A/N: Hey everyone. So, here's chapter 9. I don't know if you're excited but I am! Only one more chapter until Part II. I wanted to thank those of you have been leaving reviews, I really appreciate it and I love hearing what all of you think it really makes my day. Anyway, until next time. Enjoy!
Carpe Noctum
Chapter 9
Lorne sighs as he dabs at the tears pouring down Buffy's face. Dawn's sitting in a chair right next to her bedside while Conner stands behind her, trying his best to support her anyway he can.
"She's in the barrens now. They cry for a while. Quiet mostly. Like they're letting go of everything that meant something to them." Lorne tells them dejectedly.
"I'm sorry, Dawn. I didn't know Buffy well but from what you've told me she was a pretty amazing person. She doesn't deserve this." he consoles and she nods silently in thanks. He pulls up a chair and sits himself faithfully beside her.
"How long...'til...?" Conner trails off and takes a greedy gulp of air as he takes Dawn's hand in his. He needs to be strong for her. Buffy is her sister.
"Not long. You can hold her hand if you want to." Lorne replies and Dawn moves her other hand to hold Buffy's just as Wesley walks in.
"Wesley, you did the right thing. She was brave, and at least she died in battle." Conner nods toward Buffy while Wesley stays silent not agreeing at all. He wishes Buffy didn't die. She deserves to live more than anyone. Conner just thinks its better somehow, then dying because of something boring or not noble. At least she'll always have that…
"No. It wasn't the right thing. Don't ever say Buffy dying is the right thing because its not. It never is!" Dawn shouts angrily, jumping up from her chair and glaring at Conner as angry tears make their way down her face. Conner opens his mouth to reply, to apologize, to anything, because he cant stand that look on her face, the one directed at him. But before he can reply Wesley interrupts.
"It's time." he tells them and Conner follows Wes reluctantly down into the lobby. Fred is waving a lit candle and ringing a brass bell as she circles around the room. Willow passes by her, smiles and lifts her chin higher.
"You're good. Good bells."
Willow walks over to the front desk and looks at Gunn and Faith.
"OK, now all I gotta do is contact the spirit world, harness the Delothrian ebb, and focus it through my little marble of doom here. And we'll restore the Muo-Ping's entropic equilibrium." Willow tells them, holding up her tiny marble as evidence.
"The jar goes smash?" Gunn simply questions, not understanding even a word of what Willow just said.
"Smash-o-crash." she replies and Xander laughs at an old memory.
"Like that one time during Halloween." he brings up and Willow erupts into giggles.
"Oh yeah. When … And he put it…" Willow continues to laugh until her and Xander look up the stairs and remember. They immediately lapse into silence.
"That's all I need to know. I'll be downstairs in case the Prince of Darkness wakes up." Gunn informs them grabbing his tranq gun and then leaving for the basement.
"You ready?" Wesley checks and Willow nods determinedly.
"Should be a snap." she replies just before a bolt of orange energy comes shooting toward her and sends her sliding across the floor.
"Willow!" Xander shouts, running to her side. Faith swivels her head around with Wes and Fred to figure out where the hell the energy came from.
xxxxxxx
Lorne slides a little closer to Buffy as he looks over her.
"Don't you worry, princess. It'll all be over soon. I—I've seen lots of girls go through just what you're going through now." he assures her, starting to sing softly. "There'll be another song for me, and I will sing it. Oh, there'll be another dream for me, someone will bring it."
xxxxxxx
In her room, Cordelia sits on her bed the crystal in her hand as she attempts to contact Angelus.
"Hear me, Angelus. Heed my warning. Awaken at once. Return from the darkness. Or just lay there and let that red-headed meddler put your soul back. Whichever!" she shouts at him.
xxxxxxx
Stay your hand, witch! You will not interfere with what must come to pass, the beastmaster shouts in Willow's head. She grabs her hair, kneads her temples and mumbles weakly back at the voice.
"Invadoria disparu!"
You think to banish me?
"There's somebody in my head." Willow tells Wesley franticly as she clings to Xander's arm for support.
As long as the soul is under my protection, it will never be freed.
"Vetsche invadoria disparu!" Willow chants at the sky. I'th bid my thongue.
"He wants to stop us from getting the soul." Fred squeals as Willow shakes her head and propels her self off Xander's arm. Her eyes go black and she holds her hand out while the small marble in it begins to glow.
"Open the window. Fill this stone. Inside, outside. Two made one." Willow casts and the marble starts to rise off the base of her palm slowly, gaining momentum.
You wanna go, Glinda? We'll go.
Willow attempts to stand her ground but is hit by another bolt of energy and knocked to the ground. She begins to shake and her hair starts to blacken. Xander runs back to her side and helps her up.
"Will. Its me Xander. Remember what we talked about. Its gonna be okay. Fight it." he encourages and Conner looks at Willow uneasily.
