Note from Rain: My cousin Sunny wrote this fanfic, I'm just posting it for her because she cannot. Oh, you'll also have to excuse the spell in this chapter. I've never written one before, but I did do some research for it, so I hope it's an okay spell. I worry about the details. :)
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon is the god of the Buffiverse. I just borrowed his children for some fun. All the characters in this story belong to him, except the evil ones who belong to Rain. Thanks Rain for letting me play with them.
I Do
By Sunny
CHAPTER SEVEN
Angel lay next to Buffy and listened to her breathing. He could feel her slip away from him as she fell deeper and deeper into her dream world. He tightened his grip on her hand, wanting to let her know that he was there for her, and that he would always be there for her.
"She's asleep," Angel whispered into the stillness. Then he closed his eyes and waited to join Buffy in her dreams.
After hearing Angel's whispered comment, Willow began chanting the main incantation of the spell. She was sitting on the floor just outside the sacred circle with the Orb of Delego Viridis resting in front of her. The rest of the Scoobies were spaced out evenly around the circle waiting for her cue to start chanting the linking part of the spell.
"Janus, guardian of the threshold,
I call upon thee,
Create in this orb a gateway
Per mutatio mentum duarum
Let two become one
Auris voci remotae
Let my voice be heard, my will be done
So mote it be"
The Latin words tripped lightly off of her tongue as she swayed back and forth, her hands hovering over the globe. She paused halfway through the first recital of the incantation and poured the remnants of the potion onto the smooth surface of the green glass. She rubbed the crushed herbs and eye of newt all over the glass and then resumed her chanting.
Suddenly the Orb in front of her began to glow; softly at first, but as her hands continued to massage the surface the faint light grew into a blinding burst of green light. The flames of the candles flickered and a hazy green fog rose up from the outline of the circle. Angel cried out in surprise as his soul pulled away from his body and hovered overhead looking down at his body lying so still next to Buffy. He should have been scared by the sensation of looking down at his own body, but he wasn't. He had been through this before.
As Willow uttered the words they had picked as their cue the rest of the gang began their chanting, repeating the lines over and over. "Catenus penetralis corporeus animus, ductor domus, immemor bona verba caecus animus aufugio." A thin green line began to form connecting Angel's soul and his body. Their chanting became stronger fueled by their confidence and the green line strengthened and darkened. Then the gemstones used to strengthen Angel's body and soul began to glow as well, casting an eerie white light over his body. The link was now complete, with the added protection of the Sard stones, but the Scoobies would need to continue chanting to maintain the link.
Willow's voice had grown louder as she repeated her part of the spell. She was still rocking back and forth in front of the Orb, but had removed her hands from the surface as soon as it had begun to glow. Her eyes flew open and she appeared to be staring at Angel's soul as it hovered above her. Her voice became demanding as she ordered the soul into the glowing green globe sitting in front of her. As soon as she finished the command Angel's soul was sucked into the Orb. She completed the incantation for the second time and added two new lines, which helped to speed Angel on his way into Buffy's dream world.
********
"Finally," Buffy gasped as Angel materialized beside her. She had a harried expression on her face and she was scanning the cemetery instead of looking at Angel. A fresh cut oozed from her forehead and the back of her sweater had bits of grass and dirt stuck to it. She was breathing heavily as if she had just been in a fight. "They attacked me just as I fell asleep. It was all I could do to keep them off of me. Then they just disappeared."
"Sorry," Angel replied also scanning the cemetery. "I had to stop for supplies." He held up a wicked looking axe and grinned. The handle of the axe was at least two feet long and the blade looked to be about 10 inches long. The head of the axe was silver and decorated with ancient Celtic symbols.
Buffy finally looked over at him and her eyes widened. "Cool," she said. "But how did you get a weapon?" She had only been able to defend herself using a broken tree branch.
Angel shrugged his shoulders. He didn't really understand how he had gotten the weapon. His soul had been hanging over his body one minute, then encased in the green globe, before finally being sucked into Buffy's dream. He had remembered thinking as he whizzed from the globe into Buffy's mind that he should have brought a weapon and poof the thing appeared in his hand.
"It just appeared," he answered.
"It just appeared?" Buffy asked staring at him in disbelief.
"Yeah. I thought I should have brought a weapon and then this one just appeared."
"Just like that?" Weren't there any rules to this thing? she asked silently.
"Just like that," Angel confirmed. "Try it."
Buffy took one last look around the cemetery to see if the bad guys were lurking close by and then closed her eyes. She imagined a small, but deadly battle-axe Giles had in his private collection. The handle was short, only about 12 inches or so, but the blade was curved and had a length of about 6 inches. It was very sharp and had a 4-inch pick at the other end. Suddenly Buffy could feel the weight of the axe in her hand. She tightened her grip around it thankful for its comforting presence.
"Way cool," Buffy said as she opened her eyes and looked down at the weapon she held in her hand.
"Slayer," hissed the wind. "SSSlayer."
"That's my name, don't wear it out," Buffy shouted into the wind. Of course it wasn't really her name, but sometimes she felt like it was. It was how she was known in the demon world.
"Still defiant?" the wind asked. "We will soon change that."
"I wouldn't bet the moldy crypt you call home on it," Buffy returned. She slowly turned herself around in a circle hoping to get a glimpse of her foes before they attacked. She hated being ambushed.
"Our crypt is not moldy," a separate voice answered. The voices had always spoken as one before as if presenting a united front. But now, one of the demons had broken rank and was responding on a more personal level.
"Sorry," Buffy drawled her tone indicating that she was anything but. She had noticed that only one demon had responded to her last taunt. She was aiming for the divide and conquer method. "I guess I should have said dusty."
"Its not dusty, either," replied the lone voice. "At least not more than any other crypt. Do you know how hard it is to keep a crypt clean?"
"I'll keep that in mind next time I'm looking to buy a crypt," Buffy told the disembodied voice. She had finally stopped her scan of the cemetery and was standing with her eyes closed listening to the demon voice. She was hoping she could locate her enemies by using her special Slayer senses.
"Silence," the wind roared whipping Buffy's hair around her face and into her eyes. "We don't have time for these games."
Buffy pulled her hair back from her face. "But, I was learning so much about crypts," she said. "I spend so much time here in the cemetery anyway, that I was thinking of making one my new home."
"Your tricks will not work on us," the wind answered using both voices again.
Buffy sighed realizing that the divide and conquer method was not going to work. It didn't matter; she couldn't seem to locate the demons anyway. They were going to have to show themselves, and soon. She was getting antsy.
"So show yourselves and lets get this done," Angel said speaking for the first time since the vampires had announced their presence. He realized that he and Buffy were at a disadvantage because of their opponent's ability to hide themselves.
"Ah dessert," the wind sighed in pleasure. "It has been a long time since we have had dessert."
Buffy turned to look at Angel, a big grin spreading across her face. "Oh he's very tasty," she assured the psychic vampires. "But I am afraid that you are not going to get the chance to find out just how yummy he is."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because we are going to kill you first," Buffy replied. Widening her stance, she shifted the axe in her hands tensing her whole arm in preparation for battle.
