The Meydum Pyramid-Faiyum Oasis, Egypt
Through the veil of darkness, three figures moved. The clank of shovels
and tools was the only sound that broke the quiet of the night. The moon
shone overhead, nearly full, illuminating the desert landscape. A large
pyramid loomed, oddly shapen, as if the ancient builders hadn't a clue what
they were doing when it was constructed. The figures paused, looking over
the area, hushed, waiting.
One of the figures finally spoke.
"It is time," he said, pointing ahead. The group hurried forward,
dumping their packs in the sand. The other two broke out the shovels and
began to dig, throwing sand aside at inhuman speeds. Finally, there came the
sound of metal on metal, and the first man bent, brushing sand off a small,
hematite-coloured box.
"Ahh..." he whispered, "Revenant. Soon, Kahamet, you shall rise. Out of
the ashes of the Cleansing you shall be reborn."
He pulled the box from the earth, and opened it slowly. A pile of grayish
ashes lay in the bottom, glistening in the moonlight. The man smiled.
"Yes. The bridge will be destroyed. And darkness will reign till the end
of days...."
///
"Oh dear..." Giles muttered, looking up from a dusty tome he was studying,
the others -- including Angel, Cordelia and Wesley -- wincing at hearing those
words from the man.
He tapped the book excitedly with his finger.
"I've found it! The prophecy. It's right here..." he continued, reading
from the book. " 'The child of light'...Which we have established as being
a reference to Buffy...'shall be the consecrator of the bridge'...." The
watcher frowned. He slammed the book shut. "More riddles." He sighed and
removed his glasses, leaning back in his chair.
It had been two days since the Cleansing, and they knew they were running
out of time. The Scoobies plus the Fang Gang had spent hours researching,
and had found nothing.
"But I don't understand." Buffy broke the silence. "If I am this Child of
Light, then who am I supposed to give my soul to?"
"I don't..." Giles started, only to be interrupted by Cordy.
"The Bridge..." she said softly, and everyone turned to look at her. Her
eyes were glazed, she looked as if she were asleep.
"Cordy?" Angel said, worry thick in his voice. He moved to her side, and
took her hand. "What about the Bridge?"
"The Bridge....The shade of gray," the seer continued, her head swaying
slightly.
Buffy frowned, watching the entranced girl. "I'm supposed to give my
soul to a BRIDGE?" she asked skeptically.
"The Darkness and the Light..." Cordy whispered. "The in-between. Evil
and Good. The Opposites must be joined...."
Spike frowned, listening. Even after puzzling out Drusilla's banter for
over a hundred years, he still couldn't understand what the girl meant.
The seer's eyes suddenly flashed, and turned on Spike and Buffy. Her voice
rose, taking on a tone none of them knew she possessed.
"The Bridge will be consecrated in the Child's Blood. The Binding of one
soul into two." She closed her eyes. "The Bridge will taste the blood of the
Child...." She trailed off, and slumped into Angel's arms, asleep.
Dead silence filled the room for more than a minute.
Giles was the first to speak.
"The Bridge will taste...The Bridge is a person, no doubt. Most likely one
of us...." he trailed off. "The Darkness and the Light, Good and Evil..."
Buffy frowned, and looked to Spike.
"The Opposites must be joined..." she continued for Giles, her eyes
widening a little.
Giles looked at her, then looked at Spike.
"Oh dear..." he muttered once again.
Spike blinked, looking between the two of them.
"What?"
Giles sighed, and replaced his glasses firmly on his nose, before meeting
Spike's eyes.
"You, Spike. You are the Bridge."
///
"So, you're saying that Spike has to FEED from Buffy? Anyone else seeing the
wrong here?" Xander raged, slamming his chair back under the table as he
rose.
"Xander, I really don't think..." Giles began.
"No, he's right." Angel said. "This is...wrong. How can this help?
Giving Spike a soul?"
" 'Ello, still 'ere. And not wantin' a soddin' soul," Spike spoke up.
Everyone ignored him.
