:. Chapter Four
I had to do something about Anya, give her something to do. I mean, I absolutely love Anya, and it never was quite right that Spike supposedly never heard about her dying and all. And besides, we're going through to explain various stuff. I hate to admit it, but I think the point to this fic was lost a few days ago all except the ending. Oh well. Let's just cross our fingers and hope it all turns out for the best.
Besides, I don't exactly have time to fret over this. . .I'm too hyper about going to go see Mannheim Steamroller tonight, and then me 'n a whole bunch of friends including my best friend and potential boyfriend are going to go see LOTR: Return Of The King on Friday!
(Spike: Who'm I kidding? I *love* to brag!)
:. Spike
"Let's see what happened to someone else." I suggested, not really wanting to think about Buffy.
"All right." The old man said. We suddenly saw a fancy office, nicer than Angel's, but the décor leaned more toward a well-to-do showy room than Angel's sleek office. A handful of men in suits looking all proper walked into the room. I recognized a few of them. They were all Watchers. Wesley's father was among them. Huh. I guess it wasn't his real dad he killed. I looked at the old man. He rolled his eyes.
"the Watcher's Council has been re-established and they are now training Slayers." The old man said. I sighed.
"No offense, but I don't care. I don't really like many Watchers." I said. The old man grimaced.
"I'm sorry, it's not my fault. I just connected so I picked up on hers. I guess it's not time yet." He replied. I raised an eyebrow at the odd comment. The man made a face, and the pool went blank a moment. Then he smiled.
"All right. Let's start again." He said. I looked back down at the pool. Once again, I saw Anya's bloodied form.
"What is this?" I asked angrily. "I already knew she was dead." The old man frowned.
"We have to start somewhere, boy. And the beginning is the best place." He replied. "Now, look. Don't worry, I'll explain." I gave him a look, then returned my gaze to the icy pond. I gasped.
The whole pond was shining with color. The scene was a beautiful little town, with shining streets. No one drove cars, they all walked, wearing long, flowy garments. The pond-picture took us to a gate. There was Anya, emitting her own little glow. Her hair was what I supposed was it's natural color, a deep auburn. Suddenly, a man appeared at the gate, looking confused and a little dazed.
"Do you want to hear?" the man asked. I nodded, unable to take my eyes off the one place I thought I would never see. Suddenly, I heard beautiful music, more beautiful than anything I had ever heard. And then I heard Anya.
"Hello." She said.
"Who are you? Where am I?" the man in the picture asked.
"Oh, me? I'm Anya. I'm the gatekeeper right now. Only because I died helping to save the world." She said. The man stared at her.
"You're. . .then I'm. . ." he stammered in amazement.
"Yep. You're dead. Welcome to Heaven." Anya said simply. I laughed. Same old Anya.
"She always did just blurt out the facts." I remarked. The sound silenced and the man smiled.
"Yes, she is a bold character. The Powers let her watch the gate. She likes meeting all the people who come up. Someone has to, you know. People get confused when they die." The old man explained.
"So she ended up all right. That's good to know." I said truthfully.
"Oh, yes. She is all right. She met up with some other friends, some she only heard about, and a few she knew personally." The old man said. The picture changed as he spoke. I saw different people, some were Potentials who died during battle, one was the Slayer who, along with Buffy, put me in a wheelchair for a few weeks, and then there was Joyce.
I was glad to see the oldest of the Summers women. Her death had been hard on everyone. Especially Buffy and Dawn.
I was also very happy to see Tara. Glinda was quiet and understanding, she had accepted everyone as friends, even after she knew what had happened between me and Buffy. I never really got the full story on how she died, the highlight everyone kept returning to was Willow going evil. Tara got killed by Warren, who was trying to kill Buffy, Willow went evil and tried to destroy the world. No one mentions Tara again in the rest of the story. It was very good to know she got a happy ending as well.
One of the best parts was knowing a place actually existed, a good place for people to end up at. Something to work towards. I thought about Angel, for some reason, and how we both wondered what would happen now that we both had souls. I knew he wondered. How could he not? It was something that often came across my mind. Is all this work for something better? All the pain? Will it be worth it? I knew now there was.
"What else do you have to show me?" I asked. "I want to know how everyone else turned out." I was eager to find out. What about all the other people I had known? All the people I had considered my friends? What did they get?
"Easy, William. One step at a time. I'm not through with Anya yet. Didn't you wonder about some things?" he asked. I looked at him.
"Like. . .what?" I asked.
"Didn't you wonder why you're here? And corporeal?" the old man asked. I stared.
"Anya did that?" I realized. The old man nodded.