The wind fluttered gently through the trees bringing the sound of laughter to Buffy's ears. "My how confident you sound, Slayer. But as you already know, we are very hard to kill."
"But not impossible."
The wind howled with the wrath of the creatures. Leaves and dirt flew through the air and the trees in the cemetery were almost bent in half under the assault of the psychic vampires' anger. The wind buffeted against Buffy and Angel causing them to tense their legs to remain standing.
"I think you made them mad," Angel observed shouting over the wind to be heard.
Buffy just shrugged her shoulders. She wanted to get this done. Angel's presence in her dream had given her added strength, but she could feel it slowly slipping away from her. She knew that she didn't have long before she was weak and vulnerable again. And she knew that they knew it too.
"There were four of you before, right?" Buffy asked after the wind had died down to a gentle breeze.
"You have done your homework well, Slayer," came the voices in response to Buffy's question.
"And there are only two of you left now, right?"
"Yes," the wind whispered almost afraid to admit to any weaknesses.
"So, you are not impervious to harm, then. I can kill you."
Again the wind picked up and whipped around the Slayer and her companion. The screams of rage were almost deafening. Suddenly one of the vampires came running out from behind a mausoleum an ancient Celtic war cry escaping from his mouth.
A grin of triumph spread across Buffy's face. Her plan had worked. She knew that if she made them mad enough they would attack her. She brought her axe up over her head and waited for the vampire to move within striking distance.
Angel, who had moved to stand behind Buffy, also brought his weapon up and held it before him with both hands. He didn't want to interfere unless Buffy needed him. He could sense that this was her fight. She had to be the one to defeat her enemies. Still, he readied himself should she need him.
The psychic vampire continued to rush straight towards Buffy his pale head gleaming in the moonlight. Silent but focused, his intent was easy to read. He was going to kill Buffy. The games were finally over.
Buffy shifted the axe so that it rested lightly on her right shoulder. As soon as the vampire was close enough she brought the axe down at an angle hoping to connect with the vampire's neck. The moonlight glinted off of the polished steel blade as it sliced through the air. At the last second the demon brought up a glinting weapon of his own. Buffy's axe bounced off of the demon's sword with a metallic clang. The impact caused both combatants to turn away from each other so that they were side by side.
"You are no match for us, Slayer," the demon hissed from Buffy's left side.
Buffy's only response was a swift sidekick to the vampire's midsection. When the demon bent over with a grunt, Buffy turned towards him and brought her axe down, but was unable to connect with the vampire's head. She let out a cry of surprise as the other demon came up from behind her and forced her to the ground, causing her drop her weapon. He lay on top of her and lowered his head so that his fangs were inches from the soft skin of her neck. Suddenly the vampire's body went flying.
Angel had entered the fray. He growled low in his throat as he hurtled Buffy's inert form in pursuit of the demon he had kicked off of her.
Buffy grabbed the axe from the ground and hurried to her feet. She turned to face the first vampire, who had his sword pointed towards her chest. She raised her axe and swung it downward with a chopping motion managing to hack off half of the deadly blade.
"We will kill you," vamp #1 said as he jabbed at her with the remaining half of his sword. The jagged metal sliced through the air and caught Buffy in the arm cutting through her sweater and leaving a line of red on her white skin.
"I am not that easy to kill," Buffy said in defiance. Her arm hurt and she was beginning to feel tired, but she didn't want to let the demons know just how fragile she was. Determination filled her face, there was no way she would let them win. There was no way she was going to miss her chance to finally be with Angel.
"That's not what we heard," vamp #2 growled. He had managed to get by Angel and was stalking towards Buffy with a malicious smile on his face.
"All right, who has been spreading the rumors?" Buffy demanded a little breathlessly. She used the handle of the axe to butt the second vampire in the head as he approached, before turning to punch her first foe in the face with a solid right hook.
Angel intercepted the second vamp before he could retaliate against Buffy. "Two on one," Angel said shaking his head in disapproval, "is not fair." He let several punches loose and then slashed at the vampire with his own axe.
Buffy smiled her gratitude at Angel and then turned to concentrate on her own foe. "The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," Buffy said pummeling the vampire.
"That's not what the Master told us," he returned as he ducked the last of Buffy's punches and then followed with several hard punches of his own. Then when he had an opening he jabbed at Buffy with his weapon.
"Oh well sure, you would have to bring up that one time," Buffy said side stepping the vampire's attack. The vampire had been about to plunge his shortened sword into her stomach. "But then again, I'm not dead, am I?"
The vampire stopped and blinked at her. She had surprised him with her comeback. While he was distracted by his shock Buffy brought up her weapon and swung it at his head. The blade sliced through the thick bone covering his brain and implanted itself into the gray and white matter. The vampire convulsed once and slid to the ground with his head cleaved in two. Then his body turned to dust.
"NO!" shouted the other vampire. He turned from Angel and ran over to Buffy swinging a sword of his own. He stopped directly in front of Buffy and lifted his weapon to the sky. A fierce wind whipped through the trees and a blazing light lit up the sky. A wind tunnel formed around the one remaining psychic vampire swirling the dust of his fallen comrade. The wind suddenly stopped and the dust settled. The vampire stared at Buffy a new fire blazing in his eyes.
"Please don't tell me that 'there can be only one'," Buffy said bringing up her weapon in a defensive stance.
The vampire sprang towards her and somersaulted over her head so that he was standing behind her. Before she could turn he grabbed her from behind and yanked on her hair to gain access to her neck.
"Ouch! Watch it, that hurts," Buffy snapped as she dropped her weapon.
"Well, this will hurt even more," the vampire snarled. He brought his mouth down to sink his fangs into her neck.
"Good dogs don't bite," Angel instructed as he pulled the demon away from Buffy. Then he gave the vampire his own brand of discipline. The vampire stumbled backwards trying to evade Angel's flying fists.
Buffy walked over to a convenient gravestone and leaned against the cold gray marble. She felt as if she had battled a hundred demons. "One down and one to go," she sighed softly to herself. Her breathing was labored and her muscles felt like lead. She was extremely grateful that Angel was there to help her. Buffy watched in awe as Angel quickly and efficiently brought the other vampire to his knees.
"Wait," Buffy called and heaved herself away from the support of the gravestone. She walked over to stand beside Angel who had trapped the fallen vamp with a boot upon his neck.
Both of the combatants turned and looked at her in surprise. Angel saw the determined look on her face and lowered the weapon he had been holding poised over the vampire's head, ready to cut it in two.
Buffy leaned down and glared into the trapped demon's eyes. "So why me?" she asked. "Was it for bragging rights?"
"It was for survival," the vampire hissed. "We were the last of my race. Now there is only one."
"What happened?" Buffy inquired softly, a hint of compassion in her voice. She knew what it was like to be the only one.
"Why should I tell you?" the vampire asked in contempt. He struggled briefly but was unable to escape the steady pressure of Angel's foot.