"Are you sure she can handle it?" his voice cracks as he looks up the stairs toward Buffy's room, where Dawn is.
"Alesh ashtoreth!" Willow screams and the ground beneath them begins to shake.
"I think she can hold her own." Wesley assures him.
xxxxxxx
"It's OK, Buffy. It's OK. You just wait. They'll get Angel back, and... it'll all be worth it. It'll all—" Lorne tries to convince himself until Buffy gasps and sits up. Dawn eyes widen and she looks to Lorne for answers. But all he can do is watch Buffy's still form, unconscious and now sitting upright, in confusion.
xxxxxxx
Scenes blend together once more and Buffy finds herself and Angelus in a dark alleyway filled with garbage. She almost wants to complain about the smell. Because seriously?
"It'll all be worth it. Is that what you try to tell yourself, lover? Is that the nasty little lie that kept those thighs nice and warm in your coffin?" Angelus' voice taunts her and she searches the alleyway for him desperately. She can't go yet, not until Willow has released Angel's soul.
"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" she jokes and Angelus shows up behind her, lying on the ground.
"No, but I ate her with it." he says, standing without bending his body in anyway. Buffy winces at the thought. "And now for a poem. 'Buffy goes gently into that good night.' You're fading fast, baby. I can feel it." Angelus breathes, moving to stand in front of her. His fingers hovering a few inches from her face as he traces the outline of her jaw.
"All the same, I hear a birdie singing in the distance." she says leveling her gaze with his. "Tells me you're about to get what's coming to you."
"Or not. I've got friends in high places." he smirks just as Angel stumbles into the alley, knocking down garbage cans and grabbing a rat to eat it. "Him not being one of 'em." Angelus says disdainfully, turning his face away from the bumbling disaster in the alleyway.
"Ugh. When is this?" she asks, her nose scrunching up in distaste.
"When isn't it? Twenty years after that stupid donut shop, and his fingers never smelled of anything but rat! 'I'm so sorry. I give up. I'm gonna live in a sewer!'" Angelus mocks, rolling his eyes and kicking at the pavement.
"He's paying for what he did." Buffy says proudly but Angelus closes in on her.
"He's hiding from what he is—which may be a big Psych 101 revelation for you, sweetie, but I already know this crap, so why do I have to go through it again?" Angelus wonders intently.
"Maybe 'cause it's not about you," Angel notifies him getting up from the ground and standing up. "jackass."
xxxxxxx
"Do you feel that?" Xander asks as Willow continues to chant.
"There's something evil rising in the hotel." Conner concludes uneasily and the others nod in agreement. Just then a huge demonic head floats above the gang in the lobby, growling and shrieking.
"What the hell is that?" Conner screams as the head circles them.
"Ignore it." Willow advises them before turning back to the small glowing ball in her palm. "Find your target. Leave my side." she commands it. "Geth na haroth castellum tol."
xxxxxxx
"If only this were a few weeks later." Cordelia complains warding off Willow's attempts as images of Xander flash in front of her. No. She can't be distracted not now, not when Willow is so close to…
xxxxxxx
"Break the glass." Willow yells. Fred looks around the room and notices something.
"Where's Connor?" she asks, her brows furrowing as the others look for him.
"Let loose the soul!" Willow screams her hair turning completely black and flying in all directions before going back to red as the little marble shoots forward and find their target: the jar.
xxxxxxx
Angelus shakes his head and looks toward Angel with annoyance.
"I don't believe this! You're the one behind this whole true-Hollywood sob-story?" he asks disbelievingly.
"Angel." Buffy says longingly before smiling sweetly. "Hate the hair." Angelus laughs and smiles mockingly at her jeer. Because he just cant help but agree.
"Buffy, why are you still here?" Angel asks in concern, watching as a medley of emotions play across her face. Guilt. Pain. Despair.
"Just waiting to see this pervert get stuffed back into the deep, crazy ground he came from." she lies easily and without guilt. She's earned this. Earned being able to go back up and be loved and warm and safe. Where broody vampires don't leave her for her own good. Life is hell. Death is peace. Its her gift, right?
"Then what? After that, what happens?" Angel demands furiously. He hears the lack of hope in her voice and sees the dim fire in her eyes. He can't let her go, not this time.
But before he can get an answer Angelus kicks Buffy to the ground and chuckles smugly.
"Probably something like that. I had a feeling the rules have changed." he laughs happily, unusually cheered by the idea of outsmarting Angel.
"She's not who you're after." Angel states and Angelus puts his hands up in exaggeration.
"No kidding, rat boy. The slayer will just be gravy once I finish you off." he says giddily.
"I've been waiting a long time for this." They say together before running toward each other and starting to fight.
"Buffy, get up! Are you listening?" Angel shouts as he deflects Angelus' punches.