"She helped. The Powers let her. You see, your essence was sucked into the amulet. Unfortunately, the amulet, with you inside, was trapped at the near bottom of the giant crater you mentioned. Anya was allowed to move it to the top." The old man explained. He looked to the pond, and I did as well. The amulet appeared at the top of my crater. Xander reached down and picked it up. He gave it to Buffy, who stared at the magic talisman in her hand. Her fingers curled around it and my heart leapt.
She cared. Somehow I knew it. She held the last piece of me in her hands, and she knew it. I saw the sadness in her hazel eyes as she walked away with the amulet still tight in her hand. With me in her hand. I smiled, remembering the saying "She had me in the palm of her hand." It was true. There I was, and there she was, and I didn't even know it. And neither did she. She only saw it as a memory.
"Buffy could not keep the amulet." He said. "She kept it with her until it broke her heart. It hurt too much to keep. So she sent it back to Angel."
"But why did I pop out when Angel opened it?" I asked. The man pointed to the pool. It showed Angel opening a package. The amulet fell out and hit the floor. A really neat swirl of sparkling dust and flame flew out and re-created me. A very freaked out, confused me.
"So, yeah. Angel drops the pretty necklace and I fall out. Still doesn't explain why." I said. The picture backed up and closed in on the amulet hitting the ground. A tiny crack appeared when the heavy amulet made contact with the floor of Angel's office. The lights and dust, which were me, flew out of the tiny crack. Suddenly, the crack lit up green, then disappeared, and I appeared.
"The crack released your essence, or at least part of it. Just your mind, your spirit. Enough to make you visible-"
"But not corporeal." I finished for the old man. He nodded.
"So Anya worked to find a way to gather up the rest of your essence and send it to you. The Powers then realized they couldn't do a thing to stop her meddling in the lives of others, so they made her gatekeeper." He explained.
"So she sent me the box with the blinding flash of light. And the blinding flash of light was my missing piece." I worked out.
"Exactly." The man replied. We were silent a minute.
"Uh, are we done with Anya?" I asked.
"yes, we are finished talking about Anya. And it's time to show you other things, things you need to see." The man said. I looked to the pond again, ready to see whatever came next.
:. End Chapter Four.
Okay. Now I'm just dividing things up by people or whatever. I'm trying, okay? Just shoot me. Someone? Or at least review me. . .
I had to do something about Anya, give her something to do. I mean, I absolutely love Anya, and it never was quite right that Spike supposedly never heard about her dying and all. And besides, we're going through to explain various stuff. I hate to admit it, but I think the point to this fic was lost a few days ago all except the ending. Oh well. Let's just cross our fingers and hope it all turns out for the best.
Besides, I don't exactly have time to fret over this. . .I'm too hyper about going to go see Mannheim Steamroller tonight, and then me 'n a whole bunch of friends including my best friend and potential boyfriend are going to go see LOTR: Return Of The King on Friday!
(Spike: Who'm I kidding? I *love* to brag!)
:. Spike
"Let's see what happened to someone else." I suggested, not really wanting to think about Buffy.
"All right." The old man said. We suddenly saw a fancy office, nicer than Angel's, but the décor leaned more toward a well-to-do showy room than Angel's sleek office. A handful of men in suits looking all proper walked into the room. I recognized a few of them. They were all Watchers. Wesley's father was among them. Huh. I guess it wasn't his real dad he killed. I looked at the old man. He rolled his eyes.
"the Watcher's Council has been re-established and they are now training Slayers." The old man said. I sighed.
"No offense, but I don't care. I don't really like many Watchers." I said. The old man grimaced.
"I'm sorry, it's not my fault. I just connected so I picked up on hers. I guess it's not time yet." He replied. I raised an eyebrow at the odd comment. The man made a face, and the pool went blank a moment. Then he smiled.
"All right. Let's start again." He said. I looked back down at the pool. Once again, I saw Anya's bloodied form.
"What is this?" I asked angrily. "I already knew she was dead." The old man frowned.
"We have to start somewhere, boy. And the beginning is the best place." He replied. "Now, look. Don't worry, I'll explain." I gave him a look, then returned my gaze to the icy pond. I gasped.
The whole pond was shining with color. The scene was a beautiful little town, with shining streets. No one drove cars, they all walked, wearing long, flowy garments. The pond-picture took us to a gate. There was Anya, emitting her own little glow. Her hair was what I supposed was it's natural color, a deep auburn. Suddenly, a man appeared at the gate, looking confused and a little dazed.
"Do you want to hear?" the man asked. I nodded, unable to take my eyes off the one place I thought I would never see. Suddenly, I heard beautiful music, more beautiful than anything I had ever heard. And then I heard Anya.
