Part 3

As the movie ended Willow stood up to stretch. It had been nice and comfortable with everyone tonight. She hadn't been sure how she would fit in besides just helping out. She glanced around as she saw that Cordelia and Fred both had their heads on Gunn's shoulders sleeping quietly. She smiled as she quietly stepped over Gunn's outstretched legs.

Turning to Angel she whispered, "Should we wake them?"

"No, if anything comes up you and I can handle it. Wesley should be coming over soon and we'll wake them all up then. He wanted to wait until you were here before telling them what he told me and Giles." Angel stood to follow Willow into the lobby.

"I didn't tell Buffy or Xander but Giles did tell me that it had to do with the law firm you're always up against. Wolfman and Hart?"

Angel laughed, "No, Wolfram and Hart though they probably do have a wolfman on the payroll."

"Okay, I get that lawyers are evil but do you really need a powerful witch to help you battle some?"

"Their connections run to the underworld, hell gods and demons. They are on the opposite side of the Powers that Be."

"Oh . . . good . . .no pressure. You guys do know that it's not like I've been fighting the forces of darkness these last three years. Okay, yeah, I've vanquished some demons, warlocks and a few vampires but not like it was on an apocalyptic scale or anything."

Angel gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "I have no doubt that you could conquer anything that you put your mind to. I do remember your Resolve Face."

A tingle went through Willow's body when Angel squeezed her shoulder. Maybe she would ask Wesley about this connection she was feeling with Angel. She hadn't wanted to say anything to Giles or Buffy because of their past ties with Angel and Angelus. Wesley would be impartial, Willow hoped. The pull seemed to be getting stronger the closer physically she was to Angel. It wasn't like she didn't have a will of her own or anything but the need to be near him was strong.

Cordelia saw Angel squeeze Willow's arm and smiled. Angel had never been big with the casual touching so Cordy took this as a very good sign. She hadn't wanted to interrupt the moment but Wes was here and she knew that they needed to talk with him.

"Hey guys, Wes is here."

Willow and Angel followed Cordelia into the lobby. Wes was spreading out the scrolls that he had brought. He looked up at their approach and smiled, "It's nice to see you again, Willow."

Willow couldn't get over the change in Wesley. Gone was the guy who would scream like a girl and whimper in the face of danger. In his place stood a mature and confident man. "Thanks, Wesley. It's nice to see you, too."

She leaned into Angel and whispered, "You seem to have quite an affect on the former residents of Sunnydale."

Angel raised an eyebrow at her. Willow blushed when she realized what she had said, "I meant Cordy and Wes."

Angel smiled at her blushing. He had missed that about her, "I know you did, little one."

The pull Angel was feeling with Willow was getting stronger the more time he spent with her. Was it the connection he felt after he left Sunnydale? Or was it that he was feeling something new? Did this feeling have something to do with this new Willow that he was finding fascinating? The need to be near and touch her was becoming stronger. Maybe he would ask Wesley to look into it?

When everyone had settled around the scrolls Wesley began, "There have been rumors from Wolfram & Hart that something big was coming. This coincided with news from the Watcher's Council that the prophecy in the Urok scrolls may have begun. Mr. Giles relayed this information to me when he learned I have a copy of those scrolls."

Willow interrupted him and asked Cordelia, "And you haven't gotten a vision or anything about what is happening?"

"Nope, nothin'. Just your basic everyday visions to kill the demons."

Wesley continued, "The scrolls state that there will be a rise in earthquake activity that will herald the demon god Docunde being brought forth. After the earthquakes there will be occurrences of an apocalyptic nature. Such as cats giving birth to snakes or children born with unusual birth defects. After Docunde has arrived there will be a rise in demonic activity at all the Hellmouths across the globe.  Just before Giles called you, Willow there were earthquakes both large and small reported all over the globe."

"Wesley, I'd be glad to help anyway I can but as I told Angel earlier it has been awhile since I fought off anything this big. Is there a reason why I was called?"

Wesley seemed to hesitate. "We got in contact with the Watcher's Council after I read up on the scrolls. What I discovered was that someone else will be accompanying Docunde into this realm and that only a witch of great strength would be able to defeat him. There was a meeting among the Council members regarding this and your name was brought up."

Willow noticed Wesley's fidgeting. "Who is coming, Wesley?"

"Astrote."

Angel quickly looked at Willow when he noticed that her heart rate had accelerated. He saw that her face had turned white. "Willow, what's wrong?"

Willow jumped up and began to pace, "Are you sure? Of course you're sure. That isn't anything you would not be sure about. Oh goddess, that's why Sue and the other leaders had a meeting last week. They gave me a cleansing ceremony before I left but I thought that was just to prepare me for something different that we had talked about."

"Who is Astrote?"

"He is an extremely powerful dark wizard. He is said to be a high lord to the first evil." Willow sat down on shaking legs. No wonder everyone was keeping this hush, hush. If she had known she was to face Astrote she would have gone into hiding. Maybe even another dimension.

Angel sat down next to Willow and rubbed her back, "What aren't you telling us, Willow? Granted I may not have seen you for three years but I've never seen you have this reaction to an evil coming before."

"Yeah, Willow. We'll be there fighting with you. It's not like you have to face him alone."

With a sad smile, Willow looked at Wesley. "You haven't told them have you?"

"Told us what, Wesley?"

