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| Full Cicle (epilog) | ||||||||||||
| Disclaimer: Characters and Premise are borrowed from the show "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer." | ||||||||||||
| Oz looked around the room at Giles, Willow, Xander and Angel, thinking that they ended up holding way too many of these emergency room conferences. "Beth is going to be fine," Willow said. "She woke up and there doesn't seem to be any serious damage done. What was she thinking trying to walk anywhere at night in Sunnydale?" "Angel you said that the demon that killed Buffy was back," Oz said. "Angel! Come on, you were with us just a moment ago." Slowly Angel returned his focus to the little group of friends. "It's hard, staying here, in the present," he apologized. "The demon, it's the same as the one that killed Buffy, when I saw it everything fell into place." "Even after all my studies the only vulnerabilities I ever found were the eyes," Giles said. "Xander do you think you would be able to shoot it in the eye? You're the only one of us who uses a crossbow regularly any more and I don't want to get involved in hand-to-hand combat with this creature, we've all seen how that comes out." "I have to try," Xander replied. "It's a smaller target that a heart, but more visible. It's should be that much harder." "I'm coming," Angel said. "Angel, I don't believe that's wise," Giles said. "You're having difficulty following a conversation, having your attention drift off during a fight would be deadly." "Fighting that thing focuses me," Angel replied. "I'll be fine, and if things go wrong I might be able to give Xander a chance at a second shot. I'm really the only one who could even slow it down in a fight." ============================================================== They found the demon at the Restfield Cemetery. Xander's first shot clattered off its eye ridges. As he reloaded the crossbow the demon sketched a circle in the night sky. Behind it's finger a ring of flame formed. "I recognize this," Oz said. "Come on," Xander muttered. "Turn around, give me one more shot." Then the demon stepped through the flaming portal it had created. Angel broke away from the group to chase after it. He stepped through the port to find himself still in the cemetery, but now it was Buffy and Oz, rather than Xander and Oz who faced the demon with him. "Not again," Angel exclaimed. "I can't loose it now." "Angel," Buffy cried with surprise. "We have to target the eyes," Angel instructed. Angel grabbed the demon's arms, restraining it for only a second before it tossed him away. But that was long enough for Buffy to dart in and plunge her stake into it's eye. The creature shrieked, flailing wildly as it died. One clawed hand caught Buffy across the throat. Oz caught her as she fell, pulling her a safe distance away from the dying demon. Even as he did so Oz realized he was too late to help her. As the demon collapsed into death, Oz covered Buffy's body with his jacket then went to check on Angel. The first thing he noticed was the branch impaling the vampire's chest. "Angel don't move," Oz warned. Angel glanced down at the branch. " It's okay," he said. "It missed the heart." "Not by much." "How's Buffy? That was Buffy right? She's really here?" "I'm sorry Angel," Oz began. "No!" Angel yelled struggling to rise. "I'm not going through this again. I won't let her be dead! Not again!" Oz caught the vampire's shoulders. "Come on Angel, be still. That branch could still stake you if keep moving around like this." Angel looked closely at Oz. "You're not old," he said. "Buffy was really alive again. The portal took me back. It doesn't have to end this way. I'll do better next time. She doesn't have to die, I can fix it. This time we'll be ready, we have sixteen years to prepare. I won't let her die again." Relaxing Angel leaned back against the ground, then jerked forward, eyes wide with shock. "No!" he exclaimed. His eyes met Oz's, "You have to tell them. You can still save her…" Angel's words trailed off as his body crumbled to ash. Oz sat back on his heels. "Tonight was supposed to be quiet," he said sadly. | ||||||||||||
