CHAPTER 1
Historical Note: This story takes place during the seventh season of Buffy, during the series finale.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from either Buffy or Angel; although I wish I did!!
Authors Note: After watching the final episode of Buffy, I was a little disappointed that Angel wasn't there for the actual battle, so I decided to re-write the last episode including Angel in the final battle. Otherwise, everything else is the same. Also, since it broke my heart to see Xander's eye get gouged out, I'm just going to pretend it never happened!
Summary: The apocalypse is drawing dangerously close for Buffy and the group, and with the potential slayers being killed off one by one, both Buffy and Faith are realizing this time both slayers may be in over their head.
Then all of a sudden, someone from Buffy's past comes to help them with the fight; causing old feelings to stir. Faced with what seems to be the final battle; Buffy is forced to face her past as well as her greatest love; as he joins her in the last battle.
Disclaimer II: A good amount; not all, but a good amount came from a book called 'Chosen.' I just wanted to make a note of that. I'm not trying to pass this whole story as being all my idea, obviously. But the idea of having Angel stay there for the fight was in fact mine, so there!
After listening to Giles and Willow catch them up on the information they had gotten on the scythe, Buffy decided it'd be a good idea to check out the graveyard. Giles had mentioned something about unconsecrated ground, and Buffy was getting restless around the house, so she decided to check it out.
After a few minutes of walking around, Buffy came across a tomb. The building caught Buffy's attention because of its triangular looking design. She looked at it for a few seconds before kicking the door down. She watched as the rusted door was instantly knocked from its rusted hinges and slid down the stairs. Buffy shrugged and walked down the stairs. Now I'm curious, she thought to herself as she reached the bottom. She looked around and noticed the torches on the walls were lit, giving the room an old, eerie glow.
"I've forgotten," a voice said from behind red curtains. Buffy cautiously walked over to where the voice came from. She gripped the scythe as she walked over towards the voice; just then, an old woman walked out from behind the red curtain.
"I've forgotten how young you'd be," the old woman continued. "It comes from waiting. The mind plays tricks," she explained as she walked towards Buffy.
"Who are you?" Buffy asked confused. She half expected the old woman in front of her to suddenly change into the First, like everyone seemed to be doing now a days..
"One of many," the woman told her. Buffy could tell that the woman's mind drifted to the past briefly. "Well, time was. Now I'm alone in the world," the woman added. She then looked at Buffy.
"I bet you know what it's like," the woman guessed. Buffy froze in place as she felt Goosebumps appear on her arms.
"So, what are you? Some kind of ghost?" Buffy asked. The old women smiled.
"Nope. I'm as real as you are, just..." the woman paused, "well put it this way…I look good for my age," she assured her. "I've been waiting," the woman told Buffy as she held her hand out. Buffy looked at the woman for a second before handing her the scythe.
"You pulled it out of the rock," the woman observed as she looked at the weapon with great interest. "I was one of those who put it in there," she told her.
"What is it?" Buffy asked referring to the scythe.
"A weapon. A scythe. We forged it in secrecy for one like you, who..." the woman paused and looked up from the weapon.
"I'm sorry, what's your name?" the woman asked, realizing she never caught Buffy's name.
"Buffy." The woman looked at her strangely for a moment.
"No, really," the woman said. Buffy looked at her and shrugged. The woman looked back down at the weapon.
"We forged it in secrecy; kept it hidden from the Shadow men, who-"
"Yeah, met them. Didn't care for 'em," she told the woman. She then handed the weapon back over to Buffy.
"Yes. They became the Watchers, and the watchers watched the Slayers. But we were watching them," she told her.
"Oh! So you're like..." Buffy paused. "What are you?" she asked again, not quite understanding. The woman smiled at Buffy.
"Guardians," she answered. "Women who want to help and protect you. This was forged, centuries ago, by us. Half way around the world," the woman told her. Buffy looked down at the weapon in her hands.
"Hence the 'Luxor Casino theme'," she said.
"Forged there, it was put to use right here. To kill the last pure demon that walked upon the earth. The rest were already driven under.
And then there were men here, and then there were monks, and the first men died and were sent away, and then there was a town, and now there is you," the woman told her as she motioned to Buffy. "And the scythe remained hidden."
"Does this mean I can win?" Buffy asked in a hopeful voice.
"That is really up to you. This is a powerful weapon," she told her as she ran a finger along side of the scythe.
"Yeah it is," Buffy agreed. The woman looked at Buffy and smiled.
"But you already have weapons," she told her. Buffy looked at the woman confused.
"Of coarse," she said obviously not catching on.
