Part 31: The Morning After
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Giles put the phone down, a sad and tired look in his face. Sighing deeply he turned to look at his two guests, who were sitting on opposite sides of his sofa. From their body language it was all too clear that they would like nothing better than to snuggle against each other, yet were terrified to do so.
Which was not really that hard to understand, was it?
"The hospital just confirmed it," Giles told them, sitting down. "Faith is dead."
Buffy and Angel both closed their eyes. They had known, known beyond the shadow of a doubt, yet somehow they had managed to keep some ember of hope alive that they might be mistaken. That they had somehow misinterpreted the sensations they had experienced when the bond between them closed. An ember that was now extinguished for good.
"I can only theorize on what happened," Giles went on, hoping to find some way to console the guilt these two had to be feeling now. "From what you told me I would say that ... well, that the union between Slayer and Huntsman unleashed enough power to ... heal the fractured essence of the Slayer. I ... I imagine that, if the Huntsman had been with Faith at that time, it would be you, Buffy, who ... well ..."
He trailed off, not sure that he was helping the situation any. Faith was gone and no doubt Buffy blamed herself for that. God knew she blamed herself enough for merely putting Faith in the hospital to begin with. Though it shamed him Giles was almost relieved by the way things had turned out. He had dreaded what would happen should Faith ever awaken from her coma. He had not wanted her to die, though. Certainly not that.
Giles took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes.
"Angel, why don't you tell us exactly what you remember about ... well, whatever you might want to call it. Your becoming the Huntsman."
Angel nodded.
"I guess it all started back in Los Angeles. After ... after I became human I visited the Oracles. The Mhora demon who had attacked me said that ... that Buffy would die unless I was there to fight at her side. The Oracles confirmed this."
Buffy looked at him in shock. He had never told her about that before.
"Angel ...," she began.
"I asked them for some way to enable me to still fight beside Buffy. I ... I even asked them to turn me back into a vampire."
"What?" Buffy was on her feet, staring at him in complete disbelief. "You wanted to give it all away just when we had a chance to be together?"
"I wanted to save your life," Angel said, his voice deceptively calm. His hands were shaking, though, the fire burning in his blood screaming at him to grab her right here, right now, and consummate their bond all over again. It took all the willpower he had just to sit still while she stood before him like this, almost glowing in her agitation and power.
"Besides," he continued, "it does not matter, they would not acquiesce to any of my pleas. What they did say, though, was that I would have a chance. They did not specify anything, just that I would have a chance. Doyle and I researched a lot on this, but came up empty."
Buffy sat down again, her look clearly telling him that the topic of his holding out on her was not over with, not by half. Angel gave her a tender look, but did not dare go closer to take her hand or touch her in other ways.
"When I was in the hospital I ... I drifted. I think at one point I actually saw my own body beneath me and, well, I expected that this might be it. Then I saw the Oracles again. No, actually I did not see them. I only heard their voices, telling me that my chance was here now. That I had to take it now or it would all be over."
Giles nodded, understanding. "That was when King died."
Buffy flinched a little with his words. In all her years as the Slayer she had never killed a human being, but within less than 24 hours two people had died at her hands. Jackson King and Faith. She did not know how to handle this. How did one get over killing another human being? She wrapped her arms around her knees and tried to shut out the emotions as best as she could. She was doing that a lot lately. Maybe practice made perfect.
"I am not exactly sure what happened," Angel went on. He was well aware of Buffy's dark mood, but saw no way how to help her. He did not feel particularly crushed about King's demise, but Faith had died because the two of them had been together. Why was it that every single time they were together someone had to pay the price for it? First Jenny Calendar, now Faith.
"I only remember seeing ... flames. A gust of fire that seemed to be passing me by. I knew ... somehow I knew that if I simply let it pass ... that would be it. I would die and ... and Buffy would be ... So I grabbed it. I thrust my hand into the flames and ... well, the next thing I was aware of I was back in the hospital room, my body healing, yet in terrible pain. I fled from there, somehow hoping to run from the pain."
He looked up at Giles. "I didn't hurt anyone there, did I?"
"A few bumps and bruises," Giles assured him. "Nothing more."
"Thank God." He took a moment, relief washing over him. At least in that single instance he had not harmed anyone.
Giles tried to assimilate everything he had learned this long, long night. Angel was now the Huntsman. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? He really could not say. On the one hand he should be glad that this kind of power was now in the hands of someone as responsible as Angel. On the other hand he had experienced first-hand how dangerous Angel could be if he lost control.