"I'm curious," Buffy replied with a shrug of her shoulders. She couldn't really explain why she wanted to know. She should be jumping at the chance to finally defeat this threat to her life but found that she couldn't close this chapter until she had the whole story.
"Do you need all of the sordid details for your little journal?" the vampire questioned.
"Actually, yes," Buffy returned knowing that Giles would be ecstatic if she managed to fill in the gaping holes in the history of this particular demon.
The demon turned his eyes away from Buffy and clamped his lips together indicating that he was not about to satisfy her curiosity. Angel hauled the vampire up from the ground and held him by his collar. Buffy smiled at the vamp and then punched him hard breaking his nose.
"What happened," Buffy demanded her voice hard and unyielding.
The vampire glared at her and then licked at the blood trickling from his nose. "One night while visiting the homeland of our human birth we fed off of a poor little lass. Turns out she was a changeling," the vampire said reluctantly telling his story.
"A changeling?" Buffy asked.
"A faery child left in a human's cradle," the vampire replied his tone indicating that he thought Buffy was a dumb blonde. "We fed off of her by mistake. Her life force was tainted by her faery heritage and it weakened us. Margaret was the first to die. She had already been weakened by her dissatisfaction with her life. She hadn't wanted to become a vampire. Well, none of us did, but she wasn't able to adjust to her new life and our enhanced powers."
Buffy nodded in understanding. Dissatisfaction with life was nothing new to her. She remembered how she felt when she acquired a new life and new powers.
"Fergus was the next to go. He struggled for about fifty years before he finally succumbed. Malcolm and I were the last and you have destroyed Malcolm," the vampire said a sadness invading his voice. It was hard to be the last of your kind.
"Why did you come after me? You had to know that I would fight back."
"Malcolm thought that if we were able to feed off of a very strong life force than we would be able to combat the taint," the vampire explained. "He thought that if we made you weak enough we would be able to defeat you, but still have enough of your power to cure ourselves."
"What, is Slayer blood some kind of antibiotic for you people?" Buffy asked in disgust. She glared at both the vampire and the former vampire.
"It was just a theory," the vampire said trying to defend himself against Buffy's anger. "I mean we figured that it couldn't hurt."
Angel just looked at her. It had been her blood that had saved him when his unlife had been threatened and he didn't have a good answer for her. He couldn't explain the ironies of life any better than anyone else could. He had acquired a lot of knowledge in 250 plus years of living, but some things could never be answered.
"It hurt me," Buffy said angrily.
The vampire shrugged. "Icing on the cake," he told her an evil smile breaking over his features.
Buffy slammed her fist into the vampire's head so hard that she knocked him out of Angel's grasp. And then instantly regretted her actions. The vampire gave her another evil smirk and picked up the weapon she had dropped.
"Thank you, Slayer," he snarled showing his fangs. He swung the deadly battle-axe in an arc around his head and then slammed the wooden handle against Angel's skull. Angel slid to the ground unconscious.
Buffy groaned as she realized her mistake. Well, curiosity did kill the cat, Buffy thought to herself, as she stood before the vampire weaponless and extremely tired. She just hoped that she had enough strength left to defend herself.
"It may be too late for Malcolm but I am going to live," the vampire said as he charged towards Buffy.
Buffy dropped to the ground in a crouched position and swung her leg around in an arc tripping the vampire before he could attack her. She quickly jumped up and kicked him in the face as he was rising, causing more blood to spurt from his nose.
"I am not going to be your cure," Buffy replied. She danced away from the vampire's slashing weapon and then danced back to aim a roundhouse kick hitting him in the side.
"You don't have a lot of strength left," he responded. "I don't think you have much of a choice." He feinted to the right and then came at Buffy from the left managing to hit her in the side of the face with his fist. "Malcolm's life force is now part of me. I have enough strength to defeat you, Slayer."
Buffy decided to keep the sarcastic comeback to herself. She needed to conserve her energy. With Angel unconscious she knew that she had to rely on her own powers. She attacked the vampire with an uppercut to his chin and edged towards Angel's forgotten axe.
The vampire's head snapped back from the force of Buffy's blow but he recovered quickly and slashed at her with his weapon. Buffy managed to dodge the sharp blade as she moved closer to Angel.
"He can't help you now," the vampire said misconstruing Buffy's intentions. "You are on your own."
"I don't need his help," Buffy replied trying to convince herself. The vampire laughed in return.
By this time Buffy had managed to step closer to Angel and his weapon but she knew that retrieving the weapon was going to be trickier than she thought. The axe was too big for her to pick up with her foot and she wasn't sure she would have enough time to stoop down and get it. The demon was stalking back and forth in front of her, keeping his eyes on her. Buffy wasn't sure what his next move would be, but she knew that he was getting ready for the kill. He reminded her of a cat before it pounced on its prey.
Suddenly the demon stopped moving to stand in front of Buffy. His eyes sharpened as a grin spread across his features and he licked his lips in anticipation. "You look delicious," he said slowly bringing the axe up in front of him.
"T-Thank you," Buffy stammered. What did one say to an archenemy, anyway? She moved closer to the weapon until she could feel the solid wood handle against her booted foot. Then she waited.
With a mighty cry the vampire attacked Buffy. The blade of the axe whistled through the air as the demon swung the weapon at his opponent. Buffy bent backwards trying to evade the sharp blade and left herself open to a high kick from the demon. Because she was already off balance from her evasion of the axe she was unable to stay on her feet. She fell to the ground with a thud but managed to fall close to Angel's weapon. Buffy rolled over the handle of the axe and grasped it in her hand. She came to rest on her back with the head of the axe pointing upwards. The vampire still ignorant of the weapon launched himself on top of Buffy and the axe.
"You will pay for that," the vampire yelled as he quickly rolled off of Buffy. He lay on the ground with a hand trying to cover the huge gushing wound in his chest.
Buffy also lay on the ground gasping for breath. Her strength was almost gone. She turned and looked at Angel's still form willing him to wake up. She desperately needed his help.
Meanwhile, Angel was having problems of his own. As soon as his dream body slumped to the ground his soul went whizzing back to the green globe. And now he was stuck. Through one side of the green tinted glass he could see Willow and the other Scoobies. If he turned completely around he could see Buffy fighting against the remaining psychic vampire through the other side of the glass. He felt like a spectator at a sporting event. He had wanted to help Buffy but now all he could do was stand by helplessly and watch her fight for her life.
"Willow," he cried trying to get her attention. She was still sitting directly in front of the green globe with her eyes closed and her body swaying. He shouted her name several more times and even bruised his fists by banging them against the smooth surface of the green glass. Finally Angel gave up the attempt and turned back around to watch Buffy. She was lying on the ground next to his unconscious dream body, panting from the exertions of the battle.
"Get up, Buffy. Fight him," he encouraged willing his strength into her body. He could tell that she was spent. He was very worried that she would not have enough energy left to fight off the demon. Angel kicked the globe in frustration. He couldn't stand by and watch her die. He couldn't live without her. At that moment he would have gladly taken her place, if that had been allowed. He glared at his useless dream self and cursed its inaction. Why couldn't he get out of this stupid globe? A sudden movement brought his gaze back to Buffy and his heart leapt with joy as she slowly sat up. Then with a flash of green light he whizzed back to his unconscious dream self.