"I'm dying, Angel." Buffy mumbles weakly, her eyes shutting on their own accord. Death is calling. Death is her gift again. She knows this will be the last time. It will finally be over. No more pain. No more heartache. Only peace.
"Yeah. It's a lot easier than living, huh?" he asks rhetorically before kicking Angelus in the chest. Angelus quickly regroups and grabs Angel by his neck.
"Always so concerned with the human condition." he says as he throws Angel down the alley. "It's no big mystery, man. They suffer, they die. That's what they're there for."
"I'm not perfect, Buffy. Even with a soul, I've done things I wished a thousand times I could take back. Like letting him hurt you. Leaving you." Angel tells Buffy earnestly as he lunges at Angelus. And not only do images of Angelus enter her mind but Spike and his cerulean eyes come too and she wonders if he'd be saying these things if he knew.
"And those Manilow concerts." Angelus growls, throwing Angel into the alley wall. "Son of a bitch!"
xxxxxxx
"Cordelia, I'm coming in!" Conner shouts busting through her bedroom door. She loses her concentration and the marble smashes through the jar, releasing Angel's soul into the ether. She nearly screams. As soon as Conner comes near her, Cordelia lifts a vase and smacks Conner in the head with it, causing him to reel backward.
"Oh, Connor, I'm so sorry. I thought it came back. That horrible floaty head." she cries, lying through her teeth.
"Did it hurt you? Is the baby...?" Conner swallows the lump in his throat as he regains his balance.
"We nearly got killed." she shrieks her voice raising an octave.
"Willow's spell must've opened a gateway to something." he replies shaking his head thoroughly. God damn magic.
"Evil. If she keeps at it, there's no telling what will happen. She's already let hell itself into this hotel." Cordelia tells him, stroking his arm tenderly.
"I know. I've seen it. It's not safe for the baby here. I'm gonna make her stop." Conner decides, snatching his arm away and making his way to the door.
"Connor, you can't! She's too powerful. But you can stop it. The reason for all of this." Cordelia lowers her voice to a whisper and attempts to look mournful. "You have to kill Angelus."
xxxxxxx
"So... now Angel's soul is just floating around out there?" Fred asks her voice filled with wonder as she, Faith, Xander, Gunn and Wesley light some more candles and incense in the lobby.
"Yeah, until I can channel it into the Orb of Thessulah." Willow confirms, holding the orb up to further prove her point. Xander smiles as he recalls where they got their first one, a paper weight in Giles' office.
"Connor shouldn't have run off like that." Fred says disapprovingly.
"I'm sure he's just worried about Cordelia." Wesley shrugs and Fred purses her lips.
"Do you ever think their relationship is maybe a little bit...icky?" she questions and Xander nods in complete and utter agreement.
"Finally someone who's actually noticed. I thought it was just me." he says with a shiver.
The others continue to prepare the lobby as Xander runs upstairs to go and check on Cordy and Conner.
"Ready when you are." Willow picks up her book and joins in as Fred begins to read.
"Quod perditum est invenietur…"
"Nisi mort. Nisi al finitei. Te invoc, spirit al trecerii…"
xxxxxxx
"But they're finding a way. Willow is doing the spell." Conner replies weakly. He wants to defend Angel. Talking with Dawn has sort of opened his eyes. His father…
"You know I have fought harder than anyone to save Angel's life, but there comes a time when you have to weigh risk versus reward. And as much as I love Angel...as a friend... killing Angelus now is the only way to guarantee our family's safety." Cordelia pleads and Conner clenches his jaw tightly as he considers what Cordy is asking him to do. He seriously doubts she's fought the hardest out of all of them. If anyone fought it was Buffy…
"I know it in my heart now. You're not just protecting me. You're protecting the world. Sometimes one death can spare infinite pain."
"What will I tell the others?" Conner asks searchingly.
"They can't stop you if they don't know." she says soothingly and he nods and looks up at her.
"What about the sanctuary spell?" he brings up, trying to think of something that could prevent what he has to do. There's gotta be a way around this, around what she's asking him to do. Dawn would be so disappointed…
"I can fix it. We're special, Connor." she says kissing his cheek purposefully.
"Hey, Cor' am I interrupting something?" Xander asks as he knocks on the door and enters the room without permission.
"No. I was just leaving." Conner tells him reluctantly before exiting the room. Xander walks in past him and stands in front of Cordelia.
"You okay?" he asks, concern evident in his voice as he brings a hand up to caress her cheek.
"I- I-," Cordelia starts before she gasps and her eyes go wide as she grabs at Xander's shirt. "Xander, you have to stop Conner. He's going to kill Angel." She suddenly takes a deep breath and fights off the good with in her. She composes herself just in time to see Xander running out of the room.
"God damn it." she growls.