He looked at Buffy and wondered if she was any less dangerous now. The Slayer was whole again, not divided between two people. That alone would not have been any cause for worry, seeing as Buffy had been the one and only Slayer once before. That had been at a time, though, when the Huntsman had still been imprisoned, its essence locked away. Now it was free and only the Slayer's being cut in half had protected her from whatever madness seemed to inevitably arise from the bond these two warriors shared.
Or so the theory went anyway. Giles would be the first to admit, that, with what little information they had, it was impossible to predict what would happen. The precedents looked pretty bleak, though. They knew of only three previous Huntsmen. Charles Augustine and Alexander Hamish had both turned into vicious killers and Jackson King seemed to have been no better. Maybe the latter's behavior had been partially caused by Buffy's resistance to the bond, the splintering of the Slayer, but that was nothing but speculation.
The ugly fact was that, in all known previous unions of Slayer and Huntsman, the results had been disastrous. Judging by the looks on their faces, the two current incarnations of these warrior spirits were only too well aware of that.
Then there was another matter to consider.
"We should discuss what to tell the Council," Giles said. "They have been requesting status reports about the Huntsman and ... well, if they hear nothing from us, they are bound to turn up to investigate by themselves."
"Don't you think we have more immediate problems?" Buffy asked, her voice harsher than she intended. She was tired, so incredibly tired.
"Yes, we do," Giles answered, "but I do not know what to do about them. For the moment we should concentrate on the things we actually have control over, don't you think?"
Buffy sank back into the cushions, trying to come up with an answer. Burke's SDO troops and Team 666 were no doubt headed for another collision fairly soon, but she had a very hard time regarding this as a priority right now. Nor was she interested in whatever the Council might want or do. The only thing that was really on her mind at the moment was the man sitting about two feet away from her.
There had been times in the past when she had been afraid of him. Never before had she been afraid of herself, though. Of what she might do just because he was near.
"The only way for us to go on," Angel finally said, "is for both of us to keep a tight reign on ourselves. We have to assume that we can handle this, that we can control this. Otherwise we might as well kill ourselves right now."
His blunt words caused Buffy to flinch all over again, but then she nodded. It was the only way, really. She had managed to keep control of herself before, though barely. Angel had a century of experience containing the instincts and urges of a bloodthirsty demon. It really was the only way to proceed.
"I agree," Giles said. "Both of you have held this kind of power before, independent of the bond between Slayer and Huntsman. I don't have to tell you, I hope, how careful you have to be. Especially when you find yourself in a combat situation again."
"We probably should involve the Council in this," Angel added. "We need every bit of information we can get about the Huntsman and the bond with the Slayer."
"I don't think this is a good idea," Buffy intervened. "What if they ... I mean, last time the Huntsman was free the Council buried it again because they could not control it."
She did not need to add that these actions had resulted in the death of the Huntsman's host and incurable insanity of the Slayer of that time. They had all memorized those parts by now.
"I know, but that was centuries ago. The present day Council freed the Huntsman because they believed they would need it."
"He is right, Buffy. The Council might have made a grave mistake freeing the Huntsman before they knew everything about it, but they won't throw it all away now, especially if we can show them that we have a genuine chance of controlling its power."
Angel scooted over to Buffy and, carefully, took her hand in his. Almost immediately both of them tensed, feeling the power screaming through their veins. It was a glorious feeling, a hundred times better than any adrenalin rush, and both of them would have liked nothing more than to jump up immediately and go hunting. That or head straight towards the nearest bedroom.
Neither of them moved, clamping down on their urges with iron wills, and Angel managed a slight smile.
"We can do this, Buffy," he assured her. "The Oracles saw this as my only chance to keep fighting by your side. They would not have pointed me in this direction if their wasn't a chance for us to make it work."
"You are taking a lot on faith here," Buffy whispered, unable to let go of Angel's hand. How could he be so trusting of all this? Especially after what had happened. King. Faith. The battle.
"I have to," he simply said. "There is no alternative."
Buffy finally nodded, squeezing his hand a little tighter. There was no alternative. This was their chance, maybe their only chance, to keep on fighting and still be together. Vampire and Slayer had not worked. Human and Slayer would probably not have worked, either. Huntsman and Slayer? It remained to be seen.
"Okay," she said. "Giles, you will call the Council?"
Her Watcher nodded. "I will explain the situation to them. Let us hope they will be reasonable."
"That would be a change," Buffy snorted. Then her mood darkened again as she turned her thoughts towards what she had to do now. Something she had to get over with before she could possibly concentrate on anything else.
"Angel, we should ... I mean ... I think I need to ..."
He just nodded, rising from the couch and pulling her up with him.
"Let's go see Faith."
