Chapter Six

Apocalyptic might have been somewhat of an understatement. Angel's driver got ten blocks from the Slayer School's campus when they found...

Nothing. A void in reality a good hundred yards long or more and several hundred feet high.

"Sir?" his driver yelped in panic. And considering some of the things he'd driven, and what he'd driven them to, that was saying something.

"Go around it!" Angel shouted, hitting the emergency button on his cell that put him instantly though to dispatch. "This is Angel. I need Containment Units, now! What? All of them! High Magicks and Dimensions, too. Page Mr. Wyndham-Price and Ms. Burkle. Put them through as soon as you reach them."

He glanced up and found the driver still staring at the vortex in shock as it inched away from them, slowly devouring everything in its path.

The path to Buffy's school.

"DRIVE, GODDAMNIT!" he bellowed. Time was up, and all the confusion, questions and decisions that had been plaguing him instantly became moot. He had to get to Buffy. Now. Before she and her entire family disappeared forever, and they had no more chances for answers.

The driver finally got it together and peeled out as he spun the limo into reverse, jumped the curb, and sped down the street running parallel to the void, jerking the wheel left and right to avoid the screaming, panicking throngs fleeing in the opposite direction.

"This wasn't exactly the sign I was looking for, Cordy," Angel grumbled into the chaos.

~

Pandemonium reigned at the Slayer School. The administrators watched in horror as the neighborhood nearby vanished, inch by slow, agonizing inch. There was no real sound – no explosions or screaming. Just the whoosh of the vortex's unnatural wind, and then... nothing.

The only noise was everyone scrambling to the school buses, preparing to escape the coming destruction.

Buffy, Faith, Willow and the other teachers herded the girls out, hoping to keep them from dying by trampling each other – which would totally defeat the purpose of saving them from the devouring black hole.

Once all the students and outside staff were accounted for and the buses headed off to the safe house in the Simi Valley, Wood and Kennedy came to join them on the front steps.

"It's barely moving," Kennedy observed, her usually strong voice trembling in terror.

"But it's moving," Buffy replied, "A couple of feet an hour, we think. Or... Willow thinks."

"Did you get hold of Giles and Dawn in Budapest?" Faith asked.

Her sister Slayer nodded, her gaze still riveted on the vortex.

"Angel should be here any..." Willow began, but was cut off by the sound of a veritable fleet of Hum-V's, jeeps and a weird looking tank screeching to a halt in the parking lot before them. The quintet watched in shock as what seemed an army of people poured out of the vehicles – some in fatigues and some in robes – and started making their way toward the void.

A stretch limo, its windows tinted pitch black, brought up the rear. The driver scrambled from the front, threw open the back door and revealed...

Angel. Dressed from his head to fingers to toes in black, a getup that included some sort of weird ski mask concealing his face, with a screen over his eyes. But Buffy knew him.... the breadth of his shoulders, his height, the graceful way he carried that big, muscular form. She gulped. There was *definitely* something wrong with her wanting to jump him when they were less than a mile from a vortex or something that was patiently swallowing the world and coming straight for them.

She watched him approach in dream-like slow motion. Like a knight in... well, black spandex, it looked like, charging from his sort-of steed to save the day. Again.

Then he had her by the arm, and the group was rushing inside. Once in the reception area, Angel tore off his mask to face the confused countenances of the others.

"Enchanted silk-Lycra blend. Sunproof," he explained. "Now why doesn't someone tell me what happened so we can get started."

Speechless, Buffy followed he and Faith into her office. The dark-haired Slayer grinned over her shoulder, mouthing, 'He looks *HOT*!'

The world in peril, and her sister Slayer was still thinking about sex. And with *her* not-sort-of-maybe-future boyfriend, no less. Typical.

Although... Buffy tilted her head for a better view. Angel did look really hot in those black field pants.

~

"And it just... appeared there," Angel recapped.

"Yup. One minute, perfect summer afternoon just begging for some class skipping, blue sky, birds singing. The next?" Faith began.

"Disney Presents Black Hole 2: The Sequel Nobody Wanted," Wood finished for her. Everyone gave him a clueless look. "Before your time. Forget it."

"I tried locating the source," Willow said, "But the charm just... sputtered out. Which means it probably wasn't a spell that created the vortex. So we probably can't close it that way. And the pattern is different from any dimension portal I could find in the records, so I don't think it's a normal gate."

Angel nodded. "Fred's team said it's not a physical anomaly, either. It doesn't have any of the usual characteristics of a black hole."

"Great. So we know a shitload about what it isn't," Faith griped, plopping down on the couch, "How about we work on some clues about what it *is*?"

"We don't have much time. It's moving slowly, but we can't be sure how long it'll stay that way. So far it's only swallowed a few buildings in the neighboorhood and some of the school grounds, but..." Wood added.

"It's only a matter of time until it gets here," Buffy murmured absently. Her tense gaze met Angel's. "The prophecy said something needs to be repaired to stop it."

