taken too soon from the bosom of his family, a man of just 20 years and 6, Liam was well-loved by everyone he met. Receive this your humble servant. We pray that you may take his eternal soul into your care, Father,” said the priest, turning away and leading the procession back down the hill.
Everyone turned to follow him except for Beth; she knelt down next to her brother’s grave and wept. Crying out to God, “Why did you take him from me? What did he ever do to you? I want him back, send him back to me!” She threw herself on the ground and cried herself to sleep, waking a little later before sunset. She rose from the ground and blew one last sweet kiss at the fresh earth that marked her brother’s final resting place. She turned and walked away, back towards her home, never noticing the blonde figure come out from the shadows of the trees as night finally descended. Nor did she notice her beckoning her brother forth and the hand that shot out of the earth.
A/N: quote by the priest from Angel episode "The Prodigal"
Liz sat up groggily, taking in her surroundings and running a weary hand over her face. It felt like she had run a marathon, been hit by a truck, forced to run again, and then had the truck plus some of its buddies park on her. She rose, unsteadily, to her feet before turning around once more, trying to find any obvious clues as to where she was. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep at the ‘Hyperion’ in Doyle’s arms, now? Well now she could be back in Ireland with Lucky the leprechaun and his damned magically delicious lucky charms for all she knew. She kept turning and saw nothing but black, black everywhere, no shades of gray, no variations, just black. “Couldn’t they have come up with a more original color?” she muttered to herself. “Hello?” she called out, getting no response. Irritated, she began walking, where, she didn’t know since she couldn’t see anything to begin with, even with her enhanced vampire sight. “Hello?” she called again, this time she was rewarded with colors swirling around in the vast blackness. She stopped short as the colors began to take on definitive shapes… she looked around in fascination as the green hills came into focus. The woods all around her, gave off the smell that she knew they should, but how could that be? She obviously wasn’t in the real world; everything was brighter, sharper. “Well, at least I got part of where I was right.” She soaked in her childhood home in wonder; she was back in Ireland, where she and Liam had grown up together, and in looking down, noticed that she too was in the traditional garb that she used to wear. She was wearing a white peasant top and long brown skirt, she looked at her feet and saw that she was wearing soft brown leather boots and her long hair was pulled back with a kerchief.
“Is there anyone there?” she called. Spinning as she heard a twig snap, she squinted her eyes against the exceedingly bright sunshine. Tuning her ears to listen over the sounds… she looked around in shock, there are no sounds! No birds, wind, people, animals, any of the regular woodland sounds surrounded her. Not seeing anything she continued walking. She walked for what seemed like hours, but didn’t notice any change in her surroundings. Green trees and hills were everywhere, but there were still no sounds except the tread of her feet on the still wet grass from whatever dew there was. She kept calling out, hoping that somebody or something would answer her soon, anything was better then this mind trip of a walk down memory lane. Her muscles began to strain as she kept walking, Liz couldn’t remember walking this much in her entire life, but she kept plowing on, hoping to sooner or later reach somebody or something. As she kept walking, she began to notice differences in the trees around her. Where they were once fully bloomed and vibrantly green, they were slowly becoming brown and decayed, like walking directly from summer into fall. She looked around in confusion as the trees began to grow more and more decrepit looking. She kept walking until she hit a barrier of some sort, there was a ripple like stones in a pond across the air and she could go no further. To her back were the beautiful, green trees and in front of her were the completely dead ones.
“Hello Beth.”
Liz spun around, trying to locate the source of the voice and also racking her brain for why it sounded familiar. Nobody called her Beth except for Angel, so who was this person and why was there a sense of dreaded familiarity?
“To be ready for what lies ahead, you must look to the past. To choose your future, you must know where you come from. To bring peace or bring destruction, that is your path. You will be the greatest warrior the world has ever seen.”
“That’s great and all, but you want to vague that up for me a little bit more?” asked Liz sarcastically, still looking around trying to place the voice.
“To be the warrior you must be the victim…”
“Cut the damn cryptic and show yourself.”
“You are not ready, but we have no time to waste. Prepare yourself Beth.” Liz looked on in shock as emotions flew through her. Disgust, hatred, fear, but above it all was the overwhelming need to have questions answered and be returned to her family.
“What am I doing here Darla?” she spat.
The blonde, female vampire looked at Liz curiously. “You know, when he killed you, little wisp of a girl you were, I never thought that you would become what you are today… what you’re destined to become. What is so special about you?” She circled her, never breaking eye contact since Liz was turning with her, never taking her eyes off the thing that had originally taken her brother from her. Darla too was dressed in her old clothing, a long black dress over a flowing white shirt, all covered by a black velvet cape and her hair stylishly twisted up.
“Why am I here? Why are we dressed as we used to and to add onto that, why the fuck are you here?” She glared at the vampire hoping that she would trip up and Liz would get to beat her ass.
“I’m here to be your guide sweetling…”
“NO! Angel is the only one who calls me that. It’s his right as a brother, not yours as a murdering whore who works only for her own gain. Now keep it simple, why am I here?” ground out Liz.
“Alright Beth, you’re here to choose, and I got stuck being your guide. We’re going on a little head-trip; basically we’re starting back at the beginning. You have to see everything, experience it again. You will be faced with love and hatred, betrayal and trust. You will have to choose in the end whether or not you will be the First’s champion or fight with your brother. Where we are now is symbolic of your choice, stay in the warm sun and the bright loving life you have or go to the dark side, evil is in your veins Beth, it’s part of you and you will have to come to terms with it.”
“I can tell you right now that I’ll choose my brother, I’m never going to the First’s side,” stated Liz angrily.
“We’ll see,” sighed Darla impatiently as she waved her hand and the woods dissolved around them.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“Ok, we really need to talk about doing magic tricks around a pissed off vampire,” shouted Liz when things began to rematerialize. She looked around in confusion, which turned to dawning understanding. “What are we doing here?” she asked quietly.
“We’re here so you can see the relationship you once had with your brother, and also how evil entered your life at an early age. You’ll see both sides of the coin, but for now just watch.”
Liz watched in fascination as a young version of herself ran through the fields on their land being chased by her older brother, she must not have been anymore than nine. “Liam,” she squealed. “You’ll never catch me!” Beth ran full speed, as fast as her little legs could carry her across the vast expanse of green grass as Liam chased behind her, catching up with every passing second. Finally she felt herself being tackled to the ground as Liam caught her. “Liam,” she giggled, thrashing about as he tickled her mercilessly.
“You should know better than to try and run from me… and putting that frog in my shoe wasn’t very nice sweetling.” Young Liam straddled his little sister and continued tickling her until she was out of breath and red faced from laughing so hard. He sat back and smirked at her; cocking an eyebrow at her he waited until she officially admitted defeat before helping her up and brushing her off.
“What are we going to do now? She asked curious. She brushed a piece of hair back behind her kerchief and sat down with a thump in the warm grass, heated by the sun’s rays.
“I just helped you up, and now you’re back in the grass.” Liam shook his head in amusement before he too plopped down on the ground.
“See you’re doing it too,” she stuck her tongue out at him.
“Let’s go swimming, it’s hot out and the lakes callin’ me name.”
Beth rolled her eyes, “The Lake’s always callin’ your name, and come to think of it… food’s always callin’ your name, and ale… and girls.”
“Hardy, har, har, Beth, ya think you’re so funny don’t ya?” Liam grabbed her hand and began pulling her towards their small house to get changed for swimming. Upon reaching it, he pulled her behind his body, sheltering her from the harsh sounds they could hear coming out. “Sshh sweetling, don’t let anything that could happen in here frighten you, I’m here.” He opened the door to their mother and father arguing as always.
“Stupid wench, why do you always have to mess everythin’ up for us?” screamed Liam and Beth’s father. He backhanded her and watched in sick satisfaction as she flew across the room and slammed into the wall. He turned to look at his cowering children; the wretch of a son who disgraced him daily and the little bitch he should have drowned from the beginning. They were both worthless to him; say farewell to bad rubbish and all that. “What do ya want?” he slurred, advancing on them as they tried to slink back out of the house.
“Nuh… Nothing,” stuttered Beth, trying not to show her fear but failing miserably. “We were ju…just comin’ to get our swimmin’ clothes.” She tightened her tiny grip on her brother as her father drew closer. She knew he never meant them any ill will, until he became drunk, and then he lost all control.
“Going swimmin’ eh? I hope you both drown, save me a hell of a lot a trouble.” He glared at them both, squinting slightly due to the alcohol in his system. “What are ya still doin’ here? Get out, both of ya,” he growled. When Beth didn’t move, even as Liam was backing out, he stormed over and slapped her face as hard as he could. He grinned maliciously as he saw his hand print already darkening Beth’s pale features.
Beth looked up in shock at her father, tears swimming in her big brown eyes. He had hit her, she couldn’t believe it, he had never hit her before. Yes, he had threatened it and made many other horrible threats, but he had never actually done it. She felt her brother pulling her back, out of the house and she followed him mindlessly. She wandered after him, never really taking anything in until she saw that they were at their favorite spot, the big oak tree that shaded everything and hung so low that it gave them the illusion of privacy. She looked up into Liam’s face as he caressed her face and whispered meaningless promises of soothing comfort. She cuddled into his body and shuddered, the pain in her face nothing compared to the pain in her heart.
“Ssshh, it’ll be alright, I’ll always be here for ya Beth.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Liz looked on with tears in her eyes as one of her fondest and worst memories played out before her. She turned to look at Darla and saw the vampire looking at the same scene, her face impassive. “Are we done?” she bit out. “Are you through showing me memories I’ve buried deep inside?”
Darla glanced over at Liz. “No, we are far from done… that was only the beginning.” She waved her hand once again and darkness washed over them.
“Oh God no,” whimpered Liz as the shrouding mist once again faded, leaving the two vampires standing in a bleak field, shadowed by trees. “Why am I here?” she asked tearfully, covering her mouth to keep back the sobs that threatened to burst forth.
“To learn.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Dark and penetrating, the place reeked of doom and gloom. No happy things occurred here and at first glance travelers would stray away. She looked on in misery as she saw her younger self, weeping with her mother at the funeral of her brother. They stood there, still as death itself, which had claimed her beloved brother, and mourned his passing as her father stood to the side, never flinching, staring straight ahead. She looked in horror at the gravestone, 1727-1753 Beloved Son, each clump of dirt that passed down to cover her brother’s coffin, nailing the awful truth home even more… Liam was dead, gone forever.
“Taken too soon from the bosom of his family, a man of just 20 years and 6, Liam was well-loved by everyone he met. Receive this your humble servant. We pray that you may take his eternal soul into your care, Father,” said the priest, turning away and leading the procession back down the hill.
Everyone turned to follow him except for Beth; she knelt down next to her brother’s grave and wept. Crying out to God, “Why did you take him from me? What did he ever do to you? I want him back, send him back to me!” She threw herself on the ground and cried herself to sleep, waking a little later before sunset. She rose from the ground and blew one last sweet kiss at the fresh earth that marked her brother’s final resting place. She turned and walked away, back towards her home, never noticing the blonde figure come out from the shadows of the trees as night finally descended. Nor did she notice her beckoning her brother forth and the hand that shot out of the earth.
A/N: quote by the priest from Angel episode "The Prodigal"
Oh. McDreamy was doing the McNasty with McHottie? That McBastard. Uh, how was that?
-Dr. George O'Malley
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elfangel01
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CH. 23
“I can’t get through to her,” said Isabel dejectedly. “I don’t know what’s blocking me, but something besides Liz is.” She looked up at Alex as the two sat on the bed in his room, she had tried reaching Liz for the past to hours and time after time she had been rebuffed. It was becoming taxing and she was losing energy. She looked around the room, taking in the darkened, and shrouded appearance. It still seemed so odd to be here. Yes, she had rekindled the friendship that she and Liz had shared and it had grown, along with the new friendships with Angel, Doyle and Cordelia. But to be here, in L.A. fighting for Liz’s future and survival, well it seemed surreal. She was afraid, although she would not admit it, Liz had been right in saying they were out of their element. What if they couldn’t hack it, what if they failed? No, she shook her head; she knew she couldn’t think like that.
“Maybe you should take a break,” broke in Alex sympathetically, unknowingly halting her thoughts from continuing down the dark spiral they had started on. He took in her haggard appearance and knew that Isabel was running down, but he also knew she would never admit it out loud. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, resting his head against hers he sighed. His thoughts mirrored hers, although he didn’t know it. He wanted to be able to save Liz; this was the first time in a long time they had all seemed happy. Yes, they had problems when they first arrived because Max had tried to force his hand yet again, but they could all be faulted for that… going into the situation blindly. He didn’t want to lose his best friend; he didn’t think he could handle it. He shook his head slightly forcing the thoughts from his mind he refocused on Isabel.
She looked up at him through her lashes and felt her heart begin to beat faster as it always did when Alex kissed her; hell he didn’t even have to kiss her, just be in the same room as her. She sighed wistfully, wishing yet again that everything was perfect and they could all just be together. “No I can’t rest, I have to try until I reach her. Everything depends on her, and just look at Doyle.” She looked up helplessly, dropping her arms back to her sides. “He looks so lost, no I have to keep going.” She snuggled back into Alex as they both stretched out on the bed once more. “Please hold me.”
“Always,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head and silently looking heavenward, praying to whoever that they would get through this. He looked down as he felt Isabel’s breathe even out and knew that she was once again in the dream plane.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Maria looked at Cordelia as they continued to move about the weapons room. Who knew a person could rack up this many? Then again she mused, Angel did have about two hundred year’s worth of time to do this kind of shopping. She glanced at the wall and stared in horrific fascination at a spear with spikes sticking out of it at different intervals, with only room to hold it at dead center. It would suck to be killed by that. She turned at Cordelia’s call and saw the older brunette motioning for her to come over.
“Help me get this off the wall,” she panted.
“What the hell is it? It looks like a stick and one of those throwy things that comes back to you! How will this help us?”
Cordelia sighed as she turned to face Maria. “It’s called a scythe, it’s what the Grim uses.” At Maria’s still puzzled look she explained further. “You know when you always hear the stories about Death or the Grim Reaper? Well this is an example of what he carries with him… Angel uses it on extreme cases of big and ugly.”