"If we are to have any chance at all in defeating this...Darkness, then we
must do everything in our power to assure that events happen as they are
supposed to. Prophecies are tricky things. They find a way of coming true
even if you try to stop them. And most of the time, things end up worse in
the end if you work against them."
"So, you're saying, no matter what we do, the world is going to end? Then
why bother?" Buffy asked, pacing.
"No, I'm saying that we must play the hand we are dealt. There is never
any certainty of which side will win. If Spike and Buffy must be bound to
one another in order to have a fighting chance, then that is what we must
do." The watcher's voice rose, his tone brooking no argument.
Buffy sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "Then what do we do?
How are we supposed to bind to each other?"
Willow spoke up meekly. "I, uh...know a spell. It seems to be the
way to go....Since blood seems to be the...uh...catalyst."
Everyone turned to her.
"I can do it...If uh...Giles will help." she trailed off.
Giles sighed.
"Yes, since it seems to be our only option. What will we need?"
"Uh, just a few things, that we should have here at the shop. And, uh,
Spike and Buffy of course..."
Buffy nodded. "Then we do it. How long will it take you to prepare?"
"A few hours." The witch said, sitting up straighter, feeling more
important.
"Alright." The slayer turned to Spike, who looked as if he was looking for
the quickest way out.
"We need to do this, Spike. Are you with me?" she asked softly.
"What am I gonna do with a bleedin' soul? I don't wanna be another bloody
Peaches!" he half whined, half yelled.
Angel glowered at him.
"We'll deal with it, alright? This has to be done! Spike, I need you on
this...Will you do it?"
The vampire looked from her, to the door, and back again. Finally, he
sighed.
"Alright, I'll do it!" He couldn't deny his Slayer anything.
She smiled and pecked him on the lips, which the others chose to ignore.
No need in bringing up the issue until the current crisis was over.
Buffy turned, placing her hands on her hips.
"Alright. Willow, Giles, tell us what we need to do, and then get ready.
The rest of you, keep at the research. We need more answers. In an hour,
we're doing the ritual."
Spike sighed and slumped onto the couch.
"Bloody hell...."
Through the veil of darkness, three figures moved. The clank of shovels
and tools was the only sound that broke the quiet of the night. The moon
shone overhead, nearly full, illuminating the desert landscape. A large
pyramid loomed, oddly shapen, as if the ancient builders hadn't a clue what
they were doing when it was constructed. The figures paused, looking over
the area, hushed, waiting.
One of the figures finally spoke.
"It is time," he said, pointing ahead. The group hurried forward,
dumping their packs in the sand. The other two broke out the shovels and
began to dig, throwing sand aside at inhuman speeds. Finally, there came the
sound of metal on metal, and the first man bent, brushing sand off a small,
hematite-coloured box.
"Ahh..." he whispered, "Revenant. Soon, Kahamet, you shall rise. Out of
the ashes of the Cleansing you shall be reborn."
He pulled the box from the earth, and opened it slowly. A pile of grayish
ashes lay in the bottom, glistening in the moonlight. The man smiled.
"Yes. The bridge will be destroyed. And darkness will reign till the end
of days...."
///
"Oh dear..." Giles muttered, looking up from a dusty tome he was studying,
the others -- including Angel, Cordelia and Wesley -- wincing at hearing those
words from the man.
He tapped the book excitedly with his finger.
"I've found it! The prophecy. It's right here..." he continued, reading
from the book. " 'The child of light'...Which we have established as being
a reference to Buffy...'shall be the consecrator of the bridge'...." The
watcher frowned. He slammed the book shut. "More riddles." He sighed and
removed his glasses, leaning back in his chair.
It had been two days since the Cleansing, and they knew they were running
out of time. The Scoobies plus the Fang Gang had spent hours researching,
and had found nothing.
"But I don't understand." Buffy broke the silence. "If I am this Child of
Light, then who am I supposed to give my soul to?"
"I don't..." Giles started, only to be interrupted by Cordy.
"The Bridge..." she said softly, and everyone turned to look at her. Her
eyes were glazed, she looked as if she were asleep.
