CHAPTER FIVE: RESTORATION
Buffy's joy couldn't have been more evident than at that moment. Tears engulfed her face as she saw Angel coming towards her. She was but a few yards away, and broke off into a vigorous sprint to close the gap between them. Her boot heels pounded against the asphalt as she finally reached him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him fervently. Angel winced as her body pressed against his wounds, but he decided that this was a far sweeter form of pain, and let her hold him. Realizing just how much they had missed each other, he exhaustedly draped his arms around her waist, welcoming the warmth of her body as opposed to the cold steel and blazing metal he had faced earlier.
Buffy nearly sobbed as she held him, her worst fears invalidated. She felt him cringe and pulled back enough to look upon his chest. What she saw made her want to cry and hold him until forever faded away. He'd been tortured, gashes and abrasions covering his torso. She ran a finger delicately over a few wounds, appalled to find that they were scorched. She looked up into Angel's eyes, about to tumble over for what this dear man had endured for her.
"Angel," Buffy said, finding no hint of pain in his eyes. All she saw was unrelenting love, swimming freely in those shimmering pools of chocolate brown, moist with his own tears. "Are you okay?"
Angel merely nodded, feeling faint from all he had undergone. "I've been better," he said, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, "but I've been worse, too."
Buffy smiled slightly, remorseful for what had happened to Angel. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a large, hairless man and behind Angel, a brunette she found to look seemingly familiar. She nodded towards the girl. "Who's that?"
Faith smiled herself, giving a casual wave towards Buffy. "Hey B."
"Faith?" Buffy said, not quite knowing what to say at this new development.
"She came with us," Wesley said, catching up to Buffy. Buffy had almost forgotten running into Wesley and the others as she was walking towards the warehouse. "She's...on parole."
Buffy noticed Wesley's uneasiness as he made his last statement, shooting a glance towards Faith. "Parole. For murder."
Faith noted the subtle disbelieving tone in Buffy's voice, choosing to stay silent. Angel lowered his head, partly due to the sharp aching that battered every part of his body. "Let it go, Buffy," he said, groaning quietly, "She came to help."
"Everyone's come to help, haven't they?" Buffy said, not knowing how to feel about Faith's arrival. One the one hand, Faith had done some terrible things to her. On the other, she'd rescued Angel and seemed to genuinely want to help them. "One big happy reunion."
Gunn, who was the person farthest from the discussion as Cordelia, Riley, and Wesley were in front of him, noticed something rather peculiar. Mostly the woman with a killer body and an even more deadly glow enveloping her hands. "Let me guess," he spoke up, "That's the bad guy...er, girl."
Tabitha was livid, not at all amused by the brunette Slayer's antics. She was about to send a bolt through her chest, when everyone looked towards her, including someone she didn't expect to be there.
"Darien?" Tabitha said, not quite comprehending the situation. "What are you doing, honey?"
"Foul demon," Darien said, clenching his teeth, "don't you address me affectionately. You took my Kathleen away from me."
Tabitha just shrugged, smirking. "Duh. God, it only took you close to a millennium to figure it out."
"How could you?" Darien said, boiling. His emotions diverted his attention from his weapon and his grasp loosened on it. Tabitha spotted it, and knew that he wouldn't dare use such a primitive weapon on her unless he had properly prepared it. She sneered at him.
"It was easy. Like this." With those words, Tabitha lifted her hand and expelled a green ball of energy from her palm, striking Darien square in his chest with a tremendous explosion. His body sailed backwards, thudding on the asphalt brutally as his bow splintered into pieces beside him. Tabitha showed no interest in his welfare. "Any other stupid questions?" she asked, leering at Buffy.
Buffy didn't look back at the others, speaking in a whisper through gritted teeth. "Riley, go. Set the charges. Take Gunn with you."
Riley nodded at the hushed command, running off into a nearby alley with Gunn, searching for an alternative way in. As they left, Buffy stared at Tabitha icily as the witch scorned her with a smile.
"So, Slayer," Tabitha said, taking small steps towards her, "come to give me your unborn child? So thoughtful of you. You really shouldn't have."
Buffy narrowed her eyes, speaking firmly. "You're not touching my baby."
"Why not?" Tabitha scoffed, indicating Angel with a nod. "Touched that one, didn't I?"
"And that you'll pay for." Buffy stated, an audacious tone that was full of disrespectful steadiness.
"He's only a little worse for wear," Tabitha went on, "nothing like what little girl inside of you is going to feel." Tabitha noticed Buffy's face grow meeker, and smiled. "I ruin the surprise, Slayer? I see distress all around you."
"That's not distress," Buffy said, steeling herself. Now she knew. She was having a daughter. She had to make the world safe for her. "That's disappointment. Disappointment that I won't be able to see you suffer when you die."
"Is that a fact?" Tabitha said, her voice quieter. She may have made a mistake by goading the Slayer on. She thought to distract her, but she may have just given Buffy the competitive edge she needed. "You could always give yourself up. Because, whatever your friends went off to do? They'll find that I'm just full of surprises."
-----
Riley and Gunn ran through the warehouse, darting through various passageways at a brisk pace. Riley held his blueprint, trying with some difficulty to read it as they went along. "We have to place charges in this center facility," Riley said, indicating the spot with his finger. "There's about three thousand pounds of high grade propane in there. Add a few dozen packs of C4, and boom! No more Apocalypse."
Gunn looked down at the paper as he ran. "According to the plan, it should be right..." He turned the corner, stopping in his tracks. "...here."
In the room, stewing about, were dozen of adolescent vampires in full game face, ready to feed. What seemed like hundreds of golden eyes looked upon them, pulsating with demonic hunger. Slowly, they began advancing towards them.
"Oh God." Gunn said, his eyes wide as he took a stake from inside of his jacket.
"How many are there?" Riley asked, contemplating at what Gunn thought to be the wrong time to be contemplating.
Gunn took a quick scan of them, shifting his eyes rapidly over the mass of leeches. "Thirty, at the most. That's a lot of kiddie vamps. What do we do?"
"Running comes to mind." Riley said, turning for the door. Only, a throng of vampires had accumulated behind them as well.
"Okay," Gunn said, looking at his stake with a look in inadequacy. "Thirty more. What do we do now?"
"Again, running comes to mind." Riley said, an unsure look in his eyes as both gatherings pressed forward to get at their self-delivered morsels. "But, not an option right now. Going to have to fight them off."
