Title: Angels on the Hellmouth
Chapter Title: Halos and Heartbreak
Rating: PG
Spoilers: First five series of Buffy and the Dogma movie.
Summary: Buffy and Dogma Crossover. Set post series 5 of Buffy and after Dogma movie. An Angel shows up in The Magic Box as the Scoobies grieve the loss of Buffy. Why is he there and how does he know Xander?
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or Dogma. They belong to their respective owners. I am making no money of this fic, so don't sue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xander, Anya, Giles and Dawn were sitting around the table in The Magic Box. Willow and Tara were out the back, Tara comforting Willow. It had been three weeks since Buffy's death to defeat Glory and save the world. Everyone was in shock, staring almost blankly at the walls when they were not crying. The bell over the door jingled and a strange man with light brown hair and blue eyes came in, his trench coat hiding all his other clothes except his boots. Everyone glanced up, no one recognised him, though Xander felt as if he should.
"Sorry, we're closed." Giles said, returning his gaze to a point on the wall.
The strange man looked at Xander and bowed slightly.
"Do you wish me to leave, Alexander?" he asked.
"No, Gregory." Xander replied and then he paused. "Wait a second. Do I know you?"
"Yes, My Lord. Metatron send me to greet you and your Lady." Gregory replied.
"Who is Metatron and who are you?" Dawn asked.
Gregory looked perplexed, glancing around the room before settling his gaze on Xander once more.
"Should I unsheathe, My Lord?" Gregory asked Xander, "It is the quickest way."
"Please do." came a voice behind the group.
Tara and Willow had come out from the back room holding hands. It had been Tara who had spoken.
"My Lady?" Gregory asked looking at Tara, dropping to one knee.
"I said unsheathe, Greg." Tara replied with a slight snap in her voice.
"Yes My Lady." he replied.
Gregory stood removing his trench coat, what he was wearing underneath was not normal attire. He wore sliver chain and plate armour on his upper body and leather pants with his hard boots. He also had a sword sheathed at his belt, but the first thing, in fact the only thing, that The Scoobies noticed was his wings. Large shimmering wings, over six feet across, were attached to his shoulder blades, at first glance they appeared to be a shimmering white but they were actually a very pale, blue. The blue of the perfect spring morning of a day when the heat of summer and the cold of winter were perfectly balanced. Gregory knelt before Xander and Tara, who were standing next to each other, bowing his head and offering the hilt of his sword.
"My Lord. My Lady. I wish to re-swear my vows of allegiance. You have my sword till the war is over." Gregory looked up after finishing his words.
Every eye in the store was focused on Xander and Tara.
"Hold your sword till I call for it, old friend." Xander replied.
"Your friendship has always been appreciated, Greg. When you help is need I will not hesitate to call." Tara said, after Xander had finished.
"Question?" Dawn said quickly, raising her hand. "Who is Metatron and what are you three going on about?"
"I am Metatron." said a slightly older man who appeared near Gregory.
"The Voice." Tara whispered.
Metatron, while slightly older that Gregory was still handsome. Unlike Gregory he was dressed in pure white robes that matched his large wings. Tara, Xander and Gregory all faced Metatron and all fell to one knee.
"Uhh. I'm confused." Willow said.
After getting everyone to sit around the table, Metatron explained what was going on. How he was the Voice of God, using his usual quote, "Anyone who talked to God, actually talked to me, or themselves." He also explained that Gregory was an Angel, as were Xander and Tara.
"We're Angels?" Xander asked. "Hah, The Zeppo's an Angel."
Giving Xander a strange look, Metatron continued with his story. Unlike the other Angel's, who were made genitally challenged, "Ken and Barbie dolls," Xander and Tara were made to experience Love. Xander was the Angel of Undying Loyalty, while Tara was the Angel of Tenderness. Together they were the Angel of Love. God had declared that there was only one way to stop the War between the Angels and the Fallen Angels. That way was for the Angel of Love to have a child, who one day would mend the gap and bring Lucifer and the Fallen back to the fold. It was imposable for that child to be conceived or born in Heaven. As a result Alexander, the Angel of Undying Loyalty and Tara, the Angel of Tenderness, were sent to earth, their memories and power dormant till they were needed.
