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9: Omen

Alarms began to blare throughout the stone hallways of the Watchers' Council Headquarters in Scotland. Dozens of people, many of them young girls, rushed through the quarters of the castle where they were based. Young and old, male and female, each of them were horrified individuals who were unsure if they would survive.

Rona ran with the horde of people as she tried to give instructions to the distressed individuals, shouting over the screams of panic that bounced and echoed off of the stone walls. "Stay calm!" she ordered. "Move towards the exits!"

Behind her, she could feel the presence close behind. Her own heart was racing wildly even though she tried to be the leader everyone needed. She saw what it did to the others… But she still wasn't sure what it was. She wasn't even sure if Vi was alive or dead. The only thing she knew was that it was not far behind them.

The hallway spilled out into a command room filled with computers and desks that the people rushed right through, some of them bumping into tables and each other. Rona heard at least one monitor smash to the ground. She glanced over across the room and saw a young woman hunching down behind a desk, her bright red hair pulled back into a ponytail.

Rona cut away from the river of bodies to the side of the room where Vi was hiding. Rona saw that she was holding a Blackberry cell phone in her thin fingers, nervously typing as fast as she could as terrified tears began to form in her eyes.

"Vi," Rona ordered as she reached down and grabbed her shoulder. "We've got to get out of here!"

"We… we can't get out," Vi stuttered stiffly, trying to maintain her strength. "She triggered the lockdown."

"What?" Rona's eyes widened with terror. "Who?"

Vi glanced at her for a mere moment of alarm. "You didn't see it?" she breathed. Rona stared at her in confusion as she turned back towards the phone and kept trying to send her message through. "It won't go through all the way."

"Who are you sending that to?"

"Anyone!" she declared. "Everyone… that's in here…"

"We don't have time for this—" Rona's words were cut off as the entire room descended into darkness and the power all around them shut off. With sunlight as the only form of illumination, a wave of screams erupted all across the castle as the creature began to attack them all.


That morning, Oz sat in front of Dana's laptop in Dana's hotel room as the two of them researched the Symbol, vigorously combing the Internet without much luck. Dana mulled over the books as Oz tried one last effort.

"Oz, if this symbol really means something, I doubt we're going to find it on Google," Dana criticized tiredly.

"That's why I'm gonna run it through Dogpile and Webcrawler," Oz declared confidently, "then I'll cross-reference it with Malcolm Janus' Facebook and MySpace accounts." Dana gave him an unappreciative look as Oz asked, "Hey, do you think the Illuminati has a YouTube profile we can take a look at?" She sighed and rolled her eyes as he explained, "Look, you'd be surprised what you'll find on the Internet if you know where to look."

He turned around and continued searching through the web pages. "Who did you learn that from?" he heard Dana ask. Oz clenched his jaw a bit as he kept his eyes on the computer screen, greatly distracted by his bittersweet memories.

"Old friend," he responded.

His eyes rested on something interesting. "Hey," he began, catching Dana's attention once more. "I-I think I've got something here."

Dana joined him at his side at the computer, leaning over his shoulder. "Is it the symbol?" she asked.

"No… not… totally," Oz answered. "But I bet you didn't know there were Illuminati fan groups."

"Cults online," Dana replied. "Figures."

"I keep seeing these phrases pop up on a lot of these pages," Oz declared, pointing at the screen where a long section of text appeared.

"What is that, a poem?" she asked.

"It's a prophecy," Oz declared, reading the description. "The Prophecy of the Chosen Ones."

"Chosen Ones?" she repeated. "Okay, I'm listening."

Oz began to read, "'Three kings shall converge in the desert valley. One of them, the Prophet, shall arise from slumber to battle the Great Fires. Another, the Demon, shall arise from blood to battle the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart. The Final – the Slayer – shall arise from the grave to battle the Army of Hell. The Final joins and breaks them all.'"

"Okay," Dana replied with a bit of sarcasm. "I'm no literary expert, but let me take a stab and say that we're talking about Johnny, Angel and Buffy. I mean… Johnny's the Prophet, Angel's the Demon and…"

"Buffy is the Final," Oz repeated, reading over the last line. "'The Final joins and breaks them all.'" Dana glanced over at him, both of them slightly disturbed.