"Using what?" Gunn said, lowering his arm as well as the stake. "Toothpicks?"
"If all else fails." Riley said, unzipping the black Kevlar vest that he wore and reaching inside. "Until then," he continued, pulling out five hand grenades, "we use these."
"You had grenades and you wanted to run?" Gunn asked, rolling his eyes. "God. White people." Gunn took a grenade for himself, pulling the pin. "See, that's why you don't live in L.A." He threw the explosive into the crowd, the blast dusting half of them instantly in a rain of fire and ash.
-----
"Come to slay me, have you Buffy?" Tabitha said, ridiculing Buffy by making a mimed gesture of staking a vampire.
Buffy shrugged and nodded. "That was the general idea."
"You want me?" Tabitha said, through with petty quips. "Come and get me."
Buffy's body tensed, her senses tuned to the witch's every movement, no matter how slight. Buffy sprinted, leaped onto a dumpster with expert skill and flipped over Tabitha's head, landing a drop kick that cracked the back of Tabitha's skull. Tabitha was driven forward, lost her balance, and fell to the street, angry that the Slayer had actually caused her pain.
Buffy looked over at Wesley. "Go to my house and take them with you. The spells are liable to exert Tara and she's going to need the extra assistance."
Wesley nodded and started off, Fred and Cordelia in his wake. Angel watched them disappear into the night and shot a glance back at Buffy. "What about you?"
Buffy looked down at the witch, who hadn't yet recovered. "I'll be fine. Just go. Hurry."
Wesley had gotten to the end of the street when he halted, looking behind him at the two women. "Wait. Where's Angel and Faith?"
-----
Angel had gone to Darien's side, kneeling by the fallen sorcerer. Blood flowed freely from his mouth and nose, and, from what Angel could tell, the injuries were internal and severe. Darien didn't have long. He looked up at Angel as he knelt by him, struggling to speak past the blood collecting in his mouth.
"Don't try to talk." Angel said, unsure on how to, if he could, treat Darien's wounds. Any attempt to save his life would probably be in vain. Darien grasped Angel's hand tightly, obviously in excruciating pain.
"You," he said, his breathing gurgled by blood, the fluid halting his speech, "were granted a soul. You...you can redeem yourself. Let me...redeem...my wrongs." Darien winced, groaning loudly as his internal organs were punctured by bone fragments in his chest. "You...told me...I had a chance...to...right them all." Darien reached a bloody hand inside of his tunic, removing a broadsword. The blade was but three feet in length, though elaborately crafted. It gleamed in the moonlight, casting a reflection of light upon Angel's eyes, as if some sort of omen.
"The sword," Darien continued, feeling his life slip away, "is enchanted...same as the bolts. Even if she...becomes immortal...the full-fledged effects won't occur until...the demon...has...been fully birthed." Darien nodded as he saw Angel understood. "Once that happens, it's...too late. But...you have a chance. Drive this...into...her heart...vanquish her."
Angel took the sword deftly in his hand, looking upon the man not as an enemy, but a victim of the evil that permeated the earth everyday. "May you..." Darien went on, "...atone...for...your sins......Angel..."
Darien's heart ceased, his breathing finally stilling as his body went limp. Angel touched his fingers to Darien's eyes, respectfully closing them. He regarded the former warlock with newfound admiration. "Kathleen would have been proud of you." he said quietly, standing. Enough blood had been shed, enough lives had been lost. It had to end now.
-----
Buffy threw a fierce punch, her arm nearly whistling as it cut the air. Tabitha moved so quickly that Buffy couldn't counter. She dropped down beneath the arc of Buffy's attack and the punch passed above her head, allowing her to kick out at Buffy's stomach. The Slayer staggered backward as the foot caught her gut, but she regained her balance enough to avoid the witch's follow-up punch. Buffy launched a high kick that caught Tabitha's chin and rocked her back.
As she was falling, Tabitha yelled out words in some long forgotten language, discharging a purplish wave from her hands that hit Buffy head on. The amethyst ripple of energy enclosed around Buffy, trapping her in mystical power. Buffy felt a sudden pain burst through her stomach like a jagged blade, and knew it to be her child. Tabitha had caught her.
"Too little, too late, Slayer." Tabitha said scornfully as Buffy cried out in agony. "Have you chosen a name for your baby? Because you should know what to call your Master once he comes to put you in vast torment." Tabitha narrowed her eyes, her pupils dilating as she raised her arms for the incantation. "I invoke thee, Alhtaca! Claim this unborn child for your own! Use it's soul! Arise! Arise, and grant me my own wish of an endless existence! Perpetual life in your service! Arise! Arise!!!"
-----
Wesley was rifling through his duffel bag when Tara called to him. "Did you bring everything?" she asked, lighting a red candle to begin the necessary spell. Wesley had arrived at the Summers' residence with Cordelia and Fred some time ago, yet there was no word from Angel or either of the Slayers.
"I should have all these ingredients, yes." Wesley said, looking down at the list Tara had provided for him. He collected a few vials and bottles, leaving his bag on the kitchen table as he entered the living room, providing Tara with the materials he had gathered. "Fred is going online to see if anyone's reported a halting in the Earth's age reduction."
Tara nodded, setting a few herbs around the wick of the candle. Fred came downstairs in a hurried manner, having hooked her laptop up in Dawn's room. She brimmed with excitement, tapping Wesley on the shoulder. "It stopped!"
"So," Xander said, smacking Anya's hand away from a vial of blue viscous liquid, "we're good now, right?"
"Yeah," Tara said, "now all we have to do is turn the time back to it's rightful position. It may be Buffy's only hope. Tabitha won't want to become immortal as an old hag."
"So what are we waiting for?" Dawn said.
"I agree with the Itty Bitty Summers," Xander said, "no time like the present to stop the world from being destroyed. Because hey, the future? Too late."
-----
"Can you feel it, Slayer?" Tabitha mocked, circling the energy dome that contained Buffy. "The demon child inside of you, the spawn of pure evil. The seed is boiling, and it's going to burst out. You know what? I think I'll let you live." Tabitha tapped on the dome, teasing Buffy, who thrashed about in misery. "After he rips through your very soul, not to mention your body, to come to this world, I want you to witness the new beginning. I want you to see what your little daughter does to the world and people you love so very much. She'll throw the entire world into endless black, and I'll be there to watch it all. Hell, I'll be participating."