"I don't believe it!" Willow screamed when the story finished.
"I will prove it to you." Metatron replied.
Motioning Xander and Tara out into the middle of the floor, they knelt and Metatron muttered something the other could not hear and a pure white light emerged from him, as did his glowing, pure white wings, with a span of over seven feet. The light consumed the kneeling forms of Xander and Tara, making it impossible to look at them. When the light faded Xander the Zeppo and Tara the Witch were no longer present, instead knelt Alexander, the Angel of Undying Loyalty and Tara, the Angel of Tenderness, who both rose to their feet.
Their features were the same, but their clothes and hair were different, as was the fact that they now had wings, spanning about six and a half feet. Alexander stood, dressed in white leather with gold trimming, even to his boots, ending about two inches above the ankle. He also wore a platinum chain mail tunic and breastplate with golden scrollwork and hardened white leather bracers, starching from wrist to elbow, with gold inlays. At his belt hung a sword, with a brilliant white caved handle with gold wire wrapping the cross guard and white leather scabbard with gold trimming. The sword itself was slightly curved, with a single edge, similar to a katana, with beautiful gold inlay work along the inner, blunt curve. His wings were bone white with platinum veining and his hair was slicked back over his head, flaked with platinum. All in all he looked very handsome and almost regal.
Tara looked stunning. Her dress was bone white, the same shade as Alexander's wings, a semi-tight fitting to the waist before pleating into a skirt with a slit up the side of her right leg, almost to the waist, allowing freedom of movement. The dress, like the lightweight, golden, ceremonial breastplate that covered it, had platinum trimming. Along her arms, were bracers, like fingerless gloves that extended up her forearms, shining with platinum inlays along the hardened white leather, strapped over her dresses arms with more white leather. She also wore white leather sandals, similar to the roman design. Her wings were truly spectacular; a shimmering white that actually changed colour depending on how the light hit them, each feather trimmed in gold, making a gold line pattern in her wings. Tara's blond hair, usually hanging strait down her back, was curled in ringlets that framed her face and seemed to glow with a light golden sheen. She also wore a sword at her belt, but unlike the katana type blade that Alexander wore, hers was a rapier, thin, long and sharp. The hilt of the rapier was wrapped in platinum wire, with a golden hand guard while the white leather scabbard had intricate designs inlayed in platinum If any doubts were left as to the truth behind The Voice's story were laid to rest as Alexander and Tara caressed each other's face.
"I missed you Alex." Tara said.
"I missed you too, Tara." he replied.
At these remarks both Willow and Anya stood and turned towards the back room, Willow starting to sob as she hurried away from the one she thought she loved.
"Wait! There is more to tell. You can't go yet Slayer." Metatron shouted after the girls.
The whole room went instantly quiet.
"Buffy was the Slayer. She died three weeks ago." Alex said.
"Yah." Willow said spitting venom (metaphorically) at The Voice. "She died for you people and went to hell for it."
"You could not be more wrong." Gregory said. "I saw her two days ago."
"WHAT?!?" all the Scoobies yelled.
Metatron sighed before telling of Buffy.
"You are wrong on two points." The Voice explained. "Firstly, Buffy did not die for us, she died for you because she loved you all, as a father figure (pointing to Giles), as a sister (pointing to Dawn) and as friends (motioning to all the others, including Alex and Tara). Secondly, she is not in Hell. She fulfilled her destiny, in fact she fulfilled it years ago, she had died fighting a demon, she had killed it but had sustained mortal injuries. Not the Master as you think Alex. When she was offered her place in Heaven, she refused, saying she had work to do here. She wanted to protect you all. So her wounds were healed and she was returned."