TO BE CONTINUED
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Giles put the phone down, a sad and tired look in his face. Sighing deeply he turned to look at his two guests, who were sitting on opposite sides of his sofa. From their body language it was all too clear that they would like nothing better than to snuggle against each other, yet were terrified to do so.
Which was not really that hard to understand, was it?
"The hospital just confirmed it," Giles told them, sitting down. "Faith is dead."
Buffy and Angel both closed their eyes. They had known, known beyond the shadow of a doubt, yet somehow they had managed to keep some ember of hope alive that they might be mistaken. That they had somehow misinterpreted the sensations they had experienced when the bond between them closed. An ember that was now extinguished for good.
"I can only theorize on what happened," Giles went on, hoping to find some way to console the guilt these two had to be feeling now. "From what you told me I would say that ... well, that the union between Slayer and Huntsman unleashed enough power to ... heal the fractured essence of the Slayer. I ... I imagine that, if the Huntsman had been with Faith at that time, it would be you, Buffy, who ... well ..."
He trailed off, not sure that he was helping the situation any. Faith was gone and no doubt Buffy blamed herself for that. God knew she blamed herself enough for merely putting Faith in the hospital to begin with. Though it shamed him Giles was almost relieved by the way things had turned out. He had dreaded what would happen should Faith ever awaken from her coma. He had not wanted her to die, though. Certainly not that.
Giles took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes.
"Angel, why don't you tell us exactly what you remember about ... well, whatever you might want to call it. Your becoming the Huntsman."
Angel nodded.
"I guess it all started back in Los Angeles. After ... after I became human I visited the Oracles. The Mhora demon who had attacked me said that ... that Buffy would die unless I was there to fight at her side. The Oracles confirmed this."
Buffy looked at him in shock. He had never told her about that before.
"Angel ...," she began.
"I asked them for some way to enable me to still fight beside Buffy. I ... I even asked them to turn me back into a vampire."
"What?" Buffy was on her feet, staring at him in complete disbelief. "You wanted to give it all away just when we had a chance to be together?"
"I wanted to save your life," Angel said, his voice deceptively calm. His hands were shaking, though, the fire burning in his blood screaming at him to grab her right here, right now, and consummate their bond all over again. It took all the willpower he had just to sit still while she stood before him like this, almost glowing in her agitation and power.
"Besides," he continued, "it does not matter, they would not acquiesce to any of my pleas. What they did say, though, was that I would have a chance. They did not specify anything, just that I would have a chance. Doyle and I researched a lot on this, but came up empty."
Buffy sat down again, her look clearly telling him that the topic of his holding out on her was not over with, not by half. Angel gave her a tender look, but did not dare go closer to take her hand or touch her in other ways.
"When I was in the hospital I ... I drifted. I think at one point I actually saw my own body beneath me and, well, I expected that this might be it. Then I saw the Oracles again. No, actually I did not see them. I only heard their voices, telling me that my chance was here now. That I had to take it now or it would all be over."
Giles nodded, understanding. "That was when King died."
Buffy flinched a little with his words. In all her years as the Slayer she had never killed a human being, but within less than 24 hours two people had died at her hands. Jackson King and Faith. She did not know how to handle this. How did one get over killing another human being? She wrapped her arms around her knees and tried to shut out the emotions as best as she could. She was doing that a lot lately. Maybe practice made perfect.
"I am not exactly sure what happened," Angel went on. He was well aware of Buffy's dark mood, but saw no way how to help her. He did not feel particularly crushed about King's demise, but Faith had died because the two of them had been together. Why was it that every single time they were together someone had to pay the price for it? First Jenny Calendar, now Faith.
"I only remember seeing ... flames. A gust of fire that seemed to be passing me by. I knew ... somehow I knew that if I simply let it pass ... that would be it. I would die and ... and Buffy would be ... So I grabbed it. I thrust my hand into the flames and ... well, the next thing I was aware of I was back in the hospital room, my body healing, yet in terrible pain. I fled from there, somehow hoping to run from the pain."
He looked up at Giles. "I didn't hurt anyone there, did I?"
"A few bumps and bruises," Giles assured him. "Nothing more."
"Thank God." He took a moment, relief washing over him. At least in that single instance he had not harmed anyone.
Giles tried to assimilate everything he had learned this long, long night. Angel was now the Huntsman. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? He really could not say. On the one hand he should be glad that this kind of power was now in the hands of someone as responsible as Angel. On the other hand he had experienced first-hand how dangerous Angel could be if he lost control.
