Chapter Five
Willow stared down at the book in her hands.
Elrond had informed her the book was hers from now on. They invited her to stay in the library to read it. She refused and ran out. She made her way through the palace, never stopping once.
Eventually, she became tired and rested. She was in some strange hall with gigantic murals on the walls. One was a painting of what had to be Isildur cutting the ring from the hand of Sauron. Right across from it was a statue and a pedestal. On it was the broken parts of a sword. Willow looked from it to the painting. She had a pretty good guess at what it was.
There was also a bench off in the corner. Willow flopped down, miserable. She should have just brooded, but her curiosity got the better of her.
She opened to the page of her portrait. It looked familiar, she didn't know how, but it was. Shaking her head, she turned the page.
The Shadow will menace until the arrival of the Lady Firelight
A warrior sorceress too brilliant to defy,
Brought to set all things right,
Even in the Land of Mordor, where the Shadows lie,
A timeless beauty too strong to fight.
One Lady to aid them, One Lady to guide them,
One Lady to save them and from the darkness free them
To bear to Middle Earth a lasting peace and light.
William T. B. A. P. Exeter
Willow's world fell around her. It wasn't the passage so much as the author.
William T. B. A. P. Exeter.
William The Bloody Awful Poet Exeter.
Spike. Spike had written in this book!
Frantically Willow turned the page, and there it was.
Dearest Willow,
Gods how we have all missed you. I can't even describe the day I heard the news. It seemed so irrational, the way Buffy called our office in the middle of the night, crying and hysterical. Spike eventually had to take the phone from her and explained. It didn't seem real, Willow was gone. No one ever thought it possible.
The day you disappeared was one of the worst in our lives. Plenty more of those came in the years to come. Everyone came together, everyone who loves you. And we searched. We searched long and hard. We searched for three long years.
Then we found you, perfectly safe and sad around the edges. We reached out for you, but no one could get to you. You were out of our reach forever. We all cried that day. I thought Xander would die; Dawn wouldn't leave her room for days. Buffy wandered about, as if lost. Anya couldn't move, Spike didn't say anything for weeks. Cordelia actually started filing things in the right order. Giles drank himself silly. Even Connor wailed for days, he felt the unhappiness in us all. The sorrow in our hearts was more than we could bear.
Then Lorne came through. We got a word with The Powers That Be. They would listen to our case. We demanded you returned to us. We threw a hissy fit in front of the most powerful beings in existence. Until they shut us up. Literally, they took our voices from us so they could get a word in. They told us everything; we didn't want to hear it. But they made us. They made us understand, and they forced us to move on. It took time, but we were able to realize that no matter where you are, you would not give up as long as there were people to save, to help. We didn't like it, but we accepted it, though not for a few years.
In the end, we practically deified you to the coming generations. And believe me, there are generations to come. We also knew where ever you were, you wouldn't be happy until you were positive we were okay. So this book, the first few pages as instructions for those you will save, the rest the story of our lives.
We love you, forever and always,
Liam Angelus Kieran O'Brien
May 30, 2006
Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she turned the page.
*****
God, what a difference a lifetime will make. Her friends lived on to old age with children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and so forth.
Buffy and Faith were the last of the Slayers. When the Savior binded the realms, vampires disappeared from the Earth. The role of the Chosen One was retired, and the Watchers Council turned to the study of paranormal phenomenon.
British, tweeded Ghostbusters, Willow nearly laughed herself to death.
Most amazing was the way they paired themselves out.
Angel and Spike shanshued. They regained their humanity, Spike regained his soul, and eventually the chip was removed.
There were pictures of the two running around outside, in the sun. One of Spike, arms outstretched and the caption: "Daytimes visits ain't suicide no more." She made a mental note of the grammatical errors, only to turn the page and have Spike admonish her for wasting time thinking about that. She grinned sheepishly.
Xander and Anya were married. They were happy. They had two beautiful children. A boy, Jesse Alexander Harris, and a girl, Willow Buffy Harris.