Angel looked away.

"So," Faith remarked, giving Willow an elbow, "Anything in your books on Turbo Therapy? Save Your Relationship in Twelve Hours or Less? 'Cause the clock's ticking, kids."

No one responded.

~

Wesley remained on the front step with Fred and her team as the sun set, staring at the advancing void.

"This can't be what the prophecy was referring to. What can a fire do against nothingness? Even a fire of the 'Mythic romance' persuasion," he lamented.

"I don't know Wes," his colleague replied as she shut down her energy flux recorder. "I mean... no matter how epic they are, I don't think Buffy and Angel can rip a hole the size of the Mall of America in the universe."

The ex-Watcher shrugged. "No, I suppose not. Which leaves us with less than nothing to go on, then."

Fred gave him a worried look. "I think I prefer the kiss-and-make-up theory, myself. These readings are just... weird. There's no recognizable pattern, no traceable origin point, and there doesn't seem to be anything on the other side. No demons, no Hell, no nothing."

"Well... we'll keep trying. Willow is working on expanding the time-bubble spell Giles recommended. That should slow the anomaly's progress until we can find a way to close it."

"I wonder how Buffy and Angel are doing," Fred wondered aloud, gazing up at the soft lights glowing in Buffy's office window.

~

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Buffy glowered at the book she was completely not reading, and wished the grandfather clock Giles had brought back from Switzerland last year would show some tact and stop pointing out how time was TICK-TICK-TICKING away while she and Angel diligently maintained their pregnant silence.

"This scroll might as well be in Swahili," her companion complained, rubbing his eyes. "When Wes said the translation was complicated, he wasn't exaggerating."

"Hm," Buffy replied noncommittally.

Angel gave her a look.

"What? I used up all my witty quips about Swahili, prophecies, and Wesley the last twenty times you mentioned that," she shot back.

Angel swept the scroll aside and combed his fingers through already mussed hair. "This is hopeless. Even if we could translate the rest of the prophecy, we don't know if it has anything helpful to say about the vortex."

"Just a lot of stuff about our personal lives, which, if you ask me, is none of its business."

An ironic smirk crossed his face. "I can always count on you to make a joke in the face of imminent world destruction and horrible death. Where were you a couple of years ago when the sky was raining fire?"

"Babysitting proto-Slayers," Buffy answered with a shrug, and sank to the floor next to him, "Being haunted, having an existential crisis – again – fighting with the gang, sponsoring Spike, trying not to die... you know. The usual."

He smiled and automatically reached out to brush a stray hair from her cheek. The tender gesture snapped her gaze to his in surprise.

"Sorry," he lied, but didn't look away or move his hand.

She took in the familiar details of his beautiful face with sad longing. "Angel, what happened to us? I mean... last night we were talking like it had been two days since we saw each other instead of two years. And now..."

"Now we're stuck in the world's most boring conversation loop," he sighed. "I don't know. Maybe the phone is easier."

"Duh," Buffy agreed, flopping on her back. "I think it's the eye-contact thing. I don't think I've heard, said, thought or noticed the word 'penetrating' as much in my entire life as the past two weeks." Catching his bemused look, she closed her eyes and prayed that some void-minion would appear to swallow her up. "Double entendre not intended."

"Innuendo aside... you're right. It's harder when we're physically close. It always has been." Angel winced at his own unintended innuendo as eased himself down on his elbow, but kept his gaze away from her, firmly locked on the darkening windows. "Every time I see you, it all comes back again. All the things I thought I'd forgotten. Or lost... It's almost like no time ever passed at all."

"But it has," Buffy replied softly, looking up at him. Of course, he didn't appear a day older than he had when she first set eyes on him almost ten years ago, but she could still see the way that ensuing time had changed him. Taken him through so many experiences that she'd never have... never get to share with him.... So much of each other's lives they had missed. "We're different now. Maybe too different."

He looked at her, and was instantly lost in the familiar grey-green of her eyes. At that particular moment, Angel couldn't find a single thing that was different – not what he saw reflected in their familiar depths, or what he felt in return.

"Eternity melts away like a moment," he whispered, "As if forever had never been."

Buffy stared into his brown velvet gaze, as caught by his as he was hers. Her heart took up a frantic, pounding rhythm, her stomach dropped and fluttered, her breath came fast and shallow...

He was right. The important things... the real things... never changed.

She leaned in slowly toward him, her eyes flicking from his to his lips. Every time they kissed, time stopped. The past disappeared. Would it be the same this time? Could they connect... and could their connection generate a power that could save the world? Could she and Angel look past the pain and find this place of comfort, of peace, for more than a moment?

"Guess we better find out," she whispered to her own unspoken question. His hand came up to tenderly cup her cheek, and he tilted his head to meet her. His full lips three inches away... two... a hair...

"GUYS!"

The door to the library burst open and the others came bolting inside. Buffy and Angel sprang to their feet as if they'd been struck.

