Disclaimer: I don't own Doyle (though I wish I could). If we were allowed to own Doyle, then we would all own him…but, sadly, Joss Whedon owns him (though he did kill him. There should be a law, if Joss kills a character, we're allowed to own that character).
A/N: Well, this is the Restless Hero I've been working on ever since last year. It's grown…this is the prologue, though. I'm determined to finish this story, unlike some of my other stories. Anyway, read and enjoy! By the way, this wasn't beta-ed, so all mistakes are mine alone.
Restless Hero, PrologueTime seemed to stand still.
The walls circled the room in an elegant way that it seemed to be carved out of marble. An archway connected another room to the circular room with some steps acting as the bridge across both rooms. A bridge across two cultures, two groups of different people fighting in the same war. Atop the archway stood a bust of a large, pearl clock that seemed frozen. Frozen forever in time as if it had lost its single essence, its motivation, to move on with time.
The walls gleamed golden with sunlight even though there was no place where direct sunlight could get through. The sunlight bounced off the walls and created a ray of light arching above the room. A rainbow.
He couldn't imagine anything more exquisite than what he was seeing now.
She stepped out from beneath the archway while behind her a river of blue light engulfed her curves. Her golden hair, which was bundled on top of her head and held together by two long sticks, was highlighted with streaks of blue and the sign of the Warrior hung as a pendant around her neck. Swarms of people huddled close to her as she made her way down the steps that acted as a bridge across two rooms. Anticipation hung heavily in the air. She tried her best to block the mindless ramblings of those close to her.
She stepped on to the podium that only existed for her to use as her own. From her right pocket, she took out a small scroll and unrolled it flatly against the desk of the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen," she began. The talking died down to the best it could. "I am sure you all know what happened here." Time had been forgotten; she didn't know how much time had passed. All she knew was that they had regrouped the best that they could and those who died were laid to rest by the tears of their comrades. "They destroyed our Sacred Clock. I am sure all you know the Sacred Clock kept time for us here, for time is sacred in our world. However, when they destroyed the Sacred Clock, they took what gave life to the clock, the essence of time itself: the Pendent." Waves of gasps skittered through the crowd. Someone shouted out, "The sign of the Warrior!" Without giving off a sigh, she continued, "The sign of the Warrior is merely a sign. It is not a pendent and never will be. It is a sign for hope that our Warrior will come and save us from this place where time is forever frozen."
A flash of light was all he could remember. The half-demon grimaced with pain as the thought of the beacon came into his mind.
"What is it you want, lowly messenger?"
The two siblings, each slightly faded and translucent, stepped out from under the archway. Both had golden skin, ocean blue eyes, and both wore togas, but one had gold hair while the other had brown.
"Where am I?"
"You are here," the Sister said, motioning with her arms at the surrounding area. She said it as if it was a plain fact that anyone could see.
"Yeah, but I thought after we die we go to—"
"Heaven?" the Brother scoffed. "Heaven is a place merely invented for naive mortals to think that there is life after death."
"Brother, this messenger comes to us in a time of need," the Sister reminded the Brother quietly. The Brother and Sister glared at each other for a quick moment before the Sister turned back to the half-demon and said, "This is the place where departed warriors ascend to. You are one of those departed warriors despite being a messenger."
"How?"
"You gave your life to save those half-breeds. They are in eternal gratitude that you have saved their lives. You live on as a memory in the minds of others, but here that sacrifice was a message. It was an act of nobility, one far too noble for just a memory. No others will reach that nobility you have displayed, and no one will come here."
"Yeah, but…what about the others?"
"They will ascend into Heaven once they depart from their mortal world. You will not see them again."
"But I have to. Cordelia especially."
The Sister shared a quick glance at Brother before looking at the half-demon again. "Fine. Brother, explain." She stepped aside, welcoming Brother to fill her place.
The Brother nodded to Sister and took her place at the front. "Before you died, you were torn between your demon and human self, am I correct?"
"You are, yeah."
"Because you have risked your life when others could have gone in your place, we will reward you with a choice: return to Earth as a demon or human."
"There's a catch, right?"
"You will forget everything that happened. You will forget that whom you call Cordelia and that whom you call Angel."
"They're my friends though!"
"And time wasn't meant to be frozen. We all have our problems."
"Brother—!"
"Quiet, Sister!" The Brother nearly shouted. He faced the half-demon again and continued with a harsh tone. "Time was and is not meant to be altered, but you have shown great nobility, so therefore, we will send you back as either a demon or a human, your choice, to a certain time. You will find the Pendant to restore our time in here and once you do that, we will give you your memories back. Have we reached an agreement?"
Doyle considered this agreement and he nodded. "Deal," he said, and then added (after a long thought in which he thought that he could still hook up with Cordelia as human), "Human."
"It is done and human you shall be on the mortal plain you call Earth. Do not forget your task." The Sister waved her hand and blackness fell over the room.
A/N: Well, I assume that you finished the prologue if you're reading this and if you reviewed. This story is surely to grab your attention, Doyle lovers…hopefully. Anyway, I hope you do review if you've read the prologue. Feedback will be greatly appreciated.