As for Buffy, she married Riley Finn. That nearly knocked Willow right out of her chair. Apparently Riley had come back to help look for her and the two had reconciled. They had one girl, Joyce Willow Finn.
Cordelia married Charles Gunn, the handsome ex gangbanger of Angel Investigations. They had three boys: Angel, Wesley, and Ricky Gunn. They were handsome devils.
Wesley married Faith. That one did knock Willow out of her chair. Faith, how could someone marry Faith? She was in jail last time Willow checked. But, after some serious redemption and jail time, the rogue slayer's former Watcher decided to give her a chance. They married two years after her parole. They had two girls: Sasha and Anne Wyndum-Price.
Giles returned to England after the search for Willow ended. He found Olivia again. They married the year before Giles became head of the Watchers Council. One daughter: Jennifer Rose Giles.
Angel had become human. He was delirious; he could play with his son in the daytime. He was able to take Connor to the beach. There was a hilarious side story of Angel's first sunburn.
He married Fred, the shy brunette who he saved from Pylea. In addition to Connor, they had a daughter- Willa Anne O'Brien, and a son- Kieran William O'Brien.
Spike returned to human and to his real name William. He wrote poetry and novels for a living. He made millions.
He fell in love with Dawn, her little Dawnie. They married when Dawn turned 21. They had one son- Alexander Liam Exeter and two daughters- Willamina Anne Exeter and Buffy Sasha Exeter.
The book was covered in bios and pictures. Towards the end were letters. Notes, poems, messages, and whatever else they wanted to tell Willow.
Anya wrote about her cold feet on her wedding day. Xander wrote all about how nervous he was about becoming a father. Buffy told of her insecurities of letting Riley in. Riley wrote of how much he missed the red head. Spike/William wrote of how he got over Buffy and eventually fell in love with Dawn. Dawn told her she loved her. Angel drew portraits, left notes of how much he appreciated Willow. Giles wrote to tell her of how he thought of her as his daughter.
They all wrote things, their children wrote things. All to Willow, all full of love.
At the ending, there was one last letter. From the Savior, from Connor Liam O'Brien, Angel's son.
He wrote of the prophecy and he wrote of the making of Middle Earth. He wrote many things and Willow loved it all. But mostly she loved the ending paragraph.
In closing, I'd like to add, though you were gone long before my first word, I remember you. My father use to lament that I was too young to remember the redheaded beauty everyone searched for, but he was wrong. I remembered. I don't know how, but then again I'm not exactly the most ordinary human. I remember the day I was baptized. You and the rest came down from Sunnydale. Father asked you to be a godmother to me. I remember the way you held me in your arms inside the church. It stuck in my mind throughout my entire life. One, because soon after you were gone and everyone wanted to find you. Second, you loved me. I'm not saying the others didn't love me, but their love was an offspring of the love they had for my father. When you held me, you loved me for being alive. Yes you were glad my father was able to have a son, and you loved it made him happy, but your love for me was a love you would give to any other child born. You loved life, in its every form. I followed your example as best as I could. I loved life where I found it, and it is because of that people call me the Savior.
Yours truly,
Connor Liam O'Brien
*****
Hours later, exhausted from her reading, Willow finished her book and sat back. Finally the tears came. All the tears she had been holding from the minute she saw the hole flooded out of her. Willow sobbed tears of true sorrow.
A hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up with her tear stained face. Strider looked down at her sympathetically.
"I lost them," she sniffled. "I lost them all and I'm so far away from home."
The tears came back, and Willow continued her cry. She needed comfort, preferably in the shape of her old life. Or maybe just one friend. Couldn't she have at least one of her old friends? Or maybe someone related to them?
Couldn't they just bring her Xander, if only for one hour? Xander, oh gods, she'd never see Xander again.
"I miss my Xander-shaped friend," she wailed. Strider looked at her a bit funny. She cried some more. No one here even understood her.
Presently, Strider wrapped his arms around the weeping girl. She leaned against his chest and cried. She cried many tears. Strider just rocked her back and forth.
"It'll be okay, Little One," he murmured, stroking her hair.
Did she mention Strider reminded her of Angel?