Maria stood there, staring at the scythe that Cordelia now held in her hands. She looked around the room once again, this time being assaulted by the sudden reality that this was it. There was no more getting around it and no more putting it off for another day. The end was here and it was up to them to save Liz so she could in turn save the world. “Oh my God,” she gasped suddenly, her knees buckling underneath her as Cordelia rushed over to catch her.
“What is it, what’s wrong?” she asked anxiously. She walked Maria over to a chair and sat her down, crouching before her she waited for the blonde to speak as she began to regulate her breathing once more.
“It just hit me,” Maria said quietly. “This is the end, Liz could come out on either side and she could live or die.” She looked down at her clasped hands in her lap and sniffled, holding back her tears so she could finish talking. “I’ve lived my entire life with Liz as my best friend, and I lost her this past year. I came here and got the shock of a lifetime, Liz was no longer Lizzie from Roswell. I haven’t even really had time to get to know my best friend again, everything’s just changing so quickly.” She paused and sucked in a deep breath, laying her biggest fear on the line. “I don’t want to lose Liz, because I don’t know how to be without her.”
Cordelia looked at her quizzically, “But haven’t you ‘been’ without her this past year? I mean, she’s been gone and you managed just fine right?”
“Sure she was gone from Roswell, but I always knew she was still out there ya know? If she dies tonight, I don’t know how to live without my best friend. I mean who is going to have pint night with Alex and me? Who am I going to cry and scream and complain to about Michael? Hell if she ever came back to Roswell who would I look forward to seeing in the Crashdown everyday? I’ve had her with me all my life and I just don’t think I can handle not having that security there…”
She trailed off, wiping runaway tears away from her face as she looked at Cordelia. She glanced down startled as the brunette grasped her still clasped hands into her own.
“Liz will make it out of this, Maria. She’s the strongest person I know and she won’t leave us alone to go on without her and she won’t turn evil. We’ve been through a lot this past year and she’s told all of us how much she cares about all of you guys. She won’t leave you, she’ll fight with everything she has in her before she leaves you.” She smiled reassuringly at the blonde, who gave her a watery smile.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome.” Cordelia looked around the room before standing and brushing herself off. She held out her hand for Maria to take. “How about we get these upstairs to Buffy and see what else she needs us to do. All these weapons are becoming so five minutes ago.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Max looked at Michael out of the corner of his eye yet again as they continued to fortify the hotel under Buffy’s orders. He let out a ragged sigh as he waved his hand over what must’ve been the millionth window in the place… I mean damn how many windows and doors could there possibly be?
Michael looked over at him, rolling his eyes as he heard him sigh again, he had learned a long time ago that doing shit like that did not make work go any faster, and Maxwell was this close to being knocked flat on his damn ass. Hearing him sigh and shuffle his feet yet again, he lost it, rotating to face his brother he glared at him. “What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to piss me off to the point that I fry your ass?” he growled, clenching and unclenching his fists.
Max stared at him owlishly, blinking his eyes a couple of times, as if that would help him comprehend what Michael was yelling at him about. “What did I do?”
“Your damn sighing and shuffling your feet and sighing again. I mean for the love of Buddha do you have to be so noisy. Doing all that isn’t going to make this go any faster and isn’t going to make Liz come back any sooner!” he shouted, falling silent at the mention of Liz he looked away from Max.
“Your worried aren’t you?” asked Max, pushing down his own fear and mounting worry to talk to Michael. “You won’t show it but you’re worried that she won’t make it back and if she does that she’ll be evil. You can say it Michael, I’m scared too.”
“I’m not scared for Liz, Maxwell,” he sighed heavily, running a weathered hand over his face wearily at Max’s look of disbelief. “I’m not,” he said again. “I’m scared we won’t be enough, that we won’t be able to handle it. I mean let’s face it; we’re completely out of our element here. I’ve killed what, one demon and we’ve had one training session. Face the facts man, we’re completely unprepared on how to handle this.” He looked down, collecting his thoughts before plowing on. “I have faith that Liz will make it back, but how is this going to change her? Will she even be the same Liz we knew before? Whatever’s happening to her is probably going to change her, we don’t know what’s going on in her head, if that’s even where she is. Think about it Maxwell.”
The two men fell silent after Michael’s speech, turning back to their work. “I let her go to be happy, so she could move on without me pressuring her and so I could finally find peace. How much happiness can she find when all this is over? What if something happens?” whispered Max sadly.
The two men walked out of the room they had been in, and Michael looked back once more before shutting the door behind them and sealing it with his powers. I hope for all our sakes that Liz can handle whatever is happening to her.
“I can’t get through to her,” said Isabel dejectedly. “I don’t know what’s blocking me, but something besides Liz is.” She looked up at Alex as the two sat on the bed in his room, she had tried reaching Liz for the past to hours and time after time she had been rebuffed. It was becoming taxing and she was losing energy. She looked around the room, taking in the darkened, and shrouded appearance. It still seemed so odd to be here. Yes, she had rekindled the friendship that she and Liz had shared and it had grown, along with the new friendships with Angel, Doyle and Cordelia. But to be here, in L.A. fighting for Liz’s future and survival, well it seemed surreal. She was afraid, although she would not admit it, Liz had been right in saying they were out of their element. What if they couldn’t hack it, what if they failed? No, she shook her head; she knew she couldn’t think like that.
“Maybe you should take a break,” broke in Alex sympathetically, unknowingly halting her thoughts from continuing down the dark spiral they had started on. He took in her haggard appearance and knew that Isabel was running down, but he also knew she would never admit it out loud. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, resting his head against hers he sighed. His thoughts mirrored hers, although he didn’t know it. He wanted to be able to save Liz; this was the first time in a long time they had all seemed happy. Yes, they had problems when they first arrived because Max had tried to force his hand yet again, but they could all be faulted for that… going into the situation blindly. He didn’t want to lose his best friend; he didn’t think he could handle it. He shook his head slightly forcing the thoughts from his mind he refocused on Isabel.
She looked up at him through her lashes and felt her heart begin to beat faster as it always did when Alex kissed her; hell he didn’t even have to kiss her, just be in the same room as her. She sighed wistfully, wishing yet again that everything was perfect and they could all just be together. “No I can’t rest, I have to try until I reach her. Everything depends on her, and just look at Doyle.” She looked up helplessly, dropping her arms back to her sides. “He looks so lost, no I have to keep going.” She snuggled back into Alex as they both stretched out on the bed once more. “Please hold me.”
“Always,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head and silently looking heavenward, praying to whoever that they would get through this. He looked down as he felt Isabel’s breathe even out and knew that she was once again in the dream plane.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Maria looked at Cordelia as they continued to move about the weapons room. Who knew a person could rack up this many? Then again she mused, Angel did have about two hundred year’s worth of time to do this kind of shopping. She glanced at the wall and stared in horrific fascination at a spear with spikes sticking out of it at different intervals, with only room to hold it at dead center. It would suck to be killed by that. She turned at Cordelia’s call and saw the older brunette motioning for her to come over.
“Help me get this off the wall,” she panted.
“What the hell is it? It looks like a stick and one of those throwy things that comes back to you! How will this help us?”
Cordelia sighed as she turned to face Maria. “It’s called a scythe, it’s what the Grim uses.” At Maria’s still puzzled look she explained further. “You know when you always hear the stories about Death or the Grim Reaper? Well this is an example of what he carries with him… Angel uses it on extreme cases of big and ugly.”
Maria stood there, staring at the scythe that Cordelia now held in her hands. She looked around the room once again, this time being assaulted by the sudden reality that this was it. There was no more getting around it and no more putting it off for another day. The end was here and it was up to them to save Liz so she could in turn save the world. “Oh my God,” she gasped suddenly, her knees buckling underneath her as Cordelia rushed over to catch her.
“What is it, what’s wrong?” she asked anxiously. She walked Maria over to a chair and sat her down, crouching before her she waited for the blonde to speak as she began to regulate her breathing once more.
“It just hit me,” Maria said quietly. “This is the end, Liz could come out on either side and she could live or die.” She looked down at her clasped hands in her lap and sniffled, holding back her tears so she could finish talking. “I’ve lived my entire life with Liz as my best friend, and I lost her this past year. I came here and got the shock of a lifetime, Liz was no longer Lizzie from Roswell. I haven’t even really had time to get to know my best friend again, everything’s just changing so quickly.” She paused and sucked in a deep breath, laying her biggest fear on the line. “I don’t want to lose Liz, because I don’t know how to be without her.”
Cordelia looked at her quizzically, “But haven’t you ‘been’ without her this past year? I mean, she’s been gone and you managed just fine right?”
“Sure she was gone from Roswell, but I always knew she was still out there ya know? If she dies tonight, I don’t know how to live without my best friend. I mean who is going to have pint night with Alex and me? Who am I going to cry and scream and complain to about Michael? Hell if she ever came back to Roswell who would I look forward to seeing in the Crashdown everyday? I’ve had her with me all my life and I just don’t think I can handle not having that security there…”
She trailed off, wiping runaway tears away from her face as she looked at Cordelia. She glanced down startled as the brunette grasped her still clasped hands into her own.
“Liz will make it out of this, Maria. She’s the strongest person I know and she won’t leave us alone to go on without her and she won’t turn evil. We’ve been through a lot this past year and she’s told all of us how much she cares about all of you guys. She won’t leave you, she’ll fight with everything she has in her before she leaves you.” She smiled reassuringly at the blonde, who gave her a watery smile.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome.” Cordelia looked around the room before standing and brushing herself off. She held out her hand for Maria to take. “How about we get these upstairs to Buffy and see what else she needs us to do. All these weapons are becoming so five minutes ago.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Max looked at Michael out of the corner of his eye yet again as they continued to fortify the hotel under Buffy’s orders. He let out a ragged sigh as he waved his hand over what must’ve been the millionth window in the place… I mean damn how many windows and doors could there possibly be?
Michael looked over at him, rolling his eyes as he heard him sigh again, he had learned a long time ago that doing shit like that did not make work go any faster, and Maxwell was this close to being knocked flat on his damn ass. Hearing him sigh and shuffle his feet yet again, he lost it, rotating to face his brother he glared at him. “What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to piss me off to the point that I fry your ass?” he growled, clenching and unclenching his fists.
Max stared at him owlishly, blinking his eyes a couple of times, as if that would help him comprehend what Michael was yelling at him about. “What did I do?”
“Your damn sighing and shuffling your feet and sighing again. I mean for the love of Buddha do you have to be so noisy. Doing all that isn’t going to make this go any faster and isn’t going to make Liz come back any sooner!” he shouted, falling silent at the mention of Liz he looked away from Max.
“Your worried aren’t you?” asked Max, pushing down his own fear and mounting worry to talk to Michael. “You won’t show it but you’re worried that she won’t make it back and if she does that she’ll be evil. You can say it Michael, I’m scared too.”
“I’m not scared for Liz, Maxwell,” he sighed heavily, running a weathered hand over his face wearily at Max’s look of disbelief. “I’m not,” he said again. “I’m scared we won’t be enough, that we won’t be able to handle it. I mean let’s face it; we’re completely out of our element here. I’ve killed what, one demon and we’ve had one training session. Face the facts man, we’re completely unprepared on how to handle this.” He looked down, collecting his thoughts before plowing on. “I have faith that Liz will make it back, but how is this going to change her? Will she even be the same Liz we knew before? Whatever’s happening to her is probably going to change her, we don’t know what’s going on in her head, if that’s even where she is. Think about it Maxwell.”
The two men fell silent after Michael’s speech, turning back to their work. “I let her go to be happy, so she could move on without me pressuring her and so I could finally find peace. How much happiness can she find when all this is over? What if something happens?” whispered Max sadly.
The two men walked out of the room they had been in, and Michael looked back once more before shutting the door behind them and sealing it with his powers. I hope for all our sakes that Liz can handle whatever is happening to her.
Oh. McDreamy was doing the McNasty with McHottie? That McBastard. Uh, how was that?
-Dr. George O'Malley
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elfangel01
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CH. 24
“What are we doing here?” asked Liz sadly. She hung down her head as the dismal acceptance of what was happening. She turned to Darla, silently imploring her to answer.
Darla turned, looking into Liz’s soulful eyes, the same eyes she had spent over a century with in the form of Angelus, and she knew she couldn’t say no. “You must experience death before you can life. It’s part of the journey of life and death, love and hate, betrayal and trust. You have to go through this, see the person you were in order to make the decision of who you will become.”
“But I don’t hate Angel and he hasn’t betrayed me,” questioned Liz as she turned away from the building before her to look once more at Darla.
“Hasn’t he? He killed you Beth. You put your full trust in him, loved him, and looked up to him as your older brother and he killed you. And just because you didn’t hate him specifically… you have hate in you, you both hated your father.” She turned back to the scene before her, moving Liz’s body to face it as well. She tightened her grip as she felt Liz’s resistant stance. “You have to face this.”
“I don’t want to,” sniffled Liz. She felt herself begin to crumble and tried to force herself to stay calm and breathe but she was failing miserably. “I don’t want to relive this day. Of my two lives this is the worst day ever and I don’t want to go through this again.”
“You have to…” Darla sighed as she trailed off. “You’re almost done with your journey, I can feel it. You’re allowing yourself to grow and change in order for what’s to come. If you stop now then everything will be for nothing. “Don’t give up now, you’re a stubborn bitch and I know it, now c’mon!” she exclaimed, tugging Liz forward. The two women looked one with varying emotions flickering across their faces as the scene played out before them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Knock, knock, knock… little Beth walked towards the door at the sound of the heavy oak door being banged upon. She opened it and stared in awe as her brother stood before her, whole and unharmed… seemingly alive although she knew it was impossible. She threw herself into her brother’s arms never noticing his cold touch as she wept in happiness, feeling that God had returned him to her in His divine mercy and grace. “Liam, you’re here, you’re home!” she cried, burying her face in his chest as he stroked her back. She pulled away and began chattering excitedly. “Mother and Father will be so happy to see you alive, although I do not understand how you are here…” she trailed off as she took in the blonde woman in his company. “Liam, who is this?” She looked at the blonde and felt a shiver run down her spine at the evil she felt in this woman’s presence.