"That was Buffy alright. Can't keep a good Slayer down." Xander chuckled, emerging slightly from Alex.
All of Xander and Tara the Witch's memories were still present, but so were those of their lives as Angels. How can twenty odd years on earth ever compare to the thousands upon thousands of years they had been together in Heaven.
"I think everyone need some sleep, or time alone to work through this. Can we start again in the morning Metatron?" Giles asked.
"Sure. I'll be back then. Are you coming Gregory?" The Voice responded.
Gregory nodded, bowed to Tara and Alex again and both he and Metatron disappeared in a flash of light. Giles ushered Dawn out of The Magic Shop, he was going to take her to his place to get some sleep. Alex and Tara stood next to each other for a few minutes before trying to explain to their ex-girlfriends the new situation. Willow and Tara were talking in the back while Alex and Anya were talking in the shop.
********
"I'm so sorry Willow. Alex and I were made for each other. Literally. We had no memory of our pervious lives. I really do love you Willow, as much as I love Alex, it is just how can under a year ever compare to the amount of time me and Alex had together?" Tara said trying to help Willow past her anger.
"How long was that?" Willow asked, fearing the answer.
"Since before the creation of the earth. Maybe a few billion years." Tara replied, knowing she had deeply hurt Willow.
"WOW!"
Willow's hurt was hidden by surprise
"Time really runs differently in Heaven, it is more about the moment."
********
"First you give me a ring, then I can't tell anyone and now you are dating Willow's girlfriend." said a very annoyed Anya, hitting Alex in the arm.
"One, Ouch. Two, I was dating Tara before you were born. Three, Ouch." Alex said, letting the Xander personality come through.
"What do you mean? I'm eleven hundred, you two are like twenty."
"Anya. Tara and I are Angels. We were created before the earth was, literally created for each other; we have just been in these bodies for twenty years. Look to put it in terms you would understand, I am 'technically' cheating on Tara with you, as she is 'technically' cheating on me with Willow. If anyone should be hurt it would be Tara and me. You and Willow just need time to work through this situation." Alex told her, appealing to her skewed logic, from being a demon for eleven hundred years.
"But I like having sex with you." Anya complained.
Alex rolled his eyes. (AN: From this point on Alex is the Angel personality and Xander is the human personality. And yes, I think Anya's view on life is very skewed)
********
After Willow and Anya left the store to either sleep or be alone, Alex and Tara sat on the stairs, talking quietly and holding each other till the others showed up again in the morning, Angels having much less need for sleep than humans. After spending several hours reminiscing on the highlights of their lives in Heaven, they move on to the topic of Buffy.
"Why do you think she did not go before?" Alex asked.
"Well. I did not know her then. But she did have a good heart, always did, from what Willow told me." Tara said.
"So you think she turned down Heaven because she believed that we, the Scoobies, the world, needed her?"
Tara nodded, laying her hand on Alex's knee and looking into his eyes.
"Buffy was like Greg, like most of the Angels. She felt the burden of duty but had the strength of will not to crumble under the pressure. If she felt it would save even one other life, Buffy would have gladly spent an eternity in Hell." Tara told Alex, knowing he needed to hear it.
"Did we even help at all?" Xander asked, "Or did we just make her job harder."
"You all helped her through. As long as she had you and Giles and Willow, even Oz and Cordelia, she never had to bear the entire burden. That burden is too much for any one person. That is why most Slayers burn out and die so quickly."
"I know." Alex said, "But Xander needed to hear it, he always felt useless." Tara smiled slightly.
"He was never useless. Neither are you, my love."
She rested her head on Alex's shoulder and they sat quietly till the others arrived in the morning.
********
The Next Morning
Dawn walked along Main Street, next to Giles, heading to The Magic Box. She looked up at the sky occasionally, as if she could see up into Heaven and catch a glimpse of her sister.
"I hope you are happy Buffy." she whispered.