"Use it wisely, and perhaps you can beat back the rising dark. One way or the other, it can only mean an end is truly near," she told her. Just then, two hands appeared on each side of the woman's neck, then snapped the woman's neck. Buffy watched in horror as the old woman fell to the ground, dead. Buffy quickly looked up to see Caleb emerging from behind the same curtain the woman had emerged from.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part on account of her neck snapping and all. Did she say the end is near, or here?" he asked, grinning. Buffy looked at Caleb shocked just before he grabbed for the scythe, trying to pull it away from her. Buffy quickly smacked him in the side of the head with one side of the weapon.
She then hit him again, causing Caleb to let go. Buffy took advantage of the moment, and leaped back, giving her some distance from Caleb.
Before Buffy could think of a plan, Caleb ran at her. He swung his fist at her, but missed as Buffy ducked. Instead, Caleb slams his fist into a column, shattering a large chunk of stone column to dust on contact.
He then whipped his head back towards Buffy's direction.
"You're not slipping out of this fight girl," he promised. "You can't stop me. I can just keep coming back for more," he told her. "Like being re-born," he added. Buffy felt the anger rise up inside her. She then lunged at him with the scythe. Caleb quickly ducked to avoid contact. Not breaking stride, Buffy ran towards him once more, swinging and thrusting the scythe. Caleb smiled and stood up straight, teasing her in a way. She charged at him once more, this time aiming the blade towards his neck. Caleb suddenly caught the weapon in mid- air, inches from his face. Buffy looked at him shocked.
With his other hand, he punched Buffy in the face, knocking her into a wall. Buffy dropped the scythe upon impact. She quickly recovered and scrambled for the scythe just as Caleb picked it up.
Buffy quickly kicked the weapon from his hands and grabbed it in the air as she sprang up from the floor. She spun around as soon as she caught the scythe in her hands, and swinging it at him; catching Caleb behind his knee with the scythe's shaft. Caleb tripped backwards, falling to the floor. Buffy quickly spun the weapon around in her hand; the stake end first; and thrust it towards Caleb's face. Just then, he grabbed it once more before the weapon could make contact. Caleb then twisted the scythe, sending Buffy to the ground.
He suddenly sprung to his feet as Buffy recovered and staggered to her own feet. Before she could recover, getting back on her feet, Caleb punched her hard in the face, causing her to stumble back. He smiled before continuing to punch her in her face. Buffy tried to use the scythe for protection, but she realized she was quickly running out of energy.
"I gave you ample warning. I told you not to interfere, and you chose not to heed. But you know what?" he asked as he punched her with all of his power; sending Buffy through a stone column, nearly knocking her un-conscious. He held the scythe in his hands as he walked over to her slowly, knowing she was loosing strength.
"I was kinda hopin' it'd go this way," he told her as he lifted the scythe up over his head. Buffy closed her eyes, waiting for the impact.
"Hey!" A voice growled from some place in the room. Caleb turned around quickly, just as the owner of the voice punched Caleb square in the face, knocking him to the far side of the tomb.
Buffy looked up quickly as she recognized the voice. It had come from the one man she had ever loved. The man she still loved deep down. She kept telling herself it was a dream as she looked up; until she saw him in front of her. He stretched his arm out to help her up. Buffy looked at him for a second in disbelief before taking his hand. Angel carefully lifted her to her feet. The two of them then just stood there, looking at each other.
"I never was much for preachers," he told her.
"Angel," Buffy said in disbelief. Angel smiled at her.
"You look good," he told her. Buffy smiled at his comment.
"You look timely," she told him, "and also good," she added. The two of them stared at each other for a few more seconds.
"Heard maybe you needed a hand," he explained. Behind Buffy, Caleb was recuperating from the blow Angel had given him, and was starting to get up. Angel quickly moved to finish him off, but Buffy grabbed his arm, and pulled him back.
"Ah, this is one of those things you just have to finish yourself?" he asked. Buffy gave him a small smile.
"Really kinda is," she told him. Angel smiled at her as he casually walked backwards and leaned against a large pillar, watching as Buffy walked towards Caleb with the scythe in her hands. Caleb then started to send rapid blows towards Buffy, but she managed to block them all.
"You're so gonna loose," Angel told Caleb as he enjoyed the show.
"She does this thing where..." he trailed off as he watched them fight with a smile on his face. There she is, he thought. My soul mate; the one woman in the world for me, he thought as he continued to watch.
"Ooooh yeah. I've missed watching this," he said out loud to himself as Buffy swung the blade end of the scythe at Caleb. Caleb then caught it for the third time in a row, and shoved it back at her. Caleb gained control of the scythe and thrust it towards Buffy. She fought back and quickly moved out of the way, as the stake end barely missed her, and instead, imbedded itself into the wall behind her as he shoves it towards her. Buffy kicked Caleb backwards, and quickly pulled the scythe out of the wall. She walked toward him with the scythe lowered to her waist. She then swung the weapon quickly towards Caleb catching him in the stomach.