Buffy's screams were muffled by the field that contained her, not that Tabitha noticed. "I wanted to be immortal for dear Angelus, but since that plan's out the window, I guess I'll have to settle for an omnipotent demon. A girl's got to have her standards." Tabitha smiled deviously as she watched Buffy writhing and crying out for relief, for Angel. "Don't worry, Slayer. It'll be all over soon. Just five more minutes, and you'll be watching the new Creation."
-----
Gunn dove behind a nearby crate as an explosion shook the building, Riley falling beside him. The damn vampires were agile due to their age, and it was like shooting ants with a pellet gun.
"How many grenades do you have left?" Gunn asked, readying his stake and preparing to hand Riley one of his own.
Riley wiped the powdery remains of those he had dusted off his brow, accepting the stake just in case. "Five. How many vampires?"
Gunn peered over the top of the crate, then sat down again quickly, blinking. "Five."
Riley nodded. "No use wasting a grenade on them."
"Right." Gunn said, breaking apart the crate they were taking cover behind to add to their arsenal. They rushed out from the crate, Riley lunging at a vampire and staking it, falling upon dust as he hit the ground. Gunn kicked one away and backhanded another, whirling and staking a third. It exploded into cinders. Riley saw a vampire running as him and threw it over his shoulder, allowing Gunn to plant a piece of crate deep within it's heart. It too vanished into dust. The other two began to run away, but Gunn and Riley flung their remaining stakes at their backs. Luck was with them, and the hearts were punctured. Nothing was left in the room but sixty piles of ash.
"Charges?" Gunn said, nodding towards the propane tank.
"Charges." Riley agreed, walking over to the tank's gauge and placing a rack of twelve squares below it, each square full of high grade C4 explosive. Riley tapped a few buttons on the electronic timer until it read three minutes.
"Wait," Gunn interjected, "the chick said five. Buffy won't have time to come out. Set it for five."
"But the demon-"
"Set it for five." Gunn declared firmly, annoyed.
"I don't want Buffy dead as much as you do," Riley said, "but we have to stop the world from ending. Better a few lives than the entire universe, don't you think?"
Gunn stared at him for a moment, then smacked him upside his head. "Set the damn charges for five minutes!"
Riley sighed and went back to adjusting the timer, waiting until Gunn averted his eyes. Riley set the timer for four and a half minutes. "Four and thirty seconds," he said to himself, "close enough."
-----
"You feel time ticking away?" Tabitha said, unrelenting in her tortuous mockery, to which Buffy wasn't aware. She was too concerned with the evil thing ripping at her insides. Tabitha snickered. "Soon I'll be immortal. And nothing will ever be able to stop me. And once the world is enveloped in eternal hell, I'll be Queen of all I survey. In fact, I'm thinking of making you my little pet Slayer."
As the spell began to take it's course on Buffy, Tabitha was interrupted, being hurled to the floor as an arrow struck her shoulder, a quarter inch from her last wound. She stood furiously, ripping the shaft out. "Why the hell do you feel the compulsion to do that? Stop with the arrows in the chest already!"
Faith slowly stepped out of the shadows in front of Tabitha. "How do you feel about a dagger?" she retorted, dropping the crossbow and wielding the blade into the light.
Tabitha nearly giggled with amusement. "Little girl, I became more powerful than a Slayer one hundred and thirty three years ago." She took small, measured steps towards Faith. "In fact, I've actually killed one before. But two in one night, now that'll be something."
Faith smiled in mock sweetness, then brought her arm up swiftly, bringing the blade down into Tabitha's left eye with remarkable velocity. Blood spurted forth from the wound, gushing far-reaching fountains of red as Tabitha doubled over in pain, clutching the handle of the dagger. With great difficulty, she yanked it out of her skull, tearing the eye and various portions of flesh out with it. She screamed hysterically, seizing her wound as more blood flowed out.
"My eye!" Tabitha shrieked, stumbling to the table. "You bitch! I can't be immortal like this!" She began hyperventilating, wheezing as she sketched a few symbols in the air with her finger. Buffy's cries slowly died as the ritual was paused, Tabitha reaching for a vial of pulsing white liquid. She poured it over her injury, waiting. Her gasping gradually calmed, veins, muscle, and tissue reforming in the eye socket until the ocular was fully repaired, not a hint of the vicious attack left.
Tabitha drew a few marks in the air once more, and Buffy screamed as the ceremony continued. Tabitha glowered at Faith's direction, only she wasn't there. "You put a delay to my dream. Not smart." She scanned her surroundings, trying to locate the rogue Slayer. "Where'd you go? Come on out, wherever you are. I won't hurt you...much." Tabitha paused, then shrugged. "Okay, so I will, but is that any reason to hide? I mean, are you scared of little old me?"
That brought Faith out of hiding. She leapt down off a nearby rafter, smirking. "Not really."
"Oh, but you should be." Tabitha said, glaring. "In about ten seconds, you're going to hear an ear-piercing scream from your friend over there, and that will signal his coming. And once he comes here..." Tabitha's voice trailed off into maniacal laughter as Buffy screamed stridently, a horn emerging from a portal of some sort in her womb, just a fraction of the monster that would annihilate them all. "Just in time." Tabitha pronounced.
Tabitha noted that Faith had a rather arrogant smile on her face. And the smile seemed to be...bigger. Not by much, but enough to make Tabitha look twice. She was looking a little taller. Tabitha looked down at her own body, her eyes wide in denial as her waist began to expand, her flesh wilting away to a mere wrinkled shell of what it had been.
Faith just grinned. "Just in time."
-----
Gunn was running with Riley behind him, seeing the sun starting to rise from a doorway just ahead, when he suddenly stopped, looking over at his associate. His eyes were wide open with awe and exhilarating cheerfulness, but Riley didn't understand why.
"Guy," Gunn said, looking both Riley and himself over to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, "we're ourselves again."
"Were we...anyone else?" Riley asked, confused.
Gunn's face fell. Leave it to this guy to ruin a moment. Gunn smacked Riley upside his head again. "No, we're ourselves. As in, our right ages."
"Oh." Riley said, rubbing the back of his head. "So, we won?"
Gunn looked to the oncoming dawn. "I'm not sure about that. Come on, let's see what English can tell us." Gunn took off out of the door, letting Riley in front of him to show the way to the Summers' home.