When they reached the store, she saw Willow and Anya standing outside, as if they were afraid to enter. They all entered together and were slightly shocked at the sight that greeted them. Alex and Tara were sitting on the stairs to the upper stacks, still dressed like yesterday but with their wings sheathed (folded in behind their backs), both had their eyes closed and Tara's head rested on Alex's shoulder.
"Morning everyone." Alex said without opening his eyes.
The entire group felt deep contentment and love radiating from the pair like heat radiating from a fire. The feeling had been present the previous night, not as strongly, but had been ignored or suppressed by feelings of anger, hurt and shock.
"Morning Xander." Dawn replied happily.
"Please call me Alex." he said as both of the Angels opened their eyes and smiled at the group.
The Angels moved down from the stairs into the shop.
"Metatron!" Tara called into the stunned silence.
The Voice appeared almost instantly.
"We have a request." Alex told the new arrival.
"We wish permission to take Dawn to see her sister. It would be pleasant to see home again." Tara continued.
"I'll go ask God. Be right back." Metatron said.
"Tell her I said hi." Alex said before The Voice disappeared.
"Her?" Giles said.
"Yah" Tara responded. "God is a woman."
After a few minutes Metatron reappeared.
"She said it would be OK, but only the Slayer's sister. Also her memory of most of Heaven will be erased when she returns, only her time with her sister will she remember." The Voice told them.
"Is that acceptable Dawn?" Tara asked.
Dawn nodded enthusiastically. Metatron disappeared again, while Tara motioned to Dawn. Standing with Dawn between them, Alex and Tara clasped arms, enclosing Dawn, and folded their wings forward so that the tips touched. A bone white light, laced with Platinum and Gold surrounded the figures, growing bright quickly and fading, leaving empty space where the Alex, Tara and Dawn had been. Giles, Willow and Anya, having nothing to do, sat down around the table to wait. One question was silently asked by all of them at least once. Which of the two girls was the new Slayer?
TBC.
Chapter Title: Halos and Heartbreak
Rating: PG
Spoilers: First five series of Buffy and the Dogma movie.
Summary: Buffy and Dogma Crossover. Set post series 5 of Buffy and after Dogma movie. An Angel shows up in The Magic Box as the Scoobies grieve the loss of Buffy. Why is he there and how does he know Xander?
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or Dogma. They belong to their respective owners. I am making no money of this fic, so don't sue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xander, Anya, Giles and Dawn were sitting around the table in The Magic Box. Willow and Tara were out the back, Tara comforting Willow. It had been three weeks since Buffy's death to defeat Glory and save the world. Everyone was in shock, staring almost blankly at the walls when they were not crying. The bell over the door jingled and a strange man with light brown hair and blue eyes came in, his trench coat hiding all his other clothes except his boots. Everyone glanced up, no one recognised him, though Xander felt as if he should.
"Sorry, we're closed." Giles said, returning his gaze to a point on the wall.
The strange man looked at Xander and bowed slightly.
"Do you wish me to leave, Alexander?" he asked.
"No, Gregory." Xander replied and then he paused. "Wait a second. Do I know you?"
"Yes, My Lord. Metatron send me to greet you and your Lady." Gregory replied.
"Who is Metatron and who are you?" Dawn asked.
Gregory looked perplexed, glancing around the room before settling his gaze on Xander once more.
"Should I unsheathe, My Lord?" Gregory asked Xander, "It is the quickest way."
"Please do." came a voice behind the group.
Tara and Willow had come out from the back room holding hands. It had been Tara who had spoken.
"My Lady?" Gregory asked looking at Tara, dropping to one knee.
"I said unsheathe, Greg." Tara replied with a slight snap in her voice.
"Yes My Lady." he replied.