Oz looked back at the computer. "'Sought by Apocalypse,'" he read, "'the Champions make their final stand in the Temple of the Sun where the journey began. The Power relinquished, placed in Two hands. The reflection of the soldier they must face, lest the Black Rock return them to their place. Together they are broken and made whole. The One is killed and consumed by it's own jaws as the river of blood washes the ground away.'"

Dana and Oz stared at the computer uncomfortably. "Beautiful," she responded. "What the hell does that mean?"

"That's the question of the day," Oz answered. "It's all kinda vague."

"Except the part about the Apocalypse," Dana sighed.

"Yep," he agreed. "That part's pretty clear." He heard a loud beep coming from his cell phone as he reached down in his jacket pocket dug around for it. Dana heard her cell phone rattle on the nightstand. She went over, grabbed the phone, and read the text message to herself.

"Huh?" she declared. "Johnny says that Buffy's back… kinda." She looked up at Oz with a shrug. "If that doesn't confuse you, I don't know what will."

Dana made note of Oz's extremely distressed expression as he stared down at his text message. "Oh, I think I've got an example," he declared with a puzzled face.


Buffy sat on the couch of the farmhouse as most of the large group hung back behind, only Johnny and Angel stood near her. She was nothing like she was before… but she was very different still. She maintained a graceful anxiety as she glanced from place to face with a mix of politeness as if she was a guest in someone's house and suspicion because she was surrounded by strangers.

Across the room, the group tried to maintain conversation, just to make the interaction with Buffy a little less awkward, but it was clear what was on everyone's mind. Walt glanced over to Bruce and asked quietly, "What's the report so far?"

"Johnny says she doesn't remember anything," Bruce explained. "There are things that are sort of… familiar." Walt stared at him with confusion. "Her name," Bruce replied. "But there's… really nothing definite."

"Nothing that can help us," Walt sighed as he studied Buffy carefully from afar. "She looks scared," he noted.

Bruce took his eyes off of Buffy to look over at him. "Aren't you?" Walt turned to Bruce in silent contemplation as he crossed his arms and took a breath.

Buffy looked up at Johnny and Angel at a loss. "I'm sorry," she began tiredly. "I don't remember anything." She looked at both men as if they were no more important to her than strangers on a street. It was probably that look that bothered them both the most, although neither one of them would admit it. "I mean," she clarified, "I kind of remember walking a really long distance and… being here. Wherever the hell here is. But there's a lot of vague in that vague."

Johnny and Angel gave each other a glance before Angel asked, "Do you remember what you were doing last night?"

"You mean how I ended up unconscious in the middle of the woods?" Buffy said with a half-smile and a worried laugh. "Nope."

"Well, that would've been too easy, I suppose," John remarked as he glanced out the window to see Robin outside rummaging through the van in the daylight.

"Maybe Robin's idea of doing a few tests back at the Watchers' Council wasn't such a bad idea," Angel suggested to Johnny.

"Tests?" Buffy repeated with disgust. "No, no, sorry… I don't really like tests that much."

Johnny turned to her kindly, "Buffy, we're just trying to help you—"

"Well, then don't," she sharply cut him off in a defensive reflex. Johnny blinked and glanced away, taken aback by her sudden cold tone… one that he was very unused to. "I'm sorry," she began again, regaining her composure. "I'm very sorry… I-I know you all mean well. But you don't seem to understand. You say my name as if you know me. And… I'm sure you do, but I don't know you." She took a breath as she tried to explain herself, "I appreciate your help, I do. But I'm sure not going anywhere for any tests."

"Then we can start here," Robin declared as he walked into the room carrying a tire iron.

"What are you doing with that?" Bruce asked, now having the attention of everyone in the room.

He handed it to Buffy. "Bend it," he ordered. She blinked at him with astonishment, not sure if he was teasing or crazy. Buffy stared at the bar with confusion as she glanced back up at Robin.

"Are you kidding?" she blurted.