“Invite us in sweetling and I will explain everything to you,” he said soothingly. He looked down at his little sister’s bare neck and felt his mouth watering. Realization swept over him at what he was about to do but the demon inside made its presence known, pushing down the fleeting ties of mortality. Liam, the man was gone, replaced by something hideous and cruel, although he had the face of an angel. He stepped through the door, Darla following after him. She had sired him, made him one of her kind… something more than what he had been, more than what his pathetic father was. He would relish this, killing his hypocrite father who preached to the town about all his high and mighty ways but in the privacy of their own home did everything that he claimed was wrong. He felt anger surge through his body and had to press it back down before he frightened Beth. Walking into the dining area, he turned and beckoned her closer.
“I’m so happy you’re home, Liam” She grabbed his hand excitedly and began rocking back and forth on her heels in joy. “You’re my angel, sent here from our Father in heaven.”
“Angel, hmm… I think it suits you my love,” purred the woman with Liam.
“Liam, who is this?” asked Beth hesitantly as she once more felt the evil emanating off this woman before her.
“This is Darla, sweetling, she’s here to help me.”
“Help you with what, and can’t I help you?” She was interrupted by her mother and father walking through the door with the servants. They had been away in town and had been delayed.
“Beth, get away from him!” snapped her father as he saw his ‘son’ standing before them. “He’s not what you think!”
“Am I not your son, father?” asked Liam smirking.
“No you are not, you are a demon now, a creature of the night. I recognized the marks on your neck and hoped they didn’t mean this but I was wrong and I’m sorry I didn’t take care of you when I had the chance.”
“So brave and true when you’re not drunk,” mocked Liam stalking closer to his family.
“Stay back you monster!” screeched Liam’s mother.
“You wound me family, is Beth the only one who truly loves me and wants me?”
“The child knows not what she speaks of!” His father halted his words as Liam grabbed him around the throat and slammed him into the wall. He stared in horror at the sight of his once son’s face and eyes changing.
“You told me I was nothing that I would amount to nothing!” roared Liam. “Well now father, I have surpassed you, I have become something greater than you.” With that he sunk his now razor sharp teeth into the work roughened flesh of his father’s neck. He sucked him dry in a matter of minutes before letting his body drop with a thud to the floor. He turned and noticed that Darla had grabbed Beth at his request and was currently holding the squirming girl while he moved on to his mother and the maids. He drained them all, wiping the blood away from his mouth before he turned to his little sister.
“Please Liam, don’t do this!” screamed Beth, tears streaming down her face. She looked at the still bodies of her family and felt her stomach clench in fear as she watched him come closer. She felt the soft, cold caress of his hand against her cheek and felt her breath catch in her throat as his teeth slid into her. She watched him and the woman through darkening eyes as her world faded from view. The last thing she heard was Liam’s voice.
“Goodnight my sweet little Beth.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
“Are you happy now?” screamed Liz as she tackled Darla and began punching and kicking her wherever she could. She felt the material of her dress hinder her movements and it enraged her even more. She grabbed Darla’s throat and began pushing on it, trying to put as much pressure down as she could. She was thrown off before she could hear the satisfying crunch of her throat collapsing and when she looked up the ‘room’ was growing misty again. “Fuck,” she muttered under her breath as she lost her vision once more.
Darla coughed to herself as she thanked the Powers that Be for saving her just in time. Yes, she was already dead but she could still experience everything up to death very vividly. She watched the mist fade away and wondered at where they were now. “Now I wonder where we’re off to,” she thought out loud.
“To see the wizard,” was Liz’s bitter reply.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“C’mon Liz, ya gotta keep your arms up!” scolded Doyle. “Don’t leave your side open to attack. You’re vulnerable then!” The two of them had been training all night since Angel had gone back to Sunnydale and after three months with them Liz was really coming along. She wasn’t anywhere near where she should be but it would take time. She was a lot stronger than she thought; she just wasn’t letting go.
“I don’t want to do this anymore!” complained Liz. They had been doing the same thing for hours. “Can’t we just spar and call it a night?” She looked at Doyle as he bit the inside of his mouth to keep from spewing profanities and snickered to herself. What has him in such a pissy mood?
“A demon’s not going to just stop Liz, you have to be prepared!” He groaned as she shot him the puppy dog eyes. It had been getting harder and harder to resist her as they had grown closer. Especially during these private training sessions, she looked good enough to eat now. Damn it mate, she’s your best friends little sister, what’s wrong with you? “Fine you want to spar and get it over with then we’ll spar and get it over with,” he growled. He was fed up with her whining and complaining. Until she wanted to do this he wasn’t going to make her.
Liz looked up in shock at the anger in his tone, his eyes were burning but it didn’t seem to be all anger. There was also… desire? What the hell, does he want me as much as I want him? Liz couldn’t deny it to herself, she had wanted Doyle since the moment she first laid eyes on him but he was her brother’s best friend and she was still getting used to her role here. It had been getting harder to be around him, especially when Angel left them to train alone together… and now that Kyle was back in town Cordelia had taken him out for a night on the town. That left two very horny, very aggressive beings in the hotel. “YES!” she exclaimed as she grabbed her water bottle before turning to face Doyle again. She felt her mouth dry up immediately, regardless of the water she had just downed as she watched Doyle remove his shirt and splash water on his face and chest. She stared as water droplets traveled down his muscled torso and slip down past the waistband of his low hanging pants. She licked her lips and coughed slightly to get his attention. He turned back to her and they dropped into their fighting stances.
For over an hour they both landed solid kicks and punches, backing one against the wall things would almost be over until the upper hand was switched. They fought for dominance and sweat began pouring off of both of them. Liz had long ago discarded her shirt and was now wearing her linen pants and sports bra; she didn’t even notice Doyle’s stares. She growled as he kicked her legs out from under her.
“Had enough little girl?” he asked mockingly, putting all of his frustrations into this fight just so he wouldn’t jump her.
“I’m not a little girl,” she snarled.
“No,” he flicked his eyes down, then back up, catching her gaze once again. “You most certainly are not.” He smirked as she flipped up and pushed him back into the wall. “What’s you’re problem Liz?”
“Nothing’s my problem, Doyle!” She pinned his arms to his sides and pushed her knee between his thighs, pinning herself dangerously close to his crotch where he knew worlds of pain would come if he moved.
She shifted at one point and he saw his ticket. Lifting her so her legs were wrapped around his waist and her body pinned to the wall with his hands holding her arms on either side of her head. He smirked as she struggled, pressing his body further into hers he watched as she stilled, looking quizzically into his eyes. “You know what’s goin’ on love,” he shrugged, releasing her arms he dropped his head not meeting her eyes. His heart jumped as he felt her grasp either side of his face with her small hands. Lifting his eyes to hers she smiled softly and leaned in, kissing him delicately on the lips. Pulling back hesitantly she watched his eyes darken in desire before leaning back in to capture her lips in a bruising kiss.
They started a new fight for dominance as Liz arched against Doyle’s skilled hands, running over her body. Her hands were tangled in his hair as she thrust her tongue into his mouth, battling for control and being overrun with emotions. She had never felt like this before, not with Kyle and not with Max. She knew in this moment with Doyle that he was it for her; the end all be all and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Are you ready to make your decision?” asked Darla, pacing back and forth in front of Liz. “Your time is almost up, have you reached your decision?”
“Yes,” Liz fell to the ground gasping in pain. She knew now that she had to embrace everything she was to surpass who she is. The good and the bad were a part of her and she had to mold all of it to her. She clutched her stomach tightly as tremors began racing through her body. She could feel her structure changing, her genetic makeup was shifting to accommodate for the new power she could feel rushing through her system. Clawing at the ground she felt every memory from both of her lives flash through her mind along with every emotion that came with it. Arching she panted and looked up at Darla, her eyes black as night. “I’m ready,” she collapsed, fading once more from the mist.
“What are we doing here?” asked Liz sadly. She hung down her head as the dismal acceptance of what was happening. She turned to Darla, silently imploring her to answer.
Darla turned, looking into Liz’s soulful eyes, the same eyes she had spent over a century with in the form of Angelus, and she knew she couldn’t say no. “You must experience death before you can life. It’s part of the journey of life and death, love and hate, betrayal and trust. You have to go through this, see the person you were in order to make the decision of who you will become.”
“But I don’t hate Angel and he hasn’t betrayed me,” questioned Liz as she turned away from the building before her to look once more at Darla.
“Hasn’t he? He killed you Beth. You put your full trust in him, loved him, and looked up to him as your older brother and he killed you. And just because you didn’t hate him specifically… you have hate in you, you both hated your father.” She turned back to the scene before her, moving Liz’s body to face it as well. She tightened her grip as she felt Liz’s resistant stance. “You have to face this.”
“I don’t want to,” sniffled Liz. She felt herself begin to crumble and tried to force herself to stay calm and breathe but she was failing miserably. “I don’t want to relive this day. Of my two lives this is the worst day ever and I don’t want to go through this again.”
“You have to…” Darla sighed as she trailed off. “You’re almost done with your journey, I can feel it. You’re allowing yourself to grow and change in order for what’s to come. If you stop now then everything will be for nothing. “Don’t give up now, you’re a stubborn bitch and I know it, now c’mon!” she exclaimed, tugging Liz forward. The two women looked one with varying emotions flickering across their faces as the scene played out before them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Knock, knock, knock… little Beth walked towards the door at the sound of the heavy oak door being banged upon. She opened it and stared in awe as her brother stood before her, whole and unharmed… seemingly alive although she knew it was impossible. She threw herself into her brother’s arms never noticing his cold touch as she wept in happiness, feeling that God had returned him to her in His divine mercy and grace. “Liam, you’re here, you’re home!” she cried, burying her face in his chest as he stroked her back. She pulled away and began chattering excitedly. “Mother and Father will be so happy to see you alive, although I do not understand how you are here…” she trailed off as she took in the blonde woman in his company. “Liam, who is this?” She looked at the blonde and felt a shiver run down her spine at the evil she felt in this woman’s presence.
“Invite us in sweetling and I will explain everything to you,” he said soothingly. He looked down at his little sister’s bare neck and felt his mouth watering. Realization swept over him at what he was about to do but the demon inside made its presence known, pushing down the fleeting ties of mortality. Liam, the man was gone, replaced by something hideous and cruel, although he had the face of an angel. He stepped through the door, Darla following after him. She had sired him, made him one of her kind… something more than what he had been, more than what his pathetic father was. He would relish this, killing his hypocrite father who preached to the town about all his high and mighty ways but in the privacy of their own home did everything that he claimed was wrong. He felt anger surge through his body and had to press it back down before he frightened Beth. Walking into the dining area, he turned and beckoned her closer.
“I’m so happy you’re home, Liam” She grabbed his hand excitedly and began rocking back and forth on her heels in joy. “You’re my angel, sent here from our Father in heaven.”
“Angel, hmm… I think it suits you my love,” purred the woman with Liam.
“Liam, who is this?” asked Beth hesitantly as she once more felt the evil emanating off this woman before her.
“This is Darla, sweetling, she’s here to help me.”
“Help you with what, and can’t I help you?” She was interrupted by her mother and father walking through the door with the servants. They had been away in town and had been delayed.
“Beth, get away from him!” snapped her father as he saw his ‘son’ standing before them. “He’s not what you think!”
“Am I not your son, father?” asked Liam smirking.
“No you are not, you are a demon now, a creature of the night. I recognized the marks on your neck and hoped they didn’t mean this but I was wrong and I’m sorry I didn’t take care of you when I had the chance.”
“So brave and true when you’re not drunk,” mocked Liam stalking closer to his family.
“Stay back you monster!” screeched Liam’s mother.
“You wound me family, is Beth the only one who truly loves me and wants me?”
“The child knows not what she speaks of!” His father halted his words as Liam grabbed him around the throat and slammed him into the wall. He stared in horror at the sight of his once son’s face and eyes changing.
“You told me I was nothing that I would amount to nothing!” roared Liam. “Well now father, I have surpassed you, I have become something greater than you.” With that he sunk his now razor sharp teeth into the work roughened flesh of his father’s neck. He sucked him dry in a matter of minutes before letting his body drop with a thud to the floor. He turned and noticed that Darla had grabbed Beth at his request and was currently holding the squirming girl while he moved on to his mother and the maids. He drained them all, wiping the blood away from his mouth before he turned to his little sister.
“Please Liam, don’t do this!” screamed Beth, tears streaming down her face. She looked at the still bodies of her family and felt her stomach clench in fear as she watched him come closer. She felt the soft, cold caress of his hand against her cheek and felt her breath catch in her throat as his teeth slid into her. She watched him and the woman through darkening eyes as her world faded from view. The last thing she heard was Liam’s voice.
“Goodnight my sweet little Beth.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
“Are you happy now?” screamed Liz as she tackled Darla and began punching and kicking her wherever she could. She felt the material of her dress hinder her movements and it enraged her even more. She grabbed Darla’s throat and began pushing on it, trying to put as much pressure down as she could. She was thrown off before she could hear the satisfying crunch of her throat collapsing and when she looked up the ‘room’ was growing misty again. “Fuck,” she muttered under her breath as she lost her vision once more.
Darla coughed to herself as she thanked the Powers that Be for saving her just in time. Yes, she was already dead but she could still experience everything up to death very vividly. She watched the mist fade away and wondered at where they were now. “Now I wonder where we’re off to,” she thought out loud.
“To see the wizard,” was Liz’s bitter reply.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“C’mon Liz, ya gotta keep your arms up!” scolded Doyle. “Don’t leave your side open to attack. You’re vulnerable then!” The two of them had been training all night since Angel had gone back to Sunnydale and after three months with them Liz was really coming along. She wasn’t anywhere near where she should be but it would take time. She was a lot stronger than she thought; she just wasn’t letting go.
“I don’t want to do this anymore!” complained Liz. They had been doing the same thing for hours. “Can’t we just spar and call it a night?” She looked at Doyle as he bit the inside of his mouth to keep from spewing profanities and snickered to herself. What has him in such a pissy mood?