-----
Tabitha let out a feral growl, hoarse with her aging. She lifted a decrepit hand, threatening Faith was the prospect of death, a threat that really didn't strike fear in Faith's heart since it came from a woman who looked like her great grandmother. That is, if her great grandmother had been a crack addict.
"You did this to me!" Tabitha lashed, moving towards Faith as fast as her dilapidated legs could carry her. "You've spoiled everything for me! I'll kill you!" She swept her hand towards Faith, but instead of the majestic display of magic she expected, there only came a spark. She had lost her powers. Infuriated, she turned towards Buffy, only to find that a group of teenagers had somehow shattered her barrier and were helping the blonde Slayer up. All had been ruined.
Willow touched the bandage on her head after Tara, Xander, and Anya helped Buffy to her feet. Wesley approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder as Faith ran by to check on her Slayer sister. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Fine," Willow said, smiling softly, "binding spell just took a lot out of me. Nothing a few months in bed won't cure."
"Gunn and the others claimed that they've dispatched the vampires." Wesley said, turning to exit with the rest of the group. "It should be smooth sailing from here on out."
Willow nodded and left the warehouse with the others, but she didn't notice Tabitha taking a doll out of her tunic. It was the first effigy Willow had used on her. Steadily, she began to unravel the ribbon around the figurine's body. As it fell to the floor, Tabitha giggled insanely, lifting her hands and chanting in ancient dialect, a purplish ball of energy forming in her grasp. She let it loose towards the door, the pulsing orb soaring towards Buffy.
It crashed into her back, sending her toppling to the street. Tabitha's diabolical laughter had yet to cease as the demon she had worked so hard to loose upon the earth began materializing from Buffy's womb once more. Willow and the others looked on helplessly as a massive paw twice the size of Buffy's head jutted out of her stomach, the mystical gateway over Buffy's abdomen widening to accommodate the demon's cumbersome size. All seemed to be lost as the demon reared it's ugly, four-horned head out of Buffy's body, it's red on back eyes looking upon the Scoobies with great contempt.
All of a sudden, Tabitha screamed as if she was experiencing unbearable torment. As the group strained to see what was causing her grief, they were interrupted by the demon's sudden vanishing, as it disappeared in a brilliant flash of temporal energy. As the smoke cleared, Buffy raised her head weakly to see the point of a blade protruding from Tabitha's chest, positioned to destroy her heart.
And gripping the sword behind her, battered but very much an adult, was Angel.
He tore the sword away, Tabitha's lifeless body dropping to it's knees before falling limply upon it's face. Angel let the sword plummet to the ground, his broad shoulders heaving with pain and exertion. Buffy saw that he was still human, and the realization hit her. He was going to stay.
Willow beamed, seeing Angel was the age he was when turned instead of nearly three hundred years old. A smile made it's way onto each and every one of their faces. They had persisted, lasted, and survived. True, they still lived on a Hellmouth, but things would be much more interesting. Angel, Buffy, their child. So much had happened in a week.
They had little time to ponder these things, for Buffy moaned and whimpered as if still injured. As the Scoobies looked down at her, they saw her belly growing at an alarming rate. The baby was aging as well, and Buffy looked as if she was six months pregnant. Willow and Tara stooped to assist her, holding her hands. Willow, who came prepared, took a flask from her pocket. She rolled up Buffy's baby tee a bit, for, being a baby tee, it didn't have far to go over a now-eight-month-pregnant stomach. She sprinkled a few drops on Buffy's abdomen, the beads absorbed instantly into Buffy's skin.
Buffy's groans of pain slowly silenced, and she looked up at Willow questioningly. Willow smiled. "Been working on that since I found out," she said, "takes away the pain. But the baby will be born soon." Willow looked up at Xander, Riley, and Gunn. "You three help her to the car."
The men did as they were told, gently supporting Buffy as they walked over to the automobile. As Buffy laid down in the back seat, her water broke. She cast a worried glance up to Tara, who in turn cast one at Willow. The redhead just nodded reassuringly. "You'll be fine. It'll be a quick birth, and you should even recover rapidly. You'll be back to full Slayer status in no time. Just stay calm."
Buffy hadn't the chance to respond. A colossal explosion decimated the warehouse in seconds, and what wasn't incinerated was sent yards away, charred. The detonation was so immense, it shattered the windows in the car. Buffy and the group could only stare in terror.
For Angel was still inside.
Buffy rasped, trying to breathe after what she just witnessed, her breath taken away by her body's natural yet involuntary reaction to birth the child inside of her. Thoughts flooded her mind. Angel. Their daughter. Their family. Their life. It couldn't have been ended so quickly. Both of them had fought so hard their entire lives, but never so much as tonight. They not only battled for the world, but for each other, only to have their happiness jiggled in front of them teasingly then yanked away to wither in the wind. This couldn't be happening.
The Scoobies stayed with Buffy to comfort her, all except Xander, who went with the staff of Angel Investigations. He knew how much Angel meant to Buffy, and he wouldn't let him die and crush her again. He couldn't stand it. Even he knew those two belonged together, and he'd be damned if he let Fate deal his friend another cruel hand.
Wesley and Gunn feverishly dug at the rubble, trying to clear away enough of the debris to find their comrade. Cordelia and Xander burrowed alongside them, Fred left to chew her nails in worry. Finally, Cordelia noticed a hand extending from the wreckage. She cleared away as much of the ruins as she could from his body, Xander tossing chunks of wood and cement aside. Little by little, the body was exposed. When Cordelia caught sight of it, she gasped, touching her hand to her mouth. Xander's eyes widened at the scene. It was Angel, with one difference.
An iron rod was jutting out of his stomach, blood streaming from the wound and his lips. He gagged and coughed, choking on his own blood, too weak and beaten to lift himself off. He was slowly dying. Cordelia called Wesley and Gunn over to him, each of them stooping to survey the damage.
Angel somehow realized he had people around him, and strained to muster enough energy to lift his head. His eyes met Xander's, and he smiled faintly. "Did she..." Angel said feebly, "...have...the baby?"
Xander nodded, feigning a smile, for as much as he and Angel had never gotten along, he finally distinguished Angel from Angelus, and regretted ever wishing him dead. For it seemed that wish had become a reality.
"It's a girl." Xander said, his voice cracking with emotion. Angel's face lit up, and his smile grew slightly bigger, only to relax into a thin line, his angelic features dimming. And then, he closed his eyes.