"Yes," Robin answered straightly in a monotone voice. "This is a joke I made up specifically for this occasion because I'm a very funny man." He gave her another order, "Bend it."

"I can't," Buffy replied.

"Just try," Angel answered. She looked over at him hopelessly, then stared back down at the tire iron.

With a sigh, she studied it, wrapped her fingers around it and bended it as hard as she could. They watched as the tire iron curled like a pipe cleaner in her hands. She dropped the item immediately on the ground, stunned at her own strength.

"Get out," she blurted, her eyes wide.

"That answers one question," Robin stated.

"And opens up another," Faith declared. "Does that mean that Buffy's slayin' again?"

"Then why would I still be having visions?" Angel asked.

"Well there could be any number of explanations," Bruce stated. "Maybe during the storm when Buffy was hit with lightning it triggered some sort of reverse effect – it empowered her rather than drained her. Or maybe Angel's effects are going to reverse. Or maybe Angel did that Sans-Shoes thing—"

"Shansu," Angel corrected.

"Shansu thing," Bruce continued, "and it caused what happened to Buffy last night. Or what's happening right now. Then of course, it could be that the two events have nothing to do with each other at all."

The group stared at him. "Thanks," Johnny replied.

"Just keeping it in perspective," Bruce said.

Johnny said to himself, "There's no real telling what Buffy can or can't do."

"Not to throw anybody off," Faith interrupted, "but we still don't know why any of this is happening. I mean, this problem just ain't getting any smaller."

"Then how do we help her?" Johnny replied.

"I can only think of one way," Angel said dramatically. "I have to try to use my power."

Walt replied with a slightly worried tone, "This isn't a wall in a police station, buddy. You could be peeking under a really big mystical rock. Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Angel exhaled. "It has to be done." He glanced around at the rest of the group as a tense moment of silence passed by.

"How the hell did I just do that?" Buffy exclaimed as she continued to stare down at the tire iron. The gang turned to her. "I mean, not to divert any attention, but… whoa! Oh… wow… I…" She placed her hands on her head as she stared down at the ground. "I really don't feel so good."

"When was the last time you've eaten?" Robin asked. Buffy gave him a look. "Yeah," he remembered. "Right. Renee? Would you…?"

"I'm on it," she casually replied.

"Buffy," Angel began, "I'm sure you don't know what's going on and… neither do we, but… I'm going to need your help."

"With what?" she asked, uneasy.

"I have visions," Angel declared. "I can see things. Things that have happened. Things that will happen."

"Really?" Buffy declared with a half-smile. "Like a psychic? Cool." Angel was flattered despite himself. He wasn't used to having a power anybody thought was cool. It was a long time since he surprised Buffy.

"All it takes is one touch," Angel explained. Johnny rolled his eyes off of them jealously as he glanced at the wall and sighed with a bit of resentment. "I want to see what happened to you," Angel offered, extending both of his hands lovingly.

She couldn't help but smile at his kindness. "You'll see what happened?" she said as she lifted her hands.

"I'll see something," Angel explained. "Hopefully it's something useful."

"Will this take a long time?" Buffy asked.

"I'm not getting any older," he smirked, drawing a returned smile from her. "Well, I guess I am now, but… I can't think of anything more important to do with the time."

John heard himself say aloud, "Well, the rest of us are hungry so let's get this show on the road." Buffy, Angel, Walt, Bruce, Faith and Robin all turned to him as Johnny turned red, shocked that he blurted it out and faced the wall as he reeled his tongue in off the floor.

Angel looked back at Buffy. "When you're ready," he said, extending his hands out again. Buffy gently moved towards his hands, feeling all the attraction in the world between them. Something else very familiar came to light for Buffy as soon as the two of them touched.


A little later that morning, Johnny paced outside on the porch of the farmhouse cabin alone with his thoughts. The others were scarfing down sandwiches but Johnny couldn't really find an appetite to eat. There were far too many personal conflicts fighting over brain space with potentially global conflicts.

How the hell did Buffy ever figure out how to do that?

Of course, it made sense to him that even though the world was at stake his first and annoyingly only thought was Buffy.