“A demon’s not going to just stop Liz, you have to be prepared!” He groaned as she shot him the puppy dog eyes. It had been getting harder and harder to resist her as they had grown closer. Especially during these private training sessions, she looked good enough to eat now. Damn it mate, she’s your best friends little sister, what’s wrong with you? “Fine you want to spar and get it over with then we’ll spar and get it over with,” he growled. He was fed up with her whining and complaining. Until she wanted to do this he wasn’t going to make her.
Liz looked up in shock at the anger in his tone, his eyes were burning but it didn’t seem to be all anger. There was also… desire? What the hell, does he want me as much as I want him? Liz couldn’t deny it to herself, she had wanted Doyle since the moment she first laid eyes on him but he was her brother’s best friend and she was still getting used to her role here. It had been getting harder to be around him, especially when Angel left them to train alone together… and now that Kyle was back in town Cordelia had taken him out for a night on the town. That left two very horny, very aggressive beings in the hotel. “YES!” she exclaimed as she grabbed her water bottle before turning to face Doyle again. She felt her mouth dry up immediately, regardless of the water she had just downed as she watched Doyle remove his shirt and splash water on his face and chest. She stared as water droplets traveled down his muscled torso and slip down past the waistband of his low hanging pants. She licked her lips and coughed slightly to get his attention. He turned back to her and they dropped into their fighting stances.
For over an hour they both landed solid kicks and punches, backing one against the wall things would almost be over until the upper hand was switched. They fought for dominance and sweat began pouring off of both of them. Liz had long ago discarded her shirt and was now wearing her linen pants and sports bra; she didn’t even notice Doyle’s stares. She growled as he kicked her legs out from under her.
“Had enough little girl?” he asked mockingly, putting all of his frustrations into this fight just so he wouldn’t jump her.
“I’m not a little girl,” she snarled.
“No,” he flicked his eyes down, then back up, catching her gaze once again. “You most certainly are not.” He smirked as she flipped up and pushed him back into the wall. “What’s you’re problem Liz?”
“Nothing’s my problem, Doyle!” She pinned his arms to his sides and pushed her knee between his thighs, pinning herself dangerously close to his crotch where he knew worlds of pain would come if he moved.
She shifted at one point and he saw his ticket. Lifting her so her legs were wrapped around his waist and her body pinned to the wall with his hands holding her arms on either side of her head. He smirked as she struggled, pressing his body further into hers he watched as she stilled, looking quizzically into his eyes. “You know what’s goin’ on love,” he shrugged, releasing her arms he dropped his head not meeting her eyes. His heart jumped as he felt her grasp either side of his face with her small hands. Lifting his eyes to hers she smiled softly and leaned in, kissing him delicately on the lips. Pulling back hesitantly she watched his eyes darken in desire before leaning back in to capture her lips in a bruising kiss.
They started a new fight for dominance as Liz arched against Doyle’s skilled hands, running over her body. Her hands were tangled in his hair as she thrust her tongue into his mouth, battling for control and being overrun with emotions. She had never felt like this before, not with Kyle and not with Max. She knew in this moment with Doyle that he was it for her; the end all be all and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Are you ready to make your decision?” asked Darla, pacing back and forth in front of Liz. “Your time is almost up, have you reached your decision?”
“Yes,” Liz fell to the ground gasping in pain. She knew now that she had to embrace everything she was to surpass who she is. The good and the bad were a part of her and she had to mold all of it to her. She clutched her stomach tightly as tremors began racing through her body. She could feel her structure changing, her genetic makeup was shifting to accommodate for the new power she could feel rushing through her system. Clawing at the ground she felt every memory from both of her lives flash through her mind along with every emotion that came with it. Arching she panted and looked up at Darla, her eyes black as night. “I’m ready,” she collapsed, fading once more from the mist.
Oh. McDreamy was doing the McNasty with McHottie? That McBastard. Uh, how was that?
-Dr. George O'Malley
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elfangel01
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- Posts: 128
- Joined: Sun May 30, 2004 7:23 pm
- Location: 'finding my way back to sanity... again'
A/N: I want to thank everyone who has read this. I really appreciate it and the feedback more than you know! I finally finished the story and there are a few more parts left to post, I hope you enjoy them as much as you have enjoyed everything else. Thanks again guys! 
CH. 25
Tess looked at the blonde girl in front of her as they walked down yet another hallway in the never-ending labyrinth that is the Hyperion Hotel. She was showing her the many areas that would have to be protected from invasion and they were setting spells and charms to ward off evil, another defense next to Max and Michael’s powers. “I’ve stepped into the Twilight Zone,” she muttered to herself.
“Considering you’re a little green woman this shouldn’t be that hard to deal with,” called Buffy over her shoulder.
“How did you…?”
“Slayer hearing magnifies everything.”
“Oh. I’m just not used to this,” shrugged Tess. “I’m used to evil aliens, the FBI, and my powers. I’m not used to magic… even being raised by our alien protector, I was taught that this kind of stuff doesn’t exist.”
“Well trade a slayer, two souled vampires, and a hybrid demon for you four aliens and we have that four-square thingy. Then trade demons and other bump in the night things for the FBI and evil aliens, and magic is just an extension of your powers.”
“I guess we aren’t that different after all… ya know, two sides of the same coin…” She trailed off before walking up next to Buffy. “Do you think Liz will make it out of this ok?”
“If anyone can do this, it’s Liz. She’s the strongest person I know. Stronger than me, that’s for hell sure. She can beat me physically and she’s strong emotionally and mentally. That’s a powerful combination. Not to mention the fact that she’s like a miniature Angel only twice as stubborn. I kind of feel sorry for the First, knowing what it’s about to go through.” She stopped and stared off into space before blinking back into reality. “You know what, I really take that back… I don’t feel sorry for it at all.”
“You’re right, I should have faith. She can do this, I know she can.” Tess trailed off sniffling silently. She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her choked sobs. “I don’t want to lose her Buffy. She was my first real friend when I came to Roswell.” She wiped away her tear tracks as she blinked away the fresh ones, determined to be strong and not let anymore fall.
Buffy patted her new friend on the back awkwardly. “She will make it, just have faith. C’mon, we’ve got work to finish. What good is Liz in the end if we didn’t do what we could?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Doyle looked down into the face of the only woman he had ever loved. She seemed so pale and cold, so fragile where before she had been warm and full of life. He knew she wasn’t dead, simply in another place but it was hard all the same. Why did this small, beautiful creature have to have the weight of the world on her shoulders? He wanted more than anything to be able to share the burden with her if he couldn’t completely take it from her, but he knew it was impossible. He had been sitting here for hours, listening to the sounds of everyone else preparing for the coming storm, but he couldn’t tear himself away. He had to be here, to watch over her.
He couldn’t fathom the idea of her not being the same as she was when she went to sleep. He stared down at her, feeling his throat close as sobs threatened to overcome him once more. He leaned his head down to her forehead and breathed deeply, inhaling her scent and feeling it wrap around him. He slowly drifted off, praying for the safe return of the woman he loved and the safety of everyone involved in this war. Thoughts of the First brought him out of his hazy, middle realm that he had been in since waking up and finding Liz, he growled to himself at the thought of any more harm coming to his family. He looked down, startled when he felt Liz’s hand grasp his. He looked at her face but saw that her eyes were still closed she looked peaceful. His eyes widened when she clenched down even harder and her face contorted in pain. He scrambled to prop her up against him, clutching her to his chest and rocking her gently, trying to ease what pain he could.
“Come back to me darlin’, come back to me,” he looked heavenward, eyes closed tightly but tears still managing to leak through and slide down his pale, chiseled face.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kyle followed Angel anxiously through the sewers. They had been scouring town for close to three hours and had the same amount of information they had to begin with, which was… absolutely nothing. He knew the First was bad, he knew the Bringers were it’s minions and he knew what ‘from beneath you it devours’ meant, and he shuddered at the thought. But he didn’t know anything else. It seemed anyone who would know had skipped town. Whatever this was, it was bad. How were they supposed to fight something they didn’t even know? The First predated any records kept by anyone, even the Watcher’s Council… in Kyle’s mind they were royally screwed, but he couldn’t give up that glimmer of hope that flared in his heart every time he thought of Liz. She was in there somewhere, deep in the recesses of her mind if Buffy and the others were right. He knew that she would make it through this, whether she would be unscathed was up to debate seeing as none of them knew what exactly was going to happen.
He kept following Angel, every so often looking around; trying to see anything in the near darkness that was the disgusting gloom of this tunnel. When he stopped looking down at one point he stumbled and almost fell but Angel grabbed Kyle’s forearm, stopping the young man from tumbling into the muck at their feet, with his superhuman grip.
“You ok?”
“Yeah, I’m good” and with that they kept walking, falling into silence once more.
Kyle looked at the vampire in front of him, contemplating everything they had been through over the past year. He had grown to care about Angel in a brotherly way, and Kyle didn’t know what he would do without he and Liz to keep him out of trouble. Angel had done a lot for Liz, given her a home and the family that she had always wanted. Yes, she had had the Parkers, but she had confided in him once that she never felt at home with them, like there was always something missing. He smiled softly at the memories of how happy the two siblings were together, Kyle was glad they found each other… they seemed to have found home in each other. Angel calling his name pulled him out of his musings a few minutes later. “Huh?”
“Let’s head back. Anyone who knows anything has probably already skipped town.”
“That bad, huh?”
Angel looked at him silently, his eyes shifting around the sewers before coming to rest on him once more. “That bad.”
“Oh, ok… well then, how about we march back to the Hyperion and umm… see how things are going.” Kyle moved to climb the ladder to topside, before turning back to Angel. “You coming?”
“How about we march back underground so I don’t burst into flames.”
“Oh, ya,” Kyle shrugged sheepishly and dropped back down. “Forgot about that.”
The two men began the long walk back to the hotel in silence. Always silence, both hoping and praying that Liz would be ok. Angel didn’t know what he would do without Liz. His broodiness had worn off, as Cordelia put it, since Liz had come into his life. She had become his redemption and more. Without her he was nothing. She and Buffy were his reasons for living, sometimes it was unbearable but he thought of them and knew he had to keep going. When she had first come into his life, he was unsure. He had let her down, let her die… hell he had killed her. He knew he had to protect her, keep her safe, he had to or else Doyle… and a few others would kill him. He had a long way to go but he was on his way and if they made it through this he knew he’d be a lot closer to his goal of becoming human once more. He’d be there for his family and for Liz.
The two men trudged up the stairs and felt a shift in the air. “What the hell was that?” asked Kyle, before taking off running at Doyle’s screams. They both burst into the room, along with almost everyone else and saw Doyle and Liz sitting up. Their foreheads were pressed together and they were breathing in sync.
“What’s going on?” asked Buffy as she and Tess rushed into the room, gasping when she saw Liz sitting up alive and… well. “Liz?” both she and Doyle turned to look at her, everyone fell back gasping at Liz’s eyes. The color was gone, no trace of the warm brown that had once been there. Her eyes were black as pitch and everyone in the room could feel the power radiating off of her.
Liz looked back to Doyle as he cupped her face, gently turning her to look at him. “Love, they’re comin’.”
“Who’s coming?” asked Max, still standing in awe of what was before him. “And how do you know? What’s going on?”
“She must’ve amped his powers,” said Cordelia in awe. “He’s seeing what’s coming without the mindnumbing, brain altering side effects.” She trailed off silently. “Well that works.”
“Well what’s coming? And is Liz good?” asked Michael. “Ow, what the hell was that for?” He rubbed his side, glaring at Isabel. “I just want to know if it’s safe to assume that Liz won’t be slaughtering us in our sleep because she’s gone all grr-ie.” He made fangs with his fingers and lunged for Tess with them.
“I knew it, soon everyone will be making those motions and saying grr-ie,” exclaimed Kyle. “You” he pointed at Cordelia. “You started this! And now it’s spreading!”
“What, you’re blaming me for how a vampire acts?” she shrieked. “I so can’t believe you’re blaming me!”
“Hey” barked Angel, “this isn’t getting us anywhere!”
“What the hell are we going to do?” yelled Max, trying to be heard over the growing roar.
“How far did you…”
“What?” shouted Maria, leaning closer to Kyle.
“How far did you guys get with the preparations?”
“The hotel is fortified, I think we’re good…” they all fell silent when an explosion rocked the hotel.
“What the hell was that?” exclaimed Isabel.
“Guys, guys, GUYS!” shouted Alex trying to once again get their attention. “Guys! Look.” He motioned to the balcony where Doyle and Liz were standing; the wind was whipping their clothes around them as they stared out at one of the most horrific sights any of them had ever seen.
“Where are we?” asked Tess fearfully as they all moved to either side of Liz and Doyle. They all looked down beneath them as The First and its minions began the siege on the hotel.
“Hell,” stated Angel grimly.
CH. 25
Tess looked at the blonde girl in front of her as they walked down yet another hallway in the never-ending labyrinth that is the Hyperion Hotel. She was showing her the many areas that would have to be protected from invasion and they were setting spells and charms to ward off evil, another defense next to Max and Michael’s powers. “I’ve stepped into the Twilight Zone,” she muttered to herself.
“Considering you’re a little green woman this shouldn’t be that hard to deal with,” called Buffy over her shoulder.
“How did you…?”
“Slayer hearing magnifies everything.”
“Oh. I’m just not used to this,” shrugged Tess. “I’m used to evil aliens, the FBI, and my powers. I’m not used to magic… even being raised by our alien protector, I was taught that this kind of stuff doesn’t exist.”
“Well trade a slayer, two souled vampires, and a hybrid demon for you four aliens and we have that four-square thingy. Then trade demons and other bump in the night things for the FBI and evil aliens, and magic is just an extension of your powers.”
“I guess we aren’t that different after all… ya know, two sides of the same coin…” She trailed off before walking up next to Buffy. “Do you think Liz will make it out of this ok?”
“If anyone can do this, it’s Liz. She’s the strongest person I know. Stronger than me, that’s for hell sure. She can beat me physically and she’s strong emotionally and mentally. That’s a powerful combination. Not to mention the fact that she’s like a miniature Angel only twice as stubborn. I kind of feel sorry for the First, knowing what it’s about to go through.” She stopped and stared off into space before blinking back into reality. “You know what, I really take that back… I don’t feel sorry for it at all.”