* * * * * * * * * * *
Willow stared down at the book in her hands.
Elrond had informed her the book was hers from now on. They invited her to stay in the library to read it. She refused and ran out. She made her way through the palace, never stopping once.
Eventually, she became tired and rested. She was in some strange hall with gigantic murals on the walls. One was a painting of what had to be Isildur cutting the ring from the hand of Sauron. Right across from it was a statue and a pedestal. On it was the broken parts of a sword. Willow looked from it to the painting. She had a pretty good guess at what it was.
There was also a bench off in the corner. Willow flopped down, miserable. She should have just brooded, but her curiosity got the better of her.
She opened to the page of her portrait. It looked familiar, she didn't know how, but it was. Shaking her head, she turned the page.
The Shadow will menace until the arrival of the Lady Firelight
A warrior sorceress too brilliant to defy,
Brought to set all things right,
Even in the Land of Mordor, where the Shadows lie,
A timeless beauty too strong to fight.
One Lady to aid them, One Lady to guide them,
One Lady to save them and from the darkness free them
To bear to Middle Earth a lasting peace and light.
William T. B. A. P. Exeter
Willow's world fell around her. It wasn't the passage so much as the author.
William T. B. A. P. Exeter.
William The Bloody Awful Poet Exeter.
Spike. Spike had written in this book!
Frantically Willow turned the page, and there it was.
Dearest Willow,
Gods how we have all missed you. I can't even describe the day I heard the news. It seemed so irrational, the way Buffy called our office in the middle of the night, crying and hysterical. Spike eventually had to take the phone from her and explained. It didn't seem real, Willow was gone. No one ever thought it possible.
The day you disappeared was one of the worst in our lives. Plenty more of those came in the years to come. Everyone came together, everyone who loves you. And we searched. We searched long and hard. We searched for three long years.
Then we found you, perfectly safe and sad around the edges. We reached out for you, but no one could get to you. You were out of our reach forever. We all cried that day. I thought Xander would die; Dawn wouldn't leave her room for days. Buffy wandered about, as if lost. Anya couldn't move, Spike didn't say anything for weeks. Cordelia actually started filing things in the right order. Giles drank himself silly. Even Connor wailed for days, he felt the unhappiness in us all. The sorrow in our hearts was more than we could bear.
Then Lorne came through. We got a word with The Powers That Be. They would listen to our case. We demanded you returned to us. We threw a hissy fit in front of the most powerful beings in existence. Until they shut us up. Literally, they took our voices from us so they could get a word in. They told us everything; we didn't want to hear it. But they made us. They made us understand, and they forced us to move on. It took time, but we were able to realize that no matter where you are, you would not give up as long as there were people to save, to help. We didn't like it, but we accepted it, though not for a few years.
In the end, we practically deified you to the coming generations. And believe me, there are generations to come. We also knew where ever you were, you wouldn't be happy until you were positive we were okay. So this book, the first few pages as instructions for those you will save, the rest the story of our lives.
We love you, forever and always,
Liam Angelus Kieran O'Brien
May 30, 2006
Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she turned the page.
*****
God, what a difference a lifetime will make. Her friends lived on to old age with children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and so forth.
Buffy and Faith were the last of the Slayers. When the Savior binded the realms, vampires disappeared from the Earth. The role of the Chosen One was retired, and the Watchers Council turned to the study of paranormal phenomenon.
British, tweeded Ghostbusters, Willow nearly laughed herself to death.
Most amazing was the way they paired themselves out.
Angel and Spike shanshued. They regained their humanity, Spike regained his soul, and eventually the chip was removed.
There were pictures of the two running around outside, in the sun. One of Spike, arms outstretched and the caption: "Daytimes visits ain't suicide no more." She made a mental note of the grammatical errors, only to turn the page and have Spike admonish her for wasting time thinking about that. She grinned sheepishly.
Xander and Anya were married. They were happy. They had two beautiful children. A boy, Jesse Alexander Harris, and a girl, Willow Buffy Harris.
As for Buffy, she married Riley Finn. That nearly knocked Willow right out of her chair. Apparently Riley had come back to help look for her and the two had reconciled. They had one girl, Joyce Willow Finn.