Buffy shook her head trying to evict the pounding sledgehammers that had taken up residence in her skull. She didn't need a headache right now. She needed to concentrate on saving her life. Buffy looked over at the vampire and noticed that he was beginning to recover from his wounds. She used the axe to support herself as she climbed to her feet. She wanted to meet the danger standing. If she was going to die she didn't want to do it laying down.
"It ends now," the vampire said also slowly rising to his feet. The blood spurting from his chest had slowed to a drip and the wound was beginning to close up around the edges. He picked up his fallen weapon and stood before Buffy leaning drunkenly to one side.
"Yes it does," Buffy agreed. She picked up her own weapon and winced at the pain that shot through her ribcage. I probably have a broken rib, she thought to herself as she eyed her foe warily.
A quiet moan issued forth from Angel's lifeless body indicting that he was finally waking up. "Angel, wake up," Buffy whispered insistently. "I need you." Her only answer was another quiet moan.
Buffy sighed, trying to resign herself to the thought of defending her life on her own. Usually this wouldn't be a problem, but the fight had almost gone completely out of her. She didn't think that she had ever felt this weak before, except maybe the time that Amy's mother had tried to kill her with the blood stone vengeance spell. And of course there was her 18th birthday. Now that she thought about it she had gotten herself out of some pretty tough situations. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.
The psychic vampire resumed his pre-pounce pacing and his wound completely closed itself. The two stayed like that for several minutes. The vampire stalking back and forth in front of Buffy, who was standing and watching him with a wary stare. Finally Buffy's impatience won out over her self-preservation instinct and she rushed towards the vamp with her weapon upraised. He grinned at her and brought his own weapon up to defend himself. The two blades met and locked forcing the two enemies into close proximity with each other. The vampire removed his right hand from his weapon and backhanded Buffy causing her to stumble backwards. She lost her grip on the axe and it went flying over the head of the vampire to imbed itself into the trunk of a nearby tree.
Buffy, cursing her bad luck, steadily moved backwards, out of the range of the demon. He continued to pursue her. She frantically looked at Angel who was beginning to stir but realized that he wouldn't be able to help her. She turned her gaze back to the vamp and his gleaming weapon. He was getting closer and she had nowhere else to go. She was trapped between a gravestone and a hard place. Buffy jumped up onto the stone and flipped herself over the head of the vampire. Before he could turn around she pushed him into the gravestone causing him to fall over onto his head, and then turning, she ran for her weapon.
Buffy heard the vampire screaming in rage as she pulled the axe out of the tree. She smiled slightly to herself. Actually, she wished that she could stand back and watch as he righted himself. She would bet that it was a pretty funny sight. Buffy turned back to face her foe and saw him stalking towards her with a black scowl on his face. He didn't waste any time with words but just started swinging the axe at her head. She had to duck quickly before the sharp blade managed to separate her head from her neck. When she was upright again she leapt into the air swinging one of her legs around in an arc. Her foot connected with the vampire's shoulder and he dropped his weapon arm without losing his grasp on the axe. As soon as she landed, Buffy followed her kick with a left uppercut and a right hook. The demon staggered backwards, but didn't fall.
The vampire recovered his footing and caught her in the face with a right hook of his own. He cut her lip with his fist and then licked her blood from his hand with another evil grin. He was trying to goad her into another imprudent move. He knew that she was almost dead on her feet and that soon she would be just plain dead. He could wait her out, but if she wanted to throw away her strength by fighting, then that was just fine by him.
Angel moaned again and tried to push himself up into a sitting position. His arms gave out and he thumped back to the earth banging his nose on the ground. He could hear the sounds of battle and knew that he needed to get up and help Buffy, but he just couldn't seem to make his body move.
Buffy heard Angel moan but didn't even spare him a glance. She didn't have time. She was using this break in the hostilities to try and recapture some of her energy. She felt like this battle was never going to end. He was going to wait her out and finally she would drop at his feet. Then he could feed off her like a kid finally let loose in a candy store. Buffy shuddered not liking the imagery. She didn't want to be anybody's stomachache.
The psychic vampire started pacing again. He held his weapon loosely at his side. Obviously he didn't feel like she was a threat. He was watching her carefully but didn't look like a cat about to pounce. Buffy hated his whole demeanor. She knew that she was extremely tired, but that didn't mean that she couldn't hold her own. Okay, maybe she couldn't, but he didn't have to know that. He could have at least pretended to be scared for his life. Was it too much to ask to expect the little creep to patronize her? Apparently it was.
Angel managed to roll over onto his back and rubbed at his eyes hoping to clear the cobwebs. He couldn't hear any sounds of battle and was becoming increasingly worried about Buffy. He tipped his head back and saw an upside down version of Buffy standing in a shaft of moonlight. His heart stopped beating for just an instant. She even looked beautiful upside down. Then he saw a movement just in front of her and realized that the other demon was still alive. Angel felt an urgency grip him and again tried to push himself up. He had to get to her before it was too late. He bent his arms and pushed his elbows into the solid ground raising his torso slightly. He leaned there on his elbows for a few seconds and then continued to push himself into a sitting position. It was at times like these that he found himself wishing that he were still a vampire. He would have recovered by now. He would have been able to kill the demon before it could kill Buffy.
"Why don't you just give up," the vampire said to Buffy. "You can't possibly win." He was still marching in front of her waiting for her to either make a move or collapse at his feet. He actually preferred the latter. He was tired too. After all he had been sick for about 75 years.
"I can't," Buffy responded. She was watching him pace trying to find an opportunity to attack.
The vampire raised his eyebrows and looked at her. "Why not?" He stood still with his arms crossed over his chest while he waited for her answer.
"Because I wouldn't want to disappoint my mother or my Watcher."
"I imagine they would be disappointed if you were to die," the vampire conceded. He resumed his pacing, but had slowed his steps, letting his guard down. This was the opportunity Buffy had been waiting for.
"No, they would be disappointed because they are forever telling me how stubborn I am. They would be devastated if I died," Buffy said. Then, as the vampire turned to begin his trip back in front of her she put out her foot and tripped him. He sprawled on the ground face down with his weapon lying just out of his reach. Buffy brought her own axe up over her head and used the last of her strength to bring it down slicing through the skull of her opponent. The axe cut through the head of the vampire and sunk into the ground. The demon let out a scream of denial and then turned to dust.
Angel who had managed to get up on his feet reached Buffy just as she collapsed into his arms. Her eyelids fluttered and then closed over her tired blue eyes. "I did it," she whispered as she fell into a deep sleep. Angel hugged her close tears forming in his eyes. She was safe, for now. He didn't want to let her go but he felt an insistent tug upon his soul. He knew it was time go back to his own body. Angel gently laid Buffy upon the ground and let the green light whiz him back into the green globe. She did it, he thought as is soul took the trip back into his own body. He was very proud of her and found that it was possible to love her even more than he had before. Angel knew now that he would never again let her out of his life.