“You’re right, I should have faith. She can do this, I know she can.” Tess trailed off sniffling silently. She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her choked sobs. “I don’t want to lose her Buffy. She was my first real friend when I came to Roswell.” She wiped away her tear tracks as she blinked away the fresh ones, determined to be strong and not let anymore fall.
Buffy patted her new friend on the back awkwardly. “She will make it, just have faith. C’mon, we’ve got work to finish. What good is Liz in the end if we didn’t do what we could?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Doyle looked down into the face of the only woman he had ever loved. She seemed so pale and cold, so fragile where before she had been warm and full of life. He knew she wasn’t dead, simply in another place but it was hard all the same. Why did this small, beautiful creature have to have the weight of the world on her shoulders? He wanted more than anything to be able to share the burden with her if he couldn’t completely take it from her, but he knew it was impossible. He had been sitting here for hours, listening to the sounds of everyone else preparing for the coming storm, but he couldn’t tear himself away. He had to be here, to watch over her.
He couldn’t fathom the idea of her not being the same as she was when she went to sleep. He stared down at her, feeling his throat close as sobs threatened to overcome him once more. He leaned his head down to her forehead and breathed deeply, inhaling her scent and feeling it wrap around him. He slowly drifted off, praying for the safe return of the woman he loved and the safety of everyone involved in this war. Thoughts of the First brought him out of his hazy, middle realm that he had been in since waking up and finding Liz, he growled to himself at the thought of any more harm coming to his family. He looked down, startled when he felt Liz’s hand grasp his. He looked at her face but saw that her eyes were still closed she looked peaceful. His eyes widened when she clenched down even harder and her face contorted in pain. He scrambled to prop her up against him, clutching her to his chest and rocking her gently, trying to ease what pain he could.
“Come back to me darlin’, come back to me,” he looked heavenward, eyes closed tightly but tears still managing to leak through and slide down his pale, chiseled face.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kyle followed Angel anxiously through the sewers. They had been scouring town for close to three hours and had the same amount of information they had to begin with, which was… absolutely nothing. He knew the First was bad, he knew the Bringers were it’s minions and he knew what ‘from beneath you it devours’ meant, and he shuddered at the thought. But he didn’t know anything else. It seemed anyone who would know had skipped town. Whatever this was, it was bad. How were they supposed to fight something they didn’t even know? The First predated any records kept by anyone, even the Watcher’s Council… in Kyle’s mind they were royally screwed, but he couldn’t give up that glimmer of hope that flared in his heart every time he thought of Liz. She was in there somewhere, deep in the recesses of her mind if Buffy and the others were right. He knew that she would make it through this, whether she would be unscathed was up to debate seeing as none of them knew what exactly was going to happen.
He kept following Angel, every so often looking around; trying to see anything in the near darkness that was the disgusting gloom of this tunnel. When he stopped looking down at one point he stumbled and almost fell but Angel grabbed Kyle’s forearm, stopping the young man from tumbling into the muck at their feet, with his superhuman grip.
“You ok?”
“Yeah, I’m good” and with that they kept walking, falling into silence once more.
Kyle looked at the vampire in front of him, contemplating everything they had been through over the past year. He had grown to care about Angel in a brotherly way, and Kyle didn’t know what he would do without he and Liz to keep him out of trouble. Angel had done a lot for Liz, given her a home and the family that she had always wanted. Yes, she had had the Parkers, but she had confided in him once that she never felt at home with them, like there was always something missing. He smiled softly at the memories of how happy the two siblings were together, Kyle was glad they found each other… they seemed to have found home in each other. Angel calling his name pulled him out of his musings a few minutes later. “Huh?”
“Let’s head back. Anyone who knows anything has probably already skipped town.”
“That bad, huh?”
Angel looked at him silently, his eyes shifting around the sewers before coming to rest on him once more. “That bad.”
“Oh, ok… well then, how about we march back to the Hyperion and umm… see how things are going.” Kyle moved to climb the ladder to topside, before turning back to Angel. “You coming?”
“How about we march back underground so I don’t burst into flames.”
“Oh, ya,” Kyle shrugged sheepishly and dropped back down. “Forgot about that.”
The two men began the long walk back to the hotel in silence. Always silence, both hoping and praying that Liz would be ok. Angel didn’t know what he would do without Liz. His broodiness had worn off, as Cordelia put it, since Liz had come into his life. She had become his redemption and more. Without her he was nothing. She and Buffy were his reasons for living, sometimes it was unbearable but he thought of them and knew he had to keep going. When she had first come into his life, he was unsure. He had let her down, let her die… hell he had killed her. He knew he had to protect her, keep her safe, he had to or else Doyle… and a few others would kill him. He had a long way to go but he was on his way and if they made it through this he knew he’d be a lot closer to his goal of becoming human once more. He’d be there for his family and for Liz.
The two men trudged up the stairs and felt a shift in the air. “What the hell was that?” asked Kyle, before taking off running at Doyle’s screams. They both burst into the room, along with almost everyone else and saw Doyle and Liz sitting up. Their foreheads were pressed together and they were breathing in sync.
“What’s going on?” asked Buffy as she and Tess rushed into the room, gasping when she saw Liz sitting up alive and… well. “Liz?” both she and Doyle turned to look at her, everyone fell back gasping at Liz’s eyes. The color was gone, no trace of the warm brown that had once been there. Her eyes were black as pitch and everyone in the room could feel the power radiating off of her.
Liz looked back to Doyle as he cupped her face, gently turning her to look at him. “Love, they’re comin’.”
“Who’s coming?” asked Max, still standing in awe of what was before him. “And how do you know? What’s going on?”
“She must’ve amped his powers,” said Cordelia in awe. “He’s seeing what’s coming without the mindnumbing, brain altering side effects.” She trailed off silently. “Well that works.”
“Well what’s coming? And is Liz good?” asked Michael. “Ow, what the hell was that for?” He rubbed his side, glaring at Isabel. “I just want to know if it’s safe to assume that Liz won’t be slaughtering us in our sleep because she’s gone all grr-ie.” He made fangs with his fingers and lunged for Tess with them.
“I knew it, soon everyone will be making those motions and saying grr-ie,” exclaimed Kyle. “You” he pointed at Cordelia. “You started this! And now it’s spreading!”
“What, you’re blaming me for how a vampire acts?” she shrieked. “I so can’t believe you’re blaming me!”
“Hey” barked Angel, “this isn’t getting us anywhere!”
“What the hell are we going to do?” yelled Max, trying to be heard over the growing roar.
“How far did you…”
“What?” shouted Maria, leaning closer to Kyle.
“How far did you guys get with the preparations?”
“The hotel is fortified, I think we’re good…” they all fell silent when an explosion rocked the hotel.
“What the hell was that?” exclaimed Isabel.
“Guys, guys, GUYS!” shouted Alex trying to once again get their attention. “Guys! Look.” He motioned to the balcony where Doyle and Liz were standing; the wind was whipping their clothes around them as they stared out at one of the most horrific sights any of them had ever seen.
“Where are we?” asked Tess fearfully as they all moved to either side of Liz and Doyle. They all looked down beneath them as The First and its minions began the siege on the hotel.
“Hell,” stated Angel grimly.
Oh. McDreamy was doing the McNasty with McHottie? That McBastard. Uh, how was that?
-Dr. George O'Malley
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elfangel01
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- Joined: Sun May 30, 2004 7:23 pm
- Location: 'finding my way back to sanity... again'
A/N: thanks for all the amazing feedback guys! The end is almost upon us and I decided to go ahead and post this because I don't know when I'm going to get internet access again in the next two weeks. I hope you enjoy and I swear I will get back when I can.
Ch. 26
Flames leapt all around what appeared to be the valley floor, it was covered in them. Fire and searing heat enveloped the family looking out over the massing army. The stale air whipped their clothes around them in a violent frenzy, as if trying to tear them apart. Liz and Doyle stood silently, never paying heed to the horrendous wails coming from beneath them. No, their eyes were locked on the First, who had taken the form of Liz herself. Eyes, black as night met eyes red as blood as an unstoppable clash of wills erupted around them. Liz’s hair whipped around her face but she paid it no heed, neither did the departure of her friends save for Angel, Buffy, and Doyle who still stood by her while the rest ran inside, cowering from the fireballs raining from the sky. “Come,” she whispered, her voice barely registering to anyone other than the three around her, but the look on the First’s face revealed that it had heard her. “Come if you dare,” she glared before turning and following her friends inside, the balcony doors slamming shut after them with a dreaded sense of finality.
“Uhh… Liz, what’s up with your eyes?” asked Maria hesitantly. She could feel the power radiating off of her best friend and it scared her. She didn’t know what to make of Liz at this time, so much was happening so quickly and it scared her, Liz scared her.
“It’s a physical manifestation of her power,” said Buffy, answering for Liz after noting her concentration on what was happening outside. She, Doyle and Angel all stood overlooking the vastness before them.
“So uh… we’re in hell?” asked Alex, his voice cracking slightly. When Angel nodded distractedly he tugged on his collar and shrugged uncomfortably… “That’s just great isn’t it? Not only do we have to fight the First but it’s on the bad guys turf.”
“Come to think of it, how are we, meaning all of us, and the hotel down here?” asked Tess, gesturing around. “It’s just the building and us in hell.”
“What, you didn’t really expect the apocalyptic battle that is about to take place to happen on our plane of existence? I don’t think downtown L.A. could handle the fire and brimstone,” shrugged Cordelia, she looked offended at the strange looks she was receiving. “Hey, you can’t expect something like this to go down anywhere else other than hell.”
“Yeah, but when Liz said she’d send the First back to hell, I didn’t think that meant we had to come along for the ride,” smirked Max. He looked at Liz, “You can never do things the easy way can you?”
“We get the point, we’re in hell… can we move on please?” sighed Michael. “Saying it over and over again isn’t going to change the fact.”
“Nice to see the change of scenery doesn’t alter your personality,” smirked Isabel, shaking her head at her quasi brother.
“How can all of you be so calm?” shrieked Alex. “We’re in hell!” He looked around at the others and their calm exteriors, specifically Liz, Angel, Buffy and Doyle. “Then again this is probably routine for you guys, I mean you probably come to hell all the time. It seems like a nice vacation spot, I guess you could get a good tan…” he trailed off.
“Actually this is a first for me,” shrugged Doyle, he and the other two turning once more to look outside.
“Oh, well then that’s good… I’m good, everything’s good.” He looked at the room’s occupants, his gaze settling on Liz and the others in the L.A. crew. “So uh, how many of you have been to hell before?”
“Well that’s an interesting conversation starter.” smirked Tess.
“Why are we having this conversation?” asked Michael aggravated, “Aren’t we supposed to be at war.”
“Yes, but do you really want to think about that now? Besides this is how we usually work,” shrugged Buffy. “It relieves stress so we are more efficient later… you should see our friend Xander.”
“Back to Alex’s question, because I really want to know too,” said Max. He watched Angel, Buffy and Liz raise their hands. “When did you go to hell?” exclaimed Max, glaring at Liz.
“When I died the first time, then when Buffy killed me,” shrugged Angel as if it weren’t that big of a deal.
“I got a package in the mail, turns out it was from an old friend of Giles… he’s a bad guy that happens to know black magic. Anyways he knew what I am so he decided to test me, play with me…”
“He has a tendency to do shit like that,” broke in Buffy, remembering her own encounters with Ethan Rayne.
“Yeah, so I opened the package and was sucked into hell. It was kind of a weird experience, it felt like I was being sucked from the inside out… anyways where I ended up wasn’t all that bad… except for the fact that the Barney song was playing on a continuous loop and the characters from the “It’s a Small World” were all around me…” she trailed off looking at the others varying expressions of disbelief. “What? The package was supposed to bring out your own personal hell…”
“That’s your own personal hell?” asked Isabel doubtfully, snickering to herself.
“Well, it was at the time,” shrugged Liz. “And Buffy came to rescue me, so that’s her trip.”
“Why didn’t Doyle or Angel go after you?’ asked Maria.
“It took place at the same time as when Doyle was taken by the supremacist demons and we couldn’t risk losing Angel in hell as well as Liz…” A tremendous roar from outside cut off Buffy as the foundations of the earth began trembling.
“Well, that’s that then, times up. Looks like it’s time to go to war, against the First,” Alex gulped.
“Yeah, but we have Liz,” smirked Kyle. “I’ll put my faith in her any day.”
“But we’re in hell, going up against the First evil,” stressed Maria, all of the doubts coming back full force. She looked over at Liz for a second, “No offense girl.”
“None taken,” drawled Liz, her voice husky with barely suppressed power. “It’s time, go prepare.” The others turned to walk out but she called their attention once again. “Girls, wear the tightest yet easiest to move in clothes you have. You don’t want to get tangled up in unnecessary issues out there, guys you’re probably better off in cargos, more room for stakes…” she trailed off. Turning her midnight eyes on Angel and Buffy she studied them for a moment before a slight smile flickered across her face. “Yes, everything will end as planned.” She noticed the others staring at her strangely before snapping back to the point. “Angel stay here, Buffy go with the others and help them, they have yet to experience what is about to happen.” With that dismissal she turned to her brother and her lover. “The time has come. The end will be decided, here, and now, by me, by us. I have faith in each of the people out there, but when it comes down to it, you two are everything.” She trailed off, looking at her brother, so strong and silent.
He was the true hero, finding her and teaching her everything he knew, taking care of her even before back in Ireland. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that without him she would not have made it this far. Everything happened for a reason, from his death at the hands of Darla to him killing her, it all led to this point in their lives. Yes, they both had evil flowing through their veins as Darla had said, but it was the goodness and love from both of them that overshadowed that. It was a delicate balance, but a balance nonetheless, that balance would be tested, but she felt firm in her conviction that they would never fall. She grasped his forearm and locked gazes with him, solidifying the bond that was already present. She watched him nod his understanding before pulling her to him in a firm hug and step back as she turned to Doyle.