Bruce approached the cabin from across the lawn as he finished his sandwich. He joined Johnny on the steps as John glanced out at the trees around them with a slight sense of peace before the storms.

"Don't say anything," Bruce ordered immediately. Johnny glanced over at him confusedly. "Even though you're not going to admit it, this is something that's bothering you and you can't let it. So just don't talk about it."

"I was doing a great job of that already, man," Johnny replied. "Thanks for the help, though."

"You need help?" Bruce retorted. "Okay, then here's your help. She doesn't remember you. You're upset. But she will." Johnny looked over at him with a silent 'Do you really think so' look. "True love never forgets," Bruce explained. Johnny stared back at him with a gracious expression as he nodded in silent agreement. John glanced out again at the sunlight, noting Angel and Faith standing out over by the rental car.

"Let's get back to work," Bruce declared, and Johnny followed him inside.


Angel was leaned up against the side of the car staring up at the sky. "Stop sightseeing, dude," Faith declared as she hopped up and sat on the hood of the car. "Tell me – what's this favor you need all of a sudden?"

"Lorne," Angel replied and Faith rolled her eyes in frustration. "Look, I know you got busted the first time. We need to find him and you know where he is; it'll take too long for all of us to get down there. Especially now. And with all of these emotions he'll hear us coming from a mile away." Faith glanced over at him. "Please, Faith," he asked again. "He's not gonna fool you twice, is he?"

"Hell no," she stated firmly. She considered it for a few seconds, bobbing her head from side to side, then agreed. "Alright, man. One more time."

"Thank you," he replied. He began to walk towards the cabin as Faith lingered back at the car.

"I need a ride," she called after him.

Angel tossed Walt's car keys behind him as she caught them in the air. "Don't wreck," he warned. "It's a rental."

"Sweet," she declared as she opened the driver's side door and got in.


As Angel entered the cabin, Johnny was there to meet him at the door. Most of the others, including Buffy, were too busy stuffing themselves. "Okay, let's talk about what you saw," Johnny said.

"People with glowing blue eyes," Angel blurted.

Johnny stared at him flatly. "And?"

"And that's it."

"Not very particular, huh?"

"I'm not impressed either," Angel shook his head with worry. "I know that with the cryptic vision I also got a nice cryptic bad feeling about it."

"I never really realized how annoyingly unclear those visions are to the people not having them," Johnny declared.

"I can tell you one thing," Angel declared. "I got this strange feeling that Buffy was holding something back." Johnny suspiciously glanced across the room at Robin as he spoke with his team. "He seems kind of hell bent on taking this whole thing over, isn't he?" Angel noted.

"That's what I'm worried about," Johnny agreed. The door opened as Bruce, Oz, and Dana entered together with an exasperated expression.

"You're not gonna believe what Oz told me outside," Bruce explained.

"Why not?" Johnny sighed. "It would give me something new to worry about."

"I just got a text message from one of the Slayers working back at the Watchers' Council headquarters in Scotland," Oz explained. "It's a little scrambled; I think there's something wrong with the network. But it said that Buffy was at the Watchers Council."

"What?" Johnny replied.

Oz glanced over at Buffy, then turned back to Johnny and the others. "And I really hate to bring this part up, but… it read kind of like an S.O.S." Angel and Johnny both found themselves staring blankly at Oz, both of them unsettled. Johnny glanced back across the room at Buffy with confusion.

"That can't be right…" he shook his head.

"How?" Angel asked.

"I don't know," Oz shrugged with confusion. "But I can't get a hold of anyone over there." He sighed as he shook his head. "Somebody needs to find out what happened."

Angel stared closely at Buffy as he said to Johnny aside, "If something did happen out there and Robin thinks Buffy has something to do with it, he'll do everything in his power to take control." He looked over at Johnny who understood Angel's point. "We can't let that happen."

Johnny glanced around at the group, then eyed Bruce closely. "You want the chance to hone your skills?"

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked.

"Teleportation," Johnny explained. "Do you think you can make it as far as Scotland?"