"Willow will have to fight Astrote alone. Or physically alone anyway. The battle with the wizard will take place on the astral plane. Her body will be here but her spirit or her soul will be fighting on the other plane."

Cordelia asked, "So while we're kicking demon god ass Willow will be on her own with this high lord to the first evil?"

Willow smiled, "Not on my own really. I can do a bonding ritual with my coven and with others. This will allow me to draw on their strengths in the astral plane without harming their souls or spirits on this plane."

Willow just had an idea. Was the connection with Angel's soul that had occurred when she restored it preparing her for the battle with Astrote? Was she destined to be the warrior that went up against the dark lord? Maybe that was why she had been able to perform such a complicated spell while still a novice witch. If that were true she wouldn't need to do a bonding ritual. Her soul was already bonded to Angelus and Angel.

"Wesley, have you ever performed any spells?"

"A few but nothing like you, Angel or Giles can perform."

"What is it, Willow?"

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she prepared to tell them what she was experiencing with the bond. God, she had come a long way since she was the high school girl that had the coroner's office as a bookmark.

"I haven't told anyone, not even Buffy or Giles, since it happened in high school. When I restored your soul, Angel I felt something go through me. A part of whatever went through me stayed and I've felt a connection with you ever since. It's getting stronger the closer I am to you and it never went away in the three years. I asked my coven leader, Sue about it because I was afraid something had gone wrong with that spell. She thinks our souls bonded. If that did happen I should be able to draw on your strengths as both Angel and Angelus in the astral plane when I fight Astrote."

"I've felt the same thing with you. I never noticed it much in Sunnydale, just that I always felt comfortable around you. It wasn't until I moved here to LA that I noticed I felt connected to you. I've felt a strong pull ever since you arrived today. For the first few days before you got here I was anxious for you to get here. It was like I knew something important was going to happen but I didn't know what."

"No lie. He was like a little kid when he found out you were coming. Everything had to be just right for Willow. He was pacing when Cordy and I left to go pick you up."

If Angel had been capable of blushing he knew he would have. Oh there was going to be some major payback to Gunn for that comment.

"I just wanted her to feel welcome. It had been three years since we had seen her."

"Uh huh."

Taking mercy on Angel Wesley asked Willow, "What spell did you want me to perform?"

"There is a simple spell that you can do to see Angel and my aura. I know you can't read auras but you can tell me what you see."

"Why don't you do the spell on yourself?"

Willow turned to Fred, "A witch can't read their own aura. When a witch casts a spell it changes their aura. So in order to read my true aura I can't cast a spell but the only way to read auras is to cast a spell. Kind of a catch twenty two."

Willow wrote down the simple incantation for Wesley to read. After handing it to Wesley she returned to Angel's side.

"Will we be able to see your auras or just Wesley?"

"If you are sensitive to magick you will be able to see it. You three will probably all be able to see."

"Ready?"

Willow took a deep breath, "Ready."

Wesley chanted the incantation. There appeared to be a glow around both Willow and Angel. All three jaws dropped. Oh goddess, what were they seeing?  Willow grabbed Angel's hand for support. "What do you see, Wesley?"

Cordelia broke out into a huge grin. She wouldn't even have to nudge anymore. There it was in Technicolor.

It was Fred that answered, "So that's what Kyrumption looks like."

"Huh?"

"What Fred means is your auras are connected. Intertwined even. There is a cord like ribbon that is golden in color that is connecting you and Angel. Then the cord is wrapped up and around your aura that surrounds both your bodies. There isn't a separate aura. You two are definitely bonded."

"What color besides golden do you see?"

"White, red, black, gold all intertwined."

"So there are three distinct colors besides the gold? This is important Wesley."

"Yes, it is like a braid with the three colors white, red and black. The gold is weaving between the colors and between you and Angel."

Willow broke out into a big smile. It lit her face. She jumped in Angel's arms and he caught her in an embrace. "Do you know what this means Angel?"

He didn't really care at the moment, he was holding Willow in a spontaneous hug and it felt great. "Not exactly. Except we definitely have a connection."

She let go of him but kept hold of his hands and squeezed. "It means your soul is bonded and connected to mine. You have a permanent soul, Angel. No curse, no happiness clause, no wondering if Angelus will make a comeback. You're free." Willow's eyes started to tear up. "Oh god, Angel I'm sorry. If I had said something or done something you would have known this back in Sunnydale."

Angel gently wiped her tears, "You don't know that. It may have needed your power to grow as a witch before it became this entwined or for the years to pass to make the bond this strong."

"He's right, Willow. The colors and braiding are strong but they might not have been that bright or strong three years ago. No use crying for what might have been. It might not have been."

Willow smiled at Wesley, "Were you this smart in Sunnydale and I just didn't notice?"

Wesley gave her a shy grin, "No, it took moving away and discovering who I really was for me to get this smart."

~~~~

The offices of Wolfram and Hart were buzzing with excitement. The Senior Partners had announced that Doc would be arriving. It seemed they had finally found someone that could defeat the souled vampire or at least take him out of the picture for the apocalypse. There was a meeting scheduled for tonight with all the top brass in attendance.

Lilah didn't know who Doc was but he must be someone of high importance. She could only remember one other time that the top brass asked the Senior Partners for a meeting. Maybe this time they would finally get Angel out of the picture.