----------
Buffy's joy couldn't have been more evident than at that moment. Tears engulfed her face as she saw Angel coming towards her. She was but a few yards away, and broke off into a vigorous sprint to close the gap between them. Her boot heels pounded against the asphalt as she finally reached him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him fervently. Angel winced as her body pressed against his wounds, but he decided that this was a far sweeter form of pain, and let her hold him. Realizing just how much they had missed each other, he exhaustedly draped his arms around her waist, welcoming the warmth of her body as opposed to the cold steel and blazing metal he had faced earlier.
Buffy nearly sobbed as she held him, her worst fears invalidated. She felt him cringe and pulled back enough to look upon his chest. What she saw made her want to cry and hold him until forever faded away. He'd been tortured, gashes and abrasions covering his torso. She ran a finger delicately over a few wounds, appalled to find that they were scorched. She looked up into Angel's eyes, about to tumble over for what this dear man had endured for her.
"Angel," Buffy said, finding no hint of pain in his eyes. All she saw was unrelenting love, swimming freely in those shimmering pools of chocolate brown, moist with his own tears. "Are you okay?"
Angel merely nodded, feeling faint from all he had undergone. "I've been better," he said, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, "but I've been worse, too."
Buffy smiled slightly, remorseful for what had happened to Angel. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a large, hairless man and behind Angel, a brunette she found to look seemingly familiar. She nodded towards the girl. "Who's that?"
Faith smiled herself, giving a casual wave towards Buffy. "Hey B."
"Faith?" Buffy said, not quite knowing what to say at this new development.
"She came with us," Wesley said, catching up to Buffy. Buffy had almost forgotten running into Wesley and the others as she was walking towards the warehouse. "She's...on parole."
Buffy noticed Wesley's uneasiness as he made his last statement, shooting a glance towards Faith. "Parole. For murder."
Faith noted the subtle disbelieving tone in Buffy's voice, choosing to stay silent. Angel lowered his head, partly due to the sharp aching that battered every part of his body. "Let it go, Buffy," he said, groaning quietly, "She came to help."
"Everyone's come to help, haven't they?" Buffy said, not knowing how to feel about Faith's arrival. One the one hand, Faith had done some terrible things to her. On the other, she'd rescued Angel and seemed to genuinely want to help them. "One big happy reunion."
Gunn, who was the person farthest from the discussion as Cordelia, Riley, and Wesley were in front of him, noticed something rather peculiar. Mostly the woman with a killer body and an even more deadly glow enveloping her hands. "Let me guess," he spoke up, "That's the bad guy...er, girl."
Tabitha was livid, not at all amused by the brunette Slayer's antics. She was about to send a bolt through her chest, when everyone looked towards her, including someone she didn't expect to be there.
"Darien?" Tabitha said, not quite comprehending the situation. "What are you doing, honey?"
"Foul demon," Darien said, clenching his teeth, "don't you address me affectionately. You took my Kathleen away from me."
Tabitha just shrugged, smirking. "Duh. God, it only took you close to a millennium to figure it out."
"How could you?" Darien said, boiling. His emotions diverted his attention from his weapon and his grasp loosened on it. Tabitha spotted it, and knew that he wouldn't dare use such a primitive weapon on her unless he had properly prepared it. She sneered at him.
"It was easy. Like this." With those words, Tabitha lifted her hand and expelled a green ball of energy from her palm, striking Darien square in his chest with a tremendous explosion. His body sailed backwards, thudding on the asphalt brutally as his bow splintered into pieces beside him. Tabitha showed no interest in his welfare. "Any other stupid questions?" she asked, leering at Buffy.
Buffy didn't look back at the others, speaking in a whisper through gritted teeth. "Riley, go. Set the charges. Take Gunn with you."
Riley nodded at the hushed command, running off into a nearby alley with Gunn, searching for an alternative way in. As they left, Buffy stared at Tabitha icily as the witch scorned her with a smile.
"So, Slayer," Tabitha said, taking small steps towards her, "come to give me your unborn child? So thoughtful of you. You really shouldn't have."
Buffy narrowed her eyes, speaking firmly. "You're not touching my baby."
"Why not?" Tabitha scoffed, indicating Angel with a nod. "Touched that one, didn't I?"
"And that you'll pay for." Buffy stated, an audacious tone that was full of disrespectful steadiness.
"He's only a little worse for wear," Tabitha went on, "nothing like what little girl inside of you is going to feel." Tabitha noticed Buffy's face grow meeker, and smiled. "I ruin the surprise, Slayer? I see distress all around you."
"That's not distress," Buffy said, steeling herself. Now she knew. She was having a daughter. She had to make the world safe for her. "That's disappointment. Disappointment that I won't be able to see you suffer when you die."
"Is that a fact?" Tabitha said, her voice quieter. She may have made a mistake by goading the Slayer on. She thought to distract her, but she may have just given Buffy the competitive edge she needed. "You could always give yourself up. Because, whatever your friends went off to do? They'll find that I'm just full of surprises."
-----
Riley and Gunn ran through the warehouse, darting through various passageways at a brisk pace. Riley held his blueprint, trying with some difficulty to read it as they went along. "We have to place charges in this center facility," Riley said, indicating the spot with his finger. "There's about three thousand pounds of high grade propane in there. Add a few dozen packs of C4, and boom! No more Apocalypse."
Gunn looked down at the paper as he ran. "According to the plan, it should be right..." He turned the corner, stopping in his tracks. "...here."
In the room, stewing about, were dozen of adolescent vampires in full game face, ready to feed. What seemed like hundreds of golden eyes looked upon them, pulsating with demonic hunger. Slowly, they began advancing towards them.
"Oh God." Gunn said, his eyes wide as he took a stake from inside of his jacket.
"How many are there?" Riley asked, contemplating at what Gunn thought to be the wrong time to be contemplating.
Gunn took a quick scan of them, shifting his eyes rapidly over the mass of leeches. "Thirty, at the most. That's a lot of kiddie vamps. What do we do?"
"Running comes to mind." Riley said, turning for the door. Only, a throng of vampires had accumulated behind them as well.
"Okay," Gunn said, looking at his stake with a look in inadequacy. "Thirty more. What do we do now?"
"Again, running comes to mind." Riley said, an unsure look in his eyes as both gatherings pressed forward to get at their self-delivered morsels. "But, not an option right now. Going to have to fight them off."