Gregory stood removing his trench coat, what he was wearing underneath was not normal attire. He wore sliver chain and plate armour on his upper body and leather pants with his hard boots. He also had a sword sheathed at his belt, but the first thing, in fact the only thing, that The Scoobies noticed was his wings. Large shimmering wings, over six feet across, were attached to his shoulder blades, at first glance they appeared to be a shimmering white but they were actually a very pale, blue. The blue of the perfect spring morning of a day when the heat of summer and the cold of winter were perfectly balanced. Gregory knelt before Xander and Tara, who were standing next to each other, bowing his head and offering the hilt of his sword.
"My Lord. My Lady. I wish to re-swear my vows of allegiance. You have my sword till the war is over." Gregory looked up after finishing his words.
Every eye in the store was focused on Xander and Tara.
"Hold your sword till I call for it, old friend." Xander replied.
"Your friendship has always been appreciated, Greg. When you help is need I will not hesitate to call." Tara said, after Xander had finished.
"Question?" Dawn said quickly, raising her hand. "Who is Metatron and what are you three going on about?"
"I am Metatron." said a slightly older man who appeared near Gregory.
"The Voice." Tara whispered.
Metatron, while slightly older that Gregory was still handsome. Unlike Gregory he was dressed in pure white robes that matched his large wings. Tara, Xander and Gregory all faced Metatron and all fell to one knee.
"Uhh. I'm confused." Willow said.
After getting everyone to sit around the table, Metatron explained what was going on. How he was the Voice of God, using his usual quote, "Anyone who talked to God, actually talked to me, or themselves." He also explained that Gregory was an Angel, as were Xander and Tara.
"We're Angels?" Xander asked. "Hah, The Zeppo's an Angel."
Giving Xander a strange look, Metatron continued with his story. Unlike the other Angel's, who were made genitally challenged, "Ken and Barbie dolls," Xander and Tara were made to experience Love. Xander was the Angel of Undying Loyalty, while Tara was the Angel of Tenderness. Together they were the Angel of Love. God had declared that there was only one way to stop the War between the Angels and the Fallen Angels. That way was for the Angel of Love to have a child, who one day would mend the gap and bring Lucifer and the Fallen back to the fold. It was imposable for that child to be conceived or born in Heaven. As a result Alexander, the Angel of Undying Loyalty and Tara, the Angel of Tenderness, were sent to earth, their memories and power dormant till they were needed.
"I don't believe it!" Willow screamed when the story finished.
"I will prove it to you." Metatron replied.
Motioning Xander and Tara out into the middle of the floor, they knelt and Metatron muttered something the other could not hear and a pure white light emerged from him, as did his glowing, pure white wings, with a span of over seven feet. The light consumed the kneeling forms of Xander and Tara, making it impossible to look at them. When the light faded Xander the Zeppo and Tara the Witch were no longer present, instead knelt Alexander, the Angel of Undying Loyalty and Tara, the Angel of Tenderness, who both rose to their feet.
Their features were the same, but their clothes and hair were different, as was the fact that they now had wings, spanning about six and a half feet. Alexander stood, dressed in white leather with gold trimming, even to his boots, ending about two inches above the ankle. He also wore a platinum chain mail tunic and breastplate with golden scrollwork and hardened white leather bracers, starching from wrist to elbow, with gold inlays. At his belt hung a sword, with a brilliant white caved handle with gold wire wrapping the cross guard and white leather scabbard with gold trimming. The sword itself was slightly curved, with a single edge, similar to a katana, with beautiful gold inlay work along the inner, blunt curve. His wings were bone white with platinum veining and his hair was slicked back over his head, flaked with platinum. All in all he looked very handsome and almost regal.