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon is the god of the Buffiverse. I just borrowed his children for some fun. All the characters in this story belong to him, except the evil ones who belong to Rain. Thanks Rain for letting me play with them.
I Do
By Sunny
CHAPTER SEVEN
Angel lay next to Buffy and listened to her breathing. He could feel her slip away from him as she fell deeper and deeper into her dream world. He tightened his grip on her hand, wanting to let her know that he was there for her, and that he would always be there for her.
"She's asleep," Angel whispered into the stillness. Then he closed his eyes and waited to join Buffy in her dreams.
After hearing Angel's whispered comment, Willow began chanting the main incantation of the spell. She was sitting on the floor just outside the sacred circle with the Orb of Delego Viridis resting in front of her. The rest of the Scoobies were spaced out evenly around the circle waiting for her cue to start chanting the linking part of the spell.
"Janus, guardian of the threshold,
I call upon thee,
Create in this orb a gateway
Per mutatio mentum duarum
Let two become one
Auris voci remotae
Let my voice be heard, my will be done
So mote it be"
The Latin words tripped lightly off of her tongue as she swayed back and forth, her hands hovering over the globe. She paused halfway through the first recital of the incantation and poured the remnants of the potion onto the smooth surface of the green glass. She rubbed the crushed herbs and eye of newt all over the glass and then resumed her chanting.
Suddenly the Orb in front of her began to glow; softly at first, but as her hands continued to massage the surface the faint light grew into a blinding burst of green light. The flames of the candles flickered and a hazy green fog rose up from the outline of the circle. Angel cried out in surprise as his soul pulled away from his body and hovered overhead looking down at his body lying so still next to Buffy. He should have been scared by the sensation of looking down at his own body, but he wasn't. He had been through this before.
As Willow uttered the words they had picked as their cue the rest of the gang began their chanting, repeating the lines over and over. "Catenus penetralis corporeus animus, ductor domus, immemor bona verba caecus animus aufugio." A thin green line began to form connecting Angel's soul and his body. Their chanting became stronger fueled by their confidence and the green line strengthened and darkened. Then the gemstones used to strengthen Angel's body and soul began to glow as well, casting an eerie white light over his body. The link was now complete, with the added protection of the Sard stones, but the Scoobies would need to continue chanting to maintain the link.
Willow's voice had grown louder as she repeated her part of the spell. She was still rocking back and forth in front of the Orb, but had removed her hands from the surface as soon as it had begun to glow. Her eyes flew open and she appeared to be staring at Angel's soul as it hovered above her. Her voice became demanding as she ordered the soul into the glowing green globe sitting in front of her. As soon as she finished the command Angel's soul was sucked into the Orb. She completed the incantation for the second time and added two new lines, which helped to speed Angel on his way into Buffy's dream world.
********
"Finally," Buffy gasped as Angel materialized beside her. She had a harried expression on her face and she was scanning the cemetery instead of looking at Angel. A fresh cut oozed from her forehead and the back of her sweater had bits of grass and dirt stuck to it. She was breathing heavily as if she had just been in a fight. "They attacked me just as I fell asleep. It was all I could do to keep them off of me. Then they just disappeared."
"Sorry," Angel replied also scanning the cemetery. "I had to stop for supplies." He held up a wicked looking axe and grinned. The handle of the axe was at least two feet long and the blade looked to be about 10 inches long. The head of the axe was silver and decorated with ancient Celtic symbols.
Buffy finally looked over at him and her eyes widened. "Cool," she said. "But how did you get a weapon?" She had only been able to defend herself using a broken tree branch.
Angel shrugged his shoulders. He didn't really understand how he had gotten the weapon. His soul had been hanging over his body one minute, then encased in the green globe, before finally being sucked into Buffy's dream. He had remembered thinking as he whizzed from the globe into Buffy's mind that he should have brought a weapon and poof the thing appeared in his hand.
"It just appeared," he answered.
"It just appeared?" Buffy asked staring at him in disbelief.
"Yeah. I thought I should have brought a weapon and then this one just appeared."
"Just like that?" Weren't there any rules to this thing? she asked silently.
"Just like that," Angel confirmed. "Try it."
Buffy took one last look around the cemetery to see if the bad guys were lurking close by and then closed her eyes. She imagined a small, but deadly battle-axe Giles had in his private collection. The handle was short, only about 12 inches or so, but the blade was curved and had a length of about 6 inches. It was very sharp and had a 4-inch pick at the other end. Suddenly Buffy could feel the weight of the axe in her hand. She tightened her grip around it thankful for its comforting presence.
"Way cool," Buffy said as she opened her eyes and looked down at the weapon she held in her hand.
"Slayer," hissed the wind. "SSSlayer."
"That's my name, don't wear it out," Buffy shouted into the wind. Of course it wasn't really her name, but sometimes she felt like it was. It was how she was known in the demon world.
"Still defiant?" the wind asked. "We will soon change that."
"I wouldn't bet the moldy crypt you call home on it," Buffy returned. She slowly turned herself around in a circle hoping to get a glimpse of her foes before they attacked. She hated being ambushed.
"Our crypt is not moldy," a separate voice answered. The voices had always spoken as one before as if presenting a united front. But now, one of the demons had broken rank and was responding on a more personal level.
"Sorry," Buffy drawled her tone indicating that she was anything but. She had noticed that only one demon had responded to her last taunt. She was aiming for the divide and conquer method. "I guess I should have said dusty."
"Its not dusty, either," replied the lone voice. "At least not more than any other crypt. Do you know how hard it is to keep a crypt clean?"
"I'll keep that in mind next time I'm looking to buy a crypt," Buffy told the disembodied voice. She had finally stopped her scan of the cemetery and was standing with her eyes closed listening to the demon voice. She was hoping she could locate her enemies by using her special Slayer senses.
"Silence," the wind roared whipping Buffy's hair around her face and into her eyes. "We don't have time for these games."
Buffy pulled her hair back from her face. "But, I was learning so much about crypts," she said. "I spend so much time here in the cemetery anyway, that I was thinking of making one my new home."
"Your tricks will not work on us," the wind answered using both voices again.
Buffy sighed realizing that the divide and conquer method was not going to work. It didn't matter; she couldn't seem to locate the demons anyway. They were going to have to show themselves, and soon. She was getting antsy.
"So show yourselves and lets get this done," Angel said speaking for the first time since the vampires had announced their presence. He realized that he and Buffy were at a disadvantage because of their opponent's ability to hide themselves.
"Ah dessert," the wind sighed in pleasure. "It has been a long time since we have had dessert."
Buffy turned to look at Angel, a big grin spreading across her face. "Oh he's very tasty," she assured the psychic vampires. "But I am afraid that you are not going to get the chance to find out just how yummy he is."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because we are going to kill you first," Buffy replied. Widening her stance, she shifted the axe in her hands tensing her whole arm in preparation for battle.