"Whoa," Bruce nervously replied, "I don't know if I'm ready…"

"Now's the time," Angel nodded pleadingly. Bruce glanced back and forth between Johnny and Angel, then sighed in agreement.

"All right," he said, "I'll try. But who's going with me?"

"I'll be with you," Johnny answered. "But I'll need a little help. Oz, Dana, are you up for it?" Johnny asked. Both of them glanced at each other, then nodded nervously. John looked over at Angel. "You going, too?"

"Not me," Angel replied.

Uncomfortably, Johnny declared, "You don't have to stay behind to protect Buffy—"

"I'm aware," Angel answered defensively. He cooled himself down as he explained, "There's something else I have to check in on." Johnny studied the former vampire carefully and then consented with another apologetic nod. Angel glanced back at Buffy, and then said to the others, "Take care. I won't be long." He turned away from the small group and exited quietly through the door.

As he left, Robin Wood approached, staring cautiously at the former vampire's exit. "Where's he off to?" Robin asked Johnny a little as if it were an interrogation.

"He didn't say," Johnny replied. "He said there was something he had to take care of, but he won't be long."

"What the hell could be so important now?" Robin snapped.

"I don't know, man, maybe he wanted to get a pizza," Bruce replied smartly. "Which actually sounds good right now. I'm still starved." Robin shot him a look as Bruce stepped away and the small group broke apart.

"Well you'll all have to order-in," Robin declared, "I don't want anyone else leaving until I get back."

"Where you headed?" Johnny asked, beginning his interrogation.

Robin was particularly short with his answers. "We just got a message from Giles in England," he explained. "We're going to try to make contact. If anything happens here, and I mean anything—"

"I'll call," Johnny sighed. "If it'll go through."

"Try anyway," Robin snapped harshly. Johnny watched Robin and his team go with a slight defiance in his blue eyes.

As soon as it appeared the coast was clear, he moved over to Walt and Buffy. "We're gonna check on something."

"What?" Walt exclaimed.

"Where are you going?" Buffy asked.

Johnny looked over at her and swallowed his tongue. "We think we might have a solution to what's happening, but we need to leave now."

"You mean before that… Robin Wood guy gets back?" Buffy replied.

Johnny stared at her and couldn't help but smile. "You were always way too smart for your own good." She gave a sheepish half-smile in return as she glanced away momentarily. "Why don't you just get some rest?" he suggested.

"That actually sounds like a good idea," Buffy sighed and came to a stand. "Now that it's quiet around here I might actually get some sleep. I feel like I haven't for… ever." She moved over to the couch as Johnny and Walt were left behind.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Walt replied. "The truth?"

"I know you can handle yourself," Johnny answered. "And I need you to just sit tight and look after Buffy for a while. Please." Walt stared at him suspiciously, and Johnny explained "We'll try to be back in an hour."

"Can I at least know where you're going?" Walt complained.

Johnny said to him with a sigh, "Scotland." Walt watched him leave with the others in complete confusion.


Giles leaned over a table inside of a cement room with three other women inside the confines of the Coven in Westbury. He removed his wire-framed glasses as he wiped the beads of sweat off of his brow, his heart steadily racing. The lights of the room flickered in the fallout shelter as they jumped with fear.

Two of the women, both of them in their fifties and senior members of the Coven stood on either side of the third woman, a young girl with her eyes squeezed shut sitting in a chair. They grasped her hand fearfully as they awaited the young seer's prediction.

The young, dark-skinned woman opened her eyes wide and said fearfully, "It's already attacked again…" She breathed in terror as the irises of her eyes vanished and faded to white, her power overtaking her. "It's coming… somewhere… in the U.S."

"Where?" Giles quietly asked as he faced the wall.

"I-I don't know," the seer breathed. "It's in the northeast…"

"What's happening here?" one of the senior Coven members begged. "What's happening outside?"

The teenage girl gasped for air with terror. "It's… coming… here…"

Giles stood up and gazed at the door as it began to shake, the terrible force pounding on the other side. "It's too late," the Watcher declared hopelessly. "It's already here."

The light bulbs surged and exploded, raining shards of glass down into the darkness that surrounded them.


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