In a brutal pull, Buffy then ripped the weapon out of Caleb, gutting him in the process. He laughed and stumbled backwards before falling to the floor. Buffy looked at him for a second before focusing her attention back to Angel.
"See?" she said to Angel as she walked towards him, "Under control," she assured him as she stumbled towards him.
"The least you could do is tell me you're happy to see me?" Angel said jokingly as he steadied her. Buffy looked up at him. She missed him so much. She needed him in this. She then dropped the scythe on the ground and kissed Angel passionately. The kiss immediately deepened as the two of them gave in to undeniable passion. Moments like this, Buffy was reminded that he was really her soul mate, and that know matter what threatened to stand in their way, nothing could sever the bond between the two.
After a few moments, the two finally pulled away from each other slowly, both of their gazes locked on each other.
"Well," Angel said. He looked at her half surprised. "I guess that qualifies as happy to see me," Angel said in a raspy voice. Buffy smiled warmly at him, and her eyes reflecting the joy she felt for her true love being there with her.
"What are you..." Buffy stopped quickly. "No, don't even. I just want to bask," she told him as she continued to look up at Angel with a huge smile on her face, and her eyes filled with happiness. Angel gazed over her, taking in her appearance once more. It had been a while since they had seen one another, and so much had happened between the two of them. Buffy looked…older. Not just older, but old almost. He had heard that she hadn't had it easy, and with the First back making trouble for her, he figured she had been over-worked.
"Ok, I'm basked. What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile still on her face. Angel smiled back at her.
"Not saving the damsel in distress, that's for sure," he said.
"You know me," she told him as she bent down and picked up the scythe where she had dropped it before kissing him, "not big with the damseling," she explained.
"Got your share of distress though," Angel said. He then walked over to the entrance of the crypt and picked up a folder.
"And then some," she agreed. "You heard?" she asked as Angel walked back over with a folder in his hands.
"I've got coverage on the whole thing," he assured her. "Very gripping, needs a second act," he told her.
"You have to leave L.A." she told him jokingly. The two of them then looked at Caleb's body for a second before returning back to the conversation.
"It's the First, right? The First Evil. The power that tried to convince me to kill myself," he said, clearly remembering his first meeting with the First. He had just returned from hell not too long before that; he and Buffy were still shaky. The First knew it could get to buffy through him.
Buffy nodded. "Yeah. It's gotten a little more ambitious since then. It's raising an army," she explained.
"Well, it failed once, and I'm here to tell you that-" Angel began. Just then, something hit Angel hard in the back of his head. The impact sent Angel flying across the room, face first, before slamming into a wall. Buffy looked over at Angel worriedly then looked back towards Caleb. There was blood dripping from his eyes, noise, and ears. Buffy's stomach turned at the site of him. I thought I killed him, she said to herself.
"Are you ready to finish this, bitch?" Caleb asked her. His voice was filled with anger, and was not of this world. He then ran towards her, this time with a new rage filling him. Buffy quickly blocked him with the scythe, but his strength was greater than it had ever been. The contact between the two of them caused Buffy to stumble backwards.
"Ok, how many times do I have to kill you?" she asked him sarcastically. "Ballpark figure," she added.
"You understand nothing!" he told before punching her in the face. He punched her again, causing her to stumbled backwards. Caleb then picked her up and lifted her up over his head to show who was in control. He then threw her down.
"You think you have power over me?" he asked as he grabbed Buffy by her throat. She knocked his hands off of her throat, then spun around and kicked Caleb, knocking him down. He quickly stood up as Buffy spun the scythe in her hand so that the blade was at the bottom.
"You'll never stop me. You don't have the-" he stopped as Buffy arched the scythe back and swung it up right between his legs.
"Well, who does nowadays?" she asked. She then grabbed the scythe with both hands and pulled the blade upwards, slicing Caleb in half.
Angel shot up and spun around towards Buffy and walked over to her.
"Ok, now I'm pissed. Where is he?" Angel asked angrily. Buffy looked to her left side, then to her right. Angel looked at her impressed. Buffy smiled at him girlishly.
"He had to split," she told him. She then let out a dorky laugh. Angel shook his head in disbelief that she just laughed at her own pun as he walked over to where he had dropped the folder.
"I'll have the guys look through that. See if there's anything new," she assured him as he walked back over to her with the folder.
"Reliable source?" she asked curiously as he brushed off the folder.
"Not remotely," he warned her. Buffy just shrugged as she looked at the folder.
She sighed. "Well, any port in an apocalypse." Angel then pulled something out of his jacket.
"I brought you something else as well," he told her. Buffy looked at it with a weird face.
"I can already tell you, I don't have anything that will go with this," she warned him as he dangled a gaudy looking amulet.
"It's not for you," he told her. Buffy looked at him surprised. She looked up at Angel.
"Splainy?" she asked. Angel shook his head.