The wind fluttered gently through the trees bringing the sound of laughter to Buffy's ears. "My how confident you sound, Slayer. But as you already know, we are very hard to kill."
"But not impossible."
The wind howled with the wrath of the creatures. Leaves and dirt flew through the air and the trees in the cemetery were almost bent in half under the assault of the psychic vampires' anger. The wind buffeted against Buffy and Angel causing them to tense their legs to remain standing.
"I think you made them mad," Angel observed shouting over the wind to be heard.
Buffy just shrugged her shoulders. She wanted to get this done. Angel's presence in her dream had given her added strength, but she could feel it slowly slipping away from her. She knew that she didn't have long before she was weak and vulnerable again. And she knew that they knew it too.
"There were four of you before, right?" Buffy asked after the wind had died down to a gentle breeze.
"You have done your homework well, Slayer," came the voices in response to Buffy's question.
"And there are only two of you left now, right?"
"Yes," the wind whispered almost afraid to admit to any weaknesses.
"So, you are not impervious to harm, then. I can kill you."
Again the wind picked up and whipped around the Slayer and her companion. The screams of rage were almost deafening. Suddenly one of the vampires came running out from behind a mausoleum an ancient Celtic war cry escaping from his mouth.
A grin of triumph spread across Buffy's face. Her plan had worked. She knew that if she made them mad enough they would attack her. She brought her axe up over her head and waited for the vampire to move within striking distance.
Angel, who had moved to stand behind Buffy, also brought his weapon up and held it before him with both hands. He didn't want to interfere unless Buffy needed him. He could sense that this was her fight. She had to be the one to defeat her enemies. Still, he readied himself should she need him.
The psychic vampire continued to rush straight towards Buffy his pale head gleaming in the moonlight. Silent but focused, his intent was easy to read. He was going to kill Buffy. The games were finally over.
Buffy shifted the axe so that it rested lightly on her right shoulder. As soon as the vampire was close enough she brought the axe down at an angle hoping to connect with the vampire's neck. The moonlight glinted off of the polished steel blade as it sliced through the air. At the last second the demon brought up a glinting weapon of his own. Buffy's axe bounced off of the demon's sword with a metallic clang. The impact caused both combatants to turn away from each other so that they were side by side.
"You are no match for us, Slayer," the demon hissed from Buffy's left side.
Buffy's only response was a swift sidekick to the vampire's midsection. When the demon bent over with a grunt, Buffy turned towards him and brought her axe down, but was unable to connect with the vampire's head. She let out a cry of surprise as the other demon came up from behind her and forced her to the ground, causing her drop her weapon. He lay on top of her and lowered his head so that his fangs were inches from the soft skin of her neck. Suddenly the vampire's body went flying.
Angel had entered the fray. He growled low in his throat as he hurtled Buffy's inert form in pursuit of the demon he had kicked off of her.
Buffy grabbed the axe from the ground and hurried to her feet. She turned to face the first vampire, who had his sword pointed towards her chest. She raised her axe and swung it downward with a chopping motion managing to hack off half of the deadly blade.
"We will kill you," vamp #1 said as he jabbed at her with the remaining half of his sword. The jagged metal sliced through the air and caught Buffy in the arm cutting through her sweater and leaving a line of red on her white skin.
"I am not that easy to kill," Buffy said in defiance. Her arm hurt and she was beginning to feel tired, but she didn't want to let the demons know just how fragile she was. Determination filled her face, there was no way she would let them win. There was no way she was going to miss her chance to finally be with Angel.
"That's not what we heard," vamp #2 growled. He had managed to get by Angel and was stalking towards Buffy with a malicious smile on his face.
"All right, who has been spreading the rumors?" Buffy demanded a little breathlessly. She used the handle of the axe to butt the second vampire in the head as he approached, before turning to punch her first foe in the face with a solid right hook.
Angel intercepted the second vamp before he could retaliate against Buffy. "Two on one," Angel said shaking his head in disapproval, "is not fair." He let several punches loose and then slashed at the vampire with his own axe.
Buffy smiled her gratitude at Angel and then turned to concentrate on her own foe. "The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," Buffy said pummeling the vampire.
"That's not what the Master told us," he returned as he ducked the last of Buffy's punches and then followed with several hard punches of his own. Then when he had an opening he jabbed at Buffy with his weapon.
"Oh well sure, you would have to bring up that one time," Buffy said side stepping the vampire's attack. The vampire had been about to plunge his shortened sword into her stomach. "But then again, I'm not dead, am I?"
The vampire stopped and blinked at her. She had surprised him with her comeback. While he was distracted by his shock Buffy brought up her weapon and swung it at his head. The blade sliced through the thick bone covering his brain and implanted itself into the gray and white matter. The vampire convulsed once and slid to the ground with his head cleaved in two. Then his body turned to dust.
"NO!" shouted the other vampire. He turned from Angel and ran over to Buffy swinging a sword of his own. He stopped directly in front of Buffy and lifted his weapon to the sky. A fierce wind whipped through the trees and a blazing light lit up the sky. A wind tunnel formed around the one remaining psychic vampire swirling the dust of his fallen comrade. The wind suddenly stopped and the dust settled. The vampire stared at Buffy a new fire blazing in his eyes.
"Please don't tell me that 'there can be only one'," Buffy said bringing up her weapon in a defensive stance.
The vampire sprang towards her and somersaulted over her head so that he was standing behind her. Before she could turn he grabbed her from behind and yanked on her hair to gain access to her neck.
"Ouch! Watch it, that hurts," Buffy snapped as she dropped her weapon.
"Well, this will hurt even more," the vampire snarled. He brought his mouth down to sink his fangs into her neck.
"Good dogs don't bite," Angel instructed as he pulled the demon away from Buffy. Then he gave the vampire his own brand of discipline. The vampire stumbled backwards trying to evade Angel's flying fists.
Buffy walked over to a convenient gravestone and leaned against the cold gray marble. She felt as if she had battled a hundred demons. "One down and one to go," she sighed softly to herself. Her breathing was labored and her muscles felt like lead. She was extremely grateful that Angel was there to help her. Buffy watched in awe as Angel quickly and efficiently brought the other vampire to his knees.
"Wait," Buffy called and heaved herself away from the support of the gravestone. She walked over to stand beside Angel who had trapped the fallen vamp with a boot upon his neck.
Both of the combatants turned and looked at her in surprise. Angel saw the determined look on her face and lowered the weapon he had been holding poised over the vampire's head, ready to cut it in two.
Buffy leaned down and glared into the trapped demon's eyes. "So why me?" she asked. "Was it for bragging rights?"
"It was for survival," the vampire hissed. "We were the last of my race. Now there is only one."
"What happened?" Buffy inquired softly, a hint of compassion in her voice. She knew what it was like to be the only one.
"Why should I tell you?" the vampire asked in contempt. He struggled briefly but was unable to escape the steady pressure of Angel's foot.
"I'm curious," Buffy replied with a shrug of her shoulders. She couldn't really explain why she wanted to know. She should be jumping at the chance to finally defeat this threat to her life but found that she couldn't close this chapter until she had the whole story.
