Title: Some Wishes
Author: babyxeyes
Rated: PG13
Disclaimer: They all belong to Joss. Grr....Argh, and all that stuff.
Timeline: Buffy-S5. Shortly after Joyce's death.
Pairings: X/A. W/T. B/A with some B/S undertones.
Feedback: Wonderful. Thank you!
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Chapter Seven:
"Angel. Why-I must say this is quite a surprise." Giles fumbled, slightly, opening the door a bit wider. "Ah, yes, please. Come in."
"I'm sorry to bother you this late." Angel spoke, once they were both inside.
"No, no. I was still awake, actually." He paused, still very much confused, and decided that tact could be put aside for the moment. "Why are you here?"
The corners of Angel's mouth twitched, just a little. The question was so unlike Giles. He really had changed since they had last met. Hell, he was starting to sound more and more like ..
"It's Buffy." Angel said, his wandering thoughts jolting him back to the reason he had come.
"Buffy? I spoke to her this afternoon." Giles offered.
Angel shook his head, "Something's *going* to happen to her, and we need to stop it. Cordelia, she had a vision."
"Cordelia? *She* had this vision?"
"She gets them, now. She's become my link to the Powers. It's..interesting." Angel gave Giles a second to process the information, before plunging on. This was about Buffy. Not Cordelia.
"Giles, we'll need some of your books." He looked at him for a moment, suddenly not knowing if he would even believe him. "Specifically..the fairytales."
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I chose vanilla.
The spell had room for one variable. A way of making the whole process more personal, I guess. Aside from the individual wish, the scent you carried with you was your only link back to the dimension you came from.
After the spell is recited, you're sucked into a portal. Just one big portal, for all the people trying to get to their own destination. Kind of like an airport. If you don't have that scent on you, you're lost among the crowd. With no way of going forward, or back home.
I could have chosen anything. Blood of a demon. Ashes of a vampire. Things that would have given me power, and strength for the journey. I might not have passed out, actually.
[I don't care what you are. A champion fighter or..a vampire slayer. You're my daughter. My little girl. And you always will be.]
But I decided to just be her. Buffy. Not "the Slayer."
And Buffy doesn't like blood or piles of dust.
Buffy likes vanilla.
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Angel held the blue feather in his hand, examining it closely.
"How could this happen?" Willow spoke, from where she sat on the living room couch. "How could we not have seen this coming?"
"You do crazy things when you're in mourning. It's nobody's fault." Tara said, gently, tightening the hold she had on her girlfriend's hand.
"But Buffy knows better than this. I mean she's not stupid." Xander ran a nervous hand through his hair, still unable to understand the night's events. "She stops these things. She wouldn't just put herself *in* danger!"
"Angel?" Dawn said, quietly, from her spot on the floor.
Angel's whole expression softened at the sound of Dawn's voice. Even though he knew his memories of her weren't real, he cared very much about her. When he looked at her, he saw the girl Buffy could have been. Just a sweet, confused teenager. He had always had a soft spot for her.
He brought his eyes to hers, letting her know he was listening.
"Where..where did Buffy go?"
All eyes in the room turned to Angel, where he was standing in the doorway to the Summers' living room, and he swallowed the lump in his throat.
"We can't know for sure." He paused. "Everyone goes someplace different."
"How does it work?" Willow asked, sitting up a bit.
Angel cleared his throat, putting the feather down and taking a step forward. "The spell is only for warriors. Fighters. Demons, vampires-"
"And Slayers." Xander cut him off, somewhat bitterly.
Angel looked at him for a second, giving a small nod. "Right. It feeds off emotion. Hurt, pain, grief..the book says that it can make all the misery go away, but it doesn't always work that way."
"I don't get it." Dawn looked at Angel questioningly, and he gave a small sigh. They didn't understand-they couldn't-why this was so difficult for him. A sharp wave suddenly ran through him, as he felt an alarmingly strong sense of need for Buffy. If she had been there, she wouldn't have needed to understand. She just would have known that something was bothering him. And she would have stopped their prodding.
But she wasn't there. And he was the only link they had to get her back.
"You start off in a portal." Angel sat down on the edge of the couch. "The trip alone can take hours, depending on where you're being sent to. The purpose of the journey is to have your soul read. Once the Powers understand what, exactly, you've been wishing for, they can give it to you. Make it happen."
"Anything?" Dawn asked, in disbelief.
"Anything." He confirmed.