Tara looked stunning. Her dress was bone white, the same shade as Alexander's wings, a semi-tight fitting to the waist before pleating into a skirt with a slit up the side of her right leg, almost to the waist, allowing freedom of movement. The dress, like the lightweight, golden, ceremonial breastplate that covered it, had platinum trimming. Along her arms, were bracers, like fingerless gloves that extended up her forearms, shining with platinum inlays along the hardened white leather, strapped over her dresses arms with more white leather. She also wore white leather sandals, similar to the roman design. Her wings were truly spectacular; a shimmering white that actually changed colour depending on how the light hit them, each feather trimmed in gold, making a gold line pattern in her wings. Tara's blond hair, usually hanging strait down her back, was curled in ringlets that framed her face and seemed to glow with a light golden sheen. She also wore a sword at her belt, but unlike the katana type blade that Alexander wore, hers was a rapier, thin, long and sharp. The hilt of the rapier was wrapped in platinum wire, with a golden hand guard while the white leather scabbard had intricate designs inlayed in platinum If any doubts were left as to the truth behind The Voice's story were laid to rest as Alexander and Tara caressed each other's face.
"I missed you Alex." Tara said.
"I missed you too, Tara." he replied.
At these remarks both Willow and Anya stood and turned towards the back room, Willow starting to sob as she hurried away from the one she thought she loved.
"Wait! There is more to tell. You can't go yet Slayer." Metatron shouted after the girls.
The whole room went instantly quiet.
"Buffy was the Slayer. She died three weeks ago." Alex said.
"Yah." Willow said spitting venom (metaphorically) at The Voice. "She died for you people and went to hell for it."
"You could not be more wrong." Gregory said. "I saw her two days ago."
"WHAT?!?" all the Scoobies yelled.
Metatron sighed before telling of Buffy.
"You are wrong on two points." The Voice explained. "Firstly, Buffy did not die for us, she died for you because she loved you all, as a father figure (pointing to Giles), as a sister (pointing to Dawn) and as friends (motioning to all the others, including Alex and Tara). Secondly, she is not in Hell. She fulfilled her destiny, in fact she fulfilled it years ago, she had died fighting a demon, she had killed it but had sustained mortal injuries. Not the Master as you think Alex. When she was offered her place in Heaven, she refused, saying she had work to do here. She wanted to protect you all. So her wounds were healed and she was returned."
"That was Buffy alright. Can't keep a good Slayer down." Xander chuckled, emerging slightly from Alex.
All of Xander and Tara the Witch's memories were still present, but so were those of their lives as Angels. How can twenty odd years on earth ever compare to the thousands upon thousands of years they had been together in Heaven.
"I think everyone need some sleep, or time alone to work through this. Can we start again in the morning Metatron?" Giles asked.
"Sure. I'll be back then. Are you coming Gregory?" The Voice responded.
Gregory nodded, bowed to Tara and Alex again and both he and Metatron disappeared in a flash of light. Giles ushered Dawn out of The Magic Shop, he was going to take her to his place to get some sleep. Alex and Tara stood next to each other for a few minutes before trying to explain to their ex-girlfriends the new situation. Willow and Tara were talking in the back while Alex and Anya were talking in the shop.
********
"I'm so sorry Willow. Alex and I were made for each other. Literally. We had no memory of our pervious lives. I really do love you Willow, as much as I love Alex, it is just how can under a year ever compare to the amount of time me and Alex had together?" Tara said trying to help Willow past her anger.
"How long was that?" Willow asked, fearing the answer.
"Since before the creation of the earth. Maybe a few billion years." Tara replied, knowing she had deeply hurt Willow.
"WOW!"
Willow's hurt was hidden by surprise
"Time really runs differently in Heaven, it is more about the moment."
********
"First you give me a ring, then I can't tell anyone and now you are dating Willow's girlfriend." said a very annoyed Anya, hitting Alex in the arm.
"One, Ouch. Two, I was dating Tara before you were born. Three, Ouch." Alex said, letting the Xander personality come through.
"What do you mean? I'm eleven hundred, you two are like twenty."
"Anya. Tara and I are Angels. We were created before the earth was, literally created for each other; we have just been in these bodies for twenty years. Look to put it in terms you would understand, I am 'technically' cheating on Tara with you, as she is 'technically' cheating on me with Willow. If anyone should be hurt it would be Tara and me. You and Willow just need time to work through this situation." Alex told her, appealing to her skewed logic, from being a demon for eleven hundred years.