"Do you need all of the sordid details for your little journal?" the vampire questioned.
"Actually, yes," Buffy returned knowing that Giles would be ecstatic if she managed to fill in the gaping holes in the history of this particular demon.
The demon turned his eyes away from Buffy and clamped his lips together indicating that he was not about to satisfy her curiosity. Angel hauled the vampire up from the ground and held him by his collar. Buffy smiled at the vamp and then punched him hard breaking his nose.
"What happened," Buffy demanded her voice hard and unyielding.
The vampire glared at her and then licked at the blood trickling from his nose. "One night while visiting the homeland of our human birth we fed off of a poor little lass. Turns out she was a changeling," the vampire said reluctantly telling his story.
"A changeling?" Buffy asked.
"A faery child left in a human's cradle," the vampire replied his tone indicating that he thought Buffy was a dumb blonde. "We fed off of her by mistake. Her life force was tainted by her faery heritage and it weakened us. Margaret was the first to die. She had already been weakened by her dissatisfaction with her life. She hadn't wanted to become a vampire. Well, none of us did, but she wasn't able to adjust to her new life and our enhanced powers."
Buffy nodded in understanding. Dissatisfaction with life was nothing new to her. She remembered how she felt when she acquired a new life and new powers.
"Fergus was the next to go. He struggled for about fifty years before he finally succumbed. Malcolm and I were the last and you have destroyed Malcolm," the vampire said a sadness invading his voice. It was hard to be the last of your kind.
"Why did you come after me? You had to know that I would fight back."
"Malcolm thought that if we were able to feed off of a very strong life force than we would be able to combat the taint," the vampire explained. "He thought that if we made you weak enough we would be able to defeat you, but still have enough of your power to cure ourselves."
"What, is Slayer blood some kind of antibiotic for you people?" Buffy asked in disgust. She glared at both the vampire and the former vampire.
"It was just a theory," the vampire said trying to defend himself against Buffy's anger. "I mean we figured that it couldn't hurt."
Angel just looked at her. It had been her blood that had saved him when his unlife had been threatened and he didn't have a good answer for her. He couldn't explain the ironies of life any better than anyone else could. He had acquired a lot of knowledge in 250 plus years of living, but some things could never be answered.
"It hurt me," Buffy said angrily.
The vampire shrugged. "Icing on the cake," he told her an evil smile breaking over his features.
Buffy slammed her fist into the vampire's head so hard that she knocked him out of Angel's grasp. And then instantly regretted her actions. The vampire gave her another evil smirk and picked up the weapon she had dropped.
"Thank you, Slayer," he snarled showing his fangs. He swung the deadly battle-axe in an arc around his head and then slammed the wooden handle against Angel's skull. Angel slid to the ground unconscious.
Buffy groaned as she realized her mistake. Well, curiosity did kill the cat, Buffy thought to herself, as she stood before the vampire weaponless and extremely tired. She just hoped that she had enough strength left to defend herself.
"It may be too late for Malcolm but I am going to live," the vampire said as he charged towards Buffy.
Buffy dropped to the ground in a crouched position and swung her leg around in an arc tripping the vampire before he could attack her. She quickly jumped up and kicked him in the face as he was rising, causing more blood to spurt from his nose.
"I am not going to be your cure," Buffy replied. She danced away from the vampire's slashing weapon and then danced back to aim a roundhouse kick hitting him in the side.
"You don't have a lot of strength left," he responded. "I don't think you have much of a choice." He feinted to the right and then came at Buffy from the left managing to hit her in the side of the face with his fist. "Malcolm's life force is now part of me. I have enough strength to defeat you, Slayer."
Buffy decided to keep the sarcastic comeback to herself. She needed to conserve her energy. With Angel unconscious she knew that she had to rely on her own powers. She attacked the vampire with an uppercut to his chin and edged towards Angel's forgotten axe.
The vampire's head snapped back from the force of Buffy's blow but he recovered quickly and slashed at her with his weapon. Buffy managed to dodge the sharp blade as she moved closer to Angel.
"He can't help you now," the vampire said misconstruing Buffy's intentions. "You are on your own."
"I don't need his help," Buffy replied trying to convince herself. The vampire laughed in return.
By this time Buffy had managed to step closer to Angel and his weapon but she knew that retrieving the weapon was going to be trickier than she thought. The axe was too big for her to pick up with her foot and she wasn't sure she would have enough time to stoop down and get it. The demon was stalking back and forth in front of her, keeping his eyes on her. Buffy wasn't sure what his next move would be, but she knew that he was getting ready for the kill. He reminded her of a cat before it pounced on its prey.
Suddenly the demon stopped moving to stand in front of Buffy. His eyes sharpened as a grin spread across his features and he licked his lips in anticipation. "You look delicious," he said slowly bringing the axe up in front of him.
"T-Thank you," Buffy stammered. What did one say to an archenemy, anyway? She moved closer to the weapon until she could feel the solid wood handle against her booted foot. Then she waited.
With a mighty cry the vampire attacked Buffy. The blade of the axe whistled through the air as the demon swung the weapon at his opponent. Buffy bent backwards trying to evade the sharp blade and left herself open to a high kick from the demon. Because she was already off balance from her evasion of the axe she was unable to stay on her feet. She fell to the ground with a thud but managed to fall close to Angel's weapon. Buffy rolled over the handle of the axe and grasped it in her hand. She came to rest on her back with the head of the axe pointing upwards. The vampire still ignorant of the weapon launched himself on top of Buffy and the axe.
"You will pay for that," the vampire yelled as he quickly rolled off of Buffy. He lay on the ground with a hand trying to cover the huge gushing wound in his chest.
Buffy also lay on the ground gasping for breath. Her strength was almost gone. She turned and looked at Angel's still form willing him to wake up. She desperately needed his help.
Meanwhile, Angel was having problems of his own. As soon as his dream body slumped to the ground his soul went whizzing back to the green globe. And now he was stuck. Through one side of the green tinted glass he could see Willow and the other Scoobies. If he turned completely around he could see Buffy fighting against the remaining psychic vampire through the other side of the glass. He felt like a spectator at a sporting event. He had wanted to help Buffy but now all he could do was stand by helplessly and watch her fight for her life.
"Willow," he cried trying to get her attention. She was still sitting directly in front of the green globe with her eyes closed and her body swaying. He shouted her name several more times and even bruised his fists by banging them against the smooth surface of the green glass. Finally Angel gave up the attempt and turned back around to watch Buffy. She was lying on the ground next to his unconscious dream body, panting from the exertions of the battle.
"Get up, Buffy. Fight him," he encouraged willing his strength into her body. He could tell that she was spent. He was very worried that she would not have enough energy left to fight off the demon. Angel kicked the globe in frustration. He couldn't stand by and watch her die. He couldn't live without her. At that moment he would have gladly taken her place, if that had been allowed. He glared at his useless dream self and cursed its inaction. Why couldn't he get out of this stupid globe? A sudden movement brought his gaze back to Buffy and his heart leapt with joy as she slowly sat up. Then with a flash of green light he whizzed back to his unconscious dream self.