Doyle was her anchor, her lifeline and her soul mate. She looked into his startling blue eyes and smiled softly. She knew with him by her side she could make it through this. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any casualties on their side… all of that could be saved for the demons. She growled softly to herself, eyes flashing between their normal vampiric yellow and her new black. “It’s time.” She waved her hand over her body, transforming her sleepwear that she was still clothed in to faded black leather pants and a tight black spaghetti strap top. She tucked stakes into the tops of her steel-toed boots and one into the back waistband of her pants. Her hair was pulled back, high on top of her head and her spring-loaded stake was strapped to the band on her wrist, wrapping its way up forearm. She slung her scabbard onto her back, the leather pulling tight across her chest, and slid the blade in. Turning to Angel and Doyle she waved her hands over them, watching them go through the exact same process she herself just went through. Doyle’s linen pants were replaced with black cargos and a black wifebeater. He had stakes tucked in to his pockets and when he tapped down on his boots, a small blade came out of the toe of each. Angel was the same except his classic leather duster was on over his other clothing, allowing him to wear to spring loaded stake bands along with additional stakes. He morphed into his game face, followed by Liz, the only difference between the two siblings were Angel’s glowing yellow eyes and Liz’s midnight eyes.
“Well let’s go get the others,” sighed Doyle, mentally preparing himself. He stepped up to one side of Liz as Angel stepped to the other. They walked out the door.
Everyone turned as they noticed Liz, Angel and Doyle. They looked up as they came to the top of the stairs. The power radiating off the three of them could be felt as they straightened and put their game faces on. The air around them crackled as Liz came down the stairs, flanked by her lover and brother. She turned once they reached their friends and watched the doors begin to shake. The end was here.
Ch. 26
Flames leapt all around what appeared to be the valley floor, it was covered in them. Fire and searing heat enveloped the family looking out over the massing army. The stale air whipped their clothes around them in a violent frenzy, as if trying to tear them apart. Liz and Doyle stood silently, never paying heed to the horrendous wails coming from beneath them. No, their eyes were locked on the First, who had taken the form of Liz herself. Eyes, black as night met eyes red as blood as an unstoppable clash of wills erupted around them. Liz’s hair whipped around her face but she paid it no heed, neither did the departure of her friends save for Angel, Buffy, and Doyle who still stood by her while the rest ran inside, cowering from the fireballs raining from the sky. “Come,” she whispered, her voice barely registering to anyone other than the three around her, but the look on the First’s face revealed that it had heard her. “Come if you dare,” she glared before turning and following her friends inside, the balcony doors slamming shut after them with a dreaded sense of finality.
“Uhh… Liz, what’s up with your eyes?” asked Maria hesitantly. She could feel the power radiating off of her best friend and it scared her. She didn’t know what to make of Liz at this time, so much was happening so quickly and it scared her, Liz scared her.
“It’s a physical manifestation of her power,” said Buffy, answering for Liz after noting her concentration on what was happening outside. She, Doyle and Angel all stood overlooking the vastness before them.
“So uh… we’re in hell?” asked Alex, his voice cracking slightly. When Angel nodded distractedly he tugged on his collar and shrugged uncomfortably… “That’s just great isn’t it? Not only do we have to fight the First but it’s on the bad guys turf.”
“Come to think of it, how are we, meaning all of us, and the hotel down here?” asked Tess, gesturing around. “It’s just the building and us in hell.”
“What, you didn’t really expect the apocalyptic battle that is about to take place to happen on our plane of existence? I don’t think downtown L.A. could handle the fire and brimstone,” shrugged Cordelia, she looked offended at the strange looks she was receiving. “Hey, you can’t expect something like this to go down anywhere else other than hell.”
“Yeah, but when Liz said she’d send the First back to hell, I didn’t think that meant we had to come along for the ride,” smirked Max. He looked at Liz, “You can never do things the easy way can you?”
“We get the point, we’re in hell… can we move on please?” sighed Michael. “Saying it over and over again isn’t going to change the fact.”
“Nice to see the change of scenery doesn’t alter your personality,” smirked Isabel, shaking her head at her quasi brother.
“How can all of you be so calm?” shrieked Alex. “We’re in hell!” He looked around at the others and their calm exteriors, specifically Liz, Angel, Buffy and Doyle. “Then again this is probably routine for you guys, I mean you probably come to hell all the time. It seems like a nice vacation spot, I guess you could get a good tan…” he trailed off.
“Actually this is a first for me,” shrugged Doyle, he and the other two turning once more to look outside.
“Oh, well then that’s good… I’m good, everything’s good.” He looked at the room’s occupants, his gaze settling on Liz and the others in the L.A. crew. “So uh, how many of you have been to hell before?”
“Well that’s an interesting conversation starter.” smirked Tess.
“Why are we having this conversation?” asked Michael aggravated, “Aren’t we supposed to be at war.”
“Yes, but do you really want to think about that now? Besides this is how we usually work,” shrugged Buffy. “It relieves stress so we are more efficient later… you should see our friend Xander.”
“Back to Alex’s question, because I really want to know too,” said Max. He watched Angel, Buffy and Liz raise their hands. “When did you go to hell?” exclaimed Max, glaring at Liz.
“When I died the first time, then when Buffy killed me,” shrugged Angel as if it weren’t that big of a deal.
“I got a package in the mail, turns out it was from an old friend of Giles… he’s a bad guy that happens to know black magic. Anyways he knew what I am so he decided to test me, play with me…”
“He has a tendency to do shit like that,” broke in Buffy, remembering her own encounters with Ethan Rayne.
“Yeah, so I opened the package and was sucked into hell. It was kind of a weird experience, it felt like I was being sucked from the inside out… anyways where I ended up wasn’t all that bad… except for the fact that the Barney song was playing on a continuous loop and the characters from the “It’s a Small World” were all around me…” she trailed off looking at the others varying expressions of disbelief. “What? The package was supposed to bring out your own personal hell…”
“That’s your own personal hell?” asked Isabel doubtfully, snickering to herself.
“Well, it was at the time,” shrugged Liz. “And Buffy came to rescue me, so that’s her trip.”
“Why didn’t Doyle or Angel go after you?’ asked Maria.
“It took place at the same time as when Doyle was taken by the supremacist demons and we couldn’t risk losing Angel in hell as well as Liz…” A tremendous roar from outside cut off Buffy as the foundations of the earth began trembling.
“Well, that’s that then, times up. Looks like it’s time to go to war, against the First,” Alex gulped.
“Yeah, but we have Liz,” smirked Kyle. “I’ll put my faith in her any day.”
“But we’re in hell, going up against the First evil,” stressed Maria, all of the doubts coming back full force. She looked over at Liz for a second, “No offense girl.”
“None taken,” drawled Liz, her voice husky with barely suppressed power. “It’s time, go prepare.” The others turned to walk out but she called their attention once again. “Girls, wear the tightest yet easiest to move in clothes you have. You don’t want to get tangled up in unnecessary issues out there, guys you’re probably better off in cargos, more room for stakes…” she trailed off. Turning her midnight eyes on Angel and Buffy she studied them for a moment before a slight smile flickered across her face. “Yes, everything will end as planned.” She noticed the others staring at her strangely before snapping back to the point. “Angel stay here, Buffy go with the others and help them, they have yet to experience what is about to happen.” With that dismissal she turned to her brother and her lover. “The time has come. The end will be decided, here, and now, by me, by us. I have faith in each of the people out there, but when it comes down to it, you two are everything.” She trailed off, looking at her brother, so strong and silent.
He was the true hero, finding her and teaching her everything he knew, taking care of her even before back in Ireland. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that without him she would not have made it this far. Everything happened for a reason, from his death at the hands of Darla to him killing her, it all led to this point in their lives. Yes, they both had evil flowing through their veins as Darla had said, but it was the goodness and love from both of them that overshadowed that. It was a delicate balance, but a balance nonetheless, that balance would be tested, but she felt firm in her conviction that they would never fall. She grasped his forearm and locked gazes with him, solidifying the bond that was already present. She watched him nod his understanding before pulling her to him in a firm hug and step back as she turned to Doyle.
Doyle was her anchor, her lifeline and her soul mate. She looked into his startling blue eyes and smiled softly. She knew with him by her side she could make it through this. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any casualties on their side… all of that could be saved for the demons. She growled softly to herself, eyes flashing between their normal vampiric yellow and her new black. “It’s time.” She waved her hand over her body, transforming her sleepwear that she was still clothed in to faded black leather pants and a tight black spaghetti strap top. She tucked stakes into the tops of her steel-toed boots and one into the back waistband of her pants. Her hair was pulled back, high on top of her head and her spring-loaded stake was strapped to the band on her wrist, wrapping its way up forearm. She slung her scabbard onto her back, the leather pulling tight across her chest, and slid the blade in. Turning to Angel and Doyle she waved her hands over them, watching them go through the exact same process she herself just went through. Doyle’s linen pants were replaced with black cargos and a black wifebeater. He had stakes tucked in to his pockets and when he tapped down on his boots, a small blade came out of the toe of each. Angel was the same except his classic leather duster was on over his other clothing, allowing him to wear to spring loaded stake bands along with additional stakes. He morphed into his game face, followed by Liz, the only difference between the two siblings were Angel’s glowing yellow eyes and Liz’s midnight eyes.
“Well let’s go get the others,” sighed Doyle, mentally preparing himself. He stepped up to one side of Liz as Angel stepped to the other. They walked out the door.
Everyone turned as they noticed Liz, Angel and Doyle. They looked up as they came to the top of the stairs. The power radiating off the three of them could be felt as they straightened and put their game faces on. The air around them crackled as Liz came down the stairs, flanked by her lover and brother. She turned once they reached their friends and watched the doors begin to shake. The end was here.
Oh. McDreamy was doing the McNasty with McHottie? That McBastard. Uh, how was that?
-Dr. George O'Malley
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elfangel01
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- Joined: Sun May 30, 2004 7:23 pm
- Location: 'finding my way back to sanity... again'
CH. 27
“So what’s the plan?” asked Max hesitantly as they all stood waiting for demons to break in. He looked around at his new friends and family and prayed they would get through this. He looked at Liz and Doyle and his resolve strengthened, they had to get through this they deserved to be happy. Tess was to his right and as he briefly glanced around, his gaze collided with hers. She was his new beginning, he knew that he could fall in love with her no matter how much he had denied it, and he hoped that he would get the chance to do something about it. He wanted everyone to be able to grow old together, to have Michael and Maria’s constant nagging always in the background and Isabel and Alex’s quiet strength that everyone could depend on. He needed Kyle and, now Cordelia’s humor to keep situations light and keep everyone in balance with all the things that went on around them and he knew now that he needed guidance, and that would come from Angel and Buffy. The center of their group was Doyle and Liz; they were the glue that held everyone together. They were all a part of this unit and without one it wouldn’t be the same, they wouldn’t be as strong.
“We fight, you take the vamps and lower level demons. Angel, Buffy, and Doyle can go after the bigger bads, but leave me the First… it’s mine.” She stared at the door as she felt her friends fall into line beside her. She tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword, and cocked her head to the side, listening as the hordes came closer. She could feel the foundations of the earth swaying underneath her feet and knew they didn’t have much time. This battle would be swift and decisive; hopefully she and the others could wipe out enough of the threat to give them some peace and quiet once they returned to their plane of existence. The doors slammed open, regardless of the alien’s powers, it was as if they didn’t exist here, and the demons came pouring in. Her friends held their ground and began to engage them in hand to hand combat, the brief lesson mixed with instinct and they were holding their own. She felt something tugging at the back of her mind and looked up in time to see the First come striding in, still in the form of her.
“Hello Liz,” it hissed. “It’s so sad,” it barbed, circling her and sizing her up. “You could have had so much power, if you had only joined me. We could have ruled the world together if you had only given into the evil that flows through you, and believe me, it does flow through you.”
“I never betray the ones I love, especially to something like you. I have made peace with the evil inside of me. I acknowledge it and have wrapped it around me as part of me. It holds no sway over my decisions and cannot influence me any longer, just like you cannot influence me any longer. I have surpassed you. For all your claims of having ultimate power with you, I seem to have developed that just fine and actually become more than you, more than you could ever dream of being. And that is why you will fail, why you will fall before me today.” Liz drew her sword up to acknowledge the First and she felt the power radiating off of it, but she also felt confidence in the power she could feel flowing through her. It guided her movements and kept her in check, never revealing her fears or thoughts.
“We shall see, in time you will come to see my full power.” The First held out its hand and a sword materialized in it’s outstretched palm. “As you can already see, my form is corporealized here, you are in my domain now.” It struck first, bringing its sword down in a crushing blow from above but Liz managed to block it and pulled back dropping into a defensive crouch, her sword still raised, flicking back and forth indecisive of where the next blow would come from.
Liz glanced around warily, still keeping her focus on the enemy before her, but needing to check on her friends. They seemed to be faring well, the demons seemed to be dwindling but she could feel and hear the others still outside, scratching to get in. She turned her attention back just in time to hear Doyle shout out a warning to her and she managed to deflect the next torrent of attacks as she back flipped away from the First to regain her balance and space. Moving forward she decided to take the initiative and brought her sword down over and over again, pushing the First back until she almost had it pinned, but it managed to wiggle away. Metal clashed against metal as two identical figures traded blows, red met black in an unstoppable clash of fury. Liz could feel the rage building inside of her and knew that sooner or later all of her power would be unleashed whether by her choice or not. She trapped the Firsts sword between their bodies and when she swung outwards disabled it, but due to the velocity and angle, her sword went with it. Staring at it she smirked as she realized this had just become a more physical battle. “Not scared to go up against little ol’ me one on one are you?” she asked.
“Never, I will enjoy having your blood coat my hands,” sneered the First, a mask of pure hatred marring the beautiful face of Liz that it still wore. “When my army surpasses that of the stupid mortals on your plane, then I will have dominion over the earth, and you my dear… will lose.” It circled its arms around, gaining leverage and pushing Liz away. It charged her and the two went down in flurry of arms and legs. It howled, calling forward more demons, the building shook and swayed around them. Everyone’s attention was drawn to their surroundings as the ground once again pitched forward.