"What? Nothing! What is it?" Buffy yelped.

Angel turned away from the onslaught, trying to get his emotions back under control. A glaring reminder of exactly why it was so hard to be this close to Buffy. So to speak.

"We've got what we need for the time bubble!" Willow enthused, "We can stop the portal!"

"You're sure it'll work?" Angel asked; his equilibrium more or less restored. At least enough to stand up straight without too much pain.

Wood staggered into the room, dizzy from his two hours in the test bubble. "It works."

Angel glanced at Buffy out of the corner of his eye, but she avoided his regard.

Which was, he imagined, for the best right now.

"Let's do it," he commanded. "The sooner, the better."

~

Faith kept an eagle eye on Buffy as they, the Wolfram & Hart troops, and their other friends met on the front steps once more to receive their instructions.

"Okay. The wizards and I will be on the roof, casting the bubble. It's only supposed to last until sunrise, so we'll have to work fast," Willow advised. "Fred?"

The thin brunette took the stage. Or... step, in this case. "My team will take the Ashvite Sphere and the flux disrupter to the nearest point we can manage to the void. We hope the combination of the two will interrupt whatever is giving the vortex its power long enough for Wesley to finish translating the scroll."

"Giles faxed a key that might assist in deciphering the non-human language portions of the prophecy. It's akin to Latin, and mixed in with True Latin, the whole of the final passages become gibberish. With the key, the answer should be relatively simple. Again, it's all a matter of time," the Englishman expounded. "And some measure of luck."

"Which we get from the bubble and the eruptor thingy," Buffy concluded, "Good plan. Except for the luck part."

"The timing has to be precise," Wood added. "And the magicks have to be focused on the four directional points. When the bubble starts, the magick will probably draw in some nasty critters. So we'll have teams at the four points, holding the directing crystals, and Angel and his men on the perimeter to hold off any unwanted guests."

"And when the bubble expands, Fred's team will let go with the techno. Bitchin'," Faith complimented. "Let's kick some black hole ass."

The teams dispersed – Buffy to guard Willow and the magickians on the roof, and Angel to the north gate with a squad of armed men. The two generals paused before they separated.

"Be careful," he pleaded softly, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her one last time.

"Maybe we could pick up our conversation later. If we can. If you want."

She couldn't help but smile, in spite of the circumstances. "I think the Swahili thing is played out."

He returned her humor with a wry half-smirk. "The other one."

Buffy nodded, a shiver running over her skin. Whether it was in fear or anticipation, she couldn't be sure. "After we save the world... again... we'll see."

He nodded and signaled for his men to move out. When he was gone, Buffy turned and ran smack into Faith. "God! What are you doing?"

"B... I was just thinking..."

"Can't it wait?" the blonde Slayer snapped, "We're kinda busy right this second."

"No, it can't wait. The prophecy... it says the Great Eternal Warriors have to 'connect' to stop this thing. It looked like we interrupted you two 'connecting'."

"We weren't... Faith, just drop it, okay? We have to freeze the void before we worry about closing it. There's not going to be any connecting – of any kind – tonight. This is a black hole, not a soap opera!"

"Fine," Faith capitulated, "You're the boss."

Willow was wearing the same pale blue robes as the other wizards on the roof when the Slayers arrived. A circle was already drawn in red sand, and their friend stood at its center.

"When I'm done chanting, cover your eyes. There should be a green glow that shoots from the casters out to the vortex. That'll be Fred's signal to fire." She glanced at each of the six ritual magickians Angel had provided. "Ready?"

With a nod from her assistants, Willow began. She chanted in one of a hundred weird languages spells seemed always seemed to be written in, and after a few moments, the green light began to glow, pouring out of Willow's fingers, creeping forth until each of the sorcerers were obscured in its light.

"Cool," Faith observed.

Buffy held her breath. Either this worked, or in another couple of hours, the whole world she had endeavored so hard to create was going to get sucked into nothing.

"Why can't a vortex be simple anymore?" she muttered, "I remember when just tossing somebody into one usually solved the problem."

"Go forth and pierce the four winds! Go and halt time's very passage. Go forth and stop the world from spinning!" Willow intoned. "As I will, so shall it be!"

The green light exploded, sending Buffy flying back to crash into the nearby chimney. When the cartoon birdies were done chirping around her head, she looked up.

And saw Faith suspended in midair three feet away... and two feet off the ground, motionless.

Buffy jumped up. Willow and the Wizards were frozen too.

"That wasn't supposed to happen!" she shouted at the petrified figures. Consumed by a fear that everything had just gone right down the drain, she ran over to peer at the courtyard below.

There were statue-people everywhere. A few of the demons they'd been expecting were there too, all locked in a likeness of eternal battle with Angel's soldiers. She raised her gaze to the horizon and found that the void, at least, had also stopped its steady progress.

Buffy was the only thing in the world moving. It was all on her now.

"Crap! My Latin sucks!" she cried into the night.

~

TBC...

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