Cordelia married Charles Gunn, the handsome ex gangbanger of Angel Investigations. They had three boys: Angel, Wesley, and Ricky Gunn. They were handsome devils.
Wesley married Faith. That one did knock Willow out of her chair. Faith, how could someone marry Faith? She was in jail last time Willow checked. But, after some serious redemption and jail time, the rogue slayer's former Watcher decided to give her a chance. They married two years after her parole. They had two girls: Sasha and Anne Wyndum-Price.
Giles returned to England after the search for Willow ended. He found Olivia again. They married the year before Giles became head of the Watchers Council. One daughter: Jennifer Rose Giles.
Angel had become human. He was delirious; he could play with his son in the daytime. He was able to take Connor to the beach. There was a hilarious side story of Angel's first sunburn.
He married Fred, the shy brunette who he saved from Pylea. In addition to Connor, they had a daughter- Willa Anne O'Brien, and a son- Kieran William O'Brien.
Spike returned to human and to his real name William. He wrote poetry and novels for a living. He made millions.
He fell in love with Dawn, her little Dawnie. They married when Dawn turned 21. They had one son- Alexander Liam Exeter and two daughters- Willamina Anne Exeter and Buffy Sasha Exeter.
The book was covered in bios and pictures. Towards the end were letters. Notes, poems, messages, and whatever else they wanted to tell Willow.
Anya wrote about her cold feet on her wedding day. Xander wrote all about how nervous he was about becoming a father. Buffy told of her insecurities of letting Riley in. Riley wrote of how much he missed the red head. Spike/William wrote of how he got over Buffy and eventually fell in love with Dawn. Dawn told her she loved her. Angel drew portraits, left notes of how much he appreciated Willow. Giles wrote to tell her of how he thought of her as his daughter.
They all wrote things, their children wrote things. All to Willow, all full of love.
At the ending, there was one last letter. From the Savior, from Connor Liam O'Brien, Angel's son.
He wrote of the prophecy and he wrote of the making of Middle Earth. He wrote many things and Willow loved it all. But mostly she loved the ending paragraph.
In closing, I'd like to add, though you were gone long before my first word, I remember you. My father use to lament that I was too young to remember the redheaded beauty everyone searched for, but he was wrong. I remembered. I don't know how, but then again I'm not exactly the most ordinary human. I remember the day I was baptized. You and the rest came down from Sunnydale. Father asked you to be a godmother to me. I remember the way you held me in your arms inside the church. It stuck in my mind throughout my entire life. One, because soon after you were gone and everyone wanted to find you. Second, you loved me. I'm not saying the others didn't love me, but their love was an offspring of the love they had for my father. When you held me, you loved me for being alive. Yes you were glad my father was able to have a son, and you loved it made him happy, but your love for me was a love you would give to any other child born. You loved life, in its every form. I followed your example as best as I could. I loved life where I found it, and it is because of that people call me the Savior.
Yours truly,
Connor Liam O'Brien
*****
Hours later, exhausted from her reading, Willow finished her book and sat back. Finally the tears came. All the tears she had been holding from the minute she saw the hole flooded out of her. Willow sobbed tears of true sorrow.
A hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up with her tear stained face. Strider looked down at her sympathetically.
"I lost them," she sniffled. "I lost them all and I'm so far away from home."
The tears came back, and Willow continued her cry. She needed comfort, preferably in the shape of her old life. Or maybe just one friend. Couldn't she have at least one of her old friends? Or maybe someone related to them?
Couldn't they just bring her Xander, if only for one hour? Xander, oh gods, she'd never see Xander again.
"I miss my Xander-shaped friend," she wailed. Strider looked at her a bit funny. She cried some more. No one here even understood her.
Presently, Strider wrapped his arms around the weeping girl. She leaned against his chest and cried. She cried many tears. Strider just rocked her back and forth.
"It'll be okay, Little One," he murmured, stroking her hair.
Did she mention Strider reminded her of Angel?
* * * * * * * * * * *