"But I like having sex with you." Anya complained.
Alex rolled his eyes. (AN: From this point on Alex is the Angel personality and Xander is the human personality. And yes, I think Anya's view on life is very skewed)
********
After Willow and Anya left the store to either sleep or be alone, Alex and Tara sat on the stairs, talking quietly and holding each other till the others showed up again in the morning, Angels having much less need for sleep than humans. After spending several hours reminiscing on the highlights of their lives in Heaven, they move on to the topic of Buffy.
"Why do you think she did not go before?" Alex asked.
"Well. I did not know her then. But she did have a good heart, always did, from what Willow told me." Tara said.
"So you think she turned down Heaven because she believed that we, the Scoobies, the world, needed her?"
Tara nodded, laying her hand on Alex's knee and looking into his eyes.
"Buffy was like Greg, like most of the Angels. She felt the burden of duty but had the strength of will not to crumble under the pressure. If she felt it would save even one other life, Buffy would have gladly spent an eternity in Hell." Tara told Alex, knowing he needed to hear it.
"Did we even help at all?" Xander asked, "Or did we just make her job harder."
"You all helped her through. As long as she had you and Giles and Willow, even Oz and Cordelia, she never had to bear the entire burden. That burden is too much for any one person. That is why most Slayers burn out and die so quickly."
"I know." Alex said, "But Xander needed to hear it, he always felt useless." Tara smiled slightly.
"He was never useless. Neither are you, my love."
She rested her head on Alex's shoulder and they sat quietly till the others arrived in the morning.
********
The Next Morning
Dawn walked along Main Street, next to Giles, heading to The Magic Box. She looked up at the sky occasionally, as if she could see up into Heaven and catch a glimpse of her sister.
"I hope you are happy Buffy." she whispered.
When they reached the store, she saw Willow and Anya standing outside, as if they were afraid to enter. They all entered together and were slightly shocked at the sight that greeted them. Alex and Tara were sitting on the stairs to the upper stacks, still dressed like yesterday but with their wings sheathed (folded in behind their backs), both had their eyes closed and Tara's head rested on Alex's shoulder.
"Morning everyone." Alex said without opening his eyes.
The entire group felt deep contentment and love radiating from the pair like heat radiating from a fire. The feeling had been present the previous night, not as strongly, but had been ignored or suppressed by feelings of anger, hurt and shock.
"Morning Xander." Dawn replied happily.
"Please call me Alex." he said as both of the Angels opened their eyes and smiled at the group.
The Angels moved down from the stairs into the shop.
"Metatron!" Tara called into the stunned silence.
The Voice appeared almost instantly.
"We have a request." Alex told the new arrival.
"We wish permission to take Dawn to see her sister. It would be pleasant to see home again." Tara continued.
"I'll go ask God. Be right back." Metatron said.
"Tell her I said hi." Alex said before The Voice disappeared.
"Her?" Giles said.
"Yah" Tara responded. "God is a woman."
After a few minutes Metatron reappeared.
"She said it would be OK, but only the Slayer's sister. Also her memory of most of Heaven will be erased when she returns, only her time with her sister will she remember." The Voice told them.
"Is that acceptable Dawn?" Tara asked.
Dawn nodded enthusiastically. Metatron disappeared again, while Tara motioned to Dawn. Standing with Dawn between them, Alex and Tara clasped arms, enclosing Dawn, and folded their wings forward so that the tips touched. A bone white light, laced with Platinum and Gold surrounded the figures, growing bright quickly and fading, leaving empty space where the Alex, Tara and Dawn had been. Giles, Willow and Anya, having nothing to do, sat down around the table to wait. One question was silently asked by all of them at least once. Which of the two girls was the new Slayer?
TBC.