"Using what?" Gunn said, lowering his arm as well as the stake. "Toothpicks?"
"If all else fails." Riley said, unzipping the black Kevlar vest that he wore and reaching inside. "Until then," he continued, pulling out five hand grenades, "we use these."
"You had grenades and you wanted to run?" Gunn asked, rolling his eyes. "God. White people." Gunn took a grenade for himself, pulling the pin. "See, that's why you don't live in L.A." He threw the explosive into the crowd, the blast dusting half of them instantly in a rain of fire and ash.
-----
"Come to slay me, have you Buffy?" Tabitha said, ridiculing Buffy by making a mimed gesture of staking a vampire.
Buffy shrugged and nodded. "That was the general idea."
"You want me?" Tabitha said, through with petty quips. "Come and get me."
Buffy's body tensed, her senses tuned to the witch's every movement, no matter how slight. Buffy sprinted, leaped onto a dumpster with expert skill and flipped over Tabitha's head, landing a drop kick that cracked the back of Tabitha's skull. Tabitha was driven forward, lost her balance, and fell to the street, angry that the Slayer had actually caused her pain.
Buffy looked over at Wesley. "Go to my house and take them with you. The spells are liable to exert Tara and she's going to need the extra assistance."
Wesley nodded and started off, Fred and Cordelia in his wake. Angel watched them disappear into the night and shot a glance back at Buffy. "What about you?"
Buffy looked down at the witch, who hadn't yet recovered. "I'll be fine. Just go. Hurry."
Wesley had gotten to the end of the street when he halted, looking behind him at the two women. "Wait. Where's Angel and Faith?"
-----
Angel had gone to Darien's side, kneeling by the fallen sorcerer. Blood flowed freely from his mouth and nose, and, from what Angel could tell, the injuries were internal and severe. Darien didn't have long. He looked up at Angel as he knelt by him, struggling to speak past the blood collecting in his mouth.
"Don't try to talk." Angel said, unsure on how to, if he could, treat Darien's wounds. Any attempt to save his life would probably be in vain. Darien grasped Angel's hand tightly, obviously in excruciating pain.
"You," he said, his breathing gurgled by blood, the fluid halting his speech, "were granted a soul. You...you can redeem yourself. Let me...redeem...my wrongs." Darien winced, groaning loudly as his internal organs were punctured by bone fragments in his chest. "You...told me...I had a chance...to...right them all." Darien reached a bloody hand inside of his tunic, removing a broadsword. The blade was but three feet in length, though elaborately crafted. It gleamed in the moonlight, casting a reflection of light upon Angel's eyes, as if some sort of omen.
"The sword," Darien continued, feeling his life slip away, "is enchanted...same as the bolts. Even if she...becomes immortal...the full-fledged effects won't occur until...the demon...has...been fully birthed." Darien nodded as he saw Angel understood. "Once that happens, it's...too late. But...you have a chance. Drive this...into...her heart...vanquish her."
Angel took the sword deftly in his hand, looking upon the man not as an enemy, but a victim of the evil that permeated the earth everyday. "May you..." Darien went on, "...atone...for...your sins......Angel..."
Darien's heart ceased, his breathing finally stilling as his body went limp. Angel touched his fingers to Darien's eyes, respectfully closing them. He regarded the former warlock with newfound admiration. "Kathleen would have been proud of you." he said quietly, standing. Enough blood had been shed, enough lives had been lost. It had to end now.
-----
Buffy threw a fierce punch, her arm nearly whistling as it cut the air. Tabitha moved so quickly that Buffy couldn't counter. She dropped down beneath the arc of Buffy's attack and the punch passed above her head, allowing her to kick out at Buffy's stomach. The Slayer staggered backward as the foot caught her gut, but she regained her balance enough to avoid the witch's follow-up punch. Buffy launched a high kick that caught Tabitha's chin and rocked her back.
As she was falling, Tabitha yelled out words in some long forgotten language, discharging a purplish wave from her hands that hit Buffy head on. The amethyst ripple of energy enclosed around Buffy, trapping her in mystical power. Buffy felt a sudden pain burst through her stomach like a jagged blade, and knew it to be her child. Tabitha had caught her.
"Too little, too late, Slayer." Tabitha said scornfully as Buffy cried out in agony. "Have you chosen a name for your baby? Because you should know what to call your Master once he comes to put you in vast torment." Tabitha narrowed her eyes, her pupils dilating as she raised her arms for the incantation. "I invoke thee, Alhtaca! Claim this unborn child for your own! Use it's soul! Arise! Arise, and grant me my own wish of an endless existence! Perpetual life in your service! Arise! Arise!!!"
-----
Wesley was rifling through his duffel bag when Tara called to him. "Did you bring everything?" she asked, lighting a red candle to begin the necessary spell. Wesley had arrived at the Summers' residence with Cordelia and Fred some time ago, yet there was no word from Angel or either of the Slayers.
"I should have all these ingredients, yes." Wesley said, looking down at the list Tara had provided for him. He collected a few vials and bottles, leaving his bag on the kitchen table as he entered the living room, providing Tara with the materials he had gathered. "Fred is going online to see if anyone's reported a halting in the Earth's age reduction."
Tara nodded, setting a few herbs around the wick of the candle. Fred came downstairs in a hurried manner, having hooked her laptop up in Dawn's room. She brimmed with excitement, tapping Wesley on the shoulder. "It stopped!"
"So," Xander said, smacking Anya's hand away from a vial of blue viscous liquid, "we're good now, right?"
"Yeah," Tara said, "now all we have to do is turn the time back to it's rightful position. It may be Buffy's only hope. Tabitha won't want to become immortal as an old hag."
"So what are we waiting for?" Dawn said.
"I agree with the Itty Bitty Summers," Xander said, "no time like the present to stop the world from being destroyed. Because hey, the future? Too late."
-----
"Can you feel it, Slayer?" Tabitha mocked, circling the energy dome that contained Buffy. "The demon child inside of you, the spawn of pure evil. The seed is boiling, and it's going to burst out. You know what? I think I'll let you live." Tabitha tapped on the dome, teasing Buffy, who thrashed about in misery. "After he rips through your very soul, not to mention your body, to come to this world, I want you to witness the new beginning. I want you to see what your little daughter does to the world and people you love so very much. She'll throw the entire world into endless black, and I'll be there to watch it all. Hell, I'll be participating."
