Author's note: Thank you for the feedback. Its nice to know that someone
is reading. The previous chapter was background. This one will set the
plot.
Chapter 3
"This is bad. This is very bad" Willow said as she shook her head in disbelief.
Giles took off his glasses and used his handkerchief to wipe them.
"So you concur with my interpretation?"
"Its pretty clear that this is referencing Buffy but how accurate can it be?" Tara's expression mirrored that of her lover.
"The Pergamun Codex is arguably the most exact of the prophetic manuscripts. It is also one of the few that mentions the Slayer and the creation of the Council of Watchers"
All three looked at each other. If the prophecy was correct then Buffy's life was soon coming to its end.
"Can we stop it?" Willow marveled at how calm she sounded. In reality she was anything but.
The Watcher swallowed hard. Buffy was more than just another Slayer. She was his Slayer and the closest thing to a child he ever had.
"I really don't know. Prophecies are not meant to guide us. They merely chronicle the events that will effect a change in the balance. My role as Watcher demands that I sift through the prophetic test looking for something that pertains to the Slayer for the Council's sake"
"What do you mean?"
"That the information in should not be made available to the Slayer but only to the Council of Watchers so they are ready for the next Slayer when the present one dies"
"My God" gasped Tara
"Bastards" added her lover.
"I had a similar reaction. Buffy needs to be made aware of what is in here. We have to device a plan of action to avert this"
The two witches signaled their agreement. Tara ran her fingers through the ancient manuscript. It was written in Latin but had been painstakingly translated by Giles. Her eyes focused on one particular sentence.
"And the Chosen one will fall before the demon and on that night the house of A will celebrate a sacred kill"
Willow picked up on it "The house of A?"
"I think that we are meant to take the reference to a royal line of vampires not a royal house. The house of A clearly indicates the line of Aurelius also known as the Master" answered the Watcher.
"But Buffy destroyed the Master"
"Yes she did, but the Master has descendants"
"And they are gunning for Buffy"
"As it was to be expected but the Codex is indicating that one will succeed" finished Giles.
"So we just have to stake every descendant and then Buffy will be safe" Willow concluded, relieved at a possible solution.
"This is not as simple as its sounds. The Master line is very powerful. In fact it contains the four strongest vampires known to us"
"Who?"
"Darla, Druscilla, Angelus and William the Bloody"
Willow blanched.
"Oh"
********
Buffy loved Sundays. Everything seemed much brighter of a lazy Sunday morning. She purposefully avoided scheduling anything for this day. If she got bored she could train or catch up on her fan mail. Willow had recently introduced Buffy to the wonders of email and she had plenty of it on her mailbox.
She also had some of the more traditional type piled in the foyer table. It was fast becoming an issue so she'd better get to that first.
Amidst the mountain of white envelopes with domestic and foreign looking stamps lay a small white box. Thinking that it could be her copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for X-Box, she went for it first.
She tore the masking tape off and opened the box. Inside lay a black leather jewelry box. With trembling hands she opened it.
The silver cross gleamed catching a stray ray of sun. The Slayer felt a pressure inside of her. Like her heart would burst at any second.
She knew, without a doubt, who had sent the cross to her.
There was no return address on the box but she didn't expect one. Vampires did not have addresses.
Buffy unclasped the silver chain and fastened it around her neck. The cross rested on her heart just as it should. Its message coming crystal clear through all her senses.
Her wait was about to come to an end.
**********
Angel lay in his darkened bedroom waiting for the sun to set. It seemed that he spend his unlife waiting for one thing or another. When he first became a vampire he had waited for nightfall to begin his hunt. Angelus marked time between kills. This was the true measure of time for a vampire. After he was cursed (or blessed) with a soul time had become an endless torment of guilt and pain. He waited for a release from the pain that never came.
Then Helen the Slayer came into his life. She was barely sixteen when she was called. Her life had been spent as a foster child going from one family to the next and she had formed no emotional attachments. She was as lonely as he was.
So it wasn't surprising that they become close. He was her guide and protector more so than the traditional Watcher that she was assigned to. He saw her grow up from an insecure young girl to a confident and capable woman.
Angel didn't know when he first fell in love with her. Maybe it was during the evenings that he spent waiting at the door of her apartment building or while in the heat of battle. He loved her but he never told her.
Eventually she began to get older. It was then that she began to worry about fulfilling her role. Angel had heard that the Hellmouth over Sunnydale was about to open and Helen did not think that she could handle it by herself. After a lot of agonizing she decided to go public. He supported her decision even if he did not agree with it.
At first Helen Marshall had been labeled a psych case. People laughed at her revelations but as she continuously presented them with evidence, many started to believe. It seemed like she was just confirming what they always knew but would not accept.
The world changed and in this brave new world Helen had a shot at happiness. Angel could only watch as she met the man that she would eventually marry. From afar he saw their love began to blossom and bear fruit. In her children he saw traces of the woman he loved. When her daughter was killed by Spike, it was he who comforted her and exacted revenge on the vampire. Eventually her life drew to its natural close and he watched her die. His grief was beyond anything he had experienced.
Then it was Buffy's time and he was also there when she needed him. This Slayer had emotional ties and a Watcher that was more like a father but she was also as heartbroken as he was.
She had never really confided in him but he had an idea of who had taken her heart. He hoped that 'he' felt the same wherever 'he' was.
So Angel was once more waiting to see her so that his life could have some meaning.
The knock on the door startled him. Buffy?
He put on a black robe as he made his way to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open. The sight before him made him catch an unneeded breath.
"Hello lover. Waiting for me?"
TBC.
I love playing with Helen's story. She was such a big part of the Angel of this AU. And before you ask, Spike and Dru are due for an appearance at anytime.