Liz’s eyes snapped around as she heard Tess’s anguished cry, she had been thrown backwards as the ground rolled beneath them and her leg was now bent at an awkward angle and there seemed to be no way to get to Max at the moment. She seemed defenseless until Maria made her way over, staking a vampire that was in her way and came to a stop above the blonde on the floor. She realized everyone was relatively okay and looked back at the First, just in time to see a fist come flying at her. She felt her feet leave the ground as she was hurtled backwards only to slam into a pillar. The First launched itself after her, holding her in place above the ground with its hand wrapped around her throat. She struggled, feeling what little air she did breathe leave her lungs. She watched the victory and bloodlust shine in eyes that mirrored her own and an idea came to her. She stopped struggling and allowed her body to go limp. She was dropped to the floor unceremoniously as the First howled in what it thought was victory.
Her friends all turned and looked at her body, horror sweeping through each of them and Doyle dropped to his knees, not believing it but unable to tear his eyes away from his apparently dead lover. The First stood over her, howling and waving its arms in the air, never noticing the subtle twitch of Liz’s body. Through her closed eyes, she could see everything; she noticed that everything was sharper, more defined than it had ever been before. She could feel the power coursing through her and when she cracked open her eyes she saw her and the Firsts swords lying next to her. She slid her arms out on either side of her, grasping both hilts before standing once more. She had her hair falling and covering her eyes until she raised her head, staring down the First as it realized that its victory was not quite as close as it had thought.
Growling it moved towards her.
She brought the swords up, crossing them to block the rain of the Firsts blows. She spun around, deflecting each attack as she parried and thrust against the evil wearing her face. Her moves were fluid and she didn’t seem concerned at all. Her power had reached its peak and nothing could stand in her way. She paid no attention to what was happening around her, her focus solely on the monster before her. It had tried to take away her lover, her brother, her family, her world, and that was something she wouldn’t allow. It was time to take this bastard out and she knew it was her time. She moved from the defensive to the offensive, moving forward and reclaiming more ground for her and her family with each step. Finally she had it on its knees before her. It had backed itself into a corner and could finally feel fear, knowing that the reign it could have had was quickly crumbling before it.
“You can’t kill me,” it sneered before changing into Angel’s form. “Please, Beth, please don’t kill me. Don’t do this to us, I just found you again.” Seeing Liz’s eyes harden it quickly morphed again, this time into her old father. “Beth, you don’t want to be doing this now do you? Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble for two lifetimes?” The First shuddered as Liz brought her crossed blades up to either side of it’s neck. Abandoning all logic it changed back to Angel. “Beth, please, Beth, have mercy. You wouldn’t kill your brother would you?”
“Go back to the abyss, you came from,” she hissed.
Its eyes grew wide as Liz smoothly slid the blades together. As the First vanished the entire building began to shake, debris began falling from the ceiling and the demons howled in pain. A bright light flashed around the room as the demons fled. The crimson light engulfed Liz and her family, and when it cleared they were back in L.A. The building had stopped shaking and as Alex walked over to the doors he saw sunshine filtering through. Pulling open the doors he ran outside and collapsed to the ground, gratefully kissing the pavement beneath him. Everyone looked on in amusement as Max walked over to Tess and healed her leg before moving to the others and taking care of any other minor injuries. His plea had been heard and answered they had all made it.
Liz stood, smiling at her family and at the sights and sounds of L.A. as they came in through the open door. Everything was as they had left it. When she had killed the First, or at least removed its looming threat for the time being, everything reverted to how it had been. She jumped slightly as she suddenly felt Doyle’s arms around her. She turned in his embrace and felt him bury his face in her hair.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he choked out. He couldn’t even begin to feel the pain and loss that had crashed in on him when he had seen her body lying there. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.” He felt the tears come now that they were back in eachothers arms, and he let them, unashamed of the ecstasy that coursed through him.
She soothed him, running her hand up and down his back, “I promised you forever” she simply said. She pulled his face to hers, gently kissing away the tear tracks before sealing her lips over his. She moaned into his mouth, allowing herself to drown in the feelings this man evoked in her. She was quickly being swept away before the clearing of her brother’s throat shook her out of it. She and Doyle reluctantly pulled back, smiling at each other before Doyle’s face took on a shocked mask. “What is it?”
“Your eyes are back to normal,” he whispered, gently tracing her features with his finger.
She turned to look at her friends and they all gasped when they once more saw the vibrant chocolate eyes. She smiled at each of them in turn as she leaned into Doyle’s embrace. They had made it, it had been hard and she could see the strain that had been put on everyone, even as Max was finishing up his healing. She watched him lean gratefully into Tess as he regained his energy.
“It’s nice to look into those eyes again,” smiled Angel. He looked at her for a second before an irritated look crossed his face. “You killed me!” he exclaimed in shock.
“I didn’t kill you, I killed the First.”
“But it was wearing my face… you killed me!”
Liz sighed, rolling her eyes at her brother. “I knew it wasn’t you… I didn’t kill you!”
The others all groaned at the sibling’s banter, glad to see that everything was exactly as it had been. Their blissful reunion was cut short however. They were all just standing around, relaxing from the battle, their clothes charred and some wounds still hadn’t been treated when a bright light flashed through the room again. Opposed to the blazing red light, this one was a soft, peaceful, seemingly purifying white light. That didn’t calm anyone’s nerves.
“What now?” asked Isabel, aggravated.
As the light faded, everyone looked around. “Guys, where did Buffy, Angel, Liz and Doyle go?” asked Kyle hesitantly.
“Damn it,” sighed Cordelia, she looked at everyone before walking into Angel’s office and going to the fridge. She pulled out a beer and cracked it open before returning to the others. “There’s more if you need em” she shrugged as everyone made a mad dash.
A/N: Just one more part to go! Thank you so much to everyone who read this. I'm considering a sequel but am unsure of whether or not I'll write it. I have a lot of other stories I'm currently working on and one I will hopefully be posting soon. Thanks again!
“So what’s the plan?” asked Max hesitantly as they all stood waiting for demons to break in. He looked around at his new friends and family and prayed they would get through this. He looked at Liz and Doyle and his resolve strengthened, they had to get through this they deserved to be happy. Tess was to his right and as he briefly glanced around, his gaze collided with hers. She was his new beginning, he knew that he could fall in love with her no matter how much he had denied it, and he hoped that he would get the chance to do something about it. He wanted everyone to be able to grow old together, to have Michael and Maria’s constant nagging always in the background and Isabel and Alex’s quiet strength that everyone could depend on. He needed Kyle and, now Cordelia’s humor to keep situations light and keep everyone in balance with all the things that went on around them and he knew now that he needed guidance, and that would come from Angel and Buffy. The center of their group was Doyle and Liz; they were the glue that held everyone together. They were all a part of this unit and without one it wouldn’t be the same, they wouldn’t be as strong.
“We fight, you take the vamps and lower level demons. Angel, Buffy, and Doyle can go after the bigger bads, but leave me the First… it’s mine.” She stared at the door as she felt her friends fall into line beside her. She tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword, and cocked her head to the side, listening as the hordes came closer. She could feel the foundations of the earth swaying underneath her feet and knew they didn’t have much time. This battle would be swift and decisive; hopefully she and the others could wipe out enough of the threat to give them some peace and quiet once they returned to their plane of existence. The doors slammed open, regardless of the alien’s powers, it was as if they didn’t exist here, and the demons came pouring in. Her friends held their ground and began to engage them in hand to hand combat, the brief lesson mixed with instinct and they were holding their own. She felt something tugging at the back of her mind and looked up in time to see the First come striding in, still in the form of her.
“Hello Liz,” it hissed. “It’s so sad,” it barbed, circling her and sizing her up. “You could have had so much power, if you had only joined me. We could have ruled the world together if you had only given into the evil that flows through you, and believe me, it does flow through you.”
“I never betray the ones I love, especially to something like you. I have made peace with the evil inside of me. I acknowledge it and have wrapped it around me as part of me. It holds no sway over my decisions and cannot influence me any longer, just like you cannot influence me any longer. I have surpassed you. For all your claims of having ultimate power with you, I seem to have developed that just fine and actually become more than you, more than you could ever dream of being. And that is why you will fail, why you will fall before me today.” Liz drew her sword up to acknowledge the First and she felt the power radiating off of it, but she also felt confidence in the power she could feel flowing through her. It guided her movements and kept her in check, never revealing her fears or thoughts.
“We shall see, in time you will come to see my full power.” The First held out its hand and a sword materialized in it’s outstretched palm. “As you can already see, my form is corporealized here, you are in my domain now.” It struck first, bringing its sword down in a crushing blow from above but Liz managed to block it and pulled back dropping into a defensive crouch, her sword still raised, flicking back and forth indecisive of where the next blow would come from.
Liz glanced around warily, still keeping her focus on the enemy before her, but needing to check on her friends. They seemed to be faring well, the demons seemed to be dwindling but she could feel and hear the others still outside, scratching to get in. She turned her attention back just in time to hear Doyle shout out a warning to her and she managed to deflect the next torrent of attacks as she back flipped away from the First to regain her balance and space. Moving forward she decided to take the initiative and brought her sword down over and over again, pushing the First back until she almost had it pinned, but it managed to wiggle away. Metal clashed against metal as two identical figures traded blows, red met black in an unstoppable clash of fury. Liz could feel the rage building inside of her and knew that sooner or later all of her power would be unleashed whether by her choice or not. She trapped the Firsts sword between their bodies and when she swung outwards disabled it, but due to the velocity and angle, her sword went with it. Staring at it she smirked as she realized this had just become a more physical battle. “Not scared to go up against little ol’ me one on one are you?” she asked.
“Never, I will enjoy having your blood coat my hands,” sneered the First, a mask of pure hatred marring the beautiful face of Liz that it still wore. “When my army surpasses that of the stupid mortals on your plane, then I will have dominion over the earth, and you my dear… will lose.” It circled its arms around, gaining leverage and pushing Liz away. It charged her and the two went down in flurry of arms and legs. It howled, calling forward more demons, the building shook and swayed around them. Everyone’s attention was drawn to their surroundings as the ground once again pitched forward.
Liz’s eyes snapped around as she heard Tess’s anguished cry, she had been thrown backwards as the ground rolled beneath them and her leg was now bent at an awkward angle and there seemed to be no way to get to Max at the moment. She seemed defenseless until Maria made her way over, staking a vampire that was in her way and came to a stop above the blonde on the floor. She realized everyone was relatively okay and looked back at the First, just in time to see a fist come flying at her. She felt her feet leave the ground as she was hurtled backwards only to slam into a pillar. The First launched itself after her, holding her in place above the ground with its hand wrapped around her throat. She struggled, feeling what little air she did breathe leave her lungs. She watched the victory and bloodlust shine in eyes that mirrored her own and an idea came to her. She stopped struggling and allowed her body to go limp. She was dropped to the floor unceremoniously as the First howled in what it thought was victory.
Her friends all turned and looked at her body, horror sweeping through each of them and Doyle dropped to his knees, not believing it but unable to tear his eyes away from his apparently dead lover. The First stood over her, howling and waving its arms in the air, never noticing the subtle twitch of Liz’s body. Through her closed eyes, she could see everything; she noticed that everything was sharper, more defined than it had ever been before. She could feel the power coursing through her and when she cracked open her eyes she saw her and the Firsts swords lying next to her. She slid her arms out on either side of her, grasping both hilts before standing once more. She had her hair falling and covering her eyes until she raised her head, staring down the First as it realized that its victory was not quite as close as it had thought.
Growling it moved towards her.
She brought the swords up, crossing them to block the rain of the Firsts blows. She spun around, deflecting each attack as she parried and thrust against the evil wearing her face. Her moves were fluid and she didn’t seem concerned at all. Her power had reached its peak and nothing could stand in her way. She paid no attention to what was happening around her, her focus solely on the monster before her. It had tried to take away her lover, her brother, her family, her world, and that was something she wouldn’t allow. It was time to take this bastard out and she knew it was her time. She moved from the defensive to the offensive, moving forward and reclaiming more ground for her and her family with each step. Finally she had it on its knees before her. It had backed itself into a corner and could finally feel fear, knowing that the reign it could have had was quickly crumbling before it.
“You can’t kill me,” it sneered before changing into Angel’s form. “Please, Beth, please don’t kill me. Don’t do this to us, I just found you again.” Seeing Liz’s eyes harden it quickly morphed again, this time into her old father. “Beth, you don’t want to be doing this now do you? Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble for two lifetimes?” The First shuddered as Liz brought her crossed blades up to either side of it’s neck. Abandoning all logic it changed back to Angel. “Beth, please, Beth, have mercy. You wouldn’t kill your brother would you?”
“Go back to the abyss, you came from,” she hissed.
Its eyes grew wide as Liz smoothly slid the blades together. As the First vanished the entire building began to shake, debris began falling from the ceiling and the demons howled in pain. A bright light flashed around the room as the demons fled. The crimson light engulfed Liz and her family, and when it cleared they were back in L.A. The building had stopped shaking and as Alex walked over to the doors he saw sunshine filtering through. Pulling open the doors he ran outside and collapsed to the ground, gratefully kissing the pavement beneath him. Everyone looked on in amusement as Max walked over to Tess and healed her leg before moving to the others and taking care of any other minor injuries. His plea had been heard and answered they had all made it.
Liz stood, smiling at her family and at the sights and sounds of L.A. as they came in through the open door. Everything was as they had left it. When she had killed the First, or at least removed its looming threat for the time being, everything reverted to how it had been. She jumped slightly as she suddenly felt Doyle’s arms around her. She turned in his embrace and felt him bury his face in her hair.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he choked out. He couldn’t even begin to feel the pain and loss that had crashed in on him when he had seen her body lying there. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.” He felt the tears come now that they were back in eachothers arms, and he let them, unashamed of the ecstasy that coursed through him.
She soothed him, running her hand up and down his back, “I promised you forever” she simply said. She pulled his face to hers, gently kissing away the tear tracks before sealing her lips over his. She moaned into his mouth, allowing herself to drown in the feelings this man evoked in her. She was quickly being swept away before the clearing of her brother’s throat shook her out of it. She and Doyle reluctantly pulled back, smiling at each other before Doyle’s face took on a shocked mask. “What is it?”
“Your eyes are back to normal,” he whispered, gently tracing her features with his finger.
She turned to look at her friends and they all gasped when they once more saw the vibrant chocolate eyes. She smiled at each of them in turn as she leaned into Doyle’s embrace. They had made it, it had been hard and she could see the strain that had been put on everyone, even as Max was finishing up his healing. She watched him lean gratefully into Tess as he regained his energy.