Buffy's screams were muffled by the field that contained her, not that Tabitha noticed. "I wanted to be immortal for dear Angelus, but since that plan's out the window, I guess I'll have to settle for an omnipotent demon. A girl's got to have her standards." Tabitha smiled deviously as she watched Buffy writhing and crying out for relief, for Angel. "Don't worry, Slayer. It'll be all over soon. Just five more minutes, and you'll be watching the new Creation."
-----
Gunn dove behind a nearby crate as an explosion shook the building, Riley falling beside him. The damn vampires were agile due to their age, and it was like shooting ants with a pellet gun.
"How many grenades do you have left?" Gunn asked, readying his stake and preparing to hand Riley one of his own.
Riley wiped the powdery remains of those he had dusted off his brow, accepting the stake just in case. "Five. How many vampires?"
Gunn peered over the top of the crate, then sat down again quickly, blinking. "Five."
Riley nodded. "No use wasting a grenade on them."
"Right." Gunn said, breaking apart the crate they were taking cover behind to add to their arsenal. They rushed out from the crate, Riley lunging at a vampire and staking it, falling upon dust as he hit the ground. Gunn kicked one away and backhanded another, whirling and staking a third. It exploded into cinders. Riley saw a vampire running as him and threw it over his shoulder, allowing Gunn to plant a piece of crate deep within it's heart. It too vanished into dust. The other two began to run away, but Gunn and Riley flung their remaining stakes at their backs. Luck was with them, and the hearts were punctured. Nothing was left in the room but sixty piles of ash.
"Charges?" Gunn said, nodding towards the propane tank.
"Charges." Riley agreed, walking over to the tank's gauge and placing a rack of twelve squares below it, each square full of high grade C4 explosive. Riley tapped a few buttons on the electronic timer until it read three minutes.
"Wait," Gunn interjected, "the chick said five. Buffy won't have time to come out. Set it for five."
"But the demon-"
"Set it for five." Gunn declared firmly, annoyed.
"I don't want Buffy dead as much as you do," Riley said, "but we have to stop the world from ending. Better a few lives than the entire universe, don't you think?"
Gunn stared at him for a moment, then smacked him upside his head. "Set the damn charges for five minutes!"
Riley sighed and went back to adjusting the timer, waiting until Gunn averted his eyes. Riley set the timer for four and a half minutes. "Four and thirty seconds," he said to himself, "close enough."
-----
"You feel time ticking away?" Tabitha said, unrelenting in her tortuous mockery, to which Buffy wasn't aware. She was too concerned with the evil thing ripping at her insides. Tabitha snickered. "Soon I'll be immortal. And nothing will ever be able to stop me. And once the world is enveloped in eternal hell, I'll be Queen of all I survey. In fact, I'm thinking of making you my little pet Slayer."
As the spell began to take it's course on Buffy, Tabitha was interrupted, being hurled to the floor as an arrow struck her shoulder, a quarter inch from her last wound. She stood furiously, ripping the shaft out. "Why the hell do you feel the compulsion to do that? Stop with the arrows in the chest already!"
Faith slowly stepped out of the shadows in front of Tabitha. "How do you feel about a dagger?" she retorted, dropping the crossbow and wielding the blade into the light.
Tabitha nearly giggled with amusement. "Little girl, I became more powerful than a Slayer one hundred and thirty three years ago." She took small, measured steps towards Faith. "In fact, I've actually killed one before. But two in one night, now that'll be something."
Faith smiled in mock sweetness, then brought her arm up swiftly, bringing the blade down into Tabitha's left eye with remarkable velocity. Blood spurted forth from the wound, gushing far-reaching fountains of red as Tabitha doubled over in pain, clutching the handle of the dagger. With great difficulty, she yanked it out of her skull, tearing the eye and various portions of flesh out with it. She screamed hysterically, seizing her wound as more blood flowed out.
"My eye!" Tabitha shrieked, stumbling to the table. "You bitch! I can't be immortal like this!" She began hyperventilating, wheezing as she sketched a few symbols in the air with her finger. Buffy's cries slowly died as the ritual was paused, Tabitha reaching for a vial of pulsing white liquid. She poured it over her injury, waiting. Her gasping gradually calmed, veins, muscle, and tissue reforming in the eye socket until the ocular was fully repaired, not a hint of the vicious attack left.
Tabitha drew a few marks in the air once more, and Buffy screamed as the ceremony continued. Tabitha glowered at Faith's direction, only she wasn't there. "You put a delay to my dream. Not smart." She scanned her surroundings, trying to locate the rogue Slayer. "Where'd you go? Come on out, wherever you are. I won't hurt you...much." Tabitha paused, then shrugged. "Okay, so I will, but is that any reason to hide? I mean, are you scared of little old me?"
That brought Faith out of hiding. She leapt down off a nearby rafter, smirking. "Not really."
"Oh, but you should be." Tabitha said, glaring. "In about ten seconds, you're going to hear an ear-piercing scream from your friend over there, and that will signal his coming. And once he comes here..." Tabitha's voice trailed off into maniacal laughter as Buffy screamed stridently, a horn emerging from a portal of some sort in her womb, just a fraction of the monster that would annihilate them all. "Just in time." Tabitha pronounced.
Tabitha noted that Faith had a rather arrogant smile on her face. And the smile seemed to be...bigger. Not by much, but enough to make Tabitha look twice. She was looking a little taller. Tabitha looked down at her own body, her eyes wide in denial as her waist began to expand, her flesh wilting away to a mere wrinkled shell of what it had been.
Faith just grinned. "Just in time."
-----
Gunn was running with Riley behind him, seeing the sun starting to rise from a doorway just ahead, when he suddenly stopped, looking over at his associate. His eyes were wide open with awe and exhilarating cheerfulness, but Riley didn't understand why.
"Guy," Gunn said, looking both Riley and himself over to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, "we're ourselves again."
"Were we...anyone else?" Riley asked, confused.
Gunn's face fell. Leave it to this guy to ruin a moment. Gunn smacked Riley upside his head again. "No, we're ourselves. As in, our right ages."
"Oh." Riley said, rubbing the back of his head. "So, we won?"
Gunn looked to the oncoming dawn. "I'm not sure about that. Come on, let's see what English can tell us." Gunn took off out of the door, letting Riley in front of him to show the way to the Summers' home.