Buffy shook her head trying to evict the pounding sledgehammers that had taken up residence in her skull. She didn't need a headache right now. She needed to concentrate on saving her life. Buffy looked over at the vampire and noticed that he was beginning to recover from his wounds. She used the axe to support herself as she climbed to her feet. She wanted to meet the danger standing. If she was going to die she didn't want to do it laying down.
"It ends now," the vampire said also slowly rising to his feet. The blood spurting from his chest had slowed to a drip and the wound was beginning to close up around the edges. He picked up his fallen weapon and stood before Buffy leaning drunkenly to one side.
"Yes it does," Buffy agreed. She picked up her own weapon and winced at the pain that shot through her ribcage. I probably have a broken rib, she thought to herself as she eyed her foe warily.
A quiet moan issued forth from Angel's lifeless body indicting that he was finally waking up. "Angel, wake up," Buffy whispered insistently. "I need you." Her only answer was another quiet moan.
Buffy sighed, trying to resign herself to the thought of defending her life on her own. Usually this wouldn't be a problem, but the fight had almost gone completely out of her. She didn't think that she had ever felt this weak before, except maybe the time that Amy's mother had tried to kill her with the blood stone vengeance spell. And of course there was her 18th birthday. Now that she thought about it she had gotten herself out of some pretty tough situations. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.
The psychic vampire resumed his pre-pounce pacing and his wound completely closed itself. The two stayed like that for several minutes. The vampire stalking back and forth in front of Buffy, who was standing and watching him with a wary stare. Finally Buffy's impatience won out over her self-preservation instinct and she rushed towards the vamp with her weapon upraised. He grinned at her and brought his own weapon up to defend himself. The two blades met and locked forcing the two enemies into close proximity with each other. The vampire removed his right hand from his weapon and backhanded Buffy causing her to stumble backwards. She lost her grip on the axe and it went flying over the head of the vampire to imbed itself into the trunk of a nearby tree.
Buffy, cursing her bad luck, steadily moved backwards, out of the range of the demon. He continued to pursue her. She frantically looked at Angel who was beginning to stir but realized that he wouldn't be able to help her. She turned her gaze back to the vamp and his gleaming weapon. He was getting closer and she had nowhere else to go. She was trapped between a gravestone and a hard place. Buffy jumped up onto the stone and flipped herself over the head of the vampire. Before he could turn around she pushed him into the gravestone causing him to fall over onto his head, and then turning, she ran for her weapon.
Buffy heard the vampire screaming in rage as she pulled the axe out of the tree. She smiled slightly to herself. Actually, she wished that she could stand back and watch as he righted himself. She would bet that it was a pretty funny sight. Buffy turned back to face her foe and saw him stalking towards her with a black scowl on his face. He didn't waste any time with words but just started swinging the axe at her head. She had to duck quickly before the sharp blade managed to separate her head from her neck. When she was upright again she leapt into the air swinging one of her legs around in an arc. Her foot connected with the vampire's shoulder and he dropped his weapon arm without losing his grasp on the axe. As soon as she landed, Buffy followed her kick with a left uppercut and a right hook. The demon staggered backwards, but didn't fall.
The vampire recovered his footing and caught her in the face with a right hook of his own. He cut her lip with his fist and then licked her blood from his hand with another evil grin. He was trying to goad her into another imprudent move. He knew that she was almost dead on her feet and that soon she would be just plain dead. He could wait her out, but if she wanted to throw away her strength by fighting, then that was just fine by him.
Angel moaned again and tried to push himself up into a sitting position. His arms gave out and he thumped back to the earth banging his nose on the ground. He could hear the sounds of battle and knew that he needed to get up and help Buffy, but he just couldn't seem to make his body move.
Buffy heard Angel moan but didn't even spare him a glance. She didn't have time. She was using this break in the hostilities to try and recapture some of her energy. She felt like this battle was never going to end. He was going to wait her out and finally she would drop at his feet. Then he could feed off her like a kid finally let loose in a candy store. Buffy shuddered not liking the imagery. She didn't want to be anybody's stomachache.
The psychic vampire started pacing again. He held his weapon loosely at his side. Obviously he didn't feel like she was a threat. He was watching her carefully but didn't look like a cat about to pounce. Buffy hated his whole demeanor. She knew that she was extremely tired, but that didn't mean that she couldn't hold her own. Okay, maybe she couldn't, but he didn't have to know that. He could have at least pretended to be scared for his life. Was it too much to ask to expect the little creep to patronize her? Apparently it was.
Angel managed to roll over onto his back and rubbed at his eyes hoping to clear the cobwebs. He couldn't hear any sounds of battle and was becoming increasingly worried about Buffy. He tipped his head back and saw an upside down version of Buffy standing in a shaft of moonlight. His heart stopped beating for just an instant. She even looked beautiful upside down. Then he saw a movement just in front of her and realized that the other demon was still alive. Angel felt an urgency grip him and again tried to push himself up. He had to get to her before it was too late. He bent his arms and pushed his elbows into the solid ground raising his torso slightly. He leaned there on his elbows for a few seconds and then continued to push himself into a sitting position. It was at times like these that he found himself wishing that he were still a vampire. He would have recovered by now. He would have been able to kill the demon before it could kill Buffy.
"Why don't you just give up," the vampire said to Buffy. "You can't possibly win." He was still marching in front of her waiting for her to either make a move or collapse at his feet. He actually preferred the latter. He was tired too. After all he had been sick for about 75 years.
"I can't," Buffy responded. She was watching him pace trying to find an opportunity to attack.
The vampire raised his eyebrows and looked at her. "Why not?" He stood still with his arms crossed over his chest while he waited for her answer.
"Because I wouldn't want to disappoint my mother or my Watcher."
"I imagine they would be disappointed if you were to die," the vampire conceded. He resumed his pacing, but had slowed his steps, letting his guard down. This was the opportunity Buffy had been waiting for.
"No, they would be disappointed because they are forever telling me how stubborn I am. They would be devastated if I died," Buffy said. Then, as the vampire turned to begin his trip back in front of her she put out her foot and tripped him. He sprawled on the ground face down with his weapon lying just out of his reach. Buffy brought her own axe up over her head and used the last of her strength to bring it down slicing through the skull of her opponent. The axe cut through the head of the vampire and sunk into the ground. The demon let out a scream of denial and then turned to dust.
Angel who had managed to get up on his feet reached Buffy just as she collapsed into his arms. Her eyelids fluttered and then closed over her tired blue eyes. "I did it," she whispered as she fell into a deep sleep. Angel hugged her close tears forming in his eyes. She was safe, for now. He didn't want to let her go but he felt an insistent tug upon his soul. He knew it was time go back to his own body. Angel gently laid Buffy upon the ground and let the green light whiz him back into the green globe. She did it, he thought as is soul took the trip back into his own body. He was very proud of her and found that it was possible to love her even more than he had before. Angel knew now that he would never again let her out of his life.