"Cordy?" Angel said, worry thick in his voice. He moved to her side, and
took her hand. "What about the Bridge?"
"The Bridge....The shade of gray," the seer continued, her head swaying
slightly.
Buffy frowned, watching the entranced girl. "I'm supposed to give my
soul to a BRIDGE?" she asked skeptically.
"The Darkness and the Light..." Cordy whispered. "The in-between. Evil
and Good. The Opposites must be joined...."
Spike frowned, listening. Even after puzzling out Drusilla's banter for
over a hundred years, he still couldn't understand what the girl meant.
The seer's eyes suddenly flashed, and turned on Spike and Buffy. Her voice
rose, taking on a tone none of them knew she possessed.
"The Bridge will be consecrated in the Child's Blood. The Binding of one
soul into two." She closed her eyes. "The Bridge will taste the blood of the
Child...." She trailed off, and slumped into Angel's arms, asleep.
Dead silence filled the room for more than a minute.
Giles was the first to speak.
"The Bridge will taste...The Bridge is a person, no doubt. Most likely one
of us...." he trailed off. "The Darkness and the Light, Good and Evil..."
Buffy frowned, and looked to Spike.
"The Opposites must be joined..." she continued for Giles, her eyes
widening a little.
Giles looked at her, then looked at Spike.
"Oh dear..." he muttered once again.
Spike blinked, looking between the two of them.
"What?"
Giles sighed, and replaced his glasses firmly on his nose, before meeting
Spike's eyes.
"You, Spike. You are the Bridge."
///
"So, you're saying that Spike has to FEED from Buffy? Anyone else seeing the
wrong here?" Xander raged, slamming his chair back under the table as he
rose.
"Xander, I really don't think..." Giles began.
"No, he's right." Angel said. "This is...wrong. How can this help?
Giving Spike a soul?"
" 'Ello, still 'ere. And not wantin' a soddin' soul," Spike spoke up.
Everyone ignored him.
"If we are to have any chance at all in defeating this...Darkness, then we
must do everything in our power to assure that events happen as they are
supposed to. Prophecies are tricky things. They find a way of coming true
even if you try to stop them. And most of the time, things end up worse in
the end if you work against them."
"So, you're saying, no matter what we do, the world is going to end? Then
why bother?" Buffy asked, pacing.
"No, I'm saying that we must play the hand we are dealt. There is never
any certainty of which side will win. If Spike and Buffy must be bound to
one another in order to have a fighting chance, then that is what we must
do." The watcher's voice rose, his tone brooking no argument.
Buffy sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "Then what do we do?
How are we supposed to bind to each other?"
Willow spoke up meekly. "I, uh...know a spell. It seems to be the
way to go....Since blood seems to be the...uh...catalyst."
Everyone turned to her.
"I can do it...If uh...Giles will help." she trailed off.
Giles sighed.
"Yes, since it seems to be our only option. What will we need?"
"Uh, just a few things, that we should have here at the shop. And, uh,
Spike and Buffy of course..."
Buffy nodded. "Then we do it. How long will it take you to prepare?"
"A few hours." The witch said, sitting up straighter, feeling more
important.
"Alright." The slayer turned to Spike, who looked as if he was looking for
the quickest way out.
"We need to do this, Spike. Are you with me?" she asked softly.
"What am I gonna do with a bleedin' soul? I don't wanna be another bloody
Peaches!" he half whined, half yelled.
Angel glowered at him.
"We'll deal with it, alright? This has to be done! Spike, I need you on
this...Will you do it?"
The vampire looked from her, to the door, and back again. Finally, he
sighed.
"Alright, I'll do it!" He couldn't deny his Slayer anything.
She smiled and pecked him on the lips, which the others chose to ignore.
No need in bringing up the issue until the current crisis was over.
Buffy turned, placing her hands on her hips.
"Alright. Willow, Giles, tell us what we need to do, and then get ready.
The rest of you, keep at the research. We need more answers. In an hour,
we're doing the ritual."
Spike sighed and slumped onto the couch.
"Bloody hell...."