He looked at Buffy and wondered if she was any less dangerous now. The Slayer was whole again, not divided between two people. That alone would not have been any cause for worry, seeing as Buffy had been the one and only Slayer once before. That had been at a time, though, when the Huntsman had still been imprisoned, its essence locked away. Now it was free and only the Slayer's being cut in half had protected her from whatever madness seemed to inevitably arise from the bond these two warriors shared.
Or so the theory went anyway. Giles would be the first to admit, that, with what little information they had, it was impossible to predict what would happen. The precedents looked pretty bleak, though. They knew of only three previous Huntsmen. Charles Augustine and Alexander Hamish had both turned into vicious killers and Jackson King seemed to have been no better. Maybe the latter's behavior had been partially caused by Buffy's resistance to the bond, the splintering of the Slayer, but that was nothing but speculation.
The ugly fact was that, in all known previous unions of Slayer and Huntsman, the results had been disastrous. Judging by the looks on their faces, the two current incarnations of these warrior spirits were only too well aware of that.
Then there was another matter to consider.
"We should discuss what to tell the Council," Giles said. "They have been requesting status reports about the Huntsman and ... well, if they hear nothing from us, they are bound to turn up to investigate by themselves."
"Don't you think we have more immediate problems?" Buffy asked, her voice harsher than she intended. She was tired, so incredibly tired.
"Yes, we do," Giles answered, "but I do not know what to do about them. For the moment we should concentrate on the things we actually have control over, don't you think?"
Buffy sank back into the cushions, trying to come up with an answer. Burke's SDO troops and Team 666 were no doubt headed for another collision fairly soon, but she had a very hard time regarding this as a priority right now. Nor was she interested in whatever the Council might want or do. The only thing that was really on her mind at the moment was the man sitting about two feet away from her.
There had been times in the past when she had been afraid of him. Never before had she been afraid of herself, though. Of what she might do just because he was near.
"The only way for us to go on," Angel finally said, "is for both of us to keep a tight reign on ourselves. We have to assume that we can handle this, that we can control this. Otherwise we might as well kill ourselves right now."
His blunt words caused Buffy to flinch all over again, but then she nodded. It was the only way, really. She had managed to keep control of herself before, though barely. Angel had a century of experience containing the instincts and urges of a bloodthirsty demon. It really was the only way to proceed.
"I agree," Giles said. "Both of you have held this kind of power before, independent of the bond between Slayer and Huntsman. I don't have to tell you, I hope, how careful you have to be. Especially when you find yourself in a combat situation again."
"We probably should involve the Council in this," Angel added. "We need every bit of information we can get about the Huntsman and the bond with the Slayer."
"I don't think this is a good idea," Buffy intervened. "What if they ... I mean, last time the Huntsman was free the Council buried it again because they could not control it."
She did not need to add that these actions had resulted in the death of the Huntsman's host and incurable insanity of the Slayer of that time. They had all memorized those parts by now.
"I know, but that was centuries ago. The present day Council freed the Huntsman because they believed they would need it."
"He is right, Buffy. The Council might have made a grave mistake freeing the Huntsman before they knew everything about it, but they won't throw it all away now, especially if we can show them that we have a genuine chance of controlling its power."
Angel scooted over to Buffy and, carefully, took her hand in his. Almost immediately both of them tensed, feeling the power screaming through their veins. It was a glorious feeling, a hundred times better than any adrenalin rush, and both of them would have liked nothing more than to jump up immediately and go hunting. That or head straight towards the nearest bedroom.
Neither of them moved, clamping down on their urges with iron wills, and Angel managed a slight smile.
"We can do this, Buffy," he assured her. "The Oracles saw this as my only chance to keep fighting by your side. They would not have pointed me in this direction if their wasn't a chance for us to make it work."
"You are taking a lot on faith here," Buffy whispered, unable to let go of Angel's hand. How could he be so trusting of all this? Especially after what had happened. King. Faith. The battle.
"I have to," he simply said. "There is no alternative."
Buffy finally nodded, squeezing his hand a little tighter. There was no alternative. This was their chance, maybe their only chance, to keep on fighting and still be together. Vampire and Slayer had not worked. Human and Slayer would probably not have worked, either. Huntsman and Slayer? It remained to be seen.
"Okay," she said. "Giles, you will call the Council?"
Her Watcher nodded. "I will explain the situation to them. Let us hope they will be reasonable."
"That would be a change," Buffy snorted. Then her mood darkened again as she turned her thoughts towards what she had to do now. Something she had to get over with before she could possibly concentrate on anything else.
"Angel, we should ... I mean ... I think I need to ..."
He just nodded, rising from the couch and pulling her up with him.
"Let's go see Faith."
TO BE CONTINUED