-----
Tabitha let out a feral growl, hoarse with her aging. She lifted a decrepit hand, threatening Faith was the prospect of death, a threat that really didn't strike fear in Faith's heart since it came from a woman who looked like her great grandmother. That is, if her great grandmother had been a crack addict.
"You did this to me!" Tabitha lashed, moving towards Faith as fast as her dilapidated legs could carry her. "You've spoiled everything for me! I'll kill you!" She swept her hand towards Faith, but instead of the majestic display of magic she expected, there only came a spark. She had lost her powers. Infuriated, she turned towards Buffy, only to find that a group of teenagers had somehow shattered her barrier and were helping the blonde Slayer up. All had been ruined.
Willow touched the bandage on her head after Tara, Xander, and Anya helped Buffy to her feet. Wesley approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder as Faith ran by to check on her Slayer sister. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Fine," Willow said, smiling softly, "binding spell just took a lot out of me. Nothing a few months in bed won't cure."
"Gunn and the others claimed that they've dispatched the vampires." Wesley said, turning to exit with the rest of the group. "It should be smooth sailing from here on out."
Willow nodded and left the warehouse with the others, but she didn't notice Tabitha taking a doll out of her tunic. It was the first effigy Willow had used on her. Steadily, she began to unravel the ribbon around the figurine's body. As it fell to the floor, Tabitha giggled insanely, lifting her hands and chanting in ancient dialect, a purplish ball of energy forming in her grasp. She let it loose towards the door, the pulsing orb soaring towards Buffy.
It crashed into her back, sending her toppling to the street. Tabitha's diabolical laughter had yet to cease as the demon she had worked so hard to loose upon the earth began materializing from Buffy's womb once more. Willow and the others looked on helplessly as a massive paw twice the size of Buffy's head jutted out of her stomach, the mystical gateway over Buffy's abdomen widening to accommodate the demon's cumbersome size. All seemed to be lost as the demon reared it's ugly, four-horned head out of Buffy's body, it's red on back eyes looking upon the Scoobies with great contempt.
All of a sudden, Tabitha screamed as if she was experiencing unbearable torment. As the group strained to see what was causing her grief, they were interrupted by the demon's sudden vanishing, as it disappeared in a brilliant flash of temporal energy. As the smoke cleared, Buffy raised her head weakly to see the point of a blade protruding from Tabitha's chest, positioned to destroy her heart.
And gripping the sword behind her, battered but very much an adult, was Angel.
He tore the sword away, Tabitha's lifeless body dropping to it's knees before falling limply upon it's face. Angel let the sword plummet to the ground, his broad shoulders heaving with pain and exertion. Buffy saw that he was still human, and the realization hit her. He was going to stay.
Willow beamed, seeing Angel was the age he was when turned instead of nearly three hundred years old. A smile made it's way onto each and every one of their faces. They had persisted, lasted, and survived. True, they still lived on a Hellmouth, but things would be much more interesting. Angel, Buffy, their child. So much had happened in a week.
They had little time to ponder these things, for Buffy moaned and whimpered as if still injured. As the Scoobies looked down at her, they saw her belly growing at an alarming rate. The baby was aging as well, and Buffy looked as if she was six months pregnant. Willow and Tara stooped to assist her, holding her hands. Willow, who came prepared, took a flask from her pocket. She rolled up Buffy's baby tee a bit, for, being a baby tee, it didn't have far to go over a now-eight-month-pregnant stomach. She sprinkled a few drops on Buffy's abdomen, the beads absorbed instantly into Buffy's skin.
Buffy's groans of pain slowly silenced, and she looked up at Willow questioningly. Willow smiled. "Been working on that since I found out," she said, "takes away the pain. But the baby will be born soon." Willow looked up at Xander, Riley, and Gunn. "You three help her to the car."
The men did as they were told, gently supporting Buffy as they walked over to the automobile. As Buffy laid down in the back seat, her water broke. She cast a worried glance up to Tara, who in turn cast one at Willow. The redhead just nodded reassuringly. "You'll be fine. It'll be a quick birth, and you should even recover rapidly. You'll be back to full Slayer status in no time. Just stay calm."
Buffy hadn't the chance to respond. A colossal explosion decimated the warehouse in seconds, and what wasn't incinerated was sent yards away, charred. The detonation was so immense, it shattered the windows in the car. Buffy and the group could only stare in terror.
For Angel was still inside.
Buffy rasped, trying to breathe after what she just witnessed, her breath taken away by her body's natural yet involuntary reaction to birth the child inside of her. Thoughts flooded her mind. Angel. Their daughter. Their family. Their life. It couldn't have been ended so quickly. Both of them had fought so hard their entire lives, but never so much as tonight. They not only battled for the world, but for each other, only to have their happiness jiggled in front of them teasingly then yanked away to wither in the wind. This couldn't be happening.
The Scoobies stayed with Buffy to comfort her, all except Xander, who went with the staff of Angel Investigations. He knew how much Angel meant to Buffy, and he wouldn't let him die and crush her again. He couldn't stand it. Even he knew those two belonged together, and he'd be damned if he let Fate deal his friend another cruel hand.
Wesley and Gunn feverishly dug at the rubble, trying to clear away enough of the debris to find their comrade. Cordelia and Xander burrowed alongside them, Fred left to chew her nails in worry. Finally, Cordelia noticed a hand extending from the wreckage. She cleared away as much of the ruins as she could from his body, Xander tossing chunks of wood and cement aside. Little by little, the body was exposed. When Cordelia caught sight of it, she gasped, touching her hand to her mouth. Xander's eyes widened at the scene. It was Angel, with one difference.
An iron rod was jutting out of his stomach, blood streaming from the wound and his lips. He gagged and coughed, choking on his own blood, too weak and beaten to lift himself off. He was slowly dying. Cordelia called Wesley and Gunn over to him, each of them stooping to survey the damage.
Angel somehow realized he had people around him, and strained to muster enough energy to lift his head. His eyes met Xander's, and he smiled faintly. "Did she..." Angel said feebly, "...have...the baby?"
Xander nodded, feigning a smile, for as much as he and Angel had never gotten along, he finally distinguished Angel from Angelus, and regretted ever wishing him dead. For it seemed that wish had become a reality.
"It's a girl." Xander said, his voice cracking with emotion. Angel's face lit up, and his smile grew slightly bigger, only to relax into a thin line, his angelic features dimming. And then, he closed his eyes.
----------