“It’s nice to look into those eyes again,” smiled Angel. He looked at her for a second before an irritated look crossed his face. “You killed me!” he exclaimed in shock.
“I didn’t kill you, I killed the First.”
“But it was wearing my face… you killed me!”
Liz sighed, rolling her eyes at her brother. “I knew it wasn’t you… I didn’t kill you!”
The others all groaned at the sibling’s banter, glad to see that everything was exactly as it had been. Their blissful reunion was cut short however. They were all just standing around, relaxing from the battle, their clothes charred and some wounds still hadn’t been treated when a bright light flashed through the room again. Opposed to the blazing red light, this one was a soft, peaceful, seemingly purifying white light. That didn’t calm anyone’s nerves.
“What now?” asked Isabel, aggravated.
As the light faded, everyone looked around. “Guys, where did Buffy, Angel, Liz and Doyle go?” asked Kyle hesitantly.
“Damn it,” sighed Cordelia, she looked at everyone before walking into Angel’s office and going to the fridge. She pulled out a beer and cracked it open before returning to the others. “There’s more if you need em” she shrugged as everyone made a mad dash.
A/N: Just one more part to go! Thank you so much to everyone who read this. I'm considering a sequel but am unsure of whether or not I'll write it. I have a lot of other stories I'm currently working on and one I will hopefully be posting soon. Thanks again!
Oh. McDreamy was doing the McNasty with McHottie? That McBastard. Uh, how was that?
-Dr. George O'Malley
Check out my stories
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elfangel01
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- Posts: 128
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A/N: Thanks guys! Thank you for reading and all the feedback! This has been my favorite story so far to work on, even though it's only my third... I'm definitely planning on doing a sequel, it's just finding the time and allowing my muse to work things out. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did and I hope you'll read my new story too! THANKS!
CH. 28
“So all in favor of no more lights, raise their hands,” joked Liz as she and her brother, Doyle and Buffy reappeared in what appeared to be a hall. There was one doorway that looked never ending and white marble columns lined the walls. “And what’s with the fading in and out thing? It’s starting to get really old.” She looked at the faces of her family and shrugged, “Long story, don’t ask.”
“What are we doing here, and where exactly is here?” asked Buffy, trying to wrap her mind around everything that had just happened. “Last time I checked, flashy lights didn’t always spell good things.”
“Neither does sending Darla to take me down the path of enlightenment,” muttered Liz. She sighed, “Sorry, I’m not bitter.”
“Darla was your guide wherever you were?” asked Angel in concern.
“Yeah, it was cool… I got to kick her ass a little bit. Venting is good.”
“Venting is very good,” smirked Doyle. “I never really liked her.”
“She tortured you,” exclaimed Angel. “Could that have anything to do with it?” That was still a sore spot for him, Doyle had done nothing wrong when he first met him but when Darla was magically brought back; he was the first one she went for.
“Darla’s dead,” said Buffy, she turned to Angel confused. “You staked her that night in the Bronze.”
“Yeah, but she was brought back and then I got to kill her,” muttered Liz, her eyes flashing black at the memories. “Payback’s a bitch, and that bitch is me.”
“But Darla didn’t kill you” said Angel sadly.
“In a round about way, hell yeah, she did!”
“SILENCE!” boomed a voice. Everyone dropped into defensive postures, looking around for the source of the voice. “You have no need for that here.”
“Well, when a bright light takes us away from home and deposits us in a never ending hall… I think it’s good to be on the defensive,” smirked Liz.
“Ahhh, Elizabeth, always the same… you and your brother have definitely given us entertainment over the years.” The voice came from the direction of the hallway as two gold skinned figures walked towards them. They had blue streaks running along their skin and were wearing what appeared to be black togas. The male had blonde hair and the female brown, as they walked towards them Liz immediately went on guard.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“The Oracles,” answered Angel, he stepped forward, ignoring the looks the others were shooting him. “What do you want? You took away my happiness, almost killed my sister… what more do you want from us?”
“Silence, half breed. It was not us who did the things you speak, it was the Powers that Be. They had to be sure you were ready.”
“Ready, ready for what?” asked Doyle. “The war is over… Liz defeated the First.”
“She did not defeat it, merely locked it back in its cell for a time.”
“Then why the hell did we just go through everything we did?” asked Buffy, outraged.
“It was a test.” The female oracle looked at her brother. “It is time.”
“Two warriors of light, two of darkness, only together are you strong enough to face the coming storms.” He sighed as he waved his off their confused looks. “Elizabeth and Angelus are the only two half breeds to ever be forces for good, however because they are vampires they require redemption… therefore they are the warriors of darkness. Buffy, you and Doyle are the warriors of light. Buffy, as the Chosen One, you have stopped many apocalypses, but the apocalypse is coming. You are strong, the strongest slayer to date, but your one weakness lies in Angelus-“
“He’s not my weakness, he’s my strength,” she argued.
“Do not argue, little one,” said the female sternly. “All that is to be given can quickly be taken back.”
“So how do I play into all this?” asked Doyle, grasping Liz’s hand in his own much larger one.
“You are the redeeming strength for Elizabeth. Beyond your own strength and abilities, you are her light and rock. She is new to this world. Buffy and Angelus were each others for a time, but their time has passed, now you two are the focus. The Powers that Be need their champions if good is to triumph, they have seen how you work apart, opposed to together and a decision has been made.” The male oracle looked to his sister, they both nodded before looking back at the four before them, they hoped they were ready. “Angelus is to be given a permanent soul, he will become more than he is now. He will be allowed the pleasures of the day but everything else will remain the same, he will still need blood, and he will still be able to die from the usual methods.” He threw out his hand to halt the speeches he knew would be coming. “The Slayer will be made immortal but only in the sense that she will not die of old age. Doyle’s life has been set, he will not die as a mortal; he is needed, he will remain by your side Elizabeth. However if either he or the Slayer were to suffer a fatal injury, they would surely die.
Elizabeth, you are the most powerful being on your plane of existence, however your struggle has not ended. You will be granted a short reprieve as it is because the First has been banished for now. In the end, the final battle will be in Sunnydale. Rest, enjoy this time with your family, for the end will come quickly then you will truly be tested.” With those parting words, the four were cast back out in a blinding light, landing in a heap on the floor of the Hyperion.
“Damn it, that’s it, no more teleporting people without their permission!” hollered Liz at the ceiling. She turned to Doyle, Angel and Buffy, completely ignoring her friends around her, what they had just found out finally thundering through her consciousness. “Is it true?” she asked hesitantly.
“Let’s find out,” shrugged Angel as he moved to the doorway. He hesitantly stepped into the beams of sunlight that were coming through the open doorway. He automatically flinched back but when he moved further out he realized he wasn’t being burned. He stepped further out, walking into the courtyard and staring at the sun in wonder, letting it’s warmth wash over his cold body. He was brought out of his amazement by Liz, Buffy and Doyle all tackling him as they landed in a happy group hug on the ground. They were all laughing as they lay there, content to simply be in the moment, they had time. They looked up as the others all walked outside.
“So, uhh… what’s going on here?” asked Maria, looking in awe at the fact that Angel hadn’t erupted into flames.
“It’s a long story, but we have time,” smiled Liz as she looked at her lover. She grabbed Doyle’s hand and turned to Angel and Buffy who were snuggled up on the ground. Sitting up she glanced around, taking in the sounds of busy city around her, grateful to have these people for the short amount of time that she would. She knew it would be hard living on if that was the case without them, but she knew she’d have Doyle, Angel and Buffy. The four stood and faced the others who all wore confused looks on their faces.
“What do we do now?” asked Kyle, still clearly puzzled over these new events, but he knew that sooner or later things would work out.
“We live,” answered Angel simply, smiling down at his sister and Buffy. He looked over at Doyle and raised his eyebrows at his best friend.
“Aye, we live.”
THE END
A/N: In memory of Glenn Quinn. You are loved and missed, may you rest in peace!
CH. 28
“So all in favor of no more lights, raise their hands,” joked Liz as she and her brother, Doyle and Buffy reappeared in what appeared to be a hall. There was one doorway that looked never ending and white marble columns lined the walls. “And what’s with the fading in and out thing? It’s starting to get really old.” She looked at the faces of her family and shrugged, “Long story, don’t ask.”
“What are we doing here, and where exactly is here?” asked Buffy, trying to wrap her mind around everything that had just happened. “Last time I checked, flashy lights didn’t always spell good things.”
“Neither does sending Darla to take me down the path of enlightenment,” muttered Liz. She sighed, “Sorry, I’m not bitter.”
“Darla was your guide wherever you were?” asked Angel in concern.
“Yeah, it was cool… I got to kick her ass a little bit. Venting is good.”
“Venting is very good,” smirked Doyle. “I never really liked her.”
“She tortured you,” exclaimed Angel. “Could that have anything to do with it?” That was still a sore spot for him, Doyle had done nothing wrong when he first met him but when Darla was magically brought back; he was the first one she went for.
“Darla’s dead,” said Buffy, she turned to Angel confused. “You staked her that night in the Bronze.”
“Yeah, but she was brought back and then I got to kill her,” muttered Liz, her eyes flashing black at the memories. “Payback’s a bitch, and that bitch is me.”
“But Darla didn’t kill you” said Angel sadly.
“In a round about way, hell yeah, she did!”
“SILENCE!” boomed a voice. Everyone dropped into defensive postures, looking around for the source of the voice. “You have no need for that here.”
“Well, when a bright light takes us away from home and deposits us in a never ending hall… I think it’s good to be on the defensive,” smirked Liz.
“Ahhh, Elizabeth, always the same… you and your brother have definitely given us entertainment over the years.” The voice came from the direction of the hallway as two gold skinned figures walked towards them. They had blue streaks running along their skin and were wearing what appeared to be black togas. The male had blonde hair and the female brown, as they walked towards them Liz immediately went on guard.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“The Oracles,” answered Angel, he stepped forward, ignoring the looks the others were shooting him. “What do you want? You took away my happiness, almost killed my sister… what more do you want from us?”
“Silence, half breed. It was not us who did the things you speak, it was the Powers that Be. They had to be sure you were ready.”
“Ready, ready for what?” asked Doyle. “The war is over… Liz defeated the First.”
“She did not defeat it, merely locked it back in its cell for a time.”
“Then why the hell did we just go through everything we did?” asked Buffy, outraged.
“It was a test.” The female oracle looked at her brother. “It is time.”
“Two warriors of light, two of darkness, only together are you strong enough to face the coming storms.” He sighed as he waved his off their confused looks. “Elizabeth and Angelus are the only two half breeds to ever be forces for good, however because they are vampires they require redemption… therefore they are the warriors of darkness. Buffy, you and Doyle are the warriors of light. Buffy, as the Chosen One, you have stopped many apocalypses, but the apocalypse is coming. You are strong, the strongest slayer to date, but your one weakness lies in Angelus-“
“He’s not my weakness, he’s my strength,” she argued.
“Do not argue, little one,” said the female sternly. “All that is to be given can quickly be taken back.”
“So how do I play into all this?” asked Doyle, grasping Liz’s hand in his own much larger one.
“You are the redeeming strength for Elizabeth. Beyond your own strength and abilities, you are her light and rock. She is new to this world. Buffy and Angelus were each others for a time, but their time has passed, now you two are the focus. The Powers that Be need their champions if good is to triumph, they have seen how you work apart, opposed to together and a decision has been made.” The male oracle looked to his sister, they both nodded before looking back at the four before them, they hoped they were ready. “Angelus is to be given a permanent soul, he will become more than he is now. He will be allowed the pleasures of the day but everything else will remain the same, he will still need blood, and he will still be able to die from the usual methods.” He threw out his hand to halt the speeches he knew would be coming. “The Slayer will be made immortal but only in the sense that she will not die of old age. Doyle’s life has been set, he will not die as a mortal; he is needed, he will remain by your side Elizabeth. However if either he or the Slayer were to suffer a fatal injury, they would surely die.
Elizabeth, you are the most powerful being on your plane of existence, however your struggle has not ended. You will be granted a short reprieve as it is because the First has been banished for now. In the end, the final battle will be in Sunnydale. Rest, enjoy this time with your family, for the end will come quickly then you will truly be tested.” With those parting words, the four were cast back out in a blinding light, landing in a heap on the floor of the Hyperion.
“Damn it, that’s it, no more teleporting people without their permission!” hollered Liz at the ceiling. She turned to Doyle, Angel and Buffy, completely ignoring her friends around her, what they had just found out finally thundering through her consciousness. “Is it true?” she asked hesitantly.
“Let’s find out,” shrugged Angel as he moved to the doorway. He hesitantly stepped into the beams of sunlight that were coming through the open doorway. He automatically flinched back but when he moved further out he realized he wasn’t being burned. He stepped further out, walking into the courtyard and staring at the sun in wonder, letting it’s warmth wash over his cold body. He was brought out of his amazement by Liz, Buffy and Doyle all tackling him as they landed in a happy group hug on the ground. They were all laughing as they lay there, content to simply be in the moment, they had time. They looked up as the others all walked outside.
“So, uhh… what’s going on here?” asked Maria, looking in awe at the fact that Angel hadn’t erupted into flames.
“It’s a long story, but we have time,” smiled Liz as she looked at her lover. She grabbed Doyle’s hand and turned to Angel and Buffy who were snuggled up on the ground. Sitting up she glanced around, taking in the sounds of busy city around her, grateful to have these people for the short amount of time that she would. She knew it would be hard living on if that was the case without them, but she knew she’d have Doyle, Angel and Buffy. The four stood and faced the others who all wore confused looks on their faces.
“What do we do now?” asked Kyle, still clearly puzzled over these new events, but he knew that sooner or later things would work out.
“We live,” answered Angel simply, smiling down at his sister and Buffy. He looked over at Doyle and raised his eyebrows at his best friend.
“Aye, we live.”
THE END
A/N: In memory of Glenn Quinn. You are loved and missed, may you rest in peace!
Oh. McDreamy was doing the McNasty with McHottie? That McBastard. Uh, how was that?
-Dr. George O'Malley
Check out my stories
viewtopic.php?t=14727