Chapter 3
"This is bad. This is very bad" Willow said as she shook her head in disbelief.
Giles took off his glasses and used his handkerchief to wipe them.
"So you concur with my interpretation?"
"Its pretty clear that this is referencing Buffy but how accurate can it be?" Tara's expression mirrored that of her lover.
"The Pergamun Codex is arguably the most exact of the prophetic manuscripts. It is also one of the few that mentions the Slayer and the creation of the Council of Watchers"
All three looked at each other. If the prophecy was correct then Buffy's life was soon coming to its end.
"Can we stop it?" Willow marveled at how calm she sounded. In reality she was anything but.
The Watcher swallowed hard. Buffy was more than just another Slayer. She was his Slayer and the closest thing to a child he ever had.
"I really don't know. Prophecies are not meant to guide us. They merely chronicle the events that will effect a change in the balance. My role as Watcher demands that I sift through the prophetic test looking for something that pertains to the Slayer for the Council's sake"
"What do you mean?"
"That the information in should not be made available to the Slayer but only to the Council of Watchers so they are ready for the next Slayer when the present one dies"
"My God" gasped Tara
"Bastards" added her lover.
"I had a similar reaction. Buffy needs to be made aware of what is in here. We have to device a plan of action to avert this"
The two witches signaled their agreement. Tara ran her fingers through the ancient manuscript. It was written in Latin but had been painstakingly translated by Giles. Her eyes focused on one particular sentence.
"And the Chosen one will fall before the demon and on that night the house of A will celebrate a sacred kill"
Willow picked up on it "The house of A?"
"I think that we are meant to take the reference to a royal line of vampires not a royal house. The house of A clearly indicates the line of Aurelius also known as the Master" answered the Watcher.
"But Buffy destroyed the Master"
"Yes she did, but the Master has descendants"
"And they are gunning for Buffy"
"As it was to be expected but the Codex is indicating that one will succeed" finished Giles.
"So we just have to stake every descendant and then Buffy will be safe" Willow concluded, relieved at a possible solution.
"This is not as simple as its sounds. The Master line is very powerful. In fact it contains the four strongest vampires known to us"
"Who?"
"Darla, Druscilla, Angelus and William the Bloody"
Willow blanched.
"Oh"
********
Buffy loved Sundays. Everything seemed much brighter of a lazy Sunday morning. She purposefully avoided scheduling anything for this day. If she got bored she could train or catch up on her fan mail. Willow had recently introduced Buffy to the wonders of email and she had plenty of it on her mailbox.
She also had some of the more traditional type piled in the foyer table. It was fast becoming an issue so she'd better get to that first.
Amidst the mountain of white envelopes with domestic and foreign looking stamps lay a small white box. Thinking that it could be her copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for X-Box, she went for it first.
She tore the masking tape off and opened the box. Inside lay a black leather jewelry box. With trembling hands she opened it.
The silver cross gleamed catching a stray ray of sun. The Slayer felt a pressure inside of her. Like her heart would burst at any second.
She knew, without a doubt, who had sent the cross to her.
There was no return address on the box but she didn't expect one. Vampires did not have addresses.
Buffy unclasped the silver chain and fastened it around her neck. The cross rested on her heart just as it should. Its message coming crystal clear through all her senses.
Her wait was about to come to an end.
**********
Angel lay in his darkened bedroom waiting for the sun to set. It seemed that he spend his unlife waiting for one thing or another. When he first became a vampire he had waited for nightfall to begin his hunt. Angelus marked time between kills. This was the true measure of time for a vampire. After he was cursed (or blessed) with a soul time had become an endless torment of guilt and pain. He waited for a release from the pain that never came.
Then Helen the Slayer came into his life. She was barely sixteen when she was called. Her life had been spent as a foster child going from one family to the next and she had formed no emotional attachments. She was as lonely as he was.
So it wasn't surprising that they become close. He was her guide and protector more so than the traditional Watcher that she was assigned to. He saw her grow up from an insecure young girl to a confident and capable woman.
Angel didn't know when he first fell in love with her. Maybe it was during the evenings that he spent waiting at the door of her apartment building or while in the heat of battle. He loved her but he never told her.
Eventually she began to get older. It was then that she began to worry about fulfilling her role. Angel had heard that the Hellmouth over Sunnydale was about to open and Helen did not think that she could handle it by herself. After a lot of agonizing she decided to go public. He supported her decision even if he did not agree with it.
At first Helen Marshall had been labeled a psych case. People laughed at her revelations but as she continuously presented them with evidence, many started to believe. It seemed like she was just confirming what they always knew but would not accept.
The world changed and in this brave new world Helen had a shot at happiness. Angel could only watch as she met the man that she would eventually marry. From afar he saw their love began to blossom and bear fruit. In her children he saw traces of the woman he loved. When her daughter was killed by Spike, it was he who comforted her and exacted revenge on the vampire. Eventually her life drew to its natural close and he watched her die. His grief was beyond anything he had experienced.
Then it was Buffy's time and he was also there when she needed him. This Slayer had emotional ties and a Watcher that was more like a father but she was also as heartbroken as he was.
She had never really confided in him but he had an idea of who had taken her heart. He hoped that 'he' felt the same wherever 'he' was.
So Angel was once more waiting to see her so that his life could have some meaning.
The knock on the door startled him. Buffy?
He put on a black robe as he made his way to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open. The sight before him made him catch an unneeded breath.
"Hello lover. Waiting for me?"
TBC.
I love playing with Helen's story. She was such a big part of the Angel of this AU. And before you ask, Spike and Dru are due for an appearance at anytime.