"Well what's so bad about that?" Xander questioned.
"The wish ends. It doesn't last forever, and you're sent back to your own world, feeling worse off than you were. Because now you really know that all you can ever get are glimpses. These wishes..they're always very impossible, yes? They make the world you live in seem dull, and unimportant in comparison." Giles looked to Angel, to see if his assumptions were correct. Angel's small nod told him all he needed to know.
"Before you leave, they mark you. It's an incredibly painful, drawn out process, and in most cases, by the time it's finished you can hardly remember anything about what you saw. The wish, the glimpse..it's all thick. Like a dream you didn't really have." Angel finished.
The room was silent, as everyone worked through their own thoughts.
"Okay, so, recap?" Xander was the first to speak. "Buffy's hurting lots. Right now she's swirling through some portal, being taken to wherever her mind wishes she were. Once she sees what she wants to see, they'll take the memory away from her, and send her back to us."
"And the scars from an ordeal like that don't heal easily, one would assume." Giles continued.
"So basically, Buffy comes back worse off than she was before." Xander's voice was dull and empty.
"Um." Tara's voice was soft and unsure. "Sh-she could..d-d-die. Right?" She stuttered slightly, as everyone focused their attention on her.
"What?" Willow asked, horrified.
"Yes." Angel said, ignoring everyone but the wicca.
"Look Angel, I know you've been a little out of our loop lately, but that's *still* considered important information!" Xander snapped out.
"How did you know?" Angel asked Tara.
"W-w-well I'm no expert, but I know some stuff about portals, in g- general." She paused, "You need strength, and s-stamina to survive the trip. She'd have made it the first time, with Slayer-strength and all that, b-b-but after whatever they put her through, she might not be strong enough." She spoke slowly, watching her friends carefully.
"Then she'll die." Dawn's voice was sharp and positive.
"Dawnie, we won't it happen. We'll stop this." Willow said, soothingly.
Dawn shook her head, not wanting to be coddled. "She won't be able to make it back."
The room was silent, as everyone listened to the teenager's words.
"She's going to wish Mom was still alive. And once she sees her, she'll be ruined."
--------------------------------------
TBA..
** Ack, I know it's a little short. Just wanted to fill in some of the blanks! **
Author: babyxeyes
Rated: PG13
Disclaimer: They all belong to Joss. Grr....Argh, and all that stuff.
Timeline: Buffy-S5. Shortly after Joyce's death.
Pairings: X/A. W/T. B/A with some B/S undertones.
Feedback: Wonderful. Thank you!
--------------------------------------
Chapter Seven:
"Angel. Why-I must say this is quite a surprise." Giles fumbled, slightly, opening the door a bit wider. "Ah, yes, please. Come in."
"I'm sorry to bother you this late." Angel spoke, once they were both inside.
"No, no. I was still awake, actually." He paused, still very much confused, and decided that tact could be put aside for the moment. "Why are you here?"
The corners of Angel's mouth twitched, just a little. The question was so unlike Giles. He really had changed since they had last met. Hell, he was starting to sound more and more like ..
"It's Buffy." Angel said, his wandering thoughts jolting him back to the reason he had come.
"Buffy? I spoke to her this afternoon." Giles offered.
Angel shook his head, "Something's *going* to happen to her, and we need to stop it. Cordelia, she had a vision."
"Cordelia? *She* had this vision?"
"She gets them, now. She's become my link to the Powers. It's..interesting." Angel gave Giles a second to process the information, before plunging on. This was about Buffy. Not Cordelia.
"Giles, we'll need some of your books." He looked at him for a moment, suddenly not knowing if he would even believe him. "Specifically..the fairytales."
--------------------------------------
I chose vanilla.
The spell had room for one variable. A way of making the whole process more personal, I guess. Aside from the individual wish, the scent you carried with you was your only link back to the dimension you came from.
After the spell is recited, you're sucked into a portal. Just one big portal, for all the people trying to get to their own destination. Kind of like an airport. If you don't have that scent on you, you're lost among the crowd. With no way of going forward, or back home.
I could have chosen anything. Blood of a demon. Ashes of a vampire. Things that would have given me power, and strength for the journey. I might not have passed out, actually.
[I don't care what you are. A champion fighter or..a vampire slayer. You're my daughter. My little girl. And you always will be.]
But I decided to just be her. Buffy. Not "the Slayer."
And Buffy doesn't like blood or piles of dust.
Buffy likes vanilla.
