Chapter 1: Divergence
Buffy looked up to Angel, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, "Close your eyes."
It was said with such love and tenderness. No guile nor deception entered her voice as she softly placed one finger on his lip. She knew she had to do this. She had to kill him; no, sacrifice him, to stop the portal from spreading. Even as she stepped away from him preparing to strike she could hear the voices beginning in her mind. Murderess, betrayer, failure.
Then she was flying across the room.
Angel's body slammed into her own, her sword, not yet in position to strike slicing across his hip. They rolled in a tangle of limbs and body parts before stopping against the wall.
"Owwie... Father damn you. Didn't warn me about that," a female voice groaned from the pile of bodies Buffy had found herself a part of.
The weight trapping Buffy at the bottom of the pile lightened as the third member of their impromptu game of king of the hill righted herself and rose to her feet. As Angel carefully rolled off then helped himself and Buffy to their feet she got her first glimpse of the being that came through.
The stranger had already turned away from them, giving them her back. Blonde hair fell to her shoulders, razor straight, and lighter in color than Buffy's own. She looked to be no taller than Buffy herself, just over the five-foot mark and was clothed in a tight fitting outfit that covered her torso in a dark pink color. A pleated skirt swirled around her thighs black as midnight, the same with the high heeled boots that rose to just a few inches below the skirt. Black opera style gloves covered her hands and arms up to her biceps. All about the stranger, she could see a light, pink but a lighter tone than that of her top.
"Well now... let's get this taken care off," the stranger's voice said softly as she lifted a slim device that looked like some sort of tablet in her right hand and placed the closed fist of her left against what Buffy thought was the screen.
"What are you doing," Buffy asked, slowly regaining the equilibrium she had lost from the sudden spill onto the floor. Her hand tightened on the hilt of the sword she held, her feet sliding back into a fighting stance.
Angel followed her lead, his own body moving into position as he slid sideways and around the stranger in their midst. Neither knew who or what this person was, but she came through the portal of Acathla. That alone was enough to place her on the 'slayee' list in Buffy's mind.
The blonde glanced back at Buffy and Angel before turning back to the portal. That momentary glance was enough to stop both of them as both their eyes widened.
"Trying to fix what you broke. Portals, never good you know. Even worse when you put your world in danger. Probably didn't even know where this one went to did you? Figures, curiosity, and cats. Still, would have thought better of you of all people," the stranger rambled. "Well, at least Father figured out how to close it. Good thing too. Would have been rather bad to let him through. Not Father, but well... anyway... going to need full power to close this thing."
"What do you mean full power?" Angel asked as he carefully bent down to pick up the sword Angelus had been parted from.
The stranger crouched down and set the tablet on the ground, ignoring the re-ensouled vampire. Standing her now free right hand reached out beside her and with a flash of light she was holding what looked like an old-fashioned lantern wrought of a dark pink metal. She held it before her, placing her left fist before it before speaking again.
"For hearts long lost and full of fright," she began. The two watched as light started to emanate from the strange pink lantern.
"For those alone in Blackest night."
The light grew in intensity and the two champions looked to each other in concern and readied their weapons to strike.
"Accept our ring and join our fight,"
The two moved forward to strike with blade and fist. The light suddenly flashed brighter as the stranger called out the last line with a shout, blinding both and bringing them up short.
"Love conquers all with violet light!"
As Buffy and Angel blinked back the pink spots in their vision they watched the stranger lift her closed fist towards the still growing portal of Acathla. A violet light shot forward striking it in the middle. The stranger bore a look that was a strange mixture of serenity and concentration. Steadily the beam grew brighter as she poured energy into the portal and to the disbelief of both champions, the portal began to shrink. In seconds that felt like an eternity, the two watched as the stranger from the portal forced it closed.
The stranger took a step back then lifted the lantern into the air and in another flash, it was gone from sight. She looked back and forth between the two of them then shook her head. "Next time you might not dial a number with someone so understanding. So let this be a lesson, no more portals. Now excuse me, but I need to... well, not be here I think."
Buffy and Angel were quickly back to their feet as they studied the being between them. "No, I think you are where you are supposed to be," Buffy said as she let her sword hang loosely but still at the ready. "We have questions, you have answers. Now, make with the splainy."
The stranger shook her head sadly, her eyes looking down to the ground before she lifted her gaze back to Buffy. "No, I've already explained enough. You opened a portal, I came and closed your mistake. Now I need to go. So if you will excuse me," she answered turning towards Angel.
"I think you should answer her first. That was a portal to Acathla. It can't be closed except by the blood of the one who opened it," Angel stated calmly. "So whatever you did, you couldn't have closed it."
The stranger rolled her eyes with a smirk, "Really? So you have a Ph.D. in computational physics and astrophysics? Perhaps a degree in Theoretical Wormhole physics? No? Well my Father does, and his calculations are what let me close that monstrosity. Good thing too. Now, excuse me, I need to find a bath."
And with that, the figure suddenly shot straight into the air. She smashed through the floor above them, then through the ceiling, and in a streak of pink she vanished into the sky.
The two champions stood open mouthed and blinking for a few moments. Angel recovered first and turned to Buffy. "Okay, glows, can close portals, and flys... what is she?"
Buffy shook her head before turning to her boyfriend, "The better question is, why does she look like me?"