"Hello." She said.
"Who are you? Where am I?" the man in the picture asked.
"Oh, me? I'm Anya. I'm the gatekeeper right now. Only because I died helping to save the world." She said. The man stared at her.
"You're. . .then I'm. . ." he stammered in amazement.
"Yep. You're dead. Welcome to Heaven." Anya said simply. I laughed. Same old Anya.
"She always did just blurt out the facts." I remarked. The sound silenced and the man smiled.
"Yes, she is a bold character. The Powers let her watch the gate. She likes meeting all the people who come up. Someone has to, you know. People get confused when they die." The old man explained.
"So she ended up all right. That's good to know." I said truthfully.
"Oh, yes. She is all right. She met up with some other friends, some she only heard about, and a few she knew personally." The old man said. The picture changed as he spoke. I saw different people, some were Potentials who died during battle, one was the Slayer who, along with Buffy, put me in a wheelchair for a few weeks, and then there was Joyce.
I was glad to see the oldest of the Summers women. Her death had been hard on everyone. Especially Buffy and Dawn.
I was also very happy to see Tara. Glinda was quiet and understanding, she had accepted everyone as friends, even after she knew what had happened between me and Buffy. I never really got the full story on how she died, the highlight everyone kept returning to was Willow going evil. Tara got killed by Warren, who was trying to kill Buffy, Willow went evil and tried to destroy the world. No one mentions Tara again in the rest of the story. It was very good to know she got a happy ending as well.
One of the best parts was knowing a place actually existed, a good place for people to end up at. Something to work towards. I thought about Angel, for some reason, and how we both wondered what would happen now that we both had souls. I knew he wondered. How could he not? It was something that often came across my mind. Is all this work for something better? All the pain? Will it be worth it? I knew now there was.
"What else do you have to show me?" I asked. "I want to know how everyone else turned out." I was eager to find out. What about all the other people I had known? All the people I had considered my friends? What did they get?
"Easy, William. One step at a time. I'm not through with Anya yet. Didn't you wonder about some things?" he asked. I looked at him.
"Like. . .what?" I asked.
"Didn't you wonder why you're here? And corporeal?" the old man asked. I stared.
"Anya did that?" I realized. The old man nodded.
"She helped. The Powers let her. You see, your essence was sucked into the amulet. Unfortunately, the amulet, with you inside, was trapped at the near bottom of the giant crater you mentioned. Anya was allowed to move it to the top." The old man explained. He looked to the pond, and I did as well. The amulet appeared at the top of my crater. Xander reached down and picked it up. He gave it to Buffy, who stared at the magic talisman in her hand. Her fingers curled around it and my heart leapt.
She cared. Somehow I knew it. She held the last piece of me in her hands, and she knew it. I saw the sadness in her hazel eyes as she walked away with the amulet still tight in her hand. With me in her hand. I smiled, remembering the saying "She had me in the palm of her hand." It was true. There I was, and there she was, and I didn't even know it. And neither did she. She only saw it as a memory.
"Buffy could not keep the amulet." He said. "She kept it with her until it broke her heart. It hurt too much to keep. So she sent it back to Angel."
"But why did I pop out when Angel opened it?" I asked. The man pointed to the pool. It showed Angel opening a package. The amulet fell out and hit the floor. A really neat swirl of sparkling dust and flame flew out and re-created me. A very freaked out, confused me.
"So, yeah. Angel drops the pretty necklace and I fall out. Still doesn't explain why." I said. The picture backed up and closed in on the amulet hitting the ground. A tiny crack appeared when the heavy amulet made contact with the floor of Angel's office. The lights and dust, which were me, flew out of the tiny crack. Suddenly, the crack lit up green, then disappeared, and I appeared.
"The crack released your essence, or at least part of it. Just your mind, your spirit. Enough to make you visible-"
"But not corporeal." I finished for the old man. He nodded.
"So Anya worked to find a way to gather up the rest of your essence and send it to you. The Powers then realized they couldn't do a thing to stop her meddling in the lives of others, so they made her gatekeeper." He explained.
"So she sent me the box with the blinding flash of light. And the blinding flash of light was my missing piece." I worked out.
"Exactly." The man replied. We were silent a minute.
"Uh, are we done with Anya?" I asked.
"yes, we are finished talking about Anya. And it's time to show you other things, things you need to see." The man said. I looked to the pond again, ready to see whatever came next.
:. End Chapter Four.
Okay. Now I'm just dividing things up by people or whatever. I'm trying, okay? Just shoot me. Someone? Or at least review me. . .