--------------------------------------
Angel held the blue feather in his hand, examining it closely.
"How could this happen?" Willow spoke, from where she sat on the living room couch. "How could we not have seen this coming?"
"You do crazy things when you're in mourning. It's nobody's fault." Tara said, gently, tightening the hold she had on her girlfriend's hand.
"But Buffy knows better than this. I mean she's not stupid." Xander ran a nervous hand through his hair, still unable to understand the night's events. "She stops these things. She wouldn't just put herself *in* danger!"
"Angel?" Dawn said, quietly, from her spot on the floor.
Angel's whole expression softened at the sound of Dawn's voice. Even though he knew his memories of her weren't real, he cared very much about her. When he looked at her, he saw the girl Buffy could have been. Just a sweet, confused teenager. He had always had a soft spot for her.
He brought his eyes to hers, letting her know he was listening.
"Where..where did Buffy go?"
All eyes in the room turned to Angel, where he was standing in the doorway to the Summers' living room, and he swallowed the lump in his throat.
"We can't know for sure." He paused. "Everyone goes someplace different."
"How does it work?" Willow asked, sitting up a bit.
Angel cleared his throat, putting the feather down and taking a step forward. "The spell is only for warriors. Fighters. Demons, vampires-"
"And Slayers." Xander cut him off, somewhat bitterly.
Angel looked at him for a second, giving a small nod. "Right. It feeds off emotion. Hurt, pain, grief..the book says that it can make all the misery go away, but it doesn't always work that way."
"I don't get it." Dawn looked at Angel questioningly, and he gave a small sigh. They didn't understand-they couldn't-why this was so difficult for him. A sharp wave suddenly ran through him, as he felt an alarmingly strong sense of need for Buffy. If she had been there, she wouldn't have needed to understand. She just would have known that something was bothering him. And she would have stopped their prodding.
But she wasn't there. And he was the only link they had to get her back.
"You start off in a portal." Angel sat down on the edge of the couch. "The trip alone can take hours, depending on where you're being sent to. The purpose of the journey is to have your soul read. Once the Powers understand what, exactly, you've been wishing for, they can give it to you. Make it happen."
"Anything?" Dawn asked, in disbelief.
"Anything." He confirmed.
"Well what's so bad about that?" Xander questioned.
"The wish ends. It doesn't last forever, and you're sent back to your own world, feeling worse off than you were. Because now you really know that all you can ever get are glimpses. These wishes..they're always very impossible, yes? They make the world you live in seem dull, and unimportant in comparison." Giles looked to Angel, to see if his assumptions were correct. Angel's small nod told him all he needed to know.
"Before you leave, they mark you. It's an incredibly painful, drawn out process, and in most cases, by the time it's finished you can hardly remember anything about what you saw. The wish, the glimpse..it's all thick. Like a dream you didn't really have." Angel finished.
The room was silent, as everyone worked through their own thoughts.
"Okay, so, recap?" Xander was the first to speak. "Buffy's hurting lots. Right now she's swirling through some portal, being taken to wherever her mind wishes she were. Once she sees what she wants to see, they'll take the memory away from her, and send her back to us."
"And the scars from an ordeal like that don't heal easily, one would assume." Giles continued.
"So basically, Buffy comes back worse off than she was before." Xander's voice was dull and empty.
"Um." Tara's voice was soft and unsure. "Sh-she could..d-d-die. Right?" She stuttered slightly, as everyone focused their attention on her.
"What?" Willow asked, horrified.
"Yes." Angel said, ignoring everyone but the wicca.
"Look Angel, I know you've been a little out of our loop lately, but that's *still* considered important information!" Xander snapped out.
"How did you know?" Angel asked Tara.
"W-w-well I'm no expert, but I know some stuff about portals, in g- general." She paused, "You need strength, and s-stamina to survive the trip. She'd have made it the first time, with Slayer-strength and all that, b-b-but after whatever they put her through, she might not be strong enough." She spoke slowly, watching her friends carefully.
"Then she'll die." Dawn's voice was sharp and positive.
"Dawnie, we won't it happen. We'll stop this." Willow said, soothingly.
Dawn shook her head, not wanting to be coddled. "She won't be able to make it back."
The room was silent, as everyone listened to the teenager's words.
"She's going to wish Mom was still alive. And once she sees her, she'll be ruined."
--------------------------------------
TBA..
** Ack, I know it's a little short. Just wanted to fill in some of the blanks! **