"I don't know everything. It's very powerful...or a cleansing power..." he glanced at it. "Or possibly scrubbing bubbles. The translation is...anyway, it bestows strength, worn by the right person," he explained.
"And the right person is?" she asked.
"Someone in-souled, but stronger than a human. A champion," he told her. "As in me," he said.
"Or me," she added as she gestured to herself.
"No," he said firmly. "I don't know nearly enough about this to risk you wearing it. Besides..." he said as he looked down at the scythe and grinned.
"You've already got that cool axe- thing going on for you," he pointed out. Buffy looked down at the weapon in her hands, and gave it a pat.
"So you're going to be with me in this?" she guessed.
"Shoulder to shoulder," he assured her. "I'm yours," he said with a smile on his face. He meant it to mean something completely different from what the last part sounded like. He knew Buffy thought of how it sounded the other way too, because he noticed she blushed slightly. Buffy thought about it for a second and weighed in all of the possibilities.
"No, you can't," she told him still thinking as she walked away from him towards the crypt's entrance. Angel quickly ran after her and stopped in front of her.
"Why the hell not?" he asked. Buffy sighed as she pushed him out of the way, and walked up the stairs. She could hear him following close behind her. He stopped her as soon as they were out of the crypt.
"Buffy?"
"Because I can't risk you," she told him.
"Buffy, I'm a big boy now. I can take care of myself," he assured her.
"Angel, I know you can, that was never the question, it's just..." she trailed off as she leaned on a large rock in the cemetery.
"Just what?" he asked.
"If I don't make it, then you need to be else where to back me up," she explained. "If this gets past Sunnydale, it could be days, or even hours before it destroys the earth, and I need you to be my second if I fail," she added with uncertainty in her voice.
"Buffy, we have a better chance of capping this thing if I'm here, fighting," he told her. Angel then walked over to her.
"Come on Buffy, you know I'm right," he told her. "You can't expect me to leave you here to fight this war after all we've been through," he told her. Buffy looked up at him.
"Fine," she said her voice even. Angel walked up to her.
"There's something else," he said. "There was another reason why you didn't want me to stay," he realized. Buffy felt un-comfortable with the way the conversation was going, and stood up. She began to walk away.
"Is it Spike?" he asked her. Buffy stopped dead in her tracks. She slowly turned around. How'd he find out? She asked herself.
"His scent. I remember it pretty well," he told her as if reading her mind.
"Did anyone ever tell you vampires how gross it is to go around smelling people?" she asked trying to change the subject.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Angel asked. Buffy turned around and began to walk away once more.
"Is it any of your business?" she asked him.
"Are you in love with him?" he asked her as he caught up with her. He felt a surge of pain go through him at the thought of her saying yes. At one time, he had been the one she loved, he thought as he waited for her answer.
"Ok, maybe I'm out of line here, but this is kind of a curve ball for me. We are talking about Spike here," he told her. Buffy turned around.
"He's different now," she told him. "He has a soul," she said. Angel looked at her for a second.
"Oh, well," Angel said as he began to look all around.
"What?" Buffy asked.
"That's great," he said sarcastically. "Everyone's got a soul now," he said.
"He'll make a difference," she told him feeling the need to defend him; to defend what they did...
"Yeah, well I started it; the whole having a soul thing," he said under his breath, but loud enough for Buffy to hear him. Buffy looked at him in disbelief.
"Oh my god, are you twelve?" she asked him.
"I'm being replace for 'Captain Peroxide', doesn't exactly bring out the champion in me," he told her.
"Angel, your not being replaced," she told him. "And, are you going to go Dawson on me every time I have a boyfriend?" she asked. Angel quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket and pointed at her.
"Aha, boyfriend!" he exclaimed. Buffy rolled her eyes.
"He's not," she told him. "But...he's in my heart," she told him truthfully. Spike had been there when Angel was not.
"Yeah, that'll end well," Angel said as he walked ahead of her, and leaned on a tall tomb stone.
"What was the highlight of our relationship?" she asked him as she walked over to him. "When you broke up with me or when I killed you?" she asked him. The two fell silent as Buffy leaned against the same tomb stone beside him.
"What Spike and I have is different from what you and I had," she told him as she looked up at him. "What we had can never be replaced, but we both went our separate ways a while ago," she reminded him.
"You're right; I'm sorry," he told her.
"It's alright. You had a right to react that way," she assured him. The two then just stood there for a little while longer.
"We should probably get back to the house so that Giles and the rest of them can take a look at this stuff," Buffy said.
"Are you sure it's alright if I follow you back?" Angel asked not knowing what the others would think of him being back in Sunnydale for the fight.
"I'm sure the potentials won't mind," she said as the two ex-lovers began walking. Angel turned and looked at Buffy confused.
"Potentials?" he asked.
"You have a lot of catching up to do," she told him as they continued walking, and began to clue him in on what had been going on.